Murder Mystery Dinner at Munro House

November is our Michigan Murder Mystery Month and another successful Murder Mystery night occurred over the weekend. 11 guests, mostly from the Detroit area, took the 100 mile drive to the Munro House in Jonesville to spend an evening of adult activity in this small Southern Michigan town. Fun, frivolity, and a feast were provided to like-minded people for an in-house getaway weekend.

Our guests were age 24 and up. The younger crowd was a little leery of what to expect. They had never been to a bed and breakfast before and had never taken part in a murder mystery. Upon meeting the older crowd, they all melded and spent the evening enjoying each others' company while laughing, eating, and trying to figure out who-done-it.

It quickly became evident that our games are not too serious. We bring people together and put them in a setting where they can have fun with other adults without the pressure of actually having to figure out the crime.  We started out with an appetizer of shrimp cocktail accompanied by a nice variety of Michigan wines. This night's selection were from St. Julian's and Leelanau Cellars. The beauty of hosting a murder mystery at a bed and breakfast is that everyone can have as good a time as they want to have and no one has to worry about driving home--because everyone is spending the night.

Our award winning harvest soup was followed by our house salad--the secret ingredient is caramelized blanched almonds.  A beef tenderloin was accompanied by roasted potatoes, and our peppers and beans vegetable mix. The interactive game was played while dinner was served and consumed.

Lori's butter cream frosting coated the devil's food cake. Dessert was served while the guests discussed clues that accused just about everyone at the table for having done the deed. In the end, it was not about figuring it out, it was about acting silly, wearing funny hats, and spending time with new friends.

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper

"Life is good in Jonesville"

Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Fourth Graders Tour Historic Home

The 4th Grade Class at Williams Elementary School in Jonesville enjoyed a Fall Tour of the Munro House, a historic Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan. Mike Venturini, the innkeeper, enjoys telling the stories that link the Munro House to the Sauk Trail, the Underground Railroad, and the history of Jonesville.

These fourth graders learned about life in the mid 1800's, Jonesville's strategic location, and the original owner, Brigadier General George Clinton Munro. The 45 minute talk included the story of the privy digger and the stuff he found, plus a walk through the remains of the 200 foot tunnel, and photos of the "secret room" that was used to hide hundreds of runaway slaves over a 15 year period preceding the American Civil War.

The kids came in individual classes of about 30 students with their teachers and chaperons. These tours can be arranged for groups of that size on any available day or for larger groups over the course of days, weeks, or months.  Jonesville schools traditionally discuss the Underground Railroad in the fourth grade and find that this is an excellent local field trip that ties National history to a local home.

The students will probably agree that the best part of the tour is the chance to walk through one of the biggest houses in the area and the oldest house in Hillsdale County.  The short walk from the school (about 5 blocks away) makes it a convenient excursion for elementary school children and a tradition for 4th graders in Jonesville. 

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

Waiting in Line for Black Ops Video Game

Black Ops is the new entry into the Call of Duty video game franchise. It was released on Tuesday at midnight and became the fastest selling video game of all time with 5.6 million copies sold in the first 24 hours.

Our local Wal-Mart was not preselling the game. Gamers had to wait in line to get their copy at midnight. It was first come first served. At 10 p.m. there were over 50 people in line. By midnight there were well over 100.

Video game enthusiasts were sitting on the floor, exchanging stories, and waiting for their turn to be the first in their circle to buy this much anticipated release. Several people bought chairs from the camping department to make the wait a little more comfortable. One gamer bought a case of Pepsi and was sharing it with other people in line.

The employees at this store were not tolerating people who butted in line. An announcement was made that line cutters would be called out and escorted from the building, so all behaved and waited patiently.  Underage gamers were waiting with their parents and some teens were denied purchase because of the "M" for Mature rating which required customers to be 17 or older.

A friend called from nearby Jackson, Michigan, and estimated there were over 1,000 people in line there. Sometimes it's good to live in a rural area where the crowds are smaller and the lines are shorter. I got my copy and had it inserted in my X-Box 360 game console by 12:30 a.m. on the first day of release.  Life is good in Jonesville.




