Life @ North45

In August of 1965 I was only eleven years old.  I was fortunate enough to be a very young cottager on Bala Bay since 1958 when my folks bought our property.  The only things on my mind in those days were my equally young friends, running around in a 12 foot ‘tinny’ with a ‘ten’ on the back, and having enough allowance to buy worms so I could go fishing.  The way I’m built now, much like my dad and brothers, I suspect food was on my mind most of the time as well, but that is another story. What went unnoticed by yours truly that August, was Bob Dylan’s 1965 mammoth hit: “Like A Rolling Stone” peaking at #2.  Forty years later, that song was voted the greatest hit of all time by the editors of Rolling Stone magazine.  This summer of 2o15, don’t you know, it’s celebrating its 50th year of fame. When I read James Adam’s article in The Globe And Mail, it brought back some memories.  You see, a few years later music became a huge part of my life.  I became a drummer; played in a marching band, and in a couple of decent rock bands.  Many stories conjure up here, but I’ll keep...

I read a very amusing and informative article in the Globe And Mail recently, about fishing which prompted this note.  More about that, down the page. As a young lad enjoying the privilege of summer holidays in #Muskoka, I loved to get out in my little boat ( with a 10 Johnston on the back) and run about chasing waves.  Later, I was chasing girls, but often, it was all about chasing fish. Early, many mornings, I’d hop in my boat and run up to visit with Mrs. Cunningham (now Purk’s Place) by the amazing Bala Water Falls that tumble down into the Moon River.  Here I’d purchase my allotment of worms, so I could attempt to trick a bass or two into my boat with the help of a net-at-the-ready. Fishing at the middle train bridge on Bala Bay was, and still is a key location.  With three entry points for the water to stream from Lake Muskoka proper, into Bala Bay, the constant current, the train trestle concrete abutments, and the disintegrating cribs are an attraction for what many believe is, pound for pound, the world’s best, fresh water fighting fish: the small mouth bass. Fast forward forty plus years.  Now I take great pleasure in taking...

SWS (Summer Water Sports) raises funds for “Bring Gary Home” – Monday, August 4 For the Daily Rehearsal on Monday August 4 only please:  At 7pm on Monday, August 4, Summer Water Sports “SWS” will donate the proceeds from their weekly Monday evening waterski show to support the “Bring Gary Home” fund. Every Monday, SWS ‘passes the hat’ at Clevelands House and the marina next to the resort, to give audience members the opportunity to show their appreciation. More than a year ago, Muskoka’s Citizen of the Year, Gary Froude, became ill with an unknown virus.  Since then Gary has been on life support due to paralysis throughout most of his body including his diaphragm.  He remains active in the community through communication with his wife Gayle Dempsey, and his sense of humour is intact. A fundraiser concert was held by the local Rotary Club in January at JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka, with Canadian celebrity musicians Ian Thomas and Marc Jordan.  The concert raised over $25,000. Last week, Gary learned that the “Bring Gary Home” vision will soon be a reality.  Gary has been accepted into the West Park Home Ventilator training program.  He will soon have a new wheelchair that he can control on his own, and...