Country Roads Spring 2017

HOMES FOR HOUNDS IN NORTH HASTINGS ICONIC ARTIST CAPTURED MAGICAL LANDSCAPE REMEMBERING TWEED’S FRENCH CONNECTION

COVERING THE ARTS, OUTDOORS, HISTORY, PEOPLE AND PLACES

SPRING 2017

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CONTRIBUTORS Lorraine Gibson-Alcock grew up on the farm in rural Saskatchewan but has lived in a number of cities across Canada and has travelled the countr y extensively thanks to her work for the Hudson Bay Co. In her role as a National Buyer for Fragrances with the Hudson Bay Co., Lorraine had the honour of hosting a number of visiting celebrities, most notably Sophia Loren, who spent three days in Edmonton during a promotional visit for her fragrance, Sophia.

After “retiring” from corporate life at the Hudson Bay Co., Lorraine met her future husband Doug and moved to Marmora to live by the water and “relax.” She joined the Country Roads team as Central Hastings Sales Representative, where she shares her expertise, knowledge and passion for retail and business, as well as her enthusiasm for the rural experience.

Retiring from a ver y successful career as owner and manager of Toronto’s first green event venue, Hope M c Fa l l m o v e d t o L’Amable and has fallen in love with the natural beauty of the area, along with the people who live and work here.

In addition to her role as North Hastings Sales Representative for Country Roads, she has become involved in the North Hastings Community Garden Movement and is enthusiastic about designing and owning a tiny house one day. She still likes to stop and chat and share a laugh with the people she meets and she is still awed by seeing deer everywhere.

A lover of the arts, British crime dramas and almost always wearing something green, Hope wakes up each day feeling very lucky to have moved here.

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.

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Country Roads • Spring 2017

EDITORIAL

Backyard bonanza When Canada celebrated its 100th birthday in 1967, even though it was a ­nationwide fête, it had a definite focal point in Montreal. The Quebec city had been awarded the world’s fair and anybody who was anybody made a point of ­visiting Expo ’67 as part of their Centennial plans. Indeed, it was a matter of much ­consternation that Spring when the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup, thus depriving Montreal of one more accolade to add to its i­nternational acclaim.

As the country embarks on its 150th celebrations, however, there isn’t the same sense of a particular place serving as the focal point of our nation’s attention. True, Ottawa will probably be the place to be on Canada Day, and there is talk of a National Hockey League outdoor ‘Winter Classic’ in the capital as well, but no one city has the same claim to being the centre of the celebrations as Montreal did 50 years ago.

With that in mind, there is every reason to stay close to home and enjoy the regional festivities this year. One of the truly unique aspects of Canada is that every region and each community has had very distinct historical 1867 - 2017 experiences over the past 150 years, thanks to differences in geography, settlements, politics or other variables. It is these distinctions that make the country such an intriguingly complex and dynamic place to live. Few other countries in the world can boast the rich diversity of Canada, and perhaps none are prepared to celebrate this kaleidoscope to the extent we are.

So, while we wouldn’t begrudge you the opportunity to travel and enjoy the variety of this country, there is much to learn and celebrate in our own backyard, and this may be the perfect time to appreciate the history and heritage of Hastings County. Each community is rolling out events targeting its own story, some more ambitious than others.

The Municipality of Tweed, for example, is promoting a ‘Stay & Play’ campaign with a variety of special offers connected to its tourist attractions. A focal point of this campaign is the musical ‘Hastings!’ being presented by the Tweed & Company theatre group, in co-operation with the Hastings County Historical Society. Slated to run at the Tweed Pavilion in Memorial Park between June 28 and July 7, ‘Hastings!’ is described as a “foot-stomping irreverent retelling of the history of Hastings County.”

The Tweed & Company players represent a fitting example of what small Canadian communities are capable of, taking local talent and stories and sharing them with their neighbours. And putting a humourous spin on our history is a Canadian trait that has endured virtually as long as the country itself. The ability to laugh at ourselves is a quality that has probably played a significant role in our survival as a country, and an attribute that a few other nations would do well to follow these days…

By all means enjoy all this great country has to offer this year, but don’t miss the opportunity to experience the activities taking place in your own back yard. And don’t forget to laugh.

the

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VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1, SPRING 2017

CONTENTS 8

12

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By Michelle Annette Tremblay

DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITORIAL 4 CONTRIBUTORS 6 JUST SAYING

12 REMEMBERING

Where resolutions go to die

19 THE VILLAGE IDIOT

Beaver Tales

Building a Nation

18 20 21 22

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Spring 2017 • Country Roads

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JUST SAYING

BY SHELLEY WILDGEN

Where resolutions go to die

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Country Roads • Spring 2017

W

hat was it this year? Dry January? Perhaps a banishment of carbs, gluten, red meat - or all three? Maybe you opted for the stalwart stressing less, sleeping more or sleeping less, moving more? They’re all noble resolutions and pretty doable for a while. The cycle that just keeps on giving, year after year. Clumsily, we climb aboard the lofty promise train out of the winter of our discontent, knowing all the while that we’ll easily be granted permission to disembark our chubby, well-intentioned promises before the spring thaw.

Dry Januarys often get a little damp before February, and food restrictions? Well, they struggle the hardest to be heard, really. Poor, weary, annual diet resolutions are up against the most frequent temptations. I mean, we could cut out all those fatty, crunchy treats if they’d just stop calling us in the middle of the night. Soooooooo we succumb to the pressure – leaving our warm weather thighs to look not much different than the festive ones we scolded, except that they run the risk of being exposed on a beach at a moment’s notice.

But that sleep thing. That I like! I first heard about the nationwide sleep shortage through Ariana Huffington sometime last year. She gave it a springboard on talk shows, wrote an entire book about it and it’s been sliding into conversations ever since. Apparently, as a society we need more sleep.

Oh yes. It’s blamed on technology, work demands and all the regular visitors to the stress table. But increasing sleep as a lifestyle choice? Really? This I can do! And I did. All winter long. Excelled at it.

Hey, how about resolving to take up a hobby?

Could that resolution possibly hang on all year long?

Bit of a struggle, I must say. Reason being, doesn’t a hobby get its start from a true passion? It’s really hard to turn it around. As much as I would love to have a splendid piece of needlepoint or a quilt to flaunt after a winter’s worth of stitching, it’s about the stitching part -- tedious, tiresome….NEXT! And there is always a ‘next’. We have no shortage of lifestyle changes we attempt to impose on ourselves. Annnnd, coincidentally (?) most resolutions are in direct juxtaposition to how we’ve just spent our recently applied festive season months. We take on too much prep stress so we need more sleep, we eat too many carbs so we eliminate white food, we drink too much so we dry up, we’ve devoted days, weeks and months to searching for gifts other people want so we then vow to create more ‘me’ time. I daresay all our superstar resolutions are simply solutions to the pre-meditated excesses we’ve just inflicted on our November/ December selves.

Generous surveys reveal that most of those promises have dissolved into denial by mid-March but that’s okay because that’s when our focus naturally turns to refreshment and new beginnings.

Springtime is on the horizon and all is forgiven.

Nowhere is this cycle of excess and redemption clearer than at a gym. I spent a few years working on the front desk of a local gym where membership sales were governed by the time of year. We counted on slow summers, a back-at-it rise in September which trickled to only the most disciplined exercisers

by December and true to our natures, the influx of January new beginners who trailed off by March.

