News Article

Lots of news … First, take a stand-up Jet-Ski ride over ice and water… Our Kim Lunman writes for "BoatUSA" and I introduce our April contributors. The Canadian Park Islands have a new name and we have an update on water levels. We thank those who leave comments for they often lead to new stories about the 1000 Islands…

This is one of our most ambitious issues… 13 articles… over 130 photographs, special videos including one created on YouTube for TI Life, Seaway 2012, history, an excursion, a book review… and the launch of RiverQuest...Then, ever wonder what was here before? We introduce new Facebook pages featuring vintage photographs … and we show snowbirds how winter 2013 has started..

Yes, that is a truck you see...It was caught on camera by Martin Zonnenberg as the Grindstone Island Barge made its way across the River... We introduce a new book by Chris Brock and poetry by Fred Schmidt... Lots more in this month's issue, enjoy.

When I learned that Ian Coristine was writing a new book I got excited. As perhaps one of his most devoted fans (his contributions to Thousand Islands Life are immeasurable), I decided...

July is vacation time and hopefully you are not sitting at your computer but instead enjoying these truly hot, hazy, crazy days of summer. For that reason in July we publish TI Life ‘Lite'. And to help you enjoy the summer, do check this article as we share a new slide show of the Thousand Islands, created by Ian Coristine with the music of Great Lake Swimmers...

A proposed anchor tourism attraction for the Thousand Islands is a huge step closer to opening its doors on Brockville’s...

“It began as a spark of an idea that grew from conversations about the wonderful ‘Island’ stories...

It's that time of year again: Island Time. Summer is back and so is Island Life Magazine. Here's a preview of this year'...

It all sounded too good to be true. When Dawn and Kevin Rast heard about a program where Fort Drum families were invite...

This is how -  we -  Heidi and Konrad Linckh, came to buy Hill Island's Skydeck Observation Tower. There is d...

Paddlers, local and visiting, novice and expert, can choose from a new selection of paddling tours this season within th...

"Enough of that! Now for the really thrilling news... I soloed on Sunday, April 29! Yip, I SOLOed!

The 2013 season is officially up and running on all cylinders throughout the region. Ice has melted, birds have returned...

The St. Lawrence River has always been an important transportation route. During the War of 1812 the Upper St. Lawrence...

When we travel to different corners of the world, I’m always amazed how often our experiences somehow link back to the S...

The historic and picturesque lakeside city of Kingston, Ontario will become the focus of the Antique and Classic Boat un...

These polar bears give “helping the community” a whole new meaning to the word "courage".

My boots tap on the faux-wood floor as I walk into Leeds County Books in downtown Brockville. The brightness and warmth ...

It's a new song about our favorite spot in the World. The 1000 Islands. It's written by a local performer called JPShaggy

Readers of Thousand Islands Life well know how the St. Lawrence River inspires artists, poets, writers . . .

Our family came to the Thousand Islands and spent five years visiting the St. Lawrence Islands National Park docks. As a...

Wheelock Souvenir China In early February we received this email from Carol Apperson. Oceanside, Oregon, USA.  Car...

There was no ice to thaw as the Seaway season got underway back in March due to temperatures being higher than normal th...

Throughout the winter season Dr. Richard Withington  provides a unique service to Round Islanders.  He writes ...

Were you around this summer to see photographers and videographers with cameras in hand shooting from the air, on boats,...

In August 1958, my family of five, mom, dad, brother, sister, and myself sailed aboard the Cunard’s famous RMS Queen Elizabeth liner to Southampton, England.

A few weeks ago, just after sunset, I saw a gorgeous ship upbound at Clayton... It was unusual because it was bathed ent...

As we approach the holiday season it is appropriate to reflect on our circumstances that might otherwise be taken for gr...

Sometimes Mother Nature needs a hand. Low water levels on the St. Lawrence presented environmental groups the perfect op...

For those of you who wish you were back on the River – be envious.  On Thursday, December 13, I had the chance to g...

Excitement is in the air! We are heading downriver on an October Saturday, cutting through the rippling waters of the St...

The history detectives at the Leeds and the Thousand Islands Archives (LTIArchives) are hard at work, constantly in search of their quarry.

Had enough of The War of 1812? Not really? Good, because I feel the same way. Ever since the Kingston Historical Soci...

Excursions, books & magazines and a special gift to subscribers...all reasons to enjoy TI Life in the Fall, so read more here..

Bottoms up for the St. Lawrence River… but not the kind you would tip your glass for.  The bottom of the St. Law...

