Part 1: Christmas Sketches of Gravenhurst

CHRISTMAS SKETCHES OF GRAVENHURST - A TOWN WORTH KNOWING

WITH SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE MEANING OF CANADIANA

     For those who were following my blog, way back in the spring of this year, you might remember that my wife and I, who are both antique hunters, issued a very public challenge, to see who was the better collector, when it comes to being able to find iconic Canadian symbols. For example, those collectible pieces with emblems of "the beaver," a "maple leaf," or images (symbols) of the "Royal Canadian Mounted Police." Actually, we kind of opened it to any other symbol that is clearly identifiable as homegrown "Canadian," and that could have included maple syrup relics etc. I had a half dozen maple sugar molds but I sold them. We got the idea from a collector's book, entitled "The Maple Leaf Forever - A Celebration of Canadian Symbols," written by Donna and Nigel Hutchins, and published in 2006 by Boston Mills Press. The fabulously illustrated book details what collectors of Canadiana, depicting some form of nationally recognized symbols, have been able to acquire, ranging from vintage tin table-hockey players, to graphics, posters, advertising tins, games, business signs, collector plates, novelties, to folk art carvings of beavers, and maple leaves…… amongst about a million other items of iconic significance to our affection and pride, being Canadian. And of course, there are a lot of Canadiana collectors who are not Canadians, and who don't even live in this country. They just admire our national symbols…..and they like to visit our country to buy up these traditional icons. I've known many Canadiana collectors from the United States, especially in rare books. I've shipped a lot of Canadian history south and overseas, and although I hate to admit this……it averages to about seventy percent heading everywhere else but here. This has been a trend, for us at least, over about twenty years.

     The point for mentioning this, is that Suzanne and I did find, that for the first three months, we were able to go out, and by negotiating with second hand and antique shop owners, by sneaky and even underhanded means, acquire some pretty interesting bits and pieces of classic "vintage" Canadiana. I was clearly the front-runner in the early going, and our plan was to have had two showings of our finds; one being on Canada Day, on July Ist, and the wrap-up on New Year's Day. I can't explain this sudden change of availability, but our cockiness was very premature. The supply ran out almost instantly. It has never returned. The deal you see, was that we would each set out on a typical antique hunt, usually on Saturdays and Sunday, in the off season, and what each of us found, of an iconic nature, "beaver, maple leaf or RCMP," of good quality, and priced within our budget, would be purchased and added to our respective inventories. Which was, if everything went as it began, of enough volume to fill a small warehouse. I was going to need a slightly bigger warehouse, because my finds were twice as much, and of better quality. Of course Suzanne will disagree with this. The whole reason we wanted to do this, is to challenge ourselves…..as collectors, and of course, entertain you folks, by coming up with some fascinating articles of all shapes, sizes and purposes.

     What we found, was a lot of really poor quality products out there, much newer, and produced anywhere but Canada. I just couldn't bring myself to buy an RCMP decorative candy tin, that was made in some other country than our own. We were actually educating ourselves, about the differences of collecting pieces from the last 25 years, as compared to the those decorative items twenty-five years and older. Then we were finding a few more items made in Canada. Truth was, we found it necessary to go to antique shops specifically, to find Canadian-made products, often of more than fifty years of age, with those same iconic images. It kind of made us mad;  the fact our Canadian souvenirs, simply aren't made in Canada anymore. We did find a few exceptions, such as the small pottery canoes, made in the 1950's and 1960's, that advertised Canadian towns and cities, which were actually manufactured by potters in this country. So to round this long explanation out, we just dropped the whole thing, because we outrightly refused to spend money on iconic symbols of our country, made everywhere else but in Canada. So we didn't offer anything on July Ist, which was kind of disappointing, and as we continued hunting right up until this week, without luck, I confess, it is the first time in our marital bliss, that the usual cut-throat rivalry, between business partners, ended with a dull, uninspiring stalemate. We turned down thousands of really crappy souvenir and collectible Canadiana, that was offered to us, by kind dealers and second hand shop clerks, simply because we couldn't justify acquiring foreign made symbols of our country. If we had only been hunting the antique shops, and spending upwards of four to five thousand dollars, we could have come home with twenty or thirty major historic items each. Items, by the way, that would have not only held their value, but in time, increased in significance. Canadiana is a good investment generally. There's no shortage of iconic pieces for anyone who has a meaty acquisition budget. But as we stated in the opening foray, of the challenge, our interest was to buy cheaply. That was where we went wrong. If you want the good stuff…..the genuine Canadiana…..well sir, it's going to cost you!

     I was looking out the window, here at Birch Hollow, this morning, trying to get moving on that elusive first paragraph, for my new series of Gravenhurst Sketches, which I promised to being on this last day of November 2012. It was shortly after sunrise, and after two cups of coffee, I had watched a beautiful pre-winter morning illuminate the snow-covered Bog across the road. I looked out at the cluster of stately maples, thick, venerable old pines, and leaning birches, with the light and shadow contrasting the snow to the border cedars, and I thought to myself, what an absolutely breathtaking scene it all is……..so powerfully alluring and yet subtly mysterious; a place of gentle solitude, yet a deep bubbling pool of inspiration. And I began writing what I felt at that moment, about home and region, and what a pleasure it has been, for all these years, to have had this same vista rising to greet me each morning, of each season of the year. The panorama that has always given something curious of nature to study, and patiently watch through the days and weeks, and has never once, since we arrived here in Gravenhurst, left me without motivation at this keyboard. I can remember the painful hiatus, in so many other residences, when I found myself without any interest to write even a single sentence. I look out upon the woodlands at first light, and I wander the paths through the bog at mid-day, and stand looking over the lowland before turning-in, the dog and I, and I offer my humble thanks to God, for allowing me this precious experience, this wonderful day; these splendid hours of pure enjoyment of our hinterland.

     I turned to Suzanne this morning, and informed her, that I had found the ultimate Canadian icon we'd both been searching for; "our town," I blurted, as if just awakening to the reality we live in one of the most naturally significant regions in Canada. "How could we have missed this?" I asked. "Gravenhurst is a town full of iconic Canadiana; in the forests, on, and around the lakes, in the countryside, and in the history of the town itself. It's all here. We're surrounded by Canadian symbols, and attitude……, so basically, as I thought about it first……I win."  Suzanne replied, "You're a cheater." And, "You said we had to be able to buy it, to have it count." With a smile on my face, and a wee wink of the Irish eye, I said, "I paid our taxes……so therefore, I am a partner constituent in our hometown!" Well, as I am accustomed to, she laughed, and her laugh made me laugh, and I think the cats were laughing too. Over a couple more coffees, and pancakes with yes……real maple syrup, Suzanne agreed with me, that our wonderful little hometown was full to overflowing with lots of Canadian symbols……not ones imprinted on ashtrays or coffee mugs, cups and saucers, or on playing cards……but a part of everyday life, such that we hardly notice just how nationally imbedded our lives have become. I'm reminded how wonderful it is to be Canadian, when I look out at this snow-laden wetland, this morning, and wonder if Canadian landscape artist A.Y. Jackson, or Tom Thomson, might have found it a significant scene to sketch; with its beautiful maples backed by towering pines, and shouldered by those beautiful, storied birches that beckon poets to create analogies.

     On a drive uptown, and along side-streets and small lanes, we took a few extra moments on the way to work, to see the other reminders of Canadiana, we are so fortunately exposed…..but most often ignore as the commonplace of living here. It's when you start pondering, the unique qualities of our town, for a project like this, that it all emerges so charmingly…..historically, and at times, we both got a little misty-eyed, because it can become almost overwhelming…..this national obsession……for the good of course; when you realize what our district possesses in natural resources, and offers in opportunity. We drove to the shore of Lake Muskoka, and Muskoka Beach, and the scene by mid morning, was stunningly beautiful and beckoning. The trip along the winding, forested trail of Muskoka Beach Road, with its lowlands and pastures, and the famous cathedral maples, is an adventure in solitude……but as much, an odyssey of discovery. This is our home town. The mix of urban life and country living. The amalgamation of what is naturally beautiful, and what is historically relevant. A place of rare enchantments, and a locale of stunning actuality. It's where we live. Where we work. The town where we attend church. Where we shop, stop to chat, sit in coffee shops with friends, dunk donuts, and carry-out hot pizzas fresh from the oven. It is the hometown where several newborns have just helped increase the population. It is the place we come together to curl, and skate, and play hockey…….watch and cheer our hockeyists, and the place where we gather for community suppers and for special entertainment. It is the hometown in which we awake each morning, through each day of our vibrant four seasons, and it's where we arrive back, at the end of the day, to hang our caps, and settle for an evening supper; and maybe then a comfortable seat by the hearth…..or television, for a quiet time before retiring to bedlam. We will ponder our coming weeks, appointments we have to keep, plan out our agendas, prepare to go to work another day…..and think about the donation we have yet to make to the food bank, and the money that will be donated to the supper club, or the Salvation Army, to help the less fortunate. There will be, of course, thoughts about the coming Christmas holidays, and the raging good cheer……that if we think about…..is with us all year…..just slightly subdued.

     My Christmas Sketches of Gravenhurst, will thusly, reflect very closely, the vestiges of Canadiana, so charmingly ingrained in the way we live our lives…….the way we function as stakeholders in this amazing little town, tucked between the lakes and woodlands of South Muskoka. This series of articles, is as much a tribute to Canada, as it will be to our hometown. It will, I think, give us all a little bit to rekindle, this Christmas, as to how special it is……to be iconically Canadian…..and the real life players, in the ever-evolving novelty, and vibrant actuality, of the real life performance of "Our Town."

     I hope you will join me for this month-long tribute to our fine little town, and this great big lovable country, many of us have taken for granted for far too long. Politics aside, this is a Christmas celebration. With a Happy New Year attached neatly on the end.

     Thanks once again, dear friends, for visiting this Gravenhurst blog. We'll keep the fire roaring in the hearth, and an open place on the bench beside…..for whenever you can return to Birch Hollow for a visit.

We're all friends here…..despite our politics.

A Story About A Grandmother's Benevolence

BESTOW KINDNESSES UPON OTHERS THIS CHRISTMAS

WE'VE ALL KNOWN SOMEONE LIKE BLANCHE JACKSON……..IN THIS TOWN, AND ALL OVER GOD'S GOOD EARTH

NOTE: NOW THAT "CURIOUS; THE TOURIST GUIDE," IS ON NEWSSTANDS, I'D LIKE TO RE-PUBLISH THE CHRISTMAS COLUMN I WROTE, FOR THE READERS OF MY DAILY GRAVENHURST BLOG. IT'S A STORY ABOUT MY GRANDMOTHER. I DIDN'T KNOW HER FOR LONG, OR EVEN WELL. I CAN REMEMBER BEING AT THEIR HOUSE IN TORONTO, AND LOOKING AT HER FRAIL LITTLE BODY, IN THE HOSPITAL BED, MY GRANDFATHER STAN, INSISTED BE PLACED IN THE PARLOR, OVERLOOKING THE STREET SHE ADORED. ANY TIME WE VISITED, BEFORE HER FATAL ILLNESS, WE WERE TREATED TO INCREDIBLE DINNERS, IN HER BIG KITCHEN, AND A WONDERFUL SOCIAL TIME; AND OF COURSE THE DISTANT MUTED SOUNDS OF A VIOLIN FROM ANOTHER ROOM. STANLEY HAD PLAYED WITH VIOLINISTS FROM THE TORONTO SYMPHONY, AND IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON, ACCORDING TO MY MOTHER, TO HAVE A PARLOR WITH A QUARTET PRACTICING ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON. BLANCHE WAS FROM GERMAN AND DUTCH ANCESTRY, HER FAMILY WELL KNOWN IN THE RANKS OF UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS. MY MOTHER REMEMBERS HER GRANDMOTHER, WEARING TRADITIONAL DUTCH ATTIRE, WITH HAT, SMOKING A PIPE IN A CREAKING OLD ROCKING CHAIR, AT THE FAMILY FARM, IN TRENTON, ONTARIO. I KNOW THAT MY DEAR GRANDMOTHER WOULD BE FURIOUS AT ME, FOR WRITING THIS BLOG. BUT SHE NEVER GOT TO KNOW ME AS A WRITER, SO I THINK HISTORY WILL FORGIVE ME FOR RELATING THIS STORY, SO MANY YEARS AFTER HER DEATH. SHE WAS ONE OF THOUSANDS OF KINDLY SOULS IN TORONTO, IN THE WIDER ONTARIO AND CANADA, DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, AND FOR YEARS AFTER, WHO ALWAYS HAD A LITTLE EXTRA FOOD, AND WARM CLOTHING, FOR THE MANY TRANSIENTS WHO WANDERED FROM CITY TO TOWN LOOKING FOR WORK…..OR THOSE WHO RODE THE RAILS. SHE IS ONLY EXTRAORDINARY BECAUSE SHE WAS MY KIN FOLK. BUT IT IS A FAMILY STORY THAT HAS INSPIRED ME ALL MY LIFE…..AND POSSIBLY, IF SHE IS WATCHING OVER MY SHOULDER FROM THE GREAT BEYOND, SHE WILL FORGIVE MY TRANSGRESSIONS, FOR TELLING THIS STORY TO YOU.

