For over three decades Shirley compiled information about Quetico’s natural and human history. To accomplish this, she took extended fact finding canoe trips into the interior of Quetico, worked with the Elders of the Lac La Croix First Nation to make their history and contributions to the area available to others, read Quetico Park research… Continue reading Shirley Peruniak – Farewell to a Quetico Legend
Category: Articles
Book Review: Prehistoric Lakeheaders – The 90-Century Story of Pre-Contact Thunderbayans by Alan Wade
Alan Wade is giving a talk about his book on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 pm at the Waverley Library in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Prehistoric Lakeheaders – The 90-Century Story of Pre-Contact Thunderbayans is available at Amazon.ca in both paperback and kindle and at Amazon.com This book is not a technical, scholarly treatise, but rather a… Continue reading Book Review: Prehistoric Lakeheaders – The 90-Century Story of Pre-Contact Thunderbayans by Alan Wade
His Enthusiasm is Contagious
His Enthusiasm is Contagious In 1963 Joe Marohnic was teaching in Niagara Falls, Ontario when he and his wife Jennifer decided to get away from the pollution and bureaucracy in southern Ontario. After much searching they decided on a town on the edge of a wilderness park. Joe took advantage of the easy access to… Continue reading His Enthusiasm is Contagious
“They Came From All Around” by Harold Alanen
Harold Alanen’s roots run deep into the glacial till of the area south and west of Thunder Bay. His grandparents were part of the influx of Finnish immigrants that arrived here in the early 1900’s. Harold was born in Nolalu, went to school there and later taught at the same school. Harold graduated from Lakehead… Continue reading “They Came From All Around” by Harold Alanen
Life on the Invisible Line by John Bouchard
I met John on Saganaga Lake in the early 1980’s. He was a Conservation Officer who worked along the border – the invisible line – between Minnesota and Ontario. When visiting John and Eve I noticed the mural depicting life on Saganaga in the entryway to his office/home on the lake. John was also known… Continue reading Life on the Invisible Line by John Bouchard
From the Pacific to the Atlantic by Canoe
When I first heard that Mike Ranta was planning a solo canoe trip from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean I thought to myself that would be an incredible feat – but that it was impossible. I was proven wrong. This book, Mike and Spitzii’s Great Canadian Adventure 2014, tells how a man and… Continue reading From the Pacific to the Atlantic by Canoe
Return of the XY Company
The XY Company was a Canadian fur trade enterprise that was formed in 1797 by a group of men that were disenchanted with Simon McTavish’s leadership of the NorthWest Company. They were in direct and sometimes rabid competition with the NorthWest Company who labeled their packs NW; hence the new group called themselves by the… Continue reading Return of the XY Company
Breaking Barriers: Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park
Introduction On May 10, 1992, Sheila Hainey decided to go to town during her lunch hour to pick up some bedding plants for her garden. She was an avid gardener and she was concerned that if she waited until after work the plants would be sold out.Sheila worked at Quetico Park’s Nym Lake entry station… Continue reading Breaking Barriers: Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park
Breaking Barriers: Conclusion
Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park – Conclusion When Tom stepped out of the water at the French Lake beach on August 28, he had swum 80 kilometers and portaged over a kilometer from his start on the west end of Beaverhouse Lake on August 24. It was a tremendous accomplishment – especially for someone… Continue reading Breaking Barriers: Conclusion
Breaking Barriers: Day Five
Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park – Day Five They awoke to another beautiful, sunny day and they all knew that soon there would soon be a large group of people gathering at French Lake to see Tom complete the “Breaking the Barrier” swim. For the last three mornings they had been on the water… Continue reading Breaking Barriers: Day Five
Breaking Barriers: Day Four
Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park – Day Four After the storm had passed, the weather looked stable. Today was the swim across the big, open expanse of Pickerel Lake. If the wind picked up, this could be a difficult day. It started out cloudy and fairly calm and there was just a light wind… Continue reading Breaking Barriers: Day Four
