Feature Article October 30, 2003
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Cloyne and District Historical Society Annual General Meeting
There was a splendid turnout of members of the Cloyne & District Historical Society for their Annual General Meeting on Monday, October 20, in the Barrie Township Hall, Cloyne.
Our guest speaker, Historian and Researcher Larry Morris, CEO of MacPherson House in Napanee, spoke to us on the building of the Addington Road from its beginning in the mid-1800s until present time.
My memory immediately plunged back to my childhood days at Mazinaw Lake, where my friends and I played on parts of the overgrown old road. We walked to fishing holes and good berry-picking places never dreaming we were treading upon history. One part of the almost overgrown road took us over an original plank-and-log bridge over Mallory Creek, remnants of which are still there. Another took us to the best thimbleberry patch in the area.
Mr. Morris described to us how the Addington Road began at Clare River, between Erinsville and Kaladar, as a cart track for horses and wagons; how it was surveyed and built over the years, reaching Kaladar and then the regions north through Northbrook, Cloyne, Denbigh, and further, with branches reaching out to Flinton, Vennachar, Slate Falls, Palmer Rapids and many other small communities. He showed photos of the Addington Road as it was for many years - narrow, with rough planks laid over swampy places, twisting and turning until it connected our entire region. It changed course many times, and that is why we played on the rough, gone-to-grass old road, which long before then had become Hwy 41 and ran along much of its present course.
Many of us at the meeting remembered that back in the early 40s, Hwy 41 was still narrow and dusty, and sometimes Kaladar Hill needed a run or two in our old cars and trucks to surmount it. The thoughts of maneuvering themselves up Eagle Hill, between the head of Mazinaw Lake and Denbigh was even more daunting to the travelers. The Addington Road, now Highway 41, was paved in 1946 from Kaladar northward, and we on Mazinaw Lake were more than delighted to be rid of the dust of passing vehicles. We didnt think then of the history and the hardships of planning and building the first winding, woody, swampy access to our homes.
A new member was voted to the Board of Directors. Eleanor St. Amand joins President Margaret Axford, Secretary, Eileen Flieler, Treasurer Ian Brumell and John Bolton and Karyl Waldie Steinpatz. Eleanor replaces Marcella Neely, who is stepping down. Much-deserved kudos were rendered Marcella for her exemplary work on the Board and her most able chairing of the Lumbermens Picnic last August the formal opening of the extension to our Pioneer Museum.
That excitedly awaited extension was a project dear to our hearts - lovingly watched over and built by contractor Ian Brumell and his volunteers. Designing of placement of artifacts was the purview of Gary Sharman and his crew. The membership is very proud. President Margaret Axford gave our utmost thanks and unlimited praise to member volunteers who assisted, and the communities and talented volunteers who gave freely of their expertise and donations.
The fundraising committee of the C&DHS has been extremely busy over the past 12 months. They arranged bake sales, craft sales, The Lumbermens Picnic, a terrific 2004 calendar planned and executed by Carol Morrow, the Roast Pork Dinner at the Lions Hall in Northbrook and the recent Vanished Villages Tour (a big success), to name just a few. Still on their plate is taking part in the Craft Show at NAEC on November 28 & 29. Theyve put our bank balance in the plus figures.
A new development of the Historical Society is the newsletter developed by the Communications Committee, a 12-pager which will appear bi-annually.
All in all weve had a terrific year. Right now we are busily closing up the Pioneer Museum for the winter, but well be opening next year early in June.
Come. Visit us. Our welcome mat will be out.
