Country Roads 08-03

WINTER 2008/09

Elk making a comeback Discover Stirling’s Christmas treasure Bancroft’s winter sports mecca Our 1st Hastings Book Guide

COVERING THE ARTS, OUTDOORS, HISTORY, PEOPLE AND PLACES

Why not live where you love to visit!

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$1,000,000 MLS 2086999

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Sales Representative 1-877-476-0096 (613) 476-2700 elizabeth.crombie@sympatico.ca www.pictonhomes.com

ProAlliance Realty, Brokerage INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

IN DOWNTOWN ­BELLEVILLE WITH SPECIAL GUESTS SANTA, MRS. C., BLITZEN, PRANCER Santa and Mrs. Claus Thurs.-Sat. Dec. 4, 5, 6, 7

Dec. 11, 12, 13, 14

Dec. 18, 19, 20

FREE HAVE YOUR PHOTO TAKEN WITH

SANTA

Meet Santa’s real live reindeer

Blitzen & Prancer

Saturday, Dec. 13 & 20

Hot Chocolate & Cookies too!

All this and Horse Drawn Hay Wagon Nov. 29, Carollers, and more!

613-968-2242 www.rediscoverdowntown.ca WHATEVER YOU’RE LOOKING FOR, YOU’LL FIND IT IN DOWNTOWN BELLEVILLE

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ounty

Contents VOLUME 1, ISSUE 3, WINTER 2008/09

ry s ounty

CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Nancy Hopkins CO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR

ry s ounty

John Hopkins ART DIRECTOR

Jozef VanVeenen SALES DEPARTMENT

Mark Brunton Jennifer Richardson

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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Brandon West • www.westphotography.ca Bill Bickle • www.bilbickle.com HOW TO CONTACT US Telephone: 613 395-0499 Facsimile: 613 395-0903 E-mail: info@countryroadshastings.ca Website: www.countryroadshastings.ca For written enquiries you can reach us at: PenWord Communications Inc. P.O. Box 423, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0 COUNTRY ROADS, Discovering Hasting County is published four times a year by PenWord Communications Inc. Copies are distributed to select locations throughout Hastings County including the ­communities of Bancroft, Belleville, Madoc, Marmora, Stirling and Tweed.

Copies are also delivered to select homes within southern Ontario.

Subscription rates: 1 year: $10.50 2 years: $18.90 3 years: $27.30 All prices include G.S.T. The contents of this publication are ­ rotected by copyright. Reproduction of p this publication in whole or in part without prior written permission of PenWord Communications Inc. is prohibited.

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

F E AT U R E S

6 - On With the Show Christmas Pantomime a Stirling Tradition

10 - Hasting Under Cover Local books offer perfect winter retreat

14 - Home to Roam Elk return to North Hastings roots

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

22 - Cool Runnings Bancroft Luge track draws outdoor enthusiasts D E PA R T M E N T S

26 - Cross Roads Bata Established Thriving Community Tractor Parade Makes History • Magwood Receives National Honour ComfortCountry Earns Marketing Award

27 - A La Carte Capers Brasserie

28 - Country Calendar Things to see and do in Hastings County

Cover photo: A herd of wild elk near ­Hartsmere Road, approximately 16 ­kilometres east of Bancroft.

Photo: Bill Bickle, www.billbickle.com

30 - Back Roads Belleville’s 57-day flood in 1886

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We’ve Got Winter Covered

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

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

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

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

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

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

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books that have a connection to home was special. We hope the reviews we’ve organized will entice you to visit our great bookstores and spread the word!

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

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

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

•

Shop Stirling by the Bridge

Christian Books And Gifts

Christian Books And Gifts • Greeting Cards • Music • Dutch ­Novelties • Unique Gifts • Special ­Orders ­Welcome Hours: Monday to Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

32 Mill Street, Stirling, Ontario K0K 3E0

613-395-6177

Rustic Routes & HI Country

20 Mill St. Stirling, ON (613) 395-2929

Discover Julia’s across from the covered bridge in Stirling.

We stock quality clothes from Nygard ... for women of all ages.

Tanjay, Alia and Nygard Collection 14 Mill Street, Stirling 613-395-4100

Stirling-Rawdon

A Stirling Experience!

INDULGE

LOCALLY MADE PRODUCTS

The Village Chocolatier

Amazing Crafts and Collectibles Melissa & Doug Toys Paintings and much more

by Joan

HANDCRAFTED CHOCOLATES & TRUFFLES

Drop into see us

You’ll be pleasantly surprised

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West Front Street Stirling, Ontario

613 395-1100 VENDOR OPPORTUNITIES

• Registered ­Massage Therapy • Osteopathy • Manual Lymph Drainage • Acupuncture • Reflexology and more....

30 West Front Street, Stirling, ON

(across from Stirling Theatre above Wine Kitz)

It’s the “u” in unique that makes us #1.

NOW OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!

Star Light Christmas House Tour Thursday, November 27 6-9p.m.

Featuring 5 stunning Stirling area homes and the new Heritage Village at the Hastings County Museum of Agricultural Heritage all gloriously decorated.

