From the Editor, November '25
by: Susan W. Smith
Sunday November 9, 2025, and I am sitting at my computer looking at Ottawa's first snowfall. It is early, so I am thinking that the sooner it comes, the sooner it will be spring . . . "Ya, sure! Or maybe not, you silly thing." I will keep you posted. This month, we have 13 articles for you, and I hope you will find them interesting and share with friends.
Sad News – Brian Phillips (1952 – 2025)
It is with shock and sadness that I write this small tribute to a fellow historian, Brian Phillips, who passed away suddenly on October 28, 2025. In the Thousand Islands history world, the name Brian Phillips always brought respect, whether he was writing a piece for a local journal or taking visitors on a tour. I met Brian when he served on the Board of the 1000 Islands History Museum. But he was certainly known by many in the Rockport, Mallorytown, and Brockville areas. Rather than rewriting his complete biography, I hope you will take the time to read the beautiful obituary compiled by Barclay Funeral Home. It describes the remarkable life of a remarkable gentleman. One paragraph will certainly make you recognize this important history collector:
“One notable subject was the building of the Thousand Islands Bridge. Brian, an outstanding presenter, shared amazing photographs and fascinating information about the bridge to an appreciative and enthusiastic audience of over 250 people, and later to a huge outdoor crowd of hundreds at the 80th Anniversary of the bridge held at Collins Landing. Brian was passionate about everything he did, always setting high standards and striving for perfection.”
An Addition to TI Life – Boats and Yachts
This month, we added a new section to TI Life: Properties, Boats and Yachts For Sale.
Why? We were sent a flyer advertising the sale of Miss Scarlett and were asked if this was something that would be appropriate to post in our magazine. It took all of a few seconds to agree. When Paul Malo created Thousandislandslife.com in 2006, he did so with this mission:
When Paul Malo created Thousandislandslife.com in 2006, he did so with this mission:
The regional overview (on and beside the River, above the River, or under the River!) provides a comprehensive resource for information about the St. Lawrence River, from Cape Vincent and Kingston on Lake Ontario, to Brockville and Morristown, fifty miles downstream.
At the same time, Paul asked his readers to review the Properties Page, which presented properties for sale – hoping that each and every property would find a good steward to take over ownership. Certainly, finding good stewards to take over ownership of those iconic boats (skiffs, canoes, fishing boats) and yachts (sail and motor launches) that now ply the Thousand Islands waterways would be of equal value.
As always, TILife does not accept advertising and there is no charge for these notices, but we do ask that the agents provide support by hitting the “support” button at the bottom of a page. Doing so is an incentive to post only those properties, and now boats and yachts, which they feel are worthy of the praise. Let us know what you think.
Visiting Kingston
In October we learned that the HMCS Margaret Brooke, one of Canada's Arctic offshore patrol vessels, would be visiting Kingston on her way to the coast after a successful tour of the Great Lakes. Not wanting to miss her, we asked Mike Hill, Aerosnapper, if he could capture some photographs. He certainly did! Thanks Mike, for a job well done!
HMCS Margaret Brooke An Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) named after Margaret Brooke, a Royal Canadian Navy Nursing Sister decorated for gallantry during the Second World War. See https://www.canada.ca/en/navy/corporate/fleet-units/surface/harry-dewolf-class/margaret-brooke.html for details. [Photos by Aerosnapper, Kingston, ON]
A YouTube presentation of the HMCS Margaret Brooke - an Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Royal Canadian Navy off Kingston by Aerosnapper
Conclusion
Help us out: Please review our Communities page and let us know of any changes that should be included. This information may be outdated – and only you can tell us. Just send an email to info@thousandislandslife.com and we will make the changes.
Comments: Please leave comments or questions for articles, by sending them to info@thousandislandslife.com to post (there is a little glitch using some web browsers and the old system.) Nothing makes an author of an article smile more than seeing comments posted.
November Header for TI Life: This November 2025 Thousand Islands Life web page header was taken by Ian Coristine several years ago. You may recognize it from one of his iconic Wallpaper/Screensaver challenges. This one could have been taken this fall in an October rainstorm. It is provided courtesy of IanCoristine/1000IslandsPhotoArt.com
Header this month for From the Editor: by Brian LaJuett
Stay well, stay safe and US readers do enjoy your Thanksgiving.
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 Levos 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!
