Country Roads, Winter 2018/19

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R AW D O N

ON THE COVER

PHOTO BY GAIL BURSTYN

COUNTRY ROADS SOCIAL SCENE We’re very social and we’d love to hear from YOU. Letters to the Editor can be sent via www.countryroadshastings.ca, email or snail mail.

letters to the editor WIDOW BARLOW

Doesn’t our winter cover photograph feel cold?

We thought so.

Zack was rescued from severe weather exposure through the efforts of the dedicated volunteers of Home Again Bancroft.

And this brisk winter scene might become even more chilling when we tell you that it’s a photo of a rescued young hound found with only a broken outdoor leash/line to indicate that he had at some point broken free of his tether. Concerned locals had reported seeing him roaming the area for weeks during the winter before the rescue group were successful in catching him.

Almost frozen, and now in desperate need of care, this photograph depicting his rescue in February of 2013 was supplied by Gail Burstyn whom, along with Rosemary Dixon is very involved with animal rescue in the Hastings County area. You know the saying, “Cold Hands, Warm Heart”… it takes just one look at Dixon’s hands to understand just how cold it was that day, and to know, in her role as President of Home Again Bancroft, of just how warm her heart is.

Burstyn said that Home Again Bancroft is a completely volunteer organization that relies on donations, adoptions and the kindness of area veterinarians. She is also happy to report to Country Roads Magazine that “Zack” (as he was re-named) received medical care and was adopted in March of 2013. That he is alive and well is thanks to the efforts of the Home Again Bancroft volunteers and his new family.

This winter, during some of the coldest days of the year, it warms the heart to think that hundreds of other discarded animals like Zack have come through this rescue organization to be Home Again. (Home Again Bancroft is the only rescue in Bancroft that deals with cats.)

For more information, or to inquire about volunteering, adoption or donating please contact: www.HomeAgainBancroft.ca

correction In the Fall 2018 story “Belleville Streetwalking” Country Roads incorrectly identified the photo at the top of page 21 as Glanmore National Historic Site. The photo is actually of a private residence in Belleville, Ontario. We apologize for the error.

This photo to the left is Glanmore National Historic Site. Located at 257 Bridge St. E. in Belleville, the museum is open year round to visitors. www.glanmore.ca or 613-962-2329

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Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

Dear Country Roads: Wildgen’s article “The Widow Barlow Shall Remain Seated” has touched me in so many ways since I first picked up the magazine from the Belleville Library and I have read it again and again. It doesn’t always make me cry, but usually does since my story is so similar. Her wonderful sense of humour gives me hope for the future. …

I have experienced many incidents like her black cat staring at her. At the Belleville Hospital on the day my husband Terry died, a monarch butterfly fluttered outside his window for a long long time — not unusual you say, but this was the fifth floor! I too find these incidents comforting.

My best wishes for your future, Shelley.

Dawn Matheson Belleville, Ont. Dear Country Roads: We live in Toronto and stopped for lunch in a nice little café in Tweed, on our way to visit a friend in Flinton. My husband always picks up reading material and I read a very touching piece on your husband. My condolences to you. It’s good to know that you appreciated shared memories from others. It’s always hard to know what to say and in difficult times sometimes the wrong thing comes out so this is a good approach to take.

Thanks for your story.

Jane Zener Toronto, Ont.

MOONLIGHT MERMAID Dear Country Roads: I have always enjoyed Country Roads since moving back here in 1998. Now I have a special enjoyment because Heather-Anne Wakeling has created a beautiful remembrance of our special Uncle Stewart Bonter and his life and service as a pilot in WW11. We always loved him by stories of course, but since we have been in touch with Sven Polkläser we have learned so much more.

Wakeling has brought so much more to all of us with her article and to the younger generations for his sacrifice for us.

Beverlee Meyer Marmora, Ont.

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SALES DEPARTMENT CENTRAL HASTINGS & AREA Lorraine Gibson-Alcock lorraine@countryroadshastings.ca 613.902.0462 NORTH HASTINGS & AREA Hope McFall hope@countryroadshastings.ca 613.202.1541 ART DIRECTOR Jozef VanVeenen CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lorraine Gibson-Alcock Angela Hawn Barry Penhale Susan Shipton Teddy Ryan Michelle Annette Tremblay Sarah Vance Heather-Anne Wakeling Shelley Wildgen CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Gail Burstyn Larry Fowler Jason King Sandy Randle Michelle Annette Tremblay Sarah Vance Jozef VanVeenen COUNTRY ROADS, Celebrating Life in Hastings County is published four times a year by PenWord Communications Inc. Copies are distributed to select locations throughout Hastings County including the c­ ommunities of Bancroft, Belleville, Madoc, Marmora, Stirling and Tweed.

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CONTRIBUTORS

EDITORIAL

Freelance writer Angela Hawn frequently enjoys honing her writing skills while on the road. From Australia and Attawapiskat to Switzerland and Tuktoyaktuk, she and her family have taken up residence in some pretty farflung and exotic locales over the years, but are pleased as punch to call beautiful Hastings County home.

Angela writes for various publications, both here and abroad.

Writing professionally since 1993, Teddy Ryan holds a Bachelor of Public Relations Degree from Mount Saint Vincent University. She managed communications at Provincial and Federal government levels, where Ryan’s career included penning various forms of communication including writing hundreds of speeches for leaders in Canada. Once, Ryan produced talking points for Queen Elizabeth on her visit to Canada.

Today, Teddy lives on a farm in Madoc Township with her husband, Lee, two cats, one dog and six chickens.

Sarah Vance freelances articles for publications such as Bancroft This Week, The Haliburton Echo, Municipal Monitor and Country Roads.

Sarah’s interest in cultural and social themes led her to pursue a masters’ degree, under the guidance of British philosopher Keith AnsellPearson. Sarah is always on the lookout for interesting angles and projects that will take her off the beaten path.

A Spirited Issue One Oxford Dictionary’s definition for the word spirit is explained as “the nonphysical part of a person that is the seat of emotions and character; the soul.”

All the articles in this issue have the common thread of being stories of heart, passion and determination. PURE SPIRIT put into action!

Through his paintbrush, Ormsby resident R. Gary Miller expresses not only his own emotions and character, but also conveys those of Canada’s Indigenous peoples and their experiences as Canadians.

Miller’s art, most prominently his Mush Hole Exhibit is, and has been for many years, an important catalyst in the calls to action regarding reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and fellow Canadians.

His life story is one of fortitude, persistence and resilience — all foundations for his artistic expression.

The O’Hara Mill Homestead & Conservation Area outside of Madoc is a testament to the vision of community members. Their determination while rebuilding and resurrecting the old homestead over the past nearly 20 years is a reminder to everyone of the importance of respecting the past as we build for the future. The site is a special place with unique events throughout the year, as well as hiking trails to sooth the soul.

Moving from the city to the country is an emerging trend whose time has come to Hastings County.

But the decision to exit city life for country living is a big one. To make this personal dream a reality, people must trust themselves enough to take those first tentative steps forward to follow their heart’s passion to a new way of life. And when they do, they are often astonished at how easily they will be “led” to a special place that “speaks” to their spirit. And getting some good guidance along the way will make their journey all the more special.