Tickets $20 available at Stirling Dental Centre, Rustic Routes, McKeown’s Garage (Springbrook) Info: Sandy Donnan 613 395-2976

Village Christmas Festival of Lights, Trees & Wreaths Friday, November 28 2 – 8p.m. $5 per person

WITH

613 395-1800

www.anandawellness.ca

YOURS IN CARE SINCE 1991

AVAILABLE AT

30 West Front Street, Stirling, Ontario Experience the Joy of Winemaking, Wine Created by you (Wine Art since 1959)

613 395-0002

Get a taste of Christmas at The Apple Store Visit our charming old-fashioned general store brimming with holiday gifts.

• Gift Baskets • Stocking Stuffers • Cooney Farms Home Grown Beef • Specialty foods – Jams and Jellies • Hot Cider … and a whole lot more!

A harvest of apples…

A harvest of gifts…

All hand-picked for you!

The over 35 trees and wreaths on display will be raffled off. Tickets only $2 each

Heritage Village, Hastings County Museum of Agricultural Heritage, 437 West Front Street, Stirling 613 395-0015 Proceeds to the new Family Outdoor Centre at the Museum WWW.AGMUSEUM.CA

Family owned and operated Celebrating our 25th anniversary 613 395-2395 • www.cooneyfarms.com

5 miles north of Stirling on Hwy. 14

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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By John Hopkins

Photos courtesy Stirling Festival Theatre

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

On With the Show 6

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Country Roads • Winter 2008/09

On With The Show

Christmas Tradition Christmas Pantomime a Stirling tradition

Artistic and managing director Caroline Smith brought the Christmas panto tradition with her from Scotland.

Photo Courtesy Caroline Smith

Keeping kids ­entertained for two hours with ­something that doesn’t involve a video screen and buttons is every 21st century parent’s ­challenge. Yet for the past 12 years, every Christmas season, the Stirling Festival Theatre has been doing just that.

J.P. Baldwin and Debbie Collins have become mainstays of the Christmas show.

Stirling Festival Theatre audiences got their first exposure to the naughty panto with “Jack & The Beanstalk.”

Dayna Tekatch and Jonathan Ellul are shown.

How do they manage it? Hypnosis? Magic?

A youngster may tell you that’s exactly what’s at play.

Us adults, however, or at least those of us without much imagination, would say it’s something else. Take a well-known and engaging story, throw in a bunch of over-the-top characters and add some funny jokes and lively songs.

The kids will take care of the rest.

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

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

What is pantomime? Quite simply it is a live theatre show, usually produced around Christmas and often based on a fairy tale. It has a long tradition in countries like England and Scotland.

Smith grew up in Scotland, “where panto is as much a Christmas tradition as presents under the tree,” she says.

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

Audience participation is an integral part of the whole package.

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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On With The Show

Debbie Collins in “Man of La Mancha,” which played at the theatre last summer.

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

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

They are so cute.”

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

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

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

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

“It’s a lot of fun and we feel safe and comfortable together so you can try things,” adds Baldwin.

“Sometimes you will stumble across something that is comic genius.”

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

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

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

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

“I could see the potential for that,” Baldwin says.

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

“There is potential for disaster,” Collins adds.

“It keeps you on your toes and that’s what I love about it.”

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

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

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

“The kids break the ice in panto,” she explains.

“One of the first things that happens is the villain comes out and the kids boo, and the villain says,

Debbie Collins made her first Stirling appearance in “Magic Moments” in 2000.

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

On With The Show

The night the lights went out

Welcome to Stirling

By John Hopkins

By John Hopkins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

•

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

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

J.P. Baldwin grew up in Omemee. He made his first appearance in Stirling in “Victor Victoria” in 2006, although he had actually auditioned at the theatre a few Caroline Smith never forgot J.P. Baldwin after his first auyears earlier. dition, and finally cast him in “Victor, Victoria” in 2006.

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

She is a woman of integrity, which is something I really like.”

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

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

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

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

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

Now, however, Collins considers the community something of a second home.

“I’ve lived in Toronto my whole life and I know more people in Stirling that have affected my life,” she says. “This is what I think makes it incredible; the people and place. There seems to be a sense of ownership and I feel like I’ve been adopted by the community, I’ve been here so many times.”

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

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

272 Front Street, Downtown Belleville · 613-968-7979 · www.capers.ca CAP_CountryRoads.indd 1

10/24/08 9:39:08 AM

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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Hastings Under Cover Local books offer perfect winter retreat

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here’s never a bad time of year to read a good book but winter just might reign supreme as the best book season. Books always make a lovely Christmas gift and the thought of snuggling up in a warm place on a cold winter’s

day in anticipation of each turned page will put a smile on the face of almost anyone. A stack of good books can soften a long Hastings County winter.

To make choosing a little simpler we’ve pulled together a talented and well read group to review seven books that hold a connection to Hastings County. Included are fiction and non-fiction books for all ages. Some are authored or illustrated by local residents and others are on topics ranging from history, sports, out-of-doors and more, each rooted in this community.

COUNTRY ROADS extends a sincere thank you

Country Road

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’sd i s c o v er i n g best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”

Groucho Marx

h a s t i n g s c o un t y

Country Roads

discovering hastings county

Country Roads

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

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

discovering hastings county

Visit your local book store and visit often.

