THE BARGE RESTORATION NEARLY COMPLETED - CONCERTS OFFICIALLY BEGIN ON SUNDAY
LONG LIVE NOSTALGIA - GULL LAKE PARK - AND SUMMER SUNDAY CONCERTS
IT'S IMPORTANT TO APPRECIATE, JUST HOW DIFFICULT THE PAST TWO YEARS HAVE BEEN, TO SAVE A PIECE OF LOCAL HISTORY FROM BEING TORN-DOWN. THERE WAS NO HISTORICAL DESIGNATION TO PROTECT IT, NO GREAT PUBLIC OUTCRY TO SAVE IT, AND LITTLE APPETITE TO SPEND A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY, CONSIDERING ITS LIMITED USE EACH YEAR. IT'S WHAT MAKES THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT SO SWEET AND MEMORABLE. I HOPE EVERYONE WILL APPRECIATE THE WORK OF THE TOWN, AND LABOURERS FROM BEAVER CREEK CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, WHO PUT WHAT WAS BROKEN, BACK TOGETHER AGAIN. WHAT A GREAT, FEEL-GOOD STORY FOR THIS COMMUNITY, AT A TIME WHEN WE NEED SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT.
HAVE YOU EVER VISITED A COMMUNITY WHERE YOU USED TO LIVE, AND FELT DISTRESSED BY THE FACT SOMETHING FAMILIAR, A LOCAL LANDMARK, OR BUSINESS ENTERPRISE YOU KNEW YEARS EARLIER, WAS GONE FROM THE TOWNSCAPE. AN OLD HAUNT? A FAVORITE RETREAT? WHERE YOU USED TO TAKE YOUR SWEETHEART FOR A SUMMER TREAT? THE PLACES YOU USED TO GO TO LISTEN TO MUSIC. DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY? HOW IMPORTANT WERE THOSE LANDMARKS IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF LIFE AND TIMES?
TRUTH IS, WE'VE ALL FELT THIS WAY, EVEN IN OUR OWN HOMETOWN, WHEN OLD AND SENTIMENTAL PLACES, BUILDINGS AND FARMSTEADS, ARE RAZED TO BUILD ANEW. PLACES WE NEVER REALLY THOUGHT WERE IMPORTANT IN THIS WAY, ALWAYS BECOME FAR MORE RELEVANT, IT SEEMS, WHEN THEY'RE GONE. WE MAKE A HABIT OF SAYING, "I WISH WE COULD GO BACK IN TIME," AND "IF ONLY WE'D PAID MORE ATTENTION TO WHAT WE HAD, BEFORE WE KNOCKED IT ALL DOWN." NOSTALGIA IS NINE-TENTHS REGRET.
GOING BACK ABOUT FIVE YEARS, IN OUR TOWN, MANAGER OF THE BARGE, FRED SCHULZ, KNEW ALL ABOUT THE PRICE OF MAINTAINING NOSTALGIA AND TRADITION. HE HAD SOME LEAD TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE INEVITABILITY ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END. AT THE CONCLUSION OF EVERY SUMMER CONCERT SERIES, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, FRED ENJOYS THE WRAP-UP SHINDIG, WITH THE GOOD BROTHERS, WHICH IS TRADITIONALLY THE LAST ACT OF THE SEASON. AT THESE EVENTS, FRED WON'T ANSWER DIRECTLY, IF YOU ASK HIM WHETHER OR NOT HE PLANS TO STAY-ON AS MANAGER FOR ANOTHER SEASON. EACH YEAR, HE'S HAD TO FACE UP TO THE DIFFICULT TASK OF ASKING THE TOWN TO CONSIDER A LARGER BUDGET ALLOCATION, TO REPLACE SOME FAILING PLANKS ON THE BARGE STAGE-FRONT. THE CONCERT ON THE BARGE PROGRAM IS A LOW BUDGET, HIGHLY EFFICIENT, TOURIST MAGNET, THAT HAS NEVER REALLY DEMANDED TOO MUCH EXPENSE, EXCEPT DURING ITS ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION IN 1959, COSTING THEN, $14,000. I THINK THEY'VE GOT THEIR MONEY'S WORTH, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF ONLY COSMETIC REPAIRS GENERALLY. BUT THE DECAY WAS SNEAKING UP ON THE MANAGER, AND IF THERE WAS ONE WONKY BOARD, THERE WERE PROBABLY TEN TO A HUNDRED OR MORE. HE WAS BANG-ON, AND IT WAS GOING TO BE AN EXPENSIVE PROPOSITION FOR THE TOWN. WOULD THEY HAVE THE INTEREST IN PRESERVING SOMETHING, A FEW OF THEM KNEW NOTHING ABOUT, EXCEPT WHEN APPROVING THE BUDGET FOR THE ANNUAL CONCERT SERIES? IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT, IF FRED COULD SEE THAT EACH OF THE COUNCILLORS ACTUALLY ATTENDED THE GULL LAKE EVENTS. SOME