Your Hosts

 

Let me introduce ourselves, we are the Moffatt family, John, Shannon, Alex and Joseph (better known as JoFish). As the owners and operators of Buck Lake Lodges and Outposts we will there to greet you when you arrive and be there to take care of you during your stay on Buck Lake.

 John was born and raised north of Hornepayne in Kapuskasing. As a baby, John spent his first couple of summers on neighbouring Granite Hill Lake where his family owned Granite Hill Lodge. After the lodge was sold, his family continued to work in the outdoors with trapping. John was running a trap line and skinning animals at a young age. He continued to enjoy the outdoors with hunting and fishing in the Kapuskasing area until he went south to Sudbury to work towards his civil engineering degree. During college he returned to Granite Hill Lodge in the summers. After school, John went further south where met the love of his life, me, Shannon. It wasn’t long before he brought me up north to work too. He tricked me into coming to Granite Hill by telling me I would be housekeeper when in reality, I was dishwasher! No automatic dishwashers back then! I went from being a farm girl to a bush girl and am right at home in either place.

I was raised on a beef farm in central Ontario, 10 minutes from where we reside in the winter. Growing up I spent as much time as possible outside building forts, running through the fields and stealing cucumbers from my mother’s garden. It wasn’t all fun and games though, as the oldest I was called upon to work on the farm. I was operating large tractors and equipment by 10 years of age and handling livestock well before that. It’s no wonder I was cut out for life in the bush! As a young child I had a fascination with the north and would devour any book with a story about surviving in the wilderness. I feel at home on Buck Lake and thoroughly enjoy my time there.

We had been working for John Smart at Granite Hill Lodge for a few years when Alex came along. He was only two months old when he flew into Granite Hill for his first summer in the bush. Who would have thought Alex and John would both be babies on Granite Hill Lake.

Time goes on and so does our story. After leaving Granite Hill Lodge a few years later, John began a construction company where he framed custom homes in the Victoria Harbour area. Life was good but we always knew we wanted to get back into the camp business. In 2008 we began working at Buck and Bingwood Cabins on Buck Lake. JoFish had just turned 2 when he spent his first summer in the bush. We had a close connection with Buck Lake as we had spent many hours exploring and fishing its waters during our time at Granite Hill. It's a beautiful and special place.

Our dream became a reality in 2009 when we purchased Buck and Bingwood Cabins. We brought a ton of experience to the table enabling us to accomplish many improvements and grow our business.  Being able to spend our summers working together is absolutely wonderful. I would be lying if I said it was all bliss but having our family together and seeing our boys work and socialize with our guests is very rewarding. Many of you have seen the boys grow and mature over the last few years and believe me when I say they can remember and speak of you often throughout the winter. Thank you for your kindness, love and support.

 

Shannon