This portrait of Queen Victoria oversees the schoolroom exhibit. Victoria is often referred to as Canada's queen. She was the ruling monarch when Canada became a country in 1867. The portrait is comfortably surrounded by old wooden school desks, with their glass inkwells, wooden rulers (in inches), straight pens, and spelling and reading books. You will find hand-written attendance records; possibly a name or two is familiar or related. Reading some of the "letters to the teacher" may make you smile.

Also on display is an 1889 photo of the SS#1 School just south of Cloyne. We have the sign from the school and also the water jug, used daily by students, to fetch water.

Many grandparents and great grandparents tell of walking to school three miles, uphill, in summer, barefoot - in four feet of snow during winters. For sure, the tales become somewhat embellished with time but we know the students of yesteryear had never seen a school bus, ball point pen, calculator, computer or smartphone.

When you visit the classroom you will get a glimpse of some of the hardships young people hurdled to get an education. You can also visit our website cloynepioneermuseum.ca or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Mazinaw Lake and Bon Echo Provincial Park have drawn artists to its shores for hundreds of years. To maintain the example of the aboriginal peoples, the Group of Seven and the many artists who still come to appreciate and create, the Friends of Bon Echo Park is sponsoring the 21st annual Art Exhibition & Sale of original Canadian art on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, July 22, 23 & 24 from 10am – 4pm daily. Over 45 exhibitors will be displaying their work at the sale, and in addition, there will be presentations from Sciensational Sssnakes on Saturday & Sunday at 11am; kids’ activities; a barbeque; and live music from 1pm daily, Park admission applies. For information please call 613-336-0830 or visit www.bonechofriends.ca/artshow.html

The Friends of Bon Echo Park is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the natural and cultural heritage of Bon Echo Provincial Park. The Art Exhibition and Sale is one example of how we carry out this mission.

Melissa Dakers and Chloe Lajoie of Watersheds Canada were in Cloyne July 16 to outline the natural shoreline program.

They explained the structure of a natural shoreline, and how it protects our waterfront properties, cleans our water and supports the natural inhabitants of our waterways. They offer a service that will come to our properties and discuss with us our goals for shoreline development. Using photos they will work out a waterfront plan, recommending species and placement of plants ranging from flowers to trees. This plan is discussed with the property owners and modified to their wishes. The most exciting part of the program is that they then will order the plantings and come and plant them on our properties. The landowner pays 25% of the cost of the plants and agrees to maintain them. The Waterfront Canada staff remain involved to offer suggestions if any difficulties arise with the plantings. They can be reached at 613-2641244 or www.watersheds.ca.

The 2nd annual Sail Mazinaw was challenged by thunderstorms and torrential rain on Saturday, July 9. Even just getting to Mazinaw Lakeside Resort for breakfast without getting wet was nearly impossible. However, despite the inclement weather, a few hardy (or foolish) sailors were still able to get a couple of hours on the water while thunder rumbled in the background. The fleet was back out in beautiful conditions on Sunday with a couple of additional boats making a showing. The recipients of the 2016 Mazinaw Cup are Danielle Richard (Bridgenorth) and Michelle Simpkin (Scarborough), cottagers on Washing Machine Point. The duo exhibited enthusiasm and skill while sailing the smallest boat of the fleet in threatening conditions. Michelle is a rookie sailor and Danielle is currently making the transition to sailboarding. Additional photos and commentary are available at Facebook/SailMazinaw.

As far back as the early 1800s, this area was logging country. Men traveled hundreds of miles through rugged terrain in uncomfortable conditions to carve out a living in lumber camps. Some came with families; others' families joined them later. To accommodate the increased population, the companies built living quarters, hired women to cook and eventually schools and churches began to spring up. The stories of these early settlers come to life in the Cloyne Museum.

When you are at the Sawyer Stoll display, you'll want to glance at the grocery and supply invoices. The prices are difficult to believe, as is the payroll ledger. Some of the available tools used in logging and farming will make you wonder how anyone could work with them. An old solid steel McCulloch #47 chainsaw testifies to the challenges men accepted as routine. The chainsaw was donated to the museum by Frank Meeks. It had been used by James Hawley Meeks until he was 94 years of age. He bought the saw brand new and cut a cord of wood with it every day until he was 94.

The museum is open every day all summer from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is on Hwy #41 directly across from the Cloyne Post Office. We look forward to your visit.

Can someone help us identify this item? We know for sure that the lectern was hand made for the Northbrook United Church. We would like to know who made it and approximately what year; who the minister was; how long it was in use. Any information would be appreciated.

