CELESTIAL VIEWING Keeping the light out of Muskoka’s dark sky
JULY 2018
Record-breaking boat builders Bucket of bolts races the track
Ten ways Americans have shaped Muskoka
Trumpeting the return of sandhill cranes
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...telling the Muskoka story Features 21
Vintage Bikes – From a Basket of Parts to Track
Article and Photography by Heather Douglas Port Sydney resident Chris Hauk first raced motorcycles in 1994 but his riding experience began 10 years earlier as a teenager. Today, he restores vintage motorcycles and races with the Vintage Road Racing Association.
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Ten Ways Americans Shaped Muskoka
By J. Patrick Boyer From the very earliest days of Muskoka, Americans have helped shape the District. As both Canada and the United States celebrate patriotic holidays in July, writer Patrick Boyer felt the timing was right to identify his choice for the top ten ways Americans have impacted Muskoka.
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The Trumpet of Sandhill Cranes Makes a Comeback
Article by Doug Smith / Photography by Eleanor Kee Wellman The rolling trumpet-like call of a sandhill crane is unlike any other bird sound in Muskoka. Nowadays, the sandhill’s bugling is being heard more often than previously in Muskoka.
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Celebrating 150 Years of Bala History
Article by Jack Hutton This year marks the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Bala’s first settlers, the Burgess family. It’s a perfect time to imagine what Burgess and his wife, Margaret, must have been thinking as they came ashore with their four children, ranging in age from barely one to six years old.
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Muskoka’s History of Record Setting Speed
Article and Photography by Tim Du Vernet Muskoka’s early boat builders had a tradition of producing some of the fastest race boats in the world. Competing in some of the highest profile events, these fine-tuned craft were the product of owners, designers, builders, mechanics and racers with deep Muskoka roots.
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Torrance Barrens Night Sky - Preserving the Dark
Article by Dianne Park Thach / Photography by Wesley Liikane The Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve was designated as the world’s first permanent dark sky reserve in 1998, one year after the Barrens were declared a conservation reserve. An absence of light is needed to preserve the reserve’s celestial viewings. 2 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
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July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 3
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Features 56
Giving New Life to Old Trees
Article by Dawn Huddlestone / Photography by Kelly Holinshead Woodworker and carver Andy Gamper finds inspiration from Muskoka’s undulating landscape, its forests and its lakes. He and his wife, Anna Smith, located their business and family in Muskoka in order to pursue a healthier, sustainable lifestyle.
Opinion
Departments
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Muskoka Insights
Muskoka Calendar
By Don Smith
Summer is in full swing when the calendar hits July and the events are endless. The month kicks off with Canada Day Fireworks throughout Muskoka and concludes with the ever-popular Nuit Blanche North, a celebration of all that is beautiful, strange, funky and artistic. In between, you can take your pick of events featuring antique boats, art, gourmet cooking, yoga, dogs and more.
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Muskoka Moments
By George Daniels
JULY 2018
CELESTIAL VIEWING
What’s Happened Record-breaking boat builders
Keeping the light out of Muskoka’s dark sky
Bucket of bolts races the track Ten ways Americans have shaped Muskoka
64
Trumpeting the return of sandhill cranes
Our Cover
Photograph by Wesley Liikane The Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve is located in the southwest corner of Muskoka and provides celestial viewers with a window on the universe.
Lots has been happening in Muskoka. Those wanting to arrive in Muskoka from downtown Toronto without waiting in traffic can get here in just over 30 minutes, thanks to a new air taxi service. The restoration of the Port Carling locks, preserving Muskoka’s ash trees, a new boardwalk and Huntsville boat tours are all news of interest. [11]
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Cottage Country Cuisine
Everyone wants to be dockside in the summer and often, food preparation needs to be quick, easy and tasty. Three Muskoka chefs share their ideas for a starter, a main course and a dessert. Enjoy!
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 5
…telling the Muskoka story Unique Muskoka is published six times per year by Unique Publishing Inc. Donald Smith Publisher and Editor Donna Ansley Sales Lisa Brazier Design Susan Smith Administration J. Patrick Boyer George Daniels Heather Douglas Tim Du Vernet Kelly Holinshead Dawn Huddlestone Jack Hutton Eleanor Kee Wellman Wesley Liikane Dianne Park Thach Doug Smith Tomasz Szumski Karen Wehrstein Andy Zeltkalns Contributors
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Muskoka Insights Muskoka, writer Doug Smith provides insights into the return of this beautiful bird with photography by Eleanor Kee Wellman. History demonstrates not enough attention is given to our environment and one area that is increasingly threatened is the darkness of night. It was just 20 years ago the Torrance Barrens was designated as the world’s first dark sky reserve. Situated in the wilderness of the southwest corner of Muskoka, light from neighbouring communities is now threatening its very designation. Writer Dianne Park Thach, along with the convincing photography of Wesley Liikane, tells the story of the Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve and why it is important for all to preserve this unique asset. We learn much from history and relationships. In light of recent national discussions, it is timely that regular contributor and historian Patrick Boyer highlights the Ten Ways Americans Shaped Muskoka. While it is indeed unfortunate there have been strains on the longstanding trading ties that have connected our countries, it is interesting to note the deepness of our shared roots. It will be this reflection we are certain that will eventually bring about a return to more normalized relations at the national level. As always, there is much more to read in this issue of Unique Muskoka from the story of a talented artist who salvages wood from our forests in his quest to build fine furniture to the excitement that came from the racing successes of Muskoka’s legendary boat builders. We’re sure you’ll find something of interest. Happy reading! Photograph: Susan Smith
The years of my youth seemed a much simpler time. It was a good time, particularly the days spent lazing about Muskoka on a vacation. There were always lots of discussions about the issues of the day in our household. I don’t recall any of my questions being discouraged and if I ever wandered into a subject area that was considered beyond my years, the discussion somehow moved quickly in another direction. Books, newspapers, the written word were the sources of much information. It was the early days of television and much of the newscasts were filled with just that . . . news. There was none of the investigative journalism that has become a staple of today’s news. As we know, the world now moves much faster. Social media explodes with all manner of opinion. The oft-heard mantra of objective journalism has been replaced with subjective commentary. Often, we are strained to determine what is real and what is fake. As the years have travelled by, it has become clear to me the naivete of not only my youth but of the times covered up many issues that were deserving of further investigation. Those family conversations that encouraged healthy discussions and the quest for more information have shaped much of my career as a journalist and publisher. It’s for these reasons that most of what you read in Unique Muskoka is about “telling the Muskoka story.” It’s our hope that with a better understanding of Muskoka’s history, the innovations that are being developed and the creativity that is resident, here, we will be able to not only preserve the Muskoka we love but find better ways forward. Muskoka, as we know, has a fragile environment. It needs careful consideration and respect. With time, nature seems to have the ability to right itself. A good example of that would be the return of the sandhill crane to Muskoka. In this issue of Unique
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Muskoka Calendar Canada Day 2018 There’s so many choices for ways to celebrate Canada Day. Here’s a few, starting with…
Fireworks June 30
Photograph: Tomasz Szumski
Baysville: Hosted by Baysville Station 40 Firefighters, always a great show, takes place at the dam. Walker’s Point Cruise: see the spectacle from onboard the Wenonah II. realmuskoka.com/event/fireworks-cruise-to-walkers-point
Bracebridge: this show, presented by the Rotary Club of Bracebridge, always draws lots of people to Bracebridge Bay. bracebridgefireworks.com
Port Carling: fireworks cruise with Sunset Cruises from Port Carling locks. sunsetcruises.ca
Huntsville: The gorgeous explosions happen over Avery Bay. huntsville.ca/en/living/CanadaDay.asp
June 30 & July 1
Huntsville: Deerhurst Resort will present Canada Day fireworks on both Saturday and Sunday nights. deerhurstresort.com/offers/canada-day/
July 1
Minett: Muskoka Chautauqua presents fireworks at JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa. muskokachautauqua.com/event/canada-day-celebrations/
Other Canada Day Celebrations June 30
Journey back in time in Dorset This historic all-day festival features fascinating interactive exhibits, not just in the museum but on the museum lawn. The Market
Fireworks displays, such as these at the Bracebridge waterfront, will mark Canada Day throughout Muskoka. Check Muskoka Calendar for the display closest to you. Place will feature works by local artists and artisans, plus delicious foods. Come and see how people in Dorset lived, worked and had fun from pioneer days to the present, through the wonderful photo collection, school history artifacts, tools, mementoes of the Dorset Ice Palace, and much more.
Gravenhurst: Enjoy festivities in Lakeside Park. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Canada’s big day, there’s fun for the entire family at Gull Lake Rotary Park in Gravenhurst. Hot dogs, cake, games and much more. Dress code: red and white. gravenhurst.ca/
dorsetheritagemuseum.ca
July 1
Huntsville: When Canada was a mere dominion of the British Empire rather than a nation, July 1 was called Dominion Day. This is why Muskoka Heritage Place in Huntsville holds the annual Dominion Day Strawberry Social and Steam-up Day. Arrive at 10 to get in free and hear dignitaries’ speeches. Stay for costumed narrators, historical demonstrations, strolling musicians and runs on the Portage Flyer antique steam train. Free fresh strawberry scones, Canadian flags, tattoos and stickers while supplies last. muskokaheritageplace.org/en/whileYouAreHere/annualevents.asp#Strawberry%20Social
Port Sydney: Fete Canada Day on the beach. Family-friendly events include live music, sand-castle building, face painting, T-shirt decorating, barbecued goodies and a lot more. portsydneycoc.com
Come to Bala for antiques, stay for crafts and gifts The Bala Antique and Nostalgia Show features 40 vendors selling all manner of antique items at the Bala Arena, starting the afternoon of June 29 then all day June 30 and July 1. At the same time, on the Saturday and Sunday, right across the road at the Bala Community Centre, The Bala Craft and Gift Fair is having its 40th anniversary this year. discovermuskoka.ca/events/bala-antique-nostalgia-show-sale/balacraftandgiftfair.com/
Long-lost movie brings circus to life When artist Elizabeth Siegfried found 90 reels of old 16-mm film in the attic of the family cottage on Oxtongue Lake, she
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 11
discovermuskoka.ca/events/circus-cross-generational-artistic-exhibition/
Death-defying water-ski show is riveting Summer Water Sports has been performing water-ski shows since the 70s, and the Canadian National Ski Show Team is, well, the Canadian National Ski Show Team. You know they’ll have a clue what they’re doing during their shows running July 2 through August 23 at Minett. Guts, athleticism, grace, beauty, technical sophistication with a
side of physical comedy: this lake-borne show has it all. summerwatersports.com
Gravenhurst’s annual homage to the boats of yesteryear On July 7, boat collectors from all over Muskoka and beyond will bring their gleamThe members of the Summer Water Sports team perform regular shows in ing beauties to MusMinett throughout the months of July and August. koka Wharf for you to admire and photograph at the 38th Annual Summer Vintage Boat Show. There’ll be classic cars plus a flea market, field of dreams (buy and sell antique and classic boats), activities for the kids, boat rides, Happening on July 7 is the Dorset Kid’s vendors and even a fashion show. Fish Derby at the public dock in Dorset. It’s acbs.ca a morning event for young anglers under 12
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had no idea what treasure lay in them. Her grandmother had filmed the Ringling Brothers Circus performing in the United States: clowns amusing happy audiences, equestrians doing bareback stunts and elephants grazing on American fairgrounds. Siegfried converted selected frames into large-scale photos and will be exhibiting them at Partner’s Hall in the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville. This unique show runs July 1-31, with a reception on July 14.
Since 1949
Photograph: Tony Felgueiras
106 Manitoba Street Bracebridge, ON
July 14 and 15 are the dates to mark on your calendar for exercise and meditation at Annie Williams Memorial Park in Bracebridge during Muskoka Yoga Festival. accompanied by an adult. Everyone will get a prize of some sort including kooky prizes in kooky categories such as craziest fishing hat. Bait is provided but kids should bring equipment. discovermuskoka.ca/events/dorset-kids-fish-derby/
Iron men and women swim, bike and run On July 8, the 2018 Subaru IRONMAN 70.3 Muskoka will take place, based at the Canada Summit Centre in Huntsville. The challenging endurance race starts with a 1.2-mile (1.92 km) swim in Fairy Lake. Contestants then jump on their bikes for a 56-mile (89.6 km) ride, circumnavigating Lake of Bays. The gruelling event ends with a 13.1-mile (21 km) run including a pass through cheering crowds in downtown Huntsville. ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/ muskoka.aspx
There’s no graze like Muskoka’s Gourmet Graze Seriously, foodies one and all, you must attend the Flavours of Muskoka Chautauqua Gourmet Graze near Port Carling on July 12. The 18th edition of this annual event features fabulous chefs, wineries, breweries and distilleries inviting you to celebrate the joy of taste, all in aid of arts education by one of Muskoka’s premier arts organizations, Muskoka Chautauqua. There’ll be live music and a silent auction. muskokachautauqua.com
Classical and contemporary music in Port Carling
With you over the generations 8 Main Street West Huntsville, ON
Since 19 48
St. James the Apostle Anglican Church in Port Carling is hosting the Whispering River Orchestra from Parry Sound on Thursday, July 12 at 7:00 pm. Come and enjoy this concert with a mix of classical and contemporary music in the awesome acoustics of this century-old Muskoka church. All proceeds to the West Muskoka Food Bank Crock Pot Campaign. General admission seating is by free will offering.
