Back to HomeFeature Article - March 5, 2009 New eco-lodge offers nature and the lost artsBy Julie Druker

Rena Upitis and one of the guest cabins

Back in April 2007, Rena Upitis, artist and professor of art education at Queen’s University, was in downtown Chicago attending a conference when the idea struck her.

Surrounded by the traffic, noise and bustle of Michigan Avenue for four straight days, she recalled feeling totally disconnected from nature but was comforted by the thought that soon she would be “back on the land”.

Realizing that most people do not share this privilege, she decided to design and build a not for profit eco-lodge, an off the grid facility committed to environmentally responsible practices. The lodge would function as a year-round education and retreat centre.

She would build it on a gorgeous 204-acre parcel of land that she has owned for 20 years, located off the Westport Road near Fermoy, on Canoe Lake Road.

She recalls her impetus: “I thought that this would give people a chance to see what a different part of the world is like. It is an offering so that people can connect with the land and what I call the lost arts”.

Once the decision was made, things happened quickly. Upitis gathered together a group of supporters and interested participants and spent the next 14 months negotiating her way through all the legal red tape. “The legal stuff took way longer than actually building the place,” she said, in an interview at the studios last weekend.

By June 8, 2008 Wintergreen Studios had became incorporated, the land was rezoned from rural to community institutional and a building permit was obtained.

Designed by Rena Upitis herself, Wintergreen Studios’ main lodge was constructed in the next 6 months and officially opened in December 2008. It was built with the help of four companies: the Anglin Group, Camel’s Back Construction, Peter van Bruinessen, who built the roof, and Quantum Renewable Energy, the designers of the solar panel system. They were joined by a slew of 200 interested participants and volunteers aged 7-83 years, including close friends, neighbours and family members.

The lodge they built is an impressive sight to behold.

“I really love the building,” Rena said

And it is no wonder. From the outside, mustard-colored parging covers the straw bale construction. Even the straw was sourced locally. Ample windows provide passive solar heat and lots of natural indoor light inside the 2300 square foot building. Twelve solar panels sit on the roof powering the lodge and heating its water.

Inside, one enters into the "great room", a large, kitchen/dining lounge area that can accommodate 40 individuals. Throughout the interior there is radiant floor heating under stone patterned cement floor panels.

Many of the furnishings are hand made from recycled materials and those that have been purchased are environmentally sustainable.

“Everything we use is as natural as possible. No VOC paints. Right now I’m oiling this counter top with hemp oil. The paint on the plaster of the straw bales is milk paint. It comes in powder form and you mix it in a blender. It’s made from milk and crushed berries and minerals,” Rena said.

“I’m principled but I’m not pure,” she said to explain the few small exceptions she made along the way. “Probably 90% of the materials we have used are eco-friendly.”

Recycled barn beams have been incorporated in the lodge’s interior construction and broken ceramic dishes add colour to the mosaic backsplash in the kitchen. Other indoor architectural accents such as baseboards and mirrors have been purchased at stores that sell architectural salvage. All of the appliances are among the most energy efficient available. Local foods are used in the kitchen as much as possible and staff are hired from the local community.

Not seen to the naked eye is an “Ecoflow” system for sewage treatment and management. Low flow toilets and water saver faucets were installed as well.

Five guest rooms, each offering picturesque views, lie off the main building and provide sleeping quarters for up to 14 guests. “There is no true north anywhere in the lodge so all of the rooms get sun,” explained Upitis.

The linens are all made from bamboo. The lodge has a south-western, New Mexico feel, which Upitis credits to a student volunteer from Arizona who helped with the project for 3 months and contributed to the overall colour and texture of the lodge's interior.

It is surrounded by ponds, marshes, forests, streams, rocky outcrops and foot bridges with over 20 hand groomed trails, all broken by Upitis and her family. A glacier carved lake borders the far end of the property. Also outside are 4 tent platforms for camping and a functional outdoor kitchen and smoke house. .

