ALGONQUIN DEFINING MOMENTS

Episode 65: Modern Day Lumbering 1919-Present

Episode 65: Modern Day Lumbering 1919-Present

For those of us who have been long-time summer residents of Algonquin Park, the issue of logging in the park has been a difficult one. Difficult because, though most people don’t realize it, logging has always been an integral part of the Algonquin Park governing mandate. Though known today as a recreational paradise and wildlife refuge, those of us who have lived in and around the park are very much aware that allowing logging was one of the key compromises that was needed in order for the Park’s creation in 1893. Though hard for us to visualize today, the idea of setting aside such a large expanse of land, so close to the industrial heartland of Ontario was truly a game-changing event, with many conflicting voices. Another parallel objective has always been economic support for the local communities of Eastern Ontario.

In this episode, my goal is to focus narrowly on what has changed since the days of John Egan and J. R. Booth’s logging efforts in the Park. I am going to try to look at the topic from four perspectives, namely: the cutting of the trees; the process of getting them to the sawmills; the actual sawing of the wood into lumber; and its marketing; and to the degree possible how this has all impacted the surrounding people and communities in general and the Whitney area in specific. Part 1 focuses on the 20th C, up until 1974, when the Algonquin Park Master Plan was issued.

Key References:

Donald Lloyd’s Algonquin Harvest: The History of the McRae Lumber Company 2006

Roderick MacKay’s Algonquin Park: A Place Like No Other 2018

George Warecki’s Douglas Pimlott and the Preservationists in Algonquin Park 1958-1974  2021

Bob Lyons Whitney: Island in the Shield 1986

Algonquin Park Forest Authority’s Annual Reports (2021-22 and 2022-23)

Algonquin Park Forest Authority Website (www.algonquinforestry.on.ca)

Maintaining the Balance in Algonquin Park: Algonquin Forest Authority and the Use of Portable Bridges – Forestry Success Stories 2015

The musical interlude for this episode is called Hardwood Haven and comes from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes Breaking Through the Mist CD. It has been brought to your attention with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.

Episode 64: J. R. Booth Part II: Industrialist and Great Canadian

Episode 64: J. R. Booth Part II: Industrialist and Great Canadian

This the second of two episodes on the life and times of John Rudolphous Booth. Most of the content comes, with many thanks from Roderick MacKay’s second edition of a Booth biography called J. R. Booth Lumberman, Railway Builder, Industrialist, Great Canadian and Influence on Algonquin Provincial Park. 

 The musical interlude is called 'Master of the North' and comes from the Wakami Wailers’ Un, Deux, Trois Four album.

Episode 63: J. R. Booth - An Ottawa Valley Lumber King (PT1)

Episode 63: J. R. Booth - An Ottawa Valley Lumber King (PT1)

This is the first of two episodes on the life and times of John Rudolphous Booth one of the great Ottawa Valley Lumber Kings in the second half of the 19th C. Much of the content comes, with great thanks and appreciation from Roderick MacKay’s, newly published second edition of a Booth biography called J. R. Booth Lumberman, Railway Builder, Industrialist, Great Canadian, and Influence on Algonquin Provincial Park. 

 The musical interlude is called The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Rail and comes from the Wakami Wailers’ Un, Deux, Trois Four album

 

Episode 62: Lumber Kings of the Ottawa Valley - John Egan

Episode 62: Ontario Lumber Kings - John Egan

Up until recently, I’d always thought that anyone who cared about Algonquin Park human history was already familiar with J. R. Booth and so never put any energy into building an episode around his life experiences. However, last summer I stumbled upon a 2018 biography by Michael McBane on John Egan.. In so doing, I discovered a whole new aspect of lumbering in the Ottawa Valley that I knew nothing about. The end result is this multi-part series about two of the most well-known of the Ottawa Valley Lumber Kings, namely John Egan and J. R. Booth. In my view both are tightly connected in history because as you all know J.R, Booth made his fortune by buying at auction Egan’s timber limits in 1867. In this episode I’ll focus on the life of John Egan. I think though I have no proof that, though of different generations, Booth may have seen Egan as a role model in the lumber industry

The musical interlude for this episode is called Below a Towering Pine and comes from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes Breaking Through the Mist CD. It is brought to you with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.

