Rochester Club at Bobs Lake

Kelli McRobert | Mar 09, 2022

In 1928, the journey from Rochester, New York to Bobs Lake, Ontario was one that would start with a ferry ride across the lake. Once travellers reached land, they would take the train Kingston and travel north to Parham. Upon arrival in Parham, weary, and starting to feel the fatigue of their multi day journey they would load their personal belongings into a horse drawn buggy and continue their voyage until arriving at their destination on Bobs Lake, exhausted but feeling relieved as they embraced the solitude and beauty of the lakeside property

Because of the length of the journey the families would stay for extended periods of time to truly unwind, relax, and recharge on the 1000’ of shoreline, before the trip home again.

When one speaks of the Rochester Club, you must do a little digging and go back to one central family that were regular visitors to a holiday home on a secluded parcel of land in Tichborne, Ontario. The American family was the Neisners whose claim to fame was the establishment of a popular ‘five and dime’ store chain in Rochester, New York in 1911. Reports show that there were 192 outlets in 21 different states by 1967.

The brothers Abraham and Joseph had a vision and built their empire one store at a time. They also wanted to find a place to holiday in Canada and settled on a well-built cabin in the woods, one that could easily accommodate family gatherings with a main building, boat house that could hold 20 small boats, and a Bunkie that could sleep 18.

It became a regular destination for the family and their friends and was named Camp Melvin after their only son. Locals like Edna McGregor were employed to cook and clean, and the annual pilgrimage provided economic income for those in the surrounding area.

By the 1930s, Abraham and Joseph sold ownership shares to a group of men that were their social acquaintances from the golf course. The group, who came from Rochester, decided to rename the camp to the Rochester Club, where members could come and spend time with their own families and enjoy group gatherings throughout the seasons.

The location was well known for fishing and boating, and old photos clearly depict a camp-like feel with familial groupings drinking beer and sunning lakeside or relaxing on the dock while reeling in fresh fish to serve up later that evening, on large serving platters.

It was now 1933, and Abraham attended a retail convention in Chicago and then travelled by boat to the UK where they had had a large interest in British Home Stores that were sold off in 1929. During his trip back on the SS Rex, he passed away on December 8th, unexpectedly from Legionnaire’s disease that he had contracted during the visit to the Chicago.

Their son Melvin, a 19-year-old college student at the time, arrived to pick up his father in New York and was sadly met with his corpse. Saddened, with an innate feeling of responsibility, he dropped out of school and worked closely with his uncle Joseph to manage the US chains. The company prospered through the Depression and boasted 103 stores throughout the US. Family continued to work within the company with Melvin as company President and Joseph’s son, Fred, becoming Chairman of the Board.

By 1968, the Neisner chain reported sales of $100 million and included a Big N division, a popular big box store that relied on a merchandising policy of “lower profit margins and large volume sales”. Throughout the ups and downs of retail sales, the Rochester Club continued to welcome members and their descendants passing down their memberships to future generations for more than 70 years.

By 1977, the Neisners petitioned for bankruptcy protection and were bought out by the Ames Department store in November 1978, ending the Neisner & Big N brand.

The ‘Club’ continued to be visited up until 2008 until Melvin’s wife, who was in her 90s and blind, decided it was time to pass the camp onto another family for them to create new memories and perhaps preserve the rich history of her family’s stewardship of the land.

The same year, the Telford’s (Kim & Jeff) heard about the location going up for sale. They had been visiting the area for many years and would come to recharge from their hectic lives in Whitby, Ontario. When they saw the camp, they knew it was a project they would enjoy tackling and the plan was to restore the property to its original beauty. Once they took possession of it, they reviewed photos and drawings that were nostalgic and detailed and got right to work.

As I spoke with Jeff, he noted that “BC fir was brought in for the varied 6” and 2” flooring and the camp was sagging a bit, so we used jacks to bring it back up to level”.

He mentioned that “a fieldstone fireplace was laid by a local mason, Dennis Larocque” [who is now a realtor], and Kim stated that “the paint was refreshed with a slight change to the exterior trim where green was replaced with black” for a modernized contrast of colour. Each restoration bringing the buildings one step closer to their original charm.

Since then, the family has continued to pick away at the various projects including updating the heating and finishing off the 18-person bunk house where they can host guests in comfort and style. The Icehouse, where chunks of ice were once cut with care and used to prevent food from spoiling, has also been updated and is used as a wet sauna, a lovely lakeside luxury.

As with the Neisners, the Telford’s were making the lengthy trek to Tichborne to enjoy this lakeside retreat, and as with many of us, the pandemic gave them pause and the time to reflect on where they wanted to ‘hang their hat’.

It was decided in May 2021, after the lengthy lockdown, that they would sell their home to the west, and make this location their permanent homestead. They remain steadfast in the restoration of this historic beauty. Even though Camp Melvin and the Rochester Club are now a thing of the past, their rich history will continue through stories of days gone by as told by the Telford’s and the restored beauty of this historic club.