BIRPOA Newsletter, May 2007

By Orland French, President

175 years of Shipping and Cottaging

This year marks another milestone for the Rideau Canal. It has been 175 years since the first commercial boats passed through the system in 1832. While the Canal is used solely for recreational purposes now (with the exception of the occasional service vessel), it was built for shipping goods and passengers. Thousands of immigrants passed through Sand Lake on steamboats, bound for Kingston and Lake Ontario heading for settlement on good farmlands in western Upper Canada. No doubt they pondered the rocky shores of Birch Island and hoped they'd finding something better.

(Historical note: Passenger boats bound for Upper Canada, now Ontario, followed the water route to Montreal, Ottawa and the Rideau Canal to avoid the rapids on the St. Lawrence River. Eastbound steamships simply shot the rapids back to Montreal.)

Parks Canada is celebrating the 175th anniversary with a series of events along the Canal. You can find them listed on the website www.Rideau175.org . As part of the anniversary celebrations, Parks Canada is planning festivities of some sort for Jones Falls on Labour Day weekend. Keep a sharp eye out for details. For instance, I met a man at a museum convention in Ottawa who says he has been contracted to build a demonstration post-and-beam building at the Falls that weekend.

Ants at Sea

I made my first round-the-island kayak trip of the season on May 7 but I wasn't alone. Little did I know I had stowaways. On my return to the cottage, I broke apart the kayak paddle for storage (it's designed to do this) and noticed bits of white fluff falling out of the core. I banged the end of the tube on the dock and a couple dozen big black ants tumbled out.

They had built a nest in the hollow handle. I can't imagine how they felt as the paddle dipped up and down, up and down, up and down, hundreds of times on my voyage. No wonder they staggered off the dock.

World Heritage Site

Will we soon be cottaging in a World Heritage Site? And if so, how will we be affected? Canada has applied to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to have the Rideau Canal designated as a World Heritage Site. The decision will be announced in New Zealand in June.

If the canal becomes a World Heritage Site, it will be the 14th in Canada. Most of the others are natural sites, with the notable man-made locations being the historic area of Quebec City and the old town of Lunenburg.

The Rideau was nominated because it was one of North America 's most challenging engineering feats of the 19th century, and because it is still operating along its entire length today.

Septic Tank Reinspection Project

The new septic tank re-inspection program in the Township of Rideau Lakes is unlikely to affect Birch Island this summer, although it could improve the water quality of Sand Lake.

According to an official of the township,  inspections will be carried out on septic systems of older cottages around Davis Lock. This is one of four problem areas identified for the initial one-year pilot project. In all, about 100 systems will be inspected this year, most of them along the Rideau system. The inspections have begun after years of lobbying by Ralph Robertson and others who were concerned about the environmental dangers posed by older and inadequate septic systems.

As this is a pilot project, no fees will be levied against property owners for the inspections. Inspectors will also try to avoid ordering drastic measures to correct problems. Experience has shown that only about two per cent of septic systems are failures requiring a work order. Among the things that inspectors will be checking is evidence of trees growing on or close to septic tile fields, and cottages that do not discharge grey water into the septic system.

BIRPOA membership fee

The annual membership fee for BIRPOA has been raised to $40 from $25. At the general meeting last summer, a motion was passed allowing the directors to raise the fee up to $50. After some reflection, cogitation and consultation, the directors settled on an annual fee of $40. Those of you who paid for two years in advance will get a bargain, as we will honour the fee we charged last year.

Annual Meeting

The annual meeting will be held on Sunday, August 5. That's the Civic Holiday weekend. Location will be the usual place -- the lawn at Horton's, assuming we have their blessing.

Howard's Cabin

The old cabin that was Howard Burch's summer retreat is no more. It has been demolished to make way for a new Viceroy cottage to be built on the same site by John and Janice Calver.

More Signs

John Feltmate, the director in charge of telling people where to go, is arranging for more signs on the island's walkways. In addition, if cottagers want to order signs for their own personal trails, they should contact Alice Howarth, 94 Birch Island, alice_howarth9@hotmail.com

Get Locked Up !

Who knew how much murder, mischief and mayhem abounded along the Rideau Canal ? Only the 18 fertile minds who wrote the collection of short stories in Locked Up , that's who. This book has been released just in time to celebrate the Canal's 175th anniversary. The stories have been written by residents and cottagers who have been poking about the dark side of the Rideau for decades. There's Orland French exploring the dangers of the sluices at Jones Falls and Sue Warren telling a chilling ghost story about Chaffers Lock. The fate of Emily Jane on Sand Lake is a whimsical tale, and editor Sue Pike has chosen Davis Lock as the setting of two old war veterans dealing with a shrewish wife.

You'll find this literary gem at the finer establishments along the Rideau, in Ottawa, in Kingston and at Hotel Kenney. Only $15.95 separates you from hours of delightful hammock reading.

The Branch Library

Speaking of books, Bob Cavenagh has an idea for an outdoor library. It would be a book exchange available to everyone, where we could take books we no longer want and exchange them for others. Bob proposes to build a shelter and place the exchange behind his cottage under the trees along the Island trail. He calls it a 'branch library'. Watch for details. Presumably these will be books we never want to see again, so this could be the first library to fine you for returning books...

The Authors are Back

Once again local authors are celebrating light cottage reading with the Second Annual Authors Festival at Jones Falls on July 21. It's subtitled 175 Minutes of Murder and Mayhem in honour of the Rideau's 175th anniversary. The featured title is Locked Up , the collection of short stories set on the Rideau described above. There will be readings and conversation from our favourite writers. Just like last year, there will be free ice cones. Marketplace runs from 12 noon to 1 pm and 4-5 pm, with readings from 1:05 to 4 pm, at Hotel Kenney.

Our Island Web Site

For a lot more information on BIRPOA, go to www.birchisland.info . John Curley has built and maintains this website, which contains everything from a list of cottagers to John Feltmate's TV Guide to maps and photos. John C. has also built in a special connection to GoogleEarth which is truly delightful. You can see your cottage from space! Keep up to date with BIRPOA through our website.