Disciplined exercisers continued through spring and by summer the halls were hollow.

The other day I caught a clip of comedian Jim Gaffigan proudly announcing he’s kept his New Year’s resolution by managing to eat pasta every day. Yeah, fanning our fatty shortcomings is our best weapon in this ongoing seasonal discourse. It’s kind of a thing we do as humans and, yes, sometimes even we surprise ourselves. Back when everyone and their granny were smokers, the head of the New Year resolution class was always to quit smoking. It was a tough one and most of us needed those few days of abstinence just to clear the blue fog from our partied out lungs. But not always. Occasionally, someone managed to push through and keep on quitting for the entire year and the years after that. Most of us know someone who did it. They quit smoking New Year’s of ’99 and stuck with it. Of course, they’re bigger than a house now but smoke free and able to smugly strike one off the list.

So as sure as day follows night and winter follows fall, we’ve created comfy seasons of hope and despair for ourselves. Aren’t we clever? It’s not like we don’t already have enough cycles in a lifetime, we’ve actually taken the season of over-indulgence and countered it with a season of deprivation then we repeatedly tie a nice springtime bow on each messy wad and call it even. The annual planting, reaping and sowing of our very souls.

So, as I roll my not quite carb-reduced, slightly drowsy and undrunk self out of bed this morning, here’s what I humbly suggest, you know, for next year. Let’s keep our expectations tidy. We can make resolutions that stand the test of season change: paint a room, pick stray wrappers off the streets, stop pitching wrappers on to the street, exercise kindness, cook dinner for someone – anyone, change our hair colour…

Never mind. The tulips are up. •

Country Roads

celebrating life in hastings county

Country Roads

celebrating life in hastings county

CR Country

CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR Nancy Hopkins 613 968-0499 CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR John Hopkins 613 968-0499

Roads

SALES DEPARTMENT

CENTRAL HASTINGS & AREA

celebrating lifeGibson-Alcock in hastings county Lorraine

lorraine@countryroadshastings.ca 613.902.0462 NORTH HASTINGS & AREA Hope McFall hope@countryroadshastings.ca 613.202.1541 ART DIRECTOR Jozef VanVeenen CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Robert Ferguson Orland French Angela Hawn Barry Penhale Lindi Pierce Michelle Annette Tremblay Sarah Vance Shelley Wildgen

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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Sean Buk Robert Ferguson Anna Sherlock Michelle Annette Tremblay Jozef VanVeenen COUNTRY ROADS, Celebrating Life in Hastings County is published four times a year by PenWord Communications Inc. Copies are distributed to select locations throughout Hastings County including the c­ ommunities of Bancroft, Belleville, Madoc, Marmora, Stirling and Tweed. Copies are also delivered to select homes within southern Ontario.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 1 year: $25.00 2 years: $45.00 3 years: $67.50 All prices include H.S.T. The contents of this publication are ­protected by copyright.

Reproduction of this p­ ublication in whole or in part without prior written permission of PenWord C ­ ommunications Inc. is prohibited.

The advertising deadline for the Summer 2017 issue is May 6, 2017 COVER PHOTO: JOZEF VANVEENEN Made possible with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation

HOW TO CONTACT US Telephone: 613-968-0499 E-mail: info@countryroadshastings.ca Website: www.countryroadshastings.ca For written enquiries you can reach us at: PenWord Communications Inc. P.O. Box 124, Tweed, ON K0K 3J0

Spring 2017 • Country Roads

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Among the many subjects for David Milne’s painting was the Catholic Church on Sherbourne Street in Bancroft, now the home of the Old Tin Shed boutique

Community portraits Legendary artist Milne captured essence of North Hastings

BY SARAH VANCE • PHOTOS COURTESY DAVID MILNE JR.

D

avid B. Milne first came to Bancroft with his canoe and camping supplies on the I B & O Railway in 1947.

He was already recognized as one of Canada’s greatest artists. He had exhibited alongside Monet, Matisse, Picasso, Braque and Duchamp and the American modernists at the famous Armory Show in New York in 1913 yet he was still little known to the Canadian general public.

Milne came to the area and specifically to Baptiste Lake to paint and to find a waterfront property on which to build a cabin. He returned in the spring of 1948 with his wife Kathleen and son David Jr. and built a log cabin on a remote shore of Baptiste. There was no charge for the land but he had to pay a $90 survey fee.

When Milne first arrived in Bancroft after dark on September 9, 1947, he was tired from the long train ride, the Bancroft Hotel was full and he thought the town “anything but impressive.”

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Country Roads • Spring 2017

The next morning, when he had a chance to see the town in daylight “with high hills all round” he considered it the finest painting town he had ever seen. Over the next few years he would do many sketches and paintings of the area, which are now prized treasures in private and public collections.

The Dept. of Lands and Forests office on Chemaushgon Road, where Beacon Construction is today, provided the vantage point for his painting of Eight Sided House, a home still standing on Alice Street today.

Milne would have noticed the octagonal frame building on the opposite side of the river from the Forestry office where he arranged for the survey and applied for the deed for his Baptiste property.

“It was the hills that he loved so much about this area,” says David Jr. “He could paint the details of one hill while standing on another.”

In Bancroft he painted the town from the heights of Cleak Street, the view across the river from the location of the present curling rink, the public school on Flint Street as well as many pictures of the eight-sided house and the train station. On Sherbourne Street, Milne did a number of paintings of the Catholic Church, now home of the popular Old Tin Shed boutique.

Railway cars on a siding and the Canada Packers Feed Mill on Station Street with the large arena beside it and the station, water tower and turning shed across the street were also catalysts for Milne’s creativity. The train was a lifeline for Milne, who never owned a car. David Jr. remembers his mother and father placing mail-orders from the Eaton’s Catalogue and the accompanying excitement when the train would bring parcels from the department store.

In those days, the fire department suspended its water hoses 40 feet in the air in a tower behind

The Department of Lands and Forests office provided the vantage point for Milne’s painting of the eight-sided house, a home still standing today.

The tower behind the fire station provided a fine painting subject for Milne and the painting York River is now a valued piece in the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

the fire station on Hastings Street in order to dry the fabric after a fire. This tower with surrounding buildings, seen from across the York River, provided a fine painting subject for Milne. The painting, titled York River, is now a treasured part of the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s permanent collection.

Another painting subject for Milne was the abandoned train station at Birds Creek. Every

month or so he would paddle from his cabin to High Falls then walk to Birds Creek, resting on the platform of the empty station while waiting for the noon time bus into Bancroft.

Baptiste Lake was a much smaller community during Milne’s time there. His nearest neighbour was trapper and canoe builder Charlie McCallister on the north shore near the present Scott’s Cottages. Sam Baptiste’s home was a stopping

Although he had exhibited alongside the greats of the art world David Milne, shown in New York in 1909, was relatively unknown to the Canadian public at the time of his move to the Bancroft area.

place in the winter on Milne’s weekly ski trip to Grant’s Store for supplies. Elizabeth Grant and her daughter Mabel were always kind, inviting Milne in to the living quarters for ‘a cup of tea’ which would usually turn out to be a full meal. Mr. Lake on the hill behind the store, the Summers family at the Chateau, the Peevers, Frank Lavalley, Sammy Hancock and Art Nicol at Birch Cliff were all people Milne knew and visited with.

