Editorial by Jeff Green

I was interviewed last week for the Lost Highway documentary, which is about, among other things, the loss of businesses on the stretch of Highway 7 between Sharbot Lake and Kaladar, as well as the efforts of the Friends of Arden to revitalize the hamlet of Arden.

I did not have much earth-shattering insight to offer the film-makers I’m afraid, but after the interview I thought of some better answers to some of the questions they asked.

One of the questions they asked was about the "Why does everything go to Sharbot Lake?" question, which they said was something they heard from a number of people while making their film.

I’m not sure what I mumbled to the camera, but in retrospect I should have pointed out that whenever I have talked to an outsider, say someone from Kingston, Perth, Verona, or anywhere else, they find the idea that anyone would be jealous of Sharbot Lake pretty funny.

To them, Sharbot Lake is a backwater; and in fact, Sharbot Lake is a backwater. It has a few stores and some restaurants and two gas stations, and a couple of offices, including the township office, but that’s about it.

There is a constituency, and it has always been represented on Central Frontenac Council in one form or another, that believes there has been a grand conspiracy to build up Sharbot Lake at the expense of everyone else, particularly the long-ignored citizenry of Arden and Mountain Grove.

Whether there is now, or has been in the past, any truth to these perceived slights, is really beside the point. Arden, and for that matter a number of other hamlets in North and Central Frontenac, have lost virtually all their retail establishments over the years. But they did not lose out to Sharbot Lake. They lost out to Belleville, to Napanee, to Kingston and to Perth. They lost out to Walmart and Best Buy and No Frills. Retail has changed all over the world, and small rural retailers have been hit particularly hard.

Businesses in Sharbot Lake struggle to survive as the retail strips 35 km down the road in Perth and 65 km down the road in Kingston continue to increase in size. Does it help the Sharbot Lake businesses to have politicians and residents from Mountain Grove, Arden or Parham calling Sharbot Lake a fat cat? Probably not.

For the Friends of Arden, and for any organized or ad hoc group of people in hamlets anywhere in rural Eastern Ontario, the challenge is to build a community around something other than a commercial hub. That is what the Friends of Arden have found as they have moved forward. The support they have garnered has come from working with the Legion and the Rec. Committee and the churches. Communities build themselves up by looking at their resources and building on them. They do it by working together, and by working with neighbouring communities to strengthen the region.

There is always resentment towards the postal code where tax dollars are sent. I thought they were paving the streets of Mountain Grove in gold when I paid my municipal taxes to Olden Township, so I guess I can understand how some people in Arden feel.

Eventually, I realized that the gold was really only tar and chip, and I got over my resentment towards Mountain Grove, which I now think of as a picturesque hamlet with a good hall and an excellent school.

It might be time for those people in Arden who are still harbouring old grudges towards Sharbot Lake to move on as well.

This summer, confidential meetings are taking place to apprise municipal officials and some other stakeholders about some specific parcels of land. These lands are to be included in an agreement in principle for the Ontario Algonquin Land Claim, an agreement that is slated to be completed in 2013, according to the federal, provincial, and Algonquin negotiating teams.

As we have outlined in these pages, the Algonquin Land Claim process is an anomaly among Canadian land claims in its inclusion of communities of Algonquin individuals whose aboriginal heritage has have never been recognized by the Canadian government. The land claim process itself is the only official recognition these people have and only with the culmination of the process in a treaty will any kind of formal designation as aboriginal peoples be realized.

As the Algonquin Land Claims process has proceeded since 1991, in all its fits and starts, it has both created interest among Algonquin's in their heritage, and created divisions and bitter disagreement as groups have come together and split apart, often over the direction the land claims processes has been proceeding.

At the same time questions about the history of Algonquin peoples in Ontario and Quebec have lingered. What was Algonquin Culture along the Kiji Sibi (now Ottawa) river watershed before the French came in the 1600's? What happened after that? How can a land claim that splits Algonquin territory into two along the very river that was the Center of Algonquin heritage and political power and settles only with the remaining population on one side be legitimate in the eyes of Algonquin's and Canadians in general?

As the Algonquin land claim heads towards it conclusion, Bonita Lawrence, an Associate Professor in the Department of Equity Studies at York University where she teaches Indigenous Studies, is releasing Fractured Homeland – Federal recognition and Algonquin identity in Ontario.

