March 2010 - Ramara Chronicle

Transcription

Chronicle
The
RAMARA
MARCH 2010
Roads
through
Ramara
Roads
through Ramara
2-13
The Chronicle hits the road with
a package of stories and photos
about our highways and byways
The Harbour Inn
Restaurant and
Banquet Facility
14
Celebrating
literacy
Students at Brechin Public School
receive awards for achieving
reading goals
History under water
Fish weirs at Atherley
Narrows tell the story of
pre-European contact among
First Nations people
Wake-up call
18-20
Female bears and their new cubs
will soon emerge from their dens.
And they’ll be ravenous
Country cabin
A visit to a log home
Our cover
Lagoon city photographer
Gail Smith took this Feb.
13 photo on Concession
Road B, facing north, just
north of the Talbot River.
She used a Canon EOS
Digital Rebel XT, at 1/200th
of a second, f-stop 14.
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Casual, Fine Dining,
Wednesday through
Sunday, closed
Monday, Tuesday
WINTER SPECIAL
Starter, Entree and dessert
for only $20. Some blackout
periods may apply.
1 Poplar Crescent,
Lagoon City,
Brechin, ON.,
Call 705-484-5759
for reservations
Ramara road trip
The Ramara Chronicle, March 2010
In this issue, we have created a package of
articles and photographs based on the concept
of “roads through Ramara.”
The idea came from the simple observation
that a great many people seem to be passing
through here on their way to somewhere else.
We wondered what
they would find if they
were ever to stop and
stay for a while.
This isn’t just about
paved surfaces. Our
feature package takes
a broader view of
roads, and includes
stories on local waterways, railways and
trails.
Our correspondents
Darleen Cormier
have examined the
many versions of roads and early transportation routes – why they were here, where they
took us and what they will mean to our future.
We have also explored a road considered to be
the economic future of our township, the
Rama Road corridor. We even have a roadhouse style recipe in our food feature.
Ramara acknowledges its long affiliation
with railways on the welcome sign at the
southern end of the township, which bears the
image of a locomotive. Today, the low rumble
and lonely wails of passing freights are like a
sound track for the township.
Some of our correspondents went above and
beyond to help bring you this issue. Highlights
included Gail Smith sitting on railway tracks
to get the photo she wanted, and Anne Saso
submitting her column, Close to Home, while
vacationing in faraway Mexico.
Elsewhere in the magazine, graphic artist
Suzan Bertrand captures the essence of the
Atherley fish weirs in her illustrations for articles by Kory Snache and Elwood Jones.
Bertrand also illustrated her own gardening
column.
Keeping artists in mind, we have issued a
call for artists in Ramara Township to partici-
Contact us
(705) 484-1576
[email protected]
www.ramarachronicle.com
The Standard Bank Building
2291 Highway 12, P. O. Box 99
Brechin, ON. L0K 1B0
Chronicle file photo
The Ramara welcome sign on Highway 12
at the south end of the township.
This month, our
correspondents have
examined the many
versions of roads and early
transportation routes – why
they were here, where they
took us and what they will
mean to our future.
pate in the first Ramara Art Park & Studio
Tour, which we are planning for a weekend in
July. The event will be free to the participating
artists and to the public. The Chronicle plans
to organize and promote the tour, and arrange
exhibition space. We will keep you up to date
on developments in future issues.
We were pleased to hear from a significant
number of readers about the February issue,
our first. Thank you for your feedback. It is always welcome.
But now it’s on to March. So sit back, relax
and enjoy your read.
Darleen Cormier, publisher
This monthʼs contributors
Suzan Bertrand, Larry Booth, Adrienne Davies,
Rae Fleming, Tatiana Geisler, David A. Homer,
Nadir Jamal, Elwood Jones, Sandra Joyce,
Joelle Kovach, Kevin Lehman, Konstantine
Kiriopoulos, Stefanie Moy-Shuster, Bob Poyntz,
Pam Poyntz, Anne Saso, Gail Smith, Kory
Snache.
Managing editor: Rob McCormick
The Ramara Chronicle is printed
by Rose Printing in Orillia.
Website by Downtown Computers in Orillia.
Page 1
Back to our routes
Monck Road musket balls
ʻThe Townshipʼs futureʼ
Railways, Rathburn
Rama Road update
Scenes from the road
A swamp with potential
Trent-Severn Waterway
Cyclist, 76, covers ground
Three for the road
Townshipʼs draft budget
Backing up computer files
Fish weirs an historic gem
Ancient engineering
Legend preserved
Less time at the dentistʼs
Bear with us
Clues in the snow
Capsule Comments
Community Calendar
Gardening
Passages
Close to Home
Food feature
Pick one up
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Where you can find your complimentary
copy of The Ramara Chronicle:
Atherley
Allan Byersʼ Equipment, Highway 12
Bayshore
Postal kiosk
Beaverton
Fisherʼs Your Independent Grocer
Brechin
Ramara Township Offices
Brechin Foodland
Brechin Library
Lagoon City
The Harbour Inn
Lagoon City Community Association
General Store, Laguna Parkway
Rama
Rama Culture & Research Department
Rama Government Building
Rama Health Center
Rama Library
Ramara Centre
Township Library, Highway 12
Sebright area
Hawthorne Grill, Highway 169
Sebright General Store
Uptergrove
Leskaʼs Meat and Delicatessen,
Highway 12
Washago
Home Hardware
Benʼs Pharmacy
See The Ramara Chronicle online
www.ramarachronicle.com.
Back to our routes
Page2
The first recorded use of the
lakes and the Talbot River
as transportation routes
was in 1615 by Champlain
Rather than being a straight line moving progressively upward, history may in fact be more
like a circle. The more we travel, the more we return to the beginning. In other words, as they say
in French, Plus ça change, plus c’est la même
chose.
Such is the case, it would seem, when it comes
to the roads and trails of Ramara Township.
The first transportation routes were by water. At
the southern edge of the township lies the Talbot
River, a meandering, sluggish stream that divides
Ramara from its southerly neighbour, Brock
Township.
The first recorded use of the lakes and the Talbot River was in 1615 when Samuel de Champlain and Huron allies paddled down the lakes in
canoes, and, at the mouth of the Talbot near what
is now Gamebridge, they headed inland on the
Talbot for perhaps two or three kilometres to a
point where Ramara borders today on its easterly
neighbour, the City of Kawartha Lakes. According to Jim Angus, author of A Respectable Ditch,
a surveyor in 1819 noted that the Talbot River
was navigable for only about two miles from
Lake Simcoe, and that, at one point, it went underground for 1.5 miles. At other points, it was
clogged with fallen trees. One can only assume
that Champlain found similar conditions. Once he
ROADS THROUGH RAMARA
Gail Smith
By RAE FLEMING
and the Hurons left the river, they portaged to
what is now Balsam Lake.
Throughout the 19th century and early 20th,
steamboats, including Stephen Leacock’s fictional
Mariposa Belle, which sank so ingloriously and
rose in triumph, plied the two biggest lakes bordering on Ramara.
In the 1820s and 30s, the townships of Rama
and Mara were surveyed, mostly in the grid pattern typical of Southern Ontario, except when a
lake or a swamp forced the early surveyors to deviate from their straight lines. Local histories such
as “they came to mara…” recall the pioneers who
settled in what is now the southern half of Ramara. In 1873 the Monck Road, built to attract
settlers inland, as well as to provide a safe military route from Lake Couchiching to the Ottawa
Valley, was opened. At today’s Sebright, the
Monck Road leaves Ramara to head into the City
of Kawartha Lakes and on to Bancroft.
Throughout the 19th century, there was talk,
mostly at election time, of joining Lake Simcoe to
Balsam Lake by water. Finally, in November
1894, the Gamebridge end of the proposed Trent
Canal was surveyed. And in 1907, it was possible
to navigate the whole system. Just before the
straight line of the canal reaches Lake Simcoe, the
little Talbot river takes a turn southward, thus
handing over the mouth of the canal to Ramara.
Meanwhile, railways began to intersect Ramara,
the first being the Port Hope, Lindsay and Midland Railway (later the Midland, and still later,
part of the Grant Trunk Railway). The PHLM line
reached Beaverton and Thorah in 1869, and
headed north through Mara and Rama townships
The north-south dirt road
system that had served the
limited needs of the area
gave way to Highway 12, a
two-lane paved road that cut
through Mara and Rama in
the late 1920s...
toward Orillia. During the first decade of the 20th
century, the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway
(CnoOR) built a line through what is now Ramara, en route from Toronto to near Sudbury.
Gamebridge, Brechin, Udney and Washago were
stopping points for the trains.
As Ontario developed, so too did its reliance on
cars. The north-south dirt road system that had
served the limited needs of the area gave way to
Highway 12, a two-lane paved road that cut
through Mara and Rama in the late 1920s en route
from Whitby to Orillia, and, eventually, to Midland. The two arched bridges, in Gamebridge and
in Atherley, were upgraded and opened by 1930.
(Continued on next page)
Musket balls tell Monck Rd. tales
By ADRIENNE DAVIES
Community Correspondent
Century-old musket balls found when plowing a
field don’t necessarily mean that a battle took
place in the area, especially since the settlement of
Upper Canada was relatively uneventful. Politics
and war were far from the minds of early settlers –
they were much too busy claiming land and clear-
Excursions followed
Champlain’s route
(Continued from previous page)
More recently, in order to supply the growing
thirst for gravel, for roads and construction mainly
in the more populous areas in and around Toronto,
gravel pits have been developed, most notably in
Brechin, and new roads have been constructed to
move trucks out to Highway 12.
Of course canoeists have always used the lakes
and the canal, perhaps most famously in the mid1950s when the director, Ted Yard, and senior
campers from Camp Pine Crest near Bala canoed
some 300 miles from Bala to the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Their excursions followed the same route as the 1615 voyage of
Champlain, down Couchiching, through the Atherley Narrows to Lake Simcoe, and down to Gamebridge, where they picked up the Trent Canal. At
Trenton, they turned westward and canoed to
Toronto.
More recently too, as some railways have closed
down, railway rights-of-way have become available for walking, cycling and snowmobiling. And
out on the lakes each winter, ice fishermen make
their own car and snowmobile trails on ice and
snow.
We began with trails, on water and land, centuries ago, and, for recreational purposes at least,
we have returned to trails. Plus ça change.
Rae Fleming is an historian and biographer
who is eagerly awaiting the publication
of his biography of Peter Gzowski.
FEAR
NO
WEATHER
ing it for their families. Peaceful immigration was
the norm. However, there were many civilian uses
for a trained force of young, fit men, who kept up
their military skills with drilling and target practice when not engaged in more mundane duties.
Fields along the Monck Road have yielded much
in the way of evidence of these activities.
As a member of the Commonwealth, Canada
has always had a close association with England,
and that link has affected many of our decisions
and projects, as well as providing some of our
greatest historical figures.
One of these is Charles Stanley, fourth Viscount
Monck, who was appointed Governor of British
North America in 1861. A skilled diplomat, he
used his influence to diffuse the explosive potential of many crises which arose between the
United States and England after the American
Civil War. Tensions were high between Canadians
and Americans, especially after the discovery that
Confederate guerrilla forces were working out of
Montreal. The government of the United States
was seen as unstable and possibly dangerous.
In 1864, Governor General Viscount Monck became aware of a plot being hatched by a group of
Irish veterans of the American Civil War. These
Fenians were making plans to invade Canada and
use the young country to ransom Ireland from
England. Raids along the border were common
and their numbers were estimated to be 50,000
strong when they assembled in Buffalo – a fearsome force if they should invade. Canada needed a
protected supply route from the Great Lakes to the
new capital of Ottawa.
Deputy provincial surveyor John Allan Snow
was charged with laying the plans and supervising
the construction of a road linking Lake Couchiching to the Mississippi Road, which connected to
Ottawa. As a proposed military road, the new venture was begun by troops and engineers from
Canada’s young army. Provisions shipped across
Lake Couchiching were stored in camps constructed along the route as the road progressed,
with the troops spending their off hours in military
exercises.
The aggregate substructure provided some solid
ground, as long as it could be found between the
www.davenportsubaru.com 385 West St. S., Orillia 705-329-4277
Page 3
Gail Smith
A plaque at Monck and Rama roads explains
Monck Roadʼs historical significance.
swamps that lined the proposed route. Construction was tediously slow, taking two years to complete 10 miles. By the time the Monck Road met
Hastings Road at York River (now Bancroft) in
1873, the road’s military purpose was no longer
necessary, as the threat of invasion had deflated.
However, colonization roads were being built into
the interior of the province to encourage immigration from Europe and discourage emigration from
the province. By providing a road link between
Lake Simcoe and Ottawa, the Monck Road fulfilled this function.
Occasional military convoys passed through, but
the road served Ontario, and specifically the Haliburton Highlands, as a colonization route.
In later years, the Monck Road has provided direct passage through central Ontario for those
wanting a scenic, less-travelled route.
Adrienne Davies is the secretary
of the Ramara Historical Society.
She can be reached at [email protected].
A proud community supporter since 1995
Page 4
‘The future of
of the Township’
Signs promote sales and leasing opportunities along the Rama Road corridor between Atherley and Rama.
Rama Road corridor of hotels, restaurants,
retail centres expected to generate jobs, tax revenue
An ambitious plan to create a string of hotels,
retail centres and restaurants along Rama Road is
expected to start taking shape in about three years.
Development of the 6.6-kilometre stretch between Atherley and Casino Rama is seen by local
politicians and municipal staff as one of the most
important issues facing Ramara Township.
“That’s going to be our economic future along
that corridor,” said Richard Bates, the Township’s
chief administrative officer.
“That’s where our jobs and taxation are going to
come from.”
As well, several Township councillors running
for re-election in October have described the development as a top priority.
There could be as many as 2,800 new jobs created along the bustling new stretch, which will be
a source of “significant” tax revenue for the Township, Bates said.
The idea is to create a hub of attractions where
the travelling public can dine, shop, play and stay.
Bates says work could begin on the Rama Road
corridor in three years, or it could take as long as
five. It’s a long wait, he said, because preliminaries such as environmental assessments and water
servicing along the road have to be addressed
first.
Bates added that the two-lane road will have to
be widened to four lanes at some point in the next
20 years in order to handle the anticipated increase in traffic.
There’s no plan to build four lanes immediately,
he said, but he says the widening is inevitable.
“There’s no doubt in my mind. It’ll go to four
lanes,” he said.
There are about 1,700 hectares along the corridor, but only about a third of that land can be developed, Bates said.
The rest is considered unsuitable for development, partly due to the presence of wetlands.
Bates says seven developers have bought land
along the corridor and are eager to build, but it
won’t happen soon.
The water and sewer servicing alone, he said,
Rob McCormick
By JOELLE
KOVACH
will likely cost $100 million, a cost expected to be
shared by the Township, the province and the developers.
And before servicing the land, studies are
needed. Can a connection be made to Orillia’s
sewage plant, for instance, or will a new facility be
required?
Bates said this is the type of complicated question facing the developers. Environmental assessments are underway, but may take two years or
longer to complete.
One developer, Zoran Cocov, of Toronto, is the
managing partner of a 66-acre property adjacent to
Casino Rama.
Of all the lands along the corridor, Bates said,
this is the top property in terms of size and location.
In an interview, Cocov said plans for the property include three 200-room hotels and a 500,000square-foot outlet mall. He’ says he’d like to start
building soon.
“But unfortunately, the challenge is services for
sewer and water,” he said. “We’re in a holding
pattern.”
Planning dispute slows process
Page 5
Water and sewer servicing isn’t the only obstacle. The Township is also being made to wait before it can amend its official plan, the blueprint
that guides development.
Bates said Ramara Township’s official plan includes the development of the Rama Road corridor, of which both Simcoe County and the
province approve.
But the Township can’t finalize its plan, Bates
said, until the larger Simcoe County has its own
plan in place.
Simcoe County’s plan, Bates said, has been on
the drawing board for about three years because
of a disagreement between the county and the
province.
In 2006, the province produced a 25-year plan
to curb sprawl and protect farmland and green
spaces by restricting growth in the Greater
Golden Horseshoe, which includes Simcoe
County.
The County believes its official plan adheres to
those guidelines, but the province disagrees, Bates
said, and negotiations to avoid a potentially
lengthy Ontario Municipal Board hearing on the
issue are underway.
Bates said the parties plan to “sit down and
work out their differences,” and expects they will
have an agreement in 2010. “But it will depend on
whether or not each side is willing to give a little,” he noted.