Key References:

• Michael McBane’s John Egan: Pine & Politics in the Ottawa Valley, published in 2018
• H. T. Douglas’1969 talk to the Gatineau Valley Historical Society called An Irishman in Canada: John Egan
• R. Morgan’s 1926 article in the Ottawa Journal History of the Early Ottawa
• Stephen Banks’ A Polite Exchange of Bullets: The Duel and the English Gentlemen 1750-1850, published in 2010
• Debates of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada 1849
• John McGregor‘s British America published in 1832
• Roderick MacKay’s Sprits of the Little Bonnechere 2^nd Edition, published in 2016
• David Lee’s Lumber Kings and Shantymen, published in 2006
• Dictionary for Canadian Biography, - John Egan search term
• Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Ancestors, 2020 discussion
• Robert Grace’s The Irish in Quebec: An Introduction to the Historiography, published in 1993

Episode 61: Earth Caretaker Way - Being of Service

Episode 61: The Earth Caretaker Way - Being of Service

This episode is the last of a six-episode series on the Earth Caretaker Way Tim Corcoran, Julie Boettler from Headwaters School in Mt. Shasta California and focus on one of the most important aspects of The Earth Caretaker Way, which is to contemplate how to be of service in ways both big and small.

The musical interlude in this episode is called Silent Meditations and comes from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes CD 2024 CD called Mountain Magic  It is brought to you with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.

Referenced Books and Articles:

• Peter Mathiesen- Wildlife in America - Discusses the injustices committed by people against the North American wildlife from the first colonies to the present published in 1987
• Can Wolves and Beavers Help Save the West From Global Warming? By Bob Berwyn in Climate News August 2022
• Alan Wiseman, The World Without Us, 2008
• Life Without People – 2009-2010 TV Series created by David de Vries
• Ben Goldfarb, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet 2023

Episode 60: Earth Caretaker Way Philosophy & Spirituality:

Episode 60: Earth Caretaker Way Philosophy & Spirituality: 

In this episode, Tim, Julie, and I focus on various aspects of Earth Caretaker Way earth philosophy and spirituality including:

• Acknowledging the mystery of nature, and greeting with gratitude sacred moments and peak experiences
• Recognizing the important role of power animals as helpers and spiritual guides  
• Awareness of the power of trees to transform lives into lives of purpose, living beauty, kindness, and service
• The importance of pilgrimage which involves going back to a place over and over so that it becomes sacred and in so doing a source of inspiration, where one can let go and let one’s true self out
• Valuing the collection of personal earth medicine in the form of creating nature art, building altars, and creating ceremony to honour medicine moments

We end with a short discussion of elementals and their role in protecting the earth. 

The two musical interlude tracks come from Dan Gibson's Solitudes  CD's  The Great Bear Softly Sleeps from his Sleeping Under the Stars CD. The second track is called  Mountain Tops from the MountainnMagic CD. Both are brought to you with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.

Episode 59: Building Confidence by Mastering Wilderness Living Skills

Episode 59: Building Confidence by Mastering Wilderness Living Skills

This episode is the fourth of what is now seven episodes on the Earth Caretaker Way a newly released book by Tim Corcoran and Julie Boettler from Headwaters School in Mt. Shasta California. In this episode In this episode Julie Tim and I delve deeply into Part 2 of The Earthcaretaker Way that focuses on value in building knowledge of Wilderness Skills such as shelter building, foraging for edible plants, tracking, building fire without matches and what to do if you get lost on a trail.

Another important book that Tim references  by Ben Goldfarb is called Crossings – How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of our Planet published in 2023.

