Thousand Islands Life Magazine

TI Life Starts 2019!

Susan W. Smith — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:58:00 GMT

This month I can guarantee you will learn more than you expected in TI Life. 1889 Hop! Seaway Review! Tour Boat History! Reinman's Newsstand! Westminster Park! Crab Dib! Santa Comes, Hoar Frost, Asian Carp, Frozen River, Stubborn Sudoku... and more! Check them out first right here in this article.

The Golden Age of 1000 Islands Tour Boats

Tom King — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:50:00 GMT

Tourism became a booming business for the Thousand Islands region, in the 1870s, after the beauty of the area was publicized in the widespread media coverage following President Ulysses S. Grant’s visit in 1872. The following year the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad (RW&O) began daily train service to Clayton’s waterfront terminal, bringing trainloads of tourists wanting to see the natural beauty firsthand. In July of that same year, Colonel Owen G. Staples opened the “Thousand Island House” in Alexandria Bay with accommodations for 700 guests. The construction of several other large resorts in the area soon followed.

Many steamers were built in the late 1800s to ferry the large numbers of passengers from the train terminal in Clayton to other towns, such as Alexandria Bay, and the resorts on the mainland and on the nearby islands. Sightseeing excursions through the islands also rapidly grew in popularity, and this gave birth to the tour boat industry as we know it today.

The steamer “New Island Wanderer” operated in the Thousand Islands in the late 1800s.

When the gasoline-powered marine engine was introduced, early in the twentieth century, it didn't take long for local entrepreneurs, on both sides of the River, to embrace this new technology, and they were soon building up a sizable fleet of motorboats to serve the growing number of tourists flocking to the area. Soon afterward, there were tour boats operating out of Alexandria Bay, Clayton, Gananoque, Rockport, and Brockville, as well as some of the other small hamlets in the area.

Initially, most of the gasoline-powered motorboats used for the island tours were built with an open seating area, but, due to the need to run the tours in rainy or cool weather, they were either converted to covered boats or were built with an enclosed cabin as part of the design. These relatively narrow wooden single deck tour boats would be the workhorses for the industry right up to the 1960s, ferrying thousands of passengers through the islands and past all of the magnificent scenic highlights of the area.

The “Maxine III” was originally built in 1915 as an open-air excursion boat but had an enclosed cabin and washroom added during a later overhaul.

There were several talented boat builders, both American and Canadian, who were responsible for building many of these lovely old craft. Family names such as Hutchinson, Duclon, Wilson, Fry, Cranker, Andress, Malette, and Hunt were just a few. Not many of these builders ran large operations, and the new boats were usually built by a small crew of men in some sort of a shed during the winter months, so that they would be ready for the peak summer tourist business the following season. Many of these old wooden boats underwent extensive modifications over the years as well – some were lengthened, others widened; many had new engines installed, and most had convenience upgrades, such as washrooms, installed at some point in time. Since the boats were constructed entirely of wood, they also required annual maintenance to make sure that there was no rot, damaged planks or major leaks, as well as having their paint jobs touched up.

Figure 3: The “Miss Brockville VII” under construction at Clifford Hunt's boat shop in Rockport. Photo courtesy of Brian Phillips, Rockport.

In an excerpt from the book, “Of Time and an Island” author John Keats recalls a conversation with boat builder Ed Andress, about the new tour boat that was being built for the Rockport Boat Line and was to be chartered for Mr. Keats’ daughter’s wedding a few months later. As far as I can determine the boat that was being discussed was the “Ida M,” a rather uniquely designed vessel that was actually one of the last wooden tour boats built in the Thousand Islands. It was lovingly referred to as “the wedding barge” in the book. He wrote, “You’re building her upside down?” I wondered, looking at the vast hull in the cold and empty shed.

“Why, yes,” he said. “We’ll build her decks when we get her in the water.”

He explained that when the hull was built, they would slide her down the hill on rollers, with tractors astern to act as brakes, and they’d put her in upside down and turn her over in the River. It would be better to turn her in the water, Ed thought, than to turn her over on land, because when you had her weight on one gunwale, the land wouldn’t give, but the water would.

“Then we’ll pump her out and build her decks,” he said.”

After World War II ended, a couple of new additions to the Thousand Islands tour boat fleets signaled changes that were to come in the near future. In 1950, the “American Adonis” was converted from a surplus U.S. Navy crash boat into a double-decker “ultra-modern streamliner” by The American Boat Line and joined their fleet of traditional single deck boats running tours through the islands. This new vessel certainly raised the bar as far as style and comfort were concerned.

An advertising poster for the American Boat Line's new "American Adonis."

On the Canadian side of the River, Sedgwick’s Thousand Islands Boat Line put the “Miss Kingston,” a retired Royal Canadian Navy Fairmile minesweeper, into operation in the mid-fifties, running tours from Kingston. She became the largest tour boat on the River, at the time, and was very distinctive with her sleek design and double decks.

The “Miss Kingston” was a retired Royal Canadian Navy vessel and, at the time, was the largest tour boat operating in the Thousand Islands.

In 1960, the American Boat Line, once again, launched a new boat that would change the direction of the tour boat industry going forward. The “American Venus” was the first aluminum-hulled, double-decked vessel ever built for the local tour boat industry. Very few wooden tour boats were built after this point in time; double and triple-decked boats became the norm for the industry.

The “American Venus” was the first aluminum-hulled, double-decked vessel ever built for the local tour boat industry and signaled the beginning of the end of the wooden boats.

The naming of the tour boats generally followed the age-old nautical tradition of assigning a female gender to the boat. Several iterations of “Maxine,” “Edith,” “Gloria,” “Lynda,” “Julia,” “Elva,” “Helen” and “Sis” can be found in the record books, all paying homage to wives, daughters or other special females in their owners’ lives.

Many boats carried more formal names, such as “Miss Brockville,” “Miss Clayton,” “Miss Rockport,” “Miss Gananoque,” and “Miss Kingston,” obviously in deference to their home port. “Island Wanderer,” “Thousand Islander,” “Island Princess” and “Miss St. Lawrence” were obviously named as a tribute to the Thousand Islands region.

More fanciful names, such as “Nymph,” “Spray,” “Sun Dance,” “Jewel,” and “Shamrock” could also be found adorning some of the early vessels.

Patriotic names, such as “Uncle Sam,” “Commander,” “Liberty,” and “Pilgrim” were also very popular choices for several of the boats.

Some of the craft that didn’t follow the practice of using a female name included “Paul,” “Captain Adkins,” “Captain Cliff,” and “American Adonis.”

Over the years, several of the boats changed ownership and were renamed to suit the new owners’ plans for the vessels. According to the records, the “Islander II,” built in 1925, changed hands no less than 12 times over the years and subsequently carried the names “Spray VI,” “Miss Riveredge” and “Edith.”

Of course, none of the boat lines that operated these tour boats would have been successful if it weren’t for the efforts of all of the people involved in the businesses; right from the “hawkers”, who sold the tickets to the tourists, up to the owners, who kept the fleets operating and added new boats when the need arose.

Special among all of the employees, however, were the “captains,” who navigated these craft through all of the narrow channels and hidden passages around the islands, in order to give the passengers, the best possible view of all of the sights. Most of the captains were lifelong River men, who knew the waters like the back of their hand. One wise skipper, when asked by a passenger if he knew where all the rocks were, casually responded, “No!”. Taken aback, the worried tourist asked, “How can you be the captain of a tour boat if you don’t know where all the rocks are?” Without missing a beat, or taking his eyes off the water in front of him, the old captain replied, “I know where they aren’t! And that’s where we are goin’!”.

To say that many of the captains had a “bit” of competitive spirit in them would be quite an understatement. In his book, “Early Tour Boats in the Thousand Islands,” Dr. Robert C. Tague, who worked on the boats for many years himself, wrote, “There was a great rivalry with the tour boats from the other lines. Many of the captains could not resist a race with another boat down the Canadian channel. Whenever the Pilgrim (flagship of the Ward line) met the Uncle Sam (flagship of the Uncle Sam line), the race was on! Also, if a Canadian boat caught any of the U.S. boats coming out of Lost Channel, away they went. The poor announcer who might be trying to sell his souvenir books might just as well hang on for dear life.”

It was the announcer who the passengers had the most interactions with during their cruises. They narrated the trip and sold souvenir booklets and trinkets. Each announcer worked very hard to perfect their presentation, so that it contained as much up to date information about the various properties and natural attractions that the tourists would see on their trip. At this point in time, all of the announcers did their commentaries live – there were no recorded presentations on the boats yet.

It wasn’t unheard of to slightly embellish some of the “facts” to make the narrative more interesting for the passengers. One example of where the truth was stretched a little bit was in the description of the world’s shortest international bridge on Zavikon Island. The announcer would tell all the folks that the large island was Canadian and the smaller one, on the other side of the bridge, was American, with the border running right down between them. The owners of the island even flew Canadian and American flags to bolster the validity of the announcers’ claims. If you consult a navigational chart for the area, you will see that both islands are clearly in Canadian waters.

Paul Reilly, another Thousand Island tour boat operator, goes on to share some of the other jokes that would be told during the boat trips, in his article titled, “River Memories”, which appeared in the April 2010 issue of Thousand Islands Life. He wrote, “And the jokes we inherited, passed on down for Lord knows how many years! When passing across the foot of Mary Island, towards Zavikon, "If you look over the side you can see the international border on the bottom of the River. The coast guard paints it on the ice in the wintertime, it’s a special red lead paint, and when the ice melts in the spring, it sinks to the bottom." Invariably someone would perk up , "Oh yeah, I see it," and we'd wind up, "Oh, about that border, they say the fishing's great here, and they are right, we catch a boatload of suckers every time we tell that!" -or- about Sunken Rock Light House," the coast guard rents it out to newlywed couples in the summer, so the new bride can get some light housekeeping experience!" - or about the little island with the tiny house by Boldt Castle called "Just Big Enough" - " George built that for his mother-in-law, he'd take her over in the spring and pick her up in the fall!"

Zavikon Island; home of the shortest “International Bridge” in the world! Actually, both islands connected by the bridge, are in Canadian waters’

As the years passed by, the old wooden boats were gradually retired from service, and many of them were eventually broken apart and burned. Very few of the old wooden tour boats remain today.

One beauty that can still be seen cruising around the Clayton area is the old Grenell and Murray Island shuttle boat, “That’s Her.” Built in 1933 by Brainard Robbins, her main purpose was to ferry cottagers between Fishers Landing and the islands. “That’s Her” was purchased by Harry Chalk, at in 1945 and was eventually retired from service when the need for the livery service diminished. She languished for several years out of the water, deteriorating as the time passed, until Harry’s son, Duane, and grandson, Barry undertook the task of restoring the boat to her former glory. (See Lynn McElfresh’s TI Life article: “That’s Her” Story, July 2012.)

“That’s Her,” a former water taxi, is an excellent example of the designs used for the early Thousand Islands tour boats. Photo credit belongs to Stuart Clough.

Another boat that is currently undergoing a complete restoration is the “Pat II,” which was a Thousand Islands tour boat from 1924 until 1956 when she moved to Skaneateles Lake to become a mail boat. The “Pat II” was built in Alexandria Bay by George Blount and George M. “Pat” Comstock and performed tour boat duties for various lines over the years. She was rescued from a boneyard near Seneca Lake in 2013, and the title was transferred to the Finger Lakes Boating Museum. The restoration work on “Pat II” is being performed at the museum’s Hammondsport location. Coincidentally, the “Miss Clayton II” also worked as a mail boat on Skaneateles Lake, alongside the “Pat II,” after she was retired from 1000 Islands tour duty.

A photo of the “Pat II,” prior to the beginning of her restoration work, when she was rescued from the boneyard. The photo is from the Finger Lakes Boating Museum’s Pat II Restoration Project “gofundme” page.

Another person working diligently, on a smaller scale, literally, to keep the spirit of the old classic Thousand Islands tour boats alive is Stephen Shay. Stephen is a passionate, life-long woodworker who now lives in Maitland, Ontario, near the St. Lawrence River. He makes wooden “folk art” items in his shop and among the nautical pieces that he creates are replicas of the old tour boats. Although Stephen’s models aren’t exact reproductions of the original boats, they certainly capture the essence of them, and there is no mistake as to what you are looking at when you see one of them.

A wooden model of the “Miss Brockville IV” created by woodworker Stephen Shay. Photo courtesy of Stephen Shay.

Although most of these beautiful old wooden tour boats no longer ply the waters of the Thousand Islands, they will always have a special place in the region’s history and will continue to be fondly remembered by the many people that were involved with them, in one way or another, over the years.

Dedication

I am dedicating this article to the memory of Murray Elvin McLennan, a former tour boat captain with the Gananoque Boat Line. I had the pleasure of meeting with Murray at his home in Oshawa, Ontario in the spring of 2017 to talk about “the good old days” of the tour boat industry.

Although Murray and I had only previously talked on the phone a couple of times, it certainly didn’t take long for the stories to begin flowing once we sat down. The afternoon hours passed in a flash and there were a lot of laughs as Murray recounted his days as a tour boat captain back in the 1960s. You could tell by the twinkle in his eye as he recalled these bygone days that this was a part of his life that he treasured.

Sadly, Murray’s health issues caught up with him and he passed away in September, before I had a chance to have another visit. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to spend that one afternoon with Murray to capture another bit of the colourful history of the tour boat industry.

As a memorial to Murray, his family has placed a bench in Gananoque’s Joel Stone Park. It is situated on the south-east point of the park and faces Gananoque’s waterfront, so that whoever sits there can watch the present-day tour boats come and go. A very fitting tribute to a warm and caring “Riverman.” Thanks for the memories, Murray.

By Tom R. King

Tom King and his wife Marion have lived in Milton, Ontario for the past 30 years, where they both worked and raised their family of three children; Kris, Mike and Becca. Tom still has a strong attachment to the Thousand Islands, having grown up in Gananoque and being a “river rat” from a very early age. The family tries to return to the islands every summer and for the past several years have been renting a cottage on Sampson (a.k.a. Heritage) Island, just out from Gananoque.

This is Tom’s 19^th article for TI Life and he is working on his 20^th! He is our “go-to” historian for Tour Boat history, and he has once again hit the mark. Be sure to see all his articles here – but watch out for the dock spiders!

Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway 2018 in Review

Michael Folsom & Joanne Crack — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:49:00 GMT

The 2018 Seaway season was rather smooth sailing.

Reports of groundings or lock damage were minimal, while the amount of cargo moved along the waterway was at an increase during the past season. And, ship watchers were out in full force capturing the many vessels that graced the Islands.

“Bro Agnes” passing through the Thousand Islands.

Photo courtesy Jason DesJardin, Horizon Aerial Media Services

A little more than three months after the last ship of the 2017 season left the Seaway, which had become an ice jam at Snell Lock, the first ships of the new season opened the system on March 29. Those having the honor of being the first ship(s) were the newly acquired cement carrier McKeil Spirit at St. Lambert Lock in Montreal, Algoma Niagara at the annual Top Hat Ceremony at Lock 3 Welland Canal, as well as Top Hat ceremonies at Lock 8 Welland Canal, Port Colborne featuring Algoma Equinox.