Last month, Ramara Mayor Bill Duffy said he
thought there would be an agreement soon, and
speculated that the Simcoe County could have its
official plan in place by the end of February.
As of The Chronicle’s deadline, that was not the
case.
Meanwhile, an agreement has been reached that
could help move along the development of the
Rama Road corridor.
A deal ensuring that Casino Rama stays in business for the next 20 years was signed in February.
The agreement between the Chippewas of First
Nation, the owners of the casino, and the Ontario
Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the provincial
agency that manages and operates casinos in Ontario, takes effect in August 2011.
It also means the casino will be able to make
some capital improvements.
Casino Rama is seen as the catalyst for the cor-
Putting water and sewer servicing in along the
corridor between Atherley and Casino Rama is a
lengthy and expensive process that Ramara Township CAO Richard Bates says could cost $100 million.
In the last few years, Bates noted, a proposal to
build a water park on Rama Road has languished
simply because you can’t have a water park without water.
Environmental assessments, which have been
conducted since 2005 along the road in anticipation
of servicing are an estimated two years, at least,
from completion.
One issue, Bates said, is whether a connection to
Orillia’s sewage plant is possible, or whether a new
plan has to be built, with the treated effluent going
into Lake Couchiching.
Bates said that so far, the studies have ruled out
the use of septic systems, and determined Lake
Couchiching will have to be used as a source for
water.
He estimates the cost of environmental assessment at about $1 million, some of which is being
covered by the Township and some by the developers.
Bates said the Township paid for the first two
phases of assessment along the entire Rama Road
corridor. Those first two phases of the study, he
said, divided the area up into five potential servicing sectors.
The assessment also established that these five
sectors would each need more study, Bates said.
More specifically, it was determined that a phase
three, four and five would have to be conducted on
each sector.
Council, Bates said, has said that landowners
Rob McCormick
The hotel at Casino Rama. The casino is seen as the catalyst for the development of a corridor of
hotels, restaurants and retail centres along Rama Road.
“The casinoʼs not leaving. Itʼs
staying where it is. Probably it
will expand, and weʼd like to
expand our tax base right along
with it.”
Ramara Mayor Bill Duffy
ridor project, and its continued operation for the
next two decades is good news, Duffy said.
“The casino’s not leaving,” he said.
“It’s staying where it is. Probably it will expand, and we’d like to expand our tax base right
along with it.”
Both Duffy and Bates also point out that the
timing of the Rama Road project will ultimately
be governed by economic conditions.
Duffy said he and his council have done all they
can, for the moment, to promote the project.
They’re left to wait for Simcoe County and the
province, and he acknowledges that can be exasperating.
“Government is pretty slow,” he said.
Servicing cost estimated at about $100 million
Joelle Kovach is a Peterborough writer. She
can be reached at [email protected].
wanting to develop each of these sectors should
pay for those phases of study.
Bates said that has left developers to come up
with the money in a poor economy, making the
process even more time-consuming.
The completed environmental assessments,
Bates said, are expected to provide a more accurate
estimate for the cost of water and sewer servicing.
At that point, he said, the province has promised
it will look at the price tag and chip in a “significant amount...although they haven’t yet defined
what they mean by ‘significant.’”
Ramara Township mayor Bill Duffy said the developers and the Township will also help pay for
servicing.
The Township is happy to pay a share, he said.
“We don’t want a free ride.”
— Joelle Kovach
Heady days of local railways
Page 6
By ADRIENNE DAVIES
The long, lonely note of a train in the night can
be a romantic sound — a reminder of endless possibilities; imagination takes the listener by the
lakes, woods, prairies and mountains and on to
the ocean. However, the laying of track for the
opening of our country had a much more commercial intent.
The mid-1800s were heady days for private
railways, with opportunities for increased trade
and wealth.
The Baldwin Act of 1849 gave municipalities
the power to fund privately-owned railways by
providing bonuses to companies that built through
a particular township.
Ontario County councillors from Mara and
Rama were among those who voted in favour of a
bylaw for the construction of the Port Whitby and
Lake Huron Railway Company, intended to connect Lakes Ontario and Huron across The Narrows. However, the dream of local ownership of
the “great carrying trade” from the far west to the
Atlantic provinces was dashed by ratepayers’ vote
in 1857.
Meanwhile, rival communities to the east and
west took up the plan, with the Midland Railway
being extended and the Toronto and Nipissing
Railway built. Bridges were erected as needed
and rights-of-way obtained for the new enterprises, which incorporated numerous stations in
Mara and Rama as they passed through — stations which have vanished along with the tiny
communities served by these early routes:
Brechin Station, Schepeler, uptrends, Rathburn,
and Longford Mills.
It took 10 months to build the section of the
Northern Railway from Orillia to Washago, with
the official opening in Washago in 1873. A bridge
with stone foundation was built across The Narrows with a swing bridge for boat traffic. By 1880
Gail Smith
there was a second bridge, built by the Midland
Seaway Railway. A freight shed and station house
were built south of where the line crossed the
12th Concession. Before 1890, the Grand Trunk
railway took over both the Northern and Midland
Seaway Railways and took down the northern
bridge. Both railways ran over the southern bridge
and used the station, which became Atherley
Junction. Today a replica of the Atherley Junction
station house is used for the miniature steam train
at Couchiching Beach Park.
In 1906 a second railway line was constructed
by the Canadian Northern Railway Company
through Rathburn to Washago on the east side of
Lake St. John. In 1910, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian Northern railway together
built a bridge across The Narrows near where the
northern Railway bridge had been. The CPR ran
from Coldwater to Peterborough, and CN ran
from Port McNicoll through Udney. “Diamond”
buildings were erected where railways crossed at
Atherley and Brechin and passengers could embark for all destinations.
Just as commerce brought the railways, so lack
of commerce signalled their demise.
The lines going east and the northern bridge
over The Narrows were taken up in 1963 and the
rights-of-way sold to the farmers through whose
fields they ran. The bed of the line from The Narrows to Longford Mills has been partially preserved as a recreational trail. Washago remains an
important hub in the trans-Canada line and there
are still train/crossing complaints in Brechin, but
the legend of the railways is in the past — a past
which has been preserved in Ramara in amazing
collections of trains and memorabilia.
store west of the 15th/16th Sideroad, and the mail
delivered here was then routed to Sebright and
other rural routes in both Rama and Mara. Several
postmasters were dismissed for partisan political
activity and the Post Office itself was sometimes
located elsewhere. O’Connell school (S.S. #2,
Rama), just to the north was established in 1880
and the Post Office was occasionally at the same
site.
A Roman Catholic station for worship was located at the Smith farm and the Presbyterians had
a fortnightly service at O’Connell. Sawmills, a
lumber mill, and a shingle mill followed settlement and were all in operation by 1887. Rathburn
itself stretched along the new Monck Road and by
1898 had a population of about 50 with two general stores.
In 1907 Eldon Creamery was opened with a
gala celebration near the Monck Road Station of
the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway which
was completed in the same year. The creamery
took in milk from a 20-mile district and produced
products that were shipped to larger centres.
With its forward-thinking residents, Rathburn
was ready to make its mark. Communications became a necessity and the O’Connell-Rathburn
telephone company was established in 1920,
taken over by the conglomerate of Bell Telephone
in 1938.
There is not much left of the original Rathburn.
Relics of the mills can occasionally be found by
the creek bed, but the buildings are gone, as are
the general stores and the dance hall which closed
in the 1940s. The Post Office was permanently
closed in 1967. Eldon Creamery, set back from
the Monck Road, has been converted into a private home.
Beef farming has taken over the old family
farms. An elk farm and a horse farm draw people
to the area, and stone quarrying takes place along
Highway 169. The Hawthorne Grill continues to
operate as a highway restaurant.
And people still remember how Rathburn used
to be.
Rathburn was once a thriving community
By ADRIENNE DAVIES
In its time, Rathburn may have been the biggest
little village in Rama or Mara Townships, at least
in terms of the land it encompassed. The greater
Rathburn area stretched from Black River to
Udney and from Fairvalley Sideroad to east of
Highway 169, and included O’Connell. Officially
in Mara Township, most residents owned land in
Rama as well, and so switched their allegiance as
politically necessary.
As in much of the townships, Rathburn was settled in the mid-1800s by immigrants escaping the
famine in Ireland and by adventurous Scots and
Brits. Venturing up the O’Connell Sideroad they
picked through the swamps and hacked out settlements from the forests. They took up the professions of farming to feed their families and
lumbering to take advantage of the natural resources of the area.
In 1872 a Post Office was established with a
Adrienne Davies is the secretary of the Ramara
Historical Society. She can be reached
at [email protected].
Township employee spent
career on Ramara roads
By BOB and PAM POYNTZ
Community Correspondents
Long-time resident Robert (Bob) Prophet, who
retired in 1999 after 29 years with Ramara’s
works department, spent his working life on the
roads of the township.
Prophet, 75, recalls a
storm in the1940s that
brought the area to a standstill, with cars stuck on both
sides of the main street in
Brechin.
“The highway was
plugged,” he says. “I was
on the farm. I was just a
young lad then. I remember
walking to school, and
Bob Prophet
walking along and putting
your hand on the telephone line. It blew for about
a week.”
When Prophet joined the Township in late
1970, the works department had limited equipment. The snow-clearing fleet consisted of two
gravel trucks with V-blades on the front and one
road grader.
He vividly remembers a major snowstorm in
the late 1970s, working 18-hour shifts, plowing
snow with little sleep.
One part of the job he didn’t care for was collecting garbage in open trucks during his early
years with the Township.
“We used to gather the garbage up in an open
truck with big, high rack, and you’d have to get
up on the garbage and tramp it with your feet. I
did that for two or three years. You’d take it to the
dump and dump it, then come back and get
more.”
He didn’t like cutting brush much, either. He
and his fellow workers did that in the summer. In
those days they used axes, rather than the machines of today.
Then there was the time he got shot at while
fogging mosquitoes from a GMC half-ton truck.
“The Township owned a mosquito fogger, and I
had it in the back of the little truck,” Prophet says.
“There were two 45-gallon barrels of diesel fuel,
and you mixed the solution in the fuel. It had a
burner in it, and it would create a white fog.”
Prophet was spraying along Lakeshore Drive
near the 3rd Concession when someone shot at
him from an oncoming car.
“All of a sudden I heard ‘bang,’ three shots, and
one hit the barrel behind me. Just missed my
head. I guess they didn’t like the fog. I told the
police about it and they went down, but all they
found was the empty cartridges on the road.”
The most enjoyable part of Bob’s job was operating the road grader, he says.
Prophet retired on Nov. 4, 1999. He would have
preferred to continue working, but the option of
working past 65 came in just after he left the
Township. He still does work for the Township
under contract, clearing snow from the sidewalks
in Brechin.
The best thing about his job, he says, was his
co-workers.
“I liked the guys I worked with. They were a
good bunch of fellows.”
Prophet and Cily, his wife of 47 years, have two
daughters: Tammy, a school teacher, and
Michelle, who works for Severn Township.
Township hires works manager
Kathy Sipos, Ramara’s new manager of municipal works, joined the Township on Nov. 16. She
was hired after the unexpected death in May of
Bill Newman, her predecessor of 17 years (See
Passages, Page 31).
“I have been traveling through Ramara on my
way to a cottage in South River for years,” Sipos
said.
“I heard of the position through the Association
of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers and submitted
my application. I am happy to be here.”
Sipos, 47, comes to Ramara from the Township
of West Lincoln in the Niagara Region, where she
started as a clerk in 1988 and worked her way up,
becoming public works manager in 1998.
She has completed college programs in various
disciplines including a civil engineering technician program, a geographic information systems
program, a municipal law program and a business
computer application program. She has also completed two thirds of a masters certificate in municipal management.
Bob and Pam Poyntz are volunteers
and Lagoon City residents. They can be
reached at [email protected].
Sipos says she keeps current by taking courses
and reading association websites and magazines.
“I am a take-charge person, she says. “I am in
touch with technology and up-to-date modern
methods. Legislation is always a huge area of
concern. It is essential to keep in good touch with
advancements.”
“It’s a big change for works staff to have a female supervisor, but she is fitting in well,” said
Township CAO Rick Bates. “Kathy is providing
technology inroad into the department”.
“I love the landscape,” Sipos says. “It is a beautiful township. People have a different attitude
here, very laid back and friendly. Even the budget
process here is easier to work with.”
No stranger to rural life, Sipos grew up on a
dairy farm in West Lincoln.
Currently living in a temporary residence, Sipos
and her partner, Bill Ballegeer, are looking for a
house to buy. They expect to make the move here
with at least two of the six children they share.
— Kevin Lehman
Page 7
Notice of Public Meeting
Township of Ramara
Development Charges
Take Notice that on Monday March 1,
2010, the Council of the Township of Ramara will hold a public meeting pursuant
to The Development Charges Act, 1997,
regarding proposed development charge
rates and policies that will be applied in
all areas of the Township. It is proposed
that the enactment of Development
Charges By-law(s) by Council would
occur on March 22, 2010.
Development Charges are levied against
new development,
and are a primary
source of funding
for growth-related
capital expenditures. Township
capital services include library, recreation, parks, public
works, fire protection, general government, and
roads and related works. Development
Charges for the provision of other services will not be affected by the proposed
By-law(s).
Township Council is required under The
Development Charges Act, 1997, to hold
at least one public meeting to allow the
public the opportunity to review and provide comments on the 2010 Township of
Ramara Development Charges Study,
related staff reports and the proposed
By-law(s).
All interested parties are invited to attend
the public meeting on:
Monday March 1, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Council Chambers,
Township of Ramara
2297 Highway 12, Brechin, ON
Copies of the Development Charges
Background Study and the proposed Development Charges By-law(s) will be
available through the Township Administration Office and the Townshipʼs website
at www.ramara.ca on February 9, 2010.
Written submissions are invited and
should be directed to Janice McKinnon,
Municipal Clerk, no later than Tuesday
February 23, 2010. Written comments received prior to the meeting and submissions made at the public meeting will be
considered by Township Council prior to
the enactment of new Development
Charges By-law(s) for the Township of
Ramara.
Inquiries should be directed to Richard
Bates (705-484-5374 Ext. 228) or Margaret Black (705-484-5374 Ext. 227)
Those wishing to address Township
Council on the above-noted matters
must advise Janice McKinnon, Municipal
Clerk, in writing no later than Tuesday,
February 23, 2010 at the Township of
Ramara, P.O. Box 130, Brechin, ON L0K
1B0, by fax (705-484-0441) or e-mail
[email protected].
Rama Road work goes on
... and on
Page 8
Why is this taking so long?
All you have to do is take one teeth-rattling,
bone-jarring, muffler-destroying drive between
Longford Mills and Highway 169 on the Rama
Road to ask the same question.
The answer, of course, is complicated. Rama
Road is a Simcoe County road, specifically, Road
44. There are 1,652 kilometres of roads in Simcoe
County, all requiring maintenance and/or re-construction. So the first part of the complication is
money.
By KEVIN
LEHMAN
Community
Correspondent
Just to put road costs into perspective, the preliminary budget for the County of Simcoe for
2010 is $517 million, of which $60 million is earmarked for transportation and engineering. Each
year, the county has to decide what roads to service and how much of the transportation budget to
use to do that job.
Jennifer Straw, communications co-ordinator
for the County of Simcoe, confirms that Phase 1
and 2 of the 4 phases of the Rama Road reconstruction carried a price tag of $5.3 million.
Phases 3 and 4, currently under construction, are
expected to come it at approximately $10 million.
The road in question, from Longford Mills to
the intersection at Highway 169, is 8.9 kilometres
long. The price of reconstruction works out to be
$1,719,101 per kilometre or $1,719 per metre.
In 2007/2008 the allowance at the side of the
road was enlarged at the top end near Highway
169. A lot of rock had to be blasted and removed
and it was slow going. Once the widening was
done, a Hydro One contractor appeared to drill
more rock and install new, taller poles. Then
Hydro One itself came in and installed those
wires. Bell Canada and Rogers took the opportunity to upgrade their infrastructure at the same
time.
While all of this was going on, new drainage
was built into the side of the road bed. In order for
good roads to stay that way, they need to be as dry
as possible. That means building them with the
right crown (the crown is the slope of a road surface) to allow proper drainage. The drains keep
the water from collecting and flooding back on to
the road.