Our animal friends touch the emotions of many. It is comforting to know that when they are in need there are many soulful folks who step up and put spirit into action. It is so heart-warming to know that ‘Zack’, the dog that graces our cover is now where he’s meant to be, with a family that loves and cares for him — and all because of the actions of “kind-spirited” humans.

We hope you enjoy this issue and that the stories brought forth by our writers will speak to you – the reader.

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Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

VOLUME 11, ISSUE 4, WINTER 2018/2019

CONTENTS 8

12

Bancroft’s Retro Candy Store

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Downtown Bancroft on the Strip

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Also visit Stirling General Mercantile 26 West Front St., Stirling 613.243.8462

18

PAINT & DECOR PLUMBING & ELECTRICAL HEATING & VENTILATION

FEATURES 8 A WARRIOR’S LINE OF ­DEFENCE

18 ­ CELEBRATING THE O’HARA MILL ­HOMESTEAD

By Sarah Vance

14 ESCAPING TO THE ­COUNTRY

MADOC HOME HARDWARE 57 Elgin Street, Madoc

(613) 473-2332 MADOCHOMEHARDWARE.COM

By Angela Hawn

By Teddy Ryan

DEPARTMENTS 4 SOCIAL SCENE 6 EDITORIAL

20 COUNTRY CALENDAR

6 CONTRIBUTORS

21 ADVERTISERS INDEX

12 REMEMBERING

22 THE VILLAGE IDIOT

The Bunkhouse Buck

20 MARKETPLACE

The Ghost of Bob

17 JUST SAYING Turn Off, Tune Out, Drop Data

Winter 2018/2019 • Country Roads

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A Warrior’s

Line of Defence

Miller’s painting depicting a traditional shoreline offers a historic view of pre-colonial village life.

R. Gary Miller is Standing Firm, Brush in Hand STORY AND PHOTOS BY SARAH VANCE

I

t is by persevering in spite of trauma, that survivors show us both the inextinguishable strength of our humanity, and the suffering so deeply inter-woven throughout it.

R. Gary Miller is one such survivor. A Six Nations Haudenosaunee of Cayuga lineage, Miller was born in 1950, in Grand River Territory. A blonde, blue-eyed baby, he was only 24 months-old when he was taken from his mother, Norma Jean’s arms in their family longhouse, and placed into the Mohawk Institute Residential School. There he was to spend the next 11 years separated from the language of his birth family and the teachings of his culture.

Growing up in the 1950’s, Miller was called “Zhaganosh” by fellow students, an Ojibway word

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Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

for a “white” person that also translates to mean exterminator.

The word exterminator didn’t come that far from the truth. His appearance created a sense of isolation and alienation that he attributes to residential school traumas, and Miller grew up fighting because of it.

Years later, in a Burlington high school he would harness his strengths and discipline to become an acclaimed heavy-weight wrestler. But there were barriers he couldn’t break, such as under-age drinking charges that prevented him from competing at a world championship level.

Miller said, “I looked like Whitey Ford, a pitcher for the Yankees, and I suffered within my community because of looking white.” While Miller rarely returns to his territory, on his right arm, a tattoo of

the Six Nations Wampum Treaty is etched like a broken promise.

“This wampum treaty was stolen from Six Nations and it’s at the Smithsonian, in Washington,” he says. “We can bless more wampum and trinkets, and make them by the road side if that’s what’s needed for reconciliation, but anything else, than the return of our children, is,” in his opinion, “an act of war.”

If these are strong words, consider the strength needed to survive a childhood riddled by the grip of hunger, hard labour and abuse. The Mush Hole, as it came to be known, colloquially after the powdered cereals fed to the children, is a school haunted by such hungry questions.

“We were given one egg a year, at Easter, but that is the only solid food, the only protein we

Above: Gary with his son, Liam. While Liam inherited his father’s blue-eyes, his eyes viewed a world that reflected familial love.

Right: Beautiful coloured trees: “Paint is fluid and it is rock, it flows. It is liquid rock!” – Gary Miller.

Bottom Right: This peaceful country scene offers a sense of serenity.

Today, Miller fights for ­Indigenous children with his paintbrush and, for him the v­ isual arts have become a tool for achieving a “re-direction of pain into another energy.”

would eat for that year,” said Miller. It was by escaping at night, on foot to the Six Nations landfill, that he would gain some reprieve, as he picked through garbage for boxes of taffy that he would stash in the corn fields, to eat later. But there were other traumas that he could not escape which continue to present daily challenges to his presence of mind.

Almost 50 years later, on October 30, 2017, Miller was issued a letter of apology by the Huron Diocese of the Anglican Church, but it had done little to heal the cognitive dissonance haunting his memories and imprinting the canvases that now bring him fame.

Today, Miller fights for Indigenous children with his paintbrush and, for him the visual arts have become a tool for achieving a “re-direction of pain into another energy.”

As a teenager Miller would become acquainted with his father, and after graduating high school, Miller attended the Ontario College of Art. There he would meet like minds, painting alongside Arthur Shilling and Norval Morrisseau and cultivating a post-expressionist, neo-fauvism style that Winter 2018/2019 • Country Roads

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Autumn leaves, painted in Ormsby, Ontario in oil.

Gary Miller in action. This medicine woman is a Blood Pagan of the Sioux Nation from Alberta. Miller was fortunate to meet her at an ecumenical conference in the 1970’s when he was a child.

Lilies on a pond: “Painting is an unspoken and largely unrecognized dialogue, where paint speaks silently in masses and colours and the artist responds in moods.” – Gary Miller.

uses collisions of colour and texture to achieve stirring impact.

Locally, in 1988, Miller was commissioned to record the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists to the Quinte Region, in a series of six painting that were unveiled by the Honorable Flora McDonald, the Canadian Minister of Communications, and which remain at Belleville’s Loyalist College.

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Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

But it is the subversive 2008 installation, “The Mush Hole Remembered,” detailing his experiences at the Mohawk Institute, and showing the haunting intersection between early childhood trauma and artistic expression that solidified his fame as a visual artist. This work is significant in the Canadian psyche because it was Miller’s call to action, that would come close to ten years be-

fore the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission released an Executive Summary along with 94 “calls to action” regarding reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and fellow ­Canadians in June 2015.

The Mush Hole exhibit is designed in sections.

First it takes the viewer’s gaze into the evocation of Six Nations culture, then through the machinery of genocide that haunts Canada’s history, and finally, into the deeply personal images that have constituted Miller’s ongoing struggle towards survival. Curated by Dr. Neal Keating, a Professor of Anthropology and Political Ecologist, it is recommended that a grief trauma therapist be present at unveilings.

Miller’s imagery has given voice to the intergenerational trauma of families whose children stood down, fled on foot, and those who were captured by the RCMP who came with guns and priests to apprehend children from the arms of their parents. Today, The Mush Hole Remembered is a mobile exhibit that has helped situate Miller on the international stage, with his canvases featured by the Incomindious Human Rights Education Network (IHREN) in Zurich, Switzerland.

Miller’s deeply layered canvases have established him to be a warrior and a truth teller, “I see and feel everything in colour, discordant colours,” says Miller. “I paint in vibrant, vibrating, colours. Like Fugitive Yellow, Alizarin Oxblood.”

