MUSKOKA IDENTITY? THE LONGER WE LIVE HERE, THE LESS REMARKABLE IT SEEMS TO BE!
WITH RE-BRANDING CAMPAIGNS - I'M TOTALLY CONFUSED
JUST A COUPLE OF PIECES OF INTERESTING NOSTALGIA WE PICKED UP YESTERDAY OUT ON THE ANTIQUE HUNT. NO, THEY DON'T HAVE CANADIAN SYMBOLS TO ADD TO OUR COLLECTION, BUT THEY WILL FIND BUYERS THAT'S FOR SURE. FIRST ILLUSTRATED ARE INTERESTING "TERRIER" BOOKENDS, NICELY DONE, FROM THE LATE 1950'S, A MEDICAL MEASURING CUP FROM THE FORMER BUSH IDA IN GRAVENHURST, FROM A SIMILAR TIME FRAME, STILL IN ITS ORIGINAL BOX. THE THIRD IMAGE IS OF A FULL PACKAGE, OF 100 POKER CHIPS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, IN THE ORIGINAL BOX, MANUFACTURED BY THE URSINI PLASTICS CO., OF UXBRIDGE, ONTARIO, CANADA, UNDATED, BUT LIKELY FROM THE 1960'S. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO GET ORIGINAL BOXES, SO IN ONE OUTING, WE GOT TWO IN RELATIVELY GOOD CONDITION, WHICH ALWAYS ADDS SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE VALUATION OF THE ITEMS. TOTAL COST FOR THREE SALABLE ITEMS. FIVE DOLLARS. EXPECTED RETAIL PRICE, IF THEY WERE ALL SOLD, APPROX $25.00.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL WINTER DAY IN MUSKOKA AND THE ROAD WAS BECKONING. WE TOOK A SHORT MOTOR TRIP, SAW MORE WILD TURKEYS ON MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD, AND A LOT OF SNOWMOBILERS. GOOD TO SEE THEM OUT AND ABOUT. THIS IS A GOOD CHUNK OF OUR ECONOMY, AND IT'S BEEN KIND OF A DIFFICULT WINTER FOR THESE FUN-SEEKERS. I HAVE MISSED THEM OUT ON MUSKOKA BAY. TYPICALLY WE CAN HEAR THE MACHINES AS IF THEY WERE COMING RIGHT BY OUR HOUSE. THE NOISE OF SOME OF THE HIGH POWERED MACHINES CAN CERTAINLY RIP THROUGH THE SERENITY, THAT'S FOR SURE. MOST OF THE DIN IS QUITE ACCEPTABLE AND WELCOME. I CAN STAND IN THE DRIVEWAY, ON ALMOST ANY NIGHT, FROM DECEMBER TO THE END OF MARCH, EVEN WELL INTO THE WEE HOURS, AND HEAR THEM PASSING BY ON THE FROZEN BAY. SORRY THEN TO REPORT (FREEZING) RAIN FOR TOMORROW. I'M AFRAID IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A GREAT WINTER FOR WINTER SPORTS, UNLESS CURLING AND HOCKEY ON ARTIFICIAL ICE. BUT IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, IN PARTICULAR, WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THE SNOWMOBILE INDUSTRY IS TO OUR ECONOMIC WELL-BEING. SO THEIR CHAGRIN WITH THE WEATHER, IS OURS AS WELL. WE HOPE FOR AN ACCEPTABLE SNOW COVER WELL INTO MARCH.