Just a few short days into season brought new builds Algoma Innovator and Algoma Sault, self-discharging bulk carriers, and Mia Desgagnés, the dual-fueled LNG chemical tanker.

There would be some hiccups in travel throughout April and May with weather playing a significant factor. Though ice was not an issue on the River itself, an ice storm that hit much of Eastern Ontario and Northern New York led to shipping delays. As many as 9 ships would anchor between April 15 and 16 due to the conditions. In early May, gale force winds pushed through the region causing another half dozen ships to drop their hooks. And at the end of May, it would be dense fog settling in over the River which would delay more than 10 ships.

Left, USCGC Escanaba

Right, HMCS Moncton

Both photographs courtesy Joanne Crack, The Prescott Anchor

None of the shipping-related issues in 2018 would be severe or overly concerning. Kaministiqua reportedly lost steering near Toussiant Island in late April, causing a short delay for others, and a few others would experience similar problems. Tug Wilf Seymour got hung-up in the Beauharnois Canal as well. However, the biggest news of the season was the grounding of Chem Norma at the end of May. The ship was traveling upbound and carrying petroleum products when it grounded off Morrisburg, Ontario. After experiencing a mechanical failure, the ship drifted out of the channel and its bow became stuck against the embankment of the submerged former Seaway Lock 23, located just off of the modern-day mainland of Morrisburg. The salvage process would take several attempts over a number of days and include tugs Ocean Pierre Julien, Ocean K. Rusby, and Ocean Tundra. It would also require an increase of water flow east of Iroquois Lock that would help to refloat the ship and free it on June 3. The ship then sailed along the Seaway to Lake Ontario, where restricted maneuverability was reported and the vessel made its way to Tibbetts Point Anchorage. She would later be assisted across Lake Ontario to Port Dalhousie Anchorage by tug Ocean Golf and sail the Seaway again without further troubles.

The region would also have an array of unique visitors in 2018.

The Pelee Islander II ferry was built in Chile and will be taking passengers to Pelee Island in Lake Erie.

.

Victory II, which is the sister ship of the former Saint Laurent , now known as Victory I.

Both photographs courtesy Joanne Crack, The Prescott Anchor

The new Pelee Island II was a sight to see and caught the attention of many ship watchers, while some ships of force ventured through the Islands as well. HMCS Oriole and HMCS Moncton were touring Canadian ports as part of their Great Lakes promotional deployment throughout the summer. On June 30, Canada’s second largest ice breaker, CCGS Terry Fox, passed through enroute to St. Catharines, ON, for re-fit. And as one Canadian Coast Guard vessel went in for work, another went out to sea. CCGS Samuel Risley set out to the Arctic waters to participate in the annual “Operation Pacer Goose” – a supply mission for the Thule, U.S.A. Air Force Base, Greenland. In the late fall, two new US Navy ship builds, USS Sioux City and USS Wichita, would depart the Great Lakes for their new stations.

Other highlights included the scrap tow of American Victory, as well as numerous yachts and cruise ships – including Thousand Islands based Canadian Empress and Victory II, which is the sister ship of the former Saint Laurent, now known as Victory I. She is the vessel which had an unfortunate mishap with the Eisenhower Lock door several seasons ago.

Federal Danube

Photo by Jason DesJardins, Horizon Aerial Media Services

One bit of sad shipping news came in October when a crew member, of more than 20 years, was being lowered off Canada Steamship Lines’ Spruceglen at Eisenhower Lock in an effort to tie up the ship on the lock wall. This common, yet dangerous, task would prove to be fatal after the man slipped-off the dock and fell into the water and was found only minutes later, unresponsive. Efforts would be made at the dock to revive him, but unsuccessfully. The ship would proceed to its destination of Ashtabula, OH following a brief investigation into the accident. Fellow crew members and mariners took to social media to share their thoughts and condolences. CSL ships would fly their flags at half-mast as a sign of respect and mourning.

As November rolled around, so did the common gale force winds. On November 7, vessels anchored throughout the Seaway as winds topped 40 knots. Just a week or so later, the beginning of the partial closing of the ice boom across the Seaway between Prescott, ON and Ogdensburg, NY took place and by November 30, the partial closing of the main ice boom was complete leaving a 610^m, (2,000^ft) opening marked by red and green flashing lights allowing the ships to continue to pass through.

Blinding and blowing snow would cause havoc by closing the Pilot Station at Cape Vincent, sending several ships into various anchorages and well-known tugs Robinson Bay and Performance, along with CCGS Griffon, would work to pull navigation markers in cold conditions. Griffon would later proceed into the Great Lakes where it would serve as an ice-breaking vessel for winter shipping.

Momentum Scan

Photo by Jason DesJardins, Horizon Aerial Media Services

On December 28, the final ship of the season, Cedarglen, made its way through the Islands for Ashtabula and with that, the Seaway season of 2018 quietly closed ahead of the dropping of the ball on New Year’s Eve.

By Michael Folsom & Joanne Crack, Seaway Ship Watchers Network

Michael Folsom and Joanne Crack are partners in the Seaway Ship Watchers Network, a collaboration of Seaway News and Information. They are best known for operating the popular social media pages of St. Lawrence Seaway Ship Watchers (Folsom) and The Prescott Anchor (Crack).

Early Westminster Park Families: The Hanford Family

Linda Twichell — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:46:00 GMT

The Westminster Park Board of Trustees carefully planned every aspect of their new island community: the placement of the Hotel, the Chapel, the roads and the lots, the docks, and all common areas. Possibly to establish a standard for private homes, they devised a contest of sorts, described in the “Watertown Re-Union”. The Trustees announced that they would “offer a prize lot of the value of one hundred dollars on their Park, for the best set of four designs for summer cottages, that will cost to build respectively, $250, $500, $750, and $1000, designs to consist of plans and elevation.” (Watertown Re-Union, December 27, 1877)

Panoramic View of Westminster Park

A number of area contractors rose to the challenge, submitting plans to the office of Dr. J. D. Huntington, Watertow, in the first few months of 1878. The winner of the contest was W. W. Tucker of Watertown. Runner-up was W. H. Hamilton of Utica. The idea was to have the designs on display during the week of the lot sale, in May 1878, allowing prospective bidders to envision the cottage they hoped to build, and therefore, promote lot sales. This is what accounts for so many of the original Westminster cottages being of the same design.

But the cottage of George R. Hanford of Watertown was in a category of its own. It was more a house than a cottage, holding a place of prominence over Poplar Bay. This house was a show-stopper. The Hanford family had their own special place in history as well.

George R. Hanford (1837-1922) grew up in Rodman, NY, but he moved to Watertown as a young man. Like many other Westminster forefathers, Hanford was a Civil War Veteran, a Republican and a Presbyterian, known to be an avid reader of the Bible. He had a long career in Watertown in the printing business, as a bookstore owner, and later, as a merchant selling pianos, organs, and sheet music. He served as the Secretary of the Watertown Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and for 20 years held positions in the insurance industry.

Hanford had a connection to Westminster Park, from its inception until his death in 1922. In 1879, Hanford promoted the area by selling three different editions of Boyd’s Handbook and Picturesque Guide Among the Saint Lawrence at his bookstore, Hanford and Waterman. This guide listed the lot owners of Westminster Park, as well as information on the beauty and development of the 1000 Islands. One could also purchase excursion tickets to travel to the 1000 Islands at Hanford’s shop.

By the summer of 1880, Hanford was appointed to the Westminster Park Board of Trustees and quickly became Secretary of the Board, being described as “a young man of executive ability and experience in business.” (Watertown Times, July 22, 1880) By the fall of that year, we see Hanford accepting additional responsibilities as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board. He continued to serve on the Board until his death in 1922. At that time, Hanford was President of the Westminster Park Association. His obituary remarks that “at one time (he) had personal holdings at the Park, but he disposed of these some time ago, although his interest in the development and improvement of the park never flagged.”

George Hanford had a notable wife, Annie Wood Hanford (1839-1913).

Annie descended from a Watertown family. Her father, William Wood, was a well-known merchant and her mother, Ann, taught at the Watertown Young Ladies Seminary. The Woods built a house at 409 Washington Street where Annie grew up. She later inherited that house, and, upon her death, the house passed to George. The fame of the Wood family came from Annie’s mother, Ann Hooker Wood. Mrs. Wood was the sister of the famed Civil War hero, Major General Joseph Hooker. Maj. General Hooker, nicknamed “Fighting Joe”, was instrumental in leading many Civil War battles, including one at “Lookout Mountain.” He became a legend in the Hanford family. George Hanford inherited Hooker’s engraved watch and Hanford wore it every day until his death.

The story of the Hanford house in Westminster Park begins at the lot sale on May 23, 1878. Lot 101 was purchased by George Hanford’s wife, Annie Wood Hanford. Several years later, Annie also purchased other properties in Westminster.

In an 1881 article from the “Utica Morning Herald”, my favorite newspaperman, John J. Flanagan, reported “Secretary Hanford, of Watertown, will have an investment of from $7000 to $10,000 on the Park when his elegant new cottage is completed. Contractor A. R. Shannon of Watertown is busily at work blasting and making ready for the framing. The building will be 63x57 facing south/southwest across Poplar Bay, two stories in hight (sic) with a tower of 65 feet. The cottage will have all modern improvements and will be an attractive addition to the Park front.”

“Lookout Cottage” owned by George and Annie Hanford of

Watertown, NY. From the stereo view of A. C. McIntyre.

NYPL Digital Collection of Robert N. Dennis

The Hanford’s named their Westminster house “Lookout Cottage.” The name reminds folks of the valor of Mrs. Hanford’s uncle in the  Civil War and is fitting for the cottage on a high prominence looking out over Poplar Bay, the hotel, the docks, and much of the center of the community. I wonder if the 65-foot tower was accessible for observing the activities up and down the islands.

This well-known stereo view, taken by A. C. McIntyre, shows Poplar Bay, with steamships tied at various landing places. The home of George and Annie Hanford takes its place of prominence overlooking the Bay.

NYPL Digital Collections; Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.

By the end of the summer of 1881, the construction of the cottage was complete, and the Hanford family took-up residence in their glorious home. Reports reveal that the “structure is the most costly one on the Park and is furnished with beautifully designed willow furniture.” Watertown Times, August 29, 1881.

Over the years, the Hanford’s entertained many guests. In 1882 G. R. Hanford & Co. introduced the game of lawn tennis to Watertown. I am sure it was not long before it was played on the grassy lawns near the Hotels at Westminster.

I have read that the 19th century author Marietta Holley visited Westminster Park a number of times. Marietta Holley wrote a series of books under the name of Josiah Allen’s Wife. Her books were humorous accounts of a heroine, Samantha, and ordinary people’s lives with the intent of satirizing political and social mores of the time. She was a strong advocate of prohibition and of women’s rights, and a correspondent with Susan B. Anthony, Frances Willard, and Clara Barton. Some called her the “female Mark Twain” as her books sold over ten million copies. One of her books was entitled Samantha at Coney Island and a Thousand Other Islands. It is written in dialect and needs a motivated reader in the twenty-first century, but her heroine Samantha tells of her travels and experiences, with her usual biases. I always wondered why Miss Holley would come to Westminster Park. Some accounts say she stayed at the hotel; other accounts mentioned a cottage. As the story unravels, we learn that in her early career, Miss Holley wrote weekly articles for the “Watertown Post”. This paper was published by the firm of Hanford & Wood. With that business connection, it is apparent that Miss Holley and George Hanford were acquainted and that may explain her visits to the Westminster Park.

In August of 1885, Annie Hanford’s mother, Ann Hooker Wood, died while visiting in the Hanford cottage. Her health had been compromised for many years, and her death was not unexpected.

The Hanford family continued ownership of the Westminster House until 1887, when George Hanford sold the cottage to C. G. Tousey of Poughkeepsie, NY. I do not have much information about the Tousey family, but in 1890 the Tousey’s were embroiled in a family scandal, where it was claimed that Mr. Tousey was of “unsound mind”. Sometime after that, the house was sold to C. J. G. Hall, a prominent attorney from New York City. That sale to Mr. Hall ultimately introduced a new group of NYC people to Westminster Park and forever changed the history of the community. But that is a story for another day….

One additional note: If you are hoping to see this glorious house, you will be disappointed. It was lost to a fire in 1984.

Next month’s article will tell of another of Westminster Park’s founders and early citizens, Dr. J. D. Huntington.

Linda Lewis Twichell, a fifty-six-year resident of Westminster Park, has collected historical information on the Westminster community since the 1970’s. Presently, her research focuses on the lives of the people who settled here in the last quarter of the 19th century, and the cottages they built. A book of Westminster Park, its people, and their stories is in the works. Be sure to check out Linda’s other historical research published in previous issues of TI Life.

Frosted by the Weather

Paul Hetzler — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:42:00 GMT

When the thermometer starts dipping into negative values at night, and only rises into the single digits in the day, the morning may come when our car, smart phone, water pipes, fingers and/or other essentials have frozen and refuse to work. It’s easy to get so “frosted” by winter’s hardships that we miss its artistry. Given the right conditions, though, winter frost can transform the world overnight, with a breathtaking majesty that would melt any heart.

Naturally, we tend to associate frost with the “bookends” of winter, when the seasons are changing. The frosted lawn in April or October is neither unusual nor very interesting, at least not without a hand lens to see better detail. But mid-winter frost, while not as common, can be truly extravagant.

The kind of frost that turns any landscape into a winter magic-land is called hoarfrost, “hoar” being Old English for grizzled. Hoarfrost occurs in supersaturated conditions when the relative humidity is more than 100%. This may sound like an impossibility, but in fact it’s common, at least for short periods of time.

Photo courtesy Chris Murray

Chris Murray Photography

Warm air can hold much more water vapor than cold air, so as the temperature falls in a humid air mass, relative humidity increases, eventually exceeding 100%. Supersaturated water vapor is an unstable condition, and nature is keen to restore balance by shedding moisture. On a cool summer evening that would be in the form of dew, and on a frigid winter night it’s hoar frost.

Those fortunate enough to live in the Thousand Islands region are treated to hoarfrost often, as the open water provides necessary water vapor. On occasion, weather fronts can spread moisture, and thus hoarfrost, over a wide area.

In great literature and children’s stories alike, the theme of redemptive transformation is both compelling and appealing. Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother changed a pumpkin into a stagecoach, and mice into fine horses. She has nothing on hoarfrost, however, which I think must have learned its craft from the angels themselves.

As water vapor condenses onto cold surfaces, it applies layer upon crystalline layer of fragile, feathery, exquisite ice forms. Even the most ordinary and neglected objects—the weed patch, the tangle of rusty barbed wire—are redeemed by hoarfrost’s magic wand. But given a medium that’s more complex, more inherently eye-pleasing such as a tree branch, the effect is all the more inspiring. When that effect is multiplied, along fencerows and riverbanks, illuminated by morning sun, one has the urge to kneel on the spot and put a hand to one’s heart.