The lectern is on display in the museum along with the pulpit, on loan, from the Northbrook United Church. In the ecumenical corner we display an antique organ (circa 1901) from the Heyburn United Church, donated by Mr. & Mrs. Brownle of Napanee along with old Bibles and other items from area churches. You will see a painting of the five United Churches on the wall. All five, Northbrook, Cloyne, Kaladar, Harlowe and Flinton once had their own church. In recent years they amalgamated and now share a beautiful building just north of the village of Northbrook.

A few facts about the original Northbrook United Church, which is now the clothing depot that we are so accustomed to seeing as a part of the village. The church was built in 1892 where it still stands. The cemetery was already in use at the time. The church was open full time until attendance at churches began to drop off. For years it became the winter church while the Cloyne United, because of park visitors, was the summer church. It closed entirely in the 1970s. The minister up until 1965 was Wayne Hilliker, who had been in the ministry for 60 years by then.

Please send any information about the lectern to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or to P.O. Box 228, Cloyne ON, K0H 1K0.

Photo by Cathy Hook

On Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, July 15, 16, 17, you are invited to the studios of Carla Miedema, Debbie Reeve, and Gaile & Trevor Bethell, and see their impressive new paintings, pen & ink drawings, photography and other art works from 10 am- 4 pm. This is a great opportunity for visitors to see the artists’ studios and artists at work.

Nature artist, Carla Miedema, enjoys painting, in acrylic & mixed media on canvas, the rugged landscape and wild flowers around her home in Cloyne. Her intricate drawings of children, homes, and wildflowers are depicted on handmade papers and various other papers.

Debbie Reeve has just returned to Canada. She has been teaching fine art to adults and children and painting full-time for the last 6 years in Kuwait. Although she started painting acrylics in a realistic style then watercolour, she now expresses herself through non-objective acrylic and mixed media. She is striving to create works of art that can bring others a sense of peace, balance and esthetic appreciation.

Gaile Bethell enjoys painting in all seasons, striving to capture the play of light and shadow in the woods at her summer home near Cloyne. The rhythms and music found in her landscape paintings portray a strong sense of place. Photographer, Trevor Bethell’s passions are flora, birds, and butterflies. He also enjoys capturing the varied landscapes of the Precambrian areas of Eastern Ontario and the scenic beauty of the coastal villages of the Atlantic Provinces.

Visit Carla Miedema’s studio at 1074 Little Pond Rd; Debbie Reeve at 2544 Road 506; and Gaile & Trevor Bethell at 1004 Fosters Lane. Admission is free. Information: Carla 336-8860; Debbie 336-0463; the Bethells 336-8691. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Monarch butterflies will be flocking to 14 elementary schools in Lennox & Addington County this summer and fall. Pollinator gardens are being planted in school yards and butterflies will be raised in classrooms. Participating local schools include North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne, and Enterprise Public School.

The Lennox & Addington Stewardship Council is spearheading the Monarch Breeding Kits for Schools Project. The Monarch butterfly population is dwindling and all of our pollinators need help. The pilot project began in 2015 when 20 Monarch kits were supplied to 13 elementary schools in L&A County. Kits included caterpillars, chrysalides, a milkweed plant, and an aviary. Students were able to observe the entire life cycle of the Monarch from caterpillar to adult. In September, the children released the Monarchs to begin their migratory route, and the butterflies could be tagged and reported in the Monarch Watch database. This fall generation of Monarchs - the super generation - is able to fly 4,000 km to its winter destination in the mountains of Mexico.

This year in the 2016 Program, nine schools are planting gardens to help attract pollinators of all kinds: butterflies, birds and insects. Native species will be planted, and when the flowers bloom, the students can watch the feeding action. In addition, 14 schools ordered Monarch Breeding Kits, which will be set up in the classrooms at the beginning of September. The breeding kits come from a nursery that is accredited by the International Butterfly Breeders Organization.

Partners are essential to the momentum of this program. Maya Navrot, from Quinte Conservation, has assisted many schools with site plans and advice on plantings. Volunteers have contributed native plants and planting time to the pollinator gardens. Funding for this program has been gratefully received from TD Friends of the Environment, Napanee District Community Foundation, Quinte Conservation, Friends of the Salmon River, and Kingston Field Naturalists, as well as the contributions from participating schools.

For more information, contact Marilyn Murray, manager of the Monarch program, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Letter from the Publisher

The summer season is a crucial part of the year for all the businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities. This week, I've been calling many of the business owners that we deal with on a regular basis to ask them for help.

There is a good possibility that this will be the last Frontenac News that readers will receive in their mailboxes for a while, as Canada Post and two of the bargaining units with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are at an impasse in negotiating a contract.

As of this coming Saturday, July 2, the union will be in a legal strike position. What will result is anyone's guess. It could be a contract; the union may launch a strike; or Canada Post might lock them out.

