Country Roads 08-03

WINTER 2008/09

COVERING THE ARTS, OUTDOORS, HISTORY, PEOPLE AND PLACES

Discover Stirling’s Christmas treasureBancroft’s winter sports meccaOur 1st Hastings Book Guide

Elk making a comeback

Why not live where you love to visit!

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3Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads I

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3, WINTER 2008/09

Contents

F E A T U R E S

6 - On With the ShowChristmas Pantomime a Stirling Tradition

10 - Hasting Under CoverLocal books offer perfect winter retreat

14 - Home to RoamElk return to North Hastings roots

18 - A Homemade Hastings HolidaySpice it up • Nancy’s Nog • The Perfect Tree • The Centre of Attention

22 - Cool RunningsBancroft Luge track draws outdoor enthusiasts

D E P A R T M E N T S

26 - Cross RoadsBata Established Thriving Community

Tractor Parade Makes History • Magwood Receives National Honour ComfortCountry Earns Marketing Award

27 - A La CarteCapers Brasserie

28 - Country CalendarThings to see and do in Hastings County

30 - Back RoadsBelleville’s 57-day flood in 1886

CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Nancy Hopkins

CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR

John Hopkins

ART DIRECTOR

Jozef VanVeenen

SALES DEPARTMENT

Mark BruntonJennifer Richardson

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Brandon West • www.westphotography.caBill Bickle • www.bilbickle.com

HOW TO CONTACT US

Telephone: 613 395-0499Facsimile: 613 395-0903

E-mail: [email protected]: www.countryroadshastings.ca

For written enquiries you can reach us at: PenWord Communications Inc.

P.O. Box 423, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0

COUNTRY ROADS, Discovering Hasting County

is published four times a year by PenWord Communications Inc.

Copies are distributed to select locations throughout Hastings County including the communities of Bancroft, Belleville, Madoc,

Marmora, Stirling and Tweed. Copies are also delivered to select homes

within southern Ontario.

Subscription rates: 1 year: $10.50 2 years: $18.90 3 years: $27.30

All prices include G.S.T.

The contents of this publication are protected by copyright. Reproduction of

this publication in whole or in part without prior written permission of

PenWord Communications Inc. is prohibited.

The advertising deadline for the Spring 2009 issue is January 30, 2009

18

14

22

6

Cover photo: A herd of wild elk near Hartsmere Road, approximately 16

kilometres east of Bancroft. Photo: Bill Bickle, www.billbickle.com

Country Roadsdiscovering hastings county

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discovering hastings county

Country Roads


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4 I Country Roads • Winter 2008/09


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Welcome to the third issue of COUNTRY ROADS, Discovering Hastings County. We’ve ‘discovered’ a lot of new things about Hastings County over the past few months and have brought together a group of stories on such a diverse range of subjects that it surprises even us.

We were in the holiday spirit before the leaves had changed colour. That’s what happens when you start a ‘winter’ magazine in early fall. We’re happy to share with you some Christmas crafts, recipes and decorating ideas from around the county.

Attending the Stirling Festival Theatre’s annual Christmas Pantomime has grown into a holiday tradition for many and the village has become a home away from home for actors who come back year after year to delight audiences. We wanted to know what they thought about our theatre and the people around here so we sat down with two actors who’ve been hanging out in Stirling for a while. Their enthusiasm for the theatre, commu-nity, and people was infectious and it was quite simply a blast to chat with them! Our story tells a bit about what the theatre looks like from their side of the stage.

Did you know we are home to a world class luge run that has produced an Olympic medal winner? And did you know that you too can ride the very hill he honed his skills on and get a taste of what the sport is all about? You won’t travel at Olympic speeds but you will be on a winter ride that runs nearly a kilometre long.

Have you been on an elk tour lately? Well if you haven’t chances are if you visit a few areas listed in our article you just might get to see and experience this majestic animal living in our midst. Wild elk roamed North America for centuries but had near-ly vanished by the early 1900’s. Efforts by a large number of people from both government and the community have reintroduced this large member of the deer family back to the lands they once called home and they seem happy to be here.

Obviously the written word is an important and exciting thing around here so exploring the

books that have a connection to home was spe-cial. We hope the reviews we’ve organized will en-tice you to visit our great bookstores and spread the word!

It’s becoming a regular occurrence that we hear of exceptional, dare we say extraordinary people, places and things that are here in our midst. We can often be heard uttering with a bit of delighted surprise – ‘you see, you never know

what’s around the corner.’ So we’ve taken it on as our job to find out and it sure is fun. Not like work at all.

Enjoy the winter and explore this great county from the shores of Lake Ontario and Belleville and Deseronto up through the Comfort Country communities of Madoc, Marmora, Stirling and Tweed, and north to Bancroft and the rest of the Hastings Highlands. •

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Village Christmas Festival of Lights, Trees & Wreaths

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Stirling-Rawdon A Stirling Experience!

By John HopkinsPhotos courtesy Stirling Festival Theatre

On With the Show


I Country Roads • Winter 2008/096

J.P. Baldwin upholds a panto tradition – playing one of the leading female characters in “Goldilocks & The Three Bears” in 2007.


On With The Show

Christmas Pantomime a Stirling tradition

Keeping kids entertained for two hours with

something that doesn’t involve a video screen

and buttons is every 21st century parent’s challenge. Yet for the

past 12 years, every Christmas season, the

Stirling Festival Theatre has been doing just that.

How do they manage it? Hypnosis? Magic? A youngster may tell you that’s exactly what’s at play.

Us adults, however, or at least those of us with-out much imagination, would say it’s something else. Take a well-known and engaging story, throw in a bunch of over-the-top characters and add some funny jokes and lively songs.

The kids will take care of the rest.The result is the Christmas Pantomime, one of

the unquestioned success stories of the Stirling Theatre. There will be 46 performances of this year’s panto, “Robin Hood,” which opens Nov. 21 and closes Dec. 31, and the show will play to 16,000 people according to the theatre’s artistic and managing director, Caroline Smith. There will also be 23 performances of the naughty, “Adults Only” show, which has developed a popularity of its own.

Indeed, in its 12 years the pantomime has become a valued tradition through Hastings County and beyond. Christmas without a visit to the theatre in Stirling is considered almost unthinkable.

What is pantomime? Quite simply it is a live theatre show, usually produced around Christ-mas and often based on a fairy tale. It has a long tradition in countries like England and Scotland. Smith grew up in Scotland, “where panto is as much a Christmas tradition as presents under the tree,” she says.

In a traditional Christmas Pantomime there is always a man playing a woman, there is a vil-lain the audience is encouraged to boo and hiss, there is current and local humour, and there is music.

Audience participation is an integral part of the whole package.

Stirling Festival Theatre audiences got their first expo-sure to the naughty panto with “Jack & The Beanstalk.” Dayna Tekatch and Jonathan Ellul are shown.

Artistic and managing director Caroline Smith brought the Christmas

panto tradition with her from Scotland. Photo Courtesy Caroline Smith

J.P. Baldwin and Debbie Collins have become main-stays of the Christmas show.

Christmas Tradition


On With The Show

“It’s the perfect way to introduce children to live theatre,” Smith says, “since they are directly involved with the action, booing the bad guy and cheering for the hero, as well as calling out, ‘Look out behind you’ when creepy things are threaten-ing the characters on stage.”

“Kids are honest, kids get right into it,” adds J.P. Baldwin, who will be appearing in his third Stirling panto this season. “They get so passionate about it and that, to me, is what fuels me as a performer. They are so cute.”

Smith took on her role with the Stirling Festival Theatre in November, 1996 and the first panto she put on was Aladdin a year later.

“We involved several local people as well as pro-fessional performers, rehearsed it in six days and played only three performances in one weekend,” she recalls. “But it was obvious from the response that we had stumbled onto something the public really wanted to see.”

Improvisation is also a big part of the panto tra-dition. While Smith will produce a script for the show each year the actors are encouraged to bring their own material to the table as well.

“She gives us a script and writes in jokes with things in brackets like, ‘put something funny here,’” says Debbie Collins, a mainstay of the Stirling Fes-tival Theatre who made her debut in Stirling in 2000. “Caroline always encourages us to bring to it what we can bring to it, and I think that is something Caroline is wonderful at – being able to assemble a fantastic company that stays work-ing together.”

“It’s a lot of fun and we feel safe and comfort-able together so you can try things,” adds Baldwin. “Sometimes you will stumble across something that is comic genius.”

With such an emphasis on improvisation and cre-ativity, it is perhaps no surprise that the “naughty” pantomime grew out of the kids’ version within a few years.

“Since much of the panto is improvised by the actors, they would often come up with hilariously funny things in rehearsal that we knew we couldn’t put on stage when the children were in the audi-ence,” Smith recalls. “So we all started wonder-ing what would happen if we did one of the ‘Jack And The Beanstalk’ performances in December, 2000 as an ‘adults only’ version. We decided to keep the rules simple – no profanity, no nudity, no ‘gross’ behaviour – just good, clever, raucous, grown up fun.”

The first naughty show sold out within a few days and another Stirling holiday tradition was born.

With the traditional and the “adults only” pan-tos being performed back-to-back through the holiday season, and with sometimes very subtle differences between the two versions, surely there must be huge potential for a slip-up. Has anything from the naughty production ever made its way into the kids show?

“I could see the potential for that,” Baldwin says. “It’s scary the first time you go from the adult back to the kids. There was a little slip up last year, I think. But it was like one line or something like that and it went unnoticed.”

“There is potential for disaster,” Collins adds. “It keeps you on your toes and that’s what I love about it.”

