Hillsdale College Homecoming 2009

Hillsdale College Homecoming festivities are planned for the weekend of October 9-10, 2009. They have scheduled a mixer on Friday night. A classic car show precedes the football game at Muddy Waters Stadium on Saturday with more festivities following the game.

Lodging for special events weekends at Hillsdale College can be a challenge. There are only about 130 rooms in the whole county, so many folks are forced to be in and out in a day, or to stay 30-45 minutes away in Coldwater, Jackson, or Fremont, Indiana.

Some people are lucky and can stay nearby in one of the 130 rooms. We have made lots of parents and alumni happy here at the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan. The Munro House B&B is just 7 1/2 minutes from campus in downtown Jonesville and has 7 comfortable master bedrooms.

We give our guests "dibs" on annual events when they stay with us. So when they come for Homecoming in 2009, they will have first chance at reserving the room for Homecoming in 2010. The same rights are given for Parents Weekend at Hillsdale College. Then when graduation at Hillsdale College rolls around, the parents who have patronized us get first chance at rooms when their child graduates.

We enjoy having familiar faces in the house and we act as headquarters for events at Hillsdale College.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Talk Like a Pirate Day 2009

Ahoy mates! September 19 'tis 'bout to close, an' International Talk Like a Pirate Day be over. Talkin' like a pirate fer a day not be enough for this ol' scallywag. Me wore me rag, me eye patch, an' me hooped ear ring. Arr-r-r-r-r! Me parrot done flown off, but me trusty first pup took a likin' to the perch on me shoulder.

Me guest landlubbers at ye Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan, were not akin to the holiday. Lo, they be in the jolly spirit 'fore long, for me prepared a grand motherload fine meal first thing this early morn'.

Shiver me timbers! They done heralded me "Captain Cook"--for me been smartly preparin' a handsome bounty of great fine grub in me galley. Arr-r-r-r-r-r-r.

None more day like this 'til September 19 o' next year. Lo, Halloween be a right fittin' day to parlay the pirate spirit once again, Arr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!

Mike Venturini (A.K.A. Captain Cook) - Innkeeper
"Life be good in Jonesville"

Girls Gone Wild Bus Makes Appearance in Jonesville

I received a phone call from my buddy who told me to get downtown immediately. He was heading out-of-town and noticed a pink bus heading in the other direction. He knew it would be something that I would enjoy seeing and sharing with my guests at the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan.

I can be very creative when I need to be. When he told me it was the Girls Gone Wild bus, I knew what I had to do to make it fun. I grabbed my camcorder and got what I wanted in a single take. Enjoy the video...

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Amateur Chef Night Cooking Party

Ten amateur cooks got together at the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville Michigan to enjoy a half day of cooking, conversation, and consumption. The event began about 4:30 on Saturday afternoon with a description of how the event would proceed. Volunteers chose recipes of varying degrees of difficulty from our menu and were assigned a partner to make 5 teams of chefs.

Appetizers were served immediately after being prepared. Three hours of prep work built an appetite among our guest chefs. Three appetizers were served as they were prepared to calm our hunger pangs.

The table was set, wine was poured, and each chef served the dish they had prepared until all five courses were devoured. As the guest chefs walked the neighborhood to work off some of the feast, the hosts cleaned up the dining room and kitchen.

It was fun to mingle with the other cooks while doing our share of the preparation. Meeting new people and giving them the opportunity to follow a recipe they may have never attempted before in a relaxed atmosphere is what we enjoy doing.

A successful event requires fresh ingredients, good recipes, and folks who can follow directions. We succeeded in all categories. I am proud to say that everything from the asparagus to the noodles and the meats to the frosting were all successfully prepared and enjoyed by all.

Our next scheduled Chef Night cooking party will be held on Friday, January 1, 2010--New Years Day. Call us at 1-800-320-3792 to join the crew or to select an event on a different night.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Pink Pony Nabbed from Munro House

The 200 pound cement pink pony that mysteriously appeared in my front yard 2 weeks ago is gone. I was watching the Sunday Night Football game when I heard a truck approach the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan. Knowing that all of my peeps had checked in and none of them had driven trucks, I knew that something was awry. When I heard giggling and saw flashes of light, I knew exactly what was going on right before my eyes. I managed to videotape the encounter:

The video was not taken with infrared or night vision technology, so the identities of the perpetrators may remain a mystery for now. However, someone in the group was apparently using flash photography to document the kidnapping, so there may be clear video in the hands of the horse thieves. What is known is that the pink pony's next place of residence may be at the Dow residence on highway 12 in Jonesville according to the deciphering of the audio portion of the film.


Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Murder Mystery Weekends in November in Jonesville Michigan

Murder Mystery Month at the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan, is coming up in November. Every Saturday night in November, we are offering a Murder Mystery Dinner plus Bed and breakfast package. Couples or groups of up to 14 people are welcome to join us.