You can make ersatz hoarfrost by gathering together cold temperatures, water vapor and a substrate on which to collect ice crystals. The first is easy—we have plenty of cold these days. Water vapor, which can be an uncovered stockpot of water fresh off the wood stove, needs to be concentrated in an unheated garage, enclosed porch or outbuilding. By definition, every object is a substrate, but more intricate objects result in more elaborate crystal formations.

Photo courtesy Chris Murray

Chris Murray Photography

This might have to wait if you first need that pot of boiling water to thaw out those water pipes, in the crawl space, under your kitchen. While doing so, please keep in mind that “hoarfrost” is not an expletive.

By Paul Hetzler

Paul Hetzler is a Horticulture and Natural Resources Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension, in Canton, NY. He writes a series of humorous and informative essays for a number of newspapers and journals. Subjects range from trees, gardens, insects, native plants, water, wildlife and other natural resources topics. Paul is also the author of "Shady Characters," a collection of humorous nature essays and the unique website “Where the Wild Words Are” – check it out!

Help Block Asian Carp

John Peach — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:40:00 GMT

Two species of Asian carp, bighead and steel carp, are daunting invasive fish, weighing 80 to 100 pounds. They jump when frightened, which can injure...

A Stroll To Reinman’s Newsstand on Clayton’s Memory Lane

Cary R. Brick — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:40:00 GMT

The newsstand was a compact little store with a loyal year-round clientele. They came by every day for their newspapers, pipe and chewing tobacco,

Depth of Field: The Story Behind the Image “Frozen River”

Chris Murray — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:39:00 GMT

While this may appear at first glimpse to be a very simple and straightforward photo, there were three deliberate decisions that went into making the final image.

Title: Frozen River

Exposure Data: 1/60 sec, f/16, ISO 400

Nikon D800E camera, Nikkor 70-300mm lens at 240mm

As is typical, the first key decision had to do with composition. My first version of this scene was shot with a wider-angle lens that included the islands and some of the sky in the distance. I quickly realized that including the distant background made the photo weaker, by detracting from the element of interest, which was the pattern created by the bands of ice and snow. This was an example of subtraction by addition and a lesson in filling the frame with only the pertinent elements of the scene. Ultimately, I decided to use a longer focal length, focusing only on the alternating bands of ice and snow and excluding the distant background of islands and sky.

As I was photographing the scene, with a moderately strong telephoto focal length of 240mm at an angle looking across the ice, I realized I would need to employ focus stacking to get the entire scene sharp and in focus. Depth of field (how much of the scene is in focus from front to back) decreases with longer focal lengths for any give aperture. Given the focal length and angle it was impossible to have sharp focus throughout, with one exposure, even with my smallest aperture. I combined three exposures (varying only the focus distance) in a focus stack, to achieve the desired depth of field.

The third (and perhaps controversial) decision was in changing the color of the image. I captured the scene at sunrise; consequently, the ice and snow were bathed in warmer hues. This was in conflict with the feeling I wanted to convey. Generally, when we think of snow and ice, we imagine cold. I altered the white balance after the fact to make the final image appear much more blue than it really did. When I mentioned this to someone who liked the image they immediately pressed their hands to their ears saying, “Don’t tell me that!”, as if altering reality tainted the image somehow. As I’ve said before, my intent is not to document literal appearances, but rather express creatively my thoughts and feelings about the subject.

By Chris Murray

Chris Murray is a full-time photographer, instructor, and writer. His work has appeared in several magazines including Popular Photography, Shutterbug, Adirondack Life, Life in the Finger Lakes, and New York State Conservationist, among others. He is a staff instructor with the Adirondack Photography Institute. API’s 2019 workshop schedule is now available at www.adkpi.org. For more of Chris’ work visit www.chrismurrayphotography.com.

Sudoku Puzzle #48

Dan LeKander — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:20:00 GMT

As we begin a new year, let’s pause and ask ourselves how we would evaluate our Sudoku skills. You could be a beginner through expert. Regardless of your skill level, 2019 will be the year of the Sudoku Challenge and learning! All 12 of the puzzles for 2019 have been selected and each will represent a serious challenge.

If you are an expert, sharpen your pencil and enjoy. If you are a beginner or at an intermediate level, you have the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to solve extreme puzzles. So, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.

PUZZLE #48

DAN’S 8-STEP APPROACH TO SOLVING ALL SUDOKU PUZZLES

Once you have completed the puzzle, to the extent that you have filled-in all obvious answers and have written all potential options across the top of the unsolved cells (PUZZLE PREPARATION), Dan recommends the following Steps to complete the puzzle.

See TI Life Puzzle Preparation:

Step 1: Sudoku Pairs, Triplets and Quads – September 2015

Step 2: Turbos & Interaction – October 2015

Step 3: Sudoku Gordonian Rectangles and Polygons – November 2015

Step 4: XY-Wings & XYZ Wings – December 2015

Step 5: X-Wings – January 2016

________________

Step 6: DAN’S YES/NO CHALLENGE

Step 7: DAN’S CLOSE RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGE

Step 8: AN EXPANSION OF STEP 7

Steps 1-5 are relatively common techniques and are explained in the TI LIFE articles above. Steps 6-8 are covered in detail, in Dan’s book.

Also, see Sudoku Puzzle Challenge… February 2016, March 2016, April 2016, May 2016, June 2016, July 2016, August 2016, September 2016, October 2016, November 2016, December 2016, January 2017, February 2017, March 2017 , April 2017, May 2017, June 2017, July 2017, August 2017, September 2017, October 2017 , November 2017 , December 2017, January 2018, February 2018, March 2018, April 2018. May 2018, June 2018, July 2018, August 2018, September 2018 , October 2018, November 2018. and December 2018.

As a reminder, the basic rules of Sudoku are that the numbers 1-9 must be contained and cannot be repeated in a row, column, or box, and there can only be one solution to the puzzle.

PUZZLE PREPARATION

Prior to utilizing techniques first complete the 4 Steps of Puzzle Preparation …

FILL IN OBVIOUS ANSWERS
FILL IN NOT-SO-OBVIOUS ANSWERS
MARK UNSOLVED CELLS WITH OPTIONS THAT CANNOT EXIST IN THOSE CELLS
FILL IN THE OPTIONS FOR THE UNSOLVED CELLS

OBVIOUS ANSWERS …

Start with the 1’s to see if there are any obvious 1-choice answers. Then navigate the 2’s through 9’s.

The first obvious answer is C1R6 (cell in column 1, row 6) = 1. C3R4=5. C5R8=8. You may ask why this last obvious answer is obvious. Good point. If you examine this cell’s options you see that an 8 is the only option available. Catch it now or catch it later.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS ANSWERS … there are none.

MARK UNSOLVED CELLS WITH OPTIONS THAT CANNOT EXIST IN THOSE CELLS …

In box 3 (upper right box of 3 x 3 cells) C9R1 & C9R3 are the only two cells that can have the option 6; therefore, a 6 cannot exist in C9R7 or C9R9. Pencil a small 6 in the bottom of those two cells to indicate they cannot be a 6. This will be handy when you fill in options for the unsolved cells.

Also, there has to be an obvious triplet in C2R4, C2R5 and C2R6. These cells can only have options 6, 7 & 8. So, we will move ahead and enter those options now, to remind us that the rest of the unsolved cells in column 2 cannot be a 6, 7 or 8.

Now your grid should look like Example #48.1 below:

Example #48.1

FILL IN THE OPTIONS FOR THE UNSOLVED CELLS …

Once you fill in the options for the unsolved cells, your grid should look like Example #48.2 below:

Example #48.2

STEPS 1-8

There are no Step 1-5 clues.

We will pause here for a moment to examine Example #48.2. For a puzzle that requires 81 answers, we only have 20 given answers at this point, not much to work with! Why will we be able to solve this puzzle? The answer to that question is that there is always a weak link or links in a puzzle, such that when exposed, the puzzle is easily solved. Exposing weak links is exactly what Dan’s Steps 6-8 accomplish. So, make sure you fully comprehend these techniques. Each puzzle this year requires at least one successful Step 6-8, and some of the puzzles require more than one, as you have witnessed in previous articles.

We will now move to Step 6: Dan’s Yes-No Challenge.

There are 3 circumstances that establish the potential for a Step 6 exercise:

Look for just 2 unsolved cells in a box that contain the same option where these 2 cells are not in the same row or column.
Look for just 2 unsolved cells in a column that contain the same option where these 2 cells are not in the same box.
Look for just 2 unsolved cells in a row that contain the same option where these 2 cells are not in the same box.

We will start by searching the 1’s to see if there is a potential Step 6 clue, and then navigate through the 2-9’s.

In column 2 we find just 2 unsolved cells that contain the option 3 … C2R1 & C2R9. These cells are not in the same box, thereby qualifying as a candidate for a Step 6 exercise. The options in these cells are highlighted in yellow in Example #48.3 below:

Example #48.3

Do you agree that one of these two yellow cells in column 2 must be a 3? We will consider them as “driver cells” which “drive” the exercise.

Here is the logic. We will perform two exercises. First, we will assume C2R1 is the 3 and see which other cells cannot be a 3. Then we will assume C2R9 is the 3 and see which other cells cannot be a 3.

We will mark C2R1 with a “Y” and mark C2R9 with a lower case “y” to keep track of the exercise as per Example #48.4 below.

Example #48.4

We will start by assuming C2R1=3. Then, as marked above, C1R1, C1R2, C5R1 & C6R1 are not a 3 (marked with a “N”). Now the only cell in box 2 that can be a 3 is C6R2, so we will mark it as a “Y”. Then, C6R4=N. C6R5=N. C5R5=Y. C7R5=N. C9R5=N. C9R4=Y. C9R9=N. C7R8=Y. C1R8=N.

Now we will assume C2R9=3 (y for yes). Then, C1R8=n. C9R9=n. C7R8=y. C7R5=n.

We now see in Example #47.7 above that C1R8, C7R5 & C9R9 all have a “N,n” designations. What does that mean? Since we know one of the two yellow highlighted cells in column 2 must be a 3, the N,n cells cannot be a 3 regardless of which starter cell is a 3. We eliminate the 3 as an option from these cells.

We also see in Example #48.4 that C7R8 has a Y,y designation. It follows that this cell is a 3 regardless of which starter cell is a 3; therefore, C7R8=3.

Now your grid should look like Example #48.5 below:

Example #48.5

It now follows that C1R8=6, C6R8=1, C8R8=9, C3R8=4, C2R7=2, C2R1 & C2R9 have options 39; therefore, C2R3=4. C4R2=4. C5R6=4. C9R4=4. C7R7=4 and so forth.

From this point the puzzle is easily solved. Your final grid should now look like Example #48.6 below:

Example #48.6

One Step 6 exercise exposed the weak link and allowed an easy finish to an extreme puzzle!

May the gentle winds of Sudoku be at your back,

Dan LeKander, Wellesley Island

Now the cold weather is here, we ask the question : Do you tackle a Sudoku beside your fireplace, on the beach while on holiday… or anywhere you have the chance? Write and tell us where?

Editor’s note:

TI Life is taking full advantage of Dan LeKander, from Wellesley Island, who is a Sudoku expert and author of “3 Advanced Sudoku Techniques – That Will Change Your Game Forever!”

In January 2016, we published a final article in his series – but many of us enjoy using “Dan’s Steps,” so when he asked if we would like a puzzle to solve every month … this editor said an enthusiastic… Yes, please! Now we are several years later and on Puzzle #48!

I suggest you purchase Dan’s book as a Christmas gift: “3 Advanced Sudoku Techniques, That Will Change Your Game Forever!”

The book is available online, amazon.com and on ebay.com.

Purchase of a book includes a 50-page blank grid pad, 33 black and two green tokens, to assist with Step 6.…

Most importantly, I ask that you leave comments on any part of his series and throughout the year. Remember when your teacher said – no such thing as a silly question – as we can all learn together.

As always, I want to thank Dan…and his proofreader… Peggy! I am hoping you will enjoy our Sudoku and at the same time join me in thanking Dan - Bravo to you both… Hope to see you on the beach!

The River Gal: Cape Vincent Crab Dippers

Nicole Hartshorn — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 20:07:00 GMT

Although boats have been washed-up, wrapped-up and winterized, true boaters are still living and breathing the lifestyle. We look at boats, we talk about boats, we read about boats…. you get the idea.

As much as we love the summer season, we really do enjoy the off-season also. Summer can go by so fast, with so many fun times, it’s hard to take it all in and just live in the moment. The winter gives us time to slow down, reflect on the summer and re-,group. The off-season also gives us time to think of new ideas for the next boating season! Possibly chart out a new adventure, maybe look for new nautical equipment or products that will enhance your boating experience, or perhaps even use the down time to brush-up on your navigation skills. So, if you feel the need for speed, or crave the wave this time of year, don’t worry, boating season will be back in action before you know it! Meanwhile try to use this time to expand your horizons!

For instance, at our house, the little skippers are getting bigger and have decided that wearing those pesky, extremely important life-saving devises while swimming at Potters Beach are just not “cool” anymore. They have convinced us to enroll them into winter swim lessons, fantastic idea on their part! It really has been a great way to break-up the winter and will get them beach-ready by spring.

As for Captain Tom expanding his horizons, he is using the off-season to finally commit to reading our Sea Rays owner’s manual from front to back. He claims, “a good captain knows his vessel inside and out”! Unfortunately, the “Number 15 MerCruiser Service Manual” is not exactly a Barnes & Noble bestseller, so I do give him a lot of credit.

And me? I have been using this winter to expand my recipe collection, by creating new and simple food ideas for my second edition of River Entertaining (food and drink ideas for boaters). I’m so excited about my most recent addition and would love to share it with you, the readers of THOUSAND ISLANDS LIFE first!

The River Gal’s Galley: Cape Vincent Crab Dippers

Stock your galley with:

8oz chunk crab meat
8oz light whipped cream cheese (sour cream and chive or plain)
1 “bunch” of celery (when referring to the whole celery it is a head or a bunch of celery. And the individual "pieces" as stalks or ribs.)
1 lemon
Fresh dill
Your favorite cocktail sauce

In a mixing bowl, simply combine the whipped cream cheese and crab meat, then squeeze half a lemon into the mix, and stir. Rinse celery stalks and cut into 3-4-inch sections. With a spoon, scoop the crab mix and fill each celery stick, then arrange them on a serving platter. Sprinkle with fresh dill and garnish with the rest of the lemon. Use your favorite cocktail sauce for dipping and you’ve got yourself some Cape Vincent Crab Dippers!

This is sure to please even the ‘crabbiest” of crew members!

Serves 4-6 people (about 24-26 celery sticks)

By Nicole Hartshorn, “Food Ideas for Boaters”

About River Entertaining:

From recipes to product reviews, Nicole Hartshorn (The River Gal) is featured in every issue of the Great Lakes Scuttlebutt Magazine and has also been highlighted in Sea Ray Living. Friesen Press published a collection of her “Thousand Islands themed recipes” in 2014, titled RIVER ENTERTAINING, and has been a great galley reference ever since!