The main industry on Baptiste was Martin’s Mill, a large operation for the area with booms of logs being towed down the lake to be turned into lumber at the sawmill. Milne and other residents set their clocks by the noon hour whistle and Milne sometimes piled his canoe with rough lumber to take to the cabin site for flooring and roofing.

Milne was an outdoorsman who traveled on the lake by canoe in the summer and on skis in the winter. He explored and painted the area around the lake and in the village of Bancroft. In the winter he skied five miles through the woods to the Hickey settlement and then caught the Bancroft – Maynooth bus.

Most of Milne’s paintings were of Baptiste Lake, particularly Blueberry Island and the view of the McGarry Hills from his cabin. He painted High Falls and the dam, Paddy Cox’s Bay and Bowers Mountain, the view from Birch Cliff Lodge and from the high land above the store, Camp Makwan, Lavalley Bay and many more locations.

Hiking and exploring were both recreation and part of the creative process for him. His favourite destinations were the abandoned settlements around the lake: the Sears Settlement and the Spring 2017 • Country Roads

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Martin’s Mill was the main industry on Baptiste Lake and Milne sometimes piled lumber from the mill in his canoe to take to his cabin site for flooring and roofing.

A train passes along the shore of Baptiste Lake. The lake featured in many of David Milne’s paintings, while the train was a lifeline for Milne, who never owned a car, and railway cars were often a catalyst for his creativity.

Hickey Settlement were both frequently painted.

In the evenings after dinner, he would sit in an old captain’s chair in the cabin, feet on the oven door and contemplate the brush strokes on the paintings he done that day.

David Jr. remembers the evening contemplation of the day’s painting as important a part of his father’s life as chopping wood, hauling water, and stocking the fire for the night.

It was not an easy life but Milne prided himself on being able to persevere despite the challenges living in an isolated location.

He had found a kindred spirit in his wife Kathleen, who he’d met many years earlier, at Six Mile Lake near Georgian Bay. She had been camping with friends on the Severn River when

one day she went paddling on Six Mile Lake, a storm came up and she was swept into Milne’s Bay and rescued by him.

Kathleen was an independent career woman, who had pursued post-graduate studies in nursing when she met Milne, and the two developed a lifelong partnership of mutual respect and adoration.

Kathleen’s was a voice for Milne’s artistic process. She kept a diary and took notes on his paintings which today provide art historians and curators an invaluable window into his creativity.

The couple moved permanently to Bancroft with their son in 1952.

Many of Milne’s most famous titles were painted from sketches that the artist made while he lived in Baptiste and Bancroft. The paintings

are now in the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, which has a dedicated Milne room with videos of Baptiste Lake, the McMichael Gallery and every other major gallery in Canada.

Milne’s special relationship with North Hastings is continued by his son, who operates Birch Cliff Lodge, a popular tourist destination on Baptiste Lake.

Milne’s granddaughter Mary Milne, a Genie Award winning singer and songwriter, also resides in North Hastings with her family.

While it is believed that all of Milne’s paintings are accounted for, local legend has it that a long lost painting may hang thick within the walls of the historic Arlington, in Maynooth.

•

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R E M E M B E R I N G

Building a Nation

1867 - 2017

Two Tweed families did their part

BY BARRY PENHALE

An example of family longevity, Don Rashotte of Tweed was a mere 94 years of age when interviewed for this article in September, 2016.

Photo courtesy Rosemary (Rashotte) Gaylord

This 1952 photo shows the inviting wide main street of Tweed with the Tweedsmuir Hotel sign plainly visible.

Photographer not identified. Photo courtesy Lewis Gaylor Collection (Gaylord Hardwood Flooring)

S

ettled in the 1830s, the community on Stoco Lake now known as Tweed was originally called Hungerford Mills, named after the township. Later renamed after the Tweed River in southeastern Scotland, the settlement was incorporated as a village in 1891.

Tweed was a bustling place when I first began visiting during the 1950s. Tourism following the end of the Second World War was enjoying remarkable growth and Tweed was to benefit from an influx of visitors unlike any previously experienced. The village’s location on the very doorstep to fabled fishing waters and unrivalled Precambrian Shield scenery was an advantage not enjoyed by many other communities. These were indeed boom times and with each additional visit I became more enthralled by the village and full of admiration for a handful of Tweed’s most dynamic citizens.

In that exclusive category, along with Tweed News publisher Sam Curry, already a legend in weekly newspaper circles, two notable families long identified with the business life of Tweed and environs stood out -- the Courneya and Rashotte families, whose Canadian ancestral history predates colonization in Ontario.

Evidence of early arrivals to New France indentifies the presence of the Courneya family dating back to 1675. A plaque in the historic old quarter of Quebec City commemorates the arrival of the earliest Rashottes, whose name at the time was spelled “Rageot.” Early on they toiled in the Quebec bush until word of an abundance of timber in today’s eastern Ontario proved to be the magnet that lured them to the Tweed district.

Two dedicated genealogists have done wonders assembling remarkably thorough accounts of the Courneya family (Nora Kearney, Belleville) and the Rashotte family (Mike Rashotte, Florida). Their exceedingly detailed research plus the findings of

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Country Roads • Spring 2017

others represents an important local genealogical depository to be accessed at the Tweed & Area Heritage Centre.

It is doubtful if a more genial ambassador for the village of Tweed ever existed than the enterprising Edward James “Ted” Courneya. Under his stewardship the Tweedsmuir Hotel became known as a “high quality food destination” province-wide.

The Courneya family was well-known in the hospitality field. Ted’s father, E.J. “Eddie” Courneya, with 22 years experience as owner/operator of the Queen’s Hotel in Tamworth, had purchased the old Huyck House Hotel in Tweed in 1944. Following major renovations a contest was held to rename The Huyck House, which, since 1886, had played a significant role in the growth of the young village. The contest created much excitement though it was not anticipated that nine different individuals would each propose the same name — “The Tweedsmuir.” A draw of names followed and the result found George Clark of Tweed declared the contest winner.

Ted Courneya took over The Tweedsmuir in 1953 following wartime service in the RCAF and five years in the hotel business in Northbrook. Such words as ambience and even atmosphere were not in vogue back then but The Tweedsmuir had plenty to spare. During Ted Courneya’s tenure the Hotel Tweedsmuir’s dining room wowed patrons with an eye-catching theme based upon the culture of Canada’s indigenous people. Native-made moccasins, porcupine-quill baskets and even a full-size birch bark canoe suspended from the ceiling (the canoe possibly the work of Johnny Bey from the Mazinaw area) added to the “outdoorsy” décor. Colourful masks on the wall under concealed lights were based on originals in the Royal Ontario Museum.

All renovations to the tastefully remodelled hotel were made under the capable direction of Felix

Rashotte and, whenever possible, local suppliers and tradesmen were involved.

For many diners the ‘piece de resistance’ when eating at The Tweedsmuir was the charming rustic furniture made from native Canadian kiln-dried Eastern Cedar and widely-marketed under the name RustiCana. The last family member to operate what began as the Rusti-Cana division of the Rashotte Lumber Company, headquartered in Tweed, was the affable Richard Rashotte, who took over in 1973.

