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The Amherst Island BEACON

Issue 305 www.amherstisland.on.ca July 2003Issue 305 www.amherstisland.on.ca July 2003Issue 305 www.amherstisland.on.ca July 2003Issue 305 www.amherstisland.on.ca July 2003Issue 305 www.amherstisland.on.ca July 2003Newsstand

$2.00

THIS ISSUETHIS ISSUETHIS ISSUETHIS ISSUETHIS ISSUE- Ian Murray There was considerable discussionamongst the Beacon staff in the sum-mer of 1995 when we considered rais-ing the price of the Beacon from $0.35to $1.00. It was finally decided thatgoing from a Gestetner printed productthat we did ourselves to one that wasdone on a good-quality copy machinewas worth the gamble. We knew thatif people didn’t think the paper wasworth $1 they wouldn’t buy it. If peo-ple wouldn’t buy it we could alwaysdrop the price and go back to theGestetner. Today we find ourselves in a some-

what similar position:should we continue witha larger Beacon - 16 or 20

pages - in a folded for-mat, or should

we go backto a stapled1 2 - p a g estandard.As you cansee above,

it has been decided to double the priceper issue from a loonie to a toonie. Thesubscription rate has been increased to$30 in Canada, $32 to USA, and othercountries will be on a case by case basis. You, the reader, will have to decide ifthe Beacon is worth the increased price.*** I have included another letter about theCurran family because Island family link-ages are interesting to me and, in talkingto some older Islanders, I know that someof them are interested as well. Please con-tact me if you want a copy of Martha Park-er’s un-edited letter.*** I prefer to get submissions by e-mail asI am a poor typist. Please do not spendany time making the e-mail or its attach-ment look nice. Before I send anything toTom I remove all the formatting to makehis job of dealing with the Beacon texteasier. Material can always be left at the storeor sent by Canada Post or left at the ferryor whatever works. Remember: text to me, photos to Tom,if possible; dead-line for written materialis the 25th of each month.

The St. Paul’s Garden Party takes place this year on Saturday July 26th. These Island kids should be recogniz-able to some- are you or your friends in this picture from many years ago? ... from Vera Hogeboom

Ernest Fleming (R) and grandson TimJameson (L) in June 2002. Story page 2

New column on page 7Canada Day Parade by Peter Large SCA

2Canada Day Parade Peter Large, SCA

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The AmherstThe AmherstThe AmherstThe AmherstThe AmherstIsland BeaconIsland BeaconIsland BeaconIsland BeaconIsland Beacon

Issue 305 Issue 305 Issue 305 Issue 305 Issue 305July 2003July 2003July 2003July 2003July 2003Published

monthly,,,,, TheBeacon is whollyfunded by paid

subscriptions andby copies sold atthe A.I. General

Store.

SubscriptionSubscriptionSubscriptionSubscriptionSubscriptionrates:rates:rates:rates:rates:Canada $30/yrUSA $32/yrOverseas: writeJuly printing: 275 copies.Subscriptions:Subscriptions:Subscriptions:Subscriptions:Subscriptions:Leslie GavlasGeneral DeliveryStella, OntarioK0H 2S0(613) 384-2807Editorial:Editorial:Editorial:Editorial:Editorial:Headlands Co-op14775 Front RdStella, OntarioK0H 2S0Voice & Fax:(613) 389-3802E-mail:topsyfarms @on.aibn.comLayout:Layout:Layout:Layout:Layout:Tom Richmondtantonr@kingston.netDeadline for allDeadline for allDeadline for allDeadline for allDeadline for allsubmissions:submissions:submissions:submissions:submissions:25th of eachmonth!PPPPPrinted byrinted byrinted byrinted byrinted by:::::Lori & the crewat: Kwik KopyPrinting655 ArlingtonPark Pl.Kingston, Ont.(613) 634-1311CrCrCrCrCredits:edits:edits:edits:edits:CorelOffice 2000PageMaker 7.0.1PhotoShop 6.0Acrobat 5.05Family Tree Maker9.0Photos byPhotos byPhotos byPhotos byPhotos by:DT:Don TubbTR:Tom R.CK:Chris KennedyJH: Judith Harrower...others as noted.

Ernest HartleyErnest HartleyErnest HartleyErnest HartleyErnest HartleyFlemingFlemingFlemingFlemingFleming

Peacefully with his fam-ily by his side at TrilliumRidge Retirement Homeon Friday, June 12, 2003,in his 96th year. Prede-ceased by his wifeGenevieve (Filson) and hisson Harry. Sadly missedby his daughters ShirleyMartin (Orvin) andWinnifred Jamieson (thelate Raymond), daughter-in-law Syke, 8 grandchil-dren and 17 great-grand-children.

From the Whig-StandardThe HonourableThe HonourableThe HonourableThe HonourableThe HonourableMrMrMrMrMr. Justice John. Justice John. Justice John. Justice John. Justice JohnRRRRRoderick (Roderick (Roderick (Roderick (Roderick (Rod)od)od)od)od)

BARRBARRBARRBARRBARR, Q.C., L.L.D., Q.C., L.L.D., Q.C., L.L.D., Q.C., L.L.D., Q.C., L.L.D. Born in Toronto on Sep-tember 9, 1921died in St.Catherines on May 30,2003. Devoted and lovinghusband of RhodaMarshall Barr. Predeceasedby infant daughter Jane.Dearly loved by his sonPeter, daughter Elizabethand their spouses, SharonBroderick and StephenPerry. Adoring grandfatherto John Barr and Nicholas,James and ChristopherPerry.*****

JOHN CHARLESJOHN CHARLESJOHN CHARLESJOHN CHARLESJOHN CHARLESLLLLLUSCOMBEUSCOMBEUSCOMBEUSCOMBEUSCOMBE

B.A. Eng., P. Eng.Veteran WWII - RCAF Entered into rest peace-fully on Friday, April 25,2003, at the HelenHenderson Care Centre,Amherstview. Belovedhusband of Margaret AnnMayman. Fondly remem-bered by his brother-in-

laws John G. Mayman & Estelle Mayman,Brian and Linda Mayman, his nephew JohnL. and Tesse Mayman, Cody & Dylon. Mr.Luscombe served as a Civil Engineer in Ot-tawa with the Federal Department ofTransport and Northern Affairs. An avidsailor on Windward III on the Bay ofQuinte & Thousand Islands. Life memberDoric Lodge AF & AM. IntermentCataraqui Cemetery. [Staff: a line in theStaff: a line in theStaff: a line in theStaff: a line in theStaff: a line in theabove was missing frabove was missing frabove was missing frabove was missing frabove was missing from this notice in theom this notice in theom this notice in theom this notice in theom this notice in theJune Issue.]June Issue.]June Issue.]June Issue.]June Issue.]*****

NEIGHBOURHOODNEIGHBOURHOODNEIGHBOURHOODNEIGHBOURHOODNEIGHBOURHOOD- Lyn Fleming Get Well wishes thismonth go to DuncanMarshall and NancyHenshaw, who have bothspent time in the hospitalthis month. Condolences to LynnA’Court and husband Johnfollowing the passing ofLynn’s mom recently. Alsoto Carol Finlay on the deathof her mother. Congratulations toAmy Caughey, whowas married on a beau-tiful Amherst Island dayto Marcus Bermann.The reception was held

at the home of Amy’s parents, Bruceand Susan Caughey, on the North Shore. Congratulations to this year’s gradu-ates. Leaving High School behind thisyear are, Victoria Eves, MarleneKilpatrick, Alison McDonald, BrentMcGinn, Samantha Pollock and Shan-non Youell. All are going on to Collegeand University, but I don’t have all thedetails as to which ones! Leaving A.I.P.S. and going on to NDSSare Laurel Brady, Justin Hutchings andWilliam Reed. Going on to Holy Crossis Chris Varga. Moving up to the Pri-

Coast Guard Ship off Millhaven dock TR

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mary Room, are Sr. Kindergarten grads,Nick Varga and Dakota Wolfreys. AIMS held their 2nd House Tour andStrawberry Social in June. The tour wasvery successful, with approximately 200passports being sold. ISLE held an excellent Father’s DayBrunch. Unfortunately, is was not verywell supported by the Community. Canada Day Celebrations kicked off alittle earlier this year with John Monro’ssuccessful swim from Bath to the Island.A good number of Islanders as well assupporters from the Mainland turned outto cheer John on as he came ashoreacross from the school. The parade wasexcellent and has grown again this year.Following the parade were, kids andadult games, “Cow Paddy Bingo”, mu-sic, food and of course the PCW’sStrawberry Social.*****

THANK YOUTHANK YOUTHANK YOUTHANK YOUTHANK YOU The Amherst Island RecAssociation would like tothank everyone for theirsupport and participation inthis year’s Canada Day Cel-ebrations. To the excellentparticipants in the parade, many thanksfor your creativity and imagination, es-pecially the kids on bikes, walking andin or on vehicles and floats! Con-gratulations to John Monro for his suc-cessful swim from Bath to Amherst Is-land, and thanks for being a big part ofour day. Thanks to Reeve McEwen andCouncil for participating in the parade,the A.I. Emergency Services for their par-ticipation, activities and for standing byduring the fireworks, and of course, ourthanks to Canazon Fireworks for anothergreat show. Special thanks to Alan Glennfor the music he provided and to Shan-non Youell for organizing the kids gamesand prizes, as well as a couple of gamesfor the “grown ups”. Finally, thanks toall who came out for the day or part ofit and for choosing to spend the holidayon Amherst Island - it wouldn’t be a suc-cess without you all! A.I.R.A.*****

