Island tradition lives on through the generations

by Michael Erskine
MANITOULIN---At approximately 4:30 pm, within minutes of packing it 
in for the season, Bradley Hayden, of Little Current, glanced up from 
his father's treestand at the family land in Ice Lake, and saw a herd 
of deer carefully making its way toward him, a few brief seconds 
later, the calm and steady aim of the 16 year-old hunter allowed him 
to complete a Manitoulin tradition a rite of passage, which four 
generations of Manitoulin Haydens have each completed in their turn.
Mr. Hayden had his buck.
In fact, he got two bucks that afternoon, filling his father's tag as well.
It is undoubtedly difficult for the average person in southern 
Ontario's bustling megatropoli to even begin to understand the 
importance of the annual deer hunt to the culture of the Manitoulin, 
a culture born out of hewing a livelihood from the wilderness, 
isolated from the outside world for much of the year, but Islanders 
know.
"I have been trying to get a buck for years," said the experienced 
hunter, who already had four does to his credit. "I saw lots of deer 
over the week, but nothing with horns."
Mr. Hayden, trained and licenced since he was 12, got his first deer 
at age 13, and each year since he has sought out an illusive goal.
"I gotta get something with horns," said the young man, as he whiled 
away the hours, perched shivering in a tree as the cold November wind 
chilled him to the bone. He had doggedly returned to the hunt each 
day in search of his goal.
It is a feeling his father, Ken Hayden, knows very well. The elder 
Mr. Hayden got his first buck when he was 15. His father, Wilbert, 
had hunted the land before him, as had Bradley's great-grandfather 
Orace Hayden, each waiting out the herds on the close-knit family's 
16 acre hunting property in Ice Lake.
Ken Hayden hunts with a muzzle-loading flintlock these days. With 
dozens of deer under his belt, the expert hunter has turned to the 
bow and muzzleloader to make it a little more challenging.
"I was ribbing him a bit about not getting his buck," said Ken 
Hayden. "I paid for it this year, I missed two."
The deer were there, but even an experienced hunter can learn a thing 
or two, as Mr. Hayden discovered when he learned the real wisdom 
behind the old adage 'keep your powder dry.'
"I used to fill my flash pan with powder right away," he said. "When 
I would pull the trigger, it would take a second or even two to burn 
through."
All the while, Mr. Hayden would have to track the deer until the main 
charge ignited.
Now he knows to prime his pan just before firing, then, with fresh 
dry powder, the shot is immediate. He will get his deer next year.
The overcast late afternoon saw the Haydens, father and son, dragging 
the two six-point bucks out of the bush. At 175 to 200 pounds, it was 
lucky they didn't have too far to go, and the meat will top off the 
family larder nicely.
The younger Hayden is looking forward to having the head of his first 
buck mounted, a momentoe of an important moment in a life which still 
stretches out far before him. There will undoubtedly be many proud 
moments in his life, but only a few will be so distinctly tinged with 
the flavour of his heritage.
"It is more exciting to watch your son get one than it is to get your 
own," said a proud Ken Hayden, as he watched his two sons pose for a 
picture with the dressed bucks.
"We should call you Brad instead of Bradley now," he laughed, 
suggesting the diminutive form of his sons name has a more adult 
feel. Brad was noncommittal on the subject, dismissing it with a 
taciturn shrug.
Despite urban-oriented gun laws, and the increasing interference of 
the state into the culture and traditions of rural Canadian life, 
despite it all, some aspects are still vibrantly there.
Brad Hayden got his buck.