In the fall of 2016, a meeting with Richard and his father, Don Rashotte, aged 94, proved to be an enjoyable and informative occasion made all the more so by the addition of Don’s daughter, Rosemary Gaylord. I was to be treated to some important tid-bits of information generally not known outside of the Rashotte family. An example was hearing of a trip to Wiarton that Don and Ted Courneya had made in the early 1960s, meeting there with Cecil Warder, whose concept for a rugged line of furniture appealed to them. Once back home Don, at the time president of the Rashotte Lumber Company, began the manufacture of his own line of attractive furniture substantially refined in size and Rusti-Cana was born.

While we were together Richard Rashotte mused on the market demands during the heyday of RustiCana when it was necessary to go full tilt to satisfy the needs of cottagers and the hospitality industry.

Customers included many popular area resorts including Fernleigh Lodge, Twin Pines, Birch Cliff Lodge, Limerick Lodge and Kirk Cove. One cannot possibly know how many surviving pieces of RustiCana are out there today in cottages and homes.

So popular was this uniquely Canadian furniture that a vice-president from the famous department store chain, Eaton’s, came to Tweed to meet with Richard. Assorted pieces of Rusti-Cana were shipped as far away as Florida and the Yukon. Rich-

R E M E M B E R I N G Various colour images from surviving catalogues rekindle memories of the Rusti-Cana line of cedar furniture that was for many years immensely popular with homeowners and cottagers.

Photo courtesy Chris Rashotte (Rashotte Home Building Centre)

Acknowledgements: Don & Richard Rashotte; Rosemary (Rashotte) Gaylord, Lewis Gaylord (Gaylord Hardwood Flooring); Chris Rashotte (Rashotte Home Building Centre); Tweed News; and Evan Morton (Tweed & Area Heritage Centre)

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Whenever families get together it is commonplace to remember those hardy individuals who came before us and their place in building the country. Felix Rashotte operated Tweed’s first garage while Louis Rashotte, another pioneer garage operator, was born in Tweed in 1891 and died in 1995 at Northbrook, having lived past his 104th birthday. His accommodating a hip replacement at age 100 should have earned him a place in the Guiness Book of Records.

Joe Rashotte, with but Grade Three education, went on to employ a staff of 30 as he designed and built numerous noteworthy schools and churches across eastern Ontario. It was Joe who came up with the innovative idea of moveable walls in schools!

And speaking of landmarks, the Joseph Rashotte Company built St. Carthagh School (1939) and Tweed’s ever so familiar municipal building (1950).

Finally, Raphael Rashotte added to a remarkable family’s lasting legacy by contributing an architecturally significant style to Tweed in the form of the 1939 “Art Moderne” residence located at 139 Victoria Street South. An “eye-opener” when constructed, it remains a landmark worth discovering for anyone who plans to include some touring of Hastings County during this important year for Canada.

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ard Rashotte with a chuckle recalled his 15-year dealings with an entrepreneurial New Yorker who profitably sold Rusti-Cana at greatly inflated prices, assuring his customers that each item was handcrafted by Natives from the wilds of Canada.

Descendants of some of the earliest settlers, circa 1850s, remain active in the area, some living as did their ancestors within the locale known as ‘The French Settlement,’ situated three to four kilometres north of Tweed. Such names as Le Sage, Morrow, Trudeau (not the PM but related), Fobert, Bergeron and Langevin, plus the ever-present Courneyas and Rashottes, are still very much in abundance.

A number of variants in both spelling and pronunciation have cropped up over time. Tweed & Area Heritage Centre curator Evan Morton has informed me of at least five different spellings of Courneya.

I have held with one spelling — the same one I first encountered upon meeting Ted Courneya. Unfortunately he is no longer with us to comment on family name spellings, having passed on in Kingston in 1985 and is buried in St. Carthage Church Cemetery, Tweed. His legacy went beyond business achievements. He served as the longtime chairman of the Tweed Branch of the Canadian Arthritis Society and volunteered with Branch #426 of the Royal Canadian Legion. It is interesting to note that his wife, Dora, a personality in her own right, served on Tweed’s ‘All Female Council’ in our Centennial year, 1967 — first of its kind until repeated in the United States, some time later.

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Individuals or families interested in adopting a dog such as Miles must go through a vetting process that includes filling out an application form and having a home visit.

Photo courtesy HART dog rescue

Come on and rescue me Local rescues save lives with social media

BY MICHELLE ANNETTE TREMBLAY

A

s hard as she tried, Alison Sabo couldn’t sleep. Restless in bed, she kept thinking about a social media post from earlier that day. It had been a photo and brief description of a big friendly dog, likely a Briard, named Kevin. He was a province away, in a Montreal shelter, due to be euthanized within a matter of days because no-one had adopted him. She got out of bed and fired up her computer.

“Look at this poor grimy little face. Can we get this dog?” Sabo posted on Facebook. It was the middle of the night and she was thinking of making the six-hour drive to Montreal.

Sabo is the current President of HART, the Highlands Animals Relief Team, centred in Bancroft. The volunteer organization has been

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Country Roads • Spring 2017

rescuing, rehabilitating, and re-homing abused and abandoned dogs in the Bancroft area (and sometimes beyond) since 1995. With more than 50 volunteers and 2840 followers on Facebook, HART has a wide network of dog lovers and rescuers that work together, across the region. On average they re-home about 100 dogs per year.

People started responding to Sabo’s post almost immediately, and a network of volunteer drivers was quickly coordinated, with each person driving Kevin an hour or so toward Bancroft.

Within a week, Kevin had been adopted into his new forever home, where he now happily romps about with his new family.

“If we’d been just one day later, Kevin would be dead,” says Sabo, explaining how instrumen-

tal Facebook is to rescue initiatives. “Facebook is tremendous for dog rescue. Finding volunteers, adopters; it’s the best thing that ever happened.

In Kevin’s case it was on Facebook that I saw his picture and thought, ‘I can’t let that dog die.’ We got drivers because of Facebook. And ultimately Kevin was adopted because of Facebook.”

Members of Home Again, another animal rescue organization in Bancroft, say the same thing.

“It would be cumbersome to adopt out dogs without the internet. Luckily we never had to try, because we weren’t founded until 2009,” explains Home Again secretary Mary Freeman.

“Our website is essential for getting dogs adopted. It’s linked to Petfinder, which is in turn linked to Kijiji. And Home Again’s Facebook

Dog rescue organizations will often adopt senior dogs out to senior citizens, as they make excellent companions for older folks. They are past the puppy stage, enjoy cuddling, and are usually already well trained.

Photo courtesy Home Again

page is extremely important as an immediate information source. When someone’s pet goes missing, or a dog is available for adoption, that information is posted and then seen by our 1482 members.”

Both HART and Home Again – along with North Hastings’ third rescue organization, Newf Friends, which specifically re-homes Newfoundland dogs - rely solely on volunteers. Some people manage the websites and Facebook pages, others donate dog food or money for vet care.

Some people foster dogs waiting to be adopted.

Others volunteer to transport dogs. Even just sharing the Facebook posts is a huge help, insists Sabo.

“I loved being a foster,” gushes Melanie Huddart, a teacher in Bancroft. “My son and I fostered a very sweet dog through HART. It felt great to help Brandy on her way to a new family and a better life, and in the meantime my son and I enjoyed all the fun of having a dog without the long-term commitment. We got to ‘try on’ having a dog. It was so rewarding.” Huddart says she’ll likely foster again at some point. “And if we happen to foster a dog that’s a good fit in our household, we would certainly consider adopting.”