Amherst Island PAmherst Island PAmherst Island PAmherst Island PAmherst Island Public Schoolublic Schoolublic Schoolublic Schoolublic School- Lyn Fleming June has been an extremely busy monthfor the school! The Primary students vis-ited Fort Henry and Kingston School ofArt and the Senior Class took an overnight trip to RKY Camp in Parham. Graduation was on June 24th, and wesaid good bye to this year’s graduates:Laurel Brady, Justin Hutchings, WilliamReed and Chris Varga. Awards were givento students in a variety of areas as well asdiplomas for the grads. On a sadder note, we said good bye toSr. Class teacher Cathy Secker, who willgo on to Elginburg P.S. and to our Princi-pal, Dave Wyatt who will go on to a po-sition at the Board Office. We wish ourgraduates and Cathy and Dave much luckin your new adventures, but we will missthem all! ISLE held a Father’s Day Brunch for a

school fund raiser, but it wasn’t very wellattended by the community. We hope everyone has a great sum-mer!

WOMEN’S INSTITUTEWOMEN’S INSTITUTEWOMEN’S INSTITUTEWOMEN’S INSTITUTEWOMEN’S INSTITUTE- Nancy Dunn Although the Amherst Island Wom-en’s Institute does not have a regularmeeting in July this does not mean thatour group of willing women is sittingabout idle. (“Willing women” is not tobe taken the wrong way - it’s just thatalliteration with “w’s” is difficult andwilling seemed better than wacky andmore modest than wonderful.) As the summer progresses some oftheir recent work will become more vis-ible as the flowers in the four half-bar-rels and three beds in the parkette by theIsland ferry dock flourish. W.I. memberswill be tending them throughout the sea-son. In the same area two benches andsome posts were painted and a truck-load of brush removed. Another barrelof blooms is in Centennial park wherethe market is held. Further activitiesincluded preparing and serving the straw-berry social segment of the AIMS housetour for the benefit of the Neilson Storeand Museum project on 21 June andmaking ready for the 2 August booksale. The W.I. coffee/cold drink/muffin tableat the Farmers’ Market occupies severalsouls every Sat. also. Don’t forget everyone is invited to hearAmanda Knapp, Public Health inspector,speak on “The West Nile Virus” on Wed.16 July, 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church Hall.*****

Township office on Canada Day Peter Large, SCA

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JJJJJANET’S JOTANET’S JOTANET’S JOTANET’S JOTANET’S JOTTINGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTINGS- Janet Scott“Westering home and a song in the air,Laughter o’ love and it’s good-bye tocare,Laughter o’ love and a welcoming thereIsle of my heart, mine own one.

There are no folks like the folks ofthe west, Canty and couthy and kindly thebest,There I would hie me and there Iwould rest At home with my own folks on Is-lay.”

When Hans Krauklis was work-ing on the Island CD he asked mewhat I called my house and I ex-plained that I called it “WesteringHome” from an old song. There issomething about the old place thatspeaks peace to those who stophere. Visitors from various placesboth near and far comment on thefeeling of relaxation that surroundsthem once they arrive on theSouthshore but this wraps all thosewho visit our welcoming Island.They of course are not here whenthe depths of Lake Ontario, our in-land sea, are swept up into rollersthat send waves smashing againstthe cliff and spray flying halfway upthe laneway but that too is a wrap-ping of peace and stability as theold house standing on this spotsince 1877 just shrugs and facesthat sea. Do you ever wonder aboutthe settlers who first built here?

This house was built for CharlesGirvin in July of 1877 for the sum of $175by Joseph Gardner and Alfred Kent. Un-til Evangeline Carter (granddaughter) soldthe last remaining lot to Reeds at leastthat much was still in the family from1876 with the original grant. The Irishsettlers came to build some sort of fu-ture for later generations. Their daily workmust have been horrendous. When you

look at the width of the boards inside ourwalls and imagine those trees that couldhave produced such boards. They musthave been tremendous and the saws weremanual. I have always felt at home herefrom my very first visit in 1971 to theCoulsons not ever dreaming that I wouldsomeday move here. Bill Coulson and Iand my oldest son walked up that

Marshall 40foot while he told me aboutthe Island. He explained about the friend-liness of the people and the beauty of theirchildren and how on my earlier visit tothe Wires on the North side I had notwaved to everyone and that he had heardthat we were not very friendly. My friendHeather and I tried then to remedy thatimpression.

He told me about the people who cameto see the owls and I thought that hemust be exaggerating about the num-bers of cars on that road. Remember atthis time Sandy hadn’t introduced us tothe wonderful world of Owling. Now Iwalk that road with my Granddaughter,his daughter, and discuss weighty sub-jects like why the worms are lying in the

bottom of the puddles and whystrawberries that are whiteblossoms can be red berrieslater. A word of wisdom for you.She says,”Don’t eat the greenones they taste like garbage.”Go for a walk with a four year-old ! They have a very differentperspective on things.

When my great great greatgreat grandmother SusannahMaxwell ran away fromFarnham in Ireland to marryLord Maxwell’s groom WilliamForsythe I don’t think she everthought about her descendantsliving some day on Amherst Is-land but here we are. She un-fortunately didn’t survive totake up their lot in Cedarhillnear Pakenham. They came withtheir son and his family in 1822but she only made it toBrockville, where she’s buried .

The entry of the Internet intomy lifestyle began to expand mycontacts to relatives that Ihardly ever see and a cousin inCalgary e-mailed me to tell meabout our family’s connectionto Amherst Island . She’s inter-ested in genealogy and talks toMaxwells and Forsythes all overthe world. It’s strange isn’t it

to imagine that instantly you can talkabout people who took over a month tocross the Atlantic over 180 years agowith someone who lives that far awaynow. Remember Your Heritage andGood Birding!

#2 School, Amherst Island (now 4125 South ShoreRoad)- Back Row, L-R: Harvey Eves;Avery Brown;Melville Filson; Johnie Cochrane;Wilmer Eves.Middle Row:Isabell Eves; Dorothy Corke; MaryCorke; Jennie McCormick; Annie McCormick.Front Row: Jack Filson; Jack Taylor; HaroldCochrane. Picture by teacher Marj Bulch

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Canada Day on the North Shore Peter Large, SCA

COUNCIL GLEANINGSCOUNCIL GLEANINGSCOUNCIL GLEANINGSCOUNCIL GLEANINGSCOUNCIL GLEANINGS- Ian Murray1) “Moved by Councillor Ashley ... thatthe CAO’s report ... re: The MV AmherstIslander as a Diving Platform be receivedand that Council forward a Letter of In-tent as an expression of interest toOSTAR indicating support in principle ...for a project to sink the MV AmherstIslander and to develop an underwatertourist site for divers. The project is in-tended to develop a tourist product inLoyalist Township ....” Motion carried.2) Correspondence from Carol Morganregarding Wheelchair Accessibility onthe Frontenac 2 was referred to the Di-rector of Engineering Services for a re-port back to Council.3) “Mr. Guy Laporte reviewed theAmherst Island Landfill-2002 AnnualReport and discussed the evaluation ratewhich is 1% per year growth in popula-tion and 1% growth rate in waste....”4) AIMS has been officially “recognizedas being a sub-committee of the Loyal-ist Township Recreation Committee”.5) By-law 2003-66 - Ferry Agreementwith MTO. “Councillor Ashley thanked staff ... fortheir support in achieving the comple-tion of this agreement. He noted thatthis issue has been ongoing for the lastnine years and started before amalga-mation. He thanked Council and notedthat amalgamation helped them obtainan agreement from MTO.... Moved by Councillor Ashley ... thatBy-law 2003-66 being a by-law to au-thorize the execution of agreement withHer Majesty The Queen in Right of On-tario as represented by The Minister ofTransportation be approved. Enacted andPassed this 9th day of June 2003.”... [Later in the meeting] CouncillorAshley noted that another accomplish-ment has been the continuation of theprinciple that the ferry does not cost thepeople of Loyalist who do not use it.

