Bethany Armstrong founded the Clar-Mill Community Archives soon after she published a reprint of her father's book, “Away Back in Clarendon and Millar”.

“As I was working on the book, I went to the township office and asked if I could look through the archives for some material. They said there were no archives, and that's how we got started” she said.

The archives that she started, with help from Heather White of the Plevna Library and the support of Ian Brummel, Marg Axford and the crew at the Cloyne and District Historical Society and Pioneer Museum, celebrated their 10th anniversary on Saturday, May 14 at the Clar-Mill Hall.

The celebration was organized by Brenda Martin, who has taken over much of the administration of the archives, freeing up Bethany Armstrong to focus on research, and it took the research into the area's general stores to another level. Not only were there displays of material about 10 or so stores, there was also a recreated general store at one end of the hall.

As part of the program there was a panel discussion with former store owners and workers from Fenleigh, Plevna and Ardoch. Well-known author and story-teller Mary Cook also gave a talk about the general store she grew up with in Renfrew County.

Mary Cook also came to the fifth anniversary celebrations of the archives in 2011 and talked about Pioneer Women.

On Saturday, she talked about the general store in her own community in the 1930s, painting a picture of poverty and resiliency in her own well-known homespun way, underlining how the local store was the glue that kept small farming communities from descending into starvation in those lean years.

Her family was too poor to purchase oranges when they came in at Christmas time, but they did get the purple paper that the oranges were wrapped in from the storekeeper.

“We would iron the paper and set it aside, and when the minister or some other important person came to visit, one of us was dispatched to the outhouse to replace the old catalogues with the purple paper for the important guests,” she said.

The stores were also communications hubs, affording the men with a place to congregate in the evenings (women seem to have met in houses over tea), and housing the phone switches and post offices. Store owners were also bankers in effect, offering credit to their customers, even if reluctantly on some occasions.

During the panel discussions, the former store owners were asked about extending credit, and while they all did it, some said they were often worried about people who never seemed to be able to pay. But eventually, the vast majority of customers cleared their bills.

The community archives are housed at the Plevna branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library, where a new sign has just been erected. Senior staff were on hand to mark the 10th anniversary. While the library is open for limited hours each week, the archives are involved in a major digitizing effort, building materials and features into www.clarmillarchives.ca. Under the photos tab of the website there is a directory of communities, with loads of information and pictures from the archives. The archives are always on the look out for materials. They can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-479-2542

Alpha Leo Clubs are designed for youth between 12 and 18 years old. Kids who join Leo Clubs have fun, make new friends and experience the rewards of serving others. This gives young people a strong foundation as they learn the meaning of leadership and service. Plus, Leos learn valuable lessons and make connections that can help them succeed for the rest of their lives.

These clubs focus on social skills and the character development of teens and pre-teens. Leo Clubs are open to young people who have an interest in serving their community.

The Sharbot Lake & District Lions Club is early in the information & development stages of starting a new Leo Club in this area. A Leo Club in our community could provide young people with an opportunity for development and contribution as responsible members of their local, national and international communities. Leo Clubs can have a positive influence on today’s youth and young adults, helping them become better citizens and leaders for life.

The Leo Club motto – Leadership, Experience, Opportunity – says it all:

Leo clubs are sponsored by local Lions Clubs through Lions Clubs International. The first Leo Club was started in 1957 and there are now more than 5,700 Leo Clubs in approximately 140 countries.

The Sharbot Lake & District Lions Club invites you to attend their ‘Meet & Greet’ at the Oso (Soldiers Memorial) Hall on May 31 from 7 – 8 PM to learn more about LEOs and our Lions Club. Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-539-8190

The Land Of Lakes Garden Club is a vibrant group of community residents who meet summer and fall, each month from April to November on the second Thursday of the month, at 7PM in the Pineview Church basement in Cloyne. We come from far and wide; some members are from as far east and south as Verona and Arden as well as from the communities of Cloyne, Northbrook, Plevna, Flinton and area at large.

Our collective backgrounds are diversely varied but we hold at least one thing in common and that is a love of plants, and gardening. Each of us gardens in a different way, but the essence of earth and sun and rain and the miracle of planting a seed and seeing it bloom or produce food is a bond that crosses every divide. We are indeed a band of gardeners and we are always looking for more.

We host interesting and informative speakers each month who talk to us on a myriad of garden and environmentally related subjects. This summer we have a lineup of excellent speakers dealing with topics like Garden Pests; and How Herbs both Culinary and Medicinal enhance our physical selves.

Tiered and Terraced gardening is another upcoming subject in July. We have seven speakers in total scheduled for 2016 and we are delighted to have you join us for any one of these talks. If you choose to become a member we are pleased…our membership fee is a mere $10 per year and your rewards from joining will be tenfold.

