American Red Cross Blood Drive in Hillsdale

The American Red Cross is always in need of blood donations.  I have become a regular donor at their blood drives at various locations throughout Hillsdale County. The Senior Center plus several local churches take turns hosting the events.

Recently, the blood drive was held at St. Anthony's Catholic Church and was sponsored by a local service group--the Exchange Club of Hillsdale County--of which I am a member.  The process is quite simple. Information is reviewed, a questionnaire is taken, blood is given, food/beverages are served, lives are saved.

I am a fast donor. I gave a pint of blood in just over 8 minutes.  Then spent some social time with the helpers who served pizza, cookies, and juice.  Domino's donated the pizza, Munro House B&B baked some of the cookies, Glei's Orchard supplied the apple juice, the Exchange Club and other donors provided the conversation.  The whole process took under an hour.  I helped out a worthy cause and spent some time talking to some interesting new people and some old acquaintances.


Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

B&Bs For Vets

A Veterans Day article appeared in numerous Booth Newspapers throughout Michigan with our inn leading off the story.  It featured Michigan Bed and Breakfasts participating in a nationwide campaign that offers free rooms to veterans on the day before Veterans Day.  That day was chosen so vets can be in town to join in early morning Veterans Day memorial services in cities, towns, and villages in Michigan and across the country.

The national B&Bs for Vets program began with one inn in West Virginia in 2008, expanded to 8 more inns in 2009, and spread across North America with over 1,000 participating bed and breakfasts in almost every state.

We are sold out for 2010, but are encouraging vets who would like to stay with us in the future to follow us on Facebook. Just follow the link and click the "like" button. We offer Military Discounts throughout the year that we will keep you apprised of.  At some point in August or September, we will announce the rooms we will make available to vets at no charge for the 2011 Veterans Day.  Our Facebook friends will hear about it first.


Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Lake to Lake Bed and Breakfast Conference

I attended the Michigan Lake to Lake Bed and Breakfast Association annual conference in Chelsea. It was a three day event at the Comfort Inn and Conference Center of Chelsea.  Day one was a workshop that helped innkeepers get up to speed on social media.  A half day of information exclusively about blogging, facebook, and twitter techniques left a few heads spinning, reassured many that they were on the right track, and lead everyone down the road to improvement.

A business meeting regarding the status of the Michigan Bed and Breakfast Association provided results of the previous year's effort and a plan for the future.  A new state association website had been the main focus of the board's attention for most of the past 12 months. Upon completion, the site that was developed is the kind of website that most B&B associations can only dream about.  Our committee selected the best of what we had seen across the U.S. and developed additional functions that has put our directory at the state of the art.

Several seminars regarding marketing, inspiration, and more marketing was the main focus of the gathering.  A representative of the Pure Michigan state tourism advertising group reviewed their past successes and laid out the future plans, pending state budget approval, that will keep Michigan a major Midwest tourist destination..
A very interesting and enlightening seminar on bed bugs was most informative. We were happy to discover that the bed and breakfast industry was one of the groups least affected by the growing concern over bed bugs as reported in the media. The changeover of bed sheets multiple times per week by innkeepers was enumerated as a top reason for B&Bs to not be experiencing the problems that are growing in apartment buildings and other facilities where people sleep. Innkeepers are aware that clutter is a major hiding spot for the creatures who mostly come out at night to feed on human blood. A neat and well-kept bedroom with special attention given to the cleanliness of mattress covers and pillow cases help to identify and treat a concern long before it becomes a problem.  Our inspected inns are aware of the public's apprehension towards this matter and have taken steps to keep our rooms fresh, clean, and orderly.


Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

77th Annual Lewis Emery Treasure Hunt 2010 Results

I was the 87th entry in the 77th annual Lewis Emery Treasure Hunt of Hillsdale County Michigan.  The scavenger hunt and puzzle solving event is held every year on the Saturday before Halloween. The most beautiful day of Fall in Southern Michigan set the mood for an excellent night of camaraderie, confusion, and competition.