When this section was finished in spring 2009,
it represented 1.4 kilometres, or 15.7 per cent accomplishment of the task at hand. A lot of Rama
Road traffic chose to divert around Rama Road to
Kevin Lehman
The Hart Bridge (above), which is scheduled to be replaced. Below, work crews dig holes for new
poles on Rama Road.
It would be nice if those in
the north of Ramara could
look forward to years of
happy motoring on this new
road, but that is not to be.
Switch Road during this phase. That changed
when the next phase began.
Near the end of the Highway 169 phase, work
began on the Longford end. Again, the pole
drilling, wire stringing and installation happened
at that end. With less rock to drill and move, this
work went much faster, and by fall 2009 there
were another beautiful 2.1 kilometres of new
road, this between Longford Mills Road and
Maple Avenue. The job is now 39.3 per cent complete.
During the first two phases of reconstruction,
the county was trying to buy up land to enable it
to do some straightening of the roller coaster road
that is the centre of this stretch. The purchasing
was made more difficult by the fact that some of
the land was Rama land, necessitating negotiations not only with the landowner and Rama First
Nation, but also with the federal government.
Late in 2009 these negotiations were completed
and the final phase of the job could be undertaken. Back came the contractors to enlarge the
road allowance and drill and install new poles.
That is where we are today. The good news is
that all indications suggest Rama Road will be
finished and ready for a smooth ride by late this
year or early 2011.
It would be nice if those in the north of Ramara
could look forward to years of happy motoring on
this new road, but that is not to be, at least not yet.
The 2010 capital budget for the County of Simcoe shows that environmental assessments and
design work have been scheduled to begin in
2010 to replace the Hart and Heavener bridges.
The Hart bridge spans Rama Road just past the
CN tracks near Highway 169. In order to replace
this bridge, Rama Road will have to be closed and
traffic diverted.
The logical detour is to go south along Highway169 to Switch Road, and then west on Switch
Road back to Rama Road. The Heavener Bridge,
a single-lane bridge on Switch Road, could not
handle the extra traffic. It would have to be replaced and widened before the detour could
begin.
The bridges are scheduled to be replaced in
2011/2012, at a cost of $3.5 million.
As I said, it’s complicated … and expensive.
Washago resident and volunteer Kevin Lehman
Photos by
GAIL SMITH
Seen
along
the way
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Page 9
A swamp
with potential
Page 10
By BOB
and PAM POYNTZ
Community
Correspondents
Initial plans for Lagoon City
described a much more ambitious
project than we see today
Condominiums in Lagoon City.
Gail Smith
RiverNorth
Suites
An elegant retreat in the
Kawarthas. By the day or week.
rivernorthsuites.com
Canada’s Venice, as it is often referred to,
started off as unusable swampland.
Historians say the first white man to set
foot in Lagoon City was Samuel de Champlain in September of 1615. In the 1800s, the
land became Crown land. It changed hands in
1826, when it was acquired by a James Chewitt. Through the years, the land was bought
and sold multiple times.
In 1945, it was purchased by the Katz family, who sold it in the mid 1960s to Lagoon
City Developments Ltd., owned by Andrew
Zsolt. Zsolt, a young civil engineer from
Hungary, saw potential in this wasteland, and
set about to realize his vision of a community
with a choice of accommodations and restaurants, and access to beaches in a style similar
to communities he remembered in Europe.
Work started in 1963, with land beng
cleared in preparation for dredging. The original design called for approximately 16 kilometres of canals. The final canal system that
Lagoon City has today is approximately 9.5
kilometers. The material from dredging was
used as fill for the housing development. In
the 1970s, construction was at its height, with
many condominiums and residences being
built.
Among them was the Harbour Inn and Resort Club, Canada’s first timeshare ownership
resort, built in 1979. It attracts visitors from
around the world and boasts a world-class
chef and restaurant (Chef Konstantine).
Initial plans for Lagoon City described a far
more ambitious project than the development
we see today.
In A Tribute to The Pioneers of Lagoon
City, compiled by Bob Wilson (June 2003) on
the occasion of Lagoon City’s 40th anniversary, Zsolt writes about what might have
been:
“I envisaged a community of at least twice
the present size by the 10th, let alone the
40th, anniversary,” he wrote. “The first master plan of Lagoon City many years ago projected a population of 10,000 people, and
when the project grew to 2,000 acres, we
were planning for up to 20,000 residents.”
Developer blamed ‘endless’ red tape
Page 11
Zsolt blames several factors, including “the
endless, sometimes hair raising red tape created
by all three levels of government,” and “the ‘conscientious objectors’ who wanted a ‘day in court’
using the opportunity given by the Ontario Municipal Board.”
Finally, he blames the provincial NDP government of the day for declaring the area “valuable
wetland,” and bringing the project to a halt.
On Nov. 4, 1986, Bill Pr11, an Act respecting
the Township of Mara, received royal assent. This
act created the Lagoon City Parks and Waterways
Commission, giving the commission power in
trust to manage and maintain the properties, including the canals and shore walls. The act also
gave the commission and the Township power to
tax the property owners for cost of maintenance
of the waterways. This fee is in addition to Lagoon City residents’ property taxes. According to
Bill Pr11, “Each residential unit, regardless of
size, value or type of ownership shall be apportioned at the same amount.” In 2009, the amount
was $245 per household, and Ramara Mayor Bill
Duffy says it will not rise in 2010.
At its January meeting, the commission discussed the state of Lagoon City’s canals and heard
details of a proposal by Atlantis Marine of
Collingwood to dike and drain the water so the lagoons can be dredged back to their original depth
of about eight feet.
A GPS survey conducted by Atlantis in December showed the average depth of the lagoons is
currently between two feet and four feet. If the
proposal is accepted, the diking will take place in
the winter. The cost of the Atlantis plan would be
about $1.5 million. The commission is planning
to hold a public meeting on that plan, possibly in
June.
Lagoon Cityʼs frozen lagoons are enjoyed all winter.
Chronicle file photo
Concord Pond and Turtle Lagoon which has a
fresh-water spring percolating near the south end.
The roads also have interesting names: Laguna
Parkway, Beaver Trail, South Island Trail, Lake
Avenue, Poplar Crescent, Willow Crescent, Ridge
Avenue, Turtle Path, Pinetree Court, and Paradise
Boulevard. The most famous roadway is Old Indian Trail, as many historians feel this is the route
that Samuel de Champlain travelled in 1615 to
portage east to Sturgeon Lake and on to Lake Ontario.
See you on the waterway. And remember, no
wakes!
The population of Lagoon City is about 1,300
people, with a median age of 62. On summer
weekends, boaters and visitors flock to the area.
There are approximately 400 condominiums and
400 homes or cottages. Increasingly, cottages are
being winterized for year-round use.
Lagoon City is also home to a full-service marina which has docking, fuelling, maintenance and
births for approximately 200 boats of different
sizes. Lagoon City has a Yacht Club boasting 29
mooring stations and docking for visitors. The
club shares a building with the Lagoon City Community Association.
The canals have picturesque names: Harbour
Lagoon, Gondola Lagoon, Windward Lagoon,
Cedar Lagoon, Beach Cove, Sailor’s Cove, Leeward Lagoon, Canoe Lagoon, Beaver Lagoon,
and Lagoon City residents. They can
be reached at [email protected].
the number of fishing boats doing a slow troll
through this area.
After entering Lake Simcoe, boaters cruise another 25 kilometres northwest to enter Atherley
Narrows. This is the beginning of a treacherous
part of the Trent-Severn Waterway, as Lake
Couchiching has dredged canals for safe passage.
Deviation from the marked route can result in
your boat ending up on rocks or stuck on sandbars.
After leaving Atherley Narrows, boaters travel
north 19 kilometres to Chouchiching Lock 42.
Parks Canada says this is a very busy lock on
weekends, as boaters take this route to go from
Lake Simcoe to Georgian Bay and back. Limited
space is available for one-night mooring at this
lock station.
Parks Canada has three monitoring stations to
help to control the level of Lake Simcoe and Lake
Couchiching. They are located at Jackson’s Point,
Orchard Park and Washago.
The six dams used for level control of these two
lakes, Dams A to F, are in the Washago area.
Some are stop log dams operated by manual
winches, having anywhere from five to 15 logs.
Stop log dams are an easy concept—remove a
log and the water level goes down; install a log
and the water level goes up.
The initial plan for the Trent-Severn Waterway
included a route to Toronto, for which three locks
were started but never used. You can locate them
by going to the Internet and searching Google
Maps, clicking on “Satellite.”
Start by following the Holland River southward
to Yonge Street and you will locate the first lock,
just south of where Yonge Street crosses Mt. Albert Road. Continue east to 2nd Concession Road
and Valley Trail to find the second lock.
As you continue south, you will come across
Green Line East. Don’t be fooled by this bridge
structure that appears to be a lock. It is not what
you are looking for. The next lock as you continue
along the Holland River will be hard to locate,
being a little off the river and full of dirt. You will
find the last lock between Haines Road and
Bayview Parkway, parallel with Elgin Street in
Newmarket.
Trent-Severn Waterway runs through Ramara
One of the busiest roadways in Ramara is the
Trent-Severn Waterway, which, from its highest
point at Kirkfield, enters the township at Gamebbridge Lock 41, some 290 kilometres into the
386-kilometre system. From Gamebridge, boaters
travel 2.2 kilometres west to Lake Simcoe.
Entering Lake Simcoe can be a pleasant, enjoyable cruise or the beginning of a roller coaster
ride. The lake can become wild and rough, and
boaters are well advised to check their weather
conditions and charts before entering this expanse
of water.
The Trent-Severn Waterway through Lake Simcoe is well marked, with buoys indicating the safe
route. Deviation from this route can have disastrous consequences for unsuspecting boaters, as
there are points that become quite shallow. A
good example is the area 1.5 kilometers southwest
of Strawberry Island, where the depth is about a
metre. This shoal (Trout Shoal) is frequented by
anglers, and a good indication of shallow water is
Covering
ground
Page 12
Proposed trails
Existing routes
Ramara couple cycle 4,000 km a year
By KORY SNACHE
When people think about cycling or biking,
most revert back to childhood memories, when
cycling was usually recreational transportation, a
simple way to explore the neighbourhood or visit
a friend.
For Konrad Brenner and his wife, Jutta, it has
become a way of life. Over the past nine summers, since moving to Ramara from Hamilton, the
Brenners have covered every road and highway in
the township and beyond, averaging more than
4.000 kilometres a season.
Konrad, 76, and Jutta, 72, who live on Fawn
Bay Road just south of Rama, say they do it for
the love of road cycling and to live life to the
fullest.
Konrad Brenner started cycling in 1949, long
before the sport began to gain popularity in the
late 1970s.
“Only a few students and mental cases cycled,”
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he says, chuckling, as he
recalls those early days.
Konrad and Jutta, a
registered nurse, embraced road cycling 15
years ago, after Konrad
retired from a 30-year
career as a municipal engineer in Hamilton. With
time on their hands and
their children grown,
they were free to hit the
road.
The Brenners are
pleased to share their
knowledge about good
cycling routes in Ramara. “Around the lake
is a nice one. That is a
good run,” Konrad says,
describing Lake Couchiching through Rama,
Washago, and back
through Atherley.
“Sometimes we like to cycle to McCarthy Bay
on lake Simcoe. There is a nice little coffee shop
where we stop for a break.”
He points to a map as he describes his favourite
route in Ramara. “I like to take Fairgrounds Road
to Kawartha line to Sebright and back down the
Monck Road.” A good route for beginner cyclists,
he says, is Airport Road between Rama and Longford
Mills.
There have been some
offbeat moments in their
travels. Jutta recalls an odd
encounter near Fairgrounds
Road just past Ramona. “We
were cycling along and then
out of nowhere there were
three pigs, no farm in sight.
Konrad Brenner
They just came out of the
bush, a mother and two young ones.”
There can be risks, too. Depending on the road
and the driver, traffic can be hazardous. Some of
the major problems are drivers not willing to give
way or slow down, and the heavy draft from passing transport trucks.
Konrad received a volunteer appreciation award
from Ramara Mayor Bill Duffy last month for his
work in establishing the walking-biking trail from
Longford Mills to Quarry Point Road.
While cycling may be their passion, the Brenners also enjoy cross-country skiing, swimming
and canoeing.
For Konrad and Jutta, cycling is about the enjoyment of physical fitness, beautiful scenery, in-
There is no formal trail linking the entire
township, but avid cyclist Konrad Brenner says
itʼs not hard to get around on a bike. Existing
streets can be just a cycler-friendly as trails, he
says, and provide a functional network of
routes through Ramara. The stretch from
Longford Mills to Quarry Point Road in the
above map is a trail. Road shoulders have been
widened from that point north, and the
widening is expected to continue north this
summer. The dotted line from Washago to
Brechin represents a planned trail described in
the Townshipʼs Active Transportation Plan,
which endorses the idea of eventually
connecting trails throughout Ramara. There is
a foot path from Brechin to Lagoon City, but
cyclists would have to use Simcoe Road. Local
residents have approached council with a plan
to establish a trail from Lagoon City to
Concession 7. From that point, cyclists can use
existing streets to reach Atherly.
teresting people met and changes seen along the
way, and they have no plans to slow down any
time soon.
“You have to enjoy each summer, one at a
time,” Konrad says.
Kory Snache is a Ramara writer. He can be
reached at [email protected].
Three for the road
Ken: But always in the back. Nothing between
the seats and nothing in the front of the truck because that’s where the driving is going on. And
she never goes on the bed or seats. She doesn’t
come up to the front until it’s time to go out. We
can’t have anything around our feet or gearshift.
For the last 10 years, Ken and Darla Wothersppoon, of Lagoon City, have been driving transport
trucks as a team. He drives during the day; she at
night. Lately, a third member, albeit a slightly reluctant one, has joined the team. Peanut, the couple’s three-year-old English bulldog, travels with
them on their regular Toronto-Vancouver route.
They haul anything from frozen strawberries to
beer, hitting the road for their employer, Challenger Motor Freight. Ken, 46, is a former professional figure skater and a welder-fitter; Darla,
45, is a former turkey farmer. Both say trucking
likely won’t be their last career. Early last month,
they spoke to The Chronicle about life on the
road, life with Peanut and their future plans.
How long have you lived in Lagoon City?
Ken: We came here about four months ago
from Long Point on Lake Erie. We wanted something that was right on the water, was affordable,
and we didn’t want a cottage, because with our
lifestyle, we do not have time. We’re gone two
weeks at a time, we come back and we spend our
whole time off, three or four days, cutting the
grass, trimming, getting it all up to snuff, and we
go back to work to rest. There’s something wrong
with this program.
Darla: We looked all over Ontario. Doing what
we do, we could live anywhere. As we were driving around on our routes, Ken would grab real estate magazines. He happened to stumble across
Lagoon City, which we had never heard of before,
so we looked it up and thought ‘That looks pretty
cool,’ so we made a first trip up to see what it was
like and decided this is where we want to be.
What is your schedule like?
Darla: Our regular route to Vancouver is five
days out and back, and we go twice. We only get
paid when the wheels are moving on the truck. A
round-trip average is 9,000 kilometres. So we’re
gone usually for 10 days and in Lagoon City for
three. We do almost 400,000 kilometres a year.
How has living and working together in such
close quarters affected your relationship?
Ken: We have what we think is a unique relationship. After being everywhere and seeing how
a lot of other people are, I think we are very
lucky. Our kind of unwritten rule in the transport
is, because it’s such close quarters, that if we have
any type of disagreement, we try to solve it before
we go to bed, and if that doesn’t happen, it
doesn’t matter. When those curtains are closed,
it’s done. That’s it. I’ve always said in a relationship, you almost have to marry your best friend.
It’s fine to be in love, but at the same time, you
have to have a lot of things in common, and if
you don’t, you have to be willing to compromise.
I think that everything we have done has strengthened our relationship, and this is no different.
How does Peanut deal with life on the road?
Darla: She is three years old, and she’s been on
the road with us since she was seven months. She
mostly just sleeps and plays with her toys underneath the bunk in the back. She likes being with
us, being in her routine. She’s very big on routine.
Page 13
Whatʼs it like to drive as a team?
Rob McCormick
Ken and Darla Wotherspoon at home with
Peanut.
She knows when we switch drivers. We’ll take
her out and get her dinner. So the minute we take
her out, she doesn’t waste any time. She does
what she has to, then it’s back up the steps and
into the truck. She does not want to go for a
walk. She doesn’t want to have anything to do
with that. Just get me out, get me in. We never
have to wait for her.
