By Mrs. Louis Sutter, R. R. 1 Mar, born Jane McMaster 1856-1943
First prize winner of Pioneer Story Contest, July 6, 1939, Wiarton Echo
Having heard that you would like to receive pioneer stories of the early days on the Bruce Peninsula, I thought perhaps my experiences would be of interest to some of your readers.
Having passed my eighty third birthday and having spent a good many years on the peninsula, I have seen many changes during the years.
In the spring of 1870, my Father, Robert McMaster, with his wife and family of eight children, left Southampton in a little sailboat, named the “Blackbird” for our new home at Pike Bay on the Bruce Peninsula. Father having been up fishing the fall before saw the place and bought it from a man named Mr. Cow, who later moved to Owen Sound. I was then fourteen years old, with three sisters older and four brothers younger than myself.
You can imagine we were all quite excited at the idea of going to a new home and having no idea of what it would be like and of course at that time we couldn’t look forward to meeting new neighbours as there was only one other family then living at Pike Bay, a Mr. and Mrs. Kale.
About evening we reached our new home, a little log house about half a mile back from it our things had to be unloaded and our beds made ready, for we children were feeling both hungry and sleepy by this time.
Later Father decided to build a new home nearer the water, where we lived for a few years.
Father spent his time clearing our land and in the fall he fished.
I well remember the exciting time we had when a bad fire swept down on us from the north, the fire having started up near Stokes Bay. We anxiously watched the shifting of the wind to with so much bush around us, we knew that it would be hard to save our little home.
The fire kept coming closer and closer and Father decided that it would be safer to move our things from the house into the boat, all ready to pull out into the bay if necessary, but after a hard fight we succeed in saving our home, saw the fire working its way on down along the shore, leaving nothing but a blackened waste behind it. But how thankful we were that we had been able to save our home. Here that fall another little sister was born to us.
One fall a large boat was wrecked on Lake Huron and many barrels of flour drifted ashore, one Saturday evening as Father was coming in from Green Island, where he had been fishing, he found a barrel of flour, so early Monday morning they started out, all up along the shore they went, for we pioneers were thankful to get the chance of anything to help out, for with eleven of us to feed and clothe, it kept Mother and Father busy.
One incident I well remember about the flour, Father, my brother William and I were away up near Miller Lake, then called Pine Tree, where a lot of the flour came ashore.
Here we made a little camp; Father and William bringing the barrels ashore, some of them would have a few staves broken and in some the water had seeped through between the staves. The flour was all emptied out and it was my job to wash the good barrels and dry them before a fire, the dry flour was then put back in. This was done till at least we had thirty barrels of good flour as it was late in the fall we expected to have to stay there until the ice was thick enough that the flour could be hauled down with team and sleigh.
One Saturday, Father left for home to get some food to bring up; promising to return on Monday. How we hated to see him go, for we had heard that the Indians from the Manitoulin Island came down along the shore.
That evening as William and I sat before the fire we saw some men coming down along the shore, we found out that they had been farther north with a engine for a mill. They had called at Pike Bay on their way up and hearing where were decided to call, as they knew father. They had said that they wouldn’t bring flour down for anyone, but when they saw William and me there alone they felt for us, so got William to show them the channel where they could bring the boat to shore, loaded on the flour and early Sunday morning we all left for Pike Bay.
Mother and Father were so glad to see us, to get the flour brought down that they gave the men on the boat four barrels.
Another fall barrels of lard drifted ashore from a wrecked boat and were gathered up by the few families that were in our little community.
Later a school was stared and little by little the land was cleared. Father built a frame house up near where our first little log house had been.
Father died in the year 1889 and mother died nineteen years later at the age of eighty. One by one they have passed on until now all of the family of eleven, that are left are my oldest brother George McMaster, my youngest sister, Mrs. Jack Hilditch Sr. and myself.
The farm father bought so many years ago lots 2 and 3, concession 4, W.B.R. is now owned by his grandson, Robert Sutter and family.
How things have changed from those days, now we walk to our gate and get our mail out of the mailbox, but when we first came up here, our nearest post office was Mar, and all along the shore are summer cottages where once was only bush. Fine cars travel on our roads that once were trails, perhaps this little story will give you some idea of a few of the changes that have taken place on the Bruce Peninsula.
Story submitted by Great Grandson Doug Sutter and posted on Facebook by Jeanne Sutter
See the original post on Facebook
Additional posting on Stokesbay and Area Family History Facebook Group