Maryboro Lodge: The Fenelon Museum
50 Oak Street KOM 1N0 Fenelon Falls, ON, Canada

Let's play: Where Is This? Some years ago, this was a great location for one room school picnics. What are your memories here?

This mama squirrel is enjoying a flat out lounge on a branch above her nest in a bur oak at Maryboro Lodge. Not long into her alone time, a little one poked an eye up to the entrance.

Furnace Falls is full of magic! It is such a special place to so many of us. What memories do you have of your visits here? "Furnace Falls was established as a small siding on the Irondale, Bancroft & Ottawa Railway line. It was located about halfway between Howland and Irondale. In addition to the shed sized flag station and freight siding, it included a store and smelting works. J.C. Parry, who also operated a saw and shingle mill, opened the first post office in 1883. Jere...miah Herlibrey, a carpenter, served as postmaster from 1886 until his death in 1910. In 1912, the Carr family took over the store and post office, which they operated until 1967, when it was permanently closed. Furnace Falls' unusual name originated from the days when blast furnaces and smelters played a major part in mining operations. Blast furnaces fell out of use following a devastating fire in 1887." [from: https://www.ghosttownpix.com/ontario/towns/furnace.html]

Looking up into the Evans' buzzing crabapple tree.

A great start to a great weekend.

Austin Sawmill Heritage Park, Kinmount.

Have you seen the root creature just south of Kinmount on the Rail Trail?

The Maryboro Lodge: The Fenelon Museum community includes career opera singers as well as opera appreciators, but we're pretty sure that EVERYONE will enjoy the interactive experience of Blob Opera!

The gardens are vibrant at Cenotaph Park in Fenelon Falls thanks to the Fenelon Falls Horticultural Society.

The Lindsay Armoury is looking spectacular!

Snow, and snowshoes for you... Trails and Toboggans too Donations gratefully accepted

If you'd like to be a part of Fenelon Falls history, submit your audition application with us! The deadline is this Thursday, & we could not be more excited to start preparing for A Midsummer Night's Dream! www.grovetheatre.ca

Do you have old stories of this place?

If you think a global pandemic can get in the way of Snowshoe Kawartha’s annual event, you don’t know Wayne Jolly! Wayne is an ideas man with a passion for outdoor recreation and this year he’s taking his signature event virtual to raise funds for Special Olympics Ontario. Snowshoe Kawartha is set to run from the event date on Saturday, February 6th and then virtually until Saturday, February 20th, 2021. On February 6th, starting and finishing at the bottom of the Louisa St...reet Toboggan Hill in Fenelon Falls, groups limited to 25 individuals will race in waves and will be organized based upon individual capability. COVID protocols will be applied, including mandatory 6’ spacing. The 1500 and 5000 meter participants depart from the Start Line then climb a 50 meter hill, entering a woodlot trail system along the top of an esker for 800 meters and then descending into a forest valley loop. The return snowshoe path brings participants back to the top of the esker, and then down the hill to the Finish Line. Across Ontario, Special Olympics has named February Snowshoe Month with participants setting their own virtual course in their home community. Snowshoe Kawartha will register Special Olympics athletes across the entire Province of Ontario. Each athlete registers, sets their course(s) and tracks their performance and reports back to Special Olympics Ontario. Everyone can participate and raise money for Special Olympics. The snowshoe courses in Fenelon Falls will be will remain open, posted, and marked from February 6th to February 20th, 2021. Snowshoers from any location can register by choosing distances of 500, 1600, 5000 and 10,000 meters. Groups of 4 or more are able to receive a group discount, the first 200 participants will receive a Snowshoe Kawartha buff, and all participants will receive a bib number and a ticket to win draw prizes. Snowshoe racing is a vigorous outdoor winter activity. You should be physically fit and be able to engage in an outdoor activity for 1 to 2 hours. Wear appropriate clothing for the weather of the day. We advise you to train for the effort you plan to sustain, do some walking, running and/or snowshoeing in advance of the event to prepare. If you are a beginner and not accustomed to this activity you should consult your doctor before signing up. Visit: snowshoekawartha.com (Event photos by Fred Thornhill)

