Unique Muskoka Issue 45 - July 2024 : simplebooklet.com

4 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Features 11 A Tangled Web of Ambition – Simon Hally Article by Bronwyn Boyer / Photography by Josianne MasseauRetired journalist Simon Hally released his ﬁrst novel, Losing It, in late 2023. Despite his background, Hally found the switch from journalism to ﬁction writing more challenging than he anticipated. 16The Early Days – Port SydneyArticle by J. Patrick Boyere village of Port Sydney had many beginnings as a farming community, lumber milling and shingle-making centre, pivotal hub of navigation, grain milling and cheese producing place with a shifting location and changing name. When the railway bypassed it in 1885, the village was resuscitated by shifting to a tourist destination with resorts like Clyﬀe House. 22The Antique and Classic Boat Society Vintage Boat FestivalArticle and Photography by Tim Du Vernetis year, the Antique and Classic Boat Society, Toronto Chapter has shifted from its traditional in-water boat show to a four-day vintage boat festival. With cruises, boat sales and tours, including events at the new Canadian Raceboat Hall of Fame the event is sure to provide entertainment and exhilaration. 26A Muskoka Summer SoundtrackArticle by Bronwyn BoyerTall Pines Music and Arts Festival, the COVID baby of Kevin Goodman, is a two-day summer celebration of music, art and everything to love about summers in Muskoka. Celebrating its third year, the festival has made changes this year to the location and date and still aims to provide good vibes for all in attendance. ...telling the Muskoka story[26][11][22]

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34Sleek Lines and Roaring Engines – Antique BoatsArticle and Photography by Tim Du Vernete history of antique and classic boats is an integral part of the culture and identity of Muskoka. e lakes and rivers were the original highways and served as essential transportation routes for goods and people. e Muskoka Lakes Association’s bi-annual boat show recognizes the cultural and commercial signiﬁcance of this history.40Stylizing Muskoka – The Art of Mark KulasArticle by K.M. Wehrstein / Photography by Tomasz SzumskiMark Kulas’s art is bold but it would be an error to think it is not subtle or painstaking. A veteran of the Artists of the Limberlost Tour, Kulas creates art with an engineer’s precision, building colour gradients with hundreds of tiny dots, while still having fun with his stylized versions of wildlife and scenery. 46Boats That WorkArticle by J. Patrick BoyerIn a district legendary for pleasure boating of all kinds, it is understandable that personal watercraft get rave publicity. However, Muskoka also relies on an armada of workboats, a diverse ﬂeet of barges, tugs, supply boats, and more, to do all the heavy lifting that makes lakeside vacationing possible. Departments54What’s HappenedArticle by Matt Driscolle Muskoka Discovery Centre’s Misko Aki exhibit wins a national award, a Muskoka swimmer qualiﬁes for the 2024 Paris Paralympics and giant hornet sightings have Muskokans on edge. Red Canoe Gallery ﬁnds a new home in Bala and new train shelters are planned for Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville. Peaches hosts the Muskoka launch of Summers with Miss Elizabeth and Music on the Barge returns to Gravenhurst. 58Cottage Country CuisineArticle by K.M. Wehrstein / Photography by Tomasz SzumskiFound across Muskoka, sumac plants are easily visible with their fat, red spikes of ﬂowers. What’s less known is the use of sumac as a spice. With a lemon-like ﬂavour, sumac can be used in brines, soups or stocks, dressings and more. Opinion9Muskoka InsightsBy Meghan Taylor64Muskoka MomentsBy Kate MonkOur CoverPhotograph by Tim Du VernetCruising the lakes of Muskoka in a wooden boat brings us back to early days where water travel was the main mode of transportation. Summer boat shows and festivals celebrate the history of boating in Muskoka. [46][40]

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…telling the Muskoka story Unique Muskoka is published six times per year by Unique Publishing Inc.Meghan TaylorPublisher/EditorDonna AnsleyJennifer MontpetitSalesLisa BrazierMarianne DawsonDesignSusan SmithAdministrationBronwyn BoyerJ. Patrick BoyerMatt DriscollTim du VernetJosianne MasseauKate MonkTomasz SzumskiK.M. WehrsteinContributorsAnnual Subscription Rates: (including HST where applicable)In Ontario $30.00 All Other Provinces $36.00 U.S. $60.00 All Other Countries $72.00HST: 773172721Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement Number: 43268016Copyright © 2024Unique Publishing Inc.No content published in Unique Muskoka can be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.Mailing AddressBox 616, Bracebridge ON P1L 1T9Street Address28 Manitoba St., Bracebridge ON P1L 1S1www.uniquemuskoka.cominfo@uniquemuskoka.com 705-637-0204 8 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024DISCOVER THE LOCAL MARKET WITH BIG CITY SELECTIONS IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN BRACEBRIDGEbigriverbakingco.com• Black Angus AAA beef, Ontario lamb, pork, chicken and sustainable sh• Assorted selection of house-made sausages• Variety of cheeses, dips, sauces and exclusive pantry items• Chef-inspired ready-to-eat meals and salads• Catering for staff luncheons, private parties and everyday needs• Fine Artisan Breads Daily• Assorted Baked Goods• Made in House DessertsServing fresh gourmet and artisan coffee, an assortment of teas, hot beverages, seasonal refreshments and baked goodsHIRAM ST MARKET 705-204-0857SULLYS MUSKOKA705-204-0857BIG RIVER BAKING COMPANY705-394-4499OPEN TUESDAY TO SATURDAY11A TAYLOR ROADOPEN TUESDAY TO SATURDAY 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.baristahcoffee.ca

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10 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Mon - Thu 9:30 AM - 6:00 PMFriday 9:30 AM - 7:00 PMSaturday 9:30 AM - 5:30 PMSunday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PMRegular Hours:Bracebridge6 Robert Dollar DriveBracebridge, ON P1L 1P9Telephone: (705) 645-2279Huntsville67 Silverwood DriveHuntsville, ON P1H 2K2Telephone: (705) 789-5589EXCEPTIONALUncovSTEARNS & FOSTER®- CRAFTING THE WORLD’S FINEST BEDS!We know that creating the perfect mattress takes time, care and passion.That handmade details and the nest materials aren’t only worth uncovering, they make something truly exceptional. That lavish comfortand unparalleled design are at the core of everything we do. From hand-stitching to hand signature, our craftsmanship reects the historyof quality behind our name. Since 1846, we’ve shown countless generations the unrivaled quality of the Stearns & Foster® experience.Today, we invite new generations who appreciate supreme comfort and timeless design to indulge in the perfect complement to their life.MUSKOKA“Leon’s is a franchise of H.J.Brooks and Sons Limited, serving Muskoka for 80 years.”MUSKOKA

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 11Muskoka InsightsOver the years, I’ve often heard the reference of being on “Muskoka time” – yes, there can be positive and negative connotations to that phrase. It can mean things are delayed, not progressing quickly enough or being ignored altogether. However, it can also be a reference to going with the ﬂow. Allowing yourself to take in what’s happening around you and knowing that, in most cases, the work will still be there when you get back to it. Being present is important. Summer in Muskoka is only a few months in the year, after all. Summer is time to enjoy nature’s peak and all the beauty that comes with it. Summer is the season of green grass, blooming ﬂowers, sunshine, ice cream, barbecues, bonﬁres and time spent on the water. Known for its lakes and waterways, Muskoka boating is a quintessential feature of the summer experience. Being on the water provides a diﬀerent perspective. Distances seem shorter. Time passes diﬀerently. Noises can be projected or muted, depending on the circumstance. ere’s exhilaration when you’re ﬂying across the water with the wind whipping in your hair and calm as you troll, or even paddle, along shorelines or in shallow bays. As a kid, my boating experience was limited to canoes and a “tinner” for ﬁshing with grandpa. As I’ve grown up, I’ve had the privilege of being able to enjoy trips on steamships Segwun and Wenonah II, speed boats, ski boats and classic wooden launches, racing and pleasure craft. In every instance, I’m grateful for Muskoka being my home and having access to water the way we do. Several features in this edition of Unique Muskoka highlight boats and their connection to the history of Muskoka – pleasure craft, race boats and boats that work. Contributor Tim Du Vernet provides a look into two classic events of summer – the Antique and Classic Boat Society boat show and the Muskoka Lakes Association’s bi-annual Antique Boat Show. While this year the ACBS has opted for a new format, the Vintage Boat Festival continues to honour the long-standing tradition of celebrating vintage boats. e MLA Antique Boat Show will once again draw crowds to Port Carling this summer with a hand-selected roster of boats, many that represent the best of “e Roaring 20s” which is this year’s theme. e post-war 1920s were a pivotal time in Muskoka’s development and the boats built here during that time, like the show’s poster boat Whippet, are representative of that era.e often-overlooked working boats are given their kudos in a feature from regular contributor Patrick Boyer. From tugboats to barges to police cruisers and everything in between, these hardy but less handsome watercraft are the reason vacationers could, and still can, enjoy cottages and resorts on Muskoka’s many islands. While boating may take the lead for this issue, summer in Muskoka is an experience and everyone can discover their own favourite event or adventure. Dunn’s Pavilion, now the Kee to Bala, was once the pinnacle of live entertainment in Muskoka, welcoming big names and guests as part of summer tradition. Now, there are even more concert venues in the region but the Tall Pines Music and Arts Festival has opted to make the most of Muskoka’s natural beauty, hosting their two-day festival outdoors. As contributor Bronwyn Boyer shares with us, Tall Pines is about partnership, collaboration and discovery, making the event about much more than just music. However you choose to savour summer in Muskoka, be in the moment. Happy reading!Photograph: MacKenzie TaylorARIYA HYBRIDby DreamStar BeddingMUSKOKACURATED COLLECTIONby Marshall MattressYour Home and CottageMattress Centre6 Monica Lane, Bracebridge705.646.2557www.mattressesofmuskoka.comTHE LARGEST SELECTIONOF IN-STOCKMATTRESSES IN MUSKOKA

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14 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Hally’s rst novel, Losing It, is a critique of the corporate world and an expression of the many ways that working in business can change people and perspectives. Hally wanted a story that would make people laugh while also keeping them engaged.story the way I was used to but it’s not the same. Journalism is all about sharing facts, while writing ﬁction is about letting the reader ﬁll in the gaps with their own impressions. You show, rather than tell.” Hally was born in London, England. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Canada. He grew up in Aurora, Ontario, then moved to Toronto to attend University of Toronto to study physics. Torn between his love of writing and his love of science, he eventually chose writing. He started working for Maclean-Hunter, the largest magazine publisher in Canada at the time. e company produced titles such as McLean’s and Chatelaine, as well as various trade and business publications. Hally was also the founding editor for Stitches: e Journal of Medical Humour, which was read by thousands of doctors across Canada, many

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 15of whom put it in their waiting rooms, giving it high readership among the public as well. A decade ago, Hally and his wife settled in Bracebridge, which they discovered after spending time at his son-in-law’s family cottage in Muskoka. Set in Toronto, Losing It is a comedic critique of the world of business. Full of intrigue, romance, violence and humour, it explores the corruption of the rat race and its various entanglements. ese themes were inspired by Hally’s own impressions navigating the corporate world, which his main character, a photographer named Peter, is both disgusted and amused by. “I wanted to write a story that would make people laugh and keep them engaged,” Hally says. “But also, to show the damage large companies do when they lay someone oﬀ at a moment’s notice. Like Peter, I was disillusioned by the hierarchies, the politics and the brutal way they deal with people. I think anyone who has worked in the business world will relate, although there’s something in the book for everyone.” Losing It refers to “losing” the game, thanks to how brutally competitive the corporate world is. It also refers to losing morals, status, relationships, mental health, integrity, innocence, and even free will. “I think corporations generally are quite immoral the way they behave,” Hally explains. “And they can force people to become immoral when they otherwise wouldn’t be. We’re all kind of complicit in it, because anyone who has invested in stocks wants returns, so these companies are under a lot of pressure to be proﬁtable. It’s the evil face of capitalism and we all feed into it. No one is truly immune.” Losing It presents serious situations and messy entanglements with a funny tone and a brisk, exciting plot. ough the characters are intelligent and ambitious, they’re also misguided and naïve. One of the main characters, Lee, always dreamed he’d one day become CEO of his family ﬁrm. is ambition proves dangerous when he loses Losing It follows Peter, who helps his sister and brother-in-law cover up a crime, all while falling in love with the victim’s sister. The novel has an exciting plot, intriguing characters, real-life situations and humour.100% Canadian Artists• Large Original Paintings• Turned Wood Bowls• Sculptures & Carvings3181 Highway 169, Bala, Muskoka, Ontario(north end of town - onsite parking) 705-765-7474www.redcanoegallery.comCELEBRATING 31 YEARS IN MUSKOKANOW LOCATED IN BALA‘Like A Dagger’ 76x36 oil B. Nowak

