June 2, 2002

Haweaters Celebrate Summer on New Token

LITTLE CURRENT, ONTARIO - The Little Current Lions Club is pleased to announce that their 2002 token will honour summer. "We’ve decided to start a series called An Island for All Seasons" said Rolly Racicot, the program coordinator for the Lions Club. "it will help us promote the great things that can be done on Manitoulin year round", he concluded. The 3-Dollar token will have currency value, at participating merchants on the island, until November 30.

The Little Current Lions Club has been issuing such tokens as a means of raising funds for their community projects since 1969, making this their 37th issue (two pieces were issued in 2000 and 2001 and a 2000-Cent piece was issued earlier this year). The token is 32 millimetres in diameter with a heart of silver-coloured cupro-nickel and a ring of gold-colour aluminium-bronze and is a whopping 3 millimetres thick. Collector versions were also struck in antique commercial bronze and gold plated brass.

Manitoulin Island is the world's largest fresh water island. It is situated in the north channel of Georgian Bay in Lake Huron. The island is 176 kilometres long and 5 to 80 kilometres wide. There are more than 100 lakes within the island. The largest, Lake Manitou, is thought to be the largest lake within a lake, and has some islands of its own. The permanent population is 10,000 which is increased to some 50,000 in summer by tourists. The hawthorn, a small deciduous shrub, armed with long, sharp thorns, grows in abundance in the stony open areas. In the Fall, it produces clusters of bright red edible berries. It is said that the early settlers supplemented their diet with many uses of hawberries. Visitors to the island in the early days referred to these homesteaders as the "Haw-People" or "Haweaters".

Those interested in getting some of these tokens should contact the exclusive distributor:
Bonavita Ltd
Box 11447, Station H,
Nepean, ON K2H 7V1
Tel: +1-613-823-3844
Fax: +1-613-825-3092

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For more information please contact:
Serge Pelletier
Tel: +1-301-873-1575
E-Mail: info@eligi.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is the world's largest fresh water island. It is situated in the north channel of Georgian Bay in Lake Huron. The island is 176 kilometres long and 5 to 80 kilometres wide. There are more than 100 lakes within the island. The largest, Lake Manitou, is thought to be the largest lake within a lake, and has some islands of its own. The permanent population is 10,000 which is increased to some 50,000 in summer by tourists. Long inhabited by the Indians, legend has it that the island is the home of the good spirit "Gitchi-manitou" and the evil spirit "Matchi-manitou". Jesuit missionaries visited Manitoulin Island between 1648-50. Over the years, various missions were established for the natives. In 1838, the entire island was made a reserve. In the early 1860s, by treaty, the Island was purchased from the natives, except for 105,000 acres at its eastern end, which is now known as the Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve. In 1863, provincial land surveyors began laying out the township boundaries and the island was then opened to non-native settlers. These determined pioneers faced many hardships in the early years with their stony soil. The areas settled were usually the higher, dry lands, which required much labour to clear. The hawthorn, a small deciduous shrub, armed with long, sharp thorns, grows in abundance in the stony open areas. In the Fall, it produces clusters of bright red edible berries. It is said that the early settlers supplemented their diet with many uses of hawberries. Visitors to the island in the early days referred to these homesteaders as the "Haw-People" or "Haw-Eaters".

The Haweater Dollars Series
The Little Current Lions Club has been issuing such tokens as a means to raise funds for their community projects since 1969, making it one of two of the longest running programs in Canada.

TECHNICAL DATA

Obverse: Sailboat and motorboat. Legend: HAWEATER 3 DOLLARS / EXPIRES NOV. 30, 2002 / 20 (boats) 01 / (Lions logo) / NORTH / CHANNEL / SUMMER / AN ISLAND FOR ALL SEASONS.

Reverse: Map of Manitoulin with deer above and fisherman below. Legend: MANITOULIN / (Eligi mintmark) / WORLD'S LARGEST FRESH WATER ISLAND.

Issuing Agency: Little Current Lions Club

Designer: Serge Pelletier

Mint: Eligi Consultants Inc.

Diameter: 32mm

Edge: Plain

(1) The bimetallic piece has a heart of cupro-nickel (silver coloured) and a ring of aluminium-bronze (gold coloured)

Shipping and handling and taxes are extra.
MASTERCARD and VISA accepted

Available from:
Bonavita Ltd,
Box 11447, Station H,
Nepean, ON K2H 7V1
Tel: +1-613-823-3844 / Fax: +1-613-825-3092
E-Mail: ray@eligi.ca