Pinecrest 69ers Reunion... 2009

When one remembers Muskoka, I am certain the adjective, 'beautiful', comes to mind in every aspect. For me it is the colors of the trees, mosses, lichens, and granite; the clear, lake and river waters; and the people I have met there over the past 40+ years. This picture to the left is basically the front lawn (if I can call it that) and trees of the McKerron, Go Home Lake cottage in Muskoka. In many ways it reminds me of the Musquodoboit Valley and River near here in Nova Scotia... I often wonder if the "Musk/Musq" part of each name came through the native First Nation Peoples as they tried to best describe both areas in naming them.

This location is just a kilometer or so from a portage to the Georgian Bay, part of the Great Lake, Huron.

This is a beautiful location, accessible only by boat in the summer... snow mobile over ice-bridges in the winter... or long hikes is a great place to have a reunion.

Ross McKerron hosts our meet each September. This was the tenth time the various attendees have gotten together, and represents the 40th Anniversary of the year (1969) that we all worked at Camp Pinecrest.

The group, usually numbering around 20 come from around Ontario, and a few drop in from afar, each year. The picture, above is from the cottage to the wharfs... as is obvious, the weather curtailed the canoeing this year... or maybe it is the aging of the

population! There were few of us that made Morning Dip this year... and I was not one of them.

One of the treats that Ross had in store for us this year was an acquisition he had recently made of a 1906 vintage, hand made, cedar strip canoe... what a beautiful float, demonstrated here by Barney Morehouse who was a senior guide for Pinecrest in the 60's and is now a nature writer living in the Northern Ontario region.

To the left in this picture is Ross, wearing his 2005 PGA shirt... he is summer torn between the past and the present... canoeing and golf. Interesting that the PGA was held at Pinehurst #2 Course... I guess that's almost Pinecrest.

Great weekend Ross, thanx!

Our plans for 2010, the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Camp Pinecrest, a 640 acre base camp near Bala, Muskoka, Ontario include the 1969 team renting the entire Bala Bay Inn, and other celebratory functions... I understand that there will be shopping for the spouses as we returning staff tell lies and ever longer stories of our best years... on the water!