CR Country Roads

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Country Roads • Winter 2008/09

hastings under cover

Deafening

By Frances Itani Published by Harper Collins SC $19.95

Belleville: A Popular History

Rayzor’s Edge: Rob Ray’s Tough Life on the Ice

By Rob Ray with Budd Bailey Published by Sports Publishing L.L.C. SC $19.95

By Gerry Boyce Published by Dundurn Press, Toronto SC $32.99

“This book is not a complete history of the city…

Rather, it is a personal commentary on some of the most important and interesting events, personalities, and places from the community’s long and eventful past.” So writes long-time historian and author Gerry Boyce in the brief introduction to his new book Belleville, A Popular History to be published in November. The book, an authoritative culmination of the author’s 55 years of studying the city’s history, is the latest one from Boyce, who has also authored Historic Hastings (1967), Belleville: Birth of a City (1978) and Belleville City Hall (1988).

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

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

Reviewed by Benzie Sangma, Freelance Writer, The Belleville Intelligencer

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

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

Grania, a Canadian spelling for the word “love” in Gaelic, is just that -- a young woman who is love, and is loved in return by her family and friends.

After a bout of Scarlet Fever leaves Grania deaf, the reader is introduced to the human need for communication, and the resilience of people to reinvent ways and means to speak to each other.

Grania and her sister create a special and quite clever way of speaking to each other in the dark.

Other family members are just as involved, and by the time Grania is sent off to the Belleville school for the deaf, she is already well on her way to being able to mature into a full and rich life.

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

A four star read.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reviewed by Heather-Anne Wakeling, Freelance Writer

Reviewed by John Hopkins, COUNTRY ROADS Publisher

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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The Last Guide; A Story of Fish and Love

By Ron Corbett Published by Glen Ivy Media, ­Ottawa SC $35.00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reviewed by Greg MacPherson, Magazine Writer and Publisher

Remembering the Men of North Hastings Killed in the Great War

Country Roads • Winter 2008/09

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

Turning Point The story of Anna Jameson – And the Rebellion – in Upper Canada

By Mary Thomas Published by Epic Press, Essence Publishing, Belleville SC $19.95

By Colonel Donald J. Vance Published by Colonel Donald J. Vance, Bancroft SC $22.95

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

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

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

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

The author, Colonel Vance should be congratulated for his patience and dedication in organizing what must have taken countless hours to compile.

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

Thomas enriches this well-known aspect of Canadian history by delving deeper into the effect

hastings under cover

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

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

Anna lamented coming to Toronto but she too was at a turning point in her life. Restless and chronically short of money, she embarks on a series of trips in the rural reaches of Upper Canada, the objective being to write a new book and thus “put money in her pocket.” An English lady, now 42 years of age, she travels without maid or escort, but carries letters of introduction that give her entry into the homes of prominent people.

The culmination of her experiences is the publication, in 1838, of Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada.

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

Reviewed by Jane Gibson, Editor, The ­Dundurn Group

That Stripy Cat

By Norene Smiley Illustrated by Tara Anderson Published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside HC $19.95

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

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

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

Reviewed by Keefer, Max & Devin

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

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Country Roads

Season’s Greetings d i s c o v e r i n g h a s t i n g s c o un t y

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and a happy, healthy New Year Country Roads

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Home to I Roam

n 2000 and 2001 the ­residents of Hastings County got some new neighbours. The 120

­out-of-towners were attracted to Bancroft and area by its fertile countryside, tasty food and safe neighbourhoods.

But these four legged

­neighbours weren’t completely

Elk return to North Hastings roots

new to the community. Wild Elk numbering in the millions once roamed North America, but by 1996 there were a mere 60 remaining in the province of ­Ontario. This was largely due to European settlement that had infringed upon their ­habitat and unregulated over hunting in the 1800’s.

In 1997 the provincial ­government approved a plan to restore Elk to Ontario. ­According to Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Rick Rosatte of the Ministry of Natural ­Resources Wildlife Research and ­Development Section, Trent University, “The whole idea was to re-establish a ­species that had been extirpated - that humanity had managed to nearly

By Nancy Hopkins Photography by Bill Bickle

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Country Roads • Winter 2008/09

eradicate and give something back to human kind.”

Photo courtesy: Dr. Rick Rosatte, Ministry of Natural Resources.

Home to Roam

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

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

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

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

The answers to these and other questions identified Bancroft and North Hastings as one of six geographic areas in the province suitable for release.

According to Rosatte, the Bancroft area “met all the habitat requirements.” It was home to mixed woods and a critical issue was the low risk for wolf predation as it was far enough south of the population of wolves in Algonquin Park. Bancroft does have coyotes but according to Rosatte “they aren’t large enough to take down an elk.”

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

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

Male elk antlers grow up to an inch a day.

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

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

less stress once released and dispersed less outside the preferred habitat range.”

The Bancroft elk have been one of the success stories of the Ontario relocation program. The biggest threats to the population are a disease called brainworm and harsh winters, according to Rosatte. The winter of 2001 was a challenge, he says, but the elk “have acclimatized now and know where the food is.” Every year in late winter Rosatte surveys the number of elk from a helicopter. March, 2004 showed 65% of the cows had calves, the highest number to date. According to data in Rosatte’s report, as of March 31, 2004, the Bancroft North Hastings elk had a lower Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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Home to Roam

10 things you may

not know about wild elk • Bull (Male) can weigh up to 800-1000 lbs.