This discordance of colour is perhaps evocative of the dissonance within his neuroplasticity, and that is evident in the quick, firing of his thoughts

“What a canvas looks like at one in the afternoon is one thing, but what it looks like at 5:00 p.m.,” says Miller, “now that is a completely different thing.”

when you speak with him. People notice that he often speaks with the cadence of a poet, in long soliloquies that flow through his stream of consciousness.

“When you deconstruct a cloud for example, they are never white, they are mixtures of browns and greys. Usually mauve,” says Miller. “Discordant colours in painting are not complementary.”

Miller’s paint palette is thick with the weight of images past, and must weigh close to fifty-pounds.

When asked why, Miller replies that, “Lucien Freud, liked a lot of paint and his palettes were heavier.”

Miller uses a lot of paint on his canvases, leading to a deeply textured and motioned effect.

“What a canvas looks like at one in the afternoon is one thing, but what it looks like at 5:00 p.m.,” says Miller, “now that is a completely different thing.”

Miller continues to believe that there can be redirection of his pain through art, and sometimes he accomplishes this in “plein de l’air” by painting landscapes on his property near Coe Hill, in Ormsby, where he lives with his family nearby.

Miller credits his family life to having provided a stabilizing influence. And although life has not been easy for Miller, it has brought catharsis.

For Miller, catharsis has been achieved in a redirection of pain into painting. It is woven into his gaze, and his choice of subjects. It runs through his deep mastery of post-expressionist technique, form and brush stroke.

When speaking with R. Gary Miller, it becomes clear that the impact of residential schools on our collective culture is only just beginning to be understood, and that this impact has yet to be grasped within the consciousness of our developing nation.

Miller is known to say, “If we lessen the guilt then the pain will ease. The fruits of destiny are nourished with the roots of the past.”

Put simply, it ain’t over. R. Gary Miller is standing firm, brush in hand.

•

More information about R. Gary Miller’s work (in particular his “The Mush Hole Remembered” series) can be found on his website www.rgmiller.ca and within the restorative spaces of the Woodland Cultural Centre, (the re-appropriated Mush Hole) in Brantford, Ontario. (Please note that some of his paintings and subject matter depict sensitive topics which could be upsetting, especially for young children, therefore adult supervision and discretion is strongly recommended.)

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MAYNOOTH & HASTINGS HIGHLANDS THIS WINTER Winter 2018/2019 • Country Roads

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R E M E M B E R I N G

The Bunkhouse Buck And Other Reminders of an Earlier Time

BY BARRY PENHALE

What better winter reading than a trip back to the not so distant past through an eclectic assortment of colourful, perhaps occasionally embellished stories? One such account is an amusing yarn that my delightful Bancroft friend Henry Taylor enjoyed telling whenever he was encouraged to recall old bush days. Regular readers may remember him from an earlier Summer 2014 Country Roads’ article titled, “Remembering Henry Taylor, Bancroft’s Citizen of the Century.” The “Bunkhouse Buck” story came to my attention when interviewing Henry Taylor for CBC Radio and his reminiscence of this event was later recorded in a 30-minute profile on the man for the TVO series For the Record.

Here’s the story as told by Taylor: “It was around the 1940’s that found me working for the McCrae Lumber Company putting boom logs on the Lake of Two Rivers in Algonquin Park when we ran out of hay for our team of horses.” An older brother reminded Taylor of some hay that was stored in an old camp at nearby Head Lake and since Taylor knew the location, he was dispatched with a teamster to get the load required. Upon entering the camp yard, “... the horses immediately began snorting and prancing!” The cause of their agitation was soon determined — a big buck deer complete with enormous winter horns bolted out of the camp’s back window and hightailed it into the bush. “Upon entering the camp building we found where Mister Buck had used bales of hay for a stairway and had got right up and slept on the top bunk.” It was quite the discovery when Taylor, upon making the climb up, felt the bunk and found it was still warm. A chuckle at this point almost always followed Taylor’s accounts of his “Bunkhouse Buck” story.

In retirement, Taylor whittled his way into prominence as an artisan in his own right. Whatever the challenges were for him when lacking supplies and materials, his resourceful “Taylor-made” solutions always won out. Improvising was his forte, and sur-

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Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

This group of teamsters with their workhorses was on an Algonquin Park lumber camp payroll in 1911.

Such a team figured in the tale of “The Bunkhouse Buck.” Dan Campbell photo, courtesy J. Macfie, Penhale Collection.

viving examples of his wood carvings remind us of his ability to roll with the punches. A prime example of his success when making do with whatever he could lay his hands on can be seen in his carvings of horses — tributes to those sturdy steeds that were so important to the lumber camps of yester-year. And it need be shared that the life-like eyes in his horse carvings have quite their own story to tell.

As it turns out, his memories of earlier times included images of bereaved women in mourning, always dressed in black, with their only decoration being the ever-present mourning pins. Such items were ideally suited to the craftsman, who cleverly cut off the pin, and as quick as one could shout “Voila!” — the glass head instantly became an eye for one of Taylor’s horses — only but one example of the ingenuity of a true master of folk art.

Armed with curiosity and a tape recorder, over the years I had the good fortune to document littleknown Ontario history. As my off-the-beaten path explorations increased, so too did my appreciation for the distinctiveness and diversity of our various regions. One district to win me over and remains forever a favourite of mine is North Hastings and the sprawling rugged Madawaska Valley area,

which is undoubtedly one of Ontario’s finest tourist regions.

Starting in the ‘50’s, when I began oral historygathering forays in the area, I encountered the likes of Harold Petch, Hilda Bruce, John Churcher, and Robert and Henry Taylor, whose combined memories enriched the pages of Before The Memories Fade, a history of Carlow Township.

At that time Petch was the genial host on Bancroft Radio, which was a unique broadcast outlet linked to the city of Belleville.

Being much involved with local history, Petch opened each on-air program with the words: “This is the voice of the Bancroft senior citizens.” His guests provided first-person accounts of numerous aspects of the history of Bancroft and environs: the arrival of the early colonization roads such as the Monck Road (named after Sir Charles Stanley Monck, Canada’s first Governor General), the importance of the railway, early school days, and much more.

It was Mrs. Bruce, in speaking of her family’s local roots, who commented that it was likely that her father was the area’s very first tourist operator. It was a pleasure to have struck up an enduring friendship with Petch and to have guested on his show. Petch dearly loved his community, and it is to be hoped that his role in documenting the history of Bancroft and North Hastings is still recognized.

John Churcher was another well-known area booster of that period whose volunteering stints included serving as the 1961 chairman of the Bancroft and District Old Home Week Committee. And again, one would hope that such past service has not been obliterated from the historical record.

As a somewhat “bookish” individual, I take pride in a sizeable collection of local histories in print.

Those Country Roads readers wishing to do so may be successful in tracking down copies of some “golden oldies,” which should make for pleasant reading throughout the winter months.

Checking out used-book dealers should pay off, and one could not do better than beginning your

Facing pages from The Ontario Readers Primer.

