February 2026 – Birch Lake Yacht Club

*Frozen Lake*
Photo credit to Bob Niezgodski

Winterfest is Back!

Revel in the season with your lake neighbors at Winterfest on Saturday, February 21. The fun will start at 6:00pm at the Sheffieck’s on the West side. BYOB and something to share with the group. Parking available in front, at Dennis and Peggy Geik’s to the South and at Karen Brovold’s to the North. Hope to see you there!

2026 BLYC Memberships

We are excited to introduce a new membership platform this year for BLYC memberships! This platform – called JoinIt – allows us to take online membership payments, collect donations, and take payments for events like the Spring Dinner. JoinIt also gives us an online directory that is only accessible to current BLYC members.

You can sign up for your 2026 BLYC membership today! Click here to go to JoinIt to sign up. There is also a step-by-step tutorial found here. We highly recommend you check out the tutorial, which contains instructions on how to make donations or purchase Spring Dinner tickets without paying processing fees!

Commodore’s Comments

As I write this, it’s mighty cold at Birch Lake, and it’s almost Groundhog Day.

Unlike groundhogs, your BLYC officers are active as needed over the winter. We met in January, and one topic of discussion was a question that we received, about whether the names of donors to the BLYC are public or private. The answer is that donor names are private, unless a donor gives express consent to make their name public.

Many organizations that receive donations do publish a list of donor names, and many donors like to see their names on such lists. On the other hand, many donors prefer to remain anonymous. It does seem that making public the names of donors who have given express consent might help with the fundraising efforts of our various donation categories. Therefore, your officers and Amber Grundy (mostly Amber!) have done the work necessary to provide you with the opportunity to affirmatively check on the membership and donation form, in the event that you do want to give consent for your name to be made public, as I will do.

These changes do not provide for publiciziing your donation amounts or categories, but only consenting donors’ names. This action of the officers is made over the winter, so according to BLYC rules, it will be reviewed by the full Board at its meeting on May 16, for discussion of potential changes or ratification. The officers will continue to work on recommendations to be made to the full Board at that meeting. Early donations help your club and all of its many activities, so please consider using the member link to make your donations early. How about now? Thank you!

Whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not, we will meet again this month to continue preparation for our summer season. Our first social event of the year will be the Spring Dinner, to be held at the beautiful Hotel Elkhart on May 16, so check out the mouthwatering menu in this edition of the Birch Barker, and buy your tickets now, as they are expected to go fast!

As we all know, our beloved United States of America will be 250 years old on July 4, 2026. To help warm up for the big upcoming 250^th birthday party, let’s take a fresh look at some old news. By February of 1776, 250 years ago, the Revolutionary War had been underway for almost a year. It had started on April 19, 1775, when the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. On June 17, 1775 at Boston, a large group of Americans worked overnight and fortified Breed Hill, also known as Bunker Hill, which is the high ground overlooking Boston Harbor. The next morning, the British were amazed at the sudden appearance of American fortifications atop the strategic hill. They immediately attacked, sending British redcoats marching three times straight up the hill, into withering musket fire from the Americans. The third British charge finally drove the Americans off the hill, but the British had suffered heavy casualties, and gained new respect for their American foes.

The war soon spread north into Canada, and south into the Carolinas. By early 1776, the British were losing control of the Carolinas, so they sent 2,000 reinforcements on the way by sea from Boston towards Cape Fear, NC, which is not far from Wilmington. Meanwhile, 1,600 Scottish Highlander Loyalists under British command marched east from Fayetteville, NC towards Wilmington to meet the British reinforcements. But the Americans found out about the British plans. They quickly realized that the Highlanders coming from Fayetteville would be forced to cross Moore’s Creek Bridge, 25 miles northeast of Wilmington, in order to reach that city. The Americans dispatched 1,000 soldiers towards Moore’s Creek Bridge. The American militiamen arrived at the bridge well before the Highlanders, removed the planks from the bridge, greased the handrails, and waited.

On February 27, 1776, 250 years ago this month, the Scottish Highlanders arrived at the bridge, only to find the Americans already there. With a shout of “Broadswords and King George!” the Highlanders gallantly charged the bridge, but their broadswords were no match for the American muskets. It was history’s last broadsword charge by the fabled Scottish Highlanders, and the Americans had won the day. The battle was an important American victory. The 2,000 British reinforcements did not arrive until weeks after the battle, giving the Americans the upper hand in the Carolinas. The Declaration of Independence was signed less than five months later, on July 4, 1776.

