BALLAD OF THE BACK ROAD FARMER Our parson, he has left this town So he went down To where the farms are not all stone, Where cattle are more beef than bone. He’s settled there, seems full of cheer, Though missing friends that he’d made here. Our new man came from Barbot Lake, A good […]
From January 2007 When he made plans for the impending moose hunt I doubt that Ricky Burke gave any thought to being trampled. Burke, age 27, is an independent logger. In short he’s a strong, well conditioned young man who is at home in the bush. The drive from Bancroft to Terrace Bay takes about […]
Camp Madawaska is a former Salvation Army camp in Nipissing District Ontario, Canada, near the entrance to Algonquin Provincial Park. It was named after the Madawaska River as the Opeongo River, one of its tributaries, flows through the camp. The main lake on the property was Victoria. Two islands are in the lake, known by […]
Lord Combermere (1773-1865) was a distinguished British Cavalry commander in the early 1800s. Combermere Abbey, Cheshire, England, was founded by Benedictine monks in 1133. King Henry Vll kicked the Benedictines out and ultimately the Abbey came into Lord Combermere’s ancestral family from whence he took his title. Today it is both a tourist attraction and […]
CAPTAIN JOHN DENNISON BORN – Penrith, England, 1799. Held a commission in the British army serving in the Peninsular war and in India under Sir Charles Stapleton Cotton, Viscount of Combermere Abbey. Sir Charles was known for his “splendid appearance in battle” which earned him the moniker “Lion of gold.” Dennison married Anne Sanderson of […]
In 1897, on the advice of her father, eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a short letter to the editor of The New York Sun in which she sought confirmation of Santa Claus’ existence. In response, Francis Pharcellus Church published an editorial on September 21st, entitled ‘Is There a Santa Claus? ‘. Of interest, in 1997 Virginia’s […]
DEER CAMP MEMORIES Basically these memories stem to 2008 when I joined The Ridge Deer Camp. Many of the original members can date themselves as far back as 62 years. The accompanying photos are indicative of the good times shared by some very fine sportsmen. By no means does this include all of the good […]
TWO ALLIGATOR STORIES FROM 2022-12-20 IDAHO – Sounds like an old tyme dirt farmer said “I’d a hoe” when he started out. But I digress. Brian Marek of the Idaho Department of Fish & Game received an unusual call on Friday, October 20 at 8:30 pm from a dog walker who came across a loose […]
On May 21, 2022, a major wind storm, known as a derecho, laid waste the bushlands across southern Ontario running north of and parallel to Highway 7 felling trees like falling dominoes. The devastation impacted Marmora, The Ridge Road near Coe Hill and Limerick Township. Hydro crews were pressed into service. It took weeks in […]
Tootsie Rolls There was a time when you could find these candies everywhere. During the Korean conflict the army loved tootsie rolls because they weren’t prone to a meltdown when included with army field rations. In order to confuse the Chinese military Intel decided to use the word tootsie roll to mean bullets. And so […]
