TALES OF MINERS' BAY - Wednesday, January 14, 2025 7:00 pm HHOA Fish Hatchery

Tales of Miners' Bay sssss

Who: Russ Wunker

Where: HHOA Fish 6712 Gelert Road, Haliburton, ON

When: January 14, 2025, 7:00 - 9:00 pm

Tickets: $15/person

Local historian and colourful character, Russ Wunker, takes us on a journey back in time to discover Miners' Bay. Russ has many stories but one of his favourites is the mystery of the Lost Indian Silver Mine: A century ago, local residents knew the story of the mine that gave Miners' Bay its name. Today, the story is muddled, or forgotten. Local geology may provide a clue to this mystery.

Russ will also tell us about the early days of tourism at Miners' Bay. As a gateway to Haliburton County, this area helped shaped our tourism industry. Vintage postcards, photographs and memories tell the tale.

Bio

Russ was born in Toronto, but has spent the majority of the past three quarters of a century at Miners’ Bay. He attended a one-room school until its closure. Grades 7 & 8 were at the new Lutterworth consolidated school, followed by five years at Haliburton County District High School, where he served as Student Council President, and won the History Award in Grade XIII.

He attended Nyack College, in New York state, majoring in History, Philosophy, and Theology, and received a BA. Next came a Masters degree (Canadian-American Relations – The War of 1812) from the University of South Florida in Tampa. While working on that, he taught at a private college in Clearwater.

He returned every summer to Miners’ Bay, working at the family summer resort.

Russ offered his services as a volunteer to local Member of Parliament, Bill Scott in the 1972 election. He ended up staying in Ottawa for over a decade. In addition to serving as assistant to the local member of Parliament, he was Special Assistant to Jake Epp, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Chief of Staff to Epp as Minister of National Health and Welfare, and Energy Mines and Resources.

Between those two sessions in government, he worked as Director of Personnel, Director of Operations and Organization, and held other positions at National Headquarters of the Progressive Conservative Party. He was liaison between the Party and the Republican National Committee.

Russ was involved in many election campaigns, both provincial and federal. In 1984 and 1988, he served as Assistant to Norman Atkins, National Campaign Chairman.

He left government in 1988 to take over the running of Miners’ Bay Lodge, continuing to do so until 2018. In the offseason he assisted a Canadian Christian organization in taking Apollo astronauts, and business and political leaders on reconciliation trips to Africa and East Block nations, and consulted for a Forensic Accounting Firm, and a Canadian Health Care Business.

He has served on a number of Boards, both domestic and international, including nine years on the Board of the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse.

Russ is a collector of all things historical, specializing in the American Civil War, local and Canadian history. While spending winters in North Carolina he assisted in the development of three museums, as well as local historical and architectural preservation projects.

Russ and Dottie, his wife of over 50 years, retired in 2018.