Andy’s Ride supports hospice care in honour of local officer After police officer Andy Potts was killed in a car accident in 2005, the Andy Potts Memorial Foundation was formed to promote community projects in his honour. Happening on July 14, Andy’s Ride will raise funds for Hospice Muskoka to build a 7,000-squarefoot palliative-care facility on 13 acres of generously-donated land in Port Carling. Riders can choose from three routes of 34 km, 94 km and 120 km, then enjoy post-ride entertainment, barbecue lunch and swag. andypottsmemorialfoundation.com/andys-ride/
Namaste! Muskoka Yoga Festival returns to Bracebridge On July 14 and 15, yoga lovers will get together at Annie Williams Park in Bracebridge for a beautiful nature, exercise, meditation and inspirational experience.
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WATERSHED
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OPENING JULY 2018 Unlike any other exhibit in Ontario, Watershed Wonders is a behind-the-scenes, interactive adventure, for the whole family, about the importance of Muskoka’s watershed.
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Muskoka Wharf, Gravenhurst 14 UNIQUE1.866.687.6667 MUSKOKA July 2018 • www.RealMuskoka.com
Photograph: Muskoka Pioneer Power
The Muskoka Yoga Festival offers 18 hours of yoga classes for students of diverse levels of experience, led by world-class teachers from Canada (including Muskoka) and the U.S. “Think dockside dwelling, lake living and park playing!” the organizers enthuse. muskokayogafestival.com
History comes alive at Muskoka Pioneer Power Show
If you’re interested in old trucks (especially Ford models, this year), pioneer equipment and more, you’ll want to attend the Muskoka Pioneer Power Show, July 14 and 15 in Bracebridge.
The interesting contraptions that were used for sawing, making shingles, etc. in the pioneer days are the stars of the 34th annual Muskoka Pioneer Power Show, July 14 and 15 at the J.D. Lang Activity Park, home of the Bracebridge Fairgrounds. See the sawmill demonstration, Mowry shingle mill, log cabin, blacksmith shop, country store, antique tractor pulls, classic and antique vehicles and more.
Annie Williams Memorial Park for three full days, July 20-22, to show and sell their work, which includes painting, sculpture, pottery, jewelry, fibre art, clothing, furniture, toys, woodworking, metalwork, glass, photography and much more. Admission is by donation and parking is free.
Take your loved one on a Peerless birthday cruise
muskokaartsandcrafts.com/Summer_ Show/summer_show.htm
Sunset Cruises offers three one-hour cruises on the afternoon of July 21, each specially designed to make your birthday boy or girl feel truly special, complete with cake and Captain Potts sharing the Peerless II’s 72-year history on the three big Muskoka lakes. A birthday treat like no other! The ship sails from Port Carling.
Making a splash at Gravenhurst Triathlon
See the best of local and Canadian artists The Muskoka Arts and Crafts Summer Show is the top-of-the-line show presented by Muskoka’s largest art association. Some 200 artists from across Canada will be at
sunsetcruises.ca
Calling all princesses: a fantasy-story cruise
Photograph: Huntsville Festival of the Arts
multisportcanada.com/gravenhurst/
Bring the whole family including your canine companion(s) for fun, frolic and adventure at Dog Fest Muskoka, happening at Morrison Meadows in Bracebridge on July 21. The second edition of the wildly popular festival will feature lure courses, two doggie playpens, vendors in many categories and more. The event is still being held in celebration of Steve Hern, and proceeds will be donated in his loving memory. dogfestmuskoka.ca
muskokapioneerpower.ca
The Gravenhurst Triathlon, July 14 and15, provides race challenges ranging from Olympic-level to the beginners’ “Give-It-a-Tri” which involves a 400-metre swim, a 10-km bike ride and a 2.5-km run (though as of writing the more challenging races are sold out). Duathlons and relays are also offered. The event is based at Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst and racers start by making a truly grand entrance into the beginning swim section, leaping into the lake from either the Segwun or Wenonah II.
Your pooch is the star at Dog Fest Muskoka
Brilliance - A Tribute to the Anglo Canadian Leather Co. Band will include a 60-member concert band performance when it takes to the stage in Huntsville, July 21 and 22.
The magic happens on the Wenonah II, launching from Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst on July 21. It’s a captivating song and story fantasy epic that a mermaid and a feisty Polynesian princess create for your costumed youngster. Face-painting costs a bit extra. realmuskoka.com/event/ princess-cruise-aboard-wenonah-ii/
Tribute to the Anglo Canadian Leather Band A concert and re-enactment of the historical events related to the Anglo Canadian Leather Co. Band will be presented in Huntsville at the Algonquin Theatre on July 21 and
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 15
22. Brilliance - A Tribute to the Anglo Canadian Leather Co. Band will include a 60-member concert band performance with soloist(s), a tribute to C.O. Shaw and H.L. Clarke, along with a multi-media presentation of the band’s dramatic history and unparalleled legend. Brilliance is jointly sponsored by the Huntsville Festival of the Arts and the Muskoka Concert Band.
fully, not be made to walk the plank. Arrrr! realmuskoka.com/event/golden-hook-pirate-cruise/2018-07-15/
Go rockin’ back to the 50s and 60s The Little Surf Band is a fantastic beach party band, performing the music of The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Jimmy Buffett and many more great rock ’n’ roll songs from the 1950s and 60s. They’ll appear as part of Gravenhurst’s Music on the Barge series at 7:30 p.m. on July 22, at Gull Lake Rotary Park in Gravenhurst. Note: in case of rain or lightning, the concert will be cancelled.
algonquintheatre.ca
The Artful Garden is a wonderland Every summer, Jon and Suzann Partridge transform the lush Muskoka flower garden on their property, near Bracebridge, into an outdoor gallery with the help of 40 other artists. It creates the effect of walking into another world full of beauty, whimsy and life. This year the show runs July 21-August 12, and features sculpture, ironwork, stone carving, jewelry, birdhouses, pottery and wall hangings.
gravenhurst.ca/en/discoverus/
Photograph: Susan MacDonald
musiconthebarge.asp
theartfulgarden.ca
Speaking of Muskoka shows, there are simply too many to list, so visit the venue websites for acts, artists and dates: Algonquin Theatre (Huntsville): algonquintheatre.ca/en/ Rene Caisse Theatre (Bracebridge): thecaisse.com/ Gravenhurst Opera House: gravenhurst.ca/en/opera/opera.asp Peter’s Players (Gravenhurst): petersplayers.com The Kee to Bala: thekee.com
Painter Neil Sternberg Join the many thousands who will take part in Nuit Blanche North when it takes to the streets and neighbouring venues in Huntsville, July 28. explores Calm and Chaos A day of pure joy Avast, ye swabs, now ye can win Running July 21-August 11 at the Chapel Gallery in Bracebridge, this show by Neil for Anne fans returns to Bala the Golden Hook Award! Sternberg introspects, on the one hand, drawing from within and from nature. It also casts its gaze on the vagaries of the outside world and current affairs from the 2010 G20 riots to the emerging of First Nations to wars being fought abroad. The connective thread between the two is the human spirit in its different moods and our determination to thrive unfettered. muskokaartsandcrafts.com/Calendar_of_Events/calendar_of_events.htm#July
16 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
Aye, matey, it’s never too late to be a pirate and the good ship Wenonah II is looking for some hearty crew members as she sails from her home port in Gravenhurst into pirate-infested waters every Sunday morning from July 22 to August 26. On a Golden Hook Pirate Cruise, crew members must complete some special tasks to defeat the evil Captain Ron Hook and relieve him of the Golden Hook Award, and, hope-
In 1922, Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maude Montgomery came to Bala to live and write in a Muskoka cottage. Her presence is celebrated every year on Everything Anne of Green Gables Day in Bala, this year on July 24. As well as character look-alike costume contests (Anne, Diana, Matthew, Marilla, Gilbert and Josie Pye), there’ll be egg-on-a-spoon races, three-legged races, sack races, popcorn and
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cake. You can even see the author’s genuine original letters and her silver tea and coffee set, passed down through the family. balamuseum.com
Come to Gravenhurst for the boats, stay for the ribs Muskoka Ribfest and the Muskoka In-Water Boat and Cottage Show happen concurrently at the Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst, July 27-29. Admission is free and gets you more than 100 fabulous boat and cottage exhibits including boats, cars, decks, docks, wi-fi services, sporting good, accessories and much more. Come ready to accept giveaways and enter draws for prizes worth thousands. Starting around lunchtime, cooks will crank up the barbecues and start serving up succulent ribs and other delicious goodies. And there will be live entertainment, of course. muskokashows.com
Shop and shop some more at 30th Annual Walkabout Festival Every summer the village of Baysville lines its streets with more than 100 vendors, mostly selling arts and crafts but also antiques, baking, maple syrup, and all kinds of other great items. It happens for the 30th time on July 28 this year, starting with a pancake breakfast provided by the Lions Club. Food and refreshments will be available throughout the day, and there’ll be live music. baysvillewalkabout.com
Discover the artistically weird and wonderful Nuit Blanche North is a celebration of all that is beautiful, strange, funky and artistic, not to mention musical, athletic and graceful, as the annual celebration of contemporary art experiences includes street perform-
ers par excellence, not to mention hands-on activities that always offer a surprise. The theme of the seventh annual edition of this unique event is “So What Now?” Good question, which gets explored, if not answered, in downtown Huntsville on July 28 from evening into the wee hours. Admission is free. More than 7,000 are expected. Sleep well the night before. nuitblanchenorthhuntsville.wordpress.com
People-powered watersports celebrated Leave the noisy, polluting motorboat behind and come to the Make a Splash Water Festival on July 28, at Gull Lake Rotary Park in Gravenhurst, a celebration of water, strength and fitness. Swim races, sandcastle-building contests, kayaking, paddleboarding, canoeing, rowing and many more internal-combustion-free activities. Event runs all day and admission is free for the whole family. discovermuskoka.ca/events/make-splash-water-festival/
red canoe gallery 100% Canadian Large original paintings Handmade jewelry, pottery, ironwork, wood bowls, carvings
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July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 19
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FROM A BUCKET OF PARTS TO TRACK Port Sydney resident Chris Hauk began riding motorcycles as a youth. He now restores and races vintage motorcycles.
Article and Photography by Heather Douglas
“W
e are vintage riding vintage,” Chris Hauk says with a laugh as he describes his re-entry and that of his friends into motorcycle racing. A resident of Port Sydney, Hauk first started racing motorcycles in 1994. It was a passion he and his father shared. When his dad passed away, road racing became a form of therapy.
“I started riding when I was 16 and living in London,” Hauk says. “It was 1985 and I had a 500 Honda Shadow to get me from here to there.” Throughout his teens, he had more sport bikes that were his primary form of transportation. Hauk had no inclination to go further, until his father’s death.
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SUMMER 2018 CELEBRATING 26 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS
June 30
Queen Flash
Freddy Mercury brought to life in this evening celebrating Queen’s iconic music
July 6
Next Generation Leahy
July 7
Madison Violet
July 11
ONES - Beatles Tribute
July 13
Choir! Choir! Choir!
July 14
Kyung-A Lee & Jihwan Cho
July 15 July 18
Jazz In The Garden Appetizers, light refreshments and jazz outdoors! Downchild Blues Band
July 19
Jim Witter - ‘Time In A Bottle’
High-energy, infectious Celtic-based music built on three generations of musicianship Described as 'musical chameleons', these genre bending musical talents blend together A multimedia spectacular with an 11 piece band that celebrates all of their #1 hits Equal parts singing, comedy and community, the night unfolds like a dream Acclaimed pianist returns to the stage that includes the works of Bach-Busoni, as well as one of Beethoven’s last Sonatas. Joining her will be Baritone Jihwan Cho.
'Canada's Blues Band' returns to for another memorable evening of blues music
The music of James Taylor, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan and others
July 21/22 Brilliance - Anglo-Canadian Leather Band Tribute
The story of the 1920's Huntsville band that captured the musical imagination of the entire country!
July 25
Jim Cuddy Band
July 27
Remembering Stuart McLean
July 28
Nuit Blanche North
Festival favourite Jim Cuddy returns with Colin Cripps and Anne Lindsay
A special evening of backstage stories, tour bus tales, music and humour
ANNUAL JAZZ FESTIVAL • AUGUST 2-4
August 2
Micah Barnes ‘At The Sands’
August 3
Michael Kaeshammer
August 4 August 8
DID YOU KNOW... WHEN YOU BUY TICKETS TO 3 SHOWS
YOU GET 10% OFF AND TO 4 SHOWS 15% OFF?
huntsvillefestival.ca
Box Office 705.789.4975 22 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
Audiences will be transported back to the early 60s, when the hottest entertainers in the world performed at the Sands Hotel! Piano virtuoso with a technical mastery of many different styles
Oscar Peterson Tribute
A look into the nature of genius and further understanding of Oscar's unique place atop the jazz artists of the 20th Century!
‘Mad Dogs & Englishmen’
Blues and Roots musicians come together to celebrate the music of Joe Cocker, Leon Russell and friends
August 9 August 10
Surprise Artist - TBA Check our website July 12 Whitehorse
August 15
Doc Walker
August 16
Goitse
August 17
Matt Andersen
Husband/Wife power duo known for their dizzying guitar and vocal chemistry Chris Thorsteinson & Dave Wasyliw are one of Canada’s finest country bands Ireland’s “Traditional Group of the Year” - A leader in traditional ensembles
Powerhouse guitar and vocals from this one man Blues tour de force!