THE FERRY ATHE FERRY ATHE FERRY ATHE FERRY ATHE FERRY AGREEMENTGREEMENTGREEMENTGREEMENTGREEMENT- Ian Murray The following are points of possible in-terest. The more concerned rate-payer canobtain a copy of this Agreement from theLoyalist Township.- Loyalist is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the ferry service- MTO is responsible for providing a ves-sel for Loyalist to operate the ferry serv-ice (but it can and will remove theFrontenac II when more important islandsneed to be served)- MTO is responsible for maintaining thevessel in good repair- MTO is responsible for providing andmaintaining the bubble system- MTO will try not to affect ferry servicebetween May 15th and October 15th

- MTO will be responsible for 90% of theBase Operating Costs - laid out in detailin Section 4 - of the ferry service and Loy-alist is responsible for 10% (from ticketsales)- Loyalist must have enough insurancecoverage to protect MTO from all possi-ble lawsuits- either party may terminate the agree-ment by advising the other party of its

wish to do so by September 30th of anyyear with the termination date being thefollowing December 31st. This appears to be a comprehensiveagreement and will hopefully work as wellfor Island residents as previous agree-ments have: the service is well-run andits costs are reasonable. Perhaps we haveseen the last of ferry studies; is there any-one living here interested in participat-ing in another go-round? The biggest fly-in-the-ointment maybe escalating insurance premiums whichmust be reflected in the price of ferry tick-ets.*****

AIMSAIMSAIMSAIMSAIMS- John Kuti The assistance com-mittee under AllanGlenn, reported eight to10 calls for help, whichwere answered. JohnKuti reported that theperennial sale raised $344 and therewould be some additional money fromthe sale of seedling trees donated as abonus to the ones purchased by theCataraqui Conservation Authority. Doug Williamson gave a draft reportfor the Amherst Island Fair. The manyevents were outlined and discussed. Stanley Burke reported that the issueof wildflowers along Island roads was

WEST NILE VIRUSWEST NILE VIRUSWEST NILE VIRUSWEST NILE VIRUSWEST NILE VIRUSEveryone welcome to W.I. meeting onWed. July 16th 7p.m. at St. Paul’s ChurchHall. Public Health Inspector AmandaKnapp will speak. ALL ARE INVITED.

Don Smith throwing to the Purser’sbollard on Stella dock. Terry Culbert Photo

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raised with Township counsel, and theReeve would come sometime to speakto the group on the issue. Allan Kidd then spoke about his lifestory. He told his experiences havingcome to the farm 30 years ago and fi-nally retiring here full time last fall. He told stories of growing up in Floridaand Alaska while his father was attachedto the American military through theAmerican Red Cross. He told stories ofdriving from Jacksonville to Anchoragein six weeks in 1954 when the AlaskaHighway was only a two lane gravelroad. He told of living in Germany andplaying in the bomb craters and goingto the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958 andseeing Sputnik and becoming interestedin astronomy and space. He graduated from Florida State inphysics and then went to graduateschool in Michigan to study astronomy.When he was drafted he came to Canadaand it only took a half-hour filling out aform to become a landed immigrant. Hediscussed the anti-war movement andsome of the people he knew. He told of using a small inheritance topurchase land on Amherst Island. Hetold the story of his winter pig feastwhen all his friends from Florida cameand 16 inches of snow completely closedhis lane-way. He described the winterof 1970- 71 when there was no ferry,and snow piled to the top of telephonepoles. He described how farmers had topull milk across the ice by snowmobiles,and how he had to walk seven miles onsnowshoes to Stella for supplies He told about going to Queen’s teach-er’s college and teaching for a year inCornwall. He also described having someinvolvement at the beginning of theAmherst Island Organic Farm. After going back to school at Queen’sto study astronomy, he worked inAlgonquin Park on the big radio tel-escope, but because there were few jobsin astronomy he went back and got hismasters degree in electrical engineering. From there he worked in Princeton de-signing communications satellites, andhe said how he would always come backto his place on the Island when he had

the chance. He described working at Spar aerospacein Montreal, and then in Ottawa atTelesat designing the first national com-munications satellites in the world forCanada. Because of this experience heconsulted all over the world on commu-nications satellites. He also described his experience work-ing in England and the circumstancesaround the conception and birth of his 2children. Moving back to Canada, and commut-ing to Ottawa was difficult, and so it wasonly last fall when he took early retire-ment so his family could come to Islandto retire at last. The Meeting was adjourned afterMichael Shaw agreed to speak at the nextmeeting.

[Staff: Amherst Island Organic Farmchanged its name in 1977 to Topsy Farms.]*****A SILA SILA SILA SILA SILVER FOVER FOVER FOVER FOVER FOX NAMED BELLAX NAMED BELLAX NAMED BELLAX NAMED BELLAX NAMED BELLA

- Jeanie Visintin

She came one cold winter night, her sil-

ver coat glistened wet and she was veryhungry. We watched as she looked forfood without any luck. So we threw outsome bread which she gobbled right up.Her beautiful long silver tail with the whitetip ........ she really was a beautiful fox.

Weeks went by and she made regulartrips to the house now for scraps and dog

food. She soon knew when we would beat home and was sometimes waiting bythe door. I would then take food out toher ..... and talk to her. I could have fedher from my hand, but she was a wildanimal and so I thought better on thatidea.

If she wasn’t outside when we camehome, I would call her and she wouldcome running from afar in no time at all.

As the snow melted, we saw her withwhat was later to be known as her mate,the red fox. He was only seen a couple oftimes and didn’t stay around.

We gave her a name. We called her“Bella”.

Then spring arrived and she was look-ing very healthy and friendlier then ever.Then all of a sudden she became verythin, and when I fed her, Bella would takeit away and hide it all over the place.

After weeks went by she appeareddown by the water with one baby - a redone. She put it under the boat house.Then, over the next four days, there wasone more fox each day until there werefive - four red ones and one silver one.The silver one looked just like Mom onlywith a little red on the sides. All of themhad white tips on their tails.

For the next month or so it was greatwatching Mom and babies at play. I tooka lot of pictures as well as some videofootage of Bella and her precious babies.Soon they grew. Bella moved them to thefields, but she still came around for a visitonce and awhile.

While my husband was on his way tothe six o’clock ferry, on Sunday, June15th, he spotted the little baby silver foxlying dead on the side of the road. On

JV

JH

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his return at 8:30, he saw Bella herselflying just a few feet away from her baby.... she must have been trying to get thelittle one when she too, was killed.

I feel very sad ....

I am going to miss seeing Bella roamall over Amherst Island. She broughtmany hours of fun; watching her playwith her babies and giving them her love.

I hope the four other red babies aresafe .... they are orphans now.

This is my story of a beautiful silverfox who gave many people pleasure fora short while.

*****

JULJULJULJULJULYYYYY- Alan Kidd

July actually isn’t the best of monthsfor stargazing. For starters, there isn’t alot of night for looking at the stars. Thenthere’s the mosquitoes..... To top it all,a lot of the brighter and more familiar con-stellations, like Orion, can’t be seen. Still,there are some interesting features of thesky in summer.

At midnight, on July 15th, a very brightstar is almost directly overhead. This isVega in the constellation Lyra (the Lyre).The other stars in the constellation areconsiderably dimmer that Vega, but youcan usually make out sort of kite shapewith about four other stars. Vega is brightfor two reasons. It’s big and relativelyclose. Close in the astronomical sense,that is. Vega is about 25 light years fromus, or about 250 trillion kilometers. That’sstill considered to be in the localneighborhood, and virtually all the starsyou see on any given night are much fur-ther away. Vega also puts out 60 timesas much light as the sun, and is consider-ably bigger.

Just to the East of Lyra lies the con-stellation of Cygnus (the swan). WhileVega is a very large and bright star,Deneb, the main star of Cygnus, makesit look dim in comparison. Deneb has170,000 times the luminosity of the sun.Deneb appears less bright than Vega onlybecause it is 2500 light-years from us.And a good thing too. Any star as largeand bright as Deneb is a good candidatefor a supernova, and being far away froma supernova is definitely a desirable lo-cation.

Cygnus, also called the NorthernCross, is a easy constellation to identifyin the summer sky. It is just to the eastof Lyra and Deneb is at the top of thecross. Cygnus lies right in the middle ofthe Milky Way. However, most summernights are hazy and the sky is rarely clearenough to see the Milky Way, even onAmherst Island.

The sketch below shows the relation-ship of Lyra and Cygnus to each otherand to the Big and Little Dipper.

The planets are not particularly nota-ble in the skies this month. Jupiter islow in the West at twilight, and thussets not long after the sun. Mars doesn’trise until after midnight. The other plan-ets are too near the sun to be visible.Mars will be much more noticeable inAugust, but that’s a topic for nextmonth’s article.

PPPPPeople that makeople that makeople that makeople that makeople that make Amherste Amherste Amherste Amherste AmherstIsland WIsland WIsland WIsland WIsland Workorkorkorkork

Laurie makes all our Canada Post visitsa pleasant experience. By law she is flu-ent in both official languages of ourDominion: “Islander”“Islander”“Islander”“Islander”“Islander” and “Mainlander“Mainlander“Mainlander“Mainlander“Mainlander.”.”.”.”.”She is the one who makes sure the Bea-con goes through with the right post-age, sells you stamps and money orders,sorts your mail (with Helen, of course!)and answers even the most esotericpostal questions with amaxzing graceand aplomb!(Is this where the writer comes out frombehind the curtain and says “Smile,Laurie, you’re on Candid Camera!”? Noton your life! :^)

8

Clinton Kilpatrickwas born November 5,1934 at The KingstonGeneral Hospital, theonly child of JohnFleming Kilpatrick andAnna (Annie) McKee.John, who took overthe family farm at 850on The Third Conces-sion, had a twinbrother, Eddie, whofarmed on the Islandfor a short while beforehe moved to PittsburgTownship and farmedin the Abbey Dawnarea. Annie McKee hadthree brothers, Fred,Francis and Ross.Clinton has heardmany times the storyabout the day of hisbirth. Bert Glenn, inthe farm next door,yelled over to Irwin Henderson who wasplowing, and announced, “There’s a newpackage at John’s.”

