Country Roads Fall 2014

FALL 2014

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

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Country Roads • Fall 2014

Country Roads

celebrating life in hastings county

Country Roads

celebrating life in hastings county

CR Country

CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR Nancy Hopkins 613 395-0499 CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR John Hopkins 613 395-0499 SALES DEPARTMENT

Roads

SOUTH HASTINGS & AREA Jennifer Richardson Jennifer@countryroadshastings.ca celebrating life in hastings county 613.922.2135 CENTRAL HASTINGS & AREA Nancy Hopkins nancy@countryroadshastings.ca 613.395.0499 NORTH HASTINGS & AREA Hope McFall hope@countryroadshastings.ca 613.202.1541 ART DIRECTOR Jozef VanVeenen CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Orland French Angela Hawn Sharon Henderson Barry Penhale Lindi Pierce Sheena Rowney Michelle Annette Tremblay Sarah Vance Shelley Wildgen CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Sharon Henderson Dorinda Murray Jozef VanVeenen

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INTERN Maddie Budding 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. Copies are also delivered to select homes within southern Ontario.

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

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e d i t o r i a l

A place for the arts

Photo: Haley Ashford

You will notice in this issue of Country Roads a heavy concentration on artistic endeavour – features on painter Arne Roosman, film makers Adam and Andrew Gray, inventor Jos Pronk and of course our traditional Artisans At Hand spread, this time profiling Rebecca Maracle.

You may find this focus on the arts and culture of Hastings County quaint. You may consider these people interesting and their work beautiful, but when it comes down to the really important aspects of the economic engine driving our society, these creators and their work are superfluous, right? After all, they are not manufacturing automobile parts, building houses or managing financial portfolios, are they?

We beg to differ.

Arts and culture are, in fact, very important contributors to economic health in a community. According to an article on www.businessforthearts.org, arts and cultural programs in cities lead to “increased tourism and other indirect economic activity; improved quality of life and community engagement;” and “regeneration of undervalued/underutilized urban real estate.”

The article goes on to say that, “in November 2011, Heritage Minister James Moore told the Canadian Heritage committee that the arts are good for the economy…As an economic generator, arts and culture industries in Canada represent $46 billion and employ some 630,000 people.”

Having acknowledged that, however, it is important that we look beyond solely the economic benefits of a thriving arts and culture community. In an article on theguardian.com last April 27, Arts Council England chair Sir Peter Bazalgette put “economic power” down the list of his reasons for public support of arts and culture, instead emphasizing such aspects as “the inherent value of culture, its contribution to society,” and “its symbiotic relationship with education” as more significant.

“Imagine society without the civilizing influence of the arts and you’ll have to strip out what is most pleasurable in life – and much that is educationally vital,” he points out. “Take the collective memory from our museums; remove the bands from our schools and choirs from our communities; lose the emphatic plays and dance from our theatres or the books from our libraries; expunge our festivals, literature and painting; and you’re left with a society bereft of a national conversation, about its identity or anything else.”

Bazalgette’s words are echoed in this issue of Country Roads.

While Roosman’s mural in Bancroft, a key element on the feature that begins on page 8, is a magnificent piece of artwork, it is also a vital historical piece that outlines the story of a significant Canadian community, and it is accessible to virtually anyone. Likewise, his tableaus of mischievous European children during the Second World War put some perspective on the horrors and tragedy of that period.

In their movie Fly Colt Fly, the Gray brothers evoke a wide range of questions regarding a young person’s welfare, as well as celebrating a spirit of inventiveness and adventure.

Pronk’s skills have helped instill a sense of pride and purpose in a community that was a virtual ghost town 30 years ago.

Maracle calls her featherwork “healing art”, and the impact it has on the people she sells it to is profound.

Indeed, Hastings County can take pride in its arts and culture community. According to the county’s official site (hastingscounty.com), Hastings is among the top 10 rural Ontario municipalities with a high artistic concentration and it refers to a Hill Strategies Inc. study that says the concentration of artists in Hastings County is at least double the national average.

Celebrate our arts and culture. It plays a vital role in our society, both from an economic and noneconomic standpoint. Upcoming opportunities include the Apsley Autumn Studio Tour Sept. 20-21, the Bancroft & Area Autumn Studio Tour Sept. 20-21 and Sept. 27-28, and the Heart of Hastings Christmas Tour Nov. 7-9 and Nov. 14-16.

•

Nancy & John Hopkins OOPS: On page 36 of the summer issue we provided incorrect information regarding the date of the 100th anniversary of the Boston Marathon. It was held in 1996. We apologize for the error.

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Country Roads • Fall 2014

contributors Angela Hawn thanks her lucky stars for landing in Hastings County after years of an ‘on the road’ lifestyle teaching ESL in Asia, Europe and the Canadian Arctic. Although she loves to travel, some chance meetings here with a few people in the publishing business finally allowed her to put to use a few things learned long ago at Carleton University’s journalism school.

When not writing or travelling, Angela enjoys the inspiration and humour consistently delivered by the nine- and 10-year-olds seen in her day job as an elementary school teacher.

Her dream job? Why, travel writer, of course. Interested parties take note: for the right assignment, she’d work cheap. Closer to home, Angela seeks editorial advice and often, just plain old validation, from fellow travelling companions, husband, Mike, and their two incredible daughters, Maddie and Isobel.

Barry Penhale, veteran radio/ TV broadcaster and publisher, is delighted to return to his journalistic roots. For more years than he cares to remember, Barry has treasured his love of Canada in general, and Ontario in particular. He is in total agreement with CBC broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi, who expressed pride in living in a country where literary figures are public heroes. Barry would add that such recognition should also shine on those too frequently unsung women and men who have contributed to that country. His mission is to bring the stories of extraordinary Canadian people and places to public awareness. Still active in the historic community, Barry and his wife Jane live in an Ontario century farmhouse.

Michelle Annette Tremblay writes because she’s interested in everything. Interviewing fascinating people and sharing their wisdom and ideas is one of her favorite things and has led her to writing features for newspapers and magazines. After completing a Creative Writing degree from the University of British Columbia she spent many years teaching and writing on the west coast of Canada and internationally.

But, a country girl at heart, she gave up the city life to return to her roots in Paudash, where she freelances for multiple publications and is the Creative Director of WordBird Media. When she’s not picking remarkable brains, writing or photographing the wonders of rural Ontario, she’s usually in her garden, running after her kids or cooking up something yummy with her husband.

Sarah Vance is a member of the Board of Directors for the Art Gallery of Bancroft and an active supporter of the Bancroft & Hastings Highlands Blues and Jazz Festival. She is an elementary teacher with the Hastings Prince Edward School Board and a member of the York River Public School Council, in Bancroft, where she works and where her children study. Sarah and her husband live in L’Amable, with their three children.

V O LU M E 7 , I S S U E 3 , FA L L 2 0 1 4

Contents 8

14

22

28

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

8 THE QUIET PAINTER

6 6 20 26

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS ADVERTISER INDEX ARTISANS AT HAND

Healing art

By Michelle Annette Tremblay

14 FLYING HIGH

By Angela Hawn

22 A WAY OF LIFE

By Sarah Vance

28 REBUILDING A COMMUNITY

By John Hopkins

32 JUST SAYING

Summer Brain

CROSSROADS

33 Heritage Classic 34 Anglers Aplenty

Smile and wave

36 COUNTRY CALENDAR 37 MARKETPLACE 38 THE VILLAGE IDIOT

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

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t e i u q e h T r e t n pai A long conversation with Arne Roosman

P

Story and photos by Michelle Annette Tremblay

eople hush themselves and listen intently when Arne Roosman opens his mouth. Perhaps it’s because his voice is so soft. Or maybe it’s because of the slight mumbly quality of his speech, caused by a pleasing mix of age and a subtly faded Estonian accent that has been delicately tumbled and polished by travel and time. More likely it’s just that people are interested in what the slim white-haired artist has to say, and humbled by their respect for the renowned painter who has made the Bancroft area his home for the last 26 years.

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Once you start looking for it, you notice Roosman’s art everywhere: framed in various stores, cafes and offices; on display in local galleries; included in anthologies; on stage as part of the set design at the Village Playhouse; and now at one of the main corridors into Bancroft, right on the side of what is commonly referred to as the ‘old Whitfield building’ at 23 Bridge Street, next to the York River.

It’s fitting that the building’s owner, Burke Chamberlin, chose Roosman to paint the new mural. Not only is Roosman an important part of the

Arne Roosman’s deep respect for Bancroft’s history is evident in the mural he has completed on the side of the “old Whitfield building.” He says a true mural is “a collage of sorts…it tells a story.”

community and one of the area’s best known artists but the native Estonian, who sought refuge in Germany, and then Sweden, has a deep respect and reverence for history, which is what the mural is all about.

“A true mural is not just a very large painting,” he tells me. “It is a collage of sorts; it’s comprised of many parts, and it tells a story.” He leads me on a tour of the mural, which chronicles the history of Bancroft. It’s clear that he took his research seriously.

“Here, look here,” he points a finger at one of the wooden panels that make up the mural. Orange flames dance around the town. It was 1906, and fire ravaged Bancroft’s downtown core.

“And here,” he directs my eyes to the first train coming into town, then to the opening of the town’s first hardware store, then to a boat where three figures bob along the York River. The two men in the boat are real people, whose families still live in the region today. You can read all about them in books that document the history of Bancroft. You won’t read about the woman in the boat in any historical or reference books, though.

“I had to add her,” says Roosman. “Women weren’t often included in the histories, but their

A younger Roosman poses with his wife of 55 years, Leena. Her likeness can be found in female portraits throughout his house.

contributions were just as important.” Later, in his studio, he shows me a series of paintings in which he turned well known historical heroes and creatures, centaurs and Pegasuses into brazen and powerful female incarnations.

Readers, I have to apologize, because just a few minutes into my interview with Roosman, I abandoned my notepad - so I don’t know the exact dimensions of the mural. I can tell you that it’s very large, takes up the entire west side of the old Whitfield building, and is comprised of 11 panels, each at least one and a half times as tall as me. But that last part is an estimate. I’m sure Roosman told me the exact measurements, but I didn’t write them down.

The conversation got too interesting to interrupt it with pre-written questions and scribbled notations.

I had to just dive in, and fully embrace the opportunity to have a real, unstructured, unscripted fourhour conversation with the octogenarian that witnessed the horrors of the Second World War, and has a house full of portraits of stunning brunettes.

It was only after I spent an hour or so wandering around admiring them, sipping white wine, that he confessed to me that every single one is a likeness of his wife of 55 years: Leena. Here in Jackie O’s signature ‘do from the 1960s. There, looking fierce with dark brooding eyes under blunt bangs. Everywhere I turn I see Leena, throughout the decades.

The house, right next to the York River (seriously, you can fish off the front deck!) is a quintessential artists’ retreat. Although it’s only minutes from downtown Bancroft, it is quiet and spacious, with maybe the best view of Eagle’s Nest that this Bancroft native has ever seen. It is full of art, and books.

A chess board and snacks are ready and waiting on the coffee table. But don’t take the word ‘retreat’ too literally. Roosman is tougher than some men a quarter his age. The big old house, which was originally a mill, has been converted into a living space full of staircases, which Roosman climbs daily. When he moved in last fall there was no heat or running water.

