Whats Up Magazine Huntsville Lake of Bays - What's Up Muskoka

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Board game is a blast for boomers By Sandy Lockhart Several weekends of playing games at the cottage to pass the time led Barb Lawson to make her own. After about two years of research and preparation, About Us Boomer + Edition is now available to the public. “It was a combination of things,” says the Sparrow Lake cottager and owner of About Us Games. “It evolved from a couple of weekends at the cottage of inclement weather and game playing.” About Us Boomer + Edition is designed for baby boomers and older – those born between 1934 and 1964. The information for the game was gathered by an online survey of 1,700 boomers across Canada through the research firm Harris/Decima. “I felt we needed the research to underpin the game,” says Lawson, explaining that the research gives the answers credibility. Some of the questions are sure to be great conversation starters. What per cent of the boomer plus population has searched the Internet for a former partner or love interest? Which boomer plus gender is more likely to have accidentally worn two different shoes at the same time? What percentage of the boomer plus population has been on a blind date that went well? “I chose the types of questions that would elicit laughter, stimulate conversation and let people learn about each other. It is all about having fun.” Lawson came up with many of the questions by focusing on main areas 8 February 2010 www.whatsupmuskoka.com Barb Lawson developed her own board game for baby boomers. She created the game after surveying 1,700 boomers from across Canada. relating to the lives of the boomer plus population such as beliefs, experiences, preferences and thoughts and opinions. By Andrew Hind How many times have you heard someone say, “I should write a book about my life?” And yet most would-be writers never get beyond that stage. Bracebridge resident Ken Veitch, a man well-known for his passion of local history, is one of the rare few who followed through. The result, a selfpublished volume called My Early Days as a Boy in Ufford…and Stories People Tell Me, is an engrossing, touching and often humorous look at growing up in a small Muskoka community in the 1940s and ‘50s. Though intended merely as an attempt to put in writing boyhood recollections, the book also contains a great deal of history related to Ufford. “My mother died when I was three and at the time my father was serving overseas during World War Two, so I was raised by my grandparents. Because of that, I was subjected to a lot of oldtime pioneer stories that I might not otherwise have ever heard. That sparked my interest in how Muskoka was settled and developed,” Veitch says. “I was always impressed with the amount of “I developed questions in each area that I thought would result in interesting findings, elicit a giggle or stimulate discussion etcetera,” she says. work required to carve out a living in this wilderness. The early settlers faced a great deal of hardship, the kind of things we can’t even imagine today.” That interest in local history eventually led Veitch to develop slide shows about the early years of Bracebridge and Muskoka. These demonstrations, in a round about way, led to Veitch committing his childhood recollections to paper. “During my talks I always encouraged people to write down their life stories. They might not think what they have to say is important, but one hundred years from now their stories will be a window into our life and times,” Veitch explains. “Someone finally said to me, ‘Did you write your own story down?’ and of course I hadn’t. I figured I’d better start. That was six years ago, and I just finished the book this year.” He acknowledges the book couldn’t have been written without the support of his wife, Sharon, and the assistance of his siblings and members of the Ufford community in adding details to the stories he collected. Writing the book was, for Veitch, an enjoyable and rewarding Other questions came out through test playing of the game. “We looked at the survey results that were more statistically interesting for the game,” she says. “We chose what was interesting to know about another person or generation.” She explains these are not questions that you’d find the answers to in a textbook. “It is a fun and really lively game. It really tells you something about that age group, during that 30-year period,” she says. The game is a great is a great icebreaker. “You do tend to come out of it knowing each other better and having had a great time in the process,” she says. One test group that played the game for Lawson was a group of women who had been friends for 30 years. They reported back to Lawson that they thought they already knew everything about each other but the game had brought out new things and given them something new to talk about. Planning for the game’s demographic, Lawson made sure the game cards were large print and a small package that can be easily transported. “We are at the age and stage in our life, that we like to travel, whether it be up to the cottage or across the country.” The game is available online and at the Muskoka Fireside Shop in Gravenhurst. Lawson has plans to develop other products and increase the presence in the marketplace in the future. Boyhood memories form basis of new book Ken Veitch has written a book about growing up in Ufford. Photograph: Sandy Lockhart Photograph: Sandy Lockhart experience, though he did find one entry heart-wrenchingly difficult to work on. “It was really hard to write about my mother because it was such a sad story,” he says, referring to her long illness and death during childbirth. “I was only three at the time so I don’t remember much about her or her death, but as I wrote the story down it began to have more meaning to me. It was really hard.” That melancholy story aside, My Early Days as a Boy in Ufford tends to be a lighthearted read. This is partly due to Veitch’s belief that people enjoy history more when it’s entertaining, but equally due to the humorous antics of the cast of characters. “Some of my ancestors sure enjoyed life! They were real characters,” Veitch laughs. “I enjoyed writing about their shenanigans.” Veitch self-published the book and, recognizing the appeal would likely be limited to people with ties to Ufford, limited the print run to 100 copies. They can be purchased at Reader’s World in Bracebridge.