DIDN'T DO ANY ANTIQUE SHOPPING TODAY, ON OUR BRIEF ROAD TRIP. HAD TO GET SOME MORE ORANGE WOOL FOR SUZANNE, AS SHE IS RUNNING LOW, MAKING WINTER CARNIVAL-THEMED SCARVES, FOR THE BAND, "PRESSURE POINT" AND FRIENDS, PREPARING FOR A VIDEO TO ACCOMPANY THEIR NEW SONG, WRITTEN IN SUPPORT OF THE EFFORTS OF THE GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL COMMITTEE…..TO BRING BACK THIS TIME-HONORED FEBRUARY FESTIVAL……WITH SKOKIE, THAT WHACKY WINTER OTTER. SUZANNE HAS KNIT FOUR SCARVES AND MITTS, A HAT, AND THEY WERE FOR THE FOUR MEMBERS OF THE BAND. NOW THEY'RE ADDING SOME ADDITIONAL VOCALS, AND THAT MEANS EXTRA SCARVES HAVE TO BE MADE. IT'S NOT SO EASY FINDING THAT SHADE OF ORANGE. TODAY THE GROUP IS RE-WORKING SOME MATERIAL ON THE CD, AND GETTING SOME FILM FOOTAGE TO GO WITH THE WINTER CARNIVAL SONG. IT WILL BE POSTED ONLINE BY EARLY NEXT WEEK…..FEBRUARY 1ST BEING THE EARLIEST DAY….OR SO WE BELIEVE AT THIS POINT. HOPE EVERY ONE WILL LIKE IT. I GOT THE IDEA, FROM AN ORIGINAL WINTER CARNIVAL SONG, PRESSED ON 45 RPM DISC, DONE IN THE 1970'S BY BRAD AND BONNIE VEITCH, OF BRACEBRIDGE. IN FACT, AND THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN REMEMBER IT, BUT THEY PERFORMED THE SONG ONE WINTER EVENING IN OUR APARTMENT, AT 129 ALICE STREET, WHILE VISITING WITH OTHER FRIENDS IN THE BUILDING. STRANGE BUT TRUE, IS THE REALITY I MARRIED BRAD'S COUSIN SUZANNE, AND THE BOYS, WHILE DISTANT, ARE INDEED RELATED TO THIS FORMER WINTER CARNIVAL DUO. THEY WERE INSPIRED BY BONNIE AND BRAD'S SONG, AND DECIDED, IN THE SPIRIT OF WINTER CELEBRATION, TO TAKE A CRACK AT IT AS WELL…….AND EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT THE BEST PERSON TO JUDGE WHETHER A SONG IS GOOD OR AVERAGE, I LIKE WHAT THEY'VE DONE SO FAR. HOPE IT HELPS BRING SOME ATTENTION TO WHAT THE CARNIVAL COMMITTEE IS TRYING TO DO FOR GRAVENHURST. I WROTE QUITE A FEW BLOGS EARLY IN JANUARY 2012 ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE OLD MUSKOKA WINTER CARNIVAL OF THE 1970'S, INCLUDING SOME REPRINTS OF THE FIRST EDITION BROCHURE. YOU CAN CHECK THOSE OUT IF YOU MISSED THEM PREVIOUSLY.
In yesterday's blog, I wrote about acquiring the book, "Gillmor of Algoma, Archdeacon and Tramp," by E. Newton White, and published by the Anglican Church of Canada, in 1967, as a first edition. The biography of Gowan Gillmor, and the stories of his amazing travels by foot through the Ontario northland, in the late 1800's, is a truly compelling story of faith and perseverance. It's the kind of book I buy as a book collector / dealer, because it holds its value. The book wasn't printed in the millions, and it is a story that is important to a lot of regions in this province, that were somehow connected to the intrepid Archdeacon / Tramp. As an historian, I have always sought out old and out of print books, some in very limited supply, that deal with the history of our region of Ontario. Over the past thirty-five years I've owned hundreds of regional books, to help me with research on an equal number of media projects, destined for eventual publication in the Muskoka press. There have been times when the historian "me" has agreed with the book seller "also me," to cull the collection to, for example, buy the kids news shoes, the kitchen a new fridge, the driveway a new automobile. I always hate doing it but I make copious notes from the books first, so I won't feel naked when the very next research project comes along……that required that very book for information. It happens a lot. This is the first time I've actually owned this particular book, but I've known about Gowan Gillmor's exploits from many other sources. I was willing to pay the $25 asking price, because it contains information I need for several upcoming research jags. There will be a time down the road that "the historian" won't need it sitting on the shelf any longer, and I'll offer it to the "over-zealous book dealer" (me) looking for things to sell. Strange how my personalities get along in commerce but not in the way our shared time is invested. The bookseller feels shortchanged by the amount of time the historian /writer spends at the keyboard……and not on the open road, hunting elusive antiquities. The dealer sips wine. The writer guzzles beer.
