Clarendon and Miller Community Archives
HAMLETS
Coxvale Businesses
Lemke’s Cedarcrest Lodge (Big Gull Lake)
(Information provided by Barbara Way (daughter of Fred and Jean Lemke)
In the 1930s and 1940s, the excellent fishing brought American fishermen to the area to fish, and this is how many lodges began.
1937: Fred and Jean Lemke purchased property on Big Gull Lake at Coxvale. The property had a row of cedar trees on the waterfront from which came the name, "Lemke's Cedar Crest Lodge.” The Lodge consisted of five sleeping cabins and a dining room with living quarters attached. The cabins were rented to American fishermen from Ohio and Pennsylvania. Home-cooked meals were served in the dining room of the house. The delicious meals were prepared by Jean, who was an excellent cook known for her homemade bread, rolls, and pies. Over the next few years, Fred built eight housekeeping cottages and used these in the process of replacing the dining room.
1945: The Lemkes purchased the farmhouse, barns, back land, and one rental cottage on the other side of the bay, which allowed them to live on the property in the winter instead of returning to Plevna each Fall.
1947-1988 The grocery store was built, and over the next few years, a new home, a boat house, gas pumps, a trailer park, additional cottages were added, bringing the total to 17. Since all the cottages were now housekeeping, families had less need for served food, although some fishermen and hunters in the fall required the home-cooked meals. Fred had some health problems with his first heart attack in the spring of 1959 and then in 1968.
A new bridge was built and the road was straightened to go up over the hill instead of in front of the store.
On December 25, 1988 was a very sad day in the Lemke family as Jean passed away suddenly. This left Fred to continue the business with the assistance of his daughter, Barbara. On July 6, 1992 Fred passed away.
The Lodge had been in the Lemke family for 55 years at that time. When Fred passed away, Harold and Barbara had just retired from jobs in Kingston and they decided to continue operating the business.
1994-2008: At the road, Barbara and Harold erected a new sign (a gift from a very dear friend) "Lemke's Cedar Crest Lodge". They started downsizing by selling off lots, cottages, closing the store,and the gas pumps
Lemke's Cedar Crest Lodge no longer exists as they knew it, but the families who purchased the parcels of land will continue to enjoy Big Gull Lake for years to come.
Pine Cove Cottages (Crotch Lake)
(Information and photos thanks to Caroline and Donald Ferguson and Norah Przewoznik, 2016)
In 1954, John and Hilda Eastman purchased three cottages, the house and snack bar that had been owned by Dave and Annie Cox under the name “Pine Shade Lodge.” They continued to operate the snack bar located in the front of the house along Ardoch Road. They renamed it “Pine Cove Cottages” as there was no lodge to accommodate guests.
John and Hilda Eastman were originally from the U.S. They and their two children, Caroline and John, came from New York State to a mixed dairy farm that they purchased near Portland, Ontario in 1947. This is where their third child, Charles, was born. On a fishing trip, John Senior discovered Crotch Lake, where fishing was very good. They decided to sell their farm and buy the cottages, which were for sale.
They built two more cottages and a boathouse to store the rental boat motors available to guests. With the help of the two older children (high school age), they operated the business in the summer. John and Hilda owned a small advertising company that helped to augment their income through the winter months. Son, John, guided the fishermen and Caroline tended the store and helped to clean cottages.
The Eastmans operated the seasonal business from May-October each year. It was primarily a fishing lodge, as many American tourists returned each year for Walleye, Bass and Northern Pike. Over the years, they made numerous improvements, such as screened-in porches and the addition of electricity in 1962. The largest cottage had four bedrooms, a large central room and a kitchen at the back. It often slept 10 or 12 fishermen who came as a group. One of the hardships reported was keeping laundry available (before electricity). Linen was supplied and cleaning depended upon weather.
In the early 1970s, Eastmans sold most of the land and five Pine Cove Cottages, the house and snack bar to John and Rosemary Przewoznik and two sons, Danny and John Jr. of New Jersey. John left behind a very successful fly-tying shop and bait business in High Bridge, New Jersey. John purchased the Eastman property, “Pine Cove Cottages”, which included five housekeeping cottages and a house with storefront on Ardoch Road. The lakeside property was sandwiched between Wilson’s Lodge (owned by M.W. Dixon) and Land O’Lakes Lodge (owned by Charlie Vaughn at the time).
