WE SHOULD ALL BE PROUD OF OUR GRAVENHURST HERITAGE

I have often bragged boisterously in these blogs, that Gravenhurst is well represented by its small but significant colony of active historians. Admittedly an aging, sage bunch of kind folks, who have devoted so much of their lives, to ensuring our heritage.....not just built-heritage, is conserved for future generations. The Gravenhurst Archives Committee, in particular, is a group of conservators and historians who busily catalogue our heritage photographs and graphics, documents and journals, that document how we have grown as a community. They have been the spark and generation of at least three important historical compilations, letting us all have a glimpse into the past we should know and care about. That our kids should know about and celebrate. If there is a worry we have, as historians serving our community and region, it’s the keen awareness of the void that could follow, as nature takes its course. It’s one thing to have such a wonderful asset, as historical record, for all to benefit from, but quite another to guarantee a healthy perpetuity to the conservation and accumulation of archives material, long into the future. If I casually suggest to councillors of this fine town, that they don’t know as much about their community as they should,....... well, they don’t get back to me as I’ve come to expect. Regardless of their unfortunate memories of high school history classes, they must understand the implications of having such an important collection, and appreciate fully that there is a shortage of apprentice historians mustering in the wings. The Archive Committee’s long-serving commitment, has given us a terrific collection we have largely bypassed, and minimized in value......ignoring what could be a pivotal, valuable resource in the future promotion of this community......our hometown.

We have quite a few working, thriving historians in this community, who have a great wealth of information to share......as partners, associates, and neighbors, not simply as teachers of history. At times when we get down about the economy and ponder the future of the mainstreet, we should delve into the past for at least some of the answers. We’ve invited the public to comment. Give the historians a shot at it. You might be surprised to find that historical precedent and future mindedness are linked by logic, such that it isn’t so hard to predict the trends of the future, if you’re truly aware how it has all happened in the past. Historians anxiously bounce on their springboard of information, just waiting to be asked their opinion.

We have to stop thinking about history as something to be placed in a box, or museum for posterity. It’s not just for showcase viewing, and a wee bit of revenue at the end of the day. It is a living history, and we are it! Letting the genie out of the bottle, in this case, is the right thing to do, at the right time to put it to work.

We have dropped a lot of pride in our community due to neglect and in-fighting. From conflict to redemption is the very next chapter in our history. Are we prepared to olive-branch ourselves into a new future-mindedness, with help from our old friends.....the keepers of the past?

It will depend entirely on local governance to sense the net worth of such co-operation.