The TI Life Story
Thousand Islands Life, is an monthly journal of articles about our distinctive region--its current development, its colorful heritage, and its characteristic marine lifestyle.
The regional overview (On and beside the River, above the River or under the River!) provides a comprehensive resource for information about the St. Lawrence River, from Cape Vincent and Kingston on Lake Ontario to Brockville and Morristown, fifty miles down the river. The web site is huge, providing information about twenty-two communities and other subjects.
TI Life does not accept advertising. There is no subscription fee. However, new issues are announced to subscribers by e-mail and are always accessible for everyone at this web site. Our site is also RSS enabled 
.
All authors and photographers provide content strictly as volunteers. All Photographs are copyrighted and the property of the photographer.
History
A team of three created and managed TI Life from 2006-2008. Paul Malo, emeritus professor architecture, Syracuse University; Mike Franklin, property specialist with Sotheby's International Realty, (Saratoga Springs and Lake Placid, NY) and Ian Coristine, renown Thousand Islands photographer and writer.
In August 2008 when the community learned of the death of Paul Malo, Ian Coristine made a request, “would someone like to help keep TI Life alive?” Susan Smith volunteered as editor and Kim Lunman, now owner and publisher of the print magazine, “Island Life” volunteer her writing skills. The rest they say, is history.
The Over 20 Team…
The following authors have written more than 20 articles for TI Life. Their time, energy and expertise is greatly appreciated.
Susan Weston Smith (Known as Susie) is the author of The First Summer People, Thousand Islands 1650-1910, Boston Mills Press (1993) and working in the volunteer world is her passion. Susie is a volunteer with the Thousand Islands Land Trust (known as TILT) in Clayton, NY.; currently she is serving as past president. She is also a member of the Zonta Club of Ottawa and in the past she has served on the board of Save the River in Clayton, the Arthur Child Heritage Museum and the Thousand Islands Association both in Gananoque.
In 2010 Susan was honored to receive the Keeper of the Islands Award by the Gananoque Chamber of Commerce. She is retired from her career as a professional fundraiser, working for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and at Queen's School of Business, Queen’s University in Kingston.
Click here to see all of Susan’s contributions!
Kim Lunman is the owner and publisher of
Island Life Magazine based in Brockville, Ontario. Kim's 2012 magazine was distributed in May in local newspapers in eastern Ontario and northern New York. A special
Islander Edition is still available on sale in local book stores in both the United States and Canada. Each summer Kim visits many islands and meets their owners so we can all look forward to reading their stories in the coming months. See
Excursions and More for a sneak preview of the 2013 edition.
Kim is an award-winning Canadian journalist who lives in her hometown of Brockville, "the City of the 1000 Islands." The former national correspondent for the Globe and Mail's Victoria and Ottawa bureaus, Lunman has also worked as a reporter for the Calgary Herald and Saint John New Brunswick Telegraph Journal. Kim is the recipient of a National Newspaper Award for feature writing and received a National Newspaper Award citation of merit for enterprise reporting. Kim was also was nominated for a Michener Award, the highest honor in Canada for public service journalism. Her freelance writing has appeared in the KingstonWhig-Standard, the National Post, South China Morning Post, VIA Destinations and Reader's Digest.
Click here to see all of Kim’s contributions!
Lynn McElfresh is a regular contributor to TI Life, writing stories dealing with her favorite Grenell Island and island life. We have learned a great deal over the past three years from Lynn McElfresh’s musings, from moving pianos to island weddings or from plumbing problems to meeting old friends, taking nature walks and the importance of trees. Recently she presented several articles about Grenell for its 100th Birthday. Lynn is the author of Can You Feel the Thunder? published in 1999 in New York by Simon & Shuster Children's Publishing Division. It is suggested for youth ages 10-14. She is also the ghost writer for several other children’s books. Lynn’s is a regular contributor to TI Life. Lynn McElfresh and her husband, Gary, spend their summers in the Thousands Islands on Grenell Island and their winters in Dunedin, Florida.
Click here to see all of Lynn’s contributions!
Michael Folsom is a regular contributor to
TI Life. His work has been featured in
Thousand Islands Sun,
Know Your Ships,
Boatnerd.com and more. He is also created his website
Ship Watcher Blog – the most comprehensive seaway information site for the region. Michael is also the creator and organizer of
Sailing Seaway Clayton which is a weekend of waterfront activities taking place in June. When not on the River, Michael is the Senior Director of Promotional Development at the Syracuse
Crunch Hockey Club.
Click here to see all of Michael’s contributions!