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his temper in a road rage incident and goes to great lengths to avoid accountability, all for the sake of his career. e story is told in the ﬁrst person by Peter, who also happens to be Lee’s brother-in-law. rough family obligation, Peter reluctantly helps cover up the crime for the sake of his sister, Catherine, who’s convinced that Lee will lose his sanity if he loses the promotion. Meanwhile, he ﬁnds himself falling in love with the victim’s sister, Jessica. e plot thickens as Peter is pulled deeper into a tangled web he never wanted to weave. “I wanted to have someone who was an outsider to the business world but also connected to it,” says Hally. “As a commercial freelance photographer, Peter sees the way they operate. Photographers are observers; they have a strong visual sense. I wanted him to be funny and sardonic. Getting his voice right took a while, because I wanted him to be intelligent and articulate but also innocent and shockable.”Losing It is available at book stores and online across Canada as well as the US, UK, and Australia. Hally is currently working on a highly-anticipated sequel. 16 UNIQUE MUSKOKA June 2024In his career as a journalist Simon Hally is no stranger to writing. But the transition to ction was a completely dierent experience and took him some time to adjust to building the story and characters, rather than reporting only the facts.MODERN HOME CARPET ONE350 Ecclestone Drive • Bracebridgemodernhomecarpetonebracebridge.comTAYLOR CARPET ONE30 Cairns Crescent • Huntsvilletaylorcarpetonehuntsville.com705.645.2443705.789.9259HARDWOOD • LAMINATE • VINYL PLANK & TILE • VINYL ROLLS CARPET • CERAMIC • NATURAL STONE & MOREFloors for Home & Cottage

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18 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Photograph: Frank MicklethwaitePhotograph: Wilfred Clarke, courtesy of G.H. Johnson/Boston Mills PressPhotograph: Susan M. Shefeld, The Companion Guide to Muskoka District Post OfcesAbove, as the village industrialized, this shingle mill’s many employees and high production matched output from Port Sydney’s sawmill, grist mill and cheese factory. In the top le photo, steamer Joe approaches Port Sydney wharf where passengers and greeters await, with an automobile standing-by as the turn of the century brought new life to the Mary Lake vacation economy.By the early 1860s one of Muskoka’s largest townships was surveyed, named for the British engineer who’d just built the world’s longest bridge across the St. Lawrence at Montreal and opened for settlement. Yet Stephenson’s 43,000 acres of land, much of good quality, and 3,000 acres of water, including a most beautiful lake, remained quiescent. e Ojibwe called the lake Kche-negeek-chiching because its largest island resembled a swimming otter. But in 1853 Alexander Murray, conducting a geological survey of Muskoka and always away from home, guiltily renamed it Mary’s Lake as a compensatory treat for his daughter. She never saw it.By 1868, with the northland not ﬁlling up as hoped, Ontario offered free lots to homesteaders and Muskoka’s land boom began, helped by the surging steam age. Immigrants from the British Isles – an overwhelming source of district settlers – reached Muskoka quickly thanks to steamships and trains. On September 9, 1869, the Kay family sailed from Britain and just two weeks later discovered Bracebridge, “a very healthy place,” as 18-year-old Annie Kay told her diary. Article by J. Patrick Boyer

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 19e next day her father James and brother Will walked 16 miles into Stephenson then returned having claimed “600 ﬁne acres of land” for the various family members. eir claim included 100 acres for Annie because land grants were equally available to women, a factor creating an egalitarian strain in Muskokans at the time. At their homestead two miles downstream from Mary’s Lake, alongside the Muskoka River, the Kays cleared trees and planted oats, potatoes, peas and turnips amongst the stumps. Life was rugged and primitive. Walking six winter miles to Utterson and back for supplies was often disappointing since little was available. With no coal oil for lamps, the Kays made candles out of deer fat.In 1868 John McAlpine also arrived but not to farm. The waterfall where Mary’s Lake drained into the Muskoka River could power a sawmill. Muskoka was for logging as well as farming. e falls were at the corner of four township lots, which he claimed as Free Grant Land. “McAlpine’s sawmill,” wrote George Johnson, “built on the fringe of the wilderness at the 705.645.4294 TF: 866.645.4294STORE: 228 TAYLOR RD., BRACEBRIDGEOFFICE: 1646 WINHARA RD., GRAVENHURSTSales & Service of MajorPropane Appliances(refrigerators, ranges, fireplaces, furnaces & more)Safe & reliableNo electricity requiredBulk propane deliveryto your home or cottageAppliancesSERVING MUSKOKA &PARRY SOUND FOROVER 70 YEARSIn 1870 John McAlpine began the arduous task of building this remote sawmill at the falls where Mary Lake empties into the Muskoka River’s north branch. This 1872 photo shows the mill’s new owner, Albert Sydney-Smith at the bottom right, evaluating his lumber-making asset.Photograph: G.H. Johnson CollectionPhotograph: David Scott CollectionWith the railway bypassing Port Sydney and the community’s industrial base shrinking with the sawmill, shingle mill, grist mill and cheese factory waning, the attractiveness of Mary Lake led to new resort hotels opening, such as Clye House, which ve generations of the same family would successfully operate.

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20 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024end of a road that was little more than a rough trail through the woods, became a remarkable tribute to the man’s ability and determination.” It took 18 months to build, including bringing heavy machinery bit by bit from Bracebridge. Port Sydney had many beginnings as a farming community, lumber milling and shingle-making centre, pivotal hub of navigation, grain milling and cheese producing place with a shifting location and changing name. When the railway bypassed it in 1885, the village was resuscitated by resorts beside Mary Lake, including welcoming Clyﬀe House that would be run by the same family for ﬁve generations. e village’s rapid evolution and staying power lay in its diversity and waterway location. Like Bala and Baysville, it was also at the edge of a large lake system where water draining out created a waterfall that fostered growth. Port Sydney was at the summit of the Muskoka River’s north branch flowing down to Photograph: David Scott CollectionIn 1869, James and Fanny Jenner, newly-weds from England crossed the Atlantic and came to Muskoka, carving a homestead from virgin forest, as their descendent David Scott recounts. In 1885 they were among the rst to cater to tourists by establishing Clye House, which still operates in Port Sydney today.Photograph: Victor Clarke, courtesy G.H. Johnson/Boston Mills PressThis 1884 photograph looking northeast across Port Sydney shows the heavy toll of logging for the village sawmill, with oshore islands clear cut – as unsightly as other places around Muskoka where tourists, delighted to be in the district, seemed to overlook missing forests.

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 21Robert Jenner, at right, greatly expanded Clye House during his time at the helm. Here he is photographed bringing summer guests back from Sunday morning church pulled by a yolk of oxen.Photograph: David Scott Collection705-764-0765 | muskokabarging.com | 1163 Milford Bay Rd, Milford Bay ONBARGING STEEL & CRIB DOCKS SEPTIC SYSTEMS LANDSCAPING ● ●Muskoka Barging●Family run construction company with over 35 years experience operating in the Muskoka Lakes area. No job is too small or too big.Bracebridge and the base for navigation from Mary’s Lake north to lakes Fairy, Peninsula, and Vernon – for the time the only supply route to Huntsville and Hoodstown.Another arrival was Arthur Sydney-Smith – neither farmer not lumberman but a self-designated squire of the ﬂedgling community. ough Ontario-born, he’d been raised as if on an English country estate and acted in commanding fashion. He took over McAlpine’s sawmill and achieved the prosperity that had eluded its builder. Clear-cutting around the

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22 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024vicinity denuded the picturesque landscape. e squire realized that his mill property running up and down both sides of the river required repositioning the village to the north. In the bargain, the post oﬃce that had been granted – without the apostrophe-s in Mary’s name – was regranted for vanity, from Mary Lake to Port Sydney. ankfully, Ottawa was as opposed to hyphenated names as possessive ones.e steamship Northern, built at Port Sydney, was one of many working the upper lakes. When the railway north was built through Utterson, Port Sydney’s mills and factories faded. Resort hotels and summer cottages would fill the void, as Muskoka’s vacation economy around Mary Lake enabled life to continue.By June 18, 1877, Port Sydney’s future as a transshipment centre at the head of the Muskoka River’s north branch and the lower end of the chain of four navigable north Muskoka lakes seemed secure when the Northern was launched with every person in the village on her upper deck for this dockside photograph. Built in Port Sydney by Captain Denton, she was the rst steamer on the chain of lakes.Photograph: G.H. Johnson CollectionBATH & KITCHEN SHOWROOMDESIGN. INSTALLATION. REPAIRSERVING ALL OF MUSKOKA279 MANITOBA ST, BRACEBRIDGE705.645.2671KNOWLESPLUMBING.COM @MUSKOKABATHTHE RIOBEL MOMENTI™ COLLECTION AVAILABLE AT KNOWLES PLUMBING!279 Manitoba Street, Bracebridge 705.645.2671 @knowlesplumbing @knowlesplumbing @knowlesplumbingBATH & KITCHEN SHOWROOMSALES•INSTALLATION•REPAIRSERVING ALL OF MUSKOKAknowlesplumbing.comMuskoka’s Bath & Plumbing Centre

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 25Article and Photography by Tim Du VernetSummer in Muskoka is synonymous with boating. Usually, that also means an in-water boat show at the wharf in Gravenhurst to marvel at the many stunning watercrafts that ply Muskoka’s lakes. However, this year, due to signiﬁcant road closures and construction at the wharf, the show, as it usually proceeds, had to be cancelled. e cancellation gave the Antique and Classic Boat Society, Toronto Chapter (ACBS-Toronto) the ability to get creative. e result? ACBS-Toronto has organized a Vintage Boat Festival to run from July 4 to 7 to ensure the celebration of wooden watercrafts continues. Instead of seeing upwards of 100 boats congregated in one spot for a glorious concentration and celebration of historic wooden boats, vintage ﬁbreglass and even aluminum craft, the ACBS has organized a series of events. Spanning four days, the festival includes cruises, a nautical ﬂea market and boat sale, wine and cheese event, dinner cruise and more. e change to the format is bringing new life to the typical show setup and increases the opportunity for members to socialize. Antique and classic boats were never meant to be static pieces and getting out on the water with family or friends is what vintage boating is all about. While many of the events require registration, some do have public viewing opportunities as well. Events begin with a cruise in Gloucester Pool, which will take participants past historic sites and hotels. Participants will also have the chance to visit the Dunsmoor boathouse, which is home to several historic boats, including the Traveller. Also along the cruise route is the Kennedy Marine Motor Museum. Sandy Kennedy began collecting outboard

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26 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Join us on facebook.com@artistsofthelimberlost1OPEN STUDIO WEEKENDAugust 16, 17 and 18, 2024  10 am to 5 pmSee website for map and details or call 705-635-2093Meet 21 artists at 7 studios and historic lodge settings featuring painting, woodturning, stone, wood and metal sculpture, furniture, bre, glass, pottery, knifemaking, and jewellery by artists from Muskoka and beyond.Limberlost Road is Muskoka Road 8 just 10 minutes east of Huntsville on Hwy 60artistsofthelimberlost.caStudios open other times by appointment. memorabilia around 2001 and has managed to collect a wide assortment of models, more than 100 engines, brochures, dealer signs, vintage photos, race trophies and more. Any boating enthusiast will ﬁnd something at which to marvel. e Gloucester Pool trip even involves a ride on the marine railway at Big Chute. e railway is fascinating to see with some boats lying on their bottoms and other boats on a large platform while they ride the rails to continue into the Trent-Severn system. Two cruises have been organized for Lake Muskoka on July 5 with participants choosing between a “slow” route or “fast” route. e routes provide an inclusive opportunity for the wide range of boat styles and speeds involved. e Port Carling locks will be the lunch stop for the event. e next cruise is moves to Lake Rosseau on July 6 and is a poker run. Participants will attend four special cottages around the lake where they will pick up cards and hopefully form a winning hand. Departure starts at the docks below the Muskoka Lakes Museum. Winners will be announced at the Port Carling locks at the end of the event.Also on July 6 is the oﬃcial opening of the new Canadian Raceboat Hall of Fame (CRHF), just west of Bracebridge on Highway 118. e museum celebrates and displays the artifacts, boats and memorabilia related to the rich Canadian legacy of racing boats. e CRHF tells the story of Canada’s success, past and present, in national and international boat racing. e opening plans to include a ﬂea market and boat sale yard among the festivities. e quiet lakes of Muskoka that occasionally oﬀer serene experiences in paddling or sailing, are also home to record breaking race boat achievements as well. Beginning with the boats built for Harry Greening by Ditchburn, which faced international challengers in Gold Slow and fast route cruises on July 5 will tour Lake Muskoka, meeting for lunch at the Port Carling locks. The two cruise plans allow for a wide variety of boats to attend and participate.