Smith says that while the naughty shows are fun, most of the cast and crew prefer the children’s version.

“Nothing compares to the experience of seeing children excited about what they’re seeing,” she says, “jumping out of their seats with eyes glued to the action, afraid to miss a moment.”

Collins agrees, saying that while adults tend to be more reserved and quiet, younger audiences are not afraid to express themselves.

“The kids break the ice in panto,” she explains. “One of the first things that happens is the villain comes out and the kids boo, and the villain says,

Debbie Collins in “Man of La Mancha,” which played at the theatre last summer. Debbie Collins made her first Stirling appearance in “Magic Moments” in 2000.

Andre Morin and J.P. Baldwin in ‘Pinocchio.’


Welcome to StirlingBy John Hopkins

A native of Toronto, Debbie Collins made her first appearance in Stirling in the sum-mer of 2000, appearing in a show called “Magic Moments,” which was written by artistic director Caroline Smith.

“Now she can’t get rid of me; I just show up,” Collins jokes. “It’s awkward at times.”

J.P. Baldwin grew up in Omemee. He made his first appearance in Stirling in “Victor Victoria” in 2006, although he had actually auditioned at the theatre a few years earlier.

“I auditioned for her [Smith] around 1999 or 2000,” he says. “I was really green, really green. Years later I got a call to audition for ‘Victor Victoria,’ and I remember one day I was sitting in rehearsals, and she went up to her office and came back down and handed me this paper. I flipped it over and it was my old head shot. On the top she had written, ‘Great voice, must see again’ and she kept it. And she said, ‘See, I al-ways keep people on file and I keep them in mind for the right show, and I didn’t have anything until now.’ She said she would keep me in mind and she did, and since then I’ve been here a lot. She is a woman of integrity, which is something I really like.”

Both Collins and Baldwin have extensive experience of small town theatre across Ontario, and both say the Stirling theatre compares favourably to others they’ve worked at.

“It’s really lovely,” Baldwin says. “The fact that the actors’ house is right there [pointing next door], my commute is 14 steps. I love it, and it is so convenient to have that. That’s a big plus and you don’t get that everywhere. There are really big theatre companies that don’t do that.

“Everyone who works in the theatre, support staff, and even the people of Stirling are gener-ally really, really lovely people. I bumped into a stranger in the library the other day and he was like, ‘Hey, great show.’ And we had this random conversation.”

Collins had never been in Stirling before she arrived for that first show, and admits she was a little alarmed by the size of the village.

“When I first got here I was with a girlfriend of mine and she was going to drop me off,” Col-lins recalls, “so I said, ‘Well, let’s take a drive around and see what’s here. And we kept driving out of Stirling. I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, there must be more than this.’”

Now, however, Collins considers the community something of a second home.“I’ve lived in Toronto my whole life and I know more people in Stirling that have affected my

life,” she says. “This is what I think makes it incredible; the people and place. There seems to be a sense of ownership and I feel like I’ve been adopted by the community, I’ve been here so many times.”

Both Baldwin and Collins performed in “Man Of La Mancha” this past summer, which was re-ceived extremely well by theatre goers.

“That particular show was something different for me,” Collins said. “But it’s a very safe envi-ronment here to try something that terrifies you. I’m always the smart-alecky sidekick loud mouth funny pants. This was nothing like that. It was very heavy and to show that vulnerable side was terrifying.”

On With The Show

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‘Is that the best you can do? I’m going to leave and come back and I want to hear some booing.’ So the kids will break the ice and get right into it.”

It is that feeling of being active participants in the show rather than simply observers that makes the experience of live theatre so appealing to kids.

“There are so few shared experiences nowadays,” Smith says. “I grew up watching ‘I Love Lucy’ and that’s good TV, but it’s TV. In the theatre you’re shar-ing an event that will never happen the same way again. There aren’t a lot of things like that left in our life. And that kind of thing I think you need.”

“We need to educate a whole new theatre au-dience,” Baldwin says. “Times are changing and I think the climate of theatre will also change. But if kids start seeing theatre young they will under-stand the concept of it.” •

Caroline Smith never forgot J.P. Baldwin after his first au-dition, and finally cast him in “Victor, Victoria” in 2006.

The night the lights went outBy John Hopkins

In almost a decade of performances with the Stirling Festival Theatre Debbie Col-lins has been part of some memorable performances, but none measures up to the night the theatre went dark.

The occasion was the summer of 2002 and Collins was appearing in “Lucky Stiff,” a musical Collins describes as based on the movie “Weekend At Ber-nie’s,” where two young men are taking a corpse around in a wheelchair, pre-tending he’s alive, so they can use their uncle’s summer home.

Collins played the role of Rita Laporta, a blind singer. In a scene where she was serenading the dead man in the wheel-chair, the power in the theatre went out due to an electrical storm.

“Lights out, electric piano in the pit out, electric bass out; just big old loud Deb singing,” Collins recalls.

Collins finished the scene in the dark, describing her actions to the audience, and the first act ended.

“Caroline [Smith] comes out on stage and says to the audience, ‘We will hon-our your tickets for another perfor-mance if you would like to come back, or we would like to continue with the aid of flashlights and acoustic music. We would like to continue the show if you’re up for it.’ The audience was right on board.

“I remember standing backstage, Caroline was there, and everyone was holding flashlights doing the show very carefully on stage. I looked at Caroline and I said, ‘my favourite show, ever.’ It was just magic.

“The show must go on, and how did we do theatre before we had the power of light, and orchestra? It was like we were pioneers again, doing what we love to do.”


HastingsUnder Cover

Local books offer perfect winter retreat


T here’s never a bad time of year to read a good book but winter just might

reign supreme as the best book season. Books always make a lovely Christ-

mas gift and the thought of snuggling up in a warm place on a cold winter’s

day in anticipation of each turned page will put a smile on the face of almost any-

one. A stack of good books can soften a long Hastings County winter.

To make choosing a little simpler we’ve pulled

together a talented and well read group to review

seven books that hold a connection to Hastings

County. Included are fiction and non-fiction books

for all ages. Some are authored or illustrated by

local residents and others are on topics ranging

from history, sports, out-of-doors and more, each

rooted in this community.

COUNTRY ROADS extends a sincere thank you

to Ashlie’s Books in Bancroft, Greenley’s Bookstore of Belleville, and West Wings

Books, Café & Gifts in Stirling for their assistance in accumulating this list of titles.

Visit your local book store and visit often.

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”Groucho Marx


Country Roads


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hastings under cover

Belleville: A Popular HistoryBy Gerry BoycePublished by Dundurn Press, TorontoSC $32.99

“This book is not a complete history of the city…Rather, it is a personal commentary on some of the most important and interesting events, per-sonalities, and places from the community’s long and eventful past.” So writes long-time historian and author Gerry Boyce in the brief introduc-tion to his new book Belleville, A Popular His-tory to be published in November. The book, an authoritative culmination of the author’s 55 years of studying the city’s history, is the latest one from Boyce, who has also authored His-toric Hastings (1967), Belleville: Birth of a City (1978) and Belleville City Hall (1988).

Belleville chronologically captures the colour and texture of the city’s development from the time it was home exclusively to aboriginal peo-ples to what it has become today. It tells stories, among myriad others, of the firsts in Belleville, of men and women, whose achievements put the city on the map, of rivalry among church-es, of Klu Klux Klan, of prostitution and of the slaughter of the Canada geese.

Belleville is a rich collection of information, easy to read and never dull. If this is not a com-plete history of the city, then Boyce’s impres-sive compilation of sources cited will certainly satisfy the curious.

Reviewed by Benzie Sangma, Freelance Writ-er, The Belleville Intelligencer

DeafeningBy Frances ItaniPublished by Harper CollinsSC $19.95

When considering a holiday purchase for the read-er in your family, the novel Deafening, by Frances Itani is highly recommended.

Set in Deseronto and the surrounding area, the characters Itani develops are nothing more than crystal pearls of humanity. Itani has a unique writ-ing style that depicts nuances of intimacy within her characters in such a subtle way that readers are drawn into the life story of the main charac-ter, as well as learning about historical events that have impacted our present.

Grania, a Canadian spelling for the word “love” in Gaelic, is just that -- a young woman who is love, and is loved in return by her family and friends. After a bout of Scarlet Fever leaves Grania deaf, the reader is introduced to the human need for communication, and the resilience of people to re-invent ways and means to speak to each other.

Grania and her sister create a special and quite clever way of speaking to each other in the dark. Other family members are just as involved, and by the time Grania is sent off to the Belleville school for the deaf, she is already well on her way to be-ing able to mature into a full and rich life.

Grania’s character teaches us that hearing does not only happen with the ears, but by vibrations that can be translated into a body sound that has a language and meaning of its own. The novel is humourous at times, especially when Grania doesn’t quite get the translation. Her character stands witness to the fact that often the disability does not lie within those who adapt to their own physical limitations, but with those who are limited because they have no physical need to adapt to and therefore choose not to do so for others.

A four star read.

Reviewed by Heather-Anne Wakeling, Free-lance Writer

Rayzor’s Edge: Rob Ray’s Tough Life on the IceBy Rob Ray with Budd BaileyPublished by Sports Publishing L.L.C.SC $19.95

There are about 600 players making a living in the National Hockey League, and a handful of those could be termed “superstars.” Stirling’s Rob Ray wasn’t one of them.

But that shouldn’t deter any hockey fan from reading his autobiography Rayzor’s Edge.