Over the next few years, John built a lakeside bait shop selling fishing tackle, live bait, ice, and some basic groceries and gas, John continued to tie flies and bucktail jigs (which he supplied to the James Brothers Wholesale business in Perth, Ontario).
Rosemary did not like the rural life and she returned to the States with the boys. John operated the resort for a decade; he added a sixth cottage and renovated some of the original structures, which were “rustic.”
In May 1982, John sold “Pine Cove Cottages” to Ed and Shirley Giffin, who incorporated it into the Tumblehome Lodge (formerly Wilson’s Lodge). John remarried in 1982 to Norah McCann and lived in the area running a wholesale fishing business, delivering worms and tackle to many local businesses. He passed away in 2002.
Pine Shade Lodge (Crotch Lake)
(Information provided by Pat Denna (Wisteard), Nelda Whan (Dixon) and Eric Dixon)
David and Annie Cox built Pine Shade Lodge in the 1940s at Crotch Lake. They operated it until 1953-54. Their children were Edna, Manford, Chloe, George and Tressa.
There were four cottages down the Lake Road: Hillcrest, Bayview, Hillside, and Hilltop. Two of these cottages remained as property of Tumblehome Resort, known as Wilson’s Lodge/Camp prior to that. There were two more cottages out on the point. You had to go by rowboat to look after them. Towels and bedding were provided to the cottages. Lots of grandchildren helped to clean the cottages and then carry the bedding and towels up the Lake Road for Grandma Annie to wash with a wringer washing machine because there was no hydro. Not long before, Grandma Annie had to wash everything on the washboard.
Dave made repairs to the cottages, broken trailers, boats or motors, even cars.
Cold items such as drinks were stored in the ice blocks (cut from the lake in winter) and stored with sawdust to use in summer. There was a dining room in the house, a small store, and the Booth, which was the snack bar. Soft drinks, chocolate bars, and chocolate milk out of little bottles with a straw in the paper lid were available for sale. Chocolate milk came from Woodland Dairy. Every day there were “scrap” cakes for Annie to bake and sandwiches to make. Cakes were made with leftover items so there was no real recipe. There would be fruit such as left in the bottom of a berry preserves jar that would be dumped in to make a cake. Then she would put meringue on top.
Across from the Lodge was the Poplar Hotel. It was used as a bunkhouse and dining room for the mill workers, and as a dance hall. On the lake also was Wilson’s Lodge (part of Tumblehome in later years). Annie Cox made meals for the people in Pine Shade and people staying at Wilson’s ordered meals. She also prepared shore dinners as well as for Pine Shade customers. She was a great cook! Dave had a huge garden from which they had food for all year. The garden was located where Tumblehome’s Golf Course was built in later years.
One of the favourite foods was potato chocolates, which were made with hot mashed potatoes, rolled in icing sugar and dipped in chocolate; sometimes even had peppermint flavouring (a special treat). They were good!
Besides a big breakfast, there were shore dinner baskets to pack and send with the fishing guides. Annie would send a half pound of butter and a half pound of lard for frying the fish. Always she sent sandwiches, too. Mostly American customers used fishing guides, who made $24.00 a week for long, long hours of rowing a boat all over Crotch Lake. Fishing was very good all the years they owned Pine Shade.
In later years, the Lodge sold gas, that was pumped by hand. There was a drinking water well that was the deepest well the drillers said that they had ever drilled.
In the snack bar, Annie had homemade souvenirs, like plaster of Paris items, painted rocks with the name “Pine Shade, Crotch Lake” on them. She taught Sunday School classes from fall until spring.
Different ministers would come occasionally to the lodge for service.
The hours were long working at the Lodge. Meals kept going until 7 p.m. at night. After Annie’s heart attack, she wanted to sell. The Lodge was sold to John and Hilda Eastman 1953-1954.
After they sold, Annie and Dave moved into a small log house nearby. Dave got right back to work building boats and a road to Crotch Lake. There were 14 cottages but no road to the lake, so he set about to solve that problem!
McNaughton’s Lodge, Coxvale, (Big Gull Lake)
(Information provided by Caroline and Donald Ferguson)
Prior to Holiday Haven, Neil McNaughton and his wife, Haddie, operated a tourist lodge that was built as a fishing camp on land on the south side of the lake, not far from where the Lemke’s built cottages as part of Cedar Crest Lodge. McNaughtons had a son, George, who was killed in a car accident with his cousin (Highway 7 and 509 in 1940s). After it burned, the McNaughtons rebuilt it where Holiday Haven was located in later years.
