Photo: Front:  John Gemmell, Janet Gutowski, Betty Hunter, Ruth Wark, Gordon Monroe, Morley Wark, Jack Elzinga, Karen Lindop-Beckwith, Brian Stewart, Ken Sinclair with some of the many SRSC volunteers in the background. Photograph by Doug Syme.

It was a beautiful day and there was a marvellous turnout for the official opening and ribbon cutting for the newly renovated Snow Road Snowmobile Club clubhouse. Club executive and members were pleased to welcome Gordon Monroe representing the Ontario Trillium Foundation who had made a $60,000 grant in April 2011 to supplement the $24,000 the club had raised with various fundraising events over several years. Early preparation of paperwork by club treasurer Karen Beckwith with assistance from Lanark Highlands Councilor Tom Lalonde and Megan Sargeant in applying for the grant got the major project underway.

Club president, Ruth Wark, pointed out that even with these funds the renovations would not have been possible without the very generous support and donations from local businesses and the multitude of volunteers who turned up week after week, both male and female. Special thanks were given to Crains' Construction for donation and installation of the expanded septic system, which was required to meet new regulations, as well as for the loan of heavy equipment when needed.

Ontario Trillium Foundation representative Gordon Monroe spoke briefly on the Foundation and how it supports projects such as this across the province, and helping update and upgrade community spaces is a major part of their grant activity.

MC Alice Gilchrist, aided by Vice-President Phil Wark, introduced dignitaries from both Lanark and Frontenac Counties who attended the event. Frontenac Warden Janet Gutowski, wearing the full regalia of her office, voiced her support of the club. As a snowmobiler she is well aware of the continuous time and effort needed to maintain club operations. Frontenac County is working towards expanding their multi-use trail systems. North Frontenac Councilor Betty Hunter praised the club for its work and support of charitable organizations in the community. As a regular attendee at club events she noted that everyone is welcomed with a happy smile. Lanark County Warden John Gemmell complimented the club and expressed admiration for the strong volunteer spirit in the community. Deputy Mayor of Lanark Highlands, Brian Stewart, voiced his support for the club and its operations and saying the clubhouse is an excellent emergency shelter. Lanark Highlands Councilor Ken Sinclair was also present. It was gratifying to club members and volunteers to hear the praise and support from both townships and counties.

Current and past club executive, members and volunteers along with snowmobilers from BEAST and Athens were present to enjoy the refreshments and camaraderie. Visitors were impressed with the building upgrades and the extent of the renovations and commitment of the executive and volunteers to bring about the successful conclusion of this major project. The clubhouse now has a capacity of 100, and continues to be available to the community for celebration of life events ranging from baby showers to anniversaries, birthdays, family reunions, retirements, etc.

For those who missed this official opening, you have the opportunity to see the clubhouse this weekend at their first ever Canada Day breakfast on Saturday, June 30 as the club participates in the overall holiday celebrations in North Frontenac and Lanark Highlands.

Photo: Gray Merriam, vice president of the Friends of the Salmon River at Crooked Creek with John and Angharad Holmes.

Rivers are the life blood of our watersheds and it was with that in mind that the Friends of the Salmon River (FSR) organized a number of events on June 10 in celebration of the Canadian Wildlife Federation's Canadian Rivers Day. The day’s events included multiple kayak/canoe picnic trips along the river and many of the lakes it feeds, as well as two hikes - one up Bear Naked Ridge near Arden, which offered hikers a panoramic view of both the Salmon River and Clare River watersheds, and a second hike starting from where the Salmon begins as a trickle in the woods near Cloyne and proceeding on into the Mazinaw Lake watershed.

For the creative types hoping to capture the river’s beauty there were rendezvous points for painters and photographers at four separate locations on the river's shore. I spoke with Gray Merriam, vice president of the FSR, who said that one aim of the planned events was to get people in closer touch with the land.

A second aim was to instill in visitors the notion that the watershed feeds both area lakes and the Salmon River and that what occurs in it determines the quality of everything downstream from it. “It's very easy to wreck what is downstream by what you do upstream,” Merriam explained when I met up with his group at the Kennebec Lake boat launch near Arden on Sunday. “But unfortunately most of the economic and political power resides downstream on these watersheds and consequently there is far more attention paid to the downstream parts of them. In practical terms if you are going to fix a problem in a system you want to do so as far upstream as you can.”

