First ever Maple Weekend coming to Central Frontenac

As of early this week, and the forecast for this weekend into early next week indicates nothing will change too much in the very near future, the sap has been slow to come from the maples in Frontenac and Lanark County.

However, George Conboy, whose family has been making syrup for generations at their farm on the Bell Line Road north of Sharbot Lake, said that a few mild days and nights and perhaps a bit of rainy weather will soon change that.

“As the tree roots start thawing out, the sap will start running and I am guessing that come Easter weekend we should be in full production.”

The timing of the run might be late in comparison to recent years when a late February - early March season has become common, but it will be ideal for a new initiative that is coming to Central Frontenac and Lanark Highlands.

Local maple producers will be opening up their farms to maple syrup enthusiasts and consumers on Easter weekend for the first time ever Maple Weekend event.

The free event is similar to a typical back road studio tour and its goal is to celebrate, educate and share the bounty of one of nature's sweetest and most delicious treats. Locals and visitors to the area are invited to experience first hand the art of maple syrup production.

The idea for the Maple Weekend was inspired by a similar event that has been taking place in New York State for a number of years, and which has proved to be very successful. The event is being put on by the Lanark and District Maple Syrup Producers Association with support from the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association, Valley Heartland CFDC, and the Lanark County Tourist Association

Maple Weekend will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5 from 10AM- 4PM and will include tours at 17 different locations in Lanark, Frontenac, Leeds and Grenville and the City of Ottawa.

Both George and Darlene Conboy, 2559 Bell Line Road, and Mel and Joyce Conboy, 2379 Bell Line Road, Sharbot Lake, will be giving educational tours of their facilities, which have state of the art machinery. They will show visitors how maple syrup production has changed drastically in the last few decades. Visitors will be able to experience the entire process from start to finish as well as taste free samples of the finished products.

Similarly, three producers located in McDonalds Corners: Heritage Maple Products (623 Dalhousie Concession 9A), Hali and Andrew Mackey's Sugarbush (255 Ferguson Side Road) and Wheelers Pancake House and Sugar Camp (1001 Highland Line) will also be welcoming visitors and giving tours and free samples of their products.

At Wheelers, visitors will also be able to explore their Maple Heritage Museum, which holds the Guinness World Record of having the world's largest collection of maple-related artifacts. Other related activities on the tours, depending on the location, will include horse-sleigh wagon rides, taffy-on-snow, trail hikes, and free samples of maple syrup and other related products and confections. As to be expected, the participants will also have a wide variety of syrup and other maple products for sale.

For those who have not yet toured the operations of some of these syrup-producing facilities, there is much to see and learn, and Easter weekend will the perfect opportunity for families and their visitors to tour the local back roads and learn about maple syrup making in the 21st century. Since farms tend to be muddy in the spring time, visitors are advised that boots are the recommended foot wear. For more information about Maple Weekend and for a detailed list and map of all of the participating producers, visit www.mapleweekend.ca  

Judging by the enthusiastic welcome The Once, a folk trio based out of St. John's, Newfoundland, received at their sold out show at The Crossing Pub in Sharbot Lake on March 16- it's no wonder that band member Andrew Dale quipped to the crowd, “You guys are our home away from home.“ The trio returned to the Crossing Pub at the Sharbot Lake Country Inn, one stop of many in their cross-Canada and European 2015 world tour.

The evening opened with a short and lively set by Swedish-born, singer songwriter Sarah MacDougall, who is now based in Whitehorse and is joining the trio on their cross-Canada tour. MacDougall accompanied herself on guitar. She has two CDs to her credit to date, "The Greatest Ones Alive" (2011) and her latest titled "Grand Canyon". Many of the songs on the latter were inspired by her new surrounding in the Yukon. Tunes like “The Story of Pippi and Lion Heart” and “It's A Storm - What's Going On” demonstrate her brave desire to write from a very personal place and her pitch perfect delivery and spot on rhythm guitar prove she is a vibrant and dramatic talent.

