The Ways and the Trails of Lake O’Hara

by Jon Whyte

1^st edition (1983)—2^nd edition (2010)

Review by Ron Dart

                                   It is the generous spirit…………

                                   Whose high endeavours are an inward light

                                   That makes the path before him always bright.

                                                                             William Wordsworth

There are treks to mountain meccas that hold us solid and firm, and our memories walk us back to such

shrines of rest and insight again and again----Lake O’Hara, for many, is such a thin place and holding sanctuary. The initial publication in 1983 of Tommy and Lawrence: The Ways and the Trails of Lake O’Hara was a gem of a missive, but the updated version of 2010 is worth the purchase and read. The ‘Foreward’ and editorial work by Chic Scott, additional black-white and coloured photographs, map and ‘afterword describing the trail work done since 1983’ makes this a must purchase keeper for those whose hearts are in the highlands of O’Hara.                          

The original version of Tommy and Lawrence by Jon Whyte is sheer delight of a reading ramble. Whyte had a sure and steady pen, was a wordsmith of sorts and deftly carried the reader along with a tale worth the reading. There is much evocative history packed into the few pages by Whyte, and he knows the Banff-Louise-O’Hara area well. Tommy and Lawrence is, if nothing else, a journey into the souls and lives of those who turned to O’Hara for solace and how the ways and trails of Lake O’Hara were transformed by such a committed turning. Most who hike the trails in the Lake O’Hara are probably not aware of how such paths were built and why----Whyte fills in the tender details for the curious reader and keen historian. 

So, who were Tommy and Lawrence, and why are they so important for archivists and those interested  in Lake O’Hara history and trail making? Tommy was, actually, Dr. George K.K. Link, who was a plant pathologist from the University of Chicago. It was in 1928 that Tommy and his wife, Adeline, first visited Lake O’Hara—the setting and lakes in the O’Hara became for the couple sites of significant memories in their marriage relationship. The legendary Peter/Catharine (Jon Whyte’s uncle/aunt) formed a close bond and friendship with Tommy and Adeline. Many were the summers that Tommy and Adeline turned to O’Hara, but, tragically so, Adeline died in 1943. O’Hara was so sacred to Tommy/Adeline that Tommy returned, year after year, and even had appearances of Adeline to him when in O’Hara. Tommy turned the sadness of Adeline’s death into an energy that built trail after trail in the O’Hara landscape in remembrance of his departed Adeline. Lawrence came from a starkly different background than the more educated, philosophic and cultured Tommy. Lawrence Grassi was born in Italy in 1890, immigrated to Canada in 1912 and worked in the mines until 1945---whenever he could, he took to the peaks and carved out, patiently, trails for others to enjoy. Lawrence was already in the O’Hara area in the late 1940s, and, being the rock craftsman he was, he created solid paths for one and all so that the broad expanse of O’Hara would be available for easier and more accessible rambling. It was, therefore, Tommy and Lawrence (two very different men) who were pioneers in making O’Hara what it is today.

Jon Whyte has done an exquisite yeoman’s job in filling in the cracks and details of the intriguing and compelling lives of Lawrence and Tommy. These were men, who for different reasons, gave of their time and energy for others---O’Hara is the paradise it is today because of them, and Whyte, in a suggestive and probing way, highlights why these men should be honoured. We are the inheritors of their often silent yet sacrificial labours. It was, indeed, their generous spirit and inward light that have made the paths for us always bright.