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

B&Bs for Vets Free Bed and Breakfast Program

The Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, MI, participated in a national bed and breakfast program honoring veterans and active duty military personnel called B&Bs for Vets. The idea was to offer a free night bed and breakfast on the day before Veterans Day to allow vets to be in town for morning programs at local memorial services. About 1,000 B&Bs across American gave 1 or more of their rooms to veterans at no charge on this day.  We have accommodations for 14, but can only seat 12 at the big table, so we gave 6 of our 7 rooms to vets (and blocked the remaining room off for a regular businessman) so all of our vets could sit together at one table during breakfast.

Our first guests arrived at 3:00 check in time and my last guest arrived at midnight--she kept me informed of their progress in the fog--and I greeted them with a smiling face. The majority of our vets found out about this event through a military website, military.com. One found out through a state newspaper article and another through USA Today. Two of our guests were active duty, two were retired military, and two served their required term and moved to the private sector. Only one couple had previously emjoyed a B&B experience.


Weekday breakfast time is negotiable and they individually told me they wanted breakfast at 9:00--Woo-hooo! I had 6 guests down at 8:00 and 10 by 8:30--SURPRISE!!! Good thing I had coffee going, so they all mingled while I finished my prep work. When it comes to making breakfast, I am "the man". We offered our signature item--Lori's Secret Recipe Belgian Waffles" plus any kind of eggs along with fruit, juice, toast, and bacon. Those vets can eat! I plated 20 entrees to 12 people in about 30 minutes. We had lively conversation over breakfast and made sure everyone could attend the veterans day program that was taking place just a mile away.

Veterans from the Cold War, Vietnam, and Desert Storm representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force spent the a day with us in our great old house. All were very appreciative at the generosity of this program. One guest remarked that he did the math on the lost revenue incurred when giving free bed and breakfast to 6 couples this morning. He said that as a small business, the Munro House "went beyond the call of duty" and honored the innkeepers, Mike & Lori Venturini, for what they had done. A Vietnam vet was in tears saying "no one has ever been this good to me on Veterans Day". The wife of a current serviceman, heading for the Middle East on Tuesday, said "we really needed this".

Jonesville has a great Freedom Memorial. The local American Legion Post has organized programs for all military holidays. My town of 2,400 had over 300 people show up for the morning service. I was proud, and my guests were moved when all vets were asked to step forward and join the color guard. The program lasted under a half hour and everyone went their separate ways after "taps" was played. Veterans were honored, support was shown, and new friendships were made. Everyone had a great time at no cost and all felt honored on their day in this small town in Michigan.


We will probably participate in this program honoring vets again next year. We will begin to release free rooms sometime in August. We will not take a waiting list, but will announce our participation on a random date through our facebook fan page and give away rooms on a first come-first served basis. Anyone interested in coming to Jonesville and staying with us free and attend the 11/11/11 service will need to become a fan of the Munro House by clicking the "like" button on our facebook fan page. You will get regular postings of events and things of interest in Jonesville including additional military discounts for Flag Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day. Our fans will be the first alerted to the availability of a free room for Vetereans Day.

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

Indian Summer in Michigan

The leaves have turned and most have fallen. There have been several hard frosts. Now the weather has changed and warmed up into the 70's for daytime highs. We have been experiencing an Indian Summer for this entire week. It has been, and may continue to be, a wonderful time to go out and enjoy bright sunshiny days in Southern Michigan.

Farmers are harvesting their fields, plowing under the remains of this year's crop, spreading fertilizer, and preparing for the next growing season in Michigan. Lakes and parks are quiet as the kids are in school on weekdays. It is a great time to getaway to Southern Michigan where it is easy to relax and enjoy a slower pace and enjoy the Earth-tone Fall colors.

The fallen leaves have left bare trees. Most of the amber fields of corn have been picked, while some fields are still full of stalks. Much of the farmland is flat, while some is rolling or rests on a vast incline. The contrasting colors in the gold to brown spectrum are evident between the forests, tree lines, and fields with occasional patches of green along with bright red or white barns and big blue silos.

The parks are absent of activity, but the beauty of the wandering paths, bridges, and streams, are easy to enjoy. Peaceful days spent in the comfort of the cool crisp weather is a stark contrast to the crowds, heat, and humidity of Summer. Fall in Southern Michigan is my favorite time to getaway to take in the beauty of nature.