Visitors usually come upon a parking lot filled with vendors casually selling bagged nuts and candy, ducklings, rabbits, and chicks at the Kawartha Lakes Community Sales Barn, colloquially known as the Woodville Sale Barn. But these days, the parking lot is quiet aside from the faint sound of the auctioneer inside the large steel sided building. Kevin Barker is a co-owner of the sale barn. Inside the building, his jovial commentary and auction song rings through the loudspe...aker. Normally the sound would compete with the buzz of gossip as the farm community gathered for their traditional Saturday outing . Now there is only a quiet murmur between members of the same household coming from the bidders’ seating, the opening and closing of the ring gates, and the heavy thudding of hooves on the ring floor. Farmers, who have raised their animals with sweat and tears, feel a sense of pride in watching the bidding and seeing the sale. During the restrictions, they often aren’t able to enter and witness their own livestock sell. Kevin says, Philosophies in life have changed a bit during this time. He’s noticed little pigs and chickens went up in demand. He suspects people want to be more self sufficient and to have a hobby to keep themselves busy while home. Co-owner Neil Woodrow feels bad for the social community that has to be turned away. He thinks fondly of a group of farmer friends who came every single Saturday, before the restrictions, to gather together on the top row. He notes that for many farmers, this had been their only weekly outing from the farm. Normally you would see whole intergenerational families attending the local livestock sale. During the pandemic, the attendees are mostly older farm men. They sit six feet apart wearing plain face coverings, obeying the signs and caution tape that restricts seating to every other bleacher bench seat. The sale barn has hired an attendant who enforces virus prevention protocols to restrict the number of people coming into the building and into the arena, to ensure that masks are worn inside the building, to perform extra sanitizing duties, to monitor washrooms, and to inform visitors that they must intend to purchase livestock in order to enter. The sale barn is not currently a place of entertainment or community gathering, it is operating as an essential service. If you are looking for some local auction action, Kevin Barker Auctions has moved their auctions online during the pandemic. Their next timed online consignment auction will run from Monday, January 25, 2021 through Monday, February 1, 2021. Kevin suggests that you consign early. The more exposure your items receive, the more potential buyers are reached! All items must be received by Wednesday, January 20th, 2021 to be included in this sale. To consign or for more information call Kevin 705-878-2947 or the office 705-328-1478. www.kevinbarkerauctions.com

Enjoy this funny family moment from Ruth Abernethy!

David Ward has written two books, Bay of Hope: Five Years in Newfoundland and The Lost 10 Point Night: Searching for My Hockey Hero...Jim Harrison. Maryboro Lodge: The Fenelon Museum recently interviewed David through email. You have experience with isolation, how have you found the quarantined environment this year? Yes, I have experience with isolation, having lived five years in McCallum, Newfoundland, one of Canada's most isolated communities. And, because that of course...Continue reading

Has the museum photo on the cover of the new Fenelon Then & Now book made you curious about what Maryboro Lodge used to look like? Here are some photographs from the archives!

Hugh Morshead is a local legend. Known affectionately as ‘the hobbit’, he has undertaken vast and mythic adventures on kayak, bicycle, and foot. Hugh has owned his land in the Kawartha Lakes since 1988. He always wanted to live off the grid and is passionate about local food security and ultra low cost home building. Years ago, he found a book in the Lindsay Public Library on earth bag construction, and he took off from there. He occupies a log home built in the 1870s and ha...s built several subterranean dwellings and earth packed yurts. He says, I had to do these things to prove they could be done. For Hugh, the pandemic has provided a productive time for him on his property. When he sensed something big was coming, he stocked up on six months supply of dry goods from Country Cupboard and prepped everything. He preemptively booked check up appointments with health professionals and got his truck fully serviced before any restrictions were imposed. Hugh had always wanted to bake his own bread and this time prompted him to do so. Now he makes bread every two days. Since March, Hugh has expanded his garden, built a new root cellar, and finished the yurt he was working on. Hugh typically splits his year in three sections: writing, working, and traveling. By August this year, Hugh was feeling antsy. He wanted to go off somewhere and do something. He took note of the SickKids Foundation’s Great Cycle Challenge held throughout the month of August. He hopped on his bike on August 1st, raised $745 to fight kids’ cancer, and self propelled himself just under 2000km around Ontario. While riding along a corridor near Collingwood, he felt as if he was riding in South America with the same feelings inside him and the same experiences going on around him. He realized that it is possible to have exotic adventures closer to home. Though this time of isolation has allowed Hugh to push himself to accomplish goals, he says that he couldn’t live completely isolated. He quotes an African saying, I am because we are. Hugh puts the phrase into his own words, I am only able to be me because of the greater community. He needs salvaged materials to create his low cost projects. Building materials come from what neighbours and the surrounding community throw away. Maybe you don’t know him yet, but Hugh Morshead is a part of your Kawartha Lakes community.