     She would not have understood being called a remarkable person. Being called an angel? Sure, as long as the compliment came from her husband, or children. It wouldn't have crossed her mind, that those routine culinary efforts were extraordinary whatsoever, helping those hungry men, who showed up regularly at the back door looking for a hot meal. Her house, you see, had become known amongst transients, in those days of economic depression, as a friendly place, with a kindly matron, who would gladly feed the homeless. And there were many. Some weeks, way too many!

    My grandmother had just enough height to hover above the stove-top, and the pot steaming with stew. It wasn't Christmas dinner. But it was food that "stuck to your ribs," as the hobos and unemployed wanderers used to say, after they'd finished a big bowl in Blanche Jackson's country kitchen.

     My father took a photograph of me, back in the very early sixties, standing with my grandfather Stanley, a Toronto builder and violinist, and his wife, my grandmother, Blanche, who even then was only about six inches taller than her grandson, then six or seven years of age. Stanley was a mountain of a man in his heyday, but Blanche, as I remember her, was a tiny, feisty, in-charge wife and mother. Her height never interfered with her ability to wield a wooden spoon, upon the behinds of her six kids, to regain household order and protocol. The many homeless men, who sat around the big kitchen table, on cold winter nights, knew the same about Blanche Jackson. She had enormous resolve, to help those who needed it most, but the house rules applied to everyone. Whether you were there as a guest, overnight, or just attending for a nourishing meal, before heading down the road again.

     I heard lots of stories about Blanche, from my mother, especially about her policies regarding christian discipline, and her unshakable adherence to strict moral values. By my mother Merle's admission, the six Jackson kids "were no angels." "She had it tough looking after us, and the Depression years were especially hard on her, because she was feeding more than just her kin, and our father wasn't getting too much work then," Merle explained. "There were times when there were lots of people in our kitchen, but only one was related to us. She became mother to a lot more than just her kids."

     I start planning this Christmas season column, for "Curious; The Tourist Guide," a month in advance. I would commence, as is my usual protocol, of sitting down here in my office-archives, at Birch Hollow, and typing out a couple of rough drafts of stories I think might suit the year's Christmas issue. This season's greeting, to our readers and advertisers, wasn't coming as easily as in previous years. I suppose there was a lot on my mind, as I've been working on other writing projects recently, dealing with the plight of the modern-day homeless, and financially disadvantaged, suffering in our region.

    In the past decade, I've always been able to find some curious story, bit of inspiring biography, such as the story of artist-missionary, Ada Florence Kinton, (in Muskoka for Christmas in the 1880's), or an obscure historical essay, from my archives of reference material, that would inspire a new and insightful column. This year, for once, I fumbled about, looking for a story that would be unique, uplifting, nostalgic but mindful of our precarious modern times. I must admit, being truly stuck this autumn season. The ongoing news of unemployment, and struggling families, the stresses on local food banks, and an increasing need for social assistance, tripped me up. When folks have financial difficulties, and can't see a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, reading some hollow, adjective-laden, uninspiring Christmas story, would be a waste of my time, and frankly, yours! The paper's all important open space, required a better column, to reflect the concerns of the times, yet exude, in print, the true joy and magic of the season.

     This morning, in preparation for a long session at the keyboard, I knew a few moments ahead of time, that it was going to be necessary to re-visit the old days, but not for frivolous reasons. As if my mother had passed a message from the other side, heaven hopefully, I could so clearly then, visualize my diminutive grandmother, spoon in hand, dishing out steaming soup to her company of gents, huddled around the kitchen table, in the house Stan had built with his own hands. I thought about the way this kindly soul, would insist that the men come into the warm kitchen for their meal. She refused to let them take her good, hot food outside where it would get cold. There were exceptions, if the person at the back door, was fearful because of previous bad experiences with authority. Her rule, other than conduct becoming to a christian household, was that each visitor "wash-up" before sitting at the table.

     Merle told me that there was always an "Everything Stew," on the stove, in those days, ready for the dinner hour rush. The "everything" aspect, involved the leftovers that always found a use in the big metal pot, that could be drawn into active service quickly, when need arose. Blanche saw the hardship of humanity up-close. She heard terrible stories of loss and tragedy. How families had lost their employment, their money, homes, and even their families. Many of the guests were hobos, who had been riding the rails for years, and knew from mates onboard, and in the hobo jungles, that Blanche Jackson's Toronto house, always had hot food, and lots of it……and you were welcome as long as "you didn't use the Lord's name in vain." Or you'd get the spoon on a fleshy part of your body. Not on the head, of course. Some of the men never lifted their heads, or offered to talk, even after a warming supper. They had experienced suffering most of us today, couldn't imagine. Others were eager to chat, as their travels were lonely and the solitude of nature, where they spent most of their hours, could be debilitating on many levels. They had considerable respect for this tiny woman, who could dart from stove to table as if her feet weren't actually touching the floor.

     The hobos, in particular, would insist on doing chores for the food they received, although they seemed relieved there was no labors required as repayment. There were days however, Blanche had a list of household projects to bestow, on those who didn't want to accept charity. They insisted on working off the cost of the dinner. I would like to have been in that Jackson house, to see my grandmother in action, presiding over that occupied kitchen. All five feet of the undaunted, stalwart woman, who saw christian duty as heavenly…..and not really work at all. To see how she made those weary and depressed travelers, and the homeless, feel better about themselves, after being cleaned-up, and then well fed, would, I think, have been inspirational. Blanche even kept a store of old and reliable clothing and footwear, just in case someone came through that back door, with torn attire on a bitterly cold December day. She could sew, so it was often the case, Blanche stopped ladling soup and stew, to take up the needle and thread, to repair a torn coat or pair of trousers. There were dozens of other families, providing the same benevolence within several surrounding neighborhoods. Everybody was touched by the Depression years. Most knew all about hardships. My grandfather built a Church in the Avenue Road area, and the directorship of the congregation, accepted the keys, and then informed him, they had no money to pay for the work and materials. It didn't halt Blanche's work to feed the needy. She just stretched what she did have, over the weeks and months it took to recover from the financial loss. It did however, stop my grandfather from ever attending church in Toronto again. As a matter of irony, Stanley Jackson died on the stairs of a church in St. Petersburg ,Florida, in the early 1970's.

     Blanche didn't operate a soup kitchen for the poor. She just did what the family could afford, without starving themselves. "My parents always found a way to feed us, and them, but I don't know how they did it," Merle explained. "They just couldn't turn those in need away. She was just resourceful as a home cook, and nothing edible went to waste….especially good soup bones." Blanche Jackson was one of thousands of kindly folks, back then, who opened their homes to the destitute, because it was the right thing to do for humanity. It is still being done today, somewhat differently, but generosity remains in full vigor at regular, weekly dinners at local churches, in addition to service club initiatives, and food bank provisions, for those who find themselves in dire consequences. Blanche was just one person in the real social net, of a caring society, that was never recognized by a statistical accounting. Let's just say, it was off the record, as far as a public service, but a warm reality, for those who knew, by word of mouth, Blanche Jackson's kitchen could save your life.

     When I hear the evening news, and scan through the daily newspaper, and consult our community weekly, I continue to be distressed, by the increasing number of folks in our nation, province and region, facing bleak futures, just as was the case in those dark days of the Great Depression. In some ways, I wonder what Charles Dickens would sense about today's hardships, as compared to those in the early 1800's, of old England. I think the moral outcome would be the same however, that it should be resolved amongst us all, "that mankind is our business." "Their common welfare is our business," as he penned in dialogue, for Ebeneezer Scrooge's business partner, Jacob Marley, for his death-bed confession, about how, in moral consequence, they should have acted in life. Kindness as a virtue, versus business success at all cost.

     I hope this Christmas, as with all those festive seasons in the past, you can find an opportunity, to lend assistance to those in need. As Dickens so poignantly noted, it is at Christmas, when need is so keenly felt. But often obscured by seasonal revelry. There are food banks that need your help. Free dinner clubs, that generously provide sustenance to those who are hungry, and without resources to buy the groceries they need…..for Christmas dinner, or any dinner at all. There are those who are poorly outfitted, without winter clothing, to deal with their unfortunate homelessness, and the bitter realities of a Canadian winter; and youngsters who will find nothing at all beneath the Christmas tree, once again this year. Our social agencies and charitable organizations, that do such wonderful work in our communities, desperately need your assistance. If my grandmother had survived to this new era, she would be working away in her kitchen, on the soup of the day.

     The only message I have for this Christmas, other than to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season, is to "think kindly of our neighbors, and our communities, and offer help where it is needed, as a sincere exercise of goodwill on earth." Look in on folks you haven't seen for a while, just to make sure they're okay. Possibly you can spare a few coins, for the Salvation Army Christmas campaign, or offer a donation of items to the food bank near you. Maybe offer to help with a community kitchen initiative, to provide free Christmas dinners, to those who would otherwise do without. An act of kindness is always a good investment in the well being of humanity.

     My grandmother would take her spoon to me, for making her the subject of this Christmas column. She would be furious that her act of commonplace, which it was for the time and circumstance, would be considered something special. Blanche Jackson didn't do it for any gain, other than meeting her own life and family commitment; to share with others, and bestow compassion and kindness where it would have the best possible outcome. Some of her visitors, in that big country kitchen, weren't as hungry, as they were lonely and desolate souls. She knew this, and for a temporary period, Blanche became their mother-figure as well. She listened to their stories of hardship and loss, and never judged them, or preached her religious views. Unless you cussed. You got a warning or two before the spoon struck the top of your arm with a loud snap. She didn't convert them, but then she never made this a priority. But when they left her kitchen, on those occasions, (some visited frequently), they always wrapped their arms around the tiny woman with the big wooden spoon, as if they were her family too…..and in a way, they were. Merle told me, that quite a few of these men, came to the house, in later years, having turned their lives around, and found jobs, just to say thanks to the woman with the "Everything Stew," and such a kind heart. But as she used to tell me, "I know what's good for you……eat your peas!" I always did!

     Thanks once again, for joining me at my Birch Hollow hearthside, on this cold November day. I appreciate your ongoing support. Please join me over the next month, for my Christmas Sketches of Gravenhurst which are official launched tomorrow. Farewell for now.

Don't Shoot The Critic; Listen and Learn

WHEN WE'RE NOT CRITICAL ENOUGH - WATCHFUL AND PROACTIVE? WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE!  A PARKING LOT WHERE A BOG USED TO BE!

