PATTERSON LAKE NEWSLETTER

October 2008

http://www.pattersonlake.ca

Annual General Meeting

It was a good AGM. There were no great debates. There were no shareholders' revolts. Just friends and neighbours getting together to discuss things of common interest. And of course the greatest common interest is the reason we exist - the lake. The minutes of the AGM are included with this newsletter.

After the AGM, the Board of Directors held a meeting to elect the new executive. We are pleased to report that Ted Manning is our new President, Jack Hobbs our new Vice-President, Howard Stanley remains as Treasurer, and Lorne Bowerman is our new Secretary. The Board however decided that Lorne should also hold the position of Past President. We look forward to another year of progress in developing a plan for our lake.

We were asked the question about payment of our annual dues by road area. We said we would report the break-out in our next newsletter.

Note the Fairs Way/Lane also includes the Nelsons Way/Joes Crescent road area and Concession 6 Lot 13. These last two areas are individual property owners and we did not want to report them separately.

Archie Patterson

It was noted in the last newsletter that Archie Patterson arrived in 1821 from Scotland and was settled on Concession 6, Lot 13W, which would put him just below the large bay on the south shore of Patterson Lake. The bay would be his northern property line. It was also noted that he disappeared from records that were found for later years.. What happened?

Jim Neelin from Fairs Way pointed to the solution in a book by Carol Bennett, The Lanark Society Settlers, 1820-1821, Juniper Books, Renfrew Ontario 1991.

By the way, Carol Bennett lists the spelling as Paterson. There were both Pattersons and Patersons listed in the records at that time so it is not clear which is correct. This newsletter will continued to use the spelling of "Patterson" as that is the way the lake's name was first spelled in the 1850s.

Archie Patterson, David Campbell, William Drynan, John Gillan, and William Hay came over with the Milton Dumbartonshire Emigration Society on the ship "David of London" in 1821. These societies were organized to record the funding and registering of immigrants to Canada.

Archie (29), his wife Mary Buchanan(30) and their children Agnes (5), Elizabeth (3), and Jean (6 months) came to Canada. They had three more children born in Canada, Archibald (born about 1823), a child, "M.P.", who probably died in infancy; he or she was buried on the farm in 1825 according to the Lanark Genealogy Society, and Mary (born about 1828).

Carol Bennett states that his location was Lot 12 East, Concession 6, while all the records that were found elsewhere place him in Lot 13 West Concession 6. If it is Lot 12 East, then he would be one mile south of the lake and not on the lakeshore. This needs further research. There is no use looking for a cemetery until we can further clarify which area it is. And it is possible that he owned both areas, although they would not be contiguous.

Regardless, if anyone has walked in that area, they would know that it would be tough land to convert into a farm because there is a lot of low swampy areas and rock outcroppings.

Archie stuck it out in the area until 1834 when he moved to Admaston Township in Renfrew County. He was regarded as a pioneer there. His daughter Agnes and her husband John Bremmer also moved there.

Carol Bennett also records that Archie died in 1868 and that they were a prosperous family in Admaston Township.

One last troubling fact for any researcher is that Archie was long gone from the area when James Hay Fair, born April 17, 1785, died 1854 and his wife, Jane Watson, born 1806, died 1862 were buried in the pioneer cemetery. Apparently there is a plaque marking the graves. This would certainly indicate that the Patterson child's grave was still known and cared for after the Pattersons had moved.

Keith Thomson from the Lanark Genealogy Society noted that apparently there are five burial plots at this site. The record is at:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~onlanark/cemeteries/Fair/fair_private_burying_site.htm

Mineral Rights

There is nothing more offensive to a property owner than to have someone without your knowledge come onto your property and stake a mineral claim.

How can this happen?

There are two kinds of rights involved in ownership of property - surface rights and mineral rights. And the problem is that mineral rights trump surface rights. That is what we all find most offensive.

At our AGM, Joannah Jarman from Fairs Way gave us an update of how she tracked down the mineral rights for their property. It made abundance sense and she had easy to follow directions. It was refreshing after listening to years of horror stories about surface and mineral rights.

Here is her advice:

"What you can do to find out more information.

1. Visit the Land Registry office in Almonte across the street from Tim Hortons. Pick out

the book for your lot and concession (to look at these books is free) ask them to photocopy

it back to the first entry (1800's). Take money for photocopying. Take it home and find your glasses!!

Check out the last column looking for any reference to mineral rights. The recent title is now electronic and will cost $8.00 to get a copy. (1960ish onward).

2. If there is no mention of mineral rights they may never have been separated from the surface rights and the surface right owner may have them. You might want to check out the original patent to be sure. (this cost money, see below) and/or check with your lawyer.

3. If you are at Lot 14 concession 5 or 7 your lands were originally owned by the Canada Company. They sold the land to Mr. Fair and others without the mineral rights. The good news is in 1997 the government gave the mineral rights back to the surface owner. The problem is this is not registered on your title. When you check your title in 1964 there is a notice of claim which may make you think you don't have the mineral rights."

