because it was considered to be a danger to life and limb!
When it was cut down it left our backyard and patio without any shade.
Being southern exposure we could only sit out late evening, so I came up with a plan!
We couldn’t wait for the small replacement tree to grow, this would take years and
the backyard was already starting to look like a parched wasteland.
My wife Linda and I wanted to have the family over to celebrate my Brother Jim’s 47th Birthday!
Jim’s wife Judy had just gone through a bout of chemo treatment for cancer,
so it was necessary to have a nice shady place for her to sit out on the patio!
I constructed a ribbing and frame of two by three boards connected to the fence
and held up by some upright beams sunk along the outer perimeter of the patio.
We covered this with a large tarp tightly tied in place and we were ready to party on our patio!
Everyone had a great time, we were so happy to have a shady place for dearest Judy,
We lost our sister in-law Judy to cancer at the young age of 49 in 1994
We loved the idea of a covered patio so much; that I decided to build a permanent structure over the patio! The Lantern Inn as it stands today served breakfast for the first time in the spring of 1993
The Inn is our perfect sanctuary and cool oasis in the heart of down town Ottawa;
it is a gathering place for neighbors on a hot summer night.
Linda and I as a rule sit on the extend patio at sunset so we can meet and welcome
passers by urging them to stop and sit a spell. I guess I should say that I sit more than Linda,
because she is always trying to make her garden look the best of the best!
Just beside the Inn is a fish pond and Linda’s garden of beautiful plants and flowers cover every inch of available ground.
Even when we are not outside, we have seen passers by sit for a while on one of the benches,
just enjoying the peace and beauty of the Lantern Inn and its garden.
This was our shade tree in 1993 and the start of construction on the Inn.
This is what the Lantern Inn is all about, it is People helping People!
Two of our ex neighbors Paul and Joanna Came back to help us with the the roof!
This is only one story of Our famous Lantern Inn, there are so many more to tell!If you are ever in Ottawa I hope that you stop by for a coffee or tea and visit Linda and I for a while and rest at the Lantern Inn
The Storyman Winston
Coffee time at the Lantern Inn
