Back to HomeFeature Article - March 19, 2009 Addington Highlands Council – Mar 16/09by Jule Koch Brison

Wager’s Bridge - Five tenders were received for the replacement of Wager’s Bridge in Flinton, and under recommendation from Jewell Engineering, council accepted the lowest bid of $687,419, which was from Clearwater Structures Inc. The other tenders were from Louis Bray Construction ($806,700); All Services ($809,805); Crains’ Construction ($922,403); and Dalcon Enterprises ($979,320). The Clearwater bid comes in under budget, which had been set at $800,000. Reeve Henry Hogg commented, “Some other expenses will arise”.

Flinton Bridge - Construction on the Flinton bridge is well underway. A 100 ft. stone retaining wall for the bridge is being built now and should be completed by the beginning of April.

Rogers Cell Tower - Council discussed correspondence from Rogers Communications, which is set to build a tower on the Flinton Road. The tower will provide cellphone and high speed internet service. Construction is scheduled to be completed this spring.

The South East Local Health Integration Network will hold an Open House at the Flinton township hall on April 7 from noon to 1pm.

Bylaw amendments - Township CAO Jack Pauhl presented an amendment that would enshrine budget deliberations in the township’s procedural bylaw. “It will allow us to set the date ahead of time” he said. Council will pass the amendment at their next meeting.

Pauhl also presented a bylaw to adopt a policy on handling insurance claims, and a bylaw to set policy on unsolicited resumes.

The township will direct people to make claims to their own insurance companies and if they insist on making a claim to the township it must be in writing. The township will then forward the claim to their insurance company.

In deciding on the second bylaw, council voted to return unsolicited resumes to the sender.

Hazardous Waste - In 2008, only 9 ratepayers from Addington Highlands made use of the Household Hazardous Waste Program in the Town of Renfrew. Council discussed holding its own HHW Day but needs more information on the costs.

Building dept: 106 building permits were issued in 2008, for a total construction value of $3,183,574. However the Chief Building Official’s department operated at a loss, as its expenses were $75,763 whereas revenue from permits totalled $42,804.

Photo: l-r Lois Emond, Esther Irving, Carolyn Hasler and Linda Lindsay

Members of the Land O'Lakes Quilters Guild in Cloyne decided this year to make and donate a quilt to the second annual Flinton Relay for Life cancer fundraiser, which will be taking place in Flinton on June 10. The quilt was presented to Flinton Relay chair Carolyn Hasler at Pineview Free Methodist church on April 26.

The guild, which has 27 members, makes regular annual quilt donations to the Community Services office in Northbrook, who in turn distribute the quilts to those in need in the community.

Guild member, Lois Emond, has a brother battling cancer and felt that making a quilt to support cancer research through the Flinton Relay would be a worthwhile donation for the guild to make this year. She approached Esther Irving, who is in charge of outreach and programming with the guild, and guild president Linda Lindsay, with her idea. “All the guild members, many of whom also have family members battling cancer, felt it would be a great idea.” Esther said.

The guild financially supported the project and Lois and Esther teamed up to design and make the quilt. Named the “Gathering of Hearts” quilts, it was made in the cottage country style and in Esther's words was named to reflect the idea behind the Flinton Relay. “The Relay for Life is a gathering of human hearts who are coming together to help each other and to give back to the community, so we wanted to make a quilt that reflected that idea in an upbeat and positive way. ” Relay chair Carolyn Hasler was thrilled with the donation and continues to be amazed at how the entire community is once again coming together. “I was overwhelmed and am so grateful for the guild’s generosity and willingness to support the event.”

The raffle will also include a second prize of 18 holes of golf for two at Hunter’s Creek Golf Course in Cloyne and a third place prize of a cedar deck chair made and donated by Red Emond.

The quilt will be on display at the Flinton Memorial Library and will be raffled off the night of the relay on June 10 at 11:30 PM. To purchase raffle tickets contact Carolyn Hasler at 613-336-8659 or Lois Emond at 613-336-8011. To date 31 teams have signed up for this year’s Flinton Relay and Carolyn is still hoping that more teams will sign up. She is also looking for volunteers to help with the Saturday morning breakfast on June 11. Anyone interested in donating their time can contact her. The next meeting for the Flinton Relay will take place on Wednesday May 25 at the Flinton Community Centre at 7PM.

