At the Lambton Heritage Museum I found a photograph of the old Coultis sawmill in Thedford that I remember driving past as a child. It had an elm tree growing through the roof; a very distinctive landmark that meant we were close to Ipperwash Beach.
A map of Grand Bend showing the artificial cut that connected the Ausable River with Lake Huron. The old Ausable channel is visible on the left and in the next photo. This part of the Ausable no longer has any flow.
In the early 1970s I dated an artist named Kerry Ferris. For one summer at least we went to her family cottage in Grand Bend. Today I found the cottage again! The little building on the right was called The Dugout and it was where I slept. The cottage is close to the beach so at night we would go to the dunes and listen to the waves crashing. I don’t know if her family still owns it. Kerry passed away a few years ago.
