SCOOP The
February / March 2018
thescoop.ca
Back Home to the Island
Dr. Ben Reitzel
Starting Seeds
Bee Hive Cards
Animal Tracks
The
SCOOP Founded in 2005 by Richard Saxe
PUBLISHER & AD SALES Karen Nordrum
stonemills.scoop@gmail.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Sally Bowen, Lillian Bufton, Katherine Burrows, Mary de Bassecourt, Dianne Dowling, Glen Goodhand, Alyce Gorter, Joseph Imre, Bert Korporaal, Lennox & Addington Stewardship, Tom Mawhinney, Blair McDonald, Marcella Neely, Mark Oliver, Susan Rehner, Grace Smith, Terry Sprague, Deborah Twiddy All photos contributed, unless otherwise noted.
HOW TO CONTACT US 613.379.5369
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Here’s to Your Health, SCOOP Readers
“S
CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS
tick to two subjects: the
choosing to work in a village setting, and
weather and everybody’s
a community mobilizing to find creative
health� advised Professor Higgins to Eliza Doolittle
in My Fair Lady. This particular conversational recommendation failed spectacularly for Eliza. It would likely fail for anyone else who did not realize that small talk about one’s physical state or current meteorological conditions is almost never meant as a request for detailed descriptions of uncomfortable digestive processes or unusual cloud formations. Yet few things are more significant in our lives than those two more or less natural parts of it. Ignoring the weather in this part of the world is very much a risky habit, especially at this time of the year. We are lucky to have all sorts of medical resources at our disposal to remain healthy, but it’s still a complex, daily challenge to do so. It can be even more challenging in a rural community where those resources are more dispersed, and in many cases difficult to maintain. The small-town physician is a fixture of
ways to support local medicine—the
AND ARTISTS! Do you have what it takes to be
topic of two of this issue’s articles—is therefore well worth noting and
published in The SCOOP?
celebrating. Health is of course much more than the indispensable miracle of modern medicine, and the present issue covers many of those facets, directly and
Send us your best photos and artwork documenting rural life in our area:
indirectly. Gaining some degree of control over our food is essential to good
stonemills.scoop@gmail.com
health. Quality food comes from quality seeds, and two of our articles cover local efforts to better preserve and exchange garden seeds. And what could be more central to health than finding meaningful connections and setting roots in a community? Several of our articles, and this issue’s cover, tackle this question. And of course, to stay healthy, best not to drop a tree onto one’s body, real estate, or nearby power infrastructure, as you’ll discover in a groundbreaking article.
literature and film but seems to be getting scarcer in a rapidly urbanizing
No fake news in The SCOOP, just timely,
society like ours. Seeing a young doctor
healthy, authentic stories!
482 Adair Road Tamworth, ON K0K 3G0 The SCOOP is published six times a year. We mail The SCOOP for free to more than 6600 households in Tamworth, Centreville, Enterprise, Erinsville, Camden East, Newburgh, Colebrook, Yarker, Verona, Hartington,
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The SCOOP • February / March 2018
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Stone Mills Township Buys Medical Centre Mark Oliver
O
ver the past 15 years or so there has been a shift in the role municipal councils, especially rural ones, have had to play in the provision of medical services for their ratepayers. One can argue whether or not a township council should have to be involved in what is typically considered a provincial government responsibility. But that doesn’t change the reality that in many communities, some very close to us, cash incentives, free office space or both, are being provided as an enticement to lure doctors into establishing local practices. That implies that if one is to attract new doctors, one has to be considered as an option. For young doctors emerging from seven or more years of university and medical training, and carrying the financial burden that comes from that journey, an incentive program is what it takes to be competitive and to be considered an option for them. The Township of Stone Mills recently decided to purchase the Tamworth Medical Centre as a platform for developing its incentive strategy. This is a positive, proactive action indicating their recognition of the shift that has taken place in terms what is needed to be done to ensure the existence of local health care for the municipality. An immediate concern for some relates
to the impact of such expenditures on tax levels. While no one wants to see taxes increase, this action is being paid for by money the Township collected in the past and didn’t spend, and put into a “reserve” fund for a special need. That would imply that this will not generate any additional taxation. With luck and good management, perhaps even generate a small revenue stream based on payment by the doctors of rent and utilities that could be used to gradually replace the “reserve” funds used in this acquisition. Once the original expenditure is recovered, this revenue could build up the “reserve” fund for use in attracting medical professionals when future needs arise. This course of action by our council should not come as a surprise to anyone. Residents who attended the allcandidates meetings before the last local election heard from the successful candidates their commitment to preserving health care in the community. Furthermore, in February of 2016, a community-driven report went to Council that was generated through public input at a series of workshops held in Newburgh, Enterprise, Yarker, Centerville and Tamworth. It contained as one of its biggest concerns and most heavily weighted recommendations that Council be proactive in securing ongoing medical services for the municipality. This included creating a succession plan for all medical offices, not just those in
Tamworth, so that in years to come, a precedent will have been set and a strategy will be in place to support taxpayers. Council has done that. This decision, like so many others, may not benefit everyone equally but there are many angles that this can be viewed from. For example, I have a family doctor in Napanee, but I recognize the impact on the future of the Township by us having local medical services. In the case of the Tamworth Medical Centre, the term Health Services is accurate since it offers a Social Worker (once a week approx.), a Psychiatrist (one day/week), a Diabetes dietician-educator and Diabetic nurse-educator (twice/month), an Addictions/Mental Health counsellor (3 days/month), an Asthma Educator (one day/3 months) and a CCAC nursecoordinator (one day/week). The newest service, to be added, is a half-time nurse to assist in the care of the complex and elderly and who may be able to do house calls. It is my understanding that with the arrival of the new doctor at the Tamworth Medical Centre and the changes that came with that position that Stone Mills is now one of the few rural municipalities that now has the capacity to have the services of a doctor available to virtually its entire population. It is important to recognize we in Stone Mills are in competition with multiple other rural communities for entrepreneurs, residents, and
professional services and we must, as ratepayers understand that some near-term shifts in priorities may be necessary if we are to be viable communities in the long term. In this case, I think the Stone Mills Council with the support of CEO Bryan Brooks, have taken a very positive step that will benefit everyone.
Do you love to write? We’re looking for contributors. Interested? Email us at: stonemills.scoop@gmail.com
TAMWORTH BRANCH LIBRARY Mon Tue Wed Thu Sat
4 p.m. – 8 p.m. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
MAKER CLUB: Wednesdays @ 6:30 p.m.
Kids are invited to make crafts, play with LEGO and take part in a variety of other activities including button making, circuitry and robotics. You never know what fun will be on the agenda at Maker Club! Suitable for children ages 12 and under. Parents/caregivers must remain on site. Over 100 students from area schools exhibited at a large student art show in January at Salmon River Studio’s Tamworth studio and the Tamworth Legion. Photo by Carolyn Butts.
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613.379.3082 tambrch@lennox-addington.on.ca Branch 458 , Tamworth, of the Royal Canadian Legion graciously acknowledges the following contributions to our Poppy Trust Fund. Remembrance Day Wreaths Retail Counter Top Boxes Direct Distribution of Poppies Donations Total for 2017
$1270.00 $1221.74 $833.20 $40.00 $3364.94
Over the course of the past year, our Poppy Trust Fund was utilized to: • Promote education around Remembrance Day through the annual poster, poem and essay competitions at local schools. This year more than 100 students participated. • Assist with Veteran’s care through the Zone Veteran’s Care Fund • Provide direct assistance to local Veterans and/or their spouses • Support the Royal Canadian Legion Charitable Foundation which serves the purpose of providing assistance for needs that are greater than what could be met by a local Branch We wish to thank everyone who supported our efforts.
February / March 2018 • The SCOOP
3
Eat Like Royalty on the Cheap Mary de Bassecourt
A
t home and on their royal yacht, the Royal Family eat simply cooked but elegant food from the Prince’s Highgrove/Duchy Home Farm. When she travels, the Queen has her own water brought with her because she can’t afford to get sick. Looks like the good food and water work for her! Peter and I often say we eat like royalty, thanks to the wonderful food our local farmers and our garden provide. (Buying only local meat isn’t hard at all, and isn’t more expensive.) Burger night at our house means about 4 oz. per person of local grass-fed ground beef, costing $2, with oven fries (potatoes from our garden or organic ones from Memorial Farmers Market at $.50 per person). Our veggie could be green beans or peas frozen from our garden or organically homegrown sprouts in a salad with grated carrot and celery. Sprouts and winter veggies like carrots are also available at Memorial Farmers Market in Kingston, open Sundays all year round. The cost per person for the salad with homemade dressing is estimated at $1.50. Add a glass of organic wine from Sharbot Lake LCBO for $1.50 and a glass of sweet, pure well water, bringing your grand total for this princely meal to $5.50 per person. Compare this unbeatable grass-fed burger dinner (including salad and wine) with McSomething’s quarter-pound burger with cheese, medium fries, and drink at $5.79.
contact our meat vendors outside of the market season at Tryon Farm – beef, pork, chicken, turkey (carileet@hotmail. com) and Maple-Lim Farm – lamb, preserves (bckerr1950@gmail.com). Memorial Farmers Market in Kingston offers sprouts, winter veggies, meats, cooked lunches, etc. and is open Sundays year round (memorialcentrefarmersmarket.ca). Verona’s Frontenac Farmers Market vendors are listed on their website (frontenacfarmersmarket.ca). Bon appétit! Sharbot Lake Farmers Market is looking for new vendors and volunteers. Interested? Please email slfminformation@gmail.com.
