Photo: Parham artist Heather Hugh

Landscape artists from all over Ontario and Quebec set up shop under the towering pines at Bon Echo Provincial Park this past weekend for the Friends of Bon Echo 16th annual Art Exhibition & Sale. The annual show is popular with artists and buyers alike.

Multi-media artist, Heather Hugh of Parham, who has family from around the Bon Echo area and who is new to the show, said that it was the first time she has ever seen the famous Bon Echo rock. “For years I have thought of doing the show but its size, scope and history, as well as its association with the Group of Seven artists always kind of intimidated me. But when I got here and actually saw the place for the first time I really felt like I fit in and it really felt like home.”

The show is a perfect fit for Hugh, who continues to be inspired by similar Canadian Shield scenery that surrounds her in Parham. She refers to her latest works as “textural paintings”. They are acrylic works on fabric, which she says came from necessity because as a former seamstress she had huge stores of fabric. Hugh creates three-dimensional animals from a special sculpting medium, paints them and sets them in a similarly painted local landscape. Her pieces also contain a bit of local lore. One such piece, titled “Henderson Moose”, is based on the infamous moose that has been spotted numerous times roaming the Henderson road just north of Arden. “It's fun to take these kind of local legends and use them for inspiration,” she said.

Another local painter, Katie Ohlke of Plevna, who teaches graphic art and photography at the North Addington Educational Centre, was participating in the show for her third year. Ohlke works in acrylics and paints mostly nature and landscape scenes. Katie covers a lot of stylistic ground and is known for changing her styles, which range from realistic nature scenes like her “Mazinaw Giant” to plainer black and white scenes as well as colourful stylized abstract landscapes. “I've been painting all of my life and enjoy the fact that different styles will always teach me something different about painting.” Katie sells her work at the park’s gift shop and in November 2012 she will be one of two artists participating in a show at the visitors’ centre at Algonquin Park which will include landscapes and photographs inspired from that location. “That will be an exciting show and my first time showing there.”

The last booth I visited was that of Napanee artist Tim Nimigan, who has been painting for 40 years and who studied fine art at the University of Guelph and who taught art from 1974-2006 at Napanee District Secondary School. Tim last showed at Bon Echo close to a decade ago and was thrilled to be back. “I wanted to come back to the park and absolutely love the setting here, which also really suits the subject matter I am currently working on.” Tim's small framed 5”x5” acrylic paintings are quaint landscape scenes that he has come across in his travels between Bon Echo park and the Napanee area. He just recently began exploring colour, and his carefully drafted works have a light, whimsical quality, which he says people are really responding to. “I really enjoy doing theses small scale works and they are helping to get my confidence up when it comes to colour.” When not painting, Tim also works as an auctioneer and a silk screen printer. Those interested is seeing more of his work can visit www.artamongtheruins.com.

The three-day show included various activities for kids including soap stone sculpture, pottery and painting, a great line up of food, and live music. For more information about the show and other upcoming events at Bon Echo visit the Friends of Bon Echo website at www.bonechofriends.ca

Photo: Laurentian University associate professor and graduate coordinator, Dr. Mark Kuhlberg

This being the International Year of Forests, the Friends of Bon Echo Provincial Park presented a talk at the outdoor amphitheater by Laurentian University associate professor and graduate coordinator, Dr. Mark Kuhlberg, last Saturday.

The talk was called “Myths and Realities in the Woods: A provocative perspective on the International Year of the Forest,” and it was jam-packed with everything you didn’t know but thought you knew about Ontario forests.

Kuhlberg’s talk not only demonstrated his passion for Ontario forests and forestry, but also an in depth understanding that was honed during his 20-year tree planting career in northern Ontario and Alberta, and as a forest historian. In 2009 he published a book called “100 Rings and Counting.”

He began his talk by focusing on the not so black and white story about Canada’s forests and he highlighted many of the unsubstantiated forest myths that many of us, for a number of reasons, have come to hold as true. First on his myth chopping block was the one about Canada’s old growth, pre-contact forests. Those old grainy black and white photos of giant trees showed forests that in fact were not the norm but did make for dramatic photos. In actual fact many of the oldest trees were often no bigger than a foot in diameter.