The book is the culmination of 7 years of research, and represents an extension of Lawrence's academic and personal interest in urban aboriginal identity and fragmentation, which was the subject of her PHD thesis and an earlier book.

Fractured Homeland provides a historical background to Algonquin history and governance and, and interviews with a number of the people involved in the development of the land claims process, and those communities who would like to see the claim abandoned altogether.

It also contains sections on Algonquin communities in Frontenac County and on some of the politics around the land claim in this region and others as well.

Fractured Homelands will be having its official launch in Ottawa on August 11 at the Minwaashin Lodge at 24 Catherine Street. For further information, go to Ipsmo.org.

(In a future edition, the News will look more closely at Fractured Homeland and its implications to the oncoming debate over the Algonquin Land Claim.

Photo: MNR biologist Kat Pitt with a 'Grey ratsnake.'

There were a number of people cowering at the rear of the Verona Lion's Hall during the final portion of a presentation on the Grey Ratsnake last Thursday night (July 26) by Tim Wood and Kate Pitt of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR)

At the same time, a larger number, includes most of the young people at the talk, crowded around when Tim wood opened a blue plastic and pulled out a 6 foot long ratsnake, that immediately coiled itself around his arm.

The ratsnake is Canada's longest snake, with adults reaching 1.5 to 1.8 metres in length, and the Frontenac Axis population of Grey Ratsnake has just been placed on the Species at Risk list.

The MNR has renamed the snake, which has commonly known as the Black Ratsnake, because the Frontenac Axis population is genetically distinct from Black Ratsnakes in other locations.

According to Tim Wood, “biologists have come to the conclusion that the Ontario population warrants its own designation, and thus the name change to Grey Ratsnake.

The presentation in Verona was sponsored by the Frontenac Stewardship Council.

It had a dual purpose, to dispel myths and create an appreciation of the Grey Ratsnake, and to inform the public about the real implications of the species at risk designation on property owners in Central and South Frontenac, something that MNR officials have said was poorly handled when he designation was first publicized this past winter (as was reported in the Frontenac News – “With Friends like the MNR, the Ratsnake might not need enemies” February 9)

Gord Rodgers, who Chairs the Frontenac Stewardship Council, is also a fan of the grey Ratsnake, (unlike his wife, Barb, who was one of those hiding in the back of the Lion’s Hall when the Ratsnake made its appearance last Thursday night)

Rodgers had been planning an event to promote awareness of the Ratsnake in an effort to encourage people to appreciate its value and its role in the local ecosystem, and in the end the “species at risk” made it even more relevant.

Kate Pitt talked about the new habitat regulations in South and Central Frontenac, and Tay Valley, among other locations.

“A big component of the Endangered Species Act is stewardship,” she said, “and in addition threatened or endangered species are protected, and that protection includes habitat protection.”

There are three different categories of habitat regulations for the ratsnake. One category is for hibernating sites, which are generally located in rock crannies below the the frost line, and can be used for hundreds of years. Development is restricted to 150 metres from these site.

Permanent nesting sites carry a restriction of 20 metres.

The third designation deals with “areas within 1000 metres of an area being used that provides suitable foraging, thermoregulation, or hibernating conditions,” in the wording of the regulation. This designation can be seen to cover a huge swath of land.

Kate Pitt pointed out that this regulations is not designed to “prevent people from removing trees, putting up sheds, decks, barns, or houses. It is really about making sure that larger developments, such as commercial development or subdivision approvals take ratsnake habitat into consideration.

Tim Wood, who is the species at risk co-ordinator for the Leeds Grenville Stewardship Council, talked first about the passenger pigeon, once the most numerous bird in the world, but now extinct.

“That is why it is important to do monitoring and take measures before it becomes a race to save remnant populations,” Wood said.

It is particularly difficult to protect snakes, he said, “because not everyone likes snakes, and ratsnakes are large snakes. But they are harmless to humans, they feed on mice and other small rodents, so they are quite compatible with most human activity.

Woods had information about ratsnakes, as well as plans for a simple to build snake nesting structure.

“Part of the problem with the ratsnake is the fact they do no breed until they are almost 20 years old,” said Tim Wood, “and they are vulnerable to predators, particular when they shed their skin.”

One of the best ways to maintain the Frontenac Axis population is to leave old barns and sheds intact as long as they don’t pose a safety risk, according to Tim Wood.