Stay warm, and see you soon. I got to spend a little time at Birch Lake recently. We enjoyed seeing a few of you, as well as some winter weather, and we heard that the Christmas Crawl was great. We are sorry that we were unable to attend it, but glad that everyone had such a good time. Many thanks to Holly and Scott Troeger, Blair and Bernie Garceau, and Sandy and Bob Baucus for hosting.

We also heard about the car that went into the lake, and are curious to know more about that incident, as information becomes available.

We will be back at Birch Lake for a few days in early February, and are looking forward to attending Winterfest at the Sheffieck’s.

Meanwhile, with the holidays over and the days getting longer, it’s just a few short months before our BLYC summer activities get into full swing. Our first social event of 2026 will be the Spring Dinner, on Saturday, May 16. By popular demand, the event will return to the beautiful Hotel Elkhart, and tickets are now available! Just click on the link to see the details, including the sumptuous menu, and to order your tickets.

Looking forward to a great year!

Thank you!

~Commodore Steve Frew

Fleet Captain’s Corner

Not a lot to report on the active sailing front this time of year. It is the season to hunker in, make plans, and prep for the upcoming summer season.

Over the years, we have heard lakers comment that the Kidz Regatta was too late in the season, when some children are back in school. We moved the event slightly up last year and had great attendance. Got us thinking it would be a good idea to move this year’s event up towards the beginning of the summer. In doing so, we hope to give the kids an earlier opportunity to meet one another and have the summer to forge friendships. The Caplis Family (North Shore) has graciously offered to host again this year. We are still finalizing a date, but are thinking mid to late June. So if you have Kidz / GrandKidz / NeighborKidz who would like to meet other kidz at Birch Lake, keep this event in mind. We expect to have the date set by the next Online Barker.

In other news, the lake has finally frozen over. Unsure how thick the ice is, but have noticed a few ice fishermen starting to get out on the ice. Hope the cold spell lasts and I can get my Dad, VC Ron, out ice fishing soon. Who knows, maybe I will be able to get the DN Ice Boat out on the lake as well if the conditions allow. For those that don’t know much about Ice Boat Sailing Phil Vitale sent me this article that describes the sport well.

~ F.C. Bob Niezgodski

Events

2026 Spring Dinner

Hotel Elkhart Aria Ballroom
Saturday, May 16, 2026
5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Plated Dinner Menu:
Gala Apple Salad
Chicken Marsala
Creme Brulee Cheesecake

Price: $43 per person, Cash bar

Get your tickets now!

Potential Poker Run Event

We are trying to gauge interest in a Poker Run event to benefit the Fireworks Fund. Please fill out this survey to let us know what you think of this idea!

Winter Nights at Lawless Park

2026 BLYC Calendar

Click here to add the BLYC calendar of events to your Google Calendar. The calendar will be updated if events change.

May 16, 2026 – Spring Dinner at Hotel Elkhart, 5pm
May 23 – BLYC Board Meeting
May 23-24 – Memorial Day Regatta
May 30 – Commodore / Vice Commodore Party + Stock the Bar
June 6 – Trivia Night
June 13 – Spaghetti Dinner
June 20 – BLYC Board Meeting
June 27 – Bingo Night
TBA – Kidz Regatta
July 3 – Port-a-Pit Fundraiser
July 4 – Boat Parade
July 4 – Fireworks
July 4-5 – Fourth of July Regatta
July 5 – Pancake Breakfast
July 15 – Card / Game Night
July 18 – BLYC Board Meeting
July 18 – Big Outdoor Daytime Screen
July 24 – Ladies’ Golf Outing
July 25 – Poker Run
July 31 – Men’s Golf Outing
August 1 – Corn & Sausage Roast
August 15 – BLYC Board Meeting
August 15 – Homeowner’s Association Annual Meeting
August 19 – Card / Game Night
August 22 – Fall Dinner
August 26 – Women’s Style Show
August 29 – Pet / Pooch Parade
September 5-6 – Labor Day Regatta
September 12 – Sailing Awards
September 19 – BLYC Board Meeting
September 26 – Bad Patty Crockpot Challenge

Board meetings take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings at the Yacht Club, and are open to all lake residents.

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BLYC Directory

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