This is a virtual exhibition featuring the work of Grade 12 and International Baccalaureate Visual Arts students from I.E. Weldon Secondary School in Lindsay, Ontario, including Maryboro's 2019 summer student, Hillary Baker! https://www.kawarthagallery.com/exhibits/selective

Something to try!

The Gilbert family is a wonderful part of the museum community. If you made a DIY stuffed animal or a felt pumpkin satchel last year, you made it with toy making expert Amy Gilbert. Fenelon Falls Real Estate has offered to help collect donations for the Gilbert family.

A local juried competition for Kawartha Lakes artists aged 15-19! Work must be created specifically for the themed competition. Previously made works will not be accepted. Artists may work in any medium (including photography, painting, drawing, etc.). ... Each artwork submitted must be titled and detailed with the size, medium and date of completion, as well as a brief text explaining any significance or story behind the work. www.kawarthagallery.com//art-warrior-competition-lovely-lo

Our friends at Fenelon Court had a safe, socially distanced visit from Knoxdale Farms and The Farm - A Family Co-op!

Brandeston Farm is located between Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls. The name has been with the property since before the Stinson family moved there in the 1870s. John Stinson, the first Stinson to come to Canada, arrived in Lower Canada after a 7-week Atlantic crossing from Northern Ireland in the summer of 1843. Over 30 years later, in 1879, he bought Brandeston Farm from the Wickhams. Along with his family, John Stinson the current, now works the farm that his dad grew up on...Continue reading

Thank you for the quirky nature finds that have been left at the imagination garden. The imaginative structure is coming along!

This snail has found a lovely camouflaged location.

Random scarecrows are popping up all over Bobcaygeon and surrounding area as a salute to our frontline works a farmer, a health-care worker, a store clerk, a gas station attendant, a truck driver.

The Rain Garden expansion is coming to life this morning thanks to the talented volunteers from the Fenelon Falls Horticultural Society! #RainGarden #GarnetGrahamBeachPark #MaryboroLodge #FenelonFalls #ExploreFenelonFalls #gardens #volunteers #thankful

It's no secret that Maryboro Lodge reveres the horticultural society. The Fenelon Falls Horticultural Society puts in so much effort to make the museum grounds and Fenelon Falls look wonderful! If you are looking for a spooktacular mini getaway, consider making a trip to Norland's Mud Turtle Lake Park where the Norland Horticultural Society has created an eerie magical world.

This is an exciting local contest! Zingha.ca is running 2 contests: A - Children up to age 9. Create a picture of an African female heroine, along with a brief statement of who she is/was. Prize: An Afrocentric colouring book and Zingha $25 gift certificate. B - Children aged 10 - 17 years. Create an Afrocentric board game. Instructions are on our site under Self-Education. Prize: A set of Afrocentric knowledge cards plus a $100 Zingha gift certificate.... Winners will be chosen during Black History Month (February, 2021) and announced on our website and in our social media. Please submit photos of your entry to [email protected] . Please include your name, age, and phone number or email address. See more

Maybe you met Ellie Arscott when she led inspirational activities at Maryboro Lodge events or interacted with her Stand Tall exhibit. Ellie is the illustrator of a newly published book, NIGHT WALK!

Epiphanies in the early hours .... Its when we walk in the footsteps, touch what they made or touched or read what they read or wrote or we visit the places tha...t they told us about or meet the people or the children of the people that they spoke about that we are connected once again. We bake or make what they made follow in steps and rituals that they did that we again connect to their story to their memory and we hear their voice, their laugh, their banter, we see what they saw, feel what they felt and we smell the smells that bring us home to them and we realize they are not far and we are not and never were alone. See more

At a recent museum meeting, we were discussing bumper tomato crops and Art Attack large art projects. Well, here is a bit of both!

Another portion of the outdoor eco exhibit is up!

Spotted this amazing round bale art at the site of Fairbairn Church, on Fairbairn Road. This depiction of the church is so well done. A Methodist church bui...lt in 1885. In 1960 it was sold to a local farmer who used it as a barn and chicken coop. In 1996 it was donated to the Village and restored as close as possible, to its original simple beauty. Fairbairn Church can be rented for weddings or services. See more