“It was a bit like the old days in Estonia,” he says, his eyes crinkling with amusement as he describes going outside and washing his underarms with snowballs.

Despite his 82 years, Roosman is quick as a whip, thoughtful, agile, and up for almost any challenge. Large paintings hang all over the walls of the main-floor living space, some painted by him, others by various members of his family, almost all of them artists of some sort, including his father who taught him to paint as a child. He takes me past the shelves overflowing with books, some of which he designed during his career as a lithographer in Toronto.

Roosman has painted a series of retrospectives to illustrate his childhood in Estonia and Germany during the Second World War. The picture on the right depicts children rolling barrels of oil down a hill towards Nazi tanks.

Fall 2014 • Country Roads

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Painting the mural was an arduous task, even for the physically active 82-year-old. Panels were hung high on the wall and Roosman used scaffolding to reach the top. When his shoulders tired from painting on the scaffolding, he would get down and work on the bottom, which was hard on his knees.

“Uku, you stay,” he says with a deceptively stern voice to the big fluffy dog that he dotes on and spoils with saltines and potato chips. Uku obeys reluctantly, while Roosman and I climb three flights of steep stairs. When we reach the ‘big’ studio (there’s a smaller one downstairs that doubles as the artist’s bedroom), he points out a contraption bolted high up on the wall, from which he hung the panels of the mural while he worked on them, using scaffolding to reach the top. He admits it was a physically demanding project.

Roosman’s contributions to Bancroft have extended to his membership in A Place for the Arts, located in the “old Whitfield Building”, where he is regarded as something of a mentor to other local artists like painter Linda Lang.

“When on top of the scaffolding there was a lot of shoulder work. When I got tired I’d climb down to the bottom of the scaffolding. But at the bottom there was a lot of knee bending.”

About 10 years ago Roosman fell from a ladder at the Bancroft Art Gallery and broke his knee.

Just a few months later, though, he traveled to his old home of Sweden, to waltz with his daughter at her wedding.

“I still walk about 700 to 900 km per year,” he says, explaining his good health. “I keep a day

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Roosman and Uku sit on the front porch of his home on the York River, which offers a spectacular view of Eagle’s Nest.

book to keep track of the figures. I’m 20 km short from this time last year. When I get behind I think, ‘Oh, I’d better start walking more’, but one does get behind year after year.”

Up and down the staircases he went. Up and down the scaffolding. Day after day, week after week, month after month, until the mural was finished.

“It was a surprise,” says the painter about the finished product. Because the panels were so large, he never saw more than three sections together until it

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Personal Support Worker

Roosman shows a portrait he painted of his father, who was also an artist and taught Arne his craft.

was all assembled on the side of the old Whitfield building. It’s the largest piece he’s ever worked on, so he refers to the mural as his Sistine Chapel, and therefore calls Chamberlin his “Pope” with a chuckle.

Over the past couple of years, Chamberlin and his wife, Ingrid, have put a lot of work into their building. The facade was improved, and not long afterward work began on a boardwalk along the west side of the building. Now if you go for a stroll you can gaze out at the river, or turn around and see the mural that tells so much about the history of Bancroft.

In what has come to be known as Bancroft’s Theatre District, due to its close proximity to the historic Village Playhouse just a block away, the old building is full of new life. One of the units has recently been leased out by an artists’ collective, and is simply called ‘A Place for the Arts.’ Arne is a member, naturally, and though he doesn’t spend too much time there, the other artists that share the space are pleased to rub elbows with him.

“It’s so great to have him here in a kind of mentorship role,” says Linda Lang, a local painter who travels frequently to the Arctic Circle to document the visual changes happening there due to climate change.

“He has so much to share with other artists, and he’s just a wonderful, wonderful soul,” Lang says. She tells me that she once tried to compliment Roosman on his work, and that he shrugged it off, saying he doesn’t need the praise and he’d like to see emerging artists get more representation and recognition.

“He is very supportive of other artists’ work.

And really, that’s what ‘A Place for the Arts’ is all about,” says Lang of the space where artists mingle, work, and display their art.

“Hopefully the long term use of the building will evolve as a home for artists,” says Chamberlin. “To us, the mural was a natural addition reflecting the historical character of the building and its location.

We didn’t originally intend that it would attract an artists’ collective, but once we learned of the group’s plans and needs, meetings were held and ideas incubated. To Ingrid and I, the mural and the arts centre are a perfect fit.”

As if creating a giant mural telling the history of a town wasn’t a big enough project, Roosman also completed two series of paintings while working on the mural. They won’t be on display until his upcoming exhibit at the Bancroft Art Gallery in October, but I got a sneak peak. And another history lesson.

One series of paintings depicts the York River, which of course runs through the town, and right past the mural as well as Rooseman’s home/studio.

The second series is a retrospective of Roosman’s childhood. He was just a boy when Russia invaded Estonia. He, his parents, and his seven brothers and sisters had to flee in 1941, becoming refugees in Germany, where they stayed throughout the war.

He was eight years old.

In each painting “there is a little boy’, usually up to some sort of mischief, like plotting with his friends, running from the Gestapo, and rolling barrels of oil down the hill at Nazi tanks.

“Who is the little boy?” I ask.

“The little boy is always me,” he replies, and tells the stories. True stories. Stories of abusive Nazi teachers; other children poking fun at him for his Estonian accent; stories of stealing flowers for Mother’s Day, and tormenting little sisters for sport. The paintings and their tales feature normal childhood shenanigans set upon the backdrop of a perilous wartime that few people remember firsthand anymore.

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

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A panel from the mural shows a boat travelling on the York River. The men depicted have historical connections to Bancroft but Roosman added the woman.

“Women weren’t often included in the histories,” he says, “but their contributions were just as important.”

Outside on his deck overlooking the river, Roosman shows me his battleship sculpture. It’s made of solid iron.

“This is how all battleships should be built,” he says quietly. “Built to sink.”

A couple of feet from the battleship there is another sculpture, of a double-headed mantis, and there beside it is an old handle, hanging from a metal chain. When I ask, he tells me that the last time he returned to Estonia he visited his childhood home. He found the root cellar and ripped the handle off to bring home as a keepsake.

After fleeing Estonia, his family spent seven years in Germany before moving on to Sweden.

He remembers when the allies liberated the Jews from the concentration camps.

“They ran through the streets, tapping on windows and asking for clothes. They’d been stuck in these dirty striped uniforms that the Nazis had made them wear. The next morning the streets were littered with striped uniforms. But those resourceful German ladies, they picked them all up. They washed them, dyed them brown and cut them up. For the rest of that year all the women wore brown skirts.”

He shows me the visual representation of this story in one of his paintings. A little boy looks out

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The mural on the west side of the building is only part of the upgrade undertaken by owner Burke Chamberlin and his wife Ingrid. The façade was improved and a boardwalk added.

the window at desperate, skeletal faces. There is a loaf of bread on the table next to him.

“Did they ask for food?” I ask.

“No. The allies fed them well, and took care of them. They just wanted clothes. They needed to get out of those stripes.”

I want him to talk forever, and share these details that I will learn nowhere else. This is why people fall into a hush when he speaks. He tells his his-

tory matter-of-factly, with a calm that only years of observance and reflection can bring. He answers questions with a poetry equally as captivating as his painting.

“Arne, how often do you paint?” I ask near the end of our interview.

“Everyday, of course,” he says. “I have to. My hands shake if I don’t.”

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

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Andrew (l) and Adam Gray cut their teeth on some wide ranging and unusual projects before finding mainstream success with Fly Colt Fly.

Flying High

W

Belleville brothers see film fortunes rise

BY ANG EL A HA WN • P H OTO S CO U RTE SY A DA M A N D A N D R EW G R AY

hat happens when a troubled teen escapes a halfway house and goes on a wild breaking and entering spree? Throw in a series of chase scenes involving stolen muscle cars, high speed boats and even the odd airplane or two. Now imagine the culprit’s flying skills are self-taught, lessons picked up from internet downloads and a few “borrowed” flight manuals. Nickname him the “Barefoot Bandit”due to a lack of footwear and picture him living rough,

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Country Roads • Fall 2014

camping out with pet dog in tow, right beneath the very noses of the authorities trying to capture him.

Folk hero or criminal? How about genius simply gone astray? When the media gets hold of the story, public debate rages and a new American legend is born.

Sounds like a pretty good plot for a movie, doesn’t it? That’s certainly what Hastings County film making brothers Adam and Andrew Gray thought when they first stumbled across Colton Harris Moore’s story while researching back-

ground information for a script based on Billy the Kid. Plug words like “young American bandit” into any internet search engine and watch what happens. When the brothers ran up against Colton’s name time and time again, their intrigue grew. How could two storytellers already knee deep in facts about one outlaw long gone resist a similar tale involving a contemporary delinquent, alive and well and still on the lam?

“I think six airplanes in the United States were stolen one year and four of them were stolen

by this kid,” marvels Andrew, or Drew as he is known to those closest to him.

The result? Fly Colt Fly, the duo’s most ambitious project to date, arrived on the big screen last February, playing first at Toronto’s Lightbox Theatre as part of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) Next Wave and later, at the Royal Cinema on College Street. When the movie made its triumphant return eastward, the brothers got a chance to show their creative chops to the hometown crowd at Belleville’s Downtown Docfest.

But even before Fly Colt Fly made it to Next Wave, a small but growing fanbase had fallen in love with Colton’s story. Adam notes the Toronto festival actually got in touch in with them and asked the brothers to submit their film. Aimed at teenagers, the event’s selection committee and

Filming of Fly Colt Fly took the crew to a variety of captivating locations on the west coast and in the Caribbean, and helped give the movie a visual splendor.

pool of judges consists entirely of young people ages 14 to 18, a group eager to identify with the documentary’s youthful main character.

“I had a guy come up gushing nice things to say about the movie, saying he had never heard of this story before because he was too young,” laughs Adam, explaining Colton Harris Moore’s name hit the news around 2010, hardly ancient history.

But start thinking the movie’s plotline strictly targets the teenaged set and you’d be sadly mistaken. Considering the number of grey heads filling seats at Belleville’s Pinnacle Theatre, the film clearly appeals to the young and not-soyoung alike.

“It feels great to have people recognize it,” Drew says of the recent announcement proclaiming Fly Colt Fly winner of Belleville’s Audience Choice Award.

“We hadn’t had a lot of interaction with local film makers before the festival,” admits Adam, exclaiming over the wealth of great material which wound up on the sold-out Docfest pro-

The Gray brothers stumbled across Colton Harris Moore’s story while researching background information for a script based on Billy the Kid.

gram. “I was surprised to see how many people are making films around here; there’s really some top quality stuff.”

And putting out top quality stuff pretty much sums up the Gray brothers’ goal. Inspired early on by a mutual obsession for Batman comics and Rambo-type action movies, the duo has always enjoyed stories with larger than life characters.

In fact, Adam insists that particular childhood fascination really hasn’t changed much over the years; he still reads comics on a regular basis with his own two kids.