Next he spoke of the common misconception that monoculture forestry is bad practice when in fact it mimics natural forest growth. There are vast tracts of Black Spruce and Jack Pine that exist naturally in Canadian boreal forests.

He also refuted the idea that before European contact our forests were all natural and not controlled in any way. The Huron used burning practices to clear and manage fields and history shows that at any one time 15,000 acres in crops were planted where once forests stood. Other Aboriginal groups like the Ojibway used fire to replenish growth in their blueberry crops and used fire to open up sections of forest for better hunting. Similarly the idea of untouched, uniformly healthy, pre-contact forests is a false one.

Kuhlberg highlighted this by comparing pre-contact forests to patch work quilts. “Some areas were healthy; others, not so much. Some areas were in states of decay or dying. This is how nature works.”

Next, Kuhlberg covered the history of the early lumber industry in Canada and stressed, “We often forget how much of our current bounty is owed to the forest industry.” It began with the British need for red and white pine for their navy and domestic lumber needs. That demand moved the lumber industry across the country beginning in the east coast, which was closest to Britain, and eventually it moved west up the St. Lawrence into Ontario.

By the 1820s canals were being constructed in Upper Canada at a time when lumber supplies in the States began to run dry, opening up the American market to the Canadian lumber industry. This had a huge impact and by the 1840s there were no less than 525 major saw mills processing major tracts of pine forests located on the North Shore of Lake Erie, and in Georgian Bay. This industry brought the railway about.

“It can be argued that at this time our country’s prosperity was built on the foundation of pine,” Kuhlberg said.

As pine receded, the industry moved inland to Owen Sound and Collingwood, Bracebridge, Huntsville and communities further north and was responsible for founding the communities there.

Kuhlberg pointed to a chart demonstrating that at the turn of the century the pine industry made up 30-40% of the country’s overall government revenue.

“The key here is to think how this money was used to build up infrastructure in the country and how it also delayed the necessity of the government to create income tax.”

On the topic of Early Stewardship and Forest Management, Kuhlberg pointed to Benjamin Franklin Avery who was responsible for putting the first forestry stewardship practices into place. This was at a time in the 1920s when the pine industry was on the decline and was replaced by a growing pulp and paper industry. A graduate of Yale, Avery moved to Sault Ste. Marie to work for the Spanish River Company and he convinced them to manage their forests based on sustainable yield.

In the 1920s the company hired one of Orville Wright’s planes to do aerial surveys to study the forests and to come up with a sustainable management plan. Avery's plan was to protect advanced growth and he began tree planting in some areas and used natural monoculture practices in others.

He began a management system known to day as CLAAG- Careful Logging Around Advanced Growth. Kuhlberg's point was to “demonstrate how the Canadian Forestry companies were prudent managers of the woodlands long before Greenpeace or any other organizations arrived on the scene.”

He spoke next of what he terms as Heart over Head Forestry Policy, which addressed the idea that emotion instead of logic has shaped forest policy.

“Unfortunately we generally tend to favour things in the woods that we appreciate aesthetically even though no component of the forest or the woods is more important than any other.” In the '70s and ’80s this idea led to huge plantings of Red and White Pine trees, which Kuhlberg stressed are “inherently no more valuable than any other species.”

Regarding clear cuts, he stated that photos were often used to “manipulate viewers emotionally by making them believe that clear cuts represent all that's wrong with forestry.” Similarly, historic attitudes towards fire were and still are emotionally charged.

When tracts of forest in Toronto's High Park were slated to be burned, residents were up in arms. Similarly cottage owners living in wall-to-wall pine cottages complain about the destruction of forests.

Kuhlberg's conclusions are that “We need to keep an open mind regarding those who work in the forest industry and remember the bounty their work has given us over the years. If you love your maple covered doors, your Globe and Mail, or sitting on your deck at the cottage, remember that there are stumps out there that represent the other end of that economy,” he said.

