Country Roads 09-04

WINTER 2009/2010

ROCK ON!

Hastings warms up to curling The colourful world of ‘Uma the Painter’ Memories of Christmas past at O’Hara Mill COVERING THE ARTS, OUTDOORS, HISTORY, PEOPLE AND PLACES

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December 6th Santa Claus Parade December 13th Deck the Streets Contest SnoFest February 5 - 7 2010 Aim Juried Art Event TBA March 2010 Winter Hours for the Tourism Centre Monday - Friday 10 - 4

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Contents VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4, WINTER 2009/2010

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CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Nancy Hopkins CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR

John Hopkins ART DIRECTOR

Jozef VanVeenen SALES DEPARTMENT

Michael Beeston michael@countryroadshastings.ca 613 395-6226

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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Brandon West • www.westphotography.ca Bill Bickle • www.bilbickle.com HOW TO CONTACT US Telephone: 613 395-0499 Facsimile: 613 395-0903 E-mail: info@countryroadshastings.ca Website: www.countryroadshastings.ca For written enquiries you can reach us at: PenWord Communications Inc. P.O. Box 423, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0 COUNTRY ROADS, Discovering Hasting County is published four times a year by PenWord Communications Inc. Copies are distributed to select locations throughout Hastings County including the ­communities of Bancroft, Belleville, Madoc, Marmora, Stirling and Tweed.

Copies are also delivered to select homes within southern Ontario.

Subscription rates: 1 year: $10.50 2 years: $18.90 3 years: $27.30 All prices include G.S.T. The contents of this publication are ­protected by copyright. Reproduction of this publication in whole or in part without prior written permission of PenWord Communications Inc. is prohibited.

The advertising deadline for the Spring 2010 issue is February 11, 2010.

F E AT U R E S

6 - Rock this town Curling a critical piece of community heritage

12 - Book Lovers Unite And recommend their favourite reads of the year

15- The Calm of Christmas O’Hara Mill then and now

16 - Chasing Rainbows Madoc painter makes colour explode D E PA R T M E N T S

20 - Cross Roads Belleville swimmer is Great Lakes ace • Belleville: The best and worst Hooded Merganser makes it big

22 - Country Calendar Things to see and do in Hastings County

23 - Marketplace

Cover Photo: A winter scene in Hastings County.

Photo: Len Holmes, Madoc, Ontario

Winter 2009/2010 • Country Roads

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The Time is Now

fall In love WIth

Comfort Country

MaDOC

November 28th beginning at 7 pm

MaRMORa

• Shops • Hiking • Heritage Sites • Accomodations • Sumptuous Dining • Live Entertainment • Antiques • Artist Studios & Tours • Lakes and Rivers to Explore

February 5-7

Madoc Santa Claus Parade

A family tradition in beautiful downtown Madoc! www.madoc.ca

The 32nd Annual SnoFest

A fun filled weekend for everyone. Sled Dog races, exhibits, food and lots more! www.marmora.info/

STiRliNg

January 28-31

Stirling Groundhogfest

Start your weekend with a delicious brunch followed by downtown activities, a visit from Mill Pond Moe and the popular Murder Mystery dinner theatre! www.stirling-rawdon.com

December 3 –6 TwEED

6th Annual Festival of Trees

A not to miss event sponsored by the Tweed Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi and Memory Lane. www.twp.tweed.on.ca

TO OTTAWA

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MARMORA

TWEED

deseronto

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TyENDiNaga TOwNShip

Come visit Tyendinaga Township in Hastings County and experience our exceptional agriculture, recreation, and history - or just take a quiet ride in the countryside.

So if time is a mystery then how we spend it is something that should be treated with great respect and we think we’ve got some good stories and ideas for you.

A good book is always time well spent and the avid readers of several Hastings County book clubs have come together to tell us about their favourites from this past year. With such sound endorsements you won’t be disappointed and if you give them as gifts you’ll know they come highly recommended.

Curling, like most sports, is an activity that puts the participant in the moment.

Concentrating on the game takes the mind away from the busy thoughts of generally hectic lives. For a few hours you get a bit of exercise, build friendships and memories and in a way suspend time. It’s a sport that Canadians of all ages have chosen to make a part of their lives. Speak to folks like Mary and Goldie Livingston, both 83 years of age, about curling and I don’t think they would trade one minute of their time on or off the ice at the Quinte Curling Club for anything.

And yes, they’re still curling, with no end in sight!

If you aren’t familiar with the art of Diane Woodward be prepared to spend some time taking in all that it encompasses. You might need a cup of tea in a quiet place when you turn to our article. Look at the photographs of her work. Now look again. There is so much to take in that you may find yourself lost in time much like the colourful, creative, almost otherworldly scenes from her work. To see these creations up close and personal make a trip to the ‘Pictures from the Painted House’ exhibition at the Madoc Performing Arts Centre between Nov. 27 and Dec. 5.

Time is one of the many elements that stand out in our profile on Belleville native Paula Stephanson and her swimming feats. The idea of spending hour after hour reaching one arm out in front of the other to swim across an Ontario Great Lake is just not fathomable to most of us. But Stephanson did it multiple times in her quest to become only the second person to ever cross all five lakes. She completed this milestone this past summer.

For three evenings in early December the old pioneer log house building at O’Hara Mills Conservation Area near Madoc is a place where you can celebrate the holidays mid-1800’s style. Volunteers make it a place to enjoy the early evening in much the same way Madoc Township residents would have many years ago.

There is not much doubt that this winter, like every season, will once again remind us of how poetic and true the words of Bob Dylan were: “The times they are a changing.” But it’s another song that we’d like you to keep in mind during the Winter of 2009 and 2010. Make it your mantra if you wish – LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL.

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DESERONTO

Experience Deseronto’s specialty shops, restaurants & charming accommodations, unique heritage, and many recreational and cultural activities. www.deseronto.ca

Preparing for this Winter 2009/10 ­issue of Country Roads had us ­talking about the old adage, “Where does time go?” How can we be heading into the next decade of the 21st century? Didn’t we just celebrate the new millennium a couple of years ago?

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...and more.

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TO KINGSTON

401 401

WHEN SPRING ARRIVES DON’T MISS AN ISSUE

BELLEVILLE

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DESERONTO

TO TORONTO TRENTON

Subscriptions to Country Roads are available:

1 year $10.50, 2 years $18.90, or 3 years $27.30 For more information on events, attractions, places to dine, accomodations, shopping and more.

www.comfortcountry.ca

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Country Roads • Winter 2009/2010

Please mail cheques to PenWord Communications Inc. Box 423, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0

discovering hastings county

Letters to the Editor

Dear Country Roads, My wife was recently in Bloomfield and picked up a copy of your magazine.

I found the article about the HMCS Uganda quite interesting as a cousin of mine served on board this vessel and was a butcher by profession during the Second World War. He has since died but has relatives still living in Perth County and a brother in Grand Bend. I’m attempting to get their addresses and was wondering if you’d be so kind as to mail them a copy of this issue.

Also of interest to my wife and I was the article about the Ad Astra program at Trenton. Eleven years ago, Oct. 2, our son, a Captain in the RCAF, was flying a Labrador SAR helicopter back from

Corrections Following the publication of the Fall, 2009 issue of Country Roads, Discovering Hastings County magazine, we were contacted by Jacqueline and Leo Simpson, the owners of the Moodie Cottage, who pointed out some errors in our story ‘The Others’ (pages 12-13): 1) Moodie’s husband, John, was not Mayor of Belleville; 2) The home is not a national historic site; 3) The Simpson family have owned the home for over 30 years and say they have never seen evidence of any haunting, nor have they ever had any conversation with Johnathon Boyd regarding the haunting of the home.

OVER 3,500 sq. ft of holiday gift & decorating ideas over 2 floors!

In the article Autumn Goodness in the Fall, 2009 issue of Country Roads, Discovering Hastings County, we incorrectly identified the owners of Stratton’s Farm on page 15. Their names are Michael and Sally Knight.

We sincerely apologize for the error.

Editor’s note: The articles on the HMCS Uganda and Ad Astra program appeared in the Fall, 2009 issue of Country Roads, Discovering Hastings County.

G O R D O N C . J O H N S T O N LT D.

JOHNSTON’S PHARMACY & Gift Shoppe

SINCE 1929

Locally produced lavender products, pottery, Madoc Rocks and many more seasonal delights!