• Cow (Female) can weigh up to 500-600 lbs.

• Six-month-old calves weigh 120-150 lbs., the size of an adult deer.

• Bulls shed their antlers annually.

• A cow can produce a calf every year for 14 or so years.

• Despite their size they can run up to 25 miles per hour.

• Their scientific name is Cervus elaphus.

• They are also called Wapiti, Indian for white rump.

• Elk are identifiable by the white patch on their rump.

• They have a lifespan of approximately 15 years in the wild.

Despite their considerable size elk can roam at great speeds.

mortality rate than those released in NipissingFrench River.

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

When Bancroft’s John O’Donnell heard about the program he was captivated with what he thought was a “very interesting and big project.”

He believed, “the area was lucky to be selected.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“My interest goes back a long way. I think they are magnificent looking. They’re beautiful, so striking. You really do need to get a look at them.

To hear a bull bugle call – that raises the hair on the back of your neck.”

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

Home to Roam

Photo courtesy: Dr. Rick Rosatte, Ministry of Natural Resources.

LOCATIONS OF ELK HERD SIGHTINGS

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

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

“If something isn’t done soon to solve the elk problem we will all lose our farms,” Lynn David, Farmer and Director of the Hastings Federation of Agriculture, is quoted as saying in the release.

“A farmer has no way to protect his or her crops from elk invasions.”

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

“There is a management plan in the province,” Ewing added. “There was a strategy being formulated to see how cervids – moose, deer, caribou and also elk – are going to be managed. The elk restoration is a recent undertaking. We have seen modest growth in the area. Now we are turning the corner from the restoration part of the project into more of a longer term management stage.

Now we can turn our attention to refining the details about what the future might hold for elk management.”

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

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

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

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

•

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

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

Bancroft & District A wonderful place to live, work & play.

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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By Nancy Hopkins

A Homemade Hastings Holiday From our family to yours!

The Baynes Home. Photos courtesy Cathy Baynes

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

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

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

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A HOMEMADE HASTINGS HOLIDAY

SPICE IT UP What makes grown women as giddy as children on Christmas morning? Touring a beautiful home lovingly decked out with hand-made holiday decorations, that’s what. The first two weekends of every November Cathy Baynes holds a craft show in her grand Stirling Victorian home, also known as La Dolce Vita Bed & Breakfast. And they come by the hundreds to see her vision of Christmas. What will be the theme of her nine-foot majestic tree?

In 2007 it was a winter wonderland of INGREDIENTS snowflakes, icicles, mittens and real • 1 cup ground cinnamon ice skates creatively hung on the tree.

• 1 tbsp ground cloves For 2008 Baynes decorated her • 1 tbsp ground nutmeg home with a rustic, natural home• 1/2 cup applesauce spun essence reflective of Christmas • 2 tbsp all purpose glue past. Throughout the year she hand • 1/2 cup water cut and painted wooden ornaments • drinking straw (to make holes) with an old-fashioned feel: vintage • cookie cutters skates, mittens, a pinwheel design, • mixing bowl Santa and more. But decorating is • wooden spoon for more than the tree. Her whimsi• cookie sheet cal floor standing snowman is sure to put a smile on the faces of all ages.

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

INSTRUCTIONS

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

2. Cover bowl and refrigerate dough for two hours.

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

4. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.

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

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

7. Note:Decorations are not ­edible.

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

A snowman to warm up your winter.

DECORATING IDEAS:

• Make them sparkle by spraying on glitter spray available in cans.

• Decorate with fabric paint.

• Hang using decorative ribbons strung through the holes created at top or sides.

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

Three little gingerbread all in a row.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs • 1 tin Eagle Brand ­condensed milk • 2 cups table cream • 2 tbsp chocolate syrup or powder – increase for a stronger chocolate flavour • 8- 10 ounces Rye Whiskey • 6 drops coconut extract

Homemade spiced ­gingerbread ornaments.

(A Valerie Sills Design)

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

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

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

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for approximately 5 minutes. Makes approximately 30-32 ounces and will stay good in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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A HOMEMADE HASTINGS HOLIDAY

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

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

Lynda Akey, owner of Memory Lane and co-chair of the Tweed Festival of Trees Steering Committee shares her tips for decorating a 61/2 foot tree.

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

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

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

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• Use 100 mini lights for each foot of tree.

• Place lights on tree first by running them in and out along the branches to create depth.

• Lights can be a single colour (white is our most often used colour) or multi-coloured.

• Decorations should be of three or four different sizes. Use approximately 65 pieces for a large tree.

• Place large decorations first in a zigzag pattern around tree.

• Fill in with other pieces in order of descending size.

• Ornaments should not just hang on the ends of branches. Nestle some into the tree to assist with the perception of depth.

• Use a variety of textures. Include some stems of berries or twigs for a country look or glittery ones for a more formal look. Wire stems to lie along the tree branches.

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

• A tree topper is no longer just a star or angel. The topper can be very unique and creative and can set the theme for the tree.

Sinemay bows, a Santa hat or a spray of glittery mistletoe or berries looks fantastic.

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

The Tweed Festival of Trees volunteers are sharing even more.

Here’s the recipe for their favourite cookies that are served at the Festival along with a cup of hot apple cider or coffee.