Chris Hauk has a fondness for his restored IT 175Y that he uses for pleasure riding. “I had to take a race licence course at the RACE school at the Shannonville track,” he says. “I raced a ’92 CBR 900 as an amateur and did quite well.” A crash and a dislocated hip during midseason in 1995 put a sideline on his racing
for a short period of time but not for the entire season. “I went back with an ’89 Hawk GT and finished the season without losing a race on that bike,” Hauk says. While he raced as an amateur in 1995, his
Chris Hauk has restored more than 10 motorcycles. The restoration projects are his “fun time.”
success boosted his status and he went back in for the 1996 season racing as a professional, which means he was then racing against more elite riders. “I won first place in the twins class,” he says of his professional season. Hauk quit racing after that to focus on his career, which meant resurrecting his father’s business, Colony Cabinets in Strathroy. His bike racing career then switched from motorcycles to bicycles, which he raced in a velodrome. His motorcycle riding returned to a form of pleasure. While racing bicycles, Hauk met his future wife, Shannon, whose family ran the velodrome. Shannon, who had grown up in Muskoka, returned to the area in 2005 and Hauk followed her north. Hauk’s focus then switched to the restoration of vintage bikes. He had some experience with motorcycle repair as he had worked for a motorcycle company. Shannon recalls the first bike he dragged home. It was in such rough condition she
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 23
Photograph: Colour Tech Motorsport Photography
“It took me eight months freaked that he had actually to convince the owner to sell spent money on it. Hauk it to me,” Hauk says. Wade had paid $200 for a bike in Tindale, the owner of Orillia less than stellar condition. Motorsports, had not wanted It could best be described as to sell the bike. Hauk was a basket case, as often occurs about to give up and buy when the parts accompany another bike when he the frame in a basket. decided to give it one more Hauk took his frame and attempt, finally convincing parts, and disappeared into Tindale to sell it in the fall of his workshop for months. 2017. When he re-emerged five Having his race bike back months later, Shannon in his shop put the racing freaked again as she couldn’t bug back in his mind and believe the bike he brought Hauk is planning on racing out was the same bike he this season at Shannonville had bought for $200. in the vintage classification. “I was blown away with “What vintage racing is to seeing the transformation,” us, is old people racing what she says. “It was restored to we had when we were showroom condition.” young,” Hauk says with a Hauk rode the bike for a laugh. Hauk is currently 48 few years before selling it Chris Hauk now races with other riders who are members of the Vintage Road Racing years-old. and starting another Association. In addition to completing restoration project. Over the years, he has restored over 10 and an ’81 YZ250, a 750 Yamaha and his the restoration on the Hawk, which includes changes necessary to make it legally to bikes, focusing on vintage air-cooled dirt original Hawk GT. He had sold the Hawk GT after he conform to Vintage Road Racing Association bikes. The vintage meaning the bike was stopped racing. One day, he walked into (VRRA) rules and making it road worthy, built prior to 1989. “Restoration to me is taking something Orillia Motorsports and was chatting with Hauk has had to validate his racing license. When Hauk decided to start racing the owner and looking at a GT that is old and unloved, and bringing it when it dawned on him again, he joined the VRRA in 2017 that is back to new.” Hauk that was his racing quite a close-knit community. says. “When I did join, people asked if I was bike. The restoration the same Chris Hauk from 20 years ago,” projects also helped Hauk says. him make Shannon Hauk has come a long way from the his wife, as he sold one to purchase 11-year-old boy who stared up at an ’81 an engagement ring. YZ125 that was too big, and that he As a full-time cabinet designer, working at dreamed of riding. All About Kitchens, the restoration projects He is once are his “fun time.” again sharing a Hauk currently has four restoration passion that projects on the go. Working on multiple was a bond projects allows him the advantage to move between a from one bike to another, if he runs into a father and a problem getting parts for one or another. son. Hauk uses online resources to source most of his parts and finds Facebook a fantastic way to connect with other vintage bike owners and find parts. “If I need something and post it, usually within an hour someone says they have it,” he says. He is presently working on an ’80 YZ250
24 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
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Photograph: Boyer Family Archives
By the 1880s, Muskoka’s land-rush was underway thanks to Ontario’s Free Grant Land policy to populate the district the way U.S. President Abraham Lincoln encouraged settlers to the American West. The Crown Lands Office in Bracebridge was a hub of the action.
Article by J. Patrick Boyer
A
mericans, who have a penchant to rank and rate things, have all but patented the “Top-Ten” list: the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted, the Hit Parade’s Top-Ten songs, lists of ten “best-selling” books, Ten Best Recipes for everything from baked beans to barbecued back-ribs, and Top-Ten Playoff Comebacks. David Letterman made TopTen rankings a staple of late night television. It doesn’t always work. An American psychiatrist
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floundered trying to encapsulate Buddhism’s teachings into “The Ten Principles of Buddhist Belief,” thereby proving that not everything can be reduced to simplistic categories, which is why top-ten lists are on a par with paint-by-numbers. However, since both Canada and the United States celebrate patriotic holidays this month, why not give it a neighbourly try? Even so, just as I have to explain for overseas visitors why
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SPURRING FREEGRANT LAND SETTLEMENT. LAUNCHING MUSKOKA’S VACATION ECONOMY. INTRODUCING ESTATE RESIDENCES TO MUSKOKA. BUILDING LIBRARIES FOR GRAVENHURST AND BRACEBRIDGE. INTRODUCING OCTAGONAL STRUCTURES. CELEBRATING LOCAL HERITAGE. CHANGING SIZES AND MEASURES. MAKING MUSKOKANS LESS INSULAR. SUPPORTING TALENTED INDIVIDUALS AND WORTHY CAUSES. ADDING CELEBRITY GLOW TO MUSKOKA’S FAR-FLUNG RENOWN.
Photograph: Frank Mickelthwaite – NAC PA 178368
As a cross-border contribution to festivities, here are writer Patrick Boyer's suggestions for the Top-Ten Ways Americans Shaped Muskoka:
Equal status for the Union Jack (Canada) and Stars-and-Stripes (U.S.) at Lake Rosseau’s Montieth House reflected the importance of Americans to Muskoka’s vacation economy. This was typical, not exceptional. so many American flags fly in Muskoka, and realizing Canadians reading that list will demand elaboration, here are brief backgrounders:
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SPURRING FREE-GRANT LAND SETTLEMENT
Ontario in 1868 began offering settlers “free” land in Muskoka, Parry Sound and Nipissing districts. Not only did homesteaders arrive from the U.S., but the land policy itself actually sprang from three American influences. The U.S. government was opening its western frontier by steadily pushing native peoples off their lands onto “Reservations” or into graves during the Indian Wars, which was similar to how land in Canada got “opened for settlement,” except we called indigenous peoples’ marginal confines “Reserves,” and did not use the army. In the 1860s, Ojibwa peoples in Muskoka were relocated, under protest, to a reserve on Georgian Bay’s Parry Island. Similar land policies in the adjacent countries proved mutually reinforcing. Second, bristling American geo-political assertions of “Manifest Destiny” portended a single continental nation. The Republic’s territorial enlargement south through Spanish/Mexican lands (there’d been successful wars of expansion) and north (there’d also been an attempted U.S. conquest of Canada between 1814 and 1818) was a real risk. Continentalists in the U.S. saw vast tracks of land above the border just waiting
to be populated by Americans. For the Prairies, Ottawa responded by surveying the land, putting down two rebellions by resident Métis and flooding the place with immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe. For the vulnerable territory just across Lake Huron, Queen’s Park enticed settlers to occupy the province’s wilderness northland. Colonization roads were built into Muskoka from both south and east and free land incentivized homesteaders to fill space Americans coveted. Third, American President Abraham Lincoln had introduced land grant programs for the American West, providing a model for Ontario’s program to bring settlers to Muskoka.
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LAUNCHING MUSKOKA’S VACATION ECONOMY
Hunting and fishing parties from northern tier states savoured the adventure of journeying up to Muskoka for sport, once 1870s rail and steamship services gave entry to the untouched wilderness. The Americans transformed the district by seeking short-duration accommodation while shooting wildlife and reeling in prize fish. Muskoka’s hardscrabble farmers discovered that offering sleeping space and hearty meals to visiting sportsmen gave the recreational vacation the visitors wanted. In the process, it opened a more prosperous future for these resourceful pioneers by expanding the lakeside shanties into hostelries, then resorts.
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 27
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INTRODUCING ESTATE RESIDENCES TO MUSKOKA
octagonal buildings for their merits in strength of construction and beneficial health for inhabitants. His plans resulted in octagonal construction in the closing decades of the 1800s, those in Muskoka including a bandshell in Huntsville (later converted to a residence), a summer home on Lake Rosseau and the much-celebrated Bracebridge home of Henry J. Bird, owner of Muskoka’s woollen mill. Bird’s exceptional octagon residence merited an Ontario Historic Site maker, has served as a museum, recently benefited by a $1 million restoration, and still puzzles the municipality as to its optimal role in Muskoka’s tourism economy. It probably needs an American with panache and vision to make it the educational and engaging tourist attraction it has potential to be.
Photograph: Carnegie Archives
Early Muskoka settlers managed with modest log shanties and crude accommodations. The two dozen Ojibwa homes at Obogawanung were made of logs. Bracebridge’s “Royal Hotel” had a dirt floor, while all six hotels in town had such inadequate facilities that guests slept in rows on the floors. The quantum leap came with palatial island estates near Beaumaris, a Lake Muskoka summer colony of Pittsburgh industrialists that locals dubbed “Millionaires’ Row.” The sweltering Pennsylvania mills of these plutocrats, where grimy underpaid workers toiled in noxious fumes and oppressive heat of blast furnaces all In the library of his New York City 91st Street mansion, Andrew summer, funded their escape to this Carnegie dictates to secretary James Bartram, answering earthly paradise with off-lake breezes. requests for free public libraries, including two in Muskoka. CELEBRATING LOCAL Their sprawling Muskoka mansions, amidst republic of books,” but resolved to give others HERITAGE rugged pines and rocks, softened by lush the same gift. The result was a revolution. He Ontario Premier Leslie Frost was deeply gardens and stone pathways, created scenes at created beautiful new libraries around the once elegant yet rustic which today’s world – with free access to the public, open moved in the early 1950s when he and wife stacks and a welcome mat for children, Gertrude motored through the United millionaires still emulate. among his many fundamental changes from States. As a wounded veteran of the BUILDING LIBRARIES FOR existing libraries. In North America, the three Great War, he was especially drawn to GRAVENHURST & BRACEBRIDGE jurisdictions getting the most Carnegie historical locales of that country’s NorthWhen Andrew Carnegie sold his steel mills Libraries were California, Indiana and South civil war – from Gettysburg to in 1901, he became the richest man in the Ontario. Muskoka got two, in Gravenhurst Lexington, from the battlefields at Bull Run world (over $8 billion, present-value) and and Bracebridge, which was akin to issuing and Shiloh. Frost had abiding interest in vowed to spend his money before he died on local people passports to a larger world. Ontario local history, too, owning every public libraries. As a youth in Pittsburgh he’d book he could find on communities across worked six, 12-hour days a week at hard INTRODUCING OCTAGONAL the province. labour for $1.20. “But my toil was light,” he STRUCTURES What uniquely impressed him in the U.S. said, “for I got up at six in the morning, Another individual American, phren- was how well military history was succinctly contented to work until six in the evening, if ologist and social advocate Orson Fowler, had recounted, and perpetuated for new there was then a book for me to read.” a large impact in North America, Muskoka generations, through a series of standardized Andrew not only celebrated “the free included, when he publicized and advocated bronze plaques. By the time Frost was back
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When the railway reached Bracebridge, the American standard gauge was in use.
Photograph: Boyer Family Archives
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in Ontario, he’d put two and two together and launched a provincial program of historic site markers. Frost’s program, administered by a new Archeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario, was inaugurated when Ontario’s first heritage plaque was unveiled in Port Carling. It has since been followed by dozens more around Muskoka, and hundreds across the province.
stronger – dissolving insularity, diluting the backwater quality of more closed communities.
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SUPPORTING TALENTED INDIVIDUALS AND WORTHY CAUSES
Americans are widely known for their generosity, causing small-purse Canadians to balk when expected to match their excessive tipping practices. But this generosity goes beyond tips. CHANGING SIZES AND When Jim Bartleman of Port MEASURES Carling worked summers on a large The Grand Trunk Railway, a Lake Muskoka summer property, principal North American railroad the owner discerned how intelligent whose lines would run through and well-informed the grass-cutter Muskoka, had “broad gauge” and wood-chopper was. He British standard (5’6” between the explained that if Jim went to rails) in Canada. In 1872, it began Jim Bartleman, seen with his muscle car in 1960, broke out of university, he’d pay the costs, same converting to American “standard Muskoka’s confines thanks to a generous American who spotted his as he was doing for his own talent and opened a path for his exceptional public career. gauge” (4’8½”). This enabled trains children. Bartleman not only went to carry Muskoka lumber to the U.S., prized other Canucks, thus straddle two worlds – to university, but joined External Affairs, Muskoka lamb to the finest restaurants in while Americans coming to the district cope became Canada’s ambassador to countries New York and Chicago, and Americans to with “foreign” road signs posting metric around the world, served as Prime Minister distances and speed limits, with mile-drivers Chretien’s foreign policy advisor, became their seasonal pursuits in the district. Another important adaptation of cross- thinking they’re going faster than they really Ontario’s first aboriginal lieutenant-governor, border standards was harmonizing fire are. and has authored major fiction and nonhydrants and hoses, following disastrous fires fiction books. I know of no Canadian who MAKING MUSKOKANS when neighbouring municipalities’ firewould have made a similar offer to a young LESS INSULAR fighters arrived but couldn’t hook up their indigenous man in 1950s Muskoka. American impacts on Muskoka can be incompatible equipment. Applicable everyFor community projects, it’s the same where in both countries, common-sized seen comparing Canadian districts of similar open-wallet on a larger scale. Every fundinterchangeable equipment was salient in size and population that lack interaction raising drive in Muskoka – for a library forming the Ontario Fire College at with visitors and property owners from the addition, hospital expansion or restoration of a heritage steamship – gets a huge boost from Gravenhurst, which offers standardized United States. America’s dynamic society produces Americans with Muskoka connections. training for firefighters from across the province, and where technical advances and people energized for experimentation and ADDING CELEBRITY GLOW TO best-practises from both U.S. and Canada adventuresome for new experiences. When such folk fetch up in a place like Muskoka, MUSKOKA’S FAR-FLUNG are shared. RENOWN The flip side of harmonization is that they are like yeast to dough. As children in Muskoka is widely renowned for a cluster Americans, despite overthrowing the British 1950s Muskoka, we played a summer game Crown and going metric with their currency to see who could spot the most licence plates of reasons, among them the presence of and 10-point lists, retained Imperial units of from the U.S.A. It was easy to get to 30. American luminaries in the district. measurement for everything else – distance Once I got above 40. Just being aware that so Woodrow Wilson, who became president (miles, yards, feet, inches), volume (gallons, many people from other places were in town of the United States in 1912, first began pints, cups) and weight (tons, pounds, already raised one’s horizons. When they got summering in Muskoka a decade earlier when ounces), even recording Fahrenheit rather out of their cars, asked questions or came to his physician cautioned the often-ill patient than Celsius temperatures. Canada converted places I worked (Santa’s Village, The Herald- “to keep a light schedule.” Woodrow stayed at to metric under Prime Minister Pierre Gazette newspaper office), my sense of being Lake Rosseau’s Bluff Hotel and, after pursuing Trudeau and with the U.S.A. by far Canada’s part of a much larger world expanded further. the ancient ideal of “a sound mind in a healthy largest trading partner, Canadians must now For those running Muskoka businesses and body” for two extended summers, knew the use both systems. Muskokans, along with working for Americans, this impact was even “Muskoka Cure” was just what he needed, Photograph: James Bartleman
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every year. Rather than continuing as a guest at The Bluff, he looked for a Lake Rosseau place of his own and bought Formosa Island in Wiley’s Bay. Over ensuing years, accompanied by his wife Ellen and their daughters
Margaret, Jessie and Eleanor, Woodrow enjoyed Muskoka summers on Formosa, swimming at will, dozing in a hammock, delighting himself with picnics and poetry under the island’s thick cover of pines.