Does she like it?
Darla: She travels well, but she’d rather be
home. When I start packing the stuff, she starts to
mope. She doesn’t want to go, so getting her
from here to the pickup truck can be a bit of a
challenge. She goes, and she does what she’s
told, but she’s grumbling all the way. Growling.
Our neighbour a couple of doors down wanted to
see her the other day, and we had just put her in
the truck because we were on our way out. I said
‘You can see her, but she’s not in a good mood.’
So the minute she opens the door, there’s Peanut,
growling. And she says, ‘Is she growling at me?’
We said, ‘No, she’s growling at us.’
Ken: While she’s growling you think she’s
going to take your arm off, but you can go up to
her and pet her. She’ll be grumbling the whole
time. She lifts her foot up, like, ‘Daddy, I’m sorry
I’m mad,’ but she’s grumbling the whole time.
Darla: We have a bed in the back of the truck
for her and she has lots of toys. She goes out,
generally, only twice a day, at the driver
switches. If she asks to go out any more than
that, we will take her, but you don’t take her if
she doesn’t ask, because if you do, she’ll grumble.
Ken: And she’s not a morning person. She has
to have about an hour to wake up.
Darla: That’s right. She gets bed-head worse
than I do. So the minute she gets back to the
truck, she has her dinner. She’ll eat the whole
thing an one gulp, and when we are either having
breakfast or dinner, when we get back, it’s play
time. She always has a play time before Ken goes
to bed, and if she wants one, I’ll give her one before I go. Play time is playing with the toys, letting her jump on you, having a good pet. She
likes to play tug of war.
Ken: It’s not easy, because the roads are so
rough. For the person that’s sleeping, to get a
good sleep, to stay rested, is very hard. When
you’re solo driving, it’s great. You park for your
eight to 10 hours, you’re down, you’re not moving.
Darla: But us team guys, our 10 hours are spent
in the bunk with the truck still moving, so the
sleep you get isn’t good. And our Canadian roads
are terrible. With a truck’s heavy-duty suspension,
we feel every bump.
What are some of the hazards?
Ken: We drive from Toronto to Vancouver, basically. We are in the mountains all the time. The
snowstorms we get into, there are no cars or
pickup trucks around any more, because the snow
is too deep. On our last trip, we got a foot and a
half of snow in five hours. Mountain passes are
very unforgiving. If we slide off the road, we’re
off down into a canyon or we’re into the rocks.
We also have avalanches. Two years ago an avalanche came down the mountain pass and hit the
end of our trailer. We’ve also had trucks get hit by
boulders coming down the mountain passes.
When we go through Golden, it’s 40 kilometres
an hour, and the road’s so winding that two trucks
can barely pass. If there’s one coming at you, and
you’re going the other way, if they’re not exact,
they’ll never pass each other. That’s how sharp
the corners are. We’re right on the edge. That’s it.
There are no shoulders. Just two little lanes. It’s
one of the most dangerous jobs there is.
Ken, why do you drive days and Darla nights?
Ken: Because I’m a morning person and she’s a
night person. I can’t drive very well at night. I’ll
drive up to midnight or 1 a.m., but after that, I’m
done, even if I started driving at 11 p.m.
How long are you going to continue to do this?
Ken: We just renewed our licence just last year,
so it’s good for five years and we’re going to try
to retire about when it comes up for renewal
again.
Then what?
Ken: I don’t know. We will do something because we are that type of people. We’ve always
been extremely busy with everything we’ve done
in our lives, and it’s showing through with our
boys. They are gold. We love making our own
wine. Ultimately, what we’d like to do is open our
own wine-making store.
Would you stay in this area?
Ken: Definitely. We’re not moving from here.
We wanted something on the water, something
that would take care of itself. We have found it.
We’re here to stay.
— Rob McCormick
MP floats GST increase
Page 14
Temporary hike could be one option for helping reduce federal deficit: Stanton
BY KEVIN LEHMAN
A temporary increase in the federal Goods and
Services Tax could be one way to help reduce the
deficit without raising income taxes, Simcoe
North MP Bruce Stanton told a pre-budget townhall style meeting in Ramara last month.
Stanton said a GST increase to six or seven per
cent from the current five was just one option for
discussion, not a policy of his government.
“Our national deficit has reached $56 billion,”
he said. “There are tough decisions that will have
to be made by government. If we don’t get the
books back in balance, we will have to face the reality of tax increases.”
The session, held Feb. 16 at the Ramara Township council chambers in Brechin, was attended by
seven members of the public.
“It was a small but quality crowd,” Stanton said.
“There is always an interesting exchange of ideas.
It gets the wheels turning and things come up that
may not have been thought of otherwise.”
The GST suggestion drew mixed reaction. Some
saw the idea as a threat to spending and a negative
impact on Canadian business as a whole. Others
described it as a good way to generate taxpayer
revenue in pennies at a time instead of dollars.
Stanton said he expected the March 4 budget
would address three main areas: the federal Economic Action Plan, deficit reduction and strengthening Canada’s economy into the future.
“We need to make our way back to a balanced
budget by 2015,” he said. “The EAP is working
and we are experiencing upward movement in our
gross domestic product.”
Attendees at the session were from throughout
Ramara: Sebright, Washago, Udney, Brechin and
Lagoon City.
Better access to medical care was among the issues raised.
Skip Beattie, a Lagoon City resident for four
years, said he still has to see a doctor in Toronto.
“The only way to get on a waiting list for a local
doctor is to leave your present doctor and go to
walk-in clinics until your name rises to the top of
the list,” he said.
Concerns were also expressed in the areas of
pension protection and pension access. One pensioner who had worked for Air Canada for 28
years said he wanted to see the bankruptcy laws
changed to move pension recipients to the top of
the secured creditors list in case of a company fail-
Kevin Lehman
Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton speaks at a pre-budget meeting Feb. 16 in the Ramara Township
council chambers.
ure.
A woman said she would like to see legislative
changes that would allow full access to pension
funds that were currently locked in until she
reached pensionable age.
“This is my money and I should be able to access it any time I want,” she said.
In the wake of the eHealth Ontario spending
scandal, one speaker said the federal government
needed to exercise more control over provincial
agencies and the programs they deliver, especially
in the areas of health care and education.
Extending renovation programs such as the
Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) was another
recommendation. Speakers said homeowners
should be able to protect their investment by keeping their homes up to date and efficient, and tax
incentives to do so were seen as a positive move in
that direction.
“It was a good start,” Beattie said of the meeting, although he was disappointed with the
turnout. “The only way for people to be heard is to
come out and have their say,” he said.
— [email protected]
A draft budget given to council last month calls
for a 2.6-per-cent increase in Township taxes. The
draft returns to council for further discussion
March 8, and is expected to be adopted March 22.
The increase, down from the 2.9 per cent initially recommended by staff, would raise Township tax revenue to $5.7 million from last year’s
$5.57 million.
A homeowner with a home assessed at $200,000
would see an $18.50 increase in the Township portion of their tax bill, which would have been
$712.28 last year.
“Nobody wants to see an increase,” said Councillor Basil Clarke, the budget chairman, “but
that’s the trouble when the majority of your bills
are hydro and fuel and insurance. When you’re
doing road construction, the biggest part of our
budget, it’s very tough to keep those costs down.”
Clarke said he does not expect any major
changes to the draft budget when it returns to
council. “I think this is pretty close to what you’re
going to see,” he said.
Mayor Bill Duffy blamed the province for at
least part of the tax hike. “Because of having to
hire two, or one and a half people for work mandated by the province, that’s where some of the
cost came from,” he said. “I am never happy with
a tax increase. It’s not so bad if you raise taxes for
things like roads, but when there are mandated
programs coming down that we have to follow,
I’m not a happy camper.”
The draft budget is available online at the
Township’s website, www.township.ramara.on.ca.
— Rob McCormick
Draft budget contains 2.6% tax hike
We cover stories. Tell us yours.
[email protected] (705) 484-1576
‘Souper’ effort by students
Page 15
Foley Catholic School
pupils collect 450 cans
of soup for St. Vincent
de Paul Society
Students at Foley Catholic School in Brechin
were challenged on Jan. 18 to collect 250 cans of
soup by Feb. 3.
They rose to the challenge by collecting 450
cans of soup, which were donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
The students’ reward was 30 extra minutes of
recess time and a spirit day at the school on Feb.
5.
The day included being able to wear favourite
team jerseys; hockey, baseball, soccer, football,
local, national or international, and a traditional
Super Bowl lunch.
The lunch choices were chili cheese dogs or hot
dogs and Mrs. Robinson’s delicious home-made
cookies for dessert.
Uptergrove fundraisers
Uptergrove Public School has staged a number
of fundraising events recently.
On Jan. 21 and 22, the students brought their
spare change to school, raising just over $1,000
for Haiti earthquake relief.
The school also held a Christmas concert, and
sold tickets for “the best seat in the house,” raising $121 for the Royal Victoria Hospital Cancer
Centre in Barrie.
As well, uptrends held a craft sale with a raffle
basket on Nov. 14, and netted $131.80, with the
proceeds going to the pediatric ward at Soldiers
Memorial Hospital.
Special to The Chronicle
Students at Foley Catholic School with the soup they collected in their ʻSouperbowlʼ challenge.
By TATIANA
GEISLER
Youth Beat
Youth committee
On Dec. 9, the Ramara Youth Committee held a
coffee house to raise funds for the Sharing Place
food bank in Orillia.
Seventeen youth performers sang, read poetry
and entertained an audience of more than 50 people at the Ramara Centre on Highway 12. For a
small admission fee and a non-perishable food
item, the audience enjoyed a fun filled night of incredible talent, which raised $65.
The youth committee has an active spring
planned.
On Feb. 11, a dance was held at the Joyland
Beach Community Centre for youth in Grades 4
to 8.
In March (date and time TBA) an all-ages outdoor skate is scheduled at the rink in Atherley.
April will see the committee’s second coffee
house evening for teens, and the second Youth fair
will be held in May, at the Ramara Centre, for
Grades 5 to 8.
The committee’s year-end youth dance for
Grades 4 to 8 is planned for late June at the
Brechin Legion.
Tatiana Geisler is a Grade 11 student at Twin
Lakes Secondary School. She can be reached
Funding for youth skateboard park turned down
By KEVIN LEHMAN
Township council has turned down, for now, a
request for $33,780 to help pay for a $75,000
portable skateboard park that would shuttle
among four locations throughout Ramara.
The Ramara Youth Committee asked the Township for the money at a Jan. 25 council meeting.
That request was denied Feb. 4 at a council
budget meeting.
The committee’s plans to apply to the Ontario
Trillium Foundation for the balance of $38,265
have been shelved. The committee was also expecting to receive about $3,400 from in-kind suppliers.
Council voted to defer the proposal to the 2011
budget in order to give the youth committee time
to revisit its business plan.
At the Jan. 25 meeting, Grant Mask and Ellie
Ruggles, the youth committee’s student co-chairs,
asked that Ramara’s contribution come from the
township’s parkland reserve fund.
The skateboard park plan was developed in re-
sponse to a youth survey conducted by the committee in 2008, they said. Of the 415 young people surveyed, 24 per cent identified a
skateboard/BMX park as their first choice of a
sport to be brought to Ramara.
Mask and Ruggles told council the decision to
bring in a portable park was made in order to fulfill the committee’s mandate to serve all the youth
of the township.
The committee has received quotes, made visits
to another township to see its park in action and
has corresponded with others.
During the summer, the proposed skateboard
park, with its own trailer, would move among the
four sites: The Ramara Centre, Brechin and
Udney community centres and a municipal lot on
Highway 169 near Switch Road. The Udney and
Highway 169 sites would have to be asphalted.
After the presentation, members of council
voted unanimously to include the matter in the
2010 budget talks.
At those talks, Councillor Erica Neher expressed concern about the validity of the pricing
of the park. Deputy Mayor Basil Clarke said he
had a concern about the future of the project after
the two-year staffing money being sought from
Trillium was used up.
The youth committee was established in 2007
by members of the current council after years of
concern that the voice of township youth was not
being heard.
The committee is made up of three youth members and three adult mentors. The young people
serve as the officers: chairperson, secretary and
treasurer, with guidance from the adults.
Since inception, the committee has held
monthly events for the youth of the township including dances, mini-golf tournaments, a coffeehouse entertainment night for teens and events in
both Ramara FunFests.
Last year the youth also spearheaded the first
Ramara Youth Fair in Brechin. A second youth
fair is in the planning stages and is scheduled for
late spring at the Ramara Centre.
Volunteer and Washago resident Kevin Lehman
Celebrating literacy
Page 16
Students at Brechin Public School receive awards for achieving reading goals
As visitors entered the Brechin Public School on
the evening of Feb. 4, they could feel the excitement and energy of a highly motivated student
body.
The event, entitled Snuggle Up and Read, was a
celebration of literacy, and marked a special
achievement for students who had read 125 nights
since the start of the school year. Out of a student
population of 196 (95 girls and 101 boys), 15 students, or 13 per cent of the student body, achieved
this milestone, and bronze medals were awarded
to mark the accomplishment.
After the presentation, the students, along with
their parents, split up into different rooms, where
they enjoyed an evening of storytelling and listening to guest readers.
The entire school population is involved in the
Bobcat Home Reading Program, so named after
the school mascot. Depending on grade level, the
student goal is to read 10 to 20 minutes nightly for
primary grades and 20 to 30 minutes a night for
junior Grades 3 to 6. The primary books are familiar reads from the classroom Snuggle Up and
Read collection, while the junior books are chosen
according to the reading level of the child and
could consist of a picture book, newspaper, library
book or novel. Parents fill out a Bobcat home
reading sheet on the nights their children read so
the teacher can keep track of student progress.
Other rewards are also handed out for milestones the students achieve. At 25 nights, they earn
a glow-in-the-dark bracelet; at 50 nights they earn
a Home of the Bobcats book bag; at 75 nights they
earn a lanyard; at 100 nights they are given a Bobcat Reading Program T-Shirt; at 125 nights they
earn a water bottle; at 150 nights they get a book
and at 200 nights they get a prize to be determined, possibly a movie pass, and will also be entered into a draw along with other eligible students
for a chance at a major prize, possibly a mountain
bike, funded by local businesses.
To tie in with the Vancouver Olympics this year,
the teachers have created a medal system for the
major milestones: a bronze medal for 125 nights
of reading, silver for 150 nights and gold for 175
nights.
Principal Jeff Clark says the purpose of the rewards is “to provide incentives to the kids and get
‘time on text,’” as well as “to increase the
home/school partnership and to make sure our students are reading on a daily basis.”
Another facet of the Brechin Public School literacy program is called Three Meals a Day. The
older students are trained as coaches and pair up
with the younger students for 10-minute periods
each, at 10:50 a.m. and 1:50 p.m., to read during
nutrition breaks. The older student is matched up
with a younger one who has similar interests.
This program is geared to students who may be
having a bit of trouble reading or, for whatever
reason, may not get a chance to read at home. At
Students at Brechin Public School display their bronze-medal reading awards.
“A really positive
relationship forms between
the older student and the
younger student.”
Principal Jeff Clark
present, there are 25 volunteer coaches from
Grades 6, 7 and 8, and there is a waiting list of
Grade 5 students wishing to be trained as student
coaches.
Joy Nelson is the literary coach at the school and
meets with the student coaches and trains them in
how to ask specific “thick” questions to get the
younger students thinking about what they have
read in order to increase comprehension. Thick
questions might include “What if? How did? Why
did? What would happen if? What caused? What
might? and Why is?”
The students get together mainly in the French
room to read books described as progression texts
of fiction, where words and sentence structure increase in difficulty.
“The coaches have been great,” Clark said, “and
they also help the younger ones get their clothes
on for the outside break.
“A really positive relationship forms between
the older student and the younger student, which
carries over into our assemblies,” he said. “They
will often sit together and so it really adds to a
nice school culture...The younger ones have nothing to fear; it greatly increases their comfort level
because they get to know the older kids more as a
helper, as a coach, rather than someone to be
afraid of.”
Hand in hand with the Three Meals a Day program, educational assistant Julie Grigg runs the
Bobcat Home Reading assemblies while the teach-
ers are occupied with administrative duties.
The junior and senior reading buddies gather to
do exercises similar to what they would do during
the nutrition breaks. At this time, the students are
presented with their achievement certificates and
awards.