10 puzzles led us around Hillsdale County in search of the next clue that would ultimately get us to the final destination. Most teams were composed of 4 or more people.  I started out alone, but had a team of three by the end of the night. Previous commitments and personal engagements just couldn't be changed just to go out and criss-cross the county for an entire evening.

I had gathered and packed many of the items that had been helpful in the past along with some additional tools that would surely be useful this year. Flashlights and maps are the basic obvious necessities--GPS is great, but sometimes a map is preferred.  Scissors, tape, pencils, erasers, phone books, can openers, the Bible, and today's newspaper have been helpful in the past. A smart phone and a cellphone plan with excellent coverage in rural Hillsdale County are must-have items for modern gamesmanship.

A combination of puzzles that included Scrabble, crossword puzzles, word search, map reading, trivial knowledge, plus cutting and pasting were some of the elements of this year's treasure hunt.  The completed puzzle leads to the next destination where a new clue is cleverly hidden in a public place.

The makers of the puzzles are notorious for mapping the routes down dirt roads that many county residents have never chosen to drive before.   The clues may be hidden in the brush, behind trees, or right out in the open.  They are usually contained in a large black garbage bag. Flashlights, a keen eye, and a nose for treasure are a good combination for treasure seekers.

The final destination gave everyone their prize. A token. Mine was a plastic skeleton hand. The folks who came in first place in the 77th annual Lewis Emery Treasure Hunt also got a cash prize, plus they get to host next year's event.  They will create the clues, find places to hide them, and then have to wait for everyone to finish the scavenger hunt.

A 6:00 start had the winning team complete the journey in less than 5 hours. Multiple vehicles and cell phone relay of clues must have been utilized to finish the 200 mile trip in that time frame. Our one-vehicle team drove exactly 199.8 miles, arrived at 1:51 a.m. and only finished in the top 50.

The Bible, the can opener, and the magnifying glass were not used this year, but they may be important next year. The smart phone was invaluable. Especially in converting hands, chains, rods, and furlongs to miles.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Peak Season for Fall Colors in Michigan

It is a sure sign of Fall colors peak season in Michigan when the Black Walnut trees lose all of their leaves.  There are several black walnut trees in my yard at the Munro House B&B in Jonesville Michigan.  I picked the last big bunch of walnuts last week and waited for the remainder to fall.  There were heavy winds overnight with a bit of rain which led to bare trees this morning. As the pictures show, there are bare walnut trees out front, maple trees in the foreground have just begun to turn color, and brightly colors of yellow, orange, and red leaves in the background.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love a bright sunshiny day, brisk air, and a long slow ride on my motorcycle.  Lori and I have taken many fall color tours in Southern Michigan during the past month with no destination in mind. Our goal was to just get out and enjoy the day. Country roads flanked by harvested fields and the myriad of colors of the tree lines and forests made for a very pleasureable ride.  We always ended up at a small town bar or restaurant to seek out another awesome cheeseburger.  The vast majority of burgers we have found, in the most unlikely of places, ranked from very good to awesome on our taste chart.

With peak fall color season in Michigan upon us, the viewing days are now limited.  The wonderful scenery will only decline with the temperature.  We are still expecting at least 2 more weeks of enjoyable Fall colors in Southern Michigan.  With Jonesville having not yet experienced a frost, the colors could extend into mid-November. Any day is still a good day to getaway for a Fall colors package.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Free Rooms for Vets for Veterans Day

Bed and Breakfasts across North America are participating in a program that offers a free bed and breakfast for veterans on the night before Veterans Day. The night before Veterans Day was chosen to allow vets to be in town in time to attend morning services. Veterans Day memorial services are traditionally held at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.  The local American Legion hosts a well-attended service at the Jonesville Freedom Memorial for all military holidays. 

Here at the Munro House in Jonesville, we have offered 6 of our 7 rooms to vets and are now SOLD OUT on November 10.  Our scheduled guests are from several branches of the military who have served in Vietnam, the Cold War, Desert Freedom, and current active duty.  It is our way of thanking veterans and current active duty military personnel for their service to our freedom.  It will be my pleasure to serve those who have served our country. 