He also stressed that it is important to use forest products wisely, to recycle and salvage wood product whenever possible and to “rest assured that Ontario is doing a very good job managing its forests. We must use logic, not emotion when it comes to managing our woods.”

Kuhlberg closed by recalling a memorable bumper sticker he once saw on the car of a union worker up north that read: “If you don't like the forest industry, try wiping your behind with plastic.”

The Natural Heritage Education (NHE) program at Bon Echo Provincial Park is considered one of the best in Ontario. NHE Coordinator Lisa Roach and her staff of 10 provide varied and intriguing daily programs for campers and day visitors to Bon Echo. Last summer over 52,000 people participated in NHE programs. From Sciensational Sssnakes!! to boat tours aboard the Wanderer, to daily programs for the younger set, to nature hikes, to a 3 day art show, to Amphitheatre programs with special speakers and musicians to teachings with the First Peoples, the Bon Echo NHE program provides education and entertainment for all ages.

The Friends of Bon Echo make possible the significant NHE program at the Park. Annual support of over $50,000 enables the doubling of the NHE staff and provides funding for special programming. The goal of the Friends of Bon Echo is to help protect and preserve the natural and cultural heritage of the Park. This heritage is passed on through many forms of enjoyable educational activities. The weekly schedule of NHE activities (Monday to Sunday) is posted on the Friends website on the preceding Thursday of each week. http://www.bonechofriends.ca/WEEKAheadF.pdf

On Saturday July 9 the Park welcomes back Traditional Teachings with members of Ardoch First Nation who will provide insight into their culture and heritage. Join staff, elders, and traditional people for a night of sharing at 7pm at the Children’s Program Area.

The United Nations has designated 2011 The International Year of Forests. We are pleased to welcome Laurentian University professor Dr. Mark Kuhlberg to help us celebrate the vital roles that forests play in our daily lives. Dr. Kuhlberg will be the first of two programs the Friends will host this summer recognizing the significant contribution of forests to the planet. Dr. Kuhlberg’s presentation in the Amphitheatre will take place on July 15 at 7:30pm. For this special event the Friends will cover the cost of vehicle entry to the Park after 7pm.

Attention avid canoeists! Sunday July 17, 8 pm at the Amphitheatre, Kevin Callan, the renowned author and blogger who has just released his latest book, “Top 50 Canoe Routes of Ontario”, will be speaking about the most scenic canoe routes in the province. Kevin will share photos and stories about places such as the York River, Barron Canyon, and Lake Superior. Join him for a fun and an informative night and get some ideas for your next canoe trip.

The 16th annual Bon Echo Art Exhibition and Sale will take place on July 22, 23, 24. Join us for a festive weekend of original art, special music, Sciensational Sssnakes!!, kid’s activities and great food.

Details of special events and other activities are posted on the Friends website. For most events vehicle admission applies. http://BonEchoFriends.ca or 613-336-0830.

In a talk at the amphitheater in Bon Echo Provincial park on August 10, Dr. Robert McLeman, Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo and partner at the Environmental Research Laboratory at Ottawa University, spoke on the subject of climate change in the Bon Echo Region.

McLeman has been doing research in the Bon Echo area on the subject since 2007, and his talk was surprisingly upbeat given the tendency of discussions on the topic to quickly descend into divisive arguments, accusations and doom and gloom scenarios. While McLeman did cite the statistics that demonstrate how in the last 150 years the average global temperature has increased by one degree Celsius and how that poses both positive and negative affects to various local industries in the area, he tended to focus more on the research that he been carrying out in the Bon Echo region, specifically on “the relationship between humans and the natural environment and how changes in human systems can cause reactionary changes in the natural environment and vice-versa”.

McLeman said he was drawn to study the Bon Echo region due to its rich diversity of ecosystems, which he said have been intact on and off since the time of European contact. McLeman was also attracted to the area by its unique typography and because many bigger urban areas are directly affected by what happens in the region, since so many river systems in the area travel downstream - in the west to the Bay of Quinte and in the east to the Ottawa River.