The snakes also need to feed heavily during their short active season, April to November, to build up enough energy for the long winter.

“The more people know about these snakes, the more they seem to appreciate them, said Tim Wood, an opinion that was supported when the youngsters in the crown had an opportunity to see, and touch one.

Photo: Orrie, Andrea and Charlie Cumpson with Hailey Conium and their organic dairy herd at Sonset Farm in Inverary

On July 15, members of the 4H and Rotary clubs of Frontenac joined forces with the owners of three rural farms in South Frontenac to promote urban awareness of farms and the bounty they produce.

Darlene Clement, a 4H leader and Rotarian, along with Jim Perry, chair of the Kingston Rotary Club, helped organize the first-time event, which was held in memory of Larry Ritchie, a long time Rotarian who strongly believed in the importance of supporting and promoting rural farming and farmers.

Over 100 interested persons participated in the all-day event, which included tours of the Cumpson family’s 750 acre Sonset Farm in Inverary, the Bennetts’ Benacres Farm, a 1000 plus sheep farm on Latimer Road, and the recently opened Limestone Organic Creamery on Sydenham Road, owned by the Groenewegen family.

At Sonset Farm visitors were invited to enjoy a sumptuous, free lunch with 100% beef burgers donated by the Frontenac Cattlemen’s Association plus numerous salads, and other snacks made from local farm ingredients and produce, and countless homemade pies in every imaginable flavor.

I joined the tour at Sonset Farm, where co-owner Andrea Cumpson was just beginning one of many hay wagon tours of the 750-acre property. Numerous visitors jumped aboard as Andrea’s husband Orrie drove the tractor while she pointed out the ripening fields of spelt, barley, oats, hay, wheat and corn, the majority of which goes toward feeding their 40-head herd of organic dairy cows, whose milk is sold to Organic Meadow. Their crops also feed their grass-fed beef cattle, and pastured pigs and chickens.

Andrea pointed out two of the farm’s large market gardens and greenhouses where she, her husband Orrie and son Charlie produce market veggies and sell them through Community Shared Agriculture shares to close to 40 regular customers.

Beside their home is their farm gate store where they sell their meat, eggs, spelt flour (which is milled on site), and seasonal veggies. The store also contains a plethora of educational materials about the importance of local food and local organic farming, something that Andrea and her family naturally feel very strongly about.

Andrea has been on the family farm for 29 years and she and Orrie farm it along with their son Charlie and his partner Hailey Conium. The farm has been certified organic since 1996 and is a great example of farming that strives to preserve diversity while maintaining the health of the land, the soil, the crops, the animals and the people they feed. Naturally the Cumpsons jumped at the opportunity to educate the public about the importance of supporting local rural agriculture and local food, and were pleased to be able to offer the public a close look into how such a farm works. “It's just so important that people are connected to where their food comes from, “ Andrea said in between her tours. “Every region needs to feed themselves and has the capacity to feed themselves. We just need more farmers and processors to be able to do it and it’s important for people to see how it all works and exactly what is needed to be able to do it.”

She beamed with pride when showing us her dairy herd, who roamed and grazed happily in a field just beyond the barn where they are milked twice daily and where the stalls were just recently prepared with fresh bedding, all grown in the fields just beyond the fence line.

“Letting animals live in as natural a state as possible- where they can socialize, get fresh air, sunshine, and freely graze is what makes a healthy animal. I feel that here on this farm it is my job to tell people what happens here, show them how it works and let them come to their own conclusions. I really believe that all animals need to have the opportunity to be who and what they are. And I am hoping that when people come here they see these healthy, happy animals, the vibrant nourishing crops, the biodiversity of this region and how important it is to preserve that biodiversity.”

Also attending the event were the Perry family of Local Family Farms in Verona and Perry Maine-Anjou Farms in Harrowsmith, who had on display their award-winning bull calf. The calf was born in January 2012 and was awarded the title of grand champion of all breeds at the Odessa Fair on July 14. It was sired by a Denver Colorado champion from semen sent from Alberta to the Perry farm in Harrowsmith. The calf will be on display again at the upcoming Napanee Fair on the August long weekend.

Anyone interested in supporting local farmers throughout the Frontenacs should get a copy of the National Farmers Union's “Food Down the Road”, which has a listing of local producers in the area. The yellow brochure, Hands on Harvest is also a great guide to farmers further north.

