The Omena Historical Society (OHS), the Omena Village Preservation Association (OVPA), and the Omena Women’s Club (OWC) have each recently elected their offi- cers for the coming year.

New OHS officers are Doni Lystra, president; Helen Putnam, vice president; John Ray, treasurer; and Alice Littlefield, secretary.

OVPA officers for the coming year are Paula McMenamy, president; Marcia Biskupski, vice president; Drew Ehrhard, treasurer; and Charlotte Read, secretary.

OWC officers are Judy Smart, president; Marcia Biskupski, vice president; Mary Tonneberger, treasurer; Kathy Turner, corresonding secretary; and Kanda McKee and Cate Varley, recording secretary;

Another Omena philanthropic group, Club 21, will be resuming meetings in the fall. Club 21 officers are Marie Nelson, president; Margie Meachum, vice president; Bea Kimmerly, treasurer; and Marsha Buehler, secretary.

Congratulations to everyone, and many thanks for the time that you give to these organizations. Omena is very fortunate to have these groups.

Heidi and Bill Biederman are enjoying a visit this week from their son Bill and his wife Amber and their two daughters, Kate and Abby.

Brian and Jackie Gelakoski are up from Tampa visiting Bob and Karen. They were married last November and this is Jackie’s second time in Omena. Their trip was planned a long time ago, but it worked out well to be away from threat of a hurricane back in Tampa.

Jason and Amber Davis are here for two weeks from Bellevue, Ky. His parents, Jim and Gayle Davis from Cold Springs, Ky., are here for the first week with them.

Keith Disselkoen, aided and abetted by his daughter Kait from LA, gave Georgie a huge surprise for her BIG birthday (ends with a “0”) this past weekend. They had planned a party at Sunset Lodge, and friends and family came from around the country. The guests gathered at the bottom of Tatch Road.

Georgie thought she was headed for a wine tasting at Leelanau Cellars, when Keith pointed to the crowd. Without her contact lenses in, it took her a while to realize that she knew them. She spotted her childhood friend from Atlanta, Deb Jansen, and then her whole family from Grand Rapids, including her mother and sister and her family. Out of town friends included a high school friend and his wife from Orlando, college friends from Traverse City and Grand Rapids, and four couples from Kalamazoo. Then, from behind the crowd, her son Tom and his wife Tanya from San Diego appeared to complete the surprise. The event at Sunset Lodge was wonderful, followed by a sunset cruise on the Miller’s and DeVries’ pontoon boats, and a bonfire and some swimming on the beach afterwards.

Fred Putnam is recovering well after hip surgery last week in Detroit.

The weather was hot, but beautiful, last weekend. I had a chance to drive around the county a little bit on Saturday, and was amazed — and slightly depressed — to see the color starting to appear on a few of the maples. That has actually been happening for about a week, but was becoming more noticeable. It seems like it’s earlier than normal, but it’s possible that I feel that way every year. So, I decided to research whether this year’s drought conditions were influencing it. It turns out not. Deciduous trees are sensitive to length of sunlight each day. When nights get longer, the cells near the juncture of the leaf and the stem divide rapidly, but they do not expand. This creates an “abscission layer” that slowly begins to block transport of materials to the leaf. Because the starting time of the whole process is dependent on night length, fall colors appear at about the same time each year in a given location, whether temperatures are cooler or warmer than normal.

During the growing season, chlorophyll is replaced constantly in the leaves. Chlorophyll breaks down with exposure to light in the same way that colored paper fades in sunlight. The leaves must constantly manufacture new chlorophyll. In autumn, when the connection to the leaf begins to be blocked off, the production of chlorophyll slows and then stops. In a relatively short time period, the chlorophyll disappears completely.

This is when autumn colors are revealed. Chlorophyll masks the yellow pigments known as xanthophylls and the orange pigments called carotenoids, and both become visible when the green chlorophyll is gone. These colors are present in the leaf throughout the growing season. Red and purple pigments come from anthocyanins. In the fall anthocyanins are manufactured from the sugars that are trapped in the leaf.

As autumn progresses, the cells in the abscission layer become drier. The connections between cells become weakened, and the leaves break off with time. Like chlorophyll, the other pigments eventually break down in light or when they are frozen. The only pigments that remain are tannins, which are brown. Freezing conditions destroy the machinery responsible for manufacturing anthocyanins, so early frost means an early end to colorful foliage. Drought stress during the growing season can sometimes trigger the early formation of the abscission layer, and leaves may drop before they have a chance to develop fall coloration. So, while the drought didn’t cause the leaves to begin turning, it may cause a short color season. We’ll have to see.

The Zonta Club of Leelanau has announced that the Alice Busby Miles for Mammograms will not be held this year. The Alice Busby Fund supports mammograms and other preventative health needs for uninsured and underinsured women and their families. There is a need for donations, and Zonta plans to hold it again next year. To help carry on the work this year, a donation can be sent to the Munson Regional Foundation, Alice Busby Fund at 210 Beaumont Place, Traverse City, 49684.

Happy Birthday to Nora Read, who turns six this year. Happy Birthday also to Larry Reynolds, Sally Viskochil, Mary Woessner, and Bob Joyce – all of whom are a bit older than six, but still young at heart.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.