“It’s a nice break for the kids, to come out and
be in charge and let them run the show for a
change,” Grigg says. “It’s not always a direction
from the teachers or from the other staff. It’s their
initiative to go ahead and either read the story or
start with the game or pick questions to ask.”
The school also runs an After Hours Math and
English (AHME) program. This program is ministry supported and involves 17 students (15 boys
and two girls) from Grades 6, 7 and 8, and will run
until March break, at which time they will require
more ministry funding to continue.
The students get together with their intermediate
teachers from 3:40 to 5:10 p.m. The program aims
to help students achieve the provincial achievement standard (Level 3). The students can make
use of the computer lab and the school’s literary
resources at this time. As a reward at the end of
the session, they play a game of European handball for half an hour.
In the words of Grade 1 teacher Sandy Cheevers, “Confidence is something else that breeds success, and it’s only by reading and trying that a
student will achieve success.”
An in-school poster entitled The Power of Reading quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson: “If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him
what books he reads.”
and Lagoon City residents. They can
Have a Plan B
It’s been said that there are only two types of hard drives:
those that have failed and those that are about to fail
I learned the painful lesson about the necessity
of consistently backing up my computer files the
hard way.
I was working on a very tight deadline to submit the final design for a series of ads. After hours
of tweaks and changes, I sent off the final artwork
for approval and switched off my computer.
When I came back to it later, it wouldn’t boot up.
The hard drive had failed. Though I tried to make
a practice of backing up my data, I was sporadic
and hadn’t saved anything for at least two weeks.
All the hard work that I’d put into my designs was
gone, as were all my emails, photos, music files
and the hundreds of other bits of information that
I took for granted every time I turned on my computer.
Eventually, I managed to get some of my lost
files back, after taking my computer into a repair
shop and leaving it there for several weeks, but
the cost and inconvenience made me swear that I
would never go through that again.
It has been said that there are only two types of
hard drives: those that have failed and those that
are about to fail. Small pits can develop on the
platters of a drive, interfering with the storing
process. Over time, these pits (or bad sectors) can
cripple a drive and prevent the computer from
saving or retrieving crucial operating information.
Often there is no warning that the component is
teetering on the edge of dysfunctionality. With
that thought in mind, it stands to reason that you
should have a backup system set up for your computer, whether it’s for work or home.
Today’s computers are so integrated with our
daily lives that they have become repositories of
all our family photos and our favourite music collection. So even if you don’t use your computer to
earn a living like I do, you would probably miss
your files if you were to lose them.
A backup system doesn’t have to be a complex
thing. The rule of thumb is to always keep your
data stored in at least two places, so if one fails,
Page 17
By STEFANIE
MOY-SHUSTER
Computers
A small portable hard drive makes a great backup device for your computer.
the other is available.
CDs, DVDs and thumb drives or memory sticks
are often used for backing up but that puts the
onus on you to do it. If you’re like me, you forget
and aren’t consistent. Also, thumb drives and
disks can become scratched or even left in a
pocket and laundered (not recommended!) – usually around the time when you need them the
most.
The best way to keep an extra copy of your files
is to use an automatic backup system. It works
quietly in the background, making copies of
everything you save and keeping a consistent
record of all your changes. Buy an external hard
drive, preferably one with an automatic backup
program or use the backup utility that comes with
your operating system. You can set the program
up to stream file changes to the external drive as
you make them or run a backup in the middle of
the night when you’re not working on your computer. If you work on a laptop wirelessly, you can
network the external drive with your computer
through a router. That way, you have the freedom
to move around your office or home and still be
able to backup.
Remember, your hard drive will fail – it’s just a
question of when.
Ramara resident Stefanie Moy-Shuster is the
retail and web co-ordinator for Downtown
Computers in Orillia. She can be reached
Page 18
Historic gem
under water
The rich and vast history of Ramara not
only can be found along the many beautiful roadways and small communities that
encompass our great area, but in the water
as well. Hidden away in the southeast corner of Lake Couchiching there is a hidden
historical gem that carries with it the story
and history of pre-European contact
among the First Nations people. Many
lakes and rivers exist in Ramara Township, but not one is as significant or comparable to the Narrows of Atherley and
the fish weirs.
Some 5,000 years ago, during the days
of Ancient Greece and the erection of the
Pyramids, the construction of the fish
weirs by the local indigenous population
commenced.
Fish weirs, an ancient system for harvesting fish in mass quantity, were used
all over the world by indigenous people.
They consist of hundreds of wooden
stakes that are driven into the ground row
upon row, ranging from a few inches to a
few feet in length for this intricate system
of channelling fish. Avenues were then
formed to drive fish into nets or spears of
the waiting hunters.
At one time, the weirs covered almost
the entire width of the Atherley Narrows.
Portage Bay gained its name for being a
canoe portage route, for the narrows were
impassable because of the weirs (Bill
Allen, Couchiching Narrows, Orillia: A
Significant Cultural Heritage Landscape
2008). The narrows between Lake Simcoe
and Lake Couchiching was an ideal location for the weirs, and the First Nation
people took full advantage of the area and
the fish migration routes.
Illustrations by Suzan Bertrand
By KORY SNACHE
The weirs consist of
hundreds of wooden stakes
that are driven into the
ground row upon row and
range from a few inches to
a few feet in length for this
intricate system of
channelling fish.
Before the Ojibwe Nation arrived from
the north and occupied Ramara and Simcoe County, another tribe called the
Huron (Wyendat) occupied the lands. The
Wyendat were a weirs-building people
and the main users of the weirs. Their territory stretched from the Narrows at
Atherley to Barrie in the south, and Christian Island in the east. At the height of
their power in the mid 1600s, the Wyendat Confederacy numbered around 32,000
people, and one of the main hubs of the
Wyendat Nation was located at the Atherley Narrows. This was largely due to the
fish weirs being a food supply resource
for their nation.
Mnjikaning: in, at or near the fence
Page 19
In the fall, the water level in Lake Couchiching drops; it is the best time to view the fish weirs
At the Narrows, a main Wyendat Village was
located that stretched from the Narrows to the
present day downtown Orillia. As well as being a
fish gathering people, they also grew maize, or
“Indian corn,” in abundance so the land would
have been somewhat flat for farming. Smoke
from numerous fires in the village as well as
birchbark canoes would have dotted the shoreline
as Samuel De Champlain approached the narrows
to rendezvous with other warriors for an upcoming battle with the Iroquois. The Wyendat Nation
would eventually be decimated by disease and
war, and an estimated 300 out of 32,000 would
survive to see another day. (E. J. Hathway: The
story of The Hurons 1915.)
In our language, which is called Ojibwemowin,
our name for the fish weirs is “mnjikaning”
which means you are in, at, or near the fence.
Other natives from other reserves when describing our people from Rama use to refer to us as
“Mnjikwe” or “Mnjiknini” which means “Fence
Woman” and “Fence Man.” Even though our
people never utilized the fish weirs, the water and
land surrounding have always been of importance, not only to our people, but other tribes as
well. Because of its central location and the
abundance of fish during the fall, important
meetings and councils would be held there with
chiefs and warriors from all nations. Treaties and
agreements among nations would be agreed to,
usually with wampum belts, birch bark scrolls or
smoking of the pipe, and massive feasts provided
by the Narrows and its fish would follow.
The Narrows was not only used for meetings
and councils, but as a staging point for attacks
during wars. When the Ojibwe Nation and its
ally, the Mississauga, went to war against the Iroquois, this area was a battleground. Both tribes
used the Narrows and its abundance of fish to
supply their forces with food to see the war parties through the coming battles.
Chief Padaush, a Mississausga Chief in 1864,
described how the Narrows was used as a staging
point before a battle. “The war party stopped at
Mnjikaning, which means fish fence, at the Narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, in order to get a supply of food. There, they
received reinforcements, and making preparations for a campaign, divided into two war par-
ties. One of the men, an Ojibwa medicine man,
painted rock painting depicting the defeat of the
Iroquois.” (Peter Schmalz: The Ojibwa of Southern Ontario 1991.) The battle was to be one of
the last engagements of the war, and was a
counter attack against the Mohawk and their Iroquois allies who attacked toward the Blue Mountains and Penetanguishene. That same war party
also used the Narrows and its fish to supply its
forces for its ill-fated attack.
In the fall, the water level in Lake Couchiching
drops, and it is the best time to view the fish
weirs. If you are heading into Orillia, you can
look to your right and see the prominent rows of
wooden stakes standing tall as if waiting to be
used again. In 1982, the Narrows was designated
a National Historic Site, and is part of the historic
Trent Severn Waterway. This was due to the site
being culturally and historically significant as a
prominent landmark in Canadian history. Without
the supply line, families and tribes would not
have been able to be fed through the winter; war
parties and councils would have not been able to
proceed.
Over time, the fish weirs could well fade into
obscurity, despite their designation as a National
Historic Site. With every coming year, more
damage from sport fishing and marine craft
wreak havoc on the weirs. With such a great part
of Canadian history in Ramara’s back yard,
maybe designating the weirs a UNESCO World
Heritage site is the next step?
Kory Snache is a Ramara resident and writer.
He can be reached at [email protected].
Weirs demonstrated
engineering skill
Page 20
Different explorers commented on the bountiful
freshwater fish to be found on the inland seas of
Ontario.
The Sieur de Champlain wrote in 1615, in
works published three years later:
“When the better part of our people had gathered, we left the village on the first day of September and passed along the shore of a small lake
three legions distant from the said village, where
they make great catches of fish which they preserve for the winter. There is another lake directly
adjoining it, which is twenty-three leagues in circumference, draining into the small one through
narrows where the great catch of the said fish
takes place by means of a number of weirs which
almost close off the strait, leaving only small
openings where they set their nets in which the
fish are caught; these two lakes empty into the
Freshwater Sea. We spent some little time in this
place waiting for the remainder of our Natives.
When all were assembled with their arms, cornmeal and other essentials, a deliberation was held
to choose the most resolute men to be found in the
company in order to go and give notice of our departure to those who were to help us with the five
hundred men who were supposed to join us, so
that we would find ourselves before the enemy’s
fort at the same time….” [Cornelius Jaenan translation, 1996, 101]
Champlain met with the Huron Indians and their
allies at a site that was well known to the First Nations of the area. The narrows where the fish were
caught in weirs was between what we now know
as Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching. They
were headed to the land of the Iroquois, south of
Lake Ontario. Champlain may have been the first
European tourist to this area, and this is the earliest known description of the Atherley Narrows
weirs.
Whenever I am curious about the history of
technology before 1911, I turn to the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. There, a weir
is more a synonym for a dam. With respect to fishing, weirs were barricades across the river meant
to raise the water level for fishing. Apparently
“Rough weirs, formed of stakes and twigs, were
erected across English rivers in Saxon times for
holding up the water and catching fish, and fishtraps, with iron-wire and eel baskets, are still used
sometimes at weirs.” The article goes on to discuss the differences between solid weirs, drawdoor weirs and removable weirs. Weirs were most
commonly used in connection with mills, irrigation and navigation. Still, the article lets us see
some of the problems faced with weirs. One had
to provide, for example, for the accumulation of
twigs and other drift materials, and so weirs
needed to be opened and closed. By the early 19th
century, this led to the development of bear-trap or
shutter weirs. This consisted of two wooden gates
turning on a horizontal axis. When the weir was
closed they leaned against each other; when the
By ELWOOD JONES
weir was open, both fell flat to the bottom.
There needed to be ways to control water
pressure, and ways to have access to the gates.
The upstream gate served as the weir, while the
downstream gate gave support. Evidently, though,
no two weirs are the same.
The weirs that Champlain saw in 1615 surely
needed some form of control. Bruce Trigger, the
noted McGill anthropologist, commented that the
Hurons had rituals tied to hunting and fishing.
They did not go fishing when a friend had died.
When winds were strong, tobacco was sometimes
burned and thrown into the waters, apparently to
appease spirits. Some shamans were “fish preachers” who could ensure bountiful catches. One
shaman demanded gifts from the fishermen; two
that did not comply were drowned during a thunderstorm while returning from fishing.
The Indians at the Atherley Narrows employed
engineering skills. Kenneth A. Cassavoy, a marine archaeologist, working for Richard Johnston,
a Trent University archaeologist, led field trips to
the Narrows in the 1970s and the 1990s. His observations are included in a very interesting report
published in American Antiquity in 1978. During
the French Regime, Lake Simcoe was known as
Lac aux Claies, which literally translates as the
Lake of the Fishweirs. The fish weirs were not
used after the dispersal of the Hurons by the Iroquois in 1649, but he notes that the Mississauga
Indians that migrated into the area in the early
18th century had a word, “machickning,” which
meant fish fences.
The Province of Ontario marked the weirs with
a historical plaque in 1965. Radiocarbon tests on
stakes from the weir in 1973 established that the
stake was over 4,000 years old. The mud at the
bottom of the channel readily received the stakes,
but the suction made them difficult to remove.
The dirt and the water had preserved wooden
stakes for years.
Cassavoy brought a party to the site again in
1974 to do a systematic underwater survey of the
12-acre area that included the ancient weir.
There was only one channel at the Atherley Narrows before 1857, when the navigation was improved. At that time the natural channel was
deepened and a new channel was excavated. The
dirt was dumped on the west side, and the whole
area has been changed by the development of
marinas.
Cassavoy found that the history of the channels
was still evident on the bottom. The east channel,
which was undisturbed by these developments, is
Suzan Bertrand
six or seven feet deep; the main channel is 14 to 20
feet deep. There was no evidence of weirs on the
west side of the channel.
On the east channel, above areas dredged for the
marinas, there were weir stakes visible. After extensive diving and mapping, they identified five
sections with weir stakes, a total of 535 stakes.
In section one, they found 40 stakes, about two
or three inches in diameter, arranged closely like
pickets. There were 145 stakes in a series extending in a row 80 feet long. Then there were 16
stakes, 4 inches in diameter, arranged in a loose
pattern; this set might be of recent origin.
In sections two and three they found two clear
alignments of stakes running diagonally northwest
to southeast across the deepest part of the channel.
They concluded that these stakes would deflect the
fish swimming upstream.
There were other stakes that would operate for
fish going downstream; the weirs could be manipulated for spring or fall fishing. In section four, a
series of 59 stakes formed a square pattern about
40 feet to the side, on the northern slope of the bottom. A second series of 40 stakes was found to be
more modern; steel axes had been used to make
the bottom of the stakes go into the mud more easily. The stakes found in section five were also
found to be of modern origin.
The Atherley Narrows was an ideal site for a
weir because there was a large fish migration between the two lakes of different sizes, different
depths and different temperatures.
Cassavoy found that the tops of the long slender
poles (probably six feet long) that formed the weir
have not survived, and only some of the lower portions. Still, there were enough to suggest the patterns for the vertical components of the prehistoric
weirs. There must also have been horizontal
branches, partly for stability and partly to direct
the fish in the channels. The weirs probably had to
be repaired on an annual basis, as ice floes in the
spring would have damaged them.
These weirs are remarkable because they indicate a stable tradition over a long period, and because they suggest the ability to find ways to make
fishing easier. The weirs combined with nets produced food that lasted through the winter.
Elwood Jones, professor emeritus of history
at Trent University, is the archivist for the Trent
Valley Archives and editor of the Heritage
Gazette of the Trent Valley. He can be reached at
[email protected].
‘Sweetwater’ legend preserved
Page 21
By KEVIN LEHMAN
Every spring for the past seven years, the 150
students of Kendaaswin Elementary School in
Rama have taken a trip back through time. In late
March they get the opportunity to attend a maple
syrup stand in Longford Mills.
The discovery of maple syrup is the subject of
legend, says John Snake, culture co-ordinator for
the Chippewas of Rama First Nation.
“Long before Columbus came to North America,” he says, “thinking it was India and discovering us ‘Indians,’ a young boy was in a forest
hunting deer. He found the deer he wanted and
lined up his shot with his bow and arrow. At the
last second, the deer sensed him and moved. The
boy’s arrow ended up in the trunk of a tree. Arrows were precious so the boy went to recover
his. When he pulled it out of the tree, he saw a
liquid, like water, coming from the hole in the
tree. He tasted it and found it to be very sweet. He
ran back to his village and told the elders what he
had found.”
His legend goes on to describe how the elders
went back to the tree with the boy and found that
when they made the hole deeper in the tree, more
sweet water came out.