N
ew Year’s Resolutions. Perhaps one of the most debated holiday traditions. Some people hate them. Some people love them. Most people break them. But every January, we still try to better ourselves with the dawn of a new year.
Especially after weeks of holiday living. The holidays are when people indulge. They celebrate. They overeat. They do too little. For me, resolutions can and should be made any time of the year. They should be made at any time that you recognize that you want things to change. Maybe you want to work on your home-work balance. Maybe you want to make more time for friends. Maybe you want to feel better about yourself. Maybe you want to get more involved in your community. I don’t believe that January 1st is the only day on the calendar that we can start to make a change. Regardless of when we decide to make and stick to our resolutions, we need to be smart about them. I’m definitely one of those people who jump into my goals full throttle. I don’t really think about how to implement them into my routine in a manageable way. And what happens is that within a couple of weeks, I’m back to my old, less desirable ways.
One of the best pieces of advice that I’ve ever been given is to start small. It is absurd to think that we can change with the snap of our fingers. So start small. Think of small ways that you can change your routine. Make a point of checking in with a different friend once a day. Leave your work at the office at least once a week. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Look up possible volunteering opportunities in your community. And once you’ve started, keep adding, bit by bit, until you’re happier with you. It’s important that your resolutions are for you and not anyone else. It’s your life. If you’re happy, change doesn’t need to happen. But if you want to better yourself in some way, please be smart about it. Know yourself and what you’re capable of. Build your goals up until you’re happy with the results. And stick with them even if you slip. We’re all allowed to indulge ourselves sometimes. Just make sure not to get into the habit of it. I read somewhere recently that it can take up to two months to fully change your regular routine. It takes commitment to implement a resolution. So for those of you still slugging it out with your New Year’s Resolutions, keep going. For those of you thinking about making a change, think big and do small. As long as you’re doing it for you, to better you, resolutions don’t have to be a dreaded part of the holiday tradition.
An Important Fire Safety Message From the Stone Mills Fire Department
Keep the SAND & SALT off! Dave & Barb Way
If you want to try eating like royalty on the cheap, our Sharbot Lake Farmers Market vendors offer ground beef and other beef cuts, pork, chicken, lamb, and sometimes turkey. Their meats are all government inspected and frozen. You can
4
Grace Smith
Personally, I feel like I’m sitting on the fence about the dreaded resolutions. While I think it is admirable to want to be better, to feel better, to look better, it can be ridiculous to assume that this could just happen overnight.
WAYLEN CAR WASH
An added benefit of cooking your own locally grown meal are the delicious smells that waft through the house from the oven fries baked in organic olive oil and the grass-fed burgers cooked in a cast iron frying pan with real, organic butter. Not to mention the health benefits of more vitamins and minerals in the meat and a healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, with no hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides. Most truly local, organically grown vegetables (according to reliable independent studies and contrary to some industry-driven reports) have higher nutritional value, taste better, and haven’t been grown with pesticides.
New Year, New You
The SCOOP • February / March 2018
CTY RD. 4, TAMWORTH
Do You Smell Barbecue? Alyce Gorter
I
am telling you this story, not because I’m proud of it, but because the limited number of people who needed to hear about the incident have been, without exception, intrigued, captivated, and entertained. In a macabre sort of way, I’m thinking. Anyway, they insist that I share it with you. My friend, who lives in Alberta, also owns property on Fifth Lake. During her visits here she works at improving the site while envisioning what could be and how best to achieve that goal. Since there is only a lengthy, twisted, uneven trail through the woods to the lakefront, it is necessary that she park her rental car at the road and backpack in everything required. It was decided this summer that the first major step towards improvement should be the construction of a good road. Since she lives so far away and her time here is always short, she commissioned me to scout out the best road site through the woods, cut a 20-foot swath for this road, and then hire someone to complete the actual construction. So be it. Although it was late November before I could start the cutting, the weather was holding good — not too cold and with only an occasional skiff of snow that never stayed long enough to impact my activities. Being out in the woods alone with new decisions to be made continually, a job to do and a lot of physical demands to accomplish that task was a challenge I loved. But, three pressures were pushing me to get the job done as soon as possible. One, the weather could change at any time making woodcutting dangerous or impossible; two, the road construction company could be there any day if their agenda was not delayed by weather, and; three, I was leaving for several weeks’ holidays on Friday. Due to other demands on my time and the early onset of darkness each day, it was only possible to dedicate a few hours at a time to the project. Yet, my part had to be completed before I left. So, things went fairly smoothly the first three days, all things considered — although tree hang-ups, lost chainsaw wrenches, a lack of chain oil, a few bruises, and a rip in my blue jeans from
an over-zealous saw blade all played their part in slowing me down. But here it was Monday morning. I had gotten an early start to the day, and I intended to push through until the road was completely cut out, the brush piled and all the wood safely stacked away from road-building machinery. The rest of my week was booked with other matters AND Friday I would be heading out for some much-needed rest and recuperation. Failure to meet my goal this day was not an option. By early afternoon, having forgone breaks and lunch, I approached the last tree — a big oak standing at the edge of the hydro line easement. I appraised it carefully, mentally judging its height and the distance from it to the hydro lines and the telephone cable. My assessment took in the fact that although the tree had a large base, it looked like the top had been damaged at some time in the distant past resulting in fresh, young branches sprouting in wild profusion from the top. From my vantage point, those limbs didn’t look too big or too menacing and certainly would not land on the power lines. I was also able to determine that a definite leaning in the main trunk of the tree deemed it necessary to drop it in the direction of the lean which just happened to be — no big deal — toward the only source of electricity at that end of the county. It is safe to say that if I had been able to see into the not so distant future, I might have had the good sense to rethink this decision and come up with a different option. But maybe not. It was a perfect notch, a perfect backcut, and a perfect example of suspended animation as I stood in soundless disbelief while the big tree toppled slowly and ponderously onto the hydro lines. Startled out of their decades of unexcited existence, the two power lines and the telephone cable reacted immediately by stretching earthwards to their limits and then catapulting upwards trying to shake their attacker off. “Horrified” does not even begin to capture my reaction as I watched the lines buckle and jerk up and down like bungee cords. Would they break, sending sparking, sizzling snakes to chase and coil around me, frying me wherever I might run?! No, that was not to be my fate. A slower punishment was reserved for that. They finally quivered to a stop and appeared unaffected by their
experience. The tree had ridden out the ride like a seasoned bronc buster never having shifted position. Well, at least I was still alive — so far. Whatever could I do now before someone found out what I had done??!!! Calling for help was not an option — or certainly not an option I wished to contemplate. No, I had gotten myself into this mess, and I would work through it as best I could. Besides, if I could solve the problem by myself, no one need ever hear about it. And I THINK wood is a poor conductor of electricity. But with great fear and trepidation, I approached the problem of trying to remove the huge tree from its resting place. A couple of strong pulls on an accommodating limb proved that trying to slide the whole thing sideways was definitely not going to work. On the positive side, there was no tingle, no jolt, and no frizzy hair from touching the tree. PHEW!!! So began the process of shortening the tree to get it to the point where I could finally haul it off the wires. The procedure looked like this: Cut a notch on the horizontal trunk so it wouldn’t pinch the blade, then slice up from underneath; move along a few feet, cut a notch, slice up underneath; move along a few feet, cut a notch, slice up underneath. FINALLY, the tree was almost upright, and I was able to pull it off balance and haul it to the ground. I was just stacking the last few chunks of wood onto the pile when Columbo appeared on my nearly-finished road. “You’d better call it a day,” he says, “it’s getting late, and we’re invited out for supper.” I start to protest, noting that I have only a small amount of cleanup left to do. He’s not listening. “By the way,” he says, looking at me closely, “you didn’t drop a tree on the hydro lines, did you?” I look at him in astonishment. There is absolutely no evidence lying around that would suggest I am guilty of such a stupid thing. Is he psychic? “How would you know if I did?” I ask, not confirming or denying. “Well,” he says, “the neighbours have been calling all afternoon to see if we have hydro. We don’t. Neither do they. Since we live at the end of the line, there are two hydro trucks in our yard right now with crews starting to look for the problem.” I briefly considered a flight plan. However, when the workers found the
freshly cut stump they would probably deduce what happened. It wouldn’t be hard to pinpoint the culprit. Besides, if I fessed up and had to spend my vacation in jail, I wouldn’t have to plan my own meals. There’s always a bright side. I confessed my sin. So, the hydro man was extremely nice when I showed him the scene of the crime. He kindly provided me with a short debriefing as he surveyed the site. He had received the first complaint at 3:15, so surmised that the tree had gone down around 3:00. He pointed out that the upper line carries 7,200 volts and that wood can be a good conductor of electricity under the right (or wrong) circumstances. What probably saved me was that the two lines most likely touched during their first exuberant dance, shorting out the line, blowing the fuse, and effectively cutting off the power. He suggested that if I wanted to make a practice of cutting down trees around hydro wires, I should contact Hydro One who can turn off power temporarily or protect the lines (and, subsequently, me) while I’m working there. I assured him I probably wouldn’t need to do this again. He smiled and looked around, “Well,” he said, “I’d stay and help you clear up but I think your neighbours want their hydro back on.” And off he went. Lesson learned. Although now that I think about it, there is that elm down in the marsh under the hydro lines. Shouldn’t be a problem though as I don’t think it’s tall enough to hit the wires. Afternote #1: This is the first adventure where I have felt it necessary to add a dire warning. Although it may seem like I have taken a light-hearted view of the events, my research has left me mentally quivering from the knowledge that there could easily have been a very different ending. Live and/or wet trees are, indeed, excellent conductors of electricity. NEVER make the mistake of touching any object that is in contact with a power line. Afternote #2: in light of the recent tragedy that has saddened us all, this story is dedicated to our hydro workers everywhere. For an emotion-wrenching tribute to lineworkers go to YouTube and watch the Official Music Video for The Band Steele — The Lineman.
