Portland On The Rideau Compliments of the… Portland Community Hall Board Portland, Ontario April – May 2015 Volume 1 Issue 1 BE PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY! PORTLAND BEAUTIFICATION SUB-COMMITTEE We have a beautiful community here that we need to show off to visitors and residents alike. The flowers (believe it or not) will soon be growing and the seasonal residents and tourists will arrive. Join us to put Portland-on-the-Rideau on the “must see” list. All ideas and hands-on help are welcome. Rideau Lakes Township has declared that the primary colours for flowers this year will be red and yellow so we are making sure to include these in our pots and beds and encourage residents to do the same. Portland Community Hall Board Twp. of Rideau Lakes Representative Councillor: Doug Good Chair of the Hall Board Secretary/Treasurer: Rick Long Committee Members: Betty James Don Burchill Guy Barnes Heather Moodie Doug Good Beautification Sub-Committee: Connie Cochran Dawn Lawson This issue… Be part of your community! Portland Beautification Sub-Committee Promoting Portland Big Rideau Lake Association (BRLA) Portland on the Rideau Historical Society Portland Community Hall Board Portland Docks ‘Block Briefs’ Ongoing Events, Activities and Services Ongoing Monthly Calendar Upcoming & Special Events Calendars Glancing ahead 3 months Keep us in mind when you are splitting plants in the spring. We will gratefully receive any plants you don’t need. Financial donations are also welcome. Cheques would be payable to Township of Rideau Lakes, marked to the attention of Sue Dunfield – with a note that it is for the Portland Beautification Fund. Cheques can be mailed to the Township Office or given to either contact shown below. Sponsor a planter, a bench or flower bed and have your name or the name of a loved one on a plaque! $75.00 for one year or $150.00 for three years. Beautification is a year-round endeavor with lots of activities, not just for the summer months. It is a challenging, creative exercise that works with a limited contribution from the Township but fund raising at the local level is necessary to supplement the budget. One of the current fund-raising activities is the ‘ICE OUT 50/50 CONTEST’. You will find the calendar at the Portland LCBO. For a Toonie you can choose a date and time (a.m. or p.m.). Thanks to our local LCBO for their support. If you have an interest, a gift, or a donation please feel welcome to participate. Contact: Connie Cochran at 613-272-6747 or Dawn Lawson at 613-985-6033 Visit us at… www.portlandontario.com 1 of 4 Portland On The Rideau Promoting the Portland area Visit… www.portlandontario.com to view your newsletter Portland, Ontario April – May 2015 Promoting the Portland Area How did this newsletter come about…? The Portland Community Hall Board (PCHB) did a mail out flyer asking people in the Portland area to come share ideas on rejuvenating the area. Wednesday February 11th the board met in the Portland Community Hall (PCH) with several guests attending. Creation of a newsletter was considered to be one way to get in touch with people and let them know of the many activities and events in the Portland area. Portland On The Rideau newsletter is to provide information for Ongoing Events and Activities plus Upcoming Special Events and Activities. It will be available bi-monthly printed 6 times in a calendar year. Volume 1 Issue 1 If your club, committee or organization has an activity/event you’d like in the newsletter, Please email your information by the 15th of each month to… [email protected] Or by mail: Carolyn Bresee P.O. Box 135 Portland, ON K0G 1V0 Ongoing Events and Activities Calendars provide a look at what is happening on a regular monthly basis. Upcoming Special Events and Activities Calendars will provide a glance at what will be coming up in the Portland area. The Big Rideau Lake Association (BRLA) is a non-profit organization with roots back to 1911. Located on the Big and Lower Rideau Lakes in Eastern Ontario, the Big Rideau Lakes Association is committed to longterm environmental protection and service to all who use the lake and share its resources. The Big Rideau Lakes Association supports programs in the areas of environment, recreation, government affairs and lake safety. Why Join…? BRLA is committed to long-term environmental protection