The Township of Addington Highlands and the Flinton Recreation Club have worked out an agreement that will lead to the construction of a coverall roof over the Flinton outdoor ice rink.

The $372,000 project received funding support for 2/3 of the cost from provincial-federal infrastructure funding, and the rec. club has half of the remaining third ($64,000) on hand. That still left a $64,000 shortfall. Even though the township made the application for the grant, they have no money available for it, and this left the recreation club wondering if the project would be able to proceed.

But an agreement has been worked out whereby the township will borrow $64,000 from an Infrastructure Ontario lending program, and the rec. club will pay it back through future fundraising. Carolyn Hasler of the Flinton Rec. Club said she was satisfied with the arrangement. “We'll get our roof, that's the main thing,” she said.

The club has ongoing fundraising events, including a New Year's Eve dance, several dinners, and the Flinton Jamboree, and are optimistic the money can be raised in a relatively short time.

The project is being planned now, and will go ahead this year. 

l-r; Bulls defenceman Bjorn Krupp, Sgt. Rob Ross, Andrew Freeburn, Doug Weese, Constables John Dyks and Jason Brown, Bulls forward Jan Kaminsky, and Sgt. Dick Welton

The Flinton Community Policing Committee held their sixth annual community fun day at the Flinton rink on Jan. 31 and though the turnout was less than in years past, those who came out had a chance to play with Belleville Bulls forward Jan Kaminksky and defenseman Bjorn Krupp, who was just recently signed with the Minnesota Wild, along with members of the OPP and the Addington Highlands Emergency Services teams.

Committee chair James Woods explained the purpose of the event. “It‘s a chance for local kids to get out and have some fun and is also an opportunity for them to get to know the emergency squads in their community and to develop relationships with them.”

The annual fun day is just one event that the committee organizes in their effort to keep youth in the community active and safe. This past summer Robert Wood, who is also a member of the committee, organized a baseball league for children ages 6-14, and 30 children participated last summer.

Earlier this week on Jan.27 the committee held their first meeting since June and members were joined by OPP constable Jason Browne who will working as the new community policing officer in Flinton. Const. Brown grew up in Enterprise and graduated as an OPP officer in 2007. He is thrilled to be working back near his home town and feels he understands the needs of smaller communities. He stressed that, “Often in smaller communities it’s hard to raise issues that need to be heard. My job is to listen to the needs of the community and to assist them in having those needs met.”

Carolyn Adams has two teenagers still living at home and is relatively new to Flinton, having just moved to the area last year. It was her first time attending a meeting and she raised some issues that she would like to see addressed. She was concerned about two vacant buildings in town; the old Davison garage and the old decrepit barn across from it. Both lie vacant and the latter appears unsafe. Adams is concerned that youth are using the buildings as local hang outs.

She summed up her concerns as a parent of teenagers in a small community. “I as a parent like to be at home with my kids and I like to open my home to other kids in the community. Real problems start when kids are kicked out of the house and are left with nothing to do. The reason I‘m here is that I agree that we have to find alternatives to offer these kids. I came tonight to become part of the community and am hoping to encourage my own kids and the kids who come to my house to get involved in the community and I feel that the best way I can do that is to come to these meetings.”

The meetings are off to a good start and many promising suggestions were discussed, including the possibity of  purchasing weights and setting up an exercise room for kids to use. A suggestion was also made to offer school community credits to students who attend community meetings like these.

The next Flinton Community Policing meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 31.

Taxes jump by 6.7% in Addington Highlands

Addington Highlands Council will be increasing their net levy to ratepayers by $114,000 in 2010. In 2009 the total amount raised through taxation in the township was $1.68 million, whereas in 2010 it will be $1.79 million, an increase of about 6.7%

One of the major reasons for the increase, according to Reeve Henry Hogg, was a cut in a provincial transfer fund for municipal services. Payments to Addington Highlands from the Ontaro government under the Ontario Municipal Partnership fund (OMPF) decreased by $144,000 this year. “There was not much we could do,” said Henry Hogg, “we still have to cover all of our costs, even if the OMPF fund was cut back.”