Photograph: Frank Mickelthwaite – NAC PA 158091
Typically, the Bluffs’ guest register at Lake Rosseau for July 1904 included Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson and daughters, and other Americans from Tennessee, New Jersey, Kentucky, South Carolina, Maryland and Virginia. Influential Americans wove themselves into many dimensions of Muskoka society.
The guest registers at the district’s many prestigious summer hotels, especially The Royal Muskoka on Lake Rosseau to Bigwin Inn on Lake of Bays, dripped with the names of rich and famous Americans. They had high expectations, caused Muskokans to create vacation places they’d want to book and, like most Americans, enjoyed regaling others, especially state-side, about their travels. The real royalty of the United States – movie stars – have found the same respite that their 28th president did owning a Muskoka summer place of their own. The publicity that follows celebrities even on holiday still adds to Muskoka’s glow. The problem with “Top-Ten” lists is the arbitrary limit. To fit, I’ve omitted many other connections between Americans and Muskokans – among them, a counterweight to hobbling British colonialism, a refuge for those refusing to fight America’s overseas wars (Vietnam being just one example), crossborder sports, and cultural impacts through movies, books, magazines, and television. You can see why Letterman needed more than one show.
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30 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
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The lines of B-IV are classic 1920's Ditchburn sports runabout with the raked, hinging windscreen and tapered transom.
32 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
Article and Photography by Tim Du Vernet
T
he desire to go fast on the water has always been an irresistible goal and Muskoka is experiencing a renewed interest in historic race boats. In 2013, Miss Canada IV returned to Muskoka. A few years ago, Rainbow III returned from the United States. Rainbow I and Rainbow IV have been recreated. Rainbow IX and X, along with the Gadfly, one of famed boat racer Harry Greening’s earliest boats, are already in Muskoka. Miss Canada III, built new from the original plans in 1987 and now, according to Murray Walker, Miss Supertest III is in Muskoka. In 1959, Miss Supertest ended 39 years of United States domination in the Harmsworth Trophy series. Miss Supertest III and pilot Bob Hayward defeated Bill Stead and Maverick in two heats out of three on the Detroit River. And Harold Wilson, together with old friend Charlie Volker, were there to cheer Hayward on to victory. Miss Supertest III was on display at the ACBS-Toronto summer show in 2013. She was surrounded by members of the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame.
The restored Miss Canada IV, powered by a 3000 hp Rolls Royce Griffon engine, goes for its maiden run in 2013.
For years, Miss Canada IV sat languishing in different states of hibernation and display. It was a remarkable achievement to restore her aged and race-weathered form and to install a near identical replacement to the original 3000 hp Rolls Royce Griffon engine. The engine was originally designed for aeronautics, not marine applications. It took expertise in many areas; patience and time to pull it all together. With the help of substantial sponsorship and the skilled hands of boat restorer Tom Adams and his crew,
Miss Canada IV was the star of the show at the ACBS-Toronto summer show in Gravenhurst in 2013, finding a new permanent home in Muskoka. Miss Canada IV was designed by Douglas Van Patten, who also designed Miss Canada III, to challenge for the Harmsworth Trophy in 1949. Miss Canada IV set a North American mile straightaway record in 1949, posting an average of 138.865 mph, which bettered Miss America X’s record. Greavette Boats was the chosen builder of
Harold Wilson’s Miss Canada series boats and Ditchburn built the famous Rainbow series for Harry Greening. These are two historic and best known of many drivers who enjoyed the thrills and challenges of racing boats. This period of building race boats in Muskoka began in the early 1920s and continued in the 1940s with hydroplanes built by MinettShields under contract for Ventnor Boats. During the height of his racing period, the Greening family rented a cottage on Chief Island, Lake Muskoka, but he did his testing
Race champion Norm Woods drives the Miss Canada III, built by Duke Boats, at the ACBS race boat show in 2013. 34 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
accurately as possible. on Lake Rosseau. Muskoka boat restorGreening, of Hamilton, ation shops are intimately Ontario, got the speedboat familiar with Ditchburn bug at an early age. boats, one of the great Greening’s interest is fast names in vintage launches running boats is believed but Rainbow I turned to be to have started with his a very special replica to tinkering with power boats construct. Her hull design around 1903 when as a was a blend of modern and traditional young man, he installed a homemade construction methods. Original bills 3-horsepower motor in a canoe. showed the engine hatches alone cost Greening built the engine on a foot $1,200 in 1920 values. The hardware lathe in the attic of his home. The needed to be cast from specially-made result was a canoe that could travel at hand-carved patterns. A custom built 9 mph in the rough waters of Lake 750 hp, V-12 BPM engine was Rosseau. installed, while the original was Greening’s experimenting with powered by a 275 hp Sterling V-6 his race boats, the speed trials and engine. endurance runs are still within reach The 1922 Rainbow IX, originally of the living memory of a few boat named Miss Packard Chris Craft, was once experts and historians. Ed Skinner, former powered by a Packard engine. The old co-owner of Duke Boats in Port Carling, Packard engine had long since been replaced remembers his father telling him about the with a BPM motor by her previous owner, days when Greening would dock at Wigwassin John Blair. BPM engines are renowned in for refueling and ran the races in September nautical racing circles for their capability to or October to avoid the tourist season, produce huge amounts of horsepower. In explains Skinner. Seems as though Harry was Rainbow IX, she puts outs about 650 hp, but more thoughtful of seasonal residents than could be modified to make as much as 3000 some boaters are today! Imagine running a hp in other configurations. Owner Murray course around Lake Rosseau for 24 hours Walker considers her “the ultimate gentlestraight. man’s racer for her speed, nautical legacy and Rainbow III returned to Muskoka from the being a thrill to drive.” U.S., a few years ago. After suffering a Not everyone, who desires speed on the disappointing loss in her Gold Cup races of water, needs a record-setting race craft to 1923, she was brought back to Muskoka to enjoy the thrill in a wooden boat of historic challenge the 24-hour endurance record. A origins. Boats like Whippet, Cricket and B-IV 19-mile course was set up on Lake Rosseau were Ditchburn-built boats that were battling and she ran 1064 miles in 24 hours, which set it out in the mid and late thirties with a new record and she was the first power boat to travel more than 1000 miles in 24 hours. Top: Rainbow was a series of race boats, many of specialty engines and the competition of circuit races to spur them on. The 200 hp Packard engine reportedly which were built by Ditchburn Boats in Gravenhurst. Middle: Powered by a 200 hp The early 1930s was a great period for the performed flawlessly. Packard engine, Rainbow III set an endurance gentleman’s sports runabout. All the major Harry Greening, both a legend and pioneer record of more than 1000 miles travelled in 24 in the annals of racing history, won the Fischer hours. Bottom: The outboard rudder, mounted aft builders were constructing versions of an 18 or 19 foot runabout, designed by John Trophy twice in Rainbow I in 1920 and 1921. of the transom, was used on many vintage race Built by Ditchburn Boats of Muskoka, boats. It was thought to be an advantage by being Hacker, a famous naval designer. Altair, built Rainbow I was proclaimed by contemporary further away from the turbulence of the propeller. in 1933, is a Minett-Shields with a John Hacker hull and the first in a series of six press as one of the finest race boats ever built, Minett-Shields sports runabouts. These little 18’ 6” boats were the at least until she was destroyed racing in Buffalo in the 1950s. Rainbow 1, originally built by Ditchburn boats in 1920, was hot rods of the water for young gentlemen of means. They would compete at races organized by the Muskoka Lakes Association, Foot’s recreated by Gary Clark and his team. “This was definitely one of our bigger accomplishments,” said Bay series and others. Altair competed in races on the Lake of Bays. “Altair was built for my father, Edson Peck, on his 18th birthday,” Gary Clark of Clark Wooden Boats, who has spent countless hours pouring over historic photographs to replicate every detail as explains John Peck, her current owner, and she could be considered
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 35
Race boats of the early 1920s, such as the Claire, were not dissimilar from the sport long deck launches, except for the extreme power to move them. the prototype for the series. Altair sits low in the water with an outboard rudder and a cockpit located very near the transom. There are two upholstered deck seats for a more wind-in-your face experience. The Hacker design is a planing hull that moves quite well for a small boat. Peck explains that she has had different engines over the years. “Her original engine was, I believe, a Gray Marine engine of modest horsepower. My uncle, Cameron Peck, conspired to install a 90 horsepower V-8 truck engine in the 1940s which made the
36 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
boat fairly fast. In fact we have a trophy for a race Cameron won with her during a Lake of Bays event. Altair was restored in 1968, at which time the engine was upgraded to a 289 Interceptor.” These early days of racing and sport runabouts set the tone and the standard for the style and character of the sport boats we enjoy today. The period continues to resonate with collectors as replicas and updated versions are commissioned each year by Muskoka’s boat builders. For those wanting even more thrill in a
small package, the sea flea could be the answer. Ten horsepower would be enough to propel these tiny plywood craft to speeds fast enough to thrill but in a package easily lifted on to a roof or a trailer by two people. While the days of competitive sea flea races is well past, the Muskoka Sea Flea club does an admirable job of keeping the sport alive and family oriented. Each year, the club hosts its annual Sea Flea Fest, usually on Kahshe Lake, where most of the founding members have summered for years. The event is very much a family weekend with boats ranging in size from the tiny four horsepower outboards to two seaters with 25 hp hung on the transom. There is a strong connection with the Muskoka Sea Flea group and the Maple Leaf chapter of the Outboard Motor Club, since many of the little plywood craft are vintage and powered by vintage engines. Speed on the water can take many forms today and those passionate enough about it will find a club or association with more likeminded folk. Circuit races on the main lakes of Muskoka don’t fit modern summer trends with increased boat traffic, an increased summer population and boats that are far faster on average than the vintage craft enjoyed at boat shows. Reviving historic craft and enjoying vintage engines reminds us of the days before sound systems were commonplace in a boat.
Rainbow I was described by the press of the day as one of the finest race boats ever built.
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Article by Dianne Park Thach / Photography by Wesley Liikane
T
he excitement begins well after the sun sets for the day at Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve. A total absence of light is needed to view the celestial sights visible.
38 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
The Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve was designated as the world’s first permanent dark sky reserve in 1998, one year after the Barrens were declared a conservation reserve. Located just southeast of Bala, the Barrens
stretch over 4,700 acres of Crown-protected land and feature ancient Precambrian bedrock and wetlands, scattered boulders and little soil. The rare Eastern Bluebird, Cooper’s Hawk
and Ontario’s only lizard – the five-lined skink – can also be spotted here. This landscape allows for stunning 360-degree views of the night sky for a stargazer at any level to enjoy.
Michael Silver played an integral role in getting the dark sky reserve designation for the Barrens and still remembers the reaction he got from Canadian astronomer and SkyNews magazine founder Terence
Dickenson when he came for a viewing. “It was so dark back then,” recalls Silver. “Dickenson said, ‘Let’s keep this a secret!’” Silver explained the goal was to make the reserve a public and cherished asset of
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 39
Located just southeast of Bala, the Barrens stretch over 4,700 acres of Crown-protected land. 40 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
Muskoka, and one that had to be preserved. When you look into a dark sky, you see objects that are not only incredibly far away in distance, but also incredibly far away in time, explains Silver. The galaxy Andromeda can be spotted here by a sharp, naked eye. Other galaxies, nebula and star clusters can be viewed through a telescope. The northern lights (Aurora Borealis) can be spotted, here, on occasion. The welcome sign at the reserve explains its purpose well, where one can “appreciate the immensity of time and space…” while standing on rock that is more than two billion years old. “I just find it fascinating to speculate what would be up there, what it would look like,” Silver says. “But it’s ironic – in an era of unprecedented gains and knowledge about our solar system and the universe because we have space probes, radio astronomy and physics, we’re losing the ability just to see it at night.” Silver has been working passionately to keep things dark at the Barrens as light pollution from commercial developments in the neighbouring Town of Gravenhurst is a current threat. “The challenge now is if we lose the night sky, we’ve lost it forever,” remarks Silver. As a member of the lighting committee during the planning stages of the Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst, Silver says the process went well and dark sky lighting was selected. There is minimal impact of light trespass; the lighting is subdued and only illuminates what you want illuminated, which is the ground. When the lights lining the main street of Gravenhurst were replaced, they also had the same features. Without these lighting choices, sky glow (the effect that can be seen over many populated areas) would have been created, negatively affecting the view at the Barrens. Like Silver, Township of Muskoka Lakes Mayor Don Furniss has also acknowledged the diminishing dark sky at the Barrens. “The main issue impacting the Barrens night sky is the gradual increase in ambient night lighting because of the growth of the surrounding communities,” he says. “Many people are also unaware of the negative impact of powerful night lighting, significantly reducing our ability to view the cosmic beauty of the night sky.”
