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For over 20 years I've been collecting stories, photographs, interviews, out of print books and researching various aspects of the human history of Algonquin Park in Ontario Canada. In other words, capturing voices from the past. In the fall of 2020, I launched my podcast 'Algonquin Defining Moments' to both complement my published books but also to continue my mission of sharing stories, recollections, traditions, landmarks and other fun Algonquin Park human heritage curiosities. In this way that those who share my passion for everything Algonquin Park can listen to snippets of the park and its people while commuting, walking, cooking, working around the house or even just meditating on the back deck. Enjoy! Gaye Clemson
Episodes
Monday May 17, 2021
Monday May 17, 2021
Episode 13: The Merry but Risky Lives of Skidders, Teamsters and River Drivers
This third of three episodes on the history of logging in Algonquin Park and the Ottawa Valley shares details as to how the cut logs and square-timber were hauled out of the bush, driven down the rivers that led to the Otttawa River and eventually conveyed to saw mills or floated by the raft to Quebec City. It includes insight into what the life of skidders, teamsters and river drivers were like including a few shanty songs uncovered on an internet archive site. In addition, I’ll share insights into the history of the controversy over logging in the Park, how the logging industry has evolved in the 20th Century and a few thoughts as to the challenges that still exist with achieving the multifaceted objectives of today’s Algonquin Park.
Friday Apr 30, 2021
Friday Apr 30, 2021
Episode 12: A Chat with Roderick MacKay on Life in a 19th Century Camboose Shanty
This second of three episodes on logging in Algonquin Park shares anecdotes as to what life in the logging camboose shanties of the 19th Century was all about. I decided to go directly to the source and is an interview with Roderick MacKay (known as Rory) a subject matter expert on the camboose shanty both as a historian, archeologist, and as the resident blacksmith at Algonquin Park’s annual Logging Days event at the Logging Museum, hosted by the Friends of Algonquin Park.