Two rustic, cozy rental cabins also built by Upitis and looking like they belong in a children’s fairy tale book lie at the end of a 15 minute walk further into the property. Both cabins sleep two and are heated by wood and powered by propane.

Two pilot workshops offered last year were a rousing success. Upitis recalled, “People were overwhelmed and joyful.”

Upitis is excited about the lodge’s upcoming one and two day workshops. They include a variety of short courses in the fine and domestic arts by local crafts people and artisans. Courses in drumming and drum making, fused glass, slow food and food smoking, book and box making choral singing, wool felting and knitting and building a root cellar are some that are on offer.

Wintergreen Studios also is available as a year round meeting place and retreat to groups and individuals seeking a relaxing and inspiring stay in the great outdoors.

Thanks to Rena Upitis and her army of supporters Wintergreen offers an opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds us in a sustainable responsible way.

For more information on year round workshops, rates and to view the facility please go to www.wintergreenstudios.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 613-273-8745.

Back to HomeLetters - March 5, 2009Letters: March 5

Frontenac Ventures drilling at Robertsville site, Sheila King

Frontenac Ventures drilling at Robertsville site

Mr. Alan Davidson, Ministry of Labour Inspector in his June 23, 2008 report, quoted the drilling contractor as saying, "drilling operations ceased on June 17, 2008 and the drilling equipment was transported off the site". Yet in the Feb. 12, 2009 article Diamond Driller Confirms Drilling at Frontenac Ventures Exploaration Site in the Frontenac News, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM), Christine Kaszycki, is quoted as stating, "We have confirmed with the exploration company that some drilling did take place in May". Who is correct here? What is MNDM trying to hide?

MNDM has seen fit to investigate themselves! I would be surprised if a drilling contractor would leave a very expensive and a high-demand piece of equipment idle at the Robertsville site for 2 1/2 weeks from the end of May until June 17. This time factor is obviously important as Ms. Kaszycki seems to want to stress that the drilling took place "prior to the negotiation of the agreement", signed on November 28, 2008 as mentioned in the article.

It is obvious after reading the MOU on the CCAMU website, that monitoring of drilling by a steering committee was a very important part of accommodation of Algonquin concerns. But, absolutely no monitoring was done by anyone on the diamond drilling that was done in May-June 2008, and Ontario has no plans to re-inspect the Robertsville site now that they have been made aware of the drilling.

I am also puzzled when George White, president of Frontenac Ventures Corporation (FVC), is quoted as saying "the samples weren't even assayed".  Back in March of 2007, their geologist, Greg Lester and Dr. Sethu Raman were interviewed by Jeff Green. They outlined their plan to spend approximately $120 per meter to drill test holes and "the core samples will be taken away and analyzed to determine if indeed we have an economic resource here". Why would FVC go to the expense of drilling 15 holes, 51-100 meters deep at a cost of over $100,000 and not assay the core samples?

Furthermore, Mr. White comments that drilling for core samples for uranium "was not much different from drilling for a well, which people do all the time". How many people when drilling for a well are trying to hit uranium hotspots, drill in an area of highly fractured bedrock, have to wear personal dosimeters and have to check for traces of Radon daughters? When drilling wells, contractors must meet stringent municipal and MOE regulations, which include submitting a record of depth, geological materials encountered, GPS co-ordinates, construction and owner details to MOE. A pressure test of nearby wells may also be ordered in some cases. Surprisingly, there are no such environmental requirements for diamond drilling of 15 deep holes by a mineral exploration company.

An MOE Water Well Sustainability report of 2006, states "abandoned wells present a significant risk of contamination of aquifers, since they provide a direct conduit from the surface to the aquifer". Apparently, the fifteen 51-100 meter deep holes drilled by FVC were capped, but not grouted with bentonite, a practise that is mandatory in Saskatchewan when drilling for uranium core samples.

As a minimum, to remedy their lack of oversight of FVC's uranium exploration and drilling operations, the province should inspect the drill holes and order FVC to grout all holes with bentonite to ensure that the Mississippi watershed, the source of potable water for hundreds of residents is properly protected.

