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Queen Elizabeth celebrates the jubilee
of her reign
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by Michael Erskine
MANITOULIN---Queen Victoria was the last
British monarch to celebrate a jubilee, a 50-year milestone
which Queen Elizabeth marks this year. Some Island residents
remember the ascension of the enchanting young princess to the
throne after the death of her popular father, war-time king
George VII. "I remember I was in school at the time," said Manitoulin
Publishing owner Rick McCutcheon. "I had overheard something
my father had said, and I repeated it loudly when the teacher
asked for discussion on current events. 'The king is dead, long
live the king!' I shouted out," laughed Mr. McCutcheon. "I am
sure the teacher was not very amused with me." "I was going
to school in Toronto at the time," said Island historian Sandy
McGillivray. "It was a mild day, I remember. Most people were
talking about the death of the king. He was very popular and
it came as quite a shock to me that he was dead. I guess most
of the older people knew he had lung cancer, but I didn't know."
The news came as less of a shock to a very young Hugh Moggy.
"I don't remember much about the king dying. It wasn't too much
of a shock, I really thought he was very old at the time," he
laughed. The impact of the royal passing was felt throughout
Europe as well, although with more mixed opinion than staunchly
loyal Upper Canada. "I remember mourning music on the radio,"
said Alex Musquetier, of Providence Bay, who was a 10 year-old
student in the Netherlands when King George died. "The music
was sombre for weeks after his death. There was no television
really then. By the time Queen Elizabeth was crowned, the ceremony
was televised. I remember the reception was not very good. Not
very many people had TVs yet, but the people who were selling
them put them in the shop windows and we watched it there."
The advent of the jet age had its impact throughout the waning
British Empire, as Canberra jets streamed forth from the island
kingdom with film footage of the event. "They flew the film
canisters over from England," said Mr. McGillivray. "Six hours
later they were broadcasting the ceremony in Canada. Television
was a very new thing at the time." One of the vivid memories
of the time for Mr. Moggy was that a couple, cousins of his
mother, travelled all the way to England for the coronation.
"I thought that was really something," he said. "Going all the
way across the ocean." Tini Pel, of Gore Bay, was also a young
child in the Netherlands when Queen Elizabeth ascended to the
throne. "It was all very remote to us," she said. "The Royal
family was another world. Of course we lived in Holland then,
but we also had a Queen." Perry Anglin, of Mindemoya, has vivid
memories of the coronation. "We all kept scrapbooks in those
days, and we cut out everything that had to do with the coronation,"
he said. "We would cut out the orb and scepter and write in
what they represented." Every student in Canada received a specially
minted commemorative medal for the coronation, although many
people had trouble holding onto the memento. "I lost mine when
my mother had a break-in a number of years later," said Mr.
McCutcheon. "It was stolen along with my collection of Newfoundland
coins, we used to get a lot of those in our change in those
days." Coin collector Rolly Racicot, of Little Current, didn't
even hold onto his long enough to be put away in a dresser drawer.
"My mother was very upset with me," he laughed. "I remember
I traded mine away for a blue penknife. I guess the knife held
more attraction for me. I came home and my mom asked where the
coin was, and here I was waving this little blue penknife around.
She was mortified." In the traditional fate of most things from
Grade 1, Mr. Racicot no longer has the penknife either. "I lost
it somewhere along the line," he chuckled. Queen Elizabeth had
visited Canada shortly before her ascension to the throne, causing
a sensation wherever she went. The young princess toured much
of the country, even descending to the depths of Frood Mine
in Sudbury, an event still commemorated by a faded photograph
at the mine site. "I was working in downtown Toronto at the
time," said Mr. McGillivray, "and I remember the crowds were
so large that it took me three or four hours before I could
get to where I had to go. I remember being somewhat annoyed
by that," he laughed. The impact of the monarchy and Canadian
attitudes have changed greatly over the years. "We were much
more Anglo-Saxon in those days," said Mr. McGillivray. "I remember
a CBC journalist made some comment about the monarchy being
irrelevant during the 1960s and it caused quite a furor, nowadays
everybody seems to be saying it, and there isn't a murmur."
