The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Continued from pg. 8 Sleep came quickly and was sound that night. The next morning, the approaching clang of Jim Corman's breakfast bell had people up for the day long before he was able to open the door of your cottage and ring it! Pancakes and sausages was the fare and they went down well with the freshly brewed coffee. Following breakfast, everyone headed back down to the McDougall front yard for the resumption of the horseshoe tourney and subsequent to it finishing up, the canoe races. The races were not quite as wet as last year's and this seemed to have a direct bearing on the fact that Jim Corman wasn't on the beach much. Last year, it seemed that canoes were just a bit more tippy whenever he was in the vicinity. Once winners were crowned in the canoe races, the 'smoosh races' got underway. This involved three teammates with their feet lashed to a two-by-four, racing against three others. For those able to find a rhythm, the race was over quick and the wins piled up. Normally known as a winter event, strapping the two-by-four to bare feet was a little painful, but as noted, Southenders are a hearty bunch and there wasn't too much whining! Amazing meal The weekend's organized events approached their close with the Pioneer Potluck at the Gathering Place. There were 100 people in attendance and they all enjoyed another amazing meal. Following supper, the weekend's emcee, Dawn Roberts, passed around the 'open mic'. It was an opportunity to tell a Herb Lake or pioneer story, or to put forward thanks to the amazing group of people who made the weekend possible. The day ended back in Ted and Cathy Stabback's yard, as the items from the scavenger hunt were tallied and points awarded. At several instances during this process, bringing forth articles gathered in the hunt, forced some folks to take a backward step. This happened when participants brought out their bags of moose dung and when Greg Carswell brought out the only garter snake that was captured. One of the items everyone managed to find was a 'Double Dutch' skipping rope. Following the tabulation of points, many of the ladies and a few of the men tried their long forgotten skills on the ropes. The only one who could still master it for any length of time was Cathy Stabback. That night, the sun set beautifully on another fantastic celebration and it left everyone in attendance eagerly anticipating next year's Pioneer Days and the celebration of the 95th anniversary of Herb Lake Landing and the former community of Herb Lake. My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
