by Craig Homewood
Introduction
This book is dedicated to Joan Homewood, my wife of 43 years, and her family, the Stainton family, who were early cottagers at Methuen Lake.
Joan enjoyed many years at Methuen Lake, beginning in 1961. She died in May 2020, succumbing to cancer. On July 1, 2020, my sons, Mike and Thomas, and I distributed her ashes in Methuen Lake, the place she loved best. Joan and I often said that we should record some of the stories of the Lake while those who know them are still with us. This book is an attempt to do that.
This is not a complete history of the Lake. The stories included are those that have been told to me. I can’t verify all the details. There may be a few “fish tales”. Included are some first-hand recollections. I have made some minor edits in these recollections. I welcome any additional stories that people want to send to me.
I have included a brief record of the ownership of the lots on the Lake, identifying the original owner and current owner (as of 2022). Where an owner between the original and current owner might be known to readers, I have included their name as well.
Ownership might be in more than one name (e.g. husband and wife). I have, in some cases, used only one owner’s name, based on the records available to me.
Also, it is not always clear where ownership transferred to children of the owner because of name changes due to marriage. You are welcome to send me any corrections or updates.
Methuen Lake is a special place. It’s a small lake, about 1 mile wide by 1 ½ mile long, with about 80 cottages. Many of the cottagers know each other. Some of the cottages have been in the same family since they were first built. In other cases, cottages were bought by friends and family of current cottage owners. Cottagers get to know each other through the many activities organized by the Methuen Lake Cottage Association. In the pages that follow, I will try to capture some of that spirit of the Lake.
Early History
Aboriginal History
There may have been aboriginal settlements at the Lake but there is no evidence of this. The aboriginals who lived in the area were likely Mississauga Anishinaabe.
Anishinaabe (usually pronounced uh-NISH-ih-NAH-bay) means “original person”. It is spelled many different ways because the different Anishinaabe communities speak different dialects.
Methuen Lake appears to be located in the northeast corner of Treaty 20 territory. Treaty 20, also known as the Rice Lake Purchase (‘Surrender M”), was signed on Nov. 5, 1818 by representatives of the Crown and certain Anishinaabe peoples. This is the last of three Upper Canada treaties signed with Anishinaabe peoples in what is now central southern Ontario in October and November of 1818.
Three separate large parcels of land in southern and central Ontario, including the area covered by Treat 20, were acquired by the Government of Canada in 1923, known collectively as the Williams Treaties.
Seven First Nations are signatories to the various 18th and 19th century treaties:
- Chippewa – Beausoleil First Nation; Chippewa of Georgina Island; Chippewa of Ram
- Mississauga – Alderville First Nation; Curve Lake First Nation; Hiawatha First Nation; Mississauga of Scugog Island
Sources include: First Peoples House of Learning – Trent University; Philip Abbott, Ph.D. Candidate & Instructor, Department of Indigenous Studies – Trent University; Williams Treaties First Nations; Curve Lake First Nation.
The Peterborough Petroglyphs Park is located 43 kms south-west of Methuen Lake. It is the largest known concentration of Indigenous rock carvings (petroglyphs) in Canada, depicting turtles, snakes, birds, humans and more. This sacred site is known as “The Teaching Rocks” by the Ojibway (Nishnaabe) people.
The Alderville First Nations Reserve is located 74 kms south of Methuen Lake. The information below is from the Alderville First Nations website (alderville.ca).
Alderville has been home to the Mississauga Anishinabeg of the Ojibway Nation since the mid-1830’s. Before that time the people lived in their traditional lands around Bay of Quinte (Grape Island) but with the influx of refugee settlement after the American Revolution their existence found itself under increased pressure.
The British, having lost the American colonies after 1783, were forced to relocate the soldiers and civilians that had been loyal to the King during the conflict. For this reason, the Bay of Quinte became one area of settlement for those who became known as the United Empire Loyalists. The Mississauga then were directly involved in early “land surrenders” along the St. Lawrence River and the Bay, allowing this resettlement to occur.
Development on the Lake Begins
The region’s colonial history began with an influx of settlers after Belmont and Methuen Township was surveyed in 1823. Early settlers built their homes in an area of dense forests and numerous lakes and rivers within the rocky Canadian Shield. They survived by means of fishing, logging, and farming.
The land surrounding the Methuen Lake was Crown Land, owned by the Province of Ontario, and administered by the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests (now Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests). It was surveyed In the mid-to-late 1950s, and lots were made available for cottagers. Originally buyers obtained a Land Use Permit to build a cottage. The cost for the permit was only $15. The Province reserved the right to all trees on the property, timber licenses, and any gold, silver, and other minerals on or under the land.
The Land Use Permit included a clause that if during the next five years the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests decided that it would be in the public interest to sell this land, the lessee must immediately file a formal application to purchase it. In the early 1960s, all the lots were made available for sale.
A condition of getting the deed was that the owner had to build a cottage of a specified construction value ($1000) and size (320 Sq.). Many of the early cottages were 16’ by 20’ to meet the size requirement. The buyer had to build a cottage and could not hold the land vacant.
Initially there were 68 lots. Several were subdivided, resulting in there being 80 lots on the Lake.
The Lake was originally identified on maps as Clear Lake. It was renamed Methuen Lake, being located in Methuen Township. On January 1, 1998, Belmont and Methuen Townships amalgamated with the Village of Havelock to form what is now Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Township.
The First Cottage
In the 1950s, the Ontario Department Lands and Forests hired Lloyd Lean, a forest ranger, to cut a trail to the Lake. He was not paid to do this but instead was given a “patent” for an island in the Lake, where he built a cabin.
Lean was engaged to be married but his fiancé was killed in a car accident on the way home from the rehearsal and he never married.
Roy and Betty McLean were friends of Lloyd Lean. They came to the Lean cottage for two weeks in the summer of 1955 and didn’t see another person, there being no other cottages on the Lake. Eventually, the McLean family took ownership of the island cottage. Their daughter, Sheila Finlay, and her husband Dwight are now the owners of the island cottage.
The island is identified in different places as Lot 68, Lot 83 and Lot 1 (Island).
There is another island nearby with no cottages on it. It has been called “Bedspring Island” by some people because there is an old bedspring on it, the origin of which is unknown. There is also a very small rock outcropping sometimes called Seagull Island or Rock Island.
The First Roads
Two roads were built, one on either side of the Lake. The road on the south side of the Lake, identified on early maps as South Road, now designated as Fire Road 83, accesses Lots 23 to 57 plus the island cottage. On the north side, the road is identified on early maps as Johnston Road, now designated as Fire Road 84, and accesses Lots 1-22 and 58-67.
South Road (FR 83)
The South Road followed the path cut by Lloyd Lean, ending at a hunt camp located near what is now Lot 44. The road was built by Bill Drew, a construction contractor from Cleveland, Ohio. Drew and four or five other fellows came to the Lake to fish. Drew caught a few trophy muskies from a canoe and fell in love with the Lake.
The road to the Lake was still not much more than a path. Drew rented a bulldozer and brought a crew to build the road. Drew went to Lands and Forest at Queen’s Park in Toronto to see about putting up a cabin on the Lake. While waiting in the hallway, a fellow walked by who happened to be one of his fishing buddies from the Lake. This “buddy” was the Minister of Lands and Forests. It is unknown how much this chance encounter had to do with it but subsequently lots were surveyed and made available for lease.
Drew extended the road to the boat landing on the south side of the Lake. Building supplies for many of the early cottages were brought in on this road to the landing, where they were then transported by boat.
In the spring of 1957, building materials for a bunkie were taken by boat load from the landing dock to Lot 43, owned by John Sablinskas. Realizing that floating more substantial building materials would be problematic, Sablinskas hired Steve Macauley to extend the road from the boat landing to Lot 43.
The road was further extended in 1962 by local resident Dave McDonald and his son Lance to service Lots 32 and 33, and later extended to the last cottage on the south side. Over time, side roads, now designated as FR 83 A, B, C, D, E and F were built to access the cottages.
Dave and Lance McDonald’s presence continued at the Lake. Lance trapped beaver, whose dams sometimes made the road impassable. He had a dump truck and hauled gravel and topsoil for cottagers and installed holding tanks.