Those who know the brothers well won’t be surprised to see that passion for comics surface in Fly Colt Fly. A blend of interviews, stock news footage, re-enactments and animation, the movie often takes on a graphic novel feel.

“He was a kid acting like he was in a comic book,” Drew says, explaining some of the thinking behind the format choice. “Maybe he even saw himself as some kind of comic book superhero.”

But working their way through decisions like what the film should look like and which project Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 15

The brothers’ film The Nightmare was based on Adam’s experiences with “Sleep Paralysis” and was part of a series on the paranormal that aired on Vision TV. Filming took Adam and Andrew to the island of Zanzibar and featured an unusual encounter with a local “healer.”

to tackle comes easily to this duo. They make a natural team. Was there ever any Smothers Brothers “Mom always liked you best” type of rivalry between the two? Absolutely not, according to both Adam and Andrew. They’ve always gotten along. So no big surprise the pair chose similar career paths, eventually coming together to tell their own stories on film.

“Aside from some normal older brother torture stuff when we were teenagers, we’ve always been close,” chuckles 41-year-old Adam, just edging out 38-year-old Drew for big brother status. “We went to university together, we were roommates for years and we still share a hotel room when we go on the road.”

When Adam decided to pursue post-secondary studies in theatre arts, Drew turned to literature and the brothers’ future fate as storytellers kicked

into gear. Kid-sized ambitions dreamed up while still students at Queen Elizabeth P.S., Belleville Collegiate Institute and Moira Secondary School began to grow legs and take some pretty big steps. Throw in dual stints at Concordia University’s film school, some early work in the world of television, a little bit of luck, a whole lot of perseverance and the future dawns increasingly bright for two Belleville guys who get to call film making their day job.

But careers in the movie business don’t just crop up overnight. Long before Fly Colt Fly got off the ground the brothers put in time paying their dues, cutting some film industry teeth on a series of wide-ranging and unusual projects. Fresh out of university, Adam headed to Toronto for four years, working on a couple of series for the Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network (APTN) and

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making corporate videos for an underground pipe inspection company.

“One time in Libya the company had ordered us to stop work because the [Libyan] government was refusing to pay us,” says Adam, recalling some scary moments with the pipe inspectors. “We were stuck underground and I remember thinking we could die out here under the desert and no one would ever know.”

Back home, the brothers found employment documenting the grand opening of Belleville’s Empire Theatre for long-time family friend and theatreowner Mark Rashotte. Soon that job evolved into a series of gigs filming DVDs and electronic press kits (EPKs) for various Empire performers and suddenly the pair found themselves rubbing elbows with the likes of Michael Kaeshammer, Jesse Cook and the well-known funk band, Tower of Power.

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potential story. He immediately got up, headed to the computer and started googling his symptoms.

It turns out “Sleep Paralysis”occurs in cultures the world over. Always ready to chase down authentic footage, the brothers soon found themselves in Africa, documenting the plight of an entire community on the island of Zanzibar besieged by psychological torment, too frightened to sleep.

When Adam entrusted his own fate to a local “healer”, Drew captured some pretty strange moments on film. The “healer’s” remedy? He sank his teeth so deep into the flesh of Adam’s stomach, the marks lasted for months.

Interesting stuff, but like all good storytellers, neither brother gives up much in the way of a personal opinion about the healer’s powers. Adam concedes the Zanzibar local might simply have been toying with him, having a good laugh at a foreign visitor’s expense. Then again, maybe not.

Either way, the man sure provided some great cinematic moments and isn’t that what it’s all about?

Letting the audience draw its own conclusions equals great storytelling technique.

That desire to put out the best story possible drives the entire team behind the making of Fly Colt Fly. Those familiar with the Gray brothers’ work might recognize a few names in the credits. Oscar nominated producers Paul Stephens and Eric Jordan have worked with the brothers since 2007. Cousin Sean Fritz composed and recorded the original score and shares Director of Photography credits with Drew. And Adam’s young brotherin-law, Tom Spence plays the role of the Barefoot Bandit himself.

“We really put Tom through his paces,” chuckles Adam. “I think his feet got pretty chewed up and he got stung by jellyfish twice when we were filming in the Bahamas.”

So where will storytelling take this team next?

Documentaries are great, but both brothers have long shared a keen interest in fiction. Perhaps they’ll co-write a graphic novel, maybe film it eventually, Adam muses. Who knows? Both

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But the money wasn’t exactly pouring in and the duo was always on the lookout for more work in their field. An advertisement in the back pages of a film industry magazine prompted Adam to send off a demo tape and the next job for the brothers materialized just across the Bay in Prince Edward County.

“My wife was pregnant with our first child and I thought I needed to make more money,” chuckles Adam. “A lot of Toronto friends thought it was crazy to leave the city, but lo and behold, I broke in from Belleville.”

Both brothers credit Bloomfield’s Whistlestop Productions with providing yet another opportunity to further hone their film making skills.

While Adam hit the road, documenting the exciting details involved in various racing events for a series called Pit Crews, Drew edited the show from homebase. Think NASCAR, motorcycles, pretty much any race involving wheels and a motor. A popular TV piece, the series picked up fans around the world.

Always on the lookout for new projects, this writing and directing team next focused their sights on the strange and even downright creepy, filming several documentaries on the paranormal for Vision TV. The first one, called The Nightmare, evolved from Adam’s first-hand experience with a phenomenon known as “Sleep Paralysis.”

Startled from a sound sleep one night, the elder Gray brother found himself unable to breathe or make any noise whatsoever, convinced a strange ghost-like figure at the foot of the bed aimed to suck the very life out of him.

“I’ve had guns pointed at me in Central America and been charged by a bear,” laughs Adam, ticking off a list guaranteed to panic most. “But this was absolutely terrifying, a feeling something was very wrong, a sense of dread. Then my wife woke up, swatted me on the arm and told me I was having a nightmare.”

Where many might simply contemplate sleeping with the lights on, the film maker in Adam saw a

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I 17

on to Washington for Seattle’s International Film Festival, where the doc was warmly reviewed by the Hollywood Reporter and was on the “mustsee” list of a number of major local media outlets, the same that had first reported on Colton’s exploits a few years earlier.

Perhaps all bandits, comic book or otherwise, just can’t resist returning to the scene of the crime.

There will be a free screening of Fly Colt Fly at Belleville’s Empire Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 27 as part of Quinte Cultural Days. For more info visit tourism.bayofquinte.ca.

•

A longtime fascination with comic books for both Adam and Andrew was part of the inspiration for the use of animated sequences in the movie.

Grays come across as ‘Seize the Day’ types.

Whatever story comes their way, they’re sure to make the most of it.

In the meantime, Fly Colt Fly has been in flight once again, taking the brothers far away from the

production studio set up in Adam’s sprawling East Hill home. The film was shown in June and July on The Movie Network while two more festivals have screened their latest work. In May the brothers flew first to Vancouver for DOXA, then

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2014 • Country Roads I

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Makin’ Waves Marine ............................. 27

Madawaska Art Shop.............................. 26

Loyalist College Bancroft Campus ......... 25

Real Estate Limited ................................. 24

Kim Hadwen, Realtor, Century 21 Lanthorn

Frank Real Estate .................................... 23

Ken Hendren, Realtor, Royal LePage

Frank Real Estate .................................... 22

Kathy Tripp, Broker, Royal LePage

Hosking Motorsports .............................. 21

Granite Restaurant.................................. 20

Glanmore National Historic Site ............. 19

Gilmour’s Meat Shop and Deli ............... 18

Gallo-Teck .............................................. 17

Empire Cheese ....................................... 16

Dr. Doug Smith & Assoc. ........................ 15

Discovery Dream Homes ........................ 14

David in Bancroft Carpentry ................... 13

Craftsman Restaurant ............................. 12

Cottagerentals247.com .......................... 11

CleanRite ................................................ 10

Bunker’s Bistro & Bar .............................. 9

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33

37 46

34 44 52

27 28 30 32

20 22 23 25

Joe VanVeenen Map

Zihua Clothing Boutique ........................ 52

Black River Trading Company................. 7

13

Wilton Cheese ........................................ 51

Bancroft Just Wine & Beer ..................... 6

40

Wells Ford .............................................. 50

of Commerce .......................................... 5

11

Welcome Wagon .................................... 49

Bancroft & District Chamber

6

Tikit Visuals ............................................. 48

Audrey’s Odds & Finds ........................... 4

5

The Apple Store Cooney Farms ............. 47

Ashlie’s Books ......................................... 3

3

Teddy Bear Bed & Breakfast ................... 46

Ampersand Productions ......................... 2

17 26

Synergy Artisan Gallery .......................... 45

Bakery & Café ......................................... 1

Boutique Inspiration ............................... 8

Stone Kitchen ......................................... 44

Advertiser Index

Country Roads - Celebrating Life in Hastings County wallmap

A Little Taste of Paradise

Country Roads • Fall 2014

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38 42 48

2 14 35

CAMPBELLFORD

16

PETERBOROUGH

14

8

47

29

9

1

36

7

18

24 31 39

10 15 19 21

15 43 50

41

4

41

NAPANEE

45

ODESSA

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celebrating life in hastings county

Roads

hastings county

CR Country

P.O. Box 423, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0 P: 613 395-0499 • F: 613 395-0903 E: info@countryroadshastings.ca www.countryroadshastings.ca

celebrating life in hastings county

Country Roads

celebrating life in hastings county

Stirling Manor ......................................... 43

Country Roads

Steven Switzer Construction ................... 42

Steinberg Dental Centres ...................... 41

South Algonquin Resort & Cottages ...... 40

Ruttle Bros. Furniture .............................. 39

Red Steer Butcher Shop ......................... 37

HASTINGS COUNTY SHOPS & celebrating county Remax Quinte .........................................

38life in hastings SERVICES

Possibilities ............................................. 36

Country Roads

Outdoor Awareness Landscaping .......... 35

Old Tin Shed .......................................... 34

Old Hastings Mercantile & Gallery ......... 33

North Hastings Family Pharmacy ........... 32

Moira Glass-Mirror Ltd............................ 31

Mixin’ Mommas Cafe.............................. 30

McKeown Motor Sales ........................... 29

Market Café & Fudge Factory ................ 28

Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 21

A way of

life

Sport fishing vital to North Hastings Story and photos by Sarah Vance

Anglers launch at the public boat launch off Old L’Amable Road at the dam and travel under the causeway at Highway 62 south to access 178 hectares of prime walleye, pike and small mouth bass fishing on L’Amable Lake.

W

iWith hundreds of lakes and dozens of fish species North Hastings is a four-season playground for local anglers and a destination for sport fishing tourists in pursuit of that trophy catch.

Almost 50 percent of North Hastings is crown land with dense woodlands connected to trails and access roads that separate at brooks and rivers.

“There is an abundance of beautiful, pristine stocked lakes with very little development and a diversity of fish species and fishing experiences,” says Erin McDonald, a biologist with the MNR in Bancroft. “Small remote brook trout lakes and larger road accessible lakes where trolling for bass or lake trout is common make this area an exceptional fishing destination.”

Public docking points reached by truck and trailer to remote shorelines accessible by snowmobile trails and on foot, with backpacks, ATV’s and hip waders, allow North Hastings’ 150,000 annual sport fishing tourists to customize their expeditions.

