Friends of Murphys Point Park

It’s Fun to Volunteer at Heritage Mica Days!

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Friends of Murphys Point

With Heritage Mica Days fast approaching, the Friends are once again recruiting volunteers to help with a variety of tasks during the many events. We have many opportunities available and would be happy to discuss with you the various ways you can help. All volunteers receive a Heritage Mica Days volunteer T-shirt, free park entry for the day you are volunteering and a chance to learn more about our wonderful park and share your enthusiasm with our park visitors.

For those with a creative bent, there are opportunities this year to “get into character” by taking on a costumed role in our Open House Silver Queen Mine Tours or Spirit Walks. We will provide the costuming and the training. Don’t worry, most of the roles have no lines to learn. You will mostly be interacting with our visitors and answering questions (and we’ll be sure you have all the info you need ahead of time).

There are also lots of opportunities to greet people as they arrive at events, sell tickets, help with setting up and tearing down for events, helping with the heritage games or heritage displays, assisting at food events (BBQs, hot dog roasts, baked bean lunches, miners’ breakfasts, pancake brunches, etc.). Not everyone has to cook at the food events – we need people to take orders, stock supplies, keep the food area tidy and generally be an extra pair of hands. And of course, you get to enjoy all the fabulous entertainment of the festival during your volunteer time! We welcome families, neighbours or members of clubs to volunteer as a group.

This year we are holding a volunteer training day on Saturday, June 15. Activities will include a tour of the Silver Queen Mine and a BBQ lunch. This is an excellent opportunity to meet some of the park staff and other volunteers and learn about your volunteer duties.

Check the “Events” tab for a list of Heritage Mica Days events or visit www.heritagemicadays.ca for detailed descriptions. If you think you can help us out at one or more events this summer, we would really appreciate hearing from you at your earliest convenience. This will help us complete our planning and ensure our festival visitors have an awesome experience!

To volunteer for Heritage Mica Days, please contact Beth Peterkin, our event coordinator, at eventsmurphys@ripnet.com or 613-267-5340. We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted in Friends of Murphys Point, Heritage, Heritage Mica Days, Heritage Mica Festival, Mica Festival, mica mine, Murphys Point, Murphys Point events, Murphys Point Provincial Park, Seven Wonders of Lanark County, Silver Queen Mine, Uncategorized, Volunteer | Tagged character actors, Friends of Murphys Point Park, heritage mica days, Heritage Mica Festival, Lally Homestead, Mica Festival, mica mine, Murphys Point, Murphys Point events, Murphys Point Provincial Park, pioneer homesteads, rideau canal system, silver queen, Silver Queen Mine, tay valley township | Leave a comment

Bucket List Items at Heritage Mica Days

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Friends of Murphys Point

Have you ever wanted to venture underground to an abandoned mica mine with your hard hat and lantern? Perhaps you get excited about a night-time walk in the woods led by characters from over 100 years ago? Or maybe listening to music and stories while touring a restored heritage site is more to your liking? The 2013 Heritage Mica Days hosted by the Friends of Murphys Point Park has it all.

The Silver Queen Mine was one of the 35 active mica mines operating in the former Township of North Burgess in the early 1900s. Operated on a small scale, with 28 men at its peak, the mine produced mostly small sheets of amber mica up to 8 inches in size to be used as an insulator in the electrical industry (for example in toasters) or as windows in woodstoves and lanterns. All sizes of mica crystals, including flakes and even ground mica, were packed into barrels and sent by ore wagon to loading docks on Hogg Bay, where they were loaded onto barges and sent down the Rideau Canal to trimming factories.

Today you can revisit the Silver Queen Mine now located within the boundaries of Murphys Point Provincial Park. The planning committee of the Heritage Mica Days has developed a diverse range of mine experiences for you to enjoy this summer. Every Sunday from June 30 to Sept. 1, Open House events will be hosted at the mine. From 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Sundays you can participate in a self-guided tour of the mine, including visits to the restored ore wagon and the miners’ bunkhouse. Costumed interpreters will be on hand to tell the stories of the mine and answer your questions.