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deCember 3rd 2 - 7 pm

37 Durham St., P.O.B. 6 29, Madoc, Ont. Phone/Fax: 613-473-2368

“To the owner of the Moodie House, The Hastings Historical Society and Country Roads magazine I hope that you accept my apology.”

Clare J. Musselman Colborne, Ont.

Discover the Magic of Madoc

Country Roads, Discovering Hastings County sincerely regrets these errors.

We also received the following from Johnathon Boyd: “I have been contacted about the article for which I was interviewed in the September issue of your magazine. I have seen the article and there are some mistakes. I also said that I had talked to the owner about the spirit of Susanna Moodie who visits the house two times a year. This was not true. I hadn’t talked to the owner of the house. I have no excuse for the reference.

a mission in the Gaspe. This helicopter, a relic from the past, caught fire, exploded in mid air and crashed killing all six aboard.

We had an Ad Astra stone dedicated and placed in his name along the walk at the National Air Force Museum of Canada at Trenton the following year.

37 Durham St., P.O.B. 629, Madoc, Ont. Phone/Fax: 613-473-2368

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Increased media coverage in recent years has made sports stars out of top players like women’s champ Jennifer Jones and added to the appeal of curling.

Photo courtesy Canadian Curling Association

this town

By John Hopkins

Curling a critical piece of community heritage

T

erry Hope’s family spent a bit of time moving around when she was a little girl. For some families that can be a strain, but the Hopes had a couple of advantages – they golfed and they curled. In most countries, one or both of those pursuits will introduce you to a new community in no time at all.

“That’s how my parents met people,” recalls Hope, who currently plays at the Trenton Curling Club.

For a little more than 50 years curling has been the glue that keeps communities in Hastings County together, especially through the winter months.

Clubs that sprouted up in Belleville, Trenton, Stirling, Tweed, Marmora and Bancroft have helped introduce new residents into a community, established lifelong friendships and maintained family bonds through the generations.

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What is it about curling that makes it such a critical piece of a town’s social fabric? Well, for one thing, it’s a relatively easy game to learn how to play, although very difficult to master. The basic rules are quite simple, as is the premise – throw a rock (or stone) from one end of a sheet of ice and try to get closest to the centre of the target at the opposite end.

But there’s much more.

Since it is easy to understand the basics of curling, it is a sport that is accessible to virtually anybody. One does not have to be a great athlete to be proficient yet curling is an excellent source of physical activity.

And neither age nor gender are the limiting factors they can be in some sports. While separate leagues may exist in a club for youths and seniors, a 16-year-old and a 65-year-old could conceivably

compete on the same team and play at a similar level. This also makes mixed leagues popular, as they are attractive to couples looking for an athletic pursuit they can enjoy together.

But perhaps the greatest appeal of curling is the social aspect of the sport. It is in some ways quintessentially Canadian, with respect for one’s opponent and politeness and civility uppermost in the rules of the game. And the gathering of the two teams for refreshments after a match is as much a part of the sport as the game itself. Winners and losers sit around the table and enjoy good conversation.

“You can’t avoid it [the post-game socializing]; you simply have to do it,” points out Alison Davies, who has spent the past four years curling at the Trenton Curling Club. “It can be competitive on the ice, but that’s as far as it goes. When I

discovering hastings county

A permanent facility was built for the Stirling Curling Club in 1977. Before that, like most clubs, the group shared space with hockey teams at the local ice rink.

The team of (l to r) Don Whiteman, Ray Lilly, Marty Finch and skip Bill Hope won the 1991 Men’s Skins Bonspiel in Stirling.

Hope is one of the area’s most accomplished curlers, having won a national junior title in 1968.

Photo courtesy Stirling Curling Club

Photo courtesy Stirling Curling Club

started playing I thought it was the weirdest thing. You compete against somebody, but afterward there is this camaraderie around the table. I can’t imagine that happening in other sports. I can’t see hockey players doing this.”

The camaraderie and social significance of curling is particularly strong in Trenton, where the presence of a Canadian Forces Base results in new people coming into the community on a regular basis.

“For Trenton, the air base and the military offer us a portal to the rest of the country,” Davies e Qu in te on swee ps at th says. “Canadians posted here, in a new commud Go ldie Li vi ng st an e sp ort ck th t ro a bu d ws ge ro nity, know that the TCC, me nt has ch an David Brow n th uip eq e th of 1981. Some Cu rli ng Club in and a return to curling, is its ro ots. to ue tr ns ai g Club rem ston/Quinte Cu rlin a guaranteed warm wely & Goldie Liv ing ar Ph oto cou rte sy M come.”

The Trenton Curling Club is actually an amaltory, when the gamation of two organiice area was zations. According to a added to the history of the club comCountry Club piled by current memin 1958 it was ber Elizabeth Griffiths, built in Northe TCC was formed in thumberland, 1958 as an addition to a ‘dry’ county, the Trenton Country while the rest Club, which already ofof the club was fered golf, tennis and in Hastings. So lawn bowling. members wantThe RCAF Trenton ing a post-game Curling Club was aldrink had to ready in existence, leave the curling but it was closed in area and go to the 1989 and members main building. from the base club T h e Tr e n t o n Tren to n’s ‘Sh or ty’ Je nk ins has moved to the downclub has a rich hisbe co me world famou ta len ts and even s for his ice m ak st ar re d in a TV town facility. tory and has proing commercia l!

Ph oto cou rte sy Tre nton Cu rling Club As an amusing duced some faside note, accordmous names, such ing to Griffiths’ hisas Clarence ‘Shorty’

Jenkins. A resident of Trenton, Jenkins began making ice at the Trenton club in 1967 and has become world renowned for his talent. So widely respected and recognized is Jenkins, he has even starred in his own Tim Hortons commercial. He was made a life member of the TCC in 2004.

And the Hope family has a proud legacy as well. Terry’s brother Bill won a National Schoolboy title in 1968 and Provincial Senior Mixed crowns in 2001 and 2002. Bill and his son Jason also curled in the Nokia Men’s Provincial Championships. Terry’s mom Jo won the Southern Ontario SOLCA ladies championship in 1969.

While the Hope family has enjoyed great success in competition, Terry says the real appeal is the social part of the game.

“I was seven when I started, as soon as I could push a rock down the ice” she explains.

“I remember doing my homework after school in the curling club. It was just an awesome group of people. I was out of the sport for 14 years and it was the people I missed the most.”

A man with a similar story is Bill Riley. The 87-year-old Belleville resident was a founding member of the Quinte Curling Club when it was formed in 1958 and is still going strong.

“I put up some money, $250,” Riley remembers.

“Everyone at that original meeting put up some money, depending on their means. We’d heard a lot about curling, we knew it was a good sport and we thought it would benefit the city and the area.”

Riley says he took to the sport, “like a duck to water. I was a strong third, a good sweeper.” In 1961 his team, which included Al McCullam, Tom Carruthers and skip Mac White came within one shot of representing Ontario at the Brier Canadian Men’s Championships.

“We lost the provincial championships by one rock,” he recalls. “It was my fault. I was playing third and I came out of the house to help sweep a rock in, but it went six or seven inches too far.”

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Despite their current high profile top curlers seem to stay close to their roots. When former Canadian Olympian Mike Harris competed in Bancroft it was a big deal for the community.

Opening night at the Bancroft Curling Club in February, 1958. Miners working in the area provided the impetus to get the club off the ground.

Photo courtesy Bancroft Curling Club

Photo courtesy Canadian Curling Association

In 1974 Riley skipped his rink to the Ontario Senior Men’s Championship with a perfect record.

His curling accomplishments earned Riley a spot in the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

In his many years of involvement with the Quinte Curling Club Riley says the successful programs have been those that offer the greatest social qualities.

“It’s the camaraderie as much as anything,” he explains. “Winning prizes is secondary.”

While curling has traditional provided social benefits to larger places like Trenton or Belleville, the sport was an almost indispensable part of life in some towns and villages 50 years ago.

“For some people it was the only time they ever got to go anywhere,” says John Murray of Stirling, whose father was one of the original curlers when the village formed its club. “It was always the social aspect rather than the competition. We had a lot of fun back then.”

When the Stirling Curling Club was created in 1963 it borrowed the hockey rink two nights a week. One night was set aside for a men’s league and mixed teams took to the ice on the other evening.