Clinton attended Public School No. 5from grades one to four, and rememberswell his teachers - Clarence Hogeboom(his first teacher), Elsann (Ann) Reid whotaught music, Billie Griffin, and FrankSlingerland who used to take the kids outon a “hare and hound chase” which eve-ryone enjoyed.

One of the tasks the boys had to carryout at No.5 School was to clean out thehorse shed. Snakes abounded and thegirls either got locked in the shed withthe snakes or were chased by the boysbrandishing the snakes.

From the fifth to the eighth gradesClinton was taught by Jack Kerr at theold Carr building across from the presentland-fill site. Clinton’s school mates in-cluded Keith Miller, Tom Miller, NinaWemp, Grace Wemp, Ted Wemp, Elmer

Willard and RegWillard. Clintonmoved with all theother kids in De-cember of 1947into the newAmherst IslandC o n s o l i d a t e dSchool.

On Wednesday,June 23, 1948 sev-eral major eventsoccurred.

First, at 10 a.m.the school wasdedicated in an im-pressive ceremony.All the members ofthe Board of Trus-tees of the Town-ship School Area ofAmherst Islandwere there: Chair-man, Ernest

Fleming; Secretary Treasurer, BruceCaughey; and Edwin C. McDonald, WilfredMiller, William Cochrane, WilliamMcCormac and Fred Neilson. The staff ofthe new school was as follows: Principal,David C. Harwood; Vice Principal, JohnKerr; teachers, Ruth Gibson and ElsannReid. Among the dignitaries were RobertH. Wallace, Inspector of High Schools, andJohn R. McCarthy, Inspector of Elemen-tary Schools. A prayer of Dedication wasoffered by The Rev. Canon W.B. Willistonand addresses were delivered by Col. S.A.Watson, The Rev. R.K. Earls, InspectorMcCarthy, The Rev. Father Lamarche andThe Rev. J. Caswell.

Second, the motorship “Amherst Is-lander” was christened at the townshipwharf at 3 p.m.

Third, at 5:30 p.m.the Amherst IslandWomen’s Institute served a supper in TheVictoria Hall.

Fourth, an evening program was pre-

sented in the school at 8:30. Once againall the dignitaries got in on the act. Af-ter the chairman’s remarks greetingswere extended by Dr. H.A. StewartM.L.A., George J. Trustin M.P., Col.T.A.Kidd M.P. and Fred Jackson, Warden,Lennox and Addington County. A flag, agift from William Clute, was presentedby Reeve T.E. Cochrane. Miss Elsann Reidsang a solo after which Col. B.A.Watson, Assistant Superintendent ofElementary Schools in the Departmentof Education of Ontario was the guestspeaker. This was followed by Greetingsfrom R.H. Wallace. The evening con-cluded with the benediction by The Rev.J. Caswell. It was a full, historic day.

Clinton completed his grade nine inthe new High School. He speaks highlyof Bill Williams and Anna Neilson, hishigh school teachers. Unfortunately, hehad to miss several weeks in order towork on the farm. In spite of the help

c An Interview with Clinton Kilpatrick E- Zander of DUNN INN

Clinton and his homebrew 6 cylinderwelder. The 49 Dodge engine and 49Chrysler transmission gave a 4 1/2”stroke and RPM’s needed for thewelder to operate TR

9

Anna Neilson gave him with his Frenchand the support of the other teachers,Clinton left formal schooling behind inorder to tend to the farm.

Clinton was needed on the farm. Hisfather had been injured by a dairy canfalling on his foot in 1930 and never re-covered from that accident. Instead, hewent from a cane to a wheelchair, leav-ing Clinton and his mother to care forthe animals.

In those days everyone was involvedin mixed farming and every farm familywas independent. They raised cows,pigs, chickens and grew all manner offruits and vegetables. The first thing inthe Spring four pounds of peas wereplanted followed by onions. When theSpring work with the animals was done,then beans, carrots, corn, cucumberswere planted. Gooseberries, raspberries,rhubarb also abounded on the farm.

While such diversity made every farmfamily self-sufficient, groups of familieswould join together to thresh the grainin the fall and slaughter the cows andpigs as they prepared for winter.

Clinton, always mechanical, and fa-mous as handy man with a wrench,naturally got involved in mending ma-

chinery, fixing tractors and repairing cars.I, personally, can attest to Clinton’s ex-pertise. He “saved” my old 52 Ford on sev-eral occasions 40 years ago. He becameso popular as a mechanic on the Islandhe decided to get a licence from the gov-ernment to run a garage. He got letters ofrecommendation from Peter Oliver ofNapanee and Stirling Glenn in Stella forwhom he had worked, and wrote andpassed the exams. Stirling Glenn, whooperated a garage where Jim and LynannWhitton live today (175 Stella Forty Foot),gave that up to work as an engineer onthe ferry. This left Clinton as the only li-cenced mechanic on the island and he waskept busy. Soon he was servicing all theschool buses as well as repairing manyIsland cars as well as trying to keep hisown vehicles operational. Clinton neverthought of it as work. It was, for him, arest from the work of farming.

About 40 years ago Clinton had a badaccident in his shop. One night he wasusing a welding torch to cut a chain off atractor when a spark set alight a bucketof gas. Clinton picked up the bucket inhis bare hands and took it out of the shop.As a result his hands were badly burnedand the ferry had to make a special trip sohe could be taken to The Kingston Gen-

eral Hospital. This was costly in moreways than one because Clinton had noO.H.I.P. coverage and he had to remainin the hospital for two weeks. With hishands bound in bandages Clinton wasunable to do much for himself. His un-cle, Art Kilpatrick, came in each day tohelp feed him when the nurses were toobusy to provide that service. Clinton re-members that well, not only for the kind-ness of his uncle, but also because onenight Art told him he felt unwell andneeded to get home. The next day hedied.

When Clinton returned home many Is-landers pitched in to help. For example,Wilfred McCormac helped Clinton andhis mother feed and milk the cows andErnest Fleming took the milk for himdown to the Stella cheese factory.

When Clinton set up the Vehicle In-spection Station that meant even moreemployment for him as a mechanic. Hiswork as a mechanic involved him in sev-eral escapades. Once, during the cold andsnow-laden winter of 1977, the steer-ing-motor on the grader broke down nearwhere John Kuti lives today.

Clinton had to drive out to analyse thesituation and remove the broken part. Heand Keith Miller drove, by snowmobile,down The Third Concession to MarshallGlenn’s farm, through the barnyard,across the fields to Keith Miller’s farm(all the fences and fence posts were bur-ied), then down the lane to the creek.They followed the creek up through themarsh to the lake. They travelled up thelake shore to the grader. They ordered theparts only to be told the only parts weresnowbound in Buffalo. Days later whenthe parts arrived they had to go throughthe same process of getting to thestranded grader and installing the partsin bitter cold and blowing snow.

On another winter occasion GenFleming had to get to the hospital andcalled upon Clinton for help. He got herto ride behind his snowmobile in a sleightrailer. Around the Second Concessionthey came across a big hole. Gen got out

Clinton on the Gleaner TR

Continued on page 12 ~>

The days are just packed!

July 1: The start (left) of John Munro’s Y-Knot marathon swim, from Bath to Amherst Island (that’s him in thestylish bathing cap, pointing at the camera). John, accompanied by a flotilla of kyaks, sailboats, and a pontoonboat, made landfall (right) across from the AIPS in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Further information can be found at:www.amherstisland.on.ca/yknot

The auction sale of the collection of Eldon Willard onJuly 14th. People began arriving at 6:50AM for the10AM start... anxious arrivals even helped removethe tarps from the 8 1/2 haywagons of sorted memo-rabilia. There was one of everything... and sometimestwo... or ten! The sale ran until 5:20PM... with oneauctioneer, no breaks, no PA system...and no rain!

A ships compass goes to the highest bidder

June 2003 in pictures

The ISLE Fathers Day breakfast, June 15th at AIPS ... the foodwas superb... (definitely better than Dad could have cooked!)

CarolineAckerman,KeithMiller &PeterMacKinnoncheckingout thewares.

The St Lawrence II cutting across the bow of theFrontenac II on Canada Day around 3:40PM.

Amherst Island Emergency Services float was at boththe Bath and Amherst Island Canada Day parades

WayneFlemingand AdamMillersupervisethe CowPattyBingo onCanda Day

Reta Brown’s goat“Princess”, aparticipant in the2003 Canada Dayparade on theAmherst IslandFair float.

