June 29, 2022

We’ve heard rumours that the local cemetery is haunted, so last night, intrepid reporters, Team Fergmeijer, tracked down the caretaker and asked if the rumours were true. He said he’s worked there for 173 years and has never seen anything suspicious. 

Christmas concert fav, Connie M, is celebrating a milestone this week: She’s turning….29! Other things that would be turning 29 if they lived in Billings include the Queen’s reign, Charlotte’s Web, An American in Paris, and Isabella Rossellini, so you are in very good company!

 

Summer in Kagawong is a happenin’ place! The summer market is up and running every Wednesday from 10am-3pm, seasonal boat launch passes are available for purchase at the marina and town office, the Old Mill Heritage Centre is open for the season (check out their website at http://www.kagawongmuseum.ca/ for information on hours and the latest exhibits), and the Late Bloomers have been busy beautifying the township with all the flower boxes. Take a stroll through the village and soak up the fun and sun!

It’s now officially summer. Time to get out and get active! The Manitoulin Tennis Club runs every Wednesday (at 6:30pm) and Sunday (at 10:00am) at the Manitoulin Secondary School tennis courts. Players of all abilities are welcome! Lessons can be available for beginners as well - just stop in. But if the ballfield is more your style, grab your glove and head to the Ice Lake Ball Field (274 Pleasant Valley Road) Sundays at 7:30pm! Ages 10 to adults are welcome for a weekly community ball game. 

 

There were rumours of a food shortage at the pastry conference; it turned out to be a complete lack of pies.

 

There’s a new event on the horizon: join a fabulous line-up of speakers at the Jabbawong Storytelling Festival at the Kagawong Park Centre! The Festival kicks off July 9th with vendors at the market pavilion, a Museum BBQ, and storytellers at the Park Centre. On July 10th, the focus shifts to the kids with the Children’s Jabbawong Storytelling Festival. Stay tuned for more details.

 

Billings Library is bringing back the annual book sale in a big way! Saturday, July 23rd, from 11am-3pm, you can browse 3-years worth of book sale books at the market pavilion. Keep up your strength for hauling all your amazing literary finds by grabbing some Burt Farm smokies and hotdogs hot off the BBQ. All proceeds go to support the library. See you there!

 

Speaking of books, if you are looking for copies of the reprinted/revamped How It All Began book of township history, the museum and the library are the place to get them! 

 

Sad news about the new farm that was selling camel milk. They shut down after several chaotic months. The camels kept running away and attacking people, there were legal disputes with neighbours, and the owners ended up in a nasty divorce dispute. Yep. Turned out to be a real drama-dairy!

 

Start saving up those old paint cans, electronics, and chemicals - Manitoulin’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day will be on Saturday, July 23rd. More information, including times and locations, will be shared closer to the event date. 

 

Team Aelick is Strolling for Liver again this year and you can show your support in multiple ways. Join them on Sunday, August 28th for the 5km stroll through the village, donate to the Canadian Liver Foundation, or stop in at the fundraising yard sale on July 2nd on Maple Ridge. 

 

We know that we sometimes make terrible puns, but if you were to look at all the puns we make, the good would outweigh the bad, and it’d average out OK. Put differently, although we may make terrible jokes, we mean well. Have a great week!

June 22, 2022

 We are one week closer to summer, but the township is already hopping! The Kagawong summer market is up and running every Wednesday from 10am-3pm, seasonal boat launch passes are available for purchase at the marina and town office, the Old Mill Heritage Centre is open for the season (check out their website at http://www.kagawongmuseum.ca/ for information on hours and the latest exhibits), and the Late Bloomers have been busy beautifying the township with all the flower boxes. Take a stroll through the village and soak up the sun!

With so much going on already, Team Fergmeijer has been trying to come up with the perfect adjective to describe summer in Kagawong. We bought a dictionary for inspiration, and brought it home to discover that all the pages were blank! We have no words to describe how angry we are. 

 

Yesterday (June 21) was National Indigenous Peoples Day. Here in Billings Township, be sure to check out the Billing Connections Trail. The Anishinaabeg (Odaawaa, Ojibwa and Pottawatomi) occupied what is now Billings Township long before European settlers arrived. Archeological and oral evidence has established at least 10,000 years of Indigenous occupation on Mnidoo Mnising (Manitoulin Island). To learn more about the history of Billings’ original and settler inhabitants, visit the full series of historical plaques around the township, link to the QR codes on each plaque, and drop in to the Old Mill Heritage Centre in Kagawong, as well as the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation in M’Chigeeng First Nation.

