March 2026 – Birch Lake Yacht Club

*Misty Morning*
Photo credit to Holly Troeger

Beware the Ides of March. But Why?

The Ides of March refers to March 15 in the ancient Roman calendar. Though it was once a normal—and even festive—date in Rome, it became synonymous with betrayal after Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BCE.

You’ve probably heard the soothsayer’s warning to Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare‘s play of the same name: “Beware the Ides of March.” Not only did Shakespeare’s words stick, they also branded the phrase—and the date, March 15—with a dark and gloomy connotation.

It’s likely that many people who use the phrase today don’t know its true origin. Click here to learn more–>

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. When you get to the JoinIt page, make sure to click the blue “JOIN” button under the membership type you’re interested in. Don’t click log in at the top right of the page, because you won’t be in the system if you haven’t joined yet).

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

Jackie and I paid a short visit to Birch Lake, and enjoyed the beautiful winter weather. Unfortunately, we had to miss Winter Fest at the Sheffieck’s, but we heard that everyone had a great time.

Spring will officially arrive this month, and preparations for summer BLYC events are already underway at Birch Lake. Ticket sales are off to a strong start for the Spring Dinner, set for May 16 at the beautiful Hotel Elkhart. If you haven’t done so already, grab your tickets online here.

Blair Garceau says she, Holly Troeger and Sue Williams have preparations for Trivia Night in good shape for June 6. Fleet Captain Bob announces that the Don Harman Kidz Regatta will move to the earlier date of June 27 this year, so kids can get sailing sooner, courtesy of co-chairs Tom and Megan Caplis. Deb Spratt and Peggy Geik are co-chairing a great Spaghetti Dinner for June 13. Makes me hungry just thinking about it. Dan Waxman plans two big reveals for this year’s Boat Parade—what could they be? John Ball has reserved the Men’s Golf Outing at Meadow Valley Golf Club for a noon start on July 31, with awards and dinner to follow. Andy and Lori Snider and their host of volunteers are gearing up for the Corn and Sausage Roast. And more is happening!

Fireworks Event Chair Bernie Garceau has secured the coveted date of Saturday, July 4 for a great fireworks show to celebrate the 250^th Birthday of our beloved U.S.A. The cost has increased significantly, from about $16K last year to about $26K this year, so it will be a challenge. But Birch Lakers know how to overcome a challenge. The best way to make this happen is to make your donations early to get the momentum going. If we are to have the show we had last year or better, donations this year will need to start strong and stay strong. The donation link is open for your contributions, so why not use it right now to make your statement that you want to have a great fireworks show on Birch Lake this Fourth of July! Also, Tim and Chris Cole will chair a Poker Run this year if enough interest is shown; and the proceeds will benefit Fireworks. Please fill out the survey, and vote “Yes” for the Poker Run to benefit Fireworks.

Amber Grundy attended the executive committee’s February Zoom meeting to discuss figures and the continuing improvements to the Member Portal on the website. The donation page now requires separate payments for each donation item, but for a good reason – it saves the 3.5% credit card fee. In addition, there is now automatic rollover to renew your BLYC membership next December 31; that can save you time. You can now add your photograph to your profile on the electronic directory, and several people have done that. Just use whatever digital device contains the photo you want, and it’s easy, even for me. You can also now give your express written consent to publish your name as a donor to the BLYC, and people are starting to use this feature. Amounts remain private. For your convenience and easy reference, the BLYC By-Laws, Statement of Policies, and Board Minutes are planned to be added to the password-protected Member Portal on the website.

Good news! A group of Birch Lake men has stepped up and volunteered their labor to repair the deck at the clubhouse. The material to be used will be treated wood. The cost of materials will be $2,000 to $3,000, depending upon how much wood needs to be replaced. This represents thousands of dollars in savings compared to contractors’ estimates. Work will commence with removal of rotted boards in April. And there is talk of volunteers to spruce up the interior of the clubhouse as well.

250 years ago this month in American history:

March 2, 1776: After conducting their Siege of Boston for almost a year, American troops begin shelling the British in Boston.

March 3, 1776: American commodore Esek Hopkins occupies Nassau, Bahamas.

March 4, 1776: The Americans capture Dorchester Heights, dominating the port of Boston. Massachusetts, and soon place cannons there.

