From the Editor, July 2025
by: Susan W. Smith
Yes, summer 2025 is here to stay!
Spirit of the River - Canadian-American Friendship gathering

In May and June we asked you to fill out a survey of ways that Canadians and Americans were helping each other (not too late to answer the survey) But this month, we proved that Holiday weekends are the best way to bring people together! This year we were fortunate to attend a special July 5th Canadian-American Friendship gathering on Bostwick Island hosted by Americans Gabrielle Kurlander and Chris Street and Canadians Cathy Byers and Kipp Horton. Why July 5th - if you take July 1st. Canada Day, and combine it with July 4th, Independence Day in the USA, you get July 5th! And in the "Spirit of the River," American and Canadian neighbours shared best wishes and happy times. And as Cathy says “Happy 5th” is the new summer tradition.
June 3, 2025: Yes Hail



July 3, 2025, millions of ice pellets came raining down! L+M: S. Smith. Sagastaweka Island, Admiralty Group; R: Winifred McGowan. Little Sagastaweka Island.
Of course, there was a big surprise on July 3th. Suddenly the sun went in, heavy rain turned into millions of ice pellets and our Admiralty Islands got a few minutes of heavy wind, then suddenly, "Out came the sunshine, and dried up all the rain, and everyone came out and climbed up the spout again!"
Sad News
Tremont Island near Gananoque lost a great friend when we learned that Dr. William (Bill) Dixon died on June 15, 2025. Bill and his wife Sylvia have spent decades on the River. Sylvia grew up in Gananoque and Bill joined as soon as they married. In 1975, they built their cottage on Tremont Island. Many knew Bill as an islander, but in reality his reputation in the world of ophthalmology went literally around the world. His obituary reads: "Bill devoted 50 years of commitment to patient care and academia, with 23 years as (Toronto's) Sunnybrook's Ophthalmologist-in-Chief, while also holding other leadership roles within the hospital and across the province." We will miss you Dr. Dixon - thanks for giving so much to so many.


How is this for an American Narrows view? Kris Pinkney shares these with us each summer!
Great happenings
Back in March 2025, we were introduced to Timothy Bentley, when he wrote A Photographer Navigates the Islands. This month we learned that the O'Connor Gallery in Gananoque will show Timothy's work starting July 25th I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to view his work. I certainly will..


Exhibition of Timothy Bentleys photographs begins on July 25th and runs through August 30th at the O'Connor Gallery West, 49 King Street, Gananoque, ON
The Indian River Lakes Conservancy (IRLC) is excited to announce the 2025 Celebration of the Lakes, with a delightful afternoon gathering dedicated to the conservation of our cherished Indian River lakes, land, and community. The gathering will take place on Sunday, August 3rd from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at the Thousand Islands Winery located at 43298 Seaway Ave, Alexandria Bay, NY.

"Our annual Celebration of the Lakes event is the largest gathering of the year of supporters of the Indian River Lakes Conservancy. A short presentation will inform everyone on how this year's Elizabeth May Duvall Kids Camp and WHIRL went, as well as other ways the IRLC serves our community. It is a fun, relaxed event at a great venue beneath the Thousand Island Bridge," said John O’Driscoll, IRLC Board Chair.


Sue Cranson Mauro captured these two on July 8th, 2025. - a deer and the moon - both require the photographer to be lucky and patient!
Photo contest to come in December
Summer is a perfect time to collect photographs for our December photo contest. We will announce the particulars in our November issue - but now is the time to start. Be sure to see the last 12 December issues of TI Life for past winners.

Conclusion
Please send comments to me on any article and I will post them. . . Our comment system is still being adapted.
Last month we asked you to subscribe to TI Life. If you have not done so, please do. (Bottom of all articles is the word... Subscribe. We do not share or sell our lists.)

The header for this From the Editor article is by Bruce Murray, Tremont Island. He demonstrates his latest mode of transportation - forget the cigarette boats, eh!

Our July 2025 Thousand Islands Life webpage header is a popular photograph taken by Ian Coristine several years ago. It is a perfect 1000 Islands bridge photograph. It is provided courtesy of ©IanCoristine/1000IslandsPhotoArt.com
Stay well, keep safe and by all means buy an ice cream or two - the season is short.
By Susan W. Smith, Editor, info@thousandislandslife.com
And the TI Life Team: Elspeth Naismith is the "Real Editor;" Georgia Barker, Dane Zabriskie, John Stencell, and Rick Taylor are our proofreaders. In addition, Jennifer Caddick has taken over social media; Dan Mathias posts events; Beth Lavos posts books; Marie-Anne Erki is our illustrator; and Allison Burchell-Robinson has joined the team. Last, but definitely not least, Mike Cox is our IT Magician!
1401 Articles Posted Since July 2018!
When posting a new issue, I start with the last article that will appear on the website (Dan LeKander's challenging Sudokus) and then post each one in ascending order until I reach my From the Editor. This month, as I was posting the issue, I suddenly received an alert for the second-to-last article. We have posted 1,400 articles since we created the new webpage in July 2018. That is a lot of editing, proofreading, and writing. Congratulations to everyone!

Comments
Enjoyed the Spirit of the River Article!That's what “The River” is all about. Friendships on both sides of “The River”. We are all One and never shall we let anyone part us. Mike Brick