The McNaughtons sold their place to Mike and Jo (Josephine) Bender who had three daughters: Gwen, Dorothy and Janet. While Bender’s owned it, the business was called Mi-Jo Camp. Gwen married one of the Pogues from Rochester and that connection brought more people to the area. The McNaughton's left behind a piano. A piano book dated December 12, 1939 estimated her age to be nine years.Other people who rented cottages were Dewarts and Haytes.
Holiday Haven, Coxvale (Big Gull Lake)
(Information provided by Dean Wedden, Dianne McDonald, Sandra Edwards, Bob & Pat Guard)
Dean’s parents, Bob (Robert) and Dollie (Mary) Wedden operated Holiday Haven from 1960-1974. Bob was a pilot at the Trenton Airforce Base Repair Depot #6. The Lodge came to his attention when he was flying over the area one day. Bob had two daughters who lived with their Mother in Toronto. The girls spent the summers at Holiday Haven and returned to Toronto for the regular school year.
In 1960 Dean was born.The Lodge was only seasonal and until they had a permanent home in the area, they spent the first two winters in Perth until the house was built on Road 509 near Bell Road.
In the years prior to Weddens, alcohol was allowed at the Lodge. This became a problem as some over-indulged and Dollie could not tolerate the behaviour. Early in their ownership, the lodge was no longer a “public” house. Renters were still able to enjoy their drinks at their cottage.
A piano book for Janet, dated December 12, 1939, would estimate her to be age nine years while at the Lodge. Other people who rented cottages were Dewarts and Haytes.
Of the eleven cabins, only four were close to the main Lodge. They were spread around the entire point. Each cabin had a hand pump at the kitchen sink, an outhouse out back, an electric stove, and the basics for rustic living. Some cabins were rented by the week, the month or for the entire summer.
Robert had other sources of income as well as the Lodge. For many years, he was the sales rep for James Brothers of Perth and sold fishing tackle and supplies to other lodges. Each year, the government sold lots on the lakes and many Americans purchased these sights unseen. The Mississippi River Improvement Company (MRIC), formed in 1909, had control of the dam and the land around Gull Lake. The lake shore land was leased from MRIC for 99 years. This leased land was sold to private owners between 1950 and the 1970s. Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority took over in the early 1970s. Robert was in a good position to assist new property with Mirrocraft boat and Evinrude motor rentals or sales, recommend York prefabs, transport building supplies to the new lot, sell stoves and fridges.
When Robert and Dollie sold in 1974 to Bill and Sandra Phypers, they sold the main Lodge and the cottages that were furthest away from the road. They took down two; moved one small cottage up Ardoch Road, where it still stands near the North Frontenac and Central Frontenac boundary; kept four and built one with three bedrooms upstairs and full bath.
Ardoch Road was improved considerably when Phypers owned the Lodge. Cottages were rented a few more years by Robert.
Land O’Lakes Lodge (Crotch Lake)
(Information provided by Caroline Ferguson, Norah Przewoznik, Ginny Schnupp, Laura Mounce and documents provided by Jere and Marianne Motto)
OWNERS:
1926-1939 Harold J.Thomson
1939-1945 Clyde Billman/ Lawrence Fegley
1941-1946 Five- year lease of 1.3 acres E. Buell for milling & lumbering
1945-1971 Arnold Robb & Gordon Robb
1971-1982 Charles & Mary Vaughn
1982-1994 Jere & Marianne Motto
1995-2014 Mel & Ginny Schnupp
Jan. 2015- Alan Bell & Laura Mounce
Harold J. Thomson was the owner of a store in Sharbot Lake. He acquired the land in Palmerston Township for a summer resort through an application to the Department of Lands and Forest in December 1925. A License for Occupation was issued early in 1926 and construction began soon after.
It is known that many Americans frequented the lodges in North Frontenac because of the excellent fishing. Records show that Thomson operated the lodge until 1939. It is believed that the Billmans and Fegleys of Catawissa, Pennsylvania had been guests at the lodge in previous years. On October 20, 1939 Clyde Billman and Lawrence W. Fegley purchased the lodge. During their ownership, they granted a five-year lease of part of the property for lumbering purposes; it is believed that Henry Raymond was hired to manage the operation. It is unclear if the lodge operations continued through this period. When the Robbs purchased the lodge in 1971, they had to tear down most of the cabins and build new ones. With each new owner, additions and improvements were made.