A new eatery has opened up at the business strip near the junction of Hwy. 7 and Road 38, joining the Rising Bun and The Juncton.

Jossy’s Chill and Grill is located between the Brewers Retail and LCBO stores, where the Land O’Lakes Tourist Association booth had been located.

The tourist booth has moved across the road to the PetroCan site.

“My goal is to serve fresh food, using local ingredients wherever possible, and to serve it with a smile,” said Jocelyn Harpell one day last week, as she kept taking orders and bantering with customers who were streaming up to the small window where she dishes out fries, burgers, sausages and more.

Jocelyn moved to Crow Lake with her husband Bill last May when they purchased an existing cottage rental business. Although she had never owned or worked in a restaurant, Jocelyn said she has always loved cooking for people, and opening up the Chill and Grill is her dream job. She previously worked as a 9-1-1 Dispatcher in Gananoque.

“There has been a great response thus far, and I have met local people, cottagers, and people driving through from all over Ontario and beyond in my first few weeks. It’s been great,” she said.

There are a number of items on the menu at the Chill and Grill but the signature dish are the fresh cut fries, which are made using only the Downy breed of potatoes from a farm in Collingwood.

“They are the perfect potato for frying,” Jocelyn said.

“They are creamy tasting, they crisp up nicely, and they hold together well.”

All of the potatoes are peeled and cut early each day, and then stored in near freezing temperatures for use that day. They are fried in canola oil, and are available with a homemade gravy that is also made daily.

Hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages on a bun are also available, including caramelized onion sausages from Seed to Sausage. Jossy’s also serves spring rolls and other dishes from the Mi Quong restaurant in Kingston, and starting this week, soft ice cream is on the menu as well. “I try to shop locally. The buns I use are baked at the Freshmart, and I am now selling cookies from the Rising Bun.

Jocelyn is the public face of Jossy’s, but Bill Harpell works behind the scenes keeping all the equipment running and doing other work to keep everything in order.

Jossy’s Chill and Grill is open Mondays from 11-4, Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays from 11-6:30pm, Saturdays from 11-4 and Sundays from 12-4.

Photo: Junior Hartwick (centre) and a group of golfers at tee-off time at the SFCS's 4th annual 50 Plus Golf tourney at Rivendell Golf Club in Verona

At a time when some annual fundraising golf tournaments have been losing ground, the Southern Frontenac Community Services Annual  50+ Family and Friends Tourney has gained considerable momentum. Now in its fourth year, the event was begun by its co-chair and longtime SFCS volunteer, David Linton, and it has doubled both in field and  sponsorship, which is something that Linton is more than pleased about. In a recent email Linton sent to me, he wrote,  “I am ecstatic and very emotional on this evening before the tournament. To have so many businesses in the community come forward to sponsor this event is heart rending. To have so many golfers, and non-golfers sign up to support this endeavor....well, I can't describe what I am feeling. This is such an enormous example of support for SFCS, and all that they do for our community.” Linton says this year’s exceptional turn out and community support is a direct result of the efforts of the tourney’s co-chair, Junior Hartwick of Harrowsmith, who has been volunteering as a driver for the SFCS for the last eight years. Junior has lived in the community for 69 years and is a long-time member of the Rivendell Golf Club.

He spoke to me at hole #1 about his involvement as he was just finalizing some last-minute details prior to Saturday's tee off.  “I know a lot of people in the area and I was more than willing to help out and do some fundraising to help support this year’s event,” he said.

The tournament rallied over 35 groups of golfers, 140 participants in total, who teed off at Rivendell at the scramble shotgun start. They raised close to $8000 to help fund the various services that Southern Frontenac Community Services offers to residents in the community. Over 20 volunteers from the SFCS were also on hand to help out for the event.

This year was the first time the event has been held at Rivendell Golf Club in Verona. Jim Lansdell, the club’s general manager, said he and his team were more than happy to offer their services to this important community organization. “The work that the SFCS does in the community is just fantastic. The fact that they are able to reach so many different people in the community - seniors, adults and children is just amazing. This is just one way that we as a club can help them out.” 

Anyone who missed the tournament but who would still like to donate to the SFCS can do so by visiting their website at www.sfcsc.ca or by calling 1-800-763-9610 or 1-613-376-6477. 

North Frontenac participates in “First Impressions Community Exchange”Residents of areas of North Frontenac will soon have a chance to see their community through the eyes of first-time visitors as part of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) “First Impressions Community Exchange.”  

