Alligator back to Simcoe

The W.D. Stalker Alligator boat has been safely returned to its home in Simcoe Ontario after a year and a half in the Ottawa Valley, where it was featured in the County of Renfrew's 150th anniversary EXPO and in two flotillas on the Ottawa River.   Our thanks must go to Peter and Barb Haughton, who babysat the Stalker, moored in their cove near Bristol Quebec.  Thanks also to Jim Savage of Pembroke Crane, Ray Kohlsmith Crane, John Shaw of Shaw Lumber, Dave Bennett of Marshall's Construction of Renfrew for their equipment and expertise.  Hauling a 25 ton wooden boat in and out of the water and down the highway is no small feat.  The Canadian Forestry Association was committed to make this project happen - it coudln't have been achieved without a lot of support from these fine people.  Dave Lemkay

Alligators of the North

The book "Alligators of the North" is now available.

The Canadian Forestry Association is proud to promote this long-overdo book on the Alligator Steam Warping Tug Boat. Built in Simcoe, Ontario from 1889 through to the 1930s, the Alligator was a common sight in forest operations on rivers and lakes across eastern Canada and the USA up until the 1950s. The Alligator was a sturdy scow equipped with a winch and mile-long cable to tow massive booms of logs and even haul itself overland - hence the name "Alligator".

The front cover of this handsome 9"x9" book is graced with a Tom Thomson painting of a derelict alligator as found in Algonquin Park. It features over 80 images and drawings and a full index of companies, outstanding individuals and place names from Minnesota, across the Canadian shield to Maine! This book will be the one and only publication covering this topic in a lifetime.

If you enjoy Canadian northwoods nostalgia, forest or riverdrive lore and even mechanical innovation, this is a milestone book for your library. There are colourful references to Simcoe, Port Dover, Pembroke, Arnprior and other points in the Ottawa Valley watershed, Algonquin Park, the Trent-Severn System, Georgian Bay, Rainy River, Lake of the Woods, Lake Temiskaming and Lac St. Jean, La Mauricie in Quebec and places in Manitoba, Newfoundland, Minnesota and Maine, to name some.

"Alligators of the North" retails in participating book stores at $34.99 plus GST. If your book store doesn't stock it presently, ask them to order it for you. Or you can visit the publisher's web site at www.dundurn.com

If you're having trouble to obtain this book, you can email me or call me. I'll be glad to help.

Dave Lemkay - Ottawa Valley 613-649-2616

manager@canadianforestry.com