Thank You from The Middle Bass Barbershop Quartets!
By Jim Wilson, Middle Bass Barbershop Committee Member
There is so much entertainment offered in our Lake Erie Islands Region! Yet, it is little-known that over 100 Barbershop Quartet singers gather on Middle Bass and South Bass Islands for a weekend every August. The tradition dates back over 70 years.
This year was logistically challenging for the scheduled Friday night performance at Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church on Put-in-Bay. The traditional inter-island shuttle boat from and to Middle Bass (the Sonny S) was undergoing major repairs this summer. We needed other options for transporting a large number of men – in a short time.
As it turned out, Inter-Islands Charters (Marty Harayda & crew) did a fine job of hauling our large contingency of guys from Middle Bass to Put-in-Bay on Friday afternoon. It’s a great service that Marty Harayda is providing the Bass Islands this summer!
Also, a big thank you to Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church and Deacon Jim O’Donnell for their wonderful venue for our Friday evening performance. Great acoustics and a near-capacity crowd!
We’d especially like to thank Todd Blumensaadt and the Jet Express for hauling our big group of guys back to Middle Bass on the 10 p.m. Jet while en route to Sandusky. We were overwhelmed by the complimentary ride the Jet Express provided us back to Middle Bass Island! Thanks so much to Todd & the Jet Express. And a big thanks to Mr. Chip Duggan for his help to make these last-minute travel arrangements possible!
Having lived on Catawba for nearly 50 years, I can tell you there’s lots of good stuff going on around here and the islands aren’t just for young party people. There’s good family entertainment too and our free barbershop concerts is a part of this.
Rest assured we Middle Bass Barbershoppers will perform again next year for our very enthused audiences. Our first performance is always on the 2nd Friday in August on Put-in-Bay and it will continue be held at the Catholic Church at 7 p.m. There is a more informal performance Saturday at the old Middle Bass Island Lonz Wine Cellar on at 1:30 p.m. Our traditional show, which began in 1948 as entertainment for Middle Bass residents, is at the Little Town Hall to a full-house audience. For those who choose good family friendly entertainment, we may see you next summer?
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