There are many things to do in Southern Michigan. They are just not as obvious as things are that are near Lake Michigan or the Mackinac Bridge. Small towns and rural areas have cleverly hidden attractions that appeal to locals and visitors alike.  There are over 100 lakes in Hillsdale County alone. Many of these lakes also have parks, picnic areas, and hiking paths.  The Baw Beese and the Falling Waters are "Rails to Trails" paved, off-road hiking, biking, and skating paths located within 20 minutes of the Munro House in Jonesville. Both of these are a part of the longest hiking trail in North America, the North Country Trail.

A weekday bike ride or a weekend trek across several counties is my idea of a perfect day. The number of days to comfortably enjoy the outdoors this year is limited. A Southern Michigan getaway when the temperatures remain above 50 degrees with bright sunshine is my favorite time to get out of the house in October and November.

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

New Years Eve Ideas in Michigan

New Years Day becomes a getaway night when it falls on a weekend.  In 2010, New Years Eve falls on a Friday, so New Years Day is a Saturday, making it a great weekend for 2 nights of winter festivities. 

At the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, we are celebrating with our 12th annual Murder Mystery Dinner on New Years Eve and the original Chef Night Cooking Party on New Years Day. 

We have hosted hundreds of Murder Mysteries since the 90's. We have thrown away the boxed games and have found a variety of scripted games for various sized groups. After taking the games for a test run, we only play the ones that are fun. There must be interesting characters, amusing dialogue, and solvable puzzles to be a murder mystery worthy of playing at our house. Our murder mystery dinner party lasts about 3 hours. 

Chef Night is a cooking party that we have developed that incorporates interesting recipes, a mixture of flavors, a bit of instruction, and serious interaction between amateur chefs.  Several two person teams prepare portions of an atypical meal of diverse flavors using recipes from around the world which are consumed by all participants in a fun and cooperative atmosphere. There is about 6 hours of preparation and consumption in this interactive cooking party.

This two night New Years Eve package is a great way to say "goodbye" to 2010 and "hello" to 2011.

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Halloween Costume Ideas - Trick or Treat

Once again, Halloween has brought hundreds of trick or treaters to our house in Jonesville, Michigan.  The Munro House B&B is a business just a block off of downtown and we never turn our lights off, so we need to prepare and participate heavily in this holiday. Due to this year being a Sunday night event with pleasant weather, 50 degrees and mild, we were expecting an increase in kids and bought candy for 700. We settled on dressing for deer camp and sat on the porch in our union suits, boots, jackets, and hats--a simple, colorful, warm, and appropriate costume in Michigan.

The most common costumes at our house were witches for girls and ninjas for boys. Coming in a close second were princesses, pirates, and vampires.  We saw more jesters than ever before and had a good variety of pumpkin related garb.  Little boys dressed as Iron Man and Buzz Lightyear. We saw lots of animals--dogs, cats, mice, dragons, lions, tigers, bears, and our first owl and giraffe. The owl was simple and cool.

A majority of visitors donned masks. Most of my favorites were home-made with painted faces, but I enjoyed them all.  Simple is good, but the spirit of the costume wearer is best.  Scary is unnecessary. Hippie chicks are cool. Something fun is best.

A family theme brought all of the characters from the Wizard of Oz--Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and Witches from the North and West. The scarecrow was one of my favorites--simple, identifiable, age appropriate, cute, and well-done.

Costume of the night was the old couple pictured here. I have no idea if they were kids or adults or real old people. They moseyed up the walk, arm-in-arm, and never broke character. They got their share of goodies, made me laugh, and sauntered back down the walk.

There were plenty of adults neaby to supervise and protect the kids. Some just waited on the main sidewalk, but many accompanied the youngsters to our door. Everyone in costume got candy. We do not age discriminate trick or treaters. I appreciate the adults who got into the sprit of the holiday and dressesd up with their children.

New Village events at businesses, the fire department, and the park kept a lot of kids downtown and we finished the night with an estimated 600 trick or treaters.  I took 96 pictures that may be viewed on my Facebook page.

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper

"Life is good in Jonesville"

Munro House Bed and Breakfast