The Great Lake Swimmers literally swam and dove into the St. Lawrence, spending a hot summer day here in August filming ...

The St. Lawrence River has served as an avenue of exploration, a battleground for national freedom fighters, a platform ...

Now that my first summer as Coordinator of Education & Outreach at the Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) is winding...

You see there are any number of distinct advantages to living in the Thousand Islands region, as attested to by the number of articles in this magazine...

When Ian Coristine published One in a Thousand on May 1st, we asked if we at TI Life could be involved in some small way...

Sam Grenell first laid out lots for summer cottages on Grenell Island in 1879. By the turn of the century there were ove...

Dave and Mary Roberts signed a lease to open their privately owned public aquarium...

Attended by almost 300 people, this year’s Thousand Islands Association annual meeting and traditional shore breakfast w...

I’ve always held a fascination with history, especially along the river. Whether it was the wreck of the Riverside near the rift...

If you cruise by Grenell Island after dark this month, you might notice something special. Grenell Island is glowing wit...

Grenellians have an intense attachment to the old launch "That’s Her". For me, the stories make her seem larger...

It stood out like a beacon, which in fact it was. For seven days, Rob Morrisette had seen nothing but water, sunrise to...

Long dresses, top hats and lots of red, blue and grey uniforms made their way into Joel Stone Heritage Park on Monday, J...

Editor’s Note:  On May 30, Michael Folsom published this message on his website Ship Watcher Blog.  Michael is...

For several years I’ve been interested in flags and flag etiquette and wanted to share some of the correct and incorrect...

Though her journey to year-round Thousand Islands life was more of a self-described “gradual wading in” than “plunge,” my friend Elizabeth “Liz” Price-Kellogg

The Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates a remarkable 60 years on the throne by a monarch who ha...

Kim Lunman, the owner and publisher of Island Life, founded the annual glossy magazine in 2009. The writer and photograp...

From September 3rd to 9th, Smuggler's Glen Golf Club near Ivy Lea (Ontario) will be the site of the inaugural Great Wate...

Everyone loved those seventy degree days we enjoyed this past March. However, one of the downsides of what seems to be a...

"I immediately saw the potential..."

For more than a decade, River communities have advocated for a new water levels management plan that is protective of Ri...

Ian Coristine is a modest man. While he aptly describes One in a Thousand as a collaborative effort, he doesn’t explain ...

How it all began… Caroline and I have all of Ian Coristine’s books. We hadn't met Ian but I was always envious when his...

The first sign of the shipping season came early, one full day early to be exact. Mississagi made its way from Hamilton...

“You got guts, Vicki, I like your spirit. Keep it up!” Canadian hockey icon Don Cherry “You got spunk... I hate spunk!”...

My husband, Jon, and I moved from the Washington, DC area to Clayton in fall 2010 after a few years of dreaming of year-round River living.

Every year, on the second Saturday in August, the members of a criminal cohort make their way by ferry to peaceful, buco...

She ain’t no lady! She’s not a tramp either!   She introduces you to the 1000 Islands in her own inimitable wa...

I found my own way to view the river and the ships when I discovered the various webcams on www.Abay.com.

Hon. Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, in Ontario, announced on March 7th that the Eagle Point prope...

Where has the winter gone? Or better yet, where was it, to begin with? The 2011 shipping season managed to sail away un...

On Saturday, January 28th, Alexandria Bay held their Annual Ice Fishing Derby. Each year Ice Fishermen (and women) and y...

If well coordinated, the St. Lawrence region is perfectly poised to foster a unique brand of heritage tourism...

It was a really good hit, I grabbed the rod, set the hook and checked the drag. Dan was right next to me and I said, ‘Here...

Yes, towns around the Thousand Islands in 2012 are getting ready to “celebrate, learn and/or participate” in the 200th a...

What is your vision of the Thousand Islands in twenty or even fifty years? What characteristics of the Islands do you c...

I'm not sure why shipwrecks fascinate me. Maybe it's because I watched a boat sink while standing on my parent's beach i...

From the moment the anchor emerged dripping from the waters of the St. Lawrence River, the twelfth grade students of Tho...

It’s a question that is so often taken out of context. Does size matter? More times than not the response is – No. Howe...

It was Sunday morning, October 16, 2011. My good friend and fellow "Canadian Empress" colleague, Ratch Burnill Wallace had suddenly passed away. He was 66...

Mystery!.......It was just before sunrise when my phone unexpectedly rang. Dark thoughts run through your head in the in...

