Brrr! Has winter arrived on Potato Lake?
We hope you'll join us at our holiday social event coming up in December at Necce's. It's always a good time when we gather with our lake neighbors!
Don't miss the information in this newsletter regarding the Restore the Shore program! It's an excellent chance to acquire a variety of plants specifically chosen to flourish in our climate and soil conditions, ensuring your shoreline protection with confidence.
Happy holidays!
Laurie Conzemius
PLA President
Our remaining social event this calendar year is:
Saturday, Dec 9: Dinner at Necce's Ristorante, 311 Main Ave S, Park Rapids, MN at 6:00pm
Watch for the email with specific details and RSVP if you plan to attend.
Plans are underway for our 2024 social gatherings. Please contact Julie if you have any suggestions for new locations or activities! Email Julie
“Restore the Shore” Plant Packages Available
Potato Lake property owners can now order trees, shrubs, berries and/or native grass mixes to help protect or restore shoreline areas in 2024.
Part of the “Restore the Shore” program through the Hubbard County Coalition of Lake Associations, Hubbard County Soil and Water Conservation District recently made the order forms available, with delivery scheduled for early May 2024. Available products are carefully chosen by HCSWCD staff to best suit the climate and soil types in this area.
Order forms accompany this article. The deadline to order is Jan. 10, 2024. To place an order, you will need to print the order form, fill out the quantities, tally the amount, and write a check to the Potato Lake Association. Mail the check to PLA at PO Box 625, Park Rapids, MN 56470. You can also email potatolakemn@gmail.com for more information. Our association COLA representative Craig Bihrle will contact you when orders arrive next May to arrange for delivery or pick up.
This program is ongoing, so if you haven’t given much thought to shoreland restoration, or aren’t really sure what might work best for your property, the HC COLA has a number of trained “shoreland advisors” who can offer advice and insight to owners who want to try something new. Typically, they schedule an onsite visit to see how the land is currently used, and what areas might have potential for a project. The advisor later provides a written report with further suggestions, which might help you put together a plan to order plants this time next year.
Any Hubbard County shoreline owner can request a free, no obligation consultation visit by emailing HCCOLAmn@gmail.com. You can even set one up in the coming weeks as long as there is no snow on the ground. And here is a link to an article in the Park Rapids Enterprise with more information.
The Potato Lake Book Club began meeting May of 2022 and has been meeting regularly the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00am. Potato Lake residents who enjoy reading are always invited to join!
The club has enjoyed reading the following books:
August, 2022: Verity by Colleen Hoover
July, 2022: Vacationland by Sarah Stonich
June, 2022: Rosemary: the Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson
September, 2022: A Pledge of Silence by Flora J Solomon
October, 2022: Educated by Tara Westover
November, 2022: The Huntress by Kate Quinn
December, 2022: The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
February, 2023: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
March, 2023: The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
April, 2023: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
May, 2023: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
June, 2023: Abercrombie Trail by Candace Simar
July, 2023: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
August 2023: The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
Sept, 2023: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Oct, 2023: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth
Nov, 2023: The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis
Our December selection is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.
Next PLA Board Meeting: Saturday, December 9
Our PLA Board meeting is scheduled for 9:00am on Saturday, December 9th, at Birch Retreat. Board members, please let Laurie know if you can't attend in person and would like an online meeting link.
Our agenda includes updates to our AIS Watercraft funding and payment, newsletter assignments for our 2024 Potato Laker, ongoing project planning/discussion, and a date for our February meeting. All Potato Lake Association members are welcome if interested in attending.
Membership in the Potato Lake Association
Thank you for your continued membership in the Potato Lake Association! Please note that our 2024 Membership Forms will be sent out in January. Membership follows the calendar year. Lake residents who have not been members of the Potato Lake Association in the past are invited to enjoy their first year of membership at no charge.
Did you get a chance to make a 2023 AIS donation? It's not too late!
The AIS Watercraft Inspections program is a huge benefit of our lake resident, as well as those who had the foresight to set up our NWMF AIS account. If you have not yet made a donation, please consider it! You can make your tax deductible donation online directly at https://www.nwmf.org/give-now, selecting Potato Lake AIS Project Fund.
Last summer at our annual meeting, Margaret Kurth was recognized and thanked for her service to the Potato Lake Association and to Potato Lake residents with our annual Walter Ringer Family Paddle Award. Margaret kindly shares her love of the lake through historical articles, giving us information about the resorts and the people of Potato Lake. You can read them all on our website under the Potato Lake History tab. Thank you Margaret, and congratulations!
Potato Lake Association
Email: potatolakemn@gmail.com
Website: www.potatolake.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Potatolakeassociation/
Watch for our new monthly eBlast in your email.