CRITICAL OVERVIEWS KEEP ADMINISTRATORS HONEST

     THERE ARE A FEW FOLKS OUT THERE, WHO THINK I'M OVERLY CRITICAL IN MY BLOGS, ESPECIALLY TOWARD LOCAL POLITICIANS. IF I CAN LIP-OFF, AND OPINE ABOUT GRAVENHURST CRITICS, I LOVE TO LOATHE, WELL THEN, AS THEY SAY, "WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE OLD GOOSE, IS GOOD FOR THE OLD GANDER." I'M DESERVING OF SCRUTINY AS WELL. THE EXCEPTION, AND I DO THINK I HAVE ONE, IS THAT I WILL OFFER SOLUTIONS THAT ARE REASONABLE, APPLICABLE, AND ADAPTABLE. SO IF I'M WILLING TO TAKE AN EDITORIAL JAB AT A COUNCIL DECISION, I RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKING-UP MY ASSERTION, OR ALLEGATION, WITH FACT, AND SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE. I'M SURE MY ADVERSARIES, ASSUME THAT I SIT IN A BEAT-UP RECLINER, WITH A LAPTOP, AND SPEND MY ELDER DAYS TRYING TO SETTLE SCORES AROUND THE OLD HOME TOWN. THEY ASSUME, AND SOME HAVE TOLD ME SO, THAT I'M JUST A GRUMPY OLD MAN, WHO NEEDS LAXATIVE. HOW WRONG THEY ARE. MY WIFE IS A HOME ECONOMIST, AND A PERSISTENT PUSHER OF FRUIT AND FIBRE IN OUR DIET. SO CONSTIPATION DOESN'T INFLUENCE MY EDITORIALS.

     IF THERE IS ANY ONE THING THAT ANNOYS ME, AND STIRS THE EMOTIONS THESE DAYS, IT'S THE FACT THAT ALOT OF STUFF GOES ON IN THIS TOWN, AND AT THE GOVERNMENT LEVEL, THAT IS NOT CRITICIZED AT ALL. IT SHOULD BE, AND IT WAS CHALLENGED WEEKLY, WHEN WE HAD TWO NEWSPAPERS SERVING THIS COMMUNITY. THE MEDIA NEWS REPORTING HERE IS WEAK. IF IT WAS TEA, IT WOULD BE NOT-QUITE TEA. IMPORTANT NEWS ARTICLES THAT SHOULD QUOTE AT LEAST TWO TO FOUR SOURCES, FOR VALIDATION, AND STORY FAIRNESS, OFTEN ONLY HAVE ONE VERSION OF EVENTS, AND MOST EXPERIENCED JOURNALISTS KNOW THIS ISN'T ENOUGH TO PRESENT BALANCED COVERAGE. THERE ARE CASES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE BALA FALLS PROTEST, WHEN I DO SEE CONSIDERABLE POINT, COUNTERPOINT, IN PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. THIS IS GOOD FOR THOSE OF US TRYING TO KEEP UP ON EVENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND REGION. WHEN FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS RECENT COVERAGE OF THE PROPOSAL TO EXPAND THE BIA QUALIFYING ZONE, IN GRAVENHURST, SOUTHWARD, BUT PROBABLY NOT INCLUDING THE PLAZA AREA, THE STORY DIDN'T CONTAIN A TRACE OF COUNTERPOINT……AND THIS WEEK, THERE WASN'T A FOLLOW-UP ARTICLE. WHAT THIS TELLS ME…..A CRUSTY OLD NEWSHOUND, IS THAT THERE WAS NO APPARENT URGENCY TO DO A FOLLOW-UP, TO THE ORIGINAL ONE-SIDED ARTICLE, STATING ONLY, THAT THIS EXPANSION PROPOSAL WAS COMING IN THE SPRING OF 2013.

     SO HERE'S WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WITH MY EDITORSHIP. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A SIDE-BAR STORY, WHEN THE EXPANSION PROPOSAL WAS FIRST PRESENTED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE BANNER. THE SIDE-BAR STORY, BENEATH, WOULD HAVE FOCUSED ON OPINIONS BY THOSE BUSINESSES IN THE SOUTH END, THAT ARE APPARENTLY, GOING TO BE ASKED, OR FORCED (THIS WAS NEVER EXPLAINED EITHER), TO BECOME PARTNERS IN THE NEW-LOOK BIA. I KNOW FOR FACT, THERE ARE OBJECTORS TO THE PLAN, AND THE NEWSPAPER SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED THIS AS WELL. EVEN THIS WEEK, THE STORY WAS AVOIDED ALTOGETHER, AS IF, BY OMISSION, ONE MIGHT GATHER THERE IS ZERO OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSAL. THIS ISN'T SO, AT LEAST ACCORDING TO MY SOURCES, AND IN FACT, IT WILL BE ONE OF THE STORMIEST SPRING SEASONS AS A RESULT OF THE EXPANSION PLANS. WHY WAS THIS INTEGRAL PART OF THE COVERAGE OF THE EXPANSION, UNWORTHY OF OPINION, FROM THOSE ABOUT TO BE IMPACTED BY HIGHER TAXATION?

A CRITICAL MEDIA IS A SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

     In the case of the Opera House roof, there were a few councillors who probably wished I'd fall off one. Just not the Opera House. I wasn't being critical of town council because I had nothing else to write about, but because I have an audience that wants to know about this kind of event, or situation, and many of them are constituents concerned about the management of our town's affairs. I read a report, a month or so ago, that was wrong. It was wrong when it was published, and I offered evidence, that all was not going smoothly, as claimed, or on schedule, and over and above….. there was a honking big hole in the roof. I wasn't trying to be an a…hole or start some rebellion of citizen activists. I could if I wanted to, but it wasn't really necessary, just to make a point. I was just being an observer, like any one else in this town, who doesn't buy the rhetoric from official sources. It took the town a hell of a long time, to come clean on the problems the roofers encountered, and in this case, thankfully, it was the newspaper that followed the leads, and the obvious discrepancy, between the official line, and what all of us could see every day, while walking or driving past the Opera House. I did badger council and the media, to fix this shortfall of information for the benefit of constituents. I wasn't picking a fight at all, as some believed. I was asking for truthfulness from the folks who guaranteed us, their reign of power would be transparent. That's a whole other story. I predicted the roof repair was going to be interrupted by snow, and this was not a good thing. So yes, even as a pain in the ass critic, I was right. Love me or hate me, I was telling the truth. I was brought up that way, so I guess my mother was to blame….God rest her soul.

     The absence of investigative forays, like we see with the Toronto media, means that a lot of things go undetected, that frankly we should know about…….and not just after the fact. When it comes to the future of the BIA expansion proposal, for example, the media must endeavor to treat this with eyes wide open. It has the potential of getting ugly, and especially, if there is any perception, that this is going to be rammed through the municipal approval process. We want to see counterpoint on this, because we're confident, objectors exist and may already be thinking about plans for opposition. So presently, because the media hasn't found this aspect interesting, we are left to speculate that something is brewing……but we're not quite sure what. Speculation my friends, is a bad, bad thing. Especially for the present BIA, that has traditionally lacked any ability to self-criticize, or assess precisely why many member businesses, won't have anything to with the Board of Directors. But you would never know this rift existed, unless by experience and hearsay. Thus, the BIA appears to be the happiest, most together organization in the free world. That's what they would like us to believe. If you subscribe to the press coverage, then you'd be awfully surprised to find out there's a lot of discontent in the present uptown business community. Will the town ever take this into consideration, especially before they consider expansion plans. When will the media feel it is necessary to investigate the disharmony……and find out, how many member businesses want a change of the year after year status quo?

     There is disharmony in a lot of BIA neighborhoods. Not just in Gravenhurst. It's hard to get full compliance anywhere. Most of us voyeurs of municipal comings and goings understand how difficult it is to have a water-free ship in the stormy seas of a seasonal economy. In Quebec, with the latest investigations into organized crime, and politicians who got too close to the action, scrutiny can really hurt a reputation. Town councils, like political associations the world over, are targets for criticism, and this has its roots in the history of government…..any government. One just expects to be scrutinized as a politician. If that cramps your style, then don't run for political office. It's when media intervention, or bloggers like me, start upsetting apple-carts, even though justified to do so, we're considered the horsemen of the apocalypse. But regardless of what we might be called, for seeking truth, and exposing hidden realities, this is the very foundation of responsible journalism. It is to serve the readers…..the public, by offering insight where there has been little; to expose details and situations that were not known, but important information to the appreciation of the full story. I've read stories about local events, being outstanding successes, when I know, because I was there, they were in fact, unmistakably failures. Having full knowledge and capability to write a press release, and making the reader believe my point of view, I fully appreciate the purpose of the "good times were had by all" approach. In a lot of cases, who the hell cares. In a few others, however, there are those who strenuously object to the lies, and misrepresentations. When someone calls an event a success, on a major community event, there should be counterpoint, and even supporting comments……which might lead a reporter to scratch the old noggin……because numerous versions have been revealed. Well sir, I'd rather have this dimension to play with, than give news readers one side only.

     The BIA expansion proposal, will become a disaster, if there is a continuation of the "pro side" is the "only side" approach. My suggestion to the BIA is to encourage debate, and operate with full transparency during the council application process. The town needs to be fully aware of the present situation of the BIA, because it is their business. They need to be particularly critical, because the opposition from the other end of the main street, is going to be prepared with their own fact finding. You can count on it. There will be property owners who like the idea of an expanded BIA zone, and they should have their say……..and make their position public, just as those in opposition. The point I'm trying to forge here, is that it doesn't have to be a battle ground. If the BIA thinks it's going to be easy "pickins" they are delusional. There is lot of potential, to hammer out differences, before it gets to the nitty gritty of decision making. The first consideration, is to advance the information sharing. When you have a front-pager, telling a neighborhood of property owners, that they're going to be paying more in taxes…..because of the company they keep, …..it is evermore incumbent, to follow-up with information resources, particularly at town hall. Folks in the affected area need to know their legal options. If the BIA wants to have this expansion, they will see the necessity of making it an amicable negotiation……where stakeholders feel a part of the process……and not the victims of a tax grab, and municipal bullying.

     I don't think the proposal will be without argument, and this is the workings of democracy. It's one thing to present the news that this proposal is on the table…….and quite another, to let those sitting around the table, have a shot at point - counter point. It is going to happen regardless. But we don't need to tear the main street business community apart, getting the deal finalized…….or defeating it. Those in the proposed expansion area, need to find out how they are going to be affected. If they can't get it in the local press, then they should contact their council representative, and request an explanation, and time-line. Take it from someone familiar with protest…….organization is the first line of defense…..and what carries the weight from beginning to end.

     Thanks for joining me today. I will be starting my Christmas Sketches of Gravenhurst on Friday, on the evening before the Santa Claus Parade, on Saturday. Hope you will come out and show your support for the kind citizens who help put this annual event together. It's a nice way to get the season off to a friendly, traditional, hometown Christmas season. It's for the kids! Let's give them the party they deserve.

