Herman Cain visits Hillsdale College

Republican Presidential candidate, Herman Cain, came to Hillsdale College to speak to a crowd of over 1,000 people. The focus of his speech was about foreign policy, terrorism, and cyber security. He talked mostly about defense security and what he would do in a leadership role. He briefly touched on his 9-9-9 plan. Cain is a very polished and charismatic speaker whose talent rivals that of President Obama.

Cain arrived promptly at 6:30 as scheduled, talked for about 45 minutes, then left without taking questions. With all of the recent allegations of his misbehavior in the workplace, he did not even meet with reporters as he reassesses his campaign strategy and plans his damage control.

Herman Cain is one of the biggest public figures who has addressed citizens of our small community. Previous commencement speakers at Hillsdale College include Mitt Romney, Paul Harvey, and Dr. Laura. I applaud Hillsdale College for bringing these national figures to Hillsdale. It was an interesting evening that was well attended by a polite and partisan audience.

I was surprised at the number of people in attendance as the first major snowfall of the year has just begun. There was about 2 inches of snow on the ground when I arrived with the prediction of up to 8 inches by morning. He finished his talk by striving for "peace through strength and clarity."


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

Hillsdale College Campus in the Fall

Hillsdale College has a beautiful campus with extraordinary buildings, statues, and landscaping. The ever-changing Fall colors make it even more impressive in mid-October. From the iconic Clock Tower to the new Ronald Reagan statue, the campus at Hillsdale College is a great place to enjoy being outdoors. Student activity between classes plus an influx of guests for football weekends in addition to Homecoming and the Fall Parents Weekend creates a busy environment 7 days a week at Hillsdale.

When visiting Hillsdale College, there is limited lodging options in the area. Visitors, parents, and alumni of Hillsdale College enjoy comfortable lodging at the Munro House B&B located just 7 1/2 minutes from campus in downtown Jonesville.

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

Hillsdale College Homecoming

The Hillsdale College Chargers played their Homecoming football game today at Muddy Waters Stadium in Hillsdale, MI. Thousands of fans were on hand on a most beautiful Fall day to watch the favored Chargers battle Ohio Dominican in a Division 2 matchup.

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Hillsdale College Alumni gathered to watch the Hillsdale Chargers score 42 points and lose by 1. A late score with less than 2 minutes to play put the Chargers behind for the first time in the game. Several costly errors led to the Chargers demise despite a very explosive offense and a stingy defense.

Muddy Waters Stadium at Hillsdale College is a wonderful place to play and watch football. The ProGrass artificial turf looks real and is always in great shape. The backdrop of Fall colors added to the beauty of viewing a football game on a most wonderful day.

Mike Venturini

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

Moving in to Hillsdale College

Incoming Freshman at Hillsdale College get a lot of support from their parents when they first move into their dorms. For most families, this is the first time the child has moved out of the family home on a semi-permanent basis. The parents load up the truck, van, or U-haul and head to a small city in Southern Michigan to leave their children at a world famous institution of higher learning. They unpack the vehicle, meet other parents and some faculty. Then they turn around, go home, and hope for the best.

But it's not just about the parents, the student has a lot of adjusting to do, too. They need to get comfortable with their new home, explore the campus, and find friends. Hillsdale College is famous for welcoming new students. They make it their objective to make Hillsdale feel like their new home.

Upper classmen, along with students who have moved in early, help the new students get settled with all of their stuff from home. They try very hard to invoke a sense of family, so the newcomers will fit in quickly and not have time to get homesick. Hillsdale College tries very hard to make this transition as easy as possible.

Many parents of students at Hillsdale College stay at the Munro House B&B in Jonesville for special trips, activities, sports, and events. It's just 7 1/2 minutes from campus and claims to be "the most comfortable lodging in Hillsdale County."

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

Wild Bill Lundberg Wins Riverfest Triathlon

My old pal Bill Lundbergh and his 70 year old partner proved that they still have what it takes to compete with the young people around Hillsdale County. Jonesville Riverfest kicked off with its annual 2 person triathlon--first person runs, second person bikes, both people canoe--on a course around Jonesville and down the St. Joseph River.

Dozens of athletes competed and the senior team won by less than a minute. Their ability to keep their rented canoe from capsizing gave them the lead and they finished just ahead of the next closest team. It was said that his partner was the go-to guy who was responsible for the Riverfest win.  

Bill was on the track team at Kansas University in the mid 1970's and has been the track coach at Hillsdale College for some time. Bill is a longtime friend and patron of the Munro House.