They collected it in bowls hollowed out of birch
trees and used it as a marinade to take some of the
Special to The Chronice
John Snake, culture co-ordinator for the
Chippewas of Rama First Nation, with a
hollowed-out log used to collect sap.
game taste out of deer meat. The name “sweetwater” evolved to “water from the maple tree” or
“ninaatigwaaboo” in Ojibway.
They also found that if they dropped sizzling
hot rocks into the water, it cooked and became
sweeter, turning into maple syrup, or “ziisbaakwadwaaboo”.
Mayor
Bill Duffy
There are many similar legends on the Internet,
says Snake, who believes the telling of legends
and the preservation of traditional practices help
keep First Nation culture alive.
When March starts to get warmer, Snake heads
to the maple stand on Maple Avenue in Longford
Mills. There are about 3,000 trees in that particular forest. Down at the bottom of the street, overlooking Lake Couchiching there are 50 that are
used to harvest the sap or sweet water. Of those,
25 are tapped, every second year, to give the trees
time to rest between harvests.
After giving thanks to each tree and offering
gifts of tobacco, the trees are tapped and the collection of sap begins. When enough has been collected, it is filtered and cooked for three days.
Some sap is kept so the young people can taste it
before it becomes syrup.
The young people arrive when all is ready, and
enjoy pancakes with the cooked syrup, prepared
by community members and brought to the event.
Snake would like to have a permanent structure
erected on the Maple Avenue site in order to be
able to bring young people and seniors together,
sit around a few picnic tables, enjoy the fruits of
their labour and revisit the legend of how it all
began.
Volunteer and Washago resident Kevin Lehman
Re-elect
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Accountable
Dedicated
Experienced
Responsive
On October 25, vote for four more years of progress
Letʼs stay in touch (705) 326-3915
Less time at the dentist’s
Page 22
New technology means fewer visits, better crowns and other forms of tooth restoration
By ROB McCORMICK
Managing Editor
An Orillia dentist is employing the latest version of a sophisticated imaging technology that
allows for greater ease and accuracy in the creation of crowns and other procedures involving
tooth restoration.
Dr. Adam Tan, who has practised in Orillia
since 1999, is the only dentist in the immediate
market to use Cerec AC Bluecam technology,
launched in January 2009 by Sirona Dental Systems of Germany.
“In simple terms, it’s a technology that enables
our patients to not spend as much time at the dentist’s,” said Tan, who acquired the imaging system
in July.
Tan says his Georgian Dental Clinic is the only
one in Orillia to use Bluecam technology, the latest refinement in a computer-aided design and
computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system that allows dentists to capture precise images
of a patient’s tooth. Those images are used to
manufacture crowns, inlays, onlays, implants and
other dental prosthetic devices.
With old technology, Tan says, a crown procedure would typically involve an initial visit to
prepare the tooth, as well as subsequent appointments including the removal of the temporary
covering placed on the tooth and the cementing
of the crown.
“What this new technology has allowed us to do
is totally shift the paradigm on how we think
about booking our appointments and treating our
patients,” Tan said.
“Through this process, we have been able to
eliminate at least one or more visits for the pa-
Orillia dentist Dr. Adam Tan views an image on his CAD/CAM system.
tient.
“In the past, impressions were used, and typically, when patients think of impressions, or
doing crowns, they think of a mouth full of goop.
Many years ago this goop tasted like gasoline,
and they have actually improved the formulation,
believe it or not, so now it doesn’t taste as bad. It
has sort of a neutral vanilla flavor these days, but
for my patients who gag, having a tray full of
flowing, goopy material shoved up to the roof
of your mouth can sometimes be a little unnerving.”
In addition to patient convenience, the CAD
CAM technology, which Tan has employed
since about 2005, can help preserve tooth
strength, he says.
“Since ceramic restorations are able to be
delivered in one visit, there can be a tendency
to be more conservative in preparing the tooth,
that is to save more tooth structure. Prior to
CAD/CAM technology, when a tooth was
crowned, the tooth had to be essentially whittled down to a peg just so that there was
enough reduction of surface thickness for the
new crown to get cemented on to the tooth.
Now, with CAD/CAM technology, I’m able to
place a class of ceramic restorations called inlays and onlays instead of crowns in some
cases. I would describe inlays and onlays as
somewhere between fillings and crowns.
These types of restorations can be less expensive for the patient when compared to crowns,
saving a couple of hundred dollars in cost.
Furthermore, inlays and onlays are more conservative form of treatment because more natural tooth structure is saved, and therefore
Rob McCormick
more of the inherent strength the tooth is conserved.”
Tan also uses the technology to create crowns
on top of artificial roots.
“This technology allows us to create crowns for
implant teeth as well, an implant being an artificial root made out of a titanium alloy. I actually
place the implant, performing the surgical portion
as well as the prosthetic portion of the treatment.”
Prior to CAD/CAM technology, specifications
for a patient’s crown were sent to an outside
source for manufacture. Now, ceramic blanks are
purchased from dental supply companies and the
crown is manufactured on site. ”
Bluecam’s refinement is in the wavelength used
by the camera that captures the image, Tan says.
“The major step forward...has been in the kind
of imaging technology that the acquisition portion
of this system has gone through,” he said.
“They have changed the wavelength of the light
the scanning camera uses. It’s gone from a red
light, which is a relatively long wavelength, to a
blue light, which has a much shorter wavelength,
and the theory is that the shorter wavelength will
pick up much more subtle nuances of detail from
a prepared tooth.
“It’s all about precision. In terms of accuracy of
the image acquisition, everyone’s heard the term
garbage in, garbage out with computers. The reverse is also true.
“The more high-fidelity information that is provided to the computer to process, the better the
end result.”
All that, and less gagging, too.
(To reach Tanʼs clinic, visit orlliadentist.com.)
Helping in Haiti
Page 23
Tents for armed forces and emergency personnel at the airbase in Haiti (above). Sean Lehman is at left in insert photo.
By KEVIN LEHMAN
I have had the pleasure of driving to Trenton
twice in the last month.
The first time was to deliver my son, Sean, to
CFB Trenton on Jan. 22, so he could play his part
in Operation Hestia, the Canadian Forces participation in humanitarian operations conducted in response to Haiti’s catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake.
The second time was to pick him up and return
him to his current home base, CFB Borden on Saturday, Feb. 6.
That second drive opened my eyes about both
my son’s job and the depth of the Canadian response to the Haiti tragedy. Sean is a corporal, 30
years old, just starting his eighth year as a medic
in the Forces. This was his first opportunity to
serve outside Canada.
Feb. 5 started for him at 2:30 a.m., when he reported to the flight line to board a CC177 Globemaster, the workhorse of the Canadian Air Force.
The CC177’s chief attribute is the ability to carry a
load of up to 36 metric tonnes of supplies in relief
efforts with a crew of just three: pilot, co-pilot and
loadmaster. These planes fly to Haiti loaded with
supplies and, when necessary, return with passengers, in this case refugees.
Sean didn’t know the exact weight of the load
this flight was carrying, but there wasn’t much unused room. He did say that the load consisted of
blankets, water purification tablets and food.
Because this mission would be bringing back
passengers, the flight crew was augmented with
six medical personnel. The medical group consisted of a doctor, a trauma nurse and four medics,
of which Sean was one. For the master corporal in
charge of the medics, this was her 65th flight.
I asked Sean what his first impression was when
they landed in Haiti after the four-hour flight.
“Hot,” was his response. “I was on the ground less
than a minute before my shirt was stuck to me.
Then I realized that the whole world was down
here helping. I saw soldiers from Jamaica, France,
the States and church people from everywhere.”
He had a fellow who said he was a Christian
Scientist tap him on the shoulder and say “Go
Canada!” Sean said he felt needed.
Normally, as soon as a flight like this lands,
work crews swarm aboard and start offloading
supplies. Not today. All activity on the field
stopped for the arrival of a former U.S. President
Bill Clinton, there to take on the overall co-ordination of relief efforts.
While Clinton was arriving, Sean wandered
My son Sean is a corporal,
just starting his eighth year
as a medic in the Forces.
This was his first
opportunity to serve outside
Canada.
around and saw damaged buildings, all over the
airfield, that were abandoned as unsafe. Haitians
with lost looks on their faces wandered too, but
they were looking for food or water. Planes were
everywhere on the field, from big military transports like the CC177 to little Piper Cubs of private
citizens arriving to join in the relief effort.
Tents were everywhere. Whole cities of them.
Supplies were finally offloaded and ambulances
arrived with some of the passengers. Not many,
since all but five of the passengers were able to
walk. The space where the supplies had been in
the plane was replaced with seats, and 94 people
got on the plane, the medical personnel helping
where necessary. And it was necessary.
There was a nine-year-old girl on the plane who
had been found alive in rubble after being trapped
for 13 days. She was found with the bodies of her
father and two aunts. The girl stayed alive by
drinking water dripping from a broken pipe during
the day and kept herself warm at night by wrapping
herself in the clothes of one of her dead aunts.
She had a fractured pelvis and a broken leg and
was in a cast from her waist down to the ankle on
her left leg. She was traveling with an uncle from
Ottawa who had come to Haiti to bring her back
and adopt her. She was headed to a life much better than what she had left.
There was a 74-year-old woman who had suffered a stroke during the earthquake and needed
more care than she would find in Haiti at this time.
She, like all of the Haitians on the plane, was in
culture shock, never having flown before and now
on the way to a strange new land.
Among the passengers there were 15 Canadian
military personnel, rotating back home. When
meals were handed out after take-off, they all declined the food, probably because they were looking forward to something better than the standard
military fare, an IMP, or Individual Meal Pack.
Sean became an instant hero to the young people
on the plane. He went through the meal packs that
hadn’t been needed and took all the cookies, cakes
and cereal bars, passing them among the youngsters, making sure everyone had their fill of these
treasures.
When I asked him to tell me something good
that happened on this flight, his face lit up and he
said, “The baby. There was a six-month-old baby
on the flight and every time I went near him and
pretended I was going to tickle him, he would
laugh and start moving his arms and legs. He
looked like an excited spider.”
Sean has a 20-month-old son, Noah, so I am not
surprised that he would see this as a high point.
The return flight landed first in Montreal, leaving those passengers who would be met by family
there before returning to CFB Trenton, where the
crew and medical personnel ended their day.
A few hours later I arrived to get Sean. He was
exhausted, happy and wiser, all at the same time.
I am certainly proud of Sean, but that pride
stretches to all of our military and emergency personnel who want to help; who want to make a difference.
Go Canada.
Volunteer and Washago resident
Kevin Lehman can be reached
Bear with us
Page 24
If they get the scent
of something edible,
bears will travel miles
in search of food
By DAVID A.
HOMER
Carden Field
Naturalists
This is an important time of the year for female
black bears, who wake up briefly from their state
of dormancy to give birth to one, two or more
cubs.
The females give birth during January and February. By March, they have fallen back into their
slumber, the young cubs nursing and sleeping without much if any involvement on the mother’s part.
It all begins in May or June, when sexually mature, three-to-four-year-old female black bears
search out a mate by leaving scent trails. A pair
will spend a few days together, keeping their distance at first, but in time they will show what humans would term “affection” by nuzzling each
other prior to the mating, which takes place over
several days. When the mating is over, they separate, the female wanting to have nothing more to
do with the male.
You may recall the line, “You can’t be half
pregnant.” True for humans, but with some animals, bears being one, they can. When the female
bear mated, the fertilized egg developed into a
small embryo, but after a short period it stopped
David A. Homer
growing in the uterus. The bear was indeed half
From the wound over his right eye, this old boy looks to have been in a few scraps in his day.
pregnant.
scent of something edible, they will travel miles
Whether or not she becomes “totally pregnant”
Black bears will eat just
in search of food.
depends entirely on her physical condition when
about anything, preferring
My father, a clergyman, ministered on Manishe dens up in late fall. If she is in poor condition
toulin Island in the early 1930s. Food was scarce
as a result of an inadequate food supply during
roots of plants, berries and
the summer and early fall, the embryo will not de- for humans and bears. He told the story of a
insects...they will also eat
velop further and will be absorbed by the body. If, farmer carrying home a side of pork late one afon the other hand, she is in good condition when
ternoon, when suddenly a bear decided it wanted
fish, carrion, newly born
she enters dormancy, the embryo will implant in
the pork. The farmer insisted it wasn’t going to
animals and garbage.
the uterus and develop.
get it. A battle developed and eventually the
In the first two to three
farmer won out, arriving home
months of the new year, the
with the pork over his shoulcubs are born. They are sightder, but not without a parting
to food: bird seed, pet food, greasy barbecues and
less for a week or so, but find
gift from the bear. The bear
garbage are all on the menu. Once they have had
their way around the den soon
had swiped him with a paw,
a successful dinner at a location, they will return
enough. The young quickly
ripping open his cheek. With
drain the mother of precious
doctors and hospitals far out of to the same location again and again, losing their
fear of humans in the process.
body weight as they grow.
reach, my father was called.
So now is the time to do some early spring
During the time in the den, the
After pouring a couple of
cleaning around your yard. Quit feeding birds as
mother bear will not eat, drink,
ounces of whiskey into the
urinate or defecate. She and
wound to disinfect it, he sewed spring arrives; keep garbage in bear-resistant
containers; and feed pets indoors.
David
A.
Homer
her cubs will spend the rest of
the farmer up with a darning
“If you go down to the woods today,” and run
Always on the alert.
the winter in the den.
needle and some thread. Bears
When spring finally arrives,
are very opportunistic animals. into a bear this spring, don’t run away. Gently
back away from it. Carry and use a whistle or an
they will emerge from the den in search of food,
There are an estimated 75,000 to 100,00 black
air
horn. Make lots of noise and it will likely just
and they are ravenous.
bears in Ontario. Bear sightings have increased in
wander off. However, be sure to carry some bear
Black bears will eat just about anything, prefer- recent years due in part to the absence of the
repellent spray just in case the noise is not a
ring roots of plants, berries and insects. Quite
spring bear hunt. At the same time, residential
strong enough deterrent.
often they are seen digging for roots in fields.
development has spread further into rural areas
They will also eat fish, carrion, newly born aniDavid A. Homer is the president of the
that used to be home to wildlife only.
mals and garbage. That is precisely why they are
Carden Field Naturalists. He can be reached
Black bears rarely attack people. They are, for
often seen near human habitat. If they get the
the most part, quite timid, but they are attracted
Clues in the snow
Page 25
Track, scat and wing prints can tell us who’s been doing what, and where
Winter is possibly the best time of year to identify animal tracks and scat since a blanket of
snow on the ground provides the perfect visual
imprint. By studying the tracks we can determine
what kind of animal or bird made them, where
it’s heading, what it’s feeding on and how fresh
they are.
By GAIL SMITH
The Nature Nut
Ramara is home to a wide range of animals and
birds and our local trails, parks, fields and also
our own backyards will give us many opportunities for viewing some of these footprints.
Tracks are much more prevalent than scat, so
perhaps the animals like their privacy as much as
we do. And yes, scat is the scientific word for
poop, and to children it evokes giggles and something naughty. So this “potty” word might be just
the ticket to persuade the kids to join you for a
walk in the woods and a “poop” hunt. Then you
can try to figure out which animal did the “dirty
deed.”
Take rabbits, for instance, once you identify
their tracks and follow them, you might be lucky
enough to find some scat which will look like a
small pile of little pea sized pellets. Deer scat is
very similar, again with piles of dark pellets a bit
larger than marbles which can be round or oblong. Oddly enough, for their intimidating size,
moose also have similar scat, again in piles, although larger and more oblong in shape. Both
deer and moose are hoofed mammals and their
tracks are easily identifiable.
Walk near a stream or pond and you might see
evidence of beavers at work. It’s their teeth
marks on a tree that you’ll notice before anything
else, and sometimes their choices leave you wondering how they could possibly chew through
such an incredibly large diameter and then how
do they move it when it falls?
Look in your backyard and you will most
surely see squirrel tracks. They have a very interesting behaviour if you watch them, when the
snow is deep they will take long jumps to the
bottom of a tree and then climb up and find a secure branch where they will jump to the next tree
and either climb down to the ground or jump
again to the next one, thus avoiding the deep
snow.
Racoons are also abundant in Ramara and have
interesting tracks. The smaller front feet have 5
toes and the larger hind feet, also with 5 toes, resemble a miniature human footprint with elongated toes, each with claws visible in the print.