Interested in trying more of The River Gals recipes or know a boater who would be? Nicole’s book RIVER ENTERTAINING is available for purchase on Barnes & Noble.com or at Friesen Press.com/book store, search River Entertaining on Amazon.

December ‘18 Happenings

Susan W. Smith — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:59:00 GMT

2018 is drawing to a close - 129 Articles later! When I started to count the work of so many volunteer authors – for one year only, I could not help but stop and read many again. A friend asked me why I keep at it every month and I realize what a wealth of material we have given to readers and those who just fall upon an article thanks to Google. I do have one request – please go back and see what was your favorite. I bet you appreciate some even more than reading it the first time. (There are 1468 articles in total.)

And… I would be remiss if I did not stop and thank all those who help with proof reading, editing and of course adding commas! Georgia Barker, Rick Taylor, Dane Zabroski and Bill Stallan… You are all amazing.

I also thank Mike Cox. He is our IT magician and has just returned from a two weeks trip on a humanitarian mission. He went by air from Ottawa, ON to Patagonia in the Southern Hemisphere with Rally for the Rangers. He, and a dozen others, delivered brand new motorcycles to the Patagonia Park Rangers.

Rally for Rangers say, “The only thing more rewarding and exhilarating than riding 1,500 kilometers of dirt, mud, and river bottom is handing over the keys to an (almost) new motorcycle so these rangers can better protect the incredible resources of their national parks”

“Merry Christmas” with 15 Articles:

Ian Coristine agonized over the 7th Annual Photo Contest. He suggests that it is one of the hardest tasks of the year. Enjoy: 7th Annual Photo Contest and Honorable Mentions. (We also thank Sarah Ditterline for creating our medal graphics.)

Lynn McElfresh gives us a history lesson in crime in The Sheriff of Grenell. Linda Twichell shares another Early Westminster Park Families: The Goss Family. and Bob Anderson remembers special summer visitors selling Native Baskets (Do you have some? Tell us about them.)

Each December, we ask two authors for special submissions. Chas MacLean Cochand always provides a unique link to the Islands and this year’s story is no exception; The Boy with the Box of Candles, 1918; and Doctor Richard Withington (Round Island) lets us ride along on rescue missions in 2018 in The Withington 2018 Review: Fire, Groundings… etc.

We want to bring attention to Will Salisbury, who has created a unique website in Gift to the River, I introduce two artists, Brockville’s Brenda Clarke, Artist and the talented Frank Shattuck, Tailor and More, from Sackett's Harbor.

There are lessons by Chris Murray’s Depth of Field: The Story Behind the Image and Nicole Hartshorn’s The River Gal: The Maritime Mimosa. (She even suggests a winter break with a visit to a boat show). and hold on, Dan LeKander once more challenges us – this is his Sudoku Puzzle #47. (How many have your completed?)

Linda Twichell also gives 31-day book recommendations in Books galore. Linda’s lists and TI Life’s Books Tab, will keep you busy throughout 2019, so Happy New Year!

Santa Arrives in a Boat

The 4th Annual Santa Day took place on Saturday, December 16 in Alexandria Bay. Thanks to the Doug Tulloch and his many elves from the Alexandria Bay Chamber of Commerce the day was wonderful for all. A perfect temperature and dozens of happy children.

WWNYTV, Chanel 7 News Captured the fun…

Please Remember

We certainly appreciate having you hit the button at the top of each article and Supporting TI Life – although we: Authors, Photographers, Proof Readers and Editors – including this one(!) all publish TI Life as Volunteers, there are costs, including our Email Program - Constant Contact, and our software, now working in its 11year. (I say that each month… but now we are almost there. We will need some volunteers to help us on our way, so stay tuned!)

We also encourage you to Remember our Facebook page throughout the month, as we post information and photographs, and follow us on .

I thank those who send photographs for TI Life – they really are better than 1000 words… Always send photos of interesting happenings to info@thousandislandslife.com

And, this Editor is looking forward to receiving new submissions throughout the year. I bet our readers are too!

By Susan W. Smith, Editor, info@thousandislandslife.com

7th Annual Photo Contest

Ian Coristine — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:54:00 GMT

It’s always the same, a painful pleasure. Pleasure seeing new views of the River through so many others’ eyes. Painful because I well know how much time and effort goes into capturing a great shot, so it really hurts to make cuts, particularly when it gets down to the last couple of rounds. In the end, however, there are just three medal certificate winners, so agonizing decisions must be made.

This year a total of 82 photos were entered and the whittling down process went through six rounds to arrive at the final three. 51 images made it into the second round, 35 made the third, 24 to the fourth, 15 through to the fifth, 7 into the sixth before finally selecting from them the three winners.

I could share details as to why I made the choices I did, but perhaps it’s best simply to share the dozen remaining “honorable mentions” from the fifth round as they are all winners to my eye. You can make your own conclusions and I won’t feel hard done by should you have selected differently.

Gold Medal Winner: “Family Time.” Photo by Karen Schaack ©2018

____________________________

Gold simply has to go to the shot of the mother loon with her twins on board. I’ve spent 23 years trying to capture loons well, particularly carrying babies. In that time I’ve only actually seen a mother carrying her baby perhaps a half dozen times, and never carrying two. They are incredibly challenging to capture, particularly without harassing them because they are very easily stressed. I believe this photographer was being respectful, because while Mom is clearly watching, the babies seem entirely undisturbed, snuggling contentedly together, seemingly without a care in the world. To see such a moment, never mind capture it with the challenges of a telephoto lens in perfect focus is nothing short of amazing.

“Family Time”

“While out in our fishing boat, we came across a loon sitting on a nest. Keeping a respectful distance so as not to disturb her, we would check from time to time to see if she was still okay. One day we noticed her missing and the eggs had hatched. We went around the island and before we headed across the open water spotted the mom with her babies on her back. I think she had gotten used to seeing us nearby because she didn’t seem to get stressed by us watching her with her babies.”

Karen Schaack

Karen Schaack acquired her love of nature and art early in life growing up on her family’s dairy farm north of Kingston. She now enjoys watching for wildlife and birds near Gananoque where she resides with her husband Edgar of nearly 35-years. They spend much of their free time on the St. Lawrence River in their little fishing boat. It was Edgar who gave her a camera for Christmas three years ago. Karen is a professional gardener for others and works part-time at a grocery store in Gananoque. This year her photography was featured on CKWS and Global News in Kingston, ON.

Silver Medal Winner: “American Victory,” John Kunz, ©2018

________________________

The shot of an old freighter being skillfully persuaded down the channel by leading and trailing tugboats wins our 2018 silver medal. I’m guessing this shot was taken fairly close to our island (downstream from Singer Castle and Chippewa Bay) as I saw and photographed the moment, though not nearly as well, just after sunset. The contortions the tugboats went through to persuade this behemoth to make the turn at Crossover Island Light were impressive, but probably not as impressive as the countless other challenges they would have faced herding the ship to the ocean and then to an overseas scrapyard.

“American Victory”

“The double ended Lakers have been part of my memory since the beginning. My Aunt Margaret would hold me on her lap and let me look at them from her terrace through an old Argus spotting glass, that I still have. We learned the names and lines together. I noticed this old girl coming through the Lakes en-route to a scrap yard in Turkey on a website called "I Love Sault St. Marie. I was just lucky enough to be at the River the evening she passed by. For me, the image evokes a certain sadness warmed by the treasured times I spent with my Aunt.”

John Kunz

John Kunz and his wife Kelly, are summer residents of Chippewa Bay. They winter in Watertown, NY. along with their three sons. The whole family enjoys the River on a four-season basis - Sailing, Rock Climbing, and Skijoring. John has written several articles for TI Life, we recommend you read the February 2016 article when John took us Skijoring in the Thousand Islands; it will get you ready for Winter 2019!

John writes, “I am embarrassed to report that I do not have any higher resolution photos. I take all my pictures on a Motorola Droid, which I always have with me.”

Bronze Medal Winner: “Early Morning Start” Jason DesJardins, ©2018

_____________________________

Bronze goes to this fascinating image of something close to a hundred boats swarming in French Creek Bay. I’m not sure what the event was, but with all the navigation, mooring lights, reflections, and St. Mary’s Church’s illuminated spire, it gives more of a sense of Christmas than the summer evening when it was taken. It’s also an astonishing technical achievement that has only become possible within the last year, as drone technology has become sophisticated enough to keep the camera still enough in the sky for a long exposure, low light shot. This would not be possible from any plane or helicopter, no matter how good the camera.

“Early Morning Start”

“One of the events I have captured for a couple of years is the Costa Bass Masters Tournament in Clayton NY. This past year the weather was not that nice, which made for a cool sky.

It is also cool seeing more than 100 boats seamlessly launching and getting ready to take off in the morning. Once they are all in the water they gather for final instructions and the playing of the National Anthem with the Flag waving from the judge’s boat before taking off for the day, one at a time.”

Jason DesJardins

“My love of the River and photography started about the same time as our business (Horizon Aerial Media Services). As a lifelong upstate resident, I never truly appreciated the River until a few years ago. Drones opened a creative/artist outlet for me that I never knew existed. I love getting up early or staying out late on the River. Nothing beats a St Lawrence Sunrise/Sunset. I didn’t spend nearly as much time this past year taking pictures for fun as I have in the past but still enjoy it just as much. The Real Estate photography portion of our business really took off this past year. My wife Amanda and I hope to spend more time running around the River in Summer 2019.”

Jason shares photographs with TI Life throughout the year. One favorite is found in the TI Life Happenings, August 2016. Both Jason and Amanda’s photographs have received Honorable Mentions in past TI Life contests.

My sincere thanks and congratulations to all who submitted images. We truly appreciate your Christmas gift of River.

By Ian Coristine, Raleigh Island

Ian Coristine has been active in aerial photography for over 25 years and has written extensively for U.S. and Canadian aviation publications. The demands of air-to-air photography proved ideal training for an unexpected career of delighting residents of the Thousand Islands with seven books that showcase the region's beauty.

His books have collectively sold over 120,000 copies and his Thousand Islands photographs have been featured internationally. DxO Labs of Paris, France, award winning publishers of revolutionary high-end camera and lens correction software, selected Coristine as one of the their 12 founding “Image Masters.” from professional photographers around the world.

Ian Coristine's seventh book, “Ian Coristine’s 1000 Islands,” is the culmination of his twenty years of work. He says, “These are my top picks, from the over 50,000 images I’ve captured since the River became my life’s work. To not share these is unthinkable.”

Since Paul Malo created “Thousand Islands Life Magazine,” Ian has generously shared his photography in each issue as well as providing our special “page headers.”

A copy of “Volume VII,” with its companion tri-fold pocket map, and my book, “First Summer People, Thousand Islands 1650-1910,” goes to each of our medal winners, along with the official award certificates and our thanks for cerebrating the River in this way. It’s always a very special Christmas gift to the River community.

See: TI Life Photo Contest: Honorable Mentions Article

The Sheriff of Grenell

Lynn E. McElfresh — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:48:00 GMT

The Sheriff of Grenell sounds like something out of Robin Hood, doesn’t it? But once upon a time, Grenell Island had a duly appointed “sheriff” authorized to carry a firearm, use force if necessary and make arrests.

Even fifty years ago, the need for a sheriff seemed laughable. In her July 1965 Thousand Islands Sun column, Grenell Island correspondent Gwen Smith extols Grenell Island as a safe haven: “Well, it’s wonderful to be back on the glorious St. Lawrence. Here one can sleep peacefully without worrying about burglars, murders or dope addicts.” Gwen lived in New York City, which made her feel very unsafe: “. . . one feels one’s life threatened constantly. Iron bars in front of windows, burglar-proof locks, and the most obvious sight the tremendous popularity of the police dogs are seen.”

Today, guests often compare our island to the fictional North Carolina town of Mayberry (from the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show), for its idyllic, close-knit community charm. Back at the turn of the century, that wasn’t always the case. While Sam and Lucy Grenell always fostered a family atmosphere on the island, crime sometimes reared its ugly head. From 1880 through 1920, cottages up and down the River were often burglarized and tiny Grenell Island wasn’t exempt from this crime spree. In 1913, the newly formed Grenell Island Improvement Association printed off “REWARD” signs for members to post on their property. We still have one in our boathouse.

The signs were not enough of a deterrent and the association went to the county sheriff for help. The appointment of the Grenell Island deputies was reported in a 1916 On the St. Lawrence newspaper article: “Sheriff Hosmer to appoint Raymond A. Coombs and Floyd Russell deputy sheriffs, with power of arrest and authority to carry and use firearms in the protection of property on Grenell Island as Messrs. Coombs and Russell reside on the island the entire year.”

Most burglaries occurred off-season. The most heinous break-in happened during the summer season of 1905 and made national and international news. It happened at Point Ida. This two-story cottage has a two-tier wrap-around porch and is perched high on the rocks on the channel side of Grenell. It was built in 1882 by Aime Harnois, a prominent contractor from Syracuse. Aime, his wife Fanny and daughter Ida Louise spent their summers on Grenell. Even after Aime died in December 1898, Fanny and Ida continued to summer on Grenell. The widow Harnois, her 18-year-old daughter Ida and family friend, Nettie Robinson, were at Point Ida when an intruder broke into the cottage.

Nettie told a Syracuse Herald reporter that: “Mrs. Harnois and I returned from the [Grenell Island] Post Office about 10:15 Saturday night. We found Ida asleep. At 11:30, after reading the evening paper, I fell asleep and at about 12:15, was awakened by a scream from Ida.”

Moments earlier, Ida woke to the sounds of an intruder. In the dim light, she could see the form of a man rummaging around her bureau where she kept her diamond jewelry. Before she could cry out, the man turned on her, striking her unconscious with a short, thick club. Fanny had been asleep in an adjoining room. Hearing the scuffle, she rushed to her daughter’s room and was met at the door by the robber who immediately struck her to the floor. Ida woke up and began to scream. Her assailant grabbed her by her hair, dragged her from the bed, and clubbed her until she was unconscious.

Ida’s scream woke Nettie, who struck a match and lit her lamp. When she opened her bedroom door, she saw a “blood-curdling sight.” Fanny, wearing a blood-stained white nightgown, was lying on the floor struggling to escape the blows of a “fiend,” who wore a mask that covered his eyes and nose. The robber leaned over her friend as he beat her with a club. Nettie reportedly cried out, “For God’s sake don’t kill her!” The man jumped over Franny’s body and lunged toward Nettie as she prepared to throw the lamp at him. Perhaps afraid that the kerosene lamp would set him afire, the intruder turned and disappeared down the stairs. Nettie ran to the window that opened on the front veranda and shouted, “Murder! Murder!”

After screaming for help, Nettie returned to Ida’s room, where she found both women unconscious and covered in blood. While attending to her friends, Nettie heard the crash of furniture and fixtures as neighbors entered the lower floor.

