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PAGE 2 CanewS SPRING 2006Manager’s <strong>Message</strong>by Janice GriffithThe big newshas been thevisit by HRHPrince Andrew,the Duke of Yorkon May 11, hisagreement to beour Royal Patron,and theacquisition of three Royal Family Canoesinto our collection on long term loan.A lot goes into a project like this andthanks are due to many people whohelped make it happen. Terry Guest andDon Ross were instrumental in the ideataking hold. Don Curtis was of great helpin the overall planning and organization ofthe day, as was Verne McKay’s steadyleadership. Thanks are due to the CanadianMilitary for bringing the Royal Canoesfrom Great Britain to Trenton.McWIlliams Moving and Storage volunteeredto transport them – 600 poundcrates and all to the Museum.Kim Watson and Jeremy Ward andvolunteers in the artisan area worked longhours in unloading, uncrating and preparingthe canoes for exhibit on a very tighttime frame.Mike Paterson, our new volunteergoodwill ambassador worked with theExaminer to prepare copy for the fourpageinsert May 3.Tina Meiklejohn was in charge of gettingthe invitations printed and out andvolunteers at the front desk did the stuffingand stamping. When it became apparentthat many of our invitations hadnot arrived in a timely manner, Tina organizeda telephone blitz.Ralph Green did a special cleaningand waxing to make the floors shine.Kenner students helped direct traffic inthe parking lot. Peter Southall of thePublic Works Department provided trafficbarriers and had the boulevard in front ofthe museum reseeded.Security was provided by the RCMPand the Lakefield Peterborough Police.BJ Curtis and her hospitality committeetook care of the cake and tea. NeilBroadfoot donated one of his originalwatercolours as a gift from the Museumto HRH.Mike Cullen was our official photographer.John Mariasine took on the role ofbriefing and managing the media duringthe visit.Barry Diceman and Kim Watsonmanned the security check-in and MarkLamb helped place people in their respectivepositions to meet HRH. Verneand Pat McKay along with myself, actedas hosts to HRH during his visit.Carolyn Hyslop and her team of animatorsalong with students from the MillbrookHome School Collective demonstratedEducation programs.Freshwater Trade played the NationalAnthem and the drummers and singersfrom Curve Lake entertained.And the largest vote of thanks goes, ofcourse, to the Duke of York, for making itPhoto: Mike Cullenpossible for the canoes to come to us andfor visiting our Museum and giving all ofus a tremendous boost.While it would be hard to top thePrince’s visit, there are many more excitingthings coming up this spring andsummer. June 2 we host David Breretonan anthropologist who will be giving alecture. Once again our friends fromKenner Collegiate will be running theKawartha Family Fun Day on June 3 –paddle from Lakefield to Peterborough,plus much more. A new feature in thisevent will be the first annual cardboardcanoe race – sure to be memorable!On June 11 we will open what is shapingup to be a very thoughtful, and poignantexhibit on canoe safety featuring thePère Lallemant – one of four canoes involvedin the 1978 tragedy on LakeTemiskaming that resulted in the loss of13 young lives (see article on page opposite).Please be sure to check the upcomingevents section on page 8.
SPRING 2006 CanewS PAGE 3Volunteer Profile – Carole Zieglerby Gwyneth HoyleIf you are sitting behind the reception deskat the Canadian Canoe Museum and seesomeone dart out of the gift shop with speedand purpose, eyeglasses on a cord aroundher neck, the chances are very good that it isCarole Ziegler. With the help of a great rosterof volunteers, Carole has been runningthe gift shop for the past five years. Althoughshe is too modest to admit to being in charge,whenever there is a question to be answeredor a knotty problem to be solved, the usualresponse is “Ask Carole”.Carole began helping out in the very basicgift shop that was tucked around the cornerfrom the first reception desk on the MonaghanRoad side of the building, when theMuseum opened its doors to the public in1997. She and her husband, Don, moved toProdigal CanoeA canoe that was lost has been found.And a very special new exhibit to this prodigalcraft is being dedicated on Sunday, June11 th , 2006. The canoe, a 22-foot Selkirkmodel made by the Chestnut Canoe Company,was one of four involved in the 1978St. Johns School tragedy on LakeTemiskaming. Immediately following thecoroner’s inquest into the tragedy, all fourcanoes effectively disappeared. Word wasthat they had been destroyed by the schoolbecause they were unseaworthy or for fear oflitigation. But unbeknownst to almost anyone,Andy andBarb Greaney,who lost their13-year-oldson, Davie,in the tragedy,askedfor, and weregiven the canoetheir son had been paddlingin on the last day of his life.For twenty-seven years, the bigblue canoe, named Père Lallemant, wastucked away in a shed in Port Carling, waitingfor the day that its story might be told.Peterborough twenty-four years ago fromUnionville where Carole had been running agift shop in a senior’s home. Don,whose work at Quaker Oats wasin sales and marketing, hasplayed a quietly effective role asadviser in the gift shop, as wellas using his wood-working skillsto build display cabinets in thecurrent store.A visit to the gift shop makesa wonderful conclusion to a tourof the museum, as well as attractingshoppers who are lookingfor something special forChristmas or birthdays. The merchandize iscarefully chosen to complement the theme ofthe museum and is attractively displayed.That day came not so long ago when theGreaneys decided to donate Père Lallemantto the Canadian Canoe Museum, to be thecenterpiece of a new exhibit that opens onthe 28 th anniversary of the tragedy.The Remembering Temiskaming exhibithas three main themes: the first is to quietlyremember those who died; the second is todisplay a remarkable example of one of thelast canvas-covered canoes for group paddlingto be made at the Chestnut CanoeCompany plant in Oromocto,New Brunswick;third, and perhaps most important,is that this canoe marks a majorturning point in thinking aboutcanoe safety, particularly therisks of cold water, for paddlers and educatorsacross Canada and around the world.The St. Johns tragedy was a turning point inhow people thought about risk and canoes.Carole has a great eye for what will pleasecustomers, enjoys choosing stock, and withDon as chauffeur, sheand as many of the storevolunteers as possibleattend the two major giftshows held in Torontoeach year. Her preferenceis to buy from Canadianartists and suppliers,and from localartists whenever possible.The gift shop providesa valuable source ofrevenue, and Carole and Don both get greatsatisfaction from the contribution of their volunteerwork to the life of the museum.“From that moment on, everybody takingvoyages would look twice at standards ofsafety”, said Canoe Museum founder, KirkWipper.Following broad consultation with peoplefrom all walks of life who responded to abroadly circulated open invitation for input tothe development process from museummanager, Janice Griffith, the exhibit wasdesigned by educator James Raffan, authorof Deep Waters: Courage,Character, and the LakeTemiskaming CanoeingTragedy.The dedication and openingof this powerful new exhibit willinclude the premier of a songwritten especially for theLallemant canoe, along withcomments from the Greaney family, and aspecial performance by the Lakefield CollegeSchool Choir under the direction of musicmaster John Kraus. The public is invited toattend the event on the Grand Portage at theCanadian Canoe Museum on Sunday, June11 th , 2006 at 2:30 in the afternoon.Admission is the regular price, with refreshmentsto follow.Photo: Mike Cullen
Page 1: Prince Andrew’s visit, see page 2
Page 5 and 6: PAGE 6 CanewS SPRING 2006Education
Page 7: PAGE 8 CanewS SPRING 2006Notices an

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