Rondeau Park Roots Go Deep Posted on 2009-02-26 22:06:33 Lifelong Rondeau Park cottager Angus McGarvah can't imagine being anywhere else. Originally published in the February 21st edition of of The Chatham Daily News. PREMIER'S LETTER STIRS EMOTIONS Published February 21, 2009 Angus McGarvah can't imagine life without his cottage in Rondeau Provincial Park. The 66-year-old Michigan resident has spent as much time as possible in the park since he was a little boy. "I can't imagine not having this little piece of heaven," he said while piling wood at his lakeside cottage. McGarvah was disappointed to learn Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recently reiterated in a letter to Mayor Randy Hope that cottage leases will expire in 2017. "Give me a good reason why I should be thrown out of here -- what have I done wrong?" he asked. "If I'm hurting something, tell me so I can change or exit for the good of this place I love." McGarvah said Rondeau is in his blood. His great-grandparents visited the park before the First World War and both sets of his grandparents bought cottages after the war. "My parents met here and married," he said, adding three of his aunts also met their husbands at Rondeau and his two sons met their wives there. "This place has a magic," he said. The cottage community paired with the beauty and peace of the park are what make it a special place, McGarvah said. "This park has a wonderful fabric woven into it," he said. McGarvah, whose business card reads "Rondonian," which he described as someone who loves the park, worries that if the nearly 300 lease extensions aren't granted it could have dire economic consequences for the community. A woman, who wished to remain anonymous, who lives outside the park on Wildwood Line, also worries about the economic impact if cottagers are kicked out of Rondeau. "We want them to stay, it's good for all the stores in Blenheim and Ridgetown," she said. It's been estimated that cottage families spend more than $3 million locally every season. She said the high-volume of traffic cottagers bring to the area creates a vibrancy in the summer months. "We like all the people," she said. "I don't think it would be the same (without cottagers)." Cottager Paul Bohn, of Michigan, read about Mc G u i n t y ' s letter in The Chatham Daily News. "I'm disappointed his stance was firm, but not surprised," he said. However, he tries to be optimistic when it comes to ongoing efforts to get lease extensions. "I hope they stay in negotiations and look at the culture that's been created here over the past 100 years," he said. Bohn said he wrote a letter to McGuinty a few weeks ago, outlining why keeping cottagers in the park is a good idea. He also invited the premier to his cottage. Bohn said the community supports lease extensions. MPP Pat Hoy and Hope have also publicly backed efforts to get lease extensions in the park. Bohn noted that an environmental assessment concluded that cottagers don't have a detrimental impact on the park. With that information out there, he wonders why the government continues to want the cottagers out when the leases expire. The Rondeau Cottagers Association remains optimistic, saying McGuinty is only stating current policy. "It really doesn't state whether that's going to be the end result," RCA president Dr. David Colby said recently. "I wouldn't interpret this as a 'no' from the premier's office." Bohn, who has spent time in the park as far back as he can remember, said his connection to the park played a role in why he became a lawyer specializing in environmental law. "It was a natural outgrowth of so much time here," he said. Many cottagers are stewards of the land and will do what they can to preserve the park's natural habitat, he said. Over the years, he said cottagers have helped the park with naturalization efforts, including deer counts. Rondeau and Algonquin Provincial Park are the only two Ontario provincial parks with cottage leases. Algonquin's 304 leases also expire in 2017. back to main