The program was started by a West Virginia innkeeper in 2008, expanded to several of her state inns in 2009, and is fast approaching 1,000 inns in 2010. Participating B&Bs that may have availability can be found online at the B&Bs for Vets website. The list is growing every day, so check back often. There are over 40 Bed and Breakfasts in Michigan participating in this program.



Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Sugarbush Farms in Allen Michigan

Sugarbush Farms in Allen Michigan is a combination farmers market, specialty shop, and ice cream stand. They are the source for the maple syrup supply at our Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast. The property is fronted by a small forest of maple trees which supplies much of the sap for their home-made maple syrup.

Fresh flowers and produce are always available at Sugarbush.  Mums, pumpkins, and acorn squash are currently in abundant supply. U-Pick strawberries are still growing in their berry towers which have not yet been affected by frost. It is hopeful that fresh picked strawberries will be available until early November, as they were in 2009.

Soft serve ice cream plus hard pack Mackinac Flavors ice cream are also available at the walk up window. A good size gazebo with several tables and plenty of seating is a great place to sit back and enjoy a mid day refreshment.

Sugarbush Farms is located about 2 miles west of Allen on US-12 in South Central Michigan. It is about 10 minutes from the Munro House bed and breakfast. We highly recommend this as a final stop after a day of shopping in Allen, the antique capital of Michigan.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Bruce Caswell for State Senate

 
Bruce Caswell is running for the 16th district State of Michigan Senate seat which represents Hillsdale County plus St Joseph, Lenawee, and Branch County. He is our former Michigan House of Representatives Delegate who is no longer eligible for that position due to term limits.

I have met Bruce on several occasions and have always been impressed with his genuine concern for me and my business.  At a social function several years ago, he asked me what he could do for me.  I told him that I wanted one of those blue highway signs that points travelers towards gas, food, and lodging.  My lodging facility in Jonesville is one block off of Highway 12 and is often unknown to passersby.  Research found that those signs were controlled by the Michigan Department of Transportation and could only be erected at highway interchanges and in unincorporated areas.  I had a desire for one in my Village and asked him to help. 

Months went by and I pretty much forgot about our brief conversation.  Then I got a call saying that the law was changed and that I could apply for a sign and could pay to have one erected if it fell under the guidelines of the local planning commission.  I was thrilled.  I lobbied with my local officials to allow the signage and mustered a favorable change in the local sign ordinance and got my sign.

I have not actively endorsed anyone's position as an elected official until this year. Bruce Caswell did me a huge service that was born out of a brief encounter at a social function.  He has proven to me that he is an advocate of small business who listens to his constituents and is a genuine good guy that I want to represent me in our state government.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Saucy Dog's Restaurant in Jonesville

Saucy Dog's is a Barbeque Restaurant in downtown Jonesville just 2 blocks from the Munro House--the original Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast. Virtually all of our guests go here for a meal on our recommendation. A casual meal of ribs or sandwiches in a homey atmosphere is Saucy Dog's claim to fame.

We go here at least once a week for a consistently very good meal.  The Friday night fish fry is my favorite selection. Three huge pieces of battered deep fried cod is more than enough to fill even the heartiest appetite. The wait staff is friendly and attentive.

After sampling the entire menu, my "go to" sandwich of choice is the beef brisket Reuben.  Cheese and sauerkraut along with thousand island dressing with a pile of beef on a tasty roll is more than a mouthful.  It never fails to satisfy and is consistently loaded with tender brisket and home made chips on the side.

Three big screen TVs and Shadow's Bar in the main dining room create a comfortable atmosphere for watching sports. A private dining room opens for overflow seating and an outdoor pavilion is a great option during nice weather. I love Saucy Dog's Barbeque.

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper

"Life is good in Jonesville"

Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Annual Hillsdale College Rummage Sale

Folks line up hours ahead of time to get into the gymnasium at Hillsdale College and get first choice of goodies at the annual rummage sale.  The Women Commissioners have held this Fall event for decades as a fund raiser for scholarships and as a fun event for locals.

Students and residents donate their unwanted items and deliver them to the gym during the days before the sale. The Womens Commissioners get volunteers to accept, sort, and display items from clothing to Christmas, to electronics, to books, and anything else of value.

