GRAVENHURST, MUSKOKA, AND THE POLITICAL AWAKENING THAT BROKE MY DAYS AS A WRITING "SCROOGE"

Christmas & Trains -  When I was growing up in Kilworthy during the fifty’s and sixty’s, the train around the tree seemed every bit as important to our Christmas Celebrations as say, Santa or Christmas stockings.  As an adult, I realize that trains and Christmas have “gone together’ for generations in most parts of the country.  There are some obvious reasons for the popularity of trains and Christmas.  For over a century “real trains” exemplified the kinds of “comings and goings” “hustle and bustle,” and even package shipments that increased dramatically during the holiday season.   Let’s face it, more people and stuff move at Christmas than any other time of year.  Also, trains running around Christmas trees bring back memories of simpler times.  Christmas trains are to the soul what “comfort food” is to the appetite.  A kind of reassurance that there are still good things in the world, and even good experiences in your own past. More will be said on that subject in the “Countdown to Christmas”.

 

The Model Train in the photograph is set up at the Station Café located at the Muskoka Rails Museum in the Gravenhurst Station, 150 Second Street, Gravenhurst. (Photo By Fred Schulz)

Painting Referred in article below.

WHAT MAKES MUSKOKA A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS? CAN WE FIND OUR HEART'S CONTENT HERE?


     THERE ARE NICE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALSO COUNCILLORS. WE WOULD GET ALONG FAMOUSLY IF WE WERE CHATTING CASUALLY, AT A SOCIAL GET-TOGETHER, FINGER FOOD PRESSED TO OUR LIPS;  SMALL TALK ABOUT NOTHING POLITICAL.....JUST COUNTERING EACH OTHER WITH SOCIABLE  BANTER....NEIGHBORHOOD THINGS....TALK OF CHRISTMAS PLANS, AND TRAVEL SCHEDULES FOR WINTER VACATIONS.  NOTHING HEAVY. THEM, AS CIVILIANS, ME AS A NON-BLOGGER. BUT THEN THEY GET ELECTED TO COUNCIL AND I START SHARPENING MY CRITIQUES VIA THE BLOG-A-SPHERE. THEY CLAIM I BECAME AN OVERLY CRITICAL ASS, WHEN I GOT GLOBAL EXPOSURE, AND I BELIEVE THEY BECAME CONSUMED BY THE POWER-TRIP OF BEING POPULAR PEOPLE, OUT OF A SMALL CLUSTER OF CANDIDATES.
     BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I HAVE BEEN ONSIDE WITH QUITE A FEW COUNCILLORS AND COUNCILS IN MY MEDIA COVERAGE DAYS. I'VE BEEN FOND OF NUMEROUS ELECTED OFFICIALS, WHO I HAD GREAT FAITH IN, BELIEVING THEY COULD MAKE THIS DEMOCRACY OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT SHINE. THERE WERE BRIGHT LIGHTS FOR AWHILE, AND THEN THEY WERE BLOCKED BY THE ROUTINE OF STATUS QUO, AND INDIVIDUALITY WAS SNUFFED FOR THE GREATER PURPOSE. THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES LOST, IN MY OPINION. BUT I STRESS THAT THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION. I WANT TO THROW A BOQUET TO THIS PRESENT COUNCIL BUT I JUST CAN'T. I'M ONLY ONE CONSTITUENT, AND AS I AM BIG ON EXERCISING DEMOCRACY, WE'LL LET THE PUBLIC HAVE A CRACK NEXT OCTOBER....ESPECIALLY IF ANY OF THIS GROUP WISH TO RUN AGAIN. IF I HAD ONE WISH, IT WOULD BE THAT THEY RECONSIDER THEIR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY, AND LET SOMEONE ELSE HAVE A GO. ONCE AGAIN, MY OPINION, MY BIAS.