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February / March 2018 • The SCOOP
5
Growing Your Own From Seed Susan Rehner
W
hat better time to think of spring and the renewal of plant life than during a Polar Vortex. Safe inside from the bitter cold this early January, I am excited by the prospect of starting seeds once again. Seed catalogues, both in printed form and on the internet, with their coloured photos of luscious fruits and vegetables and stunning flowers, are a great antidote to winter blahs.
Why Start Seeds Indoors? For me, it’s the excitement of seeing my special seeds germinating in trays and pots indoors. There are other, more compelling reasons: while the seeds are sprouting and growing you can control conditions so that the seeds and later the seedlings will not be subjected to searing sun, frost, strong winds, torrential rains or drought (providing you remember to water them). And they will not have to compete with weeds or become food for wildlife. Another consideration: I have found that very tiny new seedlings that develop from seeds planted directly into the garden may not be distinguishable from weed seedlings, and you can guess what happens then.
Where to Find Seeds There are many good Ontario seed companies, offering a wide variety of seeds, a much wider selection than the plants found in garden centres. The GrassRoots Growers website (below) has a list of seed suppliers recommended by members pleased with their seed quality and variety. Plan to attend the seed swaps held at GRG events in the spring and fall. There you will find interesting seeds contributed by our members. Seedy Saturdays and Sundays are events that Seeds of Diversity participates in and promotes. These events, held across Canada, are great places to find local seeds (heritage and organic especially) and to swap seeds at the seed swap table. Besides seeds, there are exciting speakers and workshops, and plenty of experienced gardeners on hand to answer your questions. This year Seedy Saturday will be held in Picton on February 24, Seedy Sunday in Perth on March 4, and Seedy Saturday in Kingston on March 10. Details are on the Seeds of Diversity website www.seeds.ca where you will also find a wealth of information on seed saving and growing, and learn about the pressing need to maintain and increase food biodiversity by growing and saving heritage seeds.
Soil and Water Using a seed starting mixture of vermiculite, perlite, and peat will give the best results. It’s sterilized to kill off weed seeds, lightweight to allow tender seedlings to push through, and won’t compact. Set your containers of soil in a shallow tray of warm water for about ½ hour to thoroughly moisten the soil. Then allow the excess water to drain off. Now you’re ready to plant. As the seedlings grow, that watering/draining technique will keep the soil moist but not wet.
6
Peat pellets are an alternative. Just soak the pellet until it’s wet and expands to form a small net-enclosed pouch for your seed. The roots of the seedling will grow through the net. But you must be vigilant and not let the pellets dry out. I like them for starting perennials – those that have seeds large enough to deposit one seed per pellet. When they are planted out in the garden, if you happen to weed them out by mistake (I once mistook my nodding onions for tufts of grass), you can easily recognize the attached peat pellets and replant immediately.
Seed Packets Seed packets usually provide valuable advice on germinating particular species and when to start them. For example, the packet might indicate the seed germinates best in darkness, so the container should be covered to keep out the light. Or it might say the seed needs light to germinate and to sprinkle it on the soil surface. Species that germinate and grow quickly are started later than species that take longer, and the packet will usually indicate how many weeks before the last expected frost date the seeds should be started. Perennial seeds, because they are often slower to germinate, are usually started earlier than annuals, and some may need a cold treatment before they will germinate. It should be noted on the seed packet if the perennial will not flower until the following year – many don’t, so patience is needed.
Containers Seeds can be started in any container that has drainage holes and is at least 6 to 8 cm (2.5 to 3”) in depth. With all the plastic containers flooding our homes it’s easy to find suitable ones to reuse. Until you see germination, cover your container(s) to maintain humidity. If you’re planting a lot of seeds, the plastic seed trays that come with a plastic cover are practical. Cell packs are also useful. Many gardeners will plant more seeds than they want and later discard all but the sturdiest seedling. I’ve never had the heart to do that, so I plant one seed per cell. As you seed your containers, label them with masking tape and permanent marker, recording plant name and sowing date. If your seedlings grow too large for their containers or are too crowded, you may need to transplant them to larger ones. Before planting outdoors – usually the end of May – the seedlings should be hardened off. That means gradually introducing them to outdoor conditions over a period of several days until they are used to the sun and wind especially.
work, providing you rotate the trays to keep the seedlings from leaning toward the sun. Still better is a light table with warm and cool fluorescent lights. As the seedlings grow taller, it’s necessary to raise the lights to about 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8”) from the top leaves. Our fluorescent light fixtures are on chains for raising and lowering. Of course, a heated greenhouse is ideal; however, if you have one, you’re an old hand at growing and don’t need encouragement or instruction: you’re already hooked.
Direct Sowing Some fast-growing Seeds need warmth to germinate – Mittens the cat volunteers annuals can be to help. Photos by Michelle Mather. seeded directly exchange table afterwards. Our events into the garden with good results, so long are free and open to everyone. Details are as the weeds have been removed from on our website (below). the bed first. Morning glories, love in a mist, sunflowers, poppies, Nasturtium, Tamworth/Erinsville GrassRoots Growers and Calendula are a few. Some will even is a community-based group. Our mission self-seed and appear the next year. Many is to encourage interest in local and vegetables and herbs can be direct organic gardening for both the home seeded too, e.g., carrots, parsnips, peas, garden and the market garden; to raise beans, squash, lettuce, beets, and dill. awareness of issues surrounding food Parsley can be direct seeded, but I prefer production; to improve our practical to start it indoors for a head start. For knowledge of all aspects of plant life; and some species, e.g., beets and parsnips, to provide networking opportunities for the old seed will not germinate or will gardeners. We welcome new members. germinate poorly. Other seed, e.g., Visit our website at te-grassrootsgrowers. tomato, is viable for years. weebly.com. I hope I have given you enough information and stimulated your interest in growing your own to get you started.
GrassRoots Growers GrassRoots Growers’ next event on April 12 at St. Patrick School in Erinsville will feature Astrid Muschalla with a presentation on composting and eco-mulches. Astrid is a certified organic land care professional. We hope you will attend, and that you will stop by the seed
Light and Warmth Seeds usually need warmth to germinate, and once they have sprouted, they will require light – about 12 to 14 hours a day. A sunny, south-facing windowsill can
NEWBURGH PHARMACY County Rd 1 E, Box 89 Newburgh, ON K0K 2S0 Phone: 613-378-2220 Fax: 613-378-2221
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The SCOOP • February / March 2018
LANE Veterinary Services
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Back Home
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of dangers that can lurk in urban areas. They know that our small school has a high calibre of education and that the multi-grade classes and small numbers are of tremendous benefit to most. The sense of community, though less than it once was, is still compelling. Committees ensure fund-raising for activities and food programs. This year’s school play served a potluck meal feeding almost 1/5 of the Island population, after which every child had a role in the school play.