DIDN'T EVEN ACCEPT THE WORDS OF THE MANAGER AND CREW, ABOUT THE HUGE NUMBERS OF PATRONS SHOWING UP EACH WEEK, AND ASKED TO SEE PICTURES. THIS IS A BAD SIGN FROM THE GET-GO. WHAT ELSE HAS TO BE BE PROVEN? FRED WAS READY TO PITCH ITS VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE ALL SENSED THERE WAS A LACK OF ENTHUSIASM FROM THE TOWN, IN THE EARLY GOING OF DISCUSSIONS. THERE WERE LOW POINTS IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, THAT'S FOR SURE, AND I FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT IN SAYING, THAT FRED KNEW HE WOULD HAVE TO RETIRE, IF COUNCIL DROPPED ITS SUPPORT OF RE-BUILDING THE BARGE; OR IN ANY WAY DISMISSED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONCERT ON THE BARGE AGENDA.
FRED IS SUPERSTITIOUS WHETHER HE ADMITS IT OR NOT. HE HAS HOPED AGAINST HOPE, THAT THE BARGE WOULD CONTINUE TO SERVE THE CONCERT SERIES, WITH ONGOING MINOR REPAIRS, WHICH OF COURSE HAVE BEEN MADE OVER THE YEARS. UNFORTUNATELY, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WISHING AND FINGER CROSSING HE COULD DO, AND NOT TRIP HIMSELF, HE FOUND THAT IT HAD BECOME A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. THIS IS WHERE HE HAD TO DRAW THE LINE FOR EVERYONE'S SAFETY. THE WING ON THE LEFT SIDE WAS TIPPING INTO THE LAKE, AND WITH AN ELECTRIC LIGHT MOUNTED ON THE END, THE POSSIBILITY OF IT FALLING INTO THE LAKE, BECAME A SERIOUS MATTER FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. WHEN FRED, TWO YEARS AGO, HAD TO TELL THE TOWN OFFICIALLY, THAT THE BARGE NEEDED A THOROUGH SAFETY AND PHYSICAL INTEGRITY INSPECTION, HE HOPED FOR GOOD NEWS, BUT EXPECTED THE REPORT WOULD REVEAL INEFFICIENCES. IT WAS A BAD REPORT. IT COULD HAVE MEANT THE BARGE WOULD HAVE TO BE HAULED DOWN, AS A NUMBER OF THE SUPPORTING IRON PEIRS HAD BEEN SHEARED-OFF BY THE ICE ACTION FROM MANY WINTER SEASONS. THE BRIDGE FROM THE SHORE TO THE PLATFORM WAS DEEMED UNSAFE. TWO YEARS AGO THE BARGE MANAGER WAS CONCERNED THE END OF THE GULL LAKE ENTERTAINMENT VENUE WAS AT HAND. THE TOWN WAS FACING SERIOUS ECONOMIC CUTBACKS, AND THERE WAS CONCERN COUNCILLORS HAD LITTLE APPETITE TO REPLACE A 1950'S CIRCA STAGE AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED.
EVERYTHING FRED HAD FEARED WAS COMING TRUE. IT WAS GOING TO BE AN UPHILL BATTLE TO DEFEND THIS HISTORICAL STRUCTURE, BASED IN PART, ON THE PROVENANCE THAT QUEEN ELIZABETH WAS AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING, IN JULY, 1959, AND THERE HAD BEEN A HALF CENTURY OF WELL KNOWN ENTERTAINERS ON THE GULL LAKE STAGE. IT WASN'T ENOUGH. EVEN IF THE POPE HAD STOOD ON THAT DECKING, IT WOULDN'T HAVE GIVEN IT ANY MORE HISTORICAL RELEVANCE, AT LEAST AS A DEFENSE, WHY IT SHOULDN'T BEEN TORN APART. IT COULD HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ARGUED, A SMALL COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE MOUNTED ON THE SHORELINE, WOULD HAVE COVERED ALL THESE BARGE HIGHLIGHTS. THE PATINA HAD TO BE DEEPER THAN THAT, AND SO PROFOUND, THAT IT WOULD SEEM SACRILEGIOUS TO TEAR IT DOWN. WE WORKED TOGETHER ON THIS, AND HAD A LOT OF CITIZEN SUPPORT BEHIND THE SCENES. IT WAS THE PUBLIC'S CONVICTION TO SAVE THE BARGE THAT GAVE US REASON TO CARRY-ON, AND SELL THE IDEA OF A GREAT FUTURE POTENTIAL AHEAD….IF ONLY……WE COULD KEEP THIS VESTIGE OF THE PAST, WORKING TOWARD THE FUTURE. I THINK THE TOWN HAD MANY COMPELLING REASONS, NOT TO FUND THIS RESTORATION PROJECT, BUT THEY DID ANY WAY. I DON'T THINK IT WILL INSPIRE A RATEPAYER REBELLION. THERE'S GOOD VALUE FOR THEIR INVESTMENT.