     TWO YEARS AGO, WHEN I BEGAN WRITING A DAILY BLOG, PRIMARILY ABOUT GRAVENHURST, WITH SOME REGIONAL MUSKOKA SPILLOVER, IT WAS AS MUCH A MISSION OF SELF DISCOVERY, AND WITHOUT QUESTION, AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMOVE MYSELF FROM THE QUAGMIRE OF LOCAL POLITICS. IN OUR YEARS OF RESIDENCY IN GRAVENHURST, IT'S ONLY BEEN IN THE PAST SIX YEARS, OUT 23 YEARS LIVING HERE, THAT I'VE BEEN BOTHERED BY THE ACTIONS OF OUR MUNICIPAL COUNCIL. IT BEGAN WHEN A PREVIOUS COUNCIL DECIDED TO DECLARE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WETLAND AS SURPLUS PROPERTY, WITHOUT AT LEAST HALF, TO THREE QUARTERS OF THE COUNCILLORS, HAVING SET FOOT ON THE PROPERTY, OR KNOWING ANY OF ITS NATURAL HERITAGE, OR SUBDIVISION HISTORY WITHIN THE CALYDOR ESTATES. WHILE CONSTITUENTS FOUGHT TO SAVE THE PROPERTY, AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN THE EFFORT, IT LEFT MANY OF US WONDERING ABOUT THE QUALITY OF OUR LOCAL GOVERNANCE. WE WEREN'T ALONE IN OUR DOUBT.
     IN THE LAST MUNICIPAL ELECTION, I WAS ENRAGED TO FIND THAT THE ALL-CANDIDATES MEETING, THAT YEAR, DISALLOWED QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR, AND THAT THE WHOLE EXERCISE OF DEMOCRACY CAME DOWN TO, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, THE DETERMINATION OF THE MOST POPULAR OF THE BUNCH. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE CASE OF EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS BUT IT CAME DOWN TO BIG SIGNS (AND MANY OF THEM) AND RELATED BIG-BUDGET MEDIA ADVERTISING. WHILE "POPULARITY" IS ALWAYS AN ELECTION END-RESULT, THE FACT THAT CRITICAL FORUMS WEREN'T BEING HELD AROUND THE MUNICIPALITY, FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, MEANT CANDIDATES WERE NEVER GOING TO BE PRESSED ON ANYTHING THAT WOULD INSPIRE DEBATE OR COUNTERPOINT, OR FOR PRESENT COUNCILLORS, ANY OPPORTUNITY OF THE CONSTITUENTS TO RAISE PAST ISSUES, OR ASK FOR EXPLANATIONS ABOUT CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES. IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE AN ELECTION BASED ON ANYTHING ELSE, OTHER THAN POPULARITY, BECAUSE THE MEDIA WENT SOFT LIKE BUTTER, AND NOTHING CONTENTIOUS OR CHALLENGING DEMANDED THESE PEOPLE COME UP WITH EXPLANATIONS, OR CRITICAL OVERVIEWS, TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS. IT WAS A DUD ELECTION. A HIGH SCHOOL VOTE FOR STUDENT COUNCIL. NOTHING MORE.
    SO FOLKS, FOR AN OLD REPORTER LIKE ME, WHO BENEFITTED FROM WORKING IN AN AMBITIOUS, INVESTIGATIVE PRESS, IN THE PAST, WATCHING THIS "LOVE-IN" OCCUR AT A TIME WHEN THERE WERE MANY CONTENTIOUS ISSUES OUT THERE, WAS AN ALARMING DISSERVICE TO DEMOCRACY. WE DESERVE BETTER. BUT WHAT IT CAME DOWN TO, WAS THAT FAR TO MANY CONSTITUENTS DECIDED NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTION PROCESS. THEY STILL SIT BACK AND COMPLAIN FROM THEIR COMFORTABLE ARMCHAIRS, BUT WHEN THEY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE IT AN ELECTION, BASED ON ISSUES, THEY OPTED TO "SIT THIS ONE OUT." "ONE'S AS GOOD AS THE OTHER," I HEARD ONE WOMAN SAY, AS