Silver says the commercial development at the south end of Gravenhurst is where dark sky lighting went “off the rails.” He was told by the town planner at the time that a site plan agreement for the development had a requirement of dark sky lighting and promises were made that it would be dark sky compliant. “The process went through and the lighting there was atrocious,” he says. “It’s over-lit, tremendously over-lit. There are too many lights and they’re too bright. It noticeably deteriorated the night sky, that single development.” The Muskoka Ratepayers’ Association lobbied for bylaws in Gravenhurst as they felt the site plan agreement was not enforced and at the end of the lengthy process, Silver wanted to focus on one amendment to the dark sky bylaw that would define light pollution to include reflected light. “You can have fixtures where the light luminaire is buried within the fixture as opposed to descending beneath it, shooting light in all directions,” he explains. “But if they’re so bright and there are so many of them, you can end up with a lighting travesty.” The amendment was not approved and Silver says without this change, it could happen again with future developments. In 2016, he came to a “gentleman’s agreement”
Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve provides a wealth of opportunity for those wishing to study the universe, as well as photographers. with a senior representative of the development owner and half of the lighting there has been turned off. “It’s made an incredible difference and has improved the dark sky, but it’s still over-lit, even with half of the lights off,” adds Silver. Dark sky bylaws were not being enforced with other signage found around Gravenhurst, including the town’s welcome sign on Highway 11 going northbound which was lit from the bottom-up as opposed to from the top (which has since been changed) and commercial LED motion
Photographer Wesley Liikane explores the Torrance Barrens in all seasons, capturing photographs of the stunning landscape and night sky.
signs. Silver discovered that one particular LED motion sign was granted an exception by the District of Muskoka because it was within 400 metres of a district road. “The night sky doesn’t draw distinctions with a sign that’s 400 metres from a district road or not,” he says. In August 2017, Silver, who is a mediator and arbitrator, scheduled a deposition with Gravenhurst town council with support from a number of organizations such as the Muskoka Ratepayers’ Association, Muskoka Lakes Association, Muskoka Conservancy, the mayor of Muskoka Lakes, and a letter from the Ministry of Natural Resources. He also had a letter written by former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who introduced the dark sky bylaw in Arizona, and her husband Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut. Silver felt he was met with hostility at the deposition. “The central point of my presentation was that they had to do better and we need to realize this is cottage country, so in the same vein that we protect water quality, habitat or wildlife, we have to look at the dark sky in that regard,” he says. The reserve is a good thing for Muskoka, he adds. Other recreational, resort-oriented communities like Cape Cod, Mass. or Hilton Head Island, South Carolina have better controlled lighting than Gravenhurst does. Silver believes making a change to help preserve the dark sky at the Barrens is still possible.
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 41
“The reason I’m so charged astronomers to set up about it is that it’s not too telescopes to photograph the late,” he says. “We’re right on heavens and share their the cusp – if we don’t do knowledge with other visitors anything and there are a to the Barrens.” couple more developments As the reserve is located in that aren’t compliant, it’ll be between the Township of gone.” Muskoka Lakes and the Town Change could start with of Gravenhurst, both memorializing current agreemunicipal councils say they ments in writing, he says, have been putting plans in making it legal. Even more place to help save the dark lights could be reduced A boardwalk assists visitors to the Torrance Barrens across the east side of the skies. Muskoka Lakes passed a without affecting safety. The highland pond hiking trail. dark sky bylaw in 2014 that town’s dark sky bylaw could requires all new construction be amended to mimic the one the Township about preserving the dark sky because most to install dark sky-compliant exterior lighting of Muskoka Lakes passed, which identifies are now living in cities, which obstruct and and all those who do not currently have dark reflective light as part of light pollution. obscure the beauty of the night sky with sky-compliant lights must replace them by If the town wants to look the part of being ambient lighting and smog. year 2024. located near a dark sky reserve, regulations “There are very few places like the Barrens Just recently, they updated their sign need to be enforced so that when people see that are close to the GTA that provide people bylaw to make significant improvements to the muted lighting they’ll be more inclined with the opportunity to view the wonders of backlight, LED, fluorescent and animated to comply. Silver says there should also be our universe though clear air with minimal signage to minimize light pollution. They more promotion of the reserve background light,” Furniss says. “It also have also limited the hours of operation of Mayor Furniss believes people should care provides a great venue for amateur these signs.
The desire to preserve the darkness of the Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve has resulted in lobbying efforts to reduce the impact of neighbouring lighting. 42 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
Katie Kirton, Town of Gravenhurst’s manager of planning services and staff liaison to the Gravenhurst Environmental Advisory Committee (GEAC), says the Town has passed a dark sky bylaw that requires all new exterior lighting to be full cut-off fixtures to reduce upward light trespass. “The Town’s Official Plan, which is the document that guides development in the town over a 20-year horizon, contains policies supportive of dark sky lighting for all development and requires a detailed lighting plan when large developments are proposed,” she explains. Kirton adds, the GEAC has created a lighting display with examples of full cut-off fixtures, which can be found at the town office. “The committee has been active in educating residents and lighting retailers on the benefits of preserving the night sky,” says Kirton. Silver owns property on Clear Lake in Torrance and is a fifth-generation cottage resident of Muskoka, hiking and blueberrypicking in the Barrens since he was a boy. The Barrens always struck him as an area that looked different from the rest of Muskoka, with a different feel to it. Silver says we should care about preserving the dark sky at the Barrens and at the same time, cottage country. “Thousands of people love Muskoka and they want to keep loving it,” Silver says. “And if you care about something, you have to be committed to protecting it.”
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 43
Article by Doug Smith / Photography by Eleanor Kee Wellman
In the early 1900s, the sandhill crane was a rare sight in Ontario but since then, its numbers have grown and its range has expanded in the province to include Muskoka.
44 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
T
he rolling trumpet-like call of a sandhill crane is unlike any other bird sound in Muskoka. Loud enough to be heard over a kilometre away, the call is different from the nasal honking of Canada geese or the irritated croak of a great blue heron. Nowadays, the sandhill’s bugling is being heard more often than previously in Muskoka. The province’s only member of the crane family (which includes such celebrities as the famously rare whooping crane from out west and the exotic grey-crowned crane of Africa), the sandhill crane resembles the familiar great blue heron at first glance. A sandhill crane is just as tall at 120 cm (almost four feet) with a long neck and long legs, though the beak is not as large as a great blue’s. The sandhill’s overall colour is grey, with varying amounts of rusty-red colouring on the wings and back. Its short, drooping tail feathers resemble an old-fashioned bustle. Sandhills sport a noticeable red crown on their heads, with offwhite cheeks and chin. When flying with their 200 cm long wings (over six feet), their necks are outstretched, unlike the folded neck of the great blue heron. Their common name refers to the Nebraska Sandhills in the U.S. Midwest, where huge numbers of the cranes congregate each spring – over half a million birds – before migrating north to breeding grounds in western Canada. The Nebraska Sandhills region is not only an important stopover for feeding for the cranes but also serves as a staging area prior to breeding. There the adults, who mate for life, literally dance with each other, bowing and leaping in an exotic courtship ritual. It's a spectacular and welldocumented display.
Ontario, and particularly Muskoka, boasts no such numbers. The first record of a sandhill crane in Muskoka is from Beaumaris in the 1880s. Local birding aficionados David and Regan Goodyear spent some time researching sandhills when they were checking with various national museums about historical bird records for Muskoka. They assembled the following historical data on the cranes: “Original observer: Fred Prowse. First record for Muskoka. Source: Percy Taverner,” (who was the first ornithologist at the National Museum of Canada, now the Canadian Museum of Nature). The Goodyears explain – according to Percy Taverner’s ornithological notes, this bird was originally, “in the possession of Mr. Edward Prowse Prop[rietor] of Beaumaris Hotel Muskoka Lake, Ont. The bird was killed there in the yard with the chickens one morning after a severe storm. The exact date is lost but it must have been 1888 or before.” The Goodyears have now recorded this information on eBird, entering a date of 15 May 1888.
There is more, “Further information states that the bird was at the Beaumaris Hotel, and, according to Mills (that is Alex Mills, author of the 1981 book A Cottager's Guide to the Birds or Muskoka and Parry Sound), it stood there for a number of years. Greg Rand, assistant collection manager, Canadian Museum of Nature, stated that the specimen was acquired by the Canadian Museum of Nature in 1917...” Sandhills were known in the area long before that interesting incident. The Goodyears discovered that, “This species, however, may have once been a regular migrant through this area and southern Ontario prior to the 1800s. According to naturalist Otto Devitt in the 1967 edition of his book, The Birds of Simcoe County, sandhill cranes were well-known to the Huron Indians in what is now Simcoe County. Gabriel Sagard, a Christian missionary who lived in a Huron village on the southern shore of Lake Huron from 1615 to 1624, noted in his account on New France and the
When flying with their 200 cm long wings (over six feet), the necks of sandhill cranes are outstretched.
Huron people published in 1632, that ‘in the seasons all the fields are covered with cranes or ‘Tochingo’, which come to eat the corn at seed-time and when it is ready to harvest.’ Archaeological work undertaken in nearby Coldwater in 1946 uncovered four bones identified as belonging to this species.” “Further research,” the Goodyears state, revealed the following; “In the early 1900s, the sandhill crane was a rare sight in Ontario but since then, its numbers have grown and its range has expanded in the province. Harry
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Lumsden, a Ministry of documented when Lex Natural Resources and Calacott observed six birds Forestry biologist, suggested on a small lake near in a report in 1971 that these Huntsville on 9 October.” birds were likely from the Sandhills weren’t recorded Hudson Bay Lowland breeding in this region until population that wintered in later, in 2001 to 2005, when New England, but in the the data was collected for the 19th century this population second Ontario Breeding was extirpated.” Bird Atlas, (BBA). Regional The Goodyears cite a later co-ordinator Al Sinclair report by Lumsden from states, “two confirmed 1987, which gives more breeding records. The one relevant history of the near Huntsville and the other The rolling trumpet-like call of a sandhill crane is unlike any other bird sound in sandhill in Ontario, “birds near Barkway.” from farther west in the Muskoka. Unlike herons, sandhills lowland recolonized this inhabit fields and rocky vacant breeding area but did not follow the colonizers from a surviving population in the barrens, but will choose wetlands, particularly same migration route as the previous upper Michigan peninsula, a breeding bogs, to nest. There, they build on the occupants, thus accounting for the paucityTH of E population over 200 cranes present in ON ground, similar to how Canada geese nest. R IO BELof MOMEN TI ™was COLLECTI southern Ontario records during the first half the southern Algoma District, and by 1985, AVAIL ABL E AT KN OW LES P LUMBI NSuch G! a practice leaves their eggs and young of the 20th century. Beginning in the early birds had colonized Manitoulin Island and vulnerable to a variety of predators, including 1950s, however, numbers in the province the Bruce Peninsula.” raccoons, foxes, coyotes, ravens, crows, and began increasing, with birds observed in the Showing the local context, the Goodyears even mink. Algoma District north of Sault Ste. Marie. conclude, “It wasn't until 1982, only the Fortunately, the young cranes are BAT K ITC H Eaugmented N S Hby OW R OO By theH late&1970s, possibly second recordM of this species in Muskoka was precocial, so leave the nest within a day of DE SI G N. IN STALL ATIO N. R E PAIR S E RV I N G A LL OF M USKO KA 279 M A N ITOBA ST, B R AC E B R I D G E
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numbers are low and farming is limited hatching, and have even been seen at best. swimming. Fiercely protective, the Another reason for the OFAH devoted parents brood the young “colts” encouraging hunting is because sandhill as young cranes are referred to and feed cranes are considered something of a them attentively during their early stages. delicacy. In fact, their good taste has Even after the young are old enough earned them the nickname “rib-eye in the to fly and feed themselves, they stay sky.” The tall birds are surprisingly heavy, with their parents, right up until the weighing up to five kilograms (over 10 next spring. Just before their parents pounds), which is almost twice as heavy begin another breeding season, the as a heron. In the west, where sandhill young cranes are driven away, and leave numbers are more stable, there is an to form non-breeding flocks of their established hunting season. Historically, own. These groups stay together until unregulated crane hunting contributed they are ready to breed at four to seven to the big bird’s absence from Muskoka, years-old. and most of Ontario, for many years. Sandhills are well-known for eating Now, with regulated hunting, there seedlings and other young herbaceous are regular sightings and confirmed growth in the spring. Mostly vegetarians, Sandhill cranes sport a noticeable red crown on their their diet varies with the seasons. When heads, with off-white cheeks and chin. Young cranes leave breeding records of the big birds in the region. The story of the cranes’ rise and they are breeding, they add animal the nest within a day of hatching and have even been fall and return echoes that of an even protein in the form of insects, seen swimming at that time. more successful game bird, the Canada amphibians, snakes and even small mammals to their diet. Berries are also eaten this province, in the Algoma and Sault Ste. goose. Al Sinclair concurs, stating that, “the in season, as are seeds and grains of all Marie area, and on Manitoulin Island, kinds, especially during their fall migration. where the cranes are now nesting in Eastern sub-species (of sandhill) was hunted The cranes’ preference for grain crops, numbers. “A census done on Manitoulin close to extinction, adding, “yes, the same as including newly sprouted corn and wheat back in 2008 counted over 6,000 sandhill Canada Geese – saved by the migratory Bird found in farmer's fields, is one reason there cranes,” says wildlife photographer Eleanor Act of 1916, thanks to the work of Jack Miner.” has been a call for a hunt by the Ontario Kee-Wellman. Now recovering, it’s exciting to have Too many cranes in farmers’ fields are Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH). This is more of an issue further north in not a problem in Muskoka, where crane sandhill cranes back in Muskoka.
