Kinmount Gazette
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Kinmount Gazette KINMOUNT GAZETTE COM MITTEE A S U B - COMMITTEE OF T HE KINMOUNT COMMITTEE FOR PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT March 2011 Volume 3: Issue 5 Kinmount Winterfest a Wonderful Success Inside this issue: NEIGHBOURS AND FRIENDS 2 HISTORY OF BUSINESSES 4 KINMOUNT KIDS 9 OBITUARY OF JAMES MORRISSON 10 THE HOT STOVE 11 EDITORIAL 19 As these photographs show, the adults had a wonderful time at Winterfest. Clockwise from far left: Joe McGee had his likeness captured in wood; The Munns family warmed themselves by the fire; Laurie Scott does a frosty pose for the photographer. For pictures of the children, check out our Kids Corner on page 9. Saturday, March 5, 2011 Social Time 5:00 PM Dinner 6:00 PM Ham and Scalloped Potatoes $12.00 per person Donations of prizes welcome Bring your loonies and have some fun!!! For tickets contact 488-3182 or 488-2547 Kinmount Gazette Friends and Neighbours: Catchacoma (Cavendish Twp.) Cavendish Township is the county road # 507) that gave traveller reported the Road lumbermen. At first, the township in Peterborough birth to Cavendish settlement ―abandoned & impassable‖ companies floated their County immediately to the and its only post office: north of Catchacoma. His logs south to Peterbor- east of Galway Township. Catchacoma. vehicle was actually stopped ough. However, a mill Despite being Galway‘s Suitable farm land was availa- by weeds & brush 6 feet tall was constructed at Scott‘s ―twin‖, it has a completely ble along the Road between in the roadbed! The growth of Rapids, between Rock- different history. Galway was Buckhorn village and Rock- tourism did lead to a reopen- croft & Buckhorn. When accessed from the Bob- croft, the area in the vicinity ing of the Road, but for years the Road improved in the caygeon Road and gravitated of Flynn‘s Turn. But north of it was famous for its 1930s, Peterborough more to Victoria County & Rockcroft the land turns rocky ―winding‖ road path through Lumber built a huge mill Kinmount than Peterborough and totally unsuited to farm- the rocks. on Catchacoma Lake County. Cavendish on the ing. In fact, southern Caven- The main industry in the (1943) & cut the lumber other hand was orientated dish Township contained a township was lumbering. A closer to the source. The towards Buckhorn & the rest maximum of only 6 farms, fine string of waterways, mill closed in 1966 as the of Peterborough County. Cav- and very poor ones at that! A highlighted by Catchacoma & lumber supply was ex- endish‘s topography was to- pocket of better farmland was Mississauga Lakes and hausted. tally unsuited to agricultural found in the north-west corner drained south by the Missis- Tourism quickly replaced settlement and attracted only of the township, but this set- sauga River, were ideal for a handful of hardy settlers tlement was tied to White who made a living from the Lake/Fortescue in Galway & lumber industry; at least until Gooderham. tourism came along! Being The Buckhorn Road was virtually deserted, Cavendish eventually completed all the was twinned with Galway for way to Haliburton, but was municipal government and rarely used. Both Gooderham until 1998 was part of the & Haliburton gained easier Township of Galway- access via the Bobcaygeon & Cavendish. Amalgamation Monck Roads and the arrival witnessed this municipality of the Victoria & IB&O Rail- join with its southern neigh- ways rendered the north end bour to create the Township of the Buckhorn Road useless of Galway-Cavendish & Har- for travel. In fact, the Buck- The world’s smallest post office was located in Catcha- vey. horn Road north of Cat- coma. Canada Post operated this station in the summer The Bobcaygeon Coloniza- achecoma only tion Road had worked won- was often ders for settlement. It was so aban- successful, the government of doned for Canada West (future Ontario) long decided to repeat this success stretches in other areas & built 2 more of time; draw 10th March, 2011 colonization roads through becoming northern Peterborough Coun- impassa- Ottawa Senators vs Pittsburgh Penguins ty: the Buckhorn Road & the ble and March 15th 2011 Burleigh Road. The Burleigh not being Road crossed the Kawartha fixed be- Lakes at Burleigh Falls & cause headed north to Wilberforce nobody & Bancroft via Apsley. The cared! Buckhorn Colonization Road Even as crossed the lakes at Buckhorn late as the and wound its way north to 1930s, a Gooderham & eventually venture- Haliburton village. It was the some mo- Buckhorn Road (today‘s tor car Page 2 Kinmount Gazette Friends and Neighbours, cont. from page 2 Calls of the Wild at Winterfest When the Cochrane‘s retreat- ed south in the fall, they closed the post office and literally abandoned the area! The post