Part of the reason Ray’s story works is due to the honesty with which he tells it. He is perfectly up front about his role as an enforcer, a “tough guy” in the NHL, and early in the book he recalls some of his favourite bouts.

But as one reads about Ray’s career from minor hockey in Stirling right up to the NHL, the picture that develops is not that of a reckless goon, but of a hard-working player who valued the opportunity he had to make a living playing hockey.

This is the story of a player who made a career out of serving a specific role for his team, who sometimes spent entire games sitting on the bench waiting for a shift and who, in his own words, “never had a stretch in my career where I could say, ‘I’m playing tomorrow.’”

Ray spent 16 years in the NHL, from 1989-2004, and played all but 11 of his 955 games with the Buffalo Sabres.

Ray was with the Sabres during one of the most fascinating times in their history, which adds to the flavour of the book. And he deals with contro-versial situations with his characteristic straight-forward honesty.

His co-author on Rayzor’s Edge is Budd Bailey, a Buffalo area journalist who also spent time in the Sabres public relations department.

Together they have produced an entertaining book that any sports fan would find a worthwhile read.

Reviewed by John Hopkins, COUNTRY ROADS Publisher


The Last Guide; A Story of Fish and LoveBy Ron CorbettPublished by Glen Ivy Media, OttawaSC $35.00

During university I spent two summers work-ing at the Portage Store, on Canoe Lake, in Al-gonquin Park. During those years, I came to love and appreciate almost everything about the area.

The Last Guide; A Story of Fish and Love, is the story of Frank Kuiack, a man who lived, fished, loved, drank and worked in and around Algon-quin Park. At the age of eight, Kuiack learned that people from near and far away would pay for his services as a fishing guide. He also real-ized the majority of clients envied his lifestyle,

often mocking their own professions as point-less when compared to the life of a fisherman in a sportsman’s paradise.

The Last Guide follows Kuiack from his years as a child guide, his leaving home to work in a mine, through his ‘drinking years’ and his decision to stop drinking when it alienated his family and – more importantly – impacted his ability to continue as a guide.

Through it all, his life was guided by a core need to be close to Algonquin and all that it entailed.

The setting for the story is Kuiack’s final ca-noe trip as an ‘overnight’ guide, as told by his fellow tripper, author Ron Corbett. Woven into the tale are countless references to actual towns and landmarks in the area, as well as flashbacks featuring figures like artist/guide Tom Thomson, author E.B. White and numerous legendary guides from the region. For anyone who en-joyed W.P. Kinsella’s Field of Dreams, they will recognize and appreciate this technique.

Kuiack’s was a life that many would envy, but few would dare emulate. For anyone who has dreamed of following the simple life by carving out a living fishing, guiding and doing what-ever it takes to survive, Kuiack is proof that it can be done.

Reviewed by Greg MacPherson, Magazine Writer and Publisher

Remembering the Men of North Hastings Killed in the Great WarBy Colonel Donald J. VancePublished by Colonel Donald J. Vance, BancroftSC $22.95

This is an enjoyable, easy to read and well writ-ten book. The book is unique in the amount of details on each North Hastings County soldier killed in World War One and World War Two. The author has certainly spent considerable

hours of research to record in detail the lives of all these individuals from North Hastings Regiments.

This book is a very worthwhile project and worthy of publication. It will hold the most in-terest for those interested in Canadian history and people with an association to North Hast-ings. Our accomplishments in both World Wars are almost forgotten and seldom heralded.

It reads well, but is best used as a reference publication by anyone interested in the men of the North Hasting regiments. Many libraries and museums should have this book in their research sections.

The author, Colonel Vance should be congrat-ulated for his patience and dedication in orga-nizing what must have taken countless hours to compile.

Reviewed by Robert Burke, Chairman, Board of Directors, National Air Force Museum of Canada.

Turning PointThe story of Anna Jameson – And the Rebellion – in Upper CanadaBy Mary ThomasPublished by Epic Press, Essence Publishing, BellevilleSC $19.95

The year 1837 with its ill-fated rebellion indeed marked a turning point in the history of Ontario, then known as Upper Canada. The ill-prepared but loyal Reformers led by William Lyon Mackenzie, although easily routed by the colonial militia, set the course for the Durham Report and ultimately more equitable sharing of governmental power. Thomas enriches this well-known aspect of Ca-nadian history by delving deeper into the effect




of the rebellion on rural families, in particular those of the Bedford brothers of Norwich Town-ship, Oxford County.

Co-incidentally 1837 is also the year that the enigmatic British writer, artist, and feminist Anna Jameson is in Toronto to support her husband Robert who had been appointed attorney general of Upper Canada in 1833. Theirs was an unusual marriage, reputedly never consummated, with Anna “roaming the cultural world of Europe” while her husband was elsewhere.

Anna lamented coming to Toronto but she too was at a turning point in her life. Restless and chronically short of money, she embarks on a se-ries of trips in the rural reaches of Upper Canada, the objective being to write a new book and thus “put money in her pocket.” An English lady, now 42 years of age, she travels without maid or es-cort, but carries letters of introduction that give her entry into the homes of prominent people. The culmination of her experiences is the pub-lication, in 1838, of Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada.

Although a few aspects of information presented as facts are questionable (for example the Huron did not almost exterminate the Mississauga, con-trary to Thomas’s statement) and the work suffers from a lack of copyediting to remove typos and inconsistencies, the book is an engaging read, serving to remind us that Canada’s history is far from dull. Recommended.

Reviewed by Jane Gibson, Editor, The Dundurn Group

That Stripy CatBy Norene SmileyIllustrated by Tara AndersonPublished by Fitzhenry & WhitesideHC $19.95

Mrs. Cosy loves her job finding homes for stray animals at the Hummingbird Animal Shelter but the latest newcomer, that stripy cat, is proving to be a challenge. The spunky little cat is too wild, too loud and too lazy for most.

This charming tale of acceptance and love is aimed at three to six-year-olds. According to his mother, our four-year-old reviewer Keefer “loved this book.” He was engaged in the story, pointing out things as the story unfolded and asked that it be read again. Keefer was taken with the stripy cat’s spunky and playful personality and knack for getting into trouble and was anxious to see what he was going to do next.

Keefer and fellow reviewers Max and Devin, both six years old “loved” Anderson’s exuberant illustrations. Colourful and energetic, they provide a straightforward interpretation of the narrative that strongly connects with this age group.

Author Norene Smiley is a founding member of the Nova Scotia Children’s Literature Award and the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Children’s Literature and illustrator Anderson, who lives on a farm outside of Tweed, worked for many years as a children’s bookseller. That Stripy Cat is a testament to their expertise know-ing what children want in a story.

Reviewed by Keefer, Max & Devin •


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RC

Season’s GreetingsBest wishes for the Holidays

and a happy, healthy New Year


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disco

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Home to Roam I n 2000 and 2001 the

residents of Hastings

County got some new

neighbours. The 120

out-of-towners were attracted

to Bancroft and area by its fer-

tile countryside, tasty food and

safe neighbourhoods.

But these four legged

neighbours weren’t completely

new to the community. Wild

Elk numbering in the millions

once roamed North America,

but by 1996 there were a mere

60 remaining in the province

of Ontario. This was largely

due to European settlement

that had infringed upon their

habitat and unregulated over

hunting in the 1800’s.

In 1997 the provincial

government approved a plan

to restore Elk to Ontario.

According to Senior Research

Scientist, Dr. Rick Rosatte of the

Ministry of Natural Resources

Wildlife Research and

Development Section, Trent

University, “The whole idea was

to re-establish a species that

had been extirpated - that hu-

manity had managed to nearly

eradicate and give something

back to human kind.”By Nancy Hopkins

Photography by Bill Bickle

Elk return to North Hastings roots


Reintroducing an animal to an environment is a complex undertaking. The Ontario Elk Restora-tion Program continues to involve the collabora-tive efforts of government, educational and local community groups. To date efforts have spanned a period of 10 years and included extensive research undertaken by 112 graduate program students at several universities.

In the initial stages risks were assessed and habitats evaluated to ensure the best possible results. According to Rosatte some of the factors taken into consideration included: Would the elk out-compete deer, their smaller family member, for food and cover in winter? Was the local wolf population large enough to pose a threat? Were winters so severe they would compromise the elk’s survival?

The answers to these and other questions identi-fied Bancroft and North Hastings as one of six geo-graphic areas in the province suitable for release. According to Rosatte, the Bancroft area “met all the habitat requirements.” It was home to mixed woods and a critical issue was the low risk for wolf predation as it was far enough south of the population of wolves in Algonquin Park. Bancroft does have coyotes but according to Rosatte “they aren’t large enough to take down an elk.”

Between January 1998 and February 2001, 460 elk were transported by trailer from the Elk Island National Park, Alberta to Lake of the Woods, Lake Huron North Shore, Nipissing-French River and Bancroft North Hastings. It was a 48-58 hour trip for the 120 destined for the Bancroft area. Upon arrival they were held in compounds for up to six weeks. This provided time for the elk to recuper-ate from the stressful long trip. Each animal was treated for diseases, ear tagged, fitted with a radio collar and released from their pen.

Release times for the elk varied and had a sig-nificant impact on how far they roamed from their original location. In a report on the restoration

titled The Restoration of Elk in Ontario, Canada: 1998-2005, of which Rosatte was a co-author, some elk were accidentally released immediately (termed a hard release) while others were penned for 6-16 weeks (soft release). According to a chart in the report that outlined the dispersion of cow elk, those that were held 90 days moved an aver-age of 21.9km while those that were released im-mediately travelled an average of 31.7km.

