Spirit of the River, May 2025

Last month, we put out a call for examples of the long, friendly cross-border cooperation here in the Thousand Islands. We were (and continue to be) concerned that current political leaders are eroding the spirit of binational friendship and cooperation that defines our communities.

As you might imagine, we received a wide range of responses, both in our survey and directly to our editor. (Be sure to read Susan’s From the Editor, May 2025, if you haven’t already, for her take on it all.)

I have to admit the stories we received buoyed my spirits, and no matter where you are on the political spectrum in the US or Canada, I think they will do the same for you. People shared examples of lending a helping hand to boaters in distress, supporting search and rescue operations, creating cross-border partnerships to restore critical bird habitat, and fond memories of Can/Am festivals. We’ve compiled a few of them below. We’d love to hear your stories and reflections. We’ll be sharing them all summer.

We hope you’ll take a minute to share your response to our questions: (Survey link)

Question A: In the past has there been an occasion where you were called upon to help a similar entity or just jumped into help a group or person across the border? If so, could you give us a short description of what happened?

Question B: As we enter the 2025 summer season, what could we do as Canadian/American neighbours to help celebrate our River?

You can submit your answers in our online survey [ https://forms.gle/huRXf4nFVXDK66k76], or email Thousand Islands Life's Editor Susan Smith at info@thousandislandslife.com.

Answer #1 Michael Laprade, Honey Bee Island, The Rift, ON.

A. Stranded boater.

B. Relax policies and laws for local residents - a little flexibility

Many of us have had that experience and no matter if you are the one stranded or the "helper" – it is not an easy experience… We all appreciate when those helpers arrive.

Answer #2 Michael Phelps, Thousand Island Park, NY

A: As I was enjoying a cocktail on my porch in Thousand Island Park last summer, I heard the unmistakable sound of a boat hitting a shoal. It was a little after dusk, so I jumped in my boat to go out to the shoal to offer some assistance. I towed their boat over to my dock and through introductions learned that they were Canadians returning from a nice evening at Foxy’s for dinner. The boat was not operable so of course I offered them a ride back over to their cottage in Canada. Had I had a similar situation in Canada, I’m convinced that these good people would have done the same for me. This spirit that exists across borders hopefully will not be impacted by the current political environment we are dealing with. We have a common bond that we share and enjoy with this beautiful River as our boundary.

Answer #3 Bud Andress, Hill Island, ON

I am currently RETIRED from Parks Canada, but during my Park Warden career I was engaged with U.S. counterparts on the River in law enforcement, public safety response, and natural resource protection, management, and research. Here is a list of notable experiences.

• Providing an assisting monitoring role of the effects of the 1976 oil spill along the Canadian shoreline.
• Assisting U.S. agencies such as Clayton and Alex Bay Fire Departments and the U.S. Coast Guard in various public safety events in the 1980s and 1990s, for example:
• Search and rescue/recovery of missing persons and fatalities in NY waters (suspected suicide drowning near Alex Bay; Huguenot Is. boating fatality as two examples).
• Fire fighting response to NY cottages and vessel fires in NY waters (my Park Warden patrol vessel carried a forest fire fighting pump and two thousand feet of fire hose).
• Search response with Alex Bay Fire to night time emergency flares reported in NY waters east of Alex Bay in November 1989, during gale force winds, rain, and hail.
• The Canadian Coast Guard and DND Search and Rescue, Lansdowne Fire, the OPP, Parks Canada Wardens, and NYSDEC Conservation Police worked together to search for and later recover three drowned PA fishermen near Horse Block Point, ON, in October 1988.
• Worked with NYSDEC Conservation Police on Wildlife poaching incidents. This international cooperation continued for three decades.
• Participated in multi U.S. and Canadian agencies' intelligence briefings on River smuggling crime and international structural security.
• Worked with U.S. and Canadian wildlife agencies and universities for over two decades on habitat management, monitoring, and research of colonial nesting waterbirds (gulls, terns, herons, etc.), and bald eagles.
• I had the privilege of serving on the Board of Directors and later becoming the first Canadian, Vice-President of Save The River based in Clayton, NY. This cooperative international River keeper and advocacy involvement between myself and my U.S. colleagues continued for over a decade.

Answer #4 Melanie Hertzog

A: There have been many occasions in which we have helped stranded boaters - usually Americans, but no matter which side they hailed from: a fellow boater in need elicits the same helping spirit. We regularly see boaters towing other boaters and nobody wonders which nation they came from: it's the ethic I learned growing up here.

 All through my life, I have enjoyed travel, meals, and the Arts in Gananoque, Kingston, and beyond. My husband and I were married at the River 40 years ago, and our many connections made with Canadian citizens has taught us respect and greater understanding of our neighboring culture. Everyone shares the same love for this River, and for preservation of the environment, and the way of life that we all value here. Our US/Canadian friend group gathers regularly in celebration and support of each other. We post online and call our friends to wish them Happy Canada Day, and they wish us a Happy 4th. We call them and celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving here on Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day, and they wish us Happy Thanksgiving in November. The River brings us all together, brothers and sisters from our two Nations. May the friendship endure! 

Answer #5, Alan Bickerton

Today (Tuesday April 29th) we stopped at Gananoque's Tim Horton’s for a hot choc and a friend and co-worker called us over to the table where she was talking to a couple standing beside her table. They introduced themselves as Americans visiting for the day from Clayton to apologize to any Canadians they met for all the nonsense we are currently having to endure. They had bought coffees for the people at Tim’s at the time and gone around extending a handshake. I certainly thanked them for their thoughtfulness and they then chatted to others as they left the building. It was a welcome comment.

Bruce County Memories: History shows that trying to annex Canada is doomed.

Dr. John C. Carter, a member of TI Life's 20+ Article Team, sent a link to an article that was published in a number of Canadian city newspapers in March which led to interviews on CTV News in Canada. Dr. Carter is a Sauble Beach/East York, ON based museologist, historian, and author. He has researched and published articles about the 1838 Upper Canadian Rebellion/Patriot War for over 40 years. [Be sure to click here and here to see that complete list of Dr. Carter's articles on the Upper Canadian Rebellion/Patriot War and links to learn more about the history of Ontario and Northern New York.]

At the conclusion of the article History shows that trying to annex Canada is doomed, John provides important historical information:

The original Reciprocity Treaty was negotiated, agreed to, and operated between 1854-66. This measure eliminated custom tariffs and resulted in an increase in trade between the two countries.

Similar treaties were replaced in 1948 by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, itself replaced in 1992 by the North American Free Trade Agreement, now in its second iteration.

Other successful joint projects began as early as 1853. In that year, work began in Michigan to build the Soo Locks. They were completed and opened in 1855. The Sault Ste. Marie Canal was built in 1895. Both of these initiatives improved shipping on the Great Lakes. A more modest shipping improvement occurred at the St. Clair Flats, starting in the 1860s. Both nations contributed to work and funding to facilitate a better route between Lake Huron and the Detroit River.

The St. Lawrence Seaway proved to be the largest such joint venture. Construction began in 1954, and the Seaway was opened in 1959.

By Jennifer Caddick

Jennifer Caddick's first visit to the Thousand Islands was on a family vacation at the age of 10, and she was smitten with the River. She turned that into a career in the environmental movement, leading numerous advocacy campaigns fighting to protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. From 2006-2012, Jennifer served as Executive Director of Save The River and led the organization through a period of growth and expansion. She splits her time between her home in Clayton and her family's cottage on Linda Island on the US side of the River, enjoying the River in all of its amazing seasons.