The Salmon River watershed is roughly 80 km. long and begins on the Precambrian shield about 200 meters south of Mazinaw Lake. It drains south and empties into the Bay of Quinte in Shannonville.

Merriam led the Sunday group whose focus was on the Salmon River’s feeder creeks – the creeks that enter the Salmon upstream from Kennebec Lake at the top end of the watershed. Beginning at the Kennebec Lake boat launch, Merriam and his crew first headed out to a section of Crooked Creek located just off North Road between Arden and Mountain Grove. Crooked Creek is a main feeder of Cox and Kennebec Lakes and the Salmon.

According to Merriam, what is particularly special about this section of Crooked Creek is that five years ago the FSR set up a base station here for Quinte Conservation to carry out bottom fauna surveys.  He explained, “They (Quinte Conservation) wanted a station where there was very little or no human influence on bottom fauna so that they could have a base line comparison for other stations set up all through the rest of their watershed area. Bottom fauna is incredibly sensitive to changing water quality and water flow.” The station has been sampled twice a year for the last five years and is used as a base line for comparison to other samples.

Merriam had good news about the current state of the Salmon River Watershed. “Right now it’s in good shape or above. The watershed has no hot spots or any outstanding problems. The only possibility is that in a few places we could still do some more corrections to what has been done to the shorelines. In most cases people who tend to be excessive neatniks are doing things like mowing their grass right down to the edge of water and things of that sort, which are not good for the shoreline,” he said.

The FSR have been addressing this problem and so far has completed one shoreline improvement project in Tamworth. A second project is currently underway, in which the FSR are handing out seedling trees and shrubs and holding workshops to show people how to improve their shorelines by planting trees and shrubs along it.

One couple, John and Angharad Holmes, who accompanied Merriam on his tour of the Salmon’s feeder creeks, are avid FSR supporters and have a summer property on Hungry Lake. They thought the outing would provide them with more information about the landscape they have come to love.  Anyone who missed the special events can visit the Friends of the Salmon River website at www.friendsofsalmon.ca  to find out more about the Salmon River, its watersheds and upcoming events and workshops.  

Advertised as the “The Biggest Little Fair In Lanark County”, the annual McDonalds Corners Fair attracted old style fair lovers in what never fails to be a delightful experience for all ages. Along with the numerous animal showings and competitions, (horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, rabbits, and poultry galore) plus the main hall brimming with countless entries of veggies, baked goods, crafts, quilts, art and photography, it is the laid back and old style friendly feel that keeps people coming back to this gem of a fair year after year.

This year organizers took suggestions from last year's fair visitors and included a number of brand new categories like fascinators and wood crafts as well as many new painting, drawing and sewing categories for the more modern crafty types. Maple syrup and honey makers also were invited to enter their sweet sauce and this year cattle showings were brought back after a decade-long absence. Ten vendors attended this year, up from just six last year and numerous kids' games were also added.

Fair treasurer Mary Kirkham said that entries in a number of categories were up as a result of increasing advertising. “We basically revamped the whole book and a lot of the categories based on what people wanted and on what people like to make these days."

Local musicians the Long Sault Trio peppered the grounds with their down homey sounds. At the end of day close to 300 people dined on the turkey supper put on by the McDonalds Corners Agricultural Society. Kirkham said the goal of the fair is to bring pride to the community while showing visitors the value of living a traditional agricultural based country life.

The Grand Parade of the Silver Lake Pow Wow is not an entirely solemn event, but it carries the weight of ceremony. The dancers enter the ring in a prescribed order, the flag bearers hop from one foot to the other to the beat of the drum, which performs a slow song that befits the occasion.

Although the Silver Lake Pow Wow is 19 years old, the gathering of communities at summer's end goes back a lot longer than that. Old friends greet each other with words and hugs, and after the elder has said a few words and the drum sends the assembled dancers through another turn around the ring, the parade breaks up and the greetings continue. Then the ring is opened up to everyone in attendance and it is completely filled. The Pow Wow is under way.

Photo: Kiley Stanley, 2nd from right, was declared Miss Garlic, the princess of the Maberly Fair parade.