“An important finding of this study was that elk that were given the most time to acclimatize to their new surroundings had the greatest rate of survival,” Rosatte said in a March 12, 2007 press release on the project. “These animals experienced

less stress once released and dispersed less out-side the preferred habitat range.”

The Bancroft elk have been one of the success stories of the Ontario relocation program. The biggest threats to the population are a disease called brainworm and harsh winters, according to Rosatte. The winter of 2001 was a challenge, he says, but the elk “have acclimatized now and know where the food is.” Every year in late win-ter Rosatte surveys the number of elk from a he-licopter. March, 2004 showed 65% of the cows had calves, the highest number to date. Accord-ing to data in Rosatte’s report, as of March 31, 2004, the Bancroft North Hastings elk had a lower

Home to Roam

Three young elk at home in the Hartsmere area east of Bancroft.

Dr. Rick Rosatte of the Ministry of Natural Resources surveys local elk population annually by helicopter.

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Male elk antlers grow up to an inch a day.


mortality rate than those released in Nipissing-French River.

While the restoration program has been spear-headed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Rosatte the project has engendered a great deal of support from outside groups and individual volunteers.

When Bancroft’s John O’Donnell heard about the program he was captivated with what he thought was a “very interesting and big project.” He believed, “the area was lucky to be selected.

“There’s been a huge number of collaborators involved with the project. The majority of it has been a collaboration between the Ministry of Nat-ural Resources and a lot of interest groups. That is why it has worked. It’s been a partnership; everyone’s taken ownership.”

O’Donnell, who is the supervisor of Emergency Medical Services for Hastings-Quinte is a member of the Bancroft Elk Restoration Implementation Committee. About three years ago, recognizing the potential of the elk as a tourism draw in the area, O’Donnell was instrumental in producing

the Bancroft Elk Country Tour Guide. This bro-chure provides maps and locations where elk herds have settled so visitors can see them.

One could say O’Donnell’s association with elk goes back many hundreds of years. In 2001 he had the task of retrieving an elk that had been killed. While moving the animal to his truck a gentleman stopped and told O’Donnell he had caught an antler in Limestone Lake, a mere 5km from where the elk were released. O’Donnell was intrigued because he knew the antlers had been removed from the released elk. He had to see for himself.

The antler was in a petrified state and O’Donnell arranged to have it analyzed. It was established with 95% accuracy that it was 475-525 years old.

Madoc area resident Doug Howell has also been keenly involved in the elk restoration program from the start. A former Ministry of Natural Re-sources employee Howell is involved with the Quinte Elk Restoration Committee. He has been active in fundraising efforts for the restoration project and other groups, like the Belleville Fish &

Game Club have taken up the cause. They raised close to $20,000 last April through a fundraiser.

“We took the position that if the elk program was going to achieve its objectives, which initially were to provide a huntable population -- minimal hunting -- and to support tourism opportunities, then the Ministry of Natural Resources would need to know how many elk are out there. They didn’t have a lot of money so we supported the monitoring by purchasing some collars.

“My interest goes back a long way. I think they are magnificent looking. They’re beautiful, so striking. You really do need to get a look at them. To hear a bull bugle call – that raises the hair on the back of your neck.”

Not everyone, however, is enamoured with the re-emergence of elk in Hastings County. Hu-man/elk conflicts have been an issue, and in his March, 2007 report on the restoration program Rosatte acknowledged that, “in all of the release areas, elk have caused problems ranging from fence and crop damage to conflicting with red deer/elk farming operations.”

Home to Roam

Despite their considerable size elk can roam at great speeds.

10 things you may not know about wild elk

• Bull (Male) can weigh up to 800-1000 lbs.• Cow (Female) can weigh up to 500-600 lbs.• Six-month-old calves weigh 120-150 lbs., the size of an adult deer.• Bulls shed their antlers annually.• A cow can produce a calf every year

for 14 or so years.• Despite their size they can run up to

25 miles per hour.• Their scientific name is Cervus elaphus.• They are also called Wapiti, Indian for

white rump.• Elk are identifiable by the white patch

on their rump.• They have a lifespan of approximately

15 years in the wild.


Bancroft & DistrictA wonderful place to live,

work & play.

Last Oct. 9 the Ontario Federation of Agriculture issued a press release outlining the concerns of farmers in the Bancroft area and asking that elk be included in a provincial wildlife damage com-pensation program for crop losses.

“If something isn’t done soon to solve the elk problem we will all lose our farms,” Lynn David, Farmer and Director of the Hastings Federation of Agriculture, is quoted as saying in the release. “A farmer has no way to protect his or her crops from elk invasions.”

According to Vince Ewing, District Manager of Natural Resources, Bancroft District, the Ministry is working to alleviate these concerns.

“There is a management plan in the province,” Ewing added. “There was a strategy being formu-lated to see how cervids – moose, deer, caribou and also elk – are going to be managed. The elk restoration is a recent undertaking. We have seen modest growth in the area. Now we are turning the corner from the restoration part of the project into more of a longer term management stage. Now we can turn our attention to refining the details about what the future might hold for elk management.”

Clearly the elk restoration program in the Ban-croft North Hastings region is going through its share of growing pains and much work remains to be done. However, the program has already proven useful, not only in this area but in a wider context as well. Rosatte says, for example, that the

soft release method of reintroducing the elk could be a successful model for other similar projects in North America.

On a more local level, the project has stirred strong emotions from those who want to see the program succeed.

“Those of us involved have our own reasons for supporting the initiative,” Howell says. “I think one of the guys I worked with when I was working for the elk foundation in the Niagara area said it best: ‘When I‘m old and my granddaughter is sitting on my knee, I want to be able to point to that elk and say I helped bring them back.’” •

Home to Roam

Elk have been restored to the Bancroft region through the Ontario Elk Restoration Program

Further information on elk restoration in Bancroft/North Hastings can be found at www.bancroftontario.ca/elk.

The Bancroft Elk Country Tour Guide Brochures are available at the Bancroft Chamber of Commerce, 17 Snow Road, Unit 1, Bancroftwww.bancroftdistrict.com.

LOCATIONS OF ELK HERD SIGHTINGS

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A Homemade Hastings Holiday

From our family to yours!

By Nancy Hopkins


There’s no excuse for being a Grinch during the holidays. Hastings County is alive with yuletide lunches, bazaars, craft shows, art shows, home tours, festivals of trees, concerts, theatre productions and all things festive. Check out our COUNTRY CALENDAR for a list of events and go ahead and take in as much jolly good time as you can and support the many volunteers and communities as they raise money for causes close to home.

A generous group of talented Hastings County ladies have shared some of their favourite holiday decorating tips, craft instructions, food and even drink recipes for readers to enjoy and to include in your own festivities.

There really are no limits when it comes to decorating for the Christmas season and today it’s easier than ever to lay on decorations that reflect your personal style, budget and amount of free time.

The Baynes Home. Photos courtesy Cathy Baynes


SPICE IT UP

NANCY’S NOGThis creamy sweet chocolate liqueur is a true indulgence over the holi-days. My mother began making this recipe years ago and it’s the decadent holiday gift that adult family and friends wait for all year.

This tasty treat is lovely in small decorative bottles and jars with ribbon or bow and can be personalized with your own label. It also makes a great hostess gift.

Of course, we would remind you to drink responsibly throughout the holiday season, whatever your spirit of choice.

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for approximately 5 min-utes. Makes approximately 30-32 ounces and will stay good in the re-frigerator for a few weeks.

A HOMEMADE HASTINGS HOLIDAY

What makes grown women as giddy as children on Christmas morning? Tour-ing a beautiful home lovingly decked out with hand-made holiday decora-tions, that’s what. The first two weekends of every November Cathy Baynes holds a craft show in her grand Stirling Victorian home, also known as La Dolce Vita Bed & Breakfast. And they come by the hundreds to see her vi-

sion of Christmas. What will be the theme of her nine-foot majestic tree? In 2007 it was a winter wonderland of snowflakes, icicles, mittens and real ice skates creatively hung on the tree.

For 2008 Baynes decorated her home with a rustic, natural home-spun essence reflective of Christmas past. Throughout the year she hand cut and painted wooden ornaments with an old-fashioned feel: vintage skates, mittens, a pinwheel design, Santa and more. But decorating is for more than the tree. Her whimsi-cal floor standing snowman is sure to put a smile on the faces of all ages.

For Baynes, Christmas is all about the senses and her gingerbread spiced ornaments are a double whammy of enchanting sight and smell that always captures visitors’ attention. She bakes and decorates hundreds that are snapped up each year.

INGREDIENTS• 1 cup ground cinnamon• 1 tbsp ground cloves• 1 tbsp ground nutmeg• 1/2 cup applesauce• 2 tbsp all purpose glue• 1/2 cup water• drinking straw (to make holes)• cookie cutters• mixing bowl• wooden spoon• cookie sheet

INGREDIENTS• 2 eggs• 1 tin Eagle Brand

condensed milk• 2 cups table cream• 2 tbsp chocolate syrup or

powder – increase for a stronger chocolate flavour

• 8- 10 ounces Rye Whiskey• 6 drops coconut extract

INSTRUCTIONS1. Place ground cinnamon, cloves,

nutmeg, applesauce, glue and water in mixing bowl. Mix with wooden spoon to make dough that has the consistency of cookie dough. Add more water by the teaspoonful if necessary.

2. Cover bowl and refrigerate dough for two hours.

3. Working on a clean surface that has been sprinkled with cinnamon, knead dough until smooth and press flat to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness.

4. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.