Sheila King, North Frontenac

Back to HomeEditorial - March 19, 2009 Plevna Paranoia: Strength or VulnerabilityEditorial by Jeff Green

At the first two public meetings of the Limestone School Boards Program and Accommodation Review, (PARC) the largest contingent in the audience came from the smallest school, Clarendon Central in Plevna.

In spite of repeated assurances that school closings had not been discussed, the people from Plevna and the surrounding communities kept hammering on the same point.

They wanted the review committee to know that their school is important to them, and that they consider keeping the school to be a matter of their very survival as a community.

In doing so, they demonstrated how vulnerable their small communities are, and how hard it is to keep a small township from falling right off the map.

They also demonstrated, with every heartfelt plea and with every angry accusation that there is a lot strength left in that very community. The strength comes in unity; it comes in their willingness to insist that their little school is indeed the best place for their children to learn how to read and write, learn how to play sports, and learn how to treat their neighbours.

To a certain extent the anger was misplaced, because the PARC is made up of volunteers - parents, teachers and staff from local schools that are not serving any hidden personal or corporate agendas. But they are serving a function not only for the school board but also for the Ministry of Education and ultimately the provincial government, and the message the parents were sending was aimed primarily at those bodies.

Not all the people who came out to the meetings have children attending Clarendon Central any more. Even though their children are long gone, from the school and from North Frontenac, they took the time come out and support young families, understanding that the remaining core of young families are essential to their future as a community.

No one knows what the PARC process will lead to, but the members of the PARC will have to take notice of these interventions when they come to make their decisions. The representatives on the PARC who come from Clarendon Central will make sure they do. The message that was sent by the people at the public meetings, to the PARC and to themselves, is that they are not willing to give up on their communities, their neighbours, or on their way of life.

It is a message that bodes well for the future of North Frontenac. Sometimes it is only the stubborn that survive.

Back to HomeFeature Article - March 19, 2009 Green Energy Act has supporters and detractorsBy Jeff Green

Reading government legislation is not exactly the kind of thing most of us like to do on a Sunday afternoon, and reading the press releases, backgrounders and executive reports that come along with new legislation is like reading a detailed advertisement. There is information there, but the information is packaged in order to sell something.

So, it is not easy to evaluate the new Ontario Green Energy Act based on all the information being presented.

What is clear is that Bill 150, the Green Energy Act, will effect a lot more than provincial energy policy. It will re-write a lot of the previous legislation that has ruled the province for years, affecting the powers of municipalities, changing the building code, changing environmental regulations, and more.

It will have broad impacts for homeowners, businesses, and governments for years' to come.

While the 75 page legislation allocates new authorities to different ministries, and gives the government more power to influence individuals and collective behaviour in the name of reducing carbon emissions, exactly how this will be done has not yet been worked out.

This makes some hopeful and some fearful.

For business owners in the renewable energy field, such as Ron and Anne Kortekaas of EcoAlternative energy in Sharbot Lake, there are potential opportunities.

EcoAlternative Energy sells solar and wind powered systems for off grid and grid tie in applications, and the possibilities for grid tie – in will be enhanced by measures in the Green Energy Act. This might considerably shorten the pay back period for the systems that EcoAlternative Energy and others sell.

Grid tie-in systems are generally solar panels that are used by homeowners and businesses to tie in to the hydro grid. The power generated turns the hydro meter backwards, sending power back through the hydro lines for use by other customers.

Among the issues that are being considered by the Ontario Power Authority in its response to the Green Energy Act is how to implement a `Feed-in tariff` pricing schedule, which will apply to all forms of renewable energy, from large-scale wind and solar farms, to micro-generation by individual homeowner.

Key to this is the price that will be paid for small scale power generation in a variety of categories. Among the price ranges are 53.9 cents to 80.2 cents per kilowatt of energy derived from “rooftop solar” generation.

“53.9 cents is a higher price than the 42 cents they pay now,” said Ron Kortekass, “but in public hearings we are encouraging people to ask for the 80.2 cent price.”

