Someone asked me recently whether the camp is a 'Real Place'. Well, if you look at a map of northwestern Ontario, just south of the booming metropolis of Nestor Falls, is a place called Gohere Bay. At the mouth of Gohere Bay, a section of the larger Sabaskong Bay, on Lake of the Woods, is an island that is marked with a 'T' on maps. The 'T' stands for tourist camp. So, yes, the Camp is real.
It has been known by various names over the years and has had many owners. I spent several years there as a child and a few more during my high school years. It's a fine place, perched on a rocky outcrop in the middle of the glacial lake.
I suppose the next question would be the truthfulness of the stories. Most of the stories I share here have some basis in true stories, though many of the details have been lost to time, exaggeration, hyperbole and forgetfulness. Tom and Arlene are real people as are Mary and Willard. Paradise Island is also a real place, though its exact location takes some digging on some really old maps where it appears as "Par-a-dise Island". Red, Skarr, Joe, Brad, Raj, Sonny, Dale, Bob and others you have yet to meet, have all gathered around the guide's table and shared meals, fish stories and tall tales mixed with a few off-color jokes. Dennis Nona, Eyner and Christine, Erling and Cheryl, right down down to Ruth and Scott.
All people who share a little piece of life on Gohere Bay.
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