The sale goes on for 2 days.  Most of the really good things are gone early on the first day. By noon everything is marked half price.  They have a bag sale on the second day to move out as much as they can. Anything that is left over gets donated to a charitable organization.

A bevy of volunteers are there to assist in any way they can.  The rummage sale is extremely well organized and is one of those things that folks around here really look forward to every year. 

Judging by the amount of traffic that was seen coming and going from the gym, they must have had a very successful event.  Folks were leaving with bags of stuff and some needed assistance in transporting larger items. 

My friend, Aimee England, takes lots of pictures of events around the county and was kind enough to let me use these. I am not able to get to many events because of work commitments at my house, so I rely on others to help me out whenever possible.  Oh, the benefits of living in a small town...


Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Fall Colors in Southern Michigan

Michigan fall colors are turning and the weather has been absolutely perfect for about a week straight.  Bright sunshine and warm temperatures are combining for the best time to enjoy Fall Colors in Southern Michigan. The leaves are fast approaching peak color, the fields are being harvested, and right now is a great time to be riding the country roads of Southern Michigan..

I have been enjoying Southern Michigan motorcycle tours on my GoldWing almost every day to take advantage of the beauty of Hillsdale, Branch, Lenawae, Eaton, and Jackson County.  Pumpkin patches are full, farm machinery are harvesting crops, and the Amish are doing it the old fashioned way--with big draft horses.

The roads I like to ride include highway 12 through the Irish Hills. Its big curves and hills at highway speeds are fun to ride on a motorcycle. Litchfield Road on either side of Litchfield has views that change from forests to grain fields and back again.  Fremont Road from Quincy to the Indiana State line has it all--farms, forests, fields, and the flowage of many lakes.  These features combine for an outstanding scenic ride.

In an era of mega farms, there are still many smaller operations throughout Southern Michigan. Some of them are family farms, many of them are Amish farms. It is easy to spot an Amish farm. Clue #1 is a 2 story white farm house with no window shutters. Clue #2 is the absence of power lines, as the Amish in Southern Michigan reject the use of telephones and electricity. Clue #3 is the absence of tractors and other farm machinery and the presence of large draft horses.

We are expecting peak colors in Michigan to last through October and possible into early November.  In the recent past, Fall colors have been enjoyable as late as mid November.  However, the Fall color season typically ends about the first weekend in November. Now is the time to enjoy a Southern Michigan Fall Getaway.



Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Market House Customer Appreciation Sale

The Hillsdale Market House is a locally owned grocery store with 2 locations in the area.  Every year about this time, they create a one day customer appreciation sale.  Their vendors participate by offering the lowest prices of the year on well-known brands and staples.  The Market House operates on a very thin markup for this one day sale and moves truckloads of groceries at rock bottom prices.  They have been doing this for about 30 years now.   

   

The sale generates so much community enthusiasm and support that the Market House needs to seek out service organizations and clubs to help out for one day. It is just not effiicient or practical to hire people to work for just one day, so service clubs volunteer their time and the Market House pays the club a lump sum for doing a lot of customer service work.  

This year, the Exchange Club of Hillsdale stepped up to help out. They provided shifts of workers to bag groceries and sell hot dogs. Dozens of Exchangites manned the checkout lines to assist in bagging the huge quantities of goceries that were being purchased in bulk. Cases of canned goods and beverages filled many shopping carts along with lots of meat, cereal, bakery, and deli products.

 

Folks who have experienced this before know that there are only so many shopping carts to go around, even though the Market House brings in extras for this event.  This means that the best way to get a cart is to help out someone who is emptying their groceries into their vehicle.  This is the one day of the year when there are no buggies in the cart corral or left unattended anywhere in the parking lot.

On the way out is a lunch stand. Hot dogs and Pepsi products are sold by donation. All of the proceeds go to the service organization with the food and beverage being donated. The stand is manned by 2-3 people with one doing the cooking and the others doing the selling.

 

This is an annual community event that gets people together to share a fun-filled shopping experience.  It is due to events like this that makes me say "Life is good in Jonesville... and Hillsdale".

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper

"Life is good in Jonesville"

Munro House Bed and Breakfast