5. Using a drinking straw make a hole at the top or at each side depending on your project.

6. Place dough shapes on a cook-ie sheet and bake at 200˚F for two hours turning shapes every half hour.

7. Note:Decorations are not edible.

Makes approximately 25 ornaments 2 1/2 - 3 inches high.

DECORATING IDEAS:• Make them sparkle by spraying

on glitter spray available in cans.• Decorate with fabric paint.• Hang using decorative ribbons

strung through the holes created at top or sides.

• Layer natural items such as dried fruit slices, cinnamon sticks, etc. using raffia.

Three little gingerbread all in a row. Homemade spiced gingerbread ornaments. (A Valerie Sills Design)

A snowman to warm up your winter.


THE PERFECT TREEAre you the sentimental type who loves to see the same treasured or-naments and design year after year on the family tree? Or do you get excited about changing it up and exploring new and exciting holiday decorating trends?

The emergence of Christmas trees in white, pink, black, upside down and the use of palm and other trees instead of the traditional just proves that anything goes. But regardless of your style preference, following a few simple decorating guidelines will make your tree look its best.

Lynda Akey, owner of Memory Lane and co-chair of the Tweed Fes-tival of Trees Steering Committee shares her tips for decorating a 6-1/2 foot tree.

• Use 100 mini lights for each foot of tree. • Place lights on tree first by running them in and out along the

branches to create depth.• Lights can be a single colour (white is our most often used co-

lour) or multi-coloured.• Decorations should be of three or four different sizes. Use ap-

proximately 65 pieces for a large tree.• Place large decorations first in a zigzag pattern around tree.• Fill in with other pieces in order of descending size.• Ornaments should not just hang on the ends of branches. Nestle

some into the tree to assist with the perception of depth.• Use a variety of textures. Include some stems of berries or twigs

for a country look or glittery ones for a more formal look. Wire stems to lie along the tree branches.

• Garlands - both formal and country – can be used to wrap around the tree in place of tinsel or can cascade in an S shape along the front of the tree. In the latter case, use small bundles of the garland around the tree as well.

• A tree topper is no longer just a star or angel. The topper can be very unique and creative and can set the theme for the tree. Sinemay bows, a Santa hat or a spray of glittery mistletoe or ber-ries looks fantastic.

• Most importantly, have fun and let your creative juices flow.

A HOMEMADE HASTINGS HOLIDAY A HOMEMADE HASTINGS HOLIDAY

The Tweed Festival of Trees volunteers are sharing even more. Here’s the recipe for their favourite cookies that are served at the Festival along with a cup of hot apple cider or coffee.

CAROLIN’S WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES Courtesy of Joan Cassidy, Beta Sigma Phi, Tweed. This recipe makes several dozen cookies and freezes well.

• Melt 3-1/2 pounds of white chocolate in microwave or dou-ble boiler. Melt until chocolate is smooth, being careful not to overcook since chocolate scorches easily.

• Add 1 cup of peanut butter, 2 cups of peanuts, 4 cups of Rice Krispies and 3 cups of small marshmallows.

• Note: if chocolate is too hot, allow it to cool very slightly so as not to melt marshmallows.

• Stir together and drop by spoonfuls onto foil. Work quickly be-fore chocolate hardens.

THE 5TH ANNUAL TWEED FESTIVAL OF TREES

The 5th Annual Tweed Festival of Trees will be held at the Tweed-Hungerford Agricultural Building, 617 Louisa Street in Tweed. Hours are Thursday Dec. 4, 12-4pm; Friday Dec. 5, 10am-9pm; Saturday Dec. 6, 10am-5pm; and Sunday Dec. 7, 10am-3pm. Entry fee is $4 for adults, $2 for se-niors/students and $10 for a family. A weekend pass is also available.

Over the past four years the Tweed Festival of Trees has raised $37,000 for youth projects in Tweed. All proceeds from the 2008 Festival will be directed toward new rubber flooring at the Tweed Community Centre.

This Tweed Festival of Trees ‘Sounds of Music’ feature tree could be yours. Nearly 80 trees, wreaths and swags will be raffled off at the annual December event.

Comfort Countryfall In love WIth

Welcome to ComfortCountry! We are situated exactly halfway between Toronto and Ottawa.

Our region provides recreation enthusiasts and their families

a paradise of year-round adventure.

The country village communities located in ComfortCountry have that easy

feeling of days gone by. It’s hard to put your finger on

exactly what gives you that special feeling that you get when you really feel like

you’re at home. It has something to

do with small town country charm, people that say hello on the street, quaint shops, smiling faces and the unrushed pace of lifestyles focused around lakefront living and farm values.

In ComfortCountry you have antique and knick knack shops instead of crowded box stores and there are bed & breakfasts accommodations and country inns instead of high rise hotels. If you really need a getaway from the big city life you need a ComfortCountry vacation. Slip back into time where a sense of community has a literal meaning. Come and stay with us in ComfortCountry - your accommodation awaits you.

• Antiques• Artist Studios & Tours• Shops• Sumptuous Dining• Heritage Sites• Live Entertainment• Lakes and Rivers to

Explore• Hiking• Accomodations

62

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MARMORAMADOC

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deseronto

...and more.

For more information on events, attractions, places to dine, accomodations, shopping and more.

www.comfortcountry.caDownload brochures, maps, business directory,

points of interest, and contact information.


A HOMEMADE HASTINGS HOLIDAY

THE CENTRE OF ATTENTIONDining with family and friends is a special part of the holidays. Making your own centerpiece may not be as hard or time consuming as you think and can cost as little or as much as you wish to spend.

Stained glass artist Susanne Eagles shares her tips on crafting a table arrangement.

Select a base of your choice. In the example we have pictured she has used a round mirror. Glue a piece of styrofoam in the centre and cover the entire bottom pe-rimeter of the styrofoam with any-thing resembling foliage. Then in-sert decorations of choice such as leaves, cones, and so on to cover. To complete your creation deco-rate the top with large flowers or other eye catching pieces.

Susanne’s hand crafted holiday table arrangements will be on display at the Showcase of the Arts Christmas Gift and Art Sale, Marmora Town Hall, 12 Bursthall Street, Marmora, Nov. 29-30 from 10am–4pm each day. The free event features a wide selection of fine artists and artisans and live musical entertainment.

For more information contact Typhany at Marmora Tourism (613) 472-1515 or email Christine at [email protected]

Step by step how to make your own Christmas table arrangement.

P.O. Box 423, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0P: 613 395-0499 • F: 613 395-0903 E: [email protected]

www.countryroadshastings.ca


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Country Roads


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RCA Taste of Hastings Contest! COUNTRY ROADS is excited to share a taste of Hastings County with one lucky reader.

Readers are invited to enter to win a basket full of locally made non-perishable products (approximate value $150).

To enter visit www.countryroadshastings.caand click on Enter to Win. The contest deadline is February 28, 2009.

Congratulations to Jean Johnston of Belleville, winner of our first A Taste of Hastings Contest.



COOL RUNNINGSBancroft Luge track draws outdoor enthusiasts

When winter comes to Canada it’s not uncommon for doting parents to construct backyard skating rinks for their kids. Bancroft’s Paul Ives

went a step further. He built a Luge run. And not just a rinky-dink, little toboggan hill with a couple of turns thrown in. No, Ives created an 850m, international level race course that has hosted some of the world’s top competitors.

Call it Hastings County’s answer to “Field of Dreams.”

The Rodle Mountain Luge Track is located about seven kilometers east of Bancroft, just off Highway 28. Ives built his track in 1987 and it served as the base for the Mineral Capi-tal Luge Club. For a long time it was the only Canadian Luge track east of Calgary, which of course had one constructed for the 1988 Winter Olympics. Rodle Mountain (the word “rodle” is German for “sledding, Paul’s wife Linda says) has hosted provincial, national

and international events but has also become popular as a recreational centre, where the adventurous and curious from ages four to 70 have been introduced to the sport of Luge by Ives and his family.

“The mandate of the organization is to pro-mote the sport of Luge,” Ives points out. “We’ve always had the track available for people to come and try the sport. It’s a very economical sport. The club provides sleds. It’s an adrena-line-filled sport. And it’s very healthy. You pick

By John HopkinsPhotos courtesy Rodle Mountain Luge Track

Paul Ives built a toboggan run on his property as a means to clear logs. Little

did he realize what would follow.

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up your sled and carry it up the hill, so it’s a pretty good cardio workout.”

Rodle Mountain has also produced an Olympic Medal winner. Paul’s son Clay earned a Bronze Medal in Doubles Luge in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City (see sidebar).

Despite Canada’s reputation as a land of ice and snow, Luge doesn’t enjoy the same level of popularity in this country as hockey, skiing or curling. According to the Canadian Luge As-sociation, the sport has its roots in Switzerland in the late 1800’s but didn’t come to Canada until the late 1950s. Luge became an Olympic sport in 1964.

Many Canadians equate Luge with the activ-ity they see at the Olympics every four years, with racers in aerodynamic suits sliding down a course at upwards of 150 km/h.

But “Olympic Luge” is only one of two disci-plines of the sport. “Natural Luge,” the original and more traditional form, involves a flatter track without the huge, banked turns of the Olympic version.

“The big difference is the camber of the track,” Paul Ives explains. “In Natural Luge you’re al-lowed a 15-degree grade in the corners, but basically you’re looking at a flat track. With the Olympic style the corners are banked, and the sled is technically a little different. The steel on the runners can’t be as sharp [as on a Natural Luge sled]. The extra g-forces of the banked turns generate a lot of grab.