In May, a group of community representatives from the village of Lyndhurst, Ontario paid an unannounced visit to Ompah and Plevna to get an outsider’s perspective of those communities.

The exchange helps communities to see themselves the way tourists, prospective businesses, relocating families, and non-local shoppers might see them.  Their first impressions of a community have a strong influence on visitors’ decisions to relocate to or shop in the community.

“After you’ve lived in one place for a while, you sometimes take for granted the things that attract people to your community,” said project co-ordinator Wendy Higgins, a consultant who lives near Ardoch.  “Or you may be unaware of aspects of your community that may be unappealing in the eyes of outsiders. The exchange gives a community an objective assessment of its strengths and weaknesses and gives participants a chance to gather ideas from other areas dealing with similar community development issues.”

Results of the First Impressions Community Exchange will be presented at a public meeting on June 21 at the Clar-Mill Hall, 6598 Buckshot Road.

The evening will begin with a meet and greet at 6:30 pm. The presentation by the Lyndhurst residents is scheduled to begin around 7:00 pm, followed by refreshments and an opportunity to talk to them about what was presented.

“We want to invite as many people as possible to come and see what Lyndhurst business owners, entrepreneurs, and interested citizens think about our area,” said Higgins.

She hopes for a good turnout, especially since 52 people attended a presentation in Lyndhurst last week by community representatives from Ompah/Plevna, who had paid a similar secret visit to Lyndhurst in early May.

The North Frontenac team; Betty Hunter, Ron Higgins, Paul Thiel, Corey Klatt, Lana Gunsinger, and Wendy Higgins gave their presentation to the packed Lyndhurst church hall on June 6.  

“I think they knew what we were going to say regarding some areas, but we had some surprises in store for them too,” said Higgins.

When the North Frontenac representatives initially visited Lyndhurst to get their ‘First Impression’, they each had a cover story. Some said they were looking to retire in the community, some hoping to open a business, some looking to raise a family, etc.

Lana Gunsinger certainly enjoyed her visit to Lyndhurst.

“I love this town. I think it has great potential.  I could really feel that the people of Lyndhurst are proud of their town and their people. So welcoming and friendly!  Very impressed. I will be back for the renowned September Turkey Fair with my children,” she said in her notes.

On June 21, North Frontenac residents will find out what the Lyndhurst team experienced when they paid their own secret visit to Ompah and Plevna.

The program won’t end there, however.

“There will be work to do afterwards,” said Wendy Higgins. “We will look at what we can do in 72 hours, 3 months, and 2 years to better receive our visitors; to make their First Impression perfect; to bring them back again and to share with others. The team will continue to participate, but so will the population at large, the municipality and business owners; to set objectives and then to reach the goals.”

For further information about the exchange, contact Wendy Higgins 613-479-5509.

Editorial by Jeff Green

Everybody is up in arms. Well not everybody, but some people - and those people are really up in arms - about the new clear bag garbage system in Central Frontenac.

People have said a lot about the clear bags: they are unworkable; they are an invasion of privacy; it is unfair that the old bag tags can't be used any more. The whole fiasco demonstrates that the township is out of touch with the people.

Why would a township council impose something like this on its residents?

There is a reason. The recycling rates in Central Frontenac are abysmal. They are very low compared to all of its neighbors, and the township has been facing pressure from the provincial government and its related agencies to address this reality. Provincial regulations are such that when the dumps in Central Frontenac are filled the garbage will have to be shipped out, at an increased cost to ratepayers. Once that happens, taxes will go up to pay shipping and dumping fees.

Exempting recycled materials from dumping fees did not work; there were still recyclables all over the waste pile. After years of hand wringing, the clear bag plan, an idea that had been laughed at when it was proposed years ago by former Councilor Logan Murray, ended up being adopted by this current council.

The clear bags create the potential for the garbage to be refused by the dump attendant if it includes recyclable or hazardous items. The township has the capacity to force people to pull material out of the bag they paid for, and put it in a recycling container for free. It is a forced savings program. My understanding is that the staff at the dump are not being heavy-handed about enforcing the rules.

This all seems like a pretty childish endeavour, sifting through garbage bags to reveal a can or a plastic bottle.

But the fact is that people in Central Frontenac have not been recycling, or the clear bag system would not have been required.