Lance and his wife Yvonne celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2022. Methuen Lake cottage owners Gail and Glen Warnock attended the celebration.
Johnston Road (FR 84)
The road on the north side was built by Ken Johnston, who started coming to the Lake with his family and his mother in the mid-1950s.
The route of Johnston Road has changed over the years. Remnants of the old route are still used for trails for snowmobiles, ATVs, and hikers. The rusted chassis of an old car once used by Ken to travel to the lake can be seen on one of the trails. Barb Millar reports that Ken used this vehicle because the road was too rough for his other vehicle.
Side roads were built to access the cottages. Those roads are now designated as FR 84 A, B, and C.
Below are some entries from Doug Stainton’s cottage diary about the FR 84:
Sept. 3/77: Meeting at Stainton’s re Road Maintenance- those present, Dennis Williams, Arne Larsen, Stew Anderson, Evan Greenley, John Kitchen, Fraser Martin, Ken Johnson, Tom Shaw, Doug Stainton.
Ken reviewed and projected projects for the road, new bridge being the big topic of the meeting.
Moved by Dennis Williams, seconded by Fraser Martin, that we join the North Road cottagers re mutual maintenance of all north roads. (cottagers paid $30 each for road maintenance).
May 19/79: New road down the big hill. It should be better when we have a skiff of snow. The bend at the bottom of the hill made it difficult getting up the hill in the winter. Roads are excellent.
Over the years, the culverts have had to be replaced or cleared of beaver dams. In the fall of 2022 the culvert at the bottom of the big hill will be replaced again.
Cottage Development on South Road
Lots 23-57 are on the south side of the Lake, accessed by FR 83.
Lot 23 (St. Thomas/McMahon/Meyer)
Lot 23, the first lot on the south side, was originally owned by Mick St. Thomas, together with James McNab. In 1964 it was sold to Hugh and Edith McMahon and in 2006 to Catherine Meyer.
Lots 24 (McNab/Schaffer)
In the early 1960s, the McNab family bought three lots- Lots 24, 26 as well as Lot 27, where they built their cottage. Since 1999, Lot 24 has been owned by Mike and Laurie Schafer.
Lot 25 (Ellison/Pemberton/Kempt/Off)
Lot 25 was owned for many years by Don Ellison and his family. It is identifiable by its own “private island”, a little spit of land extending from the lot and by its mural painted boat house. A subsequent owner was the Pemberton family. Apparently, Pemberton was quite a builder and woodsman and his custom made stainless steel name sign can be seen grown into one of the trees on FR83.
Subsequent owners were Bob Kempt and his wife Elaine, who painted the mural on the boat house. Over the years, the mural peeled off. It is now being repainted by current owner Rosemary Off.
Rosemary says of her purchase of the cottage:
I purchased the cottage from Robert and Elaine Kempt on November 1st 2017. Truly the reason I purchased it, almost on the spot, was the moment I stood on the dock (on that ‘private island’) and stared into the spectacularly clear water and then turned around to see that huge piece of Canadian Shield rock with the cottage on it …. I knew I was “home”. I was born and raised in Thunder Bay Ontario and lived enjoying nature on the lakes, in the forests and admiring the rock of northern Ontario’s Canadian Shield. I hadn’t even looked inside the building yet. LOL. I had looked for over 2.5 years. I wasn’t going to settle for anything less than what would make me feel at home again.
Lot 26 and 27 (McNab/Hamilton)
James and June McNab were the original owners of Lots 26 and 27. Karen and Ken Hamilton now own Lot 26 and Ian McNab owns Lot 27.
Lot 28 (Moore/Smith/Murphy)
John Moore was the original owner of Lot 28. In 1968 it was transferred to Patricia and Gerald Murphy and in 1994 to Garry Murphy and Cheryl Smith. Cheryl and husband Peter Smith can often be seen doing tours of the Lake on their pontoon boat.
Lot 29 and 29A (Bernardo)
Cliff and Doris Bernardo walked around the whole Lake in 1958 to choose their ideal location. They staked their claim by scraping the bark off two trees and writing their names on them and built their cottage in 1959. A load of concrete footings for Bernardo’s cottage being brought in by boat was too heavy and the boat sank. In 1987, the lot was subdivided to create Lot 29A where their son Steve and his wife Gemma built their cottage.
Cliff passed away on October 23, 2022, just short of his 99th birthday. Below is an excerpt from his obituary, wherein the importance to the Lake to him is noted:
He was a man of multiple talents, many of which were displayed as he self built, wired and plumbed a large lakeside cottage, transporting all building materials across the lake in small boats as there was no road at that time. The lake was Cliff’s spiritual home and was his, and Doris’ principal residence from early May to mid October in their retirement years.
Steve Bernardo passed away peacefully at his home in Aurora in the presence of his family on July 3, 2024. It is expected that Gemma and the rest of the family- sons Matthew (Elizabeth), David (Laura) and Andrew (Jana) and seven grandchildren, Sophia, Rhiannon, Conrad, William, Aubrey, Colin and Helena- will continue to enjoy the cottage.
Steve was a lawyer at Toronto law firm Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark for 49 years before retiring in 2020 as the most senior partner of his firm.
Steve and his family were active participants in the life of Methuen Lake and hosted the Labour Day corn roast at their cottage. The meadow where volleyball is played was an ideal spot for the cottagers to gather to share a potluck meal, including corn on the cob, and enjoy some music and fellowship to wrap-up the summer. A feature of the Bernardo cottage was their outdoor pizza oven.
In a final email to Methuen Lake cottagers, Steve says that he greatly valued the Victoria Day weekend 2024. “I was able to say goodbye to a very precious place in the world which, with its wonderful people has meant so much to me for over 65 years. I missed being in my Kayak one last time – it was a daily part of my life there.”
Cliff and Doris had another son Craig, who also passed away recently. Craig did not spend much time at the Lake. However, cottagers from the early days will remember him.
Lot 30 (Miniota/Sukauskas)
The original owner of Lot 30 was Ludmila Miniota. The current owner is identified as Luda Sukauskas and is likely the same person as Ludmila Miniota. The Sukauskas family were Lithuanian. Apparently, the Methuen Lake area geography is much like Lithuania with clear lakes. Word of the Lake passed amongst the Lithuanian community in Toronto, resulting in other Lithuanian families purchasing lots on the Lake, including Dubickas (Lot 31), Stasiulis (Lot 40), Gencius (Lot 35) and Imbrasas (Lot 38).
Lot 31 (Smith/Dubickas)
The original owner of Lot 31 was John Smith. Since 1968 it has been owned by the Dubickas family, first by Rose and Vic Dubickas and then by their son Dr. Stan Dubickas and his wife. The site of the cottage was originally a hunting camp.
Lot 32 (Totten/Schubel)
Rolly Totten bought Lot 32 without having even seen it in person. He was a friend of Glen Warnock’s family and was having dinner at Glen’s grandmother’s house in the spring of 1962, where he signed the papers to buy the lot. When he and a friend first went to the Lake, Totten stood on “his lot” and didn’t like the view. His friend told him that he was on his neighbour’s lot (Warnock’s). He and Glen Warnock split the $500 cost of extending the road to the lots and building a wooden bridge.
The Totten cottage was not heavily used and was vacant for a few years. In around 1984, Wally Schubel bought the cottage from the Totten Estate. Wally Schubel was Jim Shaw’s high school classmate in Toronto and had visited the Shaw cottage on the north side of the Lake.
Lot 33 (Warnock)
Glen Warnock chose his lot on a trip to the Lake with two friends at Thanksgiving 1961. Glen’s Dad was a friend of Bill Drew and they parked the car at Drew’s cottage. Glen rented a boat from Steve McCall who lived near the village of Lasswade, not far from Methuen Lake. Glen’s friends rowed while he looked at lots. The friends were growing tired of rowing when Glen finally stopped on the shore, climbed up the hill and decided that was the place. He bought the lot from his earnings as a lifeguard in Toronto.