The screams had attracted help from their neighbors on Grenell who arrived barefoot and breathless to help. Three gentlemen from Thousand Island Park, J. Rothschild and two others, rowed over when they heard the cries for help. Thirty-one-year-old John C. Kerr was the first on the scene. John was visiting his parents at their cottage, Kirmess. His parents had been called away to New York City to attend the funeral of a friend. On hearing the screams of the women from nearby Point Ida, John rushed to the scene with a pair of oars as his only defense. He entered the house and found a man lying on his back, groaning. Upstairs, he found the horrific scene of the unconscious, bludgeoned women. John sent the Clark B. Tooly, and the Kerr boatman, to fetch Dr. James Wood of New York City, a guest on the island.

After Dr. Wood examined the women, he came back to the man writhing in pain on the first floor. The man claimed that his left leg was paralyzed. Every time the doctor probed him, the man recoiled in pain but the doctor could find no sign of injury. The man, who identified himself as Albert Nulty, said he was rowing by Grenell about midnight when he heard women screaming. He rowed ashore, rushed to the cottage, went inside and found the women covered in blood. He rushed downstairs and found a burly man. While tussling with this large man, another man hit him from behind and he lay there on the floor unconscious until the doctor roused him.

By now, a crowd of Grenell Island residents had assembled at Point Ida. Suspecting that Nulty’s story was false, the crowd detained him and called for the sheriff. Nettie insisted that this was, in fact, the man who attacked Franny. Nulty turned to her and said, “Well, that’s a pretty damn cool thing to do to a fellow. When he tries to rescue you, you accuse him of being a thief. When I came in here, there were three men here . . . I fought with them and they knocked me senseless.”

Sheriff Jay Alexander from Clayton arrived around 3 a.m. Alexander immediately recognized Nulty as someone he had arrested six years ago for burglary in Clayton. Nulty had served two years at the New York State Prison in Auburn for that crime. When the sheriff searched Nulty’s pockets he found three diamond rings and a purse that belonged to Mrs. Harnois. Sheriff Alexander charged Nulty with burglary and assault. Nulty never wavered from his initial statement. He maintained the “It wasn’t me! It was the burly man!” claim of innocence throughout the grand jury and subsequent trial. He was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment at Auburn.

The attack and trial were headline news from coast-to-coast and even made the international news in England, France, and Germany. The case made headlines again when Nulty tried to escape from jail and three months later when Ida Harnois married G. Russel Churchill.

In an article about the wedding was this passage: “On the morning after the attack, Mr. Churchill said to have had a presentment that some trouble threatened the lady of his love, and almost before daybreak he called her up on the long-distance telephone to assure himself of her safety, only to find his premonition verified.”

I found that information most interesting for—as far as I know—there was no telephone service on Grenell Island in 1905. Perhaps the call had been relayed from Thousand Island Park.

One has to wonder if this incident prompted the newly formed Grenell Island Improvement Association to request that a sheriff be appointed to the island. Olivia Pratt writes in 1945 in The Story of Grenell: “It was in 1916 that the winter protection of cottages by a deputy sheriff was inaugurated, and this patrol has been continued to the present time, with Mr. William McFadden being the caretaker in recent years.”

I’m not sure when Grenell stopped having a sheriff. Perhaps sometimes in the 1950s. If we had a sheriff today I’d like to think it would be someone like Mayberry’s Sheriff Andy Taylor who would sort out disputes between residents like Floyd, the barber; Flora, the Mayberry dinner waitress; Goober, the auto mechanic; or Sarah, the eavesdropping telephone operator. While Grenell Island does have an interesting cast of characters who occasionally get into wacky disputes, I think I can safely say that we’re doing just fine on our own without the aid from the Sheriff of Grenell.

By Lynn E. McElfresh

This is Lynn McElfresh’s 120th article for TI Life. This editor waits with anticipation each month to see what Lynn will give to our River community. This month, I opened my email early in the morning… then rather than getting up, I was glued to my iPad to find out “who done it.” What a great way to start the day…

Lynn came to Grenell Island for the first time to meet her fiancé’s family, in 1975. She became part of the family, and the island became part of her life. Lynn and her husband, Gary, spend their summers in the Thousand Islands and their winters in Dunedin, Florida. To see all of Lynn’s island experiences, search TI Life under Lynn McElfresh.

Native Baskets

Bob Anderson — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:45:00 GMT

In the decade after World War II the kids at Butternut Bay didn’t have much to do … all we did was play, swim, fish, putting about in small boats, eat good fresh food and slept like babies. Several families arrived at the Bay the day school got out in late June and the jumble of kids was one big happy family all summer long - siblings, cousins, and friends. We left on Labour Day to return to our city homes and school, but during the summer weeks, we rarely left the Bay. Maybe there was a rare trip to Brockville for a haircut and lunch at Woolworth’s, or a very special treat, a trip to Watertown to buy Levi’s, which were unavailable in Canada, However, we weren’t bored by one lazy day after another at the Bay - we loved it.

On occasion, an event would occur which caused great excitement in the dog days of summer. Sometimes it was Captain Snider arriving with passengers who had missed the departure of his tour boat in Brockville. We’d all wave like crazy to have the tour boat pull into our big main dock. Other times, it would be running down to the boathouses to see Budge Smith’s beautiful mahogany runabout springing a leak and sitting on the bottom. For a few years in the late ’40s and early ’50s, there was an annual visit, which was special. Someone would shout “They’re coming, they’re coming! The Indians are coming”, and we’d all run down to the big main dock to look down the River, past the cliffs where we painted our names, near the fool’s gold mine, to see a skiff, loaded to the waterline with baskets, being rowed towards us.

The word soon spread among the 31 cottages at Butternut Bay and in time, our parents would join the kids on the dock awaiting their arrival. It seemed agonizingly slow, but eventually, the skiff would pull alongside the dock and the occupants would display and sell their baskets. Every year our parents would buy a couple, but sadly today almost all of them have disappeared. The ravages of time it seems.

The couple who made the baskets were American Mohawks, from east of Ogdensburg. The Mohawks were a nomadic people and it’s possible that they lived along the St. Lawrence in the summer and moved to the traditional Mohawk settlements in the Hudson Valley in the winter. The time and effort required to row a heavily laden skiff up-River over 20 miles against the current is a herculean task, but he did it for several years. His wife sat mutely watching him.

The baskets were handmade from black ash ‘splint’ and sweet grass, and typically were relatively small and used as sewing baskets, for keepsakes, or coins or jewelry. They had a lid with a tufted knob on top and was usually an attractive combination of green and wheat colors, or the colour of corn silk, although some other colors were used occasionally. Although most cottages bought them, today very few remain because they were made with natural materials without a preservative coating and deteriorated over time.

There is a museum called “Akwesasne Cultural Center” on the New York side of the reservation at Hogansburg, N.Y., which features an extensive collection of Mohawk baskets, among other artifacts, and includes some treasures from the other tribes of the Iroquois nation. ( It is worth a visit.)

A lifelong Butternut Bay cottager, Richard Hunt, told me that he believes the baskets were only sold along the Canadian shore, but he has no idea why. Presumably, they stopped at other Canadian communities such as Fernbank, Hillcrest, Lily Bay, Woodbridge, Hudson’s Point, Jones Creek and perhaps Brockville. It would be interesting to hear from old timers along the River who remember them and hopefully could add to the stories. They may even have baskets, which survived.

The couple who brought the baskets dressed like ordinary working folk and did not wear anything traditional. The only thing unusual that they wore were odd-shaped flat top hats and strange shoes. I was dying to know if the man had the traditional Mohawk haircut, but he never removed his hat and I was afraid to ask. English was presumably their second language, but they had no trouble communicating to sell their wares.

They came for a few years, maybe 4 or 5, and probably stopped coming because after a few years the cottagers had bought all the baskets they wanted. As their sales dropped, presumably it no longer made sense to come. Or, maybe there’s a totally different reason, something mysterious, and lost over time.

In any case, when they stopped coming we missed them. They were a welcome diversion on a hot summer day, and they added to our Butternut Bay enjoyment.

These are the summer memories we River Rats treasure.

By Bob Anderson, Butternut Bay

Bob Anderson is a lifelong summer resident of Butternut Bay and a besotted river rat. His grandparents first arrived at the Bay in 1920; Bob and his wife Sandra and their 3 children and six grandchildren, constitute the fourth and fifth generations of his family at the Bay. After graduating from Carleton University in Ottawa, Bob worked in the food industry for his entire career with various senior management positions at Dominion Dairies (Sealtest) and Burnbrae Farms, where he retired as President, in 2012. He was also President of the Butternut Bay Association Inc,. for over 30 years.

Editor’s Note: the third photo in this article, “Native Baskets with faded colors” is a picture of a basket I found on our Island. There are stories about the Native Peoples from west of Kingston coming down to Gananoque on the train with their basket wares. They rented skiffs and paddled around the nearby islands. We would appreciate having others relate their basket stories in the comment section.

Frank Shattuck, Tailor and More

Susan W. Smith — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:44:00 GMT

It starts with a picture on Facebook’s Thousand Islands River Rats Now and Then page, back a couple of months ago. The picture looked like a pattern piece of a men’s jacket –I immediately recognized the material as the Thousand Islands Tartan.

Then like so many Facebook entries, the comments started to come… What is the fabric? What’s this all about? As the days went on readers were privilege to see several more pieces of material with the author Frank Shuttack telling us that he was making a man’s jacket.

Certainly seeing the jacket of the Thousand Islands Tartan take shape and form on Facebook was a thrill, so I quickly asked, “May I interview the tailor?. “An enthusiastic, “Yes!” Was the answer.

I started by making a phone call. Frank Shuttack was friendly, not at all annoyed I was interrupting his day, and I began. He said he was a tailor. He had moved from New York City to Northern New York and he was making the jacket for a client. He also said, quite emphatically that he wants to move to Clayton from Sackets Harbor. In fact, he was certain he would move to the River soon.

Oh, Oh, I thought. I have seen the pictures of Clayton in the winter. I quickly warned him that there would not be much business in January – to which, he was extremely polite in answering… because he explained he makes handmade suits for clients from all over the world, not locally at all. (Luckily, we were on the phone and he did not see me crawl under the desk in embarrassment.)

But my embarrassment quickly turned to “awe” as he mentioned that he was featured on an Anthony Bourdain Raw Craft TV show. And not only that, he was featured on Bourdain’s second episode. At the same time Frank sent a link to an in-depth interview in Keikari.com, Finland’s most popular website on men’s classic clothing. The site’s now translated in English, was founded in September 2008.

In the article we learn Frank began his tailoring career in Syracuse, with the Cesta brothers, Frank and Carlo. It was there he learned the art and tradition of fine tailoring. He then moved to New York City and the shop of Raphael Raffealli.

I don’t want to spoil the show by telling too much of the content. But suffice to say, this editor will welcome one Frank Shuttack to Clayton anytime. He also has a standing invitation to dinner, where I hope I can apologize for doubting for one minute that he is not only a talented tailor - one internationally recognized - but also a most talented artist. A review of his Instagram photographs will show his wood carvings; he calls them Tiny Little Birds.

He also admits that carving and creating these small works of art is a new passion and one he is thoroughly enjoying.

I don’t think that those Facebook readers who enjoyed seeing his jacket take form in front of our eyes, realized, like me, we were witnessing an artist at work.

And… where and when was the St. Lawrence Tartan created? Lynn McElfresh, TI Life’s writer, gave us the history in her “Clan St. Lawrence Tartan” article written in March, 2013.

“Cutting a suit from the most beautiful of tartans. Thank you to the lady at the Thousand Islands Museum for introducing me to the 1000 Islands Tartan.”

Note: Lynn McElfresh’s “Clan St. Lawrence River” written in March 2013 gives the history of this special tartan…

Raw Craft with Anthony Bourdain – Season 1, Episode Two: Frank Shattuck

“Anthony Bourdain and The Balvenie visit the legendary "boxing tailor," Frank Shattuck, in Upstate New York to learn what it takes to create true "bench-made suits." Episode directed by filmmaker Rob Meyer.”

“The Balvenie’s longstanding alliance with craft is a result of the distillery’s dedication to the five rare crafts of whisky making, which allow them to achieve their distinctive taste and exceptional quality. The Balvenie still grows its own barley, still malts in its own floor maltings, employs a team of coopers to tend its casks, a coppersmith to maintain its stills, and has in its service the most experienced Malt Master in Scotland.”

By Susan W. Smith, Editor TI Life, Susansmith@thousandislandslife.com

P.S. Also discovered Frank did a stint as an actor - one of his scenes can be found on another YouTube (Board walk empire – Jimmy takes over Greek Town.WMV)

The Withington 2018 Review: Fire, Groundings… etc.

Richard L. Withington — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:40:00 GMT

Two years ago, December 2016, I wrote a Book Review: for First Responder, by Dr. Richard Withington. I related that when this Editor was asked to take over TI Life in 2008, it was suggested that Dick Withington’s annual letter to his neighbors on Round Island was interesting and should be included in TI Life. “Oh No,” I said, “it is just news, no history, not what I had in mind for the December issue.” But, I went ahead and asked Doc Withington, if I could publish the 2008 newsletter “A Winter Islander…” What a good move. He is one of our most popular columnists, writing more than 20 articles, and one that our readers look forward to each December. This year is no exception.

However, you don’t have to wait a year for more excitement… you can almost sit beside him as he jumps into his boat, “Stormy,” and heads out to one of dozens of accidents – and learn first-hand how important our life saving partners, the Clayton and Gananoque Fire Departments, the Coast Guard and the Thousand Islands Emergency Rescue Service (TIERS) are to our Thousand Islands. How can you do that? Dick Withington is the author of a simple spiral-bound book: “First Responder” published in 2016.

And now, we present this year’s Withington Review… Fires, Groundings… etc.

------------------------------------------

The Withington 2018 Review:

Actually, this year got off to a flying start with the unfortunate grounding of the Pacific Huron near Twin Island. This occurred just as the 2017 season was closing. The St. Lawrence Seaway was extending the closing date to accommodate the last ships trying to clear the River at the end of the year. The ship apparently had a steering problem and grounded near Twin Island and was then overtaken by unusually cold weather. Local contractors assisted, but the re-floating was delayed awaiting the arrival of powerful tractor tugs. The weather continued to hamper the situation and led to the freezing of the ship in a lock at Massena.

Extrication took several days and was reported to have cost nearly a million dollars, just to get the ship through the locks. Unfortunately, a brand-new US Navy ship on her delivery cruise to her homeport in Florida became entrapped also. She spent the rest of the winter moored in Montreal with bubblers or "ice-eaters" to prevent damage to her aluminum hull. Uncooperative weather can cause major, unexpected expenses for a delivery cruise.

April was characterized by wintry weather. We had an abundance of snow and ice which made clearing the winter tree fallings on the island a challenge. There was some storm damage to a cottage that had a large pine tree hit the roof, but it was quickly repaired by local contractors.

The first boating incident of the season was a dispatch for "boat taking on water near the foot of Round Island; two people with life jackets in the water and trying to swim to shore." The water is very cold at that point and makes this a real urgent event. Two boats operated by Clayton Fire Department members responded quickly from Round Island. The two men were assisted from the water and transported to the care of TIERS and fire units on the shore. The boat was salvaged by contractors. I am told that a plank had come loose in the bottom. Only the tip of the bow, with the club burgee flying bravely, could be seen when we arrived. It was a close call for all concerned.