Moose and sandhill cranes both share a wetland habitat with the cranes building their nests on the ground, making their eggs and young vulnerable to predators. 48 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
Photograph: Brad Burgess
The first CPR train is arriving at Bala on June 20, 1907. The arrival meant an overnight boost for Bala’s future. Photograph: Bala’s Museum Inset: Bala founder Thomas Burgess.
Article by Jack Hutton
W
e will never know on which summer day Bala’s first permanent settler arrived at the future location of the town in 1868, one year after Confederation. All we know is that there was no one on shore that day to witness the sight of Muskoka’s first steamboat, the Wenonah, entering the future Bala Bay. The southwest corner of Lake Muskoka was still unsettled Crown land. Seagulls soaring high above the bay were the first to notice 44-year-old Thomas Burgess, a Bruce
50 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
County farmer, standing near the bow of the Wenonah, staring anxiously at the shore. Beside him was his family and a 14-year-old niece who was there as a mother’s helper. This year marks the 150th anniversary of that arrival, a perfect time to imagine what Burgess and his 27-year-old wife, Margaret, must have been thinking as they stood there with their four children ranging in age from barely one to six years old. Burgess had left a thriving farm in Bruce County to start all over again where no one else lived on Lake
Muskoka. Margaret must have been worried sick about how she and her niece, Annie Currie, were going to cope. Burgess planned to build a home near the Musquash Falls (now the Bala Falls), but the ship’s captain was nervous about its current and turned into the future Wallis Cut to find a safer landing spot. It was Annie who called out, “I see the barn, Auntie!” What she actually saw was a deserted shack, just one room with one door and no windows, used by lumbermen.
Photographs: Bala’s Museum
The captain brought the Wenonah near the shore where crew members pushed a cow and horse off a leaky scow that had been towed from Gravenhurst behind the ship. The family and Annie were somehow taken off the ship with their belongings to where the animals had swum to shore. Thomas and Margaret must have felt totally on their own as they watched the Wenonah disappear back up Bala Bay. The family survived the winter in the lumber shack and Burgess built a home, the following summer, opposite where Portage Landing and Don’s Bakery stand today. Part of it became a store as other settlers slowly arrived. Burgess built a small sawmill in 1870 on the mill stream and became postmaster for the tiny growing settlement, which he named “Bala” after a town in Wales where his own family had holidayed. Six more children were born during the following years. Margaret died after giving birth to her 10th child on Dec. 19th, 1877. She was 36. Scottish-born Burgess became the laird of a tiny settlement, which did not reach a population of 50 until the next century. He died in January 1901 (three months before Queen Victoria passed on), justifiably proud of the village that had grown around him. It had its own church and school, both thanks to him. Burgess had even started a bakery. Bala was basically a sawmill village when Thomas Burgess died in 1901. That slowly changed after the Canadian Pacific Railway decided to build a line from Toronto through Bala to Sudbury and the Canadian National Railway planned a competing line that would go through Torrance. Work on both lines began in 1904 but slowed down when crews ran into swamps and muskeg. By 1906, 2,000 men of all nationalities were involved in building the two railway lines. That required a strong police presence in Bala, which led to one of the first OPP detachments in Muskoka. The first CPR train arrived in Bala in June 1907. Bala soon became the jumping-off point for cottagers and tourists who connected with steamboats to reach their camps, cottages, lodges or islands. Tourism had started in Bala before the first train. The Clifton House, built in the late 1890s where Bala’s ski shows now take
Top: The Burgess general store was the largest store between Gravenhurst and Parry Sound for years. The age of the cars reveals when the photo was taken. Above: Three daughters of Thomas Burgess posed for this early canoe photo with the Bala dock and the early CPR station behind them. At the stern is Euphemia Burgess and sister Katherine Burgess in the bow. In between them is either Mary Burgess or Margaret Burgess. place, was Bala’s first hotel. A nearby 75room hotel that eventually became the Bala Falls Hotel, one of the largest in Muskoka, followed it in 1899. It burned March 13, 1913, in a spectacular blaze that could be seen in the night sky as far away as Port Carling. The acetylene lighting system was blamed. An acetylene explosion was also blamed for an earlier fire that destroyed the Windsor Hotel (originally the Clifton House) on June 7th, 1909. It was immediately rebuilt as the New Windsor Hotel.
Muskoka’s first brick summer hotel, the Swastika Hotel was named for a good luck symbol and opened in June 1910. Its owner, E.B. Sutton, was one of Muskoka’s most creative citizens as a musician and composer, and as the longtime author of a popular newspaper column. He was one of Bala’s greatest boosters, predicting a great future. Sutton was followed by others who made a similar impact. Gerry Dunn is credited with putting Bala on the map. He had just graduated from the University of Toronto as a pharmacist in
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 51
Photographs: Bala’s Museum
E.B. Sutton built the Swastika Hotel, Muskoka’s first brick summer hotel (now the Bala Bay Inn) in 1910. This photo was taken a couple of years later. Inset: E.B. Sutton. 1929 when he traveled from Bracebridge, his hometown, to buy Langdon’s Ice Cream Parlour on a street that is now Gerry Dunn Way. He created a dance hall at the rear of his ice cream parlour and was so successful that he opened Dunn’s Pavilion at the edge
of Bala Bay in July 1942. The finest dance bands in the world played at Dunn’s Pavilion for more than two decades including Louis Armstrong, the Dorsey brothers, Guy Lombardo and others. The pavilion was
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Gerry Dunn (left inset) put Bala on the map by building Dunn’s Pavilion in 1942, bringing world-class dance bands to Bala for decades. Above: Louis Armstrong brought his world-famous band to Bala for four years in a row, setting an attendance record of 2,000 in his final year, 1961. The photo was taken at the Bala Bay Inn with two fans. Right: Canadian band leader Guy Lombardo posed with Gerry Dunn’s family while playing at Dunn’s Pavilion in 1958. At the left are Dunn’s wife, Aurelie, and their son, Patrick
holiday to write a Muskoka novel, The Blue Castle. Meanwhile, everyone who has ever lived, cottaged or holidayed at Bala is being asked to return to Bala on Saturday, July 21st for a large group photo and a whole day and evening of sharing memories. The group photo will be taken at 1 p.m. from the rooftop of the Bala Arena by award-winning
Photographs: Bala’s Museum
eventually re-named as the Kee to Bala, featuring top rock groups like Kim Mitchell to this day. Bala has become known as the Cranberry Capital of Ontario and that is all due to another visionary dreamer. Orville Johnston was convinced that a cranberry marsh, just north of Bala near Medora Lake, would be successful and purchased the land in the early 1950s. He had doubters in his first years but proved them all wrong. His son, Murray Johnston, and daughterin-law, Wendy Hogarth, have turned the family business into an award-winning cranberry operation and a winery that has won gold and silver medals in Europe. Orville Johnston’s trailblazing success led to the annual Bala Cranberry Festival that draws up to 25,000 to Bala every October on the weekend following Thanksgiving. Bala celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1993 for an entire year, climaxing it with the Trek to Bethlehem, a Christmas holy walk. The Trek has continued to this day and will carry on this year. The Bala Legion Branch 424 is currently creating considerable excitement with plans for an affordable senior housing project, built on Legion-owned land behind the Bala Arena. Muskoka Lakes Township Council recently gave the branch preliminary approval for the proposed Bala Legion Heritage Manor, a 128-room assisted living and long-term care facility. Township Councillor Ruth Nishikawa, who has been deeply involved with the project, says a plan will be ready to submit to the federal government by Dec. 2nd. The 150th anniversary will be celebrated many ways this summer. Bala’s Museum is offering free admission on Tuesday, July 3rd, so visitors can learn how author L.M. Montgomery was inspired by a 1922 Bala
Bala photographer Andy Hansen. The last time a similar photograph was taken in Bala was in 1992 when a photo was taken from the arena roof to honour the 125th anniversary of Confederation. The main photographer on that occasion was the author of this article, who was (and still is) afraid of heights. A community barbecue will follow the
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 53
Photographs: Jack Hutton
A town photo was taken from the roof of the Bala Arena in 1992 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the confederation of Canada. Gerry Dunn (Dunn’s Pavilion) can be seen waving from behind the “B”. historic past. In the evening, the Kee to Bala will be offering live music and an opportunity to remember the wonderful bands that have performed there since 1942. This has been an abbreviated history of a
most remarkable small town. Come to Bala on Saturday, July 21st, to fill in the highlights from your own family history. Tell us how your family came to Bala or to your cottage: don’t forget the first fish your son caught off the dock, the sunset or sunrise that you will never forget, or your first kiss at Dunn’s Pavilion or the Kee to Bala. Somewhere, we expect, Thomas Burgess will be smiling. Photographs: Bala’s Museum
July 21st group photo on Maple Avenue with opportunities to share stories from the past. Everyone will be invited into the Bala Community Centre to see a PowerPoint presentation of photographs from Bala’s
As a great-grandson of Thomas Burgess, Mark Gidley is in charge of the Burgess Family Cemetery, which is beside his cottage home in Bala. Right Inset: Thomas Burgess. 54 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
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July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 55
Article by Dawn Huddlestone / Photography by Kelly Holinshead
Muskoka’s landscape provides inspiration to
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uskoka’s undulating landscape, its forests and its lakes have long provided inspiration for artists of all types. Woodworker and carver Andy Gamper is one of them. “There is no shortage of inspiration of form in the Muskoka landscape,” says Gamper, owner of Living Wood Design with his wife Anna Smith. “We try to translate that into the landscapes of our furniture.” They started the company, which crafts live edge tables, furniture, home wares and sculptures, five years ago but its roots go back much further. Gamper comes from a family of Swiss woodworkers. He spent a lot of time in his father’s workshop as a teenager before heading to Humber College’s cabinet-making program. He followed that with a stint as an assistant teacher at the school along with an apprenticeship in Toronto with renowned Swiss woodcarver Siggi Buhler. It was Buhler who taught him traditional fine carving skills and how to translate them into more contemporary and abstract work. “It was very exciting training,” says Gamper. “I got the best of the classical training but also some modern techniques and a modern sense of line.” He’s grateful for training with Buhler and paid it forward when he and Smith spent four years in Honduras. Smith was involved in humanitarian aid work and Gamper did some woodworking for the tourist industry. He trained an apprentice there and when the couple eventually left the country, a local church set up a micro loan to purchase all of Gamper’s equipment, making it possible for the apprentice to have his own business. Buhler’s influence is evident in Gamper’s work.
o Huntsville woodworker and carver Andy Gamper. July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 57
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“The traditional craftsmanship is there in terms of the joinery and the function of the table, and the abstract sense of line is there the way we develop the live edge and shape the tables,” Gamper says – as is that of Japanese American woodworker George Nakashima who made live edge design popular in the 1960s. “(Nakashima) was truly a master in what he did,” says Gamper. “He’s been an inspiration in my work… I’m not sure live edge design will ever go out of style, especially now that there is such a focus in our changing world toward environmentalism and sustainability.” That focus is something that he and Smith practice in their home life and champion in their business. They spent a few years living off the land on a farm near Fergus, growing their own food in a garden. “We wanted to live a more sustainable life with our kids on the land, outside of Toronto,” says Smith. “And it was a good place to springboard our business.” They moved back to Toronto for a while but yearned to be back on the land, so the sixmember family recently settled onto a property by a lake near Huntsville. It’s more practical to live somewhere where we could have a workshop close by and have a more sustainable life with our garden and chickens,” says Smith. “We are able to be with our children more. They are able to be outside, and we have a more cohesive life that is more connected to the land and more sustainable in a variety of ways. So we feel healthier and it translates into our business, too, because those are the guiding principles for our business as well.” The wood that Gamper works with is salvaged: trees that have been injured or felled in storms, or wood that has been recovered from old barns. Some of those trees come from their own property but much of it is sourced from local sawyers who, like Gamper, understand how to work with a natural material. “In the last century, there was really a movement to get away from thick lumber for table tops because wood does move, and people don’t like materials that are not static,” he explains. “Even in high-quality tables, they were using good quality plywood with a high-quality veneer. And they were making
The wood that Andy Gamper uses is from salvaged trees that have been injured or felled in storms. Some of those trees come from the family property while others are sourced from local sawyers. some really nice tables like that. But I think there’s been a return to people wanting that natural material of solid lumber in their home.” But wood is a material that is constantly changing, and Living Wood Design does everything they can to ensure it won’t change after it’s been made into a table. “That means kiln drying everything down to eight per cent moisture, and we also have a flattening process for the raw lumber that reduces the tension wherever there’s knots or cracks. We take great care to eliminate anything that might want to make the table change in the future.” The wood first air dries for about six months and then is kiln dried for a further two. Gamper says it’s not as easy as going to a local lumberyard and buying a 10foot slab of kiln-dried Canadian black walnut. Gamper gets many requests for black walnut, which doesn’t grow in Muskoka, but sources as much of the rest of the wood they use as locally as possible. “It’s easier to support local sawyers,” says Smith, adding that they don’t yet have their own kiln or mill but hope to someday. “We have a huge selection of beautiful Ontario hardwoods but we still know where they are coming from because they are small operations. We can find out the story – our clients really Andy Gamper collaborated with his brother, David, also like to hear where the wood is from and an artisan, to produce this mosaic.