"You have to remember it was a different world then, we had
movie stars, but the TV era had not yet really begun," said
Mr. Anglin. "Movie stars were big, but royalty, royalty was
magical. It was very uncommon to see even movie stars in a natural
setting. They were either on the screen or in a posed picture,
royalty was even greater than movie stars, more uncommon and
remote. They fired the imagination of adults and children alike.
We were not as complacent and perhaps less cynical then. Now
royalty are just another celebrity." Aimee Anglin, of Mindemoya,
was a young woman in Montreal at the time. "I remember we got
up, it was either very early or very late, and we watched it
on the television. I was very intrigued by what happened, the
bishop, it must have been the arch-bishop of Canterbury went
behind a screen with her, I remember wondering what he was doing
behind there with her," she said. "But when they came out from
behind the screen, she was Queen." Mr. Moggy said that while
he feels the monarchy still serves a purpose, albeit as a symbol
of our national heritage and history, his wife and he do not
see eye to eye on the matter. Ms. Pel also said she had reservations
about the monarchy. "The whole thing, Diana and everything,
it was so sad in a way," said Ms. Pel. "But so much is being
spent in that area (the royal family), with so many people with
no water and no food. Royalty, it is very far from us." Despite
the remoteness of the Royal family, they still make the front-pages
of the nation's newspapers on a regular basis. Sadly, this week
it was the death of 72 year-old princess Margaret, the Queen's
sister which made the headlines, a sad and leveling event with
which any of her subjects can relate.
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Warm
weather threatens economy
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by Michael Erskine
MANITOULIN ISLAND---Unless you have just
bought a trail permit and a brand new sled or are an avid sports
enthusiast, it's hard to get very worked up over the decidedly
odd streak of warm winter weather we experienced though January
and the first week of February, but behind the balmy weather
lies a plethora of dire predictions. While record high temperatures
and low precipitation rates have resulted in people walking
around in shirtsleeves and sandals in mid-January, a situation
normally reserved for those lucky souls living in British Columbia,
the low precipitation, combined with the record high average
temperatures, has lowered predictions of Great Lakes water levels,
which were already running at 30-year lows for the Michigan-Huron
system. These low water levels will have an impact on commercial
shipping, as loads will again have to be lightened to accommodate
the lower water levels. But, as the actual water level will
still be hovering around chart datum (historic averages), the
smaller recreational boater should still be able to trust to
their charts. "Chart datum does not mean low water levels,"
said Curly Everritt, chair of the Georgian Bay Marine Association.
"It is important that we get that message across to boaters
so they will not stay away through a false impression about
water levels." The North Channel has yet to freeze over solidly,
and it looks less likely to with each passing day. "The old
people are saying it isn't going to," said Matthew Mahdahbee
of Sucker Creek, who views the channel daily at his job with
Wabuno Fish Farms. "The elders say the channel is going to stay
open this year, and I believe them." As a country well used
to brutal winter weather, Canada has adapted its economy and
agricultural practices to a, until now, dependable cycle. The
unseasonably warm temperatures currently being experienced across
much of the North is apparently linked to the Pacific Ocean
phenomena known as El Nino. Warm air mass pressure in the mid-Pacific
has adjusted the high atmosphere jet stream flowing over Canada,
trapping a southern warm air mass over the country. The frigid
air is still here, as people in Canada's far North can readily
attest, but it has not made its normal southward winter pilgrimage.