Once you have this information, the next step is to go to your lawyer and have the mineral rights placed on your title.

There is a new button up on our website called Mineral Rights. More information is provided there. We will keep working on it

As this is being written, there is another action being taken concerning mineral rights and surface rights that may solve some of the problem. There is a committee of the Ontario Government looking at, among other things, resolving the problem by giving to surface rights owners the mineral rights that are owned by the Crown. This will resolve a lot. However, it will not help if the Crown does not own the mineral rights. One petition on this action is up on our website at the Mineral Rights button.

This is another area where cooperation of a number of lake neigbours would lessen the workload and the cost.

The Creek (and Lake) Bed

You will recall from the last newsletter that limestone/marble "mud" was found at the bottom of Fairs Creek and also just out from 151 Lakeside Rd. Is it around the rest of the lake as well?

Lorne & Connie did sampling of the lake bottom along the south-western and north- western shores. There were no more deposits found. The bottom for the most part was very firm, rocky, and covered with some silt. We will keep on the lookout for other possible sites.

Historic Lake Level

The search for putting facts instead of opinions on the lake levels prior to the installation of the culverts in the 1970s has ground to a complete stop and a dead end.

The Mississippi Valley Conservation has no records prior to 1986.

The pertinent records of the Lands & Forest office in Kemptville were searched and nothing was found on lake level changes caused by the culverts.

The Township was asked if they had the records of the Dalhousie, Lavant, & North Sherbrooke for that period. The reply came from Tom Derreck, the Chief Administrative Officer:

I talked to our Public Works Superintendent about the culvert history and he informs me that when the culverts work was done, no attention was given to the effect that the larger units might or might not have on the lake level. Similarly, that no applicable records are available.

So we are left with only opinions and they range all over the place.

We have what we have; we will have to work together to resolve the issue.

Septic Tanks

The Mississippi-Rideau Septic Office located in the MVC supplied some excellent data to be distributed at the AGM.

Jamie Saunders from that office stressed the point that it is the property owners responsibility to maintain the septic tank.

Without going into details, sludge accumulates in septic tanks; liquids go on into the tile field to filter back to the ground. If the sludge builds up enough to go out into the tile file, it is bad news because a new tile file would have to be installed. Costly business.

And blocked tile fields also have an impact on the environment and get a number of government agencies all excited.

Jamie Saunders provided a quick rule of thumb on when to clean a tank. The cleaning rule-of-thumb is to have your septic tank pumped when the tank is one-third (1/3) full of sludge. This rule works regardless of the size or age of the tank, and regardless of the number of persons in the household.

It is cheaper to get together with neighbours to have a number of tanks cleaned at one time.

There is more information on the website under Lake Data and Septic Tanks. Why Lake Data? Because faulty septic systems can have a direct impact on the quality of the lake.

So if we take care of our own septic system and see a problem, what do we do. We will leave the last word to Jamie:

"As a homeowner if you see a problem it is your responsibility to report it to Ron Flay, the septic inspector at the Leeds Grenville Lanark Health Unit. He is OBLIGATED to follow up on complaints, anonymous or personal."

Summer Event

Ted Manning brought the suggestion of a Lake Association Summer Event noting that we have a large number of paddleboats on the lake.

Mary Elizabeth Jamieson, Dorothy Hobbs, Dave MacCrimmon, and Kathleen Sullivan volunteered to work on the suggestion. We are sure they would appreciate suggestions and help.

Property Assessments

Well that was quite a shock! The newspapers had all been warning us to expect a property assessment increase from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) of about 20%. We were ready for that.

But for the Lakeside Rd area the increases came in an average of 55% for those who had not made any major changes for the last five years. Those who had made major changes were affected much more.

For the first time MPAC provided a website so that you could find out not only what you were assessed on, but also the assessments of your neighbours.

Lorne got the assessments for those on Lakeside Rd and a few neighbours on Porcupine Way and Hardwood Ridge Rd. They were all high.

With our own assessment of $217,00, Lorne

compared each of the neighbours property to our property and had to conclude that the assessment was fair. Connie & daughter Joy reached the same conclusion.

We will wait for the tax bill to see the bottom line.

Membership Dues

The 2008-2009 membership dues were set at $20 per property owner.

Please send your cheque to our Treasurer at the address below. Make cheques payable to the Patterson Lake Association. :Receipts will be sent out in Newsletters.

Howard Stanley

313 Hinchey Ave

Ottawa, ON K1Y 1M1

If you happen to pay twice in one year, (and that has happened), do not worry. You will be credited with the $20, and it will be applied as dues for the next year or years. You will only pay once per year.

Newsletter

This Newsletter was written by Lorne Bowerman. As usual, Connie did the proof reading and polishing Comments, suggestions, or articles are welcome.

613-225-7904 lorne@bowerman.ca