Now today, I wanted to share a couple of passages from this incredible biography, about what is most important to me…….references to Muskoka. I am appalled these days, whenever I read news articles about local communities looking to "re-brand" themselves…….such as what the Town of Bracebridge is currently doing to re-invent / re-design their image for the future. Geez, I thought that began in the 1860's, and gads do I feel stupid, not knowing there was a raging identity crisis in my old home town. I even filled out one of their electronic surveys online, to give the coordinators a hand, trying to help this allegedly image-diminished community, to be able to look in the mirror again, and see a good and decent town. I've always assumed the reflection was okay for all these years, but apparently the mirror image wasn't good enough for future social /economic revamping. Makes me bonkers.
How about just being a part of the Muskoka experience. Some folks from afar, would think it wonderful, to have an address in this world-renowned paradise. Since early in our history, in this region, we have been a sportsman's paradise. We have been a "healing place" of clean air and water, with tranquilizing scenes of natural beauty…..forests, flowers, birds, and bees. Since the 1870's, we've been branding ourselves accordingly, and creating a tourism economy, that is still thriving today, as get this……."THE NUMBER ONE INDUSTRY IN MUSKOKA." Ten years from now, tourism will still be "THE NUMBER ONE INDUSTRY IN MUSKOKA." If global warming doesn't kill us, in fifty years, "THE NUMBER ONE INDUSTRY?" Well, you know what I'm getting at. And I'm not clairvoyant. I'm a realist, and an historian. But instead of being proud of our region, and working as hard as possible to keep it in the limelight it deserves, politicians like to fiddle with what they believe to be a damnation of status quo. Muskoka is okay with its status quo. It has weathered a lot of economic and political storms, and it is very unlikely you will see huge, smoke belching industries here in the future……should that be of interest to those looking to rebrand their hometowns free of the dullness, Muskoka apparently bestows the present and future…..if left unchanged.
There is so much time and money wasted on these junkets, when all that's needed, is to embrace more emphatically, the qualities of Muskoka our visitors enjoy the most…..and make sure the natural resources, of which we are stewards, is conserved, protected, and nurtured along, which is in all our best interests.
I have nearly pounded this poor keyboard into oblivion, in these little outbursts, frustrated that so many folks in positions of authority, seem so bloody confused and out of place in their own towns, and district, that they have to openly question "what's our town about, anyway?" Historians go nuts with this kind of stuff. Most of the folks kicking this can, have read less than 1 percent of the Muskoka histories that have been written, and if you asked any of them what the Muskoka Assembly was all about, on Tobin's Island, in the 1930's, one might expect to draw looks of awkward ignorance. To then suggest to them, that Muskoka was considered such an important spiritual location on earth, that poets, writers, artists, religious scholars and philosophers came to this lakeland to discuss earthly, universal and heavenly concerns…..and take full advantage of a region of such abundant free-flow of inspiration. The same groups still seek out our region just as they did in the 1920's and 30's, because of this natural source of inspiration. Consider the hundreds of artists, craftspeople and writers who continue to make this region "home" because it motivates their work. Yet we still have numb nuts out there, trying to convince us we need to react immediately to save ourselves from the cold hand of irrelevance.
In Gravenhurst we continue to predict the end of the main street, if the political folks can't sort us out of our apparent failing-business quagmire…..that they helped dig for us, in the de-centralizing frenzy of urban satellite / pod building. Frankly, it might be best if politicians and their hired hands, would just stay out of this manipulation of Muskoka's social /cultural heritage…..which by the way, is still more dynamic and adaptable to the future, than any of the protocols the hands-on experts, can whip up as immediate crowd pleasers. Trying to upgrade what God gave us as a region. Muskoka and its towns don't need to be re-branded….they need to be celebrated, and have residents who are proud to call themselves Muskokans…….like our family and yours. Our visitors like Muskoka. They may not care for the strip malls and urban sprawl we've built for their convenience, but as far as being return customers to our commercial community…….we've had since the 1870's to get it right. So for those who like the idea of re-branding, and making us in the image of something more marketable…….yea right? We've got it good the way it is. We just have to make improvements, and every decade has seen its share of transitions, and adjustments to meet demand.