SHE FINISHED A BRIEF POLITICAL OVERVIEW WITH A FRIEND OUTSIDE OUR BOYS' MUSIC SHOP. I THOUGHT FOR A MOMENT, I WAS GOING TO SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST. WHAT AN ABSURD AND IRRESPONSIBLE STATEMENT. WHEN SO MANY COUNTRIES IN OUR WORLD, STILL DON'T HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF FULL DEMOCRACY, HERE, IN THE FULL SPIRIT OF FREEDOM, SO MANY THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS FAIL TO EXERCISE THEIR DEMOCRATIC RIGHT. IT'S HARD TO FATHOM, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU SEE WORLD STRIFE, IN COUNTRIES WHERE CITIZENS HAVE TOPPLED THEIR GOVERNMENTS, AS THE FIRST VIOLENT STEP TO ACHIEVE EVENTUAL DEMOCRACY. WHAT SUFFERING TAKES PLACE TO HAVE, WHAT WE TAKE FOR GRANTED.
     I FELT, EARLY ON, THAT DESPITE WHAT NEW AND RETURNING COUNCILLORS THOUGHT ABOUT ME, AS BEING AN ACTIVIST, A LOBBYIST AND GENERAL PAIN IN THE ASS, I GENUINELY BELIEVED THAT I COULD WORK WITH THESE FOLKS, AS BOTH A REGIONAL HISTORIAN AND SOMEONE WITH A FAIR BIT OF KNOWLEDGE ON MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT IN MUSKOKA. ONLY MONTHS AFTER THE ELECTION, I APPLIED, TO THE PUBLISHED REQUEST BY THE MAYOR, FOR THREE CITIZENS TO MAKE UP AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE. SUZANNE LAUGHED AT ME FOR DOING THIS, BECAUSE SHE FELT THE MOST RECENT FIGHT TO PRESERVE "THE BOG," WAS GOING TO BE FRESH IN THEIR MEMORIES.....AND SEVERAL COUNCILLORS HAD PREVIOUSLY COMPLAINED THAT I WAS THE KIND OF GUY WHO COULD CAUSE ULCERS. THANK YOU. I AM STALWART, AND I WANT THIS ETCHED ON MY TOMBSTONE, IF SUZANNE WILL BUY ME ONE. SHE'S THREATENED TO HAVE ME PRESERVED, AND POSITIONED IN MY OFFICE CHAIR IN PERPETUITY. I'M OKAY WITH THIS. BUT GETTING BACK TO THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE, WELL, I EVEN OFFERED TO DROP MY BLOG FOR THE PERIOD I BELONGED TO THE COMMITTEE, TO AVOID ANY PRIVACY ISSUES OR CONFLICT OF INTEREST. SUZANNE WAS RIGHT. WHY WOULD THE MAYOR HAVE WANTED A CRITICAL GUY LIKE ME, TO POINT OUT PITFALLS, PRECEDENTS AND PROTOCOLS FROM MY KNOWLEDGE OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT? HOW COULD A CITIZEN WITH ACRES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS EXPERIENCE, HELP OUT THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THIS TOWN? GEEZ, I DON'T KNOW. I WAS JUDGED ON WRITING ALONE, AND ANYBODY WHO COULD BE AS SHARPLY CRITICAL AS ME, EVEN INSISTING ON ELECTION DEBATES INSTEAD OF CANDIDATE SOCIALS, WASN'T THE KIND OF LIKE-MINDED CITIZEN WHO WOULD AGREE WHEN AGREEING WAS ESSENTIAL. ON THAT COUNT, IT'S TRUE. I CAN YIELD TO OPINION, BUT NEVER WITHOUT EXPRESSING MY SLANT ON A PARTICULAR ISSUE; WHETHER THAT RUFFLES FEATHERS OR NOT. LIKE-MINDEDNESS WORKS SOME TIMES ON SOME THINGS, BUT IS NOT THE END-ALL.