The Primer was a familiar book that enjoyed prominence in schools across Ontario beginning in the early 1900’s. The preface simply describes it as “a reading book with lessons that had long been accepted as attractive to children.” Penhale Collection Period photograph of a Whitney area lumber camp at the eastern limits to Algonquin Park. Cooks and cookies pose at tables set for the arrival of an always ravenous gang of shanty men. Archives Ontario, Penhale Collection.

book sleuthing with a copy of the Bancroft: A Bonanza of Memories by Nila Reynolds, published in 1979 by the Bancroft Centennial Committee. I first encountered the author through her much acclaimed history of Haliburton County, in her book In Quest of Yesterday. Another personal favourite is The Oxen and the Axe, a truly charming collection of stories that have lovingly and with great authenticity captured the history of the region much visited by campers and cottagers — The Land O’ Lakes. This name, incidentally, was hatched over a bottle of fine Scotch at the back of the old Tweed newspaper office in the late Sam Currie’s day. But that’s a story for another time.

Meanwhile, I tip my hat to the Pioneers Club of Cloyne, publishers of The Oxen and the Axe. It was my great pleasure to have known the editors, Gene Brown and Nadine Brumell. They made it possible for me to read the galley edition, which was sent to

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me by the printers, the Madoc Review. Thanks to such cooperation, I was able to be its first reviewer before the book was bound and went on sale. My glowing praise for the book, cover to cover, was heard during an appearance on the hugely popular, CBC Radio weekend program, “Fresh Air.” How times have changed! Here I am at my Mac computer with yet another school year well underway. I wonder what old Bob and Henry Taylor would make of our schools today? A transcript of an interview with Henry reminds me that he began school in the September of 1911 in a poorly heated red-painted building that accommodated 45 pupils and all grades. As there were not enough seats, all the smaller boys sat on benches with their backs against the wall.

Taylor’s lunch was packed in a Gunn’s lard pail and identified by his initials nail-punched into the pail’s lid by his mother. His only equip-

Happy hearts And happy faces Happy play In grassy places That was how In ancient ages, Children grew To kings and sages.

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ment was a slate and a slate pencil adorned with red, white and blue paper. Just imagine — no cell phone — no back pack— no Nikes. But he made it his way to the final curtain at age 102, in April of 2006. Go figure!

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I 13

Escaping

ot the Country

Seen above and on the next page are three scenic portraits of Hastings County beauty. Photos by Jozef Van Veenen.

Where the Serenity of Rural Living Quietly Silences City Traffic

BY TEDDY RYAN

E

scape to the Country, a BBC production which airs on CBC TV, is an armchair traveler’s dream. The program often showcases city dwellers from London, England who are eager to leave their urban way of life and move to the country. Facilitated by a real estate agent specializing in relocating people to idyllic homes in the country-sides of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the program highlights panoramic landscapes of lush rolling hills, brisk seascapes and quaint little towns.

In Canada, Ontario boasts many such places with some of the most spectacular vistas located right here in Hastings County. The second largest county in Ontario, Hastings stretches almost 160 kilometers from Algonquin Park to the Bay of Quinte. Captured within that massive geography are 14 municipalities, with evocative sounding names such as Bancroft, Stirling, Tweed, Madoc, Tyendinaga and the Township of Limerick.

While their names may strike some as romantic, it’s more likely that the landscapes, rivers, The northern area of Hastings County offers magnificent views of the Canadian Shield. Photo by Teddy Ryan

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Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

lakes and the peace and quiet are what really hook newcomers to our area. As the Hastings County website states: “In the northern portion you will find the ancient rock formations and dense boreal forests of the Canadian Shield, where clear lakes and recreational opportunities abound every season of the year. The southern portion is part of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, home to two cities and many small towns surrounded by rich farmland.”

Kim Hadwen, a real estate agent with Century 21, knows a thing or two about farms, farming and the country way of life. From growing-up on the family farm, to owning and running his own acreage with his wife, Jeanne, Hadwen has more than 40 years of hands-on experience in the agricultural field. Eight years ago, he decided to get involved in the real estate business and help others discover this incredible way of life … so he hung out his shingle and never looked back.

Over the past few years Hadwen has seen a major shift in the out-migration of folks especially from Toronto. Typical clients are often over 50 yearsyoung, either retired, or semi-retired and many are looking to work from home. While the availability of quality internet is now a major factor in where people choose to settle, he finds that “it’s the land and the breathing space they come for.”

Hadwen has noticed a trend toward those “interested in acreages where they can grow their own fresh vegetables, raise cows and horses, to those who just want to have a large enough piece of land to comfortably walk their dogs and enjoy space and privacy.” With land being at such a premium in the cities, in order for people to enjoy this type of lifestyle, “they are making the choice to move to the country.”

Doug and Melinda Fisher are two such folks.

Not quite a year ago, Hadwen sold them a beautiful property in Stirling-Rawdon Township. The Fishers fit the demographic perfectly. Having lived and worked in the Toronto area for many years, they were ready to explore life in the country and so they reached out to the Century 21 realtor.

Melinda Fisher with her adopted dogs, Benedetto and Tibor. Photo by Teddy Ryan

“It was a long-time dream of mine to retire to the country. I come from a farming background — my father’s family had a farm in Saskatchewan,” conveys Doug. “Melinda and I talked a lot about it over the last few years and then the time came.”

For Fisher, life in the Toronto area was starting to feel claustrophobic and the busyness of the city was starting to take its toll. “In Toronto, you have no time — you are running all the time. You’re commuting on busy subways and crowds are everywhere. Here, we have all this beauty.” He continues, “Here I love the wide open spaces and I can be outside all day. It’s really very pleasant, especially the peace and quiet.”

The couple are creating an organic garden and have a sizeable plot to manage. They marvel that their garden alone is about the same size or footprint as their entire former Scarborough property.

Although gardening is a lot of work, for the Fishers it’s as much a spiritual as a physical activity.

“It’s like when you have to water the garden, and it takes two hours. It takes that long because our soil is sandy and soaks through quickly. But while you’re watering your garden for two hours, it’s very peaceful and meditative,” shares Melinda.

Carole Edwards, a Royal LePage real estate agent who lives and works in Toronto, also specializes in connecting city clients who aspire to a life in the country, with the perfect rural lifestyle. With 24 years of real estate experience, Edward’s skills are also informed by her two other professions — a Registered Nurse and Lifestyle Facilitator.

When not assisting his real estate clients, Kim Hadwen can be found caring for horses on his farm he shares with his wife, Jeanne. Photo courtesy Kim Hadwen

According to Edwards, she too has seen a significant upward trend in this direction over the past four or five years. She says that “there’s definitely been a real increase in movement out of cities like Toronto and Ottawa.”

She believes this trend began when city property values started to climb, while at the same time, the noise, traffic and crowding became motivating factors for folks over 50 who began to consider other lifestyle options.

Edwards says that, “People don’t want to live cheek by jowl. They want space and privacy. They want serenity and they want to be near water and hear the birds sing, not the harsh noise of city traffic.” She does offer that not everyone is cut out for country living, and facilitating those requirements means that clients must realistically answer some very important questions about their wants, needs and expectations.

There are many things to consider when making such a move, not the least of which is personal suitability. She says that she has interviewed clients who were not totally informed about rural life, “So, I don’t encourage them until they are. It would be a mistake and they would be unhappy.” She adds that since many of the clients are young seniors, health and physical fitness are important factors to

consider as “activities such as gardening, cutting and stacking wood, and maintaining large tracts of land, a well and septic tank are only some of the considerations.” Edwards says that “people need a guide. It’s a big decision and people need to ask themselves ‘am I doing the right thing?’”