BIA Expansion Hot For 2013, Critics In The Woodwork

DEFENDING OUR  HOME TOWN FOR THE RIGHT REASONS - 

CONFRONTING THE CRITICS STRAIGHT-UP

     SOME SIDE NOTES: ONE OF THE BIGGEST POLITICAL ISSUES IN GRAVENHURST, OVER THE NEXT TWELVE MONTHS, AS FAR AS THE LOCAL BIA IS CONCERNED, WILL BE THE PROPOSAL TO EXTEND THE BOUNDARY OF THEIR COMMERCIAL ZONE, PARTICULARLY THE PLAN TO PUSH SOUTH ON MUSKOKA ROAD. YOU READ IT HEAR FIRST, BEFORE IT MADE THE LOCAL MEDIA A WEEK AGO. WELL, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER FIRST. I PREDICT IT WILL BE CONTENTIOUS AND NASTY, AND THOSE WILL BE THE GOOD DAYS, AS SOUTH END BUSINESSES GET THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS AND DEBATE THE PLAN. THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST HAS A PRECARIOUS POSITION IN THIS MATTER, MORESO THAN USUAL; HAVING TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO ALL PARTIES, INCLUDING THEMSELVES, WITH SUCH A CONTROVERSIAL EXTENSION. IN ONE REGARD, IT'S ABSOLUTELY TRUE, THE BIA NEEDS TO EXPAND TO HAVE ANY REAL FUTURE DYNAMIC. ON THE OTHER SIDE, THERE WILL BE BUSINESS OWNERS OUTRAGED BY THE EXTRA TAXATION, AND THE FACT THEY ARE INCLUDED IN A GROUP WITH A REPUTATION FOR IN-FIGHTING…..AND ALSO, ON A GOOD DAY. THERE ARE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE EXPANSION I AM ONLY VAGUELY AWARE OF, BUT IT WON'T BE A RUBBER STAMP SITUATION, THAT'S FOR SURE. ONE THING IS FOR SURE! THE NEW YEAR WILL BE OFF TO AN EXCITING START……IF YOU HAPPEN TO LIKE EXTREME POLITICAL DEBATE.

    THE WHOLE FISHING EXPEDITION, MAY BACKFIRE ON THE PRESENT BIA EXECUTIVE. THESE KIND OF POLITICAL / ECONOMIC / TAXATION FORAYS, SELDOM END WITHOUT BATTLE WOUNDS TO THE PARTICIPANTS. I THINK THE PRESENT BIA EXECUTIVE AND THE TOWN, SHOULD CONSIDER SOME OF THE PRESENT DISCONTENT IN THE ZONE AS IT EXISTS TODAY……..BEFORE THEY MOVE AHEAD WITH PLANS FOR EXPANSION. IF THE TOWN DID ITS DUE DILIGENCE, AND TOOK A SURVEY OF PRESENT BIA MEMBERS, A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF BUSINESSES WOULD EITHER ASK TO BE REMOVED FROM THE PROGRAM, OR DEMAND, THROUGH THE TOWN ITSELF, DIRECTORSHIP CHANGES TO BE IMPLEMENTED. SURELY THE TOWN KNOWS THIS AHEAD OF GOING AHEAD WITH EXPANSION. OR MAYBE NOT. IT ONLY TAKES A FEW MOMENTS OF BUSINESS TO BUSINESS HOPPING, TO FIND MERCHANTS UNHAPPY WITH THEIR PRESENT REPRESENTATION. OF COURSE, THERE ARE THOSE WHO SWEAR WE COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT THE BIA. I EXPECT WE'LL BE HEARING AND READING A LOT MORE ABOUT THIS, AS EXTENSION PLANS ARE BANDIED ABOUT OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT BEFORE, THE TOWN NEEDS TO PLACE DEMOCRACY FIRST, IN THIS EXPANSION PROPOSAL; BECAUSE IF IT BECOMES A DONE-DEAL, (WITH NO WAY TO OPT OUT) IT COULD COME DOWN TO A MESSY COURT CHALLENGE, DEPENDING ON THE MOOD OF PROPERTY OWNERS. FROM EARLY REPORTS……IT'S GOING TO BE A HUMDINGER THIS SPRING.

KNOWING THE TOWN…..SUPPORTING THE TOWN……PROMOTING THE TOWN

     BACK IN MY DAYS WORKING FOR THE MUSKOKA SUN, AS ASSISTANT EDITOR, TO ROBERT J. BOYER,… ONE OF MY JOBS WAS TO FILL HIS HUGE "MAY TO OCTOBER" PUBLICATIONS. BACK THEN, THE MUSKOKA SUN MIGHT HAVE HIT ONE HUNDRED PAGES ON THE CIVIC HOLIDAY WEEKEND. AS ONE OF ONLY A FEW STAFFERS, THE TASK TO FILL THE BEAST WAS ENORMOUS, AND ESPECIALLY TO A STANDARD THAT PLEASED MR. BOYER, ALSO ONE OF THE REGION'S WELL KNOWN HISTORIANS. SUZANNE WOULD GET THE CALL, AT HOME, WHERE I HAD MY OFFICE IN THOSE DAYS, AND TAKE THE MESSAGE FROM BOB……ON A PRESS DAY, THAT WAS WORDED THUSLY: "I NEED MORE COPY FROM TED URGENTLY." AND, "WHEN CAN HE HAVE IT TO ME?" SHE WOULD HAVE TO WAKE ME ON THE COUCH, NEXT TO MY DESK, TO LET ME KNOW THE PAPER WAS RUNNING SHORT AGAIN. THE POINT OF ME RELATING THIS STORY, IS THAT I HAD TO RELY ON KNOWLEDGE OF LOCAL HISTORY, CURRENT EVENTS, THE QUALITIES AND QUANTITIES OF THE HINTERLAND ITSELF, TO COME UP WITH THAT STEADY STREAM OF PUBLISHABLE COPY.

     I HAD A MASSIVE LIBRARY OF MUSKOKA RELATED BOOKS TO DRAW ON, FOR LAST MINUTE FEATURE STORIES. IT WAS AT THIS TIME, THAT I BECAME A FULL TIME PROMOTER OF MUSKOKA, AND ITS COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT BOB REALLY WANTED FOR THE MUSKOKA SUN. I MIGHT HAVE THIRTY PIECES PUBLISHED IN ONE EDITION. I ONLY PUT BYLINES ON A FEW, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED RIDICULOUS, HAVING SO MANY CONTRIBUTIONS EACH ISSUE FROM ONE STAFF WRITER. I WAS IMMERSED IN LOCAL PROMOTIONS, BUT I WANT TO EXPLAIN TO YOU…..AS I IMPRESSED ON BOB AT THE TIME, MY MATERIAL HAD TO BE HONEST AND ORIGINAL. (SO KNOW HACKING WITH AN EDIT PEN, OR KNIFE) I WON'T FUDGE ANYTHING TO BUILD-UP A STORY. THE USE OF ACTUALITY AND FACT IS IMPERATIVE. I DON'T WRITE FLUFF……WHICH BASICALLY MEANS, FILLER COPY NO ONE WANTS TO READ, EVEN WHILE SITTING ON THE TOILET. SO OVER A FEW YEARS, I BECAME A HIGHLY PROLIFIC PROMOTIONAL WRITER, FOR BUSINESS, COMMUNITY GROUPS, FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS, COTTAGER ASSOCIATIONS, TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS, MUSEUMS, PARKS, OUTDOOR ADVENTURE GROUPS……YOU NAME IT. THE EDITORIAL COPY BELOW, IS WRITTEN BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ALL ABOUT POSITIVE PROMOTION, AND PRESENTING EVEN NEGATIVE DETAILS INTO A STORY…..THAT BY THE END, BECOMES UNDENIABLY POSITIVE. NOT BY USE OF FICTION EITHER. IT WAS MY TRAINING. I ALWAYS INCORPORATE ACTUALITY, NEGATIVE OR NOT, INTO MY EDITORIAL COPY…….BUT IT WILL ALWAYS BE COUNTER-BALANCED BY SENSIBLE PROPORTION, INSIGHT, AND WHATEVER POSITIVISM FITS, WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO BE FORCED AWKWARDLY INTO THE STORY. BOB WAS A NEWSMAN AFTER ALL, SO HE UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF BALANCING ANY NEWS OR FEATURE REPORT. HE EXPECTED IT OF ME, OVER MANY COLUMNS EACH WEEK; AND WELL, HERE I AM ALL THESE YEARS LATER, STILL FEELING COMPELLED TO PRESENT BALANCED STORIES, DESPITE HOW I MAY FEEL ABOUT THE SUBJECT, OR CIRCUMSTANCE. HERE'S A CASE IN POINT. I SOMETIMES HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME UNDERSTANDING THE SENTIMENTS IN OUR HOME TOWN. JUST WHEN I THINK I'VE FIGURED IT ALL OUT, I AM SUDDENLY SHOCKED BY A TURN OF EVENTS. I REALLY HATE TO ADMIT I HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING ENOUGH POSITIVE COUNTER-POINT, TO FINISH MY STORIES ON THE UPBEAT…….."THAT FOLKS, THINGS ARE GOING TO GET BETTER HERE." LET ME EXPLAIN A RECENT ENCOUNTER WITH A LOCAL CRITIC.

     ONE OF THE BURDENS OF HAVING SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE AS EITHER A WRITER/ COLUMNIST, HISTORIAN, (AND HUNTER OF ANTIQUES), HAS BEEN THE SUBTLE BUT PROGRESSIVE LAYERING OF CHARACTER…..MAKING ME THE KIND OF SELF RIGHTEOUS SON OF A BITCH, YOU WILL NEVER INVITE TO COFFEE, OR WANT AT YOUR PARTY. THIS GOES BACK TO EVEN MY EARLY DAYS WITH THE NEWSPAPERS IN MUSKOKA, WHEN I WOULD BE INVITED TO A PARTY, BUT TOLD CLEARLY, I WAS TO LEAVE MY NOTEPAD AT HOME. I HAD TWO CLOSE FRIENDS INSULT ME IN THIS FASHION, AND I DECIDED IF THEY THOUGHT SO LITTLE OF ME AS A FRIEND, TO FEEL COMPELLED TO ORDER ME TO SEPARATE WORK AND PLEASURE, WE WEREN'T REALLY FRIENDS AT ALL.

     THE OTHER DAY, IN A BRACEBRIDGE STORE, THE SALES CLERK, WHO I KNOW WELL, COMMENTED ABOUT THE NEWS GRAVENHURST MAY CONSIDER MAKING AN APPLICATION FOR A CASINO IN THE FUTURE. SEEING AS IT HAD BEEN IN THE PAPER THE WEEK BEFORE, AND I HAD WRITTEN ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY TWO WEEKS EARLIER, I DIDN'T FIND THE QUESTION PARTICULARLY OUT OF PLACE, OR IN ANY WAY UNUSUAL; AS ON OUR FREQUENT ENCOUNTERS, WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT THE HIGHLIGHT OF REGIONAL NEWS. SINCE I HAD MY FIRST WRITING GIG AT THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, BACK IN THE LATE 1970'S, I'VE BEEN ASSOCIATED, BY A LOT OF FOLKS, AS THE GUY WITH HIS FINGER ON THE PULSE OF THE DISTRICT. IN FACT, I DO STAY UP ON CURRENT EVENTS AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS BLOG, AND BECAUSE I'M TRULY INTERESTED IN OUR TOWN AND REGION.

     I OFFERED MY FRIEND THE OPINION THAT WHILE I DON'T VISIT CASINOS MYSELF, AND I DON'T LIKE WHAT GAMBLING REPRESENTS, ESPECIALLY ITS CONNECTION TO PERSONAL TRAGEDIES, I KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE INDUSTRY TO SAY WITH SOME CONFIDENCE, THAT IT DOES PROVIDE A SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL INVESTMENT, AND WOULD MOST CERTAINLY INCREASE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES…..AND FOR OUR AREA OF SOUTH MUSKOKA, JOBS ADMITTEDLY ARE MUCH LESS ABUNDANT THESE DAYS. MY EDITORIAL OPINION, SHARED VIA THIS BLOG, IS THAT THE ISSUE OF WHETHER OR NOT GRAVENHURST SHOULD HAVE A CASINO, MUST BE DECIDED BY THE CITIZENS THEMSELVES. I BELIEVE THERE SHOULD BE A REFERENDUM ON THE MATTER. POSSIBLY DURING THE NEXT MUNICIPAL ELECTION, BECAUSE NOTHING IS IMMINENT AT PRESENT.