M'Chigeeng chief and council move to fix arena

by Michael Erskine
M'CHIGEENG---A place to play hockey was on the wish list of a lot of 
young people and their parents, after a chiller failure knocked the 
M'Chigeeng First Nation arena down for the count recently, and thanks 
to a resolute and unanimous Chief and Council, they may just get it 
in time for Christmas.
"We are going to fix the chiller as soon as possible," announced 
Chief Glen Hare, after the Monday night band council meeting dealt 
with the issue. "Tenders will be opened in the morning."
"While there will still be major concerns with the ice plant," said 
Chief Hare, "we hope that they can be dealt with after March."
Chief Hare noted that the arena plays a central part in the winter 
life of his community and with last year's hefty upgrades to the 
building, it would be unthinkable to let it sit through the winter 
unused.
The band has not yet determined where the money to repair the 
facility will come from, but Chief Hare was adamant that find it they 
will.
"Hopefully, we can have it back up by Christmas," he said.
The community is using the Providence Bay arena in the interim, but 
it is a less than satisfactory solution for everyone.
"The ice surface is too small for the Bantam and Midgets," said 
M'Chigeeng Minor Hockey Association President Basil Panamick. The 
Association is looking at the Gore Bay arena as a possible solution.
Plans to bring pressure on the council to act quickly on the matter 
proved to be unnecessary, as the vote was unanimous in favour of 
repairing the unit.
Mr. Panamick noted that Chief Hare was confident the council would 
act quickly on the issue and advised that quotations on repairs be 
ready for Tuesday morning.
For kids itching to strap on skates and the parents who drive them to 
games and practices, the news is undoubtedly a great early Christmas 
present.

