Notes From the Farmer’s Daughter – A Place to Call Home
Lorie Truemner with her new book “A Place to Call Home” and her friendly cat Garnet, who appears in the chapter titled “It Takes a Village ….to Find a Cat.”
A Place to Call Home is the book title that longtime Chaffey’s Lock resident Lorie Truemner recently wrote and self-published.
Lorie, a self-proclaimed “Air Force brat,” grew up moving from one city to another as a kid when her father, Ross, was in the Armed Forces. It was a chance two-week stay at Lloyds Cottages on Clear Lake when between homes, at the age of seven, that Lorie’s lifelong love of
Chaffey’s began.
Lorie, well known to many for her years of volunteer work with the Chaffey’s Lock and Area Heritage Society (CLAHS) since its inception in 1980, has transformed some of her most popular newsletter stories into a new book. The book allowed Lorie to expand on her stories, describing experiences from her childhood and onward in so much detail that one can almost feel and smell the breeze of Clear Lake when reading about the moments of Lorie’s life at the lake.
As the CLAHS newsletter editor since 1997, Lorie says she had lots of material to sift through to write her book. Lorie cleverly mixes memories of life at the cottage in Chaffey’s in the 60’s with journal entries kept during the historic ice storm of 1998 and, more recently, the pandemic. Writing about childhood friends, beloved neighbours come and gone, and even feline pets, Lorie provides us with a glimpse into her life, then and now, leaving us more appreciative of what a close-knit community in rural Ontario offers.
Reading through the chapters, I was struck with how much of my own life I was moved to recall, as I also had fond memories of my childhood, spending time at a cottage on a local lake. Lorie’s use of dates to give the readers a timeline lets one pause to reminisce about their whereabouts during significant world and regional events.
Being younger than Lorie, I found that her shared memories that pre-date me provided an education in regional history and brought to life what it must have been like to experience a time before I was born.
If I chose a common theme noticed throughout the book, it would have to be one of community. Lorie wrote of blizzards and ice storms, recalling how the shared meteorological events bring people together, and she provides insight into how volunteers continue to make a
difference “following the tradition implemented by the Women’s Institute and people like Don and Mary Warren, Thea Dodge, Laurel Fleming and many others.”
Lorie continues that tradition of volunteering, remaining the CLAHS secretary and newsletter editor, and sits on the Rideau Lakes Library Board and the Township Accessibility Committee. In keeping with her “support local” ideals, Lorie also chose to have her book printed locally with Howie Crichton at Westprint, bound by Smiths Falls Bookbinding and sings their praises, recommending others consider the self-publishing route. Being hot off the presses, Lorie’s book, so far, is available for sale at Brown’s Marina in Chaffey’s, and will be available at the Lockmaster’s House Museum in the summer. Part of the proceeds of books sold at the Museum will be donated to the Chaffey’s Lock and Area Heritage Society.
You can also contact Lorie directly by email at muffet@rideau.net to purchase a book.
A Place to Call Home is an excellent gift for those who live in, cottage and vacation in the area. Those who own a local shop in the area and are interested in carrying Lorie’s book are encouraged to contact her to help spread the word about life in Chaffey’s, a lovely rural community that is home to less than one hundred people during the winter months and between two and three hundred summer residents during the warmer months.