“There’s also a different style of driving. Natu-ral Luge depends on split second braking. You have a brake plate on the heel of your shoe and when you put your feet flat on the ice and pull on the rein you stop very quickly. In the Olym-pic style you’re wearing a boot with no trac-tion, and the sled holds the foot in a pointed, aerodynamic fashion.”

Linda and Paul Ives take great pleasure in having visi-tors experience Luge for the first time on their track.

Cool RunningsPh

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The Rodle Mountain track is a Natural Luge course, although Ives has recently been able to add some characteristics of the Olympic Luge.

“Last winter, with so much snow, I was able to have a combination track,” he explains. “I was able to build a couple of corners that let the slider get up on his side and get some momentum.”

The sport is very safe – certainly no more risky than other winter pursuits such as down-hill skiing or hockey.

“You have much more control with a Luge sled than with a toboggan,” Paul says. “And as soon as you leave the track you’re into heavy snow and you’re not moving. In 21 years we’ve never had anyone hospitalized. We’ve had some bumps and bruises, but overall it’s a pretty safe sport.

“It’s also a self-limiting sport. Unless you can steer, you’re not on the fast part of the track. You’re off to the side here or there un-til it clicks.”

A native of the Willowdale area of Toronto, Ives was not familiar with the sport of Luge be-fore he moved to Bancroft in the early 1970s. A self-described “back to the land” type of per-

A Luge slider enjoys more control of his sled than he would with a toboggan. The sport is considered a real adrenaline rush as well as good exercise.

Paul and Linda Ives’ son Jesse gives some pointers to a young Luge enthusiast.


son, Ives was anxious to get out of the city and set up a simpler lifestyle for himself and his young family, which consisted of his wife Linda and their five children.

Ives bought a 50-acre piece of property on which he built a log home. The house was surrounded by steep, densely wooded hills, and Ives cut those trees for firewood and for building onto his original dwelling.

“I started building toboggan runs so I could ride the wood down the hill,” the 59-year-old says, “and then the kids started riding their Crazy Carpets down the hill.”

In 1986 a Luge club opened on the other side of Bancroft and Ives suddenly discovered a new use for his toboggan run. When that club was forced to shut down, Ives took up the cause.

“One of the members of the original club was a hockey referee in the league the kids were playing in,” Ives recalls. “He came and saw the hill I had and was quite impressed. He said that without doing anything to it, it was already a better site than the old hill. So we inherited a few sleds, and a couple of kids and parents. Over the course of the years we grew the hill from a 250m snow track, within a few years we were up to 500m and now we have an 850m combined snow and ice track.”

At its peak the club boasted about 25 mem-bers.

Ives credits the success of his track to the physical attributes of the hill.

“The hill faces north, and it is amazing how long the snow stays packed,” he explains.

Ives also invests a great deal of time in pre-paring the track and maintaining it through the winter. He says he usually begins in early December with the goal of having it opera-tional for Christmas.

“It’s a labour of love. I look at the track like a bit of sculpture down the hill,” says Ives, an accomplished wood carver. “I will easily

spend 40 or 50 hours a week on it, a lot of that in shoveling and packing the snow. I have a portable pump at the pond and about 600 feet of two-inch hose. I’ll ice the first 200 feet, pack it, and make a slush base. Once I’ve got a good base I’ll continue to water it, shovel it, and repeat that.

“The ice is mainly on the track to keep the speed up in areas where there isn’t a huge grade. The upper section, and the start are steeper, so I leave that as hard-packed snow. With more snow it’s easier to control the sled.

Cool Runnings

COOL RUNNINGSThe Rodle Mountain course attracts enthusiasts of all ages. Some are trying the sport for the first time, but many keep coming back.

Clay Ives and Chris Thorpe on their way to a Bronze Medal in Salt Lake City. Photo courtesy USA Luge.


On the ice you have to be a little more delicate with your turning.”

The quality of the Rodle Mountain course earned it a strong reputation in the Canadian and International Luge communities and in 1998 the track staged an invitational competi-tion that drew sliders from Canada, the U.S., Russia and Austria.

The days of competitive sledding at Rodle Mountain are drawing to a close, however, and the Ives family is in the process of turning the facility into strictly a recreational centre.

“A lot of people look at Luge as a competi-tive sport,” Linda says. “But I see it more as a recreational activity. Some people have been coming here for over a decade and we’ll have groups of 10-12 at a time come to try it out. I really enjoy having families come out and getting to meet people from all walks of life that I otherwise wouldn’t have the opportu-nity to meet.”

The Ives family may be changing the focus of its business but the passion for the sport of Luge hasn’t changed.

“Since we stopped holding race events Luge has evolved for us as a family,” Linda says. “We now have our grandchildren doing it. Paul and I are keeping it alive and going on.”

There may be no more racing at Rodle Moun-tain, but the track could yet produce another Olympic Medalist. •Anyone wishing to sample the sport of Luge this winter can contact Rodle Mountain at (613) 332-4908.

COOL RUNNINGS

P: 613 395-0499 • F: 613 [email protected]


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The Olympic DreamBy John Hopkins

Photo courtesy USA Luge

With five kids growing up around the sport of Luge, it’s perhaps not too surprising that one of the Ives clan would find themselves competing at the Olympics.

As it turned out, son Clay was the one to reach the sport’s biggest stage, although his path was a tough one and the road to a Bronze Medal had some unexpected twists and turns.

The Ives kids were between the ages of 10-14 when their dad Paul built his track in the backyard. Clay was the middle son. He has an older sister Janice and an older brother, Thomas, and twin younger brothers Joe and Jesse.

“Clay just had the drive,” says Paul. “All the kids were given the opportunity to go further, but Clay was the one who would spend his summers doing hard manual labour for five bucks an hour and then spend the money the following winter to pay his way as a member of the

Canadian team. He would come out of the season $2,500 in debt and then work during the sum-mer to pay it off.”

Clay competed for the Canadian team at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, where he finished eighth in Doubles and 20th in Singles competition, and the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan where he was 15th in the Singles event.

By the end of the Nagano Games the financial squeeze was taking its toll on Clay and the real-ity of having to quit the sport was staring him squarely in the face. He did have a lifeline, however. Since his mother Linda was an American (from Arizona) Clay qualified for dual citizenship and had the option of joining the U.S. squad.

“Clay got to know the U.S. guys and they suggested that if he could get a U.S. passport he could try out for the team,” Paul says.

The move proved a success almost immediately. In 1999 Clay was the U.S. national champion in the Singles division.

“The funding from the U.S. team gave him food, clothing, room and board, coaching and found sponsors for him,” Paul says.

In the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Clay teamed up with Chris Thorpe in the Doubles event. The pair captured a Bronze Medal, but missed out on Silver by an agonizing .004 secs.

“It could very easily have been a Silver,” Paul says. “But Clay had fulfilled his goal to get a med-al.”

Clay retired after those Olympics but did return to coach the Canadian team in Turin at the 2006 Winter Games.

Clay now works for Ontario Hydro as a tree climber and handling dangerous tree removal, based on Manitoulin Island. He hopes to return to Bancroft, however, and has bought

200 acres of land adjacent to Paul’s property.

After two unsuccessful Olympics with the Canadian team, Clay Ives joined the U.S. squad in 2002.



• cross roads •BATA ESTABLISHED THRIVING COMMUNITY

Thomas Bata, who was head of his family’s worldwide shoe empire and founded the community of Batawa in 1939, died on Sept. 1 at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospi-tal. He would have celebrated his 94th birthday on Sept. 17.

Born into a fam-ily of cobblers in Prague, Czeckoslo-vakia in 1914, Bata took on a steadily increasing role in the business after his father died in a plane crash in 1932. In 1938, as the threat of war with Nazi Germa-ny increased, Bata decided to set up a North American headquarters for Bata Shoes.

He arrived in Canada in 1939, accompanied by 100 Czech families. He initially bought an old paper mill in the village of Frankford and started manu-facturing shoes, but soon after work began on building a new factory and housing develop-ment in Batawa.

According to a history of the town from the Batawa Development Corporation, Bata and Dr. Karel Herz were looking for 1,500 acres of land between Toronto and Montreal to establish their Canadian operations, finally settling on a stretch of land along the Trent Valley north of Trenton.

“At the time, this was a depressed area and the local municipalities did everything in their

power to make us welcome,” Dr. Herz says in the town history. “Many areas would have been suitable for a factory but, quite honestly, it was the dedication of the people of the Trenton area that finally made the difference for us.”

The name Batawa came through an amalga-mation of “Bata” and “Ottawa.” Batawa was the first of a number of Bata company towns located around the world.

The original village included two schools, two churches and sports facilities. Later a post office and bank were added.

“Mr. Bata has so much to teach all of us in the community development field about commu-nity building,” Heather Candler, general man-ager of Batawa Development Corporation, said in an article in the Belleville Intelligencer on Sept. 2. “He held Batawa…so close to his heart over the years. He felt such a strong affinity for the Quinte area and its residents who helped him to build this community that he continued to travel to this area regularly to participate in community events.”

In June, Batawa celebrated the founding of the community and at that time Thomas Bata announced that Batawa is being designated a LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmen-tal Design) Neighbourhood Design project by the U.S. Green Building Council. The town will be among 200 around the world to include in-novative concepts in energy efficiency and en-vironmental design.

TRACTOR PARADE MAKES HISTORY

Stirling is now in the record books. A total of 601 tractors took part in the Aug. 20 Tractor Parade, a highlight of the village’s 150th Anniversary celebra-tions, breaking the previous standard for largest tractor parade of 241 set in Marion, MI.

