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Sadly, Canoe Lake in 2003 has already seen the passing of too many of its finest and most beloved residents.
Shim Allin died in March at the age of 103.
Like Roper Dayment, Shim was known for his energy and love for the Park.
He too, spent almost six months of the year, at his aerie high on a cliff behind Windy Isle on the east side of the Lake.
They secured their lease in 1949.
He and his wife K were renown for their hospitality and wonderful dinner parties.
Their original cabin was built from logs hewn from the site and the living room cabin (called "The Great Hall") with logs from an old log cabin removed from Whitney.
Shim's sister Fernlee (Allin) and Fred Turner were Alice Statten's mother and
father.
(Dr. Tay Statten and Alice are parents of Lyn, Judy and Tike.)
The climb up to Shim and K's cabin was difficult at the best of times, so Shim had Jack Coons (TSC head of maintenance for 35 years before Bill Statten took on that position) build an "elevator" or articulated tram, a rail with a platform which went up and down with a pulley run by electricity.
Groceries and people glided up or down with ease.
Don Lloyd has the same contraption at his cliff-top cabin just south of the Allins.
It's an incredible experience to silently rise up through the tree tops and get a totally different perspective of the lake far below.
North Canoe Lake residents know when they move onto the lake that the sights and, particularly, the sounds of Wap and Ahmek are a given.
Most are camp alum and accept (sometimes tolerate?) this unique environment.
Shim had only one beef and that was when Wap would have a dance on the main dock with music piped out over the PA system from the dininghall.
Inevitably Shim would call Wap and suggest, quite vehemently, that the music was too loud or that it was time to shut the party down.
Needless to say most dances were held at Ahmek where the music could ricochet around its own bay.
Shim will be remembered as a true gentleman who delighted in bringing people together for memorable times.
Our condolences to the Allins, Hubbards, Sandilands and Berthelottes.
Sue "Swebbs" Ebbs |