An ode to Gisela Roemer

I thought of Gisela Roemer today.

I’m not sure why she came to mind. Perhaps it was the sign for the new coastal trail in Thessalon. (To see more about the trail, visit this Facebook page.)

And now, I bet you’re wondering; what does Gisela have to do with Thessalon’s coastal trail?

Who was Gisela?

I will explain.

Gisela Roemer was a German immigrant who lived about 5 km down the coastal trail route from where it begins near Smelter Bay. At the time I interviewed her, she told me she’d spotted the land while boating and knew it was where she wanted to live. And so she began the process of building a cabin on the site where she would live for many years.

My husband, myself and our two young girls walked the trail about 30 years ago when I interviewed Gisella for my article. I was fascinated with the fact that she lived off the grid in the bush all alone. Though she’d built a rough trail in to the property, it was still relatively remote. She lived off grid. Her phone was one of those original bulky satellite monsters.

The trail is virtually in my backyard. I live nearby on Boundary Road and as a child, I grew up on Peachey Street, one street over.

I used to walk those bushes with my brother to visit places like Silver Creek and the fourth marsh. Some of you may remember those local landmarks. Feel free to share your memories in the comment section at the end of this article.

But back to that day in 1995.

Back to 1995

Off we went…on a little adventure so I could get Gisela’s story. I wasn’t an athlete by any means but how hard could it be to take our girls on a walk in the wilderness? We were definitely pooped at the end but I don’t recall any near death experiences.

Perhaps I was too excited to write the article to remember the agonizing details of the walk. I remember my excitement as we made the journey back home. The girls were tired and whiny but I was busy working out the details of how my story would go.

When I read the article now, I see so many things wrong with the writing. In fairness to me, it was one of the first features I did for The Sault Star way back then. I like to think my writing got better. But ignore that bit of editorializing.

The facts of the story stand.

Memories of the day

I remember a couple of things about that day.

1. Gisela had prepared a wonderful lunch for us. Unfortunately, much of it was foods we were not familiar with and my two–then little–girls were freaking out, whispering, and mostly trying to ditch foods they didn’t like when Gisela wasn’t looking.
2. A few weeks after I did the article, I came home one day to a plastic grocery bag hanging on my doorknob. Gisela had hand-knit two sweaters for the girls. I think writers aren’t supposed to “take bribes” but I certainly couldn’t return them. Could I?

Gisela’s death

Gisela died several years ago. I can’t remember exactly when it was and I can’t find an obituary. I think she was around 80 if I remember correctly.

Apparently she had been ill and was found frozen in a snowbank outside her home–by her own choosing.

She chose her own way to die just as she chose her own way to live.

Free!

Here’s Gisela’s story from the 1995 archives. Unfortunately, I don’t have the original photos. This article first appeared in The Sault Star , before the time of digital photos.

As always in those days, I was happy to have photos just appear on the roll of film! I would never know until The Sault Star photo department (another thing of the past) developed them. And there were times I’d have to go back and retake photos. Thankfully this wasn’t one of them.

(To read the article without downloading, click on the link to the left of the download button.)

Do you remember Gisela? Tell us about it in the Comment section.