I am convinced every place has an interesting story.
“Nothing ever happens around here.” That’s what you might think to yourself when you look at your quiet surroundings, but I am sure you will find something surprising did occur nearby if you dig just a little bit deeper.
I make this point after considering my own rural childhood home, which I once believed to be dull and in the middle of nowhere. Recently, I shared with you the tale of some presumed extraterrestrial beings who came to have a look at the area.
Previously, I have written about a notorious moonshiner who once lived on this same land when he was not doing time in prison for his illicit whisky production.
Now, I have discovered a strange little story that took place in 1963, just five years before my family moved to this isolated spot. For those who may think only crackpots, attention seekers and tipplers tell tales of this kind, this particular incident was witnessed by a prominent businessman, a local minister and their wives and children.
Cook’s Bay is located at the southern end of Lake Simcoe, where it meets the western branch of the Holland River. It is a rather shallow and weedy body of water, which makes it an ideal habitat for perch, pike and bass. Naturally, the area is a big draw for anglers.
Pleasure boaters also enjoy the trip up the river to Lake Simcoe on a sunny summer day, and that is precisely what the Lathangue and Williams families were doing on July 22, 1963.
Neil Lathangue became the owner of the former Kilkenny funeral business in Bradford in 1950. Thomas Kilkenny, a cabinet maker, had founded the service some 110 years earlier and is believed to have owned the first hearse in Simcoe County.
Leslie B. Williams was a Presbyterian minister. On that calm day, he was part of a group of nine who were riding in Lathangue’s 26-foot cabin cruiser on a lake described by Lathangue as “just like a mirror.”
It was about 6:30 p.m. when the occupants of the boat began to focus on something in the water, something they could not immediately identify. They struggled to comprehend what this approaching “charcoal scaly” thing was.
The entire episode lasted about 10 minutes, from the first puzzling sighting of something moving toward them in the water until the last of the view of the strange object as it left the area. Lathangue was astounded by what he and his companions saw that day.
“It was moving towards us from a long distance, passed us, went a couple of hundred feet beyond us, then disappeared.”
Thirteen years after that unforgettable day, Lathangue candidly shared his recollections of the event with the Barrie Examiner.
“I was so astonished, I couldn’t say anything.”
It was the clergyman who finally broke the silence.
“Great Scott! It’s a sea monster!”
Each week, the Barrie Historical Archive provides BarrieToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past. This unique column features photos and stories from years gone by and is sure to appeal to the historian in each of us.