 MMA marketing

by Tom Sasvari
MINDEMOYA --- Support has been given by municipal, tourism and
economic development representatives in the Manitoulin-LaCloche area
for the development of a regional marketing agency.
A group that met last week has recommended that all organizations
represented endorse the proposal for an interim steering committee
which will in turn look at the formation of a regional marketing
agency, as proposed by the LaCloche-Manitoulin Business Assistance
Corporation (LAMBAC).
"By working together we would all benefit," stated Hugh Moggy, chair
of the Manitoulin Municipal Association (MMA) at a meeting last week.
Representatives were present from the MMA as well as from LAMBAC
Marketing, the Manitoulin Tourism Association (MTA), Manitoulin and
Espanola Chambers of Commerce, LaCloche Foothills Municipal
Association, Waubetek Business Development Corporation, and the
LAMBAC Business Assistance Corporation.
It was pointed out that organizations such as the MTA would continue,
even with development of this steering committee and the subsequent
Regional Marketing Agency.
"The MTA wouldn't carry on marketing on our own as we have in the
past. The marketing would be done by the new organization," said Bill
Ferguson. "Everyone would continue as organizations, but would take a
slightly different form than they currently are."
"The purpose of today's meeting is to try and form a vision of where
we want to go with marketing for the Manitoulin-LaCloche region,"
said Mr. Moggy in welcoming all those at the meeting. "This proposal
was first presented some time ago, and I don't think any of us has
liked the controversy that has been going on in the local newspapers.
That is why the MMA convened the meeting to see if we can get this
whole thing on the right track."
He suggested that tourism is an important part of the Island, now and
in the future, and that it is time municipalities take more
initiative in the process.
Marg Hague, General Manager of LAMBAC, pointed out, "It is important
that everyone work together cooperatively." She noted the group has a
short time frame to implement the process, as FedNor funding for this
process needs to be applied for and the agency developed by April 1,
2003.
A proposed interim steering committee, which would make the decisions
that would direct the process, was outlined by Ms. Hague, who has
contacted each person. The list of candidates includes business
people Ray Harding of Nairn Centre, and Kelly O'Hare of Little
Current as the co-chairs. Other members would include Gary Kessel,
chair of the LAMBAC board, Al Frank of the MTA, Rick Bond and Phil
Hearn of the Manitoulin and Espanola Chambers of Commerce,
respectively, Gore Bay Councilor Harry Vanderweerden, Janet Whissell
of the LaCloche Foothills Municipal Association, and Mark Lefebvre
and Eleethea Marson of LaCloche and, Rob Maguire and Annette Peltier
of economic development on the Island, as well as Matthew Owl and
Dawn Madahbee of Waubetek, Dennis Lendrum of the Ontario Federation
of Snowmobile Clubs, and Henk Pel of the North Channel Marine Tourism
Council.
A sample work plan was also presented by Ms. Hague for the steering
committee to implement, from December to April.
The work plan is similar to one that LAMBAC has been working on with
aquaculture operators throughout Northern Ontario, said Mary Nelder,
of LAMBAC.
There was a concern raised by Al Frank, of the MTA, that each
organization represented should have an alternate member in place to
fill in for a member that can't attend a meeting.
It was agreed that this would be the case, with the main delegate
taking responsibility for fully briefing his/her alternate. Both
steering committee members and alternates will be sent all minutes
and correspondence.
The steering committee members will, in turn, be responsible for
keeping their organizations aware of the progress being made and are
to seek input in this way.
Dawn Madahbee, of Waubetek said that the Island First Nation
communities have developed their own tourism marketing committee
initiatives, and suggested that aboriginalpeople should make up of
half the representatives on the steering committee.
"Waubetek and LAMBAC are parallel with their marketing concepts,"
said Ms. Hague, who also noted, "what is being planned is to keep
your marketing agency on its own as well."
"We would like to try marketing LaCloche-Manitoulin together, and we
definitely want First Nation representation included in the whole
proposal," said Mr. Moggy.
Ms. Madahbee noted that the Aboriginal tourism group will be meeting
in December. "This regional marketing agency proposal is something
we've wanted to meet on, and is a major part of the meeting agenda.
We want the input of our community leaders and those involved in
tourism and economic development before we commit to this," said Ms.
Madahbee. "I think it is a great idea for all Manitoulin Island
organizations to work together, and there are things we have all
worked on together before that went well."
"We've come a long way in tourism, and one of the main attractions on
the Island is aboriginal culture and native tourism, which everyone
has used. Without our involvement this proposal would not be as
strong as it could be," said Ms. Madahbee.
Rick McCutcheon noted that any marketing of the area has included
native cultural tourism marketing. He also felt that First Nation
participation in the committee and the proposed marketing agency was
very important.
"I would have to see what our committee members are open to. We have
a plan in place that we are following and I don't think they would
want to change the direction we are taking," said Ms. Madahbee, who
reiterated that she couldn't commit First Nation membership on the
new steering committee until input is received from local First
Nation tourism marketing representatives.
"We should all be working together, aboriginal and non-aboriginal
people. It's not that all the organizations already in place haven't
done a good job, but we now need to move ahead," said Mr. Moggy.
"I agree we should be looking at some type of linkage, our
communities still have a long way to go and a lot more to
accomplish," said Ms. Madahbee. "But, until I have met with the
members of our (aboriginal tourism committee) I'm not sure what their
position will be."
It was suggested by Ms. Nelder that the steering committee could
proceed with the work plan, with the local First Nation group doing a
parallel process. "One of the mandates of this steering committee
could be investigating ways of linkage with the Aboriginal tourism
marketing committee," she said.
"We have an excellent opportunity to get together and pool all of our
resources in the Manitoulin-LaCloche area," said Ken Ferguson, Mayor
of NEMI.
The group passed a motion recommending "to all organizations present
that they endorse the proposal for the interim steering committee as
set out by LAMBAC for the formation of a regional marketing agency."
It was felt by the committee that aboriginal representation on the
steering committee will be left open, contingent on the upcoming
meeting of aboriginal tourism marketing groups.
"There is no reason that Annette and you could not still represent
First Nations on the committee until a final decision on the
direction to be taken," Mr. Moggy said to Ms. Madahbee.
"I recognize the time frames involved. I wouldn't want to tell you to
hold back, but first we need to have our discussion on this plan at
our December meeting," said Ms. Madahbee.
The group agreed that as part of the work plan, the steering
committee will look at ways to work together with the area First
Nation Marketing committees.
The sample work plan for the interim steering committee includes
adopting a work plan for the steering committee, determining
objectives and head office of the new agency, as well as choosing an
agency name and appointing three initial directors, developing Draft
Articles of Incorporation and sending in a funding application. That
will be December's work.
In January, the committee will determine the organizational structure
of the agency, including governance, staffing and linkages. They
would draft aset of by-laws, strike a budget for the first three
years of operation, and apply to FedNor for start-up funding.
For February, the steering committee would develop a draft marketing
plan for the first year, apply to LIP for start-up marketing funds,
sell memberships and obtain a commitment from members to purchase
marketing services.
In March, the steering committee would develop job descriptions for
staff positions, as well as determine the procedure for hiring (as
well as hiring) staff, recruit board members and hold the first
meeting of the board. An election of directors, officers and signing
authorities for the new board will also take place.
And, in April, a bank account would be opened with accounting
procedures being established. The next step would including opening
an office and commencing operations.

 

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