TI Life in August 2012

From the Editor: Do you remember the weather in summer 2011? Well, 2012 has to date, been hotter, sunnier and dryer. So, we are cheering for some(more) rain, particularly for our farming communities. We will soon find out how serious the drought has been for the area, but it has made family reunions, weddings and fundraising events a great success.

This month’s issue

Chas MacLean Cochand lives in England. He read Kim Lunman’s article Fulford Yacht's Historical Homecoming in June 2011 and sent us an email about his great grandfather who was married to Senator Fulford’s daughter. I asked Chas to tell his story in Charlie and The Magedoma… Romance and Tragedy on the River in August 2011. This led to Chas and his wife, Jude, visiting Brockville and the Thousand Islands this summer. He describes his journey in Romance and Tragedy on the River: The Circle Closes.

An email from Ken Deedy led to this question:
Can you give us the answer to “dig” on Grindstone Island in Do you know the Answer?

Many attended the annual TIA Breakfast in Gananoque. Thornley Stoker gives the details in TIA enters the 21st Century…

Dr. John Carter returns with added research on the 1837 Upper Canadian Rebellion: Little Boxes, Little Boxes.. Fort Henry Connection which provides a glimpse into the lives of Rebellion prisoners.

Kristen Taylor and her husband Jon decided to give up “city life” when they moved to northern NY.  Kristen writes a series introducing others who did the same:  Taking the Plunge: AquaZoo - Treasure and Local Lore Await in A-Bay.

Lynn McElfresh reports on the 100th Anniversary on Grenell Island in 100 Years Improving. Mary Alice Snetsinger provides interesting histories on lighthouses in Ogdensburg’s Harbor Lighthouse, Tom French presents his new website River Stories… and introduces some well-known Islanders of long ago.

Tom King’s A Bird Lover’s Utopia will, hopefully, lead to more articles about “birding”. We, kindly, ask you to forward any of your bird experiences to us.

New Contributors

	Ken Deedy - Do you know the Answer? Ken Deedy is a Past president and a founder of TILT and resident of Long Island and Grindstone Island, NY. He is well known in the Thousand Islands as a volunteer with several community organizations and is Trustee Emeritus of Save The River, Clayton, NY.
	Thornley Stoker - TIA enters the 21st Century… Thornley Stoker is a "river-rat in training" having only spent the last 30 years on the St. Lawrence. A resident of Tremont Island (Admiralty Islands) in the summer and Kingston in the winter Thornley is married to Susan and their  children, Harrison and Bram are living out west in British Columbia.

Chopin in the Islands

The Thousand Island International Piano Competition will celebrate its 10th anniversary on September 7-9, 2012. The three-day event will once again be held under a tent on the beautiful historic grounds of Maple Grove Estate, 596 W. Broadway in Cape Vincent. This event provides a venue for exceptional young pianists (ages 9-25) to perform in the nurturing and confidence building atmosphere provided by the Cape Vincent community and at the same time brings the joy of live classical music to the Thousand Islands.

This year, 16 pianists, will compete in two divisions: Junior (under age 19) and Senior (ages 19-25). Contestants this year are from Russia, China, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Canada and of course the USA -including one contestant from Carthage, NY. The youngest pianist in the Junior Division is 9 years old. Competitors in the Senior Division, aged 19-25, study piano at Eastman, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Long Island Conservatory of Music and Westminster Conservatory of Rider University.

This program is free and open to the public. Audience members are welcome to quietly enter and exit the performance tent between each pianist’s performance, making this a wonderful opportunity for young people to attend, since each individual performance is limited to approximately 20-25 minutes. Artist Pianos Limited, of Albany and Syracuse, provided the grand piano for contestants to use.

This piano competition was founded by Dr. William J. Grant, who passed away in the spring of 2009. His legacy of bringing beautiful classical music to the Thousand Islands community continues with generous volunteer support by area residents who love music and want to support young pianists.   Be sure not to miss this very special opportunity to hear and next generation of great musicians. 

Reader’s Exchange

Our mailbox was full this month - we received summer photographs and some "treasures"!

William Elliott is a lifetime resident of Brockville. He wrote to congratulate Kim Lunman on her Island Life Summer 2012 edition. I was pleased to pass on his message, and I then discovered that he is a poet...

Kate R. McDonnell, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY drew our attention to a new novel by Ray Petersen. “The Middle of Everywhere”. It chronicles Kenny Hopewell's attempt to save his hometown’s paper mill

Stranded in the remote wilderness between Lake Ontario and the Adirondacks, Kenny travels by foot across a fictional county in upstate New York where he meets an eclectic mix of people.

Like many rural-American communities, the area has the feel of a self-inflicted wound, and as Kenny comes to understand, sometimes you have to feel pain just to know that you’re still alive.” The book will be available in October from State University of New York Press.

Photographic Memories

Our request for summer memories gave us the following:

Patti Linder returned this summer for a family reunion. She took her daughter on the “Island Belle” for a tour. Moira Murphy also captured family shots including young Lily Grigely’s drawing. Sara Scott Rogers found her son, Angelo quietly fishing on the Lake of the Isles.

Nora Detlor(Ash Island, Ivy Lea) captured a Poker Run participant and a beautiful sunset. Dave Mumms, visiting friends on an island, captured a rainbow. Teri Bruno artistically captured her cousins and a sunset.

Tom King and Ann Rodenback proved the fishing is good this summer.Tara Hutson found a vantage point for the passing ships. Sue Marsh always finds the perfect shot – this time she recognized a prince! And Tom King is not afraid, we think!

Conclusion

Do you write? Are you knowledgeable about a 1000 Islands topic which you could share with our readers? Would you like to write book reviews?  If so, please contact me. We are a great volunteer TI Life, team and as we start our planning for fall and winter, we would like to hear from you.

Continue to enjoy Summer 2012 and stay safe.

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

Thanks to the TI Life team: David Ray, Jane Taylor and Mike Cox for their expert help each month.