“We curled on Tuesday and Wednesday nights,” Murray recalls. “We would flood the ice on Monday night, after the hockey finished. Someone would drive to Belleville to pick up the stones on Tuesday morning and we would flood again.

The rings had to new hockey arena at be repainted two the fairgrounds on or three times a the west side of the year. On Wednesvillage. day night the rink The scenario was manager would similar in Tweed, come in and set where the Land O’ it up for hockey Lakes Curling Club again. We also had continues to serve the rink for a couthe area. The club ple of weekends was formed in 1964 a year for big bonbut shared space spiels.” with the hockey Many of the curlarena until 1967. ers in the area were “At that time farmers and one of [when the club the Stirling club’s first started] someone big events was the brought rocks Farmer’s Bonspiel, from the club in which continues to Marmora and we back ) Bi ll Ri ley (midd le, be held in late January. curled Sunday , me Fa of ll Ha ts ier Canadian e Be lle vi lle Sp or “At one time the and Monday,” a tr ip to th e Br A mem be r of th ed iss te m t hi W jus ac at te am th uad we re sk ip M was pa rt of th e club was probably 75 remembers Les g him on th e sq in in Jo .

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Ch ampio nshi p in and Al McC ull am per cent farmers,” MurMartin, current(r) rs he ut rr Ca (l) and Tom ray continues. “Those ly the ice maker Cu rling Club e int Qu sy rte Ph oto cou days the farmers had at the Land O’ a lot more time in the Lakes club whose parents were original winter.” members. “I imagine neither group [the curlers The Stirling club got its own facility in 1977, and the hockey players] was fully satisfied with when the current rink was built adjacent to the the arrangement. It took a lot of time and effort and nowadays I don’t think people would go to the same effort.

“Back then, even going to Belleville would be considered quite a trip, especially in winter. So for many people curling was the social outing of the week.”

Bancroft Curling Club – Bancroft, Ont. (613) 332-3767 Like Stirling, the Land O’ Lakes club has run a Land O’ Lakes Curling Club – Tweed, Ont. (613) 478-2311 (curltweed.ca) Farmers Bonspiel for close to 40 years.

Marmora & Area Curling Club – Marmora, Ont. (613) 472-3522 (marmoracurlingclub.com) In some towns the emergence of a curling club Quinte Curling Club – Belleville, Ont. (613) 962-5570 (quintecurlingclub.reach.net) has been connected to local industry. The Bancroft Stirling Curling Club – Stirling, Ont. (613) 395-4444 Curling Club was incorporated in 1957 by miners Trenton Curling Club – Trenton, Ont. (613) 392-5244 (trentoncurlingclub.ca) who had come from the north to work in mines in the area. Originally they used a Quanza hut with

Want to throw some rocks? Here is where you can start:

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Country Roads • Winter 2009/2010

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Know your curling lingo

Ellie Kompch, Bernice Pounder and Pat Simms (l to r) of the Trenton Curling Club show off an Eight-Ender during the 1985-86 season. Only eight have been recorded in the club’s 50-year history. Kompch still curls with the club.

Photo courtesy Trenton Curling Club

Here are a few expressions common to the game of curling. Even if you don’t play the sport yourself you could come across like an expert if you throw these around.

Blank End: An end in which neither team scores.

Bonspiel: A curling tournament.

Brier: The Canadian Men’s Championship.

Burning a Stone: Touching a stone or rock that is in motion. It is up to the offending player to admit to the infraction. Made ­famous in the movie Men With Brooms.

Eight-ender: A perfect end, with one team scoring eight points.

Hammer: The last rock of an end.

House: The series of rings at either end of a curling sheet. It is made up of a series of circles, the 12-foot, eight-foot and fourfoot.

Hurry Hard: Everyone’s favourite expression – an instruction to start sweeping a rock.

Skip: The leader on a curling team, who usually throws the final two rocks in an end. The other positions are Lead, Second and Vice (or Third).

‘made for TV’ events and of course the inclusion “It is very hard to attract kids,” Davies admits. of curling in the Winter Olympics. It has turned “Everything these days is fast paced, and that’s not world class competitors like Jennifer Jones and what curling is. But once they understand the strateKevin Martin into sports celebrities. gies, and the teamwork thing, it makes a difference.

“I think Jennifer Jones and her whole team have I noticed once my kids started curling they started raised the popularity of the sport,” says the Trenrelying on each other more.” ton Curling Club’s Davies. “They’re fit, young and athletic. I think she’s made the sport cool and she’s a great role model for young women.”

What makes these competitors all the more appealing, adds Davies, is that they buck the trend of the spoiled multi-millionaire athlete.

Despite their international prestige these players still hold down regular vic tory in the jobs and curl at their l and r) ce lebrate r (fa n to gs in lene He nderson. e and Mar y Liv local clubs across am membe r Mar mily sport. Goldi te fa a th ur ch fo mu d ry an ve Curling is ith son David the country – just nding bonspie l w 70 Alexande r Ve 19 inte Cu rling Club Qu n/ sto ing like the fans watchar y & Goldie Liv Ph oto cou rte sy M ing them on TV. Bancroft Curling In smaller communities Club president Tom like Bancroft a challenge is posed by younger peoPerry recalls hosting a qualifying round for the Brier ple moving away once they finish high school.

Nationals several years ago that attracted top Cana“A lot of our base is senior,” admits Perry. dian curlers like Mike Harris and Wayne Middaugh.

The club has a Sunday morning ‘Little Rockers’ “Small clubs were their roots so they don’t mind program for kids aged 5-17 and is also working coming back and putting back into the community,” with local high schools to include the sport in Phys Perry points out.

Ed programs.

Davies runs a junior curling program at the Tren“At their age curling is a possible alternative to ton club – ‘Little Rocks’ – where kids are introduced hockey, and more and more people are seeing it to the game. Not only do they learn the on-ice rules that way,” Perry says. and strategies of the sport, but they are also shown The times are changing but curling remains true the importance of the post-game socializing, where to its roots, and that might serve the sport well headthey get a hot chocolate and sit together. ing into the future.

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LOCALLY MADE PRODUCTS four sheets of ice, but a more permanent facility was built in the 1990s.

Similarly the Marmora & Area Curling Club was started in the 1950s when the major industry in the town was the Bethlehem Steel mine. As is often the case, the local hockey arena did double duty for the winter sports before an independent facility was built in 1976.

In both Bancroft and Marmora membership reached between 250-300 curlers when the mining industry was booming, but both clubs suffered after mines closed.

Indeed, the role of local curling clubs has changed a great deal over time. Where once winter entertainment options were extremely limited, now even the most isolated individual likely has access to satellite TV and the internet. The weekly trip to the curling rink is no longer the big event it once was.

On the flip side, the sport enjoys far more media exposure than it did 40 or 50 years ago. There is increased television coverage, more specialized

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286 Front Street, Belleville

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dis d i s c o v e r i n g

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y r t n u o y s C r d And recommend their favourite t a n o reads of the year R ou ad s o y R r t n u T o s C oad R

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t icongregate together, some once a week, hey s a h

county’s many libraries and talk gleefully about

books. They revel in the written word and each other’s company discussing literature.

They are members of book clubs and Hastings County

is home to what probably amounts to dozens of them.

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­r eviews of one of their unanimously ­f avourite reads of this past year and they came through famously.

The book clubs affiliated with five Hastings County libraries and ­m embers of two informal neighbourhood clubs provided these seven reviews. The books they selected tell of building schools in Pakistan, dealing with the ­e arly onset of Alzeheimer’s, a glimpse into the life of a youth with Asperger’s Syndrome, travelling across North America in the 1900’s, war and its after-

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The Madonnas of ­Leningrad

By Debra Dean Published by Harper Collins SC $17.99

some monthly, in private homes or in one of the

We asked some of them to provide our readers with

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Debra Dean’s publishing debut is a well-crafted piece set in 1941 Leningrad under German siege, as well as in present time with a family dealing with dementia.

Marina – a young tour guide at the State Hermitage Museum – together with other staff frantically prepares art works for shipment to safety in off-site storage. During the Luftwaffe bombardment - while living in the museum’s cellars with hundreds of others – she struggles with cold and starvation. But despite physical frailties, Marina develops a mental fortitude to memorize intricate details about paintings of the Madonna and other works of art to help her survive.

