Trick-or-treaters that stayed in Presque Isle Township on Halloween night were treated to another festive night at various homes in the area.

Kyla Schatz (front right) and a group of friends performed the Thriller dance made popular by Michael Jackson in the garage at her home.  After visitors followed a spooky trail through the landscaped yard, they ended up in the driveway.  The garage door raised like a curtain and the dancers performed.

  Barry Schatz offered a Rockin' Halloween Night in his living room converted into a cemetery at The Cabin On The Lake. 

The East Grand Lake Fire Department hosted a party with a haunted trail.  (Picture not available)

Here Linda Doyle greets a guest at Doyle Manor.  The Doyle's have participated in the Halloween Trail for several years.

Terry McConnell also spooked visitors at his log home in the woods.  (Picture not available)

Other photos from the evening are below.

Robert (standing next to his wife) is seen here passing the ketchup at Tom and Sandy Boaks' house on Saturday.  He dined on a Tommy Burger at a special dinner.  Tom cooked his famous hamburgers for his guests while Barry Schatz filmed the event.  The video footage has been cut down to a three minute video to be submitted to The Food Network.  The popular cable TV network is sponsoring a contest to discover the next great chef.  The winner will host their own cooking show.  Hopefully Tom will host, "Cooking At The Cabin" someday soon.  In the meantime, neighbors enjoy his food.

I did a little remodel job on my house for Halloween visitors.  Below are before and after pictures. 

It's October which means there are a lot of things going on in the neighborhood. 

Last Saturday was the opening day of duck season. 

A trip to Knabe's Apple Orchard offers more than the area's best apple cider.

Traveling past the rolling fields of Presque Isle farms on the way to Ocqueoc Falls is a great way to enjoy fall colors.

The best part about October is the finale.  Watch for more information on the Presque Isle Halloween Trail. 

On Saturday, July 5th, Presque Isle Township held their annual fireworks show at the Presque Isle Harbor.  This was made possible by the donations of local residents.  $65.00 was collected from cannisters placed at the Portage Store, the Birch Hill store, and the new lighthouse gift shop.  Lakeshore Real Estate printed mailing labels in which solicitations were sent to the township office.  the following contributors helped make the fireworks a success

AAA Agent - John Chappa (postage)

Robert Beres

Greg & Sharon Riley

Art & Rose Przysiecki

Louis & Linda Ciarkowski

Don & Ann Cline

Raphael & Joan Beauvais

Victor Mastrogiovanni

George Hoster Jr.

Geroge Popp

Dorothy & Whitney Slaght

Molly Benson - North Shore Financial Advisors

Jay Blackmore & Sally Dick

Mal & Barb Oswalt / Century 21 Harbor Realty Team, LLC

Curt & Kathy Aufschlager

Rosemarie Pokorski

Robert & JoAnn Carr

Morley Kellogg

Charles & Sue Prucha

Harriet Powers

Gillard, Bauer, Mazron, Florip, Smigelski & Gulden Attorneys

Carl & Sue Sommers

Paul Odell

John Buszkowski

Judy Kimball

Leaird Cameron

Norma & Ken Crouch

Jeff & Tracy Greene

Attila & Sharon Paltelky

Overhead Door of Alpena (postage)

Tom Olsen Plbg & htg

AAA - Alpena Branch

Art & Terri Mucciante

Joe & Phyllis Farkas

Dave Ward

Joe & Nelle Tupiak

Presque Isle Lodge

Don & Brenda Rosenburg

AAA Agent - Barry Schatz (postage)

Tom & Sandy Boaks

Lappan Agency Inc.

Grand Lake Association

Weinkauf Plumbing & Heating

Perch's IGA

Presque Isle Harbor Association

Presque Isle Yacht Club

Fireside Inn

People still wanting to make donations can send checks payable to Presque Isle Township Hall to the hall on East Grand Lake Road to the attention of the fireworks fund.

Robert spent time in the Spring tapping local maple trees and making delicious Presque Isle Syrup. 

Here, Robert presents Tom Boaks with the championship trophy from the Spring Wii bowling tournament at Cedar Lane.

Art Mucciante discusses softball strategy with Waid Yue while Robert  fields a ball at the Memorial Day weekend softball game in Downtown Presque Isle.

Robert was recently seen fishing on Grand Lake during the Grand Lake Sportsmen's Club 25th. annual ice fishing derby.

The Grand Lake Sportsmen's Club held their 25th. annual ice fishing derby on February 16, 2008.  The winners were,

NORTHERN PIKE

1st - 36-1/2"  Randy Schram

WALLEYE

1st. - 23' Glen Wisniewski

2nd. - 20-1/2" Steve Habermehl

3rd. - 19-1/2" Jason Bloom

4th. - 18-3/4" Dave Idaski

5th. - 18-1/4" Jennifer Wieczorkowski

PERCH

1st. - 12-1/2" Robert Doyle

2nd. - 12-1/4" Jerry Zowlinski

3rd. - 13" Rick Kaszubowski

4th. - 12-3/4" Jacob Kangas (Tie)

5th.  - 12-3/4" Cory Malocha (Tie)

The Grand Lake Sportsmen's Club would like to  thank the following sponsors.

AAA Michigan, A & J Pools & Spas, Adrian's Sport Shop, Alpena Bank, Alpena Beverage, Alpena Supply, Bank Of America, Besser Credit Union, Buck's Bait & Tackle, C.L. Taylor LLC, Clem's Bait Shop, Cliff Anschuetz Chevrolet/Cadillac, Court Yard Restaurant, Deer Hunt Inn, Diane's Cash & Carry Feeds, Edward Jones Investments, Fireside Inn, Grand Lake Association, Grand Lake Daily Limit, East Grand Lake Fire Department, Grand Lake Resort, Hapco Builders, Hide-A-Way Bar, Homant Propane, Huron Distributors, John Campbell Construction, K & K Electric Services, LaFarge, Lakeshore Plumbing-Heating-Cooling, Losinski Excavating & Septic Tank, McCoy Pontiac-Buick-Gmc, Northern Utility Contractors, Panel Processing, Parker House, Perch's IGA, Portage Restaurant, Portage Store, Posen Elevator, Posen Pub, Presque Isle Corp., Propane Plus, R.S. Scott & Associates, Seymour's Grocery, Stanley Wozniak Ins. Agency, The Light House, Thunder Bay Electric, Thunder Bay Walley Club, Van's Pro Shop, Young Appliance...and all the people that volunteered their time.

Photos of the event will be posted soon. 

By Barry Schatz

     My apologies blog readers for getting this report to you a couple weeks after the Presque Isle Township Public Library officially opened.  The ribbon cutting ceremony was November 3rd.  I took some photos for the benefit of those of you who are out of town at the moment. 

 When I first walked in, I thought I was standing in a hotel lobby or some cozy ski lodge.  It'll be interesting to see if the library needs to give somebody a nudge to wake them up.  My advice it don't sit down in one of these chairs and read a boring book.

The library has a nice meeting room with a kitchenette.

     One is supposed to dream of a white Christmas, not a white Thanksgiving.  That's what we woke up to yesterday however.  While the rest of the family and friends were chopping food, I dusted off my winter boots and checked out the first snow of the year.

     There aren't many Robert sightings in October as he's usually converting his garage into a haunted house for Halloween.  In the picture above and on the left, Robert can barely be seen adjusting one of his Halloween props.  With the help of his spouse Linda, they managed to scare a lot of kids and put one adult into the rafters.