March 9, 1776: Adam Smith publishes the influential economics book “The Wealth of Nations”. March 17, 1776: The British forces under General William Howe are forced to evacuate Boston, and retreat by sea to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Continental Congress soon awarded General George Washington the first Congressional Gold Medal for this major victory.

~Commodore Steve Frew

Fleet Captain’s Corner

Two Ways to Enjoy a Frozen Lake

The cold temperatures over the last month and a half have brought a winter wonderland for the people who enjoy ice-based activities. In total, the ice got to around 8+ inches thick but has waned in the past few weeks. The ice fishermen have really put in a lot of work over the past month. We have seen ice huts all over the lake, particularly a little ice fishing village that formed out in front of the landing. The open free fishing weekend, Feb 15–16, brought out a drove of fishermen numbering into the teens. Heard from a laker that someone might have even spent a night or two in their ice shanty, how crazy. My dad, VC Ron, got out fishing “in his house out on the lake” quite a few times earlier this month. He caught a good number of fish, including a few good Perch, Bluegill, and even a Rainbow Trout.

We also got the DN Ice Sailboat out a few times and hope to get it out once again a time or two if the ice and weather permit. For the uninitiated, a DN is a stripped-down, single-sail racing iceboat — a plank, a runner, and a mast. It weighs less than a hundred pounds and, on good ice, it will outrun anything with a motor. Unfortunately, this year there has been a lot of snow on the ice, and when it melted, it left a slushy layer on top of the ice. This made it difficult to get the sailboat up to speed. Ice sailors call this sticky ice. Did get her going fast a few times up and down the north shore, which was a blast. The wet conditions threw snow and slush up in my face, glad I had ski goggles on. Was a blast.

Kidz Regatta

On another note, the date for the Kidz Regatta has been set for June 27^th at the Caplis’s home on the north shore, so mark it on your calendar. We thought moving this event earlier in the year would give the kids an earlier opportunity to meet one another and make friends.

~ F.C. Bob Niezgodski

HOA Update

Recently data centers have been in the news. Local municipalities have been looking into what effects they would generate in their communities. There is no Federal law that can stop the building of these centers, however, each county/township can pass bylaws to regulate and put limits on all industry including data centers.

Cass County is gathering information to have “accurate, practical information about their options” (Jeremiah Jones, chair of the Board of Commissioners). To that end, the Cass County Board of Commissioners and the Cass County Planning Commission will host an informational session on Thursday, March 26, at 5:00 p.m. in the Cass County Commissioners’ Chambers. The public is welcome and questions may be submitted by those in attendance. If you are planning on attending you will need to RSVP at http://forms.office.com/g/eSQnNMyDmf This session will also be live-streamed.

The session will focus on understanding policy and planning considerations related to data centers. The event does NOT involve any proposed data center projects, nor any plans to pursue data center developments in the county. This is not a public hearing and it is not a forum for advocacy or public comments. The session is primarily for elected officials, planners, zoning administrators to educate themselves on the pros and cons regarding data centers so they can make informed decisions for the county.

Birch Lake Home Owners Association

Resources:

https://www.casscountymi.org/m/newsflash/home/detail/655

https://thesuntimesnews.com/what-michigans-new-data-center-bills-would-and-wouldnt-d

https://www.aaas.org/programs/epi-center/datacenters

https://stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/sites/stpp/files/2025-07/stpp-data-centers-2025.pdf

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!

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 23-25 – 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 – Kidz Regatta
June 27 – Bingo Night
July 3 – Port-a-Pit Fundraiser
July 4 – Boat Parade
July 4 – Fireworks
July 4-6 – 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
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.

Public Service Announcements

Update Your Email Preferences

You can choose which emails you want to receive from the Birch Barker! Please click here to update your email preferences.

BLYC Directory

Corrections and updates to the new directory? Send any updates to birchbarker1@gmail.com and we’ll publish them here for folks to update their directories.

More Free Trees

It’s time for another round of tree planting this spring as part of our Free Trees program. We have two things to share at this time –

You are invited to register for a webinar:
When: Mar 18, 2026 1:00pm
Topic: Planting Trees for Clean Water – Spring Webinar

Already know what trees you want? Go ahead and order now.

Kids of the Month

Click on the images to enlarge

Dave and Donna Hogoboom escaped the snow and paid a visit to Ray and Jill Scholes on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. South side neighbors reunited and looking forward to summer!