People

Memories of our Little Bay on Grindstone Island

Growing up on the little bay on the south side of Grindstone Island, where the Lower Town Landing is located, there were five boathouses that provided shelter from the west winds.

Volume 17, Issue 6, June 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Meet S. Gerald Ingerson and his Woods

This is a story about a generous and humble man, S. Gerald Ingerson, who grew up and raised his family in the Thousand Islands.

Volume 17, Issue 6, June 2022
Terra Bach

A New Role for an Old Punt, by Emily Holt

The old red punt was always a part of my memories of my summer home, Long Point, on Grindstone Island. Daddy (WDC Wright) bought the cottage in 1923 and it seems that the boat came with it . . .

Volume 17, Issue 6, June 2022
Emily Wright Holt

Wreck of The "Janet"

A voyage that started out as a pleasure cruise, to attend a regatta from Kington to Cape Vincent and French Creek (Clayton) on August 14, 1851, came to a tragic end when the yacht Janet overturned during a squall, drowning 17 women and two men

Volume 17, Issue 6, June 2022
Richard Palmer

The Muskrat

If there was one animal that everyone on the island admired, it was the muskrat.

Volume 17, Issue 5, May 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Remembering Atlantic Convoy Sailor Fletcher Raymond Wade

Speaking softly, Ray Wade points out that he made 56 trips in convoys to Britain, eventually working his way up to second mate status. Wade also remembers that first convoy, that first trip, heading out into the North Atlantic Ocean. With who knew what waiting for them . . .

Volume 17, Issue 5, May 2022
Brian Johnson

Island Winter

People who hear that I spent my winter on an island in upstate New York typically have one of three responses. They're envious; they couldn't do it because they'd feel lonely; or ask, with dismissive incredulity, “Why would you freeze your ass off wintering in the Thousand Islands?”

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Glenn Sandiford

Watch "The River, Living the St. Lawrence! from WPBS"

Did you see the PBS Series "The River, Living the St. Lawrence?" All six episodes are here to watch, including one with me - Susie! (For sure it was a honor to be part of this project)

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Susan W. Smith

Clayton's 150th: Clayton's Opera House

There will be more than 80 events scheduled in 2022 that include both TIPAF events and rentals – yes, right here in the Clayton Opera House - but what is its history? The cornerstone was laid in 1903 . . .

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2022
Julie Garnsey

Memories of a Spring Duck Hunt

This was 1944, so even shot gun shells were rationed because of WWII, and there were no choices in the store as to size or brand. When we needed supplies, we would travel to Clayton and visit Nunn’s Hardware Store.

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Manley L. Rusho

Rock Island Lighthouse, Part II

William (Bill) Johnston has a storied history in the Thousand Islands, and it is sometimes difficult to separate the man from the legend – or from the mythologized “pirate” celebrated at the annual Alexandria Bay “Bill Johnston Pirate Days” festival.

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Mary Alice Snetsinger

Clayton's 150th: The Life of Simon G. Johnston

The Life of Simon G. Johnston - Shipbuilding was the major industry and largest employer in Clayton, NY, from the early 19th century to well into the 20th century. . .

Volume 17, Issue 3, March 2022
Richard Palmer

The Ice Harvest

Before electric power was expanded into the Thousand Islands, there was a small, but brutal business called ice harvesting. Basically, it consisted of cutting large chunks of ice from the frozen St. Lawrence River . . .

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Manley L. Rusho

A Kingfisher Tale

One day we received a call from Kit Chubb. She had just received a clutch of seven kingfisher fledglings. They had been rescued from a deserted nest tunnel. It had been wrecked by road construction work along the high sandy road bank.

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Ralph Boston

Remembering GBL’s Wilfred Bilow, A Diamond in the Rough

I’d heard of this guy. He had a reputation as being ‘tough as nails’. Everyone in the local marine industry from Picton to Prescott either knew him or of him. Most feared him. But everyone . . .

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Brian Johnson

Taking the Trolley to Alexandria Bay

One of the first electric trolley lines in northern New York was a line built from Redwood to the village of Alexandria Bay. It was only seven and a half miles long and was built by a group of local investors . .

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Richard Palmer

Rock Island Lighthouse, Part I

Rock Island is most likely the most famous light station on the River. Read all about it!

Volume 17, Issue 2, February 2022
Mary Alice Snetsinger

News From the Editor January 2022

A tribute to the 300+ authors who have shared their articles in TI Life; Boat Shows; several winter photographs and we remember Dr. David Kendall who wrote When Descendants Become Ancestors, Genealogy in 2014.

Volume 17, Issue 1, January 2022
Susan W. Smith