Breaking Barriers: Day Three
Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park – Day Three Everyone was up before sunrise to get an early start. Mike McKinnon, the editor of the “Atikokan Progress”, was writing articles about the trip for the Atikokan Progess. He noted that: “About eight of us were camped on the north side of the lake, and someone… Continue reading Breaking Barriers: Day Three
Breaking Barriers: Day Two
Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park – Day Two This is the big day; yesterday’s ten km swim was just a warm up. Tom was determined to make the second day a long and productive one. The forecast was for a warm day with light winds so Tom set an ambitious goal. He hoped to… Continue reading Breaking Barriers: Day Two
Breaking Barriers: Day One
Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park – Day One The first day of the swim, August 24, started at Hoppy’s Drive-In, owned by Tom’s sister Tammy and her husband Dan Ellis. About one hundred people gathered to give Tom and his crew a send-off. A caravan of cars escorted them to the junction with Highway… Continue reading Breaking Barriers: Day One
Breaking Barriers: Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park
Click here for Print Version Introduction On May 10, 1992, Sheila Hainey decided to go to town during her lunch hour to pick up some bedding plants for her garden. She was an avid gardener and she was concerned that if she waited until after work the plants would be sold out.Sheila worked at Quetico… Continue reading Breaking Barriers: Tom Hainey Swims Across Quetico Park
Shirley Peruniak: Quetico Park Naturalist
Originally published June 10th 2004, revised January 25, 2010 With the opening of Highway 11 from Thunder Bay to Atikokan in 1956, there was, for the first time, road access to the northern part of Quetico Park. One of the people who drove that road and started a canoe trip at French Lake that summer… Continue reading Shirley Peruniak: Quetico Park Naturalist
Quetico Park: Twelve Thousand Years in the Making – A Century of Protection
Quetico celebrated its 100th Anniversary last year. Quetico was originally set aside in 1909 as the Quetico Forest Reserve, became a Provincial Park in 1913, logging was banned in 1972 and it was declared a wilderness park in 1978. Quetico is characterized by towering cliffs, rocky islands and sandy beaches in a watery landscape of clear… Continue reading Quetico Park: Twelve Thousand Years in the Making – A Century of Protection
Excerpts from chapters in Quetico: Near to Natures Heart.
Prelude (excerpt) QUETICO — ONE HUNDRETH ANNIVERSARY OF A “MAGIC LAND” In 1909, Ernest Oberholtzer, a pioneer in preserving the Quetico-Superior region, made a canoe trip in Quetico with his Ojibwa friend Billy Magee. They saw moose almost every day; they were intrigued by the pictographs they encountered; they marvelled at the beauty of Rebecca… Continue reading Excerpts from chapters in Quetico: Near to Natures Heart.
Bob & Leone Hayes: A Quetico Romance
In the spring of 1942, sixteen-year-old Bob Hayes landed at the Bayley Bay Ranger station on Basswood Lake. Years later, he remembers thinking that “I thought I was descending into the ultimate paradise.” Since he was coming from Beaverhouse Lake, where he had worked on a walleye spawning crew, he already knew that working and… Continue reading Bob & Leone Hayes: A Quetico Romance
Robinsons of Souris River Canoes
Here’s to You, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson Most people come to Atikokan, Ontario to paddle canoes; the Robinson’s, however, came to Atikokan to build them. They also happily put their own canoes to use by paddling the numerous lakes, rivers and creeks that are found on this portion of the Canadian shield. Atikokan is justifiably… Continue reading Robinsons of Souris River Canoes
Joe and Vera Meany: 26 Years in Quetico
Joe and Vera Meany are now retired in their home along a river about 50 km from Atikokan. For 26 years, from 1971 to 1996, they were the Quetico Park Rangers at the Ranger Station on Lac la Croix. During their years in Quetico, the Meanys built a strong reputation as extremely competent and helpful… Continue reading Joe and Vera Meany: 26 Years in Quetico
Devil’s Crater – Portal to the Past