Six blindfolded men and women board a boat in the middle of the St. Lawrence River and are taken to a century-old castle...

Have you been to Clayton lately? If not, you are probably missing out on some interesting sights along the water. For...

“If there’s that much trash in this one little area, then how much is in the entire river?” asked a spectator on a Septe...

Without the motor power, we still felt the boat dancing on the rocks and getting pushed around by the waves.

It is not often that we hear that legislators and/or government officials in the United States and Canada are “doing som...

Varick Chittenden founded the non-profit organization, TAUNY (Traditional Arts in Upstate New York), 25 years ago. Altho...

“My Mom and I have this collection of stereograph cards, and we want to share it,” Tom French told me over the telephone...

The Day Has Finally Come - June 14, 2011 – a day I will remember. I woke up just after 6 a.m. to begin my day. I was ho...

If you ask Elliott Hillback how to begin collecting cars he answers with a question: Do you want to drive the car or sho...

“Saints, Sinners & Sailors of the Gilded Age”, by Rexford M. Ennis and Archeophone Records presents "The High Priestess of Jollity & The Southern Singer."

I started looking for sources of Hutchinson history to see if there might be enough material available to actually create a modest exhibit...

Do you have an iPad, here's a really neat way to experience ThousandIslandsLife.com, using a new free iPad app called Fl...

This fact sheet appears on the Canadian Border Services Agency website: Fact Sheet July 2011 Simplified cell phone r...

Cangarda, the century-old luxury yacht that once sailed the St. Lawrence River  as Senator George T. Fulford's Mage...

It was just before 5:30 am on June 11th when Captain Charles Dyon of the Windsolite heard the warning whistles amidst th...

Heather Chitty found a special way to honor the memory of her late father, this Father’s Day,

I carry around a little notebook with me everywhere I go that contains my current ‘to do’ list, which includes everythin...

George C. Boldt, who famously built a castle for his beloved bride on Heart Island in what would become the most tragic ...

When I see a ‘saltie’, I wonder what critters might be stowed away in its ballast tanks...

In the spring of 2000 my husband, Doug Girvin, and I moved to the Islands.  By summer we’d become 1000 Islands boat...

Channel markers were removed from the Thousand Islands Regional Dock in Clayton last month, indicating that the 2011 shi...

Last year at this time I introduced Kim Lunman’s “Thousand Islands Ink” publishing company and her glossy magazine Islan...

A visit to Clayton NY on a beautiful day in April gave me the opportunity to take a photograph of the newly appointed ex...

This year the Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque celebrates a major landmark - its 30th Anniversary Season.  A...

The ice is thawing and the birds are starting to migrate back to islands. However, birds aren’t the only ones making the...

Getting stranded on an island with your students may sound like a teacher’s field trip nightmare, but in St. Lawrence Is...

The 1st part of my trip was really fun.. the last part 'not so much'.. it was becoming Man vs Wild back there..

TI Life’s team member, Michael Folsom will be busy this summer. He is the event organizer for a special happening in Cla...

Dan Denney’s winter experience Through the Ice - A Tale of Survival, published in January 2011, caused quite a stir....

Rex Ennis, local historian and author of Toujours Jeune Always Young: Thousand Islands, Emery and The New Frontenac Hote...

The 2010 Seaway season rolled in like a lamb back at the end of March, but it wouldn’t take long for it to become nothin...

Tim Jowett is a dedicated fisherman.

Thousand Islands Life thanks author Dan Denney for sharing this harrowing experience with our readers.  No matter h...

A new book includes Canada's St. Lawrence Islands National Park...

A ship passes across the frigid, icy waters of Lake Ontario on a late November morning. Sea fog rises off the ripples of...

Printing stories from websites is not always easy to do - but not anymore!

Another shipping incident, this time involving a tug and two barges in the tight quarters of the American Narrows near Alexandria Bay.

It's a crisp October afternoon in Rockport and the sky and River are postcard perfect blue. The sun is shining brightly ...

No trip to this area would be complete without a cruise of the 1,000 Islands. My narrated two-hour cruise aboard the Sea Prince 11 was the best.

Tom Massey’s was a fisherman, tour boat captain and tug boat skipper, but one of his most important attributes was being...

Paper work. Mounds and mounds of paper work pile high on a desk in an office over the summer months – a common sight for...

A "microburst" swept through the Thousand Islands last month, uprooting trees, damaging cottages and leaving some island...