He had worked the summer of 1958 as a lifeguard at a beach on Lake Ontario in Scarborough. That summer the beach was closed due to the Lake being polluted. The other lifeguard quit and so Glen worked both shifts, 10 hours/day every day. He had to keep people from using the beach and was not allowed to listen to radio or read. For this he was paid $1/hr., earning enough over the summer to buy his lot.
Warnock’s original cottage was a prefab unit built in the village of Donald, near the town of Haliburton. In Donald, there were three large concrete buildings used to make ammunition in WW1. These buildings were then used to construct the prefab cottages. Warnock saw the pre-fab structure at the Sportsman’s Show in Toronto in the spring of 1962.
Lot 34 (Matthews/Kennaley)
J. Matthews was the original owner of Lot 34. Since 2003, it has been owned by Diane and Mark Kennaley.
Lot 35 (Gencius/Gamage and Kovacs/Ogilvie)
Lot 35 was bought by Vic Gencius and his wife Aldona. Vic was a big man and a good chess player. He was such a big man that he had trouble getting behind the steering wheel of his boat. He went to Toronto to play in chess tournaments on Saturday nights.
Glen Warnock went from cottage to cottage collecting road maintenance dues. When he went to collect from Gencius, he was told “no money” until you play chess with me. Glen told Gencius that he didn’t play chess but Gencius said he knew Glen had played with Stan Dubickas, one of Glen’s grade 7 students at Fern Avenue Elementary school in Toronto. Glen didn’t know the game of chess well but had taught basic chess to Dubickas.
In his game with Gencius, Glen used some moves he had memorized from a book about a Russian chess player. Eventually he ran out of moves and Vic said “you really don’t know how to play, do you?”.
This cottage was bought by Julia Kovac and Doug Gammage in 2005 and then by Dave Ogilvie and his wife Adrienne in 2019.
Lot 36 (Whitten/Dwyer)
P. Whitten was the original owner of Lot 36. It was acquired by Tony and Lea Dwyer in 1980.
Lot 37 (Regehr/Boylan)
H. and L. Regehr were the original owners of Lot 37. The owner since 2005 has been Naomie Boylan.
Lot 38 (Imbrasas-Shaw)
The Imbrasas family heard about Methuen Lake from the Sablinskas family. Both families were originally from Lithuania. After visiting the Sablinskas, they bought Lot 38 in 1962. Today, it is owned by their daughter Kris Imbrasas-Shaw.
Lot 39 (St. Thomas/Cowperthwaite and Wynne)
Mick and Marge St. Thomas were the first owners of Lot 39. Today it is owned by Phil and Sue Cowperthwaite and Kathleen Wynne and Jane Rounthwaite.
Lot 40 (Stasuilis/Lennox-King)
The Stasuilis family were the first owners of this property. It is now owned by Oliver and Jane Lennox-King. Oliver is a good sailor.
Lot 41 (Barbeau/Hewitt/Wild)
J. Barbeau was the original owner of this property. It is now owned by the Wild family, relatives of the Hewitt family.
Lot 42 (Hollett/Weatherburn)
Goldie and Gene Hollett were the original owners. It is still in the family, owned by Jane Hollett and John Weatherburn. Jane tells of “the old days” at her cottage:
I still remember that morning when I was 8 years old. It was a school day. I was standing on the front porch with my older cousin Ed and we both waved goodbye to my mom and dad. My parents Eugene and Goldie Hollett were driving to Lindsay to pay for Lot 42 that they had chosen to buy on Methuen Lake.
My dad was the driving force behind buying the cottage. He wanted a place on a lake to remind him of home in Newfoundland. Rocks, trees and water.
It took a few tries before dad actually found the lake. When he found it, some of the lots had already sold and cottages were appearing here and there. I don’t remember how many lots they looked at but I remember hearing the story from my parents that Pauline Sablinskas, who had the cottage next door, had a lot to do with our success. Pauline and her husband John and children Donald and Angela had already built their cottage. Whenever others came by to look at Lot 42, she told them that it was already sold. She did this because she had learned that my parents had a daughter the same age as hers and she wanted our family to buy it so Angela would have a playmate. It worked. A bond was forged between our families from that moment on.
One of the conditions of buying the lot stipulated that a building needed to be erected on the site within a couple of years. So in the summer of 1960, the shell of our cottage was built. As the Sablinskas family had done before us, we stayed in the Sablinskas boat house that summer while my parents built the cottage.
I don’t remember much about staying in that boat house but I remember that every relative my dad had living in Ontario and his work and family friends all helped one way or another to build the cottage. Money was tight and so a lot of building supplies were donated. Not the wood or nails or floor joists, I think they came from Wilson’s in Apsley. But the windows and doors and stove pipes and all the furniture was donated by friends and family.
The father of my best friend worked as a carpenter at the ROM. They were getting rid of sheets of thick glass that had been used in display cabinets. That glass became our front windows. And since no one gave us windows that opened, those solid glass windows stayed in place and the only way to get a breeze through the cottage was to open the front door and the kitchen window. Later in life, my dad installed a window air conditioner into one of the small front windows. Those windows served us well between 1969 and 1987 when we renovated the cottage and installed windows that opened.
In the early days we used a two-burner camp stove to heat up and cook everything we ate. The “early days” of this camp stove lasted 10 years! My mother went home on Sunday night from the cottage and Monday she started shopping and cooking for the following weekend since everything needed to be cooked ahead of time and heated up on the camp stove. No oven and no gas BBQ. The only BBQ we had used charcoal or briquettes and therefore took a while to get ready to cook on. I recall that we were all excited when electric briquet starters came out to replace starter fluid. They cut the preparation time down. But dad didn’t cook much so I don’t remember bbqing being a regular event as it is now.
Refrigeration evolved over the years. When we first went up, we had an old white icebox. The big block of ice went in the top compartment and pretty much filled it. The food went in the bottom. There was a tray underneath to catch the water as the ice block melted over the weekend. The ice block was purchased in Havelock on the way up on Friday night. The ice house was an old barn- like structure on the road that ran north from the Becker’s/Circle K now. When dad was packing the car, the cardboard box that would hold the ice was lined with plastic and newspaper and was put in the car last. This made it easier for the iceman to put ice in the car using big black ice tongs. Then it was wrapped in more newspaper to slow the melting. Then when we got to the cottage, my dad would unload it into the ice box.
The road between Havelock and the cottage also evolved over the years. I don’t think any part of the road was paved when we started to make the trip in 1960. It was a winding gravel road. Those were the days before air conditioning in cars. The windows needed to be open for a bit of a breeze. Both the breeze and the dust came in. Every few years a small stretch of the road was paved. When we traveled from the cottage to town and hit the pavement, everyone in the car cheered hooray! The hot, dusty, bumpy and winding road was not kind to any adult or child who got car sick. I remember my younger cousins almost always getting car sick no matter how my dad drove. Bags were handed out like on an airplane.
Before we got electricity we had propane. Two big green tanks stood at the back of the cottage. When one tank was empty you had to go outside and switch the valve to the other one. This enabled us to get a stove and fridge and then wall lights. We had 2 wall lamps in the main room. Sometimes they would dim and we would have to open the window or door to let some air in. My dad was a machinist and built everything to 1/100 th of an inch and family members said the cottage was so airtight as a result that burning the two propane lamps used up all the oxygen! Prior to that we had the coal oil Aladdin lamp. We would put the shade on and place it in the middle of the kitchen table to play cards or games at night.
So every step towards making life easier at the cottage was welcomed and celebrated but the early days are the ones that I remember most fondly.
Lot 43 (Sablinskas)
John and Pauline Sablinskas first came to Methuen in 1956. They were looking for another lake, got lost on Sandy Lake Road and ended up at Methuen Lake. They liked the Lake and after a walk along the shore selected Lot 43.
In the spring of 1957, building materials for a bunkie were taken by boatload from the boat landing to his lot. The bunkie was quickly erected and occupied while the main cottage footing piers were built. The building materials for the main cottage were brought in on the newly extended road. With the help of relatives and friends, the main cottage was completed in 1958.
