Written by
Tom King posted on May 13, 2011 22:20
In 1972 my parents, Jim and Betty King, built their dream home at 120 Maple Street in Gananoque. The house was nestled among the mighty oak and maple trees that graced the lovely wooded lot on the edge of town. Several truckloads of good old Canadian Shield granite were carved from the ground to make way for the foundation. The house was designed with lots of bedrooms so that the kids, and grandkids, would always have a place to stay when they came for a visit. A screened-in gazebo in the back yard offered a tranquil place to sit and visit or to sleep on those warm summer nights. The kitchen window looked out on the woods at the back of the house and Mom spent many hours watching her furry and feathered friends while preparing delicious feasts that were enjoyed by all. This house was definitely a home and it holds many special memories for all the family members.
One of the special things about the location of my parent’s home was its’ close proximity to Bluff Park, a beautiful piece of town property overlooking the St. Lawrence River. It quickly became a tradition for “Poppa” to take the visiting grandchildren for a walk over to the park to check and see what was happening out on the river. The vantage point at Bluff Park also became one of my father’s favourite spots to take pictures from, and he took many! The photographs that follow are a sampling of some of the images of the river that Dad shot at different times of the day and during the different seasons from the park. For the residents of the Thousand Islands who are only here in the summer months the opportunity to witness the beauty and grandeur of the river during the rest of the year is truly a spectacle that is missed.
Image courtesy of the J.W. King Photography Collection ©
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Image courtesy of the J.W. King Photography Collection ©
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Image courtesy of the J.W. King Photography Collection ©
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Image courtesy of the J.W. King Photography Collection ©
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Image courtesy of the J.W. King Photography Collection ©
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Image courtesy of the J.W. King Photography Collection ©
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Image courtesy of the J.W. King Photography Collection ©
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Image courtesy of the J.W. King Photography Collection ©
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I have many personal recollections about Bluff Park that I fondly look back on. I docked my 14 foot aluminum boat below the park for several years and got to know every step from the boathouse to the top of the bluff very well. It never seemed to fail that you were almost to the top or bottom of the long climb when you realized that you had forgotten something at the other end!
Through the years I met many interesting people around the park but one particular gentleman stands out in my mind. Joe Pullaw was an old river rat, probably sixty years my senior, who enjoyed telling stories about life on the river “back in the day”. Joe had a boathouse below the bluff too and we would quite often hike up the hill together on our way home. Joe would like to sit on the stone wall under a huge oak tree at the top to catch his breath and it was there that he would fascinate me with his tales as we looked out over the river together.
There is also a rather humourous story related to Bluff Park that I will always remember. The Chitty family owned the house that was right beside the park and I would quite often see Mr. and Mrs. Chitty, either working in their gardens or sitting on their deck, as I made my way to the boat, usually with my dog, Heidi, following closely behind. On one occasion, several years after I had moved away from Gananoque, I was home for a visit and, as was the custom, Dad and I walked over to the park to check out the river. While we were there we met Bill Chitty and he commented that for years he had watched me and my dog head out in the boat. One day he noticed that something had changed – instead of Heidi sitting on the front seat of the boat, there was a girl. He said, at that point, he realized that I was growing up! Well, I am happy to report that as of this month that “girl” has been my wife for thirty years and we still share a deep love of the river and enjoy going out in the boat together.
As a footnote to this story I would like to mention that the last time I visited Bluff Park I was very touched to see that the old stone wall that Joe and I used to sit on, and which had fallen into a state of crumbling disrepair over the years, had been lovingly restored by the Chitty family, in memory of Bill. A beautiful bronze memorial plaque has been mounted on the wall for all to see. As I sat on the stone wall and drank my coffee, my heart warmed by the Chitty family’s beautiful gesture, I realized how lucky we are to have this treasure that we call the Thousand Islands as part of our lives.
By Tom King, Milton, ON.
Tom King and his wife Marion, have lived in Milton, Ontario for the past twenty-five 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 few years have been renting a cottage on Sampson (a.k.a. Heritage) Island, just out from Gananoque.
Editor’s Note: This is Tom King’s fourth article for TI Life, the others related to the boating history of the region. In addition to providing an important link to the past, Tom’s articles generated many comments adding important information - This article is different as it relates to a beautiful part of Gananoque and remembers two important personalities.
On a personal note, I appreciate hearing about the late Bill Chitty. He came to visit me one day many years ago and asked if I would help establish the Arthur Child Heritage Museum in Gananoque. I said “No”, but Bill Chitty had a way of showing you what was important. A couple of arm twists later, and I was hooked. Our lives have been made better by the memories people like Joe Pullaw and Bill Chitty have given us.