Back on the Island, a serious heart condition was noted by the responders, and arrangements were made for a quick evacuation to Syracuse by helicopter. Clayton fire boat, Last Chance, and TIERS, and Life-Net helicopter made it all happen quickly, and the victim survived.

Another call was to a small island north of Grindstone Island for a serious shoulder injury. Clayton Fire Department and TIERS combined to provide extrication and transport to the hospital for treatment.

An early season trip for a large cruiser was interrupted by an apparent collision with a "deadhead" that put a large hole in the bow of the boat. They managed to get to the Municipal Marina near the Harbor Hotel. Once there, responders were able to put pumps aboard and plug the hole enough to partially de-water the boat and then salvage services towed it to be hauled out on the travel lift at St. Lawrence Restoration.

Two other boating incidents occurred in the same area. The first was a small cruiser that struck the head of Washington Island. There were several people aboard and extrication involved securing the boat to the island rock so that it would not slip back into the River. Then the victims were taken off onto the fireboat and transported to shore. The injuries did not appear serious at the scene. Salvagers then removed the boat to St. Lawrence Restoration for haul-out. There was extensive damage to the hull and the drive units.

The next day there was a call for a disabled boat near buoy #1, off Frink Pier. One person was reported in the water. A near-by boater was able to get a line aboard and take the vessel in tow. The man in the water was the captain and he climbed back aboard once they were under way to the Marina. They were escorted by CFD vessels until secure at the marina.

After a fairly quiet summer, Labor Day weekend was an explosion of activity. The fire department received 22 dispatches in 9 days. That is extraordinary for a volunteer department. The major event was initiated when a VHF radio call to the USCG was monitored. The caller was on a sailboat anchored in Canada, and he was reporting a burning building on Grindstone Island, across from Camelot and Endymion Islands (part of the 1000 Islands National Park). The structure was fully-involved and a total loss. Clayton FD was assisted at the scene by fireboats from Gananoque, Wellesley Island, and Alexandria Bay. Two commercial salvage boats also assisted at the scene. There were no injuries.

A few days later there was a cottage/garage fire at St. Lawrence Park. The fireboat assisted at a re-kindle.

A very early morning alarm sent us to the French Creek Bridge east of Clayton, where a truck had left the road and was in the River, apparently with people still inside. A quick response by Clayton FD and TIERS assisted the driver and his rescuer from the water. Recovering the pick-up truck from under the bridge took until nearly daylight. Commercial salvage groups cooperated to retrieve the truck.

Finally, we were dispatched to rescue a lost hunter in the French Creek swamp. He had been lost since the prior day, and forty-degree temperatures had been experienced during the night. His cell phone battery was week, and ammunition was limited. An attempt to reach him by ATV was unsuccessful. A prolonged effort to get to him by FD's aluminum rowboat was complicated by the shallow water. We were contemplating trying to get to him with the airboat, but were informed by police that a State Police helicopter was enroute from Massena to assist. After a long and difficult struggle with frogging poles and shallow water, we were very near him when the helicopter arrived, landed in the marsh, and then flew him to safety. We spent part of the rest of the afternoon trying to find a place where the FD could get close enough to the creek to recover the boat,....and us. It was a long, hard day, but the result was a successful rescue, so we were all happy.

Clearly, this is not a complete compilation of all the FD activities of the season, but it is intended to represent some of the more interesting events and to enhance the community's awareness of the importance of the fireboat and the associated equipment and personnel to our summer community and visitors.

By Richard L Withington, MD, Round Island, December 2018

Dr. Richard (Dick) L. Withington is a retired Orthopedic Surgeon and is best known on the River for his rescue work, with his boat “Stormy.” Each winter Dr. W. writes articles that provide his special view of the Thousand Islands – and we thank him for this.

His first article for TI Life, A Winter Islander, was published in January 2009. To see all of his island experiences, search TI Life under Richard L. Withington. Also be sure to see The Doctor is in, February 2012, written by Kim Lunman, writer and publisher of Island Life, a print magazine.

Early Westminster Park Families: The Goss Family

Linda Twichell — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:38:00 GMT

Last month’s installment of the stories of the early families of Westminster Park detailed the history of the cottage built by John Chester Gallup, M. D. and his equal partner, James H. Bronson. We learned that Dr. Gallup died in 1884 and willed his share of the cottage to his wife, Marilla Houghton Gallup. Upon her death in 1894, Marilla willed that share to her niece, Rosa Houghton Goss and her husband Rev. Charles Frederic Goss. The half-share owned by James Bronson was lost to the bank in an economic downturn in 1897. At that time, Rev. Goss bought that half-share from the bank for $150. and the cottage was wholly owned by the Goss Family until 1920.

Rosa Houghton Goss (1854- 1922) descended from a highly esteemed New England family, the Houghton’s. Her father, Reverend Daniel Clay Houghton, was the editor of the “Genesee Evangelist” and of the “American Presbyterian”, two well-known Presbyterian publications. Rev. Houghton and his wife, Julianna Alton Houghton, both died when Rosa was a young child. Rosa came to live with her aunt, Marilla Houghton Gallup, in Clinton, New York, and was educated at the Houghton Seminary. In the Clinton community, she met Charles Frederic Goss, a student at Hamilton College.

Charles Frederick Goss (1852-1930) also came from an established American family. His great-grandfather had fought in the American Revolution. Goss’s father, Simon Sartwell Goss, was a Presbyterian minister in the Meridian and Cato, NY area. He also served in the Civil War from 1862-1863. He and his wife, Mary, had three children: John, Charles Frederic, and Clara Elizabeth “Libbie” Goss. (A side note: Libbie married Rev. Melancthon Woolsey Stryker who became President of Hamilton College. Rev. Stryker and family often visited Westminster Park over the years. Stryker also served as a pall bearer at the funeral of Marilla Gallup.) As we read about these families, we see a strong network of friends, relatives, classmates, business associates, etc. that populated Westminster Park.

Rev. Goss attended Hamilton College, Clinton, New York. He graduated in 1873 with a degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then attended Auburn Theological Seminary in Auburn, New York graduating in 1876. After graduation and his ordination as a Presbyterian minister, Goss married Rosa Houghton. His first ministerial assignment was in Weatherford, Texas where he had charge of the Home Mission of the Presbyterian Board. After a year and a half, he accepted a position in Pennsylvania as the pastor of the Kendall Creek Presbyterian Church. In 1881, he was called to the Bethany Presbyterian Church of Utica, N.Y. His oratorical skills were noted at a conference organized by renowned Evangelist Dwight L. Moody, of Chicago, Illinois. Rev. Moody immediately offered Rev. Goss a position in Chicago at the Chicago Avenue Presbyterian Church. Goss served there until 1894 when he accepted his final ministerial assignment as pastor of the Avondale Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio. Throughout his career, he was highly regarded as a preacher, speaker and author in the Presbyterian world.

Charles Frederic Goss had a passion for writing of all genres and what a prolific writer was he! Rev. Goss wrote a column entitled “The Optimist” for the “Cincinnati Commercial Tribune”. The columns were so well-received that they were published as a book in 1897. He published many articles on religious topics. In 1902, Goss published a biography of Dwight L. Moody, the man who was instrumental in securing his appointment in Chicago. In his later years, Rev. Goss revealed a continued interest in history by editing and partially writing History Cincinnati, published in 1932.

Reverend Goss’s greatest fame came from a book he wrote in 1900, entitled The Redemption of David Corson. The story captivated American readers. The main character, David Corson, is a young Quaker preacher, a very religious and eloquent man. A traveling medicine show comes to town and Corson is recruited for his oratorical skills to join the fakir, Dr. Paracelsus Aesculapius. Corson meets and falls in love with Pepeeta, a beautiful young Spanish woman who had been kidnapped by a band of Gypsies and was adopted by Aesculapius. His captivation with her leads him to turn his back on his religious life. Corson becomes a “talker” for the medicine fakir. There are dramatic chapters where he and Pepeeta try to escape and the characters are caught up in a life-and-death struggle. Corson descends to a life of gambling and drinking. More high drama ensues but, at last, with the death of Aesculapius and the love of Pepeeta, Corson sees the errors of his ways and seeks his own redemption in the ways of his Quaker religion.

Such high drama enthralled America. The book was a best-seller. In 1906, the book was turned into a play by Mrs. Charlotte (Lottie) Blair Parker. It debuted on Broadway that year and 16 performances were run. By 1914, favor had not worn away, and the book was made into a silent film.

Even though life carried Rev. and Mrs. Goss to many locations in America, they found time to return to Westminster Park in the summers. In 1881, we read that Dr. John Chester Gallup, Rosa’s uncle, had plans to build a handsome boat house in the east fork of the Ferry Slip for Rosa and her husband. At that time Goss had a position in Bradford, Pennsylvania, but had plans to spend the summer at Houghton College. In 1882, there is a record that Rev. Goss preached at the Chapel in Westminster. That would have occurred in the original chapel built on Mount Beulah. In 1902, newspaper accounts reveal that the Goss Family summered in Westminster. Reverend Goss was to be in charge of all the religious services in the Chapel. In the year 1902, that would refer to the second chapel, built on the grounds of the Hotel.

Rosa and Charles began their connections to Westminster fairly early with the mention of the boathouse built for them by Dr. Gallup. But they are among the people who continued to come into the twentieth century and therefore, became more accessible to us. They are not just names in genealogy records or social columns, but bits and pieces of their life are still available. These are the records that bring our founders to life.

One search for the Goss family led me to “Cincinnati Magazine”. Their representative granted permission to share a photo and a tale of the Goss legacy from the twentieth century. In 1985, the Taft Museum of Cincinnati held a fashion show of historic garments. In the show, Elizabeth Herschede wore her great-grandmother’s 1876 wedding dress. The dress featured a pleated and puffed silk taffeta bodice with organdy skirt and sleeves. Who was her great grandmother? Rosa Houghton Goss. Her sister, Alison, wore the 1911 wedding dress of Rosa’s only daughter, Stella Goss Wohlgemuth. This gown had a satin and applique bodice and a satin skirt with panels of point d’esprit lace tied together with satin bows. What personal artifacts!

Ebay offered another tidbit. A dealer was selling a letter handwritten by C. F. Goss, from his Westminster Park home in 1909. Love his handwriting!

We also note a connection between the Goss family and my husband’s family, the Twichell’s. I will write about the Twichell family cottage in a future article, but I wouldn’t want to leave the Goss family without a few words about the apparent friendship between these two Presbyterian ministers.

In the early twentieth century, the Twichell armada consisted of various canoes, kayaks, and a trustworthy skiff that took them up and down the River. The Twichell’s also owned motorboats; they were not so reliable. We see photographic evidence of Reverend Goss coming to the rescue and towing one back to shore….

My friend quipped, “Reverend Goss could save your soul… and save your boat!”

Reverend Twichell and his wife Vera named their second son, “Goss”. I have never found any documentation that they named him after Charles Frederic Goss, but two clues suggest that they did. 1. We know that there was a friendship, and we cannot fail to note that Goss is an unusual name for a little boy. 2. Twichell family albums include photos of Rosa Houghton Goss holding little Goss Browne Twichell. From the expression on her face, I am guessing she might be holding a namesake. What do you think?

Rosa Elizabeth Houghton Goss (Mrs. Charles Frederic Goss) holding namesake Goss Browne Twichell. She looks rather fond of him!

Photo courtesy © Twichell Family Collection

©Linda Twichell 2018

Next month: the premier house of Westminster Park, the G. R. Hanford house.

Linda Lewis Twichell, a fifty-six-year resident of Westminster Park, has collected historical information on the Westminster community since the 1970’s. Presently, her research focuses on the lives of the people who settled here in the last quarter of the 19th century, and the cottages they built. A book of Westminster Park, its people, and their stories is in the works. Be sure to check out Linda’s other historical research published in previous issues of TI Life.

Brenda Clarke, Artist

Susan W. Smith — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:34:00 GMT

Many have a Bucket List, but artist Brenda Clarke found someone else’s Bucket List that has taken her on a wonderful new journey. “In early 2015,” she says, “I decided to take a beginner acrylic class with a friend. It was the friend who had painting on his list, and I went to give him moral support.” She goes on to admit, “after that one workshop at St. Lawrence College in Brockville, I was hooked!”

Brenda carried on taking more workshops at St. Lawrence and soon was painting regularly. In just a short three years she is already recognized. Two pieces were accepted in a juried exhibition in 2016 at the St. Lawrence college’s Marianne Van Silfhout Gallery, along with one other piece accepted for the 2018 exhibit.

When I asked how she reached the stage to share her works she explained that after painting several pieces, her friends and family suggested that she should put her work up for sale. “At that point I painted with acrylics mostly on canvas, but I decided to try some River scenes on Paddles and recently on a Chair for a “CHAIRity Fundraiser.”

She paints about 3-4 times a week, sometimes for hours at a time, and at other times just in short bursts. She says she really has to feel right, because, “for me, if I ‘m not getting the connection then it’s just a study in frustration” Suggesting that most of those who are creating art, are the same!

In May 2017, Brenda joined with two other artists for her first show in the Brockville Arts Centre Lobby Gallery and now regularly displays at the Brockville General Hospital art corridor and at the Buell Street Bistro Restaurant, also in Brockville. In addition, she was recently accepted into the Thousand Islands Fine Arts Association so her works will be shown in the TIFAA Exhibition and Sale held each September.

Brenda is also proud to be a liaison for the Brockville General Hospital Art of Healing Ceiling Tile Art Project, and if that is not keeping her busy enough, she is a member of the Brockville Tall Ships Festival committee.

Most of her paintings have a story behind them, “something that has resonated with me through an experience or a place I have been. It is part of me, so in essence I am sharing that with those who view my work”.

“Cole Shoal Lighthouse-Remembered”

Acrylic on 57” poplar wood paddle

“Here We Go”

Acrylic on 57” poplar wood paddle

xxx

“Serenity Bay”

15” x 30” acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas

“Moon River”

18” x 36” acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas

“The Narrows”

18” x 24” acrylic on gallery-rapped canvas

“The Boat House”

24” x 36” acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas

“Passage to Fortune”

Marianne Van Silfhout Gallery juried exhibition painting at SLC , which received “The People’s Choice” award.

By Susan W. Smith, Editor, TI Life

[Editor’s Note: When I told Ian Coristine that I was profiling Brenda Clarke, Brockville artist, he wanted me to add that her talent is significant and importantly she’s an equally talented coach, helping both Ian and his wife, Lyne Roberge, produce a couple of pieces that are beyond, he says, “our expectations!”]

Will Salisbury’s Gift to the River

Susan W. Smith & William Salisbury — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:33:00 GMT

Ok, so it is cold outside, and/or it is “another sunny day” in Florida… What to do? You should be concentrating on work, or out holiday shopping, but the stores are too crowded, and besides, you need inspiration…

I have the best suggestion ever. Visit an art gallery right in front of your screen! Even see the artists other works… Yes, you don’t have to go out on a day like this. You can hit www.northcountryartists.com, and sculptor, and artist Will Salisbury will take you on a private tour of his favorite studios.