12

and sank up to her armpits in the snow.She literally had to roll down to thesnowmobile. Meanwhile, Clinton triedto drive over the hole, only to have thetongue on the sleigh break off. The trailerwas abandoned and the rest of the tripwas made with Gen holding tightly ontoClinton as they rushed to catch up withArt Drumgoole. Art wanted to knowwhere “the hell” they had been. Gen saidthey had been through hell and now shewas ready for Art to take her by sleighover the ice to the mainland. Thanks toClinton and Art, Gen got to the hospi-tal safely.

On several occasions Clinton had togo by snowmobile to repair the brakeson the trucks which were used to driveup and down the ferry to break the iceduring a crossing. So violently did thetrucks race up the length of the ferry andslam on their brakes that a 12 by 12 tim-ber was put across the deck to stop thetrucks from going through the back ofthe ferry in case their brakes failed.

Clinton grew up in the Sunday Schoolof St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church and stillhas his catechisms to prove it. He alsoserved as a chauffeur for The Rev. R.K.Earls who had a 1933 Ford. But that Fordhad a canvas roof which leaked so badlyhe and R.K. often drove under an um-brella inside the car. Sometimes, if theygot back early from the visits R.K. hadto make, and had some time left in theevening, they would play canasta, a pas-sion of R.K. Earls. Only twice doesClinton remember beating R.K. at thegame he loved to win. R.K. Earls, wholived in the manse, not far from theKilpatrick house, would often drop in forsupper and a game or two of cards.

For fourteen years Clinton was chair-man of the Board of Managers of St.Paul’s whose buildings always seemedto need fixing up. When the bell refusedto ring a group of men took MarshallGlenn’s 40 foot extension ladder up intothe belfry to discover so many starlingshad built nests around the bell it couldhardly be moved and would not make asound. The mess that descended on

those under theladder caused themto speak aboutClinton andMarshall in ratherunChristian terms.

Marshall Glenn’slong ladder wasalso used to get upinto the attic of thesanctuary so themen could spraypoison to kill thewasps and flies. Itmay not have killedall the wasps andflies but it slowedthem down so theywere easily dis-patched.

Ernest Wolfreyswas caretaker ofthe church long be-fore Clinton cameonto the Board ofManagers and heshowed Clintonhow the old coalburning furnacehad to work. First,a wad of paper was stuffed into the flueat the back of the church and lit so thatan updraft was started. Only then wasthe furnace set ablaze. If the furnace waslit first, without the updraft established,smoke would fill the church. Clinton ob-served that if the fire was started earlySunday morning the church finally gotwarm by Monday noon.

When the new oil-burning furnace wasinstalled Clinton led the men of the con-gregation to dig into the basement to getthe machinery in place.

So busy was Clinton with the farm andwith his auto repair shop he did not havemuch time for socializing. However, hedoes remember getting out to some of thedances at Victoria Hall, watching thehorse races on Kerr’s harbor in the winterand later the snowmobile races before theweather became too unreliable.

Stirling Glenn had a pool room abovehis garage and Clinton liked to shoot a

game now and then. He enjoyed the ri-valry between Edward Wilkerson andSheraden Patterson which often led tovigorous disputes. He would also dropinto the “Dog House”(the little buildingnext to the Blacksmith’s Shop) to seewhat the men, gathered there on a Sat-urday night, were discussing. He neverstayed long because the cigar smoke wastoo thick. He would meet his fellow Is-landers on Tuesday, Thursday and Satur-day nights at the stores on the Island.Neilson’s store was the main centre butLes and Irene Glenn’s store on the cor-ner of the Front Road and the Stella FortyFoot also attracted customers. And, be-cause his uncle, Art Kilpatrick, owned thestore in Emerald, the family would oftengo there.

One of Clinton’s fondest memories isof going to the home of Irwin and EttaHenderson on Saturday nights to watchthe wrestling on T.V. Of course delicious

~> Continued from page 9

Clinton’s home-made post driver, ready for action. TR

13

food in large quantities was served andit was sometimes 1 a.m. before he re-turned home.

On May 10 of this year, all Clinton’sfarm and car equipment was auctionedoff. He is no longer able to repair com-puter governed cars and does not havethe health or strength to do the farm-ing. He rents out most of his 150 acres.Clinton has always enjoyed the Islandand would not want to be anywhereelse. But, now that he is free of the farmand his repair work, he may get awaymore often. Although Clinton has manyfriends on this Island - is there anybodyhe has not served? - he has only WarrenKilpatrick and his wife, Laurene and theirkids, and Laurie Kilpatrick and her hus-band, John Moolenbeek, as relatives herenow.

Clinton Kilpatrick thinks it is good weare now with Loyalist Township, have abigger ferry and better roads and are re-ceiving new people to the Island. But heregrets that he does not know everybodyon the Island anymore, that all the bestshore land is being bought up and thatthe ferry does not have end-loadingramps.

We wish Clinton well in his “retire-ment.” But be warned, Clinton says, “Ican’t sit still all the time. I’ll find some-thing to do.”

*****

LETLETLETLETLETTER HOMETER HOMETER HOMETER HOMETER HOME- Christopher Kennedy

This seems like a very slow start to sum-mer. May and June have been cool andwet, and it is hard to believe that it willbe July next week. A few of the hardiestpeople on the Island have been swimmingin the lake, but I know I will wait for acouple of weeks of really hot weather be-fore giving it a try.

One reward for the cool and dampweather has been a tremendous crop ofPortobello mushrooms in some of ourpastures. Usually we see them at the endof September, when the rain comes in thefall, but conditions must have been idealearlier in the month. Some of them havebeen almost the size of dinner plates andtaste wonderful when fried in butter.Dianne has been putting bags full in thefreezer, ready to go into stews. There issomething very satisfying about gettingfree food from the fields.

We have started into the hay crop. Sofar it has been quite short, but thick witha lot of legume in it. If the weather lets usget it dry it should make great feed fornext winter. I was out cutting this morn-ing and had a cloud of gulls following thehaybine. This means that the meadowvoles are coming back. For a couple ofyears there haven’t been many, but wemust be building to another peak. We

must remember to protect our trees thisfall. The family of Red-tailed hawks areback in their usual nest, and seem to havereared a batch of young. There should belots of feed for them. We have also hadseveral families of foxes up this end ofthe island, probably feeding on the volesas well. Last winter the foxes and coyo-tes between them pretty well wiped outthe rabbits.

The politicians don’t seem to be mak-ing much progress on the Mad Cow Dis-ease disaster. There has still only beenthe one case in Alberta, but the U.S.border is still closed to all Canadian beefand sheep. Cattle prices in Canada are inthe worst wreck anyone can remember.Lamb prices have only dropped a littleso far, but 47,000 lambs in the west thatwere contracted to go to Denver in thenext three months will be looking for amarket soon. The Federal and Provincialgovernments have promised some help,but it will be like trying to stop a severedartery with a Band-aid. I wonder if theprice of beef in the stores will go down?

The Island seems very busy this longweekend, with a wedding and parties andlots of visitors. I hear lots of people aregetting ready for the Canada Day Parade.This year the half of the people who werein the parade last year will be the spec-tators, and last year’s spectators will bein the parade this year. Then we will allwatch the fireworks and feed the mos-quitoes.

Binding grain on the Third Concession from Jean Tugwell

Bobby the Clown in the Canada Dayparade, 2002. by Peter Large, SCA

14

HERE & THEREHERE & THEREHERE & THEREHERE & THEREHERE & THERE- Ian Murray

Christopher came home with 2pick-up truck loads from Eldon’sauction. There were some realfinds in the job lots and some stuffwent down to the dump for fur-ther picking over. Chris says thatthere weren’t that many bargains- except for what he got - and thatElsie got pretty good prices over-all.

Those of us who were some-what amused by Eldon’s life longhobby of bargain hunting (whileothers fished or golfed or what-ever) may wonder if Eldon wasn’tactually investing his time prettywisely.

*****THANK YOU NOTESTHANK YOU NOTESTHANK YOU NOTESTHANK YOU NOTESTHANK YOU NOTES

I want to take this opportunityto thank my family, Janice, Eric,Ryan, Brent & Ashley; Doug andGail, and Jim Reid, other familymembers, friends, relatives andneighbours who worked manyhours hauling, sorting and preparing alifetime of Eldon’s “treasures” for myauction sale on June 14th. To all who sogenerously provided farm wagons andtarps. A special thank you to Allan Glenn(representing AIMS), Wayne Fleming andTom Richmond (representing AIESA)who sorted all one day, putting itemsinto proper perspective. A very specialthank you to Sandy Scott who diligentlywatched my tarps through the days ofwind and rain. To everyone who arrivedvery early on Saturday morning to un-cover wagons and haul remaining itemsout of my garage, thank you. A very spe-cial thank you to Hazel de Haan and myfellow members of St. Alban’s ACW forproviding a wonderful variety of refresh-ments. Last, but not least, to Doug Jarrell(auctioneer) and his co-workers who dida fantastic job. The Lord blessed mewith a wonderful day, wonderful people,family and friends and a very successfulsale. Thank you everyone! Elsie Willard

The Currans of Amherst IslandThe Currans of Amherst IslandThe Currans of Amherst IslandThe Currans of Amherst IslandThe Currans of Amherst Island- From Martha Parker

I have included more information andsome corrections on the three Curranfamilies that had ties to Ballyhalbert andAmherst Island. I tried to streamline theinformation so I have omitted referencesand descendants in most cases. I do havea lot more information on these familiesif any one is interested. You asked aboutSarah Reid Curran and her parents. Theywere John Reid (1803-1889) and Eliza-beth McKee (ca.1814-1880) who werealso the parents of John Reid who mar-ried Caroline Tugwell and they were theparents of Eliza McKee who married HughDempster and Jane Reid who marriedArchibald Curran. If you want I can sendyou a list of John Reid and ElizabethMcKee’s family. I also have informationon some of the descendants of ThomasCochrane and Mary Dundas.

