Orrie Vail's Net Shed

From all accounts, Orfred (Orrie) Cleveland Vail of Tobermory was quite a man.

At six feet four inches, he was a historian and expert on the Great Lakes.  Like his father and grandfather before him, he was a fisherman and self-taught mechanic.  Born in 1893, he married Edith Whitting, who was from England, in 1914  and, together, the couple had four children.

It's thought that Orrie's great-grandfather was the first white man to make his home on the Bruce, if not all of Grey and Bruce Counties, arriving in a birch bark canoe that he had made himself in 1823. His son, William and all four of his sons, including Orrie's father, were born at Vail point in Tobermory.

After more than 40 years fishing the Great Lakes, Orrie Vail became recognized as an expert on the lakes and was often asked to lecture at Universities and for various organizations.  He collected historical memorabilia from around the world and his handcrafted knives made of Swedish steel were shipped to every country except Russia and Sweden.  He also made fishing lures that have become collectors' items.
 

Vail often heard his grandfather and father talk of a shipwreck lying in a cove.

(next column)

Visible History in Glass Cases

 According to stories, his grandfather, William, was told by Indians of a wreck on Rabbit Island, lying northwest of Tobermory and, Orrie Vail, came forward with the idea that the ship was the Griffon.  The Griffon, the ship of French explorer LaSalle set sail on  September 18, 1679 and was never seen again.  It remained a mystery that has been searched for by countless divers and historians.

In the mid-1950s however, Orrie Vail showed the wreck, that his father and grandfather had talked about, to two 'Griffon' experts.  At that time, it was still in relatively good condition and its length and shape and type of wood all matched the Griffon's specifications.  It was never proven however.

Today, the remains of the shipwreck that Orrie Vail found, which is now believed to not be the Griffon, are housed in the Visitors' Centre at Tobermory, as is Orrie Vail's Net Shed where he worked for so many years.

The Shed has been painstakingly reconstructed and has become part of the Fathom Five marine display.  Inside are tools originally used by Orrie Vail and many lures, now prized as collectors' items.  The smell of the ancient beams remains and the 'shed' houses the 'visible storage' display.  Here, artifacts of yesteryear, illustrate a time when life on the Bruce Peninsula depended on fishing, hunting and farming.