 

There’s a new event on the horizon: join a fabulous line-up of speakers at the Jabbawong Storytelling Festival at the Kagawong Park Centre! The Festival kicks off July 9th with vendors at the market pavilion, a Museum BBQ, and storytellers at the Park Centre. On July 10th, the focus shifts to the kids with the Children’s Jabbawong Storytelling Festival. Stay tuned for more details!

 

The long-awaited used book sale supporting the local library is coming soon! Mark your calendars - July 23rd at the market pavilion you can browse row upon row of gently used books at bargain prices! 

 

Speaking of books, if you are looking for copies of the reprinted/revamped How It All Began book of township history, the museum and the library are the place to get them!

 

Further on the subject of books, a friend of ours swallowed a dictionary today. It gave him thesaurus throat he ever had… 

 

Team Aelick is Strolling for Liver again this year and you can show your support in multiple ways. Join them on Sunday, August 28th for the 5km stroll through the village, donate to the Canadian Liver Foundation, or stop in at the fundraising yard sale on July 2nd on Maple Ridge. 

 

We were saddened to hear of the recent passing of both Lori Graham, and Barb Cretzman. Kagawong will miss these fabulous ladies. Our condolences to family and friends.

 

The township still has an opening for a Public Works Assistant (Summer Student Position). Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For the full job description please visit the website at: https://billingstwp.ca/employment-opportunities/

 

Team Fergmeijer was so bored last week, we decided to memorise six pages of the dictionary. We learned next to nothing. Have a great week!

June 15, 2022

Your friendly neighbourhood columnists have been getting their hands dirty lately, getting their gardens shipshape. In the process we’ve been reading up on plant and gardening history and learned some fascinating things about ancient Romans using plants as poison. They basically had four types. Poisons I, II, and III killed the victim almost instantly upon contact. Poison IV, though, just made the victim extremely itchy.  

The Kagawong summer market will be up and running every Wednesday from 10am-3pm, now through September at the pavilion by the waterfront. Be sure to check it out!

 

A friend of ours had a date with a tennis player last weekend. He took her out for soft serve. In related news, the Manitoulin Tennis Club runs weekly tennis sessions Sundays at 10am all summer-long at the Manitoulin Secondary School courts. Beginners and seasoned players welcome!

 

Team Aelick is Strolling for Liver again this year and you can show your support in multiple ways. Join them on Sunday August 28th for the 5km stroll through the village, donate to the Canadian Liver Foundation, or stop in at the fundraising yard sale on July 2nd on Maple Ridge. 

 

A friend was telling us that his HR department just asked him to sign up for the company’s 401k. We’re a bit nervous for him. We’re not sure he can run that far. 

 

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is open for the season, so stop in and take the tour! Check out their website at http://www.kagawongmuseum.ca/ for information on hours and the latest exhibits. If you are looking for copies of the reprinted/revamped How It All Began book of township history, the museum and the library are the place to get them!

 

The long-awaited used book sale supporting the local library is coming soon! Soon-ish anyway. Mark your calendars - July 23 at the market pavilion you can browse row upon row of gently used books at bargain prices! 

 

Yesterday we met two lovely women who pose in ads for a local bakery. They’re great roll models. 

 

The next council meeting is July 20th. Contact the town office for information on connecting virtually to watch the proceedings. Also, if you are pondering joining municipal politics, nominations for the fall election are open now until August 19th. For nomination packages and more information contact Kathy McDonald at  (705)282-2611 x223 or kmcdonald@billingstwp.ca

 

Got boat? Get a seasonal boat launch pass! Passes are available for purchase at the marina and town office for $50.

 

The township still has an opening for a Public Works Assistant (Summer Student Position). Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For the full job description please visit the website at: https://billingstwp.ca/employment-opportunities/

 

Keep an eye on the flower boxes around town as volunteer ‘Late Bloomers’ continue to flex their green thumbs and spruce up the neighbourhood. Each volunteer takes on one or two of the flower boxes around town. The results are a variety of beautiful flower displays!

 

We almost didn’t get the column in on time this week - we were abducted by aliens! They made us wash our hands, clean our rooms and eat our vegetables. Turns out we were on the mothership. Have a great week!

June 8, 2022

We’ve been spending our free time brushing up on our geography knowledge. Turns out Iceland is the only country on the planet without mosquitos. This time of year, it starts to look real appealing. 

We’ve also been brushing up on our food knowledge. For instance, Hawaiian pizza was created in Ontario in the 1960s, specifically in an area just outside Windsor. Though in retrospect, perhaps they should have named the pizza something more local, like Chatham-and-pineapple.