He outlined the demographics of the area, which has a population that tends be older and relies primarily on seasonal economies, mostly based on construction, retail, tourism and small scale forestry. He explained how climate trends for the region will affect these industries. One graph showed how the current global climate is currently in a relatively warmer phase compared to phases over the last 450,000 years. Another graph showed that the average global temperature during the last 150 years has risen by one degree Celsius. To show how dramatic a change that one degree can make, he explained that outdoor ice rinks require an average daily temperature of -5 degrees Celsius to exist.

What's causing the increase? “A lot of scientists believe it is a result of increased amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which dramatically increased in the mid 1800's when we began burning fossil fuels.” McLeman said that the climate of the Bon Echo region today is more similar to what it was like 1000 years ago compared to 150 years ago. He explained how this information was obtained through his recent research, which involved taking sediment core samples from numerous lakes and ponds in the area.

He also explained how reading the pollen levels in the samples shows what kinds of trees were growing in the area at different times, which in turn can tell scientists about temperatures over time. “One thousand years ago it was relatively warm here, so trees like hemlock and beech were very common. In the 1850s the forest was more like that of northern Ontario; white pine was plentiful and it was harvested and shipped to Europe. If the Europeans had been looking for white pine here 1000 years ago they would not have found it.” He continued, “If we continue to see the temperatures change as they have been, we'll probably see better conditions for trees species like hemlock, beech and other warmer tree species that you see in places like Guelph, Ontario."

This led McLeman to wonder just what kind of trees should be replanted in the forest in this area given the climate trends that we now see taking place. “Now as it stands under Ontario law the companies that cut down the trees here do so under a sustainable forest management basis and one of the things they are told to do after harvesting is to try to 'return the forest to what it was like before Europeans came to this part of the world'"

The problem is how far back in time should they go? “With the way things are going now, we should be trying to plant forests the way it was here 1000 years ago, when temperatures were warmer compared to how it was 150 years ago when it was colder.” McLeman also explained shorter term climate changes which are trending towards shorter winters, earlier springs and less snow. Local maple syrup producers, particularly one outfit near Flinton, have been keeping sap running records since the 1950s and they show this particular trend. Summers on the other hand are becoming hotter and dryer and McLeman explained that these trends, depending on the particular industry, can pose both positive and negative aspects.

McLeman then highlighted the fact that climate change has both good and bad aspects and said the reason it matters here in Bon Echo is because people's lives and livelihoods here depend greatly on the climate, “much more so than the lives of city folk.” Some changes are good for some industries. Longer, warmer summers and shorter winters would allow contractors and real estate agents to work longer in the year and the older population would have less snow to remove. Negative effects like lake ice dangers, bad snowmobiling conditions, more expensive road maintenance due to increased thaws and freezes in the winter months and a shorter wood harvesting season for foresters are some of the negatives.

Hotter, longer summers are great for summer tourism but stronger winds and bigger storms can also be negatives. He spoke of the opportunities for adaptation that climate change poses in the area. “In general, climate change may seem bad overall but when you get bad news you have two options- you can cry, grumble complain and argue endlessly about it or else you can be prepared and look for new opportunities. This is what we researchers do. We work with the local communities and tell them what is going on in the hopes that can find new opportunities and so that they can continue to be successful and make the necessary changes they need to adapt to it.”

It is not every day that you can hear first-hand stories about iconic Canadian artists, especially members of the Group of Seven. On Saturday, August 3, two very special guest lecturers, Margaret Hall, daughter of A.J. Casson, the youngest member of the famous painting movement “The Group of Seven” and Chris Jackson, an art curator, formerly of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, spoke at Bon Echo Provincial Park.

Mrs. Hall spoke about spending time with her father on Mazinaw Lake, and related several anecdotes about holding the row boat steady as he sketched the famous rock.