22 I

Country Roads • Fall 2014

“It’s a perfect destination for all ages and abilities because of the variety of fish species, the number of bodies of water and the diverse conditions,” says Karen Challinor, who runs Red Eagle Family Campground on Wollaston Lake, in Coe Hill. “Our lake alone has so much diversity that any age and skill level enjoys themselves.”

Quick and inexpensive getaways are a North Hastings specialty, providing a taste of the wild for anglers who travel across the continent to test their skills where 40-pound bass and muskie are netted.

“Many of my guests are from the GTA and Quinte region, but about 25 percent are from Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and even Florida and Texas,” says George Offshack, owner of Limerick Lake Lodge, north of Madoc, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization.

“And for the first time in a lot of years, on Monday, July 7, I had more USA plates in the parking lot than Ontario plates.”

••• North Hastings’ water systems offer unique histories and landscapes. One of North Hastings’ more expansive lakes, Baptiste (Kijicho Manito), is part of a system of lakes, which combines Benoir and Elephant to offer 40 miles of boat and shoreline bass, pike and walleye fishing, sprawled between three different municipalities. At the High Falls dam, in Hastings Highlands, Baptiste becomes a rapidly moving mouth to the York River, which winds into the Town of Bancroft giving way to rapids, chutes and glacial sandbars.

By Boulter, the York River blurs aquatic and terrestrial lines forming miles of exquisite peat bogs and grasslands, which captured Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson’s gaze in his painting Conroy Marsh. Once a fishing village, in the 1900’s Conroy Marsh supported a thriving frog leg and pelt industry where upwards of 600 bull frogs were shipped daily through Barry’s Bay

Quick and ­inexpensive getaways are a North ­Hastings specialty, ­providing a taste of the wild for anglers who travel across the continent to test their skills where 40-pound bass and muskie are ­netted.

Located on Hysert Road, the North Hastings Fish Hatchery works to engage the community in the management and stewardship of local fishery resources and to ensure they are available for the enjoyment and use of present and future generations.

Pure water from four drilled wells is re-circulated through the Hatchery tanks, passing through a drum, which captures and removes all of the coarse sentiment using a screen. Water is sprayed at different intervals onto the drum to free the screen of debris so it won’t become clogged. It then passes into a tank where it is filtered with bio-balls and biologically cleaned before returning to the fish tanks. The NHCFH is the only facility in Ontario using this innovative technology.

Children under the age of 16 can fish anywhere in Ontario without a license. Small and large mouth bass provide fun sport fishing challenges for children, whose joy in fishing leads to new generations of conservationists.

and then onto New York, where they were distributed to upscale restaurants.

Now a destination for sport fishing adventurists the river’s portages and rapids provide a route to the St. Lawrence Seaway. It’s a ghostly winding channel, which holds the secrets of the lumber trade’s many labourers, who fell between logs to lose their lives in the river.

rounding communities benefit as visitors spend dollars on fishing supplies, fuel and food during their stay.”

In Ontario sport fishing is a $2.3 billion dollar a year industry, according to Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association data published in 2000, with hunting and fishing license sales representing 70 percent of the total provincial Ministry of Natural Resources operating budget. Statistics Canada reports that anglers spend an average of $119 a day in the communities where they fish, which is coincidently, almost exactly the same amount of pounds of fish that Kuiack filleted at the Bay Lake derby.

••• “I have never been lost,” says fishing guide Frank Kuiack, grabbing a fish from the bucket, cutting it open and removing the scales and skeleton on

the shores of Bay Lake. “There is always a tree, on the skyline, which I can use to find my direction in the wilderness.”

Kuiack, who guides in the Algonquin Park interior learned young that there was more money in guide fishing than working in lumber mills. A local legend, Kuiack’s clients have included the likes of Walt Disney and his stories have been published in The Last Guide, by Ron Corbett.

“At the Visitor Information Centre in Bancroft, we have frequent inquiries about fishing activities,” says Kim Burke of the Bancroft Chamber of Commerce. “Accommodators receive the greatest benefit from anglers, however, the sur-

Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 23

Starting in December and lasting until the second week of April, sport ice fishing draws anglers who use ATVs and snowmobiles to access ice covered lakes, drill holes with electric augers and use set-lines and jig-lines to fish for rainbow trout.

Algonquin Park’s “Last Guide,” Frank Kuiack holds the key to Ontario’s oldest provincial park fishing secrets, having guiding anglers into the park’s interior for his entire life. Using an electric knife, he filleted 119 pounds of rock bass at the Annual Bay Lake Rock Bass Derby in Faraday.

Photo by Jeff Neuman

When you catch 100 pounds of fish before lunch it can make for an excellent fish fry. Families pack bug spray, life jackets, sunscreen, worms and fishing poles into their boats before setting out. Bass and sunfish are caught and weighed at check-in zones as anglers compete for prizes before combining the catch for a communal shore lunch.

While derbies are a way to equalize the balance of predatory fish in lakes, they underscore the fact that fishing is a way of life in North Hastings.

Fishing feeds families and provides the occasion for sharing lineage between generations.

••• It is a Tuesday morning at the North Hastings Community Fish Hatchery, on Hysert Road in

Bancroft. A van is arriving with a group of secondary school students returning from an egg collection at Weslemkoon Lake. In the conference room, participants are learning fly fish tying. MNR biologists are teaching students how to inventory fingerlings, while volunteers count and weigh fry, then calculate their feed requirements. A different group is leaving to monitor oxygen levels in the tanks on the way to a release site.

When it isn’t students conducting research at the Hatchery, you will find visitors and tourists moving through the facility as part of a handson Nature Discovery Tour, looking at the more than 3,000 specimens, from eggs in incubators to fingerlings in tanks. Discovery Tours and educational programs between the Hatchery and community agencies like the local high school

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Country Roads • Fall 2014

promote awareness and disseminate information on local fisheries management.

“The NHCFH and NHHS have a remarkable working relationship,” says Ken Dostaler, principal of the North Hastings High School. “Students assist with numerous responsibilities associated with the hatchery and many of our students move on to post secondary outdoor and environment based programs, thanks to the hatchery and the curriculum taught in Northern Outdoor Studies (NOS) and Northern Environmental Research Development Studies (NERDS).”

Set along roaming hills, donated by conservationists Mary and Dennis Le Feuvre, NHCFH is a state-of-the-art fish culture research facility and education centre run by volunteers, in consultation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Bancroft and Area Stewardship Council.

“Community-based fish culture is built on a foundation of passion, dedication and genuine concern for resource management,” says Shane Wood of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. “Community hatcheries, like NHCFH, raise public fish for public waters, get communities engaged in fisheries management and double as community learning centres where youth are educated.”

A not-for-profit charitable organization, the Hatchery is a labour of love for volunteers who contribute 8,300 hours annually to running the only facility with a recirculation system of its kind in Ontario, in addition to overseeing its administrative functions, which include fundraising, the annual Pig and Lamb roast dinner and the sale of community memberships.

NHCFH stocking results have been impressive. Since opening in 2006, the Hatchery has

“Community Futures has been a proud supporter of the Hatchery since the beginning.”

By promoting and supporting conservation efforts that protect and enhance local fisheries NHCFH provides opportunities for the community to become involved in fisheries management and participate in a unique aquaculture history.

“The North Hastings Fish Hatchery plays a key role through its hatching and stocking program to enhance the recreational fishing experience,” says Paul Jenkins, Chair of the North Hastings Economic Development Committee and a Councillor for the Town of Bancroft. “We must move to the next step and undertake a marketing campaign to let the fishing community know what a great facility we have in the Hatchery and the benefits to all types of anglers.”

It’s a role that anyone can play, by purchasing a $40 annual membership, becoming a volunteer or booking a tour to see this rural research facility in action.•

CLOSEDS Y MONDA

Limerick Lake Lodge is set on a spectacular system of lakes, which includes Mephisto and St Ola Lake. This busy active lodge is the gateway for anglers who access miles of perch and bass fishing. It is also one of the last marinas in the area with an extensive shoreline of covered boat slips that glide majestically, as moving structures along the shore.

released 68,500 native Jewel lake trout and an additional 2,915 native Brook trout for a total of 71,415 fish into local lakes.

“NHCFH is having a significant impact on the region’s lakes and has been very involved in helping the local MNR office meet its objective of rehabilitating the lake trout fishery in the area,” says MacDonald. “Lake trout in this area are known to be ‘genetically distinct’, which means they have evolved in local lakes since glacial times and that same strain persists in lakes today. They are a high conservation concern and the NHCFH is assisting in their preservation.”

This genetically distinct species, along with all of North Hastings’ marine life, plays a vital and dynamic role in the health and prosperity of the community by increasing the area’s attractiveness to visitors, generating greater and longer fishing seasons, and by presenting challenges for sport fishermen.

“By sustaining healthy trout populations, NHCFH enhances a recreational experience that attracts visitors and supports related tourism businesses leading to a healthier regional economy,” says Rob Price, Chair of the Community Futures Corporation in North Hastings.

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 25

ARTISANS AT HAND

Healing art

Rebecca Maracle follows family calling STORY AND PHOTOS BY SHARON HENDERSON

Rebecca Maracle started doing her own feather work 22 years ago, maintaining a strong history in her ­family as both an artist but also as a healer. The artistic expression came first, but as she developed her skills her path became clearer. “It is almost like my artistic side and the healing side of me were really two sides for a very long time,” she explains. “I started to delve into the medicine part of me, I could not deny the things that I saw or the things that I heard or felt. I looked inside myself to determine what it was that I wanted to do and the path became clear.”

What is your craft?

I am a third generation Mohawk feathersmith from Tyendinaga. I am bear clan and the bear clan people of our culture are the medicine people. I come from a long line of medicine healers. I work with energy. Whatever it is that spirit guides me to use, I use. My Mohawk (Kanyen’kéha) name, given to me by my grandfather when I was a baby, is Karakwine which means “she brings the light.” I look at my art as little pieces of light. I am a lightworker. I bring the light.

Why did you choose this field of expression?

I kind of didn’t choose it, it was chosen for me.

I could have chosen to do anything I wanted to do, but I listened to the universe, to what Spirit told me to do; it showed me what I was supposed to do.

It was what I was exposed to, but I gravitated to it. It was introduced to me, but it was something that I chose to continue to do.

I have always wanted to be involved with the medical field in some way. My Scottish grandmother was a nurse, my great grandmother was a nurse, and my people on my mother’s side are all medicine people, which are healers. My great great grandfather on my mom’s side was one of the medicine men on the reserve here. In order

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to know who we are and where we are going, we first need to know who we come from and where we come from.

How did you learn your craft? Do you have any training?

I would not say I really had any training. I learned by watching and listening to my mother and to my grandfather. He would always say, “Whatever the mind can conceive, with effort your hands will achieve.” It was relevant in everything my grandfather touched. He brought it to life.

I learned a lot of the making of the craft from my dad’s side of the family. I get a lot of the medicine from my mom’s side of the family.

I may not do things the way the book says, but I haven’t had any complaints about how I work my medicine.

What feathers do you use?