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper

"Life is good in Jonesville"

Munro House Bed and Breakfast

An Underground Railroad of History

The Hillsdale College Newspaper "The Collegian" interviewed me and wrote a nice article about the Munro House and its connection to the Underground Railroad.





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

Hillsdale College CCA The Great American Songbook

Hillsdale College regularly provides a forum for discussion about various topics of interest during its quarterly Center for Constructive Alternatives (CCA) program. A recent CCA at Hillsdale College was titled "The Great American Songbook". This topic discussed how American songwriters composed what has come to be known as the Great American Songbook. Influenced by Jazz, and written mostly for Broadway shows and Hollywood musicals, these songs are identifiably American and say something about our character. Songs written by the likes of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, and others were made popular by some of our favorite American singers--Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Nat 'King' Cole, Tony Bennett, and Billie Holiday.

Recent Hillsdale College CCA events have featured diverse themes that include the Korean War, the Art of Rhetoric, and the Great Society, plus Big Hollywood, How to Think About Islam, Cars and Trucks/Markets and Governments. Authors, editors, politicians, economists, entertainers, and military personnel participate as guest speakers in these diverse 3 day events at Hillsdale College that are open to the public, but require reservations. 

Famous guests have included former president Ronald Reagan, Rev. Jesse Jackson, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, plus Clarence Thomas, P.J. O'Rourke, Ann Coulter, along with director Peter Bogdonavich and Actress Shirley Jones.

Lodging near Hillsdale College is limited for these special events, so many guests take the 7 1/2 minute drive to stay at the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville. Requests for more information about upcoming CCA events and invitations to these events can be coordinated by contacting CCA@hillsdale.edu.

 

View Hillsdale College to Munro House in Jonesville in a larger map



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

Motorcycles Welcome at this Michigan Bed and Breakfast

T.J. called and said he needed a room for the night. He and his daughter were visiting the area and needed a place to stay near Hillsdale College.  The school is just 7 1/2 minutes away, so I knew that our Jonesville, Michigan B&B was a close, comfortable, and convenient fit. When they pulled in on a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, I knew that they were going to be very interesting guests.

It turned out that this father-daughter team from Milwaukee had been on a road trip for over 2 weeks visiting schools as far south at Tennessee and as far north as Massachusetts. They were happy to finally stay at a homey place instead of the typical hotel or motel. I sent them to Saucy Dog's Barbeque for a good meal and ended up chatting with them on our patio until well into the evening.

His restaurant in Milwaukee has earned him a place in the Hot Dog Hall of Fame.  If I had a Hall of Fame, he'd be on the father-daughter page, the motorcycle rider page, the small businessman page... Yeah, we get some really cool gusts here, and I get to hang out with most of them. That's what makes 'innkeeper' the best job ever.


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

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"

Lodging for Hillsdale College Graduation in Michigan

There are a limited number of hotel/motel rooms in all of Hillsdale County Michigan. At last count, there were fewer than 150 rooms in the entire county. With fewer than 10 annual events that draw large numbers of people for an overnight stay, there is little need to increase that lodging capacity. This forces many people to go 30 miles or more from here to have a place to stay on special event weekends.

Each year, Hillsdale College has held their commencement on Mothers Day weekend in May. There are typically around 300 graduating students. That produces lodging needs for many parents, siblings, and grandparents. We can accommodate 7 parents, and my fellow hoteliers can accommodate about 140 more. That means that more than half of the families that have a graduating student will need to be in and out in a day, or seek lodging that may not be very convenient.

We’ve been running the Munro House B&B in Jonesville since 1999. We are just 7 1/2 minutes from campus. It became necessary to establish a method to handle the multitude of reservation requests we get for special event weekends. Families who stay with us for other Hillsdale College events like Parents Weekend, concerts, sporting events, and conferences get dibs on a room for the next annual event, plus they earn frequency points towards graduation weekend. When graduation comes around for their student, the parents who patronize us the most get first dibs on a room. Our regular guests appreciate their priority status when they do not have to scramble to find a place to stay on their final weekend at the school.

It has worked out quite well for us. Many of our parents have been with us for 4 years or more. It is nice to see familiar faces in the house. Occassionally, we have a small number of regular parents with graduating students in a particular year, and we have to open our house up to first timers. That’s O.K., too. We try to treat new guests and old friends the same.

Many lodging facilities in the area have similar frequent guest privileges. It is always best to plan ahead and find a place to stay when your student is a freshman. That way there will always be an opportunity to have a room when they are in the highest demand.

We are comfortable, close, and convenient to Hillsdale College and we enjoy our guests who also happen to be parents of students there.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"