Country Roads Fall 2013

NOW IN OUR 6TH

YEAR

C O V E R I N G T H E A R T S , O U T D O O R S , H I S T O R Y, P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S

F A L L 2 0 1 3

Country Roadscelebrating life in hastings county

Country Roads

celebrating life in hastings county

Country Roads


Country Roads


RC

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4 I Country Roads • Fall 2013

5 YEARS OF COVERS


Country Roads


Country Roads


Country Roads


RC

CELEBRATING LIFE IN HASTINGS COUNTY

Good Food - Good Friends - Good Times

For menus, entertainment schedules & more visit www.barleypubandeatery.com40 St. Lawrence St. W., Madoc, Ontario • 613.473.1800 • [email protected]

Have you conquered the Barley Firehouse Burger?

In Madoc’s Historic Fire Hall on beautiful Deer Creek.

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT



Country Roads


Country Roads


Country Roads


RCCO-PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Nancy Hopkins613 395-0499

CO-PUBLISHER & EDITORJohn Hopkins613 395-0499

SALES DEPARTMENT Jennifer Richardson

[email protected] 613 922-2135

ART DIRECTORJozef VanVeenen

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSOrland French Angela Hawn

Sharon HendersonLindi Pierce

Sheena RowneyMichelle Annette Tremblay

Sarah VanceShelley Wildgen

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSSharon HendersonJozef VanVeenen

COUNTRY ROADS, Celebrating Life in Hastings County is published four times a year by PenWord Communications Inc. Copies are distributed to se-lect locations throughout Hastings County includ-

ing the communities of Bancroft, Belleville, Madoc, Marmora, Stirling and Tweed.

Copies are also delivered to select homes within southern Ontario.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 1 year: $14.69 2 years: $27.13 3 years: $35.03

All prices include H.S.T.

The contents of this publication are protected by copy-right. Reproduction of this publication in whole or

in part without prior written permission of PenWord Communications Inc. is prohibited.

The advertising deadline for the Winter 2013 issue is October 26, 2013.

COVER PHOTO: Photo by Anna Sherlock

Made possible with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation

HOW TO CONTACT US Telephone: 613 395-0499Facsimile: 613 395-0903

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

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

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c o n t r i b u t o r s

c o r r e c t i o n

Welcome to the first issue of COUNTRY ROADS, year six!

It’s gratifying (and a bit shocking) when we think of how far we’ve trav-elled, literally and figuratively, over the past five years. We’re thrilled to have developed a great stable of freelance writers and photographers. These artists know Hastings County and bring great story ideas to light. The design and print side of things has always been something we can count on.

Key partners in COUNTRY ROADS are the many businesses and groups that have selected the magazine as their marketing choice. Their advertising messages are for you - the reader. We encourage you to explore the products and services they provide and to support them. Quite simply, without these

clients the magazine would not be available free of charge to readers such as yourself. Over the past five years it has been our goal to make COUNTRY ROADS your coffee table magazine

and one that you keep in your collection to read, re-read and refer to, pass on to friends or family, and talk about. Readers have told us we’ve achieved these goals and that’s very motivating. We also know a good percentage of readers have a sense of our seasonal publishing schedule and start searching for the new issue at just about the time our staff hits the ground running and driving many ‘country roads’ deliv-ering to hundreds of selected outlets.

With that in mind we have an exciting announcement to make! COUNTRY ROADS magazine is growing from four to five issues per year. February in Hastings County will be brightened by the launch of our first ever Mid-Winter online only

issue. There will be great new stories, photography, information from participating advertisers and you don’t have to trudge through slush or snow or traverse winter roads to receive your copy. Simply visit www.countryroadshastings.ca in early February for this online issue.

We will still, of course, publish our Winter issue print version and copies will be available late Novem-ber and remain in circulation throughout the area until the middle of March, 2014. But we all know how very long winter around these parts can be so we thought a little offering of more stories might help us all get over the hump!

But enough about Winter (no need to rush things; it will be here before we know it). Now is the time to enjoy Fall and an Indian Summer would be just fine with us! •Nancy & John Hopkins

Phot

o: H

aley

Ash

ford

e d i t o r i a l

In the Worth its Weight in Gold story in the sum-mer issue all photos should have been credited to Michelle Annette Tremblay. We apologize for the error.

In the summer issue the first verse of the poem Springtime in Paudash by Kathy Figueroa should have read:Spring hath graced the landWith a golden hueWinter’s ice and snow hath given wayTo gentle dewBright flowers unfurl and bees do humAs I roam about in delirium

We apologize for the error.

MEMBERS OF

BANCROFT & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Lindi Pierce, of Prince Edward County UEL stock, en-joyed life in Vancouver, Grand Forks, BC and North Bay before settling on Hastings County as her adoptive home.

Lindi compensates for her deficits in local history by volunteer work at Glanmore National Historic Site and at the Community Archives of Hastings County. She in-dulges her passion for heritage architecture with her blog at ancestralroofs.blogspot.ca and by writing and photo-

graphing for ‘Country Roads’, Hastings County Historical Society’s ‘Outlook’ and other local publications.

In her spare time, this nature-nut joins her husband Denis, a vintage mo-torcycle frame designer/builder, on their camping, hiking and cycling expedi-tions, always on the lookout for another good house to snap.

Angela Hawn thanks her lucky stars for landing in Hastings County after years of an ‘on the road’ lifestyle teaching ESL in Asia, Europe and the Canadian Arctic. Although she loves to travel, some chance meetings here with a few people in the publishing business finally al-lowed her to put to use a few things learned long ago at Carleton University’s journalism school.

When not writing or travelling, Angela enjoys the in-spiration and humour consistently delivered by the nine-

and 10-year-olds seen in her day job as an elementary school teacher. Her dream job? Why, travel writer, of course. Interested parties take note: for

the right assignment, she’d work cheap. Closer to home, Angela seeks editorial advice and often, just plain old validation, from fellow travelling companions, husband, Mike, and their two incredible daughters, Maddie and Isobel.

Sarah Vance is a member of the Board of Directors for the Art Gallery of Bancroft and an active supporter of the Bancroft & Hastings Highlands Blues and Jazz Fes-tival. She is an elementary teacher with the Hastings Prince Edward School Board and a member of the York River Public School Council, in Bancroft, where she works and where her children study. Sarah and her husband live in L’Amable, with their three children.

Michelle Annette Tremblay writes because she’s inter-ested in everything. Interviewing fascinating people and sharing their wisdom and ideas is one of her favorite things and has led her to writing features for newspa-pers and magazines. After completing a Creative Writ-ing degree from the University of British Columbia she spent many years teaching and writing on the west coast of Canada and internationally. But, a country girl at heart, she gave up the city life to return to her roots

in Paudash, ON, where she freelances for multiple publications and is the Creative Director of WordBird Media. When she’s not picking remarkable brains, writing or photographing the wonders of rural Ontario, she’s usually in her garden, running after her kids or cooking up something yummy with her husband.

Dear Country RoadsI would like to commend everyone for this mag-azine. All the articles are well written, very in-formative and are greatly enjoyed by me and the photography is superb.

The article “Where The Whistle No Longer Blows” by Orland French in the Spring issue sure brought ghost towns to life. “The Memo-ries Live On” by John Hopkins was also a great article. It made me reminisce about the 1970 Mustang that I bought new and enjoyed driving. Today’s vehicles are too complicated, expensive and are all the same.

The summer issue also had some great ar-ticles worth reading. “Local Flavour” by An-gela Hawn, “Worth its Weight in Gold” and “Bee Fever” by Michelle Tremblay were three that I enjoyed.

May your magazine go on to even greater success in the future.

Winston E. RalphBancroft, ON

Dear Country RoadsCongratulations upon reaching your five-year milestone! That is a most laudable accomplish-ment in what has become a very tough game today. Clearly, turning out a quality product with interesting and eclectic articles has played a major role in that. As Janet and John Foster, plus Susan Chan are good friends, your maga-zine is always a treat for us to read.

Your change of title (from ‘Discovering Hast-ings County’ to ‘Celebrating Life In Hastings County’) is most appropriate. We have long felt that not enough of us, in this magnificent place called Hastings County, truly appreciate how blessed we are to be living here. There are other great places in Canada and the world, but it doesn’t get any better than around here. The folks in Prince Edward County have done a great job promoting their little space to the south, but folks such as you are helping us to catch up fast. Bravo!

We met some years back at a Harvest Hast-ings event, when you were just getting start-ed, and we (The Hastings Stewardship Coun-cil) were just getting Harvest Hastings off the ground. Both ventures continue successfully apace, and I am delighted you are flourishing. Please keep up the great work.

Best regards, and we wish you many more anniversaries.

Heather and Cliff MacleanMoira Ridge Farms(A little corner of Paradise on the Moira River)Roslin, ON


C O V E R I N G T H E A R T S , O U T D O O R S , H I S T O R Y, P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 , FALL 2013

Contents8 14

3224

F E A T U R E S8 MAGICAL MYSTERY

TOUR By Angela Hawn

14 SEEDS OF WISDOM; SEEDS OF

SUSTAINABILITY By Michelle Annette Tremblay

24 HASTINGS BY LAMPLIGHT By Lindi Pierce

32 THE TIGER’S ROAR By Sarah Vance

D E P A R T M E N T S6 EDITORIAL6 CONTRIBUTORS19 JUST SAYING The New Fall Season...unplugged

20 ADVERTISER INDEX22 ARTISANS AT HAND Classic style reborn

28 TELLING TALES30 CROSSROADS36 COUNTRY CALENDAR37 MARKETPLACE38 BACK ROADS Barn Raising in Thurlow

You’ve got a copy of COUNTRY ROADS in your hands and that tells us you’re interested in Hastings County.

WANT MORE? Join the COUNTRY ROADS Facebook page.

You’ll be the first to get a sneak peak at upcoming issues,new things on our website, and a whole lot more.

We are ALL Hastings County, ALL the time! Come join us!

letters to the editor


Beatles influence sets duo on musical pathBy Angela Hawn

Magical Mystery Tour

All You Need Is Love brings all the psychedelic excesses of The Beatles to life, including Andy Forgie’s performance in the distinctive ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite’ from the seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

Photo by Ed Mcpherson

As part of Photograph in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rashotte and Forgie enjoyed their greatest com-mercial success, due in part to crossing paths with Tom Cochrane. The line-up consisted of (from l to r) Rashotte, John Paul Murphy, Chris Dunwell, Forgie and Wayne McFaul. Photo Courtesy Andy Forgie & Mark Rashotte

Although they no longer eke out a living playing on the road, the thrill of performing has never left Forgie (l) or Rashotte (r). Photo by Bob House

Mark Rashotte and Andy Forgie outside the Empire Theatre, Belleville. Photo by Angela Hawn


P icture a chilly Sunday evening, February 9, 1964. Families across North America vie for best spot in front of the television set. The show? Ed Sullivan. Tonight’s guests? The Beatles. An audience seem-

ingly composed entirely of teenaged girls begins to scream, effectively drowning out Ed’s hoarse introduction and Paul McCartney starts the count-in for ‘All My Lovin.’ The British Invasion is well underway.