Julie said, “It was a HUGE decision for us to move back here – one that took a lot of consideration – but the community, peaceful life, small school, and being around family were top priorities for us, convincing us to do it!”
An older group of those who come back home are people whose previous generation moved away to make a living, to get broader experiences, or just to get off the farm. These adults have grown up in urban worlds. Some of them have made a pretty good living. But then, a rootlessness occurs; a feeling of being unsettled.
Sally Bowen
here is a healthy trend here of people moving back home to Amherst Island. Many have come back home to raise their families. Twelve young adults of our sons’ and daughter’s generation who had left for education and a broader scope of life have chosen to return to Amherst Island. In a total population of about 450, that’s significant.
Some who have come back home have parents and grandparents who help support the early child-rearing years. Their kids are safer here from the kinds
In our small population, six have come back in the past couple of years, to where their ancestors are buried; to where their family names are instantly recognizable. Their immediate challenge is to figure out just how many individuals they meet are somehow cousins and to sort out the tangles of the family tree. One excellent
Lucas & Anna Walhout, and Michael Murray on stage at Amherst example is Island Public School. Photo by Chelsea MacDonald. the couple
who purchased our failing corner store. It was once a proud hotel called the Royal, later the Dominion, built sometime before 1821, and registered in 1860 as a commercial establishment. Dave McGinn visited Amherst Island as a kid occasionally – his greatgreatgrandfather moved here; his grandfather ran the general store; his dad was born here as was Dave’s eldest brother; and his uncle had a dairy then beef farm Dave and Linda McGinn in front of their store on Amherst Island. – but he grew Photo by Sally Bowen. up out west, making a living Dave’s grandfather would have stood and in the oil fields of Alberta. Fortunately, what he would have done in the store. As he learned a great number of practical Dave’s careful demolition and skills. He retired, explored alternatives, reconstruction proceeded, he discovered discovering the advertised sale of the a big knot in the 2” thick planks with big Amherst Island General Store in the indentations in the wood on either side, almost derelict building, and came home splayed out the way all the McGinn men with his wife. They have fit in stand. Goosebumps. Dave was quite immediately. “I’ve had so many powerful literally standing in his grandfather’s feelings that this is where I’m meant to footprints. be – a deeply felt sense of belonging.” Johnnie McGinn walked in one day, figured out their link (through two half-brothers), then described where
Amherst Island is a more vibrant community, thanks to the people who have come home.
with a happy ending. Whole lives are moved when one occurs. Sad for many people and livelihoods, not to mention the loss of many animals as well.
One needs to keep working the land. Otherwise, the bush will come back to overtake the fields. At times there are good things that come from letting some marginal farm fields go back to nature, to encourage some struggling species to come back from near extirpation or to plant a desirable species of trees.
So Refreshing Bert Korporaal
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his year sets most others apart because of what I have seen around the country roads when out for a drive.
I was raised on farms in my early years back in the 50s and 60s, first with dairy, then mixed, and lastly with fruit. It made a big impression on my life and taught me to respect the land. You will only get out of it what you put into it. Farming and working the land used to be commonplace. The large vegetable gardens with outside rows of berries and also flowers. These kept the family going throughout most of the year after Mom put up preserves and put potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables in the winter soil in the cellar. There was pride in having the fortitude to work the land and repair machinery. However, in the last 40 or 50 years, this has been in a steady decline wherever you look. Those massive cathedrals of the countryside, the barn, for the most part, have been left to the elements of the four seasons. Many are now in disrepair, and even more have been torn down, because of liabilities or because of property taxes on anything with a roof. Families have had to endure the evergrowing march of sons and daughters leaving the country for the cities, where life seems more comfortable and the dollar easier to obtain with city jobs. The barn still is the icon of the country
but is more modern than the old style with the large hay mow. Nowadays hay is rolled into large round bales and turned into giant “marshmallows” for winter forage. The immense silos are still in use but are now steel or low “bunkers” for the haylage or silage for the livestock. Gone for the most part are the old wooden or stone silos. I remember the day Dad made the decision to have a stone silo built. It cost a fortune. And the untold dangers that came with it: silo gas and slipping and climbing up into the top to throw down enough off the top for the cattle for the morning. I remember the small square bales. You moved those darn bales 4 or 5 times before they were settled into their respective location in the hay mow. Not a pleasant job when you had allergies! There were no bale throwers back then. You were the bale thrower…time and time again. At least we got an elevator to get them up into the barn from the hay wagon. Cut, rake, turn over, and dry. Bale, stook, throw onto the wagon and stack, throw off the wagon onto the elevator, and lift them twice more while in the mow to correctly interlock stack them so they wouldn’t tumble down. The bedding straw was done much the same way. And those darn snakes! When stooking bales on their ends, to dry further, often there were snakes in the bales … ticked off snakes that seemed to always want to bite you, or was it just me? It is always sad to hear of a barn fire. One can only imagine it is like a ship on fire. Impressive, but ultimately tragic. Seldom
Now the reason I write this. Last year while travelling down Hwy. 41, I saw about 70 plus acres that were tilled. That farm sat fallow for many years. Then one day it was so moving to see that the land was again being worked, and this year was their first crop the land has yielded. Thumbs up! Good for you! And now, a few weeks ago I saw again, someone had ploughed a couple fields north of town, that for years had been used for only hay. Nice work!
In the long run, there may be some inner solace felt that there is hope for some of these farms that have sat idle for so long. Thank you to those enterprising property and farm owners for trying to make a go of it. Stick your chest out and have pride in what you do. Some of us see that your efforts are good for all of us. Thank you to all farmers!
February / March 2018 • The SCOOP
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Welcoming Dr. Ben Reitzel to Tamworth Katherine Burrows
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he Stone Mills SCOOP welcomes Dr. Ben Reitzel to the Tamworth Medical Centre in Stone Mills. To introduce him to the community, we asked him a few questions. The SCOOP: Tell us about yourself. Why did you choose to study medicine? Dr. Ben Reitzel: I grew up in Sudbury, where I was exposed to health care at an early age. My grandmothers and mother were all registered nurses working both in hospital, industry and in family offices. Always having been attracted to rural and remote areas I knew health care was always an option to live and work in these areas. Wanting to learn more about healthcare, wanting to work rurally (and wanting employment), I went into
nursing at Laurentian University in Sudbury and loved it. The breadth of the profession was very attractive, and I truly enjoyed it. One night shift on a placement in the emergency department, I had a gentleman in his mid-60s who presented with a “swollen ankle”. It turned out that he was a brittle diabetic with no family physician. His swollen ankle was actually a significant infection of his bone and joints that necessitated a below-knee amputation that night. That particular scenario struck a nerve and pushed me towards playing a greater role in primary care. So I applied to medical school in my final year of nursing and was fortunate enough to be accepted to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sudbury. Their focus is providing GPs for rural and remote Canada, so it was the perfect fit. The SCOOP: What brought you to Tamworth?
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Dr. Ben Reitzel: After completing my residency in Saint John, NB, I moved back to this area to live with my wife, who’s finishing a paediatrics residency in at Queens University. I have always wanted to work rurally, so I immediately started searching for opportunities in relative proximity to Kingston. Tamworth fit the bill nicely. After seeing a picture of the clinic, I knew it was a great fit. I tell people it’s like going to camp every morning for work. The SCOOP: Describe what it’s like to practise medicine in a rural setting so far? Dr. Ben Reitzel: It’s what I expected. Rural medicine is somewhat different from city medicine in good ways. Patients tend to see you when they’re
unwell versus going to the nearest walk-in clinic or the emergency department. Because, in many cases, we’re it. That means we do our best to fit in people when they’re sick. We also have evening clinics a few days a week that try to accommodate those who fall ill after hours. People tend to be more willing to be worked up by me locally as opposed to driving into town. This means that, if and when we need the opinion and expertise of a consultant specialist, we have completed the necessary workup which saves time and money for the patient and the system. I also have the chance to do procedures, such as biopsies, excisions, suturing, joint injections, and wound care to name a few. The SCOOP: What are you most passionate about in your medical practice? Dr. Ben Reitzel: What many people don’t realize is family medicine (old term General Practice) really gives you an incredible amount of flexibility and maneuverability in medicine. Throughout the day, I can see a newborn, provide palliative care advice over the phone, suture a laceration, discuss mindfulness for an anxious person and help someone quit smoking. No other area of medicine touches so many age groups in so many ways. The SCOOP: What do you see as the advantages/benefits of a rural family practice? Dr. Ben Reitzel: The benefits of rural practice are pretty cliché but true. Everything’s a bit slower, calmer and more personal. My interactions tend to be more of a relationship and less of a transaction. There’s more patience and
acceptance that things sometimes take time to sort out and there’s a willingness to be part of that. The SCOOP: What advice would you give other doctors who are considering a rural family practice? Dr. Ben Reitzel: Many residency programs are focused on rural general practice. Both my medical school and residency had significant focuses on these aspects of medicine. When considering rural practice, the most significant consideration is the fact that every test that’s ordered, or consultation that’s made necessitates a long drive down snowy roads. Keeping this in mind will ensure that only the most appropriate tests and referrals are made. The SCOOP: Is there anything else you would like to tell us? Dr. Ben Reitzel: I’d just like to add that the community has been very receptive to having me play a role in their health care after so many years of dedicated service from their previous GPs and I am very thankful that they’ve been so welcoming. The SCOOP: Thank you very much for taking the time to chat, and welcome again to our community!
