 |
Happy
to Meet, Sorry to Part, |
|
Twice monthly articles, covering many subjects, created for your pleasure. |
|
|
Happy
to Meet, Sorry to Part, |
|
Twice monthly articles, covering many subjects, created for your pleasure. |
|
|
||
| Kinmount is a village of
surprises. One time it was a timber town with two railways running
through and it was the first place in Canada where Icelanders settled.
They didn't stay long. A lot of them died wintering-over while building
the railway connecting Haliburton and Lindsay. All they left was
finished steel and unmarked graves. The survivors moved to a place north
of Winnipeg called New Iceland where they were permitted by Sir John A.
Macdonald to keep, for a time, their own language and their own laws and
customs. They now form the largest Icelandic community outside of
Iceland.
A small church, formerly a Baptist congregation, is another relic of the past. It was built before Confederation and became the home of Somerville Lodge No. 451 in 1914. With 34 members, they pride themselves in being the smallest lodge in Ontario. The white frame church is painted and kept in repairs by the brethren. Sturdy? The pioneers made it with three quarter inch grooved planks, now covered by siding. It overlooks the old railway station which has been restored and the Austin Lumber which is undergoing restoration as an example of a water powered mill. From the front door you can hear the waterfalls. Plumbing is no problem. There isn't any. And that's a good thing because the winter temperatures can drop to around minus thirty degrees inside during a cold snap. It doesn't make sense to keep a building heated for one meeting a month and a deep freeze would burst the pipes. Instead, water for the tea and coffee is carried in for each meeting and dirty dishes, if there are any, are taken home for washing. Paper plates and foam cups make more sense. One past master remembers that meetings always closed on time in the winter, because in the East, the Worshipful Master was farthest from the stove. Nowadays one member sets and tends a wood fire a couple of days before the winter meetings. This drives the chill off the walls and out of the cushions. Early on meeting days the oil fired space heater (a modern innovation) is turned on and this keeps the temperature fairly even during the meeting. Why wood? It's abundant and cheaper than oil. The lodge is a live one. Younger members are moving up through the chairs. Attendance is good because with such a small roster, everyone is needed to make things work. It's a great place to visit. You can fish for bass while waiting for lodge to open.
COMMENTS
Send comments on any article to: V.W.Bro. Ted Morris, 76
Ballacaine Drive, Etobicoke, Ont., M8Y 4B7 |
||
|
The above column, "The Traveller", is an addition to the GLCPOO site and will be archived for your future viewing here. Comments relating to the above article may be made directly to Ted Morris and will be collected, edited and then, probably, attached to the relative article, on the following month. This should add interest and add freshness to the articles. |
Back to The Traveller's Directory
Contact
Webmaster W.Bro. Jim Kirk-White
Copyright© by GLCPOO, 2000
Meet Again !