     I BASE PART OF MY OPINION, ON THE REALITY, THAT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM OUR TOWN AND WIDER MUNICIPALITY, VISIT CASINO RAMA EVERY YEAR, PARTICULARLY TO SEE SOME OF THEIR IMPRESSIVE LINE-UP OF PERFORMERS, PLAYING THE MAIN STAGE. OUR BOYS ARE AMONGST THE CLIENTELE. THEY DON'T GAMBLE BUT THEY LOVE THE ENTERTAINMENT VENUE. THEIR FAVORITE SHOW WAS "KISS." FROM THE SUPPORT COMING FROM OUR TOWN, IT WOULD SEEM A REFERENDUM WOULD SHOW THAT A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF OUR POPULATION SUPPORTS THE TOWN'S INTEREST IN A FUTURE CASINO. BUT THE CITIZENS SHOULD HAVE THEIR SAY. GETTING A CASINO IS A BIG STEP FOR ANY COMMUNITY. TOWN COUNCIL IS RIGHT FOR KEEPING IT A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY, BUT THEY WOULD BE DEAD WRONG, TO THINK THEY CAN AVOID OPPOSITION. PUTTING IT TO A VOTE, IS THE DEMOCRATIC THING TO DO.

     SO KEEPING THIS IN MIND, IN TERMS OF GENERAL CONVERSATION, A CHAP STANDING BEHIND ME, INTERRUPTED WHAT WAS INTENDED TO BE A PRIVATE CONVERSATION. HE LET US BOTH KNOW, THAT HAVING A CASINO IN GRAVENHURST, WOULD MAKE THE "POOR POORER," AND THAT IT WAS NOT IN OUR BEST INTERESTS TO PLAY HOST TO GAMBLING. HE WENT ON TO EXPLAIN HOW THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST SHOULD INSTEAD, BE OUT HUSTLING UP NEW INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT INSTEAD, TO CREATE JOBS FOR A COMMUNITY BROUGHT TO ITS KNEES BY UNEMPLOYMENT. FUNDAMENTALLY, GRAVENHURST, IN HIS OPINION, JUST OUTRIGHTLY SUCKS, AND A CASINO IS JUST GOING TO MAKE THINGS EVEN WORSE.

     THE BURDEN THAT I EXPLAINED IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH, IS ONE THAT PROHIBITS ME GENERALLY, FROM IGNORING COMMENTS LIKE THIS. IN FACT, LIKE THE MOVIE "SHANE," STARRING ALAN LADD, MY FAMILY SOON RECOGNIZES THE ALMOST INAUDIBLE GROWL DEEP WITHIN. THEY BACK OFF AND DISAPPEAR INTO THE CLOTHING AISLES.

     I AM NOT A PACIFIST. I AM DEVOTED TO THE PRIVILEGE OF FREE SPEECH AND FULL DEMOCRACY. BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN IGNORANCE AND OPINION MAKE FOR AN UNCOMFORTABLE MOMENT, FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS SPENT MOST OF HIS LIFE RESEARCHING THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA……WORTS AND ALL. THERE'S A SKIT FROM THE OLD "I LOVE LUCY," SHOW, WHERE A VAUDEVILLE ACTOR, SHE WILL BE PERFORMING WITH, USES THE NAME "NIAGARA FALLS," AS A TRIGGER FOR AN ANGRY REACTION. LUCY IS TOLD BY THE ACTOR, TO NEVER UTTER THE NAME, BECAUSE OF THE VIOLENT INSANITY WHICH WOULD ERUPT. THE CHAP, ACCORDING TO THE SKIT, HAD LOST HIS WIFE TO ANOTHER MAN, WHILE VISITING "NIAGARA FALLS." LUCY CAN'T AVOID SAYING THE CITY'S NAME, BECAUSE THAT'S THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE SKIT……THE REACTION! THE THROTTLING OF THE PERSON, WHO DARED TO REPEAT THE NAME. I START FEELING THIS WAY, WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A SNIDE OR HURTFUL COMMENT, WITHOUT FOUNDATION, FOR MY APPARENT BENEFIT……AND FOR THE AUDIENCE NEARBY. SMACKING DOWN GRAVENHURST DOESN'T MAKE ME LAUGH. CERTAINLY DOESN'T MAKE ME WANT TO SHAKE THE PERSON'S HAND, OR COMPLIMENT THE POINT OF VIEW. SO, "SLOWLY I TURN….STEP BY STEP, INCH BY INCH……" AND LET LOOSE A RETORT I USUALLY COME TO REGRET.

HISTORY EXPLAINS A LOT OF WHAT WE MUST ENDURE TODAY

     I won't go into any great detail, to describe my outburst in this Bracebridge shop. (Part of my antique hunting travels) It was short and abrupt. What made it so much more contentious to me, was that the chap offering the opinion about the social / welfare ills, of a casino in our town, was a Gravenhurst resident. I knew him well. Although I could accept his opinion about casinos, I had far more difficulty handling the critique of the place where we both live, in a store with other customers, also listening to the diatribe about the terrible economic situation, that is forcing people to leave altogether. I can get overly passionate fairly quick under these circumstances, when our town is unfairly attacked; such as town council being maligned for not producing enough jobs to satisfy our needs. And announcing this in the heart of another town…..with an audience that may or not be as historically astute to argue back like this blogger.

     This is not an isolated case. How would you like to be in a restaurant, and hear a woman at the table beside, remark with good humor, "You know what I like about Gravenhurst…….when it's a reflection in my rear view mirror." If I'm having tapioca for desert, I will inhale it, after hearing this. Especially when it's someone I know who lives in Gravenhurst. Over the years I've heard and read it all. I expect this kind of stuff from residents of other towns. But not from our own. As I took some lengths, to explain things to my fellow homeowner, while checking out my purchases, I knew that no matter what I said……this story he was telling, had "wings," and it would be told and re-told, whenever he found an opening to town-abuse, for a gawking untutored audience. If you're a resident of Bracebridge, do you really care what someone says about the town down the road? Maybe if you've got relatives who live there, or a parent that used to reside in Gravenhurst, in the past, you might offer a wee insight……or two, in our defense. But generally, it will be accepted news, no matter how incorrect and biased. Thus, we are getting dumped-on unfairly, but alarmingly, from those who have Gravenhurst as a mailing address.

     When I wrote about this in yesterday's blog, I'm sure some readers thought it presumptuous of me, to single out town critics as the source of all evil. Let's just say, for example, that I was from out of the area, visiting to investigate the potential of opening a small business in South Muskoka; having dropped into that Bracebridge shop to sample the local fare…….and I came upon, inadvertently, a chap so eager to discuss the inherent and rampant disadvantages of living and trying to find work in Gravenhurst. To think that it wouldn't have some minor influence, is naive, because even small details and opinions like this, have a staying power in investor's minds. Now multiply this by many hundreds, of such negative opinions and miserable public relations, and is it any surprise that negativity and criticism flourish here…..virtually unabated?

     I will guarantee you, that in these circumstances, I suddenly and without warning become part of the problem; without intent to provide history lessons on my day off! I can not resist a modest retaliation, to at least let the audience know, the opinions expressed by the subject malcontent, are not necessarily factual or based on any prevailing reality. Free speech isn't just the tool of the critic. So I suggest to them, that I deserve the privilege of speaking to allegations or unfounded accusations…..if not to prove incorrect, then to clarify the subject of debate. I have heard so many foul misrepresentations of fact, in argument, that after an initial gasp, I just can't walk away without offering a fleeting counterpoint……that comes after having spent most of a lifetime learning and writing about our region. No, it isn't my role as an historical super hero, of comic book stature. It's what we should all be doing, who care about our town and its reputation. It just makes me sick when one of our own, based only on personal bias, decides to salt the earth for the rest of us, who happen to like the place in which we work and dwell.

     Seeing as we can't stop this from happening, and we would spend a lot of unproductive time, trying to re-educate and sensitize our critics, the best plan is to follow our protocols of good citizenship, and use criticism to influence constructive change. I love debate. I am a huge supporter of negotiation and inclusive democracy, where we all feel like contributors to our garnered fortunes. When I bring up this issue of self-defeating criticism, and how it has hurt us in so many ways, for so many years, it's to explain in part, why it is imperative to fight back…..and if it's just the instance of community pride, that makes your pulse race, and your blood boil, we can use this aroused gumption in a thousand different and productive ways……."moving forward," as politicians love to say. We have to sense where adversity is coming from. Why does defeatism have its roots so deep in our neighborhoods, and what can be done, to turn this around…..so that the energy spent on criticism and negativity, can be harnessed for the common good……of building back our confidence, that what we had, as an historically thriving town….. can be restored and built upon once more!

     I am a proud resident of Gravenhurst. I bet you are as well. I will spend my last days of this mortal coil, living where I am most emotionally and inspirationally comfortable. As someone who has written more promotional articles for international consumption, about our region, than any one else, since the late 1970's, my endorsement of Gravenhurst carries heartfelt sincerity. So you can believe me, when I say, I wouldn't live here, or have raised our family here, if I wasn't smitten by its abundant good graces. It has deficiencies like any community. But its commonplace is preciously compelling, and as a writer, I only need to look out upon the snow-laden Bog this morning, or take a casual stroll uptown, on the way to work, to feel that I am in the right place to spend the rest of my life. I will open the family business, each morning, as usual, and look forward to meeting the day's patrons. I will enjoy the excitement of being involved in our community's well being…..it's prosperity. Our overall contribution, as a family business, may be small, considered to the work and dedication of others. But we will chug along the same as we have, feeling hopeful of some accomplishment, some credit to the town, before the shingle is retired at nightfall.

     And yes, I will be just as vehement, when our town is slurred, for no other reason than malicious satisfaction, by those who have never taken the time, to help us improve our town……..as it is so much easier to knock the bricks down, than to fit them securely into place.

     Thank you for supporting this blog. I feel you are, at the same time, supporting Gravenhurst……and I like that premise. See you again soon.

What People Are Saying About Gravenhurst

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GRAVENHURST - THAT WE MOST OFTEN CHOOSE TO IGNORE

THE COMMENTS FROM VISITORS ARE ENLIGHTENING - AND ENCOURAGING, BUT ARE WE LISTENING?