Finding the right location for a rural property is also being impacted by the way the progression of the trend to relocate to country living has evolved.

According to Edwards, proximity to cities meant that certain areas such as Prince Edward County, Muskoka and Kawartha Lakes areas became popular and filled up first. Then, as those locations were bought, folks began travelling farther afield — and they made an exciting discovery.

“People would start to spend weekends in the areas around Tweed and Madoc and what they found were the incredible rock formations of the Canadian Shield, pristine rivers and miles of boreal forests. And the property values were still reasonable.

So, Hastings County became the next sought-after country retreat area,” advises Edwards.

But it’s not just retirees and soon-to-be retired individuals who are making a move to the country-side. There has also been a major shift with younger people and folks looking for a vibrant four-season lifestyle. With trails throughout the

magnificent back country, avid snowmobilers and ATV enthusiasts find the area offers them the best of all worlds. And among these trendsetters are entrepreneurs, who have moved into the area to set up businesses for their products and services, while at the same time settling in to enjoy a new way of life.

From world-class chefs who are opening restaurants, companies who bring solar energy to homes and cottages, to a women’s hockey star who recently opened her own training centre to help young athletes — the list is long and varied.

According to Hadwen, this growing trend to move to the country has meant that “there has been a real boost in property values in the past seven or so years for those looking for workable acres and farmland. While that upward trend was robust for the first part of the seven-year hike, the

Carole Edwards enjoys her role as a “Guide” to life in the country.

Photo courtesy Carole Edwards

Winter 2018/2019 • Country Roads

I 15

Birds thrive in Hastings County, and are often seen flying above farmers’ fields like the one pictured above. Photos by Jozef Van Veenen.

last two years has seen a levelling off, possibly due to increased interest rates and uncertainty in the market.”

Carole Edwards agrees. “I believe that in the past five or so years, the value of some rural properties have doubled and in some cases even tripled in price. Depending on where it is located, whether it’s on a highway, on a lake or a river and how close it is to local services like health care and grocery shopping, the values are going up.”

So, while property values, while still reasonable continue to climb, it’s even more important for those considering a move from a city to a rural community to do their homework. For Fisher, getting as much information in advance of making the decision was important. He says his agent did a good job in advising them on the challenges of

country living. And with just under a year in, they are glad they had some idea of what to expect.

Fisher said, “Now that we’re here, we see that there is a lot of work to do to get things the way we want. The garden has to be fenced. One of our wells ran dry, but we have another, so that’s not too bad, and a big wind tore shingles off the roof.

Things happen. But we’re glad we made the move.”

Owning a large piece of land in the country also means there is potential for the creation of new possibilities. The Fishers have plans to use some of their land for a cause that is very close to their hearts — rescuing Bloodhounds. Right now, they have two that they’ve adopted, Benedetto, (who Melinda rescued from a shelter in Hungary) and Tibor, who came from the United States. They plan to create a shelter where Bloodhounds rescued from

kill shelters in the states can be fostered safely and happily until permanent homes can be found.

Life in the country can mean many things to many people. But the common theme that seems to motivate so many who move to Hastings County is the search for peace and a healthier way of life.

Melinda Fisher put it this way. “It’s not just the physical side, like working outdoors or taking 14 kilometer walks that we love so much, it’s the peaceful and meditative state that country living brings. Even though your hands are busy, your mind can still be still.”

•

Visit the Hastings County website www.ILeftTheCity.ca for more stories and experiences of people who chose Hastings County as their escape from the city.

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Mariner enthusiasts find a safe harbor for their boats in a Bay of Quinte marina. Photo by Jozef Van Veenen.

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16 I

Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

JUST SAYING

BY SHELLEY WILDGEN

“No phone, no tel-e-phone!” she over-enunciated.

“Maybe a bit of phone?” I pleaded.

“Absolutely none.”

Twenty years ago, I remember a conversation where my friend at the other end of the phone had become exhausted from listening to me talk about my exhaustion, so she interrupted my monotonous diatribe and ordered me a verbal phone-free prescription. Steadfast and very specific, my forever friend, Jamie, nailed it. Why she hadn’t provided this advice a decade or so sooner, I’ll never know, but I suspect these were her big guns. She only pulled them out when she could not possibly listen to one more of my drama-riddled anecdotes.

I should start by saying that the source of this particular world-weary complaint was me and my life – you know, for a change. Two kids, two cats, three jobs, three bosses, a passel of friends, two relationships – hey, don’t judge – it was the nineties and even the self-imposed pressure was real.

Annnnyyyyywaaaaay, it was a lot and I didn’t seem to be acquiring traction with any of it.

When Jamie finally had a minute to interject, the first thing that I remember her asking me was “had I spent any time outdoors lately?” Well, no. Car to building and back again was about it. I was going to the gym, watching my kids ride horses and play hockey, but she said that didn’t count.

“Fresh air up your nose for an extended period of time kind of outside,” she clarified. It was true. As active as my world was, my air quality wasn’t great.

She then went on to tell me that my body, my soul, my very essence was crying out for sensitizing … and all five senses had to rise up together.

•

Turn Off, Tune Out, Drop Data The Art of Re-sensitizing

Interesting. Senses. Those life giving parts of ourselves that we seldom think about unless we’re missing one. The trouble here was that mine were all installed perfectly, but hadn’t been exercised properly, so my stress life was bubbling over. In order to realign my world, I had to have a solitary, unplugged weekend. But it didn’t stop there. Alone time was good, but to activate all senses she informed that that I would have to use them, so my prescription from her went like this: Two full days. No phone, no computer, no grownups. Kids stay at their dad’s. Scented candles burning, a roast and/or homemade soup cooking on the stove, rent the movie ‘Another Stakeout’ (it was the nineties, ‘member?), and play good music. Find a forest where you can touch lots of tree bark, grass and take a dog even if you have to borrow one. … Oh, and no showering this weekend; just hot baths – and a good stash of favourite junk food at the ready. That was it.

Get it? All senses got a good co-mingling workout and the junk food was a bonus prize.

The point was that this solo time did not involve any real thinking, so my senses had time to re-emerge with the comforting smells, cozy sights, feel of nature, favourite tastes and the only listening would be musical and/or lighthearted comedy. I remember objecting to the movie, but she was very specific and … it applied beautifully!

So this was a tremendous piece of advice, and it was magical in how it helped me be better at everything for a long time after that two day prescription had been filled and felt. The thing is that this two day prescription was filled twenty years ago when online living was a very small part of our lives. A bit of email here and there — that was about it, but life still had a

way of desensitizing us just the same. Fast forward to the busyness of today and Jamie’s prescription is needed that much more. We have all the time in the world for screen-time, real-time, face-time, but disallow ourselves packets of time which would be well-used as opportunities to re-sensitize our senses.

Our digital culture has usurped so much of our ability to truly relax that even vacation spots are recognizing the need and incorporating sense stimuli into their marketing. Recently, I read an ad (online, of course) for a cruise ship vacation. Its’ main features included a 3-storey transformative space that ‘infuses delectable cuisine with sensory elements of nature’ and the picture beside it was a sunny dining room with plants growing on the walls. I recently noticed that Loyalist College has a student lounge that has incorporated a living wall of plants and that the air really does seem better there. Smart, smart, smart.