At the Maberly Fair, the parade enters the fairgrounds led by two girls dressed as heads of garlic, followed by a marching pipe band, floats carrying entire extended families pulled by newer and older tractors (including one that is over 90 years old) followed by fire trucks. Politicians and heads of agricultural groups, as well as the fair convenor, bring greetings as the parade participants watch from the infield, but the fair is already underway. The Light Horse show is well into its second hour; the poultry are squawking away in the poultry display shed; Marilyn the Psychic is already making predictions in her booth; the zucchini vehicles are set out on a table even though the race is hours away, and old friends are greeting each other throughout the compact fairgrounds. It’s a one-day fair so no one wants to wait for the ceremony to be completed before starting to have fun.

Photo: Light Horse pull at Parham Fair.

The Parham Fair starts on Friday evening. The grandstand is almost full when the fair committee and township politicians proclaim the fair open, but the people aren’t paying much attention. They are waiting for the Light Horse pull to begin. They want to see if Bill Lee will win again (he will – at 7,200 pounds, see photo on page 9). Meanwhile kids and teenagers are gathering at the bandshell for the Cowboy/Cowgirl and Parham Idol contests to start. Ambush is ready to play when the contests end, and the midway is open for business.

These three events and others are all about people gathering in community to mark the end of another summer, before preparations begin for another harsh rural winter’s onset.

Residents in the north had a chance to learn more about the essential services offered by various service groups in the area at a special fair held at the Barrie hall in Cloyne on July 12 

Represented at the fair were paramedics from Frontenac County, who were showing off Simulation Man - also known as “Sim Man”. Sim Man is part of their mobile Simulation Lab and is used to help train and educate paramedics. Sim Man is able to breath and talk, shows various pulses and respiratory sounds, can be hooked up to a monitor and shocked back to life.

“Basically any scenario that you can think of, he can simulate,“ said Rena Cooke, a part time primary care paramedic with Frontenac County. “We use Sim Man for out of the ordinary scenarios like very traumatic car accidents, severe burns and patients with no vital signs. Fortunately we don't run into those situations very often but we still train using Sim Man so that we know how to respond in that kind of situation.”

Cooke and the other paramedics demonstrated to attendees how Sim Man is used and also answered other questions from the public. One couple wondered, if they were traveling away from home and used their cell phone to call 911 how they could be located. “I told them that the call would go to the nearest communications centre and that if they could provide a building name or street location, they could be found.”

Also present at the fair were members of the Frontenac and Lanark OPP detachments, who gave tours of their Mobile Support Unit, which is used for calls for missing persons, drug eradication and hostage taking. It is also used as a main command post in rural areas when cutting edge technology is needed. T

he unit is equipped with computers, cameras, lighting, and touch screen TVs that allow for quick briefings on situations that unfold in rural areas. The truck is 30 feet long, diesel powered with generators and it is sometimes used during OPP RIDE programs.

Members of the North Frontenac and Kaladar/Barrie Fire and Rescue service were also on hand. They invited guests to learn how to properly put out a fire with an extinguisher using the PASS method, which stands for Pin, Aim, Squeeze and Sweep. They also demonstrated other equipment, including a rescue van equipped with a jaws of life, a front line pumper truck, and fire prevention goodies for the kids.

Inside the Barrie hall members of the OPP presented their Safeguard Ontario program, which teaches residents how to better design their homes, cottages, and businesses to prevent break and enters. The demonstration covered how to install proper security features on doors and windows and the placement and shaping of landscaping to improve the visibility of entrance points. The term “target hardening” is central to the program and it encourages residents to make their property harder to break into.

Also present at the fair were representatives from a Haliburton fire crew from the Ministry of Natural Resources. The KLF&A Public Health highlighted the various family health services they provide and the County of Frontenac’s 150th Anniversary committee was also there.

North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton hosted the event.

Prior to it a brief meeting of the emergency services teams was held at the hall. The major concern touched on at the meeting was speeding in the Plevna area and Clayton reported that members of the OPP will be addressing that issue.

Mayor Clayton said that the day’s event helps residents get to know staff from the various emergency services in the area and the resources they have to offer and to see first hand how their tax dollars are being spent. Along with the numerous tours and demonstrations, attendees at the Essential Services Fair were treated to free popcorn and a BBQ.