The Antique Boat Museum's 46th Annual Boat Show in Clayton, held over the July 30th - August 1st weekend, attracted over 7000 visitors

At roughly 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 4, Algobay had made its way past Singer Castle and began drifting out of the channe...

I read about the “Mystery of Maple Island” my very first season on the island. So I’m long familiar with the legend that...

The schooner Roseway tied up to the dock at Frink’s Park in Clayton, New York, on June 25th. It was a cool, dreary, drip...

It was one of those “hot summer days” when I first watched Thousand Island Park Now and Then.  The thirty-minute DV...

Consistent with our mission of raising the bar, Thousand Island Life seeks to recognize exceptional quality. A new enter...

A new book by Rex Ennis...

Ian Coristine has constantly told his friends, that "raising the bar" in the Thousand Islands is our Number One task and...

Beijing,China-Vancouver,BC-Chicago & Brockville-Clayton These are just a few of the stops on The Great Lake Swimmers’ 2010 Tour.

As the first decade of the new millennium has passed, this writer has met many people in our community who ask “what doe...

Clayton's Fred Schmitt has accepted the Board of Trustees’ offer to succeed John MacLean as Executive Director of the Antique Boat Museum.

Most folks on the River know me as the Executive Director of Save The River, but I also wear a few additional hats – yea...

It is early in the shipping season, however there is a lot happening in the region related to the St. Lawrence Seaway. ...

Every spring begins as the birds migrate, the snow melts and the little white and green tug boat sitting in Massena, New...

Kim Lunman publishes the premiere issue of an annual magazine on the Thousand Islands.

After finishing a documentary DVD, a book, and then an updated version of our movie, we were pretty sure that we had com...

The news in the last few years coming from Albany would bring a challenge to even the greatest of optimists. One look at...

I’m editing a cookbook.  Those of you who know me well must be savoring the irony. Don’t get me wrong – I like to e...

As the jacket notes describe: "most charming...

Despite the intentions of the Poker Run, it is frequently cited by environmentalists as an example of conspicuous consumption and pollution.

...the season would go in the books as one of the worst since the early 1960s in terms of tonnage. The 25% decrease in cargo volume ...

Consistent with our mission of raising the bar, Thousand Island Life seeks to recognize special tributes.

It looks like it could be the end of an era for the last antique wooden tour boat in the Thousand Islands. The Morrisani...

However, once the sun has set, the St. Lawrence River has, amidst all its beauty, a very dark underbelly that continues to this day.

After close to a year spent collecting information, answering questions, copying documents...

Finding a particular photograph, identifying an individual or an historic fact is like finding “gold” to a researcher. ...

In 1984 there were three famous men best known for fighting evil spirits which had taken New York City by storm. They to...

Lynn Beahm, at Arcadia Publishing, sent us several photos of postcards and a description of Arcadia’s recent:  Post...

Great Lake Swimmers are coming June 6th! Celebrating the Maritime Discovery Center of the Thousand Islands. Eighteen m...

    The following was received in mid-April: Dear Susan, ...

A  documentary that takes viewers beneath the St. Lawrence River to a wreck at the bottom the Brockville Narrows is...

One of the unique elements in the Thousand Islands region is our ability to travel between our two countries with relati...

In March we announced that Ian Coristine's photographs were featured in the March

In January the River took its leave, pulled a thick white blanket over itself, and rested. Freed from the turmoil of thr...

Patricia and Robert Mondore received good news this

Ice on the mighty St. Lawrence is beginning to thaw, but as light snow fell on the morning of February 22, nearly thirty...

We were going to contact you about going airboating with us, but we had a small mishap a few weeks ago.

The Thousand Islands Biological Station (TIBS) is located on Governor's Island, near Clayton, NY, and is an important re...

  Some sleep in queen-sized beds on luxury yachts, some sleep under the Thousand Islands sky in a sleeping bag, but...

A “Monster” muskie was caught in the Thousand Islands on November 28th by Ottawa resident Dale MacNair who was with his ...

PRESCOTT: The Canadian Empress is about to set sail from the Fort Town to its next port of call - Brockville - with passengers from all over North America

In listening to the Inauguration, I was struck by our new President's call for individual responsibility. As I thought a...

February, the dead of winter, and here we are thinking spring. We asked Roland Pootmans and his wife, Danielle, if they ...

Snow has covered summer cottage roofs, boats have been shrink wrapped and placed in marina parking lots and ice is formi...

So you think you're a dedicated Thousand Islander? Dr. Dick Withington (also known as Doc) is enjoying his fourth consec...