S1 | Rewind Design | E8 Patty on Rose Point - Part 2
Patty on the Point P2
A whimsical farmhouse named Ettrick on Georgian Bay circa 1894.
Welcome to Rewind Design A Cottage History Podcast with your host + Local Interior Designer, (me!) Katy McNabb. On this weeks episode we have a Part 2 of Patty on the Point, 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.
If you have not read Part 1 - I would highly suggest clicking on the link below to read about Patty’s ancestors from Scotland who made their way to Parry Sound in the 1800’s. This weeks episode focuses on Present Day Rose Point + how Patty and her Family currently enjoy their Georgian Bay Cottage.
Part 2 - Rose Point Present Day
Patty Answers my Questions Below!
Photo from the 1930’s with Patty’s great grandmother and grandfather, Colene and Lyman Childs walking beside Ettrick
Where is your property located, is it land or water access and what body of water does it sit on?
Our cottage is on Rose Point. We have land access and we're on the Georgian Bay.
What township are you located in - how far to the closest town?
We are in Seguin Township, about 3 or 4 miles from the town of Parry Sound.
Can you describe your property, and your buildings over time?
We have one acre of land with a nice big dock, tall white pines, and our iconic "Ettrick Rock" for which our home is named. We live in the original home that my great, great grandpa Frank Hogg built in 1894. Grandpa originally owned 150 acres. He bought the land from Annette Rose, widow of Martin Rose. In her autobiography, my Aunt Wilhelmine (Frank Hogg's daughter) talks about how they started calling the area "Rose Point" and it stuck.
Can you describe for the readers what your cottage looks like, the type of construction and the general feeling of the cottage?
Our cottage is an old farmhouse with five big bedrooms, a main hallway with a curved staircase, a big kitchen and front porch, and a newly created family room. We have recently renovated the home, being careful to blend the old and new, so the feel is fresh and grounded in history.
Do you know who built your cottage + who may have designed it?
In her autobiography, Aunt Wilhelmine refers to Grandpa building our house, so we assume he designed it and built it himself. Grandpa Hogg worked in the lumber business. He struggled to support his large family, so it was a basic, no frills house.
How long have you owned this property and what drew you or your family to the area?
All eight of my great, great grandma and grandpa (Mary and Frank) Hogg's children moved away from Parry Sound to pursue careers, including my great grandma Colene, who married Dr. Lyman Childs from Cleveland, Ohio. A widowed Mary Hogg came to Cleveland to live with daughter Colene around 1917. Ettrick became a summer home at that point, and has been handed down through Colene's branch of the family ever since. We, too, are Clevelanders, and my grandchildren are the seventh generation to spend summer vacations at Ettrick.
I currently own Ettrick with my husband Tom, though in spirit, it will always belong to the entire family. Each generation has made improvements and kept the place up as best they could. My family's love for Ettrick has run deep for 128 years.
What is a special tradition you do at your cottage? What kind of activities do you do at the cottage?
So many traditions. Here are a few:
--Playing "Parry Sound Rummy" is a big one (and arguing about the rules which no one has ever seen in writing but have been handed down orally or by osmosis or something).
--"Cowbelling" anyone late for breakfast using the old bell with a bullet hole in it from Bessie, one of Grandpa Hogg's cows. We keep the bell in "Dead Man's Closet."
--Having Aunt Frances' chocolate sauce at least once during your stay is a must.
--Signing the guest book is also a must. We have records of visitors dating back to 1924. The only years no family could get to Ettrick were two summers during WWII and the summer of 2020 during the pandemic.
These days, our family enjoys jet skiing, boating, swimming, sunning, snorkeling, deep sea diving, fishing, doing puzzles, playing games, family meals, visiting with our neighbors, and going to town.
Design
What year was your cottage built?
Our home on Ettrick was built in 1894.
Is this the original cottage - have you done any updates to it? If relevant - what was the original cottage like? What style of design is your cottage?
It is the original home. Tom and I have updated the house extensively and we love the improvements. Before we renovated it, the house was moist and musty smelling. The paint was peeling everywhere because of the moisture. Each room was separate with its own door, so we didn't get much light. The furniture was either original (Victorian couches, chairs, horsehair couch, pump organ etc.), or everyone's hand-me-downs and were not always comfortable. The wood stoves grew old and dangerous. Tom put insulation and aluminum siding on the house. He enclosed the back porch and cut openings in a few walls to let light in and create flow between the rooms. I painted every room. Then he and I carefully chose what old stuff to keep and what to let go (we made some hard decisions!). We now have a comfortable, updated cottage that has blended the old and new nicely.
Have you had any design challenges at the cottage? (ex septic issues, no electricity, no dishwasher)
We have no washing machine, dryer or dishwasher and we use bottled water. The cottage is not heated. The wood stoves used to heat the house pretty well, but those are gone. Electricity was installed in the 1950's, so I don't remember a time without it.
What do you like most about your cottage, and what do you like least?
We love the history of our cottage, of course. We love our neighbors and good friends whom I've known since childhood. We love our renovations. We love the big, bright rooms throughout the house. We love our big, stable dock where we watch beautiful sunsets, and we love being right on the bay. I'd say the only negative (and maybe we all feel this way) is that everything seems busier these days. Our home is in a prime location for development and full time residents.
What do you have at your cottage to make it feel like home + unique?
Ettrick is unique because it was the first home built in the area and therefore steeped in history. I wish so much that the walls could talk and that I could meet my ancestors. My great grandma Colene Childs used to cry with worry about the future of Ettrick. Would her children want it? How to hand it down in a fair way if so? We're incredibly lucky that every generation so far has figured out how to keep Ettrick going, because those decisions aren't easy! This is truly my family's home away from home--we all consider ourselves "honorary Canadians."
All photos are kindly supplied by The Hershey Family Collection of Parry Sound Photographs.
Visit Rewind Design Instagram below to stay tuned for more cottage stories!
If you would like to support this podcast, please follow along to patreon.com/rewinddesign. If you would like to support the show in other ways or share your own story, please send an email to katy@rewinddesign.ca or give me a call at 416 822 7489. Your donations help to run the podcast and costs associated with recording equipment and travel. 10% of all donations will be donated to the Georgian Bay Land Trust. Thank you so much, your support means everything.
