WREATHMAKER

It seems to be tradition for Labour Day weekend...we head up to Hecla Island for the weekend, with our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. This year we camped, and they stayed in the lovely resort hotel. Some other traditions.....It usually rains at least one day, Grandson makes French toast for one breakfast, they golf, I do quite a bit of cooking, and we head down to the dock, or the beach at sunset. Our daughter, an accomplished photographer, sets up her camera on the monopod (new word I learned!)   I take my amateur photos..... The Icelandic village on the island has a few restored buildings as a museum... we toured a 1928 home...the kitchen with it's grand cookstove  complete with reservoir for heating water, and all the necessary cooking utensils hanging up nearby... I fondly remember kitchens just like this in rural Saskatchewan...mail-order curtains blowing gently in the breeze, and a cake keeper ready with a chocolate cake.... ....

A tradition for Labor Day weekend for us is camping on Hecla Island, The island was settled by Icelandic people many years ago. Fishing was the main industry, and even today, there are many fishing boats in the harbour, as well as a fish station. When the island became a Provincial park, most people were asked to sell their property to the government and move. Some of the oldest buildings are very rustic, and many are rapidly becoming piles of rubble: Below, an old outhouse... This white building is the old boarding house, restored on the outside, but sadly, the inside hasn't been completed There are nautical touches everywhere: More recently, those who wished to do so, could rebuild on the island. There are many new summer homes now, and they must conform to traditional styles. Credit for most of the above photos goes to my daughter LaVerne.

On Saturday the weather here was still warm, so we headed out to Hecla Island with my Mom and our Granddaughter.   We stopped at a little rest area for a cup of coffee and Mom’s wonderful cinnamon buns. (above)   Lake Winnipeg fishermen bring their catch to be unloaded at the Fish Station. This is a typical scene along the shore. Grandpa and Granddaughter dropped a line …no luck…   all in all, it was a lovely day… There was also time to enjoy the water park at the Gull Harbour Resort.