Kortekass also said that if interest free lands were available to purchase solar panels and other equipment for a home grid-tie system, then the market would really take off.

Currently, the payback for grid-tie systems, which in most cases translates into smaller hydro bills for most people, is rather long. The initial investment of $10,000 to $20,000 can take decades to recoup.

“If the price paid for the generated power goes up and there are interest free loans for individuals and business, that pay back time can come down to ten years or less, after which time there will be profits every year for those who get into it,” said Kortekaas.

Public meetings in Eastern Ontario, sponsored by Ontario Power Generation, will be announced in the coming weeks.

The stated goal of the Province is the establishment of 100,000 roof top micro power generators in the province, which would provide about 1% of Ontario`s power needs.

“The proposed feed in tariff program would help spark new investment in renewable energy generation and create a new generation of green jobs,” said George Smitherman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure in a press release. “It would give communities and homeowners the power and tools they need to participate in the energy business in the new green economy.”

Going into public forums, OPG has announced that the following prices that they are considering for micro-generation; 80.2 cents for 10 kilowats or less, 71.3 cents for 10-100 kilowatts, 63.5 cents for 100-500 kilowatts and 53.9 cents for over 500 kilowatts produced.

Kortekass said people are being encouraged to express their opinion on all aspects of the Green Energy Act to the local MPP.

However, Randy Hillier, the Conservative MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, is no fan of the Green Energy Act.

Hillier has attacked the Act in Question Period and in an article published on the Canada Free Press website, calling it “Mcguinty’s mean and green energy machine, and rural Ontario’s nightmare.”

In an interview with the News from his office at Queen`s Park, he outlined his objections to the Act,

“We live in a democracy, and people in our riding have a strong affinity to democracy. They have certain expectations that are known and that are intuitive, and to sacrifice local democracy for provincial legislation means people who live in the community will no longer able to decide what goes on in our communities,” he said.

“The Green Energy Act overrides municipal authority, planning, and by-law powers” according to Hillier, by taking the approval process for wind farms away from local municipalities.

Hillier is also opposed to what he describes as “mandatory and costly home energy auditors and management plans, and the fact that the Act contains no targets.”

More ominously, Hillier said the new Act will create “green police, who will have powers of entry to inspect appliances, and force people to buy new ones, or subject them to huge fines, up to $25,000.”

When the News phoned the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure Renewal to ask whether inspectors will be entering homes to inspect appliances, George Nutter of the communications department, said Hilliers’ “suggestion about home inspections of peoples personal appliances is not anywhere on the legislation.

“The inspections that are included in the legislation relate to two areas and two areas only. One relates to the home audit program, and applies to property developers. The second is related to manufacturers; it allows a ministry inspector to have access to the records they need to ensure that energy standards are met by appliances at the point of sale.

“The spectre of the green police going into peoples homes to inspect their appliances is groundless.”

On the other hand, there are incentive programs already in place, funded by both levels of government, to encourage the purchase of energy efficient appliances.

Energy audits will be mandatory when houses are beings sold, Nutter said, “but the nature of those audits will be worked out if and when bill 150 passes.”

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 19, 2009 local resident stresses the need to be carefully taughtBy Julie Druker

Carleton Brown of Verona shares his family history

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear, You’ve got to be taught from year to year, It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear You’ve got to be carefully taught.   You’ve got to be taught to be afraid Of  people whose eyes are oddly made, And people whose skin is a different shade, You’ve got to be carefully taught.   You’ve got to be taught before its too late, Before you are six or seven or eight, To hate all the people your relatives hate,

You’ve got to be carefully taught.You've Got to be Carefully Taught

Rodgers & Hammerstein, South Pacific

 

Retired teacher Carleton Brown recently shared an in-depth look into the history of slavery in Canada and into that particular part of his own family’s history, to mark Black History month.

While Brown believes that all history should be integrated and ongoing and not focused on particular aspects at designated times of the year, he happily accepted an invitation to speak to a church group at Trinity United Church in Verona.