The cottages were rebuilt and sold to Charlie and Marilyn Vaughn of the U.S.A. They operated the lodge from 1974-1980. When they sold, they moved to Kingston.
Next owners were from Pennsylvania, Jerre and Marianne Motto and their two children, Christopher and Jennifer and golden retriever, Laker. They operated the resort from 1982-1994. They cooked meals for the dining room; the American plan for dining was popular. In 1994 the lodge was sold to Mel and Ginny Schnupp.
During the Schnupps 19 years of ownership they built a log home, the bathhouse,running water to the cabins, a two-story addition to the Lodge, four new cabins, and many other smaller projects. John and Norah Przewoznik and Terry Virgin were key staffers for the Schnupps.
Presently Land O’Lakes Lodge is owned and operated by Alan Bell and Laura Mounce. Laura has the 1948 ledger for lodge registration; many American people continue to come through several decades. The lodge has a guide available and customers make their own arrangements for services. There are four newer log cabins, five rustic cabins with no kitchens, two rustic cabins with kitchens, two- bedroom basement apartments (no kitchen), and a three- bedroom apartment above the lodge. Up to 36 people can be accommodated in the dining room. The Lodge is usually fully booked for the summer months.
Tumblehome Lodge (Crotch Lake)
(Information from Ed and Shirley Giffin)
Tumblehome Lodge originally owned by Ed and Shirley Giffin since 1979, presently is owned and operated by their son, Ward and his daughter Ashley, from May until October. Its unique name comes from a nautical term which describes the inward slope of the upper part of the sides of a canoe, or ship. Ed and Shirley who started Tumblehome Lodge were avid canoeists. They can accommodate as many as 250 guests.
The history of the lodge starts with Haddon Wilson purchasing the current site in 1921 as a tax sale. The next few years were taken up with building sleeping accommodations and a kitchen/dining facility. This was completed in 1927. Haddon along with his sister Mary and cousin Roberta operated the American Plan for 50 years. Upwards of 60 guests were accommodated in good years. By the time that they retired in 1956, there were 15 sleeping cabins, two housekeeping cabins, and a large dining room in the main lodge. Haddon sold it to Mr. Dixon from Missouri and Ned Dunkin from Pennsylvania. They operated Wilson’s Lodge successfully for 10 years and in 1976 sold it to Mrs. Margarit Bauer. She was unable to keep the lodge going and the Giffins purchased the property in 1979 under Power of Sale.
Two important decisions were made: to upgrade and modernize the facility and to develop it as a housekeeping resort. As a step in the upgrades, the sleeping cabins were paired as housekeeping units. Kitchens, new beds, and cold running water was installed and a central shower house was built in that first year. A convenience store was established in the old main lodge, selling basic grocery items, snacks, ice, fishing tackle, maps of the lake and area, bait and eventually fishing licenses. Used boats and motors were purchased for rentals along with a fleet of canoes for canoeing and camping on the lake.
Developing the business and operating the lodge was a family business and it took many hands and long hours. In addition to Ed and Shirley, Dan and Ward who were teenagers were a great help. Other sons, Geoff, Mark, Doug and Brad, also contributed much to the development and operation of the Lodge over the years.
In 1982, the adjoining Pine Cove Cottages were purchased from John and Norah Przewoznik and came under the Tumblehome banner. In the fall of 1983 the old dining room building was removed and replaced with a ten-unit, one- bedroom condo-style apartment building. It was the first modern accommodation on Crotch lake which provided modern kitchens with dishwashers, microwave ovens, electric heat, and bathrooms with showers. Each sleeping unit had accommodation for two- four persons. This building also housed the new convenience store. The store became very busy and a manager was hired.
Upgrading took considerable planning and time. There were new docks, fishing boats and canoes, gas pumps, old cabins removed, and a new housekeeping unit built, enlarged store, and more apartment-style additions and in 1997 another 65 acres allowed them to construct a golf course with a clubhouse and dining facility.
In 1999, after 20 years, Ed and Shirley retired by selling Tumblehome Lodge to their son, Ward. The golf course was a good innovative idea and provided a recreational service to the township and area. However, it required labour-intensive maintenance that a one-person operator could not maintain. Ward decided to downsize his operation by selling the golf course in 2002 but since has repurchased the property and the clubhouse was renovated. It is now Ward’s family home.
Tumblehome Lodge continues to be a very busy summer resort.
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