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Original Dotty cabin with wood shed/stable, 1920s (Bob Hutcheson)
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For many of the early years, in all communities small and large, there was no proper sewer system, and as a result much sickness occurred during the warm weather. All mothers who could afford it would take their children to the country, either a farm or a place in the backwoods, so that their children were preserved from diseases that were common due to the lack of proper treatment of garbage and sewage. There are stories about people taking their children from Montréal to the Eastern Townships in Québec. People would go anywhere they could with their children out of Toronto, and usually try to stay most of the summer.
We had the same thing occurring in a small town like Huntsville because most of our garbage was disposed of our own properties. There was a large swamp in Huntsville where the property known as “Beer Lake” is today, which is surrounded by King William Street, John Street, Chaffey Street, and Fetterly Street. Everyone in town used to dump their garbage into the swamp. You could often smell it as you walked by during the warmer weather.
My grandmother Martha Isabel Hutcheson used to take her children out of the town of Huntsville for at least a month and a half during the summer. Prior to 1912, the hope was to purchase the properties at the north end of what today is called Dotty Lake, Lots 25 and 26, Concession A, from David McBrien. Lots 27 and 28 were bought from Richard Mc Brien. Before that time there was an arrangement that Martha could use a McBrien cabin, which was up on the hill on Lot 27. There was a one-room cabin, which was probably 20 feet wide and 30 feet long. Everybody slept in the same room.
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Hunting at Dotty Cabin – Frank, unknown, Martha Isabel, Bertram, R.J., Harry, and Arthur (seated) Hutcheson (Bob Hutcheson) |
Harry Hutcheson (with fishing rod), Emily Hutcheson, and unidentified person at the doorway of Dotty Lake cabin (Bob Hutcheson) |
Emily Hutcheson and Bill McDonald (Bob Hutcheson) |
Martha was married to R. J. Hutcheson, and they had four boys. As soon as the weather got warm, she would organize the food and the team of horses and wagon and attach a cow to the back of the wagon and drive it all the way from Huntsville to the north end of Dotty Lake, which was then called Long Lake. They would drive the horses on what we now call Billie Bear Road and then go on the Bobcaygeon Road through to Lot 26, Concession A, where they would spend the summer. They managed to catch quite a few fish. This gave them the isolation that they felt they needed during the warm weather to keep the family healthy.
Story by Bob Hutcheson, grandson of R. J. and Martha Hutcheson.