CAROLIN’S WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Courtesy of Joan Cassidy, Beta Sigma Phi, Tweed.

This recipe makes several dozen cookies and freezes well.

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

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

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

• Stir together and drop by spoonfuls onto foil. Work quickly before chocolate hardens.

A HOMEMADE HASTINGS HOLIDAY

fall In love WIth

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

Comfort Country

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

Select a base of your choice. In the example we have pictured she has used a round mirror. Glue a piece of styrofoam in the centre and cover the entire bottom perimeter of the styrofoam with anything resembling foliage. Then insert decorations of choice such as leaves, cones, and so on to cover.

To complete your creation decorate the top with large flowers or other eye catching pieces.

Susanne’s hand crafted holiday table arrangements will be on display at the Showcase of the Arts Christmas Gift and Art Sale, Marmora Town Hall, 12 Bursthall Street, Marmora, Nov. 29-30 from 10am–4pm each day. The free event features a wide selection of fine artists and artisans and live musical co un t y entertainment.

Country Roads d i s c o v er i n g h a s t i n g s

Country Roads

For more information contact Typhany at Marmora Tourism (613) 472-1515 or email Christine at christinedominico@sympatico.ca

discovering hastings county

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

Country Roads

discovering hastings county

Welcome to ComfortCountry!

We are situated exactly halfway between Toronto and Ottawa.

Our region provides recreation enthusiasts and their families a paradise of year-round adventure.

The country village communities located in ComfortCountry have that easy feeling of days gone by. It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what gives you that special feeling that you get when you really feel like you’re at home. It has something to do with small town country charm, people that say hello on the street, quaint shops, smiling faces and the unrushed pace of lifestyles focused around lakefront living and farm values.

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In ComfortCountry you have antique and knick knack shops 14 instead of crowded box stores and there are bed & breakfasts accommodations and country inns instead of high rise hotels. If STIRLING you really need a getaway from the big city life you need a ComfortCountry vacation. Slip back into time where a sense of community has a literal meaning. Come and stay with us in ComfortCountry - your accommodation awaits you.

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P.O. Box 423, Stirling, ON K0K 3E0 P: 613 395-0499 • F: 613 395-0903 E: info@countryroadshastings.ca www.countryroadshastings.ca

A Taste of Hastings

Contest!

TRENTON

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

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

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

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

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

www.comfortcountry.ca Download brochures, maps, business directory, points of interest, and contact information.

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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COOL RUNNINGS Bancroft Luge track draws outdoor enthusiasts

Paul Ives built a toboggan run on his property as a means to clear logs. Little did he realize what would follow.

By John Hopkins

Photos courtesy Rodle Mountain Luge Track

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

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

Photo by John Hopkins

W

hen winter comes to Canada it’s not uncommon for doting parents to construct backyard skating rinks for their kids. Bancroft’s Paul Ives went a step further. He built a Luge run. And not just a rinky-dink, little toboggan hill with a couple of turns thrown in. No, Ives created an 850m, international level race course that has hosted some of the world’s top competitors.

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

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

Photo by John Hopkins

Cool Runnings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A native of the Willowdale area of Toronto, Ives was not familiar with the sport of Luge before he moved to Bancroft in the early 1970s.

A self-described “back to the land” type of per-

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

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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Cool Runnings

COOL RUNNINGS The Rodle Mountain course attracts enthusiasts of all ages.

Some are trying the sport for the first time, but many keep coming back.

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

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

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

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

“One of the members of the original club was a hockey referee in the league the kids were playing in,” Ives recalls. “He came and saw the hill I had and was quite impressed. He said that without doing anything to it, it was already a better site than the old hill. So we inherited a few sleds, and a couple of kids and parents.

Over the course of the years we grew the hill from a 250m snow track, within a few years we were up to 500m and now we have an 850m combined snow and ice track.”

At its peak the club boasted about 25 members.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With more snow it’s easier to control the sled.

COOL RUNNINGS

The Olympic Dream

By John Hopkins

Photo courtesy USA Luge

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

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

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

“A lot of people look at Luge as a competitive sport,” Linda says. “But I see it more as a recreational activity. Some people have been coming here for over a decade and we’ll have groups of 10-12 at a time come to try it out.

I really enjoy having families come out and getting to meet people from all walks of life that I otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet.”

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

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

There may be no more racing at Rodle Mountain, but the track could yet produce another Olympic Medalist.

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

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

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

“Clay just had the drive,” says Paul. “All the kids were given the opportunity to go further, but Clay was the After two unsuccessful Olympics with the one who would spend his summers doing hard manual Canadian team, Clay Ives joined the U.S. labour for five bucks an hour and then spend the money squad in 2002. the following winter to pay his way as a member of the Canadian team. He would come out of the season $2,500 in debt and then work during the summer to pay it off.”

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

By the end of the Nagano Games the financial squeeze was taking its toll on Clay and the reality of having to quit the sport was staring him squarely in the face. He did have a lifeline, however.

Since his mother Linda was an American (from Arizona) Clay qualified for dual citizenship and had the option of joining the U.S. squad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clay now works for Ontario Hydro as a tree climber and handling dangerous tree removal, based on Manitoulin Island. He hopes to return to Bancroft, however, and has bought 200 acres of land adjacent to Paul’s property.