While a dog is being fostered, the rescue organization covers the cost of food and veterinary bills with money they raise through bake sales, fashion shows, BBQs and golf tournaments. Most dogs that come into HART and Home Again require at the very least vaccinations, microchipping, and spaying or neutering.

HART boasts more than 50 volunteers and 2840 followers on Facebook, and re-homes an average of 100 dogs each year.

Photo by Sandra Nicholson

Putting a rescued dog in a foster home gives a sense of how the animal will respond in a typical domestic environment, something pound staff never gets a chance to see but offers potential adopters valuable information.

Photo courtesy Home Again

Often there are larger problems, like infections, dental decay, and injuries. Adoption fees alone come nowhere near covering the rehabilitation costs, hence the need to constantly fundraise.

Hounds have an especially rough time, as they are ubiquitous in North Hastings and often get lost or injured during the fall hunt. Sometimes underperforming hunting dogs are abandoned in the woods, or worse, shot.

Dudley is a beagle that was abandoned a few months ago by his owner at the Faraday Municipal Pound, just a few minutes outside Bancroft, because he was apparently “no good for hunting anymore.” Sabo happened to arrive at the Pound that same day to pick up two other hounds, and found Dudley, happy but struggling. He couldn’t walk more than a few steps before lying down for a rest.

Both HART and Home Again regularly pay the fees to remove dogs from the solitude of being penned up in the pound, and move them into foster homes where they can be properly cared for before being adopted. That day, Sabo took all three hounds from the pound, including Dudley.

“Humane societies and municipal pounds do the very best they can with the resources they have available, but they’re just holding places, and being penned up in a strange place can be traumatic for dogs,” explains Sabo, who has personally fostered almost 200 dogs. “Our top priority is to get dogs out of the pound and into foster care. It’s so much better for the dogs and it greatly increases the likelihood of a success-

ful adoption because the dog has been assessed.”

Sabo explains that pound staff never gets a chance to see how a dog behaves in a typical home environment. They can’t tell potential adopters if the dog is going to chew everything up, or if he’s good with other pets or children.

The face that launched a rescue effort. Thanks to the immediacy of social media and a cadre of dedicated volunteers, Kevin was rescued from a Montreal shelter by the Highlands Animal Relief Team shortly before he was due to be euthanized.

Photo courtesy HART dog rescue

Spring 2017 • Country Roads

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Alison Sabo is the current president of HART, which has been rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing abused and abandoned dogs in North Hastings since 1995. Photo courtesy HART dog rescue

Hounds like Dudley are a particular concern in North Hastings as they can often get lost, injured or abandoned during the fall hunt. He was left at the Faraday Municipal Pound, just outside of Bancroft, where he was picked up by Sabo.

Photo courtesy HART dog rescue

There are lots of wonderful people who will take a chance and adopt dogs from the pound, but many adopters want more information about a dog than the pound can reliably provide.

“At HART, every foster has a checklist of criteria they’re supposed to assess,” continues Sabo. “Things like: how is your foster dog on leash, in the car, alone, when someone goes near his food dish; how they are with other animals, children, cats, etc. When people are applying to adopt, we know everything about

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Country Roads • Spring 2017

Volunteer organizations like HART, Home Again and Newf Friends cover costs of food and veterinary bills while dogs are being fostered, hence the need for fundraising events and displays such as this one in Maynooth, with Rosemarie Dixon on duty.

Photo courtesy Home Again

the dogs in our care, and can assess which dogs are a good match.”

Once Dudley was in foster care he was examined by a vet. It turned out he had severe dysplasia in both elbows. It was no wonder why he wasn’t a good hunter anymore. He was in constant terrible pain. By sharing his story on Facebook and collecting donations, HART raised the $3500 necessary for the Ununited Anconeal Process (UAP) surgery necessary to repair Dudley’s elbows. Within six weeks Dudley was rehabilitated, running around with his other canine foster friends, and a couple weeks later he was adopted into his new forever home. He has traded in his hunting days for belly rubs.

Hounds tend to get adopted by people in urban centres much more quickly than in rural areas.

That’s partly because hounds frequently wander off in rural areas: most rural people don’t have fenced yards, and hounds will put their noses down, catch a scent and follow it. Sometimes they’ll follow it for days before stopping, at which point they’re lost. Also, hounds tend to be a dime a dozen in rural Ontario. Fewer people in rural areas are interested in paying an adoption fee for a hound. For this reason, HART and Home Again hounds often end up being adopted by people in larger towns and cities, who see the adoption posts online.

“Rural Ontario has a different culture in terms of how some people relate to their animals, especially hunting dogs,” says Home Again’s VicePresident, Christine Walker, a dog-person through and through who also runs Copper Creek Kennel.

“Of course there are many people who treat their hunting dogs like family members, but some others have a different relationship. There’s a cultural divide that we have to understand and not judge.”

She refers to an ‘old-school’ mentality in which dogs are sometimes less pets than they

are workers, especially hunting dogs. These are hounds that are cared for, but might never have been inside a house. They might be six years old and not house trained. They might not have ever walked on a leash, or encountered stairs before.

These dogs need extra patience and encouragement from their foster families to help them learn to be excellent pets before being adopted out.

Sometimes hounds are dropped off at the pound like Dudley, or surrendered to HART or Home Again’s care. Sometimes they end up in a rescue organization after being saved by the SPCA. More often though, hounds end up at the pound after becoming separated from their owners during the fall hunt.

“The Ontario Deer Hound Association (ODHA) uses our Home Again Facebook page to try to re-unite hunting dogs with their owners,” explains Freeman. “When the fall hunt is over unclaimed dogs are auctioned off by the ODHA. If any are still left after auction, Home Again re-homes them.”

Rehabilitating and re-homing dogs isn’t all the rescues do, though. Both Home Again and HART offer a spay and neuter program for low-income pet owners, in partnership with local vets. Organizers say they see a huge measurable benefit to the spay and neuter programs. Sabo recounts a period a few years ago when HART didn’t have enough funds to offer the spay/neuter program, and they saw a sharp increase in the number of young dogs being abandoned or surrendered.

Once the program was reintroduced, the number of abandoned and surrendered dogs dropped back down.

Organizers point out that while there can be a stigma around surrendering a pet, it is often the very best option. HART and Home Again understand that sometimes matters are just out of the hands of pet owners: marriages fall apart, people

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The fun starts in May in Warkworth, Campbellford and Hastings and continues throughout the year.

Spay and neuter programs are an important element of the services provided by both HART and Home Again, and have played a key role in reducing the number of young dogs abandoned or surrendered.

Photo courtesy Home Again

become ill, financial circumstances change, people die...there are many reasons why someone may need to give up their pet, and surrendering to a reputable foster-based rescue initiative is often the best option for everyone. They have excellent success rates.

A big factor in that success is the vetting process. People interested in adopting a dog from HART, Home Again or Newf Friends must fill out an application form and have a home visit to ensure they can provide a safe and loving environment before being able to adopt. Once an applicant has been approved, they can visit with the dog they’re interested in at the foster’s house. The organizations are careful to consider the compatibility of applicants and adoptable dogs, and not all applications are approved.

“It’s about finding the perfect match,” Walker says, describing the joy of placing a dog into a home that will suit their needs and temperament.

Visit HART or Home Again’s Facebook page and

you’ll see several posts from people who have adopted, updating the community on how well their dogs are doing and how much they’re loved.