My first glimpse of Devil’s Crater took my breath away. I was shooting aerial photographs of outpost cabins for a local outfitter when the pilot and I decided to take a detour to look at an unusually shaped lake off in the distance. In a few minutes, the small, almost perfectly circular lake was below… Continue reading Devil’s Crater – Portal to the Past
Life Under the Ice
During the winter, all life under the ice has to adapt to conditions that are strikingly different from those found in the summer. In the summer, our lakes are layered with the warmest water on top and the coldest on the bottom. As you descend, the temperature slowly decreases until you reach the thermocline where… Continue reading Life Under the Ice
Rapids and Waterfalls in Quetico
The high number of rapids and waterfalls in Quetico Park is primarily due to the large amount of exposed bedrock combined with numerous creeks and rivers. Three images of these rapids and waterfalls are shown below. A Gallery of images of waterfalls and rapids in northwestern Ontario is found in the Photography section. A number… Continue reading Rapids and Waterfalls in Quetico
Paddling to the McNiece Lake Pines
When I first came to the Boundary Waters I was mainly interested in going canoeing and seeing a new landscape very different from the farm country where I grew up in southern Minnesota. I kept coming back primarily because of the wildlife and it is still thrilling to see moose, wolves, otters, bald eagles, ospreys… Continue reading Paddling to the McNiece Lake Pines
Lichens: Unusual Partners
It’s not hard to find lichens, you simply have to look where other forms of life find the conditions too harsh. Sheer cliff walls, the surface of large boulders, tree trunks, the branches of living and dead trees, and the shaded acidic soils under pines, are all places where lichens thrive. They have even been… Continue reading Lichens: Unusual Partners
Ice Age Journey
Quetico Park contains a wide variety of different habitats: large stands of mature red and white pine, even-aged jack pine and poplar stands (the result of recent fires), wet areas with an understory of moss and overstory of black spruce, and open bogs composed of leather leaf, sphagnum moss and orchids. These and a… Continue reading Ice Age Journey
Quetico’s First Explorers
At a special moment during a canoe trip in Quetico, you may have felt that you had arrived in a place where few, if any, people had ever been. It may have been at the end of an overgrown, seldom used portage, on the top of a ridge overlooking a spruce bog, or even in… Continue reading Quetico’s First Explorers
Chuck Farnum: Bushwhacker Extraordinaire
Some people go into Quetico to fish, some to find solitude and others for the scenery and wildlife. Others, however, like Charles “Chuck” Farnum and his extended family, are “bush-whackers” extraordinaire; they seek out and explore places that are seldom visited. If Chuck Farnum, the clan elder, wouldn’t have been become a doctor, he would… Continue reading Chuck Farnum: Bushwhacker Extraordinaire
Bill Muir: Boundary Waters Botanist
From 1971 to 1975, Bill Muir was the staff botanist at the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) Wilderness Field Station on Basswood Lake. For those five summers, Muir, a Biology professor at Carleton College, taught a field course in botany. During this time he travelled over two thousand miles with his students in the… Continue reading Bill Muir: Boundary Waters Botanist
Return to the Powell Homestead on Saganagons Lake
A few summers ago, Betty Powell Skoog returned to the homestead on Saganagons Lake in Quetico Park where she was born and spent the first fifteen years of her life. This beautiful site on the eastern end of the lake was home to three generations of Powells. During their half-century on Saganagons, five children were… Continue reading Return to the Powell Homestead on Saganagons Lake
A Raven’s Knowledge
I love watching ravens fly. They seem to delight in performing a wide variety of aerial acrobatics. Other birds seem to fly primarily for practical purposes: searching for food, avoiding predators, or simply moving from place to place. Ravens, however, often seem to cavort in the air with joyous abandon simply because it is… Continue reading A Raven’s Knowledge
Pukak: Life Under The Snow
Winter is the time of year when everything seems to slow down in the Boundary Waters area. It is much quieter in the woods since most of the birds have left for warmer climates where food is more abundant in the winter. Animals o various sizes, from black bears to least chipmunks, have retreated to… Continue reading Pukak: Life Under The Snow