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 27Cup races, the legacy spans over a century and continues. Motorboats such as Harold Wilson’s Miss Canada series, including Miss Canada III and IV will be recognized along with record holding Miss Supertest. While these are recognizable names, there are many other race boat legacies to acknowledge from Muskoka and across Canada. e Canadian Raceboat Hall of Fame is also home to the Muskoka Seaﬂea Club. ere is nothing quite like a small boat, close to the water going at “speed” to give a thrill and to capture the imagination. Many a trophy winning race boat driver started their career in a Seaﬂea. While the Gravenhurst wharf site will be unavailable for the boat show as usual, Muskoka Steamships and Discovery Centre has organized special events in co-ordination with the Vintage Boat Festival for the afternoon and evening of Friday, July 5. Of particular interest to those focused on wooden boats, the Discovery Centre features North America’s largest collection of in-water classic antique wooden boats. While admission is free to ACBS members for the afternoon tour, registration is required. Come aboard the jewel of Muskoka’s ﬂoating heritage, Segwun, North America’s oldest operating coal-ﬁred steamship, which was built in 1887, for a tour and cocktails on July 5. Following the tour of Segwun, another cruise, this time aboard the Wenonah II is available. e event has a limited capacity and will give participants a taste of what it would have been like to travel aboard the vessels that steamed the lakes of Muskoka in the early 1900s. On July 7, the ﬁnal day of the festival members of ACBS-Toronto, Trent-Severn Antique Boat Association and Maple Leaf Antique Outboard Club will be able to tour the Canadian Raceboat Hall of Fame from 10:00 a.m. until noon for free. While most of the events are for ACBS members or aﬃliates, viewing the boats on their cruises is possible for anyone. Boats will likely congregate at Port Carling and the Marine Railway as well as being visible through narrows and from bridges or your dock. More information and registration can be found at acbs.ca.Assisted Living ServicesPersonalized Care PlansOur Enhanced Care option provides full support for residents who require dedicated assistance for daily living. Includes assistance with daily activities, bathing, advanced emergency response system and access to health care professionals 24/7.Contact Aussa today at leasing@castlepeakmuskoka.comto book a tour and enjoy a complimentary lunch!705.646.0808 castlepeakmuskoka.com56 Douglas Drive, Bracebridge P1L 0B9Vintage boats of all styles and sizes, like the Traveller, are welcome to join the variety of cruises and events as part of the ACBS Vintage Boat FestivalMembers of the Maple Leaf Antique Outboard Club, Trent-Severn Antique Boat Association and ACBS-Toronto can attend the Canadian Raceboat Hall of Fame at no charge on July 7 as part of the festivities.When you shop in our store...you’re supporting the work of local artisans, writers, craftspeople and other Muskoka businesses.28 MANITOBA STREET, BRACEBRIDGESHOP ONLINEwww.uniquemuskoka.com

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hit, the music stopped. As an agency that focuses on live events, we were at standstill. In the spring of 2020, it was clear there would be no shows or festivals happening that summer, so we were at a loss.”All they knew was that something had to ﬁll the void. Goodman noticed a lot of virtual music festivals being televised but he felt they lacked a certain spark. “ey were just a one-way conversation, not very engaging or exciting,” he explains. “at’s when we came up with the idea to create our own for Canada Day called e Canada Day House Party, to bring the nation together under one virtual roof.” e Canada Day House Party was a seven-and-a-half hour virtual music festival that featured 17 bands. Audiences could tune in to see performances by Buﬀy Saint-Marie, Brett Kissel, Sam Roberts Band, William Prince, Rufus Wainwright, and many others. “We had incredible sponsors like Air Miles and Roots,” Goodman recalls. “After that, we said, okay that was fun but hopefully we never have to do it again. But we were wrong.” After the success of that event, Goodman and his team were approached by the restaurant and bar coalition, SaveHospitality.ca, to put together a New Year’s Eve event. “New Year’s Eve is the biggest night for bars and restaurants, so they were really struggling during the lockdowns,” Goodman explains. “So, we created a mini Attendees of Tall Pines Music & Arts Festival have a concert experience unlike any other, with a wide array of talent. From big names like I Mother Earth, Classied and Serena Ryder to local talent and emerging artists, as well as visual artists and vendors, Tall Pines creates an unforgettable festival with its focus on good vibes.July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 29Photograph: Oh Canada CreativePhotograph: David Walker

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30 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024ECRA/ESA #7010474GENERATORSSMART HOME SYSTEMSNEW CONSTRUCTIONLIGHTINGRESIDENTIAL / COMMERCIAL / INDUSTRIAL519.805.3200ARKLTD.CAinfo@arkltd.castoneway marble & granite inc.Les and Renata Partyka1295 Muskoka Rd. 118 West, Bracebridge | 705.645.3380 | stoneway.inc@gmail.comvirtual festival called e Big Night In, with the slogan, ‘if you’re staying in, make sure you order out.’”When the summer of 2021 rolled around, Goodman wanted to do something diﬀerent for the Canada Day House Party. “I wanted to have a cottage event in Muskoka because it’s such a classic Canadian thing to do,” he recalls. “So, I called our friends at Roots and pitched the idea to the owner, Michael Budman, who has a beautiful cottage around Algonquin Park.” As it happened, Budman had just purchased Camp Tamakwa, which is where he and Don Green met as youth and came up with the idea for Roots. Despite COVID protocols, they got the blessing from the District Health Unit to bring seven bands and Cottage Life TV up to Camp Tamakwa for a three-and half-hour virtual music festival they called Summer House Party. “ose ﬁve days in June 2021 went from a concert to a happening to a healing,” Goodman recalls. “en more sponsors got on board. e province, the region and the district all loved it. We ended up having just under 50,000 people tune in. So, our little virtual music festival ended up being something really special.” e unique experience of Summer House Party demonstrated to Goodman that Muskoka was where it was at for live entertainment in the summer. It also caught the attention of the executive director of Muskoka Tourism at that time, Janet O’Connell, who suggested to Goodman they do a full-on music festival in Muskoka. Photograph: David WalkerWith over 70 applications for the 14 available vendor spaces last year, Blushing Bandit was one of the few visual artists to work on site at the festival.

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 31“I thought about it for about twenty seconds, which was about two weeks and twenty seconds too short, and then I said, ‘Sure! We’ll do it,’” remembers Goodman. “And six weeks after a beer on the patio of Taboo Resort, Tall Pines was born.”After Goodman and O’Connell met that August to brainstorm the idea, the new festival seemed to take on a life of its own. “By the end of September, we already had a name, a logo and a feel of what we wanted to do,” Goodman explains. e inaugural Tall Pines Music & Arts Festival was held in June 2022 at Muskoka Wharf in Gravenhurst. Since it was the ﬁrst major music festival in Ontario to emerge from the cocoon of COVID-19, the media coverage was extensive. CTV News sent up a crew and about six dozen stories ﬂooded the airwaves, internet and print media. “at ﬁrst year, we had our friends Big Wreck, K-os, Peaches, Boy Golden, Caveboy, and so many amazing bands up to play,” recalls Goodman. “It was like a reunion, because it was the ﬁrst time that any of these artists had performed in a long time. It was also the ﬁrst time they’d seen each other, even their own bands. We took over the wharf ﬁeld and had 2,500 people that weekend.”At the outset, the mood of the public was mixed. As much as people were ready to celebrate a return to a sense of normalcy and socialize again, many were still apprehensive about being back in a large crowd. “I think that showed in our ticket sales,” says Goodman. “But what we lacked in quantity we made up for with quality. at ﬁrst year, the phrase ‘good vibes at Tall Pines’ was coined and it’s been our mantra ever since.” Goodman says he and his planning team chose the Gravenhurst wharf as the location because they wanted a site that embraced the natural surroundings and elements. “When we visited the site and saw forest on two sides, a gorgeous Muskoka rock cliﬀ on one side and the lake on the other, it just made sense – it was immediately an integral piece of the festival experience,” explains Goodman. “Also, there aren’t too many music festivals in Ontario where you can park your boat across the road and walk over to the festival. I really dug that.” is year, Tall Pines will take place at Gull Lake Park due to the construction project underway at the wharf. “I wasn’t going to take a risk that the wharf site would be inaccessible, so we decided to move the festival this year,” Goodman explains. “Gull Lake Park is a beautiful site, with beach front property. I’m telling people to bring their swimsuits. ey’re also upgrading the site and installing a new amphitheatre down by the water, so we’re really excited about that.”Goodman also made sure the Music on the Barge series, which takes place Sunday evenings at the park, wouldn’t be cancelled due to the festival tear-down on the Sunday. “Since most of the infrastructure for the festival will be ﬁnished by late ursday afternoon, we decided to move Music on the Barge to ursday evening,” he explains. “e site will be free then, and I think it’s important to ﬁnd solutions that embrace the community.” To that end, a ticket promotion called Muskoka Local was created. “If you have one of nine Muskoka-Parry Sound postal code preﬁxes, you can purchase tickets half price,” says Goodman. “It’s our way of giving back to the community.”Another change to this year’s festival is the dates. e ﬁrst two years were held in June, but this year, it will be in July. Goodman’s reason for this is simple. “I have a ﬁshing problem,” he shares. “And when I go ﬁshing, I try to go where the ﬁsh are. I used that analogy in my decision to move the dates. e population of the region pretty much quadruples in July with seasonal rentals and cottagers. So, I want to go where the ﬁsh are, so to speak.” Despite Goodman’s many years of experience putting on large live music events, it’s still a learning process. “We learn the hard way what works and what doesn’t,” he explains. “It remains to be seen if we do better with the July dates or how can we include more artists and vendors. We had 14 vendor spots last year and we had over 70 applications. It wasn’t easy ﬁguring out which ones to take on. It’s like a living, breathing, organism where we learn as we go. And we don’t even talk about the weather – we just have to hope that it co-operates.” In addition to its headliners, Tall Pines Music & Arts Festival showcases emerging artists, like Toronto band Misty Blue.Photograph: David Walker

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32 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Quality Barbecue GrillsOutdoor Kitchens Fire Pits, Rings & TablesFireplace & Leisure CentreFireplaces & WoodstovesFireplace AccessoriesBeachcomber Hot TubsServing Parry Sound & Muskoka for 33 YearsWETT Certified Staff1.888.334.8693 705.746.6800 www.fplc.ca 90 Oastler Park Drive, Seguin, ONEXPERIENCE THE WARMTH OF ONE OF THE LARGEST SHOWROOMS IN PARRY SOUND AND MUSKOKA AREAWith a wide variety of musical guests, like Jerry Leger and The Situation, Tall Pines Music & Arts Festival has a focus on partnerships and discovery.Photograph: David WalkerIt takes almost a year to plan for the festival. “It’s an 11-month process,” says Goodman. “We have amazing partners and collaborators but it’s just a handful people that plan it all. It’s a lot of long hours, and a lot of really hard work. It makes me think of doing really diﬃcult puzzles when I go to the cottage with my family. Putting all the pieces together for a festival makes those puzzles look easy. But it’s deﬁnitely my passion. Music is the fuel for my engine, so creating this festival from scratch has been a dream and nightmare at the same time.”Another important partner is Muskoka Tourism, and Goodman takes their motto, “discover Muskoka” to heart. “Tall Pines really adheres to the notion of discovery,” he says. “People can come discover Muskoka for the ﬁrst time and a whole bunch of new bands while they’re at it. I remember when I discovered the Tragically Hip in 1986 at a campus pub, when they were still mostly unheard of. ose memories last forever. Festivals are not only the most economical way to experience live music but they’re also a rite of passage. All my industry colleagues share the dream of discovering the next big act and being the one who gave them their start.” Speaking of giving new artists their start, Goodman also had the idea to collaborate with 89.1 Max FM in Orillia to choose a local act for the festival. Artists submit their song to the station and then 20 are selected and played on the air. From there, the judges select nine to perform in a three-day Battle of the Bands at Bracebridge Hall, producing a winner each night. e ﬁnal decision is made among the three ﬁnalists. Tall Pines Music & Arts Festival will take place July 19 - 20 at Gull Lake Park in Gravenhurst. Tickets and all other information can be found at tallpinesfestival.comGoodman’s message for music and arts lovers is simple – “Come join us for the magic, the music and the memories in Muskoka.”

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34 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Norstar Exteriors has been providing industryleading exterior products in Muskoka since 1976.Engineered to withstand the harshest Canadianweather, James Hardie cement siding offers exceptionalresistance to moisture, rot, and pests, while ensuringyour property remains beautiful and protected for yearsto come.Make your house or cottage the talk of the town orthe lake with a variety of colours and styles. JamesHardie siding enhances your properties curb or dockappeal while providing superior re resistance andminimal maintenance, all the while being backed by a30 year warranty.Get in touch with us today at Norstarexteriors.com for afree quote or come into our showroom in Bracebridgeto touch and see the industry leading James Hardiecement siding line of products.WHY JAMES HARDIE?#1 RETURN ON INVESTMENTRe-siding with ber cement is the smartest investmentyou can make in your house. Even smarter:Choosing ber cement from the industry leader.That’s why those in the know choose JamesHardie®siding and trim. Year after year, Remodelingmagazine has ranked re-siding with ber cement the#1 return on investment when compared to othermid-size remodeling projects.PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY EVERYWHEREELSESiding is exposed to Mother Nature all day, everyday, for years. Weather, water, time, re and pests—all can lead to trouble. That’s why James Hardie’shardworking products are engineered to stand upbeautifully, whatever the elements. BE READY FORANYTHINGBad weather can strike at any time. So we test ourproducts to better withstand worst-case scenarios:hurricanes, UV rays, snowstorms, and more. Butit’s not only extremes that break down siding—thechange of seasons does a number on materials suchas vinyl (which may crack in the cold) and woodproducts (which expand and contract with changes inmoisture and humidity). Only ber cement productsby James Hardie are Engineered for Climate®.A HARDIEZONE®FOR EVERYONEAfter studying the long-term effects that differentclimates have on siding, we created the HardieZone®system, to ensure that you get the right product foryour region. HZ5®products are made to resist wet,freezing conditions. HZ10®products protect homesfrom heat, humidity, blistering sun and more.HARDIE®FIBER CEMENT SIDING VS. VINYL SIDINGThere are many reasons to choose Hardie®bercement siding over vinyl, the rst of which isappearance. Hardie®siding is more than ve timesthicker than vinyl, allowing for deeper grooves and amore authentic wood-grain effect.The result is moreelegant than vinyl (which is plastic), particularly ona historic home. Then comes function. Vinyl meltseasily in a re (or even from the reection of thesun off Low-E glass windows); James Hardie brandproducts are noncombustible. Vinyl may crack andwarp from the elements; ber cement exteriors byJames Hardie are more durable and resist warping,sagging and melting.HARDIE®FIBER CEMENT SIDING VS. WOOD SIDINGJames Hardie siding is not only less expensive thanwood, it won’t be eaten by animals or insects. Italso resists water absorption better than wood evenwhere the manufacturer’s recommended protectionsare followed, helping protect against mold.When there’s a re, Hardie®siding is much better atwithstanding damage, while wood goes up in ames.Wood may split, crack and deteriorate over time,while Hardie®siding resists weather damage andkeeps its shape for a much longer time, which meansless maintenance to worry about year after year.EXPERIENCE COUNTSAt Norstar we understand the Muskoka climate andwe are siding experts.You can rest assured that whenyou consult with one of our experts, you will get thereal-world knowledge to help direct you with yoursiding needs. Stop in and see us today!Supply & Install | Cash & Carry800.732.0158 • 705.645.8404norstarexteriors.comIt’sSiding | Roong | Soft | Fascia | Lifetime Decking | Eavestrough | Gutter ProtectionMonthBrought to you by:Give them something to talk aboutGive them something to talk about

