Pogamasing, A Lake of Many Authors

by Andy Thomson on January 9, 2024

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Last summer Rusty Mekosh came over to visit us with his mother Renne and brought with him something I didn’t expect; a copy of his recently published book, “In the Shadow of a Dark Star.” It is his story about his trip to Africa and the Far East after he retired from a Wall Street investment company with references to his time spent at Pog.

But as I reflected on the milestone Rusty achieved by publishing his story, I soon realized something more significant. Rusty is now the eighth author who has been associated with Lake Pogamasing.

The first and most notable person and author associated with Pog is Jack Miner who in the 1930s was chosen to be one of the five most influential people in North America by Time magazine. He authored three books about his love of birds and nature and his autobiography: Wild Goose Jack is the most notable. There is also a book written about him entitled The Story of Wild Goose Jack, the Life & Work of Jack Miner.

Kay Ward and Andy Gibson (sister and brother) came to Pog with their spouses (Harry and Betty) to establish a lodge after WWII. Andy had spent WWII in the merchant marine and had plenty of harrowing stories to write about in his autobiography Head of Oak. Kay wrote her own story of her life on Pog in Pog Tales about the many characters she got to know at Pog.

Joe Mason wrote two booklets about his life growing up on the French River in My Sixteenth Winter and his love of canoeing in My Romance with the Canoe.

Tim Wynne-Jones is a professional author and a very successful one for young adults. He has written about fifteen books, two of which are set on a lake much like Pog entitled The Maestro and its successor, The Starlight Claim.

Amanda Lewis wrote another WWII story, September 17, a harrowing story about a ship that was torpedoed carrying 50 British kids to Canada to escape the danger of Germany’s bombing of Britain.

The history of the lake is written in Andy Thomson’s Pogamasing: The Story of a Northern Lake. He also wrote a biography of his uncle, Donald Plaunt in Write Soon and Often who was a Lancaster pilot in WW II.

Who will be number nine?

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No Longer at Pog

by Andy Thomson on June 14, 2021

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As I have travelled around the Pogamasing area it became apparent that many places and structures are no longer there, mostly because of natural deterioration or lack of use. Of course, a few buildings were torn down or burned such as the original Sheahan station while other structures, such as the village and the sawmill were dismantled, the bridge swept away with the ice, the dam replaced, and the DUKWs taken away and sold. A few larger trees such as the old white pine on Telephone Lake and on the Franklin Lake portage simply fell, a victim of old age or “weak shine disease.” However, the people at the station will no longer congregate simply because there are other ways to come and go, and the Budd, our most way of coming and going no longer serves the purpose, even with Covid.

One has to remember that the area has been lived in and developed since 1859 when the HBC first opened a trading post on Maggie’s Island by Louis Espagnol. After the CPR built the railway in 1884, the fur trade was finished and the logging industry began. Logging was closed after the KVP company left in the late fifties. Fishing became a tourist industry and two tourist camps were established by WW II veterans. At the same time, many individuals established their own camps, primarily for fishing, but they soon became family camps. It is those families that still come to Pog to enjoy the beauty of the wilderness and to spend a relaxing time with their families.

No Longer at Pog

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A Week To Remember

March 24, 2020

After Write Soon and Often was printed, my publisher Friesen assigned a publicist to assist me in my marketing plan. He outlined  the various ways to promote my book but I did little except to change my website address (from pogamasing.com to andythomsonbooks.ca) to one that indicated I was more than a one-horse author. I […]

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Letter to Globe and Mail, Nov. 13, 2018

January 25, 2020

  Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. LOSS, OH SO FINAL Re 100 Years Later […]

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Maps and Surveying

November 14, 2019
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Remembering Two Uncles

November 9, 2019

WO II Donald Cameron Plaunt Remembrance Day for me has always meant honouring my uncle, Donald Plaunt. He died on March 12, 1943, two months shy of his 21st birthday, piloting a Lancaster bomber over Essen, Germany. This year I will also be remembering another uncle, Murray Thomson, who died this spring at the age […]

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National Aboriginal Veterans Day, November 8

November 8, 2019

John Spaniel (a variation on the Espagnol/Espaniel spelling of their name) listed his place of birth and address as Pogma, Ontario and his occupation as trapper. He was the son of Louis Espagnol and his second wife Sarah. The family had lived on Lake Pogamasing since the late 1860’s when Louis was appointed as the […]

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Spanish River Railway Bridges: 1884 and 2019

October 25, 2019

Spanish River Railway Bridge 1884 Last spring, John Burger posted on the Historic Northern Ontario Facebook group a number of photos taken by Harry Abbott in 1884 (https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/abbott-family-fonds). These photos were of several locations during the construction of the Canadian Pacific line through the Lake Pogamasing area, alongside the Spanish River. Abbott was in charge […]

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The History of Pogamasing in Ten Maps

October 27, 2018

After reading Adam Shoalts’ excellent book on “A History of Canada in Ten Maps,” it occurred to me that a history of Lake Pogamasing could also be written in a similar manner. However, these maps will be about the development at Pog over the 200 years of its history, rather than a map of different […]

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Building the Shed

October 15, 2018

Building the Shed

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