If you’re over 50, chances are you’ve got some memory of the Fab Four’s American television de-but. In fact, no matter how old you are, you’ve probably heard of the Beatles. No doubt you can hum a few bars from at least a couple of their hits. And if you’re Andy Forgie or Mark Rashotte, you might recall how that long ago TV premiere sparked a very personal journey through the world of rock and roll.

Both count the show as a major source of inspira-tion. Although neither knew each other at the time, both nine-year-olds saw it.

“I was at my end of town watching and Andy was at his end,” muses Mark. “My sister, who was 17 or 18 years old at the time, had her face pinned within an inch of the TV. About five or six feet behind her my 14-year-old brother and I were watching. Be-hind us, my parents were in big lazyboys with my dad saying things like “Get a haircut.” I realized: hey, something’s going on here and it’s kinda cool. I’d like to be one of these guys.”

Andy credits his parents for making sure both he and his brother stayed up late on a school night to see the Beatles’ first North American broadcast. His mom and dad had been following the unprec-edented media hype swirling about the band ever since their plane touched down in New York and

figured that night’s Sullivan show was a phenom-enon not to be missed. Andy still remembers Ed’s long, stony face as being a little scary.

“And then the Beatles started to play and the world was forever changed,” he declares. “Before I saw the show, I wanted to play for the Maple Leafs. Afterwards, I wanted to become a rock and roll star.”

It’s been a long and winding road since then, so to speak, with plenty of ups and downs along the way: two bands, a half dozen name changes, an al-bum, a couple of different record labels (including Capitol - the Beatles’ label) and a number of hit singles. Countless gigs during 10 years on the road meant constantly crisscrossing both Canada and parts of the United States. Andy and Mark played a myriad of clubs and theatres, a few of them good, most of them less than cozy, evoking plenty of late night conversations about what the perfect venue might resemble if only musicians were in charge.

Quite a trip, when you think about it. The best part? It’s not over. The musical journey continues, though the grinding aspect of touring in a travelling band ended almost 30 years ago. In fact, life on the road came full circle, thus bringing two best friends back to their musical roots in Hastings County. But that doesn’t mean the music stopped. And even the road trips carry on, though these days the band can afford to pick and choose their gigs.

And the affinity for Beatles’ music? Still going strong. When this musical twosome gets together with a few other well-chosen musician friends to perform in their latest band, All You Need Is Love, it feels like the 1960’s all over again. The celebra-tion of Beatles’ era music continues, pleasing ap-preciative fans from Louisville, Kentucky to Liv-erpool, England, coincidentally sites of the biggest

Mark Rashotte and Andy Forgie have never lost their connection to the music of The Beatles, and along with Steve Smith, Al Haring, Vitas Slapkauskas, Paul Lockyer and sound technician Wayne McFaul, their band All You Need Is Love has appeared at Beatles festivals around the world. Photo by Bob House


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Beatles music festivals in North America and the world, respectively.

How did all of this start? Soon after that famous Sullivan broadcast, Mark traded in the accordion favoured by his Laurence Welk-loving parents for a guitar and Andy worked on perfecting his vocal style. When the two met in grade seven, it didn’t take long for friendship to morph into a band called The Electric Circuit, though the name didn’t stick. Over the years the group would take on a series of different identities, including The Fog, Creed, The Elevators and Photograph. But Mark claims his mom can take credit for dreaming up that very first moniker.

“We were banging out music in each other’s basements or my dad’s lumbermill, with all of the sawdust around,” he recalls. “Our parents prob-ably thought we were crazy, but they were very supportive.”

And even though there might have a been just a tiny bit of parental concern when the duo de-cided to make music their chosen career path, the decision to head out on the road came easily enough. While some kids filled out college appli-cation forms and others considered the traditional job market, Forgie and Rashotte sought something just a little more exotic. Drummer John Paul Mur-phy and bass player Tom Ward agreed and the local foursome hit the road. And for 250 or so nights a year, that’s exactly where the band stayed, touring from 1974 to the mid Eighties.

“We were straight out of high school when we started and 30 when we stopped,” remembers Andy. “We had a bit of a revolving door with bass play-ers, but three out of the four members in the group stayed the same.”

“We took it very seriously,” adds Mark. “That was our job. That was how we made a living. When you went into a bank or something to ask for a loan, they’d ask what do you do? We’d tell them and they’d say, ‘What’s your real job?’ But we were as determined as could be that we would make a go of this.”

And that’s exactly what happened, though life on the road could be an endurance test at times. Forgie recalls chuckling at the irony of hauling their own equipment to every gig. If a musician’s livelihood depends largely on his hands, heaven help the gui-

Andy Forgie poses with John Lennon’s sister, Julia Baird, during a visit by All You Need Is Love to Liverpool. “For someone who dreamed of being a Beatle since I was nine years of age, it was very emotional for me,” he says. Photo Courtesy Andy Forgie

Their adventures with All You Need Is Love have taken Andy Forgie and Mark Rashotte to such storied venues as the Cavern Club in Liverpool, an integral piece in the Fab Four legend. Photo by Bob House

Rashotte has forged many friendships in the rock busi-ness and some big names come through Belleville’s Empire Theatre, including Slash from Guns N’ Roses.Photo courtesy Mark Rashotte

Getting a pay

cheque for playing

the guitar seemed

almost too good

to be true. Beyond

the music, Andy

recalls...


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tarist who jams his fingers carrying his own amp on stage. When the group signed with Capitol, they enjoyed a brief stint with hired roadies. Otherwise, you just had to remember to lift with your legs.

The upside? Rashotte jokes musicians say they don’t get paid for the few hours they spend on stage, but for the 20 or so when they’re not mak-ing music. Getting a pay cheque for playing the guitar seemed almost too good to be true. Beyond the music, Andy recalls the majestic backdrop for their nomadic lifestyle: beautiful Canadian views from Newfoundland to the Rockies left a lasting impression on the group.

And they certainly met a few notable people along the way, too. Both musicians drop enough well-known names to impress any fan of rock and roll. April Wine, Edward Bear, The Stampeders, Blue Rodeo, the list goes on and on. Neither seeks to impress with tales of famous acquaintances or friends. Rather, they seem humbled by the fact their own ventures into such rarified air brought them so close to rock star royalty. Not everyone plays show-cases with some of their favourite Canadian artists.

When asked, both men try to define some of the most memorable events from an era when life revolved full-time around music. Mark recalls the

Rashotte (second from left) and Forgie (right) started playing together in grade seven in a band called The Electric Com-pany, which evolved into The Fog, shown here in 1969. Tom Ward (l) and John Paul Murphy (second from right) filled out the line-up. Photo Courtesy Andy Forgie & Mark Rashotte


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thrill of hearing the band’s songs on the radio. With pride, he points out the group started out playing covers and quickly progressed to writing and per-forming their own music. Three of Photograph’s tunes got major airplay and their debut single ‘The Last Dance’ rocketed up the Canadian charts. For Andy, the cherry on top came when the band signed a contract with Capitol Records. At last they had hooked up with a record label, and it just happened to be the same one used by his beloved Beatles.

Both acknowledge Tom Cochrane’s role in help-ing the group find its recording legs. Rashotte tells the tale of encountering the Canadian rocker for the first time at the WikiWak Club in Shediac, N.B. Soon all the musicians were talking and Cochrane invited the young men from Hastings County to stay at the ‘Band House’ with his band Red Ryder. Forgie played a few demo tapes for Cochrane and Cochrane returned the favour. Before parting ways, the groups checked their respective calendars and confirmed both were booked to play Toronto gigs in the near future.

Flash ahead three weeks to the Nickelodeon in the Big Smoke, right across from the Eaton Cen-tre. Halfway through their first set, Andy and Mark noticed Cochrane striding through the club. And he wasn’t alone. Some Capitol Records scouts had decided to take in the show and they liked what they heard. Switching gears, the group broke into some original material usually saved for much later in the evening. When Cochrane introduced the band to Capitol’s Dean Cameron, conversation quickly turned to plans for booking studio time.

Next stop: Hamilton, Ont. Why go to a city known mostly for its steel industry to make a record al-bum? Well, it just happened to be home to the not yet world-famous record producer Daniel Lanois.

Within a few years, Lanois would move on to work with music heavy-hitters like Peter Gabriel and Bob Dylan. Listen to almost any U2 album and you’ll hear his talents at play. Lanois partnered with well-known producer Brian Eno when the legendary Irish group was at its peak.

“We knew him when he was just ‘Dan’”, laughs Mark, noting the famous producer also works as a performer and once played a show at Belleville’s Empire Theatre, an enterprise opened by Mark in 2003. He adds Lanois got his biggest laugh from the local audience when he poked a little fun at his musical hosts, joking their album was the only one he’d recorded that didn’t make it big.

Would performers of this calibre consider play-ing such a small city if they didn’t share some his-tory with the theatre’s owner? Possibly. Rashotte acknowledges Belleville’s prime location along the Highway 401 corridor certainly plays a pivotal role. But he also notes many booking agents he encoun-ters now once worked as performers “back in the day.” Their paths often crossed with Mark’s and Andy’s when all made their living playing on stage.

And both men proudly point out the theatre’s “per-former-friendly” attributes. According to the musical duo, the Empire’s welcoming atmosphere deserves much of the credit for attracting stars.

“Artists like our easy load-ins, our crew, our dress-ing rooms,” Mark declares, calling big names from musician Randy Bachman to comedian Ron James “friends of the theatre.”

In charge of the Empire’s promotions department, Andy agrees wholeheartedly with this sentiment. He points out the focus for many venues often tilts al-most lopsidedly towards the patrons. And while he acknowledges the ticket-buyers’ importance, Andy stresses the Empire tries to find a balance. They want

Mark Rashotte playing his grandson Isaac’s guitar; al-though Isaac (aged 4) is a little too young for the gui-tar just yet, Rashotte plans to give it to him one day. Rashotte purchased it in San Francisco the day Isaac was born. Photo by Angela Hawn


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the audience to be happy, but they also want to make everything for the artist as perfect as possible.

“Performers at the Empire enjoy the backstage hospitality, staging, lighting, the professionalism of our technicians,” Forgie cheerfully ticks off a list of perks he and Rashotte only dreamed about when they were young musicians. “Word spreads because performers talk to each other. Serena Ryder talks to Blue Rodeo who talk to Great Big Sea. It’s like a brotherhood.”