I wanted to share a few choice passages, written by a man, who walked many, many miles, over thousands of days, residing in the Rosseau area…..just outside the border of Muskoka. He frequently walked to Georgian Bay, Muskoka Lakes Township, Ullswater, Ufford, Windermere, Raymond, Port Carling and even to Bracebridge and Gravenhurst, often in bitter weather and snowstorms with nary a grumble….except possibly running into wolves or a bear along the trail. From his period of the late 1880's, when tourism was becoming a major economic reality, in the region, here is what this lovely man wrote, about the landscape he knew so well…….and walked so thoroughly during his stay in Muskoka.
"It must resemble the Lake District of England…..Cumberland and Westmoreland, especially when centuries ago, they were covered with forests, and wolves hunted the deer. We even have places near Rosseau, called Ullswater, and Windermere, so others have thought the same.
For miles and miles our roads lead through thick bush; the trees in all their variety and beauty of foliage, slowing in on either side and often meeting overhead. At every turn - a new scene to delight the artistic eye, with glades opening out and stretching away in exquisite vistas; the sombre coloring relieved by lighter tints and rich hues of wild flowers and the sheen of blue water from lake and river. We are to be envied, we who are able to realize how old England looked when Chaucer's words were everyday speech; when they wore buskins of fine soft leather with long pointed toes; like our own moccasins. It has occurred to me when traveling on our roads through the dense woods, that they are like the back avenues for local uses through some great demesne in Ireland; but I never come across the gamekeeper or catch a glimpse of running pheasants. But there, however grand it might seem, it would be so closely bounded by high walls covered by ivy, and separating it from the human life of the surrounding country." Not so in Muskoka. We are all so pleasantly immersed in the hinterland, to be afforded such intimate contact with nature.
There are thousands of similar descriptions of Muskoka that parallel the observations made by Gowan Gillmor……but few as profound, as to demonstrate the inherent freedom we should celebrate in this region……having it all so accessible for those who wish to be nurtured at its hand. If you were to research back in my 2011 blogs, on this Gravenhurst site, beginning in January last year, you could read a similar biographical profile I composed, about artist / missionary, Ada Florence Kinton, who also penned, in her published journal from the 1880's, how inspired she was, residing in the bosom of this grand nature of the district, known as Muskoka. As an early painter to the region, and a writer of considerable accomplishment, she found Muskoka a perfect place to create……a remarkably dynamic, healing place in which to reside. I concur with both journalists.
I have sent a suggestion back to the Bracebridge committee, looking at branding-issues, suggesting that they steady their balance, first of all, on a very real, and well established history of appreciation, for the region in which we are contently situated……before adopting a program of revitalization, that puts fashion, flare and facade above what is historic and common sense……given that we live in one of the best known vacationlands in the world.
I'm still seething about the comment made last year, from a citizen at a public meeting, that we should change our name in Gravenhurst……..because "Grave" doesn't inspire the best-served first-impression, to draw a crowd. That's why I don't go to public meetings. I'm always afraid of spontaneous combustion, and turning into a smoldering dust in my shoes, when such ridiculous statements are made……that frankly, I can't respond for fear of self destruction.
I'm a proud hometowner, and certainly a huge Muskoka booster. We need to tweak, and improve our dynamic in the tourism sector. We need to continue upgrading our tourism facilities and increase accommodations, especially for those of lesser income; those who would gladly spend a week or more, if the price was affordable. For a long time in this district, we stopped building affordable accommodations, and it put us in a real deficit situation…..that we are now slowly regaining after years of stalemate.
I hope the people of Bracebridge let the re-branders know they're happy with the heritage of their town, and proud to show it off to all comers…….and Muskoka isn't a bad place for a good town to grow either.
As for my present hometown, well, I wish the doomsayers would leave us, so we could get on with the future. Nothing else to say on the matter.
Except, thanks for joining me. Watch for updates on the Muskoka Winter Carnival song release……that I hope you'll check out.
And for fun, come on out to the Carnival. I'll give you details in upcoming blogs.
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