There is so much variety in the feathers. I work with ring-necked pheasant, reeves venery pheasant, lady amherst’s pheasant, golden pheasant, hen pheasant, partridge, peacock, owl, grouse, anything and everything that I can get my hands on to use, I will.

I found an owl on the side of [Highway] 401. I stopped, drove back, went across the three lanes

of traffic and rescued it. I honoured that bird because it was being driven over, car after car after car. I saw the soul that it was, the life it lived and how it was taken, but I chose to honour it instead of letting it be completely forgotten. I made a beautiful piece and I sold it to a man who stood in my booth and cried. He said, “Sometimes people can be forgotten and it is good that we honour the souls.”

I get my feathers from all over the place. I’ll come home and find bags hooked on my doorknob from the hunters. My uncle used to raise pheasants and I get feathers from a man that raises them for meat.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

Coming up with the designs. I’m very meticulous about how I design my pieces. Even the placement of the feathers means something. With birds, the left side and the right side are mirror images. For me finding those matches is all about balance.

Sometimes I will face the feathers inward and this is about nurturing self. Sometimes I will face the feathers outward and this is about the abundance of what we have to go out and be what it needs to be.

All of what I talk about I put in those pieces. It is simple beauty, it is simple truth. I love what I

do. I could not imagine doing anything else, I am not supposed to and it always comes back to this.

When we are diligent to maintaining, balancing, loving, and keeping healthy all four parts of who we are: our physical, our mental, our emotional, and our spiritual, when we try our hardest every day to balance those things out, the reward to us is answers that come quick. Our reward for the job that we do every day, to keep ourselves in balance, is a little more understanding, a little more awareness for the divine creation around us. It is as simple as that. This world and this society that we live in in this day and age make it difficult for us to spiritually exist.

What is the most memorable compliment you have received regarding your work?

from all of my helpers/angels that have helped me create these pieces. When somebody walks into my booth and I make them cry. They cry and it lets me know that they feel at home in my space. It’s starting to happen more and more and more. I view that as a job well done. I’ve done what I’m meant to do.

What wisdom do you possess that might be useful for those interested in pursuing a vocation in quality craftsmanship?

Sometimes people will be put in your path to kick you because the universe knows what you possess. Do not listen to what other people say. Know that negativity has the ability to work against you if you allow it.

The challenge is to try every day to do what our gut tells us to do. If you have to stop and ask yourself, “should I or shouldn’t I?” you already know the answer.

Be thankful for what you have got. Walk with grace. Walk with gratefulness. If you can do that, you can bring a light to others. The more light we have in this world, the better off we are going to be.

How can people access the fruits of your labour? www.rebeccamaracle.ca, L’il Crow Native Art Gallery on Bayshore Road, The Sacred Circle on Highway 49, and at various powwows and events.

•

It happens all the time and every time it happens I feel like I am getting this giant pat on the back Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 27

Rebuilding a community

Pronk serves Queensborough with hands and heart

By John Hopkins

The store in 1948, when it was owned by the Anderson family. The structure was actually moved to its current location from across the street, on logs, when the original building burned down.

Photo courtesy Pronk Canada Inc.

A

fter almost 30 years, the old General Store in Queensborough is a hub of activity again.

Townsfolk mingle to talk about the weather, look at the flyers on the bulletin board or use the phone. The difference, however, is that the historic old building is not serving as the general store. It is now Pronk Canada Inc. – Queensborough Machine Shop, a business owned and operated by 47-year-old Jos Pronk, a native of The Netherlands, and his wife Mary Kay. Boiling down the services offered by Pronk Canada or encapsulating Jos Pronk’s skills in a single phrase is not an easy task. While a large part of the business involves repairing farm equipment, Jos himself is something of a Renaissance Man. He will not only repair machinery, but is able to design and manufacture replacement parts. He is an inventor. He designs and manufactures artistic

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ironwork. As a child he emerged as a gifted artist, and his workshop hums with the soothing tones of classical music, which he says puts him in the proper frame of mind to work. As a hobby he enjoys tinkering with old hi-fis, and he is in the process of improving his carpentry skills as he and Mary Kay work to refurbish the old general store, with a view to opening it as a Bed & Breakfast down the road.

Pronk’s perspective on life and work can be traced to three key influences. He grew up in a family of dairy farmers and lived in a house built in 1570 – considered a national heritage site by the Dutch government – which has given him an appreciation for old homes and the pastoral life.

His father instilled in him the importance of being as independent as possible. And when he was 12 years old his older brother, 16 at the time, died of bone cancer.

“That dramatic experience made me think of life so differently,” Pronk says of his brother’s death.

“Why do something you don’t like? You shouldn’t be doing something that causes stress. I am so lucky that I learned a trade I love.”

He is a difficult man to cubbyhole. Imposingly tall and slender, Pronk at first seems to fit the image of a rigidly severe and serious scientific mind, a quiet man who thinks in terms of numbers, equations and tolerances. But after only a little conversation that cloak disappears, and one is also aware of an artist’s appreciation of the natural world and a strong sense of community and history.

Standing contentedly in the recently restored living area of the general store, looking out a window that perfectly frames the Black River across the street, Pronk emphasizes the picturesque scene.

Top. On any given day the area outside the shop will feature an array of farm equipment on hand waiting for Jos Pronk’s attention.

Photo courtesy Pronk Canada Inc

Bottom. Pronk’s inventiveness and creativity have led him to tackle some interesting projects, such as building this Toyota Land Cruiser for a client.

Photo courtesy Pronk Canada Inc.

“We [Mary Kay and I] love what nature has offered us here,” he reflects. “That view is like art, but you don’t have to pay for it. This village is like a secret place.”

As a child Pronk loved to draw but his career path went along a more practical line. By the age of 16 he was a licensed welder and upon finishing university, at 21, he found a position with a packaging company that allowed him to unleash his creative skills as well.

“I was given the job of inventing a new machine for packaging, and I loved it; it was great,” he recalls.

“I was given my own office and left on my own and I was able to invent. It was wonderful to have that trust put in me.”

In 1992 Pronk immigrated to Canada, enticed by the opportunities offered to skilled trades people.

“There was a high demand for European tool and die makers,” he explains. “Canadian companies were looking for trades people. My family had always had strong connections to Canada and Ontario. Two of my father’s brothers had immigrated to Canada in the 1950s and I have 38 first cousins in Ontario alone.”

Pronk got a job with automotive parts supplier Magna International and he worked there until 2005, machining parts. It was during his time at Magna that he came across the old general store in Queensborough, which he purchased in 1995.

“I had a cousin who also worked at Magna who had bought a farm in this area,” Pronk says. “It was a power of sale by the bank. Having grown up in a heritage home, I’ve always appreciated older buildings. When I bought the place it was torn up and empty. The fixtures were gone, there were bats living in it. I think I carried out three or four wheelbarrows of sand. Queensborough was virtually a ghost town.

There was only one other place occupied.”

Top Right. Jos Pronk bought the old general store in Queensborough in 1995 and opened up his machine shop on the premises 10 years later.

Photo by John Hopkins

Bottom Right. Pronk has maintained a tangible link with the past by keeping the old safe from the general store, which dates back to 1855.

Photo courtesy Pronk Canada Inc.

Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 29

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Initially Pronk spent his time commuting between Queensborough and his job at Magna, staying in the Toronto area during the week and enjoying his country retreat on weekends. Often, when he returned from his work week, he would have dinner at a small local restaurant. That is where he met Mary Kay, a native of Marysville, near Deseronto, who encouraged him to turn the old general store into his own machine shop.

“That was my dream from the beginning, to open up my own machining business,” Pronk says. “My wife said, ‘If you build it, they will come.’ Her being from the area helped. And her family had owned a small, local business, so she was used to the environment.”

The building Pronk acquired has an interesting two-part history. The “back” part of the structure, with the peaked roof, actually existed across the street from its current location and was known as the Moorcroft Store. It dates from the early 1800s.

Another store, owned by local lumber merchant Job Lingham, was built on the southeast corner of Pronk’s current lot but burned down in the early 1900s. When Lingham’s store burned down, the Moorcroft building was moved on logs to its current location, which would have been behind the ruins of the old Lingham store, while soon after the current, square structure was added on, using some of the salvaged remnants of Lingham’s old store.

Pronk built his shop in the old sawdust room on the back of the store, where ice taken from the river across the road had once been stored.

He bought his equipment used and, taking advantage of his skills and ingenuity, rebuilt it all.

The milling machine came from Magna, and is actually the same piece he worked on when he was based in Toronto.

“It’s unheard of to find any of these machines north of [Highway] 7,” he points out, emphasizing the specialized nature of his business.

Despite being located off the beaten path, it didn’t take long for Pronk’s business to develop a following.

“In the beginning it’s a struggle because people don’t know you,” he admits. “But by the second year we were busy year-round. I was a little surprised.

The farmers came first, and now I have a strong fan club of farmers. I never advertised, because my work is my advertising. Around here, if your work is not good, you won’t stay in business.”

Pronk has distinguished himself in the farming community through his ability to repair aging equipment or replace parts that aren’t manufactured anymore, saving farmers the expense of purchasing new products at a much greater cost.

Haybines have become a Pronk specialty and over the past summer Jos says he has repaired 30 of them.

“They’re not built anymore but farmers want to keep them,” Pronk explains. “Everybody now uses disc mowers, but with the rocky country we have around here, farmers prefer to keep using their Haybines. I think I’m now known as the ‘Haybine King.’”

During our late-August visit to Pronk’s Queensborough shop, the conversation was interrupted by a farmer who had come to pick up his 50-year-old Flail Mower, on which Jos had completed a variety of repairs. In some cases he had designed and built replacement parts. Jos carefully went over the work he had done and indicated where he felt no refinement or repair had been necessary. His explanations and appreciation of the machinery underlined his intricate understanding of it, even though he later acknowledged he had never seen a Flail Mower before opening his shop and being asked to work on one.

It is this willingness to tackle any project that has helped turn Pronk Machine into more than just a machinist’s shop, more than just a place to have farm equipment repaired. As Jos says, he has developed “a reputation for odd stuff.

Along with his wife Mary Kay, Pronk has taken on a key role in refurbishing Queensborough, including the design, manufacture and installation of new street signs.

Photo courtesy Pronk Canada Inc.

“People come to me with a challenge. I built a complete aluminum truck over four years. Someone came to me and he loved this particular type of truck, but it was only available in Africa, so he asked me to build one for him instead.

“I can make any part you can think of. I do the design, the thinking work on the computer, then I follow the drawings in the shop.

“I always want something to work on, to play with. I love solving puzzles. Designing and figuring things out – that’s my element.”

Pronk says he is dyslexic, but instead of viewing it as a disability feels that it gives him an ability to see and consider challenges from a different perspective.

“I can see things upside down or reversed, where other people can’t,” he explains.

He also feels his left-handedness gives him an added advantage. He subscribes to the popular idea that left-handed individuals are better at divergent thinking, which allows them to explore a number of different solutions to a problem.

“I learned things differently,” he says. “I never tackle a problem right away. You must leave it and your subconscious will work away at it. The next day, you will have a solution.”

His busy Facebook page has added to his local celebrity, giving him an outlet to showcase some of his more unique work. More practically, his customers can use it to see the progress on their projects. Pronk also uses the Facebook page to promote the Queensborough community through photos and stories.