Perhaps an opportunity to play around on some of Mark’s famous guitars helps draw a few notewor-thy artists, too. Encouraged by fellow guitar aficio-nado Bachman to acquire the instruments because, among other things, “unlike a Rembrandt, you can pick them up and play them,” Mark’s collection now numbers 70 plus. Visiting musicians often enjoy free access to the guitar room, a part of the Empire he jokingly refers to as “Fort Knox.”

With that kind of philosophy in place, the 700-seat theatre in this smallish Eastern Ontario centre often plays host to some pretty big names. And when real estate businessman Mark moved his “day-job” (Royal Lepage ProAlliance) to the building beside the Empire in Belleville’s downtown core, the en-tertainment venue evolved to accommodate even bigger shows with larger audiences.

“Most people would have looked at the parking lot between the theatre and the real estate office as just a nice parking lot,” laughs Rashotte.

But the Belleville entrepreneur envisioned some-thing with entertainment potential and Empire Square Live was born. With capacity to hold almost 4,000 people, the outdoor staging area meant tickets for internationally known acts could be reasonably priced and suddenly Belleville was playing host to a veritable Who’s Who of Rock and Roll. Boston, Peter Frampton, Steve Winwood: these are just a few of the famous names known to grace the Em-pire venue.

“These guys don’t have to play Belleville for their careers, but they do it,” says Mark. “We’re on their list. They want to play here and that makes us smile.”

These days Mark and Andy don’t have to hit the road for the sake of their careers either. When Pho-tograph disbanded, the two pursued other interests. Mark studied real estate, eventually going on to run both a mortgage lending business and an extremely successful real estate operation, employing nearly 400 people in offices from Brockville to Port Hope. In addition to the Empire Theatre, he also owns Bel-leville’s popular Cafe E, which serves meals to hun-gry visiting artists as well as the general public.

Sticking with music, Andy’s interests swung in a radically different direction when he decided to fo-cus on a much younger audience. Returning to the recording studio, he produced two of his own chil-dren’s CDs, one of which featured Canadian icon Bob Homme (a.k.a. The Friendly Giant.)

But the duo’s rock and roll roots go pretty deep. The two still find time to perform, occasionally get-ting together as Photograph for special events. More frequently, they hit the stage with fellow All You Need is Love musicians Steve Smith, Al Haring, Vitas Slapkauskas, Paul Lockyer and sound techni-cian Wayne McFaul. Even road trips still happen. Tentative dates for some gigs in sunny Florida have already been pencilled into next year’s calendar.

So the magical mystery tour continues, some-times here, sometimes in venues far away. Anyone who caught the act last autumn as part of the Em-pire Beatles Weekend will be happy to know the group intends to do it all over again this October. These hometown musicians play whenever and wherever they can because they love their music. Fortunately for their local fans, they love home, too. •

The Empire Beatles Weekend is scheduled for Friday, October 18 and Saturday, Oc-tober 19. More info is available at www.theempiretheatre.com.

Andy and Mark sitting in empty Empire Theatre, Belleville. Photo by Angela Hawn


With each bronzy autumn comes the harvest we’ve all been waiting for. Eagerly we dig through the rich dark earth, uncovering beautiful red and white potatoes. We gather zucchinis, fantasizing about how we’ll slice or stuff them. If we’re lucky, the growing season has been long enough to grace us with ripe melons, and fat tomatoes. But wait

– don’t gobble up all the fruits of your labours just yet. Take a moment to think of next spring. If you’re like many people, you’ve been steadily becoming more dedicated to sustainable agricul-

ture, using natural fertilizers such as manure and compost, and perhaps learning about companion planting to encourage better growth and ward off pests naturally. If you haven’t started yet, this is the ideal time to begin harvesting and saving your own seeds. It’s not too hard, there are a ton of reasons to do it, and if you’ve grown heirloom organic plants, you now, at harvest time, have everything you need for a 2014 summer of bounty.

“Above ground peas and beans are the easiest,” says Laurie Ann Storring, of Madawaska House Retreat and Organic Gardens, in Maple Leaf. She has invited me to come out and see her little piece of paradise first hand. And I am impressed. Her well-mulched gardens overflow with sweet berries, multitudes of vegetables and a whole separate bed full of medicinal plants, most of which I’ve never even heard of.

Seeds of wisdom; seeds of sustainability

Madawaska House resident shares her seed saving savvy

By Michelle Annette TremblayPhotos by Sean Buk


Although this is only my second time meeting Storring – my first was last week when I stopped by York River Meats in Bancroft where she was selling some of her fresh produce - I am nonethe-less well acquainted with what she does. It would be hard for me not to be. I’ve heard her name mentioned over and over in conversations about sustainable living; I’ve seen photos on Facebook of her workshops (some of the members have given themselves the moniker the Green God-desses) all about planning plots, preparing soil for growing, canning and preserving, and many more topics. She runs 10 workshops a year, and they are wildly popular.

She and her husband Richard Baynes, an uber-cool artist who also works in their gardens, are well known throughout North Hastings as the go-to people when it comes to learning about organic gardening. You’re not likely to run into them in the supermarket - the unofficial social hub of a small town – because aside from things like cheese and butter, they grow and raise all the food they need for the whole year. Their pantry and root cellar are, by any measure, an inspira-tion.

“A seed is a living thing. It has memory,” says Storring, after giving me a full tour of the gar-dens, which wind and weave throughout the rug-ged property.

Heat loving plants are on the south slope; medicinal ones are down a little path from the chicken coop. As we sit for a cool drink of fresh well water at her picnic table, joined by Baynes and Whiskey (the retreat’s very charming ca-

nine), Storring says, “Seeds adjust to the area where they’re grown.”

This, she explains, is why it’s so important to choose heirloom seeds. They’ve had decades to acclimatize to their specific environment, becom-ing more resistant to regional pests and diseases, and tolerant of the local weather. And in this day and age, where we are bombarded daily by strong arguments for avoiding genetically modi-fied organisms (GMOs), buying organic seeds is a no-brainer. Most GMOs won’t produce viable seeds at all, forcing gardeners to buy new seeds year after year. So heirloom organic seeds are definitely the way to go, but they can be expen-sive to buy; certainly more expensive than their non-heirloom non-organic counterparts.

I’m not a great gardener, but I try, and this was the first year I used only heirloom organic seeds. After scurraging through seed catalogues, checking out different varieties of my favourite vegetables, with special attention to the ‘days to maturity’ information, I picked out enough seeds to fill my 10’x20’ garden. As I forked out well over a hundred dollars, I reminded myself it was a good investment for the future. I knew I wanted to grow food I could feel proud feed-ing to my kids, and I knew I wanted to join the Green Goddesses and learn all about harvesting and saving my own seeds.

As I write this article, Storring’s seed work-shop is still a month and a half away, but she says she’s happy to give me the inside scoop early so I can write about it. Sharing this information is paramount to her beliefs. As she begins to share

When she’s not busy teaching seed saving techniques and tending to the gardens, Laurie Ann Storring can be found selling the fruits of her labours at various venues around North Hastings, such as York River Meats in Bancroft.

This, she explains, is

why it’s so important

to choose heirloom

seeds. They’ve had

decades to acclimatize

to their specific envi-

ronment, becoming

more resistant to re-

gional pests and dis-

eases, and tolerant of

the local weather.

Keeping an organic garden pest and weed free is a time consuming hands-on job. In addition to using com-panion planting practices to keep pests away naturally, Richard Baynes says he weeds constantly


her process, I immediately feel more confident in my investment.

“It all starts with the seeds you purchase in the first place,” says Storring. “It really is an invest-ment.” That’s because, if you buy seeds once, you can regrow your favourite crops year after year, never needing to buy seeds again unless you want to try something different. Moreover, once you start saving your own seeds, you’ll likely end up with more than you need - seeds need to be used within a year or two, since their viability decreases exponentially over time - in which case you can trade your extra seeds with other growers for variation. Seed swapping gath-

Once seeds have been cleaned and dried, they are stored in moisture absorbing paper envelopes, in a cool dry place. Recording the year they were harvested is important, since seeds lose their viability exponentially over time.

erings, like Seedy Saturday, are popping up in communities big and small all across the country.

I am a tomato lover, so that’s the first crop I ask about. Storring smiles, and says tomatoes are one of the more tricky fruits to harvest seeds from, but she gives me the rundown.

“Choose a good specimen, and let it fully rip-en. Pick it, slice it in half, as if you were going to eat it, and then scoop the seeds out,” explains the veteran gardener. She has a proven method for scooping out the seeds, which she demon-strates in her seed saving workshop, but basically as long as you can get the seeds out, you’re in business.

“Next, put the seeds in a jar of water, swish them around, and rinse.” She rhymes off the next steps quickly, as though she’s done it a hundred times. “Put them in a jar of clear water, with cheese cloth on the top and let it mould - let it get good and mouldy! Over time the less mature seeds will rise, and the viable seeds will go to bottom. Then skim the top, rinse the seeds thor-oughly, and drain them really well in a sieve.” She recommends dumping the drained seeds on a plate and letting them sit overnight and then gently separating them the next day, as tomato seeds can be quite sticky.

If you’re not quite ready for the tomato seed saving process just yet, maybe start with beans or peas. They basically just need to be dried and shelled. Cucumbers and zucchinis should stay on the vine as long as possible, so the seeds inside can fully mature; they should stay on the vine until they get mushy. Carrots and parsnips can just stay in the ground, as they don’t go to seed until the second year of growing. Regardless of what plant you’re dealing with, the final stage of harvesting seeds is the same: once the seeds are thoroughly rinsed and their coating is off, you let them dry out completely, put them in a paper

The stone basement from an original homestead, just a few feet from the Madawaska House, has been lovingly converted into a conversation pit, complete with a campfire

area, original works of art and decorative gardens.

“It all starts with the

seeds you purchase in

the first place,” says

Storring. “It really

is an investment.”

That’s because, if you

buy seeds once, you

can regrow your fa-

vourite crops year af-

ter year, never need-

ing to buy seeds again

unless you want to try

something different.


Alive with entertainment, first class shopping, and dining.

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FOR DAY TRIP IDEAS, PERMITS, MAPS AND MUCH MORE, PLEASE VISIT:

8 Hastings Heritage Way, Box 539 Bancroft, ON K0L 1C0

Tel: (613) 332-1513 Fax: (613) 332-2119 [email protected]

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• View the spectacular fall colours on one of thirteen ‘Scenic Routes’ in North Hastings

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• Explore the many trails on foot, ATV or by paddle

• Arts Route and Studio Tours

• Self-Guided Antique Tour

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THANKS for visiting us at the

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July 31, August 1-3


MAYNOOTH Experience Maynooth

and come see for yourself these stores featured in the

COUNTRY ROADS Spring 2012 issue.