Brown admitted, “It’s an easy thing for me to do. I like to help  people become more aware”.

Brown began his talk by stating the facts, the first being: “There was slavery in Canada”.

Slavery began in Lower Canada in 1628. After 1783, 2000 more slaves were brought here by Loyalists from the USA; 1200 settled in the Maritimes, 300 in Lower Canada and 500 in Upper Canada.

In 1793, slavery was partially abolished in Canada in that no new slaves could be brought into the British Commonwealth. Existing slaves, however, continued to be “grandfathered”. It was not until 1834 that the British finally emancipated all slaves in the Commonwealth. 

Carleton Brown is a sixth generation Canadian. His ancestors originated from the southern States of Kentucky and South Carolina, where they had been slaves. In the 1850s they came north to Canada and settled in Elgin, Ontario, a settlement located just south of Chatham, which was set up in 1849 specifically for newly freed slaves.

Many of Elgin's original settlers were fugitive slaves who had arrived from the southern United States, having made the dangerous journey north via the “Underground Railroad”, the name given to a human network of individuals who risked their lives assisting the slaves in their journey north to freedom. 

Brown touched on the most famous Underground Railroad “conductor”, Harriet Tubman, who made 13 trips in total and escorted more than 150 slaves to freedom.

He also talked about the history of the Elgin settlement, which was founded by William King and is now called North Buxton.

The original Elgin settlers were sold 50 acre plots at $2.50 an acre, which they cleared, farmed, and built homes on. In time the settlement thrived and became known for its school, which gained a prestigious reputation in the area and became one of the first integrated schools in North America.

Five generations of Brown’s family came from North Buxton and some of his cousins still reside there. It’s a place that Brown visited all through his childhood and still visits to this day. The museum in Buxton has officially become a national historic site.

As a young man, Brown’s father left Buxton and got a job with the CP railroad as a porter, which Brown says was “one of the only decent steady jobs that a black man could get back then” and he ended up settling in Toronto, where Carleton Brown was born and raised.

At that time, Toronto was not the multicultural place that it is now.

Brown recalled, “I was always aware that my skin was different than everybody else’s and it was difficult. My parents constantly told me to be on my best behavior because if I did something out of line people would say ‘Look at that black guy‘, or use one of those terms”.

In his presentation Brown also addressed attitudes towards race. With the aid of movie clips, poetry and historical video clips he pinpointed two ideas that are central to his understanding of racial attitudes.

The first idea is exemplified by one of Brown’s favorite poems,  “Blink Your Eyes” by the late  American poet and performer Sekou Sundiata.  One of its lines,  “It all depends on the skin, all depends on the skin you’re living in…”,  highlights the idea that no one should ever be judged by the colour of their skin. Brown conceded this attitude is catching on with  younger generations and that indeed times seem to be changing with the electing of Barack Obama, which he sees as a sign of progress and hope.

To demonstrate his next point Brown played a clip from the movie South Pacific and the song, “You’ve got to be carefully taught”. It reinforces Brown’s firm belief that racism is not innate, but rather, is taught. Unfortunately it continues to be taught. Brown said, “I’d like people to be aware that prejudice is something that they are taught; it’s real, but not inborn.”

Children are often dependable purveyors of the truth. Carleton Brown’s wife Linda mentioned how one youngster in a group she had been reading  to earlier in the day, hit the nail on the head when she was asked what colour most of the people around her were.

The child’s response?  “Peach!”

While Brown sees that positive change is happening he is also careful to point out that there is still a long way to go.

In taking the time to share the facts and his family’s history, he is working to hasten that change. 

 

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 26, 2009 Looking back: the Heritage FestivalBy Julie Druker

Traditonal log shaping demonstrations with Justin Hilborn and Pat Moore of Gibson Timber Frames

The third annual Frontenac Heritage Festival offered visitors a glimpse back into the past and for many it was an opportunity to gain new knowledge and to share their personal histories, favorite hobbies and pastimes.

