kewatch.blogspot.com Summer 2013
Live every day to the fullest:
Talk and listen to people.
Love the earth and respect it.
Learn something new every day.
Find the positive in something negative.
Laugh more, sing more, and dance more.
Enjoy the small things in life, not the material things. In memory of Lillian Appleby
Community Events
Neighbours are encouraged to share local events. These are a few that are coming up this summer. If you have an event you would like to share with neighbours, send a note to KEWatch@gmail.com
Full Moon Rising Long summer days just beg an opportunity to get out in the boat...whether it be a canoe, kayak, outboard, or pontoon boat. Everyone is welcome to gather on the evening before the moon is full. The moon rises in the east just as the sun sets in the west. On Kukagami, come to the mid-point of the big lake. A great opportunity to meet new people!
Dates and times to meet for this summer are: June 22 at 8:30 pm, July 21 at 8 pm, August 20 at 7:45 pm.
Annual Canada Day Boat Parade, July 1st Decorate your boat in celebration of Canada Day, and meet at the south end of Klondike Bay at 1 pm. The boats will make a tour around the mid-lake, so if you don't have a boat, be sure to wave as they go by your camp.
KCA annual Picnic August 3rd
Taoist Tai Chi classes will begin a new session in September. Watch for notices of date and time. There is a beginner's class currently meeting from 10 to 12 on Tuesdays at the Lodge.
Kukagami Place Names Mapping Project.
KEW is developing a map with common place names and places to go! Send your suggestions to KEWatch@gmail.com
Historical Tidbit
One of Canada's first Olympic heroes, Edward Blake Archibald, started a wilderness summer camp for boys on the northwest shore of Lake Wanapitei about 1924. Camp Wanapitei was moved to Sandy Inlet on Lake Temagami in 1930 after Ontario Hydro constructed a dam at the outlet of Lake Wanapitei, raising the level of the lake and flooding much of the original camp. The camp was on Parkin Creek, about three kilometres east of the mouth of the Wahnapitae River. Camp Wanapitae still offers wilderness summer experiences for children as well as adults.
Road Clean-up
Thanks to the many neighbours who took extra time to pick up litter from our roadsides this spring. For many people this is not just a twice a year event. The busy parts of the road are tended to frequently.
Summer is a good time to clean up lakeshores too! If you are out and about in a boat, take a few minutes to gather in the junk that's washed up on shore.
Logging Update
You may have noticed some logging activity at the start of the Kukagami Road. There red pine thinning operations are underway. Also this summer, Goulard Lumber will be cutting a few kilometers east of the road along the old raid bed.
Our Camps on the Shores of the Lake Spring to Summer 2013
The calendar says Spring has ended, but on the shores of Kukagami, the neighbours barely felt its passage. "How's the road?" garnered the expected Springtime litany, "If the potholes get any deeper, I'll lose my car." "Watch out for that washout." "They need to put in a new culvert." The neighbours finally knew summer was near when the complaints changed to, "There's so much dust on the road, I can't see the car in front of me."
In spite of the usual grumbling, the ride along Kukagami Rd in Spring can be a pleasant journey, as we watch the subtle changes in all the shades of green with a few splashes of white and yellow. Or, the drive can be a wildlife adventure. One of Kukagami's lovely ladies caught sight of a moose, a fox, a bear and a few rabbits, all during one trip. One of our local artists, another lovely lady, had a thrilling, but unpleasant sighting; a moose ran into her new car. The neighbours imagined the damage. They voiced very sympathetic concern, "Your car will be good as new." All the while thinking, "Glad it wasn't me!" Everyone drives a little more cautiously, aware that we are the intruders; the forest still belongs to the wildlife.
Safely home, human sightings in spring are as intriguing. From our decks, we watched the antics of intrepid campers. On opening day, we watched eager fishermen line up a boat and 2 canoes off their dock, across the ice as it was breaking. They lounged on the dock, in warm winter clothing, enjoying a few beers, keeping an eye on their fishing lines. They clambered back and forth from boat to canoe to check their lines. Fishing season on Kukagami was open.
