A History of Lake Temagami's Sandy Inlet and Wanapitei
1891 to 1986

Bruce Hodgins, 1986

Chapter IV

Early in 1971, a group of professional people with wide experience in camping, education and youth counselling joined with Carol and Bruce (who was now a Professor of history at Trent University) in forming a co-operative company to provide Wanapitei with a new dimension. The group (which included John Clarke, Larry Hodgins, Ted Moores, and other former staff people as well as Jim Allman, Carolyn Kemp, Sandra and Peter Gillis, Melody Morrison and Irving Greenberg) purchased the land north of the river and took over the operation of the youth camp. The senior Hodgins continued to run the Chateau for adults, with the two operations working together whenever possible. Directed by Bruce, the youth camp now more than doubled in size. The tradition of small group, community-oriented camping continued with the multi-skilled mature counsellor playing a key role within a rather informal structure.

With Marcus Bruce as chief tripper, the wilderness tripping programme expanded. In 1971, the first co-ed trip traveled to James Bay via the Albany and the next year by way of the Rupert. In 1975, Marcus and Mary Ann Haney led a special "Voyageur" group on the Nahanni in the Northwest Territories, a trip which was repeated in 1978, 1980 and is, to this day, part of the Wanapitei CANOE trip offerings. In 1981 the Voyageurs ran the George River. New depth and greater environmental awareness and an intellectual thrust were introduced into in-camp activities. The programme for younger campers was improved, the crafts and swimming programme re-organized and in the Paradis tradition, a vegetable garden was started on the initiative of Elwood Jones. Wanapitei also adopted the policy of sponsoring a number of deserving campers who would otherwise be denied the experience.

Wanapitei followed the Archibald tradition of maintaining a close relationship with various Indian and Metis people in the area. Richard Twain (who with his father had worked for Archibald) became Head Guide in 1957. In 1960 he began to trap around Sandy Inlet and to live year round at Wanapitei until his untimely death in May 1978. Adam Commanda who passed away in 1972 was a long and faithful staff person and friend. Bella (Morrison) White who began to cook for Archibald in 1954 was head cook for years and is now an honoured shareholder. The late Roseanne Katt Paul was cook between 1973 and 1982.

The Company has always been open-ended, gaining valuable assistance during the seventies from the addition of people such as Jamie Benidickson, Lea Rowsell, Marcus Bruce, Daryl Hodgins, Elwood Jones, Bob Boutilier, Joe de Pencier, Hugh Glassco, Larry Turner, Cheryl Hamilton, Kelly Lawson and Claudette Languedoc. Late in 1973 Wanapitei acquired its first full time officer in Tom Roach as Assistant Director. He was succeeded by Marcus Bruce in 1978 and Morley Chalmers in 1979. Beginning in 1972-1973 Wanapitei established a system of "Wintering Partners" to look after the site; in the late seventies, this position was held for several years by Gisele Roy. In the fall of 1972, the rough J-M lumber road (now the Red Squirrel Road) was opened to public use, and Wanapitei was forced to accept the presence of vehicle traffic within a mile of the site. While staff and some Chateau guests increasingly used the road, campers from 1972 onward usually arrived at the site by means of Lakeland Airway. Throughout the decade, there was a substantial increase in public use of the portion of Sandy Inlet north of Wanapitei.

In 1973 Wanapitei also expanded into adult tripping both in the local area and the far beyond beginning with the first Rupert, the followed by the first Dumoine in 1974; first Nahanni in 1976; first Coppermine in 1979 and the first Thelon in 1981. Wanapitei also initiated a winter cross-country skiing programme, educational school and university group experiences, and small environmental conferences. The year 1973 was also the first for the September Trent University Canadian Studies Annual Temagami Field Trip, organized by John Wadland; this event has become of the Wanapitei year, now involving over ninety students and faculty from various institutions.

Meanwhile the physical plant was refurbished and enlarged. In 1972 Angego (in Ojibwa Wandjigo - a storage place or cache) as constructed for trip stores. This was followed by the A-Frame II (1973), six cabin tents (1974, 1975 and four in 1977), the Adam Commanda Drydocks (1977) the Dick Twin Building (1981) and lastley the Log Cabin (completed in 1984). Canoes were continually added to create a large diverse fleet suitable for a broad range of ability and water conditions.

The mid-eighties, too, have been years of change for the site and the organization. The site came to be designated as the Wanapitei Wilderness Centre, while the intellectual, high skill and leadership aspects of the programme were extended and deepened. Larry Turner and Caroline Tennent, in turn, served as Assistant Directors. After a major staffing reorganization late in 1985, Kornel Strzalkowski (to September 1986) and Shawn Hodgins divided the growing responsibilities of being year round Assistant Directors. Other shareholders moved into positions of company leadership, especially Bill Paterson as Medical Director and Shelagh Grant as Vice President and chairperson of Site renewal. Most of the buildings were uniformly restained and refurbished, several with new roofs. Meanwhile, the role in the company of Daryl Hodgins, John Clarke, Sandra Gillis, Marcus Bruce and Hilary Heath remained vital.

The Voyageurs II's mounted new Northwest expeditions on the Blackstone-Peel, the Snare-Coppermine and the Yellowknife-Coppermine. The Voyageur I's descended the remote Moisie in Labrador and far eastern Quebec and in 1986 their programme was expanded to include a month of leadership training. The new Bay Tripper Section (created from the top level Pioneers) followed various rivers to James Bay, including the Wakwayokastic and descended the Chef-Choamouchaouane to lac St. Jean. The younger camp was reorganized into the Coureurs de Bois Section and the Temagami Section.

Wanapitei came to play a major leadership role in the Ontario Recreational Canoeing Association. Environmentally, Wanapitei, actively and with varying success has lobbied for the establishment of the Lady Evelyn-smoothwater Wilderness Park, for careful planning before any development took place on lake Temagami and for better forestry practices in Northeastern Ontario that would not involve the extension of the Red Squirrel Road or its transformation into a trunk route.

Wanapitei is thus a wilderness canoeing organization specializing in extensive, high quality back-country canoe trips for young people and adults with Wanapitei CANOE, in the Canadian North. It owns a complex Wilderness Centre on Sandy Inlet at the north end of Lake Temagami. Wanapitei sees itself intellectually and emotionally as an educational institution teaching about the wilderness, about community, the wilderness, adventure, the canoe, the Canadian heritage and the Canadian landscape. Wanapitei is no single person or family. It is a place, a program, and a group of people, but above all it is an idea.