Stag Island: Generations of Canadian Americano

Stag Island, Canada---For over 20 years my friend has talked about Stag Island. A place she would go once a year to meet up with family and families of families that she had grown up around summering on this tiny island.  She always called the houses "cottages" and said there were no cars on the island. So when my timing to go see her coincided with her two days on the island, I tagged along.

I imagined a  Gillian’s Island meets Little House on the Prairie, but catching the Ferry with enough provisions to last a month, I realized it was more like Nantucket meets the summer retreat from the movie Dirty Dancing.
 

An island sitting in the St. Clair River located a mile from the Lake Huron border crossing  between Corunna, Ontario and Marysville, Michigan, Stag Island views a landscape of oil refineries on the Canadian side and river homes on the American side.

After seeing the island I was curious and found the following historical information from numerous sources: Stag Island was at first named  "isle aux Cerfs" by the French prior to 1800. It was noted for the great herds of deer that roamed on the island. The Fort Gratiot base on the Michigan side enlisted the help of Indians in securing venison. They would surround the island in boats; then a shore party would hunt the animals. Any that attempted to escape by swimming would be taken by the men in the boats. The Indian name for the island was
Saw-Ge-Too-Yawn.

Stag Island was first occupied in 1842 by David McCall, who obtained a Crown Patent for it in 1857. Beginning about 1890, Stag Island became a tourist destination when Nelson Mills, a Canadian living at Marysville, Michigan, founded a resort there. Through the early 1900s to about the time of the Second World War, tourists could enjoy spacious cottages, a luxury 100 room hotel, a dining hall, picnic grounds and a park. By 1906,  a total of 23 cottages were available. Amusements included croquet, tennis, bowling, sun bathing, swimming, boating, and fishing. There was also a baseball diamonds,  bicycling track and nature trails. The island boasted its own steam water works, electric lighting plant, sewer system and long distance telephone service. The canals and dikes on the island are the remnants of an attempt to create a Venice like community in the 1920s, an experiment which was cancelled during the depression years. The island fell on harder times after World War I. The hotel base rates were $1.00 - $1.50 per day and as low as only $8 per week in 1921. The following year, the park came under new management. Still, business declined because cottages and land began to be offered for sale in the area, many at bargain rates.

While fish and garden crops were the summer harvest, ice was harvested in winter months to be stored in ice sheds under saw dust until it was needed the following summer for both homes and businesses. "

Generations of families have vacationed here in the summer months and enjoyed the fast current that the river provides to go tubing over and over again, depending on the heat of the day. To listen to the list of neighbors and relatives who own cottages and whose kids inherited that cottage or bought available cottages was like someone discussing a very large family tree.  Even though it is a small island that seemed about 1 mile long and 1/4 mile wide, the South side and the North side have an invisible line with separate politics. 

After a short time of observation, I was keenly aware that this was a very special place.  A “front porch” community where cottage hopping and reunions a the past year were constantly taking place. It reminded me of what I wanted life to be like where I lived. That I would know ALL my neighbors and at any time, one might drop by with too many tomatoes or for a cold drink and a chat.

There were 33 people gathered for my friend’s extended family gathering this year driving and flying in from all directions. They had divided up preparing the enormous meals, changing houses depending on whose turn it was as well as other cottage maintenance duties and had an agenda that included a hysterical game of whiffle ball---rules that include one hand must be occupied by a drink at all times, a three hour happy hour, and a progression of tubing throughout the day. 

Saturday night included a dance held for the entire island at the Community Center located in the middle of the island. There was no air conditioning and the large room with had a wooden floor and long tables for all to share. A side wall with floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with loaner books and a screened in porch leading back to the larger wrap around porch, made the entire lodge feel like it was straight out of a 1950’s movie.

The very young and very old---and all those in between danced to a great live band that featured a saxophone player and played 80’s rock and roll.  The music resonated outside and along the island’s banks and into the night air.

This was Americano. But oh wait, I was in Canada.

Sisters

Sisters

 

NOTE: Family of old photos and new are not related. Photos were found online AFTER visiting the island. There were many similarities between the experiences and people on Stag Island that took place over 100 years apart. Old photos found on  Petrolia Canada's Victorian Oil Town web site with the following comments: "This is a photo album that was purchased that depicts a well to do family from
Chicago summering at their cottage on Stag Island. This album is ca. 1912 or so judging by the automobiles and clothing styles. The album was compiled by Adella E. Knight..