So, if we know better, why don’t we do better? The other day Facebook went down for a while and it was rumoured that users were out on the streets openly weeping, showing photos to passersby and asking them if they liked them. Ridiculous. Of course it is, but not too far from where we’ve landed with our faces pressed to screens on phones that we use for everything except phoning. Talking is so pedestrian.

We’ve all read that Bernard Meltzer quote, a brainy and brilliant meme that regularly makes the internet rounds: “Before you speak ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid.” What if we turned that message on to its side to read: “Before you relax, ask yourself if what you are about to do will involve the senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste? If the answer is no, then maybe the screen you are about to turn on should be left off.” … but just for two days.

It’s a sensible start.

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I 17

Celebrating the O’Hara Mill Homestead Resurrecting History with a Bit of Magical Elbow Grease

By Angela Hawn

The site’s sawmill has been lovingly restored and is now operational.Photo courtesy O’Hara Mill Homestead & Conservation Area.

D

ave Little, whose colleagues teasingly refer to as “Father O’Hara,” a recipient of the Governor General’s Medal for Volunteerism, knows a thing or two about getting projects done. Simply put: gather a few good people. … Add a liberal dose of enthusiasm and mix in some passion for local history, being outdoors, and you’ve got the makings for something magical. Little calls that special kind of community magic, the O’Hara Mill Homestead and Conservation Area.

For the past 18 years, Little (now entering his 80’s) has happily donated countless hours at the O’Hara homestead, where “the whole place is run mostly by retired people.” He smiles, “that’s the kind of people who are usually looking for an outlet for their time.”

The estate is located about five kilometers north of Madoc, Ontario. Part conservation area, part pioneer homestead, visitors walk through beautiful rural surroundings and enjoy seven scenic trails that crisscross nearly 85 acres.

The property’s transformation began in and around 2003, when Little who was employed as the Farm Business Consultant with the Department of Agriculture was invited by local farmers to visit the O’Hara Mill. Upon arrival, he could see that the homestead had seen better days.

The land had been sold nearly 50 years prior to the local conservation authority (then known as the Moira River Watershed) by the last of the original O’Hara inhabitants. The homestead clearly needed more than just a little tender loving care. A lack of operating funds left critical repairs undone and some of the original barns were demolished. Rumours had been spreading and community members ex-

18 I

Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

Little is a recipient of the Governor General’s Medal for Volunteerism. Photo courtesy O’Hara Mill Homestead & Conservation Area.

Little, shown above is demonstrating key elements used in making maple syrup. Photo courtesy O’Hara Mill Homestead & Conservation Area.

pressed concern that the place might be abandoned to further ruin.

“Five of the buildings that were still standing had leaky roofs,” he remembers ruefully.

Hand-tooled sawmill machinery had long ceased to operate, and the dam that powered its operation had been condemned by the Provincial Government.

Yet despite the old homestead’s ragged appearance, an idea to restore the homestead was forming, and Little knew that the local farmers were on to something. Clearly this group knew how to dream big. “I think every community wants to have something that identifies them.” … “Something they can take pride in.”

Once the initial concept began, they never looked back. “We held public meetings, and by about 2004 or 05, we had a legal agreement in place.” Little said that the terms were simple. The Conservation Authority would retain ownership of the land and pay

the property taxes, but the O’Hara volunteers would run the place. Paperwork in hand, they were ready to take the next steps: time, patience and plenty of elbow grease.

Today the homestead and the Quinte Conservation area boasts nearly a dozen pioneer-type structures, each manned by a specific person and their team.

Original buildings from the mid-1800’s, such as the old carriage house, display lovingly restored era relics. A number of historical replicas have been built to mimic styles popular to that period, all made from donations of antique barn board, local machinery and plenty of local labour.

History buffs are encouraged to indulge in a bit of imaginary time-travelling courtesy of a tour of the homestead and working farm with its restored mill and pioneer-era buildings. In particular, O’Hara is known for showcasing tasks performed by draft horses using farm equipment common to those living in the 1800’s.

Community involvement has included these local students and their teacher who helped to rebuild the bridge. Photo courtesy Central Hastings Secondary School.

This historical photograph of a stone pulling machine from another era of farm equipment gives pause to reflect on the enormous effort by early settlers to till and plant their fields. Photo courtesy O’Hara Mill Homestead & Conservation Area.

Little and the rest of the O’Hara Mill Homestead volunteers. Just as in pioneer times, many hands make light work. And loving what you do doesn’t hurt either.

•

Admission is by donation.

For more information www.ohara-mill.org or facebook.com OharaMillHomesteadandConservationArea

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This enables volunteers to donate heaps of “slow perishing” food such as potatoes and beans to the Madoc Food Bank each year. “But a section of land is always reserved for demonstrations with horse drawn equipment,” assures Little. “That’s where farming is done the old-fashioned way.”

This heritage site all functions with dedicated teamwork within O’Hara’s own volunteer base and beyond. Although the notation accompanying Little’s medal calls him a “driving force behind the establishment and restoration of the O’Hara Mill Homestead,” and credits his leadership for an increase in tourism, a stronger local economy and for promoting both the rural community and its pioneer history, Little is quick to point out he’s not the only person behind O’Hara’s success.

“We hire a couple of students for June and July,” explains Little, “But aside from that, the place is totally volunteer-run.” Twenty to 40 volunteers might be helping out on various ongoing projects at any one time, with numbers as high as 70 during special summer events, Christmas or in March, when the O’Hara crew makes maple syrup.

And the idea of doing things the old-fashioned way clearly guides the philosophy followed by

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The industrial sawmill (still on its original location) is now operational. Little and his O’Hara cohorts recently spent a considerable amount of time and care in restoring a two hundred year-old drag saw. An impressive covered bridge, one of the volunteers’ biggest projects, spans the resurrected dam.

An entire vintage log house was moved down from a spot near Bancroft, and it has been furnished with a functioning cooking fireplace that was designed and built by Little himself. And within the walls of the original O’Hara house (now a museum) is a vast treasure trove of antique artifacts.

“One of the last O’Hara’s to live here was Minnie O’Hara, and a descendant of hers donated a three drawer cabinet full of her old music books,” Little proudly declares. He noted that some of the elders in the Madoc community still remember Minnie as their childhood music teacher. “There are even a couple of flintlock rifles that would have been the type used during the time of the Louis Riel rebellion.”

While a heritage site, it also functions as a working farm that makes use of modern farming equipment, so it is important to know that the homestead grows over ten acres of crops on an annual basis.

This cooking fireplace was designed and built by Little.

Photo courtesy O’Hara Mill Homestead & Conservation Area.

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Visitors to the O’Hara site enjoy a horse-drawn sleigh ride. Photo courtesy O’Hara Mill Homestead & Conservation Area.

~

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I 19

C O U N T R Y

C A L E N D A R

Things to see and do in and around Hastings County.

To submit your event listing email info@countryroadshastings.ca or call us at 613 968-0499.

ART GALLERIES/EXHIBITIONS ART GALLERY OF BANCROFT, 10 Flint Avenue, Bancroft. 613 332-1542. www.artgallerybancroft.ca March 6-30 — Anne Renouf; Unearthed. Mixed media. Opening reception March 8, 7:30pm JOHN M. PARROTT ART GALLERY, 254 Pinnacle St., Belleville.

