The 2014 Reunion – Photos from Friday

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September 16, 2014 by Doug Webster

Friday was a “free day” for alumni.  Many had arrived the night before and gathered for dinner at Trading Bay Restaurant in Dorset.  On Friday, as more alumni got into town, it was a time to visit Robinson’s store, climb to the fire tower, take a ride on the restored Lake of Bays steamer SS Bigwin, and in some cases, drive up to Huntsville or Algonquin.

The Otter gathering included a lunch and dinner at the Dorset Community Center and lots of time to schmooze, reunite with old friends and look through a small mountain of maps, photos, brochures, and other memorabilia brought by alumni.

The following photo galleries chronicle events of Friday.  Photos by Doug Webster and John Young:

 Friday Lunch at Dorset Community Center

Marcia Sikes and Debbie Mills Kaminin

Norman MacKay of the Dorset Heritage Museum with Jim Boguslawski

Tom Sanderson and Craig Billings

George Baker and Jane Wardwell Roberts

Alan Shenk and Bob Swanick

Peter Dustin and Marion Rogers

Bill Boag, Gretchen Himmele Munroe and Emy Young Boag

Craig Billings, Joan Schlosser Potter and Bob Cownie

Dave Traegeser, Chris Duchscherer, Dave Duchscherer and Jim Boguslawski

Dave Traegeser

Dave Traegeser, Dave Duchscherer and Bogie.

Emy Young Boag

Martha Otis

Alan Shenk and Bob Swanick

Nanette and Bob Cownie

Craig Billings

John Conkling – Otter 1944-49 (Read his Camper Memory)

Alan Shenk, Parke Rublee, Rick Rider and Larry Rublee

Chuck Amo, Nanette Cownie, Craig Billings and Chris Duchscherer

Chuck Amo and Larry Rublee

John Young – at work

Parke Rublee and Gretchen Himmele Munroe

John and Nancy Conkling with Rick Rider

Alice and Peter Dustin with George Walker

Skip Tannen and George Baker

Chuck Amo

Friday lunch….Paul Rising checks out the weekend agenda and a map to Otter Lake

Friday Lunch…delicious sandwiches from Zachary’s of Dorset who catered lunch Friday and Saturday

Doug Webster and Emy Young Boag check over recently scanned photos for the collection.

Gretchen Himmele Munroe, Nancy Swanick, Dave Walker and Bob Swanick

Secretly signing another paddle…a special gift

Parke Rublee and Rick Rider trade an Algonquin canoe route

Sharing food and memories

Marcia Sikes and Debbie Mills Kaminin look over the Otter Brochure

Peter Hitchcock signs a paddle as Peter Dustin and Rick Rider look on.

Lake of Bays Cruse on SS Bigwin

Ready to Board: (L-R) Carol Ortner Inserra, George and Barb Walker, Dave and Libby Walker, Ann Wilder Shenk and Alan, Joan Fleischhauer Smith and Neale, Gretchen Himmele Munroe, Paul and Ann Rising

Barb and George Walker, Dave and Libby Walker, Doug Webster, Ann Wilder Shenk and Alan, Neale Smith, Gretchen Himmele Munroe, Paul and Ann Rising, and John Young

The restored Lake of Bays steamer (now electric) SS Bigwin

Last call

Pushing Away

Bob Swanick taking pictures during the ride aboard SS Bigwin

Emy Young Boag

SS Bigwin crew member demonstrates lifejacket safety

Lake of Bays cottage

Relaxing on the upper deck

The gentle shores drift by

Bill and Susan Dustin with Dave Walker.

Susan Dustin and Dave Walker under the Canadian flag

Barbara Hills Walker, Libby Walker, Alice Dustin and George Walker

Narrows ahead

Shorelines have changed since we were there….

Neale Smith takes the wheel of the SS Bigwin

John Young

Neale Smith gives John advice….John wisely ignores it

Bill and Susan Dustin

The Dorset Bridge

Alice and Peter Dustin

The SS Bigwin docked in the Dorset channel

Marion Rogers, Debbie Mills Kaminin, Peter Dustin and Marcia Sikes

Friday Dinner – Community Center

Reunion Banner and thanks to Bill Crewson, Edith and Howie Ortner, Rachel and Charlie Rogers, Berner Clarke and Jane Wardwell Roberts

Gathering outside the Dorset Community Center for Friday dinner.

Craig Billings signs a memorial paddle

Patty Ortner Coughlin, Paul Coughlin and Carol Ortner Inserra examine the camper signing register

Great food for all our meals. Friday dinner (and Saturday) by Trading Bay of Dorset.

Signed Paddle readied for presentation to the Dorset Museum

The line stretched around the corner and down the hall as dinner was served

Memories of Otter Days courtesy of Emy Boag Young and Robinson’s Store: Rangely, Sunlight Soap and Spam

The camper signing register….this one spans from the 40s to the 60s. We hope to scan the contents and post pages to the website.

Patty Ortner Coughlin and Carol Ortner Inserra examine the register

Bill Dustin holds the infamous “Sadie Belch” button. It wound up in his pocket and then in Bogie’s during the weekend.

Carol Ortner Inserra examines Ortner family photos. Check the website for a posting of these and other photos from the past – many never seen by alumni until now.

Looking through old photos

Laurie Hoffarth Milligan and Patty Ortner Coughlin

The signing register open to 1961

Patty Ortner Coughlin and Paul Coughlin organize family photos from Otter

Parke Rublee and Emy Young Boag look through Emy’s photo album of camp days.

One of Edith Ortner’s watercolors from Otter Days – The Main Lodge

The craft lodge and a teepee

Looks like a canoe visit to Rocky Island

A view of Otter from the lake shore at the lodge. Note the red canoe on the dock lower right.

Laurie Hoffarth Milligan signs a paddle

Algonquin canoe routes. Every one tells an Otter story