Let us help you plan your next visit to the area. Visit www.maynooth.on.ca

Storring, Baynes and their charming canine com-panion, Whiskey, are happy to give visitors tours of the Madawaska House Retreat and Organic Gar-dens, in Maple Leaf, and share their knowledge of organic gardening.

envelope, and store them somewhere cool, dark, and dry. If they get too warm and damp they will start to germinate early and die.

“When big agriculture came into being, most people stopped saving their seeds,” recounts Stor-ring wistfully, as we sit around the picnic table. She and Baynes both recount growing up with gardens and learning techniques at a young age from their parents, but say they witnessed the ubiquity of the practice dwindle over time. They are both encouraged by the recent gradual resur-gence.

“Today it’s a pretty radical step that people are taking that provides them with their own food. Of course some companies don’t want that,” Storring says, adding that it’s important to continue the old traditions, if nothing else to protect seed variation. She speaks longingly of a variety of pepper she used to enjoy that is no longer available because people stopped growing it. “I can’t buy the seeds

anywhere; it was a beautiful purple pepper. There are wonderful species that are just being lost.”

At the end of the day, that’s why she and Baynes do what they do. They made the lifestyle choice 10 years ago to live off the land, relearn the tech-niques they had been introduced to as children, and expand on them. For a while they focused on selling their produce, but over time they re-alized what they really wanted to do was feed people good knowledge. I can’t wait to take her workshops.

“This is our path; helping other people learn,” she says.

To book a tour of Madawaska House Retreat and Organic Gardens, at 30 New Carlow Rd., in Maple Leaf, or for more information on Laurie Ann Storring’s work-shops, contact her at [email protected] or (613) 332-9282 •

Storring and Baynes both began learning about organic gardening as children, and re-port watching it become less and less common over the years, but are reassured by the recent resurgence.

Harvesting your own seeds ensures you can continue to grow healthful organic heir-loom fruits and vegetables, year after year.


JUST SAYINGBY SHELLEY WILDGEN

Traditionally, fall is a little bit two faced. There’s the slowing down -- leaves and bears disappear, cottages close; and there’s the opening up -- schools, businesses, fashion stores and weight loss centres move into high gear. Our internal mechanisms seem to respond to this tousled sea-son, sometimes producing a newness of sorts in our spirits.

I find that fall, rather than January, is more apt to bring about fresh resolutions. Maybe the change of pace provides reinforcement. Not sure.

For whatever reason, this fall I am attempting to quit my longest enduring habit of television watch-ing. I love TV. It is my oldest and dearest friend. I am entranced and impressed by its unending capacity to communicate and entertain. In clas-sic break up terms: It’s not the television, it’s me.

I could sit here and tell you I won’t miss it a bit, but that would not be true. I am already pining for my HGTV home reno shows and hourly ‘Break-ing News’ from CNN, but what I’m not missing is the time lost as I devoured my beloved televi-sion programs.

This year began like any other new fall season -- looking for the line-up, starting with the cancel-lations to make sure my favourites hadn’t made the cut. With the exception of ‘CSI – New York’ I discovered I didn’t know any of the cancelled shows; strangers, all of them – ‘Body of Proof,’ ‘Happy Endings,’ ‘How to Live With Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life,’ ‘Red Widow,’ ‘Vegas’ (WITHOUT Robert Urich), ‘Emily Owens, M.D.’

What happened? I love TV! Don’t I? How could I be spending hordes of time and money on some-thing I don’t even recognize? Am I leaving TV or is it actually leaving me? I proceeded to the next phase - acknowledging my addiction. What was I watching and for how many hours a week? It turns out that my consumption was less about variety of channels watched and more about zoning out on a lot of similar programs offered on only three or four channels. Interesting yet useless informa-tion. Once tallied, there was no denying that tele-vision consumption was my mightiest addiction; one that has provided mindless comfort since my days of watching Fred Flintstone, H.R. Pufnstuf and ‘Truth or Consequences.’ Next came a most

awkward epiphany. What of all the books I’ve missed reading, music I’ve never heard, walks I didn’t take, friends I didn’t make, all due to net-work numbness. A wicked realization.

Now the money. Much like a smoker figures out their annual cash outlay as they contemplate quitting, I was appalled at the monthly cost. By the time I added up all the channel packages, re-cording devices, picture enhancing black boxes, hiss-filtering speakers and monthly usage fees, a small mortgage payment could be made in its place, and that got my attention more than any Sham Wow ad.

The facts were inarguable. Fresh off three weeks of Maritime holiday sightseeing, sans television, I forged ahead.

Like dipping a toe in the frigid Atlantic, televi-sion withdrawal had to be a gradual submersion. The functioning machine and all of its tentacles remained in place, services intact, but I extracted my person from the Shelley-sized dent in the sofa, with my mettle tested regularly. Once, as I sailed past my old friend, book in hand, ready to read

on the patio – I froze. The television was ON. My husband was watching it.

“I thought we agreed…?” I stammered. Wait, this isn’t his problem. It’s mine. So I

looked Anderson Cooper straight in the azure blues, took a step back and retreated without incident. Another setback occurred following a session of non-viewing time. I stopped in at my brother’s apartment for a glass of water after a walk through Old East Hill in Belleville. The soothing, siren call of television static was de-tected immediately. Drawn by its melodious lure I entered the lair where the unmistakable banter of a panel show greeted me. ‘The View?’ ‘The Talk?’ Wendy Williams? I love them all. Engrossed, I sat and nestled into my old, familiar comfy coma un-til my brother walked in the room and commented on my weakness.

Brothers do that.It’s been a while now. I’ve enjoyed many bon-

fires, read books, gone for walks, kayaked up the Trent, joined the library, become reacquainted with The Moody Blues and learned to dine at a table again. It’s been good. Admittedly, there is a certain feeling of being disconnected. I can get news from my laptop and I read plenty of maga-zines but how about those Breaking News bulle-tins and my celebrities and all those Househunt-ers? How are they faring? Oh, and what of Bill Maher and the whole HBO crowd? I think I miss them most. But do I miss them, or are they just like a mole I’m used to seeing on my arm and then it’s gone?

Throughout this entire process I have talked about, but not acted upon, removing television services from our home. Problem. Cancelling ev-erything means no one can watch and as I said - this is my addiction and no one else’s. The de-cision remains, what to cancel and what to keep? Deconstructing the program packages, returning receivers... Exhausting. And Christmas is coming so there’ll be all those tear-jerking Linda Hamil-ton movies to watch and watch some more, and I can’t remember which channel they’ll be on so best leave all undisturbed.

Rationalizing? Perhaps. Not quite over the re-lationship. Definitely.•

The New Fall Season…unplugged

I find that fall,

rather than

January, is more apt

to bring about fresh

resolutions.

Maybe the change

of pace provides

reinforcement.

Not sure.


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ARTISANS AT HAND

Stirling-area potter Alecia Bye specializes in a decorating technique known as ‘Mocha’, which has its origins in

England and Scotland in the 18th century but seemed to have fallen out of practice in the early 20th century. She

has operated her Whispered Secret Pottery Studio out of an old farmhouse since 2004, and she specializes in cus-

tom pet dishes with names and birthdates.

Classic style rebornPotter brings back traditional technique

Would you describe your art for those unacquainted with your work?

I make twice-fired stoneware in functional forms which I decorate with an Old English slip decorat-ing technique called ‘mocha’ and I also use some solid colour glazes.

I make commissioned works with names and dates. I love creating pet bowls. If it can be thrown on a wheel or slab-rolled I can make it. I don’t work with moulds except to extrude the handles through a handmade die.

How do you create the mocha designs?

It is applied to leather-hard pottery in a slip decora-tion process. You take your piece of pottery, which is still very soft, and completely submerge it into alkaline slip (liquefied clay) and on a paintbrush you have the acidic mocha tea. When the two come into contact there is a surface tension that produces a reaction. In that second when the acid and the al-kaline meet, the treelike pattern appears.

We think of coffee or colour today, but in the 1700s it was named mocha because it resembles mocha stone which has those dendritic patterns.

Did you always know that you would be an artist?

No. I’m not sure that I even consider myself an artist now. I’m a potter. I’ve always been very

crafty, good with my hands, and I have always had an eye for form. I think those things help me to be a good potter.

It is important to me that the piece function as well as it looks. Durability is really important. It really matters to me that my product will stand up, that people can use it. The original mocha was used on functional ware. It was considered art for the poor.

What made you want to be a potter?

I think it kind of found me. I decided I needed new mugs. That’s really what started it!

I have two older sisters who were potters. They had retired from pottery by the time I started. I mentioned to my sister Shirley that I was taking pottery classes and she told me she would give me her mocha recipe.

What gave you the push to leave your office job lifestyle?

Being committed to my work and a paycheque was no longer what I needed to be able to focus on my life. I knew that I needed a change. It was time for my soul to find something. Financially there was a lot of uncertainty, but I have never once regretted it. As I look back I know I’ve made the right decision.

How did you learn your craft?

I took some pottery classes at Loyalist College. I loved it immediately, but I was frustrated that it was harder than I thought it would be. I thought I was going to come out of there with six beautiful mugs.

Within a few months I had gone from taking classes to hunting down equipment and taking over a whole wing of our house. My life changed dra-matically from that point.

Eventually I became good enough that I felt I could sell it. That, of course, took several years of making mud and having fun while I figured out what I was going to do next.

Even at that point I didn’t know that this is what I was going to do. I was just enjoying it. Then it got hold of me.

What gives you inspiration for your art?

The things that I hear from people, such as ‘I like my mugs to have a big round belly’, inspire my shapes and my forms. The trees, they are their own magic. I don’t really feel I have any control over them. They appear for me in the sense that the landscape is what it wants to be.

Do you find that you go to your pottery when you need to unwind?

Absolutely. It is my stress reliever. There’s some-thing about your hands in the clay. It is like gar-

STORY AND PHOTOS BY SHARON HENDERSON


dening; hands in the earth. It has a profound ef-fect somehow. It is grounding.

How has your pottery evolved over the years?

I like to believe it has improved dramatically. When you start it is clunky and heavy in the bot-toms and hard to get things that actually match. Like anything, no matter what it is, the more you do it the better you get. It becomes instinctive and almost effortless.

Whether it is throwing a football or sewing a dress, when it becomes where you are not really focusing on what you are doing, that is when you step to the next level. You can focus your attention on the other aspects.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I like all parts of it. I enjoy tooling. I really en-joy the mocha process when it is working well. Of all the parts I think my favourite part is the throwing, taking a clump of clay on the wheel and turning it into something.