Now an elderly woman living in America, Marina’s mind is suffering through the ravages of aging, which the author brilliantly contrasts against the youthful Marina’s mental acuity, framing it in her adult children’s perception of their mother.

Dean demonstrates how they’ve been denied richd i s c o v er ness i n g inhtheir a s t iown ngs c oby un t yknowing about their lives not parents’ wartime lives or their mother’s abilities and artistic talents.

How often have we not encouraged an elderly family member to expand on what seemed on the surface, to be an obscure, irrelevant comment?

This book has important messages about families, and how we do and do not communicate with one another.

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Country Roads and mysterious lines that run through generations of a math centred around two young Cree men, life in 1941 Leningrad under German siege, and the psychological family.

Review submitted by Ann McMaster and

Ann Goulding on behalf of the ‘Reading with Country Friends’ club sponsored by the Friends of Quinte-West Public Library, Trenton Roads

We hope their enthusiasm for these books will inspire you to read on and support your local independent bookstore and your local library.

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n u o c s g in t s a h ng i r e v o c s i d Three Cups of Tea

Three Day Road

By Joseph Boyden Published by Penguin Group Canada SC $20.00 Last year our book club read an exceptional Canadian novel, Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden. It was a stand-out book that immediately came up when we were discussing what book to review.

A beautifully haunting book, Three Day Road is not a book that I probably would have picked up unless it was recommended to me as I tend to shy away from ‘war novels’ but it ended up being my favourite read of that year.

This is Boyden’s debut novel and it is a compelling and lyrically written story of war and its aftermath. The story unfolds in a dual narrative and centres around the events of two young Cree men, Xavier and Elijah, who become snipers in the Canadian army during WWI. Boyden does an excellent job of portraying the realities of World War I and does not flinch from the graphic and sometimes disturbing details, while also paying tribute to the important Canadian contribution to that war.

The story alternates between the one surviving man (Xavier) recounting his experiences in Europe during the war and his Aunt (Niska) who is telling him stories of her youth and the old ways of the Cree. When the book opens, Xavier has returned home, missing a leg, addicted to morphine and obviously dying. His Auntie Niska picks him up at the train station and together they begin a three-day canoe journey home. During this journey, the storytelling unfolds and Xavier’s healing begins.

This is not always an easy read, but it is an exceptionally rewarding one and its definitely worth the effort. The writing is beautiful and haunting, the subject matter poignant and relevant, and the point of view unusual and informative.

This year our book club looks forward to reading Boyden’s new novel, Through Black Spruce.

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Review submitted by Julie Bowen on behalf of the Tuesdays with Merlot Book Club of the Madoc Public Library

Still Alice

By Greg Mortenson Published by Penguin USA SC $16.50

The author has a PHD in neuroscience and writes extensively about Alzheimer’s for the National Alzheimer’s Association. Still Alice, a work of fiction, is Genova’s first novel.

The protagonist, Alice Howland, a 50-year-old Harvard professor, writes in the first person of coming to terms with her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and dealing with her declining cognitive abilities over a two-year period. Her husband, John continually shows her that he is in it for the long haul. Soon after her diagnosis, Alice forms a support group of others stricken with the disease.

Alice deals with telling her family and colleagues of her situation. This book takes the reader into the daily life of the patient - forgetfulness, losing direction, misplacing things (things that increasingly limit her brilliant, vibrant professorship) and the rapid decline of her life as she once knew it.

So frustrated is Alice by her situation she is willing to trade her Alzheimer’s diagnosis for cancer.

Members of the Bancroft Public Library Book Club agreed that Alice was capable and strong in trying to take control of her situation, and trying to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s. A comment was made from our group that they felt the depiction was somewhat sugar-coated, as we don’t see signs here of anger and lashing out, which is often experienced with Alzheimer’s patients. Alice is never in denial and doesn’t dismiss her symptoms as signs of fatigue, stress or possibly depression. All in the book club agreed that this would not detract from the enjoyment of the book.

We leave the ending for you to discover and highly recommend Still Alice as an informative novel of the times, dealing with the ‘big A’ (Alzheimer’s disease) which may have overcome the ‘big C’ (cancer) as a diagnosis that strikes fear in people’s minds.

Three Cups of Tea tells the journey of Greg Mortenson from mountain climber to humanitarian. Following an unsuccessful K2 summit attempt, Mortenson was separated from his guide and stumbled into the mountain village of Korphe. Through his desire to ‘give back’ to the village that helped him, and seeing the village children having their lessons out in a field, Mortenson undertook the arduous task of building them a school. Through luck, boldness, sometimes belligerence and always determination, Mortenson managed to build that school and then went on to build schools all across Pakistan.

Marilyn’s Book Club is a group of women of assorted ages, histories and occupations, united by a love of reading. To us, it is unfathomable to be unable or, more so, denied the chance to read.

The concept of one person enacting such powerful change for a population is an inspiring one, and as a whole we were impressed by this driven man.

The book moves through the ups and downs of Mortenson’s struggles to flesh out his vision. His frustrations are agonized, his triumphs rejoiced and along the way the reader meets a whole host of interesting and unbelievable characters. We felt we benefited from such a different voice on this part of the world.

The writing of the book also follows this high and low pattern. We noted passages of great fluidity, of beautiful descriptive prose that captured images of struggle and triumph, compassion and rage, but these would be surrounded by sections of awkwardness, of phrases or thoughts abruptly truncated. Fundraising and public speaking are not comfortable for Mortenson and in these sections the writing is its most awkward, perhaps reflecting how all those involved felt at the time.

The book includes some beautiful photos of local villagers and scenery but also other less graceful images, which drew our attention away from the story and left us feeling somewhat disappointed with some of the personal choices made by Mortenson.

However, these notes are not enough to detract from the overall impression of the book. It remains an appealing depiction of an inspiring story — a very worthwhile read.

y r t n u o s C d a Ro y r t n u o s d C oa R

By Lisa Genova Published by Simon & Schuster SC $17.50

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Review submitted by the women of Marilyn’s Book Club

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Fault Lines

The Last Crossing

By Nancy Huston Published by McArthur & Company SC $16.95

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By Guy Vanderhaeghe Published by McClelland & Stewart SC $22.99

Looking for a mystery, psychological drama, or war story? Nancy Huston’s Fault Lines is all of these.

Huston uses the interesting convention of telling the story in reverse chronological order through the eyes of four six-year-olds. Sol (2004) is an obnoxious, precocious child with an inflated ego. Constantly assured that he is the centre of his parents’ life, Sol believes that he is the centre of the universe. How can his parents be blind to the monster they are creating? Why does his father, Randall, acquiesce to his wife’s indulgence of Sol? Read on to discover the events of Randall’s sixth year.

Randall (1982) is uprooted from New York to Israel by his mother Sadie’s fanatic attempt to discover the secrets of her own mother’s past. Why is Sadie (1962) more interested in the past than present? The solution is revealed in her mother Erra’s (1994) sixth year.

The personal fault lines spread through the generations but so do the fault lines of the wars which twist the lives of each character.

If there is a fault line in this novel, it is the sophistication of the six-year old narrators. If the reader can suspend disbelief, this is a provocative read. It is a recommended book club selection.

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The Last Crossing is an epic story of a group crossing North America in the late 19th century.

The story is told mainly in the voices of four of the protagonists, each narrating the same events but from different perspectives. It also cleverly combines fiction and history – one of the main characters and narrators, Jerry Potts, half Scottish and half Blackfoot Indian is a real person.

This is the story that our book club enjoyed reading the most in 2009. It is a drama; it deals with retribution and redemption; it is a love story; it is a murder mystery; it is a history book; it is a Western. It takes its main characters from their privileged background in England to North America, where they find themselves in cities, frontier towns, forts and alone in hostile environments.

We learn not only about the life of the pioneers but gain insight into the Native Americans and into the life of women in the frontier environment. The group at the centre of this story are ostensibly searching for the brother of the two British members of the party, but in reality each has a different agenda.

It is a real page-turner, moving quickly though its varied landscapes effortlessly. It even stimulated members of the book club to go and learn more – about Potts, about the forts and trails of the time. A great read.