• Country Roads

Anyone wishing to sample the sport of Luge i s c oRodle v e r iMountain n g h a at s t i n g s c o un t y this winter can d contact (613) 332-4908.

Country Roads

discovering hastings county

Country Roads

discovering hastings county

P: 613 395-0499 • F: 613 395-0903 info@countryroadshastings.ca www.countryroadshastings.ca

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discovering hastings county

• cross roads • BATA ESTABLISHED THRIVING COMMUNITY

TRACTOR PARADE MAKES HISTORY

Photo courtesy Batawa Development Corporation

Born into a family of cobblers in Prague, Czeckoslovakia in 1914, Bata took on a steadily increasing role in the business after his father died in a plane crash in 1932. In 1938, as the threat of war with Nazi Germany increased, Bata decided to set up a North American Bata had most recently visited headquarters for the community he helped Bata Shoes. found last June.

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

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

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

Photo courtesy Stirling 150th Anniversary

Thomas Bata, who was head of his family’s worldwide shoe empire and founded the community of Batawa in 1939, died on Sept. 1 at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital. He would have celebrated his 94th birthday on Sept. 17. power to make us welcome,” Dr. Herz says in the town history. “Many areas would have been suitable for a factory but, quite honestly, it was the dedication of the people of the Trenton area that finally made the difference for us.”

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

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

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

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

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

Stirling is now in the record books. A total of 601 tractors took part in the Aug. 20 Tractor Parade, a highlight of the village’s 150th Anniversary celebrations, breaking the previous standard for largest tractor parade of 241 set in Marion, MI. There were actually 602 set to go, but one suffered a flat tire before leaving the staging area.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo courtesy Batawa Development Corporation

MAGWOOD RECEIVES NATIONAL HONOUR

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

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

Established in 2004, the award, “honours outstanding educational contribution to sustainable practices in the fields of architecture, planning, landscape architecture, urban design, geography, engineering and environmental studies,” according to the CMHC website. “The award is intended to recognize and support higher standards in

Photo courtesy Sir Sandford Fleming College

discovering hastings county

sustainable education and to highlight the importance of sustainable practices within communities.”

“I really admire CMHC for taking a lead in researching energy efficient homes and construction with straw bales and it’s realChris Magwood’s ly nice to get an award ­environmentally ­friendly from them,” Magwood building techniques said in an article in the ­continue to earn him Belleville Intelligenc­national recognition. er. “What I do has been made possible by the research they do.”

The 42-year-old Magwood is co-ordinator of the sustainable building design and construction program at Sir Sandford Fleming College. This summer Magwood and his students constructed the straw bale performing arts centre in Madoc, a project he considers the program’s most successful yet.

“It’s the first time we have aimed for and achieved a net zero energy idea,” he told the Intelligencer.

“It’s a net zero building, so it doesn’t consume any fossil fuels and doesn’t emit any carbon emissions.”

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

COMFORTCOUNTRY EARNS MARKETING AWARD The Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) has awarded ComfortCountry its Marketing Canada Award.

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

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

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

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

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

•

A La Carte Capers Brasserie

New chef right where he wants to be After five years training and working at many of the top restaurants in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region, Chef Jeffrey Camacho has brought his culinary expertise to Belleville. This fall Camacho took on the role of Executive Chef at Capers Brasserie, a mainstay in Succulent Lobster downtown Belleville for nine years.

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

It didn’t take long for Camacho to feel at home.

“Right when we walked in the door it was like, ‘This is it. This is where we want to be,’” he says, referring to himself and his fiancée Jiening Lei, who joined him at Capers in a supervisor capacity.

Capers’ owner Colette Hilmi provided Camacho the opportunity to do what he does best and with this creative freedom he has compiled a completely new menu that he describes as, “contemporary Canadian cuisine.” Camacho’s vision of Canadian gastronomy reflects the country’s multicultural make-up and contains a bit of everything.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Capers Brasserie & Wine Bar is located at 272 Front Street in downtown Belleville.

The Ritchie Room is ideal for private parties.

Reservations are recommended.

613 968-7979 www.capers.ca

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• country calendar •

Things to see and do in Hastings County To submit your event listing email events@countryroadshastings.ca or call us at 613 395-0499.

THEATRE/ LIVE ENTERTAINMENT QUINTE SYMPHONY, BRIDGE STREET CHURCH, BELLEVILLE

December 14 – 2:30 pm Quinte Symphony presents A Symphony of Carols with vocalist Susan Richardson and the Belleville Choral Society performing Hely-Hutchinson’s The Carol Symphony and Rutter’s Christmas Carols. A traditional sing-a-long, and other seasonal selections, complete this afternoon of magnificent music. A Symphony of Carols is generously sponsored by RBC Dominion Securities.

Investment Advisors: Michiel Duinker, Jennifer Lemieux, Michael Moffat, Ian Stock, and Lisa Thompson.

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

Info: www.quintesymphony.com.