Pronk’s inventiveness and creativity have extended to the work he and Mary Kay have undertaken to renovate the old general store. Jos himself designed and built the furnace, which has been certified.

“People have embraced the fact that we’re taking care of the building,” Jos says. “We’re keeping the heritage alive.”

A key link to the past is the original store safe, which still resides in the building and dates back to 1855. According to Pronk, when he bought the property the bank insisted that it had to remove the safe from the house, but upon realizing that it would be virtually impossible, allowed Pronk to keep it. It

weighs about four tons, he says.

Jos and Mary Kay have also been actively involved in the restoration of Queensborough itself.

They are part of a beauty committee that receives funds from the municipality of Tweed and there are examples of Jos’s work throughout the area, from street signs to the arch for the Hazzards cemetery.

“I want to be unique and leave things behind,” Jos says. “I have no kids, so I have to leave my mark here in another way.”

For all his creative and material contributions to the community of Queensborough, whether they be street signs or repaired farm equipment, Pronk’s greatest contributions may, in fact, be more spiritual. They are reflected in the warm wave of his hand extended to every car or motorcycle that passes the machine shop, the casual conversation about the weather with a farmer who has come to pick up a repaired piece of equipment, or the welcome given to a resident who has taken a seat just outside the shop to read the newspaper on a summer afternoon.

“This business is almost like a cornerstone of the community,” Jos points out, “which is what the building once was. It was the bank, the post office, the general store. It was where people congregated. And now, on any day, I could have five or six people wandering around here. It’s the small town environment.

“It’s hard to make a living in a remote area. But I love the fact that I can be helpful to others. I guess that is my purpose on earth.”

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 31

JUST SAYING

BY SHELLEY WILDGEN

Summer Brain If a tree falls in the forest…in July…in Canada, will anyone hear it? No, not likely.

Something happens to us in the thick of summer that dials everything down to a dull, albeit pleasant, melody. Simple chores are intolerable, yet big jobs can become sunny day pastimes.

I suppose we are all mildly depressed during our grey winter days, but it’s more than a simple fog lifting in summer; it’s a 180-degree shift in thinking. During fall and winter, while planning lessons for school I can balance a chequebook (ew, but I can do it) and whip off a couple of crosswords in the same session. In the summer, I’m hard pressed to stay on top of my online Scrabble games with words any longer than ‘thud’.

In January, devouring a novel can be done in a weekend – under a blanket and with snacks.

In the summer, books turn to skinny magazines, and following a map to anywhere is like hiking through mud, wearing flippers.

Loading a dishwasher after a fall dinner feels like the night shift at a call centre, but washing a few summer supper dishes by hand, with the radio on, is nothing at all. I will drive a dirty car to work and stack my garbage in the back seat all winter, and then mop it all up at Hoser’s car wash, whistling, on my way to an early summer lunch date.

Is it the gravitational pull of the moon changing our body rhythms, like tides going in and out?

Wish I knew.

What I do know is our seasonal bumps don’t seem to affect people who enjoy warm climates all year ‘round. Why do they seem to be able to let things go? “Don’t worry. Be happy.” Living on ‘island time’ they call it. All summertime, all the time, with no winter worker bee mode.

Here’s the thing though, there’s no changing it but there is an awareness as it’s happening. In the winter, while barrelling through all kinds of paperwork but being unable to pick up a shovel of any kind, I do reflect on the summer when I have no trouble edging an entire garden, mowing the

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lawn a time or two, even painting a room. This past summer I ‘treated’ a plaster wall with colours and shadows - all artsy like. What was that about?

And how about food shopping? In the winter we “have to get groceries.” In the summer we go to the market – with glee. Is it as simple as being more cerebral in the winter and physical in the summer? I wonder.

Think of the holiday season. The hunting and gathering, and wrapping and cooking, and entertaining and draining of energy and bank accounts. We are exhausted by the rituals, never getting ahead of the eight-ball with the Santa hat on it. Conversely, this past summer, after buying an

Look at your Facebook wall in the summer. It’s puppies and kittens and gardens and fruity drink concoctions, nothing too deep or taking too long to describe.

In the summer, tolerance for detailed decisions is low and energy is high. We like ­smiley faces and ice cream and long days are good days.

old farmhouse in PEI, we had non-stop company and I loved it. Lots of shopping and cleaning and readying, but it was all fun and exciting dashing off to the airport to pick up fresh visitors, every-

one chatting and happy about the days ahead. During the winter holidays, the excitement is there but it’s often tangled up with fatigue and pressure.

My son, Kyle, thinks it may have something to do with more room to spread out in the summer and there may be something to that – sure, OK, you uncomplicated summer thinker, Kyle, but I still think it’s a head thing.

This muddled affliction explodes within our social activity. What do we talk about in the colder months? We talk about where we want to go to – to get warm; about work and our kids’ sports and jobs and good restaurants; a bit of politics and when will the winter end? In the summer, our brains free up a bit, with a stutter because they don’t land on anything too long. The subjects change, floating about like clouds blowing across a blue sky.

Look at your Facebook wall in the summer.

It’s puppies and kittens and gardens and fruity drink concoctions, nothing too deep or taking too long to describe. Occasionally, some rumpled old friend from college will post their thoughts about the Middle East unrest, but you’ll notice the thumbs ups are few. In the summer, tolerance for detailed decisions is low and energy is high.

We like smiley faces and ice cream and long days are good days.

Oh, and how about those endless summer drives to nowhere in particular? Effortless. Flip side: even the clearest days of winter are reserved only for destination driving, with a hot coffee and a scowl.

It’s not all bad though, this seasonal brain disorder. I rather like moving about June through August freely with nary a solid thought in my head.

It’s a bit of a reboot, of sorts. Then, when winter looms we fall back into our sedentary ways and snuggle into our somewhat important thinking.

All in all, it evens out, doesn’t it?

That said, it’s a good thing the deadline for this column wasn’t end of July, or you’d be looking at some disjointed recipe for tree bark lemonade.

•

C r o s s r o a d s The “Welcome Home” Tweed Hungerford Old Home Week held in the summer of 1978 was a lifealtering experience for one man in particular.

“There were stunning artifacts and documents on display,” recalls Tweed & Area Heritage Centre Curator Evan Morton, “and I remember thinking ‘What’s going to happen to all of this when the event is over?’”

Morton’s passion for the celebration of his hometown led to the organization of a historical society in 1988, acquisition of office space in 1990 and ultimately the move to the cultural centre’s current location, historic Hudson House on the south end of Tweed’s main street, on Nov. 3, 1994.

“To me heritage is identity,” the 72-year-old Morton explains. “It is who we are and it includes the past and the present. We can’t promote Tweed if we don’t know the heritage of Tweed. We’re all creating heritage. To me, our job is to promote the local artists and crafts-folk and show what is done in this area. The museum here is important but it’s only part of the picture.

“The purpose is to draw people to the community and have them see the past and the present. Overall we want to help the local economy.”

Morton’s father worked as Clerk-Treasurer in the town office for 50 years and according to Morton, “knew the history of the area inside and out. I didn’t always appreciate his knowledge. There’s a stage in your life I think when you don’t pay attention to these things. Unfortunately I wish I had got more from him.”

The wealth of information stored in the Museum and Archives is a tribute to Morton’s keenly honed skills of observation and investigation. Indeed, he has made a point of making sure no artifact gets in hastings county tossed aside without a thorough analysis.

“You have to grab what you can when you can or you lose it,” Morton explains. “I think the biggest lesson is that you don’t necessarily appreciate what you have and you have to think before you discard things. We have to educate people to be more observant. Photos provide a documentation of hair-

ntry Roads

g life

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Deliver Your Message In

Heritage Classic Tweed centre has eyes on past and present STORY AND PHOTO BY JOHN HOPKINS

Heritage Centre Curator Evan Morton always had an affinity for his community’s legacy, but an experience in the summer of 1978 was a pivotal moment.

style, clothing or jewelry for a particular period. For people with older relatives it’s important that they take the time to talk so that this history gets passed on as well. The joy is in getting people to be aware of how precious these things are.”

Some items on display in the Museum have helped propel Tweed onto a broader stage, such as the dress local resident Wilma Knapp made entirely from nylon stockings in 1964. The dress garnered such attention that Knapp eventually made an appearance on the American television show ‘I’ve Got A Secret’ and was featured in newspaper articles through North America, an astonishing accomplishment considering the limited influence of mass media when compared to today. Morton or his volunteers conduct tours of the archives that generally run about 90 minutes.

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The Morton Archives include about 450 family histories from the area, which Morton says is, “quite exceptional for a wee rural community.”

The Meiklejohn Reference Room is available for researchers anxious to probe their family histories or trace their genealogy.

The art on display in the Memorial Hall provides the link between the past and the present that Morton considers so vital. Last January and February the hall featured paintings, sketches and photos from local artists of Tweed area churches. In March and April the hall displayed similar works focused on schools from the area.

All of this dedication to preserving and promoting the heritage of Tweed does not come without a price and the running of the Centre is a challenging financial proposition. According to Morton, he has to raise $50,000 or more every year to run the Centre. That money comes in through a combination of grants, donations and in memoriams, as well as the rental of an apartment in the house or the hall for special events. There are 10 regular volunteers, and Morton himself puts in about 60 hours a week as a volunteer.

“I don’t think we see the same willingness in people to donate now,” Morton says. “Some people in the community appreciate what we are doing here and there is an awareness, but others no. But I think it’s like a lot of things in these communities, where it is the older generations carrying things. If you look at the people who are carrying the churches or the lodges, it is the older people, and because of that we risk losing those institutions.”

Despite the fiscal challenges and the effort involved, Morton remains optimistic and passionate about his role.

“When you open the door in the morning you don’t know what you’re going to get,” he enthuses.

“Someone could come in with a special artifact, or you could get a phone call about an exceptional item or piece of information. It is full of surprises and I find it the most rewarding work.”

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 33

C r o s s r o a d s

Anglers aplenty

Guides in their time and other fishy folk

By Barry Penhale

A

s an octogenarian I must with some reluctance concede that my years once fully engaged in sport fishing are behind me but over the years I became well acquainted with an assortment of interesting characters for whom fishing was fun and in some cases profitable. My focus here will not include those individuals who today operate splendid powercraft sporting the very latest of technology.

Rather the thrust of this piece is intended to recall the day of the old-time guides and a simpler age of sport fishing.

The field of sport fishing has always had its snobs — those purists, for instance, who with religious fervour hold steadfast to their belief that any form of angling other than with fly rod for trout really doesn’t count. Such restrictive thinking would not have allowed for any understanding of an individual like John “Sunfish” Anderson. This colourful Trentonian came to my attention in the late 1950s.

Possessed with a boundless fascination for panfish and known to one and all as “Sunfish,” he became synonymous with Lock #1 and the start of the TrentSevern Waterway.

In Anderson’s time his favourite fishing location would have been known by the less than glamorous moniker “The Trent Canal.” Call it what you will, it was the payoff spot for “Sunfish” with enough rock bass, perch, catfish, and bluegills to draw him back spring to fall, whatever the weather. On some notable occasions Anderson astounded nearby trophy-fish seeking anglers by reeling in a big specimen of that wonderfully tasty fish, the walleye, all done with much less than a top of the line rod and reel.