Following Sarah's set, The Once took to the stage and were greeted like old friends back for a long awaited visit. The trio is comprised of Phil Churchill on guitar/back ups, Andrew Dale on mandolin/bouzouki/back ups and Geraldine Hollett on lead vocals/percussion. They opened appropriately with an a capella tune “Coming Back To You”, which showcased their impressive harmonies that are a huge part of why this trio has gained such world wide recognition.

Geraldine Hollett leads the trio and her exceptional voice can do anything and everything. She is a bright light - a soulful, charming and barefoot singer who has been compared to the likes of Allison Krauss, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and other famed songbirds. Hollett possesses a down home truthfulness and compassion that in no way diminishes her effervescent joie de vie. She has no fear about going for broke on songs like their second of the night titled “The Town Where You lived”, a tune written by Churchill about his father, who died over a decade ago, and whom he described as “truly the most amazing man that I have ever met.”

Hollett demonstrated how she can sing sweet and soft then turn effortlessly on a dime and come on as strong as a tidal wave. The song kicked up the energy in the room instantly and demonstrated the band's rich and lively sound.

Their latest CD is titled "Departures". It is their first with Nettwerk Records and is a collection of originals (their most to date) as well as covers. While their original material covers a lot of ground from Dale's heart-felt love song “You Lead I Will Follow” and "Birthday Song for Fred", the trio are also master interpreters of old time classics. Their version of “Can't Help Falling In Love” was goosebump inducing. They also played a number of their favorite east coast traditionals like “Jack the Sailor” and the Newfoundland drinking song "A Round Again", which got the crowd pumped up. You can be sure if there had been space to dance, moves would have been busted.

They played for close to an a hour and half straight and as always they peppered their set with lots of lively and entertaining banter. Geraldine spoke of how the band came to the attention of famed crooner Passenger and were invited by him personally to tour with him internationally. They completed a 17-month world tour where they played 75 shows in 19 different countries. Now they are back home and their adopted family in Sharbot Lake no doubt will be waiting with bated breath for their next visit. For more information visit www.theonce.ca

by Martina Field

The Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra has a lot to be excited about these days. The entire orchestra is going on a trip out to PEI this July.

The purpose of the trip is to learn new fiddling techniques and to immerse ourselves in the culture of PEI, as well as to share music from our area. The group hopes to perform at the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival and to participate in workshops of fiddle, guitar, song and step-dance.

We've been fund-raising for this trip for almost a year because even though some of us can afford to pay for the cost of the trip, others cannot. And we want all of us to have the opportunity to go on this musical adventure. So we are launching a kickstarter campaign, our biggest fundraising project ever, on March 21st, at a show of local music at the Crossing Pub in Sharbot Lake. We are very happy that three bands will be donating their time to play.

Sympathy Ghost will open the night with their own brand of original Americana-style music. They are Dan Keeler and Kate Turner from Arden. They write songs about love, loss and life, channeling the melancholy of Appalachian folk and are currently working on their first full length album.

Next up is Trxtrmusic who are Jerrard and Diana Smith, newish immigrants to Tay Valley Township from Guelph via Peterborough. Diana and Jerrard play a good mix of rootsy country tunes, some blues, a bit of reggae and even a standard or two. Jerrard plays guitar, mandolin and viola and Diana accompanies with beautiful vocal harmonies.

The popular hometown band, The Feral Five, will play last with a wide variety of mostly rock'n' roll tunes that range from the 1950s to present day. They are sure to get your toes tapping, if they don't get you right up onto the dance floor. The Feral Five include Jim MacPherson, Terry Reynolds and Dennis Larocque on guitar, Gary Giller on bass and Dave Limber on drums.

