The following was submitted by Alex Diehl and his brothers, Ed and Peter, tracing the origins of Moredolphton and the legacy of their great grandfather, Edward Stotz Sr., in the Bay of Islands.
Edward Stotz Sr. was a member of the Moredolphton group who had summered at the original Moredolphton Lodge (what is now the Severn Lodge) in Georgian Bay in years prior to 1926-27. He was an architect in Pittsburgh, PA, with a number of prominent buildings in his career (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Stotz).
Edward Stotz Sr. was hired by the Moredolphton group to secure a more remote location and once located, to design the main Moredolphton Lodge building.
Edward Stotz Sr at work designing the main lodge building in May 1927s. We used to have blueprints for the building, but I don’t know where they are now.
He also secured and built the structures on Snug Island, adjacent to Moredolphton, for his family’s use. It is still owned by our family (the Diehls) today.
It had no telephones, but there was an abundance of ice for preserving fish, as massive chunks of the frozen lake were cut during winter and stored for summer use.
Arminda Stotz (“Min”) and Edward Stotz Sr., 1930 (great grandparents of Peter, Edward, and Alexander Diehl) and Doris Davidson Stotz and Edward Stotz Jr (grandparents of Peter, Edward, and Alexander Diehl) outside a Moredolphton Lodge tent.
Here is the site of main lodge building in 1927, prior to its construction.
A bridge was built from Ireson Island to Snug Island, which stood until the early 1970’s. My brothers Edward and Peter and I used to cross this bridge to buy candy bars at the Lodge when we were children.
Yes, the water level varied a lot between years even 90-100 years ago!
Here is a link to an iCloud photo album of photographs of Moredolphton Lodge and the adjacent Snug Island from the period 1926-45 or so. The originals are in a photo album assembled by Edward Stotz Sr., our great grandfather, probably in the late 1940’s.
Bay Of Islands Community Association