There were actually 602 set to go, but one suf-fered a flat tire before leaving the staging area.

The achievement has been recognized by the U.S.-based World Records Academy as the “World’s Greatest Tractor Parade,” according to 150th An-niversary organizing committee member Lianne Radocsay, while details have been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records.

About 700 tractors were actually registered for the parade, Radocsay said, with inquiries coming from as far away as New York and Quebec.

Parade Grand Marshall Rob Dobson came the farthest, according to Radocsay, bringing his trac-tor from Sarnia. Nominated as Grand Marshall by the organizing committee, Dobson had lost his leg in an accident as a young farmer.

The oldest tractor taking part in the parade dated back to 1929, according to event organizer Chris Sherry.

The parade took the tractors on a winding route through the middle of the village and a large crowd lined the streets to see the varied display of farm machinery.

“The parade was definitely one of the highlights of the week for me,” Radocsay added. “It was very emotional to see all the people after all our hard work to prepare.”

MAGWOOD RECEIVES NATIONAL HONOUR

Straw bale builder Chris Magwood, who was fea-tured in the Fall 2008 issue of Country Roads, has been named the recipient of the 2008 Excellence in Education Award from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Established in 2004, the award, “honours out-standing educational contribution to sustainable practices in the fields of architecture, planning, landscape architecture, urban design, geography, engineering and environmental studies,” accord-ing to the CMHC website. “The award is intend-ed to recognize and support higher standards in

Bata had most recently visited the community he helped found last June.

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Thomas Bata arrived in Canada in 1939 along with 100 families from his native Czeckoslovakia.

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Stirling Tractor Parade Grand Marshall Rob Dobson came all the way from Sarnia to participate.

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Capers BrasserieNew chef right where he wants to be

After five years training and working at many of the top restaurants in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region, Chef Jeffrey Camacho has brought his culinary exper-tise to Belleville. This fall Camacho took on the role of Executive Chef at Capers Brasserie, a mainstay in downtown Belleville for nine years.

Prior to his first visit to the restaurant Camacho had little knowledge of Belleville and area except that it was quickly becoming known as a region with ex-ceptional cuisine, agricultural products and of course emerging wineries. A self confessed hockey fan, Ca-macho also knew Belleville is home to the Bulls, and he hopes to find time to take in some games in the near future.

It didn’t take long for Camacho to feel at home. “Right when we walked in the door it was like, ‘This is it. This is where we want to be,’” he says, referring to himself and his fiancée Jiening Lei, who joined him at Capers in a supervisor capacity.

Capers’ owner Colette Hilmi provided Camacho the opportunity to do what he does best and with this creative freedom he has compiled a completely new menu that he describes as, “contemporary Ca-

nadian cuisine.” Camacho’s vision of Canadian gastronomy reflects the country’s multicultural make-up and contains a bit of everything.

The Lobster Mac & Cheese is probably the most talked about item on the new menu. This fresh twist on a very traditional meal reflects his playful approach to cuisine. The macaroni and cheese is paired with roasted red pepper, succulent pieces of lobster and a mornay sauce made of parmigianno reggiano, ched-dar and fontina cheeses and baked.

A shepherds pie made from braised short rib with sweet potato puree is his latest addition. Camacho believes the Capers Burger made from house ground Stirling Silver beef, Capers’ own homemade pickles and onions all melted with smoked cheese curds and served with truffled greens might be the best around.

Everything in Camacho’s kitchen is made fresh with the exception of puff pastry. He’s excited at the prospect of exploring the region to fulfill his commitment to using fresh and local produce.

Camacho is both a graduate of the culinary school at George Brown College and a valedictorian and hon-ours graduate of the acclaimed Niagara-on-the-Lake Culinary School. Working at the renowned Auberge de Pommier in Toronto is also a matter of pride for Camacho.

He joins the Capers team following three years as a chef at Zees Bar & Grill in the Shaw Club Hotel, a Four-Diamond CAA Award Niagara-on-the-Lake property.

Camacho feels blessed to have learned from the best and brings his expertise, enthusiasm and passion to the Belleville food scene.

Capers stocks over 450 wine selections and was the recipient of the 2007 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Lunch and dinner entrees include veg-etarian, poultry, fish, and beef selections ensuring something for every palate. Lunch entrees range from $12-15 and dinner from $20-30.

Capers Brasserie & Wine Bar is located at 272 Front Street in downtown Belleville. The Ritchie Room is ideal for private parties. Reservations are recommended. 613 968-7979 www.capers.ca •

sustainable education and to highlight the im-portance of sustainable practices within com-munities.”

“I really admire CMHC for taking a lead in researching energy efficient homes and construction with straw bales and it’s real-ly nice to get an award from them,” Magwood said in an article in the Belleville Intelligenc-er. “What I do has been

made possible by the research they do.”The 42-year-old Magwood is co-ordinator of the

sustainable building design and construction pro-gram at Sir Sandford Fleming College. This summer Magwood and his students constructed the straw bale performing arts centre in Madoc, a project he considers the program’s most successful yet.

“It’s the first time we have aimed for and achieved a net zero energy idea,” he told the Intelligencer. “It’s a net zero building, so it doesn’t consume any fossil fuels and doesn’t emit any carbon emis-sions.”

Magwood is expected to receive his award at the official opening of the Madoc Community Arts Centre in January.

COMFORTCOUNTRY EARNS MARKETING AWARD

The Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) has awarded ComfortCountry its Market-ing Canada Award.

The award recognizes the region’s branding and its marketing strategy, “Destination Comfort-Country: Explore the Four,” according to a press release from the EDAC. The award was presented at the EDAC’s 40th Annual National Conference in Fredericton in September.

The ComfortCountry campaign was based around the communities of Madoc, Marmora, Stirling and Tweed.

“It is a fantastic accomplishment to be recog-nized by such a well respected organization like EDAC,” said Rob Price, Chair of ComfortCountry, in the release. “Our Board of Directors, partnering organizations and numerous volunteers worked hard on this new branding strategy and it is very gratifying to see our work rewarded.”

The ComfortCountry marketing program was designed to recognize the power of partnerships and promote the collective area as a whole, accord-ing to the EDAC release. A new logo was created as part of the program and each community was provided with its own sub-brand, logo and tagline: Madoc – Richness; Marmora – Adventure; Stirling – Charm; Tweed – Eclectic.

The EDAC is Canada’s national organization of Economic Developers. Its mission is to, “enhance professional competence, advance economic de-velopment as a profession, and contribute to Can-ada’s well-being.” •

Succulent Lobster Mac & Cheese

A La Carte

Chris Magwood’s environmentally friendly building techniques continue to earn him national recognition.

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• country calendar •

Things to see and do in Hastings CountyTo submit your event listing email [email protected] or call us at 613 395-0499.

THEATRE/ LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

QUINTE SYMPHONY, BRIDGE STREET CHURCH, BELLEVILLE December 14 – 2:30 pm Quinte Symphony presents A Symphony of Carols with vocalist Susan Richardson and the Belleville Choral So-ciety performing Hely-Hutchinson’s The Carol Symphony and Rutter’s Christmas Carols. A traditional sing-a-long, and other seasonal se-lections, complete this afternoon of magnifi-cent music. A Symphony of Carols is gener-ously sponsored by RBC Dominion Securities. Investment Advisors: Michiel Duinker, Jen-nifer Lemieux, Michael Moffat, Ian Stock, and Lisa Thompson.

Tickets: Symphony Boutique, 217 Front Street, Belleville, Bruinix Jewellers, 73-B Dundas Street West, Trenton, or by calling 613-398-6937. Info: www.quintesymphony.com.

BANCROFT VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE, BANCROFT 613-332-5918 www.bancroftvillageplayhouse.caDecember 6 & 7 – Yuletide Fires; North Hast-ings Community Choir Annual Christmas Con-cert

BELLEVILLE THEATRE GUILD, 256 Pinnacle Street, Belleville, 613-967 1442 www.bellevilletheatreguild.caNovember 26 - December 13 - Fallen Angels by Noel Coward, Tickets $18January 28 – February 14 – The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey, Tickets $18April 1- April 18 - Sinners by Norm Foster, Tickets $18

THE EMPIRE THEATRE321 Front Street, Belleville 613-969-0099 www.theempiretheatre.comNovember 29 - The Nylons Christmas Show with special guests Shout SisterDecember 1 - Rita MacNeil’s ChristmasDecember 5 - Classic Albums Live perform AC/DC’s “Back In Black”December 6 - The Celtic TenorsDecember 9 - An Intimate Evening with Judy CollinsDecember 11 - The Barra MacNeils - A Celtic ChristmasDecember 13 - Top 3 Tour Featuring Mitch MacDonald, Theo Tams & Drew WrightDecember 16 - John McDermott with special guest Eric BogleJanuary 26 - Trailer Park BoysMarch 6 - Cool 100 Presents... Johnny Reid

STIRLING FESTIVAL THEATREWest Front St., Stirling 1-877-312-1162 www.stirlingfestivaltheatre.com The Theatre Lounge, Upper Hall is now open one hour before show-time and beverages are available. Patrons can pre-order intermission refreshments. November 21 - December 31 - Family Panto Show Robin Hood November 26 - December 31 - Naughty Panto Show Robin Hood

Tickets for the following shows on sale Mon-day, November 24. Group or student rates available upon request.

