People

"Romeo & Annette"; The life, times, and sad fate of the Ferry "Upper Canada"

So today she sits, waits, and rusts away in the mud, forgotten like a broken, abandoned old vehicle in some equally forgotten, overgrown back field.

Volume 16, Issue 10, October 2021
Brian Johnson

Rosborough River Rendezvous

The 2021 Rosborough Rendezvous was held in Clayton, NY, and the Thousand Islands. Boats in the armada came from Florida, Maine, and Michigan . . .

Volume 16, Issue 10, October 2021
Robert Russell

A Farewell from Alaina Young

Winding through the woods, I looked for a rock marker to let me know where to turn and find my cottage . . .

Volume 16, Issue 10, October 2021
Alaina Young

A REAL River Ghost Story

What follows is a true story. You are free to believe it or not, but it did actually happen.

Volume 16, Issue 10, October 2021
1000 Islands

Blazing a Trail & Honoring a Legacy: First Kenneth Deedy Environmental Steward

Sitting in my dorm room, I received a call from a familiar “315” number. As I raised my phone to answer, I felt nervous, but excited and confident for what I was hoping to be good news.

Volume 16, Issue 9, September 2021
Mikael-Ann Melfi

Building an Ice Boat

Bob LaShomb started it all. It began in early February, around 1953. Bob, at that time, was the mail carrier for the US Mail from Clayton to Grindstone Island – two miles across the St. Lawrence River.

Volume 16, Issue 9, September 2021
Manley L. Rusho

All About Cape Vincent's Village Green

The Village Green is an integral part of the Cape Vincent community: the center of every outdoor celebration, the linchpin that ties French Festival together, the heart of the village.

Volume 16, Issue 9, September 2021
Kristie Stumpf Rork

Heyday of the Hay Scows

Hay scows were a product of their environment, floating supplies to the inhabitants of the many islands, and transporting farmers’ produce from the islands to market.

Volume 16, Issue 9, September 2021
Richard Palmer

Cadets Spent Summer Sailing the Thousand Islands

The "John S. Parsons" passed the summer cruising up and down Lake Ontario and through the Thousand Islands region, and finally returned to Oswego, where the cadets disembarked and returned to school in time for the opening of the fall term.

Volume 16, Issue 9, September 2021
Richard Palmer

Wild Goose – a 1915 40-foot Hutchinson Commuter

The Wild Goose served the Dodge’s as a source of beauty, great pleasure, and practical River transport for over 80 years, and carried members of the family and their guests to many events ranging from births and weddings, to picnics, river tours, and funerals . . .

Volume 16, Issue 8, August 2021
Rick Casali

The One and Only Theodore

But then, the unthinkable happened! Just a day before he was to pass through Alexandria Bay and Clayton, it was announced that Theodore would make an impromptu stop in Gananoque and would therefore not be going through the main US channel after all.

Volume 16, Issue 8, August 2021
Patty Mondore

The Tumultuous Origins of the Gananoque Water Power Company

This largely forgotten story began in the 1830s, but not in Gananoque, as one would expect. It began with Richard Coleman Sr. in what is now a quiet rural community called Lyn,

Volume 16, Issue 8, August 2021
Paul Coté

"Pardon Me", by David Kunz and Bill Simpson

Lyon built her; Lock never used her; Beck ran the hell out of her; Lewis just donated her . . .

Volume 16, Issue 8, August 2021
Susan W. Smith

Les Corbin’s Famous Photo of the Ice Punt

There is an old photo taken by Les Corbin in 1946 of a small wooden boat in the icy river with six men in it - just as it is leaving the Clayton Docks . . .

Volume 16, Issue 8, August 2021
Manley L. Rusho

The Story of District #15, Grindstone's Schoolhouses

The upper school house (District #15) was built at the corner of Base Line Road and Cross Island Road, to serve the children at the upper end of Grindstone Island . . .

Volume 16, Issue 7, July 2021
Liz Raisbeck

The Westminster Chapel

In 2002, Westminster Park Residents Randy and Mary Hannah Arnot envisioned a chapel for Westminster Park and the greater River community . . .

Volume 16, Issue 7, July 2021
Linda Twichell

A Father’s Day Tale or Lifelong Memories of a Used Car Lot

“No, you got a deal,” said Jack Johnson, laughing, taking the man’s hand, feeling the spittle. “I got robbed Marv. You took advantage of this poor boy from Wolfe Island. I can’t feed my family on this.”

Volume 16, Issue 7, July 2021
Brian Johnson

The Ship’s Cook

Meet Catherine Schmuck, who has cooked aboard 19 ships since starting in the early 1980’s . . .

Volume 16, Issue 7, July 2021
Wayne C. Strauss