 

If it felt a little more summer-y this past week, we’re sure it’s because Kagawong saw its first summer market of the season last Wednesday! If you missed it, not to worry - the Kagawong summer market will be up and running every Wednesday from 10am-3pm, now through September at the pavilion by the waterfront. Be sure to check it out!

 

Did you hear about the orange and the apple that signed up for a tennis tournament? No one was surprised to find out they were both seeded. The Manitoulin Tennis Club runs weekly tennis sessions Sundays at 10am all summer-long at the Manitoulin Secondary School courts. Beginners and seasoned players welcome!

 

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is open for the season, so stop in and take the tour! Check out their website at http://www.kagawongmuseum.ca/ for information on hours and the latest exhibits.

 

Want to have a say on the new zoning by-law? Stop by the Kagawong Park Centre on Wednesday June 15, from 1pm-3pm, for an open house on the topic. The proposed schedules and draft by-law will be available for review and discussion.

 

The township still has an opening for a Public Works Assistant (Summer Student Position). Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For the full job description please visit the website at: https://billingstwp.ca/employment-opportunities/

 

Keep an eye on the flower boxes around town as volunteer ‘Late Bloomers’ are once again flexing their green thumbs and sprucing up the neighbourhood. Each volunteer takes on one or two of the flower boxes around town. The results are a variety of beautiful flower displays!

 

Happy Birthday to a pair of young Kagawongians who have more sass than a sassafras! Aging is funny. One day you're young and cool, the next you are getting excited over a new house plant. 

 

True fact time! Many people know that technically, tomatoes are a fruit, but did you know that bananas are a berry? So are avocados! Have a great week!

June 1, 2022

Spring has been on a roll with all this gorgeous weather! Last weekend Team Fergmeijer decided to baguette away from it all for a day and hit the trails. It was a jam-packed day of hiking, although now and a grain we would stop and rest and just appreciate the views. It is nice to escape the hustle and bustle because sometimes it can start to feel like you have the wheat of the world on your shoulders. No matter how you slice it, getting out in nature is always beneficial, but especially when you are feeling sub-par about things. Interestingly, we came across another hiker while they were eating lunch just off the trail. They looked like they were Havana delicious Cuban sandwich but when we asked about it the hiker packed up quickly and said, ‘That’s a wrap!’ and left.

Today is the first day of the Kagawong summer market! Today and every Wednesday, pop on by the market pavilion from 10am-3pm and peruse the wares of many local artisans, bakers, craftspeople, and farmers. 

 

Tennis season is off to a great start with the Manitoulin Tennis Club! Regular weekly sessions are Sundays at 10am at the Manitoulin Secondary School courts, and continue through the summer. Beginners and seasoned players welcome!

 

This past weekend saw Kagawongians come together to host two community yard sales. A huge number of people made their way through both. Not only is it a fantastic way for the community to contribute to the reuse and recycling of household items, but the Angel Bus yard sale made $1000 from their sale to support transportation for Manitoulin Lodge residents and other medically vulnerable citizens of Western Manitoulin Island.  The Angel Bus gives access to seasonal activities such as picnics and fall colour outings, community activities such as school performances, theatre and music events, farmers' markets and shopping excursions, and to attend medical appointments, all at no charge. 

 

The deadline is today! Do you know a citizen of Billings that goes above and beyond and deserves special recognition? Nominate them for Billings’ Citizen of the Year! There are two categories - under 18 years old and over 18 years old. Submit your nominations to tmills@billingstwp.ca by today (June 1). 

 

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is open for the season, so stop in and take the tour! They are open Wednesday - Sunday from 10am-4pm. 

 

Are you bready to hear about the omnomnominations for most delicious sammich on the island? There were a number of award categories: Winner of the Most Dramatic Sammich is the ham. Best party sandwich is the Gyro (it makes you want to shimmy!). The sandwich that always comes through in an emergency is the Hero, and a special mention goes out to the only sandwich with its own band of admirers - the Club. The fan favourite was the Fool’s Gold Loaf sandwich. Apparently a favourite of the King himself, Elvis Presley, this masterpiece consists of a single warmed, hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with the contents of one jar of creamy peanut butter, one jar of grape jelly... and a pound of bacon.

 

The Late Bloomers ‘adopt’ one or two flower boxes around the community, planting their individual choice of flowers. The result is a beautiful collection of plantings for all to enjoy! If you would like to join them and adopt a planter, email jferguson@manitoulin.net for more information.

 

Happy Birthday wishes to Morgan E who celebrates his 29th birthday this week.Welcome to that point in your life where you still hope people remember your birthday, but you’d prefer if they forgot your age. 

We want to tell you the secret to getting just the right amount of mayo on your sandwich, but don’t spread it around because that would be a major breach of crust. Have a great week!