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 35Norstar Exteriors has been providing industryleading exterior products in Muskoka since 1976.Engineered to withstand the harshest Canadianweather, James Hardie cement siding offers exceptionalresistance to moisture, rot, and pests, while ensuringyour property remains beautiful and protected for yearsto come.Make your house or cottage the talk of the town orthe lake with a variety of colours and styles. JamesHardie siding enhances your properties curb or dockappeal while providing superior re resistance andminimal maintenance, all the while being backed by a30 year warranty.Get in touch with us today at Norstarexteriors.com for afree quote or come into our showroom in Bracebridgeto touch and see the industry leading James Hardiecement siding line of products.WHY JAMES HARDIE?#1 RETURN ON INVESTMENTRe-siding with ber cement is the smartest investmentyou can make in your house. Even smarter:Choosing ber cement from the industry leader.That’s why those in the know choose JamesHardie®siding and trim. Year after year, Remodelingmagazine has ranked re-siding with ber cement the#1 return on investment when compared to othermid-size remodeling projects.PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY EVERYWHEREELSESiding is exposed to Mother Nature all day, everyday, for years. Weather, water, time, re and pests—all can lead to trouble. That’s why James Hardie’shardworking products are engineered to stand upbeautifully, whatever the elements. BE READY FORANYTHINGBad weather can strike at any time. So we test ourproducts to better withstand worst-case scenarios:hurricanes, UV rays, snowstorms, and more. Butit’s not only extremes that break down siding—thechange of seasons does a number on materials suchas vinyl (which may crack in the cold) and woodproducts (which expand and contract with changes inmoisture and humidity). Only ber cement productsby James Hardie are Engineered for Climate®.A HARDIEZONE®FOR EVERYONEAfter studying the long-term effects that differentclimates have on siding, we created the HardieZone®system, to ensure that you get the right product foryour region. HZ5®products are made to resist wet,freezing conditions. HZ10®products protect homesfrom heat, humidity, blistering sun and more.HARDIE®FIBER CEMENT SIDING VS. VINYL SIDINGThere are many reasons to choose Hardie®bercement siding over vinyl, the rst of which isappearance. Hardie®siding is more than ve timesthicker than vinyl, allowing for deeper grooves and amore authentic wood-grain effect.The result is moreelegant than vinyl (which is plastic), particularly ona historic home. Then comes function. Vinyl meltseasily in a re (or even from the reection of thesun off Low-E glass windows); James Hardie brandproducts are noncombustible. Vinyl may crack andwarp from the elements; ber cement exteriors byJames Hardie are more durable and resist warping,sagging and melting.HARDIE®FIBER CEMENT SIDING VS. WOOD SIDINGJames Hardie siding is not only less expensive thanwood, it won’t be eaten by animals or insects. Italso resists water absorption better than wood evenwhere the manufacturer’s recommended protectionsare followed, helping protect against mold.When there’s a re, Hardie®siding is much better atwithstanding damage, while wood goes up in ames.Wood may split, crack and deteriorate over time,while Hardie®siding resists weather damage andkeeps its shape for a much longer time, which meansless maintenance to worry about year after year.EXPERIENCE COUNTSAt Norstar we understand the Muskoka climate andwe are siding experts.You can rest assured that whenyou consult with one of our experts, you will get thereal-world knowledge to help direct you with yoursiding needs. Stop in and see us today!Supply & Install | Cash & Carry800.732.0158 • 705.645.8404norstarexteriors.comIt’sSiding | Roong | Soft | Fascia | Lifetime Decking | Eavestrough | Gutter ProtectionMonthBrought to you by:Give them something to talk aboutGive them something to talk aboutAt Norstar we understand the Muskoka climate and we are siding experts. You can rest assured that when you consult with one of our experts, you will receive the real-world knowledge to help direct you with your siding needs. Stop in and see us today.

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36 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024The history of antique and classic boats is an integral part of the culture and identity of Muskoka. e lakes and rivers were the original highways and served as essential transportation routes for goods and people. e Muskoka Lakes Association’s bi-annual boat show recognizes the cultural and commercial signiﬁcance of this history. e mandate of the show more speciﬁcally states “e MLA Antique Boat Show began in 1971 and has been held bi-annually since, honouring boats that have been built in Muskoka or have spent most of their life in Muskoka waters. is show is a tribute to our Muskoka boat building heritage.”e 1920s were thrilling and formative years in Muskoka’s history. Wooden boat design evolved through the decade with elegant long deck launches and race boats that made their mark nationally and internationally. e theme of this year’s MLA Antique Boat Show, “the Roaring ‘20s,” is a nod to the importance of those years in Muskoka’s history and the many changes to boats of the time. By the 1920s, wooden boats were capable of serious speed, having left a war behind and engine power roared with enthusiasm. e theme of the year will bring examples of antique race boats and gentlemen’s racers from the ‘20s as well as examples of a broad range of boats from the teens to the ﬁfties. “We always reserve about 20 spots for our theme boats out of our space restricted total of about 65,” explains Dunc Hawkins, committee member for the MLA Antique Boat Show. Article and Photography by Tim Du Vernet

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 37“e Roaring Twenties were exhilarating years in Muskoka with the steamboat, hotel, cottage and wooden boat building industries ﬂourishing,” adds Ian Turnbull, another long-standing member of the committee and supporter of wooden boating. Whippet, a 1925 Ditchburn sports runabout, has been selected to represent the theme. At her inception, she was custom ordered by Clarence Ewart McLaughlin (1898-1968). He was the son of George W. McLaughlin, and grandson of Robert McLaughlin, founder of the McLaughlin Carriage Company and the McLaughlin Motor Car Company, which became General Motors of Canada.Currently, Whippet is owned by the Herrmann family of Lake Rosseau. Matt Herrmann is at the wheel of the 26-foot race boat, representing the third generation in his family to do so. One of the more recent modiﬁcations to Whippet is that she is now powered by a custom designed Ilmor 625-horsepower V-10 engine. Herrmann believes Whippet will top 70 mph in current form, while historically she likely achieved nearly 60 mph. Whippet will be joined by other sports runabouts with equally remarkable stories to tell. A replica of Rainbow IV, built for Harry Greening to challenge Baby Bootlegger, shows just how advanced Greening’s ideas For 2024, Whippet, a 26-foot race boat owned by the Herrmann family of Lake Rosseau, has the honour of being the MLA Antique Boat Show’s poster boat. In addition to festivities throughout the docks at Port Carling, the Muskoka Lakes Museum is preparing a display of racing trophies and similar memorabilia from the 1920s.

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were. Unfortunately, he pushed the rules too far for the American competition and she was disqualiﬁed. Dix is another 1920’s Ditchburn sports runabout that follows the stylistic trends of the time, but she is a considerably smaller and more personal craft at only 19 feet. Black Prince, a 1934 sports runabout, is one of a series of compact racers built by Minett-Shields that made regular appearances on the Muskoka summer racing circuit.Some boats have been fortunate to have been passed through multiple generations and now have new faces at the helm. In addition to Whippet, Fleetwood II, a 26-foot 1929 Minett-Shields, is another example of the next generation representing a family boat. She is now owned by Will Gray and was originally owned by his grandfather. More than a century ago, boating was an adventure that required planning. Boats such as Seraph, a 1905 steam launch owned by Paul Gockel, are no turnkey operation. It takes time to sort and gather suﬃcient ﬁrewood for the distance and then to build steam in the engine, which develops all of three horsepower. For longer trips, Gockel may have to stash a supply of wood along his route in advance. Seraph has seen many MLA boat shows over the years and the fascination for her engine never wanes. Another early launch, a 1905 Minett called Pioneer, was built from the pine of the original Cleveland’s House property, according to her owner James Woodruﬀ. Another example of early boats will be the Port Carling built Disappearing Propeller boats, which were ﬁrst built around 1915.e long, displacement hull boats that continue to impress more than a century after they were built, served an important purpose in Muskoka’s history. Boats such as Lady Elgin were built to carry people to and from private cottages and resorts. e 38-foot 1912 Minett Come N’ Go was not designed as such but was put into service as a livery boat – the water buses of the time. A few of the “old” boats still have either their original engines or authentic period power. Come ‘N Go is powered by a four cylinder, 25-horsepower Van Blerck engine. e engine is a jewel itself with red paint and brass. When moving at speed, Come ‘N Go looks as sleek as a knife cutting the water. Certainly, there can be an added challenge and concern when relying on an engine that is over 100 years old. However, according to boating experts, once they are fully and properly serviced, a vintage engine can be as reliable as anything brand new.e town of Port Carling was a very diﬀerent place, upwards of 100 years ago. e shoreline was home base for at least three boat builders – Matheson, SeaBird and Duke Boats. e docks also served the many steamers and large private and commercial pleasure boats such as the Rambler, Wanda III and High Tea, among others.To anyone growing up in Muskoka, being surrounded by antique boats, they are icons that have spanned the generations. Boats sometimes take on part of the character of an owner at one time or another. Dr. Henry Wilson is fondly remembered for taking visitors out for rides in Lady Elgin and Tim Chisholm and Rambler were regular participants at the MLA show. With a large congregation of antique boats such as this, one of the most exciting aspects of the MLA show is when the boats July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 39

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40 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024arrive or leave. Seeing the variety of boats in action, honouring the speed limits, of course, provides an added layer of entertainment and perspective. Many will arrive early in the morning when the water is still calm. For those arriving a bit later, landing a boat over 30-feet long can be quite intimidating, particularly with an audience to watch every move. Fortunately, the MLA show dock hands, wearing their white gloves, are ready to catch you. Despite their size, an experienced driver like Rick Terry or Ian Turnbull, who have been driving boats like these nearly from the cradle, can make a 36-foot boat literally turn on a dime. e Muskoka Lakes Association Antique Boat Show is a unique event among most boat shows. Hawkins explains that the boats are invited to display at the show, rather an open invitation to classic boat owners to register to attend. Hawkins stressed that while this may sound elitist, “it gives the show committee an opportunity to ensure the gathering has variety and represents truly signiﬁcant examples of our wonderful, and I have to say, world-renowned, boat building heritage. Show space is limited so careful selection is required to stock the docks with some of the best examples.” Hawkins also pointed out that the boat show committee has independence in managing the show, with the administrative support of the MLA.“e show has evolved little over the years, because the formula is simple and works well,” shares Turnbull. “Invite the boats that best demonstrate Muskoka’s wooden boat history, ﬁll the docks at Port Carling, fete the owners with recognition, provide a free spectacle for the public, cover 100 per cent of show costs through sponsorship.” Turnbull further explains, “e MLA show celebrates boats that were built locally or have spent a long time living here. It typically features the best examples of Muskoka’s unique-in-Canada wooden boat building and restoration legacy, which represents over a century of stewardship of the craft.” In conjunction with the MLA shoreline celebration of wooden boats, the Muskoka Lakes Museum is preparing a display of racing trophies and similar memorabilia represented around the 1920s. Participants in the show are also encouraged to loan their family trophies to the museum for the day. On Saturday, August 11, the docks of Port Carling will be ﬁlled with over 60 of the best examples of wooden boats in Muskoka. e large boat locks are usually closed for the day and independent boating groups such as Muskoka Seaﬂea and the Outboard Motor Club may be found on either shore. Surrounded by surviving sites of historic signiﬁcance, such as the Duke Boats building, the freight shed and Port Carling’s wall “Looking Back,” the MLA Antique Boat Show displays decades of preserved and restored boating history for everyone to enjoy. The docks at Port Carling, once the historic site of several boat builders, are now the site of the bi-annual MLA Antique Boat Show.Docking a launch of signicant length can draw a crowd. However, the MLA dock hands, wearing their white gloves, are ready to catch these sizable boats.

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 43“Trading Places.” All these wild creatures are strikingly encased in black-cored borders that arrest and demand full visual notice. Mark Kulas’s art is precise as an engineer’s draft, attaining moods through shape and colour. His art is bold but it would be an error to think it is not subtle or painstaking. Where there is not contrast between colours, there is subtle harmony. Where he wants to create a gradient of one colour into another, he doesn’t blend them; he creates the eﬀect by painting hundreds of tiny dots of changing frequency. One at a time. e eyes of his creatures have a certain calm and wisdom.“I stylize like mad,” Kulas explains. “I enjoy skimming oﬀ the superﬂuous detail and producing something that’s very identiﬁable. I have done super-realistic nature art, but it’s photo reproduction, it’s easy. It’s not nearly as much of a challenge.”e Ottawa-born artist is often asked if his work is inspired by First Nations art. In style, he explains, he is deﬁnitely inﬂuenced, particularly by the legendary Anishinaabe painter Norval Morrisseau, who also used bright colours within black outlines. “ere’s something about that that is eye-catching,” Kulas acknowledges, then adds unabashedly, “But being a professional illustrator, I wanted it tighter.” However abstract, his creatures are always clearly identiﬁable.Mark Kulas has participated in the Artists of the Limberlost Studio Tour since 2007, when he was oered a guest spot. Since 2010, his cottage on Bella Lake, east of Huntsville, has been a stop on the annual tour, which gives him the ability to showcase his original paintings, as well as prints, art cards, T-shirts and more.

