Historical society selects 3 new board members

CATAWBA ISLAND — The Catawba Island Historical Society trustees have selected Nikolai Blumensaadt, Danielle Fodor and Ken Kalz to fill board positions vacated earlier this year. The additions bring the organization's board to a total of 14 members. Al Sprenger, Jr., vice president of the historical society board, played a key role in identifying and recruiting candidates for the three trustee positions that became available. He observed that the historical society "is extremely fortunate to have enlisted the talents of Nikolai, Danielle and Ken. While they bring different backgrounds, experience and expertise to our efforts, they are alike in two very important ways. Each of them loves the Lake Erie Islands, and each is committed to preserving the trappings of our past as teaching tools for future generations." Nikolai Blumensaadt A 2008 graduate of Put-in-Bay High School and a fourth-generation Lake Erie Islander, Blumensaadt's connection to this area runs deep. His family's history here began when his great-grandparents immigrated from Germany to work in the vineyards on South Bass Island. He has blended the family tradition of hard work with creativity as founder of The Ørchard on Catawba Island, a family-owned hospitality destination that celebrates the region's agricultural heritage through its vineyards, orchards, farmstand, and restaurants. Outside his professional life, Blumensaadt is an air pilot and enjoys spending time boating on Lake Erie with his wife, Kenzie, and their two children, Henrik, 8, and Annika, 6. As a family, they are passionate about preserving the unique character of Catawba Island so future generations can experience the same sense of belonging and connection that has enriched their own lives. Danielle Fodor Fodor's connection to Catawba and the historical society is also generational: • Her mother, Cherry Peirce, and father renovated and lived for many years in the iconic Nabagon house on the island's East Cliff Road. • Her daughter is the graphic artist who designed the historical society's logo, which depicts the facial profile of the legendary Ottawa Indian bearing the Nabagon name. • Fodor and her architect husband, Todd, were among early lifetime members of the historical society and have been among the community's most ardent supporters of efforts to sustain Catawba's heritage. Retired in 2021 after eight years as a legal assistant for a Sandusky law firm, Fodor had enjoyed earlier employment as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines, worked as a stained and mosaic glass artist and once briefly oversaw operation of the Put-in-Bay airport. She is an avid amateur horticulturist. Her daughter Lexi, 31, and sons Drew, 28, and Owen, 22, are busy pursuing their own successful careers. That frees up her time to lavish attention on the Fodor family's two rescue dogs and for Daneille to become an indispensable addition to the historical society's board of trustees. Ken Kalz Kalz was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin. He moved to Columbus in 1988 to become district manager of Power and Telephone Supply Co. Early friends from Ohio's capital city introduced him to enjoying holidays and long weekends in the Lake Erie Islands. He ultimately purchased a home in the Eagle Beach neighborhood of Catawba Island and retired there in 2017. Not long after moving to Catawba, Kalz met Don Rhodes, the island's legendary picker/historian. He learned about plans to open a history museum, one that would display many of the artifacts Rhodes then had stored in his weathered blue barn. The museum opened in 2018 at a former non-denominational house of worship called Union Chapel. Kalz was one of its first volunteer docents. After eight summer seasons of welcoming and introducing guests to the museum's timeline tale of Catawba, he now brings to the historical society's board of trustees a wealth of acquired knowledge about the island's past and evolution.