Riches of Region Celebrated in Free Booklet Lillian Bufton
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ooking at the geological map of Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Counties, the distinction between the Limestone Plains and the Canadian Shield is dramatic. A wavy line clearly shows the changes in the earth’s surface on which we live. “You see this transition when you drive north from highway 401,” notes Dr. Kate Laird, chair of the Land Conservancy for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington’s mapping committee. “To begin, the land is flatter, with few visible rock outcrops. As you get further north, the granite of the Canadian Shield becomes evident, the terrain is more rolling, and there are more lakes and watercourses.” For the last few years, the Land Conservancy has been working with free maps available from Land Information Ontario and maps provided by partner agencies to improve its knowledge of the region and help it to focus its work on
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conserving valuable habitat here. During 2017, it had funds from an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to complete its natural heritage plan, consult with local municipalities and conservation groups, and connect with local residents. As part of the grant, the Land Conservancy was able to design, print, and publish “We Need Nature,” a free 24-page booklet with several of the natural heritage maps as well as information about local plant and animal species. The maps show, for example, the location of wetlands, remaining forest cover, and Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest. “By overlaying the different data layers, we are able to highlight areas where there may be the highest need for conservation efforts,” Laird explains. “The compilation maps will help us to make acquisition decisions. We hope that they will also help landowners and municipalities with their land stewardship efforts.” The Land Conservancy currently owns six properties and holds conservation easements on two properties, protecting
The SCOOP • February / March 2018
over 220 hectares (500 acres) in the region and providing habitats for 19 species that are listed as “at risk” by the province of Ontario. The natural heritage information in “We Need Nature” will be of interest to people who spend time in Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Counties. Land Conservancy representatives would be pleased to present information about its natural heritage plan and some of the large-format maps that inform it at a community or lake association meeting. The free “We Need Nature” booklet is available by writing to the Land Conservancy at info@ LandConservancyKFLA.org and providing your mailing address.
Map by Nanor Momjian.
A Natural View Tracking the Private Lives of Animals Terry Sprague
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t would have been a perfect day, had a light dusting of snow not covered up a few fresh tracks. The trails at this conservation area, north of Belleville, can be an ideal spot for track sleuthing. There are weasels, cottontails, foxes, and squirrels about and all of them leave signatures behind as to who passed before us. While evidence points to numerous animals being about, few of them linger long enough to be observed. It is hard to miss the large track prints of the Snowshoe Hare, a regular here in the white cedar tangles at the H.R. Frink Conservation Area and Outdoor Education Centre, near Plainfield. They are unique feet with dense fur pads and leave behind a distinctive pattern of broad impressions in the soft snow. Others are more difficult to identify, although one I come across is most certainly a fox judging by the direct register pattern of the tracks and straight line the animal has taken. Foxes tend to follow prominent aspects of vegetation and topography such as a ridge of ground, a row of bushes or the edge of a wooded area. Their tracks are straight and determined. Dog tracks, by comparison, appear sloppy, exploring without caution, and romping here and there with no particular purpose. Identifying animal tracks is a little more complicated than the cut and dried method many field guides purport it to be. The locomotion of animals is incredibly complex, and the variety of ways in which their four feet can move is astounding. If the animal is walking, then identification is reasonably straightforward if one has an intimate knowledge of footprints. However, animals also trot, bound, and gallop, and the arrangement of the patterns will be different, and the prints often indistinct. It is easy to misinterpret the direction of travel of the rabbits due to the placement of the prints in the snow. Bounding and galloping animals such as rabbits and weasels place their front feet together with the back feet following as a pair, actually landing ahead of the front feet.
The print of a Ruffed Grouse also can be confusing. The pattern is almost arrowshaped, subliminally instructing the mind to follow the tracks in the direction of the arrow. But the bird actually walked in the other direction. One has to be careful when identifying markings in the snow as tracks. Sometimes fresh accumulated snow on the branches begins to drop, leaving distinctive patterns in the surface snow. It is then we must give up, as there are simply too many false markings in the snow, and we miss the smaller animals of the forest, such as the tracks of the White-footed Mouse. Some tracks such as deer can even leave clues as to whether it was a male or female that passed by. Females tend to lift their feet higher than males, and any tracks found with streaks of dragged snow usually suggest a buck. However, when snow becomes deep, we all drag our feet. A skunk has crossed my path at one point. It plows the snow in little ridges on either side, the route meandering here and there as the animal probes the ground covering for any available food. Tracks are a subtle reminder that few animals really hibernate. Skunks may den up together and doze off for a while, but a sniff of the air some mornings confirms that they are about. If one were to give an example of a hibernator, it would likely be the groundhog, and even it wakes up periodically. No – not precisely on February 2 as popular legend would have us believe, but it does wake up. During this awakening, it doesn’t leave its burrow but moves about in its hibernaculum every two weeks to defecate. Rarely does it leave its den as it has already thoughtfully plugged the entrance early in the season to maintain a constant temperature in the burrow and to keep uninvited visitors from entering. Woodchucks aren’t the only hibernators who wake up periodically in the winter. Chipmunks and several others do so every couple of weeks to eat from their cache and to urinate. There is a continuum of sorts between the true
Bounding cottontail rabbits place their front feet together with the back feet following as a pair, actually landing ahead of the front feet. Photo by Sydney Smith.
Fox tracks are straight and determined, following prominent aspects of their topography. Photo by Helmer Nielsen. hibernation of woodchucks and bats in which all bodily functions are greatly slowed, the deep sleep of bears and chipmunks, and the occasional slumber of raccoons, opossums and some squirrels. Hibernation in its purest sense is risky. Fat reserves may be compromised in very tiny mammals like shrews, so they remain active rather than chance dying in their sleep. Very few animals in Ontario truly hibernate. There is always some activity at some point during the winter. Some believe that this occasional awakening is actually necessary to exercise the brain and that some mobility is needed to keep everything in working order. This may be only partially correct. Hibernators, in fact, likely become sleep deprived, and that they must “wake up”
to go to sleep before re-entering the true physiological stage of hibernation. Few of us know for sure what goes on down there in the den when these animals are hibernating or why they have been programmed to do what they routinely do. It is much easier to follow the comings and goings of those that remain active above ground in their daily struggle to survive our winters. As filmmakers John and Janet Foster like to say, “The best ending to any wildlife story is a mystery.” Terry Sprague lives in Prince Edward County and is a retired interpretive naturalist and hike leader. See his website at www.naturestuff.net. He can be reached at tsprague@xplornet.com.
The Snowshoe Hare leaves behind a distinctive pattern of broad impressions in the soft snow. Photo by Peter Mohr. February / March 2018 • The SCOOP
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Interesting Discovery at Enterprise Joseph Imre
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he Napanee Express on December 22, 1936, featured a truly unique story of discovery in the village of Enterprise. During the fall of 1936, several boys playing in the woods around Enterprise discovered a threefoot-long sword revealed by a fallen tree. The sword was believed to be from the “troublesome times” of the Rebellions of 1837-38 in Upper and Lower Canada. The discovery sparked local discussion around the tales of secret training for militias and sympathizers in the attempted overthrow of government a century earlier. That’s quite a spellbinding story for the small village of Enterprise. The Rebellions of 1837-38 were much more subdued in Upper Canada than in Lower Canada. On the one hand, militias were established to protect areas in which regular troops had been sent to quell uprisings in Lower Canada, where events took a more violent turn. Kingston, for example, had a permanent Militia Garrison to protect the city from rebels. These garrisons were comprised of groups like the 1st and 2nd Addington and 2nd Lennox militias, and many others who had seen battle only twenty-five years earlier during the War of 1812. In other instances, groups of anti-government sympathizers and rebels would train secretly in rural locations and on farms with weapons like pitchforks, axes, and swords in light of muskets being in short supply. This is most likely how a sword ended up in Enterprise.
