HOLY OLD WHISTLIN' - Yarns About Algonquin Park Loggers
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Tall trees and tall tales -- that's life in the bush. A forester for nearly forty years, the author has spun for our enjoyment a seamless collection of logging tales populated by many well-known characters from Algonquin Park's recent logging past.
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By Brent Connelly
ISBN#1-897113-34-X
ISBN#9781897113349
THIRD PRINTING
Tall trees and tall tales-that's life in the bush, and Brent Connelly wouldn't have it any other way. A forester for nearly forty years, Brent was never happier than when in the company of loggers and truck drivers, timber cruisers and cookees--especially when the "office" was his beloved Algonquin Park. And after a long, hard day nurturing and harvesting the forest, what better way to spend the evening than back at the bunkhouse with a mug of tea, a piece of raisin pie, and a session of storytelling.
Jack McRae, Duncan MacGregor, Johnnie Shaw, Walter Dombroski, Joe Bird, and Ray Townsend are just some of the "rogues and rascals" whom Brent Connelly has gathered around the stove to share a laugh and shed a tear. Because, by the "holy old whistlin'," there hasn't been a good day in the lumber business "not since Noah went on a shopping spree to build himself an ark."
About the Author
Brent Connelly was raised in the lower Ottawa Valley town of Brownsburg, Quebec. After obtaining his Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from the University of New Brunswick in 1961, he began a nearly four-decade career in forestry, most of it spent in Algonquin Park. In 1975, Brent was one of the first foresters hired to work for the newly established Algonquin Forestry Authority and over the next twenty-five years until his retirement, he held the positions of area supervisor, operations manager, and acting general manager.
Brent is a long-time member of the Ontario Professional Foresters Association and, in 2000, he received the Friends of Algonquin Directors' Award in recognition of a career dedicated to the enhancement of Algonquin Park values.
Today, Brent and his wife Heather reside in Ottawa where they can frequently be seen skating on the canal or gliding along city bike trails.They have seven children and eleven grandchildren. Brent had so much fun with Holy Old Whistlin', his first book, that he may consider another book to capture the spirit of the rugged Algoma loggers that he worked with in Lake Superior Park.
One more thing: Buried in Holy Old Whistlin' is an outrageous and impossible description of a logging tool. The author would be interested in hearing from any readers who find it. The first one to do so will be treated to a bush lunch on the shores of Lake Travers in Algonquin Park. It will consist of a toasted baloney, cheddar cheese, and onion sandwich
on homemade bread washed down with black tea made from loose tea leaves, with a six-inch date square for dessert.
