A reader recalls the sad moment of realization that Tehkummah Talk and Times is no more
To the Expositor:
Our group of friends has been travelling from Owen Sound to Manitoulin Island every summer for nearly two decades. Each trip (until this year) carried the same rituals: early rising to catch the first boat, a Chi-Cheemaun breakfast and picking up a copy of The Manitoulin Expositor on-board to catch up on Island happenings before our arrival. This year our routine changed, with the COVID-19 rules in place. Early boat, no breakfast and we had to wait until we got to the Island to pick up The Expositor.
We arrived at our friends’ Tehkummah Township property, and once we were settled and fully relaxing, out came The Expositor. A highlight of our trips has always been the reading aloud of the Tehkummah Times. To our surprise, it wasn’t in the July 29 edition, so we had a reading of ‘Tehkummah Township: Combing the concessions on Manitoulin’s east end for a taste of the terroir.’ It wasn’t until we reached the end that we realized why there was no Tehkummah Times, as the article was dedicated to the memory of Pat Hall. I have to tell you, there wasn’t a dry eye—so important was the role that Pat and her column had on our Manitoulin experiences. It was then that we looked more closely and found the tribute to Pat written by her sister, Mollie McCauley. None of us have met Pat, but the poem conveyed a real sense of who she was, and the role she played in her community. We don’t ever know the true impact we have in the world.
I’d just like to say on behalf of the dozen of us in Owen Sound who now mourn Pat’s passing, her writing had an impact that went far beyond Manitoulin Island. We will miss her, and offer our condolences to all of her family and her many friends.
Richard Thomas
Owen Sound