The danger presented by the effects of El Nino can be quickly
illustrated by the billions of dollars lost in damage associated
with the massive ice storm which struck eastern Ontario and
Quebec in 1998, when 90 mm of rain fell for six consecutive
days to bury the eastern half of the country in a thick sheet
of ice. Power lines fell in huge swathes, shutting off power
to some areas for weeks. More mundane losses include the mere
tens of millions of dollars associated with the poor harvest
in the ice wine industry. Closer to home, a lack of snow cover
can devastate many crops which depend on the insulating effects
of winter's white blanket to protect them from killing frosts.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs representative,
Brian Bell, noted some of the effects which have already been
seen locally. "Winter kill, particularly with alfalfa can definitely
be a problem," said Mr. Bell. "Frost heaves can lift the crown
out from under the protecting snow cover, and exposed, they
unfortunately die. Trefoil is more tolerant than that." Alfalfa
is an important silage crop for livestock farmers. Also susceptible
to the wacky weather is winter wheat and other grain crops planted
late in the fall for an early start in spring. "It is particularly
important to keep an eye on potassium levels," said Mr. Bell.
The effects of soft ground can make for generally unpleasant
working conditions. "The ground is not frozen, so cattle are
mucking up the dry areas and tractors get pretty mucked up as
well," said Mr. Bell. "It can get to be quite a mess." "Without
snow cover, there is very little spring soil moisture," he said.
"Leading to even more of a dry-land climate for the Manitoulin
area. Ground water has a difficult time being recharged if the
water isn't out there in the bush to flow into the system and
to soak into the ground." The warm weather in the bush has also
impacted the already reeling forestry industry. With warm temperatures
keeping logging roads soft and poor ice conditions on winter
lake roads, moving timber from the forest becomes far more difficult.
"Every land base has a watershed," said Josh Eshakwkogan, of
Eshkawkogan Timber Company in Wikwemikong. "If the water is
not in the ground it can't help the trees grow. If the ground
and lakes aren't frozen, you can't get access to your wood."
"I think the strange weather may just be mother nature's way
of resetting the balance of the environment," he said. "Letting
us know that we can't just get away with ignoring the consequences
of our actions." Low water levels are nothing really new to
the area. "The elders tell me that you used to be able to ride
on the beach all the way around the bay to Manitowaning, before
the road went in," said Mr. Eshkawkogan. The warm weather earlier
this winter has also impacted upon the local aquaculture industry.
Coldwater Fisheries in Little Current is seeing the harvest
from their lakeborne cages reduced to 50 per cent of normal
by the lack of ice available to transport the fish into shore,
according to spokesperson John Hodder. "We normally harvest
six cages," he said. "We will probably be down to three or four
this season." Actual production should not be too badly effected
though, as the operation will simply switch to other sources
for their fish. The unseasonably warm weather has not had an
appreciable direct effect on the commercial fishery either,
at least as far as Little Current fisherman Gary Green is concerned.
"No, it has been pretty normal I would say, no real difference,"
said Mr. Green, who was quick to point out he is not an expert
on fish stocks as such. Acting area biologist for the Espanola
Ministry of Natural Resources office, Eric Cobb, said he also
believed the fish stocks were not heavily impacted by the low
temperatures and water levels. "If we get a drop in water levels
after the spawn, then we will see an increased egg mortality
rate, but as long as it is just consistent low levels it shouldn't
be a problem," he said. "Fish spawn between set temperatures,
so if the temperature is warmer, they may spawn earlier, but
that should also not be a big problem." Some sugar bush operators
were seen actually tapping trees last month, as warm January
temperatures saw sap beginning to flow in the maple stands.
Kagawong sugarbush operator Jacqueline Gordon said it was not
unusual for sap to run at some time in the winter, but that
it usually freezes up again fairly quickly. "What we have found
is that we are tapping much earlier than we used to," she said.
"When we started in this business in 1988, we would start tapping
after March 20. The last three or four years we have been starting
at the beginning of March, so the warmer weather could be having
an effect there," she said. Ms. Gordon noted that although there
was a lot of snow on the ground last year, it was a poor year
for sap. "You need to get the moisture into the ground," she
said. "This year we had a very dry summer, but there was a lot
of rain in the fall so we should be all right." Poor precipitation
has not helped the local snowmobile industry, which was hoping
for a rebound after last year's bountiful snowfalls, but has
seen little in the way of the white stuff to date. The Weather
Network prediction of colder temperatures during the early weeks
of February has come true, and will apparantly be followed by
a swift return to milder weather in southern Ontario and Quebec.