Displaying and demonstrating their historic loves at St. James Major Hall were spinners and weavers, willow basket makers, quilters, native crafters, genealogists, antique collectors, cheese makers, and railroad enthusiasts.

Beautiful traditional displays included the inside of the old Sharbot Lake Train Station and a typical cheese-making operation. Surrounded by traditional tools and utensils and capped in a bonnet, Pat Furlong Brownlee of Elphin demonstrated how to make a soft cheese.

Many demonstrators like traditional weaver and spinner Mary Donnelly, representing the MERA Schoolhouse, wore historic costumes and spent the day sharing their knowledge and skills with interested onlookers.

At the Oso Beach outdoor enthusiasts enjoyed various outdoor activities including snowshoeing, skating, smoosh racing, curling, and lassoing with the Cronk sisters. There was the always popular horse drawn wagon rides courtesy of Jake and Pat, Bill Lee’s award winning draft team from Parham. Gibson Timber framers Pat Moore and Justin Hilborn demonstrated log-shaping techniques with traditional Swedish broad axes. There was snow toffee, hot chocolate and spider dogs for those who needed fuelling up.

Demonstrators at the Crow Lake School House were happily swamped with visitors who numbered 250 plus on Saturday alone. Sara Carpenter, branch assistant at the Sharbot Lake Public Library, set up a display highlighting relevant historical materials from their permanent Oso Historical Society collection, which included many items donated and written by local historian Doris Ayers.

Craig Godfrey of Sharbot Lake, who happened into the library, shared some of his family history. He is the great, great, great grandson of the first reeve of Central Frontenac, Warren Godfrey, who was responsible for building the Frontenac Road from Kingston (a.k.a. Road 38). Godfrey pinpointed the importance of festivals like this one. “It’s a great idea. It certainly perks your interest into the past”.

The Heritage Festival is a great opportunity to let the past out of the bag. All day long it seemed people had a wonderful excuse to speak of their own personal histories and share their loves for objects and hobbies that stem from days gone by.

Frontenac Heritage Festival Photo Contest

Nature CategoryLudwig RatzingerPeople CategoryRecreation Category

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 26, 2009 Falls Prevention Program recruiting volunteersBy Julie Druker First the bad news: in a single year one in every three people over the age of 65 will have a fall, making falls the second leading cause of hospital admissions in Ontario. Falls rob older adults of their health and independence.

The good news: most falls are preventable.

The KFL&A Public Health created the Falls Prevention Ambassador Program in 2005 to provide education to community groups about falls prevention.

Trained volunteers set up displays and give presentations, providing groups with the information they need to avoid falls.

Rhonda Lovell, a public health nurse and Chair of the KFL&A Falls Prevention Coalition, is hoping to recruit new volunteers to the program, especially in this area. She explained, “It’s a challenge to reach the entire region and we’d love to see more potential volunteers from this area.”

While the program so far has reached over 3000 people since 2005, Lovell is encouraging people to volunteer so that they can serve seniors in their own communities.

Volunteers go through an orientation and training period and receive ongoing support. They are provided with the most current information. Networking meetings are held 5 times per year to connect staff with other volunteers. The benefits for volunteers are many: contributing to the well being of others, and opportunities to network, make new friends, gain confidence and knowledge.

Lovell explained, “It’s not rocket science. While there are 400 risk factors that can lead to falls there are about half a dozen key factors that are the leading causes.”

These include lack of physical activity, unsafe footwear, medication issues, vision and hearing difficulties, balance or gait problems and environmental hazards.

A 2007 Ipsos-Reid survey of Canadian women and men aged 65-85 showed that while 9 in 10 have prepared a will, less than half have taken the necessary steps to live independently as they age.

Lovell also pointed out that awareness is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. “By not discussing the issues seniors are not getting the help that they need so it is important that we get this information out there.”

Taking simple preventative measures like maintaining overall health or installing a grab bar in a bathroom can mean the difference of suffering a fall or not.

Lovell stressed the importance of common sense and summed it by stating, “Where you put your feet is certainly going to determine whether you stay on them.”