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Andy Gamper comes from a family of Swiss woodworkers. He spent time in his father’s workshop as a teenager before heading to a college cabinet-making program.
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hear the story behind it, and to know that we are connected to that process.” Occasionally, a client asks them to work with a tree they provide, one that has special meaning. “We appreciate the sentimentality in that. It’s heartwarming,” says Smith. She gives the example of an oak tree that came down on a woman’s property, and they co-ordinated from start to finish the salvaging of the tree and made it into a table. “So her family
generations now gather around that tree. When you look at a slice of a tree you can see the rings and the history; our business is the same in that we are taking these beautiful sentinels of the forest that have stood guard for generations and instead of being used for firewood or being put in the chipper, we are able to give them this new life.” Gamper and Smith handpick the slabs they use for their beautiful grain and colour that will come to life once they have been
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Living a more sustainable life with their children was a major motivating factor in bringing Andy Gamper and Anna Smith to Muskoka.
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sanded and oiled. They use an environmentallyfriendly finish – plant-based Rubio oil from Belgium – which is free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), food safe and healthy for Gamper and his assistant to use in the workshop. That environmental focus spills over into the charities they support, too. They are official sponsors of the Muskoka Conservancy and donated a walnut table for the group’s auction last year. They’ll do the same, again, this year. They also plant 10 trees through reforestation organizations for every table they create, five in Ontario and five in Africa. “It’s a practical way to show in numbers how we are trying to give back,” says Smith. And they continue to support the community in Honduras where they lived and made many friends. “There is high infant and mother mortality there, and a lot of kids can’t afford to go to school because public school is only free until Grade 6,” explains Smith. “But we didn’t want to be gringos coming in, we want to support initiatives that are run by Hondurans and support them.” Every month, Living Wood Design supports a variety of different programs in Honduras – a family they befriended which has eight children whose father died from tuberculosis (TB), a former student who is now in his 20s who has started an after-school sports program for kids, two students at a school for kids with AIDS or whose parents have AIDS and an ongoing project to support public health centres. They have also created a registered not-forprofit, Healthy Horizons, with a future goal to support the efforts of two female doctor friends in opening a women’s health centre. “I volunteered with them and they had such heart for the people,” says Gamper. “We would like to augment it with a TB testing and treatment centre, and a women’s health centre for supporting the midwives we worked with.” They hope to name the TB centre in honour of their friend who succumbed to the disease. “Those are long term goals that give meaning and direction to our business, so that it’s not just about accumulation, it’s seeing how we can still have an impact,” says Smith In their Huntsville showroom, which moved to Main Street from Brunel Road this
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spring, they display their own elegantly crafted fine furniture that is more like functional art, supplemented by the works of both local artists and those from artisans around the world. “This year, we’ll be carrying different work from a women’s project in Africa, a variety of French baskets from a women’s co-operative in Morocco, textiles and hand-woven shirts from Mexico, and lots of different Muskoka artists,” says Smith. “It’s going back to our roots – we had a fair trade store in Honduras to support the Mayan community. Tags on the items in the store will reflect where they are from and who has created them so people can see where their dollars are going.” And they’ll continue to put down roots in Muskoka. “We have a real love for our community and the people who live in it, this community that has welcomed our family,” says Gamper. “We appreciated the welcome and helping us transition to Anna Smith and Andy Gamper have recently opened a gallery in downtown Huntsville to display their making our roots here.” products and those of other artisans.
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Emerald ash borer detection project continues in 2018 Its beautiful, iridescent sheen belies its destructive nature. The emerald ash borer is an invasive pest native to Asia that attacks all species of true ash (Fraxinus spp.). It was first detected in Canada in 2002 in Windsor but likely arrived in the country in the decade prior. It has since been spreading northward with outbreaks confirmed in Barrie and Ramara Township, and appearing as far north as Sault Ste. Marie. The insect has killed tens of millions of trees in Canada so far. Should it arrive in Muskoka or already be here, the Muskoka Conservancy wants to know about it so that action can be taken to protect local trees. In June 2016, the organization, in partnership with the Town of Bracebridge, launched an Emerald Ash Borer Early Detection Pilot Project. That year, twenty green prism traps from
BioForest Technologies were hung in the canopy of ash trees in and around Bracebridge. The pilot was repeated again in June 2017 with 24 traps hung in Bracebridge and Gravenhurst. There was no evidence of the emerald ash borer at the end of each term. Thanks in part to a $2,000 commitment f r o m t h e To w n o f The Town of Bracebridge presents a cheque to the Muskoka Conservancy B r a c e b r i d g e , t h e to help continue the conservancy’s emerald ash borer detection project. Muskoka Conservancy initiated the Emerald Ash Borer Early Detection Project in June 2018. “The Town is pleased to financially support this project,” said Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith. “This will assist Muskoka Conservancy in their ongoing detection of the Residents and visitors coming to Muskoka emerald ash borer in Muskoka through trapping, from Toronto will be able to significantly cut engaging volunteers and public education.” their travel time this year.
Pilot project provides air taxi service
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Photographs: Kim Ball, Town of Bracebridge
Whats Happened
In a one-year pilot program, FlyGTA will provide scheduled air taxi flights from Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport to the Muskoka Airport until mid-October 2018. The flights are approximately 36 minutes in duration and can carry up to eight passengers at a time. Bud Purves, chair of the Muskoka Airport Board, says, “The board feels this is a great opportunity for commuters and travelers looking for more options and convenience for visiting or commuting to Muskoka.” FlyGTA is a southern Ontario air operator that provides sightseeing tours over Toronto and Niagara Falls. It also has scheduled return flights from Billy Bishop to Lake Simcoe Regional Airport, St. Catharine’s/Niagara District Airport and Region of Waterloo International Airport. “The Muskoka Airport is an important District asset that is very valuable to the community,” said District Chair John Klinck. “Scheduled air taxi service is a tremendous opportunity to leverage the important investments that District council has made in the airport in recent years.”
Boat tours come to Huntsville It’s been more than 65 years since steamships plied the lakes around Huntsville but thanks to a local entrepreneur, both visitors and residents alike will have the opportunity to see the town’s largest lakes from the same perspective. Stephen Wyllie, who runs the Lady Muskoka tours in Bracebridge, will operate two tour boats in the Huntsville area. One, christened the Algonquin II in a nod to the steamer Algonquin that was decommissioned in 1952, will launch from the Town Dock. The other, the Tom Thomson, is a dining boat that will reside at Deerhurst Resort. Both of the 58-foot boats have a glass roof to enhance the sightseeing experience. The tours from the Town Dock will echo those of the earlier steamships, travelling down the Muskoka River, across Fairy Lake, through the canal and into Peninsula Lake. Passengers on the steamships would have disembarked at South Portage to take the Portage Flyer train up to North Portage on Lake of Bays. Modern passengers will return to the Town Dock in Huntsville. Huntsville’s Town Council approved an agreement for use of a portion of the Town Dock on a one-year trial period for 2018.
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For almost 150 years, the Port Carling locks have been providing vessels with a means to pass between Lakes Muskoka and Rosseau, and are a beloved part of the summer boating experience. But they needed some TLC to ensure they could continue operating for the decades to come. The large locks were opened in 1871 and later widened in 1903 to accommodate larger steamships. The small locks were constructed in 1922. In the mid-1950s, a new lock structure of reinforced concrete was constructed, with a rebuild of the small locks following in 1963. There has been no major rehabilitation work done since then – it was time. Work to rehabilitate the locks began in December 2017 and staff very quickly determined the steel gates were so severely corroded they would have to be rebuilt rather than merely repaired. While the locks were dewatered, the District also made a decision to do a major concrete
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restoration at the same time, a move that saved about $250,000 in the long run, said Fred Jahn, the District’s commissioner of engineering and public works. The electric motors and drives that open and close the gates were completely o v e r h a u l e d a n d The Hunters Bay Trail extension ribbon cutting marked the completion of inspected as well. The one of the final gaps in Canada’s The Great Trail, formerly known as the newly refurbished locks TransCanada Trail. will last a minimum of 30 years before needing any major maintenance, said Jahn. “This is very old infrastructure and from our perspective at the District, the locks are In May, the Township of Muskoka Lakes a really significant part of the tourism experience in Muskoka,” says Jahn. “The last (TML) council voted in favour of an interim thing I would ever want to see is those locks control bylaw for the proposed Resort Village have a breakdown during the summer months. of Minett, a 322-acre, high-density developThose locks are important to the public and ment on the shores of Wallace Bay in Lake we wanted to make sure that they are going Rosseau, to allow for further studies and a to have a long service life. We’re really proud site-specific review of Official Plan policies. TML council’s decision comes following of it.”
Muskoka Lakes freezes Minett development
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Photographs: Dawn Huddlestone
Port Carling locks refurbishment costs $2.4 million
public outcry over the proposed development, and was applauded by opponents including the Muskoka Lakes Association which noted in a letter to its members, “This pause will allow for a series of much-needed comprehensive studies to be completed to ensure that whatever is ultimately built in Minett is respectful of the environment and the character of our Muskoka, and addresses safety concerns associated with overuse of Wallace Bay.”
Muskoka Ratepayers’ Association (MRA) represents the interests of its members in local government, property taxation, economic development and environmental issues. MRA membership is open to all full and part-time residents and businesses that have an interest in the Township of Muskoka Lakes.
Floating boardwalk is part of Great Trail An extension to Huntsville’s Hunters Bay Trail has closed one of the final gaps in Canada’s The Great Trail. Construction on the 24,000-kilometre network, formerly known as the TransCanada Trail, began 25 years ago and was completed last year for Canada’s sesquicentennial. The Great Trail’s Vice President of Resources, Simone Hicken says the new trail extension in Huntsville, which includes a floating boardwalk, is one of the only floating sections of the trail. Parts of the trail, like the one in Huntsville, were the most difficult to complete because of the approvals and permissions required, she added. The 840-metre trail extension is along the western shore of Hunters Bay – offering walkers a unique perspective on the bay – and passes beneath Highway 11. That location required approval from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation that was a long time coming. “We’ve been trying to get this section of Hunters Bay Trail done for a long time,” said Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison. “For the longest time, the MTO just said no to us; it was just too dangerous. Finally, there was a change at the regional director level and a guy named Eric Doidge was somebody who kind of got it … for the first time ever, we heard the MTO say, ‘I think we can find a way to work together.’ It wasn’t an easy slog but here we are opening this trail.” The section of trail was completed in the fall of 2017 and opened for just a few weeks before it had to be closed again under an annual agreement with the MTO to allow for Highway 11 snowplow operations. It is open again and was celebrated by the Town of Huntsville with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 25.
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Doors open at 9:30 am, meeting at 10:00 am, July 21 at the Port Carling Community Centre. This is your opportunity to get more involved in the future of Muskoka. Join your neighbours for the MRA’s annual community update.
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Dockside delights: easy-to-make foods for enjoyment while sunning Article by Karen Wehrstein / Photography by Tomasz Szumski
During this beautiful summer month, Muskoka’s culinary experts offer suggestions to prepare quickly and easily made foods for those perfect July days when you want to laze around on the dock or be in and out of the water instead of slaving over a hot stove (unless it’s a barbecue). Chef Jennifer Balfour of the Trading Bay Dining Company in Dorset knows all about that as she grew up cottaging on Lake Kawagama. She now shares a lakeside cottage with her husband, who grew up cottaging on Lake of Bays. They decided to move to where they play seven years ago, and enjoy fishing, boating and, in that other unmentionable season, snowmobiling. “It’s all about the patio, here, because we’re on the water,” Balfour says about the restaurant. “A lot of people boat in here. Some even come in by float plane.” The lake-loving chef provides a dockside snack that, she says, “is probably my fave food out of all foods, that I was making all the time even before I was a chef ” – your basic tomato salsa.
68 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
A salsa, based on her Mexican experiences, is what chef Jennifer Balfour of Dorset offers as the basis for a good start to a summer meal or a snack. It was in Mexico Balfour learned to like what is sometimes known as pico de gallo, “rooster beak” – the story being that it was named metaphorically after how fightingcocks would take revenge on handlers who put the birds’ heads in their mouths to calm them. “They put it on everything,” she says. “It’s on every table.” She found the recipe in a Mexican cookbook, she says. “I’ve probably tweaked it. It’s all stuff you might have in your garden, all seasonal. The onions don’t have to be white, you can use green onions.” To
persuade the kids to eat it, leave out the chilies; it’s still delicious. How can that be? Because there is a secret to genuine Mexican salsa, not that store-bought stuff. In Balfour’s words: “What gives it all its flavour is the cilantro and the lime juice.” Salsa can be an accompaniment or a snack in itself. “Dip with corn chips or tacos or fish tacos,” Balfour suggests. “Get some tortillas, grill a piece of fish, throw some salsa on it.” This is traditionally done in Mexico with delicate-flavoured fish. As a summery meal, Trading Bay serves a Sriracha cod taco that, she says, “is very popular right now.” We probably don’t need to tell you that the perfect beverage pairing is a Marguerita. Cooking is in the blood of Chef Iain Irvine, co-owner with other family members of The Oar in Gravenhurst. His father, Alain, now retired, started cooking in 1971 and
Tomato Salsa Courtesy of Jennifer Balfour Trading Bay Dining Co.