I am certain that all three of these Curranfamilies listed below are related but I have

no proof of the relationship. Thedeath record of Archibald Curranlists his parents as James Curranand Jane Kirkpatrick. The deathrecord of James Curran lists his par-ents as James Curran and Jane.There was no surname for Jane.There were no parents listed onRobert’s death record. All three ofthe following Curran families hadties to Ballyhalbert, Co Down andAmherst Island:

Archibald Curran (1838-1906)married 1859 Jane Reid (1837-1892). She was the daughter ofJohn Reid (1803-1889) and ElizaMcKee (1814-1880) of Amherst Is-land. Archibald was born inBallyhalbert, Co. Down, and wasthe son of James Curran and JaneKirkpatrick, Co. Down. Archibaldand Jane were in the 1861 AmherstIsland census. In 1870 they werein the census in Douglas, Michi-gan. They were in Chicago IL at thetime of the 1880 census. Accord-ing to his father-in-law’s will theywere in Minnesota in 1885 and in1891 they were in Moose Jaw, Sas-

katchewan. After Jane Reid Curran diedin Moose Jaw, Archibald returned toDouglas, Michigan and married Eliza ReidDempster who was Jane’s sister. BothEliza and Archibald are buried in Doug-las, MI. Archibald had a sister namedSelina who married John Cochrane whoseparents had lived on Amherst Island be-fore moving to Chicago.

Robert Curran (1814-1897) married1835 (Sarah) Jane Reid (1815-1887).Their marriage record said Jane Reid fromBallyhalbert and Robert Curran fromBallyhemlin. He is buried in DungannonCemetery in Ashfield Township in HuronCounty, Ontario. Robert Curran was inCo Down in 1834-1858 & in AmherstIsland in 1827 & 1861. He and his fam-ily appeared in the 1871 Huron Co cen-sus.

1. David Curran (1836- 1872) m. Eliza-beth Robinson (1834-1914).

David drowned and she married JohnMcKee in 1875.

Eldon Willard at age 3, around 1934. A lifetime ofcollecting was still ahead when this picture was taken.

15

2. Robert Curran (1839-) m.1865 SarahJane Dempster of Amherst Island.

He was born in Ballyhalbert. Sarah’sbrother Hugh married Elizabeth Reid andlived in Douglas, MI. Hugh died and shemarried Archibald Curran.

3. Ellen Curran (1841-1901+).

4. Samuel Curran (1845-) Ballyesboro,Co Down.

5. Thomas Curran (1846-).

6. Mary Jane Curran (1847-) Ballyesborom. 1864 William Sanderson (1840-).

7. Ann Curran (1851-1928) m. 1867Richard Thompson (1844-1925).

She is buried in Dungannon Cemetery,Huron County.

8. John Curran (1858-1897) Ballyesboro(his father listed as labourer) m. SarahRyan (1864-1949).

They are buried in Dungannon Cem-etery in Ashfield Township, Huron Co.).

This is my great grandfather and hisfamily:

James Curran (1828-1910) m. 1850Rachel Warnock of Portavogie.

James Curran was born in Ballyhalbertto James Curran and Jane. He was a fish-erman in Ballyhalbert and he and hisfamily left Co Down about 1872 andsettled in Chicago where he and his sonswere sailors on the Great Lakes.

Their children were:

1. James Curran (1850-1928) m. 1874Sarah Reid (1845-1939). They marriedin Chicago, IL.

Sarah was the daughter of John Reid(1803-1889) and Elizabeth McKee(1814-1880) who lived on Amherst Is-land. Sarah was the widow of WilliamReid. Sarah and William had 3 children:Anne, Lize, (sic) and William. Sarah Reidand John Curran had a farm in Lawton,Michigan. They had a daughter Sarah:Sarah Agnes Curran (1878-1947) m.John Reid. She was born in Douglas MI.John Reid was the son of John Reid andCaroline Tugwell of Amherst Island.2. Robert Curran (1852-1934) m. 1878

Elizabeth Cochrane of Amherst Island.They married in Chicago.Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas andElizabeth Cochrane of Amherst Island.Robert Curran and his family lived in Chi-cago and then moved to WyandotteCounty, KS where he had a dairy farm.3. John Curran (1854-1887) m.1874Grace Anna Cochrane. They married inChicago. Anna was another daughter ofThomas and Elizabeth Cochrane. JohnCurran was Captain of “The Havana” thatcapsized in Lake Michigan. After Johndrowned Anna married John Shaw.4. Thos Curran (1856-).5. Jane Curran (1857-pre 1910) marriedJohn McGowan. After John’s death shemarried David J. Adair and they returnedto Co. Down.6. Thomas Curran (1861-1910+). He wasin Chicago in 1881. He was mentioned inhis father’s obit in 1910.7. Mary Curran (1863-1928) m. WilliamClint (1869- 1950). William Clint wasfrom Co Down. They lived in Chicago.He moved to San Diego after the death ofhis wife. 8. Nancy (Agnes) Curran (1866-1867). 9. Agnes (Nancy) Curran (1869-1927)m.1889 Andrew Parker (1860-1925) fromCo. Fermanagh.Agnes was born in Ballyhalbert Co Down.

She met Andrew Parker in Chicago. Theyhad 9 children. My father was ArthurParker who was born in 1909. He mar-ried Florence Flynn of Chicago.10. Rachel Curran (1870-1935) m. 1888Charles Howard in Chicago.*****frfrfrfrfrom BORN ON THE ISLANDom BORN ON THE ISLANDom BORN ON THE ISLANDom BORN ON THE ISLANDom BORN ON THE ISLAND

- L&A County Museum and Archives(Excerpts from the Napanee Beaver, April1895-April 1897)April 17, 1896STELLA As I have seen nothing in your valu-able paper about the thriving village ofStella, I thought I would write and thusmake the world cognizant of the won-derful happenings of this place. Well first, on the programme, one ofour prominent citizens has lately foundout that one of his opponents in a shoot-ing match had the audacity to load his(the prominent citizen’s) gun with pow-der alone, and, as I need scarcely say, themark was untouched. The ice is at present unfit for crossing,either on foot or with a horse, however,our worthy mail carrier always managesto make his trip by means of a ice boat. Hunting wild geese is the all absorb-ing sport at present, but some of ourhunters have found out the vast differ-

The Amherst Island Women’s Institute sprucing up the park on the dock: manywere there- this picture shows Helen Miller, Coralee Marshall, Beth Forester &Marion Glenn.

16

ence between hunting wild geese andkilling wild geese, in fact, the differenceis insurmountable. Mr. Caleb Tugwell shot two wild geesefrom his own door on Saturday. The schools have all reopened and it isto be hoped that the pupils and teach-ers will renew their work with that vigorproduced only by a week*s rest. Mr. P. Grattan is building a summerhouse on Stella Point, the growing wa-tering place. Those who visit this resortin summer are very wise in their selec-tion, for I think, and it is very natural forme to do so, that a more delightful placecould not be chosen.*****

NOTICESNOTICESNOTICESNOTICESNOTICES45th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! TheFamily of Royce and Marilyn Eves cor-dially invite you to an Open House incelebration of our parents 45th WeddingAnniversary. We would love to have allfriends and relatives join us on SaturdayJuly 26, 2003 - 2:00pm to 4:00 pm 622Caton Rd. Odessa (off Millhaven Rd)Best wishes only

***WEDDING RECEPTIONWEDDING RECEPTIONWEDDING RECEPTIONWEDDING RECEPTIONWEDDING RECEPTION

You are invited to a reception in honourof Barbara Jane daughter of Donnie andRhonda MacLeod, and Adam Keith sonof Keith and Shirley Miller August 9,2003 at 8:30 pm at the Loyalist Golf andCountry Club in Bath

***

AMHERST ISLAND WEBSITEAMHERST ISLAND WEBSITEAMHERST ISLAND WEBSITEAMHERST ISLAND WEBSITEAMHERST ISLAND WEBSITENEWSNEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS

wwwwwwwwwwwwwww.amherstisland.on.ca.amherstisland.on.ca.amherstisland.on.ca.amherstisland.on.ca.amherstisland.on.ca

The site is run as a service to the community,

Many have contributed financially in the past tothe website (it costs about $270 per year oper-ate). We are seeking for financial support on anannual basis (May to April) to pay for the fol-lowing year. IT IS JULY & WE HAVE NOT YETMET OUR TARGET AMOUNT FOR THIS PASTMAY.