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44 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024www.mikeslandscaping.ca info@mikeslandscaping.caYour Landscape, Our PassionBRACEBRIDGE GENERATION LTD.Water Power Generating a Cleaner EnvironmentInterested in more information or a free tour? www.bracebridgegeneration.comFor content, he is inspired the same way First Nations artists of the Precambrian Shield are inspired: by having lived most of his life surrounded by the particular species that live over granite and, spending much of his time in the wild, with them. But he also traces his creative roots to his Polish heritage, not to mention modern Western principles of composition and colour theory acquired in his training and career as a graphic designer.Along Highway 60 east of Algonquin Park lie the municipalities of Wilno and Barry’s Bay, home of a large Polish community. Kulas’s family hails from here. “My mother did needlepoint on table runners and pillow covers, with thick black outlines on ﬂowers, roosters and so on,” he recalls; such images can also be found in the area on signs and barns. He grew up on a farm next to Golden Lake, near Pembroke, that adjoined crown land. “So, I got on snowshoes or skis or my Canadian Tire bicycle and went places.”Of his childhood schooling, Kulas says, “I was dyslexic, so academically I was a mess. I had teachers letting me through thinking I could make a living digging ditches. Drawing or doing art was something I looked at that didn’t require mathematical or verbal ability, and there were people in my family who had artistic ability who were looked at highly.” Despite not being noticed as an artist – he still claims to have no natural talent, only Using precision and dedication, Mark Kulas creates gradients of colour within his artwork by painting hundreds of tiny dots of changing frequency, rather than blending colours together. He aims to play and have fun with the colours of a piece, while not straying too far from nature.Nancy MooreMarina BabicJennifer CreegganDora NolaJohnDoherty1073 Fox Point RoadDwight, 705.635.1602oxtonguecraftcabin.com Canadian Craft & Original ArtRepresenting 100+ Artists & ArtisansOpen daily in summer

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 45skill gained by unceasing practice – he threw himself into it. “By the time I was in high school, I was one of the geeky artists,” Kulas shares. “Just through the amount of time I put into this stuﬀ, I got good at it. All my other marks were barely passing but I scored high in art.”His eﬀorts enabled him to attend Algonquin College in Ottawa for graphic design, which he ﬁnanced by moving furniture. “My capacity was recognized in something in which I found no diﬃculty,” he says. “ere was a strong illustration component to the program and that was something in which I really excelled.”Graduating in 1986, he jumped into the ﬁeld right away. He has done graphic design for the federal Auditor-General’s oﬃce in Ottawa and Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick, living in the Maritimes for four years. “I did a lot of corporate identity work,” Kulas says. “I’d be asked, ‘Simplify our ideal, our company, our mission, to a logo that can be put on an envelope.’ Any piece I did was a challenge to solve.” If his art seems sometimes to have a logo-like visual simplicity and unity, hence power, there’s a reason.In 1991 he moved to Pembroke, where he still lives in winter. Summer is spent at a spectacularly situated cottage on Bella Lake, east of Huntsville, which belongs to the family of his common-law wife since 1998, high-school teacher Kathleen Mottershead.As well as being a full-time graphic designer, Kulas says, “I was drawing or painting all the time. I began going to studio tours or outdoor art shows. I’d see a lot of work that had a certain sameness, that made me think ‘I can compete, I need to pursue this’.” Starting out as a guest artist on a studio tour in 2007, he began to have success, possibly because his art doesn’t contribute at all to any sameness.In 2010, he was oﬀered use of the cottage as a stop on the Artists of the Limberlost Studio Tour and has continued to participate. As well as original paintings, he now sells prints, art cards, T-shirts and more, though some of these items are now also available at retailers in Huntsville and Bracebridge. “It’s kind of taken oﬀ,” he says. Accordingly, his career is now 90 per cent art and 10 per cent graphic design for a few longstanding favoured clients.If one can sense a certain muscularity, self-discipline and endurance in Kulas’s paintings, it could relate to a strong streak of athleticism rooted in his childhood wilderness treks and early swimming lessons. Always wanting to take on challenges, he competes in cross-county skiing, masters swimming and cycling, and is a former triathlete. is past Victoria Day weekend he participated in the ‘Spin the Lakes’ charity ride. He usually carries a canoe or kayak on the roof of his vehicle in case he comes by a lake or river that tempts him to explore and ﬁnd inspiration.For Kulas, a painting starts with wanting to do something diﬀerent. “If I last worked on a big piece, I want to work on a small one,” he shares.Except for commissions, he tries to vary the subject, too. “I do a lot of biking,” Kulas explains. “If I see a deer, I’ll think ‘I’m going to do a deer’. I have to refer to some sort of reference – though I can do a loon in my sleep. ey’re pretty basic and I know where all the spots are.”Always wanting to take on challenges, Mark Kulas competes in cross-county skiing, masters swimming and cycling, and is a former triathlete. Oen, he carries a canoe or kayak on the roof of his vehicle in case he comes by a lake or river and is tempted to nd inspiration.

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46 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Execution begins with pencil sketching. “Draw, erase, correct, decide how big I want it to be,” says Kulas. “I plot that stuﬀ as I work, out of the pencil sketch. I’ll draw for a day then come back to it a few times in the next day or so, to correct proportions; you need to have a fresh eye at times.”Next, by using a grid system – he creates a grid on the sketch and a larger grid on the canvas – Kulas transfers the image in sections onto the canvas. “en I start working on the beastie,” he says. “e colours are me having fun. I paint purple wolves and blue wolves, though foxes will always be red. If I just painted the tones of nature, they’d be all grey and brown. If I go too bizarre, I’ll go away from the nature of the animal, but I’m going to have fun.” It involves trial and error, of course, though he has noticed that he has to do less and less of that as he racks up experience.Of his gradient by pure-colour dots methodology, he says, “It’s laborious, but when I get it right, I love it, it works. It’s my style. I enjoy the challenge of solving that problem. If I blended, I wouldn’t be happy with it. It is a resolution to a challenge. I’ve tightened up a lot, was looser and a lot less accurate when I started.” Like many artists in every form of art, he has early works hidden away that no one will ever see.“I can’t sit for too long, so I paint for three to four hours a day, max,” he says. “For a two-by-three-foot canvas, I’ll be at that for a month before I’m happy with it. A lot of the time is spent on multiple coats; almost everything gets hit twice.” Because he never blends, he can take his time using acrylics and store colours he has mixed for one painting in resealable containers. He’s decidedly not a palette-painter. “I don’t want to show brush strokes or texture,” he says. “People ask what computer I printed them oﬀ of but it’s all done by hand. I wanted to paint pictures that didn’t look like anyone else’s. And wanted it to look Canadian. I’m happy with the style I’m producing.”Mark Kulas will be on the Artists of the Limberlost Studio Tour again this year, meaning you can see his art up close and meet him on August 16-18. e precipitous climb down to the cottage on zigzagging wooden stairs, built so the curvaceous trunk of a massive cedar tree is incorporated into them, is totally worth it.Taking inspiration from nature, Indigenous art and his own Polish heritage, Mark Kulas’ style is a blend of his own training as a graphic designer and exploration of styles and techniques that appeal to him. He happily takes his time in getting the colours and content just right.With skill gained by unceasing practice and a willingness to try various techniques and colours, Mark Kulas has created a body of work he is happy to be producing. Varying everything from the size of his paintings to the colours and the subject matter, his style is entirely his own.

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All boats work. But not all work the same way. A vessel delivering fuel in one century may oﬀer vacation tours in another. e canoe may be the backbone of the fur trade, basis for a camping trip or summer regatta competitor. A runabout can reach a cottage, pull a water-skier, transport a tradesman and carry supplies. In a district legendary for pleasure boating of all kinds, it is understandable that wooden boats, top-dollar speedboats and the latest in runabouts, sailboats and personal watercraft get rave publicity. However, Muskoka also relies on an armada of workboats, an equally diverse ﬂeet of barges, tugs, supply boats, public transit vessels, utility company service boats, police cruisers and honey barges – all doing the heavy-lifting that makes lakeside vacationing possible. e elegant S.S. Bigwin on Lake of Bays, long known as “the hardest worker at Bigwin Article by J. Patrick BoyerIn 1908, Port Carling grocer William Hanna replaced his original Minko supply boat with this vastly larger Newminko, seen here steaming away from Ferndale House on Lake Rosseau. Her greater capacity was needed supplying the busy resorts around the Muskoka lakes. 48 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Photograph: Muskoka Discovery Centre Archives

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Inn,” shows an initial problem here: how to distinguish between workboats and pleasure craft? After all, Muskoka has a tradition of boats doing double-duty, even multitasking. e Bigwin ferried passengers and luggage to and from the elegant island resort for decades but today she is still hard at work in these same waters, reﬁtted and touring folks from Lake of Bays Marine Museum. Work or pleasure? During Muskoka’s triumphant steam era from the 1860s to 1960s, the big steamships were also working vessels – oﬀering public transit, serving on-board meals to passengers, carrying freight and moving mail. Linked to steam train schedules and eﬀecting mid-lake transfers, they provided seamless transport from the urban south to Muskoka’s northland accommodations.Although the age of steam evaporated, the working tradition of the big ships endures as Wenonah II and Segwun provide moving platforms for scenic tours, weddings, sporting events, onboard meals and maintaining Gravenhurst as a “Gateway to the Muskoka Lakes.” Muskoka’s outrageously bad roads, dangerous and impassable for horse-drawn wagons and impossible for motorized deliveries, gave rise to vessels whose name was synonymous with work: the supply boats. By the 1890s, for instance, grocers and farmers were making supply boat calls around the lakes to cottagers and lodges. Farmer John Beaumont at Alport on Lake Muskoka owned the small steamer Nymoca from which his sons, Frank and George, sold fresh vegetables, apples and eggs from their farm as well as ﬂour, hams, bacon, tea, sugar, soap, bananas, watermelons and canned fruit to customers at Beaumaris, Gibralter, Port Keywaydin, St. Elmo, Mortimer’s Point, Torrance, and Bala. Another supply boat, the steamer Edith May, captained by George Stevens, ran similar supplies around lakes Rosseau and Joseph to regular customers, tying up at their wharves on islands and along shorelines. In the early 1900s, the British-American Oil Company (BA) purchased wooden steamer Ina, renamed her Peerless and hired Port Carling’s Bert Brown to operate the former private-use yacht as a fuel supply boat around the Muskoka Lakes. After World War II, BA built the larger all-steel Peerless II to meet rising demand from resorts and other lakeside customers for essential fuel from her 8,000 gallon tank. is work lasted a half-century until better roads enabled fuel delivery by tank trucks to mainland lakeside properties and on heavy-duty barges to islands. After a hiatus for Peerless II, Captain Randy Potts would convert her into a popular touring boat with narrated excursions operating out of Port Carling; a diﬀerent “work boat” role in Muskoka’s vacation economy. Meanwhile, by 1920, Billy Langmaid in Baysville expanded Langmaid’s Groceries by oﬀering fresh meat, vegetables and fruit and launching a summer supply boat, the Joe Bell, to call around Lake of Bays bringing these foodstuﬀs from his store to cottagers. “A special treat was arrival of Mr. Langmaid and his supply boat every Tuesday,” recalled Dean Matthews, a Port Cunnington summer resident. For Captain Langmaid to put in, “you just tied a white towel in a branch near the dock. He always had bananas and fresh fruit, quite a luxury to us in those days.” Also in 1920, Bigwin Inn opened on Lake of Bays. In addition to ever-busy Bigwin, the new resort ran supply boats daily to Bigwin farm at Huntsville fetching fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, cream and butter, and also exchanging with a town cleaner the soiled linens for the prior day’s cleaned and folded ones. In Port Carling William and Sarah Hanna operated a busy grocery store and in 1891 put The scale of operations to move logs out of the forests and to waiting sawmills is captured in this image of a single tug pulling thousands of boomed logs down Lake Muskoka to Muskoka Bay and its many waiting mills at Gravenhurst.The Alporto supply boat, owned and operated by the Beaumont family, sold produce from their farm along with other items. This rare interior shot of a the oating grocery store shows the attractive presentation of produce and other goods.July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 49Photograph: Frank MicklethwaitePhotograph: Muskoka Discovery Centre Archives

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50 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Photograph: George Johnson CollectionOne of Mary Lake’s hardworking steamers, Gem, pulls a small boom of logs into the Muskoka River toward Port Sydney’s busy sawmill in 1919. The point at the right, notes village historian George Johnson, was a dumpsite for mill waste.Muskoka's Largest Home Service Company!No job is too big or too small! www.GBScontracting.com 705.687.9143 315 Industrial Drive, Gravenhurstthe Mink, a locally built 57-foot steamer, into service as a ﬂoating grocery store with iceboxes on board to keep food fresh during calls around the shorelines. “A specialty is catering to camps,” Hanna advertised, “at prices much lower than the tourist can bring in provisions himself.” In 1908, the Mink was replaced by Newminko as demand for fresh food delivered straight to one’s dock increased. Up and down Muskoka’s Georgian Bay coast, supply boats were essential, their services provided everything from groceries and produce to gasoline for marinas. With so many moving parts to the district’s waterway economy, niches kept opening for boats to take on special tasks. e Mildred, owned and operated by Captain Wesley Archer of Browning Island, linked the Lake Muskoka vicinity with short-run passenger and light freight service. e Mildred’s service was a small business thriving on opportunities the big steamship ﬂeet operating out of Gravenhurst was too large and tightly scheduled to handle. Later, when Earle Dunn fashioned his Big Band magnet in Bala “where all Muskoka dances,” Mildred ran evening public cruises from Bracebridge to Bala, returning from