"Southern Ontario and Quebec are in a major moisture deficit,"
said Ron Bianchi, head of Meteorology at The Weather Network.
"These areas would need to receive a significant amount of precipitation
to bring things back to normal levels, and that is just not
going to happen." Northern Ontario can expect another six weeks
of cold weather, with drier than normal conditions, according
to Mr. Bianchi. Spring is expected to be drier than normal,
bringing another year of low crop yields throughout the province
and another bumber crop of forest fires for much of Canada.
The warm weather experienced through the early winter has left
a sense of foreboding in many people, as they wait for the other
shoe to drop environmentally, but others were quite happy to
take the warmer weather as it comes.
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Northeast
town scrambles on SuperBuild proposal
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by Neil Zacharjewicz
NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN AND THE ISLANDS
- The Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands' (NEMI's)
SuperBuild application has been denied. The town's proposal
included substantial work to the Little Current - Howland Recreation
Centre. The project included replacing the ammonia system in
the chiller, and some header piping replacement at the arena.
New equipment rto be purchased under the application included
a manual lift mobile platform and an ice resurfacer. The interior
work included new doors and hardware, a dry fire system, removal
of the old dasher board system, new ventilation for the kitchen,
some painting and sandblasting, an upgrade of the heating systems,
and a generator. Also included was some sewer and drainage work,
and work to the parking lot. All told, the application totalled
$817,925. At the February 5 meeting of council, Clerk-Treasurer
Ned Martin explained the town had originally submitted the proposal
under 'Option One - Health and Public Safety' of the SuperBuild
initiative; the reason being projects under this option could
receive up to 70 percent of the costs covered by SuperBuild.
In fact, the town's proposal had originally included the Little
Current Library project. However, council had removed it from
the application because its inclusion would have required the
town to submit under 'Option Two - New, Expansion and Renovation
Projects.' But while the town submitted its proposal under 'Option
One,' the ministry deemed the application to be an 'Option Two'
project, and was considered, and rejected, under that option.
In speaking with the town's contact at the Ministry of Tourism,
Culture and Recreation, Mr. Martin explained the town has the
option to resubmit its proposal for reconsideration due to the
extension of the program by February 15, however the town should
be prepared to assume 60 percent of the project cost. He did
note there is another funding program which may be used to "top
up" the funding received from SuperBuild. He said the town could
also apply for a Capital Assistance to Enhance Northern Communities
(CANC) grant, which would top up the government funding by an
additional 35 percent. Mr. Martin explained while this initially
appears to be better, there are some factors which erode the
value of the government's contribution. The town's contact with
the ministry did outline some suggestions to improve the town's
application for reassessment. One of the suggestions was to
phase the work over a three year period. Mr. Martin indicated
the new proposal which he had prepared tries to get the town
"the biggest bang for its buck." Rather than draw down the town's
reserves to nothing, he said he tried to smooth the draw on
reserves over the first two years of the three year phased project.
He noted the town would exhaust its CANC grant in the first
year. "I have tried to build in as much flexibility as possible
by back-ending the parking lot project," Mr. Martin stated,
suggesting it would be dealt with in the third year of the project.
Other projects which the town could include in its CANC application
are a replacement pumper truck, the library, and work to the
museum access road. It was noted a replacement pumper truck
cannot simply be purchased "off the shelf" because there would
be a need to modify the rear chasis in order for the truck to
fit into the garage at the fire hall. "I think we should apply
and hope we get some of it," suggested Councillor Marcel Gauthier.
"It certainly is unfortunate we did not get recognized for some
of the projects. They certainly were needed," added Councillor
Ron Lewis. He said he supposed the town got lost in the shuffle
when the ministry turned over funding to the City of Greater
Sudbury. Council voted in favor of resubmitting its application
with Mr. Martin's proposed modifications.
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