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o C oads R Review submitted by Sue Mills on behalf of the Friends of Tweed Public Library Book Club

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Review submitted by Andrew Marre on behalf of the Rosa Book Club. The Rosa Book Club is based in Stirling and has both male and female members

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er v o isc The Curious Incident of

the Dog in the Night-Time

By Mark Haddon Published by Doubleday Canada SC $19.95

This book is about Christopher Boone, a 15-yearold boy who has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a form of Autism. He is a mathematical genius and is going to sit his ‘A Levels’ in Mathematics at his Special Needs School in the near future. He is extremely observant as to the minute details of his surroundings but has almost no ability to sense what other people are feeling. He lives with his father in Swindon, England and his mother is supposedly dead.

The story begins when Christopher, on one of his middle of the night outings, finds Wellington, his neighbour’s dog dead on her front lawn, stabbed with a pitchfork. He decides that he will do some detective work, just like Sherlock Holmes, discover who killed Wellington and write a book about it. Christopher’s ‘detective work’ gets him into a lot of trouble, helps him to discover some truths and enables him to have many adventures.

This book, published in 2003, has won many awards. A prominent theme is the importance of trust in a relationship. The book gives one insight into how a person with Asperger’s Syndrome thinks, feels and responds to their surroundings.

I would highly recommend it.

Review submitted by Margaret Webber on behalf of the Marmora Public Library Book Club

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gs n i t as Hastings County Public Libraries h g rin e v www.bancroftpubliclibrary.ca www.hastingshighlandspubliclibrary.ca (Maynooth) isco www.bellevillepubliclibrary.org www.deserontopubliclibrary.ca www.madocpubliclibrary.com www.marmora.info/library

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www.stirlingrawdonpubliclibrary.ca www.library.quintewest.com (Trenton) www.tweedlibrary.ca www.ttpl.ca (Tyendinaga Township)

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The Calm Of Christmas Past O’Hara Mill then and now

By Nancy Hopkins • Photos courtesy O’Hara Mill

The O’Hara Mill Homeou travel by the stead is an 85-acre historiflickering light of cal site centred on the only lanterns strung 1 2 known working English Gate along the pathor Reciprocating Frame sawway, past the 1848 sawmill in Canada.

This techmill to the pioneer log nology involved a massive home aglow with more wooden frame that stretched lanterns and candles. the saw blade taut.

Both You step inside the door were driven up and down by and are enveloped by the water power.

And water also scent of a wood burning powered the log carriage tofireplace and chestnuts wards the blade. roasting on the open fire.

James O’Hara and his There is music in the air, brother-in-law, Ben Lear the smell of pine boughs, 3 4 constructed the O’Hara farm tasty treats on the table house in 1848.

Throughout and a general feeling of the years it evolved from a calm and celebration. primitive pioneer homestead You are experiencing to include the elegance of Christmas at O’Hara Mill, the Victorian period and a homestead conservation area near Madoc. then with the inclusion of From 4:00pm through electricity it entered mod8:00pm on the three ern times. Restorations have consecutive evenings returned it to its circa 1850 between Dec. 4-6 O’Hara state.

Mill volunteers create a It was in May of 1850 that 5 6 setting where visitors can James O’Hara Sr. and his son experience the holidays James O’Hara Jr. entered as residents of Madoc into a partnership whereby Township did in the 1830 James Sr. agreed to build and to 1850’s era. operate a saw mill while his “We found last year that son agreed to supply the people enjoyed being site with timber and water part of a simple Christprivileges. The partnership mastime get-together as lapsed after 20 years but the the pioneers celebrated mill continued to cut and sell it before it got so comlumber until 1908.

1. O’Hara Mill Homestead is managed and preserved by volunteers such as Kelly Preston and Dave Little. mercialized, having neiLocated at 638 Mill 2. The log cabin at O’Hara Mill near Madoc is home to an old fashioned Christmas in early December. ther money or stores to Road, a couple of kilome3. Adorned with simple natural decorations, the large open stone fireplace is an impressive sight. buy gifts,” says O’Hara tres northwest of Madoc, 4. Toes were tapping to the music of Madoc residents Leah Lebow and Jennifer Tebworth Mill Volunteer Chair Dave O’Hara Mill, as the site is at the 2008 Christmas at O’Hara Mill festivities. known locally, is owned by Little.

5. This typical small country mill known as O’Hara Mill operated from 1850 to 1908. Today it is part of the O’Hara Mill Homestead open to the public from May through October.

Visitors can access the property year round to enjoy the grounds.

Quinte Conservation and The festivities take 6.

Visitors to the 2008 Christmas at O’Hara Mill celebrations were treated to goodies made from recipes from the 1800’s. managed by a dedicated place in an original setgroup of volunteers. There tler’s log home that was is no cost for Christmas at recently relocated from a O’Hara Mill evenings but farm in Boulter. The over donations are gratefully accepted. nine foot wide cooking fireplace is made of stone But it is the traditional fire roasted chestnuts Additional information can be found at www. taken from local mid-1800’s barn foundations. You that Christmas program Chairperson Kelly Presohara-mill.org or you can contact Kelly Preston, will probably believe there is something amiss with ton found quite delightful. She tends the fire in Christmas Program Chairperson at 613-395-5021 the absence of a Christmas tree but the tradition her period dress and saw the reaction from 2008 or Dave Little, O’Hara Volunteers Chairman at of trees as we know it today was not introduced visitors as they experienced the sweet taste of the 613-967-2466. to North America until the 1850’s or later. nuts, many for the first time.

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Chasing Rainbows Madoc painter makes colour explode

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BY JOHN HOPKINS • PHOTOS BY BRANDON WEST

Some parts of Woodward’s house could have come straight out of Dr. Seuss.

It is not unusual to get the feeling you are being watched in Woodward’s house.

A number of Woodward’s paintings create ­captivating optical illusions.

There is a hint of panic in the air when I arrive at Madoc painter Diane Woodward’s house for our interview on this late October afternoon.

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he ­s ubject of her consternation is clearly visible in the kitchen. It’s the refrigerator. Or more precisely, the plain, white refrigerator. Set against the rest of Woodward’s flamboyantly decorated house it stands out like a sore thumb, and there is even a hint of embarrassment as Woodward explains that she has yet to properly integrate it into the rest of her more spectacular surroundings.

The offending appliance remains a source of concern through my visit. As we sit chatting at her bar she glances over to the kitchen where she can still see a sliver of the fridge. Even the white sheets of paper on which I’ve scribbled my notes are a distraction when set against the reds, yellows, oranges and greens that swirl and sweep across the counter.

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Although she considers herself primarily a painter, Woodward has ­experimented in other art forms.

Walking into Woodward’s house is like stepping into a different world. Everything, from floor to ceiling, is painted.

In some cases it is simply a swirl of colours creating a psychedelic effect, that takes one back to the magic of Dr. Seuss. One half expects to turn a corner and see a family of ‘Whos’ sitting down to a feast of roast beast. Upon returning to the kitchen it wouldn’t seem out of place to see a plate of green eggs and ham on the counter.

But it is not just the rainbow of colour. There are also walls adorned with paintings of zebras, lions or tigers, or Hindu gods and goddesses, or people. The rule is quite simple – leave no surface uncovered. Anything – chairs, tables, doors, walls, or toilets – is fair game for redecoration. That is why the fridge is such an object of frustration.

“I am waging a one-woman war against white,” declares Woodward with a laugh.

It is a war in which Woodward seems to hold the upper hand. The 50-year-old, who also goes by the moniker ‘Uma The Painter’ has carved out a strong following for her distinctive work. She spent 20 years living and exhibiting in Ottawa/ Hull, where her most prestigious showing was at the Canadian Museum of Nature. ‘Wild: Paintings by Diane Woodward,’ ran through the fall and winter of 2003-04.

At the time of our interview she is gearing up for her first showing in Madoc, titled ‘Pictures from the Painted House.’ Described as an exhibition of paintings, fine craft and cool stuff, it will be the first visual arts event at the new Centre Hastings Park Performing Arts Centre. The show has its Grand Opening on Friday, Nov. 27 and closes Sunday, Dec. 6.

Woodward’s war against white appears to have begun when she was a little girl, and the early battleground was the family home. She grew up in a fairly middle class environment in the 1960s and rebelled against the ‘plainness’ of her surroundings from an early age.