IT'S FAR EASIER TO PITCH HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE THAN SOMETHING THAT APPEARS "NOSTALGIC." THERE WERE IDEAS BEING THROWN ABOUT, IN THE COMMUNITY, AND AMONGST SOME COUNCILLORS, OF RIPPING THE BARGE APART, AND SETTING DOWN A NEW COVERED ISLAND STAGE, WITH A POTENTIAL AMPHITHEATRE CARVED INTO THE SIDE OF THE GULL LAKE SHORELINE. FRED HELD HIS GROUND. HE WANTED NO PART OF THESE MAJOR CHANGES, DESIRING THE KIND OF STRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENTS, THAT WOULD KEEP WHAT WAS GOOD IN THE 1950'S, FUNCTIONING LONG INTO THIS NEW CENTURY. WHETHER THEY THOUGHT FRED WAS OUT-OF-DATE, A RELIC FROM ANOTHER ERA, OR JUST STUBBORN, IT DIDN'T BOTHER HIM TO BE CHARACTERIZED AS AN OLD FUDDY DUDDY. BUT HE NEVER ONCE, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, OFFERED ANY APOLOGY FOR BEING A TRADITIONALIST, WHO, IN THIS CASE, WAS PROTECTING A LANDMARK FOR ALL THOSE NOSTALGIC FOLKS, AND CONCERT GOERS, WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN DEVASTATED, TO HAVE FOUND SOMETHING ULTRA MODERN IN ITS PLACE. FRED KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO MISS THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS, AND THE WAY OF LIFE WE KNEW AND LOVED…..AND WISHED WOULD NEVER END. AS A FAMILY FRIEND, I'M NOT SURE FRED COULD HAVE FACED A NEW VENUE, CONTINUING HIS MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES. FOR THE REALISTS, THEY PROBABLY WOULDN'T BELIEVE THAT AN OLD WOOD PLATFORM, OUT IN THE LAKE, COULD TAKE ON A SPIRIT OF ITS OWN. IF YOU ASKED FRED DIRECTLY, WHETHER OR NOT THE BARGE SHARES HIS SPIRIT, HE'D LAUGH AND CHANGE THE SUBJECT. HE WOULDN'T DENY IT, BECAUSE HE KNOWS THE BARGE IS PART OF HIS OVERALL EXISTENCE. THE IDEA OF TEARING IT DOWN, WAS LIKE GRABBING ONTO A CORNER OF HIS HEART, AND TUGGING IT OUT HIS NOSE. THERE IS NO SIMPLE EXPLANATION, EXCEPT TO SAY, THAT THE BARGE EXISTS TODAY BECAUSE FRED HAS DEDICATED HIMSELF TO KEEP IT OPERATIONAL. VERY FEW PEOPLE, EXCEPT THOSE CLOSEST TO HIM, KNOW HOW DEMANDING EVEN A SHORT SEASON CAN BE, AND HOW MANY HOOPS HE HAS TO JUMP THROUGH TO PULL IT ALL OFF. HE WILL TELL YOU, IMMERSION INTO THE JOB IS THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH IT EFFECTIVELY. YOU CAN'T MINIMIZE HOW MUCH THE BARGE MEANS, TO THE THOUSANDS OF PATRONS EACH WEEK, WHO LINE THE SHORELINE, TO SEE THE SUMMER SERIES HE HAS ARRANGED FOR THEM. IT'S THAT PERSONAL. FRED IS WORKING FOR ALL OF THESE PEOPLE. HE'S THROWING A BIG PARTY, OVER NUMEROUS WEEKS, AND CONCERT-GOERS ARE HIS GUESTS. IF YOU KNOW FRED AT ALL, YOU APPRECIATE HOW OBSESSED HE CAN GET, WANTING YOU TO ENJOY YOURSELF…….WHETHER IT'S AT HIS HOUSE FOR A BARBECUE, OR AT GULL LAKE FOR A SUNDAY NIGHT CONCERT.
