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Pope John Paul II at Strawberry Island
- Pope John Paul II will stay at Strawberry Island from Tuesday,
July 23 until Saturday, July 27 in the morning
- He will only leave the Island to attend the Papal Welcoming
Ceremony at Exhibition Place on Thursday, July 25
- The Pope will also receive a delegation of 20 young people from
around the world for a luncheon on Friday, July 26
- The Pope's stay will be a time of rest. If he wants, he can
go for a boat ride or be taken on a special golf cart for rides
on the paths that cover the Island
The Strawberry Island Retreat Centre
- Strawberry Island features accommodations for 80 people, conference
and recreation facilities, and two launches operated by the Basilian
Fathers. It is a 45-acre island in Lake Simcoe, north of Toronto
- The name comes from the shape of the island, which resembles
a strawberry and because of the cultivation of strawberries that
occurred on the island.
First Nations Residents of Lake Simcoe
- Strawberry Island and the surrounding area was Huron territory
at the time of first European contact. In 1615, Samuel de Champlain
skirted the island while on a raid with the Huron against the
Iroquois.
- The earliest recorded name for Strawberry Island is Anatari,
a Huron-Wyandot word meaning "a meeting place of villagers" found
on a c.1639 map made by missionaries of Fort Ste. Marie.
- The Anatari were overrun in 1649 by the Iroquois, who occupied
most of southern Ontario until the beginning of the 18th century.
At that time the Ojibway (Chippewa) people moved into the area.
- On November 17, 1815, the Ojibway Nation sold 250,000 acres
of land between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay to George III for
4,000 pounds of Upper Canadian currency. By 1830, the three Ojibway
bands in the Lake Simcoe area were restricted to reserves by Sir
John Colborne, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada.
- The Lake Simcoe islands were kept as First Nations lands until
1856 when the crown obtained the title to four of them, including
Strawberry Island. The island then had the Chippewa name of Pa-push-quan
or Peperschwang Island, meaning "a barren face" or "where there
is a clearing of trees".
- The crown sold Strawberry Island for $270 to Patalina McHattie
in 1875.
The Naming of Strawberry Island
- The island was known as Anderson Island in 1875, probably for
Captain Thomas Gummersall Anderson. He was the first "Indian Agent"
and "Indian Superintendent" in the area and negotiated the transfer
of the Lake Simcoe islands from the Chippewa in 1856.
- In the 1877 Atlas of the County of Ontario, the island was called
"Starvation Island", after an 1860 incident in which Beaverton
fishermen were stranded on the island by a storm and almost starved.
- In 1885, Captain Charles McInnis bought the land from George
Graham, the first homesteader on the island, for $800. Although
still known officially as Anderson Island, McInnis changed the
name to reflect the giant strawberries that Graham had cultivated.
Strawberry Island as Summer Resort
- Captain McInnis developed the island as a summer resort. By
1885, excursionists were already traveling to the island which
now had a wharf and pavilion. In 1886, construction started on
cottages, a large hotel and a waterworks. By 1888, the island
housed an up-to-date resort known for fishing and entertainment.
- By 1892, McInnis had mortgaged the property because of financial
trouble. He continued to own and operate Strawberry Island as
a resort up to 1907.
- In 1897, the local newspaper The Orillia Packet reported on
a protest by the Presbyterian Sunday School Association because
the island hotel served liquor. Reverend J.S. McMullen argued
that people could break the Sabbath on the island, and that there
was no "officer of the law" to prevent accidents. Despite the
protests, the liquor licence was renewed in 1898.
- Strawberry Island was closed during World War I. From 1915 to
1921, only John McInnis, Captain McInnis' son, spent time there.
The Basilian Summer Camp
- On June 6, 1922, Father William Roach, Master of Scholastics
for the Basilian Fathers, leased the property for $300. Along
with Basilian Fathers Francis Forster and Henry Carr, he purchased
the island for $4,000 on January 29, 1923.
- At the time of purchase, the island housed the hotel, six cottages,
a dancing pavilion, a 60-foot bar and several candy stands. The
Basilians lived in the hotel, using a front room as a chapel.
- The first chapel was built in 1923 from the wood of the six
cottages. Named the William Joseph Roach Hall, it was later used
for classes and recreation. It was demolished in 1968, replaced
by a new William Roach Hall.
- In August 1926, work was started on a shrine to the Virgin Mary,
while Fr. Bondy was Master of Scholastics. The shrine took six
summers of work.
- Other developments to the island included the 1935 Moylan Lodge
for visiting priests, the 1949 Young Priests' House, and a new
boathouse in 1957. A new chapel was built in 1958 in the geographical
center of the island.
- The grounds have undergone a reforestation program started in
1939. A swamp area that covered the east end of the island was
filled in 1931, and there is a network of paths throughout the
island. Orsini Park, named after Fr. Frank Orsini, was cleared
and landscaped on the southern half of the island, revealing many
First Nations artifacts.
- The Congregation of the Basilian Fathers was established in
France in 1822, and came to Canada in the middle of the 19th century.
In Toronto, they opened St. Michael's College in 1852.
This text is based on Strawberry Island in Lake Simcoe by Fr.
E. J. LaJeunesse, C.S.B. and can be found in its entirety at www.basilian.org/Publica/island/islahist.htm
For more information on the Basilian Fathers, please visit www.basilian.org
www.wyd2002.org June 2002
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