Fancy a drink? The bar area of Woodward’s Madoc home is typical of the vibrant and diverse use of colour that appears throughout the house.

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Painted Easter Eggs are a recent source of ­inspiration for Woodward.

Animals have become a personal favourite of Woodward’s ever since a zebra walked into one of her ­paintings while she was in Ottawa.

Woodward combines a variety of ­elements into her paintings, ­creating a truly unique piece of art.

Woodward’s paintings are rich in ­detail and sometimes it is hard to take in all the elements in one viewing.

“I certainly didn’t get it from my family,” she says.

“They were horrified.”

‘Pictures from the Painted House’ has its Grand Opening at Centre Hastings Park, 11379 Highway 62, Madoc, on Friday, Nov. 27 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

The show runs until Sunday, Dec. 6 with hours of 1:00pm-5:00pm ­Saturdays and ­Sundays, 12:00pm5:00pm ­Mondays and Tuesdays, & 4:00pm-8:00pm Fridays.

Admission is free.

“I certainly didn’t get it [the interest in art] from my family,” she says. “They were horrified. They thought I’d get over the art thing but that’s not how it worked out.

I’ve had a really good run.

“I think I had my first studio when I was four [years old]. It was the bottom drawer in the kitchen. It seemed like the only things I liked to play with were things I made myself. So while the other kids were out playing I was always making stuff.

“When I was a girl I had a deathly pale green room and I had to wear a school uniform. In my last year of elementary school I tie-dyed all my white blouses, and my mother made me wear them to school, which was exactly what I wanted.

I have a really serious need to be surrounded by colour.”

Woodward took her artistic yearnings to Montreal’s Concordia University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After school she settled in Ottawa, where she divided the next 20 years of her life between the nation’s capital and across the river in Hull. In 1987 Woodward was able to dedicate herself full time to her painting.

“I’m totally blessed to be at this point,” she says.

“I haven’t had a job since 1987. A lot of people with degrees like mine wind up running art gal-

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leries or something like that, but I didn’t want to go that route. I ran a gallery in Ottawa and I didn’t paint for a year, and I hated it.”

Although Woodward enjoyed city life she made the decision to move to Madoc in 1999 due to what she describes as a “mid-life crisis.

“My dad died, and I’d done the city thing for years. I’d often taken the bus between Ottawa and Toronto and I thought I always wanted to live between Perth and Peterborough, on the edge of a village in a tourist attraction.”

When Woodward got her house she immediately set to work designing it in the manner that suited her style.

“It was the first house I’d ever owned, and there was nobody to tell me, ‘no,’” she recalls. “I thought I’d be done with it in about two months, but I just had this willingness to go further, without ever thinking of the prospect of resale, of course.”

While most of the interior is decorated lavishly with striking colours and large and outlandish animals, the room where Woodward teaches her twice weekly yoga classes is somewhat more understated, to produce a more serene experience for her students. She has been a yoga instructor for some 15 years and that, along with an interest in the Hindu faith, joins painting as an abiding passion.

She is part of an organization called Sivananda, which according to its website was founded by Swami Vishnudavananda when he came to North America from India in the late 1950s. The group set up a yoga centre in Montreal in 1959 and has since added similar facilities around the world.

As a member of the group Woodward travels for some three months a year to these centres in Montreal, India or the Bahamas to paint in Hindu temples, practice yoga and meditate. She says the experience provides a valuable balance to her artistic endeavours at home.

“Art demands huge chunks of time alone,” she explains. “It’s a self-centred universe; that’s where art comes from, introspection from being alone. It can be isolating, selfish and narrow. So it’s good for me to go to a place where everyone is as important as everyone else, and there’s selflessness between people. When I teach yoga here it’s all about my students. It’s not about me.”

Her alter ego ‘Uma’ comes from the Hindu religion, and was given to her as part of her education.

“She is a loving gentle goddess,” Woodward says. “I’m grateful. I was pretty ferocious 15 years ago but I’m much nicer now.”

Many of Woodward’s paintings show her Hindu influences. Images of the various gods and goddesses are scattered around her home.

“There is a great difference between western art and eastern art,” she says. “Western art is about individuality, personality and ego. Eastern art is not like that. You don’t sign your paintings. You try to make your paintings look like something that was done before. You’re not trying to be subversive, like you are in western art.”

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(Above) No room or appliance is untouched – this is the kitchen.

(Above right) Woodward’s house is easy to spot, and quickly became a point of fascination for kids in the area. She now offers tours for art classes.

(Right) Woodward moved to Madoc 10 years ago after spending the previous 20 years in Ottawa and Hull.

“...it has to be an adventure.“

One of Woodward’s most gratifying experiences was painting in the Sivananda temple in the Bahamas during one of its formal nights of worship.

“It was terrifying, painting in front of 400 people,” she says.

There is also a practical side to yoga, as well. She has had carpal tunnel surgery on both her wrists.

“I’m obsessive when I’m getting ready for a show,” she explains. “I’m building things; moving things.”

Woodward has experience in a wide variety of artistic pursuits but describes herself as a painter.

She says she learned to paint abstractly in university and then began painting people when she moved to Ottawa. Then, as she describes it, “a zebra walked by in the back of one of my paintings.”

So began her love affair with painting animals.

“I started going to the zoo all the time and taking pictures,” she remembers. “I’m just totally enamoured with animals. Like a giraffe. It’s the weirdest thing I can imagine. If I were to make it out of spare parts I couldn’t make it look so beautiful.”

Her fascination with painting fish came about through a childhood fear.

“I was very afraid of fish when I was a kid,” she says. “And when I’m afraid of something my way of dealing with it is to just face it. So I looked at pictures of fish and I started painting them. It’s so easy to be abstract with them. You don’t have to deal with a horizon, they’re just swimming around.”

Woodward has recently started painting people again, although she admits that provides a distinct challenge.

“There’s a real intimacy in painting a human,” she points out. “You have to be totally open, like

painting without a net. You’re very vulnerable, you see your limitations. But it’s way more fun and very gratifying.”

Woodward says she doesn’t have a picture in her head of what a painting will look like when it’s finished. She simply starts and sees where the mood will take her. Pointing to a painting behind her of a tiger crossing a tightrope with a zebra underneath (which covers the back wall of her bar), she explains, “when I was painting the tiger on the tightrope I had no idea what was going to be underneath him. It could have been anything.

“I work really intuitively. When you’re making it up as you go along it’s really exciting. And it has to be an adventure.”

It is easy to assume that Woodward throws colours together haphazardly without much consideration of a style or a system. But in fact her choices are very deliberate and she has very definite ideas of what works together and what doesn’t.

“I like really saturated colours,” she explains. “ Rainbow colours – if I had to pick a favourite it would be red. But I like red with yellow; black with white; purple with blue. If I know anything it’s about colour. I can go visit Ellen Wilson, from Wilson’s of Madoc [a paint retailer] and we can talk about paint for hours. We come from different worlds but we have that in common.”

It is perhaps no surprise that Woodward’s painting touches a soft spot with children, and she routinely entertains art groups from local schools. It was attention she didn’t seek out.

“The kids found me first,” she points out. “I’m not necessarily kid-friendly and I didn’t do this to attract anyone.

“There were a few kids in the area who saw the house and when they went to school they bugged their teacher about coming to visit. I thought the teacher was pretty clever, and she said to the kids, ‘well, if you want to go, you schedule a trip.’ So one day I got this eight-yearold kid phoning me asking if his class could come to see my house.”

Woodward also visits religious studies classes to explain Hinduism.

‘Pictures from the Painted House’ will be the first formal introduction of Woodward’s art to the adult community in the Madoc area, and she is looking forward to the challenge of integrating her unique style with the recently opened facility.

“The building is beautiful but it’s not an art gallery,” she admits. “I want to have the building enhance the art and the art enhance the building. But generally an open concept doesn’t work for my material.”

Woodward expects to have at least 10 paintings on display that have not been seen before, plus various crafts and Christmas ornaments.

Hallowe’en is also a big time around Woodward’s house (“The kids think I decorate the place just for them,” she says). She does go out of her way to make a good impression, however, baking homemade fudge just for the occasion.

“I love Hallowe’en,” she enthuses. “This is a wonderful place to dress up and have a party.”

Christmas is generally a quieter time for Woodward, although this year she does have a special project in mind for Christmas Day – painting her new refrigerator.