The township will be completing work on the Denbigh garage and the Matawachan Road this year, both projects that were partially funded by grant money. A planned new fire hall in Northbrook will not go ahead this year, but money has been set aside for the construction in the future.

The extra levy will be covered by assessment increases that are being phased in over a four-year period.

Dump site to be mothballed? An inquiry has been received by the township about a small dump site that serves residents who live on Buckshot Lake. The localized dump, which is only active in the summer, does not receive recycling, only waste, and use is based on subscribers among members of the lake association. The complaint concerns maintenance of the dump.

According to Reeve Hogg, the site has been in existence since before amalgamation, and the Ministry of the Environment is aware of its existence. “I think this might mean that the site will have to be mothballed, and if it is we are going to have to pay the closure costs,” said Hogg, although as of yet the township has not been contacted by the Ministry of Environment about the Buckshot Lake dump.

“We would not consider that site for a transfer station if it were closed,” said Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath.

Although the matter was the subject of conversation, Council took no action on it. At this time, there are no plans to close the site.

LOLCS to pay for hall rentals – Land O'Lakes Community Services (LOLCS) requested a significant fee reduction for the use of township halls.

“What do they normally pay?” asked Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch.

“I think we normally waive the fees,” said Councilor Louise Scott.

“If we give them a very reduced rate, or free use of the halls, there is still the matter of the cost of cleanup,” said Treasurer Jack Pauhl. “But we do have a reduced rate for service groups.”

Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch moved that the service group rate be applied to all use of halls by LOLCS, and Council agreed.

Tender for coverall at Flinton rink – The impact of the Harmonised Sales Tax on the project has made it difficult for the township to determine if the tenders they have received for the Flinton Rink Coverall will lead to a cost over run, but there is a possibility that there will be a $5,000 extra cost.

The Flinton Recreation Committee has committed $63,000 towards the $125,000 municipal cost of the project, and will be doing fundraising for the rest. An infrastructure grant is covering the other $250,000. Council agreed to cover the extra $5,000 cost, should it be necessary.

Internet voting returns – Council decided to engage Intellivote to run the 2010 Addington Highlands Election. Residents will receive a PIN number in the mail, which will enable them to vote over the telephone or through the world-wide web. The same company provided service for the 2006 election, and voting went off without a hitch. 

 

Photo: Dylan and his grandmother Debbie McLeod at the Relay for Life

Dylan Walker continues his fight against cancer.

The six-year-old, who has been battling Neuroblastma since November 2009, has undergone stem cell therapy, massive doses of chemotherapy, and most recently, a course of radiation therapy. He is back at home in Northbrook these days, amid hopes that the tumours that have been removed or shrunk back in his body will not come back.

Frontenac News readers first learned about Dylan in late April when his grandmother contacted us asking if people would consider supporting Dylan’s family financially as they run to Kingston and Toronto for treatments.

“We’ve had a tremendous response,” said Debbie MacLeod this week, “from all over.”

Just this week Debbie learned that a golf tournament to raise funds for Dylan had been held last weekend.

Dylan made an appearance at the Flinton Relay for Life on June 11 that was an inspiration for all of the participants in that event.

As to Dylan’s current health, Debbie said that “his strength is very good, and his recovery has always been very good.”

Dylan is taking pills to help the stem cells develop into normal cells for the next two weeks, and then he will be remaining at home in Northbrook. Hopes are strong that the Neuroblastoma will not come back.

“You can never rest easy with cancer, particularly this kind, but one thing I know about Dylan is that he will fight it with all he has. He isn’t going anywhere if he has a say in it,” said his proud grandmother.

Through the Roof to build new one

Don Wannamaker from The Through the Roof Ministry in Flinton approached Addington Highlands Council this week seeking relief from paying building permit fees for renovation plans to their building.

The relatively modest renovation includes putting in a 448 square foot vestibule and 416 square foot covered carport.

Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg pointed out that a similar request from the Anglican Church had been accepted last year, and on that precedent the Through the Roof request could be granted. A motion to that effect was approved.