     I OFFERED A NUMBER OF CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR ELECTION, ASSISTANCE WHENEVER AND WHEREVER NEEDED, BECAUSE FRANKLY, I BELIEVED IN THEM, AND THEIR ABILITY TO REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF THE CONSTITUENTS. I OFFERED OPINIONS WHEN I WAS ASKED, AND HAD MANY SUGGESTIONS DURING THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN, AND FOLLOWING. I MADE IT CLEAR THAT I WAS ALWAYS AVAILABLE SHOULD THEY NEED ANY HISTOCIAL BACKGROUND OR OPINION BASED ON WHAT COUNCILS HAVE DEALT WITH PREVIOUSLY, THROUGHOUT THIS DISTRICT. IT'S KIND OF WHAT HISTORIANS DO, AFTERALL! AS SUZANNE WILL CONCUR, I HAVE PEOPLE CONTACTING ME ALL THE TIME, FROM OUR TOWN AND DISTRICT AND INTERNATIONALLY, ASKING FOR HISTORICAL ADVICE AND CLARIFICATION ON EVENTS OF THE PAST, IN OUR REGION OF ONTARIO. NO ONE GETS TURNED AWAY. I DON'T ALWAYS HAVE THE ANSWERS BUT I'M WILLING TO RESEARCH THE MATTER TO THE BEST OF MY CAPABILITY. MY TWO MOST AGGRESSIVE STANDS IN THE PAST THREE YEARS, FOR THE RECORD, WERE THE OPERA HOUSE AND ITS MANAGEMENT, AND RESTORATION OF "THE BARGE." AS A FAMILY WE ARE DEVOTED TO "MUSIC ON THE BARGE," EVENTS, HELD EACH SUMMER AT GULL LAKE. AS FOR THE OPERA HOUSE, WELL, FOR ONE THING, IT REQUIRES A BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO SEPARATE THE MANAGER AND THE TOWN, TO LIAISON BETWEEN THE PARTIES, ACTING IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR HISTORIC PROPERTY....AND THE CITIZENRY THAT OWNS IT! IF THIS IS LOBBYING, THEN I'M A LOBBYIST, AND TO FOREWARN, I WILL BE PRESSING THIS FOR THE UPCOMING MUNIPAL ELECTION. BUT THE FEAR OF A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, HAS KEPT US APART. BEING CRITICAL OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ISN'T WHAT THEY SEE AS A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP; I SAY IT IS THE BEST WORKING RELATIONSHIP. IF THEY'D BEEN MORE CRITICAL OF THEMSELVES, EVEN IN THIS PRESENT TERM, THEY WOULD HAVE AVOIDED MANY, MANY UNPLEASANT AND CONTENTIOUS ISSUES, BY BEING BETTER INFORMED ABOUT COLLATERAL DAMAGE BEFORE IT WAS INCURRED. A GOOD EXAMPLE WAS THE ORIGINAL DEBACLE OVER THE HAIGHT ESTATE'S MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTION OF A MILLION DOLLARS. THE PUBLIC HAD TO STRAIGHTEN THEM OUT ON SOME TERMS OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT THEY'D FORGOTTEN, LIKE THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO A WEIGH-IN ON DECISION MAKING.
     MY OWN DISHARMONY WITH THE WAY THE TOWN WAS BEING MANAGED, MANIFESTED FULLY, TWO YEARS AGO THIS NOVEMBER, WHEN I DECIDED TO GO ON THIS MISSION OF DISCOVERY......TO EXPLORE WHAT HOMETOWN LIFE WAS REALLY ALL ABOUT, THEN AND NOW, ESPECIALLY AMPLIFIED FOR ME, DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASONS THROUGH THE DECADES. NOTHING THAT WAS POLITICAL IN NATURE. THE FIRST FEW DAYS, SITTING AT THIS KEYBOARD IN MY HOME OFFICE, FINISHED WITHOUT MORE THAN A FEW WORDS INKED ON THE LARGELY BLANK PAGE. I JUST COULDN'T GET PAST MY DISDAIN FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT. IT FRUSTRATED ME, THAT SUCH PREOCCUPATION, WAS RUINING THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE OF LIVING HERE. I WAS PUTTING THEM AHEAD OF MY APPRECIATION FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. CRAZY STUFF. IT WAS ALL A MATTER OF