S1 | Rewind Design | E5 Janet on Five Mile Bay
Janet on Five Mile Bay
A summer retreat for generations to come
To start off this week of Rewind Design, I wanted to dedicate this episode to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This past week, we all heard the news that Her Majesty passed away at the age of 96 in her summer residence, The Balmoral Castle in Scotland. It is amazing to think that she has reigned not only for my entire lifetime, but the lifetime of my parents and most of my grandparents’ lifetime. She has been a solid and unwavering leader for 70 years. She has been though political turmoil, world wars and unrest. To think that she became queen when she was just about my age, 25, and had just lost both her parents. She led not only England, but the entire commonwealth. It is truly remarkable to think that 63 years ago, when she was 33 years old, Her Majesty + Prince Phillip visited my home town of Parry Sound on their 1959 royal tour. We have had a photo in our cottage forever of this particular visit showing a young native girl giving a bouquet of flowers to the Queen right in front of the classic Parry Sound train. I somehow also found a video of this exact moment that the CBC released and it is so amazing to see the Queen herself walking through streets of Parry Sound. It’s just unbelieve to think that when she came, 63 years ago, that she would have had to travel down the old highway 69 highway, just like all the other cottagers on their way up north. Or she may have had a private plane or boat or 2…. Who knows! Listen to the next clip to hear the news release of their Royal Tour stop in Parry Sound. Credits to the CBC Archives video named “A trip on the Great Lakes”.
Credit: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1748961859987?fbclid=IwAR33a-gWb1BxcuLxnhJwUke4Chr8p4CqbDfSo1hcQ68OSIdMV-y-c5nv29k
Today on Rewind Design we have a special episode coming from very close to home, Five Mile Bay - in the South Channel of Georgian Bay! My home territory! Janet and her husband Dave have been kind enough share their story of how their family landed in a renovated 1962 cottage on McLaren Island. There have been many additions and changes over the years, but the heart of the home has been passed down, generation after generation. Janet reached out to me on Facebook after I had shared my idea on the South Channel Association Page, and I was so grateful for her, because she was one of the first people to show interest in this venture, so thank you so much Janet + family! Janet and her family are cottage lovers, like me and I’m sure everyone listening agrees, there truly is no better feeling than that of boating up to your cottage on the Friday of a long weekend, and staring deep into the water while sipping on a cold drink and sharing laughs with your family. I hope all of you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer, and soaking it all in before winter crushes our spirits until spring comes around just as quickly as is always does!
Janet’s cottage property is on a stunning 1.3 Acre lot on Five Mile Bay, just 15 mins boat ride from the hub of Parry Sound with exposure to the North East. The single story cottage is located on the East side of Mclaren island with the most dreamy sunset view, you could almost melt into the cotton candy skies. The cottage is one story, with a large deck on the lakeside with crisp glass railings to maintain the view north / west out to five mile bay. The siding is a non-obtrusive olive green that blends right into the landscape with a metal roof to match. There is a firepit right on the water’s edge, a stone’s throw from the dock, where their grandchildren love to swim! But best of all is their original sauna located right on the water, before you needed those pesky building permits!
Without further ado, let’s jump into Episode #5 Janet on Five Mile Bay - listen below, or on your favourite podcast platform. Just search for “Rewind Design” and look for Episode #5 on apple Music, Spotify or Amazon Music.
The Wetton /
Proulx cottage
Located on Five Mile Bay, Georgian Bay
The below except is in Janet’s own words:
When my father bought the property in 1962 it was just one cabin - 30’ x 20’. There was an indoor outhouse, no power and a hand pump to get the water up to the cottage. There were three bedrooms, living room and kitchen. We were a family of six, so it was cozy! Over the years we had a four bedroom addition put on the back, then in later years another bathroom and laundry room were added. Once we all got married and had children the bunkie was built behind the cottage to accommodate the 10 grandchildren.
The cottage is located in the middle of McLaren Island, B704-256 - on Five Mile Bay. We take a boat from Rose Point Marina which takes approximately 15 minutes. In the beginning it would be longer because we took a small tin boat with all six of us and the gear - which probably took over 1/2 hour to get from dock to cottage.
My father and mother, George & Betty Proulx loved the northern country. My father came from Thunder Bay, so always wanted a cottage in the north. He had friends that he was in business with the family that purchased the cottage in the same bay and told us about the cottage beside them being for sale. The next door neighbors, the Johnston’s were close friends over the years with their four girls that were the same age us all of us.
This is our 60th year at the cottage! My husband and I, Dave & Janet Wetton inherited the cottage in 2018, after my mother passed away. My father had bought the Johnston’s cottage next door, 25 years ago, to accommodate the ever growing cottage. So my mother was on title with the cottage next door and my father on the principal cottage. We owned the cottage next door for 25 years, then after my dad passed away, my mother felt it was too much for us to look after both cottages and my other siblings were not as interested in the cottage as Dave and I were, so it was sold.Continued Below
The outdoor shower
This would definitely be my favourite place to be!
Our children, Amy & Scott worked at the cottage for a number of years. Scott started is own business, Scotty’s Student Haulage when he was 14 years old, and his sister, Amy was part of the crew. He started by doing a garbage run every Sunday with close neighbors, then it grew to maintenance projects and deliveries throughout the south channel! He starting picking up Craganmor’s restaurant’s garbage and then was asked to be the cook at the restaurant. Amy followed and was a server/bartender for many years. Student Haulage by day, cook at night. It was a full schedule!
We know nothing about the previous owner other than he was a contractor. The cottage is a bungalow prefab that has multiple additions. Has a custom two sided granite fireplace with an outdoor BBQ which was built by George Charles, who also did the major second addition of four bedrooms. We have a large screened in porch that overlooks the beautiful five mile bay sunsets! The style of the cottage is shabby chic with a mishmash of new, old, vintage and a whole lot of family heirloom furniture pieces with stories attached!
We are both retired now so spend the majority of the summer here now - slowly renovating each room. This year it has been the bathrooms!
We still enjoy have a lot of our nieces and nephews come to enjoy the very special family cottage that we hope will be handed down for years to come!One important piece of our cottage that I forgot to mention was the sauna that my dad built with my brother 40 plus years ago. It is on the waterfront that is grandfathered now in the building permit world! The sauna is the background for all our sunset pictures! It holds so many fun family memories and has changed with how we use it with the ever changing water levels. Some years you can jump right off the front , then low water levels, you have to run to the end of the dock. We had a close neighbour friend that got rid of their sauna, so my very talented husband used all the cedar that they didn’t want and lined the sauna with it! The smell is amazing
Dave & Janet
Cottage Rules
Words to live by!
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Katy McNabb xo
