Written by
Kim Lunman posted on April 13, 2014 07:45
It's that time of year again. Island Time.
It's time to celebrate summer and enjoy The River in one of the most enchanting archipelagos in the world: The Thousand Islands.
This year marks the 5th anniversary of Island Life (islandlifemag.ca) an annual glossy print magazine owned by Thousand Islands Ink. A total of 25,000 copies of the 2014 edition of Island Life will be distributed in May just before Victoria Day in Canada and Memorial Day in the U.S. in the EMC and Thousand Island Sun newspapers respectively.
This year's cover features a spectacular photograph of Heron Cay Island near Ivy Lea by renowned Thousand Islands aerial photographer Ian Coristine. Heron Cay is a featured story in this year's Island Life. The owners, of San Francisco, call the bunky perched atop a granite rock "Eagle's Nest."
I spent the summer last year researching and taking photographs on Alnwick Island next to Sunset Island by the Lost Channel near Rockport. I write about Alnwick and several neighbouring islands including Kismet and Surveyors Island in this year's Island Life.
Every island tells a story. The charming cottage with a wraparound veranda on Surveyors Island near the mainland mansion Eagle Point has belonged to the same Rochester family since 1925. It turns out Kismet Island, owned by an Ottawa couple, has a connection to a lavish steam yacht named Kismet which once belonged to a Brockville family.
I interviewed Edith Amsterdam, the owner of Casa Blanca, a Gilded Age mansion on Cherry Island on Millionaire's Row near Alexandria Bay overlooking Heart Island's Boldt Castle.
The magazine features some of Boldt Castle's other interesting neighbours including Deer Island, the summer retreat for Yale University's famously secret society called Skull and Bones. Our contributors this year will take readers from castles and cottages on both sides of the border from Grindstone Island to the beautiful Brock Isles to the classic wooden boats of Clayton. Singer Castle's historian, Judy Keeler, chronicles another fascinating chapter in the story of Dark Island. Keeler writes about Marjorie Bourne, the daughter of multi-millionaire Singer Sewing Machine scion, Frederick Bourne. The wealthy heiress and spirited sportswoman - whose car races with trains made headlines in the New York Times - owned Singer Castle until 1961.
The magazine also features the Thousand Islands photography of Joseph T. Meirose IV (fullframeworksphotography.com) featuring breathtaking shots of Calumet Island and Grindstone Island among others. Contributor Emmett Smith, curator of Clayton's Antique Boat Museum, writes about classic wooden boats of the Thousand Islands. The ABM celebrates its 50th annual boat show this August.
This year's Island Life also celebrates the Brock Isles and highlights the region's newest tourism attraction to open this year. Doug McLellan and Caroline Yung, of Toronto's McLellan Group (mclellangroup.com) and owners of Wood Isle in the Lake Fleet, contribute a feature on the soon to open Aquatarium.
Thousand Islands' author and TILife.com's editor, Susie Smith, contributes a story on her special retreat on Sagastaweka Island - which includes her TILife.com headquarters and library - near Gananoque and known as "Home Full of Sunshine."
We also take readers to the International Rift and the Canadian island known for its canary yellow surfboard bench and California flag. Michael Laprade writes about Honey Bee Island and the century-old cabin he and wife Janice have lovingly restored and refer to as 'the Bee.' (honeybeeisland.com)
It's time to enjoy another Thousand Islands' summer. So pull up a deck chair and relax. The River awaits. Enjoy Island Life.
By Kim Lunman, www.islandlifemag.ca
Kim Lunman is the owner/publisher of Island Life Magazine www.islandlifemag.ca. A profile of the past five years was published in our November 2013 issue of TI Life. Her company, Thousand Islands Ink, is based in Brockville. Lunman is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in the Boat U.S. Magazine, Lakeland Boating, Reader's Digest, Globe and Mail, and The National Post.
To see all of Kim Lunman’s TI Life articles, click here, and to read a more complete biography see our About page.
