The Way It Was

Note:  These stories first appeared in the Kahshe Krier

#1 : A different lifestyle! by Ross Roadknight

     I first came to my grandparents’ cottage on Sam Cook Road at the east end of Kahshe when I was 6 months old.  I do not remember anything of that first visit, but one of the most interesting memories of my early years on Kahshe back in the 40’s is getting to know Tom and Annie Fletcher and their son, Bob.  They had a fascinating life-style since they had no money and lived totally off the land:  they fished (mostly catfish), picked berries, had a large vegetable garden, kept chickens and sometimes a cow or a pig, and also hunted.  Sugar and flour were often obtained by trading chickens, eggs or veggies from the garden.

      Their house was a small, two storey building with a woodshed on one end and a “root house” close by where they stored vegetables for the winter.  I am not sure of property lines, but I believe they owned from Owindia west to where Jack Sidley’s (now Wes and Janis Ryan’s) brick house stands.  Tom’s brother, Bill, owned from there to the edge of the Godfrey property including what is now Share-a-Shore.  Tom and Bill used to do chores for cottagers to earn a little money.

   Tom and Annie did not have electricity back then, only oil lamps, but they did have a telephone - a large box that had to be hand-rung with a winder on the side before you spoke into the speaker to tell the operator the number you wanted. Tom and Annie died when I was about 10 years old  (1950 or thereabouts).

Ross Roadknight does not remember his first trip to his grandparents’ cottage on Sam Cook Road at age 6 months,  but has many memories of life on Kahshe in the 50’s and 60’s.

#2: The Air Marshal, by Ross Roadknight

     Across the lake from our cottage was a place owned by the Curtises. 

     Mr Curtis was, in fact, Air Marshal Curtis, the man in charge of the Canadian Air Force.  He was a Canadian legend, having been involved with the Avro Arrow cancellation and many other Canadian military decisions.  
      All we knew about him was that he was often flown in and out of his cottage, usually in an Air Force Otter with floats.  If you have never seen an Otter, they are a large plane (about twice the size of the average float plane).  It can fly very slowly but  sounds as if it is having engine trouble at that speed. 
      On the occasion of the Air Marshal’s 75th birthday, at least four Otters flew in and did a flying show complete with low speed, low altitude runs and smoke pouring out the back.  It was an unexpected and unbelievable sight to see.  
     Two of the planes landed and came up to his dock where the crews saluted and presented him with something before flying off.  To me, this presentation was nothing short of spectaculars and something I will never forget.

#3: Cutting Ice on Kahshe Lake, by Ruth Miller

     We bought our cottage on Birch Island in 1970, from the Gibb family. There are two cottages on the island both at the south end, the Kirkendale and Miller cottages.   And once upon a time there was an ice house at the north end. It had been there since about 1930.

      In this picture, taken in the mid ‘50s, you can see the cutting of ice in winter to keep food cold in the icebox in summer. The ice was cut between Birch Island and Onoway and Boyd Islands.  At the time there were no pine trees on Onoway Island, (we called it Mr. Berry’s Island). Now the island is covered in pine trees because Mr. Berry got seedlings from the government and planted them. But in the picture the island is almost bare. 
     From left to right you can see Molly and Ben, the horses, Judy and Tony Gibb when they were children, Herman Pilger, his son Freddie and two dogs.

     Warren Kirkendale says that as a boy, he would take his little motorboat around to the north end to collect a block of ice buried in sawdust in the ice house.

     The ice house was removed some years after hydro came to the island in 1970.  An old icebox, which we found under our cottage, now serves as a liquor cabinet.

#3: 90+ years on Kahshe by Bill Edwards

Wigwam Lodge

     Now in my 90's, it seems like a great time to re-visit old memories of Kahshe Lake. My parents and sisters and I spent some wonderful times at “the Lake” in the 1920s, 30s,40s and 1950s. 
     In 1958, now with a family of my own, we purchased our cottage on the North Road, not far from Rockhaven Inn. Until that time, we either rented or stayed at what was then Mrs. Kluey's Bayview Hotel, or later Rockhaven after Les Ring purchased it in or around 1951.

     As a young boy, I'd play shuffleboard with my sisters on the grounds at the Inn, or swim at the beautiful beach in front of the Hotel. There were no boats docked there in those days. In fact there were very few boats at all on the lake. 
     Each summer, Mrs. Kluey would ask Howard Hemming (whose parents owned the Ross and Jane Edwards' property, and who would eventually marry my sister Phyllis) and myself (then a young teenager), to mark out the tennis court on the lawn and set up the nets for play. We had great fun playing during the summer at the Inn. 
     In later years, Civic Holiday weekend was always the time for the Regatta in front of the Inn. Swimming and canoe races were popular and later, the greasy pole was an attraction for the brave, as it projected out over the lake off the Government Dock.

      In the 1930s and 1940s, one of my fondest memories is paddling down to Three Mile Lake with my Dad and “old” Mr. Moad. We'd portage through and go bass fishing. Lunch was fresh fish fried over an open fire on the rocks. Idyllic.  
     Summer weekends and evenings often meant paddling down to Sopher's (at the South End) to attend dances with live bands and later at Wigwam Lodge where my sister would have a great time dancing with visiting Airmen during the War.

     Many will remember our main store and meeting place on the North Road, re-built in 1953 by Albert Denne. This became a drop-in spot for many generations and a source of groceries for the wives who spent the summers at the lake.    
     Albert built a meeting room where the Association would convene in later years and dances and parties were enjoyed as well. Unfortunately, Dennes burned to the ground in 1981 and took a lot of history and memories with it.

     Of course, those of us lucky enough to have a car, or who could hitch a ride into Gravenhurst, would never think summer was complete without a visit to Sloan's for blueberry pie. However, most of us would just visit our favourite blueberry patch on the lake and pick baskets full of blueberries. I don't think many do that any more – but the blueberries are still there. 
     Cranberries were also acquired for Thanksgiving dinner by picking in the swampy areas in the kettles – again not something many do anymore.

     Our times at Kahshe were special times for our family. Our stomping grounds were mostly at the North and South ends of the lake, but often we'd make the long trip to Housey's by canoe, only to be challenged by the prevailing west wind on the way home again. 
     No part of the lake was unexplored in those days and we spent hours hiking, picnicking, berry picking and canoeing. You'll still find me enjoying the view from Hilda Island each summer or visiting one of my children who now own properties on the lake. 
     It is gratifying to see my grandchildren and great grandchildren growing up on the lake as well, making their own memories. My father would have been amazed to know that his great great grandchilden are still making the trip North to Kahshe. However, their drive certainly doesn't take as long as ours did back in the 1920s and 1930s!

Submitted by Bill Edwards,  Hilda Island (main channel- one of the Twin Islands)