One cannot bring into focus the Trenton of Anderson’s day without a mention of Frank Peddlesden.

Owner/operator of F.A. Peddlesden & Son, Frank supplied hardware stores, sporting goods outlets and summer resorts with an astonishingly wide assortment of fishing rods, reels, nets, fish stringers, minnow buckets, and, of course, lures. A physically big man and always well-dressed, Peddlesden covered many miles as he serviced a huge territory that extended far beyond his Trenton base.

Before the lure known as the Rapala came along, the big sellers included skirted Hula Poppers, gaudy Flatfish and the always reliable Williams Wablers.

An old joke told on many a fishing trip suggests that over the years more fishermen than fish have found themselves attracted to the colourful and often quite realistic artificial lures on the market. Somehow I

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Country Roads • Fall 2014

Veteran outdoorsman Tobias “Bicey” Morrow is shown with his Cole’s Point Resort employer Cliff Penhale (holding muskie), 1950s.

Photo Courtesy Penhale Family Album

rather imagine Peddlesden learned that early in his career. My impressions remain of an astute businessman who knew how to feed the appetites of a now past generation of fishermen. A savvy individual who worked hard, he was a pioneer of sorts and deserving of the business success that came his way.

Tobias “Bicey” Morrow and Forrest Dennis in many respects could not have been more different, yet both men of roughly the same era fully lived the outdoor life and guided in waters separated by barely half an hour in driving time. “Bicey,” as he was known throughout his lifetime, was a product of the French Settlement near Tweed.

Dennis was a Campbellford man with a lengthy association with nearby Marmora and most especially Crowe Lake. Both were guides who in their day were on the scene when astounding catches of muskies were the norm both in numbers caught and size of fish, with muskies weighing 50 lbs. not uncommon.

Both had their own connection to the town of Campbellford. Dennis was up in years when we first met, but our mutual interests found the two of

us involved with the local fish and game protective association. Morrow, on the other hand, probably seldom, if ever, thought about the environment and conserving fish and game. He had arrived in the area as a young man largely without the benefit of much formal education but was a natural when it came to the outdoors, especially fishing and trapping.

Dennis was dubbed, by outstanding angler and authority on fishing David V. Reddick, as the patentleather kid. By far the most expert fisherman of my acquaintance, Reddick told me that up to the time of his meeting Dennis he had never before encountered such a Beau Brummel-like character in guiding circles. And the man knew his fish, especially ways of catching the mighty maskinonge or muskellunge, known to many as simply lunge. His guiding accomplishments became legendary and his intimate familiarity with Crowe Lake unsurpassed. His firm views on muskie fishing were based on accumulated experience with the fish dating back to 1913 when, as a youngster, he handled icy lines alongside his father well into November. To have spent some time in his company was indeed a privilege since very few

C r o s s r o a d s

Well-known distributor of fishing supplies in the 1940s,’50s and ’60s, Frank Peddlesden was an ardent angler who excelled when it came to catching speckled trout.

Photo Courtesy John Peddlesden

guides alive back when we met had anything close to his vast experience.

One would never have applied the word spiffy to Morrow. The Tweed area native was totally opposite to Dennis in many ways, including dress. Like numerous others of his generation Morrow was a jack-of-all trades. Employed throughout his lifetime as a general handyman-helper he also guided vacationing guests and augmented his modest annual income by trapping muskrats on Crowe Bay. His main workplace was Coles Point, an early Ontario fishing camp belonging to a former mayor of Campbellford, Dick Cole. This well-known and still active summer resort at the junction of the Crowe and Trent Rivers was for many years owned and operated by my parents, Cliff and Bea Penhale. It was during this period that I found myself in Morrow’s company. From him I learned how to set snares in the winter for the ever abundant rabbit population.

Some lessons in the filleting and cleaning of fish were also acquired at the same time. These were areas in which Morrow excelled and for which he is yet remembered.

Regrettably I found him totally bereft of engaging personality and much of the time anything but good-natured. Though as rough as they come in some instances, Morrow would never intentionally

harm anyone. In many ways he was remarkably like those sizeable number of men whose lives led them in outdoor directions and which often found them working around fishing camps, with some guiding thrown in. It was a simple life in a different time.

When it comes to guides of old, one of the best by far in my estimation was Del Hiatt. Hiatt’s early introduction to fishing began with childhood outings for panfish in his native Indiana. When the Second World War came along he served in the U.S. Navy, seeing more action than he had bargained on. Once back home shattered nerves and the tug of the great out-of-doors combined to bring about a life-changing decision. Packing up his outdoor gear and whatever he felt to be of real value, Del struck out for Canada by car in 1946 and one can only marvel at his sense of adventure as he made his way to Hastings County.

He quickly discovered what was to become his own special place on the lovely and remote Limerick Lake (sometimes called Salmon Lake), part of a chain of scenic lakes with a total of 112km of sheltered shoreline. This property, some 50km north of Madoc, was occupied by a farmer at the time of Del’s arrival but it wasn’t long before he bought the property and commenced building what was to become in time the well-known Limerick Lodge.

Hiatt’s knowledge of weedbeds and shoals was unsurpassed, a big reason for the catches of recordsize largemouth bass that did much to put the lodge on the map, so to speak. That Hiatt was almost in a class by himself as both angler and guide was the general consensus among the leading writers on fishing in Ontario. He was also a simply great storyteller and loved to regale lodge guests after dinner with marvellous yarns, a few of which were true. One involved an old woodstove that, once toppled into the lake, became a favoured haunt of wary trout, which, upon taking an angler’s bait, would go down the stovepipe and out the oven door. Del would often be asked for his advice on how to best deal with such a situation. With a glint in one eye and with some of his still remaining Hoosier State accent, he would gleefully advise lighting a fire and smoking the fish out!

Limerick Lodge remains an active tourist destination. Now expanded and offering guests many more services than in those early years, I cannot but believe that Del would be both amazed and pleased.

Only once on a remote stretch of water did I ever encounter a woman whose occupation was that of fishing guide. Marion, who was part Native, was employed annually by a lodge that catered largely to American tourists. With such a capable and highly experienced guide in charge, visiting anglers more times than not went home with fish well worth bragging rights.

I wish to thank my long-time friend Paul Skelding of Trenton for the contacts he made on my behalf with John Peddlesden, and for making contact with Bob Amesse of the Trenton Public Library. I also thank John Peddlesden for agreeing to be interviewed, for locating images, and for remembering Cole’s Point Resort.

•

CELEBRATE A DICKENS’ CHRISTMAS SAT. NOVEMBER 15 - 10 AM - 8 PM Hot mulled cider, hot chocolate, caesar salad, and our train zipping around our 7 ft. Christmas Tree laden with Victorian ornaments.

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Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 35

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 613 395-0499.

ART GALLERIES/EXHIBITIONS Art Gallery of Bancroft, 10 Flint Avenue, Bancroft, 613-332-1542 www.agb.weebly.com

Oct 1 – Nov 1 - Here & Now/There & Then” Works by Arne Roosman Opening Reception: Oct. 3rd 7:30pm

Nov 5 – 29 – Early Christmas at the Gallery - plus guest artist - Works by the late Earl W. Smith. Opening Reception: Nov. 7th 7:30pm THEATRE/LIVE ENTERTAINMENT Bancroft Village Playhouse, www.bancroftvillageplayhouse.ca bancroftfvillageplayhouse@gmail.com

Oct 14 - North of 7 Film Festival presents Le Weekend. Two shows: 4:15pm – 6:15pm. A barbed, funny and poignant comedy drama that sheds the cozy comfort of retiree romantic comedies for an altogether more interesting love story. Set in Paris, where they honeymooned, this movie is by turns sharply comic and deadly serious and full of surprises.

Tickets avail at Hospice House, at boxofficebancroft.com or at the door

Oct 25 - Bancroft Village Playhouse Annual Gala: Food, drink, hospitality at our Annual Gala. We are thrilled to present Gregg Lawless! Get your tickets soon as seating is limited.

The Stirling Festival Theatre, West Front St., Stirling 613-395-2100 1-877-312-1162 www.stirlingfestivaltheatre.com Oct 4 – 8pm – Community Historical Play Workshop Staged Reading. Local Playwright Richard Turtle and SFT Managing Director David Vanderlip are building this script from the ground up. The project is seeking stories from the community which will

be woven into the story and brings this script to life for a sneak working preview on Oct 4. Then the script goes back to the drawing board for revisions gearing up for the fully produced version in 2015 or 2016. Join us as an actor (audition info available at the Box Office) or be in the audience for the staged reading and Q&A session.

Oct 16 – 26 – Lord of the Fries starring SFT Young Company. It’s “Lord of the Fries” day at Piggy’s Pork Palace! Who’s going home with the coveted award? This coming-of-age comedy-combo includes adolescent angst, teenage romance and a side order of songs! World premiere of this original Canadian Musical by the celebrated team of Kieren MacMillan and Jeremy Hutton.

Oct 29 - Elvis with Stephen Kabakos -2pm “Gospel to Rock”, 8 pm “Thirty #1 Hits!” Make an evening of it, book our Pre-Show dinner held in Burrell Hall.

Nov 1 – The Legend in Black – Johnny Cash Tribute - 2 & 8 pm Singer Bill Cayley is saying farewell to his Johnny Cash show so we knew you’d want to see him one more time!

It must be an omen that someone born on the same birth date as Johnny Cash would someday be performing in the best tribute show to Johnny Cash on the planet. Make an evening of it, book our Pre-Show dinner held in Burrell Hall.

Nov 2 – High Valley – There’s always been a strong connection between country and Christian music, and few acts better exemplify that unique bond than High Valley. With a fresh, engaging sound that combines the best of contemporary country with compelling faith-based lyrics, High Valley is truly the best of both musical worlds! 8pm

D ec 14 - Sharron’s Christmas Party! - Described as the love child of Jack Black and Bette Midler, Sharron Matthews will leave no Christmas carol safe! Stand-up comedy, vocal concert, talk show & controlled chaos… this show is not for the faint-of-Christmas heart! All others will die laughing.

8pm – 19+ Nov 21 – Dec 31 – The Three Musketeers (Family Panto) - A holiday treat for the family, and a great way to introduce kids to the wonders of live theatre. (Recommended for ages 5 and up)

Nov 21 – Dec 31 - The Three Musketeers (Naughty Panto) Dec 31 - The Three Musketeers (Naughty New Year) Usher in the New Year with an old tradition: Naughty New Year!

The Regent Theatre, 224 Main St. Picton 613-476-8416 www. theregenttheatre.org

Sept 28 – I Musici de Montreal Chamber Orchestra Oct 4 – “Abba” Tribute Oct 17 – The Reasons with The Rockettes Nov 10 – Carry on Sargeant with The Hylotrons Nov 15 – Carlos del Junco EVENTS Sept 20 –New Event in Town! Singles 40 & up meeting other like-minded singles for a game of Billiards or learn to play at Mr. Zed`s 322 Front St. Belleville.

