Canada’s Thanksgiving and the US Columbus Day found many islanders closing cottages, hauling boats and saying farewell to River friends. It seems like yesterday we were talking about the spring and the summer ahead. Ti Life team members were busy with 62 published articles since May!
Current Issue
Kim Lunman presents “Raising the Roof on Red Top”. It is a story first published in the 2012 edition of Island Life Magazine.
Have you lost your phone in the river… Lynn McElfresh did and she tells her story in Ring…. the way we were… . Lynn also partners with Save the River to present What Does a Clean St. Lawrence Mean to You?
Gananoque’s Paul Scott takes us back 200 years to September 21, 1812 , Heather Chitty pays tribute to the Admiralty Group’s Bill Hale in Hale and Hearty – A Life on an Island and Chris Murray shares his essay Photographing Lost Channel.
Do you like Snakes? You may not after Anne Timmons describes her story of An Unexpected Visitor… and M.A. Noble tell us about her Royal Job on Singer Island. You may recognize the name M.A. Noble as it appears on the cover of a new book Taking Hart, now available throughout the North country.
Jill and Bob White of Kansas City, MO share their Story Book Wedding. Unlike most special days, this couple had no wedding party, no guests, and no big reception.
Excursions and More introduces special excursions taken by Tad Clark, Britton Inglehart and Martin Zonnenberg. We also introduce new publications and provide a special gift from Ian Coristine… check it out.
New Contributors
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Paul Scott - September 21, 1812
Paul Scott is the former publisher of The Gananoque Reporter and an organizer of the 1812 events in Gananoque this past summer. As a lead-up to the major “Remember the Raid re-enactment weekend, he wrote articles and gave presentations about Col. Joel Stone and the Forsyth raid. As a local historian he portrayed Lieutenant Levi Soper of the 2nd Leeds Militia. |
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Anne Timmon - An Unexpected Visitor
Anne Timmons grew up in Nyack, Long Island, and Syracuse, NY. She, her husband Jeff, and sons Jake and Luke, had spent many years camping in the Islands. After buying a buying property on Wallace Island (Canadian Sector) in 1982, a move to Hill Island came in 1998. Currently residing near Philadelphia, Anne, has recently retired from a thirty-five-year career in New York's Office of People with Developmental Disabilities. Retirement has given her the opportunity to write about the Thousand Islands. |
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M.A. Nobl - A Royal Job
M. A. Noble (Maggie) spent her early years on a North Country dairy farm then moved to California where she worked first as a teacher and instructional designer. Then as a writer, she moved from technical manuals to short stories for language arts instruction to novels. Now she has returned to New York's farmlands and is once again, as she says, “milking”...her fiction. Her first novel, Taking Hart is set on the St. Lawrence River and combines suspense and regional history, coinciding with the 1812 centennial. It is available at many US retail outlets and on Amazon. |
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Jill and Bob White – Story Book Wedding
Bob White, raised in upstate NY, regularly vacationed in the 1000 Islands. He graduated from Graceland University in Iowa with a BA in Sociology & Religion. Missing the lakes and woods of the east, Bob grew to enjoy the mountains of Colorado in between the development of two varied careers, “Tree Care” and “Legal Research. Bob is now retired and spends time on other entrepreneurial endeavors and not for profit boards.
Jill White hails from small town Nebraska. After time spent at the University of Nebraska Jill has raised six children and now enjoys time with four grandchildren. Somehow in between, Jill also developed a career in modeling and acting, usually for industry or advertising. She finished her career in public school Administration. They live in both Lee's Summit Missouri and in Colorado. |
End of a decade… Thousand Islands Hotel, Wellesley Island
We learned this month that “Chef and Diane, Brinkman”, will not be returning to operate the Wellesley Hotel in 2013. Islanders, mainland residents and visiting mariners are saddened to hear this news. If you have a happy Wellesley House memory, do share them with us.
