I am 10 years old… What my summer is all about

Editor’s Note:  Imagine how pleased we were to receive this submission written by Kate Modler, who just competed 4th grade.  Kate is a serious young lady who already has a passion for putting words on paper.  She told us she took keyboarding in school and uses her computer as a writing tool.  I suggest Kate’s reaction to spending the summer in the Thousand Islands is the same as so many of us have – summer activities mixed with family and friends… who could want more?

My name is Kate Modler, I come from Colorado and this is what my summer is all about. Flying all the way from Denver is a pretty long trip for a ten year old girl. But I started when I was eight months old so I’ve gotten pretty used to it. My nine year old brother Jack and I mostly only travel with my mom because my dad has to be in a plane every week for his job. Once we get into the town of Gananoque we usually spend a night at my grandparents’ house. At about 7:30-8:00 A.M. the next morning my brother is shaking me out of bed ready to get on Tremont Island.

Once we arrive on the island Jack and I are sent to work. My mom, Anne Taylor, expects us to be ready to help plant the garden, make the beds and sweep the floor to get the house ready for the big summer ahead of us. After we’re all unpacked we go over to say hello to our family. My mom’s two sisters, Amy and Ellen and her one brother Doug don’t arrive until were already settled in so we can’t see them for another few weeks. But we can meet mom’s parents (John and Jane Taylor), aunt (Helen Taylor), uncle (Jim Taylor) cousins (John Taylor), and her friends on the island. Once my dad, has arrived, we go and see his family, my grandparents Jack and Carolynne Modler, and my two aunts.  Once my Modler cousins get out of school I can see them too.

Since the school year is still on in Gananoque, Jack and I have to find ways to keep ourselves entertained. Two years ago moms brother in laws brother bought a cottage on Tremont too. He soon moved in for the summer with his wife, Michelle and two kids Zach and Izzy, together we have had a blast over just the first week I’ve had in Canada. Some of the things the four of us do together include...

1. Tubing (a water sport) 2. Catching and killing bumble bees for fishing bait 3. Fishing 4. Watching a movie on VHS (if we get really tired) 5. Swimming 6. Water gun fights 7. Walk around the island 8. Finger painting 9. Spray painting 10. Arts and crafts 11. Baseball 12. A boat ride 13. Campfire 14. Paddling the floaties (giant pieces of foam) 15. Reading 16. Cleaning the boat 17. Water Skiing 18. Knee Boarding

Even though I do have a lot of things to do I make sure I have some time to do what I want to do and maybe make some new friends. Last year I did vacation bible school and I made a ton of new memories. Izzy is doing a drama camp and Jack and Zach are doing golf lessons. Every year we find something new to do to make our summer even more special and when my toddler cousins get here many more activities come into play.

When the toddlers get here I finally get some time to interact with my family that I haven’t seen for nine months. Every year I come they get taller, older and more mature, I get to see how the kids can grow up. I remember when my four year old cousin  was just a baby and how I helped him find his voice. They get to have a chance to have some freedom and do activities on an island that most three and four year olds don’t get to do. But the most important part for me is that I get a sense of being my own person and getting to know other people in such a tight community.

But being on Tremont with my family doesn’t always mean hanging out and doing the same activities every day. We have some pretty awesome special occasions as well, like last year we had my moms aunts 60^th anniversary party where we were literally dancing until dawn. We rented a big tent and a huge dinner with 50 people. Or in June of this year when we had a big surprise party for my grandma with 24 people. We went on a big glass boat where waiters actually served you dinner. Coming up we have birthday party for our neighbors with another 50 people going to attend.

Being on Tremont also is not just fun and games. Last year I was hired to dog sit Boo, which was then just a puppy but now is 3 feet tall. I was also hired to house sit and water flowers. Mom says in a few years I might be able to baby sit some of my cousins.

I am the 6^th generation of Taylors on the wonderful Tremont Island and there are some traditional things that we have passed down over the decades and some that the Modler family have started. Some of the things that my mom has done traditionally include…

1.Go to the Ivy Lee Inn for pizza 2.Go to the Gananoque Inn for dinner 3.Go to Leek Island to go swimming 4.Go to 7 Pines to go swimming 5.Go to Suzie’s for the Ice Cream Social

My dad and his family have also given me a chance to do some of the things I would never want to miss out on, they include…

1. Go to the dairy farm Dad grew up on and milk cows 2. Go to the Gananoque Rib Fest 3. Go to Fort Henry In Kingston 4. Lansdowne Fair 5. Watch the Poker Run(a boat race) from our boat 6. Go to Bolt Castle in Alexandria Bay

Having a chance to grow up on such an amazing place like this island gives me a feeling that I’ve never had before. I get to be more let loose, have more freedom and really be myself not what other people want me to be. I love living on Tremont island and that is what my summer is really all about.

By Kate Modler, Tremont Island

Kate Modler recently completed 4^th grade at Bradford Elementary School in Denver Colorado. she started enjoying writing two years ago when a teacher gave her class a notebook and promised that the students could write anything they liked and the school would publish the material.  Kate thought this was a grand idea and so far has had four of her stories published.  This summer she is editing her latest project – a story that she wrote over several months, which is a mixture of all her favorite books.  An active young lady she serves on her school’s student council and has a piece of art work on display at the Bedrock Community College Art Show.