A $500 fee for a minor variance from the township zoning bylaw was also necessary and that fee has been paid by Through the Roof.

Building boom - Construction values for AH have almost tripled for the first six months of 2010. As of the end of June, permits for $3.05 million had been taken out, as compared to $1.16 million for the same period in 2009.

Infrastructure stimulus is responsible for a portion of the increase, as the Flinton rink structure and the Denbigh garage projects are included.

Permits for $585,000 in commercial construction have been taken out so far this year, as compared to only $6,000 at this point in 2009, and $3,620 in permit fees have been waived since the township does not charge permits for commercial construction.

The total amount of fees collected this year is above $24,000, more than double those collected between January 1 and June 30 in 2009.

Recycling collection down slightly in 2009

In 2008, 132 tonnes of waste was recycled in Addington Highlands, and that number dropped to 129.5 tons in 2009.

 

Survivors’ lap at the Flinton Relay led by survivor chair Sherry Tebo with Irene Hosking (in silver hat) and Dan Bolduc (behind Irene with glasses and beard)

This year’s Relay for Life was a year of firsts in a number of ways, making the already high energy and emotionally charged event that much more so. It’s the first year the event has been held in Flinton, at the Recreation Club; the first time that Carolyn Hasler of Flinton has chaired the event; and for many participants, their first time joining a team and walking through the night for what is the Canadian Cancer Society's biggest fundraiser of the year.

By 7PM 350 people had registered on 33 teams and were hunkered down for a long night of memories, tears and laughter.

The opening ceremonies were emceed by Kyle Perry, news announcer for 95.5 Hits FM in Belleville, who introduced Relay Chair Carolyn Hasler, Reeve Henry Hogg, and Glen McFadden of the Land O' Lakes Lions Club, the event’s major sponsor. Survivor Chair Sherry Tebo then introduced two local cancer survivors who told their personal tales of triumph.

Dan Bolduc of Northbrook was diagnosed with leukemia in March 2005 and underwent chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant from a German donor. He has been cancer free since then. Soon after his ordeal he remarried and though his doctors told him the chances of him fathering another child were next to nil, his wife gave birth to their son Spencer months later. Bolduc thanked the Canadian Cancer Society for the fine research they do and also thanked his friends and family for all of their support.

Survivor Irene Hosking of Harlowe was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus in 1963 when she was 31 and credited a close friend who urged her to get a second opinion for “saving her life”. Irene stated, “If I have one message for everyone here tonight, it is this: If you are not feeling right – definitely go and get a second opinion.” Three months after that second opinion Irene underwent a six-hour surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. She has now been cancer free for 47 years .

Photo right: Dylan Walker and Debbie McLeod

Six-year old Dylan Walker's grandmother, Debbie McLeod of Northbrook, spoke last. She spoke about Dylan's diagnosis on Remembrance Day - neuroblastoma and the multiple sets of chemotherapy, radiation treatments and stem cell therapies he has been undergoing since then. The treatments have eradicated all but one of his tumors. Dylan joined Debbie on stage to cheers and applause and spoke to the crowd about his determination to “get better.”

The first lap of the relay was reserved for the survivors and the sea of yellow-shirted survivors brought forth many tears from onlookers, who applauded them throughout.

Next, the 33 teams took to the field, marching to their upbeat theme songs in colorful costumes beneath hand-painted banners bearing their names. Among the teams were: Hunting for the Cure, Larc's Rays of Hope, Surrender the Booty, and Angels in the Outfield.

For many it was their first time participating in a relay. I spoke with Sheila Perry of the team Wally's Warriors, named in honour of her brother Wally Paddick of Arden, who passed away in October 2009. “We are here to honour him and everyone else who has lost the fight, as well as to honour those who have won it.” She continued, “It's going to be a night of tears - a lot of laughter too.”

Team Mission McFadden carried photographed memorials of friends and family members who have succumbed to the disease. Team member Nell McFadden, who was lapping the track with her teammates, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September 2010. She underwent surgery at KGH and did chemo for six months. In her words, “I got great care and now I feel brand new.”

