Our Purpose
Haskett's Drive is a rural road fraught with safety issues for car travel. The surface gravel stone deteriorates significantly every year and causes damage to vehicle suspensions as well as stone and chip damage to vehicle bodywork. The gravel road becomes extremely dusty. Usage of the road is impacted negatively.
Originally built in 1976, it's now time for residents and the Township of Georgian Bay to bring our road into the 21st century by paving the road surface in its' entirety.
JOIN OUR PETITION BY COMPLETING THE INFORMATION REQUESTED BELOW AND CLICKING THE SUBMIT BUTTON AS SHOWN.
WE WILL PRESENT ALL NAMES SUBMITTED TO COUNCIL REQUESTING PAVING OF HASKETT'S DRIVE.
Privacy of Data Notice: We are not now, nor will we be at any time, collecting data on readers or on submitted forms to any third party whatsoever. Your privacy is guaranteed.
A short history of Haskett’s Drive
Driftwood Lane, Sanders Drive and Big Rock Road, 1975-1976
Since the early seventies, the cottagers along the shores of Long Lake, Trans Canada Bay, and the west shore of Six Mile Lake across from Cedar Nook had been discussing the possibility of a road. With the help of a number of cottagers including Robert Lindbergh, Bill Grainge, Bill Smith, and Bill and Burt Walters, Bill Haskett was instrumental in making the four-mile access road off Crooked Bay Road a reality.
Bill and his neighbours took on the arduous task of walking through the dense bush and marking the route with red plastic flags on designated trees. It was decided that the best and least costly route for the new road would be one that ran through the Provincial Park. At that time, the Long Lake cottagers had their own landing near Bye’s Marina. However, permission for this was denied by the Parks Department. A second plan involved building a Bailey Bridge across Long Lake and connecting to the cottagers along the west shore of Six Mile Lake. That plan was also abandoned. With renewed determination, Bill planned a much longer road around Long Lake to include all cottagers on the west central side of Six Mile Lake. Bill solicited the interested cottage community and collected money that allowed the process to begin.
Finally on September 1, 1975, the construction began. A burly Latvian contractor by the name of Ken Stiverins (a friend and fellow countryman of Haskett’s) began clearing the bush with just a bulldozer, a backhoe and a dump truck. The spring of 1978 saw the construction of the far end of the road “complete,” but the muddy road marked with car swallowing potholes was an adventurous ride to say the least. The road was four miles long and eventually all 134 cottages helped to pay for it. Bill Walters remembers that it was challenging organizing a road association with so many diverse opinions and interests, but it was worth it. He recalls that the Township took over the road in 1998 after several presentations to Council.
Although different name signs were placed along the road by different contributors, it is generally felt that the road would not have been built without Bill Haskett’s leadership and perseverance, and so it was named in his honour. Bill Haskett sold his cottage in about 2002 when he was approximately 82 years old.
Big Rock Road was built at the same time as Haskett’s Drive but it had some unique construction challenges that were addressed over time. In 1973, Bill Haskett and Bill Grainge approached all of the cottagers that might benefit from a road around Long Lake. Despite increased blasting costs by keeping Big Rock Road as part of the original estimate, Big Rock Road was built in 1976 at the same time as Haskett’s Road. Big Rock Road cottagers first used their road in 1977.
The thirty-three Big Rock cottagers accepted Peggy Little’s name suggestion of Big Rock Road after considering the extra work that was required to take down “Rapture Hill” at the top of their road. That rock hill was cut down three times over the years, each time requiring a special levy of the Big Rock cottagers. The final blasting was done in about 1998 when a $35,000 “cash only job” finally yielded the degree of safety that they required. The Big Rock Road cottagers pay a $120 annual maintenance fee but have volunteers like Ed Eisses who spread the gravel and fill the potholes. Although the Township assumed Haskett’s Drive, Big Rock cottagers “look after their own” and it is even ploughed in the winter.
Driftwood Lane is a short road off Haskett’s Drive and all eleven properties face onto Trans Canada Bay. Ken Stiverins also built Driftwood Lane in 1975-76. Part of the contract was exclusive rights to build all of the driveways. The road was named for the numerous stumps and driftwood that were common at the end of the road. Originally, the cottagers on Haskett’s Drive, Big Rock Road, and Driftwood Lane all contributed equally (approximately $1,200 each) to the construction costs.
After the Township took over Haskett’s Drive, residents of Driftwood Lane and Big Rock Road joined together to form their own road association. They currently contribute $120 each annually toward road maintenance. People of Estonian and Finnish descent predominantly settled the lots on Driftwood Lane. Some names of these first cottagers include Burridge, Gordon, Kubu, Kuri, Pietila, and Ratas, as well as Roder, Swrkivi, and Tonopa. Swrkivi means “big rock” in Estonian.
Sanders Drive is an extension off Haskett’s Drive serving the peninsula that points toward the Provincial Park. The road was built in 1976 and named after Jim and Sadie Sanders who owned a cottage at that time and organized their neighbours to be included in the Stiverins contract.
Contributions from Ron Allan, John Lindbergh, Oliver Pietila, Brenda Simec, Don and Dorothy Stewart, and Paul Walters. Permission to use this article, which is an extract from the book “Echoes of Six Mile Lake”, was generously granted by Mary Boddy. Copyright 2009. This article extract was reprinted here with permission of the author.
About the author!
My name is Ian Cruickshank and I have been enjoying coming to Six Mile Lake every summer for my entire life. The Cruickshank family purchased 2 properties on Six Mile Lake in 1954 from the Crown.
My father, Don Cruickshank, purchased the property which eventually became 1092 Haskett’s Drive and my grandmother, Caroline Cruickshank, purchased the adjacent lot which eventually became 1086 Haskett’s Drive. The 2 properties are still both in the family and the next generations of the family continue to cherish coming to the cottage.
Over the years, the 2 properties have changed, becoming more modern with the addition of electricity, indoor plumbing, road access, telephone service and now high-speed internet. But the use of the cottages hasn’t changed much and the families just enjoy the beauty of the lake and cottage living with lots of card games, shared meals, family get togethers, and time spent on the lake.
So why am I seeking the improvement of Haskett’s Drive? Because I believe it is time to modernize that aspect of the cottage for the betterment of all of the cottagers and year-round residents on the road. It would be great to not have damage to our vehicles from usage of the road. It would be a big improvement to not have clouds of dust every time a car uses the road. It would make walking and cycling on the road much more enjoyable. We have a municipal election soon.
Will you join me in my petition to the Town Council to request that Haskett’s Drive get paved?
Thanks.
Warm Regards,
Ian Cruickshank
