Summer of 1940
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“Part of the Big East Explored by Us,” drawn by Dick Mansell in his journal in July 1940. Three years earlier – at age 15 – Dick had drawn a detailed and annotated map of “Rebecca and Sand Lakes,” taking as his sources existing maps for Camp Billie Bear and Tynoka Lodge, as well as “observations of my own,” no doubt acquired on many excursions. (Wendy Kimmel)
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In the summer of 1940, Dick Mansell, age 18, kept a journal describing his activities at Sunset Cabin on Rebecca Lake and his grandmother’s cottage at Springsyde on Peninsula Lake. Swimming, chores, lodge dances, visits, games, reading, and some rare “just loafing” fill the pages – but most intriguing are the excursions he and his brother, Jack Mansell, took on foot and by boat to explore.
A Trip to the Fire Tower
On July 4, Dick, his brother, and two friends took a canoe and the sailboat Juiña across Rebecca and Bella Lakes to Bill Young’s clearing as the first stage of a trip to the fire tower on the far side of Heck’s Lake:
We took maps and walked to Heck’s Lake where we borrowed a canoe. After a lot of trouble we found that the trail started at the mouth of the creek running out of the lake. We followed this to the Fire Tower & climbed it. While we were up there it started to rain. We stayed in shelter of tower until it abated & then came down trail to Heck’s Lake. I looked for an owl that was hooting but no soap. We left and were severely rained on in middle of lake. Returned to boats and paddled them to Little Bay.
While the boys heated beans for lunch, probably on Second Sandy, the rain got worse: “We carried canoe up among pines and all got under it. When it abated again, we took it down to shore, packed boats etc., and got away – Jack & Raggs [the dog] in Juiña and the rest of us in canoe.” After supper back at Sunset Cabin, two of the boys walked several miles to Limberlost for shoe polish!
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| Dick Mansell and his mother Elsie with the Juiña, summer 1944. On one family trip to the fire tower in August 1940, Elsie lost her watch; Dick doesn’t record finding it in his account of the return trip to search. (Wendy Kimmel) | Raggs and Jack Mansell, ca. 1934 (Wendy Kimmel) |
Portage to the East River
An excursion to the Big East River a few days later turned out to be gruelling and disappointing. The boys first paddled and rowed to “Antioch” – probably Crawford Bay on Bella Lake. Dick’s journal for July 7 reads, “Then in shifts of 5 min., with two to the canoe and another breaking trail, we portaged it the two miles along Sinclair Road to Sinclair Bridge. It almost killed us. We went in swimming there, explore up and down the river, partly by aid of canoe. It appears that it is useless on that river – too shallow – our life’s work is wasted.”
The boys cached the canoe at the river and, after some more exploring, hiked back to Bella Lake and rowed home, stopping for a swim on the way. It had been a long day! A few days later, on July 10, they hiked back in to retrieve the canoe:
After breakfast, got some food thrown together and started to Antioch in double-ender. Landed. Left most of stuff in boat & walked up Sinclair Road to Sinclair Bridge over Big East River. Jack and I took bows [boughs] off canoe where we cached it and got it into water. I was going to pole it down to the beginning of portage, at mouth of creek from Heck’s Lake; however, I got inspired, and using an ordinary pole for a paddle [they had not brought a paddle this time], went down the river quite a distance and back. Then I joined them in swimming. After that, we lashed one of the poles under the canoe, and carried back up the portage to Antioch. It was a bit easier than the way we did it before, but it was still hard work. I was mad that we did all that concentrated labour and didn’t even get a decent paddle on the Big East out of it…
Back at the beach, the boys “staggered” into the boats and rowed home, Once again, the day ended with a trip to Limberlost, on foot, to pick up mail and supplies.
Sources:
Kimmel, Wendy, personal communications, April 2019.
Mansell, Dick, “Rebecca and Sand Lakes, Sinclair Township, Muskoka” (map by Dick Mansell, September-November 1937).
Mansell, Richard Tennant, “Diary of Richard Tennant Mansell (‘Dick’), June 29 – Aug 18, 1940” (transcribed and annotated by Wendy Kimmel)