PERCEPTION. COUNCIL WASN'T INTERESTED IN HEARING MY POINT OF VIEW, EVEN IF I WAS RIGHT. COUNCILLORS THEMSELVES WERE EITHER SCARED OF ME, OR FEARFUL THAT I'D INDISCRIMINATELY QUOTE THEM, EVEN IN SMALL TALK AT THE LOCAL MARKET. BUT HERE THEN, WAS MY WHOLE HOMETOWN LIVING AND WORKING EXPERIENCE, BEING ADVERSELY INFLUENCED, BY THIS SMALL GROUP OF ELECTED OFFICIALS AND RELATED TOADIES, WHO IN FACT, WERE FUNDAMENTALLY HOLED-UP IN ONE CONVENIENT LOCATION WITH VERY LITTLE SPILL-OVER INTO MY LIVING SPACE. SO AFTER A LOT OF CONTEMPLATION ABOUT THE TIME OUR FAMILY HAS SPENT, LIVING IN GRAVENHURST, I SLOWLY BECAME MORE COMFORTABLE, RELEGATING POLITICAL THOUGHT TO THE REALM OF "AFTER-THOUGHT," AND BEGAN TO ENJOY THE CHRISTMAS SEASON AS IT IS CELEBRATED BY THE CITIZENRY.....HAVING NO POLITICAL AXE TO GRIND. SUZANNE AND I TALKED A LOT ABOUT OUR YEARS OF RESIDENCY, AND HOW OUR BOYS THRIVED ATTENDING SCHOOL HERE; VOLUNTEERING AND ORGANIZING FUNDRAISERS AT THE OPERA HOUSE.....AND HOW MUCH THEY'VE BOTH ENJOYED CONTRIBUTING TO MUSIC ON THE BARGE AS HELPERS. AND THEY LIKE RUNNING THEIR MUSIC BUSINESS ON THE MAIN STREET OF TOWN.
     SO WHAT I WROTE TWO YEARS AGO, IN MY "CHRISTMAS IN GRAVENHURST" SERIES, IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO ME, BECAUSE IT WAS THE OCCASION WHEN I FORCED MYSELF TO LOOK AT OUR HOMETOWN, WITHOUT THE SHADOW OF EVER-LOOMING POLITICS AND INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS A MIND OVER MATTER SITUATION, THAT BY NEW YEAR'S DAY, HAD RESOLVED ITSELF QUITE PLEASANTLY. I REALIZE HOW MUCH CREDIT I HAD BEEN AFFORDING LOCAL COUNCIL, OVER AND ABOVE WHAT IT DESERVED. BEFORE THIS, I COULDN'T ADDRESS MUCH ABOUT GRAVENHURST, WITHOUT THINKING BACK TO THAT ALL-CANDIDATES MEETING, WHEN THOSE IN ATTENDANCE WERE MUZZLED FROM EITHER EXPRESSIONS OF UNFETTERED SUPPORT OR CRITICISM. IT WAS MY OWN ADMISSION, THAT BEING OBSESSIVE ABOUT IT ALL, WAS DAMAGING MY WHOLE APPRECIATION OF THIS CHARMING LITTLE TOWN IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, AND SO IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST HONEST AND LIBERATING WRITING JAGS I'VE EVER HAD, IN ANY TOWN OR HAMLET IN WHICH I HAVE DWELLED. THIS IS WHY SOME OF THOSE EARLIER BLOGS, NEED TO BE REPEATED, SO THAT THIS YEAR'S SUBMISSIONS WILL BE HEARTILY UNDERSTOOD IN THE SPIRIT INTENDED.
     WHEN I BEGAN WRITING THE SECOND INSTALLMENT OF THE SERIES, LAST YEAR, I WAS MUCH LESS ENCUMBERED THAN THE YEAR PREVIOUS, AND MORE OF THE HOMETOWN FEELING WAS GETTING INTO THE COPY....AND MUCH LESS TIME WAS BEING WASTED ON THE POLITICAL WHAT-IFS. IT DIDN'T MEAN I HAD POLITICALLY NEUTERED MYSELF, FROM EVER TAKING A SWIPE AT THESE ELECTED OFFICIALS AGAIN, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF HAVING MY DIFFERENCES OF OPINION WITH THESE FOLKS, RUIN ALL THAT IS INSPIRING ABOUT THIS REGION OF THE PROVINCE. THIS YEAR, I'M FEELING EVEN MORE LIBERATED, AND FESTIVE, AND I HOPE IT SHOWS WITH THIS PRESENT SERIES.
    BUT FIRST, HERE'S A BIT OF HONEST REFLECTION, IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS PAST.

