April 1 at Marsh's Falls. Photo courtesy of Kelly Stronks.
What's Happening
A special year for the Foundation
Marsh's Falls Nature Reserve - spring report
Dr. Cathy Charles Bird Count - May 3
AGM August 16 - Whiskey Bay Community
Thank you to our donors
Be part of the LBHF team
A special year for the Foundation
This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation: forty years of volunteers and donors coming together to value and preserve our heritage.
Our Foundation was the brainchild of Robin Cumine. As 1982-84 Lake of Bays Association President, he called for volunteers to join him in creating a land and cultural conservancy. Combining land with cultural conservancy was and remains a unique feature of LBHF.
The Foundation became a legal entity on October 1, 1985 and gained charitable status in July 1986.
We will have lots to tell about the Foundation’s history in the coming months. We start here by honouring our Founding Directors: Henry Adamson, Edwin Brezina, Robin Cumine, Bill Daniel, Jack Hanna, Douglas McTaggart, Simon Miles, Roy Montgomery, William Paterson, Richard Roberts, Marion White and Chris Yaneff.
Founding director Chris Yaneff, a world renowned Canadian graphic artist, designed the Foundation logo, featuring a heron. It remains our emblem today.
If you have a story or message to share we would be delighted to hear from you. Please email us at info@lakeofbaysheritage.ca
LBHF volunteers Kelly and Rick Stronks checked the Marsh’s Falls property after the spring ice storm. Here’s Kelly’s report – with a surprising discovery.
We headed to Marsh's Falls on Monday April 1 to see if there was any damage due to the ice storm that hit the area on March 30 and 31. Luckily our area was on the fringe of the storm. Although we did receive freezing rain, the extent of accumulation was much less than in areas further south. We were pleased to find minimal damage to the trails, and no trees had come down.
It was a frosty -6° morning. The crust on the snow was hard enough to walk on without snowshoes, and you couldn't even see our footprints. We saw an amazing track left by an otter that went the length of the oxbow (photo above). Even better, when Rick checked the trail camera memory card, we saw that it had captured a video of the otter making that track!
Two LBHF trail cameras, which we monitor regularly, captured some excellent wildlife images throughout the winter. We’ll share the best of these in a future newsletter.
Upcoming in late April is a spring cleanup – volunteers needed! Email us at info@lakeofbaysheritage.ca if you’re interested in participating.
And a reminder: please register whenever you plan a visit to the Marsh’s Falls property.
Canada Warbler photo courtesy of Arni Stinnissen. Graphic design courtesy of Becky Logan.
Birding and nature come together at our Dr. Cathy Charles Bird Count
Join us at the Marsh's Falls Nature Reserve on Saturday May 3, 8:00am to noon. Learn about migratory birds from local naturalists and expert birders Rick and Kelly Stronks as we walk the trails of this beautiful property.
Three generations of the Anderson, Blair, Gibson, McBride, Price, Scott, Truscott and Wadham families celebrating 40 years on Whiskey Bay in 1996.
Annual General Meeting, Saturday August 16 Baysville Autumn Leaves Senior Centre
coffee 10am, meeting 10:30am followed by lunch
Each year a community on Lake of Bays is researched and cultural history documented in a video and booklet. This year the Whiskey Bay Community will be showcased.
Two lakefront subdivisions created the Whiskey Bay Community in the 1940s and 1950s. Remarkably most of the mid-century cottages remain in the ownership of the original families. The longevity of the original owners is also remarkable. Aileen Blair will be 100 on July 24th. Aileen has spent time every summer for the past seventy years at her cottage on Whiskey Bay and will be the Guest of Honour at the AGM.
Thank you to our donors
We have received several donations since our last report in February. We wish to thank our new and renewing members and recognize a significant donation by Andrea and Terry Killackey.