“It’s a team effort,” says Walker, giving props to the many, many people that volunteer, donate and provide services. From local vets to business owners, volunteers, drivers, social media ambassadors, and of course the fosters, there are too many people to thank, but the organizations do their best regardless. These committed dogpeople make all the difference.

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If you are a dog person, and you’d like to help, you can find out more about volunteering, donating, upcoming events, and of course adopting at www.hartdogrescue.ca www. homeagainbancroft.ca and http://newffriends.blogspot.co.uk/ or on any of their Facebook pages.

www.deseronto.ca 613-396-2440 /Deseronto Experience Deseronto…

Situated in Hastings County at the heart of the Bay of Quinte region, with Prince Edward County at its doorstep; it’s the ideal destination for visiting, living and business.

Explore the historic downtown and uptown business district to discover a unique blend of specialty shops, antiques/collectibles, artisans, dining, culture and events.

Just a short stroll from downtown you’ll find the picturesque waterfront and many recreational pursuits & amenities it brings.

Urban advantages in a natural setting Spring 2017 • Country Roads

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celebrating life in hastings county

Country Roads

Advertiser Index

celebrating life in hastings county

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Bancroft Art Gallery of Bancroft Bancroft General Mercantile Birchcliff Lodge Bridge St. Art Cottage Docks 7 Dawn Ebelt, Registered ­Massage Therapist 11 Fudge Factory & Emporium Kathy Tripp, Broker, Royal LePage North Hastings Family Pharmacy Old Tin Shed Shoppers Drug Mart Belleville Glanmore House Loyalist College Ruttle Bros. Furniture Welcome Wagon Campbellford Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce Deseronto Deseronto, Town of Foxboro Village Green Hastings County Mike Bossio, MP Hastings Highlands Gallo Teck Electrical Contractor Madoc Johnston’s Pharmacy Madoc Home Hardware Renshaw Power Products Marlbank Golden Bough Tree Farm Marmora Boutique Inspiration Broadbent’s Home Hardware Building Centre Crowe Lake Cruises Jillian’s Antiques Marmora & Lake Municpality Firewood Plus Maynooth 13 Bee No. 5 PETERBOROUGH Foxfire Gallery, Gifts & Antiques Highlands Hot Tubs Madawaska Art Gallery Maynooth Markets Trails Edge Bed & Breakfast Ormsby Old Hastings Mercantile & Gallery Peterborough Discovery Dream Homes Stirling Pro Gas Stop Stirling Dental Stirling Manor Wells Ford Tweed Black River Trading Company LB Personal Services Rashotte Home Building Centre Tweed, Municipality of

Country Roads • Spring 2017

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Joe VanVeenen Map

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THE VILLAGE IDIOT

Beaver Tales

BY JOHN HOPKINS

I

n his book ‘Sajo and her Beaver People’ the author Grey Owl – widely acknowledged for his appreciation of our First Nations – remarks on the industriousness and intelligence of the beaver. He describes them as “the very wisest” among the creatures of the forest, and “especially respected” by the native Canadians.

I find I must also pay them a grudging respect, following the events of last autumn, although I might choose to use words like conniving and devious in my assessment.

We had been well aware that we shared our stretch of river with a family of beavers, among other wildlife, and we were quite prepared to live in harmony with them. We honestly try to fit in with the creatures around us, even if the geese and I didn’t get off on the right foot two years ago (Country Roads Fall 2015) and there are the issues with the party animals in the woodpile (Winter 2016-17).

So when we saw the beavers swimming by in the morning or evening, we smiled and waved and didn’t think too much of it. In fact, we were impressed at the regularity with which they made their passes, almost as if they were working to a finely honed internal schedule. We could almost predict their passage past our place by the time of day or the position of the sun in the sky.

When they started swimming closer and closer to our shore, including passing right under our dock, we thought it was fantastic. When one of them came up on shore for a brief rest not three feet from me, I took a video on my phone for my friends in the city to gawk at. Through all this it never crossed my mind that the beavers may have a darker purpose in mind.

Then one morning last fall as I was walking around outside I noticed that the view into

our neighbour’s yard was particularly clear, unobstructed, and I couldn’t understand why.

Then Nancy came out and, being a woman, she immediately understood what was missing. The large and flowering bush that had stood on the edge of the property had been cut down. It was there, on the ground, the trunk sheared cleanly.

It turned out the culprits had taken down some of our neighbour’s trees near the water, and had started to attack a rather large poplar in our backyard. The culprits were clear – beavers! All this had been done quite surreptitiously under the cover of night. We had not heard a thing, and our two cats had certainly not acted as if anything unusual was happening outside – the female in particular is quite attentive (see earlier reference to women vs. men).

After some rapid online researching protecting trees from rampaging beavers, Nancy and I spent the afternoon wrapping the exposed trunks of nearby trees in wire mesh and went to bed that night hoping that we would not awaken to the sound of crackling branches and a loud thud as the beavers continued their lumber activities.

There were no mishaps, and the autumn concluded with no further dramas.

Over the winter I’ve been reflecting on the events that led up to the beaver attack on our trees and bushes. All that time we had been watching them and plotting their schedule, had they actually been doing the same thing to us?

Did they notice when we were sitting on the dock and when we weren’t, then return to their lodge each night and on a large graph record our habits and patterns, devising the perfect time to strike? Did they know when we would be in bed and therefore unaware of their attack? It was all so deceptively simple, like a plot out of a John Le Carre spy story. These beavers were

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operating right under our noses, letting us think we were observing them when it was actually the other way around… I still get chills up my spine just thinking about it. “The very wisest among animals” indeed, Grey Owl. So now, as Spring arrives, I am starting to think more about the beavers, and what their plans might involve. Having found that we have wrapped tree trunks in wire mesh, will they move on to new targets, or do they have some other weapon up their sleeve? What new plot are they dreaming up? Or, being the cunning animals they are, is this all part of their plan, to torment me simply by making me worry about what they are plotting next?

What I do know is that, come the summer, I won’t be watching the beavers swim by with the same naïve innocence as last year. That’s right my oily-skinned friends – I will be spying on you. See how you like that! Then we’ll see who’s the wisest among animals…

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Spring 2017 • Country Roads

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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 613 968-0499.

ART GALLERIES/EXHIBITIONS ART GALLERY OF BANCROFT, 10 Flint Avenue, Bancroft, 613-332-1542 agb@nexicom.net www.artgallerybancroft.ca APRIL 5 – 29: Laura Culic “Invocation” MAY 23 - 27: “Invitation 2017” – Annual Juried Exhibition MAY 31 – JULY 1: Ted Duncan – Exhibition of Works A PLACE FOR THE ARTS Artist run cooperative, Community Trust offices and The Partista espresso bar all under one roof. A warm, welcoming space to meet and be inspired, aplaceforthearts.com 23 Bridge St W. Bancroft

THEATRE/LIVE ENTERTAINMENT BANCROFT VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE 5 Hastings St S. Bancroft 613-322-4682 www.boxofficebancroft.com.

BELLEVILLE THEATRE GUILD Pinnacle Theatre, 256 Pinnacle Street, Belleville 613-967-1442 or www.bellevilletheatreguild.ca.

MAR 30 – APRIL 15 - PRIDE & PREJUDICE by Jane Austen & adapted

by Jon Jory. In 1813 you have five daughters who cannot inherit and so must marry well. A charming and humorous drama of friendship, rivalry, mistaken beliefs, and love. Adults $20, Seniors $18, Students $10.