Mr. Jackson gave an in depth talk about Casson’s life, work and passion for art. He spoke about Casson’s work with Commercial and Industrial Art and how he met several members of the Group of Seven while working at Rous & Mann. Being younger by several years, he was eager to learn from the older, more established artists, in particular, Franklin Carmichael. From this friendship he began painting in oils and honing his craft. He later became the eighth and youngest member of the famous (and sometimes infamous) Group of Seven. He also spoke about his artistic life after the group disbanded in 1933.

“It is wonderful to be back here,” said Mrs. Hall with a warm smile, “I have such vivid memories of climbing to the top of the cliff watching him sketch in water colour.”

The lecture was presented by the Friends of Bon Echo Park.

From epic to whimsical, the 2013 Bon Echo Art Show and Sale had something for everyone - especially for those who enjoy landscape painting. The annual show, which takes place under the towering pines of Bon Echo Provincial Park, continues to draw an eclectic mix of landscape artists, each of whom have their very own personal take on the nature that inspires their work. This year many newbies joined the ranks of the veterans in a show that continues to attract art lovers and connoisseurs from near and far.

Margi McInnis Laurin was one such newbie and she had on display numerous acrylic works, each of which has as their focal point a bright red canoe or parts thereof. The inspiration for Margi's pictures are two canoes, both her own. The first, an old red Huron Canoe made by Eaton's, is the same model canoe that her father purchased for her mother years ago. The second is one that she built herself at a 10-day workshop in Huntsville, a cedar strip canoe modeled after an EH Gerrish. After getting the second canoe home, Margi decided to paint it red and it was then that inspiration struck. “I hadn't painted pictures for years and the canoe brought me right back to painting.” Margo works from several photos that she takes of her boats. “I'm trying to get the boats from different angles because although a canoe seems a simple shape, it is quite complex and there is a lot of math involved.” Her paintings are in no way subtle; are all very bright and very direct. In a leaflet she hands out at her booth she states, “A red canoe is such a Canadian icon and I am not the first to paint it and without a doubt, will not be the last.”

For those who prefer nature on a grander, more epic scale Leonard Carlyle Skinner, another newbie to the show, had large oil canvases that viewers could easily lose themselves in on display. Skinner, who lives in Odessa, was trained at Sheridan College in Oakville and has been painting professionally for 22 years. His all-Canadian landscapes, though graphically realistic, also have a touch of post-impressionism as demonstrated by his choice of colours. In his work titled “Maples”, an unworldly and impossible yellow sky is the backdrop for a stand of bright red and orange maples that line an azure blue waterfront. It is Skinner’s unique use of colour that make his paintings stand out. “I like to paint epics and though I paint Canadian landscapes, if something is missing I have no trouble romanticizing things.”

Further on at the show I came across A.J. Van Drie, an abstract landscape artist whom I visited with years back when he was just starting out as a new painter on the local scene. Van Drie, who is Chippewa by birth and who was adopted, graduated from the Haliburton School of Fine Arts and began painting as a way to identify more with his birth parents after their deaths. He continues to create landscapes reminiscent of native artists like Norval Morriseau and it was interesting to see how his style has matured over the years. While much of his highly stylized, abstract, colourful imagery remains similar to his first creations years ago, certain subtle stylistic changes in colour and form demonstrate a young artist who is continuing to come into his own.

Visitors to this year’s show were also treated to a BBQ lunch courtesy of the friends of Bon Echo, a Sciensational Sssnakes presentation and live music. Also, as usual, visitors had a chance to enter a raffle for a number of impressive prizes to take home.

For those who have yet to visit the park this summer here is a list of other upcoming events:

Sat. Aug. 3, 7pm: Group of Seven Painter A.J. Casson's daughter Margaret Hall and Chris Jackson will be speaking about the famed Canadian painter. Sat. Aug. 10, 8pm: Dr. Robert McLeman on climate change. Thurs Aug. 15, 1pm: “Speaking of Wildlife”. Thurs. Aug. 22, 7pm: Margaret Axford on Bon Echo - The Early Years; and Sat. Aug. 24 at 4:30pm: Bill White and White Pine will be performing. For more information and to confirm times and dates of these upcoming events visitwww.bonechofriends.ca or call the park office at 613-336-2228.