     TO SUGGEST GRAVENHURST RESIDENTS ARE OVERLY CRITICAL OF THEIR HOMETOWN ISN'T FAIR. I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS A LOT RECENTLY, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT I'M WORKING WITH OUR BOYS EACH DAY, IN THEIR UPTOWN MUSIC AND ANTIQUE SHOP. THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT SOME OF OUR CITIZENRY FEEL OBLIGED TO CRITICIZE, WITHOUT FEELING IT INCUMBENT TO ALSO MAKE IT CONSTRUCTIVE…..AND TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP FIX WHAT THEY PERCEIVE TO BE WRONG. LIKE BOOING PERFORMER JUSTIN BIEBER, AT THE GREY CUP, WE CAN BECOME PRETTY NASTY TO OUR OWN, IN CANADA, WHEN THE MOOD PREVAILS. THERE ARE A LOT OF CITIZENS IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHO COULDN'T SAY ANYTHING POSITIVE ABOUT LOCAL BUSINESSES, IF THEIR FEET WERE HELD TO A FIRE. THEY PREFER TO SHOP ANYWHERE ELSE BUT AT HOME. I KNOW THESE PEOPLE. I'VE TRIED MANY TIMES, TO COUNTERPOINT THEM WITH ARGUMENTS, AND SHARP INQUIRY, ABOUT WHY THEY FEEL IT NECESSARY TO PUNISH HARDWORKING, AMBITIOUS BUSINESS OWNERS, BECAUSE OF PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS……THAT NINETY PERCENT OF THE TIME ARE IN ERROR OR BASED ON RIDICULOUS MISCONCEPTIONS. WHAT DOES SHUNNING A LOCAL BUSINESS ACCOMPLISH FOR THE WELFARE OF OUR HOMETOWN? WELL, OF COURSE IT IS YOU DEMOCRATIC RIGHT TO SHOP WHERE YOU WANT. NO ONE WOULD DENY THAT. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO MOUTHING OFF, ABOUT JUST HOW CRAPPY IT IS TO SHOP HERE, BEWARE WHO YOU ARE STANDING BESIDE. I WOULD TAKE GREAT DELIGHT, IN CARRYING ON AN ENQUIRY, ABOUT WHERE THIS DISLIKE ORIGINATED FROM; CIRCA WHAT ERA, AND WHAT SHOP(S) STARTED THE CRITICAL BALL ROLLING. THIS IS THE QUICKEST WAY TO SHUT-UP A CRITIC WITHOUT A CASE. THE NUMBER OF THESE DISGRUNTLED CITIZENS ISN'T HUGE BUT IT IS ENOUGH TO HURT LOCAL BUSINESSES, WITHOUT DOUBT, INCLUDING OUR OWN. BEING OUTSPOKEN AS I AM, WELL SIR, I EXPECT TO BE PUNISHED FOR NOT AGREEING WITH THEM. BY EXPERIENCE AND IMMERSION, I AM VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY WE HAVE IN GRAVENHURST, AND I'M SPEAKING AS A CUSTOMER AS WELL.

     SINCE WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, FROM BRACEBRIDGE, IN THE LATE 1980'S, I'VE BEEN KEENLY AWARE, AS A REPORTER AND WRITER, THAT THERE IS A CERTAIN AND UNHEALTHY AMOUNT OF SELF-LOATHING IN OUR COMMUNITY, I SIMPLY CAN'T UNDERSTAND. WHEN I BEGAN WORKING AS A NEWS EDITOR OF THE BANNER, IN 1989, I WAS SHOCKED BY THE AMOUNT OF NEGATIVITY BEING GENERATED WITHIN, ESPECIALLY THE BUSINESS SECTOR. AND NOT JUST THE TRADITIONAL MAIN STREET AREA. WE RAN INTO NUMEROUS SITUATIONS, AS A YOUNG FAMILY, THAT MADE US GASP, WHEN NEIGHBORS AND ASSOCIATES, EVEN IN CASUAL CONVERSATION, WOULD PAINT GRAVENHURST AS "THE PLACE NOT TO BE!" WHICH BY THE WAY, REALLY SUCKED, CONSIDERING WE HAD JUST MADE A HUGE, LIFE CHANGING DECISION, MOVING TO A NEW TOWN TO RAISE OUR KIDS. WHEN WE STARTED TO IMMERSE IN EVENTS AND SHOPPING AROUND GRAVENHURST, WE WERE SHOCKED TO HEAR SO MUCH CRITICISM ABOUT LIFE AND TIMES IN OUR NEW HOMETOWN. I WOULDN'T KID YOU ABOUT THIS. WE WENT FROM BEING ENTHRALLED WITH OUR NEW HOME, AND WONDERFUL HINTERLAND NEIGHBORHOOD, TO BEING FRIGHTENED WE HAD MADE A TERRIBLE DECISION. WELL, WE'RE STILL COMFORTABLY ANCHORED IN THIS TOWN, DESPITE HEARING AND READING A LOT OF NEGATIVE OVERVIEWS SINCE.

     AS A NEWS HOUND, DATING BACK TO MY DAYS WITH THE COMMUNITY PRESS, I HAVE PAID ATTENTION TO THESE SOURCES OF NEGATIVITY, AND POLITICAL AGITATION, WHICH POURS FORTH GENEROUSLY, FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE THAN TO KNOCK DOWN, WHAT IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE AT THE TIME. SO AS NOT TO APPEAR HYPOCRITICAL, THERE ARE UNFAIR CRITIQUES WITHOUT FOUNDATION; MINUS THE CONSTRUCTIVE ASPECT. AND WHAT I HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT INTENSIVELY FOR THE PAST YEAR, COMES FROM SOMEONE WITH SOLUTIONS, AND WHO IS IMBEDDED IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY…..AND WHO, BY THE WAY, HAS TO SCRAMBLE WITH IDEAS CONSTANTLY, TO REMAIN ECONOMICALLY RELEVANT.  I LEARNED A LONG TIME AGO, THAT UNLESS YOU HAVE A SOLUTION, AND AN ALTERNATIVE PLAN, THEN BEING CRITICAL IS SIMPLY POURING SALT ON AN OPEN WOUND, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, EXPECTING AN IMMEDIATE RECOVERY. I HAVE CHALLENGED NUMEROUS EDITORIAL FORAYS BY THE LOCAL PRESS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THERE IS BLATANTLY BIASED COVERAGE OF THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF LOCAL ECONOMICS, WITHOUT THE COUNTER BALANCE, OF REPORTS FROM BUSINESSES AND INDUSTRY DOING PARTICULARLY WELL. I'M NOT THE PUBLIC DEFENDER, AND I HAVE NO ASSIGNED ROLE OF GRAVENHURST ADVOCATE. FOR ME, AND IT'S JUST MY OPINION, BUT I CAN'T ABIDE THOSE WHO HIT AND RUN. WRITE A SCATHING LETTER TO THE EDITOR, OR PARTICIPATE IN THE SPREAD OF RUMOR AND INNUENDO ABOUT OUR ECONOMIC PERILS….AND THEN TAKE OFF, REFUSING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ASSERTIONS…..WHICH AT BEST ARE SELF-SERVING WITH VERY LITTLE BASED ON THE BROADER ECONOMIC PROFILE.

     WE'VE SAT AT HOME, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, MANY TIMES DURING DINNER, AND STOPPED MID-FORK-FULL, HALWAY BETWEEN TABLE AND MOUTH, TO LISTEN TO SOME ONE-SIDED NEWS STORY, ABOUT THE DARK DAYS IN GRAVENHURST, AS FAR AS ITS ECONOMICS. IT'S ONE THING TO SUFFER TERRIBLE EVENTS, SUCH AS CATASTROPHIC FIRE. EVERY COMMUNITY HAS TO DEAL WITH THESE UNFORTUNATE REALITIES. BUT TO SUGGEST WE MIGHT AS WELL ROLL UP THE MAIN STREET, BECAUSE OUR BUSINESS FUTURE HAS COLLAPSED…..TO NEVER RETURN, MAKES US WONDER ABOUT THE ASTUTENESS OF THE MEDIA, AND THE APPARENT WILLINGNESS TO SALT THE EARTH WITH NEGATIVITY, TO WEAKEN PROSPECTS FOR EVERYONE ELSE. EACH AND EVERY TIME WE HEARD THESE POORLY RESEARCHED AND TERRIBLY BIASED NEWS FEATURES, WE'D LOOK AT OURSELVES AND WONDER WHY WE BOTHERED TO KEEP OUR FAMILY SHOP OPEN. OH YES! WE WERE MAKING MONEY! NOT A LOT. BUT OUR BUSINESS HAS BEEN A SEVEN YEAR PROGRESSION, AND WE WENT RIGHT THROUGH THE EYE OF THE ALLEGED ECONOMIC STORM…….WHICH REALLY WASN'T A STORM AT ALL. THE BOYS HAD AT LEAST SIX EXPANSIONS IN THEIR BUILDING, SINCE BEGINNING WITH ONE SMALL ROOM UPSTAIRS IN THE OLD THEATRE.

     I EVEN APPROACHED THE MEDIA ON THIS SHORTFALL IN REPORTING. I HAVE SENT LETTERS MYSELF, BEGGING THE EDITORIAL STAFF, TO BALANCE THEIR REPORTING, BY CHATTING WITH BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN PROSPERING, DESPITE THE PERCEIVED ECONOMIC DOWNTURN. WE'VE OFFERED COUNTER POINT. AND NOT ONCE IN SEVEN YEARS, HAS A REPORTER WITH ANY MEDIA, PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, WISHED TO KNOW OUR SIDE OF THE STORY. OUTSIDE OF HAVING A REPORTER COME IN TO BUY SOME VINTAGE RECORDS, NO ONE HAS THOUGHT IT WORTHWHILE, TO CHAT WITH TWO LADS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, TO FIND OUT HOW THEY HAVE FARED, ON THE SO-CALLED DOOMED HISTORIC MAIN STREET, OF THEIR HOME TOWN. IT'S NOT THAT WE CARE ABOUT EXPOSURE, BECAUSE WE'RE DOING FINE ON OUR OWN. IT'S ABOUT FAIR PLAY. AND NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT THIS, THE MEDIA HAS JUMPED ON NEGATIVITY FOR THE SAKE OF HEADLINES……OR THIRTY SECOND SPOT NEWS REPORTS, WHEN THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA FINALLY DECIDES TO PROVIDE A  LITTLE COVERAGE OF OUR AREA.

COMMENTS FROM OUTSIDERS, THE TRUE MARKET ASSESSMENT

     I never subscribe to the value of on-the-street surveys. There are business associations that swear by them, as the great liberators of truth as it affects local economics. As a main street investor, our family likes to hear unsolicited testimonials, about our town, provided by happy shoppers…..contented visitors…….thankful vacationers, to have such a nice place to retreat for recreation and shopping adventures.

     I hate to keep drawing everyone back to the recent CBC visit to our town, that put on two sold-out nights of entertainment, at the Opera House, courtesy the entertainment of host Stuart McLean, and his famous "Vinyl Cafe." From Thursday afternoon, and right up to the time the crew left for the next leg of the tour, in Victoria, British Columbia, the praise for our town was enough to make us blush. Many of the staff and crew of the Vinyl Cafe did come into our shop, in the former Muskoka Theatre building, but it wasn't about our shop, they were most animated and vocal about. It was the whole package of the retail, restaurant, catering and lodging, services and goodwill, which inspired comments like, ……"you have a charming town….and we love it here," kind of thing; afforded us without any prompting or even the slightest conversational turn, that would have necessitated saying something nice about the Gravenhurst experience. One thing was clear. The business community, as a whole, treated the CBC gang with respect, and generosity, clearly demonstrating our thankfulness, that our town was selected above every other community in Canada, to be the first to host the Christmas edition of The Vinyl Cafe. Apparently, according to the crew, we lived up to our reputation of being kind hosts. This should make all of us feel good about our attractiveness to visitors. Yet I'm sure there will be someone out there, who would like to put a negative spin on this, because they might have been bypassed, or that they simply don't want to hear words like "charming" as a description of the place we live. I will never understand it, but it is definitely time to distance ourselves from those who complain without ever once, blaming themselves for any perceived or actual shortfalls.

     The kind of comments we received from these appreciative visitors, who are familiar with just about every part of our country, sea to sea, confirmed what we have always known……but because of prevalent negativity, have admittedly at times, begun to question nonetheless. We have some great things happening in our town. All you need to do is take a drive around. And if a news reporter wanted to do a story, about a business actually desiring, to be located on the main street, they'd find two young Currie lads, looking forward to future challenges…..and successes; without once fearing the sky above, might be falling on their heads. If you drive around Gravenhurst today, any old day, you will see lots of change occurring. Improvements, expansions, commercial and residential, and while it may not be a huge sign of re-investment, it is most definitely a clear indicator, many folks have tremendous confidence in our future potential. It's not a minor attitude adjustment, but rather a sprawling network of committed folks proving a point……that negativity has its key purpose, when used constructively in the critical process of due diligence. Thus, by this show of confidence, there are many investment opportunities budding in Gravenhurst. Just ask the risk takers, out there now, expanding their enterprises, and building new homes. What do they see in Gravenhurst's future?