We have hosted hundreds of Murder Mystery Dinners at the Munro House since we did our first event on New Years Eve back in 2000. The previous year had folks worried about the Y2K bug and was not the good end-of-the-year celebration we had expected--because many folks decided to stay home and "watch the airplanes fall out of the sky". We did not want another quiet holiday, so we jumped into the Murder Mystery Dinner Party theme.

We started by practicing with our friends. Once we figured out how to host the party, how to choose a murder mystery, how to make it fun, and how to serve the food, we were off and running. We bought some boxed games, but they are not what guests expect at a B&B and are limited to exactly 8 people--4 men and 4 women--so we contracted with an internet company that specializes in a variety of mysteries for any number of people with unequal gender roles (when needed). We have since graduated into writing our own.

We are one of few B&B's in Michigan that do not require a group of 8 or more to do a private murder mystery. We select the date and fill it up with random guests. Sometimes, 2 or more couples come together and join other guests for our events. Most of the time, each couple is meeting the rest of the players for the first time at our inn. We will also host a private party on any available date.

We decided to take the pressure off of folks by keeping the theme a mystery until the night of the event. Previous guests had spent hundreds of dollars on elaborate costumes, and their roles were assigned at random. Some folks felt uncomfortable when their simple fashion was steamrolled by an over-the-top outfit. Flamboyant parts were sometimes assigned to wallflowers. We decided to level the playing field and make it a fun evening rather than a competition.

While interacting with our guests, we get a feeling for their personalities and assign their roles accordingly. Hint: The extroverts get the best parts. We dress everyone with a funky hat from our costume closet and do our best to make this a fun evening of who-done-it. If you're taking notes and being real serious, you may figure out who did it, but you may also miss out on having a good time. We have designed the play of our games to be interactive. If you figure it out, great! But the real reason for these events is for adults to act silly for a few hours with like-minded people while enjoying a great meal.

A typical meal includes appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert along with soft drinks and wine. We like to serve shrimp cocktail, a seasonal soup, our house salad, filet mignon (with potatoes and veggies), and chocolate cake. The menu is subject to change and could be adjusted for folks with dietary restrictions.

November is a good month to get together with old friends or to go out with your honey and meet some new people. The weather is right for an indoor event and there are several dates to choose. A murder mystery dinner sets the mood for some interactive entertainment in our great old house.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Pee Wee Herman Bike for Sale

Our neighbors across the street from the Munro House Bed and Breakfast are having a yard sale. I couldn't believe my eyes that they are selling a couple of Pee Wee Herman bikes in prime condition. A boy's and a girl's bike have white wall tires, mud flaps, a basket, comfortable spring seats, rear view mirrors, handle bar streamers, honking horn, and a bell. Too cool for taking a leisure ride around Jonesville, Michigan.




Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Pink Pony

At the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan, we encounter a huge variety of visitors. Some are quirky, some eccentric, some a little off-center, but most, if not all, have been pleasant in their own way. The vast majority of our guests arrive with a reservation.
My wife went out around midnight on Sunday to give our son a ride home from a friend's house. She distinctly remembers hearing giggles coming from nearby as they returned to find a cement pony sitting in our front yard. It's about 3 feet tall painted gold on one side, hot pink on the other, and weighs hundreds of pounds. I had seen this critter around town this Summer but didn't pay much attention to it. I seem to remember it being at Village Manager Adam Smith's house for a little while. It was odd, but I didn't have time to ask Adam about it--then it was gone. I also remember it being at Jonesville Hardware at some point, but I did not recognize it as being the same horse. I didn't mention it to Rick or Mary Ellen--and it disappeared again. Most recently, I saw it outside Barrett Insurance with a little sign around its neck that read "pony rides 5 cents". It never came up in conversation, so I didn't get a chance to ask what it was doing there.
My immediate reaction upon finding it at my place was to call Clint Barrett to notify him that I had found his horse. He claimed ignorance, said something about being home all night, and denied being the owner. So I called Mary Ellen Nielson from the hardware store. She, too claimed no knowledge of its appearance at my house and denied taking it over to Clint's. Apparently, this pony gets around by other means. Several village residents have had the equine on their property at some point this year and no one has stepped forward to claim ownership. I have not heard any mention of it on our local radio station WCSR's "Pet Rescue" program, so no one is looking for him.
The Hillsdale Daily News did some research on the traveling equine and found that it's been moving from place to place for over a year now. Some folks have stepped forward and admitted to being part of the joke, but a lot of folks have not.
Right now he's in my front yard at the Munro House in Jonesville. For how long? Who knows? He may get up and go at any time and end up in someone else's yard. He is very heavy and will take a few strong people to move him and a sturdy truck to transport him to his new home. Aside from his odd coloring, he is kind of cute and quite the conversation piece. If he belongs to you, come and get him at your leisure. If not, he may end up in your yard next.



Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"