Today marks the 95th anniversary of a tragic accident on Balsam Lake. Brotherhood, a film depicting the event will be nationally broadcasted on Super Channel Entertainment Network at 7:15 p.m.

Newspaper clippings from 1926. Photo courtesy of Brotherhood1926.com.

In 1926 the Brotherhood of St. Andrew leadership camp located on Balsam Lake encountered a freak summer storm. Eleven boys died when their canoe was overturned by a large wave and they could not make it back to shore.

“It’s a transformative story about boys becoming men over the course of an evening,” said Director Richard Bell.

Crews began filming in 2017 and the first screening was on July 20, 2019 at Balsam Lake.

When the pandemic hit Canada screenings of the film were slowed due to theatres closing. When they re-opened briefly in the summer months the film was screened 127 times.

Image from the film Brotherhood - 2020 winner of the Canadian Screen Award for Achievement in Visual Effects. Photo Courtesy of brotherhood1926.com

Director Richard Bell says the COVID-19 pandemic has caused him to look at this film in a completely different way.

This film takes place ten years after the Spanish Flu pandemic and touches on themes like brotherhood, loss, grief, guilt, and trauma.

Director Richard Bell wears a shirt with the names of the boys lost in 1926. Photo Courtesy of Brotherhood1926.com.

“I didn’t know when I released the film that another pandemic was coming,” he said.

Bell recalls a line in the movie in which a character in crisis says ‘We can’t go back. We can only go through.’

“This last year has been so divisive,” he said. “I’ve seen neighbour turn against neighbor and people divide. What I want to say is the same as this character - we can’t go back we can only go through.”

The broadcast is poignantly timed to begin at 7:15 p.m as the boys would have been gathering on the dock to prepare for their adventure across the lake in 1926.

Super Channel titles are also available to access via Amazon Prime. Brotherhood is available to rent on Apple TV (iTunes), You Tube, Google Play and can be accessed on-demand through Shaw, Bell and Telus.

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Visit the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough. It rocks!June 26 (Saturday) is National Canoe Day, and you can learn about some of the local festivities happening here in Peterborough by visiting the Canadian Canoe Museum website.

In honour of National Canoe Day, Peterborough's Kevin Callan—a renowned expert on canoeing, camping, and the great outdoors—gives PtboCanada some great paddling routes for people to try in the Kawarthas:

Eels Creek

Route 1: Take Highway 28 north, through Burleigh Falls and before Haultain. Drive over Eels Creek bridge on highway and park immediately to the right. Put in and paddle downstream to Northey’s Bay Rd. Take out or simply paddle back up stream.

Route 2: Shortly before Haultain, turn right off Highway 28 onto Northey’s Bay Road, towards Petroglyphs Provincial Park. Use parking area on the northwest side of Eels Creek bridge. Paddle upstream to Highfalls and return via same route.

Crab Lake

Route: Take Highway 28 north, through Burleigh Falls and almost to Apsley. Turn left off highway onto Anstruther Road. Drive five kilometers and turn left on to small road leading to Wolf Lake public access. Paddle across Wolf Lake and take 107 meter portage to Crab Lake.

Lovesick Lake Wolf Island Provincial Park

Route: Drive north on Highway 28 to Burleigh Falls. Put in at the public launch on the northwest side of the falls. Paddle upstream to Lock 30 and circle Wolf Island.

Gold and Cold Lakes

Route: Drive north on Highway 36, north of Buckhorn, then yield right onto Highway 507 (at Flynn’s Corner store). Approx. 15 km make a right onto Beaver Lake Rd. A public access for Catchacoma Lake is about 3 km along but you can continue, crossing the bridge. Park along the road before the second bridge. Gold Lake is to your right. Paddle almost directly across to the 100 meter portage on beach, to the right of creek leading into Cold Lake.

Coon Lake Ponds

Route: Drive north on Highway 28. Shortly after Burleigh Falls, turn left onto Coon Lake Road. Watch it. It curves to the left after a couple of kilometers. After about 6 kilometers you’ll see a rough parking area and the Coon Lake access is down the grade to your right. Paddle across Coon, portage up and over a hill to the first pond and take shorter portages into two remaining ponds. Return via same route.

[Kevin Callan - The Happy Camper; Kevin's Explore Blog; The Canadian Canoe Museum]

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95th Anniversary of Tragic Balsam Lake Accident Recognized With Film Screening