office was closed permanently in the 1940s. Today Cavendish Township has a vibrant tourist economy and is home to many perma- nent & seasonal residents. The community has built a fine community centre with library & fire hall in the old Catchacoma settlement area. The old Buckhorn Road has been improved and is now quite ―passable‖ throughout the length of the township. Summer road travel on the Cottages have spread to most Buckhorn Road of the smaller bodies of water such as Green‘s, Pencil, Gold, lumbering as the mainstay of Picard & Beaver Lakes. In the Cavendish Township. The last decade, Cavendish has Buckhorn Road gave access to the larger lakes, and several become the western edge of tourist lodges sprang up in the the Kawartha Highlands Sig- early 1900s. Several families nature Site, Ontario‘s newest including the Westlakes, provincial park. Times have Cochranes & Windovers all really changed for Cavendish operated tourist lodges over the Township. early years. After World War II, private cottages came into fash- ion and the shores of the bigger lakes became dotted with cot- tages. Even today, there still seems to be room for more cot- tages along the shores of Cav- endish‘s many lakes and the tourism industry is still expand- ing. In the early 1920s, Cavendish was granted its one and only The Quilters Inn Barb Leffering post office. It was named Longarm Machine Quilting Quilting Retreats Catchacoma after the lake it sat Classes Notions beside and gained fame as On- Fabric—over 1200 bolts, wide backing, children’s fabric, panels, blenders & more tario‘s smallest post office! It Open Saturday, Sunday and most afternoons was a summer-only post office Please call to confirm weekly hours run by the Cochrane family as 6 Hunter Street, PO Box 256 Studio 705-887-8499 part of their summer lodge. Kinmount, On, K0M 2A0 Residence 705-488-1312 www.quiltersinn.net E-mail: [email protected] Page 3 Kinmount Gazette History of Trapping One of Canada‘s first indus- control of the Kawartha Lakes fur bearing animals such as them exclusive use of an area. tries was trapping. Besides watershed. They were in turn muskrat, mink & fox were Fur sales in conjunction with fish, furs were one of the ear- dispossessed of this prime still plentiful & profitable. fur buyers were organized in liest exports in Canadian His- area by the Mississauga tribe To try to control & regulate the local towns. No furs could tory. The most prominent fur, from north of Lake Huron. the trapping industry, the be sold unless they were in- beaver fur, was made into felt But whatever tribe controlled Ministry of Lands & Forests spected & stamped by the hats in Europe. To find more the region, the fur trade rolled used numerous methods. To Game Wardens. And finally, furs, Europeans explored the on. The furs were taken ini- prevent disputes between the Wardens were strict in entire North American conti- tially to Montreal, but later trappers over zones (a very their policing of the trapping nent. The beaver is an em- fur traders set up shop closer common occurrence!), the business, with fines & charges blem of Canada; gracing eve- to the source at Toronto & Ministry granted licences to very common. rything from the Canadian Belleville and later they registered trappers granting Continued on page 5 Coat of Arms to stamps to moved closer again to Peter- coins. borough & Orillia. Beaver hats eventually fell By the early 1800s, European out of fashion, but the fur trappers were replacing na- Do You Live Out-of-Town? industry was saved by fur coat tives in our area. The trappers Subscribe to our mail service and you can have it delivered to fashions adopted particularly would travel to their area be- your door. by females. The fur industry fore freeze-up, build cabins to expanded to include other stay the winter and spend the Please contact Yvette Brauer at 705-488-2282 types of furs such as muskrat, season collecting furs. With fox, mink, otter, weasel and the spring break-up, they re- Volume 1, Issues 1-16 $20.00 Volume 2, Issues 1-11 $15.00 even bear & wolf. Later fisher turned to their summer was added to the mix, it being homes. By the 1850s, settle- Available at Gateway Variety and the an introduced fur-bearing ment was pushing into the Kinmount Artisans Market animal not native to our area. Kinmount area, and the trap- In Ontario before European pers now worked right from settlement (1600-1784), the home! natives were the trappers and Few locals actually made a their furs were sold to Euro- living exclusively from trap- pean traders at numerous trad- ping. It was used as an in- ing posts. Actually bartered come supplement; earn a few was more appropriate for the dollars over the winter natives traded their furs for months when farm work was European goods such as axes, slowed by the weather.