Gail Smith photos
The wild turkey can be found in most areas of
Ramara and they are usually in groups and a
group of 25 or more is not unusual. Their tracks
are large, three toed claws in front and one behind resembling a chicken and can be 4 inches
long or more.
Another interesting observation when it comes
to birds is to come across a perfect imprint of a
pair of outstretched wings in the snow. You might
see numerous wing marks indicating signs of a
struggle whereby a large predator such as a hawk
may have swooped down upon an unsuspecting
mouse or small mammal, picked it up in it’s
talons and flown away to devour it’s meal.
There are many other animals and birds to be
seen in our area and getting out for a walk in the
woods gives us a great opportunity to introduce
youngsters and grandchildren to the wonders of
nature.
Helpful animal and bird guides can be found at
most local feed stores and they offer lots of information and illustrations to get you started on a
wonderful outdoor educational adventure.
Lagoon City photographer and nature
enthusiast Gail Smith can be reached
The Bird House
Nature Company
Supplies and Gifts
for Nature Lovers
108 Mississaga St. East., Orillia, opposite the Mariposa Market (705) 329-3939
Page 26
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liquids, weight management
and skin care products call
1-800-717-5077 or visit us on line
at www.remu.myzija.com
I receive a great many inquiries about vitamins
and minerals. Quite often, our bodies need supplements when we do not get enough in our diet.
In the old days, sailors used to get scurvy due to a
lack of vitamin C, as a well-known example.
By NADIR JAMAL
Capsule Comments
It is wise to pick a general vitamin/mineral supplement produced by a reliable manufacturer and
which has a drug identification number (DIN) assigned by Health Canada.
It is now considered prudent to take calcium
and vitamin D supplements past the age of 40.
There is only enough room here to explore,
briefly, the minerals. I will leave vitamins for another column.
Calcium: For development and maintenance of
bones and teeth, blood clotting and muscle contractions. Builds and maintains teeth and bones.
Also plays a role in muscle/nerve function.
Iodine: Essential for thyroid hormone formation, to regulate the body’s energy production,
promote growth and development and burn excess
fat.
Iron: Necessary for haemoglobin formation and
for oxidation process of living tissue.
ZINC: Plays a role in the activities of more
than 100 enzymes. Needed for normal rate of
growth, reproductive organ development, prostate
function and wound and burn healing.
Copper: For brain and red blood cell development, to maintain strong bones. Helps in absorption of iron.
Magnesium: For development and maintenance of bones, teeth, enzyme reactions of nerves
and energy, and helps in body temperature regulation.
Potassium: Regulates PH balance of blood and
production of hydrochloric acid for digestion.
Manganese: For enzyme activity in reproduction, fat metabolism and cartilage development.
Silicon: Plays a role in composition and resilience of connective tissue within the body and
also get involved in the calcification of bone.
Chromium: Stimulates enzymes involved in
carbohydrate and glucose metabolism
Vanadium: Inhibits formation of cholesterol in
blood vessels
Chlorine: Maintains normal fluid shifts, balances blood PH and forms hydrochloric acid to
It is wise to pick a general
vitamin/mineral supplement
produced by a reliable
manufacturer and which has
a drug identification number
(DIN) assigned by Health
Canada.
aid digestion.
Molybdenum: Aids in carbohydrate, fat and
iron metabolism.
Tin: Deficiency is believed to be associated
with depressed growth.
Selenium: With vitamin E, preserves tissue
elasticity, thus slowing the aging process. There
seem to be more scientists leaning toward this belief than not, but the matter is still controversial.
Nickel: Plays a role in blood formation, normal
growth and absorption of iron, copper and zinc in
the liver.
So there we have a brief look into the world of
“metals” and the human body. Next time, vitamins.
Oh, what a creation we are.
Topical skin preparations
How a pharmacist or physician chooses a corticosteroid or any other type of topical medication
depends on the application area and severity of
the condition being treated, among other factors.
The strength of the medication used will be determined by its effectiveness, safety and the tolerance of the patient.
We normally choose mild formulations for children, or for thinner skin such as the facial area or
groin.
For severe conditions and very inflamed areas,
a physician might start with a medium-strength
formula and build it up to stronger medication for
thicker skin such as palms and soles of feet.
Formulation affects potency. Ointments are usually more potent than creams, which are in turn
stronger than lotions.
Ointments, for example, are usually preferred
for thick or dry skin, but not necessarily. It is for
dermatologists to tackle difficult cases, and often,
pharmacists who specialize in this area can help
with formulations.
For areas with hair, we often use lotions, gels,
shampoos, and exotic mixtures. For weeping skin,
regular or thickened creams may be used.
Pharmacist Nadir Jamal owns Nadir Jamal
Pharmacy in Brechin. He can be reached
at 484-0074.
Lepto re-emerges in Ontario
Page 27
Dogs can pick up potentially fatal virus by drinking from contaminated puddles
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that is
worldwide and affects many animals including
dogs and, to a lesser extent, cats.
Infected animals shed leptospires in their urine,
so animals that drink out of puddles or pools of
water on walks are at risk of developing the disease.
In the 1970s, most vaccines contained leptospirosis, but because we rarely found cases of it,
and some dogs reacted to the vaccine, leptospirosis was rarely included in vaccine protocols.
Well guess what?
Leptospirosis had re-emerged in Ontario, with
potentially fatal consequences.
Severe lepto infections can mimic antifreeze
poisoning, and can result in acute kidney failure
and death.
If a dog presents symptoms of not eating, fever,
possibly vomiting and elevated kidney tests, leptospirosis should be considered.
By Dr. LARRY BOOTH
Your pet can be treated with penicillin until test
results are back.
Oddly enough, Toronto is now an endemic area
for lepto because of the high raccoon population.
So the little five pound dog that is never out of
its owner’s arms except in its backyard is at risk
of getting lepto.
All dogs should be vaccinated for leptospirosis
on a yearly basis, regardless of breed, but especially those dogs that are out and about, possibly
drinking contaminated water.
No vaccine is 100 per cent effective, and lepto
is no different.
Currently, there are four strains of leptospirosis
covered in the vaccine, and your pet could become infected with a different strain.
Also, some dogs may react to the lepto portion
of the vaccine, but is usually very mild and limited to itchiness and or swelling of lips and eyelids. It is easily treated with antihistamines.
As owners, we are at risk of developing leptospirosis by drinking contaminated water, handling pets or by contacting infected urine, so
always wash your hands after handling your pet.
For more information on this disease, contact
your veterinarian.
Dr. Larry Booth operates Pine Grove
Veterinary Hospital in Orillia. He can
Call for ar tists
The Ramara Chronicle is looking for artists
in Ramara to participate in the first Ramara
Art Park & Studio Tour on a weekend in July.
We are seeking artists and artisans of all
kinds: carvers and crafters, photographers,
painters, potters, sculptors and silversmiths.
The event will be free to participating
artists and to the public.
The Chronicle will organize and promote
the tour, and arrange exhibition space.
Artists may participate in two ways: by
opening their studios to visitors for the
weekend, or by exhibiting their work
alongside their colleagues at an outdoor
location in Ramara to be determined.
Art lovers will have the choice of touring
the studios or coming to the exhibition,
or both.
Remember, there is no fee.
All we really need is your enthusiasm...and
perhaps some good weather.
Hope to see you there.
Interested artists are invited to contact
Chronicle publisher Darleen Cormier
at [email protected],
or call us at (705) 484-1576.
Page 28
Community calendar
By SANDRA
JOYCE
Calendar Girl
All month
Trips with the Ramara Seniors: For information call Brian Smith (705) 326-7940.
Ramara Winter Photo Contest: Ends March
19. Call 325-3091 for info. Submit photos to
[email protected].
Monday, March 1
Public meeting: 7 p.m. at Ramara Township
council chambers, Brechin, public meeting on
development charges.
Dalrymple & Countryside Seniors: 1 p.m.,
bid euchre at Carden Recreation Hall, Dalrymple Road. Everyone welcome.
Ramara Seniors bid euchre: 1-4 p.m., bid
euchre at Longford Mills Community Centre.
Every Monday, All welcome. Call Liz at
(705) 325-3571.
Line Dancing: – This is one of the best ways
to keep fit and have fun. Every Monday 1- 3
p.m., year round except statutory holidays.
Beginners welcome. Call Anne (Washago)
(705) 689-8845
Washago Sunshine Seniors: Line Dancing
Every Monday, 1:30 p.m. Call (705) 3250680. Guests and new members welcome.
Tuesday, March 2
Dalrymple & Countryside Seniors: Regular
monthly meeting, 1 p.m., Carden Recreation
Hall, Dalrymple Rd. Everyone welcome.
Washago Sunshine Seniors: Euchre club.
Every Tuesday, 7 p.m. Call (705) 689-1033.
Guests and new members welcome.
Wednesday, March 3
Foot Clinic: Washago Sunshine Seniors.
First Wednesday of each month. By appointment. Call (705)689-9464, Guests and new
members welcome.
Friday, March 5
Ramara Seniors: Euchre, Longford Mills
Community Centre, every Friday 1-4 p.m. All
welcome. Call Harold, (705) 325-8053.
World Day of Prayer 2010: Heritage United
Church, Washago, 1:30 p.m. Join your neighbours. For more information on this communityʼs service call Margot McNiece, (705)
689-1277.
Send information about your
community event in Ramara to
[email protected], or call
484-0949. Listings for May must be
received in the first week of April.
Pasta dinner raises $3,200 for St. Andrewʼs
Rod Brazier
About 250 people attended a pasta dinner at Legion Branch 488 Feb. 13 that raised $3,200 for repairs
to St. Andrewʼs Catholic Church in Brechin. The church is trying to raise $215,000 to repay a loan
from the chancery of the archdiocese in Toronto. The cost of the repairs is $340,000, with $125,000
coming from the churchʼs restoratin fund. At the dinner, Father Anthony Gonsalves, the parish priest,
drew his own ticket in the 50/50 draw, and donated his winnings to the cause.
Washago Bridge Club: Learn to play bridge,
or improve your game. Every Friday, noon, in
a fun-filled social setting, 4108 Canal Rd.,
Washago. Call Anne, (705) 689-8845.
Saturday, March 6
Jam session: Longford Mills Community
Centre, every first Saturday of the month, 8
p.m. All welcome. Les Davy, (705) 325-2084.
Film workshop: Ramara Centre, 9 a.m.- 3
p.m. Toying Around. One day workshop. Join
The Directorʼs Cut as they lead you through a
full day of making your toys come to life on
film. Using the latest digital equipment, you
will write, cast, develop and film your own
movie to take home on DVD. Ages 7-11. Cost
$45. Call (705) 325-3091.
Meeting: Washago Community Centre annual general meeting. 1-3 p.m.
Wednesday, March 10
Naturalists: Carden Field Naturalists. Join
our club. Every second Wednesday of the
month. 7 p.m. Carden Recreation Centre.
Lake Dalrymple Rd. For further info, call
David Homer, (705) 833-257.
St. Paddyʼs dinner: Atherley United Church.
Stew, biscuits and green desserts. 5:30 to 7.
pm. Continuous serving. $10 adult, $5 child,
$25 family of four.
Pleasure Craft Operatorsʼ Card: Ramara
Centre boardroom, 7- 9:30 p.m. Cost $55.
Manual extra $14. Call (705) 325-3091.
Thursday, March 11
Ramara Youth Soccer Club: Final soccer
registrations, 6-8 p.m., Ramara Centre. New
players please bring birth certificates. Information available and forms can be printed
from our website: www.ramarasoccerclub.ca.
Call (705) 325-3091.
Saturday, March 13
Ramara Youth Soccer Club: Final soccer
registrations, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Ramara Centre.
New players please bring birth certificates. Information available and forms can be printed
from our website: www.ramarasoccerclub.ca.
Call (705) 325-3091.
Dance: Longford Mills Community Centre,
Every second Saturday of the month. Dance
with Elvin Eastcottʼs Country Memories Band,
8 p.m. All welcome. Call Les Davy, (705)
325-2084.
Wednesday, March 17
St. Paddyʼs Dinner: Washago Community
Centre, 6 p.m., Adults $12. Children $6.
Thursday, March 18
Meeting: Ramara Seniors, general membership meeting and lunch, every third Thursday
of the month, 10 a.m. Longford Mills Community Centre. New members welcome! Call
Jim, (705) 327-5126.
Friday, March, 19
Family Movie Night: Washago Community
Centre, 7 p.m. Admission $2 or $5. for a family (Movies are family oriented).
Historical society: Monthly meeting, 7:30
p.m., Ramara Centre
Community calendar
Page 29
March Break activities
for Ramara Township Public Library,
Ramara Centre Branch
Monday, March 15 – Friday, March 19
Ramara Centre, March Break Theatre Arts
Camp, Daily 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. (Extended care
available at an extra cost.) Partnered with
Duck Soup Productions, The Ramara Centre
Players are back. Calling all actors and actresses. A full fledged musical will be performed on stage on Friday, March 19 at 7
p.m. Cost $100. Call (705) 325-3091.
Tuesday, March 16
Magpie Beads: Kids will make beautiful
beaded creations to take home. 10:30 a.m.
for ages 5-7 and 2 p.m. for ages 9+. Cost
$6 per person.
Wednesday, March 17
Kids for Turtles: Everything Turtles —10:30
a.m. Kids will learn about turtles that live in
Ontario, why turtles are at risk, what they can
do to help turtles and more! All welcome.
Snowshoe Fun: 1:30 p.m. for ages 6-12.
Hereʼs your chance to learn snowshoeing basics. The session will end with hot chocolate
and a story in the library. Please note that
registration is limited.
Thursday, March 18
Safe @ Home Alone: Orillia First Aid, 8:30
a.m.-4:30 p.m. Participants will learn everything they need to know about personal
safety, key security, setting rules and guidelines, bad weather safety, fire safety, etc.
Must bring lunch, drinks and snacks for the
day. Cost $45 per person.
Fun Internet Sites for Kids: With Kevin
Lehman, 1:30 p.m., ages 6-12. Participants
will learn about many fun, interactive websites to use.
Call (705) 325-5776 or (705) 484-0476
to preregister for the above programs.
Beavers raise $441.21
The 1st Ramara Beavers raised $441.21 for
Haitian earthquake relief at their pancake
supper Feb. 3 at Knox Presbyterian Church in
Uptergrove. When matched by the federal
government, a total of $882.42 will be sent to
Haiti. The Beavers thank sponsors,
contributors and participants, as well as Knox
Presbyterian Church for use of the facilities.
St. Columbkille CWL
The St. Columbkilleʼs Catholic Womenʼs League hosted the ladies of the CWL from St. Andrewʼs
parish in Brechin on Feb. 1 for a roast beef dinner. Following mass, which was celebrated by
Father Glass from the Orillia family of Catholic Churches, JoAnne Debresczeni and Mary McIsaac,
with their team of helpers, prepared the meal for about 35 people. Special guests included Doreen
Dubreuil, president of the Northern Region CWL, who presented certificates to Karen McIsaac,
CWL secretary of St. Columbkilleʼs league, and Donna Page, president of the St. Andrewʼs league,
for 55 years of service to their parish communities. Anne Martin of St. Columbkilleʼs CWL was
recognized for her 75 years of service to the CWL. Young members of the St. Columbkille Altar
Society (above) served the dinner. Left to right are Rachel, Jessica and Katie McIsaac, Elizabeth
Scott, Sarah McIsaac and Riley Scott.
Saturday, March 20
Dance, dinner: Longford Mills Community
Centre, Every 3rd Saturday of the month, 6
p.m. Western dance, roast beef dinner, live
band, Western Strings. $15. All welcome.
Call Les Davy, (705) 325-2084
Sunday, March 21
Breakfast Time: Washago Community Centre, 8 a.m.-noon. Adults $6. Children $3.
Tuesday, March 23
Registration for Ramara teeball: Ramara
Centre. Volunteers still needed to run this
league. Registration starts today. See
www.ramara.ca for details. Call (705) 3253091 for information or to volunteer.
Wednesday, March 24
Pot luck lunch: Washago Sunshine Seniors,
every fourth Wednesday of the month, at
3222 Muskoka St. Heritage United Church
Hall, at noon. Entertainer: Bob Rimkey. Call
Wilf McNiece, (705) 689-1277.
Saturday, March 27
Fundraiser: C & C Roadhouse & Grill, 87
Laguna Pkwy., Lagoon City, 9 p.m. KICX
Radio for Radiology event featuring Bill McConnell and The Steel Horse Gypsies. All
money raised for Royal Victoriaʼs Regional
Cancer Centre. $5 cover charge for donation
to fund.
