Welcome to Episode 8 of Rewind Design Season 2! If you are brand new to this podcast, welcome! My name is Katy McNabb and I am a registered Interior Designer working in Ontario’s Cottage Country. I am on a mission to share sustainable ways of building, promote green energy and document the history of the cottage country.

In this week’s bonus episode, I have a cottage story to share! I had the pleasure of meeting with Julien LeBourdais, his daughter Lisa and his son in law Matthew. As far as his cottage history goes, Julien is a multigenerational cottager spanning back to the late 1800s.

In this emotional episode, we discover how each generation has enjoyed the wonder and solitude of Georgian Bay – through three different locations. He is now known in the community as the local historian, writing articles for the Sans Souci Copperhead association. We love to see his updates pop up online with a snippit from the past! Before his retirement he had an wonderful career as a photojournalist, photographing sports, celebrities and even royalty! He freelanced for the Toronto Star, then the United Press International to the United Press Canada!

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE WE DISCUSS:

• What is a Georgian Bay Girl? - Will you pass Lisa’s grandmother’s test?

• An island that was purchased for $25

• Lisa remembers returning retuning to L’Islet island decades later and discovering something her cousin had left hidden in the cottage…

On this weeks episode, we have Rags (Don Ragland) who owns a cottage property on Axford Island on the South Channel of Georgian Bay. How he acquired the island was slightly problematic, extremely lucky and he has a very curious story to how he purchased his property! They have a charming property sitting in a sandy channel he calls “Sand Channel” or his buddies call it the “Raglonian Strait” (haha) between Axford Island and Lent Island on the south channel of Georgian Bay. Rags hails from Dearborn Michigan, the home of Henry Ford, and taught high school English + art so he was able to spend the majority of his summers in cottage country. He originally came to Parry Sound with his parents as a child and would stay at Point Pleasant Resort (before is was exclusively a marina) and they would pay $3/night for accommodation! His property on Axford Island is roughly 1.33 Acres with 210 feet of frontage. They have a magical, I would say even enchanting property tucked in the hemlock tree forest with the original cabin still in place, painted in a bright coca cola red, the same colour from when they purchased it in 1970. 

On today’s episode of Rewind Design, we have 94-year-old Ann Grotrian – a creative, an artist, a teacher, and above all, a lover of Georgian Bay. She loves bones, stones, shells and driftwood all of which you can find sprinkled around her ecclectic cottage!

She was born in 1928 in Toronto, grew up in Rosedale the youngest of 5 children with a father in the meat packing industry. They originally had a cottage on, believe it or not, Toronto Island!

As a teenager she attended the girls’ private school, Branksome hall in Toronto, and went to Ontario College of Art. She worked for 5 years at Henry Birk’s and Son in the window display department. When she was 45 she went back to school at George Brown for Jewelry making. She graduated and taught for 33 years and spent many happy years making jewelry.

Welcome to Rewind Design A Cottage History Podcast with your host + Local Interior Designer, (me!) Katy McNabb. Today we will be putting the spotlight on a historical Parry Harbour cottage. Join me, as I navigate the waters and go back in time to explore this whimsical farmhouse on the bay.

This episode of Rewind Design is so exciting for me: not only is it close to home, but Patty’s family history dates back to the 1800’s when Parry Sound was only accessible by steam paddle boat. This story of perseverance and adventurous spirit is so compelling, true to this area and the generation of people that came here. This episode will be split into 2 parts, as after I met with Patty, I realised just how much history this property held and how there would be no way to fit all into one hour! Patty initially reached out to me via email with the following message:

Welcome to Rewind Design A Cottage History Podcast with your host + Local Interior Designer, (me!) Katy McNabb. Today we will be putting the spotlight on a historical Parry Harbour cottage. Join me, as I navigate the waters and go back in time to explore this whimsical farmhouse on the bay.

This episode of Rewind Design is so exciting for me: not only is it close to home, but Patty’s family history dates back to the 1800’s when Parry Sound was only accessible by steam paddle boat. This story of perseverance and adventurous spirit is so compelling, true to this area and the generation of people that came here. This episode will be split into 2 parts, as after I met with Patty, I realised just how much history this property held and how there would be no way to fit all into one hour!

Welcome to Rewind Design A Cottage History Podcast with your host + Local Interior Designer, (me!) Katy McNabb. Today we will be putting the spotlight on a historical Dorset cottage. Join me, as I navigate the waters and chat to my guests about their unique Dorset cottage and their family history over the last 100 years.

To start off this captivating story, I though I’d give a short little personal anecdote. I am lucky enough to work with an incredible design firm and each day I come into work, I sit next to a designer named Danielle. Months ago we were talking and I brought up my idea for a Cottage History Podcast. Her eyes lit up - in a flash she said “you have to speak to my mom!”. Excitedly, I typed out an email to her mom, Dianne, explaining my ideas and how I’d love to interview her. I anxiously clicked send and closed my laptop. A few days later she replied with an email, and what followed was an incredible cottage history story.

Today on Rewind Design we have a special episode coming from much further north in Ontario than I’m used too. Today I speak to Jordan Fang, a designer, nature lover, reader + art lover who was a colleague of mine when we worked together at a commercial design firm in downtown Toronto (before I made the permanent move up north). Jordan’s family cottage, or should I say compound, is situated 4km down a logging route on the remote Greenbough lake, just south of the Ottawa River, and East of Mattawa. The compound consists of 7 family cottages, each owned by separate family members and the buildings range in age with original log cabins that Jordan’s great grandfather built by hand from logs felled on their property, to cabins inherited from the boy scouts. Mattawa historically was a huge logging hub for Northern Ontario connecting Ottawa River + lake Nipissing and remains a important historic landmark.

On this week's episode, we have an incredibly captivating story, which just might be the most fascinating, intriguing and sexy one yet. Today I speak with lifelong cottager Sadie who has flipped my world upside down with her breathtaking cottage history. Sadie shares the history of her Georgian Bay Island, how her grandparents acquired the striking island property in the 60’s and how the whispers of this property’s true origins baffled her family for decades until they found out the seductive truth behind their 1898 original island cottage. There were unmistakable clues sprinkled around the property that took a lifetime to unravel. I won’t give any more away in this intro, this story is way too extraordinary! If you are dying to learn the meaning behind their Island’s colloquial name, it’s not just the island that was getting a lot of action… further ado, let’s jump into Episode #3 Sadie on Action Island!

To jump right into the water, today’s guest will be another member of the McNabb family clan, my dad, Rick McNabb. He shares his story of how the McNabb family ended up in Parry Sound. Everyone thinks we’ve been here forever, but we’ve really only been here for the last generation. My dad and his family are originally from Mississauga and eventually moved up to Parry Sound in his 30’s following his mom and dad and all his brothers. He has had a diverse past with many jobs including working in Advertising, Corporate Canada and owning and operating the Harvey’s Swiss Chalet in Parry Sound. He is a lover of vehicles, and has also been a recreational pilot since before I was born. So, today we are going to talk about how it all started with my grandparents purchasing a cottage on Horseshoe Lake and how one act of serendipity changed the lives of all future generations of McNabb’s forever!

Cottage Country is awash of beauty and pleasure, but do you ever stop to think about the history behind it all? Rewind Design is a podcast putting the spotlight on Ontario’s Cottage Country, cottage design and all that comes with owning a cottage on the lake. Join your host, local Interior Designer, Katy McNabb, as she navigates the waters and chats to guests about their quirky cottage stories, adventures and researches the area we call home. Host and industry insider, Katy McNabb, draws on her own experiences and those of her guests to discuss their cottages inside and out!