Those of us in the Thousand Islands region that appreciated fine food in a relaxed, historic and stylistic setting are saddened that Gerry and Diane Brinkman of Wellesley Hotel fame are moving on to other ventures. 10 years is a long run and as I do not cook, I will really miss my corner spot. Known for Celesteʼs pasta specialties ( Celeste is Gerryʼs late mom ) those fabulous crab cakes and innumerable taste bites along with the style that through the years were the Brinkmanʼs: mushrooms found locally, tables dressed and cared for with perfection, the shipping news ( posted on the porch daily ), the local young people trained by Diane in their pressed white shirts and kakiʼs, the snug corner for games playing while waiting for your table, Brenda overseeing the books, attention to detail and last but certainly not least, the Back Door Bakery. The kitchen crew was filled with family, daughter Anna ( recent graduate of cooking college ) sister Jeanne, daughter Emma and close friends, the Bentleyʼs, along with the many young people that were there for many summers. Bravo for a wonderful 10 years that you gave to our special historic community. Trude B. Fitelson.
"It was terrific, almost magical, dinner on the porch with the setting sun, listening to children on the playground, friends walking by, and the servers, mostly "River Rats", children of Park residents, who had the opportunity to work in a professional establishment and learn valuable skills. Often they started by washing dishes or bussing tables and advanced to salads or waiting on tables, returning each summer to enjoy the River and work at the restaurant." Richard Margolis
Special Recognition
The day we published TI Life in September we learned that Ian Coristine’s One in a Thousand, an interactive iPad eBook written with Donna Walsh Inglehart, has won its publisher, McLellan Group, a prestigious international award.
The MarCom Awards, honoring excellence in marketing and communications, selected One from over 6,000 entries submitted from around the world, garnering the highest possible praise:
“Every once in a while an entry comes across the judging table that totally enthralls us. We quickly forget where we are and what we are doing. We become spectators, not judges. Such was the case with an eBook app called One in a Thousand. With the first image you drift away to that place in your brain where you see and feel pure beauty and nirvana. Instantly the images and words infiltrate your imagination. Fifteen minutes later we regained our composure, awoke from our dream and set it aside to enjoy again later. One in a Thousand is an interactive eBook by Ian Coristine, a Canadian photographer, author and dreamer who explores the Thousand Islands along the St. Lawrence River in his ultralight floatplane.”
Doug McLellan, CEO of Toronto’s McLellan Group, thanked the Association of Marketing & Communication Professionals “for taking the time to recognize the efforts of our team as well as the extraordinary talents of Ian Coristine and Donna Walsh Inglehart. We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to help bring their vision to life.”
If you have an iPad and don't yet have One in a Thousand, you can search for it in the App Store on your iPad or use this link via iTunes on your computer: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/one-in-a-thousand/id518088485?ls=1&mt=8
Readers Exchange
From Captain Dee: I thought you might enjoy the following underwater videos my family and I took on our Houseboat Holiday trip this past August. We loved it!
Big Smallmouth Bass in the Thousand Islands (filmed with a Gopro Hero 2), by Captain Dee. Please change the resolution quality to 720p or 1080p by clicking on the marked button along the bottom too bar on YouTube.
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Low Water in the St. Lawrence
Back in July many towns and cities along the St. Lawrence River were effected by low water. The Montreal Gazette described the serious situation on July 7, 2012. At that time the water was affecting the Montreal shipping harbour, the water filtration plants and all recreational boaters. Since that time the water has retreated even more. Many islanders were forced to leave the River early as there was not enough water at their docks or mooring facilities. We don’t know what the winter will bring, but it is safe to say – Think Snow!
Our thanks to all who sent photographs of their section of the River.
Reminders
- We have 944 Facebook “likes”
- Help us get to 1000 Be sure to check throughout the month, as we add material about the 1000 Islands.
- Follow us on Twitter
. Send us your tweet tag and we will start to follow you.
- Do you write about the River (next to, from above, or below), then consider submitting an article.
By Susan W. Smith, susansmith@thousandislandslife.com
Special thanks to our Kingston editor David Ray and to Jane Taylor for proof reading this month’s articles. We also thank those who leave comments on our articles or ask questions. The more the better.