THE RESTORATION IS A DREAM COME TRUE
There will be folks who show up for summer concerts this summer, who ask Fred when the restorations are going to take place. They're going to be surprised to find out they're complete. There will be others who won't say a word about the refurbishing, considering it a town matter, and something they should have done years earlier. A few may even complain about the price tag, if and when the total restoration cost, of the Barge, is made public. Fred is used to some of the contrary opinions. It's part of the job, and pleasing everybody is pretty much impossible. But considering the two year odyssey, to get the necessary upgrades, to keep the 1959 relic up and running, and all the precarious situations that had to be overcome in the meantime, no one should be surprised to find Fred Schulz a little subdued this year. Feeling contented, but still clearly aware how close it all came, to being a landmark of once, and a memory to be brought up by nostalgic patrons, who wish they'd paid more attention to the old one, before the new one took its place. Working on this as part of the unofficial Barge Debating Society, composed of his friends, colleagues, and technical staff, it has been a difficult two year restoration in many ways. Maybe there were better years in the past five, to have undertaken this major project. The austerity program, instituted by the town to spare ratepayers total fiscal distress, wasn't the best circumstance or time to be begging for funds. Getting to this point, today, of being able to say the major portion of The Barge upgrades, have been completed, is nothing short of breath-taking success for all concerned. The Town, while a little reluctant in the beginning, gradually agreed with Fred's position, to conserve the integrity of the island platform, and with new iron piers and just milled planking to replace the rotting stage floor, there is an almost-new entertainment venue in Gravenhurst's Gull Lake, that looks a lot like the one volunteers built in the same spot back in 1959.
It's hard to describe the net worth of nostalgia to the modernists. They might have been able to present 101 reasons to tear down, and build back an ultra modern stage with canopy, to serve the entertainment series for the next fifty years. It was even hard for us stalwart traditionalist, because we know how valuable a built-in canopy would be, to save outdoor concerts, in the event of inclement weather. Yet there's something magic and soulful, about The Barge, as if the biography of all the musical talents, who have played there, has ingrained into the hidden framework, (with penned signatures), that holds it above the water. One might even expect that on a moonlit summer night, after the concert gang has gone home, and Fred and his crew have turned off the lights, and headed out for a coffee, that a casual passerby, will hear a faint, ghostly music, emanating from center stage, as if the past lives here in perpetuity. If you did hear this echo of music, and you asked Fred about it, he'd laugh, and change the subject. He would never deny it exists, because he has heard it before. On nights in late August, when he takes a stroll through the park, thinking back upon the season that has just ended, it's a pleasant music that he hears. Reminding him of all the times, he proudly stood out on that gray decking, microphone in hand, welcoming eager patrons, to another beautiful night at Gull Lake, for a splendid concert in his hometown. There's an energy just walking out on that platform, and it is the result of so much anticipation and excitement, and the thrill of making concert goers feel, each Sunday evening, as if they too, are part of the story, of this Muskoka entertainment tradition. They are. They just don't hear it, or know it, the way Fred does. Some would argue nostalgia's best place is to be tucked into a photo album, or neatly pasted into a scrapbook. But when you see the joyful faces of the first lawn-chair toting patrons, to arrived at the park, this coming Sunday, you'll appreciate why Fred followed his heart, and did everything he could, to keep The Barge tradition alive……and they will, of course, pat him on the back, for making their summers so darn much fun. And Fred will feel good about this, and maybe, just maybe, relax long enough, to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
The first concert of the season, is this coming Sunday, beginning at 7:30 p.m., featuring the District Band, conducted by Neil Barlow. There is a possibility the concert may be held in the Rotary Pavilion, on Sunday, if there is any remaining work to be done on The Barge restoration. Please bring rain gear and chairs, just in case of inclement weather. The concert will carry on, should there be a rain event, as there are no rain-outs this year, as alternate locations used previously, have proven too small for the large audiences wishing to attend. Violent weather will necessitate cancellation of concerts.
For more on The Barge restoration, and coming season, join me again tomorrow, for another bit of history from our beautiful Gull Lake.
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