The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

When Bill and Claudette Brock © decided to organize a canoe race in 1969, little did they realize that they were starting a tradition that now has a province-wide following. In January 1969 Bill and Claudette began to organize a Historical Society in this community. They contacted numerous interested individuals and shortly afterwards, the Lake Scugog Historical Society was formed. Bill was elected as its first president and Leslie Frost was its first guest speaker. Also at that first meeting as a result of the donation of a herit- age log cabin, Bill and Claudette initiated the idea of establishing a Museum and in order to support the museum, a fundraising project was needed. The Brocks, who knew little about canoes, decided that a canoe race, with its parece raising pledge money, would be an inter- ) esting way to raise func ( The race down the “Nonquon River to the waterfront at Port Perry would be an ini challenge for any canoeist and would provide an unusual tour of the Scugog countryside for the non-competitive paddler. They contacted numerous groups about canoe racing including OMCRA, the Ontario Marathon Canoe Race Association and enlisted their support in the endeavour. OMCRA "welcomed the race to its annual roster of events. ‘irty five canoes entered the first race and over $2,000 was raised. This proved to be an adequate incentive to continue the event ona ase basis. q tered the first race with Alex Lawrence as his paddling _ partner. “Alex continued to participate in the event for 35 years. The race started at the 8th Concession but later the start was moved to the 10th Concession, shortening the race to its =| present 24 km distance. In order to provide communications for Bill and Claudette Brock pertise since ret fies event. i | JUNE.FOCUS/44 pages.indd 31 re | control and safety, the North Shore Radio Club has aie its —Scugog-Township is, homestoxthe. oldest; CanoewgacerimOntarlo Claudette recalled that they were most concerned about encouraging locals to get involved at the non-competitive recrea- tional level. “Get people out to enjoy the beauty of our Nonquon River,” she says. The recreational class is now the most class in the event. This year is the fortieth running of the Canoe the Nonquon. Two years ago, the Historical Society handed over the organization of the event to the Museum Board, and although it is no longer controlling the race, the Historical Society and its members offer full support along with many other volunteers. Over the years a number of notable locals have taken on the responsibility of acting as Chairperson of the event including Mayor Marilyn Pearce, the late Yvonne Christie, Jeff Brown the present Lake Scugog Historical Society vice president, and Bruce Aikins, the tireless former chair of the Museum Board. if To kick off the celebrations of this year’s fortieth running of | Canoe the Nonquon, a film festival was held on Saturday, May 10 | at Town Hall 1873. 4 One of the highlights of the festival was the premier showing of Mark Magro’s new film “Nonquon Island,” the history of Nonquon Island, or Seven Mile Island as it is more familiarly known. 3 Canoe the Nonquon is now the oldest canoe race in Ontario and continues to attract paddlers from all across the province and the proceeds from the race continue to be used by the Museum for its activities. A variety of classes participate in the event, all the way from racing canoes, kayaks and various age groups, to children in the | recreational class. This year’s fortieth running takes place on Saturday, June 7 although entrants can register ahead of time on Friday, June 6 from 7:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m. at the Latcham Centre near the waterfront. Registration will also be held on Saturday, June 7 beginning at 7:00 a.m. For further information you can contact the Museum at 905-985-3589. ‘ By Paul Arculus © Focus on Scugog % 5/2308 9:19:34 PM |