The music starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $20, available from Kate Turner 613-305-4385 and Karin Reynolds (613) 279-2114 or contact any orchestra member. The Sharbot Lake Country Inn and The Crossing will have a limited menu available for dinner before the show. Please call them at (613) 279-2198 for information and to reserve.

We've also made a cookbook with recipes from orchestra members, which will be available on the night of the show, or at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy, The Frontenac News, and Homing Instinct in Perth. They cost $15.

Please watch for the campaign launch on kickstarter.com/canada on March 21 and help us to circulate the project until April 30.

Shirley was born and raised in Sharbot Lake, and although her family moved to Perth when she was nine, in 1935, it was her first school principal at Sharbot Lake Public School who introduced her to naturalist pursuits.

“He took us outside and introduced all sorts of vegetation and birds, showed us Blue Herons. It certainly caught my attention,” she said,

Shirley always returned to Sharbot Lake on weekends to visit her grandmother. In 1988, she had a small house built on the lake, on a lot in the village that was still in her family, to serve as her winter home.

It was difficult to talk to Shirley on Tuesday, because the phone kept ringing as friends from all over were calling to congratulate her as news of her appointment to the Order circulated around the province.

“I’ve known for three weeks, but I wasn’t to tell anyone except for family until it was officially announced,” she said, but since Shirley is not exactly prone to self-promotion it is likely she wouldn’t have told anyone about it at all if it hadn’t already been publicized.

After being raised in eastern Ontario, Shirley said, “I wanted to know what it was like to live in different parts of the province.” That led her and her husband, who was a teacher, to move to Kenora. In 1956 a road was built joining Quetico with the rest of Ontario, and it wasn’t long after that that Shirley made her first trip to the park.

Fifty-four years later, her story has become synonymous with that of Quetico Park. Marie Nelson, who has worked as a ranger in the park with her husband Jon, is the person who put the application for the Order of Ontario togethe

Shirley Peruniak was born at Sharbot Lake in 1926, and she can trace her family roots back at least two generations further to a grandfather who lived south of the village near the Tryon Road. She attended Sharbot Lake Public School until she reached grade 7. Her father, who worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, was then transferred to Perth to work in the office of CPR Express, a postal mail and parcel service. Although Shirley did not live full time in Sharbot Lake for over 50 years (1935 until 1988) she always came back to visit her grandparents and other relatives for Christmas and summer holidays. They

who owned a number of cottages on the lake, and rented some out during the summer tourist season.

Shirley, whose maiden name was Walroth, has always been a history buff, and attended Queen's on a sholarship to study history. She lived with her husband in Kenora for many years where they were teachers, adn where she formed an association with Quetico Park in northwestern Ontario (Onear Dryden). In 2010 was honoured by being named to the Order of Ontario for her work as a historian and naturalist in the Park.

When she returned to Sharbot Lake in 1988 after her husband had died, she torn down one of the two remaining cottages that she owned herself byt that time and had a small house built on the lake, on Walroth Lane (her maiden name was Walroth)

She quickly established herself as a historian in Sharbot Lake at that time, working with then librarian Michael Dawber (who late wrote a book about he history of Central Frontenac called Back of Sunset) she founded the Oso Historical Society.

In the early years of the society, descendants of some of the long standing families in the township spoke at public events that were organised for that purpose, and although much of the energy of those years has slipped away, Shirley has kept an archive of material, with files about each family kept neatly in alphabetic order at her home, and in a series of file cabinets that are housed at the Sharbot Lake Branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library.

Her own memories of life in Sharbot Lake in the 1920's and 30's are consistent with other accounts, and the material she has gathered about life in the preceding 50 years are consistent with other sources, including the chapter on Oso township in County of 1000 Lakes, which was written by Peggy Cohoe, Evelyn Johnson, and Doris and R.D. Ayers.

“I know that farming was particularly difficult all through those years,” she said.