We distribute 9214 copies of the Frontenac News through Canada Post each week, to the far corners of Frontenac County, Addington Highlands and western Lanark County. On some weeks, we distribute an extra 2920 papers to the Inverary and Perth Road regions. While this is an expensive way to distribute newspapers, in our experience it is the only way to reach all the hamlets and back roads properties in the region. For us to set up our own distribution system would be [prohibitively?] expensive and would also be difficult to monitor effectively.

So, as we face a shut down at Canada Post, we’ve been on the phone to ask for help.

Thankfully, all the businesses we approached have been understanding, and below is a list of locations that have been lined up as of early this week. We will expand our distribution further as we contact more businesses but you can count on the ones listed here to have the Frontenac News available for free every Thursday until Canada Post is back up and running.

DISTRIBUTION POINTS:

• KINGSTON FRONTENAC PUBLIC LIBRARY branches during open hours – Sydenham, Hartington, Sharbot Lake, Parham, Arden, Mountain Grove, Plevna, and Cloyne.

• TOWNSHIP OFFICES for Addington Highlands (Flinton Recreation Centre – basement), North Frontenac (Road 506 between Ardoch and Plevna), Central Frontenac (Sharbot Lake), and South Frontenac (Sydenham)

• RETAIL OUTLETS -

• Denbigh – Glaeser's General Store

• Cloyne/Northbrook – Nowell Motors, Grand's Store, Bishop Lake Outdoor Centre, Hook's, Yourway, Northbrook Gas and Variety, Northbrook Foodland, Addison's Restaurant

• Kaladar – Kaladar Shell

• Plevna – North of 7

• Ompah – Palmerston Lake Marina

• Arden – Arden Batik?

• Sharbot Lake – Petrocan, Ram's Esso, Mike Dean's Superstore, Pharmasave, St. Lawrence College Employment Centre, Cardinal Cafe, Maples?, Sharbot Lake Country Inn, and our own office at 1095 Garrett St., rear building.

• Parham – Parham General Store

• Godfrey – Godfrey General Store

• Verona – Asselstine Hardware, Verona Hardware, Food Less Traveled, Nicole's Gifts, Verona Foodland

• Hartington - Leonard Fuels

• Harrowsmith – Gilmour's on 38, The Pizza Place

• Sydenham – Sydenham One Stop, Trousdale's Foodland ?

We are also constructing some special temporary boxes, which will be located at roadside postal locations, such as the Snow Road Community Centre, the Mountain Grove Library (outside), the Arden Post Office, etc.

Also, readers can always read the articles online at frontenacnews.ca and at that site can also access a flash version of our paper that is a .pdf copy of the newsprint version that comes to your door each week under normal circumstances.

If there is a strike, this distribution system will remain in place for at least the July 7 and 14 editions. If there is a stoppage that extends beyond mid-July, we will take stock of the success of our system and may consider changes.

We thank our readers in advance for their patience, and hope that those who enjoy the Frontenac News each week will be able to continue to do so next week.

The second annual Sail Mazinaw will be held on Saturday July 9. The intention of the event is to get a great number of sails on Mazinaw Lake all at the same time. It is not a race. It is a flotilla, a cruise, a raid, an invitation to go sailing. Dozens of cottagers have sailboats, windsurfers and even kite boards. Sail Mazinaw is an opportunity for them to rig and go sailing in company. It is an excuse to get the boat ready, recruit crew, or to introduce someone new to the sport. Bon Echo Provincial Park is on the lake, and campers are reminded to bring their dinghies or sailboards along for the weekend. Transient boaters are always welcome.

Mazinaw Lake is a beautiful sailing venue. The lake is surrounded by citadels of bare rock that generate thermals and local shore breezes. The windiest time of the day is typically at 2pm. But the orientation and the shape of the lake mean that it seldom generates a large swell or white caps. It is a fun sailing venue.

Sailors are invited to meet at Mazinaw Lake Resort for breakfast at 8am on July 9. Docking is limited, so sailors are encouraged to drive to MLR.

Friends of Bon Echo will have the barbecue fired up in the Lagoon at Bon Echo Provincial Park from 12 noon until after 2pm. Sailors on the north lake may opt to pull up on the beach near the Visitor Centre and walk overland to the Lagoon. Sailors on the south lake will probably pull up on Main Beach and walk to the Lagoon. Go for a sail, share a burger with other sailors, then get back on the lake in time for the afternoon breeze. It will be a perfect day.

If you have a sailcraft, please join Sail Mazinaw on July 9. More details can be found on the public Facebook page facebook.com/SailMazinaw or you can e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Spread the word.