One Last River Run

In the spring of 2008, Ottawa Sun columnist Ron Corbett pitched a summer story that he was sure would be an audience-grabber. He would write a series about a modern re-creation of the last (1908) commercial square-timber river raft to float down the Ottawa River. The first in 100 years. Ron s editor loved the idea. But there was just one little hitch: There was no raft and no raft trip planned. Yet.

So Ron made calls, one thing led to the next, and by the end of June 2008, he and a handful of fellow raftsmen were travelling down the Ottawa River on a thirty-ton square-timber raft.

One Last River Run is a quixotic tale of old loggers, a new world and a square timber raft that touched the lives of everyone who became part of the journey.