Based on census data and accounts or people such as Thomas Gibbs, the surveyer who completed a Survey in 1860, County of 1000 lakes says that the entire population of the township was 138 in 1860, but that number rose steadily over the next 40 years. By 1900, 60% of the land in Oso was listed as agricultural, but even then the life blood of the town was the railway, since the CPR and K&P rail lines crossed at Sharbot Lake. In 1900 there were five lumber mills in the vicinity of the village, employing 150 people, and an apatite mine employed 40 more. All of this was based on the ability to ship product to markets in all directions.

Over the next 20 years most of the mills closed, a discovery of large quantities of apetite (which was used int the fertiliser industry) in Florida led to the mine being shut done, the population dropped by 25% and farming became less and less popular.

By 1911 there were 160 farms in Oso, and by 1961 there were 31, which is still a lot more than there are today.

Shirley Peruniak remembers the railway as central to the town in the 1920's.

“The K&P would come in first, and it would wait for the CPR to arrive. People and goods were transferred, and the trains would be on their way,” she recalls.

One of Shirley's regrets is that in those years she took many trips on the K&P to Kingston, even when she was only a summer visitor to Sharbot Lake, but never took the train north the Snow road, or Flower Station, or to where it ended, at Calabogie.

by Mary de Bassecourt, SLFM Market Manager

Eager and enthusiastic farmers attended the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market farm vendor information session Wednesday evening, February 25, at the St. Lawrence College Employment Centre in Sharbot Lake. Current SLFM vendors Tom Waller of Elm Tree Farm, Janet Ducharme of Johnston Lake Organic’s Farm & Market, Pat Furlong of Elphin Gold Organics, and Peter de Bassecourt came out to field questions and chat with the participants, and maybe for the first time this winter we experienced the novel sensation of being too warm due to the number of people in the room! With new vendors coming on board for the 2015 market season, SLFM expects to be able to offer more produce and new products such as shitake and oyster mushrooms, living foods, microgreens, worms and castings, more grassfed beef, pastured pork, wild edibles, soaps with home-grown herbs, etc. Almost all of your favourite vendors from previous years will be returning. We hope to also add some new artisans to the mix.

Many thanks to Lesley Picard of the St. Lawrence College Employment Centre in Sharbot Lake for letting us use their board room for the information session. The Sharbot Lake Farmers Market will open on Victoria Day Weekend, May 16, from 9 am – 1 pm. www.facebook.com/sharbotlakefarmersmarket

by Pat Fisher

It's a musical. It has a big cast - actors of all ages. It will be staged the first two weekends in May at Granite Ridge Education Centre. It's The Music Man.

The Music Man was written by musician Meredith Wilson and his friend Franklin Lacey. It was rejected a few times before it was staged. They wrote 44 songs for the show but streamlined it to 18 of the best. From December 1957 to April 1961 it played on Broadway (1,375 shows) and was adapted for film in 1962, staring Robert Preston and again in 2003, staring Matthew Broderick. Theatre companies everywhere have performed The Music Man, including our own North Frontenac Little Theatre in 1981. A peek at the NFLT website will show you the programme and all those of our community who were involved in that production.

People love the music and although the story is old-fashioned (a con man is at work in a small town but love prevails), it has a charm that warms our hearts. Much more about this show will be written in the months to come. Mark your calendars for May performances. Get ready to enjoy an energetic show and the tune "Seventy Six Trombones". Visit www.nflt.ca

For those adverse to the idea of plunging into an icy Sharbot Lake in February, reversing the old adage of “better late than never” to “better never than late” might fit the bill more. But that was not the case for the 32 Polar Bear plungers who leapt from the docks of the Sharbot Lake Marina on February 22 into the frigid waters below at the Frontenac Heritage Festival's fifth annual Polar Bear Plunge.

The Plunge was originally scheduled for February 15 but had to be rescheduled due to bitterly cold weather that day.