Anyone interested in booking a presentation for a group or becoming an ambassador with the program can contact Rhonda Lovell at 613 549-1232 ext. 1181. The deadline for applications to volunteer for the program is March 6, 2009. 

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 12, 2009 Celebrating our past at the Crow Lake Schoolhouse - Frontenac Heritage FestivalBy Julie Druker

Re-enactors Bob Miller (left) and Mike Procter, photo Ludwig Ratzinger

The signs are up announcing the upcoming third annual Frontenac Heritage Festival, which runs from Thursday Feb. 19 to Sunday Feb. 22.

This year the Crow Lake school house will once again be offering a number of activities and events all day Friday and Saturday that are sure to draw a large crowd.

Festival goers can sit around a bonfire outside and be entertained by local historical re-enactors Bob Miller and Mike Procter, who will speak about and demonstrate life as it was 200 years ago when settlers first lived in this area.

Donning traditional garb, they will have on display various utensils and objects used at that time, most hand crafted by Bob Miller himself. They will demonstrate fire building techniques using only flint and steel and will bake bannock, a soda bread commonly eaten back then, which onlookers will be able to sample.

Their other demonstrations will include common throwing games of that time played with traditional knives and tomahawks. They will also be firing off Bob Miller’s hand crafted flintlock rifles (with blanks of course).

Procter is looking forward to the annual event. “It was a great success last year and the kids really loved it.” And why wouldn’t they? It’s a hands-on, real life, educational experience and teaches an important chapter of local history for the 70-80 local school students who will be visiting the schoolhouse on Friday. Procter explained his and Mike’s objective. “ We depict the spirit of the people who explored and adapted to the wilderness and made an as good as possible life for themselves. We try to dispel some of the Hollywood myths about settlers at that time. We aim to show some of the real hardships that people back then had to face and their amazing resourcefulness.”

Inside the school house will be a display of taxidermy and local artisans will be present demonstrating paper and soap making and spinning techniques. Also inside, Ludwig Ratzinger, president of the Crow Lake Community Association will be offering a lunch of wild leek pasta soup on Saturday and there will be pie and refreshments available as well.

Ratzinger is excited to have the Crow Lake schoolhouse as part of the festival again this year. “It brings people out and we get to show off the history of the school house and the historic value of that time period (early 1800s)”.

He added, “It’s a way for local people to get out into the community and see what’s going on and a chance for them to see different parts of the township that maybe they are not aware of.”

Thanks to the slew of local community volunteers organizing and participating in the events, the Heritage Festival should be an enjoyable 4 days where locals can get out, have fun and learn about the history of their community.

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 12, 2009 Preparing the sounds of EasterBy Julie Druker

Music director Annabelle Twiddy

Every year the CBC airs a special Easter morning concert that is enjoyed by many listeners around the country. Annabelle Twiddy has always enjoyed them and has always wanted to see one. That being impossible, she’s decided this year to organize one right here in Verona and is enlisting the help of local singers from the Verona and Harrowsmith community to assist her. The call has recently gone out. “We‘re hoping to have a community choir and we‘re in the process of recruiting singers right now.”

Along with the choir of Harrowsmith and Verona, which has 25 members, Annabelle is hoping to get another 15 or so singers from the community to join them.

As music director for the Harrowsmith and Verona United Churches pastoral charge she is very excited about the opportunity for local singers to join in song with a very well-established choir. “It’s going to be a fabulous way to start Easter Sunday; it’s going to be really good music and if we can get some people from this community to sing with the choir it’s going to be really great.”

The concert will take place at 7:00 am on Easter morning, Sunday April 12 at Trinity United Church in Verona.

In past years there has been a regular, outdoor, early morning sunrise Easter concert held at the lake in Verona but the numbers have dwindled steadily over the years. The idea for the new concert was suggested as an alternative and the congregations and choirs from Verona and Harrowsmith have enthusiastically jumped on board.