7 to 10 pm. or email: smilesinglesevents@ gmail.com $20.00 Call: 613-968-4469 to Pre-Book only. Confirmation number will be required to attend.

Sept 20, 21, 27, & 28 – 10 am – 5 pm - Bancroft and Area Autumn Studio Tour - Visit the artists in their own home/ studios, viewing and purchasing the original art creations. Pick up brochure/ map at many local businesses, the Art Gallery of Bancroft and the Bancroft & District Chamber of Commerce. www.bancroftstudiotour.org Sept 27 - Culture Days events sponsored by BDIA, come and see Historical Society/Community Archives display and book sale in downtown Belleville.

Sept 27 – Book Launch, At the Call of King and Country, People of Hastings County in the Great War, 1914-1918. Bill Kennedy tells stories of Hastings residents who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives in the First World War. The launch party at the Belleville Club, 210 Pinnacle, at 2 pm includes a sing-along of First World War tunes with Rick Penner on piano.

Sept 27 & 28 - Tweed & Area Studio Tour - participating artists welcome you in 13 studios on their self guided tour. You will discover a wide array of talent in the heart of Hastings County. , 10 am-5pm www.tweedstudiotour.org 613 477-2039 Oct 4, 5- ARTFEST 2014 - Premiere art exhibition and sale by First Nations Artists. 100 examples of 2-dimensional works in various mediums, 1807 York Rd., Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. 613-3963863 - 10am – 4pm.

Oct 10 - Nov 6 - The Napanee Photo Club’s 30th annual exhibition and sale, Photo Art 2014, runs daily 9am – 8pm at the gallery in the Community Corridor of the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital, 8 Richmond Park Drive, Napanee, ON. Free parking and admis-

sion. Members donate to the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital Foundation 25 % of the price of any work that is sold as a result of the exhibition.Cathy Burrell http://napanee_photo_club.tripod.com/id4.html Cathy@atlightsedge.ca 613-386-3348 Oct 17 - Savour Bay of Quinte Food & Drink Festival -5-9 pm, Knights of Columbus, 57 Stella Cres, Trenton. Imagine savouring a bowl of butternut squash soup, creatively prepared by a QuinteRegion chef using squash that was picked yesterday from a farm just down the road. Enjoy warm apple crisp made using freshly picked apples, and drizzled with local maple syrup. How about an entree featuring fresh, grass-fed organic local beef, and complementing your palate with a taste of wine from one of Prince Edward County’s award-winning wineries? Live jazz featuring The Groove Trio.

613-392-7635, Quinte West Chamber of Commerce, www.savourquinte.com, events@quintewestchamber.ca Oct 21 - Hastings County Historical Society presents: Greg Pinchin, Special Projects Planner, City of Belleville on the Downtown Façade Program. Join us at 7.30 PM at the Quinte Living Centre, 370 Front Street, Belleville (northeast corner door). Bring a friend. www.hastingshistory.ca Oct 24, 25 & 26 – Fibre Arts Sale 2014 - Belleville Weavers and Spinners Guild Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre, 265 Cannifton Rd., Belleville. Fri. 4 - 9pm, Sat. 10 - 5pm, Sun. 11 - 3pm. Cash or Cheque only. Free Parking and Admission. bellwsg@gmail.com

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Country Roads • Fall 2014

Visits are free.

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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 613 395-0499.

Oct 25 - Comedy Night in Tyendinaga - 6 to 10pm. Roast Beef Dinner with all the trimmings and a hilarious comedy troupe from Absolute Comedy. Bar service by the Fire Department Auxiliary. Tickets are $275 table-of-8 or $80 couple - available now! Call Joanne 613-966-3449.

Tyendinaga Township Recreation Centre, 363 McFarlane Rd., Shannonville. Project of the Friends of the Tyendinaga Township Public Library Oct 25 - HCHS Annual Banquet and Celebration of History, A Commemoration of the Beginning of World War I. Hastings County Historical Society and Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment Museum present Special Guest Speaker Jack Granetstein speaking on Our Greatest Victory, Canada’s Participation in the Last 100 Days of WWI. Travelodge Hotel Ballroom, Social Hour 6pm, Dinner 7:15 pm.

Tickets $65 at Quinte Arts Council, The Heritage Centre, Cannifton and Richard Hughes at 613-961-7772.

Oct 31 – Celebrate Halloween Prepare for Downtown Belleville to get spooky! Celebrate Halloween with several activities happening throughout the day including Haunted Walks documenting

Downtown’s shady past and the Halloween Window Display Contest. www. downtownbelleville.ca Nov 18 - Hastings County Historical Society presents: Author Millie Morton of Kingston, speaking on her book, Grace: A teacher’s life, one room schools, and a century of change in Ontario. Join us at 7.30 PM at the Quinte Living Centre, 370 Front Street, Belleville (northeast corner door). Bring a friend. www.hastingshistory.ca Nov 21 – Trenton Woodlot Conference -8am to 4:30pm; Knights of Columbus Hall, 57 Stella Cres, Trenton. Speakers: Diana Beresford-Kroeger: A Woodland World, how trees can save the planet.

Peter Hynard: Historical Forces Shaping our Forest. Also - Harvesting sustainably for firewood and forest health. Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program. Field Trip to Frink Outdoor Education Centre includes history walk, tree ID, riparian health. Woodworking, exhibits & more. $30.00 includes lunch & bus to field trip.

Register by Nov. 7, Hastings Stewardship Council, hastingsstewardship.ca, info@ hastingsstewardship.ca, (613)-391-9034

Celebrating Life in Hastings County

Nov 21 – Jan 4 – Cobourg Christmas Magic - Victoria Park becomes magical when it is lit up with over 100,000 lights.

6 – 10 pm nightly. www.cobourgtourism.ca 888-262-6874

Nov 29 - Used & New Jewelry Fundraising Sale - 11am - 3pm, Regent Theatre Lobby, Main St., in Picton. All proceeds go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to aid grandmothers in Africa (Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign).

Nov 28 - Downtown Cobourg V.I.P. Holiday Shopping Event, 5 – 10pm.

Downtown Cobourg’s version of Black Friday. Downtown merchants offer promotions and sales that will make you glad you stayed North of the border. Music and carols on the street, a gift tree, free gift wrapping, hot chocolate and cider and a holiday shopping feel that’s right at home. Any purchase will get you a ballot for the gift card draw. www.downtowncobourg.ca 905-377-8024

Dec 7- 1 – 6 pm – Christmas House Tour in Prince Edward County -see wonderful old & new homes all decked out for the holidays, and enjoy cookies & cider. Self-guided tour. Funds raised will

Nov 28, 29 & 30 - Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Festival of Trees. At Isaiah Tubbs Resort, West Lake, 1642 County Road 12, Picton.

Silent auction, bucket draw, boutique, bake and preserves sale. Sponsored by the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, with all proceeds going to support healthcare needs in the community. 613 476-2181 x 4427. www.qhc. on.ca, dorothy.speirs@utoronto.ca

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Dec 13- Maynooth 11th Annual Brighten the Night Christmas Parade & Kids Party, 40 vendors inside the Hastings Highlands Centre and HART dog rescue events in the old community centre. Parade starts at 5 pm along Hwy.62. www.maynooth.on.ca

COUNTRY ROADS magazine is searching for a new member to join our team. The individual will be responsible for print and online ­advertising sales in South and Central Hastings County & surrounding communities.

Previous sales experience, particularly media would be a strong asset for this part time position.

If you enjoy meeting a variety of people, b­ usinesses and being part of a locally owned and operated magazine please contact us.

Nancy Hopkins, Publisher 613.395.0499 or nancy@countryroadshastings.ca

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Bird’s Creek Plaza, Bancroft www.bancroftjustwineandbeer.com Fall 2014 • Country Roads

I 37

Smile and wave

THE VILLAGE IDIOT

BY JOHN HOPKINS

Not long after we had moved to Stirling, Nancy and I were driving through town when someone in another vehicle gave us a friendly wave. Instinctively I returned the salute.

“Who was that?” Nancy asked.

“I have no idea,” I replied.

“But you waved to them.”

“So.” “Why would you wave to them if you don’t know them?”

“Well, I didn’t want to be rude.”

I had learned by that point that in a small town like Stirling it was OK to give a friendly wave to people you didn’t know. In fact, it was acceptable and even encouraged to say “Hello” when you passed someone on the street. And, I don’t think I would be exaggerating too much to say that if I chose to pull up a chair beside someone at A Little Taste of Paradise, or in the library, and express my frustration with the construction on Highway 62, they would probably listen and present their own views on the topic, although in the library they would do it very quietly.

It is a change from growing up and living my early adult life in a city. There the watchword was to always avoid eye contact and not start any conversations with strangers. Someone who tried to chat with you was probably trying to sell you something, or worse. More recently, in my visits to Toronto I have found that it’s not so much that people are suspicious of everyone around them, but simply they are too busy and preoccupied with their own lives. They seem to be permanently gazing down at the screens of their personal devices,

texting with a friend on the other side of the city rather than chatting with the individual next to them on the streetcar, or engrossed in a video game rather than taking in the sights around them.

I am always alarmed by reports of people being injured or killed crossing the street because they are too focused on their device to pay attention to traffic. It sounds ridiculous until you’re in a city and actually see people doing it!

There are, of course, exceptions to the rule.

When Nancy and I were in Toronto early in the summer, we were traveling on a streetcar and became engaged in a conversation with a young couple who were getting married the following weekend. It was a pleasant change and ironically made me think of being back home. It also made me think that these sorts of experiences may have taken place more frequently in a Toronto of a different era. I’m sure there was a time before PDs, when the city was smaller and the world boiled down to your own neighbourhood and the people in it, that there was more of a connection. You would see the same people day after day and feel a kinship with them. And if you waved at a complete stranger it didn’t matter, because you were obviously linked, if only by the fact that you were both human beings.

As a summer diversion I watched the entire volume of American film maker Ken Burns’ documentary ‘Baseball’ and I was mesmerized by the stories of the old Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets Field. I was fascinated by the personal stories of the passion residents felt for their team, the community spirit and the identity they had with the

club and the ballpark. I don’t think you could ever replicate that experience in a city today. The world is too big, people have too many diversions. It is so easy to move around that no one has the same need or desire to stay in one place. There are so many other distractions that there is no longer a need to focus on one small patch of earth.

However, I think there is a middle ground between this rapid globalization and a strong sense of community, and I think it exists in small towns like Stirling. Consider the Kraft Hockeyville competition in 2012, when proud residents and, interestingly, former residents overwhelmed the voting.

Where does that sense of community come from? It doesn’t come from looking at people with suspicion and busying yourself in your texts and emails while your neighbours pass you on the street. It comes from sharing experiences with your neighbours, both good and bad. It comes from treating visitors and newcomers like family and showing pride in your community. Most importantly, it comes from passing on those values to the next generation or new residents to the area.

In our first winter in Stirling, when I was playing hockey in the local league, town denizen Glen “Clipper” McIntosh asked how I was enjoying living in town.

“I like it a lot,” I replied.

“Well, we’re happy to have you here,” he said.

That’s why, when I pass someone on the street, I always smile and wave.

•

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81 Years and 38 I

Country Roads • Fall 2014

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