Financial support of the community is vital tothe continued operation of the site. We nowhave six sponsors (only 40% of those who re-ceived fund raising letters have responded).Please mail your contribution today.

Thank you! Tom Richmond & Alex Scott

Dianne Marshall and Caroline Ackerman lambing at the Head

Congratu la-tions ScottMarshall ong r a d u a t i n gfrom St. Law-rence Collegewith a three -year BusinessManagementMarketing de-gree.

A Date with a Fisher Island rIsland rIsland rIsland rIsland residents and visitors might be interesidents and visitors might be interesidents and visitors might be interesidents and visitors might be interesidents and visitors might be interested in aested in aested in aested in aested in apicturpicturpicturpicturpicture of this re of this re of this re of this re of this reclusive but dangereclusive but dangereclusive but dangereclusive but dangereclusive but dangerous crous crous crous crous creatureatureatureatureature, whiche, whiche, whiche, whiche, whichhas been spotted on the island in the past couple ofhas been spotted on the island in the past couple ofhas been spotted on the island in the past couple ofhas been spotted on the island in the past couple ofhas been spotted on the island in the past couple ofyears (and ryears (and ryears (and ryears (and ryears (and reported in the Beacon). 99.99% of youeported in the Beacon). 99.99% of youeported in the Beacon). 99.99% of youeported in the Beacon). 99.99% of youeported in the Beacon). 99.99% of youwill never see a Fwill never see a Fwill never see a Fwill never see a Fwill never see a Fisher this close up (and the photogra-isher this close up (and the photogra-isher this close up (and the photogra-isher this close up (and the photogra-isher this close up (and the photogra-pher wouldn’t have if the crpher wouldn’t have if the crpher wouldn’t have if the crpher wouldn’t have if the crpher wouldn’t have if the creatureatureatureatureature hadn’t alre hadn’t alre hadn’t alre hadn’t alre hadn’t already beeneady beeneady beeneady beeneady beendead). This one was found by an Island rdead). This one was found by an Island rdead). This one was found by an Island rdead). This one was found by an Island rdead). This one was found by an Island resident notesident notesident notesident notesident notfar frfar frfar frfar frfar from the Millhaven ferrom the Millhaven ferrom the Millhaven ferrom the Millhaven ferrom the Millhaven ferry dock. These very dock. These very dock. These very dock. These very dock. These very nearlyy nearlyy nearlyy nearlyy nearlyblack animals generally arblack animals generally arblack animals generally arblack animals generally arblack animals generally are known to dre known to dre known to dre known to dre known to drop frop frop frop frop from trom trom trom trom treeseeseeseeseesonto smaller unsuspecting cronto smaller unsuspecting cronto smaller unsuspecting cronto smaller unsuspecting cronto smaller unsuspecting creatureatureatureatureatures such as cats & dogs,es such as cats & dogs,es such as cats & dogs,es such as cats & dogs,es such as cats & dogs,and have been rumourand have been rumourand have been rumourand have been rumourand have been rumoured to have gone after a smalled to have gone after a smalled to have gone after a smalled to have gone after a smalled to have gone after a smallsheep or two. They arsheep or two. They arsheep or two. They arsheep or two. They arsheep or two. They are ee ee ee ee extrxtrxtrxtrxtremely vicious and shouldemely vicious and shouldemely vicious and shouldemely vicious and shouldemely vicious and shouldnotnotnotnotnot be appr be appr be appr be appr be approached! Poached! Poached! Poached! Poached! Picturicturicturicturicture by More by More by More by More by Morgan Camleygan Camleygan Camleygan Camleygan Camley

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NEWS FROM THE GENERNEWS FROM THE GENERNEWS FROM THE GENERNEWS FROM THE GENERNEWS FROM THE GENERAL STOREAL STOREAL STOREAL STOREAL STORE

SUMMER HOURS:M-Th 9-6, Fri-Sat9-9, Sun 10-6. Now the playoffsare over, we’ve got some great newmovies in on VHS or DVD rightnow:

*The R*The R*The R*The R*The Recruit-ecruit-ecruit-ecruit-ecruit-Al Pacino, Colin Ferrel

*Analyze That-*Analyze That-*Analyze That-*Analyze That-*Analyze That- Billy Crystal,RobertDeNiro

*Atlantis *Atlantis *Atlantis *Atlantis *Atlantis and Milo’s RMilo’s RMilo’s RMilo’s RMilo’s Return-eturn-eturn-eturn-eturn-

Disney

*The Hot Chick-*The Hot Chick-*The Hot Chick-*The Hot Chick-*The Hot Chick-Rob Schneider

*T*T*T*T*Two Wwo Wwo Wwo Wwo Weeks Notice- eeks Notice- eeks Notice- eeks Notice- eeks Notice- Hugh Grant,Sandra Bullock

Many morMany morMany morMany morMany more to choose fre to choose fre to choose fre to choose fre to choose from!om!om!om!om!

Our StorOur StorOur StorOur StorOur Store Hours for the Ae Hours for the Ae Hours for the Ae Hours for the Ae Hours for the AugustugustugustugustugustCivic Holiday arCivic Holiday arCivic Holiday arCivic Holiday arCivic Holiday are 10AM to 5PM.e 10AM to 5PM.e 10AM to 5PM.e 10AM to 5PM.e 10AM to 5PM.Happy Holidays everHappy Holidays everHappy Holidays everHappy Holidays everHappy Holidays everyone!!!yone!!!yone!!!yone!!!yone!!!

VICTORIA HALL TEA ROOMVICTORIA HALL TEA ROOMVICTORIA HALL TEA ROOMVICTORIA HALL TEA ROOMVICTORIA HALL TEA ROOMCrafts are selling well, come in andbrowse. By popular demand, TeaRoom GiftGiftGiftGiftGift CertificatesCertificatesCertificatesCertificatesCertificates are availablefor ‘anyone who has everythingelse!’ Drop by for Island Videos @$16.95 …or just to say ‘Hello’. RE-MINDER: Afternoon card gamesplease call 389-5389. Open Tues-day through Sunday noon to 6pm.

THE BATHE BATHE BATHE BATHE BACK KITCK KITCK KITCK KITCK KITCHENCHENCHENCHENCHEN

The Back Kitchen’s Canada Dayweekend was terrific. The weatherwas beautiful & the support fromthe Island community was excel-lent. We thank you all and hope tosee you on a regular basis.

VVVVVisit Wisit Wisit Wisit Wisit Waterateraterateratercolours, Etc.colours, Etc.colours, Etc.colours, Etc.colours, Etc.The studio gallery of Shirley Miller.We are exhibiting the works of sev-eral local artists. Paintings, prints &lessons available.2545 Third Concession...If we are home, we are open! Tel.389- 2588

SIGNSSIGNSSIGNSSIGNSSIGNSComputer generated, vinyl letteringfor mailboxes, vehicles or smallsigns. Different styles of fonts andcolour choices. Lyn - 634-2509

Godden’s whole-hog sausageGodden’s whole-hog sausageGodden’s whole-hog sausageGodden’s whole-hog sausageGodden’s whole-hog sausageMade using the finest cuts of porkincluding hams, chops, loin, etc. Choose from regular, honey garlic,tomato oregano. $40.00 for 10lb.box. Available at Poplar Dell B&B:Call Susie at 389-2012 or Lori at705-653-5984.

PPPPPicnic Ticnic Ticnic Ticnic Ticnic Tables & Wables & Wables & Wables & Wables & Weather Veather Veather Veather Veather VanesanesanesanesanesFFFFFor Saleor Saleor Saleor Saleor Sale Keith Miller 389-2588

CountrCountrCountrCountrCountry Seatsy Seatsy Seatsy Seatsy Seats Repairs to woven chairseating: Reed & Ash, Splint Cane &Fibre Rush. Call Johanna MacKinnonat 352-7453

Summit International CanadaSummit International CanadaSummit International CanadaSummit International CanadaSummit International CanadaCarpet Manufacturer and DistributorGord Forbes, Sales Agent ...389-8516

Amherst Island VideoAmherst Island VideoAmherst Island VideoAmherst Island VideoAmherst Island Videosponsored by AIMS. Available inVHS and CD format. You canpurchase copies at the AmherstIsland General Store,or through NeilJohnston at 389-5389

I am collecting used stampsI am collecting used stampsI am collecting used stampsI am collecting used stampsI am collecting used stamps (any kind)for the guide dogs, clean used cloth-ing and books for the “Cat’s Meow.”Used towels, cleaning products, A&Ptapes & 12” knitted squares. FredaYouell 384-4135

Babysitter availableBabysitter availableBabysitter availableBabysitter availableBabysitter available-After school and weekends.