In the early years the kids spent the whole summer at the lake with one of the parents and, when a vehicle was not available, relied on Bill Drew to take grocery store orders on his periodic trips into town. The Drew girls, Noble, Sablinskas and Imbrasas kids, Jane Hollett, and Mike and Hope St. Thomas were all childhood playmates and became summertime friends.
Today Don Sablinskas and his sister Angela and Don’s kids enjoy cottage life at Methuen Lake continuing a 65- year tradition.
Lot 44 (Ellis/Prince)
Lot 44 was originally owned by Donald Ellis and then by his son Ronald. Both were ministers. Ronald Ellis’ interest passed to his daughter Ruth Prince and her husband Phillip.
Ronald Ellis, 90 years old in 2022, recollects about the Lake:
“My first recollection of Methuen Lake dates back to 1950 when we hunted in the
areas around the Lake. My father, Donald Ellis, along with my father-law Leverne Clarke, (now both deceased) and I, after viewing the area, decided to build a hunting camp on the shore of the Lake. At the time there was no other building on the Lake except a cottage on the island which was owned by Lloyd Lean, who was a Forest Ranger. The cottage on the island was the first building on the Lake.
A few years before the survey was made for the lots on Methuen Lake, we applied for and received permission from the crown to construct a building which was to serve as a camp for hunting on this crown-owned land. This was in the spring of 1951. After the survey was completed, and lots became available, we were given the first opportunity to choose our lot and we made the purchase of this property from Ontario Lands and Forests.
It wasn’t easy getting the materials to the building site over a difficult trail, which is now known as Fire Rd. 83, to our selected location in 1951, where we built the first building built on the shores of Methuen Lake. Many hunters and others at the time referred to the Lake as Clear Lake.
The building constructed in 1951 was white and became known as the “Preachers
Camp” because most of the hunters that stayed with us were ministers. The building still exists and is used today for other purposes.
The way into the Lake was a rough fire ranger trail about 3 or 4 feet in width, around stones and fallen trees. There were several other trails which trappers and fire rangers had marked out. We had to make do with the trails and tried our best to make them usable.
In 1962, we built the present cottage on the property and a member of our family has owned it since.”
Lot 45 (Noble)
Harold Noble was the original owner of this property. It is now owned by his son Barry. The Noble family are renowned as great fishermen and for many years have run the annual fishing derby.
Lot 46 (Thompson/Williamson)
The original owners were the Thompson family. Neil and Jackie Williamson acquired the property in 2001. Neil was for some time the Chair of the Methuen Lake Cottage Association (MLCA).
Lot 47 (Rohlik/Retzer)
The original owner of Lot 47 was Arthur Rohlik. The current owners are the Retzer family.
Lot 48 (Drew/Landry and Maggisano)
Bill Drew was the original owner of 48, where in 1962 he built a very rustic cottage with no electricity or plumbing and a very rough kitchen but with a nice wood floor and stone fireplace. I visited the cottage when it was for sale in 2001. There was a 1954 Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) pennant on the wall above the fireplace. Cleveland won the American League that year but lost the World Series to the New York Giants.
Mick St. Thomas had a daughter named Hope. Apparently, at one time Hope and her husband wanted to buy the Drew cottage. Drew wanted $10,000. The sale didn’t happen because Drew wanted to be paid in American dollars.
The original Drew cottage was demolished, and the site is now occupied by the cottage owned by Mark Landry and Melinda Maggisano.
Lot 49 (Ferguson/Noble)
The original owner of Lot 49 was Douglas Ferguson. It was acquired as a second property by Barry Noble in 1998.
Lot 50 (Retallick/Grande)
Don and Carole Retallick were the original owners of this property. Current owners are Tony and Lynda Grande.
Lot 51 (Reid)
Original owners of Lot 51 were Donald and Patricia Reid. Current owners are Al and Pat Reid.
Lot 52 (Gainer/Bottomley)
Original owners of Lot 52 were Raymond and Grace Gainer. In 1965 it was acquired by John and Jean Bottomley and is currently owned by Sharon Bottomley.
Lot 53 (Palowach/Slivinkas)
Original owners of Lot 53 were Michael and Emily Palowach. Current owners are the Slivinkas family.
Lot 54A (Varty/Sapinski/Alexander)
Gordon and Marion Varty bought Lot 54 in 1963. In 1966, it was subdivided, and the east part (Lot 54A) sold to Joe Sapinski. It has been reported that Varty subdivided the lot and built a small cottage on it so that he could sell it to raise money to buy a car for his wife Marion.
Ownership of this east part later passed to sisters Pauline and Karen Sapinski in 1987 who then sold it to Kevin and Sheila Alexander in 1999.
Sheila tells of their purchase:
“Kevin worked with Pat Masterangelo whose in-laws George and Norma Larocque had a cottage in Oshawa Bay. Hearing that there was a cottage for sale nearby. We went to the Larocque cottage to meet Pat and his wife Michelle and to see the cottage. As we sat on the deck with George Larocque waiting for Pat, George pointed and said “that’s the cottage there” to which Kevin said “where?”. The property was so overgrown that the cottage was not visible. The real estate sign was no longer current, in fact the real estate company had changed names.
We walked over to have a look and there were a couple of men there, one of them a cousin of the sisters that owned the place. He had recently relocated to Kingston and was checking the place out for potential use because the owners lived in Manitoba so were unable to use it. While the cousin said they were not interested in selling, he took our number. The sisters eventually called us and said they would entertain an offer. We got it for a price we were happy with. We later found out that they were motivated to sell as they were only about a month away from the Municipality auctioning it off for back taxes. It worked out for us.”
Lot 54B (Varty)
Gordon Varty and his wife Marion built the cottage at Lot 54 in 1963 on what is called by many “Oshawa Bay” because many of the original owners were from Oshawa. This cottage has a large hanger/boat where Gordon kept a small plane. Katherine Stainton always said she wanted to go for a ride in it to see the lake from the sky, that is until Gord caught a wing on the water as he landed and the plane sank.
Gord and Marion’s cottage is now owned by their nephew George and his wife Brenda. George previously owned a cottage across the lake on Lot 10. This cottage is now owned by Murray McCarthy and Martha Asselin (1999).
Lot 55A (Wright/Goldsmith/Harmer/Coverly)
E.J. Wright was the original owner of Lot 55. In 1964, it was subdivided, and the east half sold to Archie and Beatrice Goldsmith. Ownership passed to James and Mary Goldsmith in 1973 and to Maurice and Deanna Harmer in 1986. Current owners are Steve and Suzanne Coverly.
Lot 55B (Wright)
E.J. Wright was the original owner of the west of Lot 55. Title to the west half (Lot 55B) passed to Edward and Dorothy Wright in 1964 and to Louann Wright in 1988.
Lot 56A (Keating/Van Driel)
The original owner of Lot 56 was Roy Keating. The lot was subdivided and in 1975, the east of Lot 56 (Lot 56 A) was sold to Lois Van Driel.
Lot 56B (Keating/Larocque/Mastrangelo)
The original owner of Lot 56 was Roy Keating. In 1975, the west part (Lot 56 B) was sold to George Larocque. It is now owned by the Mastrangelo family.
Lot 57A (Smith/Wellman/Martina)
The original owner of the east part of Lot 57 (Lot 57A) was D. Smith. In 1994 it was purchased by the Wellman family and is now owned by Al Martina and his wife Jayne.
Lot 57B (Jenkins/Harmer/Kraynick)
The original owner of the west part of Lot 57 (Lot 57a) was E. Jenkins. In 1986, it was bought by David and Debbie Harmer and in 2019 by Mike Kraynick.
Cottage Development on Johnston Road (FR 84)
Lots 1-22 and 58-67 are on the north side of the Lake, accessed by FR 84.
Lots 1-3 (Pither/Shaw)
Alan Pither was the original owner of Lot 1. He was known as a water skier. In 1966, he sold it to Jean and Ross Shaw. Ownership transferred to their son Tom and his wife Kris, and later to just Tom, who has lived full-time at the Lake for a number of years.
Jean and Ross Shaw bought Lot 2 in 1961 and Lot 3 in 1962 from the Crown. They built their cottage on Lot 2. This cottage was demolished in 2022, with just the stone fireplace remaining. Their son Jim and his wife Patti-Jo now own and have a cottage on Lot 3.
