Memories of Past Times

  During our time in Haliburton and the Matabanick Inn , my parents decided to send me to camp. A few years before that they had sent my brother, Chuck, to Camp Calumet . I thought that I would be sent to the same camp, that’s not where my parents sent me. Instead, they opted to send me to Sherwood Forest Camp . I guess they thought it was more suited to my personality, plus, it was only a short distance from the Inn. At first, I really didn’t want to go, I would miss my friend Donny, and all the fun at the “ Mat ”. However, once I got settled in, I loved it there! Sherwood Forest Camp had a “ native ” theme. I think that that was all the rage back then. Campers were taught about nature and how to live with it. I don’t think that the theme would be appropriate now, but, as I said, it seemed okay back then. There were lots of activities around this theme, swimming, archery, hiking and canoe trips. The canoe trip that I went on was for 2 days. We canoed north, across Halls Lake...

Fishing was a wonderful and popular activity at the “Mat”. As I mentioned, my dad loved to fish for Lake Trout. I’m not sure what kind of bait he used, but I think it was a spinning lure. However, most of the guests used live bait, Dew Worms. So much so that there was a constant need for “fresh bait – Dew Worms. Bring on two enterprising young entrepreneurs, Donny and me! With this “ongoing” need, Donny and I hatched a plan to fulfil the needs of these starving fishermen (people?). We decided to capture new Dew Worms ourselves and then sell them. A box of Dew Worms would net us about ten cents. We were going to be “rich” bait entrepreneurs. On evenings, when the ground was wet (dewy), we would find a good Dew Worm catching spot. We would then get on our knees, flashlights in hand, and start searching for the allusive worms. Frankly, they didn’t want to be caught, but we persevered the catch enough to fill our “small” buckets, a “good nights” work! With that task completed, we would the...

The Matabanick Inn had a great old boathouse. It was quite large and had one room that contained a “ Ping Pong ” table. Quite often guests of the Inn would gather to play the game, traditionally singles and doubles. I liked to join in and play. These games were a lot of fun, but not the most fun! The “ best ” alternative was “ Round-Robin Ping Pong ” 8 or 10 players would gather around the table. Two teams would be formed. The game would start with the first team player serving the ball. The second team player at the opposite end would then return the ball. The person to the left would then try to return the ball. If the player was successful, the next player would try to return that ball. This would keep happening until one of the teams couldn’t return the ball. A point would be awarded to the winning team. The team that reached 21 points would be the winner. Needless to say, bedlam filled the room! Just imagine 8 to 10 people running around the room, yelling, swearing ( a little ), ...

Little Boshkung Lake was where I fell in love with boating. It started off with a 5-horse powered outboard engine and gradually went up to 10 hp motor. Back then you could operate an outboard motor boat at a very early age. No licence was required. I think I was about 7 when I first started driving a boat on my own. I had the freedom of motoring along in the boat whenever wanted to. Fortunately, my parents trusted e not to do anything foolish. I respected both the boat and the water and managed to stay out of trouble. The freedom I felt is hard to explain. I would just sit in the boat, drive slowly around the lake (it was a very small lake), go wherever I wanted to (serendipity was my aim), explore all the “nooks and crannies” and sing at the top of my lungs! What summers I used to have! Now, whenever I need to relax, I exchange to boat for my car, and drive on a lonely country road and enjoy wherever the car takes me. To my everlasting gratitude, Judi loves to “relax” with me. A...