With King’s visit and the discovery of the sword two years later, Enterprise found itself at the centre of a truly unique historic event. The Napanee Express article in 1936 also mentions that the sword was found on the property of Elias Hawley (although a margin note in a separate copy of the article indicates Eli Hawley). Records reveal that several properties in the Enterprise area were owned by members of the Hawley family in the late 19th century. However, land records for the 1930s for the area reveal property changing hands often, so it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where the sword was found. A significant amount of logging and drilling occurred in the vicinity, so it’s plausible that the sword was unearthed as a result, but its exact location remains a mystery. Interestingly, there is also no mention of what happened to the sword after its
discovery. Perhaps its condition meant it was not salvageable, or the property owner kept or discarded the artifact. The artifact itself may be lost, but the story of a time when history converged on the village of Enterprise lives on. Joseph is an Archives Volunteer at the Lennox & Addington County Museum and Archives.
In a historic twist, William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s tenth Prime Minister and then Liberal leader, was also the grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, a journalist, politician, and prominent leader of the 1837-38 Rebellions. Mackenzie King visited Enterprise during a local by-election political rally on September 17, 1934, to promote a local Liberal candidate, Mr. Colin Campbell. Campbell was thrown into the race after the sudden death of incumbent Conservative William Spankie. Even the Premier of Saskatchewan, James Gardiner, was present at the rally, which King used to lambast the R. B. Bennett government for its trade and tariff policies. Mackenzie King would go on to win a third term and majority government as Prime Minister in 1935. Local newspapers like the Napanee Express on September 18, 1934, reported that “Enterprise witnessed the largest crowd ever congregated in the village when the whole countryside turned out to hear Mr. Mackenzie King’s speech...” They also noted that “Cars were parked out a mile on every road leading into the village and there were five times as many people outside as the hall could hold…” Mr. King’s visit to Enterprise provided Colin Campbell with the first Liberal majority in the riding since Confederation.
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Do You Remember: “Bee Hives”? Glen Goodhand
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ports cards representing all kinds of athletics are not new. As early as 1900, baseball premiums were offered in the USA. But it wasn’t until the 1910-11 season that hockey was enhanced by photos of shinny stars of the day. Imperial Tobacco printed a series of 45 cards, usually referred to by the number C56. These hand-painted images included Vezina (Canadiens), Ross (Wanderers), Taylor (Renfrew), Malone (Quebec), and Lesueur (Ottawa). “Cigarette cards,” or “tobacco cards,” as they were commonly called, were printed three years running. Following that, there was a lull of eleven years, with a glut of productions by Paulin’s Candies, and Champs Cigarettes coming next. In the 1930s, gum companies got into the act, with Canadian, Hamilton, and O-Pee-Chee (OPC) from London, Ontario leading the way. In 1933-34 the St. Lawrence Starch Company of Port Credit, Ontario (now part of Mississauga) vied for the attention of hockey collectors with the first of three series of Bee Hive photos. The moniker was borrowed from perhaps their most popular product, Bee Hive Golden Corn Syrup. In fact, it wasn’t long until their images, marketed as 5x7s, were simply referred to as “Bee Hives.” The heavy gauge paper backing was actually 5¼x7¾, and the picture itself, 4¼x6½. That first year the company engaged photographers mainly to zero in on Maple Leaf and Canadien’s well-known skaters—like “King” Clancy, Joe Primeau, Chuck Conacher, “Busher” Jackson, Howie Morenz, Sylvio Mantha, and Aurel Joliat. The Sportsviews program on CFRB Toronto, hosted by Wes McKnight and sponsored by the company, was the main
pipeline of promotion. Increased demand for these premiums prompted expansion so that all eight NHL squads were included by 1937—the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans still being a part of the circuit. When demand for the collectible was at its peak, as many as 2,500 envelopes were mailed in a single day. During World War II, no new photos were taken, although the existing shots were still available. Competition was almost immediate. The Canada Starch Company, with their Crown Brand Corn Syrup, waited only one year before imitating their counterpart’s format and continued to offer images until 1944. They concentrated mainly on the two Montreal sextets, the Canadiens and Maroons. For two years running, commencing in 1939, O-Pee-Chee offered 5x7s as well, featuring the most prominent NHL players. In 1945, the Quaker Oats Company introduced 8x10 glossies of Toronto and Montreal, also procured with box tops, but with a small amount of cash required. The “proof of purchase” required in
Cloyne & District Historical Society Turns 45 Marcella Neely
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s Canada wraps up its 150th year, the Cloyne & District Historical Society (C&DHS) turns 45. In 1973, a small group of dedicated residents started the Pioneer Club (which evolved into the C&DHS), and now we have more than 60 members. We brag that we have never disbanded for lack of participation, and continue to focus on local history from Denbigh to Kaladar, and from Harlowe to Flinton, as did the founders. The first accomplishment of the Pioneer Club was to publish a book of interviews and information gathered from local residents, consisting of facts and memories of historical interest. With dedication, hard work, and a New Horizons grant, we produced the book “The Oxen and the Axe.” To this day, it is a best seller in our museum, in other museums, and online, and is now in its fifth printing. To preserve and protect the artifacts that local families were safeguarding without knowing what to do with them, a decision was made to provide a shelter for them. A small cabin was built in the pine grove on Barrie Township property in Cloyne, items were donated, and the museum opened to the public in 1982. Since then, the museum has grown and
currently displays a good collection of local history from the lives of the people that farmed, lumbered, and built roads, schools, and businesses in the area. Members enjoy the fellowship, listening to guest speakers at our meetings, and participating in projects and working with committees. Barbeques and public awareness events provide an opportunity to socialize, and newcomers have a venue for meeting local residents and getting to know the community. We are a welcoming organization of members contributing a wealth of memories, ideas, dedication, and willingness to volunteer. We initiated a semi-annual newsletter in 2003, and in 2005, we launched the Pioneer Museum Patron Program. Also since 2005, we have produced an annual Heritage Calendar exclusively focusing on our coverage area. We have a website and a Flickr site to view and preserve historical photos. These are all excellent sources for genealogy searches and available for everyone to use. Anyone who has never attended an event or meeting of the C&DHS should consider looking in on the third Monday at 1 p.m. We meet at the Cloyne Hall, across from the post office. Please check out our website for information and updates at www. cloynepioneermuseum.ca.
exchange for these Bee Hive treasures changed little over the years. Basically, the label from a 2-lb tin of syrup, or a box top from Corn Starch, procured a single photo; a label from a 5-lb container brought 2 pictures; and, from a 10-pounder the reward was 3 images. Eventually “stickers” and “collars” were substituted for these bulky premiums. With expansion in 1967, the St. Lawrence Starch Company stopped the offer. The NHLPA and the teams themselves were demanding more and more royalties, postage had increased 25%, and photographing double the number of teams made continuation of this premium too expensive. Collectors estimate between 1,026 and 1,030 Bee Hives were made available over the thirty-three years. As they become rarer commodities, the cost of purchase increases. While some “commons” may be had for as little as $7, photos of skaters who played only a few games, like Bobby Kirk, can demand up to $105. One of Cy Wentworth in a Habs uniform has been valued at $8,000. Like the whirling dervish style of Howie Morenz, the aura of the “Original 6” era, and the dominance of Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky—Bee Hive Hockey Photos are a part of hockey history—the kind of which can never be duplicated!
No Bee Hive photo is considered rarer or is listed in price guides higher than that of Cy Wentworth, pictured in a Montreal Canadiens uniform.
