Fellow 1000 Islanders,
I didn’t realize this task would be so tough. This month’s winner is a genuine tough call. The last image, a high shot of Grenadier Island was successfully identified by many, with several worthy “captions” submitted.
Two however were exceptional, both from people well positioned to comment as they are both cottagers on Grenadier. One was from Wilma Grootegoed whose touching words explained the magnetic attraction and sheer importance of this place to its residents, something we all understand.
The other was from Jeff Duke who shared some interesting and little known history of Grenadier, that I think deserves to reach a larger audience and for that reason his effort takes this month’s laurels:
“Grenadier was originally considered two Islands because in high water years you could traverse the island by boat in a shallow swampy area. The entrance to that old waterway is hidden just West of the park facility located on the South side of the Island near the middle. It has been filled in over the years by vegetation and the building of the Township road - a small sluice is all that is left crossing the road where the old waterway was.
It is interesting to note that Grenadier, the Eastern end of Tar and the water over to the Canadian Mainland, perfectly pictured, was one of the very favorite places of the local Indians many years ago. That culture flourished for many hundreds of years. Many Indians lived on Grenadier, the Eastern part of Tar and along the Mainland. My Great- Grandfather, Charles A. Duke, excavated a prominent Chief's burial mound. located just on the Golf Course next to our family property - just West of the 8th green. Today such an act would be heresy but in 1908 or so it was not. The Chief asked to be buried there because it was his favorite spot along the River. The artifacts of that amateur dig are at the Brockville museum.
The Indians had extensive Eel farming operations off the end of Tar, between Grenadier and the shore. They used wooden weirs to raise the eels, which they used for food and trading purposes, becoming prominent and successful in the Indian culture. That culture began to disappear when settlers moved up the St. Lawrence in great numbers in the 1700 and 1800's. A good account of that can be found at the Parks Department, there being a small book they published on the Grenadier area.
Grenadier itself had over 100 people living on it at one time, mostly families that left the fledgling U.S. after the Revolution because they maintained their allegiance to King. A school, many farms and a few small businesses thrived on the Island for a brief moment. That period did not last but about 100 years. As the economy developed, subsistence farming was not very attractive and the European settler island culture started disappearing too, replaced by the summer residence culture we have today.
That change really got going in the Grenadier area with the building of the Senecal Hotel, near the middle of Grenadier on the North side. That is where my Great-Grandfather started coming during the summer. Interestingly, he and the original Charles Gilbert, competed for the affection of the same woman, engendering an inter-family rivalry that did not peter out until the 1970's. :) C.A. Duke and Charley Gilbert competed in many ways, fishing, racing boats and even over the building of the little golf course shown in the picture on Grenadier, which I think Charley Gilbert won - he did a great deal of work building the course, but C.A. definitely won the fishing and boat racing contests, being in Sports Afield for his Muskie fishing exploits and having boats that raced at various placed along the River. Pictures of the Muskies C.A. caught, primarily off of Grenadier - the family home is built on Muskellunge Point - are truly staggering.
I guess the real story is that the River has attracted people for as long as people have been around.”
Too true and a great bit of history. Thanks for sharing it Jeff. A collection of prints of the lighthouses of the 1000 Islands is headed your way.
For this month’s shot I thought I’d share a dawn view that I shot last fall. It should be fairly recognizable, though for some reason the perspective makes it seem quite different to me. In any case, it offers lots of latitude for more great captions.
Enjoy!
Ian Coristine
