Written by
Susan W. Smith posted on February 13, 2010 07:33
In early February I received, from Richard Calabrese, Jr., two photographs by Bill Farmer. One is our TI Life in February thumbprint and the other is on the right. Richard wrote, “Bill Farmer took the photos of Castle Rest. He was doing some masonry-restoration work on the wall of Hopewell Hall across from Castle Rest”.
You can see the snow on the ground, but if you live in the North County you will have noticed that in February it does not get dark until 6:00 p.m…. A sure sign that June is on its way!
February Issue
I am proud to present articles for everyone:
History: Kristen Pinkney’s final chapter of Thousand Islands Summers - Manhattan Winters: May Dewey's Diary, beginning July 1888 and culminating in August 1889. (Kristen promises to be back with more important research in the future). We also present Lynn McElfresh’s The New Frontenac Hotel Flag; Robert Matthew’s second article on nineteenth- century illustrators: Howard Pyle, Illustrator Extraordinaire and Rex Ennis provides the history of the “Arctic Goose”.
Photography and Artists: Rebecca Hopfinger presents 2nd Annual The Glass River. I present a review of a new book which would make a most-suitable addition to any Thousand Islands library: “The Summer Cottage: Retreats of the 1000 Islands” , and Photographs and more by Hope Marshall;
Island Life: Kim Lunman gives us Grindstone Island: Lost in Time; James Rappaport keeps us up-to-date with Poker Run’s Poker Stakes and Trude Brown Fitelson offers a unique perspective in Thousand Island Park Revisited .
A Special TI Life Salute:
The January edition went online three days after the Haitian earthquake. Immediately, we saw River communities participating in the global collection of assistance funds. One group of islanders went beyond the norm. Grindstone Island’s Mark Purcell, of Watertown’s Purcell Construction Corp. offered to buy, and erect, over 700 shelter tents for Haiti and to deliver same, from Florida, on several trips in his plane. We know that Mark’s team from the Thousand Islands included his brother Tim, Jeremy Kellogg from Clayton, and Jason Stowell from TI Park.
They were in Haiti assisting the Son Light Missions, from Castorland in Lewis County which has been assisting this impoverished country since 1968. Link to the Son Light Mission website and you’ll see the tremendous support Mark and his team have provided. In their final hours in Haiti they laid out the next building site and found ways to get materials on site. Most of the team members have just returned home but Jason will oversee the project for another month. Jeremy Kellogg reported that this has been a “heart-wrenching, horrific, and gratifying” experience. They all feel that they have been able to make a difference and we salute these very-special people. (Note: If we left any team members out, we will continue to monitor this story and will provide more information in our next issue)
Planning for the summer:
Mark your calendar for two events, one in Clayton and one in Brockville. Both will feature a concert by the Great Lakes Swimmers and a special audio/visual presentation by TI Life’s Ian Coristine. Ian’s photographs will preview his fifth book of photography titled, The very best of Ian Coristine's 1000 Islands.
Friday June 4th - Brockville, ON @ Brockville Arts Centre.
Through the generosity of Tall Ships Landing, and the Simon Fuller family, this night of celebrating the Thousand Islands will be open to the public without charge.
Saturday June 26th - Clayton, NY @ Clayton Opera House
This marquee event will be a highlight of the Clayton River Festival which runs from Thursday, June 24 to Sunday, June 27th. Other events to be announced on their website.
And finally some winter fun:
We have a rule at TI Life, our stories must be about the River – above, on or below - but once in awhile we head inland or in this case in the far north. As many of you know Dr. Dick Withington’s winter island living articles are appreciated, so we decided to tell Dick this is real Canadian winter living - and we hope you enjoy it! (Permission to share provided by Len Colen)
My thanks to Ian Coristine who discovered this special piece. When he asked for permission to publish this, the creator, Len Conlon said he first looked at our TI Life site, loved the photography and agreed. He told us “My brother in law Mike McGillis is one of the Scouts. My son Neil is the other.”
As I publish this issue I hope everyone enjoys the Olympics brought to you from Beautiful British Columbia. Those of us who were fortunate to have been involved in the sailing events held in Kingston for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, will relive the excitement and pride.
Susan W. Smith, Editor. susansmith@thousandislandslife.com