The day was sunny and the tide was right, but the wind blew frigid when 2:30 p.m. arrived on Wednesday, March 13, and 27 students and adults ran into the ocean from Hendrick’s Head Beach for the 18th annual Leprechaun Leap. Organized by Sue Witt and her husband, Tom, along with many youngsters from Toby LeConte’s class, all money raised for this audacious dare will be used to purchase sports equipment for the local Special Olympians, some of whom have gone on to compete at the national level. We saw lots of energy for a good cause, including in the person of Roberta Blaney, a Southporter, who went into the water almost up to her neck. Look for pictures and further description of this event elsewhere in this paper.

Our Town Hall was comfortably full, about 50 people, on Saturday night, March 16, for the annual “Ice Breaker” sponsored by the Southport Island Association (SIA). Joel and Rachel Reck were up from Boston for the event. Molly and Wells Moore joined in the fun with good food donated by those who came and a full variety of drinks amassed by the SIA for purchase. Not only were we able to catch up with those we had not seen during the winter, but also to see the list of activities that have kept the SIA leadership busy since our last meeting.

Carole Zalucky sends thanks to all who attended, and all who helped with the event: John Lunt for publicity, Laura Blake for coordinating the event, Aric for the music, Alice and Andy Mutch, Tom Blake, and Tim Hanley as bartenders, Kathy Bugbee as money person, Fleet Davies for set up and clean up as well as Gardiner Rapelye and Paul Zalucky, and Medea Harris for her leadership, greeting all who arrived with the request to don a name tag, and for providing the lovely hint of spring, fresh tulips on the table. We encourage all Southporters to join this worthy organization.

The snow, sleet, and rain had retreated from the prior weekend so travel to the “Ice Breaker” was easy, but gusty wind caused a power outage during the party, taking some of us by surprise when we arrived home and found the house dark and that the garage door opener would not work. The lights had momentarily gone off in the Town Hall, but most of us thought the outage was just a blink. When we left the party, we could hear the hum of generators, including the one that was keeping the lights on at the Town Hall, so we had a hint of what was ahead.

Since we have now invested in a generator and its replacement, we were very discouraged that at our home no such hum awaited us. But the night was clear with a half moon, our flashlights were easily available, and the fire was set to light in the fireplace. We also lit a couple of candles and waited about an hour for the power to return. I understand most of the island was also without power.

From Nancy Prisk comes an update on purchasing the Gardner property: “‘Land for Southport’s Future’ (LFSF) reports that since the announcement of the matching grant, 160 new donations have been received from individual donors and local businesses! Two thirds of these are first time donors! And community support increases daily. The Southport Select Board (seller) and Land for Southport’s Future (buyer) want to see us reach our full match and close on this property just as soon as possible.

“LFSF has over 340 donor households in total. Let’s make that number grow to 400. Are you on board yet to help preserve the historical and cultural heritage of Southport Island? Working together we can have Ruth's House happen this spring. You may contribute by mailing a donation to Land for Southport's Future, P.O. Box 298, Southport, ME 04576, by pressing the “Donate Now” button on the website: https://landforsouthportsfuture.org, or donate directly to the LFSF account at First Federal Savings Bank, Boothbay Harbor. Contact LFSF with any questions: 207-217-7743 or landforsouthportsfuture@gmail.com Thank you!”

Remember the Southport Island School Talent Show Thursday evening, March 21, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Southport Town Hall. T’is always fun to see our island children on stage showing us what they can do.

While the date is a bit in the future, you may want to mark your calendars for the next SIA event, which will be the Island Clean-up on May 5 from noon until 2 p.m. As usual, Gerry Gamage will be grilling hot dogs at the Town Hall where you go to choose an area to pick up. After downing the dogs, chips, and cookies, you can get your bags and set out to the area you have chosen. Many thanks to Janet and Oliver at the Island Store who supply the food.