One of the most moving moments during every relay is the luminary ceremony, which occurs after dusk. Hundreds of candles in small white bags are lit, and they glow, lining the entire track around the field.

Earlier in the evening, first-time Relay Chair Carolyn Hasler had proclaimed to the crowd, “They said we couldn't do it, but we did it!” She thanked all of her dedicated volunteers and committee chairs, who helped make the event not only possible, but an overwhelming success. Except for the early morning rain, the event went off without a hitch. Hasler in fact was so thrilled with the outcome she confessed to me that she heartily agreed with one enthusiastic volunteer, who suggested to her that Flinton be home to the relay for the next five years.

“I see no reason why not. We did it once – we can surely do it again. It was a truly amazing 24 hours and the event will definitely be the talk of the town and surrounding communities for a long while to come,” she said.

Congratulations to Carolyn, the volunteers, and all the sponsors, participants and donors who celebrated, remembered, and fought back. As of Monday morning over $73,000 has been raised for the cause, with some pledges still outstanding. Just one more reason to consider Flinton as the relay's new home - at least for a few more years to come.

 

 

(Information for the following was gathered from the books “The Oxen and the Axe”, and “Lennox and Addington”, which was written by Orland French, although the sections that were used here were written by Marg Axford)

Photo right: Drive the Mississippi, courtesy The Oxen and the Axe

It takes about 45 minutes to drive the roughly 65 kilometres between Kaladar and Denbigh on Highway 41. Starting with the push up Kaladar Hill, the route meanders through rocky, swampy ground until it passes through Northbrook. It then passes over rolling hills, passes along the shoreline of Mazinaw Lake and then heads over hillier and hillier vistas until it reaches Denbigh Lake.

Highway 41 follows pretty much the same route that was laid out by the Perry brothers (Aylesworth B. and Ebenezer) back in 1854 when they oversaw the building of the Addington (a.k.a. Perry) Road. The new road opened up the “back” country to enhance the logging industry and encourage settlement on lands that were thought to have the makings of good farmland.

In the 19th century, the trip along the old Addington Road from Kaladar to Denbigh took the better part of two days to complete. In the book “Lennox and Addington” (Orland French – 2010) the trip is described in the following way: “It was a tiring and sometimes painful experience, up and down endless hills, over bumpy corduroy and around rocks and massive tree stumps.”

There was an easier route to the west, along a well-established Aboriginal trail that ran near the shoreline of the Skootamatta River as far as Flinton.

The region, which had remained in the same state for thousands of years, had been severely impacted by economic interests long before the Addington Road was built. In the 1830s and '40s, drawn by the abundance of white and red pine, logging companies came to the region and they found they could send logs to markets in several directions.

Mazinaw Lake is a headwater lake for the Mississippi River system, draining into the Ottawa River. Skootamatta Lake is a headwater lake for the Moira River system, which drains into Lake Ontario. Just south of Mazinaw, Story Lake is a headwater lake for the Salmon River, which also drains into Lake Ontario, while to the north at Denbigh the lakes drain into the Madawaska River.

This made for a number of water routes for logs to travel to sawmills at major centres, and the seemingly endless supply of lumber from what are now Addington Highlands and North Frontenac townships was decimated by the early years of the 20th century.

With the development of the Addington Road later on, settlement in the area was encouraged for farming purposes, under the mistaken belief that once the pines were gone the land left behind would be rich farmland. But with the trees went whatever topsoil had built up over the granite rock since the last ice age, leaving several generations of settlers with a hard rock existence, trying to eke out a living from an unforgiving land.

Until the loggers left, struggling farmers were able to sell goods to the logging camps, and pick up seasonal work logging as well, but the 20th century brought hard times to the settlements along the Addington Road/Hwy. 41 corridor, although the return of logging with the building of the Sawyer-Stoll sawmill and company town, which was a major employer between the 1930s and 1960s, provided some economic relief.

