Da Bears…… Remembering the Bears of Actinolite

 

 Joe Vinkles at Sharbot Lake. Mike Dobbie sent this photo in to Perth Remembered

 

There were so many responses about the Bears of Actinolite I decided I had to document it for generations to come. Of course most of today’s folks would not approve of the condition that these bears lived in– but, according to a member of the family she said they knew no other life. Maybe not what you want to hear– but times were different in those days.

 

Chances are if you ever drove down Highway 7 you have fond childhood memories of visiting those bears in Actinolote. Joe Vinkle had quite a little menagerie in Actinolite at one time, and having lunch at Joe’s restaurant was a treat. I remember the fries and a shake along with the smell of the bears and some say Joe probably never gave those bears a a bath. I don’t doubt it for a second.

Jim Cassidy said that before the bears arrived they gave Joe a fawn that showed up at their home on the Zealand road. That apparently was the beginning of Joe’s mini-zoo. The deer’s name was Nancy who lived a long life, and always responded to her name when the Cassidy family visited. Joe also had a monkey when he owned the service station across the highway. Unfortunately he wasn’t Michael Jackson’s monkey Bubbles and he was deemed a “nasty boy” and bit people.

 

Buster or Bandy, the two caged bears who in the 1960s were the star attraction at the popular service station and restaurant on Highway 7 near Actinolite  called Price’s, or the Log Cabin. People loved to stop in and watch those bears. (Photo almost certainly by my grandfather, J.A.S. Keay)– From-Meanwhile, at the Manse

Jeremy Stinson said his grandparents lived in Norwoods and he remembers stopping at the Actinolite Junction on a trip up with his older brother, and the whole way up his sibling was talking about visiting the bears. But, they had been gone for some time. Maybe a year? This would have been in the early 1980s, but Jeremy had no idea what he had missed, but his brother seemed quite saddened by it.

 

 

The bears loved their Coca Cola and ice cream and on their cage the sign actually said something like ‘our favourite foods are Coca-Cola and ice cream’. It was said that sometimes they would drink up to 30 bottles on a hot summer day. I remember them pacing back and forth in the cage and wondered what kind of an existence they had.

The family said they were “rescue bears” The bears were found as orphaned cubs and knew no other life and probably would have died had they not been given homes. So what happened to them? The bears lived into their 30’s and just passed away of old age. Teddy, the first of the bears died first. Of the two bears everyone loved, Buster died first and then Bandy  – missing Buster I guess.

The last few times I’ve had the occasion to drive past Kaladar I’ve wondered about those bears among other things that disappeared like The Mohawk Trading Post.  If only life had an ‘undo’ button sometimes.

 

 

THE LOG CABIN WAS A BUSY SPOT AT THE TIME THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN AROUND 1950. WITH HIGHWAY 7 ESTABLISHED AS A MAJOR ROUTE CONNECTING TORONTO AND OTTAWA, CARS AND BUSES WOULD OFTEN PULL IN FOR FOOD AND GAS.  PHOTO COURTESY TWEED HERITAGE CENTRE/TWEED NEWS

 

Lee Huddleston–– There was another bear between Delta and Phillipsville. The owner apparently had come across the black bear cub and brought him to his farm. As the bear grew he was moved to a large cage. We rode our bikes as young lads to his cage. There was a drink machine where we would buy a pop and one for the bear. The owner would come out and stick the bottle of pop in the rungs of the steel cage….the bear gulping down the bottles of pop. Teeth were rotten and the smell I still remember. Big tourist attraction for that area early 1960’s….

Nancy Clark

My sister in l in 1959 giving the bears a drink of Coke. Those poor bears….

 

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun and Screamin’ Mamas (USA)

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place.

WHO’S AFRAID OF BIG BAD BEARS? Louis Peterson and Harvey Scott

The Mill of Kintail–Running With Scissors From Bears – Again

Anyone Remember Terrible Ted the Wrestling Bear? Need Your Help!

Time to Plant those Marijuana Crops? The Intervention of the Grow-Op Bears by 90210

Twin Oaks Motel Opens -1959 — Highway 7 Landmarks

Something Really Spells Funny on Highway 7

Breathtaking Bargains and Jukebox Favourites at The Falcon on Highway 7

Dad’s Restaurant Where the Eatin’ was Good

Friday October the 13th– 6:30.. meet in front of the old Leland Hotel on Bridge Street (Scott Reid’s office) and enjoy a one hour Bridge Street walk with stories of murder mayhem and Believe it or Not!!. Some tales might not be appropriate for young ears. FREE!–