We hold workshops and hands-on events too, such as the making of Christmas Swags and Wreaths, a very popular event.

Besides our regular meetings our group has initiated and continues to evolve many community-enhancing projects that benefit our larger community.
We organize and execute a Community Planter Program. You will see our containers around the area of Northbrook, Cloyne, and Flinton during the summer, overflowing with our flower picks for the season. We keep the Pioneer Cemetery on Little Pond Rd well planted and maintained. The Township Halls in Cloyne, Harlowe and Flinton all benefit from our plantings and maintenance. The planting of shrubs, trees and flowers enhance a public building and demonstrates pride in our area and we feel this is a project that has been and continues to be successful for the community. Two of our members make up flower baskets for the homebound clients of the Meals on Wheels program at Easter and Thanksgiving.

And what is our seniors’ home, Pine Meadow, without the joy of gardens with flowers and shrubs that the residents may enjoy? This is a significant project that involved the design and planting of the gardens at Pine Meadow as they exist today. We all know that a garden planted must be maintained, refreshed and enhanced. Our Pine Meadows project continues.

This year we will hold our spring cleanup on May 16 to clear up winter’s detritus, and June 20 is our big planting day when all the colourful annuals that the residents enjoy so much go into the gardens. Our crew of volunteers enjoys this project as much as the residents enjoy the result.

The months of May and June are extremely busy ones for all our members, as we have cleanup days, planting days and one of our best events, our annual Plant Sale. This takes place May 28 at 9AM at the Barry Township Hall in Cloyne. This event draws eager buyers who line up for entry opening at 9AM. The plants for sale come from great gardener’s gardens and are healthy products, acclimatized to the area and ready to bring joy into your garden. The plant types are many, from beloved Hostas to Day Lilies and all sorts of perennials as gardeners love plants and you may come across some lovely and unique specimens. Arrive early so not to miss out on this LOLGC Spring Plant Sale. All our proceeds go back into our maintenance and expansion of community projects.

This year we are planning a big Community Project for Canada’s Sesquicentennial in 2017 …watch for articles in this newspaper that will provide readers with information on planned events upcoming in 2017 sponsored by the LOL Garden Club.

Our Mission Statement reads: To promote awareness and an appreciation of nature’s bounty, through members’ commitment, and community outreach, to encourage participation in diverse gardening activities through mentoring novice gardeners and by educating all members in current gardening practices through workshops, guest speakers, field trips and other related activities.

Come join us and bring your ideas and enthusiasm to a great group, doing significant community work. Whether you are a seasoned gardener or a beginner makes no difference. Join us and enjoy what this great group has to offer.

Here is our schedule of upcoming events. All meetings start at 7pm with the exception of the last meeting in November, which starts at 5pm.

May 12: Doris Power, Master Gardener from the Kingston Horticultural Society will talk to us about “Know your Enemy”, Garden Pests; how they reproduce, what damage they cause, and how to eradicate them!!

May 28: annual Plant Sale at the Barrie Hall, 9-11am.

Jun 9: Brad Smith & Michelle Cole from Herb Haven in Napanee will talk to us about the benefits of herbs, both culinary and medicinal and how the vitamins & minerals in herbs help to build & protect our systems.

Jul 14: Carol Hegadorn, Master Gardener from the Kingston Horticultural Society, will talk to us about tiered & terraced gardens.

Aug 11: Katherine Aunger will talk to us about Celestial Gardening – planting by the phases of the moon.

Sep 8: Conrad Grol from Tweed will talk to us about the Clematis vine and will give us different ways to display this very showy plant. Conrad has studied Horticulture at the University of Guelph.

Oct 13: Diane Huddle, Master Gardener from the Kingston Horticultural Society will show us how to make a beautiful Winter Planter.

Nov 10: Once again we are very happy to have Michelle VandenBosch come back to teach us some new Christmas decorating ideas. Always lots of fun!! This is also our AGM with a pot-luck dinner and will start early, at 5pm.

Janice Conway has always been a supporter of the North and Central Frontenac Relay for Life, which is taking place this year on June 18 at the Parham Fairgrounds, from 12 noon until midnight.

Janice's maternal grandmother died of breast cancer, and her paternal grandmother, Marguerite, also developed the disease at the age of 84. Fortunately she has survived and is still kicking at 95.

Janice has been a participant and team captain over the years, and said she supports the event because it is a community event and contributes to fighting cancer locally and though research. “Being a team captain is a big commitment, but it is worth it. It is hard work to organize team meetings before the relay because people are busy and to help with fund raising, but the committee helps out and the relay itself is a great experience.”