With rock comes prospecting, and there have been several attempts to establish mines in the region. The Golden Fleece mine near Flinton was started up in 1881 and remained in operation until 1940, but was never a particularly lucrative property because of low-grade ore. Two smaller gold mines, the Star of the East and Ore Chimney mines, were established in 1903 and 1902 respectively in Barrie Township near Cloyne, but never had much success. Near Denbigh, the Jewell Ruby mine was established. It was the dream-child of J.H. Jewell of Toronto and garnets were the rubies that were being sought, but again the grade of the ore was less than ideal. For a time the low-grade garnets were a viable commodity for use in sandpaper, but eventually even that demand dried up.

Tourism has turned out to be a more viable economic activity in the region, with the same lakes and woodlands that drew the interest of lumbermen a century earlier drawing the attention of canoeists, hunters and fishers, summer cottagers and campers.

The foundation of the tourism industry in the region had an unlikely early boost in the mid-1890s from an Ohio dentist's honeymoon. Although Dr. Weston Price lived and worked in Cleveland, he was originally from Newburgh.

The Prices spent their honeymoon camping in the shadow of Mazinaw Rock on the narrows of Mazinaw Lake, near the Tapping family farm. They became so enamoured with the place that they purchased the land around the narrows and built the Bon Echo Inn by the end of 1899. The Inn attracted wealthy tourists from the United States and Canada and gave the region a profile in major cities throughout the Eastern Seaboard. The Inn was sold to Flora MacDonald in 1910. MacDonald was an ardent spiritualist and admirer of Walt Whitman, and although Whitman never visited Bon Echo, she went so far as to have a memorial to him chiselled on the Mazinaw/Bon Echo Rock on the occasion of his centenary in 1919. After Flora died her son Merrill Denison inherited the hotel, and during the 1920s it became a host to members of the Group of Seven and others.

As it turns out, just last week an Arthur Lismer painting called “Bon Echo Rock” sold for $778,750 at a Sotheby's art auction, demonstrating the enduring public fascination with the Group of 7 and Bon Echo.

The depression put an end to a prosperous decade for the hotel, which burned down in 1935. Merrill Denison continued to spend summers at Bon Echo and he was involved in the conversion of his property, and other surrounding lands, into Bon Echo Provincial Park, which to this day remains the singular most popular tourist destination on Highway 41.

KALADAR – Transportation Hub

Photo right: The kaladar Hotel, c1925, courtesy The Oxen and the Axe

The history of the village of Kaladar is connected to the era of motorized transport. Until the Canadian Pacific Railway came through in 1884, there was only sporadic settlement in the area, but with the arrival of the railroad, lumber began to be transported to Kaladar to be loaded onto rail cars. The first post office was established at the start of 1885. For 30 years after that, there were a number of jobs, both manual labour and office jobs, available in Kaladar with the railroad and lumber companies. The CPR shifted its focus to the south in 1915, building a line on Lake Ontario, and with the lumber industry having already fallen, Kaladar suffered. When Highways 7 and 41 were built in the ‘30s, the good times returned, and commercial ventures sprung up at the north end of the village on the highway. There were several garages in Kaladar in the 1950s and the Kaladar Hotel, which had been moved to the edge of Highway 7, thrived. The hotel closed in 2007. The Kaladar Planing Mill, a division of the Sawyer Stoll Company, operated in Kaladar until 1968.

Among the businesses that have come and gone in Kaladar, Bence Motors, founded in 1946, continues to operate as a family-run Ford dealership, garage and service centre. The Kaladar Public School, which was closed in 1971 when North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne was opened, was sold to the Kaladar Community Club. The club, which was founded in 1944, took possession of the Kaladar Community Centre on its 30th anniversary year in 1974. By making judicious use of government grants, the club has been refurbished a couple of times since then, and a youth centre was added in the early 2000s. It is also the headquarters of the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association, which was also founded locally in the 1940s.

Glenda Bence was the president of the association when the centre was established in 1974, and remained in that position until her death in 2007.

To this day, as the population is scattered throughout the countryside, the Kaladar Community Centre is the glue that knits the community together.