BANCROFT VILLAGE PLAYHOUSE, BANCROFT 613-332-5918 www.bancroftvillageplayhouse.ca December 6 & 7 – Yuletide Fires; North Hastings Community Choir Annual Christmas Concert

BELLEVILLE THEATRE GUILD, 256 Pinnacle Street, Belleville, 613-967 1442 www.bellevilletheatreguild.ca November 26 - December 13 - Fallen Angels

by Noel Coward, Tickets $18 January 28 – February 14 – The Drawer Boy

by Michael Healey, Tickets $18 April 1- April 18 - Sinners by Norm Foster, Tickets $18

THE EMPIRE THEATRE 321 Front Street, Belleville 613-969-0099 www.theempiretheatre.com November 29 - The Nylons Christmas Show with special guests Shout Sister December 1 - Rita MacNeil’s Christmas December 5 - Classic Albums Live perform AC/DC’s “Back In Black” December 6 - The Celtic Tenors December 9 - An Intimate Evening with Judy Collins December 11 - The Barra MacNeils - A Celtic Christmas December 13 - Top 3 Tour Featuring Mitch MacDonald, Theo Tams & Drew Wright December 16 - John McDermott with special guest Eric Bogle January 26 - Trailer Park Boys March 6 - Cool 100 Presents... Johnny Reid

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STIRLING FESTIVAL THEATRE

West Front St., Stirling 1-877-312-1162 www.stirlingfestivaltheatre.com The Theatre Lounge, Upper Hall is now open one hour before show-time and beverages are available. Patrons can pre-order intermission refreshments.

November 21 - December 31 - Family Panto Show Robin Hood November 26 - December 31 - Naughty Panto Show Robin Hood Tickets for the following shows on sale Monday, November 24. Group or student rates available upon request.

February 3 & 4 – The Day the Music Died (A Tribute Concert) with Freddy Vette and the Flames. February 3, 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of “The Day The Music Died”, as the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper signalled the end of the golden era of Rock & Roll. Join Freddy Vette & the Flames as they relive the music of Buddy, Ritchie, the Big Bopper as well as Elvis, Jerry Lee, Little Richard and more! www.freddyvette.com Tickets $27.50 February 13 & 14 – SURVIVOR: Love Boat!

(Dinner Theatre) 6pm. Just when you were ready for a quiet and romantic Valentines weekend, Ken MacDougall and the Not Ready for Prime Rib Players show up in Stirling for another round of hilarity, great food and... murder! Ticket price includes all taxes and gratuities.

Per Couple - $135 per couple and $520 party of 8 (full table) February 21 – Nursery School Concert, Call for complete event details.

February 27 & 28 A Night at the Stirling Opry.

Two thrilling nights of Country Variety, featuring country, bluegrass, clogging, comedy and loads of surprises! Hosted by Freddy Vette (in a Country mood!), featuring 6-time CCM Guitarist of the Year Award winner Wendell Ferguson and the All-Star Band. Tickets $25 March 13 – Kiss Me, I’m Irish Stirling favourite Tom Leadbeater returns for a music and comedy-filled concert in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day featuring a fantastic band, award-winning Irish dancers, lovely singer Marie Gogo, and three-time Canadian Grand Champion fiddler Mark Sullivan. Tickets $23.50 March 16 - 19 – The Little Mermaid A new adaptation by Caroline Smith based on the story by Hans Christian Anderson. What’s a girl to do when she falls in love with a boy who lives in a different world? And will she risk everything to be with him? A perfect way to spend quality – and affordable! – family time

during March Break week. (Recommended for ages 5 and up) Tickets $10 March 25 – Martin Preston as Liberace® Featuring Tenor William Garon. Playing LIVE on his chandelier-topped sequined piano, and wearing re-creations of the showman’s fantastic costumes, Martin Preston has wowed audiences internationally, impersonating the great entertainer who used to love “laughing all the way to the bank!” Comedy, music and rhinestones - what more could you want? www.liberaceshow.com Tickets $25 March 28 – The Official Blues Brothers Revival Starring Wayne Catania and Keiron Lafferty.

Jake and Elwood are back! This is one of their rare Eastern Ontario appearances, so dig out your suit, tie and shades, and come hear this knockout group as they perform all their greatest hits, from Soul Man to Shout! Tickets $32.50

ART GALLERIES Art Gallery of Bancroft, 10 Flint Avenue, Bancroft, 613.332.1542, www.bancroftontario.com November 5-30 (Opening Reception Friday Nov. 7 at 7:30 pm) - “The Human Story,” Photography juried exhibition; black & white, colour, & manipulated December 3 – January 4 – Christmas In The Gallery December 11 – 1- 8pm; Gallery Hop 2008, 5 Belleville Galleries; Gallery Art Plus, 54 N. Front St., John M. Parrott Gallery, Pinnacle St., Belleville Art Association Gallery, 392 Front St., Gallery 123, 48 Bridge St., & Quinte Arts Council 36 Bridge St.

SEASONAL EVENTS November 27 – 6-9 pm, A Starlight Christmas House Tour. Tour six lovely Stirling and area homes all ready for the holidays and waiting to welcome you followed by a tour through Heritage Village. All proceeds go toward the Hastings County Museum of Agricultural Heritage. For more information contact Sandy Donnan at 613-395-2976.

Tickets $20 Include carriage rides in the downtown, carollers, hot chocolate and beautifully decorated storefronts! Carriage rides will continue Saturday Nov. 29 from 12-4pm.

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

discovering hastings county

• country calendar • designers. Tickets $25 available at Quinte Arts Council, 36 Bridge St. East, downtown Belleville or call 613-962-1232 to order with credit card, email qac@quinteartscouncil.org November 27 – Loyalist College Pottery Show and Sale, Cafeteria, Kente Building, Loyalist College. 10:30am – 2pm Continuing Education pottery students and staff.