of our lake. We provide valuable services to all who use the lake and share in its resources. Shoal markers to provide safe passage for all boaters on the lake, the annual Canada Day fireworks display and important environmental research and advocacy are a few of the services that rely on your membership fees. As a BRLA member, you have access to information about issues of concern and interest related to the Big Rideau Lake community, as well as to our many social, recreational and environmental activities centered around Cow Island, our very own “Jewel in the Lake”. Our lake, our legacy. Be involved. www.bigrideaulakeassociation.com Saturday July 4, 2015 BRLA will be holding their Annual General Meeting Location and meeting time TBA For more information: [email protected] 2 of 4 Visit us at… www.portlandontario.com Portland On The Rideau Promoting the Portland area Portland on the Rideau Historical Society Portland, Ontario April – May 2015 Volume 1 Issue 1 When did the train come to Portland and when did it (PRHS) is moving forward with events, future plans and leave? We have also been asked by the Royal Bank to projects to identify the history of the village of Portland document the two bank robberies, yes there were two and the Big Rideau Lake. bank robberies in Portland. The Society plans to hold meetings every two months and It is no use gathering information without passing it intends to bring in guest speakers on the topics of interest along and the Society plans to achieve this through to the members. These topics will range from the history presentations at their meetings and retaining it on our of the lake and the village, to using/developing the website website as a “virtual museum” for all to enjoy. and preservation of historical documents. If you have an interest in history, photography, research, websites, archival abilities we need you. We Tuesday May 12, 2015 7:00 pm The PRHS will hold its also need you if you have a piece of Portland and/or Annual General Meeting with a Guest Speaker. Rideau Lakes history in your attic or in your mind. If Portland Community Hall. This is open to the public. A future event we plan to look into is the role “The we are to record and preserve the history of our home Landing”, now called Portland, played in the transfer of we need to start now before another generation is lost! some 16,000 people in the Town of Perth and the The PRHS can be contacted by calling: Doug Good development of Bathurst District as they prepare to 613-272-5078 [email protected] celebrate their bicentennial. Over about a four to five year Edith Seward 613-272-2409 period settlers walked from Brockville to “The Landing” Doug Bond 613-272-2252 and then boarded vessels to go down the lake to likely Or by mail at: P.O. Box 1, Portland, ON K0G 1V0 what became Oliver’s Ferry, now called Rideau Ferry. Some of those individuals may have been the original Portland On The Rideau founders of Portland. Pick up your complimentary copy Another area the society intends to embark on is research: at various locations in the Portland area… identifying, documenting and establishing time lines of Portland Library businesses in the village, like the first cheese factory in Portland Gas station Upper Canada, Dowsett’s Carriage Shop – which became Len’s Cove Marina Dowsett’s Boat Works, E.H. Bolton Lumber Co., Rothwell Bayview Yacht Harbour and Perrin Lumber, the storekeepers, the hotels and the Portland Grocery Store marinas for example Len’s Cove recently celebrated 50 LCBO years, and before that Wendell Brown operated a marina Portland Community Hall on that location, a marina has been on the Bayview Yacht Harbour location for about forty years (before that it was Online at… www.portlandontario.com the site of the Bolton Lumber Co.). The Portland Community Hall Board is always looking for Volunteers. If you are available to help our BRLA’s 100th Celebration on Saturday August 8, 2015… We need to hear from you! You can’t have events and people without the ability to have food and drink! The Churches and others are being approached to determine their interest in holding breakfasts, canteens, maybe a corn roast… or other food and drink ideas. Nothing firm on this subject has been established. It would be nice to see Community Organizations come forward with ideas. A Portland Historical Walk will point out