Losing land to make way for Arrowhead Provincial Park just one of many hurdles

While that was exciting for many, it came as a blow to the families who had their property expropriated in order for the park to become a reality.

This group included the Gerharts. Preston Gerhart and his wife Luella (Ella) May owned about 200 acres on the northeast side of what is now called Arrowhead Park Lake.

“Back then it was called Rat Lake. We didn’t like that so we called it White Birch Lake,” recalled their daughter Betty Rinaldo.

She continued: “Dad purchased the land in about 1955 because we were great trekkers. We used to vacation in the bush. We trekked all over on Wednesday afternoons and Sunday after church, so he decided he would like to have property of his own.”

The property was not on the lake, but there was a river running through it. “Dad shored it up and stocked it with fish,” said Rinaldo.

Preston Gerhart died in 1960, so he was not to know that his family would lose the property to the province a few years later. They were paid $4,000.  

“We felt almost cheated,” said Rinaldo. “We had the land expropriated and a mere pittance was offered to Mother instead of a like amount of crown land that she could have been given. But she had no say in the matter.”

 Preston Gerhart was born in Novar in 1895 and married Louella May Bielby, a Melissa girl born in 1900. The couple lived in Sprucedale, where Preston was the village blacksmith. The couple had six children. Four – Bill, Bernice,  Marie and Shirley — were born in Sprucedale, while  Betty and Jim were born in Huntsville,  where the family had relocated.

“Dad was the blacksmith in Huntsville. His shop was on Centre Street across from the original Bell building and we lived at 16 Minerva,” said Rinaldo. “He then got into selling and repairing farm implements.”

Preston Gerhart became very involved in the Huntsville community. Along with other well-known residents Don Lough, Art Hutcheson and Sid Avery, Gerhart was one of the founding developers of Muskoka Pioneer Village.

“They used the old tannery band hall to collect artifacts,” said Rinaldo.

Gerhart was also chair of the Muskoka Board of Education and sat on council for many years. “He ran for mayor at one time,” said Rinaldo.

Preston Gerhart was Rotary Club president in 1952 and also sat on the chamber of commerce board. He was a valued member of Huntsville’s Masonic  Unity  Lodge (he was district deputy grand master) and was posthumously awarded the prestigious and honourary 33rd Degree.

“Dad was also a great curler. There were a lot of trophies at the curling rink with his name on them,” said Rinaldo.

In those days curlers owned their own rocks which they kept at the rink. Daughter Shirley Prittie recalls her brother Bill going to collect his father’s rocks the day after his death.

“They were gone. Someone got them. They are probably holding someone’s door open to this day,” said Prittie.

After her husband’s death, Ella Gerhart remained in Huntsville until 1985 when she moved to Toronto. She died in 1990. Preston and Ella’s six children remain faithful to their Huntsville roots. Prittie still lives in Toronto, but she and her husband spend as much time as they can at their Baysville home.

Prittie graduated from the Hospital for Sick Children as a nurse in 1957 but turned to art in later years. She now owns the Manse Gallery in Baysville. She was on the board of the Algonquin Academy of Wilderness and Wildlife Art for three years before it unfortunately folded.

As a student at Huntsville High School, Prittie won a competition to name the Cavalcade of Colour tour, which is  so-named still to this day. “I was in Doug Stone’s class in 1952 and he came into class one day and said no-one leaves until they come up with a name. We all sat there not knowing what he was talking about,” Prittie recalled.

It emerged that Stone, as a member of the chamber of commerce, had been charged with finding a name for the annual fall colour observance in Muskoka.

“I had visions of all the colours in Algonquin Park marching one behind the other and called it Cavalcade of Colour. I won $5 for that,” said Prittie.

Rinaldo graduated from the University of Toronto in dental hygiene and now lives in Collingwood. Bernice Gerhart was a dedicated nurse who recently celebrated her 80th birthday.

“Bernice was at Toronto General Hospital for years and every Huntsville person who went into that hospital, well, she was up to that ward visiting them. Everyone in Huntsville remembers her for that. It was her personal crusade,” said Prittie.

Bern, as the family call her, is now the family matriarch, living in Toronto where her caring nature continues to flourish.

“Through her church, Timothy Eaton, she is involved with the outreach program and frequently visits those who just need a friend,” said Rinaldo.

The remaining Gerhart daughter, Marie Hornell, went into the teaching profession, said Rinaldo. “She became a teacher at what they called  Teachers College in North Bay. She is 76 and lives in Toronto now.”

Bill Gerhart was the eldest of the six siblings and followed in his father’s footsteps in many ways.“Bill was a sailor in the war and then went into dentistry. He graduated in 1951 and set up a practice in Parry Sound from 1951 to 1980,” said Rinaldo.

In Parry Sound, Bill Gerhart  was a councillor, belonged to  the Masonic Unity Lodge and sat on the board of education.

“He was also involved in provincial politics, running campaigns for the Conservative party, and was instrumental in helping the Ojibwe people off Parry Island and into town schools,” said Rinaldo.

Bill Gerhart died in 2003 at the age of 77.

At 63, Jim Gerhart is the youngest member of the family. A graduate of the University of Sudbury, he taught school in Espanola and Nairn Centre. “He was also reeve of the Township of Nairn and Hyman,,” said Prittie.

It was under Jim Gerhart’s tenure that upgrades were made to the Nairn Centre Water Treatment Plant to improve the drinking water quality in that township.

Meanwhile, the former Gerhart property at Arrowhead  remains undeveloped, said Rinaldo. “I was told they are planning to do more trails up on that land. For posterity it would be nice to have our name on a trail, like the Lumbys.”   

Preston Gerhart would no doubt be proud of his family if he were alive today. “Dad had a minimal education, yet was brilliant in his way. He was a wonderful man,” Prittie concluded.