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• cross roads •

Belleville swimmer is Great Lakes ace When Belleville native Paula Stephanson completed her swim across Lake Ontario at the age of 17 in 1996 her ­immediate feeling was one of relief.

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Stephanson prefers using the front crawl when she swims, saying it helps her establish a rhythm.

Photo courtesy Paula Stephanson

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Belleville native Paula Stephanson completed her first lake crossing in 1996, when she conquered Lake Ontario.

Photo courtesy Paula Stephanson

“I thought ‘I’m never ­doing that again,’” the now 30-year-old recalls.

But someone suggested a swim of Lake Erie, and then came Lake Huron. By that point Stephanson was committed – she had to swim across all five Great Lakes.

Stephanson finished her task last Aug. 24 when she completed a 56km crossing of Lake Michigan in 25 hours and 38 minutes. She became just the second person to accomplish the feat, joining Vicki Keith of Kingston, who conquered the last of the lakes in 1988.

Not surprisingly, Keith was a major influence on Stephanson, who started swimming competitively at the age of 10.

“Hearing about Vicki Keith definitely sparked my desire,” Stephanson admits. “When I was a little kid I was on a Belleville swim team and one summer she did a triple crossing of Lake Ontario. I knew I wanted to do that.”

It helped that Stephanson excelled in longer distance events in her competitive swimming.

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“I think I always raced 400m or 800m events,” she recalls. “Then I tried some little open water swims and I did well on them.”

The Lake Ontario crossing in August, 1996 took 22 hours and 30 minutes to complete. Stephanson was satisfied enough to have managed that, but the ‘swim master,’ an official appointed by Solo Swims of Ontario to regulate each crossing, mentioned the possibility of taking on another challenge.

“He said, ‘Erie’s next,’” she explains. “And a couple of months later I’d forgotten a little bit about how hard the Lake Ontario swim had been.”

The Lake Erie crossing came on July 18-19, 1998 and Stephanson completed the 43km in 14 hours and 23 minutes. Two years later, on Aug. 12-13, 2000, Stephanson took 22 hours and 26 minutes to cover 55km across Lake Huron.

“Once I did Huron I realized I had to do them all,” she says. “It just got into my head.”

Stephanson had the two toughest crossings still ahead of her – Lakes Superior and Michigan. She likely would have done Michigan first, but due to a shoulder injury she elected to leave it to the end and take on the shorter distance across Lake Superior. On Aug. 18, 2007 Stephanson covered

the 32km distance from Port Wing, Wis. to Two Harbors, Minn.

“Each lake is difficult but the last two were the toughest,” she admits. “Superior is always cold.

I think the warmest it got was about 56 degrees Fahrenheit, and that was in mid-August. And it’s rough – there’s something about that lake that’s very foreboding.”

There were times when it looked like Stephanson’s Lake Michigan swim would never come off. On her first attempt bad weather forced her to give up when she was 20km in. Finally she got a second opportunity and managed to complete her Great Lakes set, 13 years after she’d started.

While any feat of physical endurance is impressive, completing an open water swim of some 50km is a unique challenge. You can train all you want, but until you’re in the lake making your crossing it is hard to predict what sort of conditions you will encounter and how your body will respond to some 20 hours in the water.

Stephanson did all her training in Lake Ontario, usually in chunks of up to 10km.

“The greatest challenge comes from whatever you can’t control,” she explains. “It’s always cold, especially at night, and you’re always facing rough water – five to seven foot swells – at some point during the swim. You aren’t allowed to wear a wet suit; it’s supposed to be just you against the elements.”

Stephanson prefers to use the front crawl when she swims.

“It’s the fastest of strokes and the easiest with which to get into a rhythm,” she says. “And you want to stay in a rhythm.”

But in addition to the physical stresses there is also a mental burden, especially at night.

“During the day, when you have some sun, it can be wonderful,” Stephanson says. “But at night is when you feel most alone. You’re just waiting for the sun to come up. During the day you’re allowed a pacer, but at night you have to do it yourself, because they don’t want to lose the pacer in the dark. When I tried the first Lake Michigan crossing there were eightfoot swells at dusk and they couldn’t see me from the boat. The risk factor is so strong at that time.”

From Marilyn Bell, who famously became the first person to swim Lake Ontario in 1954, to the likes of Vicki Keith and Stephanson, it seems primarily women are drawn to the big open water swims. Stephanson thinks there are two main factors at play.

“I think women have naturally more body fat and that helps us endure the cold,” she says. “I think we might also have a higher tolerance for pain.”

Stephanson is currently living in Ottawa, where she is a supply teacher, and she says she is definitely retired, for now anyway.

“In a couple of years time maybe I’ll unretire,” she laughs.

It may not be such a surprise. After all, she thought she was done after she first swam Lake Ontario in 1996. And we know how that turned out…

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• cross roads • Belleville: The best and worst

The city of Belleville is apparently a great place for starting a business. But if you do, you may want to avoid Palmer Road.

A report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business on Oct. 20 put Belleville second in Ontario in a ranking of Canada’s top entrepreneurial cities, behind only the Greater Toronto Area (excluding the city of Toronto). Oshawa placed third.

Belleville ranked 44th nationally, while the GTA was 33rd.

Saskatoon was the top Canadian city overall, followed by Grand Prairie, Alta. and Joliette, Que. The CFIB study analyzed business start-up and self-employment data as well as surveying a community’s business owners in devising its rankings.

“I think being second in Ontario is pretty awesome,” said Belleville and District Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive officer Angela Genereaux in an article in the Belleville Intelligencer.

“We have seen the growth in our region, especially when it comes to membership, with a lot of smaller businesses. That really has been the trend.”

The city’s image took a hit 10 days later, however, when the Canadian Automobile Association and Ontario Road Builders’ Association released their ranking of the 20 worst roads in Ontario.

Belleville’s Palmer Road was in fourth position.

The list was based on votes from nearly 20,000 people.

“I was one of the people who voted for it,” resident Richard Abbott said in the Intelligencer. “I’ve lived on this road for 16 years and it just keeps getting worse.”

Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis said in the newspaper that improvements to the road would likely take place in 2010.

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Hooded Merganser makes it big A Hooded Merganser Drake decoy made by Belleville’s William Hart fetched $15,000 (U.S.) through a Boston area auction last summer.

The bird was initially purchased at a Belleville yard sale for a couple of hundred dollars, according to Stirling-based decoy expert Steven Lloyd, and was appraised at $50,000 prior to the auction. Lloyd said the tough North American economy and the absence of two prime collectors from the auction likely kept the price down.

Lloyd, who was profiled in the Summer, 2009 issue of Country Roads, has become a world renowned expert on wooden hunting decoys and has been a collector for most of his life. He fields inquiries from across North America daily from people curious about the value of decoys that have come into their possession.

According to Lloyd this is only the third Hart Hooded Merganser Drake ever to surface, and all three have come from the Belleville area. One sold for $203,000 (U.S.) – currently the world record for a Canadian decoy at auction – and another for $35,000.

“To find one of these is the ultimate,” Lloyd said.

“The Hooded Merganser is just so rare.”

The decoy was dated around 1920 by Copley Fine Art Auctions, the Boston-based auction house that handled the bird. It was considered to be in excellent condition.

“It is completely original from tip to tail and features fine scratch comb paint along the sides,” Copley said in its description of the decoy. “It is in excellent condition given the delicate nature of its bill and crest, and its use as an actual hunting decoy.”

Deer Damage a Problem?

This was only the third Hooded Merganser Drake decoy from Belleville maker William Hart to come up in auction.

Photo courtesy Copley Fine Art Auctions, Boston, MA

Lloyd said that original paint adds tremendous value to a decoy and to have one in such excellent condition often comes down to a stroke of luck.

“People who owned decoys and used them for hunting had pride in them and took care of them because they knew they were very fragile,” he explained. “They were made of cedar mostly and it wouldn’t take much – just dropping it the wrong way – to break off the beak or neck. Or if they’ve been sitting in a barn or attic they can dry out and become very brittle.”

He said this summer has been particularly busy due to the downswing in the U.S. economy.

“Every day I get an email that reflects the state of the economy, where people are having to get rid of things,” he explained. “On the positive side, people are looking at what they have and searching out options.”

He added that this is an excellent time for novice collectors to get in the game, especially since some of the bigger collectors are getting older.