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Seedy Saturdays & Local Seed Companies Dianne Dowling
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ver been to a Seedy Saturday (or Seedy Sunday)? If you have, you know that is a great “feel-good” event — all about seeds, and the hope, anticipation, and potential contained in seeds — and the coming of spring! At a Seedy Saturday, you will find seed swaps, regional seed vendors, workshops and information displays related to seeds and gardening. With the vendor/growers present at the event, you can ask questions about their growing practices and get details about each variety — for instance, planting dates, season length and recommended uses. I really enjoy meeting the growers — the people behind the seed packages — hearing stories about the seeds and feeling connected to the seed and gardening community. Just looking at the individuality of the seed packages, including beautiful hand-made ones, is a treat in itself for me. (Yes, it’s true — I love going to Seedy Saturday!) In this area, there will be a Seedy Saturday on February 24, in Picton, at Prince Edward Collegiate, 41 Barker Street, and on March 10, in Kingston, at Loyalist Collegiate, 153 Van Order Drive; both events run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Seedy Saturdays are held across Canada, and you can find details at the events link on the Seeds of Diversity website www.seeds.ca/Seedy-Saturday. For the seed swaps, bring seeds you have saved (vegetables, flowers, herbs, trees, whatever!) and take home seeds from other seed-savers. Or buy seeds from the regional seed companies that attend Seedy Saturdays — a great way to obtain regionally-adapted seeds, and to support small businesses that are a key part of creating a more resilient local seed system. Based on my experience, come with a list of what you need; otherwise, you will want to buy one of everything! Here are profiles of four local seed companies that will be attending either the Kingston or Picton Seedy Saturdays, or both:
Bear Root Gardens Kate and Pat Joslin operate Bear Root Gardens from their large backyard in Verona. They offer vegetables and some flowers and are expanding into herb seeds next year. They focus on short season vegetables that perform well in eastern and northern Ontario and offer crops (such as peas, beans, peppers and tomatoes) that do well in pots and planters. They will be at the Kingston and Picton Seedy Saturdays, as well as the ones in Toronto, Ottawa, Perth and Peterborough. Their seeds are also available at Limestone Creamery, Elginburg; Lavallee’s Store, Inverary; in Kingston at Sigrid’s Natural Foods and Living Rooms; and soon at Ormsbee’s Mercantile in Sudbury. Contact them at bearrootgardens@gmail.com, by phone at 613.915.1600, or check their website: bearrootgardens.com.
event. Visit her website at edibleantiques.ca for more information and to order seeds; you can reach her by email at freedom.50.five@gmail.com. Edible Antiques seeds are also sold at SHED Chetwyn Farms, Prince Edward County, where the farm store is reopening in May.
Kitchen Table Seed House A partnership of three experienced seed producers (Kathy Rothermel, Frank Misek, and Annie Richard), Kitchen Table Seed House offers certified organic herb, flower and vegetable seeds grown on Wolfe Island. With Kathy’s market garden experience, Frank’s expertise, and Annie’s plant breeding interests, Kitchen Table seeds will be “putting flavour on the table.” They will have their seeds for sale at Seedy Saturdays in Kingston, Picton, Ottawa, Toronto, Peterborough, and Brockville; as well, the seeds will be sold at Riley’s in Kingston, Sun Harvest in Glenburnie, Schell’s in Bath, Fargo’s on Wolfe Island, and more to come. Contact them at info@kitchentableseedhouse.ca or 613.385.8569, or go to their website kitchentableseedhouse.ca.
Mountain Grove Seed Company
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Deborah Twiddy
S
ome years ago, when the Ontario NDP was in power, Public Service sector workers were obliged by the government to take several days off without pay—-these were known as “Rae-days,” named after the premier, Bob Rae, who was head of government at the time. There was a lot of grumbling, but most people managed just fine and enjoyed the extra days off. At my workplace, several of us decided to use our Rae-days to volunteer as a group at the local food bank. It was Christmas, and we were all feeling benevolent. Helped of course, by the many media exhortations to be generous at this time of year. Off to the local Kingston Food Bank we went. Sure enough, we were welcomed by the regular staff. There were many extra volunteers, but there was plenty of work to be done. The shelves were groaning with food donations, and there wasn’t a spare inch of space anywhere in the warehouse. We pitched in with enthusiasm and enjoyed being able to help, packing food boxes, and sorting the many donations. Our help was much appreciated, and we felt that our “Rae-days” had been well spent. I went home glowing with a sense of having able to do some good in the world.
Dawn Morden grows seeds at her farm near Parham; she started selling seeds in 2008 and offers herb, vegetable, flower, and fruit seeds. She specializes in “local historic seeds, old varieties that are used in this area.” She will be a vendor at the Picton and Kingston Seedy Saturdays and will have seeds for exchange at the Tamworth-Erinsville GrassRoots Growers Seed Exchange in the spring. You can order her seeds online at mountaingroveseedcompany.com or by email at mountaingroveseed@gmail. com, or buy them at Tara Natural Foods in Kingston or Hope General Store in Parham. On her website, she offers information about planting, growing and seed-saving, and she encourages people to participate in food sharing programs like “Grow a Row” in Kingston or “Share Your Fare” in Sharbot Lake.
Christmas just felt better knowing I’d helped the less fortunate. In February, wanting to renew that lovely Christmas glow, I returned to the Food Bank to volunteer again. What a change I found! The once heavily laden shelves were almost bare. There wasn’t even a box of cereal on the shelf. There were hardly any people around to do the work. The atmosphere was still welcoming, but the mood was bleak. Those food-boxes we were packing were much leaner than they had been only weeks before. And I’m sure the need for help had not diminished. My feelings were mixed—-I was glad to be able to help, but a bit ashamed at how I’d fallen into the Christmas season’s generosity but not seen how transitory this could be. A valuable lesson was learned. Since that year, I’ve made efforts to give to the food bank all year-round, not just at Christmas. I can’t say I’m more cynical about all the seasonal donation programs out there—-they are honest efforts to assist people who need all the help they can get. But I urge all of you out there that are enjoying that Christmas glow to support the Food Bank and other charity organizations all year-round. The need does not go away after the first of January. And the glow can happen anytime you choose to create it.
Solution to the crossword puzzle on page 13:
A book about seed saving that I highly recommend is The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food, by Janisse Ray (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012). Janisse Ray is a lifelong seed saver and a poet; her book is a beautifully written series of stories about seeds, the people who save them, and why we should all be saving seeds. Dianne Dowling, an organic dairy and beef farmer on Howe Island, is active in local food and farm organizations, including Local 316 of the National Farmers Union, the Food Policy Council for KFL&A and the Kingston Area Seed System Initiative. You can reach her at 613.546.0869 or by mail at R.R. 4, Gananoque, Ontario K7G 2V6.
Terra Edibles Tel: 613-379-5874 Email: soscsvcs@gmail.com Web: www.s-o-s-computers.com
Edible Antiques Operated by Stacey Hubbs in Prince Edward County, Edible Antiques offers vegetable, herb, and flower seeds, and specializes in heirloom tomatoes. Stacey will be a vendor at the Picton Seedy Saturday, and possibly at the Kingston
A Christmas Lesson Learned
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Seeds for organically-grown heirloom vegetables, herbs & flowers.
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Well & Septic Information Session: Lessons Learned Lennox & Addington Stewardship
I
s the quality of our groundwater important to you and your family? How reliable are our well and septic systems? The Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council is concerned that these systems are becoming increasingly vulnerable to contamination and other threats to our family’s health. On January 15 in Napanee, the Stewardship Council brought together a range of knowledgeable speakers to share their learnings and best practices about well and septic systems with homeowners. Thanks to the Council members of the Town of Greater Napanee for offering the Strathcona Paper Centre for this event as well as to the 280 attendees for making this a very interactive and successful evening! To kick off the event, Holly Evans, Watershed Planning Coordinator and Katrina Furlanetto, Source Protection Coordinator for the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority (CRCA) gave an outline of groundwater vulnerability and the unique geological and hydrological features of our region. The CRCA is developing a Groundwater Protection Workbook to be available online when it is published; see the sidebar for more details. Lynette Lambert, Watershed Monitoring Coordinator for Quinte Conservation, presented their Groundwater Monitoring
Program, which provides data on water quality and quantity. Results from water samples from approximately 30 test wells are uploaded daily providing a profile of well water. Surface water is also monitored. For more information, see quinteconservation.ca and choose Water Management & Levels. Gordon Mitchell, Public Health Inspector for KFL&A Public Health, presented the basic set-up of a standard septic system, maintenance, and the decommissioning of old septic systems. He explained several alternative technologies and how they impact residential development. He pointed to problems with shallow overburden of soil, especially throughout the Napanee region. Locations with shallow overburden have an increased likelihood of sewage system effluent finding its way into the groundwater, increasing the chances of contaminating groundwater, with contaminants not easily removed by current treatment technologies.
diseases and stressed that everyone should test their well water regularly. For information on water sampling and more, visit www. publichealthontario. ca or kflaph.ca/en/ healthy-living/ Drinking-Water. The presenters from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change were Warren Lusk, Hydrogeologist in the Water Resources Unit; Natalie Spina, Coordinator of the Water Well Management Program; and Andrew Mobberley from the Wells and Earth Energy program.
Monitoring of a septic system is the responsibility of the homeowner. Most repairs and maintenance require the use of a licensed contractor and an inspector. Municipalities now have the authority to introduce their own discretionary septic re-inspection program (of mandatory inspections) for sewage systems, and municipal councils can decide what form that will take.
Together they presented the Ontario Wells Program and regulations, including siting wells and contaminants, new well construction, well components, plus well maintenance & abandonment. The audience enjoyed the “parade” of well parts that were carried up the aisle and demonstrated, while Warren informed the group on the how-tos and how-nottos.