NORTHBROOK

Northbrook is a community that owes its existence to the Addington Road. Until the road was built, Glastonbury, located to the east along what is now Glastonbury Road, being located on Beaver Creek, was the site of the local mill, and other commerce built up around it. The two communities were both active until the school in Glastonbury burned down in the 1920s and a new one was built in Northbrook. Some of the businesses that have made Northbrook the commercial and administrative centre of the township of Addington Highlands today, were originally started up by families that are still prominent in the local community. Cas and Lulu Thompson started a grocery store in 1915, a business that was later purchased by Alf and Lulu Northey, who added it to their undertaking business. In the 1950s, John Bolton senior ran the major tourist hotel in Northbrook.

In the 1990s, community members teamed up with Land O'Lakes Community Services to obtain government approval and support to build the Pine Meadow Nursing Home. Today, the nursing home is the largest employer in the town, and is working hard on upgrading its services. This will not only secure Pine Meadow’s existence and provincial funding well into the future, it will also build on the home’s role as a health care centre. The recent announcement that the Northbrook Medical Clinic will become a Family Health Team underpins the role of Northbrook as a centre for medical and social services.

Although it sparked a certain amount of controversy, a stop light was put in by the Ministry of Transportation at the corner of Hwy. 41 and Peterson Road a couple of years ago, right in the middle of Northbrook where the Foodland and Bank of Montreal branches are located. The stoplight was put in to address the needs of seniors who live up the road at the Pineview Seniors apartments, but as the only traffic light on Hwy. 41, it marks the central role that Northbrook has established for itself in the region. Not bad for a town that once was called Dunham and only boasted 25 inhabitants.

FLINTON 

Photo right: The Skootamatta River at Flinton

Its location on the Skootamatta River made Flinton a settlement earlier than any other village in what is now Addington Highlands. In fact there is archaeological evidence that it was a seasonal Aboriginal settlement before the coming of European immigrants. Before roads were built and the land grant system was set up in the latter half of the 19th century, squatters made their way along an ancient trail on the route that is now County Road 29 between Flinton and Actinolite.

There is also a possibility that Samuel Champlain spent a winter on the Skootamatta River at Flinton, although he may have been further to the southwest on the Moira.

In the 1850s, a Belleville-based entrepreneur and future member of the Canadian senate, Billa Flint, built a grist and sawmill in what became known as Flints Mills. In 1859 the town was named Flinton and 98 small building lots were laid out in a grid formation along seven streets, forming a core village that remains intact to this day.

Unlike much of the land along the Hwy. 41 corridor, there was some reasonable farmland in the vicinity of Flinton, and a number of families raised sheep, but wolves/coyotes were a constant problem.

When the lumber industry collapsed early in the 20th century it hit Flinton harder than some other communities because Flinton is located several kilometres west of the Addington Road (and later, Hwy. 41). The Stewart Hotel, which was built just outside of the village boundary when Billa Flint was still a force (Flint maintained Flinton as a dry town) burned down in 1989.

No longer a centre for business and commerce, Flinton remains a population and recreation centre thanks to the existence of Flinton Recreation Centre and the fact that the Flinton Recreation Club is alive and kicking. Flinton is the location of a thriving Jamboree on the August long weekend, and as of this week, has also become the regional host village for the Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

CLOYNE 

Photo right: Wheelers Store, Cloyne, courtesy Cloyne Historical Society

When North Addington Education Centre opened in 1971, it established Cloyne as an education and training centre. The village also is the home of the Pioneer Museum and is the closest centre to Bon Echo Park, which brings a steady flow of people through Cloyne all year round.

In addition to the tourist population, seasonal residents on Mazinaw, Skootamatta, Marble, and Mississagagon lakes spend up to five months a year living in the vicinity. Cloyne is unique among the villages along Hwy. 41 in that it straddles two townships (and two counties as well) and is the hub community for the Barrie ward of North Frontenac Township, as well as being one of the largest population centres in Addington Highlands.

The Irish heritage of many of the early settlers in Cloyne is reflected in its name, which is taken from a Village in County Cork, Ireland.