JUNE 1 - 17 – LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman. From the darkness of Skid Row comes a wild ride. A dark but hilarious musical tribute to the doowop music and B-rated horror movies of the 1950s. The score will have you tapping your toes and rethinking the extremes you would go to for love, fame, and fortune. Adults $25, Seniors $22, Students $10.

MAYNOOTH ANAF HALL, MAYNOOTH, ONTARIO APRIL 6 – 16 - JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL (and living in Maynooth), 8 performances over 2 weekends, the Old Community Centre.

Tickets $22 613-338-2862. Presented

by Performing Arts Bancroft in aid of Alzheimer support.

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

MAR 29 – APRIL 9 - XANADU Slap on your roller skates, pump up the glitter, and get hip to the muses in Xanadu, the laugh-out-loud musical stage adaptation of the 1980 film. Clio, the lovely and precocious Greek muse decides to put on some roller-skates and legwarmers, in order to help Sonny Malone, a chalk artist with half a brain and a heart of gold, rediscover his own creativity! Adults $24 -$28 Youth $15 MAY 26 -SUDDENLY MOMMY! Burrell (Upper) Hall. Written and performed by Anne Marie Scheffler, this is a comedy about the struggles to be a super mom and having it all. $20 8pm TWEED & COMPANY THEATRE, The Tweed Pavillion (Memorial Park) 416-476-1092 Tim Porter, Artistic Director tim@tweedandcompany.com JUNE 28 – JULY 7 - HASTINGS! A New Musical! This hilarious, foot stomping irreverent retelling of the history of Hastings County is sure to be the entertainment highlight of this season!

Written by the Tweed & Company Ensemble with the assistance of the Hastings County Historical Society, this show will run as part of the Canada 150 Celebrations. $20 Adults $10 Youth

ARE YOU NEW TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD? Visits are free.

No obligation.

Compliments of local businesses.

Sharon: (613) 475-5994 sharon.welcome2014@gmail.com

1-844-299-2466 www.welcomewagon.ca

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Country Roads • Spring 2017

EVENTS MARCH - APRIL – TREATS ON THE BLACK RIVER High water on the Black River signals the beginning of Whitewater Kayaking and great treats for sale at the river’s edge in Queensborough each weekend. Watch the fun and support the Queensborough Community Centre. Info: Lud and Elaine Kapusta 613 473-1458.

APRIL– A display of hats featuring pictures of the Trenton Easter Parade. Trenton Town Hall 1861 Heritage & Cultural Centre 55 King St. Trenton 613-394-1333 trentport@hotmail.ca www.facebook.com/trentontownhal APRIL (Date TBA) – M.A.C.K.fest Note: Tentative Date dependant on high water conditions. Marmora’s kayak festival; & Queensborough’s Treats on the Black River join together for a fantastic kayaking weekend. Info Lud & Elaine Kapusta 613 473-1458 or www.mackfest.ca APRIL 8 – FLOAT YOUR FANNY DOWN THE GANNY. Participants are encouraged to enter their craft or costume with a Canadian theme, while spectators are invited to dress in ‘Red and White’ to celebrate Canada 150 with us. www.floatyourfanny.ca APRIL 20 - 22 – PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY AUTHORS FESTIVAL - An exhilarating celebration of writers, readers and the written word with author readings of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, panel discussions, and writing workshops and more. www.pecauthorfest.com, Books & Co in Picton at 613-476-3037, or FB. APRIL 21 – BLOOD DONOR CLINIC Stirling Public School, 107 St. James Street, 5 to 8pm. In 2017 about 100,000 new blood donors will be needed to meet the needs of Canadian patients who require blood transfusions. Book your appointment 1 888 2 DONATE or online www.blood.ca APRIL 21 & 22 3RD ANNUAL STIRLINGRAWSON HOME RENOVATION & LIFESTYLE SHOW Thinking of updating your home or just want to see what’s

available in and around the community?

9am – 4pm, Stirling Arena, 435 W Front St, Stirling, ON. $2.50 admission. www.stirling-rawdon.com/homerenovation-lifestyle-show/ APRIL 22 –SOLDIER, SETTLER, SINNER: THE AMAZING JOURNEY OF CHARLES MACDONALD Hastings County Historical Society presents author, Jane Simpson, speaking briefly on the research that went into her new book, which will be launched by the Society in the Manly MacDonald Gallery at the Belleville Public Library, 254 Pinnacle St. Belleville, 2pm. All are welcome to attend this launch and learn about her research into why there are so many MacDonalds and Macdonalds in and around Point Anne area.

APRIL 24 – QUINTE FIELD NATURALIST FUNDRAISING EVENT “BEING A BIRD IN NORTH AMERICA” Join us for a delicious meal followed by an entertaining and informative talk by Robert Alvo, conservation biologist. Alvo will share highlights from his unique bird book, which brings its subject to life on the page with a blend of humour and science. A book signing will follow. 6pm St. Mark’s United Church, 237 Cannifton Road North, Belleville $28 Call Doug Newfield for tickets: 613-477-3066 APRIL 26 – HAM SUPPER 4:30pm Queensborough Community Centre 812 Bosley Road, Queensborough Katherine Sedgwick 613-473-2110 MAY 5 - 7 – BELLEVILLE’S 5TH ANNUAL JANE’S WALK This global event held the first weekend of May honours urban activist Jane Jacobs. Her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, called for an approach to city living that fosters healthy neighborhoods and communities. Lace up your walking shoes and bring your bike. Organized tours. Each walk (or ride) approx 1-1.5 hours. www. janeswalk.org/Canada/Belleville MAY 6 - 7 – STIRLING AUTOMOTIVE FLEA MARKET 9am to 5pm, Stirling Fairgrounds. Two big days loaded with

antique cars, parts and automobilia. Info Roxanne 613-395-1583 or 613-921-6936 treasurer@stirlingfair.com MAY 7 – QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY CENTRE ANNUAL PANCAKE BREAKFAST 8am to Noon at 1853 Queensborough Road.

For info Ann Brooks 613 473-4550 MAY 7 – THE MOTHER OF ALL CRAFT SHOWS - This indoor/outdoor event features incredible artists and artisans, live music and a licensed bar. Items generously donated by the artisans raffled off with proceeds benefiting Fixed Fur Life. Admission $2, kids free. Rain or shine. 10am - 4pm The River Inn, 79 River Road, Corbyville. www.motherofallcraftshows.com MAY 14 - OUT OF AFRICA - The Belleville Choral Society welcomes honoured guest, Kenyan tenor Eddie Baraka Mony, of the Jacobs School of Music, University of Indiana.

3 pm Adults: $20, $5 Youth (under 18) Bridge Street United Church, 60 Bridge St, E, Belleville MAY 20 – TWEED ANNUAL PLANT SALE - 8:00am - 12:00pm, Tweed Memorial Park. Elizabeth Churcher 613-478-3205 elizchurcher@hotmail.com MAY 24 - VICTORIA TEA – Featuring sandwiches & desserts Noon or 2pm – $10 pp Trenton Town Hall 1861 Heritage & Cultural Centre 55 King St. Trenton 613-394-1333 trentport@hotmail.ca www.facebook.com/trentontownhal MAY 28 - 4TH ANNUAL ROTARY LILAC RIDE - Join us for our 4th annual Picton Rotary charity cycling event supporting PEC’s “Reaching For Rainbows” (reachingforrainbows.com).All routes will start and finish in Picton at the Prince Edward Community Centre Rotary Hall.