There will be a total of six practices over six weeks, which will be held at Trinity United church in Verona on Thursday evenings from 8:00-9:30 pm, beginning on March 5.

Annabelle explained her motivation. “Easter is the most important celebration of the Christian faith. We make a huge fuss about Christmas and we do Christmas for five or six weeks and we sing Christmas carols and hear them played everywhere. We do Easter for one day and it seems to me that if we do it for one day, it needs to be a very extraordinary day.”

Annabelle already has the music planned and the eight or nine new works will include modern arrangements of “From the Rising to the Setting of the Sun“, Gaither’s “Because He Lives“, “Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem“ and “Morning has Broken“ to name a few. She hopes to finish off the concert with the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Guest conductors John McDougall and Jennifer Bennett will lead the choir for a few of the numbers.

Donations will be accepted at the concert for the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB), an interdenominational agency based in Winnipeg and supported by many of the local churches in the area. Headed by the central Mennonite Committee, the CFGB distributes food aid and related products world wide to people in distress. Their aim is to encourage food self-sufficiency and sustainability.

Being a farmer herself, the CFGB is an agency that Annabelle is well aware of and interested is supporting. She explained, “This agency represents us all and it is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency which matches our donations to the tune of 4 to 1, so our $1 donation becomes a $5 donation”.

Interested singers can call Annabelle Twiddy at 613-372-0603 or call the pastoral charge office at 613-372-2525 and leave a message. Singing experience is helpful.

Back to HomeEarly Literacy - February 12, 2009 Black History Month

by Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist

The book is old; older than the printing press yet as relevant as the 2008 American presidential election. There are only three copies of this book in the world – one in England, one in United States, and one in Canada. In 1783, when this book was written, thousands of Black men, women and children in the United States wanted to see their name written between its covers. This “Book of Negroes” was a hand-written list of Black Loyalists to whom, at the end of the American Revolution, Britain offered safe passage from New York to Nova Scotia.

Freed slaves escaped to Canada on ships with other fleeing white Loyalists, some who travelled with slaves of their own. The courage and resilience of Black people during this time is humbling and the inspiration behind Black History Month. Though recognized decades earlier in Ontario, Black History Month was declared nationally for the first time in February of 1996.

Especially during Black History Month, we are reminded that adults can nurture an awareness and appreciation of Black culture and people among our children long before they are old enough to understand the history of slavery, or learn the names of Black leaders.

Books for children that simply depict Black people in illustrations affirm to all of us that Canadian society is only complete when the books we share with infants and toddlers include children of colour. “Whose Knees are These?” by Jabari Asim is a multicultural board book featuring babies knees. The book combines rhyme with a peek-a-boo guessing game.

“We All Went on Safari” by Laurie Krebs teaches children to count in both English and Swahili. The reader travels through Tanzania finding big cats, ostriches, warthogs, monkeys, elephants, and other wildlife to count.

“Why Mosquittos Buzz in People’s Ears” by Verna Aardema is an African folktale that offers a lesson about lying. The story begins with a mosquito telling a lie to an iguana. This sets off a series of events that affects everyone in the African forest.

“Amazing Grace” by Mary Hoffman shows the spunk and spirit of a Black girl, and demonstrates the power of love within a single parent family. Grace wants to be Peter Pan in a school play. Her classmates tell her she can’t play that role. She’s a girl, after all, and Black. Grace, however, with the encouragement of her mother and grandmother, makes up her mind to try for the part anyway. Her acting is brilliant and Grace learns, as her grandmother reminds her, “Grace, you can be anthin’ you wan’.”

For older children, “The Kids Book of Canadian Black History” by Rosemary Sadlier, overviews the events and people who shaped Canada. It’s a nonfiction book with fact boxes, mini profiles, timelines, stories and more.

During Black History Month, we recognize the tremendous contributions of Black people to Canada. We also remember that appreciation of cultural diversity can grow with each generation when we choose with care the books we read and talk about with our children.

Susan Ramsay is the Early Literacy Specialist for Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. You can contact her at 613-354-6318 (ext 32)