Although born in England and raised in New Zealand before arriving as an adult in Canada, Kenneth With brought with him a staunch belief in all things British. That, plus a possibility he might have been descended through his mother from Izaak Walton (English author of The Compleat Angler, about the art and spirit ofContinue reading “How we found the smelts”
Author Archives: ritchiewith
The iron canoe
Credit for this story goes to James P. Barry, author of Georgian Bay, The Sixth Great Lake (Clarke, Irwin & Co., 1968). The settlement at Penetanguishene developed after the British military moved their bases there from the mouth of the Nottawasaga River and later, after the War of 1812, from Drummond Island. Along with themContinue reading “The iron canoe”
Puddleduck
Creating a memory after 75 years My father wanted a tender to use with the Blackduck. (This was even before the Egg.) So his boat-crazy son (myself, about 10) showed him a design in one of the catalogues I had collected. Dad sent away for the plans, ordered the wood, cut out the parts. ThenContinue reading “Puddleduck”
Ships of the Bay
There have been many commercial and government ships on Georgian Bay over the years. Here we look at just a few that might be of interest. Midland City By far the oldest steamer was the Midland City. Her original name was Maud when she slid down the ways at Kingston Marine Railway on Aug. 16,Continue reading “Ships of the Bay”
‘Schooner Days’ man
One hot and humid summer day in 1969 at Nancy Island, Wasaga Beach, an elderly man sat in a wheelchair in the shade off to the side of a growing crowd of people. Occasionally someone would go up to him, shake his hand, and chat for a few moments. This was the man who, followingContinue reading “‘Schooner Days’ man”
A fish story
One calm autumn day off the dock at Wahnuhke we saw the glassy surface of the water broken by a couple of bumps. Thinking it must be a log floating just below the surface, we went out to retrieve it before a passing boat got damaged. As we got close it suddenly sank out ofContinue reading “A fish story”
Remembering the Midland City
Anyone familiar with Georgian Bay likely has heard of the inter-island steamer Midland City. When I first wrote this around 2004 for the Midland Free Press there might even have been a few people still living who had worked on the beloved old boat or who, like me, at least had a ride on her.Continue reading “Remembering the Midland City”
Living in harmony with the land and water
A nature writer who has been my idol for about 60 years is the late Sigurd F. Olson of Ely, Minnesota. The title of his first book was The Singing Wilderness. Now, how can that not make you want to read it? His home ground was the Quetico-Superior canoe country northwest of Lake Superior. ButContinue reading “Living in harmony with the land and water”
Calamity at Key Harbour
A memory by Steve Chisholm I believe it was the summer of 1970 when Grandpa (Kenneth With), my Mum (June Chisholm) and I embarked on a trip to Killarney in Quest. The trip up the shore was great, good weather and calm seas. We spent the first night at Withrock, at Manitou, and proceeded theContinue reading “Calamity at Key Harbour”
The Egg
She was going to be burned. Lying on a heap of scrap piled during an end-of-season cleanup, she was one of several handy little “jolly boats”, as the navy called them, used on the waterfronts of Sea Cadet camps across Canada. This one was at Lake of Two Mountains, west of Montreal, where the commandingContinue reading “The Egg”
SWEETWATERS 