Juno award winner Old Man Luedecke (Chris Luedeke) entertained music lovers at the Sharbot Lake Country Inn at an intimate and up beat show on July 13.

Luedecke, who is a master banjo player /singer / songwriter, was joined on stage by side man Joel E. Hunt of Newfoundland, who more than ably accompanied him on both mandolin and fiddle. Luedecke, who hails form Chester, Nova Scotia, eased into the first set, opening with his song Jonah and the Whale. In his second song, titled The Joy of Cooking, Luedecke quickened his pace and hit the ground bubbling with his own ode to bacon, a tune with a quick, rapid fire, plucky rhythm that manages to find an innovative rhyme for bacon – “If I’m not mistaken, the answer's bacon.”

Luedecke's upbeat originals are friendly and fresh and have for me a certain Paul Simon-esque charm; just substitute bluegrass for Simon's African folk leanings.

Couple that with his natural knack for story telling and it's no wonder his Sharbot Lake audience was completely won over. He engaged the crowd not only musically but by bookcasing his tunes with personal tales of his young family life; how farmers' markets and root veggies are now the foregoing concerns for himself and his family - new found interests that have helped to inspire his most recent recording. He played a wealth of new material from his fifth album, Tender is the Night, which features cover art by his wife.

Tender is the Night is already making waves and was recently long listed for the Polaris prize, a $25,000 award for innovative Canadian recordings. He played the upbeat “I'm Fine (I am, I am)’ a song he described as “not so much about surfing as about getting drunk on the beach”, and he slowed things down with “Little Stream of Whiskey”, a Doc Watson inspired tune that showcased Luedecke's impressive falsetto talents, and foreshadowed some all-out yodeling later in the show

He explained that his “Song for Ian Tyson” was inspired by a Tyson line he heard in a documentary, “I'm like an old wolf in a leg trap” a line that Luedecke felt justified an original song.

He later played the title track Proof of Love from his 2008 award-winning album, and with it cemented his new fan base in Sharbot Lake.

The White family, owners and operators of the Sharbot Lake Country Inn and the Crossing Pub, are continuing to bring a stellar line up of Canadian talent from near and far to local music lovers this summer. Coming up, award-winning blues man Jack de Keyser will be playing an intimate show on July 24. For more information visit www.sharbotlakeinn.com

Having already successfully hosted the 5th Annual Mystic Musical Festival on the Canada Day weekend, Elphin, the funkiest little musical  village in the area, is getting ready for the 13th Annual ElphinFest and the 1st Annual  Snow Road Snowmobile Country Music Festival fundraiser.

August 3 is the date for ElphinFest, with 8 bands playing from noon till 11pm. They are 'Still Winter Hills', Claudia, Krisi Allen Band, Fiona Noakes, Ben And Me, and Stormin' Norman and the Stray Dogs. Two of the area’s most popular bands headline the event. Classic Rockers 'Sonic Roots' and   Normann. All of these bands have CDs out and more information on them can be found on the 'ElphinFest' Facebook site. Admission is only $10 for the entire 11hours and there is plenty of great food available from the popular on-site eatery: The Elf Inn Express.

The following week, August 10, at the same location, is the country music Festival and Fundraiser for the hardworking members of the Snow Road Snowmobile Club. There are seven great acts scheduled for the event. Kicking it off is up and comer Alyshia Richard from the Arden area. This 16-year-old sensation is working on her first CD and is making a name for herself. From Kingston is 13-year-old ‘Colin Watts’, who will be playing with his band and impressing everyone with his maturity and talent. Other performers include the Clyne Brothers, the Country Four, Tom King, and another local group, South of 7. Headlining the event is veteran country recording artist, George Chenier There may even be some 'surprize' guests. Admission is $20 at the gate and to keep the size comfortable a limited number of tickets are being sold. Again, scrumptious food is available from both the Elf Inn Express and the snowmobile club’s onsite barbeques.

No matter what your musical tastes, there is a flavour that fits at the ElphinFest site. More information is available on the Snow Road Snowmobile Club Fundraisers’ Facebook page.

Mike Howe, who along with John Trousdale coordinated the Canada Day celebrations in Sydenham, credits many generous and hard-working volunteers with making the event a success. “It’s always harder to draw a crowd when July 1st falls on a weekend,” said Howe, “a lot of folks go off to the cottage, then come in at night for the fireworks.”