Can you explain your relationship with your stoneware?

I feel connected to every piece as I’m making it. I handle each piece many times. If I throw mugs today, tomorrow I will tool and mocha them, and later that day I will put handles on them. A few days later as they are drying up I will finish deco-rating them by adding birds and sky colour, then put them in the kiln to bisque fire. I will take them out and put them in glaze, clean the bottoms off and sign them, then put them back in the kiln.

What wisdom do you possess that might be useful for those interested in pursuing a vocation in quality craftsmanship?It is challenging to make a living. You really need a good support network, especially in the early years, because you are going to have a lot more expenses than income as you learn your craft. Just do it. Figure it out and make it happen. If you can conceive it, it can happen. If it is what you want, just make it happen.

How do you market your products?

I do craft shows. Several stores carry my pottery (Studio 737 in Tweed, Explorer’s Market in Napa-nee, Fusion in Belleville, Dancing Moon Gallery in Deseronto, Polarwear in Eganville, The Old Hast-ings Gallery in Coe Hill). I have my shop near Stirling and I have a website (http://www.whis-peredsecretpottery.com).•

Tom Logan shows his first oil lamp, a clear glass flat lamp in bull’s eye pattern, given to him by his mother.


Hastings by Lamplight

The Mantle Lamp Supply CompanyStory and photos by Lindi Pierce


Some readers may still recall the hap-py day when they jettisoned their oil lamps to welcome that new-fangled electricity into their homes. Those

times may be in the distant past, but a visit to a cozy creek-side home in Hastings County will bring back a flood of memories, and likely teach you a few new things. For you are about to enter The Mantle Supply Company, on Sagers Corners Road, the home of Tom and Geraldine Logan, their vast personal collection of historic lighting, and their shop offering antique and reproduction oil lamps and any lighting accessory the mind can imagine.

The Mantle Supply Company grew out of Tom’s interest in historic lighting, and has been evolving since the early 1980’s, when the retired Loyalist instructor was Canada’s distributor for Aladdin Lamps, selling the oil lamps at cottage life and energy trade shows. Later he moved the business home, taking over the front room recently vacated by Geri’s needle-craft shop. From their location, Tom has shipped merchandise as far away as Ja-pan, packing the delicate lamp and its chimney with spray foam insulation; he’s never received word of any breakage.

Tom was a boy during World War II. He recol-lects oil lamps being used on the family farm near today’s Haig Road. Electricity was coming to Thur-low Township but work stalled at Herchimer Street (“the copper was needed for the war effort”), so he remembers living by lamplight.

“We were lucky to have one of the expensive mantle lamps,” Tom recounts. “It was carried from the supper table to the living room for reading, then upstairs to bed. Of course I was not allowed to touch.”

Tom recalls when their Sagers Corners Road neighbours became aware of the shop.

“In those days power outages were more com-mon,” he explains. “Folks would notice we still had lights and I’d explain we had oil lamps, a LOT of oil lamps.”

Many area cottagers and folks living off the grid still use oil lamps, and others keep them handy in case of blackouts. Tom recalls how he demon-strated the safety of kerosene to a skeptical Geri.

“I went out to the driveway, poured kerosene in a saucer, struck a match, shoved it into the kerosene, and put out the match. Kerosene’s not explosive.”

A quick review of the parts of an oil lamp might be warranted. An oil lamp is composed of a steady base, a font or bowl for holding the liquid fuel, a collar to connect the font to the burner above, and a chimney to cover the flame. Some lamps add a decorative globe or shade over the chimney. Many different materials, colours and styles make collect-ing endlessly fascinating.

Tom’s specialty is the Aladdin or mantle lamp – hence the shop’s name, which in no way relates to that perfect above-the-fireplace spot to place a lamp! Most people are more familiar with the flat-wick type of oil lamp, with its wick raised and lowered by a winder. The mantle lamp burner is not significantly different but for its round wick.

Its unique feature is the mantle (familiar to people who use Coleman camping lanterns), a gossamer-thin gauze ‘sock’ which is suspended on a minis-cule frame above the flame, and magically glows in the heat, creating the intense light. The glow results from a harmless amount of radium in the mantle.

“When they [Aladdin lamps] first came out in 1885 they were revolutionary,” Tom explains. “The light they gave off is equivalent to today’s 60-watt light bulb, and they produced 3000 BTU, enough to heat a kettle to boiling in 10 minutes.”

Quite a change for people accustomed to the light from a single candle.

Aladdin lamps have more parts and are more complicated to clean and repair. The mantle will provide 200 hours of operation, with quality fuel and regular cleaning.

“I have to take the lamps apart and look at them,” says Tom. “They’re often full of soot or unburned material. You have to be very careful with mantles. The rest of the parts are perfectly happy to soak in warm soapy water, and be cleaned with a natu-ral bristle brush. But a lot of people chicken out.”

And that’s where Tom comes in. The shop of-fers cleaning and repair, as well as a mind-bog-gling array of replacement parts (wicks, mantles, shades, hardware and rare sizes of chimneys no longer produced) in addition to antique and repro-duction lamps.

And advice. Tom cautions people about burning today’s brightly coloured lamp oils, which leave deposits on the mantles resulting in mantle failure. Another bit of useful information: if you’re not using the lamp regularly, drain the oil to prevent gummy residue from forming. Tom also cautions about temperature changes.

“If people are buying a lamp chimney on a mi-nus 20 degree day, I have them heat their car before they leave,” he says.

Tom and Geri Logan in front of the Mantle Lamp Supply Company, a must-visit destination in Hastings County. ( this photo doesn’t need to be too large)

A small part of Tom and Geri Logan’s personal collection of metal lamps.


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The couple recalls disaster stories they’ve heard; if glass isn’t warmed naturally for hours, it will shatter, and a priceless lamp font can be lost for-ever. Don’t handle a cold lamp with warm hands – who would think of that?

But as impassioned as Tom is about the man-tle mechanism, most people will be drawn to the beauty and variety of the lamp collection. The ma-terials range from glass in many colours, or etched and patterned, including the exquisitely painted vase lamps resembling marble and onyx, to cop-per and brass. The range of styles is endless, with collectors specializing in student, hanging, or tall elegant piano lamps, lanterns (Tom’s particular in-terest), gas lamps (he has a sample he lights from a propane cylinder), paraffin and whale oil burning lamps, bicycle, fireman’s and police lamps, delicate miniatures, fairy lamps and nightlights. Some col-lectors even focus on specific lamp parts, like fini-als or mantles! “Look how ridiculously specialized we are,” Tom laughs. “You could show an exquisite fairy lamp to a lantern collector and he’d dismiss it with ‘oh, yeah, whatever.’”

Lamps tell us our own history. A prized brass and copper reservoir wall lamp once hung in the Coun-cil Chambers in Baltimore, Ont. A recent visitor presented Tom and Geri with a browning photo of the hall with the lamps clearly visible.

“So close, so Canadian,” Tom says with a shake of his head.

“The history of oil lamps is the history of people and light,” muses Geri.

A flurry of lamp and fuel innovations and the re-sulting patenting and lawsuit wars marked the 19th century. Canadians take pride in the discovery of oil in 1858 at Oil Springs Ontario, and the 1866 oil boom in nearby Petrolia - the beginnings of the oil industry in North America. The lamp story is well told in ephemera; Geri displays original and rep-lica advertisements and catalogues full of images and enthusiastic claims, which collectors treasure.

The Logans’ personal collection is vast, repre-senting many styles of lamps and displaying their captivating beauty.

“It’s amazing how much you can pack into a little house,” Tom says as he shows off his first lamp, a flat lamp in clear glass, the font decorated in a circular pattern called bull’s-eye.

His mother, who once worked as housekeeper at Glanmore in its days as a family home, gave him the treasured lamp and started a passion. Geri cradles a unique handmade lace-maker’s lamp dat-ing from the early 1800’s; a flask-shaped glass con-tainer with water sealed inside (“the water’s as old as the lamp!”), designed to be suspended from its wire cage, to refract the light of a candle placed behind it, providing early task lighting.

“So many lace-makers went blind,” Geri com-ments sadly.

This prized antique brass and copper reservoir lamp once graced the Council Chambers in Baltimore Township, Ontario.

Two lamps with hand-painted floral shades in the cou-ple’s dining room.


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Tom’s special interest is lanterns. “Lanterns are fascinating, not for their artistry

and beauty, but as a piece of technology,” he ex-plains.

Tom recently presented a paper at a lantern society ‘Lanternvention.’ The couple belong to many historic lighting societies, among them The Aladdin Knights, The Rushlight Club (begun in the 1930’s), and the Historic Lighting Society of Canada (Tom is immediate past president), which take them throughout the United States and as far

as England to hear papers, tour world-famous col-lections, and trade lamps and lamp lore at the tra-ditional evening ‘room trades.’

Geri contributes her well-known quilting (she is quilt consultant at Glanmore National Historic Site) and other needlework skills; she recently created quilted panels using stitched historic lamp designs to auction at an upcoming gathering. An exquisite dragonfly wall panel accents Tom’s multicoloured lanterns on an oak library table in their gracious living room.

Tom Logan built the shelving for this outstanding col-lection of glass lamps in the couple’s home featuring subtle shades of green and peach in a collection of vase and mantle lamps.

The Mantle Lamp shop – an Aladdin’s cave rich with every possible lamp accessory, and new and reproduction lamps.

The Mantle Lamp Supply Company is a spe-cial destination, for lamp collectors and for those who appreciate history and beautiful things. Tom doesn’t have a website (“We’re stuck in the 1800’s,” he laughs) but they advertise in ‘Antiqu-ing in Eastern Ontario’ and ‘The Wayback Times’. The shop is open Saturdays and by appointment.

“We love what we do, and love to share it,” Tom says. “Customers sometimes spend hours here.”

A trip to 205 Sagers Corners Road in Hastings County will tell you why. •


Steve Whyte: Fly Me AwayAs the summer comes to an end we find our-selves trying to fit in just a few more memorable evenings full of laughter, bonfires and music. Steve Whyte, another guy from our backyard has answered any questions about what music should accompany those evenings with his debut CD “Fly Me Away”.

Like many of the greats this Madoc musician has poured his heart and soul into his music, which is quickly apparent in his song writing abilities. Beyond his superior literary capability, his vocal skills in duets and on the solo front are impressive. The very talented vocal accompani-ment and phenomenal musicians that join Steve help to create harmonies that are reminiscent of duets old and new.

The songs that are present on this CD pull at your heart strings one moment, and then have you grabbing for another cold one. It’s great classic country mixed with hints of folk, pop and good ol’ rock n’ roll. Whyte covers all spectrums from honkeytonk to heartbreak and everything in between. All the while you’ll be singing along.

