Thank you to everyone who participated in the story/photo adventure of The Canoe on the Ceiling. I am an “idea” person, and I had this one brewing/festering in my head for a very long time. I know some of my ideas are a bit hair-brained and over the top and I’m a “little bit too much” for some! Thank you to Garnett and Amy for believing in me and making it come to fruition in the most magical way. Especially thanks to Amy for putting this on the website.
I’d like to personally thank everyone who participated in the writing and photography that made this experiment a success. A special shout out to Amy, Diane, Garnett, Kris, Lee, and Leslie, who wrote the story for the first instalment. It was followed up beautifully by Barbara, Brenda, Cathy, Connie, Cristina, Evelien, Jan, Jeanne, Kathy, Lee Ann, Mary, Sarah, Shelle, Sherrie, and Stephanie in the second and third instalment. Who knew we were writers on the same level as those who wrote Grimm’s Fairy Tales? It’s a story of fantasy, magic and pure delight.
But what is the true story? How did the canoe end up on my ceiling almost 80 years later? I can tell you this, the “epic-logue” is not even close to being as exciting as the story told!
It is true that a young man traveled to the Shuswap and fell in love with the lake and its forest and the people. He purchased five parcels of land and did indeed have a local legend build a quaint log cabin with a stone fireplace. The logs were all hand-cut and hewn. The interior, right down to the cabinetry, was all handmade. The young man, Jorge, presented the cabin to his new bride and they did arrive in the Langford canoe that is now on my ceiling. His bride, Jeanette, adored the cabin but not so much the canoe! They spent every summer at the lake.
In time they had one child, a girl named Jorgina. Jorgina loved her summers swimming, having campfires, fishing and exploring.
When Jorgina was 13 she met at a ball a young entrepreneur and they fell in love. The problem was, Dirk was 23. They fell deeply in love but Jorge and Jeanette said “no”! Dirk and Jorgina persuaded her parents to allow them to have chaperoned dates and they did this until Jorgina turned 18 when they married immediately. They quickly produced three children of their own.
Jorge, Jeanette, Dirk, Jorgina, and the three children continued their summers at the lake. The canoe was a special water toy to the children and was enjoyed daily. In the winters, the canoe was sadly neglected. It was left on the beach and battered by snow, ice, and waves.
As the children got older and had children of their own, the tiny cabin became too crowded. Dirk and Jorgina converted their boathouse by building a one-bedroom apartment on the top and moved in there. The summers at the cabin were becoming less long in duration for the rest of the family due to busy lifestyles. The cabin became a rental unit. The canoe was used by and not properly cared for by renters and family alike.
As time went by, Dirk and Jorgina downsized and sold off some of the vacant parcels of land. In 2004 they sold a parcel to us and this is the 50 feet we built our own log home on. In 2010 we were graciously offered the last parcel adjacent to us. This was the fifty feet the original log cabin was on.
The problem was the beautiful log cabin on our newly purchased 50 feet. It straddled the property line. We looked into turning it sideways to use as a guest house but alas, the logs were full of carpenter ants and dry rot. Sadly, after 80 years, the cabin had to be demolished. Luck would have it that the stone fireplace was saved as it stood one foot behind the property line. It still stands today.
But what of the canoe? After being carried away by high waters one spring and dashed against the bluffs, it was rescued and stored in the boat house. It was badly damaged but apparently fixable. Unfortunately, everything salvaged from the demolished cabin was stored on top of the canoe and it was forgotten.
A tragedy occurred 7 years ago. The water line from the lake to boathouse apartment was caught up by a passing boat. It ripped out the water pump, which was at the back of the boathouse, behind all the stored items. Everything had to be removed and the canoe was discovered. I immediately said “I wants” and I get what I wants! Jorgina said I could have it, to store, but if any family member ever wanted it back, I was to surrender it. “No problem” I said. The canoe was in fact unfixable so being the creative person I am, I convinced my husband to consider handing it from our ceiling! Ask an engineer to make this come true, and it will! It was an engineering feat and executed with precision, albeit some danger, but we lived to tell the story.
So, that is how the canoe ended up in my ceiling and became a focal point of our cabin. Not so epic but there you have it!
Again THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the story/photo adventure of The Canoe on the Ceiling.