Janice's own experience with cancer became more acute when her father, Alvin Conway, was diagnosed with lung cancer early in 2014. Alvin was well known in Parham since he had been the custodian at Hinchinbrooke school from the early 1990s until he retired in 2008. He had worked at Land O'Lakes in the 80s and at Sydenham High School and in Kingston before that, for a total of 37 years with the school board.

“He retired when he turned 60, not because he wanted to leave since he loved working in the school, but because my mother needed his support since she has diabetes and other health concerns,” said Janice. “At least he had a few good years of retirement.”

Until he started to have back pains in the summer of 2013, Janice does not remember her father ever being sick, much less seeing a doctor. It was late in the year that the possibility that the pains were caused by cancer was first raised and early in 2014 he got the lung cancer diagnosis.

“Throughout 2014, it was mostly my sister who took Dad for his treatments because I was working, but I took him quite a few times, and my brother as well. He had chemotherapy and radiation in Kingston. In early 2015 he had an experimental treatment but I don't remember what it was. My sister was the secretary; she kept track of everything.”

Over a year after her father's death, Janice is still dealing with his absence. “He was always the go-to guy, for all of us. Whenever we needed advice, or someone to come with us, to look for a car or anything, really, he was the one we went to for support,” she said.

When Alvin Conway died, Janice's mother Caren lost her husband of almost 47 years, and also a supportive partner, and the entire family is dealing with the loss, each in their own way.

“I still feel exhausted by it,” said Janice, who also has two uncles that are being treated for cancer.

Her commitment to the Relay for Life has not waned throughout the past two years, and although she may not register for the entire day this year, she will be there, with her mother, to light some luminaria candles with her mother, and to help her friends.

“We need to support the teams who come together to do the relay and support the fund-raising events that each team organizes before the relay,” she said.

For further information about the North and Central Frontenac Relay for Life, contact Christine Teal 613-375-6525, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Chair Vicki Babcock at 613-449-8834.

On April 30 Ruth Wark and her crew of volunteers at the Snow Road Snowmobile Club presented a cheque to representatives from the Perth branch of the Canadian Cancer Society to support research, programming and prevention in the fight against melanoma. The club held a fundraising breakfast for the cause and after all the pledges were in, the final total raised was $1466. President Derrick Dixon and fundraising manager Jessica Roback of the Perth CCS received the cheque and conveyed their thanks for the club's support.

The Central Frontenac Soccer Association desperately needs volunteers to help run the 2016 soccer season for the young soccer players of our area. We only need six to eight volunteers to commit a few hours of work to run a successful soccer season for the kids this summer.

No experience is necessary to volunteer and the tasks vary from supervising games, helping with schedules and coaching teams among other jobs. Many hands make light work, and the work is fun and rewarding. The association is more than happy to train and assist all newcomers, so if you (and a friend?) are able to contribute a bit of time to keep the sport of soccer alive for the children of Central Frontenac, please call Lynette Whan (613) 279-2366 or Jen Saunders (613) 305-3214 by May 8. The future of the Central Frontenac Soccer Association is counting on you!

On April 16, committee members of the Canadian Cancer Society of Lanark, Leeds and Grenville and the Smiths Falls Relay for Life event were thrilled to receive a cheque from Ruth Wark, president of the Snow Road Snowmobile Club.

Wark, along with her dedicated crew of volunteers, held a charity pancake breakfast at the club. Over 150 diners turned out for the event and by 11am, over $1,000 was raised.

Wark made the cheque presentation to Julie Brady and Norene Allan, both committee members of the Relay for Life in Smiths Falls, which is just one of four Relay events this year in Lanark, Leeds and Grenville.

Allan and Brady thanked Wark and her team and said they were grateful for the club's ongoing support. “We have been coming here for a number of years and are really appreciative for the support of the club and the local community; we do our best to see that the proceeds come back to support the local community in the form of transportation services, cancer research and more,” Allan said.

The charity breakfast, which has taken place annually at the club for the last seven or eight years, is just one of three charities that the club supports through their breakfast fundraisers.

The first took place on April 2 and raised $1640 in support of the Alzheimer's Society. The club's final charity breakfast will be in support of melanoma and will take place on Sat. April 30 from 8-11am.

“All three causes are very important to us,” Wark said, “and we are happy to be able to get people out from the local community to support them.”