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 51Dunn’s Pavilion around 2 a.m. When this varied working life had run its course, the elegant Mildred was scuttled – a watercraft’s most honourable end. However, passing time changes everything. Refloated by enterprising Randy Potts, she is being restored to operation. Captain Potts and his wife Debbie expect to have Mildred back at work, on the public transit tourist side of things, for upcoming seasons of pleasure cruising.Water taxies work daily crossing district lakes, providing the public with rides for hire. Most every marina in Muskoka provides this service, from Harbour Water Taxi at Honey Harbour at the district’s southwest to Mountain Trout Marina at Dorset on Lake of Bays in the northeast. Travelling anywhere day or night in all kinds of weather on diﬀerent waters means the size and nature of water taxies varies considerably, from runabouts and pontoon boats to larger vessels. Many Muskoka contractors own and operate workboats on the larger waterway systems connecting lakes of north Muskoka, those of central Muskoka and the Georgian Bay coast. Whether for new construction or renovations, they arrive onsite by boat – teams of tradespeople with a full battery of tools – where building supplies, generators, even a rented portable toilet await, having been delivered by barge.Building contractors with only intermittent lake work need not own a vessel because they can more economically book one for the time needed, a morning or a month, just as on land they rent trucks and special equipment from Muskoka’s burgeoning rental companies. e same goes for district retailers or their customers who, throughout navigation season, eﬃciently schedule water-borne deliveries where trucks rendezvous with barges or capacious workboats at public wharfs and privately-owned marinas. With Muskoka’s rocky shorelines, the advantage of highly buoyant freight barges and pontoon-supported watercraft is the ability to reach most shores over shallow and rock infested waters. Like swing-bridges that enable water and road routes to function in sync on Muskoka’s patchwork watershed, these waterborne platforms keep district life and commerce functioning so smoothly one hardly notices – as long as everything keeps working.Tugboats gained a pivotal role amidst the district’s working watercraft from the 1860s – pulling boomed logs down the central lakes to Sawdust City’s lumberyards rimming Muskoka Bay, delivering barge loads of tan bark to the vast leather tanneries in Bracebridge and Huntsville and taking log booms from the Georgian Bay coast across Lake Huron to Michigan mills. A variant was the steam-powered warping-tug, aﬀectionately known as an Alligator, a vehicle-vessel combo custom-designed for the Canadian Shield logging environment, adeptly moving logs reptilian-like over land and across water.e small but mighty tugs never yielded their role. Generations of lake-freighting families and dozens more Muskoka transport operators throughout the district, rely on tugs to move fully loaded barges from mainland wharves where trucks deliver building materials and other supplies cross-water to a contractor’s worksite. ere the barge is secured for the coming days to serve as a ﬂoating platform or oﬀ-loaded by crews using front-end loaders or lifts to move gravel, soil, stone, timbers or skids of lumber and shingles ashore, either way enabling the doughty tug to depart and work another loaded barge. On an expanse of lake wide enough to visibly include the curvature of Earth’s surface, especially at sunrise, it is possible to see a dream-like image as rays of light spotlight a heavy cement truck or fuel truck being driven over the water. At 7 a.m. when loading begins, a ready-mix vehicle with rotating drum or a tanker may drive directly onto a barge and lowered by its heavyweight cargo, oﬀ they go. Someone a half-kilometre away, seeing only Photograph: Ontario ArchivesPhotograph: Boyer Family ArchivesOver her long career, owned and operated by the Archer family, popular steam yacht Mildred operated from Browning Island, serving all three of the Muskoka lakes – here at full capacity touring Muskoka holidaymakers along the Joseph River.Nymoca, one of a number of supply boats bringing foodstus and other items to lakeside Muskokans for decades, calls at Walker’s Point on Lake Muskoka in the 1890s.

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52 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024the truck moving, the barge and tug below their sight line, glimpses how surrealistic Muskoka’s magic can be. In this special quiet moment, a vessel actually doing the work appears to be, one way or another, out of registered sight. A diﬀerent category of work vessel are boats operated by the Ontario Provincial Police, Ontario Hydro and Lakeland Power, telephone, tree service, plumbing and other utility companies. Whether owned or leased, in play daily or ready on stand-by, located at their own yards or in rented marina slips at strategic locations throughout Muskoka, these watercrafts are operated by the organization’s own staﬀ. A century ago, when the ﬁrst police boats began operating on Muskoka waters, policing was a provincial responsibility that had been delegated to municipalities. District towns and villages each had local constables, few in number, to walk a nightly beat along main street and down to the train station and back. Once two competing railways began disgorging thousands of spirited vacationers daily to Bala’s three stations, the village’s lone oﬃcer was unequal to his constabulary tasks. In March 1921, anticipating the summer ahead, the Ontario Provincial Police opened its first detachment in Ontario. Of necessity, Bala’s inauguration of provincial police handling local duties required use of watercraft. Today a ﬂeet upwards of 20 OPP water cruisers based at the provincial solicitor “Supply boats” could take the form of a barge moved by boats alongside, such as the Zingari seen here on the right, and another workboat on the opposite side for balanced propulsion, bringing a car from an oshore freighter to Georgian Bay mainland.S.S. Islander pushes the season well beyond Muskoka’s fabled autumn colours in 1929 as passengers carry their luggage aboard at Port Carling through more than a foot of snow.Hospice Muskoka-Andy’s House clinical team, led by Medical Director Christine Degan, Nurse Practitioner, is dedicated to providing excellence in palliative care.Our clinical team includes over 30 highly qualied nurses and PSWs, plus a full-time Social Worker. All staff complete specialized palliative education. They are also trained in grief support, Indigenous cultural safety, LGTBQ+ diversity and pediatric care. Hospice Muskoka is committed to providing unparalleled palliative care expertise.To learn more about our clinical team, visit hospicemuskoka.com.Photograph: Muskoka Discovery Centre ArchivesPhotograph: Harper Family, Honey Harbour Historical Committee

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 53Captain Randy Potts created reality from nothing but a dream when he recast Peerless II in a new workboat role. With many adaptions for carrying passengers instead of fuel, she now tours vacationers around scenic Muskoka lakes.Whether to provide security for some prominent passenger (a normal happenstance on Muskoka steamships) or simply show the ag for police public relations, in 1955 the Ontario Provincial Police, who began using watercra when opening their rst provincial detachment at Bala in 1921, escort Segwun with two ocers aboard their water cruiser.Photograph: Randy Potts, Sunset CruisesWe’re Celebrating our14 Gray Road, Bracebridge, ON P1L 1P8MAPLE COOKIES350 g. 1.800.461.5445info@mapleorchardfarms.comwith some Sweet Deals35YEARSTHANKYOUMapleOrchard399$1999$Farms- FACTORY OUTLET SPECIALS -19$PURE MAPLE SYRUP1 LitreASSORTED CHOCOLATESgeneral’s Gravenhurst property, the former Ontario Fire College shoreline lands, provide district-wide waterway police services ranging from routine patrols and talks to cottager association annual meetings to spot checks, investigations, and emergency responses.Muskoka foresters and arborists are early responders at islands and water-access cottages to clear windstorm damage but more frequently carry out scheduled maintenance work. Tree-care companies get plenty of work around the lakes and generally operate their own workboats suited to their equipment, pattern of operation and the wide range tasks ashore. e workboats carrying Ontario Hydro or Lakeland Power crews to destinations are strong metal craft with high power reliable engines. ese craft, like those operating them, must be reliable through turbulent waves in the dark of night while rain pours. Repair crews for telephone companies have slightly more choice about braving tempests because restoring phone service generally ranks below getting electricity ﬂowing again to remote and isolated places. In the past decade, islanders have increasingly addressed problems of power outages and downed phone lines by installing emergency generators and using wireless communications. Of course, those back-up power systems had to be transported by workboats and then installed by utility company crews crossing water, meaning that any way you slice it, Muskoka can only be what it is thanks to the district’s workboats and freight vessels.A number of Muskoka’s larger boathouses have slips where, alongside a polished classic wooden Ditchburn or Dippy, a battered but treasured ﬁbreglass or tin slugger waits her turn to carry loads of groceries, rental equipment and building materials. When islanders use their runabouts as supply boats, it becomes clear almost any watercraft can at some time in some way be classiﬁed as a workboat – sharing the load of a genuine Muskoka experience.Photograph: Muskoka Discovery Centre Archives

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54 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Title sponsorsPlatinumsponsorsTo OurSponsorsThank You.....TheBurtFamilyLady Gaga Fan ClubWes finch & sons ltd.Santas villageCayman marshall realty incJs custom builders ltd.Muskoka highlands McNair Electric ltd. Galashin Bob Jacobmuskoka party rentalsBask Insulation Dawsons incorporated B.C North electric Atmosphere electricJVS Landscaping 4579 DesignGolden Pines Painting Inc. Sherwood custom homesGOLD:South muskoka bracebridge Muskoka natural food marketBig River Baking coStephens butcher shop Savour ThisLias Catering Co. Fowler ConstructionMuskoka landscapersMazenga Building Group Daleman WestcottCottage SpringsClear Lake Brewing Co.Clarke Muskoka CONST.Cassis design studiorogers & co. Carlsberg Canada IncAlex Pausak and FamilyAdam & Marla BrownBrian Hoar Inc.Bruce RevilleCasey ContractingCassis Design StudioCavalcade FordjOn & Mary KitchenKAL TIREKnowles PlumbingPosted PaidMcCormack, VeronicaMuskoka ChryslerMuskoka MechanicalMuskoka Ready MixMuskoka Timber MillsAdam and Marla BrownFCA InsuranceGreavettee SubaruHammonds TransHoo's LawBonnie RosenburgPeter Meredith Port Carling Golf & CountryClub Print Muskoka Royal LePage Scarcliffe Excavating Unique Muskoka Weedman Woodsmiths of Muskoka Dr. Evans Neil Hutchinson Paul NickelMarie Macdonald Brent quarries hldthe old stationEVENT:grit strength trainingMuskoka Bay Club mpw enterprises pencarseasons in the countrylittle black bowares lawmuskoka bbq & kitchensouth muskoka golf & curlingbeveraginokeybase wealth management knight hawks entertainment home depotel pueblito mexican restaurantchucks roadhouse gravenhurst field of greensthe pearl snack bar & marketgem & Dia jewellersseasonal resident golden valleympp graydon smithturtle jacksgreg hammondmuskoka kia muskoka bay clothing waboramuskoka lakes chamber of commercemarks work warehouse bracebridge barrelhouselong & Mcquade Muskoka lakes golf & country club sawdust city brewing co. oka beautyrockscapewonderemere zcizzorsmuskoka rockFood: Beverage:WHAT YOU MISSED 2024 BLACK TIE GALA IN SUPPORT OF THESOUTH MUSKOKAHOSPITAL FOUNDATIONRotary Club of BracebridgeMuskoka Lakes successfullymet its fundraising goal &purchased a portableultrasound machine for ourlocal healthcare facility.RotaryClub of Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 55Title sponsorsPlatinumsponsorsTo OurSponsorsThank You.....TheBurtFamilyLady Gaga Fan ClubWes finch & sons ltd.Santas villageCayman marshall realty incJs custom builders ltd.Muskoka highlands McNair Electric ltd. Galashin Bob Jacobmuskoka party rentalsBask Insulation Dawsons incorporated B.C North electric Atmosphere electricJVS Landscaping 4579 DesignGolden Pines Painting Inc. Sherwood custom homesGOLD:South muskoka bracebridge Muskoka natural food marketBig River Baking coStephens butcher shop Savour ThisLias Catering Co. Fowler ConstructionMuskoka landscapersMazenga Building Group Daleman WestcottCottage SpringsClear Lake Brewing Co.Clarke Muskoka CONST.Cassis design studiorogers & co. Carlsberg Canada IncAlex Pausak and FamilyAdam & Marla BrownBrian Hoar Inc.Bruce RevilleCasey ContractingCassis Design StudioCavalcade FordjOn & Mary KitchenKAL TIREKnowles PlumbingPosted PaidMcCormack, VeronicaMuskoka ChryslerMuskoka MechanicalMuskoka Ready MixMuskoka Timber MillsAdam and Marla BrownFCA InsuranceGreavettee SubaruHammonds TransHoo's LawBonnie RosenburgPeter Meredith Port Carling Golf & CountryClub Print Muskoka Royal LePage Scarcliffe Excavating Unique Muskoka Weedman Woodsmiths of Muskoka Dr. Evans Neil Hutchinson Paul NickelMarie Macdonald Brent quarries hldthe old stationEVENT:grit strength trainingMuskoka Bay Club mpw enterprises pencarseasons in the countrylittle black bowares lawmuskoka bbq & kitchensouth muskoka golf & curlingbeveraginokeybase wealth management knight hawks entertainment home depotel pueblito mexican restaurantchucks roadhouse gravenhurst field of greensthe pearl snack bar & marketgem & Dia jewellersseasonal resident golden valleympp graydon smithturtle jacksgreg hammondmuskoka kia muskoka bay clothing waboramuskoka lakes chamber of commercemarks work warehouse bracebridge barrelhouselong & Mcquade Muskoka lakes golf & country club sawdust city brewing co. oka beautyrockscapewonderemere zcizzorsmuskoka rockFood: Beverage:WHAT YOU MISSED 2024 BLACK TIE GALA IN SUPPORT OF THESOUTH MUSKOKAHOSPITAL FOUNDATIONRotary Club of BracebridgeMuskoka Lakes successfullymet its fundraising goal &purchased a portableultrasound machine for ourlocal healthcare facility.RotaryClub of Bracebridge-Muskoka Lakes