- Responsible.-Red Cross Certified Call Whitney Fleming :389-9869

BabysittingBabysittingBabysittingBabysittingBabysittingRed Cross Certified Babysitter.Available early evenings &weekends. Torri Phillips:

389-0512

BabysitterBabysitterBabysitterBabysitterBabysitter- Red Cross Babysitting &

CPR certified - available afterschool, early evenings &

weekends. Call Beth Albertan: 389-2662

Seasonal Winter Storage forSeasonal Winter Storage forSeasonal Winter Storage forSeasonal Winter Storage forSeasonal Winter Storage forBoatsBoatsBoatsBoatsBoats, etc,, etc,, etc,, etc,, etc, right in beautifulDowntown Stella! Indoor, rea-sonable rates. Dayle Gowan,

634-3815

Amherst Island Sweatshirts,Amherst Island Sweatshirts,Amherst Island Sweatshirts,Amherst Island Sweatshirts,Amherst Island Sweatshirts, GolfShirts & T-shirts. Embroidered Logo.Wide Selection of colours & sizes.Now available at Victoria Hall tearoom

WEASEL & EASELWEASEL & EASELWEASEL & EASELWEASEL & EASELWEASEL & EASEL

The W&E will be open every week-end from noon till 4 until July whenit will be open every day until LabourDay.

TTTTTopsy Fopsy Fopsy Fopsy Fopsy Farms:arms:arms:arms:arms:

sheepskins, woolsheepskins, woolsheepskins, woolsheepskins, woolsheepskins, woolblankets, yarn, socksblankets, yarn, socksblankets, yarn, socksblankets, yarn, socksblankets, yarn, socksetc. Queen size blan-etc. Queen size blan-etc. Queen size blan-etc. Queen size blan-etc. Queen size blan-kets, $99.95 (10% off onkets, $99.95 (10% off onkets, $99.95 (10% off onkets, $99.95 (10% off onkets, $99.95 (10% off onover-stocked items).over-stocked items).over-stocked items).over-stocked items).over-stocked items).

Phone 389-3444 for an appoint-Phone 389-3444 for an appoint-Phone 389-3444 for an appoint-Phone 389-3444 for an appoint-Phone 389-3444 for an appoint-ment, and also visit us atment, and also visit us atment, and also visit us atment, and also visit us atment, and also visit us atwww.topsyfarms.comwww.topsyfarms.comwww.topsyfarms.comwww.topsyfarms.comwww.topsyfarms.com

TTTTTed Gowed Gowed Gowed Gowed Gow P P P P Painting, wallpapering, til-ainting, wallpapering, til-ainting, wallpapering, til-ainting, wallpapering, til-ainting, wallpapering, til-ing, hing, hing, hing, hing, home maintenance and rome maintenance and rome maintenance and rome maintenance and rome maintenance and repairsepairsepairsepairsepairs.....Free estimates. Island references.634-5404

Thomas A. RichmondThomas A. RichmondThomas A. RichmondThomas A. RichmondThomas A. Richmond, , , , , Certified Certified Certified Certified CertifiedElectrician. Electrician. Electrician. Electrician. Electrician. Home, Farm & Commer-cial wiring and repairs, right here onthe island. Ontario Electrical SafetyAuthority Authorized ContractorProgram. 634-1855

HAY BALES FOR SALE onHAY BALES FOR SALE onHAY BALES FOR SALE onHAY BALES FOR SALE onHAY BALES FOR SALE onthe Island: the Island: the Island: the Island: the Island: 40-45lb bales.Wayne Fleming 389-9869

Bookkeeping &Bookkeeping &Bookkeeping &Bookkeeping &Bookkeeping &PPPPPrrrrroperty Management Seroperty Management Seroperty Management Seroperty Management Seroperty Management ServicesvicesvicesvicesvicesRosemary Richmond Home, Farm,Cottage, Small Business. Island ref-erences. 634-1855

LANDFILL SITE HOURSLANDFILL SITE HOURSLANDFILL SITE HOURSLANDFILL SITE HOURSLANDFILL SITE HOURS

Wed 11-2; Sat 10-noon; Sun 2-4.

FERRFERRFERRFERRFERRY OFFICE HOURSY OFFICE HOURSY OFFICE HOURSY OFFICE HOURSY OFFICE HOURS

Mon, Wed, Fri: , 9-noon & 1-4

Ferry fuel-up days are Tuesday andFriday (be prepared for a delay).

TTTTThe Lhe Lhe Lhe Lhe Lodge on Amherst Islandodge on Amherst Islandodge on Amherst Islandodge on Amherst Islandodge on Amherst IslandRental available for specialoccasions. Call Molly at:(613) 634-1388or (416) 533-5997wwwwwwwwwwwwwww.amherstisland.on.ca/thelodge.amherstisland.on.ca/thelodge.amherstisland.on.ca/thelodge.amherstisland.on.ca/thelodge.amherstisland.on.ca/thelodge

2 BEDROOM COTT2 BEDROOM COTT2 BEDROOM COTT2 BEDROOM COTT2 BEDROOM COTTAAAAAGEGEGEGEGEon Stella Point: By the week or week-end, May-September. Call Molly (416)533-5997

NORNORNORNORNORTH SHORE COTTTH SHORE COTTTH SHORE COTTTH SHORE COTTTH SHORE COTTAAAAAGEGEGEGEGEfor rent year around. By the week orweek-end.Please phone 389-2012.

SOUTH SHORE COTTAGESOUTH SHORE COTTAGESOUTH SHORE COTTAGESOUTH SHORE COTTAGESOUTH SHORE COTTAGEfor rent on private, secluded penin-sula. Over 2000ft of limestoneshoreline. $650 weekly. Call (613)389-5536 for further information

LAKESHORE RUBBER STLAKESHORE RUBBER STLAKESHORE RUBBER STLAKESHORE RUBBER STLAKESHORE RUBBER STAMPAMPAMPAMPAMP Lakeshore Rubber Stamp has re-cently moved to Amherst Island andwould like to inform old and new cus-tomers of this new location. I can provide business and artstamps, daters, signature and similarproducts. All stamps are custom madeon the premises and can be ready in24 hours. Please call 389-8441 orfax 389-9770. Email:selc.welbanks@sympatico.ca This is a home-based business andavailable most days. Linda Welbanks*****TTTTTim Hicks Plumbing and Heatingim Hicks Plumbing and Heatingim Hicks Plumbing and Heatingim Hicks Plumbing and Heatingim Hicks Plumbing and HeatingWater treatment, pumps, heating: infloor; radiant; forced air; solar. Certi-fied Master Plumber. Phone 545-3541

AwarAwarAwarAwarAwareness Weness Weness Weness Weness WorkshoporkshoporkshoporkshoporkshopDeveloping skills in concentration,heightening awareness and mentaland physical calmness.Telephone Jocelyne Leyton 384-6488

FFFFFrrrrrozen Meals Designed for Seniorsozen Meals Designed for Seniorsozen Meals Designed for Seniorsozen Meals Designed for Seniorsozen Meals Designed for Seniorsoffered by Lennox and Addington Sen-ior Outreach Services. Restricted andspecial diets can also be accommo-dated. Contact: Freda Youell at 384-4135 for menus, meal descriptionsand prices.

FOR SALE:FOR SALE:FOR SALE:FOR SALE:FOR SALE:

Tales of Amherst Island by Dr. H. C.Burleigh call 389-3943

NEW REPRINT ANEW REPRINT ANEW REPRINT ANEW REPRINT ANEW REPRINT AVVVVVAILABLEAILABLEAILABLEAILABLEAILABLEAmherst Island:Amherst Island:Amherst Island:Amherst Island:Amherst Island:A Detailed SurA Detailed SurA Detailed SurA Detailed SurA Detailed Surveyveyveyveyveyby Thomas SylvesterResearch into land and property linesas laid out for Sir. John Johnson(c.1790). You may find this book par-ticularly interesting if you own wa-terfront property. 112 pages of textand maps, spiral bound, fully anno-tated. Copies $25 each at the AIGeneral Store or call 389-1320

WWWWWANTED: DEAD CARANTED: DEAD CARANTED: DEAD CARANTED: DEAD CARANTED: DEAD CARAmherst Island Fire Station is

looking for car 10-15 years old totear apart for training purposes.If we could get one by July 19th

that would be best. We willprovide a tax receipt for $50 ANDwe will tow it away for free. Call

386-3761, ask for Fred.

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On the porch... On the beach... In the park...

Amherst Island Women’s Institute’s

Giant Book Sale+ CD’s , LP’s and sheet music

Saturday August 2, 10-3Sunday August 3, 12-3 (prices slashed)

Old Fire Hall, 5465 Front Road, Stella

Light refreshments available

Enjoy a day on the Jewelof Lake Ontario...and take home a bag of books!

Donations, call 389-1320 or 389 0435

T h e F o o t

WOOL SHEDWOOL SHEDWOOL SHEDWOOL SHEDWOOL SHED Topsy Farms has just opened an outlet for its sheep products at 14775 Front Road.

The former milk&ice house/farm shop/storage shed/music room has been renovated - inside only, so far - to house our purewool blankets, wraps, lap robes, yarn, hats, slippers, socks, scarves, washed & carded wool, as well as sheep and lamb skins.Copies of Don’s farm photos may also be ordered. Information about ordering freezer lamb is also available for delivery in the fall.

Because we are an operating farm, we can not keep the Wool Shed open on a regular basis. Please phone 389-3444 for anappointment. Or, if the OPEN sign is out, ring the bell for some attention.