2013 marks a significant anniversary for the Friends of Bon Echo Provincial Park. 25 years ago a small group of volunteers initiated an organization that has impacted Park visitors ever since. Their commitment to preserve the natural heritage and cultural history of the Park has resulted in innovative programs which hundreds of thousands of Park visitors have enjoyed.

Impetus for the Friends group came from Park Superintendent Ed Buck who approached the Pioneer Club of Cloyne asking them to consider the formation of a support group. The challenge was accepted. The signing of the official agreement between the Friends and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources took place in a ceremony in September 1988 at the Dollywood Visitor Centre.

The Friends recognized the many assets of this beautiful Park. The diversity of its flora and fauna, its pristine beaches and waterfronts, the majestic eastern white pines and the grandeur of Mazinaw Rock with its geological history, 900 year old cedars and the pictographs left by earlier inhabitants attract over 180,000 visitors annually.

Various approaches aimed at increasing appreciation of the Park and the preservation of its heritage have been utilized by the Friends. Their financial support has enabled the Natural Heritage Education (NHE) program to double its staff each summer. NHE staff offer daily children’s programs, guided hikes, interpretive boat tours of Mazinaw Lake and Rock on the Wanderer, amphitheatre programs including unique presentations and the publication of trail guides. Together all programs attract and contribute to making Bon Echo Provincial Park one of Ontario’s best.

Many enterprising projects have been initiated and carried out by the Friends. Operation of two tour boats has provided an educational and picturesque experience to Park visitors. The Friends took over the Mugwump ferry service in 1989 allowing visitors access to the Cliff Top Trail where the breathtaking panoramic overview beckons. A year later the Friends commenced operation of the Wanderer, providing an interpretive boat tour highlighting the area history, the geology, flora, fauna, and fungi of Mazinaw Rock and a close-up view of the native pictographs. The Wanderer and the Mugwump currently provide interpretive excursions for over 16,000 visitors each summer. For 18 years the rewarding tour boat service was provided by dedicated volunteers serving as captains, deckhands and later as interpreters. The Friends have continued to provide the trained staff to fill these positions as required by government regulations.

In the early 1990s the Friends operated the canoe concession partnering with two local business partners to provide another manner to allow visitors to enjoy the lake and approach Mazinaw Rock. This is currently operated by Bon Echo Canoe, owned by Bruce White. For the last ten years Bruce has donated canoes to the Friends for their annual raffle.

The Greystones Gift and Book Shop opened in Dollywood Visitor Centre in 1989 and moved to its present location in 1993. The shop specializes in merchandise chosen to enhance the appreciation of nature.

An Art Gallery was added in 1996 to display original art of Canadian nature and wildlife. In 2006 the Friends financed major renovations in Greystones. The structure was strengthened and expanded while maintaining the historic ambiance of this classic century cottage. In 2007 the Friends named the gallery the Colin Edwards Memorial Art Gallery in recognition of Colin’s long-time service as Director, volunteer and artist.

The Friends engaged their first Executive Director in 1995. The organization was growing and there was a need for structure, coordination and liaison between the Park, the volunteers and the public. The numerous programs and volunteers required a focal person to provide leadership and carry out the decisions of the Board of Directors.

The highlight for many is the annual Bon Echo Art Exhibition and Sale. Initiated in 1995, an active committee meets regularly to orchestrate this event. The art show continues the rich heritage of original art left to us by the aboriginals in the Mazinaw pictographs, the Group of Seven who painted in the 1920 - 30s and the many artists who continue to capture the beauty of the creation through their handiwork. Over 100 volunteers orchestrate this three day event featuring food, live musical entertainment, Sciensational Sssnakes!! and children’s activities. The quality of the juried original art continues to bring more and more of the public to the show.

