The water of Lake Erie is in my veins. From splashing around on the beach at my great grandfather’s cottage to hosting one of the longest running kayak gatherings on Lake Erie, the South Bass Island Kayak Rendezvous. I’ve fallen in love with the history and lore of the Great Lakes. I’ve been fortunate to kayak all over the Great Lakes, and I had the opportunity to link my family history with one of my trips.
Growing up I had always heard about a cottage my great-grandfather had co-owned in Canada with another family. With only two pieces of information, “island” and “Canada,” I guessed that the island was somewhere in the Georgian Bay, a long but doable drive from northern Ohio in the 50’s and 60’s. I spoke with a deed office in Parry Sound Ontario and with more than 30,000 islands there was no way to research the information without knowing an Island number.
Since this info was lost in our family, I started doing research on the other family and two and a half years after replying to a post on Ancestry.com, I got an email from a family member who saw my post. This person was the granddaughter of the other gentleman who co-owned the island. Her 90-year-old mother was still alive. Using memory and the help of an MLS database, we were able to narrow the location to two possible islands within the Massasauga Provincial Park. A private deed researcher was able to locate the island. Within a few days, I had copies of the original surveys, signatures and documents that dated back to the 1920’s and original owner Louie Trudeau. I had my great grandfather’s signature from the 1960’s and the current owners’ information.
Being a kayaker, my next adventure was to visit great-grandpa’s island. Surprisingly the deed documents had phone numbers. I called the first number and no answer. I called the second number, and the owner answered with a Canadian “Wayne here!” I replied, “Is this the Wayne who owns an island in the middle of Georgian Bay?” We both had a laugh, and I explained who I was and how the history I learned, dovetailed into the history of the island. I asked if the original one room cabin was still on the island and he said it was.
Later that summer myself and a group of friends launched from Snug Harbor, north of Parry Sound and island hopped down into the Massasauga, eventually visiting Wayne and my great-grandfather’s island. I brought Wayne a copy of the only photo we had of the island, which showed my great-grandfather perched on a rock with a couple of windblown trees and the cabin in the distance and the Georgian Bay beyond that. I asked if I could bushwhack to see if we could find the spot where the photo was taken more than 40 years before. After a short hike, the sun was in just the right spot to identify the rock and the trees that framed the photo with my grandfather. I was able to take a photo in the exact same spot.
After a couple of days of exploring and visiting the island, we said goodbye to Wayne and continued our trip. As we passed the island for the last time, I looked over my shoulder to see a red fox trotting by the original cabin, almost as if my great-grandfather was there to say goodbye as we paddled past.
Thank you to Eric Slough for contributing “Finding Great-Grandpa’s Island: A Massasauga Adventure” to the ACA Story Project. Your story reminds us how paddling can be a powerful way to connect with family, legacy, and place!
About the Author
Eric Slough is an ACA Level 3: Coastal Kayaking Instructor who has been paddling for more than 25 years and teaching for over a decade. Based in Ohio, Eric joined the American Canoe Association in 2009 and is passionate about sharing the joy, history, and adventure of paddling.