Paddy O'Connor and Janet Gutowski emceed the event and announced the winners in a number of categories. Head Polar Bear Mark Montagano, who heads up the Plunge, raised the most funds ($1300) and Liberal party candidate for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, Philippe Archambault and his wife Melanie, who were dressed to the nines in the Liberal party colours, together raised $1020. Art Holloway raised $870 and by the end of the day a total of $8,000 was raised.

The proceeds from the event will fund numerous local causes, which include programs at the Child Care Centre, the school council at Granite Ridge and the Alzheimer's Society.

This year’s Plunge brings the total raised by the event over five years to close to $40,000.

Other plungers recognized this year included hula dancer Linda Harding-DeVries, who won for best costume. The youngest plunger was 11-year-old Osten Gibson who joined his dad Darren, and the oldest plunger was Karen Burke.

The event continues to attract more and more plungers every year and Mark Montagano made mention of the many key players whose efforts allow the event to take place. They include Bill Young and his team of fire fighters and paramedics; Richard, Gill and Dawn of the Sharbot Lake Marina; staff of Central Frontenac Township; Cox Bus Lines and of course the many brave plungers and their enthusiastic supporters.

As usual, the Sharbot Lake Snow Drags, which took place at Oso Beach on Saturday February 14, attracted winter speed demons of all ages. The annual event, now in its fifth year, was resurrected in 2011 after a long hiatus by an enthusiastic group of young participants in the YAK program.

Official snow machine races are few and far between in Ontario, and so the Sharbot Lake Snow Drags continue to attract hundreds of riders from all over Ontario, Quebec and New York state. This year the event attracted 125 registered machines, 10 more than last year and more than that number of racers, proving that it continues to grow in popularity.

There were participants from Vals-des-Monts and Saint Jolie, Québec as well as American riders from Hogansbury and Ogdensburg, New York. In addition to the regular races, a few new classes were added to the lineup, including an improved stock trail class and a King of the Trail open class.

This year Rob and Jen Day of Kingston put on the BBQ lunch to feed the hungry riders and announcer Robin Flaro did a stellar job announcing the races. Youngsters were awarded their trophies right after their races and the other awards and prizes were handed out at a special awards ceremony at Oso hall once when the races wrapped up in the early afternoon.

The event is put on by the Oso Recreation of Central Frontenac with the help of a number of dedicated community volunteers. Key volunteers include Scott and Mitch Cox and their crew, who prepare the snow tracks. Mitch Cox said that the work for him and his crew this year was considerably lessened when professional groomers from the Snow Road Snow Mobile Club offered to groom the snow track. Previously, it had to be packed down by countless volunteer riders prior to race day. Spencer Robinson and his crew took charge of preparing the ice track.

This year, conditions were perfect for the races and Mitch Cox said that riders, observers and volunteers really lucked out on race day because the weather was considerably warmer than the biting temperatures on Friday and Sunday.

The races also give young riders a chance to show their skills. Seven-year-old Kaylee Mustard of Westport, who has been sledding for just over two years, raced for her very first time and it was a happy day for her when she took home a trophy after placing first in the Kitty Kat half track class. Hats off to all of the organizers and the countless dedicated volunteers who together put on another safe, smooth and seamless event that keeps sledders coming back year after year.

So just who was that tall, lean, fur-cloaked man who toured Sharbot Lake village, speaking with a Scottish lilt and sparking off this year’s Frontenac Heritage Festival?

He was no one-time, off-the-cuff impersonator. Paul Dyck, who played our famed Scottish first prime minister, Sir. John A. MacDonald, hails from St. Catharines, Ontario. He studied drama at Queens University and recently graduated in 2013. For the last four years he has been working as an actor for the SALON Theatre in Kingston, a company that focuses on the history of Kingston and specifically on Sir John A. MacDonald. Most recently the company has been working on a project called Sir John A . 2015, which gives an account of the life and times of Canada's first prime minister. The company offers up costumed walking tours of Kingston in the summer months and performs in a touring road and rail show for students across Canada. Dyck's height and practiced delivery make him the perfect doppelganger for Sir John A.