The commercial enterprises, including lodges and restaurants, are indeed being put into a corner by this. They can't always control the way their clientele acts, and if they have to sort the garbage themselves it is a potential hazard to their employees. The same issues arose in North Frontenac when they brought in clear bags, and the township can and will work with the businesses involved to make the system can work.

There is another option that has sprung up as well. Scott's container rentals will take any and all waste, for a price, out of the township to a commercial sump site. So, residents do have an option. Sort out the waste from the recycling or pay extra and throw everything into Scott's bins.

Central Frontenac still has work to do on its waste system, but the clear bags are part of that solution and the message they deliver, that recycling is mandatory at township waste sites, is a necessary one.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mike McKenzie, left, caught up with his brother, who was one of of over 1000 visitors to the Food Fair and Grand Opening event.

“What just happened?” Mike McKenzie posted on the Seed to Sausage twitter feed at 7 pm on Saturday, two hours after the doors closed and the guest chefs had packed up their portable smokers and pizza ovens and departed for their home restaurants.

On a normal week day, a few cars can be seen parked next to the unassuming Quonset huts on a normally lonely stretch of Road 38 near what used to be the village of Oconto. The Seed to Sausage logo and slogan (Local, Ethical, Humble) on one of the huts is the only indication that there is more going on there than boat storage. Years ago food lovers used to pay more attention to the property across the road, where Levi Ducharme used to grow and sell some of the best sweet corn in Frontenac County.

The property that presently houses Seed to Sausage was developed by Martyn Jenkyns, who built a butcher shop and slaughtering facility there and opened M&C meats. Just over a year ago Seed to Sauage took over the property, and since then sales have gone in one direction - up!

Seed to Sausage's start up coincided with the establishment of the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market, and even before their shop was opened they were meeting new customers at a stall in the farmers' market. By mid-summer last year the store was open, and until Thanksgiving they kept store hours, selling some of the cured, fresh and frozen sausage and smoked bacon that they produce for markets in Toronto, Ottawa, and Kingston.

Since then, while the Seed to Sausage shop has not officially been open, a steady stream of customers has stopped by whenever there was someone available there to sell some fresh or frozen meat.

Meanwhile, Seed to Sausage's profile in the foodie communities has kept building. When interviewed last summer Mike McKenzie asked me not to name one of the restaurants that was carrying Seed to Sausage's dried meats for their charcuterie plates because they wanted people to think they were making it themselves. Now, that same restaurant is actively promoting the fact that they have Seed to Sausage Sopressata and Chorizo available. When a number of celebrity chefs took over an Ottawa restaurant one weekend this winter because the chef/owner of the restaurant was off to a Food Olympics in Vancouver, most of them included something from Seed to Sausage on the plates they prepared.

The Chien Noir restaurant in Kingston, which is at or near the top of the food chain in that city, is a big booster as well, and they had a crew on hand on Saturday at the grand opening, cutting up a freshly prepared side of pork and doling out meat and skin to a drooling public. Olivea Restaurant, also from Kingston, brought a portable wood-fired pizza oven with them to promote their rustic Italian locally sourced fare. Perhaps the most popular spot was the Whalesbone booth, from Ottawa, which served fresh shucked oysters to go with wine from Sandbanks winery from Prince Edward County and Pale Ale from St. Ambroise brewery from Montreal.

Where did the customers come from, however? Of the 1,000 plus people who came out, there were many local faces, to be sure, and the cottagers were out in force last weekend because of the mid-summer weather on Victoria Day weekend, but there were a number of people from Ottawa and Kingston, and some from Toronto and even Guelph, who made the trip to Sharbot Lake just for the food.

The shop itself was full to the brim all afternoon, with people lined up at the shelves carrying local and regional products, at the meat counter and on to the checkout counter.

When contacted a few days later, Mike McKenzie talked about the trajectory of the business and plans for the coming summer.

Last summer, about four pigs were processed each week in the shop. Now that number is over 10, in addition to beef and venison, and McKenzie now has about a dozen employees. The store will be open from Wednesday to Sunday from now until Thanksgiving weekend, and it features a full butcher shop in addition to cheese and other specialty food. A converted chip truck will be selling sandwiches and other items on site as well. Seed to Sausage products are also available at Local Family Farms in Verona, and Jossy’s chip truck in Sharbot Lake is carrying Seed to Sausage on a bun.