613 968-6731. www.bellevillelibrary.ca Jan 3 - Feb 14 — Students’ Choice: Opening Reception: Jan 3, 6 - 7:30 pm, . The adult students of watercolour instructor Ron Pickering will be showing their best new work. Many of these painters are long time students of Ron’s and are extremely adept at their craft. Gallery 1 Jan 3 - Feb 14 — Fact or Fiction, true or false? The Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County presents The Tales We Tell.

In a world of fake news and fabrication, we explore stories inspired by images held by the Community Archives. Some are reliable, others are more suspect. Can you tell truth from fantasy? Gallery 2 Feb 21-Mar 27 — Quinte Fibre Artists: Opening Reception Feb 21, 6-7:30. Gallery 1

Feb 21-Mar 27 — Cynthia Solomon and Lee Mitz- various mediums: Opening Reception Feb 21, 6-7:30. Gallery 1 STIRLING LIBRARY ART GALLERY, 43 Front St., Stirling, 613 395-2837. stirlinglibrarygallery@gmail.com Nov 14 - Jan 1 — Dewey Belong Together? A Multi-Media Exhibition and Sale featuring the eclectic creative side of the Stirling Rawdon Library Staff, their families and friends. Opening Reception, Nov 14, 5 - 7pm. Public viewing during library hours: T, W, T – 10 - 7; F, S — 1- 3 pm.

Feb 6 – Mar 30 — Perceptions Through the Lens — An Exhibition and Sale featuring the photographic highlights of members of the Through the Lens Photography Club of Madoc. Enjoy nature’s beauty and bounty. Notice the details that determine the signature of its captor. Opening Reception: Feb 6 from 5- 7 pm.

Feb 15-17 — “SWORDPLAY and SUPERHERO EXTRAVGANZA” — At the Tweed Winter Carnival. Full info and tickets at www.tweedandcompany.com

THEATRE/LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Jan 19 — CHILI COOK OFF – Do you have a great chili recipe? Are you willing to put it to the test against other great chili recipes? Or do you just love to eat chili on a cold winter day? Then come and take part in the firstever Great Queensborough Chili Cook-Off at the Queensborough Community Centre. 1853 Queensborough Rd., call Stephanie Flieler, 613 438-0934. Facebook: Queensborough Community Centre.

BELLEVILLE THEATRE GUILD, 256 Pinnacle Street, Belleville, 613 967-1442. Adults $20, Seniors $18, Students $10. www.bellevilletheatreguild.ca

Nov 29 - Dec 15 — “RUMORS” by Neil Simon, 2 & 8pm. Upscale cocktail party, status-conscious guests, host found shot and wife found missing. What’s going on?

Jan 31 - Feb 16 — “PROOF” by David Auburn, 2 & 8pm. Catherine is haunted by her dead father’s mathematical brilliance and debilitating mental illness. Did she inherit both?

STIRLING FESTSIVAL THEATRE, West Front St., Stirling, 613 395-2100, or 1-877 312-1162. www.stirlingfestivaltheatre.com

Nov. 23 - Dec. 31 — “THE PRINCESS & THE PEA” — PANTO — Welcome to the Peabody Kingdom. Prince Peter Peabody wants to wed.

One night a visitor arrives. She is covered in mud and grease from trying to fix her race-car. She also claims to be a Princess. Of course, no one believes her. There is only one way to find out. Stack a pile of mattresses and stick a pea under one.

TWEED & COMPANY THEATRE, www.tweedandcompany.com Dec 15 — A TWEED & COMPANY CHRISTMAS This one night only classic Christmas concert will feature some of your favourite Tweed & Company Performers, as well as some special guests, singing all of your Christmas favourites, backed by a live five piece band. Admission:$15.00. www.tweedandcompany.com/a-tweed-company-christmas/

EVENTS

Feb 15 - 17 — The Tweed Winter Carnival annually Family Day Weekend is a winter wonderland of family friendly winter events in Tweed, ON. Feb 17 — COMMUNITY POTLUCK SUPPER AND GAMES NIGHT — Bring your family’s favourite dish and join us for an evening of comfort food, good conversation, and family games after dinner.

Doors open at 4 pm, meal at 5pm. Queensborough Community Centre, 1853 Queensborough Rd., call Joan Sims, 613 473-1087.

Facebook: Queensborough Community Centre.

MAR 1 - 3 — BELLEVILLE DOWNTOWN DOCFEST– 3 days of outstanding documentary films celebrating life and human dignity around the world and right here at home. www.downtowndocfest.ca.

Mar - Apr — TREATS ON THE BLACK RIVER — High water on the Black River means it’s whitewater kayaking time. BBQ hamburgers, hot dogs and slices of homemade pie will be for sale to kayakers and spectators at the river’s edge in Queensborough each weekend in support of the Queensborough Community Centre. For more information call Lud and Elaine Kapusta, 613 473-1458. Facebook: Queensborough Community Centre.

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Celebrating Life in Hastings County

HEALTH

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TO BOOK YOUR MARKETPLACE ADVERTISEMENT PLEASE CALL 613-968-0499

SPECIALTY SHOPPING

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Min & Julie Yoo Tel: 613-395-5360 Fax: 613-395-1491 208 North Street, Stirling ON K0K 3E0

BEAUTY & WELLNESS

Celebrating Family, Friendship & Love

613-395-2596

www.stirlingmanor.com 218 Edward Street, Stirling

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Country Roads • Winter 2018/2019

With 35+ years experience, Small but knowledgeable.

(613) 473-5160 • R.R. #5, Madoc, ON K0K 2K0 (1 mile N. of Ivanhoe on Hwy. 62 - #11700)

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Country Roads celebrating life in hastings county

HastingsCountry County

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CLUBS, LECTURES, MEETINGS HASTINGS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Free public presentations held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 7:30 pm at Maranatha, 100 College St. W., rear entrance, Belleville. Ample parking and level access at the rear of the building. Bring a friend and enjoy refreshments, conversation and displays following the presentation. www.hastingshistory.ca

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celebrating life in hastings county

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celebrating life in hastings county

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Jan 15 —”Origins and History of Tombstones.” Presentation by Gary Foster, owner of Campbell Monuments.

Feb 15 —”Lest we Forget: The Price of Freedom— the story of how the little village of Deloro helped save the world from Hitler”.

Program presented by Laura Forth and James A. Smith.

Mar 19 — “Development of Algonquin Park. Director Bill Kennedy speaking on the colourful and intriguing story of the” one of Canada’s most beautiful parks.

Apr 16 — “Being Prime Minister.” D.M. Smith provides a behind the scenes account of Canada’s Prime Ministers, based on his book.

celebrating life in hastings county

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QUINTE FIELD NATURALIST MEETING. Sills Auditorium, Bridge Street United Church, 60 Bridge St. E., Belleville. All welcome, by donation.

7.00 pm.

J an 28 — Life Lessons from the Arctic — Illustrated with his superb photographs, Kyle Blaney will regale us with stories of adventure - camping from Belleville to Alaska, exploring the Bering Sea coast and sailing from Nunavut to Greenland.

