On Vacation For A Week

This is a note to say that I’ll be heading out on vacation for a week, just in case I haven’t completely alienated all of my online friends and readers. :-) Will anyone notice if I’m gone? :-)



I’ve rented a huge van and the whole family will be going up to visit some friends from Toronto on an island off of Parry Sound, on Lake Huron. The amenities will be very basic. It’ll be interesting to see how we and our hosts will bear it under the strain of the eight of us visitors.

The Georgia Bay area of Lake Huron was the site of several Jesuit missions among the Huron Indians during the 17th century... Many of the “Black Robes” were martyred in this effort.

Martyrs Shrine

Brief Sketches of the Jesuit Martyr-Saints

John de
Brébeuf - the first Jesuit Missionary in Huronia (1626);

Gabriel
Lalemant - a Jesuit assistant to Brebeuf, he died March 17, 1649 at
Ste. Ignace;

Anthony
Daniel - a missionary near Bias-d'or Lakes (1632), founded the first
boys' College in North America (Quebec 1635);

Charles
Garnier- was a Jesuit Missionary in Huronia,

Noél
Chabanel - a Jesuit priest, suffered martyrdom, in 1649, on the
Nottawasaga

Isaac
Jogues - came to Huronia in 1636, helped to build Ste. Marie (1639),

René
Goupil - studied medicine and offered his services to the Jesuit missions in Canada

John de
Lalande - accompanied Jogues to the Mohawk Mission (1646), a martyr,
at Auriesville, N.Y.

Parry Sound is also the birthplace of the greatest hockey player of all time, Bobby Orr. I know that some are partial to Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, or certain others such as Bobby Hull or Gordie Howe… Having seen them all play, I’d have to say that for my money, Orr was far and way the best. Hands down.