Lloyd can be reached at www.decoyinfo.com.

To read his profile in the Summer, 2009 issue of Country Roads visit www.countryroadshastings.ca.

•

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Winter 2009/2010 • Country Roads

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• country calendar •

Things to see and do in Hastings County To submit your event listing email info@countryroadshastings.ca or call us at 613 395-0499.

ART GALLERIES/EXHIBITIONS Artists in Motion, Town Hall, 12 Bursthall, ­Marmora, www.artistsinmotion.org

Nov 28 – 29 – 2nd Annual Showcase of the Arts Art Gallery of Bancroft, 10 Flint Avenue, ­Bancroft, 613-332-1542 www.agb.weebly.com Dec. 2 - 23 - Your Kid Did Do This. Have your child’s work (up to 10 years of age) on show and participate in many arts related activities. Opening Reception Sat. Dec. 5 John M. Parrott Gallery, Belleville Public ­Library, 254 Pinnacle Street, Belleville 613968-6731 www.bellevillelibrary.com Dec 10 - 31 - Glimpses of Nature; a group show of photographs by the members of the Photo – Nat Photography Club of the Quinte Region showing in Gallery 1.

“Reminiscing in Graphite” is an exhibit of pencil drawings by local artist Joyce Robinson.

Jan 16 – Feb 25 - The Oeno Gallery presents “Metrospective” – works done over 50 years by Graham Metson.

Mar 4 – 31 - “Charades” An allegorical look at the world in a variety of media is in Gallery 1. Gallery 2 hosts a display of felted works, both 2 and 3 dimensional by Kingston Artist Andrea Graham.

Tweed and Area Heritage Centre Gallery, 40 Victoria St. N., Tweed 316 478 3989 Nov 27- Dec 5 - Art and Artisan Sale Benefit to Tweed & Area Heritage Centre Memorial Hall Hours daily 9 to 12 & 1 to 5pm (except Sun) Dec 12 - Teddy Bears’ Christmas ­Children’s Party - 2 - 4 pm Jan and Feb - Art by Donald Frazer, Barry Lovegrove, and Jan Toland. Jewellery by Kathryn MacDonald March and Apr - Art by , Bob McIntosh, Carl Reed and Barbara Bering . On view also Down to Earth Creations by ‘Maia’ Heissler.

THEATRE/LIVE ENTERTAINMENT Bancroft Village Playhouse 613-332-5918 www.bancroftvillageplayhouse.ca November Theatre at the Bancroft Village Playhouse, 613-338-3477 novembertheatre@bancroftvillageplayhouse.ca www. bancroftvillageplayhouse.ca/novembertheatre

Nov 19 - 22 & 26 - 29 –THE SNOW QUEEN; a Canadian musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 Fairy Tale. A play by Jim Henry & Jacqueline Lopez & Music by Howard Baer Belleville Theatre Guild 613-967-1442 www. bellevilletheatreguild.ca

Nov 26 – Dec 12 - I Remember Mama - A drama by John van Druten

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Centennial Secondary School, 160 Palmer Road, Belleville. (613) 962-9233 ext 3460

Jan 15 – 24 - Centennial Musical Theatre presents “The Music Man” by Meredith Willson. Centennial SS auditorium.

home. Carriage rides, carollers and a visit from Santa.

Empire Theatre, 321 Front Street, Belleville, 613-969-0099, www.theempiretheatre.com

Dec 8 - Matthew Good with special guests Mother Mother Dec 10 - The Rankin Sisters: A Maritime Christmas Dec 11 - Derek Edwards: It’s A Blunderful Life Dec 15 - A Leahy Family Christmas Dec 19 - The Nutcracker Jan 24 -Tommy Hunter Jan 28 - Colin James March 7 & 8 - Blue Rodeo March 11 - Art of Time Ensemble Concert Series - Songbook

Nov 27 - 29 - FESTIVAL OF TREES; the PECM Hospital Auxiliary’s 2nd Annual event at the Crystal Palace and the Community Center, Picton. Fri and Sat 10 am - 9 pm, Sun 10 am 2 pm 613-476-8462

Quinte Symphony, concerts at Bridge Street United Church, Belleville. Tickets: Symphony Boutique, 217 Front St., Bellville or Bruinix Jewellers, 73-B Dundas St. W., Trenton. For info/tickets 613-962-0050

Dec 6, 2:30 pm - Christmas Classics with The Hastings & Prince Edward Children’s Chorus. Sponsor: RBC Dominion Securities, Belleville Office Feb 14 – Mark Fewer Plays Bruch. Mark Fewer, Violin. Sponsor IG Investors Group, Darrell Smith The Regent Theatre, 224 Main St., Picton, ­Ontario, 613-476-8416, ext. 28 or 877-411-4761 www.theregenttheatre.org Nov 28 - 8 pm - Reelin & Rockin, Slippin & Slidin – A Night with Chuck Berry & Little Richard

Dec 5 – 8 pm - Toronto All-Star Big Band presents A Christmas Special Dec 13 – 2 pm - The Nutcracker Ballet.

The beloved classic returns to the Regent Theatre just in time for the holidays! Magically enchanting, this famous fantasy tale will bring young and old together to celebrate the joys of the Christmas season The Stirling Festival Theatre, West Front St., Stirling 613-395-2100 or 1-877-1162 www.stirlingfestivaltheatre.com Nov 20 - Dec 31 - Rumpelstiltskin. Once upon a time...there was a poor miller and his wife, who boasted that their beautiful daughter could spin straw into gold. After the greedy King shut her in a straw-filled tower, a strange little man appeared! His name was Rumpelstiltskin! The theatre’s annual panto returns to tickle the funny bone in both Family and Adult Shows.

FESTIVE EVENTS Nov 26- 4 -9pm - Star Lite Christmas House Tour. Six Oak Hills area homes plus the Stirling Grand Trunk Train Station gloriously decorated for the holidays! Tickets: Rustic Routes, Stirling Dental Office or by calling the Agricultural Museum at 613-395-0015. During your tour experience a “Village Christmas” in downtown Stirling! Wreaths, trees and swags waiting for a lucky raffle winner to take them

Nov 28 – 7 pm – Madoc Santa Claus Parade, downtown Madoc.

Dec 3 – 6 - 6th Annual Tweed Festival of Trees, Tweed-Hungerford Agricultural Building, 617 Louisa Street, Tweed Dec 4 – Stirling Santa Claus Parade – departs fairgrounds at 6:30 pm. Christmas market and Village Christmas draw at 6pm/ Dec 5 - Marmora Santa Claus Parade 2pm, downtown Marmora Dec 6 - Tweed Santa Claus Parade, downtown Tweed, 12:30 pm.

Dec 11 – 7pm - Tweed Charity Jamboree will host a “Coming Home for Christmas” musical evening featuring Canadian Bluegrass Award Winning artists Bill White and Whitepine with numerous special guests at the Tweed Legion.

Dec 12 - Deck the Streets Contest, downtown Marmora Dec 12 - Meet Frosty the Snowman at the Marmora Historical Foundation, downtown Marmora Dec 12 - Christmas Nativity Scene, 10am2pm. Enjoy a Christmas market during the Hastings 4H Nativity scene at the covered bridge in Stirling.

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WINTER EVENTS Jan 28-31 – Groundhogfest - Start your weekend with a delicious brunch followed by downtown activities, a visit from Mill Pond Moe and the popular Murder Mystery dinner.

Feb 5 - 7 - 32nd Annual Snofest, Marmora.

Sled dog races, exhibits, food and lots more. www.marmora.info/

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marketplace

ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES

COMPUTERS

To book your markeTplace adverTisemenT please call 613-395-0499

GARDEN CENTRES

Elm Tree Collectibles

Wed - Sat 10 - 5 Old, New & Unusual Items 27 West Front Street, Stirling, ON Email: etc@live.ca ARTS & CULTURE

PROfESSIONAL SERVICES

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BUILDING SUPPLIES & SERVICES

For specialty orders 613-395-4521

UNIQUE GIfTS Meet the alpacas and start yOur chrIstMas shOppIng

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Warm up Winter With locally made scarves, hats, mittens & more

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P: 613 395-0499 • F: 613 395-0903 • E: inFo@countryroadshastings.ca • www.countryroadshastings.ca discovering hastings county

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