Becky Mason and hubby Reid McLachlan headed upstream from Lake Superior to Denison Falls this August and dragged/lined/waded their canoe from the mouth of the river up to the falls. Becky reports that even though there was just a trickle of water in the river the falls were, of course, spectacular. "It is such a spiritual and powerful place," said Becky, "truly humbling and awe inspiring."

Becky, in a previous visit, had meetings with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Michipicoten First Nation officials.

The idea of renaming Denison Falls (championed by Phil Weir), to Bill Mason Falls has been fast tracked and a naming survey was to have been conducted in October. Becky says she was assured by the Michipicoten First Nation that they were not offended in the least by renaming it, and that local feelings would very much be taken into account. There is a realization that one way of ensuring the protection of the falls would be to attach a name to it that could be used as an emotional touchstone in the future. After all, who would dare to dam Bill Mason Falls?

An Access to Information search that the government conducted turned up no new information, so at it appears the no one is hiding anything with regard to possible development or related projects.

OUTFIT 102: Denison Falls may soon be renamed Mason Falls.

People have approached Ralph Mills, the local government's oldest-serving local politician and a big advocate for protecting the falls. He is the person who got the river renamed back to the Dog from the University a few years ago. Mills was asked how he felt about renaming the falls and said though he does not like people reinventing or renaming history, the Denison referred to was probably an American so perhaps a rename to a Canadian would be okay.

The process of naming or renaming is involved with, predictably, a lot of red tape. But the project appears to be on course for a name change to Bill Mason Falls. The support of both the MNR and the local native community, would seem to guarantee this change being approved. But there's still a ways to go. The recent events surrounding the proposed re-naming of Mt Logan after Pierre Trudeau shows how delicate these matters can be-and how complicated.

Che-Mun will stay on top of this story, of course.

Becky Mason has been a busy woman. After years of successful paddling workshops across the continent, Becky has been spending huge amounts of time getting a video program together. We are pleased to present details of this new canoeing accessory.

CLASSIC SOLO CANOEING VIDEO PREMIERE

The premiere screening of the Classic Solo Canoeing video by Becky Mason will take place in the auditorium of the National Library of Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Monday, December 4th, 7:00 p.m. Grateful acknowledgments to Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society for hosting this special free event. For more details e-mail: redcanoe@istar.ca or go to http://www.wilds.mb.ca/redcanoe

Becky Mason teaming up with award winning videographer Paul Wing and internationally renowned musician Ian Tamblyn to create her first instructional canoeing video.

Becky will take you in her red cedar canvas canoe to her favorite places, profiling her paddling strokes clearly and concisely with many different camera angles above and below the waterline. However, Becky thinks there is much more to canoeing than just strokes. She includes tips on safety, portaging, maintenance and equipment selection and shares with viewers her love for the land and water she quietly travels across. Complementing all of this is Ian Tamblyn's extraordinary musical score and the spectacular scenery and wildlife of the Gatineau Hills of Quebec.

This informative production will be 40 minutes long and retail for approximately $39.95 Cdn. or $29.95 U.S. Due out December 2000.

CANADA: retail and wholesale sales kineticvideo.com 511 Bloor St. West Toronto, Ontario M5S 1Y4 (416) 538-6613 Fax (416) 538-9984 Toll Free 1-800-263-6910 E-mail: info@kineticvideo.com Website: kineticvideo.com

U.S.A: retail and wholesale sales kineticvideo.com 255 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, New York 14202 (716) 856-7631 Fax (716) 856-7838 Toll Free 1-800-466-7631 Website: kineticvideo.com

This story first appeared in Che-Mun Outfit 102 in 2000.