Heather Woodyard, owner of Verona's yarn shop, Ewe can Knit, is enlisting the help of local knitters for a good cause. In an effort to give comfort to youngsters who are undergoing medical procedures at Kingston’s KGH and Hotel Dieu hospitals, Woodyard has launched a community blanket- making project. “The idea is get the community together to give these kids a sense of comfort and something nice to hang on to while they are in the hospital,” Woodyard said. She is inviting knitters to knit or crochet 7x8 inch squares, which she will then sew together to create blankets. This is an ongoing project and those interested can drop off their finished squares at Ewe Can Knit in Verona, which is located at 6667 Highway 38 just beside The Verona Convenience store. Store hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-5pm. If you have any questions please contact Heather at 613-374-3000 or visit Ewe Can Knit on Facebook

Two back-to-back events on April 9 helped to make local residents aware that the 2016 North and Central Frontenac Relay for Life is moving into high gear. The first was the Relay's official kick-off pancake breakfast fundraiser at Oso hall in Sharbot Lake. The Relay's newly appointed chair, Vicki Babcock, was on hand manning the merchandise table and selling sweat shirts, sweat pants, socks, head bands, coffee mugs and more.

Registration chair, Christine Teal, was also on hand to register new teams which that day included Scott Reid's “Team Steam”. To date seven teams have registered and Babcock said she hopes to have at least 10 teams registered by May 1. Over 50 diners came up out for the event.

Retro-Relay is the name of this year's community team, which is open for anyone who doesn't have a team but wants to participate. Teams who missed the event but still want to sigh up can contact Christine Teal at 613-375-6525 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The second event was the first fundraiser this year for June's Angels, a long-time Relay team made up of relatives of the late June Fox, who passed away four years ago from cancer. The Angels, who number over 20, held a spring luncheon/bake sale at the Parham IOOF hall and not surprisingly, organizers perfectly timed it so that Relay chair Vicki could be there to show her support.

George W. Dawson, who was originally from Sligo, Ireland, arrived in Plevna in 1877 and took over a store on the south side of Frontenac Street (now Hwy. 509), west of the bridge (likely the first in Buckshot/Plevna) from George and Abigail Caprin.

By 1882 Dawson had built and opened the store on the north-west corner of Frontenac and Church Streets (now 506/509/Buckshot Lake Rd), which became the largest in the area. He gave up running the store when he was elected MP in 1891 and moved to Ottawa.

Gilbert Ostler, originally from Yorkshire, England, started clerking for Dawson in 1888. He took over the running of the store in 1891, purchased it from Dawson in 1897 and operated it until his death in 1944. Both the Dawson and Ostler families lived in the attached residence and Gilbert Ostler was known for his beautiful gardens.

The families were related through several links, including Gilbert’s nephew Harry’s marriage to G.W.’s daughter Grace.

The Ostler family, Gilbert’s wife Claribel and daughter Ione, continued to run the store until it closed in 1956 or ‘57.

The McInnes family in the late 50s/60s lived in the store, took in boarders and operated a garage there. The property was owned at one point by Clarence Tooley. Bev Whan later had an ice cream parlour in the building and in the early 2000s Janet Kellar ran a pizza take-out from the store and a craft/gift shop within.

The Dawson/Ostler store was spacious, with room for all kinds of groceries, dry goods and hardware. Shipping invoices from 1881 showed fabrics and other sewing supplies, including 6 doz spools of thread ($2.13) and 2 doz. thimbles $.22); dry goods such as tea (52lb./$15.60), rice (25lb./$.98) and nutmeg (1lb/$.98), as well as medicines, and lead pencils and copy books (each $.20 a dozen). Ostler had space for clothing and cloth, though many families ordered from the Eaton’s catalogue.

The store did not sell fresh goods, fruit veggies or meat as these were produced locally. Dawson and Ostler also provided a market for customers’ goods including butter, eggs and fur. Muskrat pelts earned $1.00 in the 1920s; mink $15. At Ostler's you could buy licences - hunting for $1 and trapping for $5. Ostler’s later sold gas across the street, initially in gallon bottles then in tanks with glass tops.

The store was designed with ample room for customers to sit around. In effect it was a community centre where people could gather on Saturday nights to discuss current news and exchange gossip, or even to doze. The store would also have been popular as it housed the Post Office and the Post Office Savings Bank. G.W. Dawson had been Postmaster as of 1877 til 1891 and Gilbert Ostler served from 1896 til 1944. Gilbert also served as church warden at Holy Trinity Anglican, which was established and built through the efforts of G.W. Dawson, for some 50 years.

The Ostler store had an early “generator”, a Delco that was gas powered and powered lights in the store. It was kept in the drive shed across the road.

Thomas Armstrong clerked for George Dawson in 1880/81 as did members of his family (Laura and Martha) for Gilbert Ostler in later years. Other clerks included A.W. Wood and Ross Thompson.