When I caught up with him as he toured Sharbot Lake prior to the festival's opening on Friday night, Dyck said that he has been playing MacDonald regularly for the last year and that he thoroughly enjoys the role. “You get to play a politician without actually having to be one”, he said. “I can be jovial and charming and offer up a bit of comedy and a bit of wit, which is always lot of fun”, he said as he posed with the staff at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy.

As far as the challenges go, Dyck said the difficulties in playing the famed Scot come with MacDonald's “complicated legacy” and the fact that he was such a complex and often polarizing figure. “He had a lot of both positives and negatives associated with his legacy and though the negatives don't often come up, I am totally prepared to deal with them when they do.“

Part of his responsibility in playing the role is knowing both sides of the story and Dyck, who is well read and a Canadian history buff, said he knows his facts and feels confident to be able to respond to any issues that do come up. Some of the more negative aspects of Sir John A.'s legacy, which Dyck cited, include MacDonald's attitude and treatment of Canada's indigenous people and the Chinese migrant workers, and of course MacDonald's well known tendency to overindulge in drink.

But Dyck was also quick to point out that he was also responsible for uniting the country, building the Canadian Pacific Railway, which Dyck cited as “the impossible dream” and “one of the single largest achievements the world has ever seen”, as well as launching the RCMP and the Canadian Coastguard.

Dyck said that the policy at the SALON Theatre is to always play historic roles “with warts and all.” “Our goal is to always bring awareness to both the positives and negatives of these historic persons and we always try to avoid being one-sided”.

Dyck was presented with a print of Sharbot Lake's mural of Sir John A.’s funeral train following the festival’s opening ceremonies and he also performed a couple of songs in the opening night talent show that followed. His appearance definitely made this year’s festival a memorable one.

Highlights included the opening Friday night talent show, which took place for the first time at the cafetorium at Granite Ridge Education Centre. A large crowd of music lovers gathered for an eclectic line up that covered a wide expanse of musical ground and included many first time performances. The Arden duo known as Sympathy Ghost, comprised of Dan Keeler and Kate Turner, gave a heartfelt performance that included one original they co-wrote and which they performed for the first time.

Rob Moore, who emceed the event, kept the ball rolling and sang an original comedic ditty about his home town of Sharbot Lake, titled “One Cold Town”, the lyrics paying respect to its local folk and businesses. The local Sharbot Lake line dancers glided their way through a number of country and pop favorites, and Brian Robertson, accompanied by brother Sid and their good friend Fred also performed a number of locally inspired originals written by Robertson, which highlighted the unique rural landscapes and communities of Maberly and Mountain Grove.

The show-stopping sibling duo of Natalie and Lucas Reynolds charmed listeners with their highly polished and mainly Celtic-inspired repertoire. These two young musicians amazed listeners at the talent show last year and this year they were even better. Mike Procter played the town clown and did an impressive set of stand up comedy. Nancy and the Plaids closed out the show with an energetic set that left the crowd wanting more.

On Saturday it was the area’s pioneer traditions that were front and center at Dr. Bell's magical pioneer log home. A horse-drawn wagon brought visitors to and from the house courtesy of Bill Lee and his gorgeous equine team. There were quilting and spinning demos courtesy of Jean Clair and Beth Abbott, and local musician Gordon Wright alternately played on the bagpipes and banjo. Dr. Peter Bell and his crew of traditionally dressed pioneers offered up warm cider and Scottish oatmeal biscuits to their guests, and Dr. Bell, who can speak at length about the house, its construction and every single artifact that graces it, was on hand to answer questions.

For those who have yet to visit it, Dr Bell’s log house is alone worth the trip to the festival. It has the ability to transport visitors back in time to what living a pioneer life might have been like and is so inviting it makes one want to move right in.