SOUTH NATION WATERSHED AND HERITAGE DEPICTED IN NEW BOOK
The faded black and white cover photo of three young lads holding long bamboo fishing poles sets the tone of “Our Watershed, Our Heritage”, a collection of stories and reminiscences of life along the South Nation River and its tributaries.
The 136-page tome was produced by South Nation Conservation to celebrate its 65th anniversary. The milestone occurred last year, but collecting the stories, editing, design, layout and publishing spilled into 2013, said Ronda Boutz, SNC Team Leader, Communications and Outreach.
SNC Chairman Bill Smirle has ensured that all contributors receive a free copy of the collection. Copies can be purchased for $10 through the SNC office in Finch.
“This book brings to life the history of the river and its inhabitants,” Smirle wrote in a message at the beginning of the publication. “Please take a moment to reflect on these stories as we continue to work together to enhance our quality of life and protect our natural resources.”
In his own seven-page entry in the book, Smirle recalls such memories as crossing the old iron bridge west of Berwick over the South Nation River in the late 1940s and early ‘50s. Riding in their dad’s 1940 Chevrolet, Bill and his sisters held their breath hoping they’d get safely across. The bridge was closed to traffic many years ago and, in 2012, cut up and hauled away for scrap: “I almost hated to see it go.”
The South Nation Conservation Authority – it streamlined its name several years ago – was formed in 1947 after the provincial government passed enabling legislation the previous year. Its locally appointed directors and staff tend to a 4,000 square-km drainage basin extending from the St. Lawrence River at Prescott to the Ottawa River at Plantagenet.
SNC’s main priorities include flood control, clean water preservation, fish, wildlife and habitat enhancement, forest propagation, all of it backed by education and awareness programs.
The book contains some French language entries as well as the English stories and also has a French title: “Notre bassin versant, notre patrimoine.”
“Our decision was to publish submissions in the language they were received in,” Boutz commented. “Because of the cost and time involved, we never intended a fully translated book.”
Along with Smirle, some well known area residents contributed to the book, including former municipal politician and farmer Estella Rose of South Mountain who remembers joining cows in the South Nation near Cass Bridge to cool off: “The cows didn’t seem to mind sharing.”
These days, SNC in cooperation with area farmers, makes every effort to keep cows out of the watercourses.
Winchester area farmer and agricultural activist Jackie Pemberton, chair of SNC’s Clean Water Committee, loved when the river flooded in the spring and “we floated around all day on makeshift rafts” after the school buses were cancelled.
Russell’s Baird McNeill recounts years of wildlife observations made from his deck/perch right over the Castor River – a South Nation tributary – along with the strange tale of building a makeshift dam. These days, residents are discouraged from installing unauthorized dams.
Writing in French, Rosaire Dupont, a retired Curran dairy farmer, describes trapping muskrat and beaver along the South Nation when prices made the pursuit worthwhile. Since trapping the animals has slowed to a trickle, they’ve become major obstructions to farm drainage systems, Dupont contends.
“There quite a mix of anecdotes and recollections in the book,” Boutz noted. “It’s an easy, interesting read, especially for those who live in the area or have roots here.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Ronda Boutz, SNC, 877-984-2948, ext. 251
Rboutz@nation.on.ca