A new book will soon be available about the history of the Bella and Rebecca lakes as well as the surrounding area up the Limberlost Road in the Township of Lake of Bays. The book is being launched by the Bella Rebecca Community Association.
The official launch of the book will take place at Billie Bear Resort on July 23 between 1 and 3 p.m.
“Bella & Rebecca: The Sister Lakes is a beautiful and informative book (colour and black & white photos, 11” x 8 ½”, 104 pages), has well-researched content, and is professionally printed and hard copy bound.
“It explores the people, places and former times, and is illustrated with maps and photographs. Themes cover early Indigenous inhabitants, the natural environment, farming & lumbering, lodges, early cottages, along with personal accounts of what it was like to be here before electricity. A read that will be sure to inspire your imagination and historical reflection as you travel our current roads, paths and lakes,” notes Wendy Kimmel, member of the Bella Rebecca Community Association (BRCA).
BRCA is a not-for-profit organization. It received a grant of $1,000 from the Lake of Bays Community Grant Program toward producing the book. After covering the net costs of publishing, any proceeds will be donated to the Mabel Hart Brooks & Marion Hill Memorial Foundation, which owns the conservation area on Bella Lake.
Kimmel noted that research for the book began many years ago by late area resident Barbara Paterson. “Barb was a very special person. The BRCA has an award, the Barb Paterson Award, aimed at recognizing individuals who have made an exceptional contribution or special achievement and who exemplify Barb’s dedication, commitment and humility.”
Kimmel is passionate about the history of the area. A past president of the BRCA, five years ago she decided to pick up where Paterson had left off and initiated a project to research, collect and document the history of the area and upload it to a website. The Committee is chaired by Val Kremer, and has grown to include a number of eager historians, including notable resident Bob Hutcheson and Barb Paterson’s daughter Carolyn, explained Kimmel.
“Photos came from many sources, public and private, including some of Barb Paterson’s collection, the Ontario Archives, Muskoka Heritage Place, family photo albums and the like,” she explained.
Val Kremer, recipient of the Barb Paterson Award this year, will be presented with the award plaque on the same day of the book launch. The books can be purchased at the launch for $50, cash or debit. Or it can be ordered online here.
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