May brought wind, snow, hail, rain and a few, a very few, sunny days. The hardiest of the Kukagami neighbours jumped into the lake, swam one or 2 strokes, grabbed a towel and raced to the warmth of a sauna or the comfort of the camp. Work with hammers, saws and drills began as three of our lovely ladies built twig chairs. Gardeners fought off the flies, gazed happily as their perennials quickly filled the empty gardens; colourful flowers would soon follow. Volunteers set to work cleaning the debris along the roadside; the neighbours at the end of Fox Rd brushed their section; the COPS' teams began patrolling the road. Friends help friends. Each Tuesday, one group, lovely ladies and helpful men, is discovering the value of a new physical activity. An awkward, enthusiastic group learns the intricacies of Taoist tai chi. A patient teacher convinces us that our individual hesitant, labored movements are as valid as his artistic fluidity.
Let summer begin. We are ready for the myriad of sounds, the endless variety of activities, the tantalizing smells of food, and as always, Kukagami is ready for the unexpected.
Story Teller waits for your stories. Ideas, exaggerations, poems, moments of life on our shores. moniquetaylor@xplornet.com
Neighbours gathered to mourn the loss of our favorite pioneer. Stories about Lily continue to be exchanged by all those who knew the joy of her presence in their lives.
Kukagami mourns the loss of an endearing pioneer. Lillian Appleby's presence on our shores was a constant reminder of our history and our fun loving tradition of neighbour helping neighbour. Her friend Colette Conlon-Cresswell shares the eulogy she gave.
Terry asked me to give the eulogy for my dear friend Lily. I was honoured. I couldn't refuse. The one I always counted on for help was gone. How could I do this without her?
Lily was an exceptional woman, very caring, understanding, capable, and extremely knowledgeable and always wanting to learn more. As a matter of fact, she decided to learn how to play bridge at the young age of 85. That's a challenge, even for someone who played Canasta.
Lily never had a bad word to say about anyone; if you said something negative, she would quickly find some positive comment. She felt everyone had some good in them.
Lily was my confidant. My friend knew how I felt, what I thought; she knew what I hoped for and what made me proud.
What was her secret to such youth and vitality? We all want to know. Did anyone ask her? Maybe a few details of her activities during 93 years filled with living could give us a hint.
Lillian had an interest in everything.
Gardening, fishing, hunting, berry picking, card playing. Reading, travelling, walking in the bush and watching curling for hours.
She loved everything to do with the outdoors. The only thing she didn't care about was house cleaning. She was always willing to go and do anything that others wanted, so as not to disappoint them.
She was driving her car until just about a week or so before going to the hospital. We went shopping. She came riding on the quad with me to go pick cranberries. She wanted me to go too, but I refused because I complained of a sore hip. She had a sore back, but that did not stop her.
This lovely woman did not have a selfish bone in her body. She would give you or share with you all that she had. Except her secret to where the best berries were. She finally shared that secret a couple of years ago and only to special friends. Ha! Ha!
She loved her family and had the patience of a Saint. Her faith in God was strong and she loved to attend mass at Kukagami Lake. She could practice her faith in her favorite surroundings beneath the trees, the view of the lake, and the feeling of grass under her feet.
I've heard many people say, "What's the secret?" Or, "I want to live just like Lillian Appleby. "
Well, her friend knows what some of her secrets were:
Live everyday to the fullest
- Talk and listen to people.
- Love the earth and respect it.
- Learn something new every day.
- Find the positive in something negative.
- Laugh more, sing more, and dance more.
- Enjoy the small things in life, not the material things.
Lily was determined to pass on her life view to her children, her grand-children, her great-grand-children whom she loved dearly. She always wanted them to appreciate the beauty that surrounded them and created many opportunities for them to do so. What an incredible legacy.
Lily turned 93 in Dec. 2012.
In my eyes and most people's eyes that number should be reversed to be 39 for all the capabilities she had. I feel very inadequate trying to tell you about this ageless woman whose sparkling bluest of blue eyes captured everyone's attention. If you knew her, you will know what I mean.
She will live forever as I see her in this room in the eyes of her children, her grand-children, her great grand-children her relatives and her many friends. She changed my life and I'm sure she changed the life of everyone she met for the better.
Every time, I said grace before our meal, Lily was never happy with just saying it, I had to sing it. So for you my friend here it goes.
Oh, the Lord is good to me and so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need
Like the sun and the rain and the Apple seed
The Lord is good to me
We love you Lily- Thank you for being you.
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