A strong component of the Friends’ work is composed of education relating to the Park’s heritage. The Friends have published two books: Massanoga:The Art of Bon Echo (1999) and The Rock: Bon Echo Provincial Park’s Silent Sentinel (2006). The former captures the rich history of the many artists who have painted Bon Echo and the latter serves to alert readers to the importance of this micro geographical area.

In the 1990s researchers discovered that Mazinaw Rock was home to bonsai-like ancient cedars some of which are over 900 years old. With the aim of providing protection for the cliff and its rare species the Friends launched the “Adopt-an-Ancient Cedar” project. Numerous small plaques were installed in Dollywood Visitor Centre in recognition of the gifts, often in memory of a loved one. In excess of $10,000 was raised over ten years. This enabled the Friends to produce the full-colour edition of The Rock: Bon Echo Provincial Park’s Silent Sentinel.

Funds have gone into a number of other projects that include producing trail guides and educational resources, the Peregrine Falcon release, the restoration of the Cliff Top Trail, Amphitheatre programming, most displays in the Visitor Centre, new trail head signs, interpretive cairns and kiosks, the restoration of the Greystones Cottage and the provision of educational bursaries for local high school graduates and Park student staff.

Eight years ago the Friends initiated twice-weekly barbecues at Main Beach. As this operation grew it was moved to the Lagoon shelter and is now providing a much anticipated service every Saturday and Sunday. The annual raffle has featured attractive donated prizes, all of which relate to Park activities. The Friends have applied for selective government grants and corporate assistance to increase their activities and projects.

Recent initiatives include a drive to increase corporate membership. This has seen local business support grow from two members to over thirty. Increased cooperation with corporate partners has enabled us to serve visitors better. Our Trail Ambassadors program has encouraged enjoyment of Park trails through improved facilities and signage. A major project this anniversary summer is the renovation of the amphitheatre seating and building/stage.

The greatest asset of the Friends of Bon Echo is its people. The indispensible resource of faithful volunteers and members is continuing to be fundamental to the many facets of Friends initiatives and accomplishments. New members, both young and older are sought, needed and welcome. Please come and join us! www.BonEchoFriends.ca

Long before it officially became a provincial park in 1965, the flavor of Bon Echo Park had begun to take shape decades earlier, thanks to the influence of three distinct personalities.

In a presentation titled "The Dentist, the Feminist and The Writer", local historian Margaret Axford spoke of the influence these three people had on the park, which continues to draw visitors from across the country and from all over the world.

Photo: Dr. Weston A. Price courtesy of Ian Brumell

The first was the dentist, Dr. Weston A. Price, who was born in Newburgh, Ontario, but who lived and worked in Cleveland, Ohio. Price's wife was from Brampton, Ont. and she taught in Ardoch. In 1898 Price began renting land in what is now Bon Echo in the summer months from a farmer named David Weese. In 1899 the couple acquired land in the area and Price decided to build an inn modeled on the tourist hotels of the Adirondacks. Axford stated, “He [Price] knew that the setting of the Mazinaw Rock would be a natural draw and it was the Prices who gave the name 'Bon Echo' to the area, and who gave birth to tourism in the region.”

Price, who was described by one observer at the time as a “wiry man, always rushing somewhere with a hammer in his hand” used local labor to build the inn, which consisted of the main building, five cottages, a separate staff house, a boat house, a laundry house, an ice house, numerous docks and a bridge across the Narrows. By the end of Price's second summer after purchasing the land, the Bon Echo Inn was complete. In 1901 a telephone line that originated at the Kaladar train station and ran along the old Addington Road became the first telephone line in the area.

Price hoped to attract like-minded nature lovers to the area, and because he was a teetotaler and a religious man, the inn was dry until Merrill Denison took it over decades later.