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56 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Muskoka swimmer qualies for 2024 Paris ParalympicsYears of hard work and sacriﬁce have paid oﬀ for Muskoka's newest paralympic athlete. Mary Jibb of the Muskoka Aquatic Club was notiﬁed in May that she will be joining Team Canada for the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris. e announcement is the culmination of a banner season representing the Muskoka Aquatic Club on the national and international stage. Her qualiﬁcation for Team Canada came on the back of successes at the Eastern Canadian Championships and the Citi Para Swimming World Series, followed by racing at the European Para Championships in Madeira, Portugal.As a competitive swimmer for nearly 10 years, Mary’s road to success has not been without challenges. In 2012 at the age of four, Mary suﬀered a left basal ganglia stroke with focal vasculitis, which left her with a myriad of physical impairments. Due to the impairments caused by her stroke, Mary was ﬁrst oﬃcially classiﬁed as an S10 para swimmer. In an eﬀort to create a fair and equal competitive ﬁeld, all para swimmers are classed based on their level of ability and impairment, S1 being the most physically impaired, S10 the least physically impaired, S11-13 include visual impairments and S14 intellectual impairments.Last season, Jibb earned top honours in Canada as a National Champion winning gold at Canadian World Trials and then gold again at Canadian Nationals last July. Following her success at nationals, she set her sights on earning a space on Canada’s paralympic team for Paris 2024. Unfortunately, she experienced considerable setbacks in her training as she felt her physical condition progressively worsen. She experienced numbness and tingling on her right side from her hands down to her feet. In addition, her mild dystonia on her right side became more severe causing constant muscle clenching and cramping in her right foot and calf. Despite rigorous training and her best eﬀorts, she was not able to set any new personal bests. After discussing her condition with coaches within Swim Ontario and Swimming Canada, she earned a spot to be re-classiﬁed.rough months of extensive testing and travelling, Jibb continued to train to prepare for the Canadian Paralympic Trials. At the Eastern Canadian Championships in Quebec City, she earned her Canadian S9 classiﬁcation. In Indianapolis at the Citi Paraswimming World Series, despite Mary’s arduous schedule, she was able to perform well at all key events that took her from Canada to the United States to Portugal. At the Eastern Canadian Championships held in Quebec City in March 2024, Jibb earned a bronze medal in the 400-metre freestyle and silver medals in the 100-metre freestyle, 100-metre backstroke, and 200-metre individual medley. She put on quite a show adding to her considerable accolades by setting a new Canadian record in the S9 category, claiming bronze in the 50-metre freestyle, posting a time of 29.86 seconds.New train shelters in Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsvillee return of passenger rail travel to Muskoka took another step forward recently with a provincial announcement of new station shelters. Representatives from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Northland paid a visit to Bracebridge to make the announcement at the site of the new shelter, which is to be constructed next to the site of the former passenger station.According to Vijay anigasalam, associate minister of transportation, the new passenger stations will be fully equipped with seating, lighting and heating and will be installed over the next two years.In total, nine new shelters will be constructed along the route, including stations in Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Huntsville. e announcement was part of the awarding of three contracts for the design and manufacture of the new station shelters as well as enhanced rail safety and complete warning system upgrades. e contracts mark a signiﬁcant milestone in reinstating train service between Timmins and Toronto.Photograph: Matt DriscollPhotograph: Muskoka Aquatic ClubRepresentatives from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Northland recently announced nine new train shelters along the Northlander route, including stations in Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville.Whats HappenedMary Jibb, a swimmer from the Muskoka Aquatic Club, has earned a place on Team Canada for the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris.

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 57Rick Maloney, mayor of the Town of Bracebridge said the Town is pleased to see the Ontario government investing in shelters along the Northlander route, including Bracebridge.“ese upgraded amenities will contribute to providing safe, accessible transportation options to residents and visitors while helping support the growth and development of our local economy through improved access to tourism and job opportunities,” said Maloney.Peaches introduces Summers with Miss Elizabeth at book launchWith a wink and a biting wit, Peaches – Muskoka’s best loved comedienne – was the mistress of ceremony at the May book launch of Summers with Miss Elizabeth by local author Lori Knowles.Held in e Boathouse at Taboo Resort on May 11, 2024, the room was packed with Muskokans sharing martinis and laughs as the funny woman introduced the novel, a family story set in a classic lakeside cottage billed as “summer in a book.”“Sorry I’m late,” Peaches said, “I’ve been in New York all week advising Stormy Daniels on her next move.” Summers with Miss Elizabeth is the emotionally charged story of the Wynward family, Pittsburgh industrialists with a century-old cottage on a Muskoka lake. At the centre of the story is the marvelous “Miss Elizabeth,” a shrewd, champagne-swilling mistress of Pittsburgh’s Wynward Steel – a character Peaches joked was “a very dear friend.” Behind the candy-coloured Muskoka chairs and glossy wooden watercraft lies a more shadowy side of cottage country. Written by Bracebridge author and journalist Lori Knowles, the novel is funny, sad, mysterious and a little tragic. “I grew up in wonder of iconic Muskoka hotspots like Beaumaris, Rosseau, Bala, Port Carling and Millionaire’s Row,” says Knowles. “Muskoka is a storied place ﬁlled with beautiful blue vistas, lacquered boats, Muskoka chairs and summer heat but there’s darkness there, too – family struggles, tragedy and loss, secrets swept behind wicker settees. I was raised in Muskoka and I’m a storyteller. I’ve always known there are terriﬁc tales to be told.”Summers with Miss Elizabeth is sold at Unique Muskoka's Bracebridge store and online at loriknowles.com.Music on the Barge returns to Gravenhurste ever-popular Music on the Barge concert series at Gull Lake Park in Gravenhurst is set for a July return. Music on the Barge is the largest outdoor concert series north of Toronto and it draws thousands of guests to the shores of Gull Lake Park every year. e Town of Gravenhurst recently announced the lineup for this year's concert series:July 7 – Motown ManiaJuly 14 – Doobie Brothers TributeJuly 18 – Tall Pines Music & Arts Festival presents… Music on the BargeAugust 4 – Tom Jones ShowAugust 11 – Joplin meets HendrixAugust 18 – Sound of StingAugust 25 – Foreigner: Jukebox HeroesNEW THIS YEAR: Battle for the Barge Winner NightsJuly 23 – Baytowne Big BandJuly 30 – VanHillertAugust 22 – Swingin’ BlackjacksAugust 29 – Southern Rock TributeSeptember 1 – Shout! e British Invasione shows take place on Sunday nights starting at 7:30 pm and admission is a free will oﬀering.Muskoka Discovery Centre wins national award e considerable amount of time, money and hard work poured into the latest Muskoka Discovery Centre exhibition is paying oﬀ with recognition at the highest levels. e Discovery Centre’s Misko-Aski: Conﬂuence of Cultures exhibit recently received an award for outstanding achievement in exhibitions from the Canadian Museums Association. e exhibit opened last year and conveys the presence of Indigenous Peoples extending back millennia including the histories and experiences of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabek, Métis and Haudenosaunee peoples.“It is very satisfying for our team to compete successfully with some of the biggest museums in Canada,” said John Miller, president of the Muskoka Discovery Centre.On behalf of the Muskoka Discovery Centre, Chippewas of Rama Chief Ted Williams and project director Tim Johnson accepted the award.“e building of relationships is the foundation of our culture, our nature, our people and all living beings,” said Chief Williams. “Working with the Muskoka Discovery Centre we have supported the development of this exhibit to make a diﬀerence in our region and across Canada. As a result, the Centre is now able to present components of the real Indigenous history in an educational and enlightened manner.” e guiding principle of the project was to feature Indigenous stories as told by Indigenous people under Indigenous project management. e strategic goal was to weave Indigenous culture and sustainability values into the fabric and identity of the Muskoka region. Misko Aki: Conﬂuence of Cultures represents the assembling of knowledge and information as determined by Indigenous knowledge holders and elders whose peoples traversed and inhabited the Muskoka region throughout history up to the present day. Photograph: Nancy BealThe launch party for Lori Knowles’ new novel, Summers with Miss Elizabeth, was hosted by Muskoka comedienne Peaches in May.

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58 UNIQUE MUSKOKA June 2024“is kind of project is a game changer because it rounds out the long established historical narrative of a very important region of the country by adding back the Indigenous stories that were missing,” said project director Tim Johnson. “e curatorial approach of taking visitors on a canoe journey through time and to landing areas where events and issues are revealed becomes a transformative learning experience.” Giant hornet sightings have Muskokans on edgeAre there murder hornets in Muskoka? According to the experts, the answer is likely no but it appears another exceptionally large breed of hornet is on the rise this year across the region. Social media has been awash this spring with pictures of huge hornets which seem to be proliferating in the area. Murder hornets, or giant Asian hornets as they are more formally known, have only ever been spotted on the west coast of North America. On the other hand, European hornets (smaller than the Asian hornet but larger than the typical North American hornet) have lived in North America for nearly two centuries. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Aﬀairs is asking the public to report any irregularly sized wasps to them so they can conﬁrm the species.While the European hornet might look intimidating experts say the risk is relatively minimal and no greater than that posed by a typical hornet.Red Canoe Gallery moves to a new homee Red Canoe Gallery has oﬃcially opened the doors of its new location in Bala.“We are so excited to ﬁnally be located here and to celebrate our 31st year in business in Muskoka,” said gallery owner Carola Grimm. “e building is so well suited for our business with its large windows, high ceilings, easy level loading area and tons of onsite parking. Bala has so many great new shops and restaurants, with the handmade chocolate shop. Now the renovation of the Bala Bay is almost complete, so we plan to be open year round.”Red Canoe Gallery features the original paintings of some of Muskoka’s and Ontario’s best artists and carries a wide range of sizes and styles. e gallery has also added ﬁve new artists this year, along with all the favourites such as Paul Garbett, Peter Reid and Carola Grimm. Red Canoe Gallery will also continue to oﬀer a large selection of handmade Canadian wood bowls and wood accessories. Photograph: Red Canoe GalleryFeature by Matt DriscollThe Red Canoe Gallery has found a new home in Bala to display their original paintings of some of Muskoka’s and Ontario’s best artists.SERVING MUSKOKA / GEORGIAN BAY / HALIBURTON1-888-417-8761 www.techhomeltd.comBUILDING CUSTOM HOMES & COTTAGES FOR 50 YEARSGRAVENHURST MODEL HOME2278 Hwy 11N.| Gravenhurst, ON P1P 1R1 | 1.888.417.8761GREATER TORONTO AREA DESIGN CENTRE130 Konrad Cres, Unit #18 Markham, ON | L3R 0G5905.479.9013Visit our Gravenhurst Model Home or Toronto Design Centre, & we’ll bring your dream to life.PURE COMFORT,SUSTAINABLY-BUILT28 MANITOBA STREET, BRACEBRIDGENEW ARRIVALSPACKS BAGSCLOTHINGEND OF SEASON SALE: UP TO 40% OFFSAVINGS OF UP TO 40% OFF ON SOME LINE ENDS

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60 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024Article by K.M. Wehrstein / Photography by Tomasz SzumskiThe coolest seasoning you’ve never heard about: Cooking with sumacSumac is a plant found in volume across Muskoka, often visible along the plant-ﬁlled sides of roads. It’s a strange tree, that seems as if it might have come from Mars or the bizarre imagination of Dr. Seuss. Sumac is easily recognizable with its hairy zigzagging trunks and branches, its astonishing colours in fall and its many-leafed fronds radiating out from upright fat red spikes of… what are they? Berries? Flowers?While the sumac plant across Muskoka is known, what may come as a surprise is that sumac is also a spice. Part of the reason for that would be the spice called “sumac” is not very well-known in Canada and is generally made from a sumac species that grows in the Middle East. It is cherished there as a key ingredient of za’atar powder, which is used in many Middle-Eastern dishes.ere are about 35 species of sumac worldwide and their botanical names all start with Rhus. e one you see along roadsides in Muskoka is staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina). Store-bought sumac powder is typically made from the shrub Rhus coriana and imported from the Middle East. So, you have your choice: buy it from the store to be more traditional or harvest it right here in Muskoka to use for your sumac-requiring recipes. e latter would be the choice of Laura Gilmour, CEO and co-owner with her husband, Chris Gilmour, of Wild Muskoka Botanicals. e Gilmours’ business in Dwight focuses on the healthy locavore movement to the max: getting nourishment and deliciousness right out of the Muskoka wilderness.“We think of spices as coming far away but this one is here,” says Laura Gilmour. “People need to eat locally and that includes spices.” ere are at least a dozen high-quality spice plant species that grow in Muskoka, she shares, naming oﬀ a few: wild leeks, pine for roasting and sweet gale, whose ﬂavour she describes as “like black pepper and bay leaves had a baby.”Gilmour eats a lot of foraged foods that she would never sell as products. Either they’re not sustainable on a large scale (“the short-window things like shoots of plants and baby leeks”) or they require too much processing. “I eat acorns,” she says, absolutely seriously. “But you have to shell them, grind them, leach out the tannins, then dry them and it’s ﬂour at that point.” She does the obvious thing to do then: bake acorn bread.“Wild leeks, sumac, pine, elderberries – these are the large-scale items,” Gilmour says. Wild Muskoka products made from these ingredients and more include syrups, infused apple-cider vinegars, cocktail and mocktail (non-alcoholic) mixers, spice blends and bitters (for high-octane cocktail ﬂavouring).One of the vinegars is called simply Sumac (for a home-made version, she instructs, “You can soak the ﬂower still on the stem in vinegar; soak for at least a month.”) Among the mixers you’ll ﬁnd one of Gilmour’s best-selling oﬀerings: Strawberry Sumac Shrub (which one online reviewer delectably drizzled over ice cream). Finally, there is Muskoka Za’atar, Gilmour’s version of the famed Middle-Eastern ﬂavouring – whose recipe she has shared with us.Originally from Niagara, Gilmour moved with her family to Muskoka at the age of 10 when her father landed a job as a chef at Deerhurst, and they lived in Melissa, just north of Huntsville. While studying ecology at Fleming College, she says, “I got really inspired about sustainability.” Once graduated, she signed on with Worldwide A traditional Greek salad, with no lettuce, is a great summer salad to prepare ahead. This version includes sumac powder in Gilmour’s Muskoka Za’atar Spice Mix for avouring.