Muskoka Landowners change direction By Sandy Lockhart The Muskoka Landowners Association claims it is prepared to work with government to try to resolve issues surrounding land rights but the group is still exploring other options. “We are changing direction but not purpose,” said Brock Napier, director of the Muskoka Landowners Association. “We have been in touch with government officials and town representatives. We are trying to move forward in the spirit of collaboration.” About 60 people gathered for an information session and first anniversary celebration held at Bracebridge’s Riverside Inn on Jan. 30. The landowners presented a position paper to the membership and explained they will be presenting it to all municipal and district politicians in Muskoka. The first statement claims that the Provincial Policy Statement provides direction and is a guideline and not a mandatory requirement. According to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing website, “The Provincial Policy Statement provides policy direction on matters of provincial interest related to land use planning and development.” Vice President Deb Madill says of the landowner’s policy paper. “It outlines that the official plans and provincial District chair Gord Adams cuts the cake with Landowners president Carey-Anne Oke-Cook. policies do have flexibility and we’ve gone over point by point explaining what this flexibility is.” The landowners association is concerned about species at risk, environmental protection and other related government planning amendments that could negatively impact the value of their land. Photograph: Sandy Lockhart Napier say they are getting some encouraging overtures from local politicians. “There were one or two that wanted a better understanding of the landowner position,” he says. “They’ve come forward and we are getting better co-operation.” However, he would not say which politicians were coming forward. “I can’t say. It is not up to me to publicize their names. I haven’t been given any direction so I’d just as soon not say.” At the meeting, members were encouraged by the Muskoka Landowners Association to get their Crown land patent papers if they had not already done so. “Find out what your original rights and regulations were,” says Napier, adding that the Ontario Landowners Association is talking to a Crown patents lawyer. “Under the original Crown patents, the rights that were granted deserve further exploration. There has never been a test of the Crown land patents.” Of working with the staff and politicians while exploring legal options, Napier says, “We are just going in different directions and trying to cover all of our bases.” Landowners were also encouraged by the executive to mark their land with No Trespassing signs because without such signs or other notice, they say anyone can lawfully enter most private property. District chair Gord Adams attended the meeting to see their one-page proposal. “I was optimistic that there would be some movement in their position, on respect for the environment and protection of the environment but the way I read it, there isn’t,” he says. He also wanted to show his face to the members. “I’m not just a guy in a suit. They have portrayed politicians as guys in suits that don’t understand real people.” He then added, “It is much more difficult to demonize the District of Muskoka when someone from there is sitting in the audience.” Adams even joined Muskoka Landowners Association president Carey-Anne Oke-Cook for the cutting of the anniversary cake. “I was asked,” he says. “I have nothing against them. They have concerns and I have a responsibility to listen.” The association previously gained notoriety by closing snowmobile trails to bring attention to their cause. It worked last year and brought a quick end to the District of Muskoka’s proposed tree cutting bylaw. More recently, members of the association began closing trails in opposition to proposed amendments to District and municipal Official Plans. www.whatsupmuskoka.com February 2010 9
Page 1 and 2: WHAT’S UP MUSKOKA’S NEWS SOURCE
Page 3 and 4: TV STAND WITH WIT W H FIREPLACE $ 7
Page 5 and 6: Muskoka’s nursing shortage Nurses
Page 7: The greenest paint available. Zero
Page 11: Olsson takes her message to Nunavut
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Page 19 and 20: Snowshoe race gains footing By Chri
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Page 24 and 25: Continued from p. 23 Hockey League,
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