Ross and Jean Shaw were instrumental in the founding of the Methuen Lake Cottage Association. For many years Jean Shaw ran the lucky draw at the Annual Picnic and was affectionately known as “Queen Jean”. Apparently she used to travel the Lake on a home-made red and white wooden boat, ferrying the kids home to their cottages after a day or evening of partying on “the diving rock” or at someone’s cottage. In the 1960s, it was not unusual to see the diving rock, located on Crown Land just west of the public landing, covered with kids on towels.
Ross and Tom did construction work on many cottages on the Lake.
Lot 4 (Ellis/Heddon/Kavanagh)
Diane Ellis was the original owner of Lot 4. In 1966 was acquired by John Heddon and in 1999 by Phillip and Leanne Kavanagh.
Lot 5 and 6 (Culligan/Hobbs and Lalonde/Cowan and Lougheed)
Lot 5 and 6 were originally owned by Harry and Rose Culligan. Kids on the lake called him “the Culligan man” after the ad for hot water softener systems. Lot 5 is now owned by Bill and Anne Cowan and Lot 6 is owned by Martin and Janet Lougheed. Anne and Janet are sisters. They bought this double lot from Margaret Hobbs and Jennine Lalonde in 2013.
Lot 7 (Bower/Ng)
Art Bower bought Lot 7 in 1961. It was sold to Ron Ng in 1986. This lot is the closest to the public landing. Apparently the first sailing race on the lake was between Art Bower and Ross Shaw on home-made sailboats.
Lot 8A and Lot 8B (Barnard)
Lot 8 was originally owned by Phyliss and Alfred Barnard. The lot was subdivided and in 1968, Lot 8B was bought by William and Hazel Conway and then in 2002 by Margaret Barnard. Title to Lot 8A passed in 2001 to David and Margaret Barnard. Current owners of both lots are now David and Noreen Barnard.
Lot 9A (Dinner/Page/Mulvaney)
Original owners of Lot 9 were Bruce and Helen Dinner. The lot was subdivided and in 1969 the east half (Lot 9A) was sold to Charlotte Stafford and later to the Page family. The “Page cottage” is easily identified as the one built on the rocks close to the Lake. For many years it was yellow. Recently it has been repainted periwinkle blue by current owners Moe and Lisa Mulvaney.
Lot 9B (Dinner/Gates/Powell/Quinn)
The west half of the lot (Lot 9B) was sold in 1979 to Robert and Marg Gates. It is now owned by Katherine Quinn.
Lot 10 (Lennard/McCarthy/Asselin)
Located above the Page cottage is a cottage now owned by Murray McCarthy and Martha Asselin, who bought it in 1999. Previous owners of the cottage were Lennard (1964), Hoskin (1965) and George Varty (1994). George now owns a cottage on the other side of the lake.
Lot 11 (Malo/Brouillette)
The original owner of Lot 11 was Albert Malo, who sold it in 1984 to Elizabeth Brouillette. It is now owned by Gail Kotyk and Steven Brouilette.
Lot 12 (Varty)
George Varty Snr., brother of Gordon, and his wife Barbara built the cottage on Lot 12 in 1964. He passed away in August 2011 at the age of 91. Like many of the original cottagers, he worked at General Motors. The cottage is now owned by his son Gerald and his wife Hetty and by his daughter Darlene and her husband John Burns.
Lot 13 (Lowe/Page/Millar/Dedlow)
The original owner of Lot 13 was Francis Lowe. He sold it to Ernest and Vera Page in 1967 who sold it to Robert and Marg Gates in 1977. Subsequent owners were Irwin and Joyce Powell (1980) and Bill and Brooke Millar, who sold it to Wes and Stacey Dedlow.
Lot 14 (Briden/Freeman)
Also located quite close to the Lake is the cottage on Lot 14, originally owned by Bob Briden. It was purchased in 1987 by Adele Freeman and her husband Geoff Kettel.
Lot 15 (Walker/Palmerton/Van Delft)
The original owner of Lot 15 was Charles Walker. In 1986, title passed to Charles and Betty Walker and William and Amy Palmerton. Current owners include Charlie Walker, Bill Palmerton, Billie-Lee and Any Kennedy and Dick and Janice Van Delft. The cottage is identified on signs as Wa-Pa-To, reflecting its multiple ownership. It may be divided into Lot 15A and 15B.
Lot 16 (Johnston/McEwen/Watkins)
The Johnston family, including Ken, his wife Belle and his mother Millie started coming to the Lake in the mid-1950s. In 1962, Ken Johnston bought Lot 16 for $480. In 1967 it was subdivided, and part sold to George Nickerson and part to Norma McEwen in 1977. Current owners Neil and Sheila Watkins acquired it in 1996.
Lot 16A (Johnston/Small/Bell/Redman and Scholey)
When Lot 16 was subdivided, Lot 16A was created and sold to Art Small, who then sold it to Edward Bell in 1979. Current owners, David Redman and Sandra Scholey, acquired the lot in 1996.
Lot 17 (Johnston/Millar)
Millie Johnston had a camping trailer that she used on the land between Lots 7 and 8, the area now used as the public landing and the “diving rock”. Jim and Tom Shaw used to visit her and her large dog Duke. Ross and Jean Shaw burned the trailer when it was no longer used and in bad condition.
In 1962, Millie Johnston bought Lot 17. In 1984, it was transferred to her son Ken and his wife Bella and in 2003 to their daughter Barb Millar and her husband Jim.
Lot 18 (Platt/Herstead)
William Platt bought the lot in 1962. It was transferred to his daughter Megan Platt in 1987 and later transferred to her daughter Sarah Herstead and husband Chad.
Lot 19 (Price/Knowles/Millar)
Robert Price was the original owner of Lot 19. It was sold in 1978 to Rudy Bereziuk and in 1986 to William and Gwen Knowles. It is now owned by Jim and Barb Millar.
Lot 20 (MacEachern/Ingledew/O’Dwyer)
Derk and Violet Ingledew bought Lot 20 from the original owner MacEachern in 1967. It is now owned by their daughter Susan O’Dwyer, who has spent many years enjoying the Lake, and her husband Gerry. It is a hike down to the Lake from their cottage.
Lot 21 and 22 (Jagger/Johannes/Munro)
The last two lots on the north side are now owned by Alister Munro. The original owner of Lot 21 was Jager (1965), followed by MacNab (1991), and Johnston and Sullivan (1996). The original owner of Lot 22 was Johannes (1968), followed by Baird (1984), Albert Finance (1995), and Gabriel (2006). The cottages on these lot are also quite high above the lake. The cottage on Lot 21 was demolished in 2021.
(Lots 58-67 continue on the north side of the Lake. Lots 23-57 are on the south side of the Lake).
Lot 58 (Stainton/Homewood)
Doug and Kathy Stainton heard about lots being sold on Methuen Lake from their friends in Oshawa, John and Betty Kitchen. In the fall of 1960, the Kitchens and Staintons drove to the Lake for the first visit by the entire family. It was a lovely day but too cold for swimming and so they had a picnic on a rock outcropping behind where the Kitchen cottage now stands.
In 1961, the Staintons bought Lot 58, the last lot on FR84A for $620. They were attracted to this lot because of the birch trees and the sandy lake bottom.
In 2011, their daughter Joan Homewood and her husband Craig Homewood bought the lot from the Estate of Doug Stainton. In 2020, title passed to Craig from the Estate of Joan Homewood.
Joan was Chair of the MLCA from ____ until her death in 2020.
Lot 59 (Martin/Pat Kitchen)
The original owners of this lot with its log cabin were Fraser and Doris Martin. In 1992, it passed to Fraser’s daughters Barbara Miller and Doreen Nichols. The current owner is Pat Kitchen, daughter of John and Betty Kitchen and sister of Ron Kitchen, who owns the cottage next door on Lot 60.