Dr. Anna Majury, with Public Health
For maintenance information, go to www.ontario.ca “Wells on Your Property” page and access the Maintenance Technical Bulletin. Also, see Chapter 11 of the Water Supply Wells – Requirements and Best Practices. You will find a maintenance checklist, some practical instructions, and contact resources. Most of the speakers stressed the unique nature of the geology in this region of Ontario, mainly karst and fractured limestone, which is more prone to groundwater contaminants filtering into drilled well systems.
Quinte Conservation: Demonstration of the water cycle & effect of contaminants on our groundwater.
• General excavation - land clearing, basements, retaining walls, trenching, etc. • Septic systems - design and licensed installer • Landscaping • Trucking - sand, gravel and topsoil • Demolition - buildings, barns, etc. For all your excavating needs call RICK at Phone: 613-388-2460 Cell: 613-561-6585 Email: rick.tuepah@gmail.com 14
The SCOOP • February / March 2018
Ontario, specializes in research of water-related environmental health and microbiology, including well water microbial contamination in Ontario. Dr. Majury stated that water is the biggest vector of infectious
A fun part of the evening was the draw for prizes. Thom Snowman of Yarker won the grand prize, a comprehensive well water test valued at $250 from the Ontario Groundwater Association (www. ogwa.ca). The OGWA website also provides a wealth of information related to wells. Many thanks to the donators of the prizes. Coming soon on the CRCA, Quinte Conservation, and L&A Stewardship websites, there will be electronic copies of all the speaker presentations as well as the Groundwater Protection Workbook. The Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council is a non-profit volunteer organization that promotes responsible land care and stewardship of our natural resources. The group works with schools, residents and community groups to improve habitat, educate landowners, and more.
The Council would like to extend a big thank you to the excellent speakers of the Well & Septic event and to the folks who generously donated to the Council. To continue offering these educational events to the public, donations are necessary and welcome. For more information, please contact lastewardship@gmail.com or visit www. lastewardship.ca.
GROUNDWATER PROTECTION WORKBOOK A workbook for landowners is being developed by the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority (CRCA) and partners. This voluntary, confidential workbook will help to: • Determine groundwater vulnerability on your property • Outline best management practices • Provide key contacts, tracking sheets and resources In the “quiz,” landowners answer multiple-choice questions to grade their property. An overall score for the risk to drinking water supplies will be determined along with individual scores for: 1. Bedrock and Soil Conditions 2. Land Uses and Practices 3. My Well 4. Water Quality and Quantity 5. My Sewage System When the workbook is complete,
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hard copies will be distributed to libraries in Lennox & Addington and Kingston. All attendees of the Well and Septic event on January 15 who
Store Hours: Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
provided their email address will be notified. Electronic copies will also be available on the CRCA, Quinte Conservation, and L&A Stewardship websites.
Famed Tuskegee Choir Visiting Kingston This March Tom Mawhinney
B
lack History Month traditionally ends the last day of February, but this year there will be a brief local extension. The Tuskegee Golden Voices, a choir of fifty members, will be singing in Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, and London in the first week of March. There are few choirs anywhere with a history as illustrious as the Golden Voices. Booker T. Washington, a liberated slave, founded Tuskegee University in 1881. Washington eventually became the primary spokesperson for the black community in the USA for more than two decades. He founded the choir in 1886, and since, it has not only thrived but has won acclaim at the national level. The choir has sung four command performances over the years, for presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Carter. Michelle Obama spoke at their convocation in May of 2015 and made a point of acknowledging Tuskegee’s role in furthering human rights, and another point of recognizing the choir’s quality today. The songs the Golden Voices sing have a special significance for them, as many are the first arrangements for four-part choirs of the songs anchored in the years of slavery. It was Tuskegee choir director William Levi Dawson who created these arrangements, between 1931 and 1956. Many of Dawson’s arrangements are sung today, and cherished by gospel choirs across North America: songs like “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd,” “Deep River,” “I Want to be Ready,” “Wade in the Water,” and “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” to name but a few. These are the songs which, in the era of slavery, communicated strategies for escape to freedom within the lyrics (such as
“Follow the drinkin’ gourd,” with the drinking gourd being the Big Dipper, a reliable indicator for the path northward at nighttime). Another well-loved song, “Ride the Chariot,” was sung by slaves in the fields to signal “all clear” to escapees who had not yet left the environs where they were being tracked. Today the choir is led by Dr Wayne Barr, who has been director since 2001. He has performed as an organist, teacher, and choir director in Europe and in South America, but this trip to Canada will be the first time the choir has ventured outside the USA. The choir normally tours annually, as a group ambassador for the University and to recruit prospective students. Tuskegee was rated fourth in quality, of 107 Traditionally Black Colleges and Universities by USA News and World Report in the 2017 rankings. The campus is in rural Alabama, about 40 kilometres east of Montgomery. The first buildings, some of which are still standing, were built by the earliest students at the school, then called Tuskegee Institute. After studies, they built forges to fire bricks to make the original buildings. Having no experience, they had to persevere through the adversity of failure when the first two kilns collapsed. Booker T. Washington had to pawn a watch he had been awarded for a previous speech, to pay for materials for the third forge. Fortunately, it was a success. The students at Tuskegee are keenly aware of their history: another aspect involves the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, about which a successful Hollywood film was made only a few years ago. There is a museum just off campus in the hangars by the field where the “Red Tail” fighter pilots trained.
Lessons Learned Blair McDonald
O
ne of my favourite books of the past year was former BBC journalist and UBC Professor Alfred Hermida’s Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why it Matters. The book is an easy-to-read and sobering account of our dependency on social media, and the way it has changed how we learn, socialize, as well as entertain others and ourselves. In the classroom, I notice how, for the most part, students are proud of their mastery of the latest apps and gadgets. Many are quick to provide the answers to various photo tricks and editing techniques, but I also notice that, in conversation, this same bunch appear woefully naïve to its social powers. For them, it’s a networking and personal entertainment tool. Serious discussions about social media seem to take all the fun out of the experience. Like Ovid’s tale, today’s youth are a collective Icarus, dazzled by the act of flying, but unaware of the dangers lurking above and below. Ted Talk star and author of the bestselling Outliers, The Tipping Point and What the Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell suggests that the collective powers of Twitter and other social media tools have been greatly exaggerated. But, must it not be admitted that something has changed? Different narratives are unfolding through social media and users are telling stories that traditional media platforms have neglected or have not
been made aware of. There isn’t a day that goes by that various media outlets don’t remind us of new pressing social concerns finding a voice (usually through a hashtag: social media supreme currency of connection) online –whether it’s the #MeToo movement, #OscarsSoWhite #MAGA or #imwithher, The question remains: Is it true that social media accelerates the pace of rebellion among groups seeking social change? Or, are all these social media conversations merely an ineffective echo drum for like-minded murmuring? Quite rightly, Hermida reminds us that in today’s political landscape, “social media is the connective tissue of the new body politic” and Twitter is the new “fleeting public square” of civic life. But, of course, it’s not for everyone. As one student told my class during a conversation about Twitter, “I’d like to use it, but I don’t feel that I have anything to say. On Facebook, I can just talk about my life and like other people’s stuff. On Twitter, I feel like I have to be an activist or a comedian.” Regardless, social media teaches us that isolated events can garner national attention with a simple tweet and bring the like-minded together like never before. And because we are living with it and through it, so much of its powers remains to be seen. Nonetheless, its capacities will reveal itself in the coming years, one hashtag at a time, renewing the age-old tension between word and action.
2017-18 Golden Voices Tuskegee University Concert Choir from Alabama. Displayed on the wall at the entry of the museum is the US Army’s written policy of the time, stating that African American soldiers were not intelligent enough to train as pilots. It was the initiative of Tuskegee and the bravery of their young students that resulted in this policy being disproved and subsequently erased from the Army’s policy book. This makes for stirring history. Tom Mawhinney, previously director of the Voices of Joy, a fundraising gospel choir in Kingston, is organizing the tour. Other township residents have helped: Helen Down’s daughter was the link for the concert setting in London where the choir will sing, First St Andrew’s United Church, where she is a minister. Andy Rush, the founder and director of Kingston’s Open Voices Community
Choir, has also worked hard to make the Kingston concert a success, and the board of Open Voices has been supportive. All proceeds from the concert series will go to Tuskegee University. The choir will present a workshop Sunday, March 4 at 2 p.m. at St Andrew’s Presbyterian on Clergy Street in Kingston, then a concert at 7 p.m. at the same location. For tickets and information, the web address is tucanadatour.ca. This is a unique opportunity to see a choir whose history and achievements are matched by few! You can contact Tom Mawhinney at shacklebreaker.music@gmail.com.
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