BARRY’S BAY – The Victoria Day weekend was a special one for a group of fishermen at Sunny Hill Resort, not just because of the holiday.
These fishermen have been coming to Sunny Hill for 36 years now, the life of the group spanning generations and even international boundaries at times. They call their group the Bark Lake Fish Camp, and it’s become a cherished tradition amongst its members.
Most of the members hail from the Cobourg, Ontario, and that was indeed where the original members came from – except for one founder
“What happened was there were three original members from Cobourg,” explained member Ross Quigley.
There was one founding member from New York City, though, who worked at the Third National Bank.
“That was what started it,” explained Quigley.
“It’s amazing history,” commented the group’s president Greg Clayton.
Quigley commented that 2015 marked his 35th year at the camp, while Clayton shared that it was his 45th. The camp actually predates their time at Sunny Hill by a number of years; in fact, it dates back to 1944, when the original members brought their camp to Ompa Lake.
They were forced to change locations in 1979 when a number of government changes affected how their Ompa Lake site was run.
Get your May 27, 2015 edition of The Valley Gazette to read the full story.