Lot 60 (Kitchen)
Betty Kitchen’s brother Norm was invited to the Lake by his friend Leon Moffat. Leon’s sister-in-law was married to Evan Greenley, who had built the second cottage on the Lake, the one now owned by the Kniff family on Lot 62. From Leon, Norm learned that lots were to be sold at Methuen Lake. He told John Kitchen, who went to the Lake with Betty where they found a canoe and paddled around the lake, choosing Lot 60.
Kitchen’s cottage was built by Al Fice in the spring of 1961 without electricity or a generator (not uncommon for the Lake) Building materials were supplied by Wilson’s in Apsley, now site of the Home Hardware lumber yard. Also helping to build the cottage was Uncle Norm who came from Kingston with some army buddies from Kingston. They got delayed in Coe Hill at a square dance. One of the buddies was a Newfoundlander who was a square dance caller. He was a big hit at the dance. John Kitchen found the fellows the next morning sleeping on the beach.
In 1998, title to the property passed to John and Betty’s children, Ron and Patricia. In 2015, Pat bought her own cottage, the cottage next door at Lot 59.
The final stretch of road to the Kitchen and Stainton cottages (now FR 84A) was rough going. There was a point where the road sloped gently down along the beaver pond. At the lowest point, it became a mud bog in the spring. To prevent cars from becoming stuck, fill was poured in over the years. Beyond that point, the road went up on to a rock shelf.
Evan Greenly was tired of his car bottoming out on the rock on that stretch and so he dynamited the road to dislodge a few of the boulders. Unfortunately, the boulders stayed put and today you can still hit bottom on that stretch. Beyond that, the road was no more than a path but navigable by car, driving around the rocks and tree stumps. Doug Stainton claimed the road followed a deer path and often talked about how to straighten it.
The kids often got out at “the big hill” and walked, complaining of feeling car sick. Many stops were required to pull out beaver dams that caused the road to flood or to dig around rock.
Lot 61 (Greenley/Wiggans)
The name Greenley comes up often in the early history of the Lake. Evan Greenley was Ken Johnston’s uncle. Evan’s wife Eileen was a sister to Gord and George Varty Sr.
Greenley had an icehouse, providing ice for ice boxes used at the cottages in the days before electric and propane fridges. One year the icehouse partly collapsed on him, injuring his leg. There were no phones at the Lake but there was one at the nearby mine, where someone called an ambulance to come. It also could have been that Evan was driven to the hospital by John Kitchen and someone in a station wagon with Evan lying in the back, his pain dulled by some whisky. Reportedly, the icehouse was not used again.
The Greenley family were the original owners of Lots 61-63. In 1968, Lot 61 was sold to the current owners, Wayne and Jacquie Wiggans.
Lot 62 (Greenley/Miller/Page/Kniff)
Evan Greenley built a cottage on Lot 62. In 1967, it was sold to Roy “Shorty” Miller and his wife Sharon. Vera Page owned it briefly (1974). Subsequent owners were the Vass family (1975), Fallis family (1977), Lukas family (1987) and Rob and Deb Tafferschoffer (1998). Since 2001, it has been owned by the Kniff family
Lot 63 (Greenley/Hoselton/Millar)
Gord Hoselton and Shirley Ross bought the cottage on Lot 63 in 1987 and named it “Sandmere”. For many years, the annual Methuen Lake sailing race started from the beach in front of Sandmere. Gord and his brother Carl made sculptures from recycled aluminum alloy that they donated for prizes in the sailing race. (www.hoseltonstudios.ca). The cottage is now owned by Bill and Brooke Millar. Bill’s brother Jim and family also own a cottage on the Lake.
Lot 63A (Greenley/Adair/Passant)
There is a small blue/green cottage on Lot 63A. The original owners of this cottage were Bill and Cookie Adair. John Kitchen arranged to use this little cottage in the spring of 1961 while his cottage was being built. In 1987, the cottage was purchased by the Passant family.
Lot 64 (Booth/Bland)
Lot 64 was purchased in 1964 by Bob and Diane Booth and Florence Imerson. Title has passed to Bob and Diane’s daughters Susan Bland and Pam Booth.
Lot 65 (Henderson/Larsen/Carnovale)
The original owner of Lot 65 was the Henderson family. It was acquired by Arne and Anita Larsen in 1966 and by Vince and Sylvia Carnovale in 1999.
Lot 66 (Henderson/Larsen/Krohn/Reid)
The Henderson family were also the original owners of Lot 66 and title passed to Arne and Anita Larsen. In 1986, Dave and Barbara Krohn bought this lot. The property is now owned by Bill Reid, who became Chairperson of the Methuen Lake Cottage Association in 2022. Reid learned of the property visiting Dwight and Sheila Finlay. He and Sheila are former high-school classmates.
Lot 67 (Hawkins/Williams)
The original owner of Lot 67 was Terry Hawkins. It was bought by Dennis and Jean Williams in 1967 and is now owned by Ross Williams and Donna Williams. Jean Williams was the sister of Ernie Page who over the years owned three different cottages on Methuen. Sadly Jean and Ernie passed away within months of each other in 2022. The Page and Williams family celebrated their times together at each others’ cottages. The highlight of their early summers together was having the family regatta – long before the cottage association was developed. The families had to make costumes and prizes by only using what they had at the cottage.
Living on Lake in the Early Days
Before electricity came to the lake, coal oil lamps were used for light at night. Food was kept cold in ice boxes, with the ice supplied by one of several ice houses on the Lake, one by Greenley’s cottage and one on the island. Eventually ice boxes were replaced by propane fridges.
Propane was also used for stoves and some cottages used Coleman camp stoves for cooking. With the coming of electricity, these appliances were eventually replaced.
Electricity came to the Lake in 1972-73. Ontario erected a yellow sign on a post near the entrance to Sandy Lake Road that said “Live Better Electricity”. The sign fell into disrepair and in 1993, Doug and Katherine Stainton replaced it with a wooden sign with a painting of a sailboat and the words “Live Better”.
The cottage owners were responsible for putting up their hydro pole, which often involved building a “crib” of stone to anchor the pole.
Without electricity, most days at the cottage were spent outside swimming, learning to waterski and riding in the canoe and paddle boat. Other activities included “pulling ferns” to keep down mosquitos and moving rocks to create steps or a path. Berry picking was also popular (and still is with a few people). Berries included wild strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, choke and pin cherries. In recent years, cranberries have also been picked. These berries were used to make jam.
Other outdoor activities for kids included building forts. The kids thought they were off in the wild but in more recent times realized they were within sight of the cottages. Evenings were spent playing card games, board games, checkers, etc., by lamp light and having campfires.
In the early days, some families spent all summer at the cottage- at least part of the family. Mom and kids would stay at the cottage all week without a car, without the ability to go to town for supplies. Dad would come up on the weekends and for his holidays. This required a lot of food planning. Use of such things as powdered milk was common (it also helped keep down costs).
Aug. 31/66: A Day to Remember
Doug Stainton kept a cottage diary for many years, beginning in 1964 until his death in 2011. Below is an entry from Aug. 31, 1966 describing a particularly memorable day on the Lake.
Pat Kitchen, Susan Wonnacot, Katherine Stainton and her daughters Di, Marci, and Joan went to get some apples on the Lasswade Road. The latter four decided to take a short cut through the bush to the cottage road but got trapped trying to get around the swamp. Katherine writes:
“We flushed a big stag with large antlers, which scared us! We could hear Di and Pat’s voices but couldn’t reach them because of the swamps… I was worried we wouldn’t get back to the road but Marci with her guide training was an excellent leader. We could reach the lake eventually if we went east. However, the other direction (north) we could go for miles without getting to any familiar surroundings.
We all got back to the cottage ready for a swim. John and Joan were going up for a ski. Joan was towing John and the ski rope got hooked under the motor causing the boat to turn in a tight circle. Joan panicked when she couldn’t stop the boat and made a mighty leap out of the boat into the water, with me screaming and yelling at the other kids to get on shore… we had a pretty hysterical crowd for a while. The boat had a full tank of gas and continued to circle from 3:45-6 p.m. in our bay. None of the children were hurt. God must have surely been watching over us this day.”
The Havelock Bank Robbery
31st August 1961 was the pay day of three local mining companies, and therefore a day in which the Havelock branch of Toronto-Dominion Bank, 38 kms south of Methuen Lake, would have more money than usual.