     Criticism is used as justification for argument's sake, to predict, often without basis, some imminent failure. As if the predictor, would be happiest to see failure, versus something successful. When the doomsayers are proven wrong, well, they just disappear into the shadows for awhile. Until they feel the urge once again, to predict the end of the world. The folks building up their investments in our town, must like what they see and experience here, because the number of optimists is growing.

     Suzanne and I have been working side-by-side our lads, now day to day, since the first of July, operating the antique wing of their vintage music business. We signed on for another year, after an initial short term arrangement, to see how well we could work together. We weren't sure whether mom and pop would cramp their style. I've been having a ball. Suzanne is preparing for retirement, pleased as punch to jump aboard a business we began shortly after first son Andrew was born, in the 1980's. The shop then was on the main street of Bracebridge. We have no regrets joining forces with Andrew and Robert, and the customers seem to like the diversification we offer. But it gives us a chance, to meet face to face, with not only local customers, but a wide array of visitors to our community, and so many day travelers; and those who work in our community but live elsewhere…..even in Muskoka. I have a lot of stories garnered, since July, about the good graces of Gravenhurst, provided by the wide range of our clientele……but especially tourists…..yes, even at this time of the rolling year. And believe me, I know their opinions of many other businesses in our town…..and by consensus, we're doing a pretty good job of catering to their needs. This, of course, considering we are still by all assessments of our armchair critics, just a small rural town struggling in the Ontario hinterland, in what they argue, is an economically depressed area, without much chance of a quick exit from fiscal peril. This certainly has its elements of truth. There is no denying we are in great need of a food bank and social services in our region. Of this we are sorry, but by generosity from within, donate as much as we can afford ourselves, to help our neighbors. But hearing positive comments about our town is always refreshing, especially when we've heard so much to the contrary, over so many years.

     I don't believe it sensible whatsoever, to block criticism just because we assume, as a slur, it's always baseless. Sometimes there is great reason to reflect upon, what has been leveled as criticism. I don't think it would do any of us, in the business community, any good, to remove ourselves from the trials of criticism. But there is a point of no return, when too much criticism, without counter-point, becomes so painfully discouraging, that it is impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel…..whether it is there or not.

     We plan to continue investing in the main street business community for many years to come. Suzanne and I will retire here, very shortly, and spend our time feeling good, about the choice we made in the 1980's, to move south from Bracebridge, to this fine community, with so much to offer.  Despite what you may feel is wrong with our Uptown, Wharf business community, South End plazas, or with enterprises throughout the town, boycotting or shunning them, hurts the town as a whole. When you shop at home, you make us a stronger community. It's a core value of community pride. We are as strong and dynamic as our citizens make us……by re-investing in Gravenhurst. This Christmas season, give our local merchants the opportunity to help you find the perfect gift……or provide quality services, whether as caterers for your parties, or snow removal for your clogged driveways. We have hundreds of highly competitive enterprises in our town……that are eager to win your trust. Please shop locally. Let's build back our main street business corridor to its glory days. Yes, it is possible, despite what you may have heard. Bypass the critics, and see for yourself, the great shops bursting as the seams, with lots of seasonal fare. Start this weekend, by attending Saturday's Santa Claus Parade.

     Thanks once again, for keeping me company on this blogsite. It's always great to have you drop by for a visit. 

Uptown Business And Opera House Success

UPTOWN BUSINESSES AND OPERA HOUSE SUCCESS CAN BE MORE TIGHTLY LINKED

WE DON'T NEED A STUDY TO FIND THIS OUT - AND HOW FOOLISH WE HAVE BEEN, NEGLECTING AN ADAPTABLE, DYNAMIC VENUE

     IT WAS CLEAR, ABUNDANTLY SO, THIS PAST WEEKEND, IN GRAVENHURST, THAT ENTERTAINMENT AT THE OPERA HOUSE, CAN, DESPITE THE NAYSAYERS, SELL-OUT. TWICE IN FACT. IF STUART MCLEAN HAD STUCK AROUND FOR THE WEEK, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE HE WOULD HAVE SOLD OUT EVERY SHOW. CONTRARY TO SOME OPINIONS, THAT HAVE BEEN CIRCULATING FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, IT IS POSSIBLE, WITH THE RIGHT CHOICE OF ACTS, THAT OUR WELL KNOWN ONTARIO THEATRE, CAN BE JUST AS DYNAMIC AS IT WAS IN ITS OWN HALCYON DAYS. ONCE AGAIN, READ THE BOOK, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.

     THE PROBLEM IS QUITE SIMPLE. WE HAVE HAD AS AN ONGOING ENCUMBRANCE, RIGID MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE OF AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE. IT MIGHT HAVE WORKED YEARS AGO, BUT IT DOESN'T WORK NOW. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN OPERA HOUSE LIAISON COMMITTEE, OR A BOARD OF DIRECTORS, TO GIVE IT SOME WORKABLE, ARM'S LENGTH DISTANCE FROM TOWN HALL. OUR COUNCILLORS HAVE ENOUGH ON THEIR PLATES NOW, WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT THE WELL BEING OF DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS AT THE OPERA HOUSE. IT'S ONE THING TO HAVE IT AS A TOWN RESOURCE, BUT QUITE ANOTHER TO BE ONLY A WEE ADMINISTRATIVE DISTANCE, AWAY FROM THE ACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT ASPECT OF THE FACILITY. A BOARD WOULD SPLICE NICELY BETWEEN THE MANAGER AND THE RESPECTIVE TOWN DEPARTMENT, THAT IS ULTIMATELY CHARGED WITH LOOKING AFTER ITS MAINTENANCE AND BUDGET ALLOCATION. I WOULDN'T WASTE THIS MUCH TIME ON THE ISSUE, IF IT WASN'T THE CORRECT AND RESPONSIBLE THING TO DO…..AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ESPECIALLY RELEVANT AND PUBLIC RELATIONS-SAVVY, TO HAVE HAD A BOARD IN PLACE PRIOR TO THE ROOF RE-CONSTRUCTION, TO HANDLE DAY TO DAY SITUATIONS, AND LIASE ACTIVELY WITH THE PUBLIC TO KEEP EVERY ONE UPDATED. IT'S THE KIND OF DISTANCING THE TOWN COULD BENEFIT FROM, IN TERMS OF ADMINISTRATIVE DOWN-LOADING.

THE GOOD BUSINESS OF USING THE OPERA HOUSE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT - MORE TIMES A MONTH

     The town and the business associations, might believe, you can only find economic growth solutions, by employing out-of-area experts, to do more plans, projections, studies and various other soothsaying endeavors…..based on how they do it in the big cities or our world. The fact is, all one had to do, was watch the comings and goings from the Opera House, this past weekend, and the shop bags being carried by members of the Vinyl Cafe staff, and those folks who had arrived early for the event, visiting our restaurants for a pre-show meal. For long and long in this town, we have bought into the explanation, offered by some, that theatre is dead, and venues are being wiped out, in the province. Crowds are small everywhere. There's no way of filling a venue any more. It's survival of the fittest. Baloney! I've been contradicting this for more than half a decade. The problem is, trying to convince council that it doesn't have to subscribe to this nonsense. The town needs to drop their rigid interpretations of what it means to manage the Opera House. They need to appear and be open to suggestion. They have to be willing to trust where they seem unable to do so…….believing strangely enough, that local folks can't have workable solutions to the problems we face. They need to explore and open their minds to some sage advise from those in our community, who do have terrific and workable ideas, about what needs to be done, to bring back the old days, when getting a good crowd out, wasn't so hard at all. Maybe they weren't sell-outs like the recent Vinyl Cafe, but they still turned a modest profit. Our store makes a modest profit and we're still here, with great expectations, that success is the result of hard work and creative retailing.

     Presenting ideas to council these days, does turn a lot of folks off. They don't see our council as approachable and willing to consider ideas that aren't their own. They jump to conclusions about important community situations, without really knowing the will of the people……and then they wonder why constituents feel the chasm between the electorate and local government is miles apart and growing. It doesn't have to be this way. It never had to be this way. You know, it's not the case, council can please everyone in this town, all of the time. I can't with this daily blog. But then I don't expect to…..but I still want to know why my readers feel this way. It's often perceived, the town has no interest in those voices raised in opposition…..especially if they represent a minority opinion or position. When all it would take, to appease objectors, is simple dialogue, and explanation, why something had to be done the way it was. Most of us do understand, you see, that it is difficult to be a councillor, and almost an impossible task, to navigate through four years, without encountering one or dozens of highly contentious issues. It's just what it means to be our elected representatives. My argument, based on this, is that by allowing more public input, and not setting up barriers of protocol and privacy where it is not warranted, or legally required, a lot of adversity would be quelled before it could ever engulf or provoke anything. The Opera House roof delay, and the Haight Bequeath are two recent examples, of errors in judgement, not allowing the free flow of information perform its democratic function.

     Our town council has an opportunity here, to make the final two years of its mandate, far more prosperous than the first two. What it did well, became lost in what it did badly. And while it might be the case, that the town will argue, on my suggestion, it needs a hundred thousand dollar study to figure out the future of the Opera House, I'm willing to bet there's a cheaper, more efficient, more amicable and immediate solution a phone call away. I am unable to infill here because it is a situation that is only in the preliminary stage. It could have happened five years ago. That's what makes me crazy. Yet it's the kind of homegrown solution to homegrown problems……that we need to cultivate……and that requires the trust by those who govern our community, that it is possible someone from our bailiwick, has the solution to our conundrum. Sometimes, it's true, stubbornness clogs up the free flow of ideas and creativity. This is the case, in the field of renewed faith in the Opera House……and a hidden truth to the famous "Field of Dreams" line "Build it and they will come." The CBC had to come to our community, (they were not recruited to perform here, but decided to honor us with their presence) to show us how it's done. Why oh why did it have to come to this…..where we have lost so much faith in ourselves, we had to let someone else show us how to fix the problem? Showing us that all we really had to do, to change our fortunes, was to climb out of the doldrums on pretty average gumption, and with only a smattering of fundamental confidence, that a change from nothing to something, was within our capability all the time. Yup, we just didn't know it! But then our town wasn't looking for solutions from the citizenry. If they had really wanted to change their fortunes, it was under their nose all along. They just couldn't see it. But maybe now, there will be a willingness to toss out the negativism, about the future of the Opera House, and entertainment in this town, and let the experts step in where they should have been all along. There's no reason to whine about what we don't have. We can have what other communities have! It's true.

     A busy program of entertainment at the Opera House, should interest both the BIA and Chamber of Commerce. If they didn't appreciate the success of the Vinyl Cafe's shows in town, and the spin-off some of us enjoyed, then they missed a tremendous study-opportunity at no cost of consultants. Observation and questioning would have covered all the relevant bases. There are thousands of acts out there, suitable to our historic Opera House. There are thousands of acts out there, that would entertain our youngsters. We have the stage. We have folks in town who are experts in the field of entertainment. So listen to them. Bend some preconceived notions…..some tired old protocols, and take advice from those who have experience in the field……and who know Gravenhurst and Muskoka, because it's also their home. The solution to the Opera House is to allow the community that owns it, to help bring it back to its former glory. Those folks who have strong opinions about this, and who have been sitting on the sidelines, now is a good time to vote for change from status quo. There is money to be made, and the Opera House could, under the right administration, be the engine of a business community turn-around. Now that we're getting a brand new roof, how about a brand new attitude. The old one must be chipped away, in order for these new ideas to emerge. The first thing to go…..is the generally accepted opinion that most entertainment venues are faltering, because of the public's unwillingness to support initiatives. With the price of the CBC tickets, in and around fifty dollars each……give me a break. There's money out there, for quality entertainment. And I think a range of entertainment can be sought, so that not only the rich can attend…….and it's doable.