Lagoon City volunteer Sandra Joyce can
Volunteers needed
Ramona Hall Agricultural Society. New
Volunteers are always welcome. Come as a
neighbour — leave as a friend. Highway 169
and Fairgrounds Road, Washago. Call Glenn
Spriggs at (705) 689 -8881.
Ramara teeball looking for volunteers.
Call (705) 325-3091.
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The garden path
Page 30
An exceptionally
landscaped property will
compel people to meander
further into the garden rather
that view the entire scene
from one vantage point.
By SUZAN
BERTRAND
Gardening
If imagination is the root of successful garden design, then liberal
fertilization should be applied to
stimulate it. Walt Disney once said,
“We keep moving forward, opening
new doors and doing new things,
because we’re curious, and curiosity
leads us down new paths.” This astute observation can be cheerfully
applied to home gardening.
An exceptionally landscaped
property will compel people to meander further into the garden rather
that view the entire scene from one
vantage point. To achieve this result, a wise gardener will employ a path that disappears
around a corner. Even if it
only leads to the compost
heap, the path will tempt
our curiosity and impart a
sense of mystery to the
overall vista.
In their enthusiasm to
plant one of everything, a
novice gardener will sometimes end up with a scattering
of island gardens. Visual confusion is the typical result of such a
layout. Linking the isolated beds with
walkways will provide continuity to the
overall design and encourage viewers to
take a closer look at the diverse collection of specimens within.
A path will make itself if you don’t
take the initiative. You’ll find the grass
beaten down to bare earth where one has
decided to be. Traffic is a huge consideration when designing the shape and location of the passageway. Instinct drives us to
take the most direct route, therefore no matter how graceful and inviting the curve you’ve
designed is; it will only be used if you haven’t
deviated too far from the old bee line.
Paths also perform on a utilitarian level; keeping
feet free from grass clippings and general muckiness; protecting the squeamish from worms and
other crawling things; and generally lending a civilized touch to the wilderness of outdoors.
Your happy trails can be constructed from a variety of materials including brick, flagstone,
gravel, and wood. In some ambitious gardens,
beds are so plentiful that the lawn is reduced to
path-like dimensions.
If, like me, you failed to consider the length of
Illustration by Suzan Bertrand
your arms’ reach when designing the depth of a
bed, weeding and deadheading will become a yoga
exercise while you attempt to find footing without
squashing plants underfoot. I needed an avenue
within the garden bed which would allow me access to the deeper regions. Necessity, being the
mother of invention, led me to discover the Wadi.
Wadi is an Arabic term referring to a dry
riverbed that contains water only during times of
heavy rain. Used as a path, it sits below the grade
of the existing garden and complements the plants
rather than competing with them. It’s
durable and definitely safe to step on, so
while a Wadi performs like a path, it doesn’t actually look like one, rather like a natural occurrence.
To begin construction, keep in mind the
need for a natural looking formation. A
useful path should be at least 18” wide,
but because this is to resemble a river, the
width must undulate. Use a couple of
garden hoses to outline the curvy banks
of the main river adding forks and
tributaries if desired. Dig down
about six inches and lay landscaping cloth to deter weeds from
popping up. A shallow layer of
sand on top of this will protect the
cloth from punctures. Apply a
layer of screenings at least two
inches deep. For the proper aesthetics, various sizes of river rock
should be used starting with
pea gravel for the main body
of the bed. After this layer,
place a few larger boulders
for visual interest. Pebbles
would naturally collect
there during a runoff, so
cluster similar sized stones
around the boulders going
from largest to smallest while
keeping in mind how the
flow of water would
arrange them in nature.
Low growing species
like Rock Cress are
especially nice
planted along the
edge, but the taller
Japanese iris also looks
graceful when planted
riverside. Whatever you decide to plant, a Wadi path should always look natural so stay away from too much
symmetry. Be sure not miss the surprise during the
next downpour. Run outside and watch your
riverbed come to life.
“There are many paths but only one journey”
sings Naomi Judd. I say, let that journey be along
the garden path!
Suzan Bertrand is president of the
Lagoon City Gardening Club. She can
Roads chief ‘gentle giant’
Passages
William Newman
By KEVIN LEHMAN
William John Newman, Ramara Township’s
roads superintendent and manager of municipal
works for 17 years, died peacefully in his sleep
on May 12 last year at the early age of 53.
His unexpected death came as a shock to all
who knew him.
“Bill was like a gentle giant,” said Ann Corrigan, Ramara Township’s recently retired deputy
treasurer/tax collector and life-long friend. “We
used to call him Mr. Chaos. When he came into
the building, everything started to spin. We liked
to aggravate him because we got such a good reaction from him.”
Newman was devoted to his work, Corrigan recalled.
“There wasn’t a drain or a road in the township
that Bill didn’t know the history of and what had
happened to it. He was involved in all phases of
the works department, out in the field, or in the
office running it. He would even drive a snow
plow if the department was short handed.”
“Bill was a cornerstone of the administrative
structure here,” said Rick Bates, the Township’s
chief administrative officer. “He started as a
labourer at 17 years old, picking up garbage, and
worked his way up to become the manager of
municipal works, our biggest department. He
knew everything there was to know about roads
and road construction.”
Newman was 13 months from retirement when
he died, another point of sadness to friends and
family. “As much as Bill loved his job and took
great pride in it, his first love was his family,”
said Linda Richardson, Newman’s assistant at the
Township office. “He was very much looking forward to retiring at 55 and spending more time
with his wife, Janie, his daughters Christine and
Courtney and his grandchildren,
Sydney and Zachary.”
Newman acquired his love of
the job and his work ethic from
his father, Archie, Ramara’s
clerk/treasurer/administrator
from 1950 until 1985.
Bill Newman lived his whole
life in the Udney area. He played
Bill Newman fastball there for 20 years and
was involved in community projects, including volunteer work at
the community centre.
His cousin, Carolyn Murney, owner of the
Hawthorne Grill and Gas Bar on Highway 169,
recalled fondly that Newman was “more like a
brother to me than a cousin. He was a great father
and grandfather and a very community-minded
person.” She also remembered Newman as an
avid deer and moose hunter.
“I didn’t know Bill long,” said Harry Sildva, of
Implo Technologies, a company new to the township, “but, in the time that I did, I came to know a
man who was very quiet in manner, but direct in
guidance and approachable in character. When I
heard of his passing, I was shocked. There was no
question of going or not going to his funeral. Attending was something I needed to do. And Ciro
Pasini, the principal behind our project, felt the
same way. We both simply had to be there. We
had to say goodbye.”
Bill has not been forgotten by his peers. Jerry
Ball, director of transportation and environmental
services for Oro Township, spearheaded a drive
to have Bill remembered. The Ontario Good
Roads Association gives an award for long service to their members.
Ball has arranged for Newman to be named to
the award posthumously. It was to have been announced at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association/Ontario Goods Roads Association Combined
Conference in February.
Former reeve on council 10 years
Basil Harrington
Basil Harrington, a former a reeve and deputy
reeve who served on Mara council from 1962 to
1972, died at his Ramara home last month. He
was 90.
His funeral was held at St. Columbkille Roman
Catholic Church on Feb. 5.
Harrington and his wife, Dorothy, who survives
him, had been married in the same church 67
years ago.
Friends and family remember Harrington for
his easy laughter, his devotion to his family and
friends and his love of Ramara. He was a man of
faith but one who kept his views on such subjects
to himself. His ready sense of humour and his
ease at meeting people marked him as a man who
liked to tell stories and have others laugh with
him.
Basil was a cattle farmer and an astute businessman. Many in Ramara can tell stories of his
negotiating skills but they will
also tell of the fairness with
which he conducted each business transaction.
In her eulogy, daughter-in-law
Lori said Harrington’s sense of
humour remained with him until
Basil
the day he died. “On Monday,
Harrington
Dorothy and my husband, Bert,
were taking Basil to Orillia,” she said. “As they
passed a set of steep stairs leading up to a house
on the south side of the highway, he said that one
time he tumbled down those stairs and that he’d
taken ‘quite a header,’ and gave his trademark
chuckle. These were to be his final words. How
appropriate that he ended with a joke, keeping his
wit and sense of humour to the very end. This is
how the family would like to remember him.”
Basil and Dorthy Harrington had six children,
nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
— Kevin Lehman
Page 31
A country cabin
Page 32
By ANNE SASO
Close to Home
Most pioneer families were not particularly proud of their log homes
On the southern outskirts of Gamebridge sits an
intriguing little house. Nestled close to the Trent
Canal, it’s a charming country cabin with a pillared porch extending across the entire front. It
looks best in the summertime. Viewed from the
Highway 12 bridge, surrounded by lots of land
and several ponds, the setting is picture postcard
perfect. In the winter, it looks warm and
cozy…just the sort of place that conjures up memories of times gone by.
It was a Friday night in the summer of 1954 that
this teenager first fell in love…not with a boy, but
with a log house. Not just any house, but Doris
Day’s log cabin in the movie Calamity Jane.
It was such a pathetic little cabin, dilapidated inside and out. Just one room, the place looked as if
it had never had one ounce of tender loving care.
Suddenly, in stepped Calamity’s friend Katy, who
quickly showed her what a little interior decorating could do.
I watched transfixed as this poor little cabin became a tiny jewel of a house. With the sweep of a
broom, a dust cloth and a little soap and water,
Katy and Calamity had it sparkling in exactly
three minutes. Within the next four minutes
(thanks to the magic of Hollywood) doors and furniture had been painted; windows were framed
with floral swags, enhanced with flower boxes
brimming with blooms. The table covered with a
bright red checked cloth and four country chairs
were moved…repositioned to catch the light
streaming in from the open door. The big stone
fireplace was swept out and a tea kettle was simmering over the fire.
That was it…13 years old and hooked. My love
affair with old log houses had begun.
There are just a handful of early log houses in
Ramara today, but back when this area was first
settled they were the norm.
We’ve romanticized our past, but in actual fact
most pioneer properties were not a pretty sight.
After trees were felled and the dwelling built, no
effort was spent on removing the log stumps. They
were left to rot. Of course the “john” was outside.
Think about maneuvering around those stumps in
the middle of the night or middle of a snowstorm.
You were taking your life in your hands just making a trip to the outhouse.
Most pioneer families were not particularly
proud of their log homes. One of the first signs
One of the first
signs that a family
was “moving on
up” was to build a
newer, bigger
house, or to hide
the logs with
cladding.
Rob McCormick
Tom Farrellʼs log home on the southern outskirts of Gamebridge.
that a family was “moving on up” was to build a
newer, bigger house, or to hide the logs with
cladding. Another reason for the coverup may
have been due to “shrinking chinking.” Chinking
is the material used to fill spaces between logs.
Back then, chinking was simply mud or clay
mixed with a binder to keep it together — wood
chips, sticks, stones, straw, horse hair or hog bristles, whatever was handy. As the clay and binder
started to dry out, the chinking would shrink and
the weather would come in.
When Tom Farrell moved into this house over
20 years ago, the house we see today was buried
under three successive layers of siding; the last a
particularly ugly material known as insulbrick
Over the years he’s ripped it all off to expose
beautiful age-weathered, dove-tailed logs. He removed layers of roofing, too, and discovered original cedar shakes. Unfortunately they were too far
gone to save. The same was true for the small 12paned muntined windows, single paned, their
frames rotting. You can imagine how the wind
whistled through in the winter! They were replaced with double sash windows, the openings
enlarged to let more light into the main room.
The original house consists of one large rectangular room with a woodstove rather than a fireplace on the west wall. It’s constructed of squared
hand-hewn, notched logs, as were early log cabins,
but its high walls and large gabled dormer with a
rounded arch window place the house closer to the
start of the 20th century than to the mid 1800s. In
addition, early log homes did not have handsome
front porches like this one. Farrell added it a few
years ago, designed to replicate the type of porch
found on log homes of the late 1800s. Stairs to an
open, unheated loft, once enclosed behind a wall
and door to keep out the cold, were removed and
replaced by an open L shaped stairway leading
from the kitchen addition to an insulated secondfloor sleeping space.
Before Farrell’s time, the previous owners used
to take in boarders. It was rumoured that one poor,
unfortunate fellow, sleeping up in the loft on a
cold winter’s night, had the misfortune to freeze
his toes off.
Farrell believes the house, built several years before the Trent Severn Waterway was completed in
the early 1900s, was first erected on land near
where the Talbot River crossed the waterway. Apparently the house was smack in the middle of the
planned canal, in an area known today as Champlain Park. By the way, take care if you decide to
take a walk down to this park. Joanne Lambert of
the Gamebridge Woman’s Institute said she was
warned to stay away because “there are lots of
bears down there.”
The Farrell family has been farming in this area
for generations.
When Tom Farrell was a young lad, he says
local “historians” told him that the house was part
of a log settlement erected when the French explorer Champlain landed in this area. While it is
well documented that Champlain came up the Talbot River, set shore at Champlain’s Landing and
portaged across this part of the country in the mid
1600s, there appears to be no hard evidence he
ever settled in the area. He was simply passing
through.
Anne Saso is an interior designer and
former instructor in architectural history
living in Lagoon City. She can be reached
New York, New York
Page 33
Roadhouse-style strip loins pack a punch with peppercorns and a flavourful sauce
I think the New York strip is the best cut of the
steak. With lots of marbling, it’s tender, beautiful
meat.
Here is a roadhouse-style dish made with Ontario triple-A beef that produces a rich, flavourful
sauce using the juices and brown bits in the pan
after frying the steak.
By CHEF
KONSTANTINE
I use a dry, white wine to deglaze the pan and
loosen up those bits of flavour. You can also use
brandy or any liqueur, which will produce a heavier sauce.
Use lots of peppercorns, pressing them into
both sides of the steak before you cook it. It’s important to cover the steak while it cooks because
we want to sear it, but also preserve its juices for
the sauce.
I like to serve this dish with steamed asparagus
and roasted peppers. Steam them for a minute or
two, then sautee in olive oil and white wine for
about another two minutes. Add a bit of nutmeg.
I used Ontario baking potatoes for the hand-cut
fries.
Peppercorn New York Strip
• Sea salt
• Pepper
• Lots of whole peppercorns
• 1 ounce dry, white wine
• 1/2 ounce 35 per cent cream
• 2 ounces au jus, or beef stock
• 10-ounce New York strip steak, about an inch
thick
Heat olive oil in frying pan to medium high.
Rob McCormick
Peppercorn New York Strip, with home-cut fries, asparagus and roasted peppers, served with
Black Oak, a medium-bodied red wine from Reif Estates.
Season steak with sea salt, pepper and
whole peppercorns.
Be generous with the peppercorns,
covering and pressing into each side of the
steak.
Place steak in hot pan and fry, covered, for
about three minutes per side for mediumrare.
Remove steak from pan, decrease heat
and and deglaze with wine.
Stir in au jus or beef stock and cream.
Bring sauce to boil and remove from heat
when it starts to thicken. Pour over steak.
Serve with steamed vegetables and
potatoes.
Chef Konstantine is the chef at the Harbour Inn
restaurant in Lagoon City. He can be reached at
[email protected].
2010 Winter Escape
Wine match by Shari Darling
Sogrape Reserva Douro 2003 D.O.C.,
(CSPC # 335208), $17.95. In this wine I
found aromas of ripe plums, chocolate and
spice. The palate swirls with flavours of red
fruit, spices and smoke, embraced by full
body, firm tannin and a long finish.
Colio Estates 2005 Merlot Reserve, (CSPC
# 142505), $20.95. Merlot offers lots of berry
aromas and flavours, along with some earthy
tones, medium body, velvety texture.
Beringer Founders' Estate 2006 Shiraz,
(CSPC # 919654), $19.95. This red has
loads of forward dark ripe berry flavours with
full body.
Syndicated food and wine columnist
and author Shari Darling can be reached
at Themoanfactory.blogspot.com.
40% off regular daily room rate. Offer expires
April 2. (1 or 2 nights only, excludes March Break)
Close to: OFSC trails in Lagoon City; ice fishing on Lake Simcoe
On site: Restaurant, indoor pool,
sauna, hot tub, whirlpool, tennis
Tel: (705) 484-5366
Email: [email protected]
www.harbourinnresort.com

March 2010 - Ramara Chronicle

Transcription

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