The first post office in Cloyne was opened in 1859, and the village grew quickly after that. The first hotel, the Wickware Hotel (which burned down in 1963) was built in 1864. The first school was opened in 1868 and a number of other trades and businesses necessary for a self-sufficient village in the 19th century (blacksmith shop, general store, etc.) all followed in due course. Many families that continue to be active in Cloyne today can trace their routes to pioneer days. For example, there are a number of Sniders in Cloyne today, and they can trace their family heritage back to Charles Snider, who built a sawmill and log slide on Marble Lake at the end of what is now Head Road. The business was sold to Peter McLaren (of the McLaren/Caldwell feud that is so prominent in the logging history of Lanark County). Although Charles returned to his home in Ernestown, three of his sons so preferred the rugged life in the 'back' country of the north to the easy life in the 'front' country to the south, that they stayed behind.

Today Cloyne is a centre for the building trade, as seasonal residents continually upgrade their cottages and year-round homes. There are three hardware/building supply stores in the vicinity of the village (Cloyne Home Hardware, Hook’s Rona, and Yourway Lumber) as well as numerous trades-people. Within the village itself, Cloyne Village Foods, Nowell Motors, and Grand’s Store are all going concerns.

DENBIGH - A community that stands alone

Photo right: The Denbigh Grist Mill, courtesy The Oxen and the Axe

In pioneer days the people who settled in Denbigh found that anything they could not make themselves or access locally was basically out of reach, unless they were able to travel for several days over rough terrain to Renfrew, or to the south on the Addington Road.

This led to a spirit of self-sufficiency, and at the turn of the 20th century there were a number of blacksmiths, a very busy grist mill, hotels, two churches and two stores in Denbigh to serve the population. A description of life in Denbigh in 1900 that was reprinted in the Oxen and the Axe illustrates what life and travel were like back then: “They used to gather all the produce that could be spared in the fall and drive to Renfrew to trade. They had butter in 90 pound firkins or in prints, potatoes, grain, beef, pigs, geese and wool in fleece and spun into yarn. The journey took three days down and back They traded their produce for sugar, flour, and meal by the hundred pound bag to do them a year.”

Until 1903, Denbigh had a lot of competition as a centre from the village of Vennachar, which is located only a few kilometres away, but a massive fire decimated Vennachar, and Denbigh has been a larger centre ever since. Not that Denbigh is large; it has 176 year-round households along with many seasonal residences on Denbigh, Ashby, and other smaller lakes. But the community is tightly knit, and community events are often better attended than those in communities ten times as large.

Located as it is at the junction of Highways 41 and 28, at the very top of Lennox and Addington (L&A), Denbigh is also somewhat isolated politically. Denbigh residents are understandably more oriented to Renfrew County, which is on its doorstep, than to L&A County, which has its administrative centre 90 minutes away in Napanee.

 

The relationship between libraries and the internet has augmented the ongoing role of libraries in rural communities. But there are limits to what libraries can offer.

For the Flinton library, hitting the bandwith limit in their satellite internet contract may have sparked a chain reaction that led to the library being vandalized.

On Saturday, May 22 at about 4 pm in the afternoon, someone climbed up to the roof of the Flinton Library and cut two cables, severing the connection between a satellite dish and the modem. June Phillips, the Chief Executive Officer of the Addington Highlands Library, thinks the vandalism might be connected to a decision that was made earlier in May to password protect the internet router in the Flinton branch.

Until then, the unsecured wireless signal coming from the router in the branch was accessible through wifi-equipped laptop computers located in the vicinity of the library. This allowed neighbours and others who were willing to park nearby and make use of the satellite internet signal.

“What was happening was that some people were using the service for large downloads and we started using more bandwidth than was included in our contract,” said June Phillips in explaining why the security was necessary.

The service contract that the library has with its provider is already the maximum that is available so the implication of the extra downloading has been a severe narrowing of bandwith, making the library service “slower than dial up” said June Phillips.

The library is open 20 hours a week, and people can access the service during library hours even on personal laptops, but they must approach library staff for a time-sensitive password.

“I guess the change must have ticked somebody off,” June Kerr speculated.

By cutting the cables, the vandals caused some damage to computer equipment, and affected operations at the Flinton and Denbigh branches, since all catalogue information for both branches is stored in Flinton. The system is now up and running, and anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Kaladar OPP detachment, which has launched an investigation into the incident.