It is a brand-new site created by Will Salisbury, to pay tribute to other River artists. (And this Editor sends a very big THANKS.)

Artists of our North Country’s Past

and the 1000 Islands region.

Their influence was a gift to us all.

This list dates back 223 + years.

_____________________

Editor: Why did you undertake this tremendous task?

Salisbury: I don’t remember exactly when or why I came to think that building this Site was a necessary and important thing to do. I was researching for general info, on galleries and a particular artist who had influenced me and wasn’t getting what I wanted. So, there it is, I built a web site about deceased artists, living artists, and galleries, to fill the void with a resource about the Tri-County area and including our neighbors to the real North Country. We as artists have been influenced by many long- passed artists that we knew and that affected our artistic direction and momentum.

Editor: Do you want others to give you more artists? (Our readers may have some favorites)

Salisbury: YES. So far, it is a non-denominational, arbitrary in nature – a selection of people and places in our north country. I hope that everyone will help me out by finding names of those who wish to be represented and supply me with Bio’s, Photos and Web links.

Also, to get the site out there I will need my link to www.northcountryartists.com to be shared and included on artists and gallery websites. The list is incomplete and growing every day and may take a year to complete. There are no fees for these listings!

When the information seems to be complete, I wish to produce a coffee table book (with the help of friends) about past artists who have been the foundation of our artistic community for the last 150 years. The book would list those artists; it would have quality photos, stories and a list of current living artists, galleries and contact information on the last pages.

____________________

www.northcountryartists.com

(Note: these lists change weekly as Will Salisbury is given, or finds new sources. Just like going shopping… come back to see new listings!)

American and Canadian Galleries and Schools. The lists grow every week thanks to readers.

Can you help? Contact information: my3crows@hughes.net

Susan W. Smith, Editor, susansmith@thousandislandslife.com

Editor’s Note:

Scott Ouderkirk profiles Will Salisbury in June 2018, in a video on Glass Goat North Country Masters: Will Salisbury

TI Life profiled him in January 2014: Will Salisbury Making Waves

See Will Salisbury’s studio web page too, for a wealth of artistic information. http://willsalisbury.com/sculptor/index.php/3-crows/

&lt;/ifr

The Boy with the Box of Candles, 1918

Charles MacLean Cochand — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:30:00 GMT

They had come home, well some of them had.

Jean was 16 now, almost dix sept. He could remember all the parades and the flags...

Sudoku Puzzle #47

Dan LeKander — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 20:20:00 GMT

T. I. LIFE PUZZLE FOR DECEMBER 2018

This holiday Sudoku Puzzle will warm your heart and take your mind off any inclement weather. So grab a hot cup of coffee or tea & tackle this very difficult puzzle with your knowledge of advanced Sudoku techniques.

PUZZLE #47

DAN’S 8-STEP APPROACH TO SOLVING ALL SUDOKU PUZZLES

See TI Life Puzzle Preparation:

Step 1: Sudoku Pairs, Triplets and Quads – September 2015

Step 2: Turbos & Interaction – October 2015

Step 3: Sudoku Gordonian Rectangles and Polygons – November 2015

Step 4: XY-Wings & XYZ Wings – December 2015

Step 5: X-Wings – January 2016

________________

Step 6: DAN’S YES/NO CHALLENGE

Step 7: DAN’S CLOSE RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGE

Step 8: AN EXPANSION OF STEP 7

Steps 1-5 are relatively common techniques and are explained in the TI LIFE articles above. Steps 6-8 are covered in detail, in Dan’s book.

As a reminder, the basic rules of Sudoku are that the numbers 1-9 must be contained and cannot be repeated in a row, column, or box, and there can only be one solution to the puzzle.

PUZZLE PREPARATION

Prior to utilizing techniques first complete the 4 Steps of Puzzle Preparation …

FILL IN OBVIOUS ANSWERS
FILL IN NOT-SO-OBVIOUS ANSWERS
MARK UNSOLVED CELLS WITH OPTIONS THAT CANNOT EXIST IN THOSE CELLS
FILL IN THE OPTIONS FOR THE UNSOLVED CELLS

OBVIOUS ANSWERS …

Start with the 1’s to see if there are any obvious 1-choice answers. Then navigate the 2’s through 9’s.

There are no obvious answers.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS ANSWERS … We notice that the 6 and 7 in column 9 prevent C9R7 (cell in column 9 row7), C9R8 & C9R9 from being a 6 or 7. You now have two cells in box 9 (lower right grid of 9 cells) that can be a 6 or 7, which are C7R8 & C8R9. We will insert a 6 & 7 in those cells as their options per Example #47.1 below:

Example #47.1

We can clearly see that the only remaining options for C9R7, C9R8 & C9R9 are 3, 5 & 9. Since there is already a 3 and 9 in row 8, C9R8 must be a 5. C9R7 & C9R9 must have options 3 & 9. Now your grid should look like Example #47.2 below:

Example #47.2

MARK UNSOLVED CELLS WITH OPTIONS THAT CANNOT EXIST IN THOSE CELLS …

In box 4 C1R6 & C3R4 are the only two cells that can have options 7 & 9, another obvious pair. Mark those cells with options 79.

In box 7 a 1 can exist only in C3R7 or C3R8; therefore, a 1 cannot exist as an option in C3R5. Pencil a small 1 in the bottom of C3R5 to indicate it cannot be a 1.

In box 2 a 3 & 6 can only exist in C5R1 or C5R2; therefore, mark those cells with options 36.

Now your grid should look like Example #47.3 below:

Example #47.3

FILL IN THE OPTIONS FOR THE UNSOLVED CELLS …

Once you fill in the options for the unsolved cells, your grid should look like Example #47.4 below:

Example #47.4

STEPS 1-8

There are no Step 1 clues. Moving to Step 2: Interaction & Turbos examine Box 4 carefully. We find the only unsolved cells with the option 3 are C1R5 & C3R5, creating an Interaction in that no other cells in row 5 can have a 3 as an option. We eliminate the 3 from C4R5, C7R5 & C8R5. Now your grid should look like Example #47.5 below:

Example #47.5

There are no other Step 1-5 clues. We will now move to Step 6: Dan’s Yes-No Challenge.

There are 3 circumstances that establish the potential for a Step 6 exercise:

Look for just 2 unsolved cells in a box that contain the same option where these 2 cells are not in the same row or column.
Look for just 2 unsolved cells in a column that contain the same option where these 2 cells are not in the same box.
Look for just 2 unsolved cells in a row that contain the same option where these 2 cells are not in the same box.

We will start by searching the 1’s to see if there is a potential Step 6 clue, and then navigate through the 2-9’s.

In column 2 we find just 2 unsolved cells that contain the option 4 … C2R1 & C2R9. These cells are not in the same box, thereby qualifying as a candidate for a Step 6 exercise. The options in these cells are highlighted in yellow in Example #47.6 below:

Example #47.6

Do you agree that one of these two yellow cells in column 2 must be a 4? We will consider them as “driver cells” which “drive” the exercise.

Here is the logic. We will perform two exercises. First, we will assume C2R1 is the 4 and see which other cells cannot be a 4. Then we will assume C2R9 is the 4 and see which other cells cannot be a 4.

We will mark C2R1 with a “Y” and mark C2R9 with a lower case “y” to keep track of the exercise as per Example #47.7 below.

Example #47.7

We will start by assuming C2R1=4. Then, as marked above, C1R1, C1R3, C7R1 & C9R1 are not a 4 (marked with a “N”). Now the only cell in box 3 that can be a 4 is C7R3, so we will mark it as a “Y”. Then, C7R4=N. C7R5=N. C9R4=Y. C5R4=N. C6R4=N. C6R5=Y. C6R9=N.

Now we will assume C2R9=4 (y for yes). Then, C5R9 & C6R9=n. C5R8=y. C5R4=n.

We now see in Example #47.7 above that C5R4 & C6R9 have a “N,n” designation. What does that mean? Since we know one of the two yellow highlighted cells in column 2 must be a 4, the N,n cells cannot be a 4 regardless of which starter cell is a 4. We eliminate the 4 as an option from these cells.

Now your grid should look like Example #47.8 below:

Example #47.8

We need further clues to solve the puzzle, so we will look for another Step 6 clue. In column 2 we find just 2 unsolved cells that contain the option 8 … C2R2 & C2R9. These cells are not in the same box, thereby qualifying as a candidate for a Step 6 exercise. The options in these cells are highlighted in yellow in Example #47.9 below:

Example #47.9

We will start by assuming C2R2=8 and marking that cell with a “Y” for yes. Then, as indicated above, C8R2 & C9R2 =N. C8R3=Y. C8R5 & C8R6=N. C9R6=Y. C5R6=N. C6R5=Y. C6R9=N.

Now we will assume C2R9=8 (y for yes). Then, C5R9 & C6R9=n. C5R8=y. C5R6=n. C6R5=y. C8R5=n.

We now see in Example #47.9 above that C5R6, C6R9 & C8R5 have a “N,n” designation. We eliminate the 8 as an option from these cells. C6R5 has a Y,y designation. So, C6R5=8.

Now your grid should look like Example #47.10 below:

Example #47.10

It now follows that C6R4=4. C7R5=4. C9R1=4. C1R3=4. C1R8=6. C7R8=7. C8R9=6. C4R7=6. C4R8=1, and so forth.

From this point the puzzle is easily solved. Your final grid should now look like Example #47.11 below:

Example #47.11

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season.

May the gentle winds of Sudoku be at your back,

Dan LeKander

Now the cold weather is here, we ask the question :Do you tackle a Sudoku beside your fireplace, on the bus going to work or anywhere you have the chance? Write and tell us where? OK.

Editor’s note:

TI Life is taking full advantage of Dan LeKander, from Wellesley Island, who is a Sudoku expert and author of “3 Advanced Sudoku Techniques – That Will Change Your Game Forever!”

I suggest you purchase Dan’s book as a Christmas gift: “3 Advanced Sudoku Techniques, That Will Change Your Game Forever!”

The book is available online, amazon.com and on ebay.com.

Purchase of a book includes a 50-page blank grid pad, 33 black and two green tokens, to assist with Step 6.…

As always, I want to thank Dan…and his proofreader… Peggy! I am hoping you will enjoy our Sudoku and at the same time join me in thanking Dan - Bravo and Merry Christmas to you two.

Books galore

Linda Twichell — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 19:35:00 GMT

Introduction:

Linda Twichell likes to share recommendations of those books she thinks should be on a Thousand Islands bookshelf. Last year, she reviewed 31 books on her Facebook page – one book for each day of the month.

At the same time, TI Life has 20+ books on our “Books Tab.” ( Listed under the name of the author, with those recently published being designated with *new.)

Linda and I thought you might like to have our list as a reference. Several books are long out of print, but you may be lucky and find them in a used bookshop, or on sale on the web.

We hope Linda's reviews and by exploring our Books Tab, you will add to your bookshelf.

Over the year we encourage you to send your recommendations. (Title, Author, Publisher, and Date of Publication) also, provide an online link if possible.)

Enjoy Susan W. Smith, Editor, TI Life.

___________________________

Linda Twichell’s list:

* indicates it is not included on the TI Life page. Many are out of print.

DAY 1: ST. LAWRENCE ABC'S; 1000 ISLANDS, 26 LETTERS, 1 RIVER written by Silvana Gargione and illustrated by Megan Gaffney. Great book for River Rats of all ages... text full of interesting tidbits and delightful illustrations. Love this one!

DAY 2: COMFORT ISLAND; One Family’s Generational Journey by Tad Clark...love this book as this family came to the River about the same time as my family. Learning to conquer challenges of living in an old house on an island, making a life here and discovering that River friends will become the best friends of your life became true for his family and for mine. This is a great read!

DAY 3. SAMANTHA AT CONEY ISLAND AND A THOUSAND OTHER ISLANDS by Josiah Allen's wife. Josiah Allen's wife was a nome de plume of Marietta Holley, Jefferson County author. Holley was an early advocate of women's rights and children's rights. An exhibit of her life was featured at the Jefferson County Historical Museum, Watertown in 2017. She was a frequent visitor to the 1000 Islands and she is reported to have stayed at Westminster Park.

DAY 4: ONE IN A THOUSAND… This one is an e-book…..

by Ian Coristine with Donna Walsh Inglehart. More than a book... it's a multimedia platform with text, photos, and sound. In the dead of winter, no matter where you roam, you can hear river winds and the call of the loon. This is a favorite!!

DAY 5: 100 BUTTERFLIES* by Robbie Fanning. Young Adults FICTION!! dealing with coming of age at a time of parental loss. Based on the summer of 1963 in Westminster Park as a group of teens frolic through a magical summer together. When I flipped through my copy, I found slips of paper written by my mother where she tried to guess which character was which neighbor. Brings back special memories, such as a mid-summer party Robbie held on her Grandmother's porch. In walked a skinny boy from NJ who had a brown-paper grocery bag full of 45 rpm records. Nine years later I married him. See how the river works?

DAY 6: OF TIME AND AN ISLAND* by John Keats. A River classic made richer by friendships shared for which I am thankful. Thumbing through my copy I find newspaper clippings and flowers pressed long ago...signs of a well-loved book. One can learn a great deal about the River from those who lived in harmony with Her.

DAY 7: THE ISLAND* by Robert Russell. Another page-turner. Russell recounts his life as one who was "chosen by the River" as we say. He buys an island off Gan, rehabs a house, dock, boats, learns the ways of the water, the natural wonders of our area. Remarkable? Truly! For Mr. Russell was blind. How does a person without sight set out alone in a small boat to go fishing? How does he teach us to "see" the river in new ways? This book is full of the Old Wisdom of the River. It's a fascinating story and a remarkable study of the human spirit!

DAY 8: LEGENDARY WIT AND HUMOR OF AN ERA...IN THE AREA OF THE 1000 ISLANDS* by William C. Hartman. Confession: when my aunt passed this book to me for my River library, I thought it was corny. Fast forward 25 years... I love this book! Mr. Hartman recounts the stories of his grandfather, William Kepler. Many tales of the river and Wellesley Island are included along with the information we all seek: why is Densmore Church round, how did they get that ferry across the channel, how to catch a sturgeon.... If you see this book in a sale someplace, grab it! You'll like these tales!

DAY 9.... ESTHER AT THE THOUSAND ISLANDS* by Flora Longfellow Turknett. Stories of visits to the Thousand Islands were popular even in 1901. This book, written for young readers, tells tales of familiar places like TI Park, Lake of the Isles, Eel Bay, Round Island, etc. The characters share the excitement of steamers passing by... The Toronto, The Ramona.... well, lots of local flavor. Lovely half-tone photos of early river days.

DAY 10: GRINDSTONE by Donna Walsh Inglehart. Cover notes read, "Set in the wild beauty of the Thousand Islands, GRINDSTONE is ambitious, moving, and artfully imagined. ...brings... a deep sympathy for the Irish immigrant experience and the impact of the Civil War, creating a haunting narrative that is uniquely expressive of the American spirit." I enjoyed every page! Plus, the author is a family member of my neighbors. Have you read this? Weigh in!