Ingredients Serrano chilies: 0 for mild, 3 for medium, 6 for hot 1 large white onion (red is nice also) Juice of two limes 8 firm medium-sized tomatoes Large bunch of fresh cilantro 1/8 tsp salt
Method • Grill, roast or dry-fry (with no oil) chilies until skin begins to blister, then place in a sealed plastic bag for 20 minutes. • Finely dice onions and place in a bowl with the lime juice (to soften the onion). • Remove chilies from bag, remove skins and seeds. Chop the flesh and set aside. • Optional: cut a cross in the base of each tomato, place them in a heatproof bowl and pour enough boiling water over them to cover. After three minutes (no more), remove from water and peel skins (which will be easy). • Finely dice tomato and mix with chopped onion and lime mixture. • Wash, pat dry with paper towel, then finely chop fresh cilantro and mix. Cover and chill 2-3 hours to allow flavours to blend • (Optional) Garnish with strips of lime rind just before serving.
Recipes Chef ’s tips “If you can’t find serranos, which are hotter, you can put jalapenos in it,” Balfour says. “Jalapenos are easier to find.” Serrano peppers have a heat level of eight, while jalapeno peppers are six and poblanos, three. “Scotch bonnet, I wouldn’t recommend for salsa.” Putting the chilies in plastic for 20 minutes after cooking them makes it easy to remove the skins. “They steam, so the skins all wrinkle up,” Balfour explains. “It starts to peel off itself in the bag.” Prepare chilies with care, especially if you have sensitive skin: wear gloves, make sure you don’t touch your face, wash hands with soap and water afterwards if not wearing gloves. “Cilantro is always full of dirt,” Balfour cautions, so wash it well. Why dry it? “That way it flakes instead of turning to mush when you chop it, and it’s easier to mix.”
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became an executive chef in the late 70s; he met his wife, Robbie, because she worked the front desk at a hotel in Toronto that had hired him. In 2005, while Alain was executive chef at Taboo, Robbie opened up Irvine & Sons Fine Foods in Gravenhurst.
When he left Taboo in 2007, the family opened North Restaurant and Lounge, and ran three other eateries as well, until they decided to concentrate on one, first named The Oar and Paddle and now just The Oar. While his older brother, Andrew, went
July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 69
Chef Iain of Gravenhurst provides a recipe for strawberry shortcake as a delightful dessert conclusion to a dockside meal.
the front-desk route, training as a sommelier, Iain started cooking at age 17. It was all on-the-job training – “I felt I could learn working and getting paid” – including very educational employment stints such as in the five-diamond restaurant at the Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff and the Langdon Hall Country House in Cambridge. He apprenticed with his dad. Strawberry shortcake always goes on The Oar’s summer menu, Iain says. “Everybody likes it. It’s so light, but we get it nice and syrupy. With Ontario strawberries being so abundant right now, it seemed like a nice recipe.” Not surprisingly, he inherited the dish from his father. “I don’t know where he ran into it,” Iain says. “He’s worked in so many places.” And no doubt there have been tweaks.
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70 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
Strawberry Shortcake
Chef Iain Irvine, The Oar (originally Alain Irvine)
Ingredients For the shortbread: 100 g/3½ oz. butter 100 g/3½ oz. plain flour, plus extra for dusting 55g /2 oz. icing sugar 1 free-range egg yolk
For the filling: 150 ml/ ½ cup double cream 2 Tbsp icing sugar, plus extra for dusting 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out 220 g/8 oz. strawberries, hulled and chopped, plus a few left whole to garnish
Method • Preheat the oven to 190C/375F • For the shortbread, place the butter, flour, icing sugar and egg yolk into a food processor and pulse until the mixture comes together as a dough.
Recipes Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 0.5cm/¼ inch thick. Use a pastry cutter to cut eight rounds out of the dough and place onto a non-stick baking sheet. • Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. (Don’t walk away too far.) Remove from the oven and allow to cool. • For the filling, place the cream into a large bowl with the icing sugar and vanilla seeds and whisk until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Gently fold in the strawberries. • To serve, use the cream filling to sandwich the shortbread biscuits together and place on a serving plate. Dust with icing sugar and garnish with extra strawberries.
and filling are kept separate then assembled at the destination. Warm shortbread in microwave beforehand, and keep filling.
Makes four shortcakes. Travels well (e.g. from kitchen to dock) if shortbread
Add some fresh mint from the garden as a tasty garnish.
Chef ’s tips That was just the basic recipe. Here are the secrets for taking it up to restaurant quality for special occasions on your dock. “We use Chantilly cream and a bit of booze,” Iain confides, specifying just a quarter or half ounce. “That adds a bit of flair to it.” He suggests mint liqueur or, for total teetotalers, essence of mint. “Or, you can go chocolaty,” he suggests. “Add Crème de Cacao or cocoa powder. You can do a drizzle of chocolate sauce – but not hot as the whipped cream will go right back to liquid.”
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Schedule your salvage or donation pickup from one of our locations today! Sudbury ReStore Bracebridge ReStore Midland ReStore 799 Notre Dame Ave. 505 Muskoka Rd. 118 W 720 Balm Beach Rd. Sudbury, ON Bracebridge, ON Midland, ON (705) 669-0624 (705) 646-0106 Huntsville ReStore (705) 528-0681 Orillia ReStore 70 King William St. 220 James St. West Huntsville, ON Orillia, ON (705) 788-0305 (705) 327-3279
The Creative Plate Eatery in Gravenhurst has an unusual stock-intrade: changing the menu up every day. “I have a million things I want to try all the time,” says chef and owner Connie Ure. “Guests didn’t like it at first. Now they love it.” Or perhaps they started out loving it more than they knew: “I used to do each menu three months, then switch; plus ran four features a day. The features always outsold the menu, so it made more sense to do a daily menu.” She adds, “As a chef, you have to have an open mind and never get stuck in the rut of favourites. I have food I like this week but may not next.” Changing menus daily, Ure says, requires thought, dedication and good organization. “My mind is always on the go. I will see something and be like ‘I can do that but with a twist… how do I take that and make my mark with it?’ We have no
For Connie Ure, the owner of Creative Plate, Thai pork might just offer the answer for a main course when you’re enjoying the sun and summer.
LINGERIE & BRA FITTING BOUTIQUE Sizes A-H Cup
“A Muskoka Dining Tradition”
Top Brands like Wacoal, Chantelle Paris, Simone Perele, Marlies Dekkers, PJ Salvage
The boat is waiting…take a boat ride to dinner at Algonquin Park’s most acclaimed Dining Room
Visit us this summer in our NEW LOCATION 34 Manitoba Street, Downtown Bracebridge as we celebrate 7 years!
For reservations please call
705.633.5543 www.bartlettlodge.com
705 645 7734 littleblackbow
www.littleblackbow.ca July 2018 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 73
Recipes
Barbecue Thai Pork Burger Connie Ure, The Creative Plate
Burger mix: 2 pounds of regular ground pork 1 small vanilla onion, roughly chopped ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper ¼ tsp garlic (powder or paste) ¼ tsp ginger (powder or paste) ¼ tsp cilantro (fresh or dried) ¼ tsp coriander 2 Tbsp soya sauce Fresh-squeezed juice of 2 limes Chilies to taste (optional)* 2 ribs of celery, diced fine * Ure: “It’s a flavour enhancer, not to burn you or make you sweat.” • Mix together well, form into four eight-once patties. Barbecue until done (pork will turn white).
Topping
Wine pairing:
½ bag snow peas 1 head of broccoli, chopped ½ bag of shredded carrots 2 Tbsp sesame seed oil
Riesling white wine.
Chef ’s tip
Stir fry veggies in oil in an aluminum pan on the barbeque.
Sauce (to put over veggies just as they’re starting to be done)
Connie Ure: “It’s about loving and passion and passing that love through your food to your guests!” And not just globe-trotting chefs, but anyone, can do that.
¼ cup lime juice 1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce 1 Tbsp coconut oil Salt, pepper and a little sugar to taste • Place topping on burger and serve with a spicy mayonnaise of your choice. Place on a soft artisan bun (brioche always works well).
MUSKOKA AUTUMN STUDIO TOUR Cordually invites you to help celebrate their
40th ANNIVERSARY Muskoka Discovery Centre
Opening night - Friday August 10, 7pm-10pm Show continues August 11&12 275 Steamship Bay Rd, Gravenhurst
Chapel Gallery
Opening celebration - Saturday August 18, 1pm-4pm
Time Capsule to be opened during the celebration Show continues August 21 to September 8 15 King St. Bracebridge
STUDIO TOUR DATES SEPT 22-23 & 29-30
muskokaautumnstudiotour.com 74 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
concept. I let the business evolve. It’s the guests who drive what it becomes. We’re all one unit, not the kitchen and the front.” In winter, she travels worldwide to learn what’s cooking in other nations by working in their kitchens. Ure started working in hospitality at age 13. “I got into cooking when I realized I had pretty much done everything I could via front of the house, and it was time to further my career and take it to the back of the house,” she says. By watching chefs on her own time and volunteering, she learned the art. After three years working a food truck called The Pheast Beast, she sold it and opened the Plate in 2014. Part of her motivation was that food trucks became trendy. “Just because it’s popular means I will stay the hell away from it,” she explains. “That’s what keeps the Plate interesting!” Another motivation was putting all her efforts into one business. “I dedicate 90 plus hours a week to her even in the winter,” Ure says. “She’s my baby, I am her soul master. I
believe you should do one thing and do it well. Too many fingers in a pie means you don’t do something well, you exist.” Ure tries her hardest to source everything she and her staff use locally, and her philosophy is “Come as guests, leave as friends.” The recipe she shares with us, not surprisingly, “came off the top of my head.” This past winter she went to Thailand to train and was certified as a Thai chef, leading to requests from her diners for Thai-themed dishes. “Thai is easy, quick and flavourful,” Ure says. “Anyone can do it dockside. I love working with pork. It adapts with flavours and it’s a nice tender protein to work with and does not take long to cook… it’s underused. Ontario pork rocks!!”
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Muskoka Moments
Family and community Lake of Bays blessings The lure of Muskoka’s Lake of Bays was fueled by my McMaster University buddy Bob McCullagh in 1955. He drove with me in an old ragtop Jeep to meet Percy Cunnington who had sold him a large stretch of shoreline near Dwight. Bob bought a do-it-yourself cabin kit and then cajoled his school chums to help him build it. Our pay? A few cases of beer, swimming, fishing and sunburns. Further fun was available at the Bigwin Inn bar. The following summer of 1956, I flew to Muskoka. Owen Boris and I rented a two-seat Piper PA11 on floats and our plan was travel to some well-known Muskoka lodges. One guy would fly the aircraft, the other would drive the car and we’d rendezvous, often at Milford Manor. This lodge was a roaring party scene and we junior aviators charged resort guests $3.00 for a 15-minute Muskoka flight. I then partnered with Bob McCullagh and bought Muskoka Air Trails, Charters and Flight School on Lake Vernon. With an aircraft strapped to my behind, I had the luxury of experiencing the majesty of many corners of Muskoka from the air. Limberlost Lodge on Lake Solitaire had a modest ski hill. This is where I met Ruth, my wife-to-be . . . truly a monumental Muskoka Moment. We were married in 1961 and returned to Lake of Bays in 1965. Engaging with the north Lake of Bays community was the foundation for many friendships. Our first boat was a mahogany Shepherd but after one expensive season, we sold it. A series of cedar runabouts gave way to our easier-to-handle aluminum fishing boats. Meeting Dr. Royal Montgomery, our neighbour, was propitious. Doc was a
76 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2018
Photographs: Kelly Holinshead
By George Daniels
George Daniels feels blessed by his unique Muskoka lifestyle. director of Lake of Bays Association. His father had bought Montgomery Point in 1919 and in February 1968, he invited me to stay at Port Cunnington Lodge to experience winter. We rented a snowmobile and skimmed across the frozen lake, checking out fish huts. A spectacular on-ice bonfire with hot dogs and beer introduced us to many locals who are friends to this day. Before heading back to New York, Doc said, “George, you are going to replace me as the director of the Lake of Bays Association.” I became actively involved with LOBA and was president from 1988-1990. With Robin Cummine’s help, we founded the Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation in 1986. I am continually working with the Andrew Daniels Fish Stewardship Foundation, which is in memory of our son who died at 37 in 2004.
Regattas are the venue for the Muskoka community coming together. Our family would dive right in with paddles, swimming trunks, donations and bake sales at these events. With my public speaking skills, I have often been the commodore/announcer. Our boys, Andrew, Tiff and Chris competed at these events. Our cottage trophy wall is festooned with pins, metals and pictures of their trophies. May 24 marks Sweat Equity Weekend, when we all pitch in to open cottages, take down shutters, launch boats and help each other. The camaraderie has no cost but it’s priceless. I was proud to be part of a volunteer fireboat fundraising group. Over a two-year period, we raised several hundred thousand dollars to purchase a new state-of-the-art Stanley fireboat. The fire department first responders do a super job with this equipment. A cottage is not a building but rather a unique Muskoka lifestyle. It is our spiritual home. Surrounded by the majesty of nature on land and helping protect fish habitat and species at risk underwater, in streams and shorelines, we feel blessed. I feel a special bond in helping grow this significant world biodiversity site for future generations.
George and Ruth Daniels and family are residents at Montgomery Point, Lake of Bays. George is a recipient of the Sovereign Medal for Volunteers awarded by Governor General David Johnston in 2016, acknowledging his Muskoka leadership of LOBA and the Heritage and Andrew Daniels Fish Stewardship Foundations. His memoir, George Works, will be self-published this summer. Enquiries: e-mail geofoof2017@gmail.com
Muskoka Window and Door Centre
Offering a wide selection of products curated to reflect the distinct tastes of cottage country homeowners.
www.muskokawindowanddoor.ca