Brian Paul Johnson is one of five captains of the Wolfe Island car ferry
Wolfe Islander III. He has worked for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation for more than 30 years, recently celebrating 20+ years as captain. We often see him pass through the islands as captain of the
Canadian Empress. Today, Brian combines his marine career with writing. Fascinated by stories and legends of the 1000 Islands area he has written for the
Kingston Whig Standard,
Telescope magazine and the Great Lakes Boatnerd Website:
Seaway News. Brian co-edited
Growing up on Wolfe Island, a compilation of interviews and stories with Sarah Sorensen. He is also a past president of the Wolfe Island Historical Society and former president of the Wolfe Island
Scene of the Crime mystery writer’s festival held on the island every August.
Click here to see all of Brian’s contributions!
The Design and Magic…
In December 2008 TI Life took on a new look. David O’Malley, principal designer at Areographics, in Ottawa ON. provided a unique style for TI Life complete with a tag line: put a thousand islands in your life. His distinctive design provided an easily managed template.
Michael Cox
A most important participant is Michael Cox, Creative Solutions, Dunrobin, ON. Mike took the O’Malley template and married it to a computer interface. Complete with tutorials for Smith – the editor. Smith and Cox “publish” TI Life on the 15th of each month.
Hailing from North Western Ontario, Mike Cox spent his time working at his family tourist business in many different capacities. Having a penchant for technology, he bought his first computer in 1995 and started developing web sites for marina operators.
Mike learned that simply building web pages was not sustainable. Businesses needed a way to manage their sites and to have their sites be more than HTML brochures. Mike specializes in offering web database integration and created Content Management Solutions which enable his customers autonomy from their web masters at affordable prices.
Mike now resides in Rural Ottawa with his wife and two daughters and services a boutique clientele from his home. The original Content Management System he developed has been replaced with a younger more nimble offering that is supported by developers all around the world. Mike is adamant that site maintenance does not need to be done by the tech savvy, and as a result, the TI Life Team has been given great tools to do the job.
He also is well known in the Ottawa region playing his Ukelele…
The Original Team
The facts tell us that Paul Malo was an award winning historical preservationist, architect, professor, author and passionate Thousand Islander.
Paul created over 100 articles for TI Life magazine. He shared his training, knowledge, research and photographs through the magazine, his books and in person to foster a greater appreciation for and preservation of important places like TI Park, Carleton Villa and Boldt Castle amongst many others. Paul leaves behind many legacies, but arguably one of the most important is ThousandIslandsLife.com. It exists thanks to his dedication, leadership and inspiration.
See October 2008. Paul Malo Remembered by Kim Lunman
Mike Franklin was a founder of
Thousand Islands Life Magazine and a good friend of Paul Malo.
Mike is a computer/Internet consultant and a unique property specialist with Sotheby's International Realty. He has more than twenty years experience as an IT professional in support of the real estate industry.
Mike's specialty is working with unique properties of historic value in upstate New York. Mike utilizes his computer and Internet skills to present and promote his properties in detail to down-state, out of state and international buyers.
Examples of his photography, that highlight important architectural attributes, can be found in many of TI Life feature articles.
Mike Franklin’s unique real estate web pages.
When Ian Coristine met Paul Malo he recognized a kindred spirit. Not only was Paul fostering a greater appreciation for the Thousand Islands, but he was also encouraging others in “raising the bar” to ensure that all aspects of the region were promoted – from economic prosperity to appreciating its beauty through photography.
Ian Coristine had been active in aerial photography for over 25 years and had written extensively for U.S. and Canadian aviation publications. His air-to-air aircraft photography graced numerous magazine covers and stories, while also serving his former career in aircraft distribution. The demands of air-to-air photography proved ideal training for an unexpected career.
Ian Coristine's sixth book is an interactive eBook for iPad, titled
One in a Thousand. The memoir was co-written with Donna Walsh Inglehart (
Grindstone,
Breaking the Ring).
One in a Thousand describes the challenges of acquiring Raleigh Island, the restoration of an abandoned cottage, and his adventures in the air and on the water as he immersed himself in a new, unexpected career. Produced by McLellan Interactive Publishing, it includes an 85,000-word text set in a beautiful layout, videos of his flying adventures, nature sounds from the River an interactive map with hundreds of his best images embedded in the text, in galleries and in automated slideshows set to unpublished instrumental tracks from
Great Lake Swimmers.
TI Life today
As of December 2012 TI Life boasts a monthly average of ten articles and more than 150 photographs. We have 991 Facebook “likes” - Be sure to check our page throughout each month, as we add material about the 1000 Islands. Follow us on Twitter. Send us your tweet tag and we will start to follow you.
As of December 2012 TI Life boasts a monthly average of ten articles and more than 150 photographs. We have 991 Facebook “likes” 
- Be sure to check our page throughout each month, as we add material about the 1000 Islands. Follow us on Twitter
. Send us your tweet tag and we will start to follow you.