“Fly Me Away” retails for $10 at Sam The Re-cord Man in Belleville, and more info is avail-able by contacting [email protected].~Sheena Rowney

Wind, Water, Barley & WineBy Orland French$40.00Wallbridge House PublishingVisit www.wallbridgehouse.com for sales outlets or call (613) 969-8354

There are history books, and then there are HIS-TORY BOOKS. Wind, Water, Barley & Wine fits into the latter category. Rather than serving sim-ply as a reflection on the settlement and growth of Prince Edward County, this 160-page illustrat-ed offering delves further back into the geologi-cal forces that made Prince Edward County what it is today, and how it will change in the future.

“There are a lot of history books written about Prince Edward County,” explains the book’s cre-ator, Orland French. “But there is nothing that pulls it together to tell how it was formed as a peninsula. I thought instead of doing a book with a section on geology, let’s do the whole book on the geology basis. This book gets into the formation of the earth and the rocks that were laid down.”

For example, a chapter on wineries explores the creation of the soil conditions that have made the county a suitable area for growing grapes. A section on the Sandbanks reveals the origins of the sand beaches that are arguably the most popular tourist feature in the region.

“Tourists go for the wine and the sandbanks and here is something explaining how the sand-banks got there and inevitably the wine too,” French says. “It explains why you get different kinds of wine – different kinds of soils.”

A solid team of contributors has added to the richness of the book. They include well-known Prince Edward County naturalist Terry Sprague, aerial photographer Darko Zelkovic, renowned geology professor Dugald Carmichael, designer Jozef VanVeenen and historian Lindi Pierce.

Noted historical writer Peter C. Newman has contributed the introduction.

Nearly three years in the works, Wind, Water, Barley & Wine was released in late June.

1812 The Land Between Flowing Waters By Ken Leland Published by Fireship Press Available at Ashlie’s Books, Bancroft, Chapters, KOBO ebook

This historical novel is set on the Niagara and Detroit River frontiers during the War of 1812. In Upper Canada, the Benjamins found freedom from slavery. With their white neighbours the Lockwoods, they must defend a new homeland from impending American invasion.

These families are Loyalists, living near Niag-ara Falls. The Babcocks are pacifist Quakers, yet they too are threatened by the coming onslaught.

For Kshiwe, Kmonokwe and their children, 1812 is just another season of fear among First Nations. This Neshnabek family lives many days travel to the west, in a place settlers call Indiana.

In the shadows of Brock and Tecumseh, all join in the struggle to endure.

The author’s debut novel has been researched throughout southern Ontario and Indiana, then written over several summers at Bartlett Lake in Hastings County. •

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

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C r o s s r o a d s

Memorable musical moments punctuat-ed the long and extraordinary life of Esmond Skidmore but there was so much more to a

truly colourful individual, who placed his own unique imprint on much of Hastings County.

Long known prior to taking up resi-dence in Belleville as Lake St. Peter’s “hermit with a difference,” Esmond, fond-ly and frequently dubbed “Es” was a rare soul and in media terms always a good story. Little wonder prominent newspaper journalists and noted radio and televisions hosts made their way to Esmond’s modest home in the heart of the Madawaska Valley. The resulting broadcasts and stories in print generated enormous publicity and resulted in a rash of visitors, all eager to meet the man who more than most truly marched to his own drummer.

When Skidmore passed away quietly at the Bel-leville General Hospital on May 9, 2011 at age 93, it was the coda in ways more than merely musi-cal. Long prepared for further adventures in the hereinafter, Esmond touched and influenced many, including the writer, during his long and eventful existence on planet earth. We may never quite know his like again and can only marvel at the life he lived so fully from the time well over 50 years ago when he was first introduced to the communities of Bancroft, Lake St. Peter, Maynooth and ulti-mately Belleville.

It all came about when an older brother recruited Esmond’s assistance with the construction of Al-gonquin Lodge, a rustic yet comfortable place of accommodation much needed locally at the time. An entrepreneurial individual, the elder Skidmore poured his best ideas and considerable funding into the ambitious resort venture. Finally, just when the lodge was ready for the official opening the unex-pected occurred and all went up in flames. All that remained was the massive stone fireplace and chim-ney that anticipated guests never did get to enjoy.

Broken-hearted, Esmond’s brother returned to city life but not before gifting Esmond with a Lake St. Peter parcel of land of his very own. While the one brother grieved, Esmond embarked on an ex-citing new path and a lifestyle that in time found many hundreds of individuals making their way to that beacon in the bush now known locally as Esmond’s Tea Room.

A sickly period during his youth had prompted Esmond to embrace a

life of exercise and modest eating habits. His fit-ness hero at the time was the noted Canadian health guru Dr. Robert Jackson of Jackson’s Roman Meal fame. A young Esmond had attended Dr. Jackson’s highly popular lectures on diet and fitness and, for many years, breakfast for Esmond was comprised of Roman Meal or his other favourite, Red River cereal. Eating this way and a daily morning routine with emphasis on a hundred or more sit-ups was to keep Skidmore in remarkable physical shape into his nineties.

Esmond’s health priorities were matched only by his love of music. His unique piano stylings over the years gave thousands of listeners great pleasure, from small gatherings around his tea room to per-formances at the Ontario Science Centre, and many more at numerous Belleville venues. Esmond’s vast repertoire of pops, jazz, standards and classics de-lighted all age groups. Though not one for extrava-gance generally he could easily overdose when it came to music and his big luxury through the years was his purchase of many different pianos. The ar-rival of a handsome new instrument always created talk in the hamlet of Lake St. Peter. Once uncrat-ed and tuned by Esmond himself, each new piano, more expensive than its predecessor responded to the master’s caressing touch as he offered up a veri-table musical buffet much to the delight of camp-ers at the park nearby — the same campers who spread Esmond’s reputation for unmatched western sandwiches and butter tarts, all “womped” up on his trusty wood stove whatever the weather during his early years of operation.

A one-man dawn to dusk enterprise, Esmond’s Tea Room found the genial proprietor shifting from kitchen to the tea room to the piano bench, a lean nut-brown figure almost always clad in brownish-yellow Khaki shorts. Es-mond would begin his tanning routine early each spring when he would totally remove the bedroom window, allow-ing the sun’s rays to reach his entire body as he lay on top of his bed. Fur-ther tanning continued in the winter when, wearing only a bikini, he would head outdoors for his daily snow bath, a sight that frequently greeted local travellers, many of whom appeared

overdressed in their heavy mackinaw jackets.Esmond’s Tea Room, although a modest place

always reflected the owner’s interest in space travel. His naïve art adorning the walls was solely devoted to other planets in the cosmos, flying saucers and samples of extraterrestrial intelligence, reinforcing Skidmore’s rock-solid belief in new and better hori-zons ahead. Sales of his primitive art and driftwood creations, dubbed “forest treasures,” contributed to a small income bolstered slightly through piano tun-ing and sales of audio cassettes showcasing Esmond at the keyboard.

But it was his entry into the world of supply teach-ing, encouraged by Lake St. Peter educator Vi Card, that boosted his income and added a whole new di-mension to his already fascinating world. Having completed the requisite educational courses, Esmond proved a natural fit once installed in small remotely located schools. He immediately became a hit with his rural students. But popularity came with a price, as the new teacher soon discovered. At one espe-cially remote school Skidmore’s wholesome lunch coupled with his comments that “we are what we eat” resulted in several students going on a hunger strike, as they balked at sandwiches from home that consisted mainly of white “doughy” bread. A suf-ficient number of unhappy parents led to Esmond being summoned to the office of his superintendent. Being hauled up on the carpet of higher education, Esmond, having had his fingers slightly rapped, was encouraged not to further rock the boat. Needless to say, neither his lunches or views changed and, to his utter delight, some of those early students as adults rediscovered their old teacher and became patrons of Esmond’s Tea Room.

Remembering Esmond Skidmore

Maynooth area musician led extraordinary lifeBY BARRY PENHALE

F2 AFTER YOU’RE GONE - Side 1

After You’re Gone • Navajo Trail • Beethoven Andante • B Flat Soliloquy • Blue Moon

Butterfly Hop (E) • Esmond’s Jazz • Georgia • Have You Ever Been Happy

I Get the Blues When It Rains • I Want A Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad

I’ll Be Seeing You • I’ll Never Smile Again

Ma, He’s Making Eyes At Me • Mean To Me • My Secret Love

Only You • Please Don’t Talk About Me When You’re Gone • Song of the Islands • Spring Song

Take Me In Your Arms • There Are Smiles • When the Blues of the Night Will This Be Moon Love

Twinkle Little Star • When You’re Smiling • La Paloma • My Bonnie


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Although a man of simple tastes, one of Esmond Skidmore’s few excesses was a fine piano. In later years he serenaded guests at a selection of Belleville venues.Photo courtesy John M. Parrott Art Gallery

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In an even partial telling of Skidmore’s story, one absolutely must make mention of his many special friendships with members of the opposite sex. The winning combination of music, food and discus-sion proved to be an elixir unmatched by any so-called wonder drugs. The annual visits by attractive women never failed to spice up the lives of neigh-bours and set many a tongue wagging. Little did they know that some of these visitors came from the religious enclave known as Madonna House in Combermere.

Whatever one’s gender, time spent in Skidmore’s company was always a rejuvenating experience. My own time with the old maestro spanned several decades. Discovering much in common, we espe-cially delighted in similar musical tastes -- Basie,

Ellington, Carmichael and perhaps our all time fa-vourite, the irascible composer-pianist Fats Waller. Their music filtered through his seemingly endless repertoire -- “One O’ Clock Jump,” “Mood Indigo,” “Stardust,” “Honeysuckle Rose.” It was myself who introduced Esmond to the song made famous by Di-nah Washington, “What a Difference a Day Makes,” a number he adored and often played in public. In truth, any day spent in Skidmore’s company led to a positive difference.

Somewhere I’m certain that at this very minute, Es is in some cozy venue tickling the ivories, and others are discovering his wit, wisdom and music as so many have before. Though I’m far from ready to leave these parts, that’s one party I’d dearly love to crash. •

Students participate in a Tamashi Wari (board breaking) workshop at the Kai-Shin North Branch in Haliburton. Sensei Dave Dalley from the Bancroft Dojo oversees their progress. The annual board breaking seminar is popular with students throughout the region and hosted by Sensei Michael Chapman, who runs the Kai-Shin North Branch in Haliburton.


The tiger’s

roarMartial arts group appeals to all ages

A student’s martial arts training may begin in a dojo, but it does not stop there.