For further information 613 969-1913, ext.

2467 or scampbel@loyalistc.on.ca November 28 - A Village Christmas, 2:00pm- 8:00pm. Heritage Village at the Hastings County Museum of Agricultural Heritage, 437 West Front Street, Stirling is all dressed and looking fabulous! Wreaths, trees and swags abound, just waiting for a lucky raffle winner to take them home. All proceeds to Hastings County of Agricultural Heritage for new picnic facility.

For more information contact: Museum 613-395-0015 or Edith Ray- 613-395-4037 or Sandy Donnan- 613-395-2976. Tickets $5.

Includes carriage rides in the downtown, carollers, hot chocolate and beautifully decorated storefronts! Carriage rides will continue Saturday Nov. 29 from 12-4pm.

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

November 29 - Frankford Santa Claus Parade, Downtown Frankford.

For more info 613-398-7991 November 29 – January 2 - Frankford Christmas Fantasy at the Frankford Tourist Park. For more info 613-398-0446 or 613-3987690 November 29 & 30 10am – 4pm – Showcase of the Arts Christmas Gift and Art Sale, Marmora Town Hall, 12 Bursthall St., Marmora.

FREE admission and light refreshments. Wide selection of fine artists and artisans and live musical entertainment. Many authors will be present with their publications for your perusal.

Renowned mime artist, Paul Hutt will delight all ages. Door prizes.

For more information contact Typhany at Marmora Tourism 613-472-1515 or email Christine at christinedominico@sympatico.ca November 30 - Trenton Santa Claus Parade, Downtown Trenton. For more info 613-3927635 November 30 - January 2 - Trenton Christmas Fantasy, Fraser Park, Trenton, 4:30 pm For more info 613-392-2841 December 4-7 - 5th Annual Tweed Festival of Trees, www.twp.tweed.on.ca

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

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

December 6 – Cooper Remington Craft Show & Sale, Cooper Remington Community Centre, 20 km north of Highway 7 on Cooper Road. 9am – 4pm. Sponsored by the Cooper Remington Ladies Institute December 6 – Frostfest at the Batawa Community Centre. For more info 613-392-2841 January 30 – February 1 - Marmora SnoFest 2009, 10am-6pm, Annual event in Marmora, Ontario. The Dog Sled Races have been around for the past 30 years. Many family events. Contact Linda Roy roylindal@sympatico.ca 613-472-2381 www.marmorasnofest.com February 7-8 – Stirling Annual Groundhogfest . For more information call 613-395-4199.

Hosted by Stirling & District Lions- www.stirlinganddistrictlions.com

Madoc Fine Shops Make Christmas Shopping a joy at Wilson’s of Madoc Step into the Past 79 DURHAM ST. S. (REAR) DOWNTOWN, MADOC

Tom Deline’s Family Business

where we want to make our Family Store your Family’s Store of Choice.

Original Watercolour Artwork Art Supplies Unique Gifts Specialty Loose Tea Custom Framing Gicleé Printing

Select from over 3,500 sq. ft. of holiday gifts and decorating items.

COMPLIMENTARY GIFT WRAPPING

Group and one-on-one Watercolour Art Lessons

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

613-473-3052

86 Durham St. South, Village of Madoc

DurhamSt., St.,P.O.B. P.O.B.629, 6 29,Madoc, Madoc,Ont. Ont.Phone/Fax: Phone/Fax:613-473-2368 613-473-2368 3737Durham

www.ruralroutes.com/3675.html

Welcome to Comfort Country

613 473-0001

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

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37 Durham St., P.O.B. 6 29, Madoc, Ont. Phone/Fax: 613-473-2368

discovering hastings county

Photo courtesy: The Hastings County Historical Society

BACK R OADS

Country Road d i s c o v er i n g h a s t i n g s c o un t y

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

discovering hastings county

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

Country Roads

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

Flood control dams and chain barriers built after 1950 have lessened the flood danger on the lower Moira but the city county discovering hastings still has to keep a watchful eye to prevent flooding brought on by frazil ice. Frazil ice consists of loose, slushy needleshaped ice crystals that form in super cooled and turbulent water.

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Country Roads • Winter 2008/09

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discovering hastings county

”I can’t stop smiling”

Rachel, 31 Cosmetic Veneers

” We love to make you smile. A great smile can make you feel more confident, drastically improve how you feel about yourself, and significantly improve your quality of life. At the Family Dental Centre, we’re passionate about creating beautiful and healthy smiles that last a life time. ” Cobourg 1060 Burnham Street 905-372-7400

Dr. Steve Mascarin DDS

Frankford 44 Trent Street South 613-398-8888

Belleville 66 Dundas Street East 613-961-7050

www.familydentalcentre.com

Complete Family Dentistry • Cosmetic Makeovers • Dental Implants • Laughing Gas • On-site Denture Technician • Free Smile Analysis™ Digital X-ray, 90% Less Radiation • Oral Conscious Sedation • Zoom² Laser Whitening • 5 Year Limited Warranty • Financing Available

Winter 2008/09 • Country Roads

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CLOSED JANUARY & FEBRUARY