S1 | Rewind Design | E2 Rick on Horseshoe Lake
Rick on Horseshoe Lake
The serendipitous story of how the McNabb family ended up in Parry Sound
Horseshoe Lake
Intro
Welcome to Rewind Design - A Podcast dedicated to discovering the stories of Cottage Country in Ontario. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey! If you are a new reader, my name is Katy McNabb and I am a local Interior Designer who is on a mission to find stories of how the heck everyone and everything ended up here in Cottage Country! Every 2 weeks I speak to a new guest about their journey to cottage living. You can also find me on Facebook and Instagram @rewinddesign.interiors or send me an email to katy@rewinddesign.ca to share your own story. 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 several of his brothers opened businesses in parry sound, such as the McNabb Home Building Centre, Ashley Furniture and the Harvey’s Swiss Chalet, so the last name is pretty recognizable, and let be honest the genetics are strong! I have had many people come up to me saying “you’re a McNabb! Which one is your dad?” And this happens more than I care to admit. 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 and now in his retirement he is a good ol truck driver, driving routes through Michigan and Wisconsin. He is a lover of vehicles, and has also been a recreational pilot since before I was born. He is here on the show to talk about his childhood cottage on Horseshoe lake with his 4 brothers, his mom who was up all summer and his dad who came up on weekends. 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!
To hear the story - listen to Rewind Design the Podcast on your favourite hosting platform! See link below:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3GjuLfO12oMt5eFWsMbk4w?si=5759a4a5e4ae4e84
The Original Cottage
On Horseshoe Lake
Ice Breaker!
Icebreakers we were in Spring of 2020
Segment 1: What am I grateful for this week?
This week I am so grateful for the amount of people who have reached out to me for this podcast. When I first started thinking about this idea a year ago, and talking about doing this, I wasn't sure how the response would be! It can be nerve wracking starting a new venture and opening yourself up to the world, but boy was I happy I did it! I am so in love with cottage history and the idea of how everyone and everything ended up here - it is so amazing to see that there are so many of you who are also interested! I have had dozens of people reach out to share their personal stories and it has really been humbling. From all over Georgian bay, from Dillon all the way to Sans Souci, through the South Channel down to Honey Harbour there are so many incredible stories. If you, dear listener, are interested in sharing your own story, please reach out to me at katy@rewinddesign.ca I am always looking for a new story no matter bow big or small.
My dad and I flying over Georgian Bay in the summer of 2021
Horseshoe Lake
View from the roadside of Highway 69
Horseshoe Lake History
Before we get too far into the episode, I wanted to touch base on where horseshoe lake is and what it’s like! Horseshoe lake is, as you expect, shaped like it sounds, a horseshoe, or a crescent moon, or a boomerang or even a croissant (maybe I’m hungry). Anyways, Horseshoe Lake is located 13 kilometres east-southeast of the Town of Parry Sound. It is in the western part of Christie Ward in the Township of Seguin in the Territorial District of Parry Sound. I know that sounds like a mouthful, but it’s basically 15 mins south of Parry Sound on the old 69 highway. The lake itself is 914 Acres and has a max depth of 66 ft. The main fish species found in this inland lake are Small and Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike. The lake itself is set adjacent to what used to be the old highway 69 and is sprinkled with many 3 season cottages. My dad's original cottage was not accessible by car as the infrastructure was not developed yet, so they had to boat from the marina with their 3 horsepower engine. Imagine that after a 5 hour drive on the old highway 69, having to lug all your summer belongings/food/sanity for yourself and 5 boys out by boat. To paint a picture, highway 69 was a bustling highway with many motels, gas stations and campgrounds sprinkled along the journey north. Right across from Horseshoe lake was Alves Motors, the owner of which is a good friend of my dad to this day. The highway 69 was the original cottage highway that transported cottagers to their northern oasis - when the 400 series was developed in 1944, the major traffic was diverted to the larger 2 laned highway.
Highways' Roadside Park on Hwy 69 at Oastler Lake, only 5 mins north of Horseshoe Lake
Source - www.thekingshighway.ca
Highway 69 is actually in a series of highways called the “King’s Highway” which is why the highway has a crown on the top of the sign, and has undergone several major changes during its existence. In current history, it runs for 140km from highway 400 near Carling at the south end, to South of Sudbury at the north. In some areas of the original highways 69, the now 400 highway, is located 80km away from the original highway 69 location! An interesting History fact: In August 1937, Highway 69 was extended 125.13 km north to the Naiscoot River, between Pointe au Baril and Britt. This extension followed trunk routes to Nobel, where a munitions factory would be a huge help to the war effort, without this road, the munitions factory would be a bust.
To divert your attention to the history of the 400 series, Wikipedia offers a wonderful summary of how the 400 series came to be: Highway 400 was one of the first modern freeways in Ontario. Planning for the Toronto–Barrie Highway, which would become Highway 400, began in 1944.The two routes connecting Barrie with Toronto at the time, Highway 11 and Highway 27, were becoming congested and were even more congested on Friday evenings in the summer heading northbound! The onset of the Korean War slowed construction on the highway considerably, and it wasn't until December 1, 1951 that two lanes (one in each direction) would be opened to traffic. All four lanes were opened to traffic on July 1, 1952, at which point the highway was designated Highway 400.
By 1958 Highway 400 was extended north as a two-lane "super two". For many years afterwards, and still today to older drivers, this portion of the 400 north of Barrie is referred to as the "400 Extension". I still know a lot of people that refer to this portion of the highway as the 400 Extension! All of this being said, the point is that before the 400 series highway was developed to what we know today, cottagers from all over used to travel on the single lane highway 69 to reach their cottage destinations. This nostalgic highway 69 comes up a lot in old stories, as it was the only way north, and transported cottagers to their oasis cottage life. My dad recalls this highway, and as a kid travelling to his Horseshoe lake cottage all 5 kids bundled in the back of a Volkswagen beetle, ready to spend 2 months up at the summer retreat.
From the float plan we can see the site of the original cottage, which is no longer there!
To learn more about rick’s story - please listen to the episode in the link at the top of this blog post.
Thank you so much for reading!
Katy McNabb xo
References:
http://www.thekingshighway.ca/Hwy69index.htm
https://bracebridgerealty.ca/Lake/?muskoka=Horseshoe-Lake-(Seguin)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_69