DAY 11: RIVER VIEWS; A HISTORY OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS IN 3-D by Tom French. If you love River history, this is a must-read. So much to learn and so many photos to study. Of particular note to my neighbors are the Westminster Park pages, including an Esson shot of my next-door neighbor's cottage, Sunset. Many 1000 Islands areas are covered in detail. And I recommend attending Tom French's lectures which pop up periodically in NNY. Very informative. Great book! Great historian!

DAY 12: GLIMPSES OF ST. LAWRENCE SUMMER LIFE; THOUSAND ISLANDS SOUVENIRS from the Robert and Prudence Matthews Collection by the Antique Boat Museum. Once on Facebook, Kris Pinkney posted a beautiful ruby flash pitcher which reminded me of this River treasure. If you need information about any of the many River collectibles, look here. This is a treasure trove of info written by some of my favorite people.

DAY 13: SAINTS, SINNERS, & SAILORS OF THE GILDED AGE by Rex Ennis. You can tell from all the bookmarks that this is of interest to me. It contains brief biographical sketches of the property owners named on the 1898 Frank H. Taylor Map of the Thousand Islands: Hotels, Parks, and Cottages which was found in Dean Thomas's cottage wall. (Westminster Park) It is a great jumping-off point for those of us who research River history and an interesting read for those who wonder who came before us. I am in complete awe of the effort that went into writing that book. And thank you, Mr. Ennis.... some of these people were hard to find!

DAY 14: STATE OF NEW YORK FOREST, FISH, & GAME COMMISSION 7TH REPORT, 1901.*

An “impulse buy” for me... paid way too much but never fail to enjoy looking at the plates in this book about the flora and fauna of NYS. Lots of interesting history as well... about the Saint Lawrence Reservation, early conservation efforts, the formation of The Angler's Association, etc. Worth a look.

DAY 15: A PINAFORE OF DREAMS* by Clover Boldt Baird, granddaughter of George C. Boldt. A sweet book of poetry illustrated by the author's daughter, Clover Ann Weller. This is a small volume with simple poems some pertaining to life in general; some to the River. A charming keepsake.

DAY 16:THE GREAT ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY* by Gail Gibbons. A great one for the kids... this explains the history and development of the Seaway in clear language with lovely watercolor illustrations. Informative for all of us!

DAY 17: IMAGES OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS*; a picture book with illustrations by Hans Junga and story by Joan Walentuk. A travelogue of the area with pencil sketches and watercolor illustrations. We have seen so many changes since its publication in 1980, so it has become snapshots in time. I love Junga's work with a subtle structure of line work and a tender color palette. Brings the peace of the river to your armchair.

DAY 18: RIVER LIFE, THE THOUSAND ISLANDS, SAINT LAWRENCE RIVER by Michael Ringer. This is a good one. Vintage family photos and collectible postcards mix with Ringer's art, words clipped from history and Mr. Ringer's insights to the people, the places, and the life of the river. Very well done.

DAY 19: RUTH FIELDING ON THE SAINT LAWRENCE* by Alice B. Emerson. This novel from 1922, is one of a series of books written with a message to parents: "You want to be sure of the character of the books read by your boys and girls....reading material is clean, interesting, inspiring, and educational." A quick skim reveals that although there are geographical references we might relate to, there is more than a bit of reference to ethnicity that would not stand up to 2017 values. Interesting period piece. I would preview it before I gave it to those of a tender mind.

DAY 20: THOUSAND ISLANDS YACHT CLUB/ WELCOME ISLAND/ A HISTORY by Robert Matthews; illustrated by Bev Farrell. A well-researched book offering a peek at the origins, glory days, and demise of a great River institution. A quick read that offers a peek at the activities of the River Royals. Who would have guessed there were dog shows, elaborate balls, casino events...and even an aero-nautical division? You'll like this one written by one of my favorite River historians!

DAY 21: THE VISGER WORLD* by Les and Verda Corbin. If you love River history, you'll enjoy this account of two generations of The Visger family, leaders in the development of tourism and economic growth in the 1000 Islands region. Author Verda Corbin was one of those historians who inspired my love of this place. My mother always clipped "River Ripples", her weekly column of tidbits gleaned from historic newspapers which was published in the TISun. I later followed suit. The Corbin legacy was carried on by Marilyn and Hutch Hutchinson in everyone's favorite river bookstore, Corbin's. Am I the only one who misses that place?

DAY 22: PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS* by edited by Adrian G. Ten Cate.

Have you noticed I'm a sucker for books about the history of the St. Lawrence River, especially with tons of photos? This 1982 book was one of the earlier books I found and I was excited to find a photo of a naphtha launch at the Blandner's boathouse and also an entry about Westminster Park. After doing so much research on our area, I find the photos are even more entertaining. I recognize boats and places, etc. and delight in seeing a photo I've never seen before. It's a book that grows more enjoyable through the years.

DAY 23:. BREAKING THE RING* by Donna Walsh Inglehart. A Young Adult mystery/adventure novel set in 1000 Islands. Have you read this one?

DAY 24: CLASSIC BOATS OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS* by Anthony Mollica, Jr.; photography by George Fischer: What a mix! Gorgeous photos, wooden boats, boatbuilding history, shiny pages… makes for a delightful book. Of special interest to Westminster Park readers is the story of the Black and Tan…page 102-105. Don’t miss it! Did you notice that all of the boat owners are smiling? Live vicariously with this book and you will smile too.

DAY 25: BOLDT CASTLE; IN SEARCH OF THE LOST STORY, FOOL'S PARADISE; REMEMBERING THE THOUSAND ISLANDS; A FLOATING WORLD; MORE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND PASTIMES OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS by Paul Malo. What a distinguished career of a man who loved the 1000 islands. Malo was an architect with a passion for historical preservation. We remember his work as editor of www.thousandislandslife.com.,authoring these books, and generously sharing his love of our area with others.

DAY 26: ISLAND LIFE; ONE THOUSAND ISLANDS, ONE THOUSAND STORIES*; editor Kim Lunman: Taking a small step away from books to include this magazine because it is available up and down the River each Spring. Don’t miss it. Also, news to me: Kim now has a website so you won't miss out on past and present articles. It's islandlifemag.ca. For about seven years, Kim has treated us to gorgeous photos and interesting stories about the place and people of the 1000 islands. This year she hopped on a helicopter to gain a better vantage point. I look forward to seeing this each year! Great job, Kim Lunman!

DAY 27: THE FIRST SUMMER PEOPLE; THE THOUSAND ISLANDS 1650- 1910 by Susan Weston Smith. What an incredible resource! History Detectives, I recommend this for your bookshelf. Susie Smith's research goes well beyond many River historians. On a trip to England she had to opportunity to view the leather-bound chart records of the British Hydrographic service and found the original chart of the Canadian Lakes, 1815-1818. Additional research in National Archives of Canada and US Archives in Washington DC, as well as local resources, lead to a book full of information on early River explorations and settlement. Susan Smith has other writing credits, but is best known as the editor of thousandislandlife.com. Kudos, Susie, for promoting the love of the River and a fabulous resource.

DAY 28; A RIVER RAT’S GUIDE TO THE THOUSAND ISLANDS* by Shawn Thompson. Mr. Thompson has written a number of other River books: Soul of the River, River’s Edge, are two. I always enjoy a book written by those who love our area. So many interesting stories and perspectives… In today’s selection, the author explains the derivation of the term River Rat. I always bristled at being called a rat, but now I understand its legacy and may rethink my ideas. Mr. Thompson’s books are available at the MacSherry Library in Alexandria Bay.

DAY 29: THE THOUSAND ISLANDS, THE 1000 ISLANDS, AND WATER, WIND, AND SKY by Ian Coristine. Are we not fortunate to have a world-class photographer with the ability to capture the bird's eye view and to share his work with us all? If ever you are feeling down, a few minutes with one of these books will remind you that we are blessed to live in a place of ever-changing beauty and peace. Do you agree?

DAY 30: SECRET CASTLE* by Anne Colver. A 1969 mystery/adventure chapter book written for young readers. Although it is a fictional story, it is set in Alexandria Bay and centers around Boldt Castle, Devil's Oven and nearby islands, and the elements are pure River Rat. One "true" character is the Librarian of the Holland Library, Florence McDonell. Was Holland the former name of the MacSherry Library? Thank you to the person who posted this on a Facebook group and to my friend, Siobhan, who tracked down a copy and loaned it to me. It is an entertaining read. Keep an eye out at garage sales in the area. Great one to share with young family members.

A month of River books: DAY 31: Thanks to those who followed along. As you know, there are many more River books than the ones I have mentioned. For the last day of the list, let's hear your choice of a favorite River book. Please comment and let us know your pick.

Text by Linda Twichell.

Linda Lewis Twichell, a fifty-six-year resident of Westminster Park, has collected historical information on the Westminster community since the 1970’s. Presently, her research focuses on the lives of the people who settled here in the last quarter of the 19th century, and the cottages they built. A book of Westminster Park, its people, and their stories is in the works. Be sure to check out Linda’s other historical research published in previous issues of TI Life.

Photos from the TI Life Books Tab. Once again, please keep us informed of new author’s works!

Depth of Field: The Story Behind the Image

Chris Murray — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 16:56:00 GMT

Winter has come early this year. As I write this article, the temperature outside is hovering around 0 degrees Fahrenheit and a crusty layer over snow blankets the ground. A long winter lies ahead. It is still technically fall, however, and rather than snow, I prefer to remember the ground covered in a layer of gold.

Title: Forest Gold

Exposure Data:

Two exposures, 1/160 sec and 1/10 sec, f/16, ISO 400

Nikon D800E camera, Nikkor 16-35mm lens at 28mm

Fall color is late to arrive on the islands due to the moderating effect the relatively warm River has on temperatures. One day, in late October, this year found me wandering the campgrounds at Wellesley Island State Park on a sunny but brisk autumn afternoon.

One reason I love this time of year is that the campgrounds are closed for the season and devoid of people. I encountered not a single soul as I explored the area, reveling in the sunshine and the abundance of yellow and gold hues. I happened upon this spot, where the forest floor was blanketed in yellow maple seedlings and fallen leaves, bathed in warm sunlight streaming through the trees. After patiently deciding on where to set my tripod (the most important decision) I set about photographing the scene.

As I was shooting into the sunlight, I knew it would be difficult to adequately capture the scene with only one exposure. (Camera sensors are unable to record the contrast range that the human eye can detect). I shot two exposures, varying only the shutter speed, one to accurately resolve the highlights and one for the shadows. In photoshop, I combined the two, using a luminosity mask to arrive at the final composite image.

Fidelity to actual appearances is not my usual goal with photography, though in this situation I found it appropriate.

I view photography as a personally expressive medium. My intent is not to simply document a scene, but rather to make evident my thoughts and feelings about the scene.

By Chris Murray

Chris Murray is a full-time photographer, instructor, and writer. His work has appeared in several magazines including Popular Photography, Shutterbug, Adirondack Life, Life in the Finger Lakes, and New York State Conservationist, among others. He is a staff instructor with the Adirondack Photography Institute. API’s 2019 workshop schedule is now available at www.adkpi.org. For more of Chris’ work visit www.chrismurrayphotography.com.

The River Gal: The Maritime Mimosa

Nicole Hartshorn — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 15:03:00 GMT

There is nothing better than sharing Holiday enchantment with your children, family and friends. Enjoying great food, drinks and laughter!

Although the holiday season is in full swing and we cherish this time, we do find ourselves missing that warmer weather a little this time of year. When snow falls can be measured in feet instead of inches, can you blame us?

After the joy of the Holidays, my crew looks forward to winter boat shows. It’s a great way to “Beat the Brrr”. Our FAVORITE boat show to attend is the Central New York Boat Show at the NYS Fairgrounds. It consists of more than 500 all new cruisers, sports boats, pontoon boats, personal water crafts and docks - so you’re sure to get your “nautical fix.”

It’s a fantastic way to escape the elements, even if it’s just for the day. For that one day we can surround ourselves with the newest boat models, the latest and greatest boating gadgets and of course my favorite, the freebies! You can NEVER have too many fluorescent floating key chains and drink koozies that sport an ad for some type of boater’s insurance. Even though the palm trees are obviously fake and the pools filled with water are “for display only” (I learned that the hard way) we find ourselves drawn to the atmosphere of the CNY Boat Show.

After the little skippers hit up their favorite snack shack and Captain Tom and I hit up our favorite adult beverage stand, we are now ready to check out the newest boat models; the ones that can only be seen at a winter boat show. We slip off our boots and board those pristine, straight from the factory boats and take in that “new boat smell.”

We love to admire the latest and innovative features, new color combinations and layouts. We dream of the day we can pull into our marina aboard our very own new boat. Toasting to an accomplishment that every used boat owner strives to achieve, ownership of a brand-new boat model! Although our crew is not quite there yet. I have created a celebratory drink recipe for those of you who are. So, if you find yourselves signing those ever so exciting papers at your local boat show this winter, congratulations!

Cheers!

The River Gal’s Galley: The Maritime Mimosa

Stock your galley with:

½ cup fresh sliced strawberries

2 cups pineapple juice

2 cups of your favorite champagne

Instructions

Slice up about a ½ cup of strawberries and place slices in an empty ice cube tray and freeze overnight. Once strawberries are frozen, drop a couple of them into 4 separate champagne glasses. Pour half pineapple juice and half champagne over the strawberries and toast!

Makes 4 drinks

By Nicole Hartshorn, “Food Ideas for Boaters”

About River Entertaining:

From recipes to product reviews, Nicole Hartshorn (The River Gal) is featured in every issue of “The Great Lakes Scuttlebutt” Magazine and has also been highlighted in Sea Ray Living. Friesen Press published a collection of her “Thousand Islands themed recipes” in 2014, titled RIVER ENTERTAINING, and has been a great galley reference ever since!

Interested in trying more of The River Gals recipes or know a boater who would be? Nicole’s book RIVER ENTERTAINING is available for purchase on Barnes & Noble.com or at Friesen Press.com/book store, search River Entertaining on Amazon.

Toronto Boat Show: January 18-27, Enercare Centre, Toronto, ON.

CNY Boat Show: Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 14-17, 2019. NYS Fairgrounds, 581 State Fair Blvd, Syracuse, NY 13209

Show Hours: Thurs. 1pm – 9pm, Fri. 1pm – 9pm, Sat. 10am – 9pm, Sun. 10am – 5pm

TI Life Happenings November 2018

Susan W. Smith — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 20:58:00 GMT

Happy Thanksgiving to our US Islanders! This is a time of year when family and friends enjoy a harvest dinner and of course, Football. November in the Thousand Islands is no different than in other communities – only quieter. Most cottages are now closed and the weather alerts include “freezing rain, and/or Snow flurries!”

This article introduces Jessica Phinney and Nicole Hartshorn. We have two videos showing the weather and we pay tribute to Dave Smith, Grindstone Island. and announces that Santa Claus is coming to town. .