Refreshments available at route check points and a Post Ride BBQ will be provided. For info and registration visit www.pictonrotary.com JUNE 10 & 11 – ODESSA 2017 44TH CAR SHOW – FLEA MARKET & CRAFTS Antique Car Parts & More. Odessa Fairgrounds. 8am – 5pm. Admission $4, Children 12 & under free.

C O U N T R Y

C A L E N D A R

Things to see and do in and around Hastings County.

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

CLUBS, LECTURES, MEETINGS HASTINGS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 100 College St W, Belleville, Lectures 7:30pm All are welcome, ample parking. www.hastingshistory.ca.

APRIL 18 - CABHC Archivist, Amanda Hill, on the 100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPENING OF THE DESERONTO AIR CAMPS and the town’s contribution to WWI.

MAY 16 - Teacher, dynamic speaker and historical author John Boyko on his book, BLOOD AND DARING: HOW CANADA FOUGHT THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR AND FORGED A NATION. QUINTE FIELD NATURALISTS ASSOCIATION - Meetings 7pm, Sills Auditorium, Bridge Street United Church, Belleville. All welcome, by donation.

MAR 27 – MOTUS WILDLIFE TRACKING This most ambitious bird tracking initiative in the world is leading to spectacular discoveries! Motus Program Manager Stuart Mackenzie, will explain the project, share some of the discoveries and discuss how this technology will aid in conservation efforts.

ATTENTION EVENT ORGANIZERS

To submit your community, arts or non-profit event, free of charge, for print and online publication, please visit www.countryroadshastings.ca and fill in our online form or email us your listing to info@countryroadshastings.ca.

DEADLINES TO SUBMIT EVENTS AS FOLLOWS: FEBRUARY 26 – for early April thru mid June MAY 6 – for Mid June thru mid September AUGUST 5 – for mid September thru early December OCTOBER 28 – for early December thru early April

marketplace

Celebrating Life in Hastings County

LAWN & GARDEN

AUTOMOTIVE • Gas Bar • Convenience Store • Laundromat • Movie Rentals • Propane

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

SALES & SERVICE

GRAVELY-ARIENS TROY-BILT-BOLENS

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

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

BRAD COMEAU Professional Corporation Law Office

• Lawn & Garden Tractors • Roto-Tillers

Box 569, 33 Mill Street, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0

With 35+ years experience, Small but knowledgeable.

Ph: 613-395-3397 Fx: 613-395-3398 Tf: 877-565-1626

(613) 473-5160 • R.R. #5, Madoc, ON K0K 2K0

Real Estate, Wills & Estates

(1 mile N. of Ivanhoe on Hwy. 62 - #11700)

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

bcomeau@countrylawyer.on.ca www.countrylawyer.on.ca Member of Ontario & PEI Law Societies

SPECIALTY SHOPPING

Dawn Ebelt, R.M.T. Registered Massage Therapist

Wells Ford Sales Ltd

48 Belleville Rd., P.O. Box 160 Stirling, Ontario K0K 3E0

Wells

Body Shop: 613-395-3378 Wells Ford: 613-395-3375 Toll Free: 1-800-637-5944 Service: 613-395-3377

Providing effective treatments since 2003

@PhysioNorth

237 Hastings St. N Bancroft

call 613-332-1010 cell 613-318-8227 debelt@sympatico.ca

North American Customer Excellence Award Winner

HEALTH

LB PERSONAL SERVICES Lawrence A. Bennett CLU CHS Estate & Financial Planner TAX CONSULTANT

Celebrating Family, Friendship & Love

613-395-2596

www.stirlingmanor.com

c. 613-743-3116 o. 613-478-1116 LBPersonalServices@gmail.com 340A Victoria Street, Tweed, ON K0K3J0 LBPersonalServices.com

218 Edward Street, Stirling

the

COMPASS

SEASONAL

GOLDEN BOUGH TREE FARM GOLDEN BOUGH TREE FARM OPEN HOUSE

Providing bare root Trees & Shrubs to all of Canada for over 40 years

Saturday & Sunday, April 28 & 29 9:00am to 4:00pm Come, browse and choose from our great selection of bare root trees and shrubs.

OPEN HOUSE April 29/30 END of SEASON SALE May 6/7 900 Napanee Road, Marlbank, ON K0K 2L0 www.goldenboughtrees.ca

END OF SEASON CLEARANCE

VISIT WWW.COUNTRYROADSHASTINGS.CA AND SIGN UP FOR THE COUNTRY ROADS’ NEWSLETTER TODAY!

Saturday & Sunday, May 5 & 6 Great buys on over-sized & leftover trees & shrubs.

Cash Payment

900 Napanee Road, P.O. Box 5, Marlbank, ON K0K 2L0 www.goldenboughtrees.ca

Spring 2017 • Country Roads

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Back Roads

Spring Rafting When the Spring thaws come the water runs fast and furious, making rafting an exciting activity. And judging by this early 1970s photo by Ian Robertson, these events brought out the spectators as well.

Photo courtesy of Community Archives of Belleville & Hastings County

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Country Roads • Spring 2017

MARMORA AND LAKE SHOP, DINE, REST, SEEK ADVENTURE...

Crowe Lake Cruises

OPEN

TUES. THRU SUN.

MARMORA, ONTARIO

YEAR ROUND 5 MINUTES NORTH OF MARMORA

ROOM AFTER ROOM FULL OF ANTIQUES, PRIMITIVES, REPRO & NEW ITEMS FOR YOUR HOME AND GARDEN

An awesome place to shop, there’s something for everyone - plus!

Daytime Tours of Crowe River, Crowe Lake and Beaver Creek CALL OR TEXT

613.743.4166

SUNSET CRUISE OF CROWE LAKE

Jillian’s Antiques & Things 613.472.0436

Firewoodplus

www.facebook.com/antiques.things

Good Times in Marmora

www.crowelakecruises.com Have some fun and adventure on the water with us!

Antiques & Photography Props 1027 Cordova Road, Marmora

Spring

High Shore Road & Hwy 7, Marmora (3 kms west of town)

“The Firewood Experts” Sales, Delivery & Custom Orders • Commercial Accounts Call or text Doug 613.743.4166 info@firewoodplus.ca • www.firewoodplus.ca

FARMERS’ MARKET KICK-OFF: May 20, 8 am - 2 pm at Memorial Park Marmora Tourism Centre open seven days a week - Victoria Day to Thanksgiving Think red & white this year when planting your gardens and flower boxes.

Help beautify Marmora and Lake for Canada Day! VISIT FRIENDLY & UNIQUE LOCAL BUSINESSES

Check out lots more at www.marmoraandlake.ca

Boutique Inspiration HOME DECOR • ARTWORK • GIFTWARE

LADIES CLOTHING•HANDBAGS•JEWELLERY CATALOGUE MERCHANT

18 Forsyth St., Marmora • 613 472-0999 www.bmr.co

DREAM HOMES

. o d e w t a h w s ’ t ...I

L O G

T I M B E R F R A M E

1-866-395-LOGS

w w w. dis c ove r y dre a mh o me s . c o m

H Y B R I D