where the Dowsett Boat Works was located, along with the Dowsett homes in the village of Portland. The Portland Historical Society will be providing a display of Commemorative pieces showing Portland and the Big Rideau Lake over the years. For info. - Contact Doug Good [email protected] Visit us at… www.portlandontario.com 3 of 4 Portland On The Rideau Portland, Ontario Promoting the Portland area April – May 2015 Portland Docks Among the Big Rideau Lake cottagers there are a number who are concerned about the docking space in Portland, and I am asking for your input and suggestions. I appreciate their concerns and frustration because apparently the need to address the docking in Portland has been on the table for a number of years with “nothing happening”. Having been around Portland and the docks and seeing the effect of the North winds for more than a couple of decades, any docks for Portland have to be specifically planned, designed and built for Portland. The condition of the existing dock was examined last year and it’s my understanding the findings of the condition was that it was generally fairly sound. So I believe any discussion about additional dockage in Portland is based on extension to the current existing dock. Many lake users have said what a great job one of our neighbouring municipalities have done in installing new dockage, we can only work to ensure that we do as well. When we talk about planning we need to try and determine the amount of additional capacity, the potential use (more transient cruisers, day trippers, loading/unloading by cottagers etc.), the best layout and the impacts on adjoining residences and businesses. Designed for protection of vessels, safety of the dock users and contribute to the desire to wanting to visit/stay in Portland. As I stated earlier any dock built for Portland has to be able to stand up to strong north winds, that doesn’t just mean the visible part, but the anchoring system to hold the dock(s) in place. An overriding factor that cannot be forgotten is the economics of investing tax dollars into expansion of the facility and the ‘dollar return’ versus ‘service factor’. To move the issue forward from the ‘nothing happening’ to at least commencing the ‘planning stage’, I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas of what/why and how the docks in Portland should be extended. I invite you to contact me at: [email protected] Wearing my other hat as: Doug Good Councillor Twp. of Rideau Lakes 4 of 4 Volume 1 Issue 1 Block Briefs… Events, Activities & Services In the Portland area Twp. of Rideau Lakes Portland Branch Library Hours Monday: 5 – 8 pm Wednesday: 2 – 5 pm Friday: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm Saturday: 1 – 4 pm FRIDAYS Forfar Euchre Forfar Community Hall 7:30 pm Light Lunch All Welcome VIBE: Venturing in Biblical Education Wednesdays at 7 pm April 22 – Dec. 2, 2015 Portland United Church Contact Rev. Takouhi 613-272-8977 Forfar Strawberry Social Sunday June 28, 2015 Starts at 4:30 pm Forfar Community Hall 1544 Cty. Rd. 42 PRHS Portland on the Rideau Historical Society Annual General Meeting With Guest Speaker 7:00 pm Portland Community Hall All welcome FRIDAYS Portland Legion Fun Darts 7:00 pm All welcome Community Clothing Cooperative Portland Community Hall Wednesdays 1 pm - 3 pm Saturdays 10 am – 2 pm Portland Food Bank Portland Community Hall st rd 1 & 3 Tuesdays of the month 11 – 12 noon Portland Community Hall Board Committee nd meets on the 2 Wed. of each Month - 7:00 pm Come on out and see what’s going on in the Portland area. For more info. contact Rick Long 613-272-2188 Sunday May 31, 2015 The Masonic Tri-Lodge is hosting a Ladies Night for North Leeds Food Banks. Proceeds go to Seeley’s Bay, Westport, Delta and Portland Food Banks. 1000 Islands Gananoque Casino Mondays Complimentary Bus Leaves Portland Hall parking lot 10 am Returns @ 4 pm Casino Bus Shuttle to Rideau Carleton. st 1 Tues. of the month. Leaves Portland Hall 8:30 am Returns @ 5pm $14.50 return trip. Echo Tours 1-800-667-0210 Visit us at… www.portlandontario.com Portland Community Pot Luck Thursday April 23, 2015 5:30 pm Social 6:00 pm Supper Presentation by Doug Bond “The Homes of Portland” Portland Community Hall Portland Community Yard Sale Saturday May 16, 2015 starting at 8 A.M.
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