     If the town was to do a survey, of its population, would you be shocked to find out, just how many of our citizens have never been through those Opera House doors, for any event, at any time? Even when election polling was done there? We've done our surveys, when we've had shows, and at least thirty percent of our guests, were first-timers in the building. It has an "elitist" aura that needs to be removed……with a mission to get more people involved in Opera House activities.

     I have been involved in the Opera House, when it was a bee hive of activity. So I do know the before and after. It can come back. But there has to be the will to change, and it must come from town council, sensing that to justify a new roof, a new attitude would be a perfect companion.  There are solutions. Low budget, workable alternatives, inspired by those of us who pass it every day…..and who frankly, are tired of seeing it without a full agenda of coming attractions. Wouldn't it be great, for 2013, to make the kind of improvements that necessitate a bigger marquis……the price being offset by corporate sponsors. Even more letters to spell out the groups and performers on both sides. All for the compromise of listening and negotiating, because honestly, it's time to make the improvements to justify having this beautiful and historic venue……because its just wrong, to be losing its potential, letting it sit for most of the year unused. The business community needs to mount the rallying cry, to make the necessary changes.

     Thanks so much for visiting with me today. As usual, it's been pleasant company all round. I hope to see you at the Opera House some time soon.

     

Thanks CBC For Putting Gravenhurst First This Christmas

VINYL CAFE WAS GREAT - STUART MCLEAN THE PERFECT HOST - AND THE OPERA HOUSE MOOD….."IT WAS JOYOUS."

THANKS CBC FOR DROPPING BY…..AND BREATHING SOME LIFE INTO OUR MAIN STREET THEATRE

     JUST TO KEEP YOU UPDATED, SUZANNE AND HER TICKET BENEFACTOR-FRIEND, BOTH HAD A GREAT TIME AT THE FIRST SHOW OF THE CHRISTMAS EDITION, OF THE CBC'S "VINYL CAFE," WITH HOST STUART MCLEAN. WHILE THE WEATHER OUTSIDE WAS A LITTLE FRIGHTFUL, ESPECIALLY FOR THE CROWD ATTENDING THE CEREMONIAL TREE LIGHTING, BY THE LOCAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, INSIDE THE GRAND OLD BUILDING, IT WAS TOASTY AND "JOYOUS." WHEN SUZANNE WAS ASKED TODAY, BY ONE OF THE CBC CREW, HOW SHE FELT ABOUT THE MOOD OF THE AUDIENCE, DURING THE SHOW, HER QUOTE WAS A SIMPLE, BUT RESOUNDING, "IT WAS JOYOUS!" BUT AS SHE EXPLAINS, IT WAS A PACKAGE DEAL. THE VINYL CAFE AND STUART MCLEAN BROUGHT THE ELECTRICITY TO THE EVENING'S PERFORMANCE, BUT IT WAS THE GATHERING OF OLD FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, COUSINS, AUNTS, UNCLES, AND THOSE FOLKS FROM OUT OF THE AREA, WHO FOUND ACQUAINTANCES FROM MUSKOKA, THEY HADN'T SEEN "IN AGES," THAT REALLY BROUGHT THE "JOYOUS" FACTOR INTO PLAY. I'M NOT MAKING FUN OF MY WIFE FOR USING "JOYOUS" TO DESCRIBE THE SHOW. I KNOW WHAT SHE MEANS. IT WAS A HAPPY, PLEASING, COMFORTABLE BUT CELEBRATORY EVENT, WITH A FESTIVE CHRISTMAS THEME, THAT BROUGHT THE LOVERS OF THE VINYL CAFE, INTO ONE BIG HISTORY-ADORNED ROOM, OF A VINTAGE THEATRE THAT HONESTLY, HAS BEEN A LITTLE DOWN ON ITS LUCK RECENTLY. IT HAS A PARTLY FINISHED ROOF, DUE TO MANY PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING A RE-ROOFING PROJECT. SO FOR MONTHS IT HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY COVERED-OVER WITH PLYWOOD AND TARPAPER, WITH FULL TO OVERFLOWING REFUSE BUCKETS, BORDERING IT ON BOTH THE NORTH AND SOUTH SIDES. NOT A PRETTY PICTURE, UNLESS IT WAS A FRONT PAGE COMPANION PIC, FOR A COPY OF "CONSTRUCTION IILUSTRATED.

     THANKFULLY, ON THURSDAY, A LARGE SCALE CLEAN-UP OF THE MAIN STREET PROPERTY WAS UNDERTAKEN, AND THE BINS AND FRONT SCAFFOLDING REMOVED, IN ORDER TO BE A LITTLE MORE CROWD-PLEASING FOR THE TWO SOLD-OUT SHOWS, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. WHAT SUZANNE WAS MOST IMPRESSED BY, AND EVEN PARTICIPATED IN, WAS THE GOODWILL BETWEEN PATRONS IN THIS JAM-PACKED THEATRE. "PEOPLE AT THE FRONT WERE WAVING TO THOSE IN THE BACK, AND THOSE COMING UP FROM THE ELEVATOR, WERE BEING GREETED BY THEIR FRIENDS, ALL OVER THE THEATRE….AND IT JUST SEEMED THE WHOLE PLACE WAS BUZZING WITH GENUINE AFFECTION…..AND OF COURSE ANTICIPATION. PEOPLE WERE HAVING FUN, AND THEY REALLY ENJOYED THE SHOW. MANY PEOPLE WERE REMARKING, ABOUT HOW GREAT IT WAS TO HAVE A FULL THEATRE AGAIN AT THE OPERA HOUSE. HONESTLY, 'JOYOUS' COVERS THE GENERAL VIBES IN THE HOUSE. I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY, EVERYONE IN THE AUDIENCE, FELT THEY HAD BEEN THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINED. SOME OF THEM WOULD HAVE SAT THROUGH THE SHOW AGAIN…..AND MAYBE THERE ARE SOME REPEATS IN THE AUDIENCE FOR TONIGHT'S (SATURDAY SHOW) PERFORMANCE." SUZANNE WANTED ME TO THANK OUR FAMILY FRIEND FOR OFFERING HER A TICKET TO SEE THE SHOW, AFTER I HAD MANAGED TO BLUNDER THE ORIGINAL TICKET PURCHASE, BY WAITING JUST A LITTLE TO LONG TO WALK THE FIFTY YARDS FROM THE SHOP TO THE OPERA HOUSE TICKET OFFICE. AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, I THOUGHT THE SHOW WOULDN'T SELL OUT IN JUST A FEW DAYS.

IT WAS GOOD TO HAVE THE CBC CREW IN TOWN

     We both want to heartily thank the CBC and Stuart McLean for bringing us this great opportunity to see the first of the Christmas Shows, that on Sunday, head-off to Victoria, B.C. I believe, and then north and east, right up to Christmas Eve. There aren't many down days for the crew and host of the show. But like Santa himself, this well respected radio show, is most definitely an imbedded Christmas tradition. A Canadian tradition. And we know how to jump aboard a good thing, and this was shown by two sell-outs at the Opera House. So it can be said we were the first Canadian audience to see the Christmas edition of the Vinyl Cafe. It's an honor. And I just want to thank those businesses and individuals in Gravenhurst, who showed the CBC crew such wonderful hospitality while they were here, and I've heard about the kindnesses extended…….and it just makes you proud to call this little burg home. Suzanne ran out of her special edition "Vinyl Cafe" cookies, and we hope the crew liked them, and that Stuart McClean may have found them a small but heartfelt thank you, for all the years he has brought pleasure to the listeners of this great CBC Radio show…….because it has certainly been an important part of our family's tradition. Listened to the regular show this morning, on CBC 2, as Suzanne and I once again went off, down the road, deep into the Muskoka countryside on our regular Saturday morning antique hunt. It just wouldn't be the same without the show, as a companion piece we've become quite used to…….over so many, many years. I guess that dates all of us.

     I had hoped to meet up with Mr. McLean during his trip to Gravenhurst, but alas, we both had busy schedules. But the review of the show, provided by son Andrew, part of the Opera House technical crew, and Suzanne, was enough to put me in a seat beside them…..in spirit, but just a little after the fact.

     What was even more pleasing, was the fact the beleaguered Opera House, even with its portal to the universe (the hole covered by plywood), once again played the perfect host venue. It was elegant, with a patina of….. oh so many fabulous performances from the past, and its history reminded guests, that tradition does make a difference……and not a subtle one. Despite some wounds, and a half-finished roof above, it was a perfect place for a national Christmas performance. Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe, without knowing the significance of the building's recent hard times, have imbedded a goodwill and sense of accomplishment again, that might well stir the administration of our town, to bring back the good old days of regular entertainment. In recent years, the building has become more of a meeting hall, than an entertainment venue. We like it better when we're part of the audience, of something exciting on stage. This is what the Vinyl Cafe gave us this Christmas.

     Sons Andrew and Robert, both Opera House staff, are working the sold out show this evening. What a great honor it is for them, to work so close with a Canadian legend. Today they had many of the CBC crew drop into their music shop, in the old Muskoka Theatre, for a pre-show visit. As voyeurs, from the antique wing of the shop, Suzanne and I are constantly in awe, of the many talented musicians, performers, sound and light technicians, of international acclaim, who drop in to say hello. I just want to sit there and get their autographs, but that's kid of tacky, right? The boys are always making new friends in the music business, and it fascinates mom and pop, who up until they turned pro, and opened their own shop, thought our relationship would always be as audience members only. Geez, has that ever changed, and we really like it. Suzanne of course, hopes that one day, the Irish Rovers will drop by…..and so they might, if they happen to be performing in the area. I've got my own fantasy about entertainers dropping by……

     So here's a small concluding point about all this verbiage above. Having a busy Opera House is a good….I mean great thing for business in this town. We really need to know this, and understand just how dynamic and profitable it could become, with some future changes. Changes that will make this restoration project a sparking-point, to get the place humming again. It's time the citizens made some demands on town hall, to improve the entertainment protocol, and draw on history……and there's a book written on the subject for easy reference, to see how it was done then, and how it can be done again. Does a big mouth like me have a solution. Yes I do. I've been bouncing ideas off those I trust in the entertainment business, for about five years, and there is a solution if the town is interested. I won't lay it out in this blog, because it is not my place to broker a deal. I am an enthusiastic audience member, but I am not familiar with the nuances of being an entertainment promoter. So I will leave it to those who can champion the cause. What we had with the Vinyl Cafe, in terms of excitement, we can build-on, at our soon-to-be re-roofed Opera House. If entertainment confusion and shortfalls of expectation, have confounded the town in the past…..well, possibly,….. there is a solution. When there is something new to report, on this topic, with permission of course, I will gladly offer an insightful overview. This is still very much wishful thinking on my part, but I'm sure enough of those involved, to be able to suggest it would change our entertainment profile dramatically…..and on a budget. Can't beat that, can you?

     Once again, Suzanne and I want to thank the kind benefactor for offering the ticket to the Vinyl Cafe on opening night. We also want to thank everyone with the CBC crew for showing confidence in our town, and our Opera House, to stage this nationally significant event. Thanks as well, for eating all of Suzanne's cookies…….leaving none for me…….which for my waistline is a good thing. Also thanks to readers, for once again joining me for today's blog. Thanks to you kind folks, I'm now within a hair's breadth of 30,000 hits, since last November, which was my original target. It's not a huge number, compared to celebrity bloggers, but in the past two months, my readership has more than doubled. I owe it all to you. I'm working hard on my Christmas Sketches of Gravenhurst, beginning the last day of November, and continuing until New Year's Day. This will be my long overdue tribute, to this fine town in which we live and work. I hope you will take a few minutes daily, to join me, to re-discover the community, many of us have neglected a tad. It has stuck with us, and we're sticking with it! For better or worse. Let's revisit our hometown in time for Christmas