During the early morning of the 31st August, four men entered the basement window of the Toronto-Dominion Bank Bank in Havelock, while another waited in the get-away car. The assailants waited for staff to arrive, and once they did at 9:15am, the armed robbers politely demanded bank worker William Lindup to open the safe and put the contents into a duffel bag, fleeing minutes later with $230,000 of cash plus bank bonds. The five robbers were armed with revolvers and an M1 carbine automatic rifle.
As they waited, the neighbouring butcher spotted their Buick vehicle, felt it was suspicious and noted down the license plate.
The robbers fled the scene in their vehicle. Their escape was initially blocked by a bulldozer, then by a car with a punctured tire. After hitting a rock and abandoning their vehicles, the robbers exchanged gunfire with the police and escaped into the wilderness east of the Crowe River.
The Ontario Provincial Police launched a search of the area, involving 75 officers, and captured the suspects on the 3rd and 4th September near Ontario Highway 62. Yvon Lalonde and one other robber were spotted on 3rd September by lumber mill operator Martin Murphy, and Lalonde was arrested by police hours later. On 4th September, three suspects were found by Frederick Andrews of Stirling, one of many civilians who were helping the police with the search. Police constable John Martin then arrested three men. They were held in Peterborough County jail, later transferred to Whitby jail.
The Royal Canadian Mint stated that none of the money was found in circulation. According to the The Toronto Star, the robbery “was considered one of the biggest bank robberies in Canadian history.”
All five robbers, known as the Red Hood Gang, were French-Canadians from Montreal. Jean Claude Lalonde, Yvon Lalone, Roger Poirier, and Roger Martel were found guilty. Hermyle Lalonde died before the trial.
Despite two years of planning, the series of delays in their escape resulted in them becoming known as the “bad luck bank robbers”.
The robbery was the subject of the 2006 book The Bad Luck Robbers by Grace Barker. In 2015, a stage play also called The Bad Luck Robbers, written by Alex Poch-Goldin and directed by Kim Blackwell, was performed at the 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook. The July 2021 issue of the Apsley Backroads newspaper contains a story written by Ruby Woods McDonald, Lance McDonald’s mother, describing the Havelock bank robbery.
The township Wollaston, Ontario, changed the name of the street where the robbers abandoned their vehicle to Bank Robbers Lane.
On the day of the robbery, Katherine Stainton was with her children at the Methuen Lake cottage. Her husband Doug was at home in Oshawa. She learned of the robbery on a radio broadcast and promptly told her children to go to bed so as not to encounter the robbers.
Troubles on the Water
There have been instances of people running boats where they shouldn’t.
It has been reported that Sharon McMahon was out on the lake after dark one night and ran her boat onto the rock island. Fortunately, nobody was hurt.
It is rumoured that someone once water skied through the gap between the two islands, where the rocks are close to the surface. It was possible to do this when the water was high. Before the concrete dam was built in 1977 on the North River at the south end of the lake, the water level was controlled by beaver dams and water level was higher.
In recent years, two fellows were out boating one night and ran their boat up onto the bank close to where the North River flows out of the lake. They abandoned the boat and walked around the end of the lake, through some swamps, to get back to their cottage and retrieved the boat the next day.
Stormy Weather
Periodically big storms hit the lake, including one in the summer of 2022. Many trees were knocked down, some damaging docks (Bill and Brooke Millar’s) and buildings (Kitchen’s bunkhouse). Fortunately, there was a good crew of volunteers armed with chain saws to clear the trees that fell across the road.
There was also a big storm in 2006. Many trees were uprooted. The result of that storm is still evidenced by the exposed roots of the fallen trees. Doug and Katherine Stainton were at the cottage when that storm hit. They recall the sky getting an odd orange/purple colour. When the storm hit, it sounded like a freight train coming through. Below is an entry from Doug Stainton’s cottage diary about that storm.
August 9/06 Wednesday 6 a.m.
“A week ago tonight Aug 3, a tornado struck this area causing a lot of damage to trees but not too much damage to cottage property. On our side of the lake the damage started at Carnovale’s cottage. It took out the hydro and phone connections there and at Booth’s cottage 2 hydro poles were down with the wires laying on the ground, Some damage to Passant’s cottage and a lot of trees down on all three lots. The storm then skipped to Kitchen’s where no damage was done to the cottage but it took down a number of large oak trees at the back of the cottage. At our cottage we had a large oak fall across the roof but it did little damage. A big poplar fell by the boat house causing damage to the roof along the south side. Tom and Jim Shaw along with James from next door took the tree off the roof. The greatest damage was to our car. A large oak fell on it breaking the windshield and the rear window. Also damage to the rear quarter panel, the trunk lid and the hood with minor damage to the roof. We were fortunate as things could have been worse.”
The Fires
There have been fires at Methuen Lake over the years, both forest forest and fires at cottages. There was a large forest fire in the area in the 1920s or 1930s that resulted in much of the area being deforested. The damage from that fire is still evident in the stunted growth of parts of the forest.
Doug Stainton describes a forest fire in August 1991:
“A little excitement Saturday afternoon. A BRUSH FIRE BETWEEN SANDY LAKE AND THE MINE. Lands and Forests quickly doused it using a water bomber, picking up water from our lake and dropping in on the fire.”
There was a forest fire in the area between Sandy Lake Road and FR 84 in 2018. It had been a dry summer and the fire was likely caused by a lightning strike. Water bombers were used to put out the fire and crews patrolled for a week to ensure there were no flare-ups. Damage from that fire was still evident in 2022.
There have been small fires at cottages over the years, sometimes caused by people burning leaves. In July 2022, there was a large fire at Finlay’s island cottage, caused by a short in an electrical cord. A storage shed, and all its contents, was completely destroyed. Fortunately, Finlay’s have a water pump on the island. With the help of a good number of volunteers from the lake, the fire was put out before it spread to the main cottage. The fire departments from Havelock and Apsley came by boat, responding to a 911 call, but the fire was under control by the time they arrived.
Getting There
In the early days, to get to the Lake, you traveled up Highway 28 to the town of Apsley. From Aplsey, you traveled a hilly single-lane tar-covered road to the village of Lasswade. This became County Road 504. Some of the curves were taken out in the 1980s. From Lasswade, you took Sandy Lake Road, little more than two seams of dirt, to get to the Lake.
The trip to the cottage was more of a day trip in the old days. Traveling up Highway 28 to Apsley from Oshawa, the Staintons would often stop at a park near Eels Creek for a picnic and sometimes at Lasswade for water from a pump or a cold pop from Ace’s Coffee Shop.
Eventually it was possible to get to the Lake from the town of Havelock, located on Highway 7. From Havelock, you traveled up a narrow, sandy road running north to Twin Lakes. This road provided access to the Blue Mountain Mine. It became County Road 46 and was paved in increments, eventually all the way to the mine. Originally the mine was reached only by rail.
Just north of Twin Lakes, you turned on to Sandy Lake Road, a hilly, sandy road meandering past Tangamong Lake and Sandy Lake to Methuen Lake. Eventually County Road 46 was extended to join County Road 504 at Lasswade. Sandy Lake Road could be accessed from County Road 46 at a point closer to Lasswade, reducing travel time to the lake considerably.
Methuen Lake Activities
- Picnic (annual meeting)
- Canada Day boat parade and Fireworks
- Corn Roast
- Sailboat race
- Regatta
- Lakeathalon
- 5km run/walk
- Golf tournament
- Fishing Derby
- Winter Carnival
- Picnic
For many years, The Annual Methuen Lake Picnic has been held on the Saturday of the August Civic Holiday long weekend at the picnic point at south end of the lake
Was it ever held on any other date (some references to it being held on Canada Day weekend in the past) or at any other location?
Are number of activities happen at the event, including the annual meeting of the Methuen Lake Cottage Association (MLCA)
Games are held on the clearing at the top of the rock, including such games as three-legged races and a scavenger hunt. Ribbons were awarded for 1st, second and third place, with the kids often sporting multiple colourful ribbons by the end of the day. In 2022, an Olympic-type medal was presented to the kids rather than ribbons.
