December 7, 2001 Lewis Kent a true pioneer of the lumber business

I always enjoy the opportunity of meeting a pioneer of the lumber business who has lived through the changes that make the forest industry the progressive operation it is today.  I recently spent a beautiful fall day with such a person, Lewis Kent, long time lumberman from Sundridge.  The Kent family has a long history in Strong and Joly Townships going back to the 1880s, when Lewis' great grandfather arrived here.  Lewis proudly displays on his front lawn the flywheel from his grandfather William John Kent's steam engine, from a sawmill in the early 1900s.
 

Lumberman Lewis Kent in Sundridge beside the flywheel from the steam engine from his grandfather's sawmill a century ago.

Lewis and his brother Cecil, who died in 1995, ran a lumber operation in Joly Township (Lot 12, Concession 2) fifteen km southeast of Sundridge on the Magnetawan River for 38 years until they retired in 1978. Several Kent family members, plus other local men, were employed there and in the bush.

Lewis and Cecil took over their father Walter's mill in 1941, and built two other mills nearby over the years as the business grew.  They ran winter logging operations each year, sawing the logs in their mill the rest of the year.  For 26 years they logged in Butt Township in Algonquin Park.  Cecil was the engineer and mechanic, and Lewis was the sawyer at the mill until they established a planning mill, which Lewis ran.  Lewis' wife June lived at the sawmill village called Kentville and in the bush cooking until she gave her time to their five children and did the company books at home in Sundridge.

Beside Lewis' father Walter, his grandfather William John was also in the lumber business.  Several other Kents lived and worked at Kentville over the years.  Lewis and June's son Mike graduated in Forestry from the University of Toronto and took over the family business at Kentville when his dad retired in 1975.  Mike and his wife Jan began to build trusses for the construction industry.  They later moved to Sundridge on the east side of hwy 11 and built a storage and shipping yard on the west side of the highway.
 

The third Kent Brothers sawmill at Kentville on the northeast Magnetawan River in Joly Township.

Lewis and I visited the now vanished site of Kentville, taking the Kent Road to the Kent Bridge on the Magnetawan River where the foundation of his first mill can still be seen.  There are a few other signs of the village, mostly clearings.  At one time there were five houses, a cookery, a bunkhouse, and all of the many buildings that are a part of a sawmill operation.  The Kents were obviously innovative and creative, and adapted to new technologies.  They even built their own hydro generating plant on the fast water just below the Kent Bridge on the Magnetawan River, providing power to the community.

At its peak, the mill produced a million board feet of lumber a year. Most of it was hauled to Sundridge by horses and later by trucks, and wholesaled to larger companies.  They seldom had to advertise their stock.  Their veneer logs were also in demand.  During the war, Sidney Staniforth from Kiosk worked for the Federal government buying veneer logs for the war effort, and his representative Tom Howard used to buy logs from the Kents.

On the way home from our visit to Kentville, we stopped at Lewis' cottage at the old Donahue Dam site on the Magnetawan.  The extensive wood furnishings made by Lewis show that he has not been idle in his retirement.

Back home in Sundridge we visited Lewis' extensive workshop and later his sawmill at the back of his property where he cut lumber for years after "retiring."  He also has a passion for history and has recorded much of his family's life in the area.  A scale plan of Kentville, with a description of each building, is on display in his basement.  Much of Lewis' history was based in the Heartfell and Pevensy area, southeast of Sundridge, and he recently wrote a book on the pioneers of the area. The book has numerous photos and a map of the area, and many fascinating stories of those days.  The first run of the book sold out, and he has recently acquired additional copies, which are available for sale for those interested in adding the book to their collection (Call 384-5265 for information).
 

Lewis Kent's new history of the area south of Sundridge.

When we went to lunch at the Mama and Papa's restaurant in Sundridge, Lewis told me that he had bought the building and added the restaurant (The Marigold) as one of his retirement projects.  His wife June and daughter Kathy ran the restaurant, along with a children's clothing store in the same building, in the 1980s before selling it.

The Kent story would not be complete without further reference to the Kent Truss Company owned by Lewis' son Mike and his wife Jan.  They began building trusses in 1975 and in spite of the seasonal aspects of the work, a major fire, and a couple of downturns in the economy, have established themselves as a major player in the truss business in Canada and the United States.

Kent Trusses have half a dozen offices in Ontario and 130 employees. They recently established a plant in Charlotte, North Carolina and have an office in Alexandria, Virginia.  They have another company which produces high tech machines for produces trusses for all aspect of the building industry.  In Sundridge, they recently started producing light gauge steel trusses, which have advantages to the industry as well.

The Kent family has worked long, hard, and smart, and are a credit to their industry and to the community.