by Joe Shorthouse
WESTERN MANITOULIN—Manitoulin Island is known to be a magical place in the hearts of both residents and visitors. The name Manitoulin means ‘spirit island’ and for many people in the past—and present—it is considered home to the Great Spirit. Drive any side road on the Island and it is easy to be moved in a spiritual way by the natural beauty that unfolds. This happens weekly for my wife Marilyn and me, Sudburians who call Manitoulin home in the summer, as we spend our retirement years photographing and studying the Island’s natural history, based out of our trailer near Sheguiandah.
This year our main project centres on the wild roses of the Island, along with the insects that feed on them, and we never tire of photographing the bright pink and red flowers found in different habitats. On Saturday, July 12, our wanderings took us to Pristine Park Estates, a spit of land that juts into the north shore of Manitoulin near Silver Water on the Mason Line. We didn’t find any roses but were delighted by seeing a deer run a few metres in front of us, a pair of swans in the bay, a trail through a dark forest of majestic old growth trees, and a sandy beach covered by milkweed that had attracted about a dozen adult monarch butterflies. Our hearts were warmed by these experiences, but we were unprepared for what we saw next on Cooks Dock Road as we made our way back to Highway 540.
We came across a car parked by the side of the road with three people walking along the side of the road and a barefoot young lady walking in the adjoining pasture on the top of fresh hay bales wrapped in white plastic. She was skipping graciously in an angelic manner, something we had never before seen on our Manitoulin adventures! However, what first captured our attention was the colour of her dress—it was bright rose-red.
The three young ladies we came across were attired in the long dresses and white bonnets of Mennonites and we assumed they were members of a local farming family. Mesmerized by the one on the row of bales, and always ready to take any opportunity to photograph images symbolic of roses, we stopped to ask permission to take pictures as she made her way toward us.
When the bale-walker joined us on the road, we exchanged greetings and in the following conversations, Marilyn asked where they lived. To our surprise, the bale-walker, Marla Martin, told us that she was from Virginia and that her three companions were also from the United States. They explained that they were part of group on a camping vacation, and has been their practice in the past, took every opportunity to share with others their Mennonite beliefs, their love for Christ, and love of singing. They further told us that they were part of a singing group called Isaiah Sixty-one and were camping in tents nearby on the property of a friend and that their other eight colleagues would be driving up shortly. Sure enough, two vehicles soon appeared and eight young people hopped out to join us on the road.
We talked for about 15 minutes and learned that four were from Pennsylvania, three from Ohio, two from Virginia, and one from New York. The remaining two, married couple Dwight and Loretta Peachey, were from southern Ontario and they had arranged the trip to Manitoulin Island with their companions. Further, they explained that arrangements had been made for them to sing at three United Churches—in Meldrum Bay, Silver Water and Elizabeth Bay—the next day and asked us to join them for one of the services.
Intrigued by their expressed love for singing, I jokingly suggested that they sing one of their favourite songs for Marilyn and me. To our amazement, they quickly formed a line and before we could even think about the significance of the two of us being entertained by a group of Mennonites from the United States on an isolated Manitoulin road, they broke into song.
Never had we heard such rich voices that melded in perfect harmony—for sure not on one of our natural history expeditions! I continued to take pictures while they sang and as I glanced at Marilyn, I saw what I knew would be happening. She was standing perfectly still with her mouth quivering in astonishment and rows of tears were running down her cheeks.
Our newfound friends explained that they took great pleasure in explaining the virtues of their religion which extols friendship, helping the under privileged, and reducing conflicts between people. And most important of all, they all enjoyed expressing their love for Christ, life and appreciation for the natural world by singing.
As we parted ways and Marilyn and I turned towards the Lighthouse Road on Meldrum Bay in search of flowering wild roses, we couldn’t stop talking about what we had just experienced. We decided that we must attend the 1:30 pm service at the Elizabeth Bay Church.
We arrived 20 minutes early the next day which gave us time to study the 100-year-old church. We were impressed that people so long ago could construct walls of buildings from such large pieces of fieldstone and limestone. The Reverend Janice Frame then appeared leading a caravan of vehicles holding the guests. Turns out that Rev. Frame had heard about the group, one of whom had a relative who own property nearby and had invited them to sing as part of her sermons in the three churches. Rev. Frame lead a touching service and was thrilled to announce that Isaiah Sixty-one would be entertaining us with five a cappella hymns interspersed in her sermon.
Saying goodbye to our American acquaintances again, this time inside a church rather than an idyllic roadside settling near a pasture and forest, reminded us yet again how easily one can find adventure and moving experiences on Manitoulin Island. We will not forget the laughter and good natured conversation as we exchanged stories while standing on the country road, nor being entertained with an impromptu song by people with harmonic voices, and then their contributions to the three services the following day.
Manitoulin has become a special part of our being and we have become used to the endless magical moments it provides each time we traverse one of its trails. However, our chance encounter with a young lady in a red dress from Virginia, along with her friends, while we were searching for roses in July, will forever be a touching memory of our time near Silver Water in northwestern Manitoulin.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Joe Shorthouse is an Emeritus Professor of Biology at Laurentian University and summer resident of Batman’s Campground.
