Lock Life Stories

NAME: Dave and Elaine
LOCK: Lock 20 - Ashburnham
July 2023

We met Dave and Elaine at Lock 20 (Ashburnham) on a bright day at the end of June. Together with their travelling companion ‘Zoe’- a Pomeranian-shih tzu mix – they were on a trip across Canada. They had started in their home province of Alberta, with an end goal of Newfoundland. After learning about it from Parks Canada, this adventuring trio had just stopped in at the Peterborough Lift Lock to see the attraction. They said their favourite part about visiting was all the history. “Alberta doesn’t have that,” they said.

NAME: Jeremy Smith, the Great Blue Heron
LOCK: Lock 26 - Lakefield
July 2023

Meet Jeremy Smith, the Great Blue Heron and frequent visitor at Lock 26 the past two summers. Jeremy likes to perch on the upper gates for a while before floating off to the shallows below the lock to do some fishing. The lock staff named him using a combination of their childhood pet names and a best friend whose favourite bird is the Great Blue Heron.

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NAME: Joseph
LOCK: Lock 21 - Peterborough Lift Lock
July 2023

Joseph was captaining a boat during a first run of The Great Loop accompanied by his wife, and her sister and husband. They began their journey five weeks ago in Noank, Connecticut. On this particular day, they were bound for Stoney Lake to drop anchor and rest for the night. It was the middle of a heatwave, so they were all looking forward to a swim. Joseph’s reason for doing the Great Loop? “The Peterborough Lift Lock,” he said. “I’m an engineer, and it's that type of structure I’m interested in. From a physics perspective, it makes perfect sense, but to see it in practice…”

NAME: Lana and Jeremy
LOCK: Lock 34 - Fenelon Falls
July 2023

This husband-and-wife team has spent every summer on the water since 2018, heading through this very lock. Today they were stopped in on their way to the nearby sandbar for some swimming. “We just enjoy the summer, relaxing, seeing the sights.” Today, the couple had the day to themselves. Their usual companions - their twin children – had just finished high school and now working. As a family, they usually enjoy wakeboarding, tubing, snorkelling, and all manner of watersports. “Anything to do with the water we love.”

NAME: Steward
LOCK: Lock 27 - Young's Point
July 2023

Steward, Captain of the ship, was locking through with his wife and making their first stop on a long journey through the system he had planned for vacation. They were destined to see parts of Ontario you can only see on the water. From their starting point in the Lake Simcoe marina and with a final destination of Lake Ontario, they planned to loop around and travel all over Ontario. That day the mood was high. “There’s not a lot of traffic. It’s a great time of the year to be out here.”

NAME: Jill and Paul
LOCK: Lock 32 - Bobcaygeon
July 2023

Only on the locks for six days at this point, Jill and Paul’s first experience was already impressing them. “Amazing people, amazing places, amazing water. It’s just been phenomenal so far,” Jill said. After towing their boat up from their home in Prince Edward County near Trenton, the couple were now sailing back through the locks. Their final destination? Their own back yard. Their cruising vibe? Very chill. “Eases your mind when you’re out there,” Paul said.

NAME: Cathy and Dan
LOCK: Lock 32 - Bobcaygeon
July 2023

Boating together for eight years now, husband and wife Cathy and Dan had set sail from Midland in Georgian Bay and were heading all the way to Lake Ontario. This day they were moored at Lock 32, and their journey so far had been full of beautiful scenery, friendly people, and great lockmasters. Bobcaygeon is the middle of their favourite stretch of the Trent-Sever - from Fenelon Falls to Peterborough - and only a few spots of bad weather had slowed them down. But in the end, “That’s just a part of boating,” Cathy said.

NAME: Carol
LOCK: Lock 18 - Hastings
July 2023

A boater all her life, Carol set off 50 days ago from her home in Maryland on her first Great Loop. She’s due back home in a year. This day she was temporarily moored at Hastings. Throughout her journey thus far, she has been met with camaraderie and support from the other boaters. Compared to her home waters, she said boating on the locks is just different. “Different people doing different things.”

NAME: Gladstone
LOCK: Lock 14 - Crowe Bay
July 2023

A food connoisseur, Gladstone wanted to show his friends a good spot to catch Bass, so he took them to Lock 14 in Crowe Bay. Their plan was to catch enough fish to bring back to their families and enjoy. Gladstone is a master in preparing fish, knowing just what to cook and how to flavour them well. A frequent patron of the locks, we asked him what keeps him coming back. “The ambience of it. The water, the open air, the sounds of the trees, the sounds of the waterfalls, the fish…,” he nods to the water, “a good place to bring people and show them what I love to do.”

NAME: Bill
LOCK: Lock 8 - Percy Reach
July 2023

Bill has lived and boated on these waters for 11 years. On this summer’s day, we found him leisurely boating down the canal for ice cream, enjoying the scenery in the company of good friends. “Out on a day like this, with this weather, away from traffic? It’s nice,” he said.

NAME: Phillip and Carol
LOCK: Lock 7 - Glen Ross
July 2023

Veterans of the water, Phillip and Carol, were moored at Lock 7 in Glen Ross for the day, sailing back to Trenton after travelling up to Rosedale. Phillip, over 80 now, has been boating since he was fifteen, while Carol has been boating since she met Phillip at age 45. The two spend their summers on their boat, travelling the water. Phillip enjoys looking at the boats that are going through and the homes. “There are some very magnificent homes on the waterway,” he says. Carol loves getting invited onto the larger boats to share conversations and good times. “There are some very nice people on the waterway.”