Translated as the “Place of the Way,” there are many dojos encompassing CFB

Trenton, Picton, Belleville, Odessa, Madoc, Tweed, Bancroft, Combermere and Haliburton, which provide instruction in various martial arts systems.

These east-central Ontario dojos are affiliat-ed through the Snow Tigers Martial Arts Asso-ciation, and collaborate to provide high-quality grading standards, seminars, and tournaments for their members during the course of the year.

“The people in the dojos are very friendly and supportive,” says Elizabeth, a Grade 9 student at North Hastings High School from the Bancroft Dojo, who has trained for four years. “I am al-ways learning something new, every week, which makes the training go by very fast.”

This training is comprehensive. And the list of martial arts specializations offered at these various dojos includes Chito-Ryu Karate, Ca-nadian Jiu-Jitsu, My-Jong Kung-Fu, Ying Yee Kung-Fu, Hsing-I Kung-Fu, Yang style Tai-Chi-Chuan, Muay Thai, Kali, Kenjutsu and Kickbox-ing taught regionally.

“It is my love for the arts and the students which keeps me training in these systems,” says Sensei Terry Langevin of Langevin Educational Systems, who runs a dojo in Tweed. “There is a mutual respect between everyone in the dojo.”

“I think my self esteem would be lower if I did not study karate,” said Elizabeth. “Before I studied karate, I was shy and very quiet at school and I did not have the confidence to answer questions.”

Jasper, a Grade 7 student at York River Public School, who holds yellow and green certifica-tions and has been studying karate for four years, has also identified measurable gains in his con-fidence levels outside of the dojo.

“I cannot exactly say why or how, but the dis-cipline in my life has increased and the training has acted upon me,” says Jasper. “Karate gives you more confidence, for example, in asking for a raise in a job, or in trying other things that you may not have done otherwise.

“In fact, in several games of tag I have rolled to avoid being touched. My agility level has in-creased by at least five-fold.”

Confidence, agility and mutual respect be-tween training partners, who are known in the dojo as “ukes,” are consistently identified by students as primary reasons for coming back, year-after-year, to further their instruction and progress up the belt levels.

“A good uke is someone who knows what they are doing,” says Elizabeth. “They must be will-ing to tell you what you are doing wrong and to also suggest to you where you must improve.”

Story and photos by

Sarah Vance


And this uke must also be attentive. “If your uke is distracted or not paying atten-

tion you could hurt them,” she says. “Attentive-ness means that they are willing to provide you with their energy, which you are able to take and use to improve your skills.”

Ukes, like the martial arts dojos which they belong to, are intergenerational with children, youth and adults often training together in the same classes.

“Karate appeals to everyone, from kids of three years to adults of 85 years,” says Sensei Lan-gevin. “It’s just good fun.”

Sifu Robert Walthers, who runs a dojo in Tren-ton, also identifies the widespread popularity of martial arts training.

“Nowadays, martial arts appeals to every de-mographic and people come from a wide vari-ety of backgrounds, says Sifu Walthers. “I teach children as young as two-and-a-half to hold their heads up and look into people’s eyes and be proud of who they are.

“I teach folks in their eighties how to prevent osteoporosis, deal with arthritis, to sleep well and to enhance their overall health and confi-dence.”

The Snow Tigers Martial Arts Association pro-motes a program called Karate Kids Don’t Do Drugs. This program targets street-proofing and self-confidence strategies.

“Programs like this have helped to make me become very aware,” says young Elizabeth. “We call this with-it-ness.”

A Complete Child Safety Program, of-fered by the Snow Ti-gers Martial Arts As-sociation, focuses on child safety including “escaping adult attacks either on the ground or in cars, in crowded plac-es, in isolated places to dealing with bullies any-where singly or during a ‘swarming’.”

“With-it-ness is basical-ly being able to walk down the street and know what the surroundings around you are - the newsstands, the coffee shops, the people in front of and behind you,” says Eliza-beth. “It is like multi-tasking with your eyes.”

“The personal development never stops; the personal devel-opment of several generations of students (and their students) are also important,” adds Sifu Wal-thers.

While affiliated through the Snow Tigers Ka-rate Association each dojo brings with it a dis-tinct history of training in martial arts systems. These dojos offer their own areas of expertise, which are shared between the dojos through an

Elizabeth, from the Bancroft Dojo, practices kata spe-cific to her belt level. Kata is designed to assist students in developing basic blocks and strikes as well as the transitions between these movements.

The combination of force and time applied against an object develops maximum power. Each joint must go through its complete range of motion, from bent to straight limbs.

Chito Ryu karate stresses moral character above all other benefits.


active schedule of inter-dojo workshops and seminars.

“I broke a board in mid-air with my fist at a seminar with Sensei [Michael] Chapman at the North Kai Shin Dojo in Haliburton,” says Eliza-beth. “I have attended this seminar twice and I will return again.”

In downtown Madoc, at the Straw Bale Octa-gon, Sifu Greg Magwood of Magwood Martial Arts offers an annual one-day internal martial arts retreat which focuses on abdominal work and blending and focusing internal powers to respond to stress in defence situations.

Jasper, Grade 7, practices Kata specific to his belt level, at the Millennium Park pedestrian foot-bridge in Ban-croft.

A Kata, which is generally translated as “form,” is a predetermined series of fighting techniques (blocking, punching, striking and kicking) against imaginary op-ponents.

“Blending and flowing concen-trates on moving from one tech-nique to the next in response to your opponent,” says Sifu Mag-wood. “Knowing the limited vari-ables of the human body prepares you for what to expect in a defense situation; this is often overlooked but it is critical to success.”

Elite Martial Arts Centre in Bel-leville actively hosts workshops throughout the year, which are at-tended by students throughout the re-gion and taught by multiple instruc-tors.

“As someone who has never had any sparring training whatsoever, I was given great feedback and advice, and the gentlemen who joined me in the class were gracious and helpful,” says Leon Pilgrim, a student at the Ban-croft Dojo who attended Sifu Walthers’ Continuous Sparring Seminar at Elite Martial Arts. “If there is another seminar held I will definitely be there.”

With most dojos resuming their train-ing in the first week September, The Snow

Tigers Martial Arts Association provides a great autumn and winter activity that can be pursued by learners of all ages and interests.

And it is affordable for students, who often pay less than $15 for classes, which typically run for two hours and which provide opportuni-ties to study in the evenings and on weekends.

“In Bancroft, our dojo is located above the North Hastings Community Centre. We meet on Thursday nights and I study in the adult’s class,” says Elizabeth. “They teach us how to fight, but only in a defense situation. We understand power and strength and we respect it.”


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Yellow belt student Leon Pilgrim, is a student from the Bancroft Dojo, who studies in the adult’s class.

Jasper is practicing an upper block, which is a specific transition in the white belt kata.

Sensei Diana Smith is the 14th black belt to graduate from the Bancroft dojo and the first female student. She is a Sensei at the Bancroft dojo. In this picture she is presenting Madison Woodcox and Mason Pilgrim, from the children’s class, with their yellow belts.

Sensei Wayne Lord, from the Bancroft Dojo, identifies respect as the most important etiquette in his Bancroft dojo, which includes Sensei Dave Dalley, Sensei Rick Dodd and Sensei Di-ana Smith.

“Respect for those I teach is very important to me, because their time is important too,” says Sensei Lord. “And respect for those who teach you is essential, as this symbolizes centuries of people who have trained before you.”

“I try to give everybody as much respect as I can,” says Elizabeth. “I have studied with my

club for four years, and my respect is reciprocal.” “Every parent wants her child to excel,” says

Patricia Whitlaw, Elizabeth’s mother. “And mar-tial arts is one of the ways Elizabeth is doing this.” •

More information about the Snow Tigers Martial Arts Association can be found at their website www.snowtiger-martialarts.com.


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

C o u n t r y C a l e n d a r

ART GALLERIES/EXHIBITIONS

Art Gallery of Bancroft, 10 Flint Av-enue, Bancroft, 613-332-1542 www.agb.weebly.com Sept 4 - 29 – Fresh Paint; Cheryl El-

lenberger, Painter 0ct 2 -27 – Fiber Works; Anne Gar-

wood Roney - Member of Canadian Gourd Society

Oct 30 - Nov 24 – Early Christmas at the Gallery- plus guest artist.

John M. Parrott Art Gallery, Belleville Public Library, 254 Pinnacle Street, Bel-leville, 613-968-6731, ext. 2240, www.bellevillelibrary.com Sept. 27 & 28 - Arts activities for all

ages to celebrate Culture Days, Doors Open Belleville and the BDIA Art Walk.

Oct. 4 - Gala Fundraiser “One for All” in support of new Gallery lighting.

Sept 5 – 19 - Gallery One -A pre-view of the One for All artwork do-nated in support of our gala fundraiser.

Sept 26 – Oct 31 – Gallery Two “Shipwreck Dreaming”- the culmi-nation of 20 years of imagining and creating by paper and print artist Wen-dy Cain. Opening reception for both shows Thurs, Sept 5; 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Nov 7 – 28 - The Quinte Fibre Art-ists return for their biennial exhibition of members new work. Opening recep-tion Thurs, Nov 7; 6 – 7:30 pm.

THEATRE/LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Bancroft Village Playhouse, www.bancroftvillageplayhouse.ca Oct 5 - Rod the Tribute - Starring

Vinnie Green & Mike White. A two man presentation with audio and video ac-companiment. 8 pm Tickets available at Harvest Moon, Bancroft

Oct 19 – Annual Playhouse Gala featuring SULTANS OF STRING CD RE-LEASE!

One of Canada’s Hottest Roots Music Acts Shake Things Up With Revved Up Riffs8 pm. Tickets at Harvest Moon and Posies, Bancroft and www.boxofficebancroft.ca

Brighton Barn Theatre, www.brighton-barntheatre.ca & on facebookSept. 27 - Oct. 12 - Blithe Spirit – a come-dy by Noel Coward, Tickets: 613-475-2144.

My Theatre Quinte, Historical Trenton Town Hall - 1861, 55 King Street, Trenton Oct. 17th - Nov. 2 - Out of Order; Written by Ray Cooney. Winner 1991 Olivier Award Winner, Best Comedy. When Richard Wil-ley, a government junior minister, plans to spend the evening with Jane Worthing-ton, one of the opposition’s typists, things go disastrously wrong in this hugely suc-cessful sequel to Two into One. Dec 7 & 8 - A Canadian Christmas - Enjoy a toe tapping time with the sounds and tastes of the season.

The Stirling Festival Theatre, West Front St., Stirling 613-395-2100 1-877-312-1162 www.stirlingfestivaltheatre.com Sept 27, 8pm - YOU AIN’T SEEN

NOTHIN’ YET An IANA Theatre Com-pany Cabaret - One night only “fun-d-raising” cabaret featuring some of your favourite IANA stars! They act, they dance and they sing!