The musical interlude in this episode is called Morning Stroll and comes from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes CD 2024 CD called Mountain Magic  It is brought to you with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.

Episode 58: Earth CareTaker Way - Nature Awareness (Cont'd)

Episode 58 Earth Caretaker Way Part 3: Nature Awareness - Building Connections and Relationships

This episode is the third of what are now seven episodes on the Earth Caretaker Way a newly released book by Tim Corcoran and Julie Boettler from Headwaters School in Mt. Shasta California. In this episode, I continue my discussion and storytelling with Julie and Tim on the importance of nature awareness and how becoming more aware can help build meaningful connections and relationships with plants and animals.  This art of building a personal relationship with nature by awakening your senses and rewilding your heart helps generate purpose and meaning to our lives.

Several books that Tim referenced include:

• Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird’s 2004 book  The Secret Life of Plants: A Fascinating Account of the Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Relations Between Plants and Man
• Peter Tompkins’ 1997 book The Secret Life of Nature: Living in Harmony With the Hidden World of Nature Spirits from Fairies to Quarks
• Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird’s  1998 book  Secrets of the Soil: New Solutions for Restoring Our Planet
• Douglas W. Tallamy’s 2020 book Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard  There is also a Young Person’s version that was published in April 2023.

The musical interludes in this episode come from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes CD 2024 CD called Mountain Magic  They include one called Spring’s Caress and a second called /Quiet Moment. Both are brought to you with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.

 

 

Episode 57: Nature Awareness - The Earth Caretaker Way

This episode is the second of what is now seven episodes on the Earth Caretaker Way a newly released book by friends Tim Corcoran and Julie Boettler from Headwaters School in Mt. Shasta California. In this episode I’m going to introduce you to Julie, one of the key land Earth Caretakers at Headwaters. Over the next six episodes, she and I with Tim’s help are going to delve deeper into the four key elements of the Earth Caretaker Way beginning with Nature Awareness, which is the art of building a personal relationship with nature by awakening your senses and rewilding your heart.

The musical interlude in this episode is called Silent Contemplation and comes from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes CD 2024 CD called Mountain Magic  It is brought to you with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.

Episode 56: The Earth Caretaker Way Origin Story with Tim Corcoran

Episode 56: The Earth Caretaker Way Origin Story with Tim Corcoran

In this episode and the four-part follow on, I’m going to take my podcast in what I hope you will experience as an innovative new direction. Nearly 20 years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Tim Corcoran, leader, and owner of the Headwaters Outdoor School near Mount Shasta in California, who has just released a new book called The Earth Caretaker Way. 30+ years in the making, Tim with co-author Julie Boettler, have synthesized the essence of all of their learnings and teachings into an absorbing guide filled with stories to tell around the campfire or in a meadow. The Earth Caretaker Way is designed so that you can choose your own adventure by opening up to any page and do as Tim often says, Walk Backwards into the Future and Remember What We Already Know.  But The Earth Caretaker Way isn’t just a book, we want it to become the beginning of a global movement. A movement designed to amplify this knowledge, reconnect with our past through nature and use that wisdom to personally help heal the earth and reverse some of the negative impacts of climate change. In this episode I’ll be focusing on Tim’s origin story and then explore at a high level his views on Nature Awareness, Wilderness Living Skills, the keys to opening your heart through learnings about Earth Philosophy and lastly how to integrate the Earth Caretaker Way into your life through a Life of Service to the Earth.

Some additional links for those interested:

• The Earth Caretaker Way Website: https://www.earthcaretakerway.org
• The Earth Caretaker Way Introductory Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDzaDHg8oiQ
• The Earth Caretaker Way  Book Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giPEY5joVSg
• Headwaters Outdoor School Website: https://hwos.com

The musical interlude for this episode is called  “A Purposeful Life” and comes from Dan Gibson’s Solitudes 2024 CD entitled Mountain Magic.  It is brought to you with the approval of Digital Funding LLC. Solitudes music can be found wherever you get your music streaming.