NAME: Trevor
LOCK: Lock 10 - Hagues Reach
July 2023

This Lockmaster at Hagues Reach has been working for Parks Canada for 35 years, moving from construction to lock operator to office work and back to the locks. He’s seen many changes, from 12-hour days in summer to the average boat size growing from 26 feet to 40+. Over his career, Trevor has met countless different folks and has formed lasting friendships with many of them. While his career has been a good one, the time has come to retire, and this summer will likely be his last on the locks. A career that spans decades and plenty of fond memories will carry with him into his retirement. He plans to travel and to use his free time for hockey - a pastime he’s been involved in heavily for many years.

NAME: Roger, “Summer Santa”
July 2023

Roger was attempting to paddle the entire length of the waterway, but unfortunately, his shoulder gave out in Peterborough, and he had to stop. This is where we met him, waiting for a friend to pick him up. Despite being forced to end his journey early, he was all smiles. Roger is a 20-year cancer survivor, and not much seems to phase him. Since retiring, he says he’s learned a lot about having long hair, which even earned him the nickname: Summer Santa. Roger had wonderful things to say about the lock staff he met along the way from Georgian Bay, many of whom, like him, seemed genuinely happy to be there. He said his two best days of the trip were in the rain watching cormorants in flight.

NAME: Leah and Dan
LOCK: Lock 35 - Rosedale
July 2023

Boaters of forty years, Lea and Dan were relaxing on the shores of Lock 35 in Rosedale, one stop of many on their summer holiday along the Trent-Severn Waterway. They stopped to enjoy the waterway, “[we’re] loving it!” After being on the water for so many years, they are still able to confidently answer what their favorite part is: the people. They have met so many great people – Americans, Canadians, people from all over. But it’s not just a one-off meeting, they say they are able to re-meet people as well, even being able to reconnect years down the line, those connections never truly dying.

NAME: Eleanor
LOCK: Lock 35 - Rosedale
July 2023

A kayaker for most of her life, retiree Eleanor spent most of her kayak-touring miles on the waters of the Rideau Canal. But now, 12 years after retiring, she was ready to tackle a new challenge: kayaking the entirety of the Trent-Severn Waterway! Starting on July 17th in Trenton, Eleanor was a week into her journey and camped for the night at Lock 35 in Rosedale. After paddling so much of the Trent-Severn, she has seen a lot of the variation of the waterway. From the industrial feel of the early locks to the huge lakes and forests of the later ones, “I like it all,” she says, “It’s so varied, [you] can’t say you prefer anything.”

NAME: Voyager Canoe Brigade - Rendezvous 4
LOCK: Lock 34 - Fenelon Falls
July 2023

Rendezvous 4 is the only all woman team on the Voyager Canoe Brigade, a ten-day, 300 kilometer canoe journey along the Trent Severn Waterway. Ten women, all from different places across North America. Two from Ontario, one from South Carolina, four from British Columbia, and two from Alberta. Their varied homes, four in total, gave rise to their name – Rendezvous 4. They represent Canada and the US, exploring where the ships of old have traveled, “[It’s] pretty much a first for all of us to be able to do this,” they say.

NAME: Joe
LOCK: Lock 34 - Fenelon Falls
August 2023

A veteran canoe athlete, Joe has raced on the Trent-Severn Waterway in 1966 and raced in the 1967 Centennial across Canada as part of the Ontario team. Racing from Rocky Mountain House to Montreal, that race took three months across two territories and ten teams. As part of the Canoe Museum, he wanted to have another chance to paddle these waters, taking his chance with the Voyager Canoe Brigade. On his current journey along the waterway, it has been “so far, good”. Perfect weather and conditions so far along the ten-day journey - “couldn’t be luckier”.

NAME: Dave
LOCK: Lock 34 - Fenelon Falls
August 2023

A spare on the cross-Canada paddle in 1967, Dave has been on more tours across the rest of Canada, in 2003, 2013, and 2017 – all canoe trips. Living on Manitoulin Island, he jumped aboard the Voyager Canoe Brigade tour when it became available. As Joe’s younger brother and a seasoned canoe athlete himself, he has many nautical miles under his belt. Being a part of so many tours, his favourite part is going down the water, “seeing it and knowing that at my age, I can still do it.”

NAME: Griffin
LOCK: Lock 25 - Sawer Creek
August 2023

Griffin has been working on the locks for nine seasons now. Starting as a student at Lock 30 - Lovesick, before moving to Lock 31 - Buckhorn for a year, and then working as an operator throughout the Kawartha sector for six years. As an operator, he has spent most of his time between Lock 25 - Sawer Creek and Lock 20 - Ashburnham, and is currently at Sawer Creek. “I like working outdoors, its really nice,” he says about his job. “[I like] getting to interact with people during their vacation and enjoy it along with them.”

NAME: Becca
LOCK: Lock 26 - Lakefield
August 2023

A spare on the cross-Canada paddle in 1967, Dave has been on more tours across the rest of Canada, in 2003, 2013, and 2017 – all canoe trips. Living on Manitoulin Island, he jumped aboard the Voyager Canoe Brigade tour when it became available. As Joe’s younger brother and a seasoned canoe athlete himself, he has many nautical miles under his belt. Being a part of so many tours, his favourite part is going down the water, “seeing it and knowing that at my age, I can still do it.”