Photo: Flora MacDonald Denison courtesy of Ian Brumell

In 1901, Flora MacDonald Denison arrived on the scene at Bon Echo with her husband Howard and son Merrill, first as guests in the tower room suite of the inn. Axford said that “she would have bought the place at that time if Price had been selling it” but instead she bought a lot south of the Narrows, where she built a summer cottage. Flora and her family would spend the next nine summers there. Flora MacDonald Denison was born in 1867 in Actinolite, worked as a teacher near Actinolite, and as a dressmaker in Toronto. She later was a writer on women's rights and the suffrage movement.

It was on her annual trip to Bob Echo in 1910 that Flora learned that Dr. Price wanted to sell the inn. Differing reasons are given for Price's reason for selling. One was that his 10-year-old son Donald was ill at the time; he later died either of spinal meningitis or from a diving accident.

Flora paid Dr. Price $13,000 for the inn, Big Bear Island and numerous acres of land, and Flora's husband Howard ran the Inn from 1911-1913 until the two separated and their marriage ended. Flora then took it over and her intent was to create “a haven for artists and philosophers in an inspiring natural landscape with an incredible view of Mazinaw Rock, where visitors could renew their souls, their energies and their creative instincts.” Flora also celebrated the teachings and writings of Walt Whitman, the famed 19th century American poet. According to Axford, Flora “was caught up in his [Whitman's] democratic ideals and she saw Bon Echo as being a symbol of democratic freedom...that would always be enhanced by the spirit of Walt Whitman.”

It was Flora who had a large rock face on the lake inscribed with a dedication to “Old Walt”. As a practicing spiritualist and part of a group whose members claimed they could communicate with the dead, Flora held numerous séances at Bon Echo. One observer at the time recalled that guests at Bon Echo “often preferred a séance at midnight to a Sunday morning church service.” Under Flora's command the inn housed many notable guests, including James Thurber, Morley Callahan, Frank Lloyd Wright and the painters from the Group of Seven; the latter would often be guests when Flora's son Merrill took over ownership. Financially the inn ran at a loss, with “Flora's dreams always outstretching her financial capabilities”.

Photo: Merrill Denison courtesy of Ian Brumell

Flora died at 54 years of age on May 23, 1921 and a bronze urn holding her ashes was deposited in Mazinaw Lake just below the Whitman inscription. Her son, Merrill Denison, a writer and later a well-known radio personality, inherited the inn and its 10 square miles of property, and began some much-needed repairs. His contacts at Hart House and the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto put him in touch with many famous Canadians artists of the time, many of whom would become regular visitors to Bon Echo. Merrill's partner, Muriel Goggin, whom he would marry in 1926, ran the inn from 1923-1928 “like a general”, and it prospered during this time until the stock market crash of 1929. From then until 1934 it was closed to the public at large and became Camp Mazinaw, a boys' camp for Trinity College School in Port Hope.

 In 1936 the inn burned down after being struck by lightning. A Toronto woman who was working at the inn at that time, when she was 16 years old, sadly recalled watching it burn. Though the inn was never rebuilt, Merrill and Muriel continued to spend the summers at Bon Echo after selling off some of the land. They kept less than 100 acres for themselves. Merrill's aim still was to preserve the area as “a meeting place as it was for the Alonquins, a center to which people would come to learn and discuss ideas in an inspiring natural surrounding.”

 In 1959 he turned over the buildings and land to the provincial government to be used as a provincial park. The official ceremony did not take place until 1965. Merrill died in 1975 at the age of 81.

 Axford ended her presentation defining the legacy that these three personalities left behind for all who continue to visit and enjoy Bon Echo Park. “The legacy they left was that the democratic spirit should prevail and the ordinary person must continue to have access to this wonderful place.” For those wanting a more detailed account of the history of Bon Echo and the personalities who helped to create it, a number of books on the subject are available at the Cloyne Pioneer Museum. They include "The Oxen and The Axe" (Brown, Brumell and Snider), "The Mazinaw Experience: Bon Echo and Beyond" (John Campbell), "Sunset of Bon Echo" (Flora MacDonald Denison), and "Bon Echo: The Denison Years" (Mary Savigny).