Ontario Parks photo

“On several occasions throughout the season, there will be additional activities and experiences at the miners’ bunkhouse or along the Silver Queen Mine trail,” said event coordinator Beth Peterkin. “A hot dog roast, music by local band Hwy 511, displays of heritage trades and crafts and opportunities to try out some heritage games will form part of some of the Silver Queen Mine Open House tours.” Visit our festival website at www.heritagemicadays.ca for a full schedule of events dates and times along with ticketing and park entry information.

For a different type of mine experience, consider participating in one of the popular Spirit Walks. Scheduled on Saturday evenings July 27 and Aug. 24, you will be part of a guided tour and theatrical presentation along the Silver Queen Mine trail. As you move down the trail meeting characters from the past, your way will be lit by the glow of mica lanterns creating a magical experience for all ages. Advance tickets are recommended at a cost of $20 per carload for non-campers, which includes your vehicle entry permit. For those with a current Ontario Parks camping permit, the cost is just $2 per person. Tickets are available to purchase at www.heritagemicadays.ca.

Heritage Mica Days takes place at Murphys Point Provincial Park located about 20 minutes southwest of Perth and easily accessed by County Road 21 (Elm Grove Road). Driving directions and information about all Heritage Mica Days events are available on the website. Heritage Mica Days is a program of the Friends of Murphys Point Park, a registered non-profit charity that formed in 1995. It works in cooperation with Ontario Parks and is one of dozens of Friends organizations throughout the province. For additional information about Heritage Mica Days, call 613-267-5340 or e-mail eventsmurphys@ripnet.com.

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Super Kids In Parks Find Lots of Critters

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Friends of Murphys Point

What a gorgeous day for a pond study at Murphys Point! Several Super Kids In Parks, grown-ups and volunteers came out on Sunday, April 28 to muck about in ponds and along the shore of Loon Lake as part of a great program led by park naturalist Tobi Kiesewalter.

We started off from the main park entrance and meandered along the “in” road towards the Park Store, stopping at a couple of “vernal pools” along the way. These spring ponds form from melt water and run off in the spring and tend to dry up over the summer. While they are active, though, they are like nurseries for all kinds of amazing creatures that come to breed there, including frogs, salamanders and multitudes of insects!

At our first stop we saw a sleepy snapping turtle and some bullfrogs. We played a quick card game where we tried to match adult creatures to their babies, and soon learned there are an awful lot of insects whose babies don’t look anything like them!

Sleepy snapping turtle on log.

Adult/baby matching game.

At the next stop Tobi had set out a container of water scooped from a vernal pool, which was alive with a variety of insect larvae. We learned that mosquito larvae breathe by using a snorkel-like appendage at their rears. We saw a tiny fingernail clam, water fleas and one of the coolest finds was fairy shrimp. These tiny, orange-tinged, translucent crustaceans are related to lobsters. The adults we saw live for only a few weeks and breed in the vernal pools. Their eggs, however, can lay dormant for many years, even when the pools dry up!

Alive with creatures!

Mosquito larvae

Super cool fairy shrimp in a vernal pool!

Fingernail clam

The next pool featured water beetles, green frogs and snails (with some hepatica along the way).

Friends!

Hepatica

The next vernal pool stop.

Water beetles

Frogging!

After a quick snack at the chalet, we headed for the shores of nearby Loon Lake, where we were cut loose with nets and containers and made lots of great discoveries. Tobi had set up a minnow trap earlier, and we were able to study tadpoles, several species of dace and baby fish. We saw many other insect larvae, including damselfly and mayfly, and a couple of watersnakes even made appearances. All this with the sound of geese, songbirds and hawks all around us, not to mention some turkey vultures.

Snack time (thanks, Judy!)

Tobi’s minnow trap – can you see the watersnake?

All sorts of water creatures!

Damselfly larvae

Exploring the shore of Loon Lake

Thanks to Tobi and our volunteers Heather, Judy, Linda and Steph for another great SKIP program, and to everyone who participated. It was a great day for sure! Watch the website for details of future SKIP programs.