The concluding game is the egg toss, with almost everyone, both kids and adults, participating. Afterward, the seagulls enjoy the broken eggs left behind. Beginning in 2015, a coveted trophy built by Bill Millar, crowned by a plastic egg, has been presented to the egg toss champions.
A fishpond is held with the younger children getting a prize (set up behind a curtain).
Following the games, there is a hot dog bbq, along with a table of donated desserts.
The event closed with the lucky draw, with prizes donated by local businesses and cottagers. Jean Shaw (known as “Queen Jean) was the ticket seller for many years. She has been succeeded by Martha McCarthy. Many cottagers went home with at least one prize.
The event also afforded an opportunity for cottagers to pay their annual dues, collected by Sheila Finlay.
During COVID, the event was changed with the lucky draw being held on the McCarthy dock, the fishpond on the O’Dwyer dock, the scavenger hunt on the Ogilive Harris dock, and with lemonade on the Finlay dock. The picnic in its traditional format returned in 2022.
- Canada Day Boat Parade and Fireworks:
Since 2004, Canada Day has been celebrated at the Lake by a boat parade and fireworks display. For many years, the fireworks were lit from the little rock island by Dwight Finlay and Tom Shaw.
They are now being lit from the point across the river mouth from the picnic point. The move was initially because of loons nesting on the rock island. It proved to be a good move because the point, being much larger than the rock island, was a safer place to light them, especially important if a firework misfired in the wrong direction. In recent years, Mike Homewood has joined Dwight Finlay in doing the fireworks, with others, including Jim Millar and Bill Reid helping.
The boat parade precedes the fireworks. Boats decorated for Canada Day with flags, red ribbons, and lights parade around the lake, with onlookers cheering them on from their docks.
- Corn roast
The corn roast was held the Saturday night of Labour Day Weekend at the picnic point
In recent years, the event has changed and has been held on the volleyball area at the Bernando cottage with live music- in addition to roasted corn, there is a potluck table of main courses and desserts. Cottagers of all ages enjoy eating, socializing and dancing at the event.
The first event using the “new format” was at the Schubel cottage in 2012. Rob Schubel had guests from England. He organized a “pig and gig” party with Ralph, the butcher from Norwood, providing both the roast pig and the music with his band (one of the highlights was the band’s version of the Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil”). The guests from England were impressed.
So that everyone on the lake could participate, the event was moved to the Bernardos the next year and started earlier in the evening. The band from Norwood made a return appearance that year. In later years, the music was provided by a band from Aurora (a Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty tribute band) and then by Jake Robertson, a one man band. Jake (J8KE) has toured independently worldwide as well as with his band Cardinal Chase. Playing countless colleges, house parties, conferences, festivals and clubs, he has shared stages with everyone from The Beach Boys, Carly Rae Jepsen to Walk Off The Earth- and now the Methuen Lake cottagers.
- Sailboat Race
The sailboat race is held on Labour Day weekend, on either Saturday or Sunday. It is said that the first race was between Ross Shaw and Art Bower in home-made plywood boats. The first races with trophies awarded was in around 1982 (Dave Bernando has the sail book history book.In the 2016 Lake newsletter, it says there are 32 years of records of the race). John Kitchen was the commodore for many years, followed in later years by his son Ron and grandson Stephen. Jim Shaw was the commodore for some years as well. IN 2022, the Dave Bernardo became the commodore, assisted by his brother Matt and the rest of the family
A variety of boats have participated including CL14s, CL16s, Albacores and Lasers and ____________ (the small boat used by Oliver Lennox-King in 2022)
At one time the race started and finished at the beach in front of the cottage known as Sandmere (now owned by Bill and Brooke Millar). The owners at that time, the Hoseltine family, provided recycled aluminum alloy trophies for the winners.
The race now starts and finishes at the public landing. Campers using the landing have been very cooperative
Prizes in recent years have been blown glass ornaments by Liesl Schubel, pennants made by Stephen Kitchen, and “olympic style”medals by the Bernardo family
The course for the race is generally two circuits of the lake but due to lack of wind, some years it is reduced to one circuit- good winds are not common- however, there have been some years with strong winds, resulting in a few tip-overs, though no casualties
- Regatta
Apparently in past years, a regatta was held with canoe races, canoe bobbing, etc. This was before my time. It is said that these events were suspended because of concerns about injury and insurance.
- Lakeathlon
Responding to an interest in a regatta type of event, and to a general increase in interest in running, the first Lakeathlon was held in 2021, organized by Melinda Maggisano. The event was held on the Sunday of Labour Day weekend. It included a 300 meter swim, followed by a 750 meter kayak (some used canoes or paddle boards) and a 2.5 km run. About 30 people participated, some competing as individuals and some part of a team. Unfortunately, the 2022 event had to be cancelled due to bad weather.
- 5 km Run/Walk
Another new event is a 5 km run/walk held in September, organized by Alistair Munro. The first race was in 2020. It is a run/walk from the north end of FR84 to Sandy Lake Road and back. About 15-20 people participate.
- Golf tournament
A golf tournament was held for many years at Owenbrook Golf Course on County Road 504. Owenbrook opened in 1981. It was a short 9-hole course, friendly to families and non-golfers.
Unfortunately, the tournament has not been held since 2020 because the course was closed, following the death of long-time owner/operator Bruce McNichol. The course has since been sold and may be converted to a campground.
The tournament has been organized over the years by John Kitchen, Doug Stainton, Jimm Shaw, Craig and Mike Homewood and others. The tournament was followed by a hotdog bbq and trophy presentations at the course.
Here is a couple of entries about the tournament from Doug Stainton’s cottage diary:
Aug. 7/91: METHUEN OPEN BEST BALL TOURNAMENT: Sue Ingledew, Gerry and Jimmy O’Dwyer and myself won the tournament with a score of 28. All good golfers but me.”
Aug. 17/99: I ran the golf tournament on a damp Sunday. We had 27 players with Jane Wild and Greg Pemberton tied for high score with a score of 37. Chris Shaw was High Lady. Mike Homewood the high junior with a score of 50.
Aug. 23/00: Dianne, Bj, Joan and I were a foursome for the Methuen Open this year. Katherine played in a foursome with Ross Shaw. Tony Dwyer was the top golfer with Joan the top lady golfer this year.
Golf Tournament Participants 2019
- Fishing Derby
A fishing derby has been held at some point over the summer for many years with prizes for the largest fish (usually a small or large mouth bass) caught by an adult and a junior. Families involved in running this have included the Noble, Finlay, and Neil Williamson family.
In July 2000, Katherine Stainton organized a one-day fishing contest to see how many rock bass could be caught, rock bass being a small nuisance fish) Amazingly 748 rock bass were caught. They were brought to the Stainton cottage for counting and then buried in the garden (good fertilizer). The Passant family brought in the most fish with a count of 318. The largest fish caught was 10 1/2 inches.
10. Winter Carnival
A welcome to the lake activities is the winter carnival, begun in ___. Its held on Family Day Weekend in February in “Oshawa Bay” (the bay at the south end of the lake beside the picnic point). Activities include curling (using “stones” made from logs by George Vardy), skating and hockey, dingle ball, and a bbq. Food, all cooked outside, beaver tails, sweet potato fries, hamburgers, and hotdogs. Those organizing this event include George and Brenda Vardy, Barb and Jim Millar and family, Sheila and Kevin Alexander, Bill Reid and family.
Cottagers have been enjoying the Lake in the winter for many years.The McLean family (Sheila Finlay’s family) started coming to the Lake in the winter in 1964 and bought their first snowmobile in 1965. Dwight Finlay’s family were friends of the McLean family. They also came to the Lake in the winter. Dwight’s father would fill a 45- gallon drum with gas for snowmobiles.
Below is an entry from Doug Stainton’s cottage diary about his first trip to the Lake in the winter:
Jan. 21/67: John, Joan, Marci, Katherine and I made our first mid-winter trip to the cottage. Art Bowers in with a snowmobile so track good and easy walking. Don Ellison and family also up. John chopped a hole in the ice, about 12-14 inches of ice with a covering of 2 inches of snow.