Certainly, the pyrotechnics Monday night were amazing, in spite of threatening rain showers and wind gusts. A show like that is expensive: as well as grants, the SHS students donated $500, and the Sydenham Lake Association $1,000, half of which they collected by kayak, canvassing the boats in the bay during last year’s fireworks.

Howe also spoke of the hands-on, all-day assistance from the many members of the Sydenham Lions Club, and SHS student council leaders Alex Green and Jess Bell. The Canoe Club managed the food concession, and after the parade, a day-long line-up of local musicians kept folks at the Point entertained. The children's activities were well attended: bouncing castle, pony rides, and most especially face-painting, the latter organized by Ann Barlow.

Well the weather could have been better, but it also could have been worse but that did not keep patriotic celebrants from enjoying a plethora of activities put on by countless community/recreation groups and their army of volunteers, who work so hard every year to make Canada Day one to remember in North, Central and South Frontenac. Revelers from here and afar took part in the numerous parades, flotillas, and a wide variety of all day festivities in Sydenham, Harrowsmith, Arden, Verona, Sharbot Lake, Parham, Matawatchan, Snow Road, Ompah, McDonalds Corners, Ompah, Wilton and Denbigh. Activities included duct tape boat races, scenic cruises and of course, a wealth of children's activities, plus live musical entertainment on many stages by many local musicians - and lots of food of course. Many celebrations of course ended with spectacular fireworks in the sky. And so once again ended another birthday party in Canada and it seemed that another very good time was had by all who said phooey to the thermometers and the clouds overhead.

The 2013 North and Central Frontenac Relay for Life took place at the Parham fairgrounds on June 21 & 22. The event saw 26 teams, dressed to the nines, camping out and lapping the track all night long as they remembered and celebrated their loves ones who have survived or succumbed to the disease.

Claire Macfarlane is no stranger to the relay. Claire, who now works as the unit president for the KLF&A Canadian Cancer Society, founded the Relay For Life in Parham six years ago and chaired the event in its early years before first sharing and eventually handing over the role to Lesley Merrigan.

Lesley has been the force behind the relay for the last two years. She introduced Claire to the crowd at the opening ceremonies first as “a friend” and then brought her to the stage with the words, “Without Claire Mcfarlane none of this would be happening in Parham today.”

Macfarlane's role at this year's relay was as the survivor speaker and her speech made for an emotional start to the 12-hour event, which was masterfully emceed by Jim MacPherson and Lindsay Fox.

Before she spoke Macfarlane invited to the stage eight members of her own family who have survived a cancer diagnosis, and read the names of three others in the family who were not as fortunate. She began by saying as she fought back tears, “I am honoured to be here...and never thought that I would be here as a survivor.” She continued, “ 'Why me?' is the question that everyone asks when first diagnosed with cancer.” She spoke of the stressful events leading up to her diagnosis of lung cancer in October 2012, which she later found out had metastasized to her lymph nodes. Since then she has undergone numerous tests, blood transfusions and chemotherapy treatments and continues her fight. She will soon be undergoing the sixth cycle in her current chemo treatment. “It doesn't matter what kind of cancer you have been diagnosed with; it always scares the (you know what) out of everyone. The process is a long and tiring one and the setbacks are devastating. ” She ended her speech by saying that in the end the question ends up being not “Why me?” but rather, “ Why not me?”

Macfarlane was invited to carry a banner and lead the survivors in the first lap of the track. She was joined by two other survivors in her family, her daughter Tonja and her spouse Garnett England, and they were in turn followed by the entire survivor group.

The event, which began on that poignant emotional high, continued well into the night and early morning, with a stellar lineup of events to keep participants entertained. Live music included local favorites Shawn McCullough and Bauder Road and kept participants' spirits high. By early morning when the final announcement was made, participants had raised over $71,000, with donations still coming in.

Lesley Merrigan has brought her fiery personality and unbridled and contagious enthusiasm to the fundraiser for the past four years, the last two as chair of the relay. She said that this year the team fundraising has blown her away. “Right up until the event I was getting a steady flow of emails from the teams telling me where they were at as far as fundraising and they have absolutely blown me away with what they have been able to do.”

Not only do the fundraising dollars prove that but also the spirit of all the participants, committee members and volunteers who took part.