Sept 28, 8 p.m. – The Elton John Experience - Featuring The Captain and The Captain Fantastic Band, this incredible musical journey will take you from the early days of England through his songbook of hits.

Oct 4, 2 pm & 8pm – Everly Broth-ers Tribute – one of the greatest duos to come out of the 1950s with their unique harmony on hits like Wake Up Little Suzie, All I Have to Do Is Dream, When Will I be Loved, Walk Right Back, and Bye, Bye Love!

Oct 6, 2 pm – The Phoenix En-semble - part of our “Cabaret Concert Series” in Burrell Hall! Enjoy a classical music concert on a Sunday afternoon in the casual comfort upstairs in Burrell Hall where the bar is always open, decadent desserts are available and the stage is just inches away!

Oct 9, 2 pm & 8pm – The History of Rock & Roll - Let Pauly & the Grease-balls take you on a nostalgic journey back to the Rockin’ and Rollin’ years! From your classic sock hop favourites to the complex harmonies of the popular “Doo Wop” groups.

Oct 18, 8 pm – Grand Old Country - All your favourite old time country singers portrayed in one show and hosted by our Johnny Cash, Bill Cayley, Tributes to Conway Twitty, Marty Rob-bins, Hank Snow, Roger Miller, Patsy Cline, Waylon Jenning, Tammy Wyn-ette and more!

Oct 24, 25, 26 and 27 – Howl at the Moon - Trick or Treat! Don’t miss our Young Company’s musical tribute to Halloween! Tra, la, la, la, la…Boo! A

Nov 2 – 2 pm - Elvis: A Rockin Christmas starring Stephen Kabakos.

Nov 2 – 8 pm - Elvis: From Teen Idol to King starring Stephen Kabakos.

Nov 9, 8 pm – Billy Bishop Goes to War - Recreating the role of WWI fighter pilot, William Avery Bishop (and 17 other characters) Dean Hollin returns in one of Canada’s most famous musicals. From humble beginnings in Owen Sound to the fame and glory of being this country’s top-scoring pilot of the First World War, this tour-de-force performance is not to be missed!

Dec 15, 8 pm – The Mantini Sisters Christmas - Sandra, Barbara and Ann invite you to celebrate with them the joyous season of Christmas in an evening of popular holiday classics old and new.

Nov 23 – Dec 31 - RAPUNZEL: A Hairy Tale (Family Panto) - A holiday treat for the family, and a great way to introduce kids to the wonders of live the-atre.(Recommended for ages 5 and up)

Nov 22 – Dec 31 - RAPUNZEL: A Hairy Tale (Naughty Panto) - The Floral Kingdom is in trouble! Gothal the Awful wants to pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Princess Rapunzel teams up with Bea, The Bumble Fairy and Johnny AppleTree, the Palace Gar-dener, to save the day.

Dec 31 - RAPUNZEL: A Hairy Tale (Naughty New Year) Usher in the New Year with an old tradition: Naughty New Year! The Floral Kingdom is in trouble! Gothal the Awful wants to pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Princess Ra-punzel teams up with Bea, The Bumble Fairy and Johnny AppleTree, the Palace Gardener, to save the day.

The Regent Theatre, 224 Main St. Picton 613-476-8416 www.theregenttheatre.org Sept 26 – La Boheme (live opera) Sept 28 – Roy Orbison (Tribute) Oct 5 – Stars of Pop (Teen Tribute) Oct 25 – Nov 2 Blood Brothers,

County Theatre Group Nov 13 – VALDY (Canadian Folk) Dec 7 – Carlos del Junco (Juno win-

ning Blues)

EVENTS

Sept 21, 22, 28, & 29 – 10 am – 5 pm - Bancroft And Area Studio Tour - Visit the artists in their own home/studios, viewing and purchasing the original art creations.Pick up brochure/map at many local busi-nesses and Bancroft Art Gallerywww.bancroftstudiotour.org

Sept. 23 - Birds and Flora of Belize. Quinte Field Naturalists’ present retired teacher, Donna Fano, for a personal trav-elogue of this naturalist’s paradise. 7:30 pm, Sills Auditorium, Bridge Street United Church, Belleville.

Sept 28 – 1 – 4 pm – Dancing Moon Gallery 1st Anniversary Open House – Music, refreshments and of course great art. Main Street, Deseronto, www.dancingmoongallery.com

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

C o u n t r y C a l e n d a r

Sept 28-29, 10 am-5pm - Tweed & Area Studio Tour - Twenty four partici-pating artists welcome you in 14 studios on their self guided tour. You will discover a wide array of talent in the heart of Hast-ings County. The Queensborough Com-munity Centre, 1853 Queensborough is on the tour this year. Drop by and see great art and enjoy a bowl of chili and home-made treats. www.tweedstudiotour.org

Oct 4 - Nov 14 - The Napanee Photo Club’s 29th Annual Exhibition and Sale, Photo Art 2013, daily 9 am - 8 pm at the gallery in the Community Corridor of the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital, 8 Richmond Park Drive, Napanee, ON. Free admission & parking. Members donate 25 % of the price of any work sold to the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital Foundation. For info: Graem Coles at 613-373-8810 or http://napanee_photo_club.tripod.com

Oct 15 - Hastings County and the Great War, 1914-1918. To commemo-rate the centennial of the beginning of WWI in 2014, the Historical Society is

researching the military service of twelve Hastings County men and women who served in that conflict. Society Director Bill Kennedy will recount some of their personal, frontline experiences, as docu-mented in letters, army records, newspa-pers, family histories and photographs. Quinte Living Centre Auditorium, 370 Front Street, Belleville at 7:30 pm

Oct 17 - 7 - 8:30 pm - Mushrooms of Hastings County at Eastminster United Church, Belleville. Admission $3.00. ASL interpreter is available for this event. Explore the little known world un-der your feet. Visit www.bellevilleassocia-tionofthedeaf.org/ for more details or call (613)966- 2668.

Oct 26 – Hastings County Historical Society Annual Banquet and Celebra-tion of History at the Travelodge Hotel, Belleville. Special Guest Speaker, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Heritage, The Hon. Sheila Copps will bring “We’re Nobody’s Babies: The Changing Scene of Women in Canadi-an Politics.” Tickets $65 will be available at

the Quinte Arts Council, 36 Bridge Street East, Belleville and from Richard Hughes, 613-961-7772 or [email protected]

Oct. 28 - Gardening with Nature. Find how the careful selection of plants and other strategies enable wildlife and gardening lovers, Elizabeth Churcher andGeorge Thomson, to support nature while living sustainably from the crops they grow. Quinte Field Naturalist meeting, 7:30 pm, Sills Auditorium, Bridge Street United Church, Belleville.

Nov 14 - Christmas House Tour spon-sored by Madoc Trinity United Church and Heart of Hastings Hospice. Tickets $20 available from the following Madoc businesses: Bush Furniture; Wilson’s; and Remax; or from Ron Moffatt 613-473-2913 or Karen Bailey 613-473-2427. 4 - 9pm. A formal Victorian Tea is included in this price.

Nov 19 Ed Burtt of Ocean Scan will speak on Efforts to Recover the Remains of the HMS Speedywhich sank in 1804 off Presqu’ile Point. Hear amazing stories

of his decades-long efforts to locate and recover the compelling artifacts and remains from The Speedy after over 200 years. Quinte Living Centre Auditorium, 370 Front Street, Belleville, at 7:30 pm

Nov 22- 24 - County Festival of Trees – Fri. & Sat 10 am- 9 pm, Sun10 am-2 pmIsaiah Tubbs Resort, West Lake, Prince Edward County. Silent auction, bucket draw, boutique, bake and preserves sale. Sponsored by the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary with all pro-ceeds going to support healthcare needs in our community. 613 476-1008 x 4427. www.qhc.on.ca

Nov. 25 - Camouflage, Mimicry and Bio-mimicry. In Nature, life imitates life! Queen’s University professor, inspi-rational researcher, teacher, and science popularizer, Dr. Barrie Frost, will illustrate the how’s and why’s of this fascinating phenomena. Quinte Field Natural-ist meeting, 7:30 pm, Sills Auditorium, Bridge Street United Church, Belleville.

Dec 8 - 1 – 6 pm - Christmas in Prince Edward County – a self guided tour of wonderful old/new homes all decked out for the holidays, and enjoy cookies & cider. Funds raised help save our historic buildings. Tickets ($20.00 ea) available at Books & Co., 289 Main St. & Royal LePage, 104 Main St., Picton. For info 613-476-7310.

Dec 14 - Maynooth 10th Annual Brighten the Night Christmas Parade & Kids Party, plus all day Farmers Market inside the new Hastings Highlands Centre and HART’s Kritter Kringle Sale at the old Community Centre. www.hastingshighlands.com


Barn Raising in Thurlow

Barn raising has had a long tradition as a means of getting work done while also bringing the com-munity together. This photo shows a barn raising at the farm of Harrison Phillips in Thurlow. The fel-

low at the top of the structure waving a square is Harry McCreary.

Photo courtesy Hastings Country Historical Society

Back Roads

Downtown Belleville

Downtown Belleville - Fine Fashion, Exceptional Cuisine And Specialty Shops Galore!

Banquet & Conference Centre / Cafe • Special Occasions catering •

SanS Souci

613.968.2952www.bestcateringchef.ca

Sans Souci will create any style of menu

any size of function any where.

240 Front Street in Historic Downtown Belleville

Miss Priss Boutique 215 Front St., Belleville, On. (613) 969-9994

Accessories with Attitude!

The Village ShoppeLADIES WEAR AND BRIDAL

613.969.1677286 Front Street, Downtown Belleville

Your fashion one stop shopping forFall

Cooney auto sales belleville

Quality Cars Since 1979

www.cooneyautosales.com

101 front st. belleville

613.966.4200Family Owned & Operated

Team Effort.For the past six years, we’ve been striving tirelessly to raise your expectations of whata dental practice should be. The secret? It’s all in our “A”-Team of Dental Professionals.

From the enthusiasm of our Office Manager Leanne, to the thoroughness of hygienists like Valerie, and the serious passion of Dr. Kevin Nedamat - our Madoc team will make sure that you and your family are in good hands.

After all, you only have one set of teeth.

Isn’t it time you raised your expectations?

Choose Wisely.

MadocDeserontoWebTwitter

613.473.2142613.396.2974steinbergdental.com@SDCDentalCentre

Valerie EmpeyRegistered Dental

HygienistMadoc

Leanne BreenOffice Manager

Madoc

Dr. Kevin NedamatDoctor Of Dental

Surgery

Documents

Country Roads Fall 2013