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 61Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), an educational exchange organization founded in 1971 which provides organic farm placements in 130 nations worldwide.“I travelled mostly in western Canada and the United States, lived and worked on all sorts of organic farms, met herbalists and foragers,” she reminisces. “at’s where I started to learn what I know. I learned herbal medicine – food is medicine – and became a total nerd. My partner and I spend all our free time doing this kind of stuﬀ.” Actually, it’s all her time, really, since it’s her work time, too.Around 2007, the Gilmours settled in Bracebridge, where Laura worked as an ecologist for ﬁve years. “And I kept practicing; I was a passionate forager and herbalist. I kept getting asked by diﬀerent organizations to come and lead foraging walks and herbal medicine workshops.” At the same time, following in dad’s footsteps, she became a passionate cook but with foraged ingredients. “People kept asking me to help and if they could buy things I was making. So, I started Wild Muskoka in 2015.”At ﬁrst the business was part-time work for Gilmour but it has grown to full-time work for the couple plus one part-time employee who has been there for a year. As well as the edible and drinkable products, you can buy books and swag from Wild Muskoka or you can put on your hiking boots and bug repellent and attend Gilmour’s foraging classes – though not this year as they’re all full. “I put the classes out in winter. Sign up to our newsletter if you are interested and book early,” she recommends. “is year they were sold out by April.”Here is a quickie sumac foraging and preparation class by Gilmour, as a free sneak preview.“e staghorn sumac is all around us but catching the window is diﬃcult,” she shares. “It’s usually mid-July to early August but that can vary by area. If you pick it too early, it has no ﬂavour. Too late and they’re infested with bugs.” Pick the red ﬂower-spikes and open them up. “ey should be pretty clean on the inside.”To produce powdered sumac, Gilmour says: “I freeze them right away, for at least a week. en I dry them: the place has to be dark, low humidity, with good air ﬂow.” Once the spikes are dry, she picks the ﬂowers oﬀ the stems, grinds them in a coﬀee grinder to release the hairs from the seeds, and sifts out the seeds. “e hairs are what you want.” Trying a pinch of these, there’s a sweetness in the sourness of sumac. “ey’re a fruit, so they’re sweet,” she says.Gilmour describes Za’atar as “a blend of sour, salty and aromatic.” e ﬂavour combination is reminiscent of a powdered Greek salad. at leads us to the second recipe Gilmour provides us: a Greek salad. A real Greek salad; Greek salads served in Greece never have lettuce in them. Accordingly, Gilmour likes to serve hers a bit later in the year than now. “By late summer, unless you’re good at replanting, your lettuce has bolted and you have an overabundance of tomatoes and cucumbers,” she explains. But Gilmour makes a major departure Muskoka Za’atar Spice Mix– Laura GilmourIngredients 1 Tbsp sumac powder1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds1 tsp dried parsley1 tsp dried oregano1 tsp dried thyme¼ tsp salt Method Combine all ingredients in a small grinder (spice or coﬀee) and pulse until incorporated.Wild Muskoka Greek Salad– Laura GilmourIngredients 1 cucumber, cubed1 small container of grape tomatoes(289 g), halved¼ cup chopped red onion100 g feta cheese, cubed¼ cup black olives, chopped¼ cup olive oil2 Tbsp Muskoka Za’atar spice mixMethod Combine, let sit for 10 minutes and serve.Forager-Cook Tips • Why no lemon juice? e sumac provides that ﬂavour.• Why the 10 minutes sit time? e vegetables and the oil hydrate the spice, which brings out the ﬂavours more.• Because it has no greens, which go soft if left for any time, this makes a great prepare-ahead salad. It’s also a great summer picnic salad because it marinates well. • Za’atar is also great on rich meats.Laura Gilmour of Wild Muskoka Botanicals focuses her business on getting healthy nourishment right out of the Muskoka wilderness.

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July 2024 UNIQUE MUSKOKA 63from the traditional Greek salad: her Muskoka Za’atar powder made using staghorn sumac replaces both lemon juice and oregano. It makes for a more subtle and slightly sweeter citrus taste and imparts a slight warm redness to the feta cubes.If you’re worried about harvesting poison sumac by mistake: that nasty plant is in a diﬀerent family entirely, along with poison ivy (not surprisingly their species name starts with Toxicodendron). It has smooth twigs and white-yellow berries that hang down. If the sumac tree you’re looking at has hairy twigs (like a stag’s horns) and rich dark red ﬂower spikes that stand upright, you’re good.You’ve met Liam Cooper in these pages before – last year’s last issue, in fact, for which he created a holiday turkey dinner using sumac. What he’s cooked up exclusively for Cottage Country Cuisine this time is Sumac Brined and Roasted Duck with Raspberry and Sumac Reduction and oh, it’s good.is July the culinarily-precocious son of chef John Cooper of Basilico in Bracebridge turned 16, after presumably having aced the hospitality course he took at Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes Secondary School. “My hospitality teacher just lets me do whatever,” Cooper says. Having learned knife safety from dad while knee-high, he gently aided his Raspberry and Sumac Reduction – Liam CooperIngredients 1 cup staghorn sumac ﬂowers1 cup frozen and thawed raspberries (or fresh)2-3 cups hot water3 Tbsp white sugar¼ tsp ground sage¼ tsp ground ginger1 bay leafMethod • Bring the hot water to a boil, place it with sumac ﬂowers and soak overnight in a closed thermal container.• Put the sumac and water into a pot and bring to a boil.• Add raspberries.• Boil for ﬁve minutes and strain through a ﬁne mesh sieve.• Put liquid back into the pot and add sugar, sage, ginger and bay leaf• Bring to a simmer and cook until thick (20-30 minutes). Remove bay leaf.Sumac Brined and Roasted Duck – Liam CooperIngredients Brine: Enough water to cover the duckAdd 2 Tbsp of salt per litre of water3-4 Tbsp sumac ﬂowers2-3 bay leaves¾ tsp sage 1 tsp whole fennel seedsMethod • Brine the duck for 6 hours with sumac ﬂowers, bay leaves, sage and fennel seeds.• Remove the duck and pat dry, leave uncovered overnight in the fridge.• Remove from fridge and cold smoke the duck for 1½ hours (optional).• Transfer the duck to a 375°F oven and roast on a wire rack with a deep casserole or roasting pan until 165° in the breast for medium (180° for well-done) and 180° in the thigh. Roast 15-20 minutes per pound.• In the last 10-15 minutes, baste the duck with the hot fat.• Serve with raspberry and sumac reduction. Suggested side dishes: broccolini (scalded in hot water) and mashed potatoes (with white pepper, butter and leftover duck fat).• Wine pairing (by John Cooper): A red that’s ﬂoral and not too sweet, such as Chianti.Child Prodigy Cook's Tips• Set up the rack in or on top of the casserole dish or roasting pan so the duck doesn’t end up sitting in fat. at prevents the meat from conﬁt (cooking in fat) – changes the structure of the meat and makes it fall apart. • Lollipop the legs – score the skin just above the end of the drumstick and roll it back – to make it look pretty.Sumac provides a slight lemon avour to Liam Cooper’s Brined and Roasted Duck recipe.

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64 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024classmates. e key trick, which not only keeps your ﬁngers intact but makes you able to cut faster and more accurately: “Keep the ﬂat of the blade on your knuckles.” at means you curl the ﬁngers of the hand that’s holding the food so you can have the ﬂat of the blade touching the knuckles while you cut, keeping the ﬁngertips tucked away safe and in eﬀect controlling the knife with both hands. If you’ve never done it, it feels awkward at ﬁrst but soon you feel how much more control you have.Cooper has worked kitchens professionally and has even had one of his creations on the menu of the Old Station Restaurant in Bracebridge. So, he knows his ingredients, including sumac. In some cases, he says, “You can treat sumac like lemon; I used it in the brine like lemon and used it in the sauce instead of lemon zest.” However, he advises against using it as a direct substitute. “Lemon is a lot stronger.” He does recommend using sumac instead of lemon in tea: “Sumac doesn’t lose its ﬂavour when heated.”How did he ﬁrst learn about this relatively obscure spice? “ere’s a sumac bush behind my elementary school and my friends and I used to eat them,” he shares. “I maybe read about it in a book as well. ey’re not really berries, they’re ﬂowers.” He and Laura Gilmour agree on that. e sumac he used to prepare this dish was harvested from a tree in the forest near Bracebridge.Why brine? Cooper shares his expertise. “Brining makes things a lot juicier and helps the skin crisp. It helps impart ﬂavour. e salt breaks down collagen between meat ﬁbres, making the meat more tender.” He recommends brining game meats for tenderness.How to invent brine recipes? “row it in and hope for the best, it always works out well.” Well, it does for him. Remember, cuisine is in his blood.Why use this particular sauce with duck? Because the nature of duck calls for it. “Sweet and sour cuts the richness,” says Cooper. As well as its natural richness, the meat has added ﬂavour complexity from the brine that the reduction complements deliciously. Another winner from the wunderkind.YOUR GUIDE TO SERVICES AND RESOURCESDIRECTORYJOHNSON LOG HOMERESTORATIONS705-738-7831 jcd.johnson@hotmail.com Staining Chinking Log Repairs Sandblasting Timber Frames Renovation Log Wash Custom BuildsLogHomeRestore.caWE BUILD QUALITY - Roads, Septic Systems, Driveways and Landscaping - On Budget and On Time!Our Business Depends on Your Satisfactiongreenleafexcavation.ca 705-229-9985 greenleafexc@gmail.comYOUR FURNITURE & CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY SPECIALISTS Cal Cur an Paul Toda!705.784.0906muskokauph@gmail.com • MuskokaUpholstery.com

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66 UNIQUE MUSKOKA July 2024What comes to mind when I think of Muskoka? Is it the people or is it the place? Actually, it’s the simple – yet intricate – intertwining of the two.Born in Bracebridge almost 56 years ago, I don’t remember ever feeling unrooted in all those years, even despite having skipped town for many of them. When you grow up here, no matter how far you wander, Muskoka lies deep in the bones. And for people over a certain age, the foundation for this heartstring usually happened when you met your neighbourhood gang. I was no exception. Blessed with a childhood back in the day (I can’t believe I’m using that expression) when kids found their own fun by roaming like a feral pack around the extended block, my crew of four girls would be outside at all hours in the summer. We would dart from lawn to lawn, some days only entering one of our houses to take a bathroom break, to bandage a scrape or to beg a homemade popsicle from an amused adult.Our pre-teen exploits were legendary, in our own minds anyway, and would likely terrify a lot of parents today (myself included).We’d hike or snowshoe into the bush and climb trees to eat our packed lunches. We’d golf around the block, swinging without any precision, completely unconcerned at the prospect of a stray ball landing on a stranger’s lawn or through their windows. We’d head to the railway tracks before scheduled locomotives passed to put pennies down, then wait at a safe distance up the hill to watch them pass, hoping to turn the squished metal into a jewelry empire (Genius but also illegal!).Many nights we slept outside wherever including on top of an old boathouse on Lake Muskoka, where we’d been dropped oﬀ, left to pitch a tent and fend for ourselves. is involved sourcing wood and lighting campﬁres to fry up meals, including ‘gourmet’ spaghetti one night (for which Gang Rules stated we weren’t allowed to use our hands or utensils to eat). Another night at the lake, a storm arose and doused our tent and sleeping bags, forcing us to seek shelter in the boathouse. At some point, our parents all called on the rotary phone to see if we were still alive but none of them were worried enough to come collect us until morning. For certain, after witnessing our escapades over time, they all had faith in their girls’ abilities to watch out for each other.All my years in Muskoka, I’ve seen this intertwining of people and place create the deepest connections over and over again, which form the poignant attachment many of us feel about being here. I still see it in our rural community halls, where neighbours gather to share a potluck meal and socialize for companionship, permanent and seasonal residents alike. I see it in the tourism industry, where young staﬀ form life-long bonds with their colleagues who also work hard and play hard, while providing visitors with unforgettable experiences. And I see it now, most prominently, as our communities rally to ensure healthcare in Muskoka serves every single one of our neighbours, for years to come. Five decades later, our gang of four, which is now lovingly referred to as ‘e Neighbourhood,’ still meets to organize expeditions and to watch out for each other. We have very diﬀerent lives and a couple have moved away. But our hearts were forged together here and they beat with a collective pulse, thanks to this place. ere are such a thing as halcyon days and I am so grateful to have found them in Muskoka.Kate Monk is a regenerative strategist who has worked in the area’s tourism sector for decades. She is a proud Santa’s Village Elf Alumna.Muskoka MomentsArticle by Kate MonkDeep ConnectionsPhotograph: Kate MonkKate Monk and her childhood friends, “The Neighbourhood,” out for a swim and board games at the piano teacher’s cottage “back in the day.”Photograph: Kate Monk

Unique Muskoka Issue 45 - July 2024

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