Feb 25 — The New Science of Migration — NASA and citizen scientists are working together to help migrating shorebirds! Pamela Stagg, radio host of The County, Naturally, will explain how revolutionary collaborations are changing our knowledge of bird migration.

Mar 25 — Can Birds and Humans Co-exist? — Trent University Biology Professor Erica Nol will discuss the impacts humans have on birds in the settled landscapes of southern Ontario.

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QUINTE FIELD NATURALISTS FUNDRAISING EVENT Apr 10 — In support of the Quinte Field Naturalists, enjoy a delicious meal and presentation from one of North America’s most acclaimed science and Nature writers, Wayne Grady. Accompanied by stunning photographs, Grady’s talk will draw from his award-winning book, “The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region.”

6 pm at Emmanuel United Church in Foxboro. $28 per person.

For tickets 613 477-3066.

ARE YOU NEW TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD? Visits are free.

No obligation.

Compliments of local businesses.

Sharon: (613) 475-5994 www.welcomewagon.ca

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JOE VANVEENEN MAP

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sharon.welcome2014@gmail.com

1-844-299-2466

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BANCROFT Alice’s Pantry Bancroft General Mercantile Bancroft Sport and Marine BCT Wattle & Daub McMichael Jewellers Necessities Retail Store Niffers Children’s Boutique Old Tin Shed Shoppers Drug Mart True Scarlette Zihua Clothing Boutique BELLEVILLE Kraft Village- Laura Ashley ­Quilters Cottons Kraft Village -Sewing Machine Repairs Loyalist College Ruttle Bros. Furniture Sky-high Restoration Hastings Co. LAKE ST, PETER Linkie’s General Store MADOC Chances Fitness Centre Home Hardware Madoc Kellys Flowers & Gifts Mackenzie Mill Emporium Oats and Honey bulk foods Renshaw Power Products MAPLE LEAF Maple Leaf Country Store

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MARMORA Bonter Polaris Iron Rooster Rotisserie & Grill Orange Motorsports Possibilities Inc. Furniture & Home Décor MAYNOOTH Arlington Hotel Foxfire Gallery, Gifts & Antiques Gallo-Teck Madawaska Art Shop, Gifts & Gallery Municipality of Hastings ­Highlands ORMSBY Old Hastings Mercantile & Gallery SPRINGBROOK Springbrook Diner

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STIRLING Apple Store/Cooney Farms Julia’s Womens Wear Lavish Gardens Municipality of Stirling-Rawdon Pro Gas Stop Rollins Building Supplies Skinkle’s Feed Depot & More Stirling Carpet & Flooring Stirling Dental Centre Stirling Heritage Wines Stirling Manor The Treasure Addict TWEED Municipality of Tweed

Winter 2018/2019 • Country Roads

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THE VILLAGE IDIOT

BY JOHN HOPKINS

The Ghost of Bob

W

hen you live in a rural area there’s no doubt that you develop a special connection with the animals around you. You become familiar with their routines and patterns, and grow to feel as if you know them on an individual and personal basis.

For example, we can almost set our clocks by the passage of the beaver as he swims up the river to start his day and heads back down at the conclusion, much like a daily commuter.

In a similar vein, the family of rabbits that live behind one of our sheds was so familiar with my schedule each morning last spring that they would squat serenely munching grass even as I locked the house and started my car.

With this familiarity comes an affection that makes these animals seem like family members or at least good friends with whom you have something in common with. The same way you make small talk with a co-worker by the water cooler, I would almost find myself commiserating with our beaver about the damp weather in May, or asking the rabbits how the grass tasted after a snowy winter.

Such was the case with Bob. Bob was a groundhog who I would see quite regularly on the bridge near our house late each afternoon as I returned home. Or more correctly, I would usually see just his rear end as he lumbered ahead of me to get out of the way of the car as I approached the bridge. After crossing the bridge he would scramble to safety in the underbrush at the side of the road and I would occasionally give a wave as he scurried from view.

But one morning early last June I got the shock of my life when, as I drove over the bridge in the

other direction, Bob came barreling out of the bushes and made what I could only describe as a suicide run in front of my car. I put on the brakes, but there was no way I was going to stop in time and I felt the sickening thumps as first my front tires, and then the rear ran over Bob. I looked in my rear view mirror, hoping against hope that

And then he started to haunt me.

It didn’t begin right away. Maybe a month or so after the incident I was driving over that cursed bridge one afternoon and I saw a groundhog at about the same spot I had always seen Bob. Except this groundhog didn’t run off at the sound of my approaching car. This one stood on its hind legs and watched me as I drove slowly past. I had never seen another groundhog at that spot before.

It was always just Bob.

Bob had somehow made a miraculous escape, but instead I saw a groundhog lying very still on his back, his four paws rigidly pointing straight up in the air. “Oh no,” I thought to myself. “I’ve killed Bob.” All through that day I felt sick, and a small part of me held onto the chance, however dim, that

Bob had only been knocked out, had regained consciousness and was resting somewhere bruised but alive. But on my way home he was still there on the road, on his back, very much dead.

Now, animals get killed on roads every day, so what happened to Bob was not particularly unusual. I mean, if it hadn’t been me, somebody else probably would have clobbered him at some point. Groundhogs are not particularly swift of body or mind (sorry Bob) so the odds of him seeing out the summer were not that great to begin with, especially since he seemed to hang out on that bridge a lot. So why was his death eating me up inside? Because it was Bob. This wasn’t some random squirrel that I’d smushed on Highway 7 halfway between Tweed and Perth. Bob and I were buds. We’d hung out. We’d seen each other on a regular basis. It was as if we had bumped into each other in the coffee line each weekday on our way to work. And now he was gone. And it was my entire fault.

And then he started to haunt me. It didn’t begin right away. Maybe a month or so after the incident I was driving over that cursed bridge one afternoon and I saw a groundhog at about the same spot I had always seen Bob. Except this groundhog didn’t run off at the sound of my approaching car. This one stood on its hind legs and watched me as I drove slowly past. I had never seen another groundhog at that spot before.

It was always just Bob. But if Bob was gone, who was this guy? And why did he not seem afraid of me? There was only one reasonable explanation.

It was the ghost of Bob. He wasn’t going to let me forget what I had done that morning in June.

I didn’t see the ghost every day. Sometimes there would be long periods when I didn’t see it, and I would start to forget about the whole horrible experience, and then it would return.

I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge, haunted by the transgressions of my past.

I had to find some way to make my peace with Bob. But how was I going to do it? I couldn’t undo what had happened, as much as I wanted to.

I finally realized that in all my shame and sadness in running over Bob that morning, I had never really apologized. I hadn’t actually made my peace with him and given him some indication that I had learned from the experience. Bob needed to know that I had changed, even a little.

So one bright morning late in the summer I drove out to the bridge, stopped my car, walked to the edge of the road and made my peace with Bob. I apologized for my carelessness, for not being more attentive, for running over Bob and depriving his family of one of its members. I said I would be more careful, more mindful of the fourlegged friends I shared the road with. Then I got back in my car and drove home.

It has been almost four months since my apology on the bridge and I have not seen the ghost since. Perhaps my small act of contrition helped. It is hard to know for sure. But now my conscience is clear, and that leads me to believe I will not be troubled by spirits any more. And I drive over that bridge a little more slowly and look a little more carefully. And somewhere I think Bob is smiling..

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