February 3 & 4 – The Day the Music Died (A Tribute Concert) with Freddy Vette and the Flames. February 3, 2009 marks the 50th an-niversary of “The Day The Music Died”, as the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper signalled the end of the golden era of Rock & Roll. Join Freddy Vette & the Flames as they relive the music of Buddy, Ritchie, the Big Bopper as well as Elvis, Jerry Lee, Little Richard and more! www.freddyvette.com Tickets $27.50February 13 & 14 – SURVIVOR: Love Boat! (Dinner Theatre) 6pm. Just when you were ready for a quiet and romantic Valentines weekend, Ken MacDougall and the Not Ready for Prime Rib Players show up in Stirling for another round of hilarity, great food and... murder! Ticket price includes all taxes and gratuities.Per Couple - $135 per couple and $520 party of 8 (full table) February 21 – Nursery School Concert, Call for complete event details. February 27 & 28 A Night at the Stirling Opry. Two thrilling nights of Country Variety, featur-ing country, bluegrass, clogging, comedy and loads of surprises! Hosted by Freddy Vette (in a Country mood!), featuring 6-time CCM Gui-tarist of the Year Award winner Wendell Fer-guson and the All-Star Band. Tickets $25March 13 – Kiss Me, I’m Irish Stirling favourite Tom Leadbeater returns for a music and comedy-filled concert in celebra-tion of St. Patrick’s Day featuring a fantas-tic band, award-winning Irish dancers, lovely singer Marie Gogo, and three-time Canadian Grand Champion fiddler Mark Sullivan. Tickets $23.50March 16 - 19 – The Little MermaidA new adaptation by Caroline Smith based on the story by Hans Christian Anderson. What’s a girl to do when she falls in love with a boy who lives in a different world? And will she risk everything to be with him? A perfect way to spend quality – and affordable! – family time

during March Break week. (Recommended for ages 5 and up) Tickets $10March 25 – Martin Preston as Liberace® Featuring Tenor William Garon. Playing LIVE on his chandelier-topped sequined piano, and wearing re-creations of the showman’s fantas-tic costumes, Martin Preston has wowed audi-ences internationally, impersonating the great entertainer who used to love “laughing all the way to the bank!” Comedy, music and rhine-stones - what more could you want? www.lib-eraceshow.com Tickets $25March 28 – The Official Blues Brothers Revival Starring Wayne Catania and Keiron Lafferty. Jake and Elwood are back! This is one of their rare Eastern Ontario appearances, so dig out your suit, tie and shades, and come hear this knockout group as they perform all their greatest hits, from Soul Man to Shout! Tickets $32.50

ART GALLERIES

Art Gallery of Bancroft, 10 Flint Avenue, Bancroft, 613.332.1542, www.bancroftontario.com November 5-30 (Opening Reception Friday Nov. 7 at 7:30 pm) - “The Human Story,” Pho-tography juried exhibition; black & white, co-lour, & manipulatedDecember 3 – January 4 – Christmas In The Gallery

December 11 – 1- 8pm; Gallery Hop 2008, 5 Belleville Galleries; Gallery Art Plus, 54 N. Front St., John M. Parrott Gallery, Pinnacle St., Belleville Art Association Gallery, 392 Front St., Gallery 123, 48 Bridge St., & Quinte Arts Council 36 Bridge St.

SEASONAL EVENTS

November 27 – 6-9 pm, A Starlight Christ-mas House Tour. Tour six lovely Stirling and area homes all ready for the holidays and waiting to welcome you followed by a tour through Heritage Village. All proceeds go toward the Hastings County Museum of Ag-ricultural Heritage. For more information con-tact Sandy Donnan at 613-395-2976. Tickets $20Include carriage rides in the downtown, car-ollers, hot chocolate and beautifully deco-rated storefronts! Carriage rides will continue Saturday Nov. 29 from 12-4pm.

November 27 - 5 -9 pm, Quinte Arts Coun-cil Crystal Holiday Magic Holiday Home Tour, 7 Homes, 3 near Foxboro and 4 in Belleville featuring live musical entertain-ment in each home! Come and tour these magnificent homes, decorated for the sea-son by some of the region’s most talented




designers. Tickets $25 available at Quinte Arts Council, 36 Bridge St. East, downtown Belleville or call 613-962-1232 to order with credit card, email [email protected]

November 27 – Loyalist College Pottery Show and Sale, Cafeteria, Kente Building, Loyalist College. 10:30am – 2pm Continuing Education pottery students and staff. For further information 613 969-1913, ext. 2467 or [email protected]

November 28 - A Village Christmas, 2:00pm- 8:00pm. Heritage Village at the Hastings County Museum of Agricultural Heritage, 437 West Front Street, Stirling is all dressed and looking fabulous! Wreaths, trees and swags abound, just waiting for a lucky raffle winner to take them home. All proceeds to Hastings County of Agricultural Heritage for new picnic facility. For more information contact: Museum 613-395-0015 or Edith Ray- 613-395-4037 or Sandy Donnan- 613-395-2976. Tickets $5. Includes carriage rides in the downtown, car-ollers, hot chocolate and beautifully deco-rated storefronts! Carriage rides will continue Saturday Nov. 29 from 12-4pm.

November 29 - 7-9pm, Madoc’s Santa Claus Parade, Floats, Bands and Santa at the Mar-ket Square. Call 613-473-1616 to volunteer, for floats or information.

November 29 - Frankford Santa Claus Pa-rade, Downtown Frankford. For more info 613-398-7991 November 29 – January 2 - Frankford Christmas Fantasy at the Frankford Tourist Park. For more info 613-398-0446 or 613-398-7690

November 29 & 30 10am – 4pm – Show-case of the Arts Christmas Gift and Art Sale, Marmora Town Hall, 12 Bursthall St., Marmora. FREE admission and light refreshments. Wide selection of fine artists and artisans and live musical entertainment. Many authors will be present with their publications for your perusal. Renowned mime artist, Paul Hutt will delight all ages. Door prizes. For more information contact Typhany at Marmora Tourism 613-472-1515 or email Christine [email protected] November 30 - Trenton Santa Claus Parade, Downtown Trenton. For more info 613-392-7635 November 30 - January 2 - Trenton Christ-mas Fantasy, Fraser Park, Trenton, 4:30 pm For more info 613-392-2841

December 4-7 - 5th Annual Tweed Festival of Trees, www.twp.tweed.on.ca

December 5 - 6:30 pm, Stirling Santa Clause Parade. The Stirling Santa Clause Parade is an annual event that families in the area love to participate in. Bring the kids and come see Santa and his crew in downtown Stirling. Stores are open late for shopping.

December 6 – St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Tweed – “Soup’s On” and bazaar, 10am-3pm. Soup luncheon $5 served from 11am-1:30pm.

December 6 – Cooper Remington Craft Show & Sale, Cooper Remington Community Centre, 20 km north of Highway 7 on Cooper Road. 9am – 4pm. Sponsored by the Cooper Remington Ladies Institute

December 6 – Frostfest at the Batawa Com-munity Centre. For more info 613-392-2841

January 30 – February 1 - Marmora SnoFest 2009, 10am-6pm, Annual event in Marmo-ra, Ontario. The Dog Sled Races have been around for the past 30 years. Many family events. Contact Linda Roy [email protected] 613-472-2381 www.marmorasnofest.com

February 7-8 – Stirling Annual Groundhog-fest . For more information call 613-395-4199. Hosted by Stirling & District Lions- www.stirlin-ganddistrictlions.com

• country calendar •

Art SuppliesUnique GiftsSpecialty Loose TeaCustom FramingGicleé Printing

86 Durham St. South, Village of Madoc613 473-0001

www.ruralroutes.com/3675.html

Group and one-on-one Watercolour Art Lessons

Original Watercolour Artwork

Tom Deline’s Family Business

where we want to make our Family Store your

Family’s Store of Choice.

79 DURHAM ST. S. (REAR) DOWNTOWN, MADOC

P.O. BOX 430, 26A ST. LAWRENCE ST. W., MADOC, ON K0K 2K0

613-473-3052

Step into the Past

Step into the Future

Make Christmas Shopping a joy at Wilson’s of Madoc

37 Durham St., P.O.B. 629, Madoc, Ont. Phone/Fax: 613-473-236837 Durham St., P.O.B. 629, Madoc, Ont. Phone/Fax: 613-473-2368

Select from over 3,500 sq. ft. of

holiday gifts and decorating items.COMPLIMENTARY GIFT WRAPPING

37 Durham St., P.O.B. 629, Madoc, Ont. Phone/Fax: 613-473-236837 Durham St., P.O.B. 629, Madoc, Ont. Phone/Fax: 613-473-236837 Durham St., P.O.B. 629, Madoc, Ont. Phone/Fax: 613-473-2368

Tues. to Sat. 9:00 am to 5:30 pmwww.wilsonsofmadoc.com

Welcome to Comfort Country

Madoc Fine Shops



Belleville’s 57-day Flood In 1886

Downtown Belleville, and in particular Coleman, Front, Bridge and Everett Streets, has been the scene of many serious floods over the years. The January to March flood of 1886 lasted 57 days, resulting in ice many feet deep that shut down

the streets. Breaking through the ice was an arduous task with only primitive tools and manpower available.

The floods are a testament to the power of the “Mighty Moira” River. After winding 91.6 miles from her headlands north of Madoc the Moira empties into the Bay of Quinte in Belleville.

Flood control dams and chain barriers built after 1950 have lessened the flood danger on the lower Moira but the city still has to keep a watchful eye to prevent flooding brought on by frazil ice. Frazil ice consists of loose, slushy needle-

shaped ice crystals that form in super cooled and turbulent water.

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613-961-7050

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CLOSED JANUARY & FEBRUARY

Documents

Country Roads 08-03