One of the Mississagi River Valley's more colourful characters was a man named Sammy Dean, who for some unknown reason was also known as Singing Sam. Everyone knew of him, but nobody really knew anything about him.

Sammy Dean truly was a legend in this area. Even now, people continue to share stories about Sammy, sometimes competing to see who can outdo the other with the best story. Here are just a few of these rumours about Singing Sam.

One day while Sammy was in Thessalon to buy groceries, someone secretly slipped a bar of soap into his bag, thinking they were doing him a favour (it was well-known fact that Singing Sam was less pleasant-smelling than most people). Sam got back to his 'house' before he realized what had happened. Instead of taking the hint, however, he marched all the way back to town and returned the soap! Sam must not have appreciated such a blatant hint.

Most people believed that he was a well-educated man who had, once again for an unknown reason, disowned his family and moved to the Mississagi River Valley area. Apparently, he would often receive mail addressed to him from people who were probably his family, but he would never accept the letters.

Once a year, Sam would take a bath at the house of local resident Cecil Palmer. The rather extensive distance between his washings meant that whenever anyone dared to pick him up he always rode in the back, far away from the noses of other people!

Singing Sam lived for a while with the people who owned Limberlost Lodge before the current owners. He used to help around the place, and would have a little extra money and somewhere to sleep. When the current owner Larry Kissau moved in, Sam no longer had a place to stay, and developed a bit of a grudge against Larry. Although for the most part Sam was harmless, at one point he tried to trap Larry in a back road by cutting down a huge tree across the road. However, Larry was lucky as Sam had mistaken someone else's truck for Larry's. Whoever had their truck on a back road on that day was in the wrong place at the wrong time!

One story that seems to have many variations is that of where Sammy lived. Some people say that he lived in an outhouse for a whole winter with only a lightbulb to keep him warm. Apparently, however, it became too hot in the outhouse so he unscrewed the lightbulb. Others say that it was a pumphouse he lived in for that winter. Many people also remember him living in a horse trailer, which he received from Ed Kissau, a tourist camp owner of the area. The people who remember him living here say that all he had for heat was a jam tin with a candle in it, a peanut butter jar with a candle in it, or various other containers with candles inside.

Many people believed that Sammy either came from a rich family or had a fortune hidden somewhere in the bush, but if he did you couldn't tell. Sammy didn't seem to have much money, although he got by on money made from cutting and selling firewood. Later a friend managed to get Sammy a disability pension, so he always had some money. It was rumoured that Sammy actually spent more money on Carnation milk for his dogs than on for food for himself. No matter how much money Sammy had though, he always paid his bills at Fagan's store in Little Rapids. He would never accept charity and never owed anybody anything.

Whether you choose to believe the different tales of Sammy or not, it is apparent that Sammy Dean was truly an amazing man, and he will be remembered for years to come!