A Haunted Painting of a Christmas Past

By Ted Currie

"Art is sheer hard work, exhausting and painful, demanding the exertion of all man's powers. Yet it is also - and this is extremely important and noteworthy too - joyous, inspiring and satisfying, and informed with beauty." The quote is from the book, "The Humanism Of Art," by Vladislav Zimenko.

Zimenko writes that, "Works of art represent the idea of the poetic essence of human labour, thereby exerting a tremendously powerful ennobling influence on man and society." From a lifetime of art admiration, I can concur when he writes, "for art by its nature is wide open to man, holds out its arms to us, to take us in its fond embrace, attracts us and casts its spell on us with its bright colours, rhythms, and the vivid picture of life concentrated in its images."

I am a writer. It is what writers do, to ponder and then ponder some more! It can come easily to mind, or take days and weeks to create. At times it can be agonizing and at others, just a few moments in the presence of something exciting and exhilarating, to inspire a tome that will be tantalizing to read. To create from some source or item of inspiration, is why I require my clutter here. And of course my daily interactions with neighbors, shopkeeps, and other passersby, and whatever or whoever else peaks imagination, with a sort of casual but meaningful ease. Long before I set about to visit my office, overlooking The Bog, here in South Muskoka, I spend hours pondering and scribbling notes for the monthly column. In our strangely appointed abode here, at Birch Hollow, I have surrounded myself with unusual, storied antiquities, from primitive pine cupboards, and pioneer rockers, a spinning wheel and wool winder on the hearth, wood carvings and sculptures, and so many art pieces that there is no wall space left, for those panels stacked against the old church organ, we swear is haunted. We've often heard organ music, in the wee hours, without a player at the keyboard.

As a kid, who was sick a lot, I spent a lot of time in our family abode, convalescing on the couch, staring at the stucco ceiling, when not studying the art on the walls. We didn't have much in the way of art, but we had a wonderful seascape by an artist named "Looksooner," and an enchanting depiction of an autumn woodland, by a painter my mother knew from the Art Gallery of Ontario. Mr. Kranley had given her this painting, when she worked for him, one summer in Toronto. I still have it, and it hangs above my parlor chair, and the seascape is presently positioned above my office desk. When I was feeling miserable, with the aches and pains of a cold or a bout of influenza, I'd stare longingly at both these paintings, and they offered a gentle, peaceful escape. If I was fevered, the seascape's waves pounding on the rocks, always made me feel cool and soothed by open spaces. When I was dealing with a stomach issue, the autumn scene was also a gentle purveyor of kind thoughts, and better tomorrows. I have always felt quite comfortable escaping present realities, with all my accumulated art, and just as when I was a kid, with eyes wide open to possibility, my imagination works the same. I will sit here pondering the painting that will help me wordsmith a new column. Right now, it is a splendid scene from the early 1800's, with snow and sleigh, and young skaters on the iced-over lake. I wonder who painted it. Alas, it is unsigned.

Quite a few years ago, at a local fundraising auction, for the local fire department in Bracebridge, Ontario, I discovered a wonderful painting of a homestead in winter, with a horse and cutter on the lane, and some merriment taking place on the frozen lake below the hillside estate. It was in company of many other lesser works, some paint-by-number panels and several vivid paintings on black velvet I could do without. It seemed to take forever to get to the painting that had caught my attention. As with most auctions, my blood pressure goes through the roof, just as the item of focus comes to the podium. I hadn't purchased much, to this point, so I had a little bit more cash-in-reserve than usual, for this mid-point of the auction. The painting was so good, in fact, most people in the audience that day, believe it was a print on cardboard, like the ones you used to be able to get for points, courtesy the local national grocery store. For this reason, I was able to get the incredible painting for about seventy dollars. When back-bidders saw that it was an actual painting on canvas, they let it be known "I was a lucky so and so," for knowing an original from a framed print. True it was damaged, with an "L" shaped tear in the canvas, and it was covered in decades of soot, as it had obviously hung near a stove in someone's home or cottage. The romance and history of that painting was worth well more than what I had paid, and the damage meant nothing to the enjoyment our family would get, having this work hanging in our homestead.

The painting to some observers, who visit Birch Hollow, looks like a Cornelius Krieghoff, a legendary Canadian painter from the 1800's. Many have other opinions and ideas about the location, and the artist responsible for this sentimental and historic landscape. Some believe it to be Canadian in origin. Others think it is a Quebec landscape. We do know, by a stamp on the back, that the canvas, paint and frame came from a New York art supply shop, circa the 1830's, the same paint-expert, Dechaux, who once provided materials to Krieghoff, for some of his art pieces. But with no signature, comes quandary. It is either a grand piece of Canadiana, or Americana. Most certainly, it is a winter-time depiction that is perfect for the Christmas ambience, at Birch Hollow, and as well, as a motivator of this year's Christmas season column for "Curious; The Tourist Guide."

I have long considered myself an artwork "rescuer," who has an unyielding passion to save art pieces from precarious circumstances. I have acquired many paintings that were in rough condition, with cuts to the canvas, water damage, and serious wear, because I found something beautiful and inspiring about their character. Not just based on age, history or provenance, which while important, isn't the end all to an art admirer. What I look for, is a painting or sculpture that, although down on its luck, has the ability to inspire the author-in-me to write. What I needed as a kid, to inch my way through an illness, is the same exercise I pursue today. To look upon them for a spark of inspiration, to create a story-line, or initiate a good or positive feeling about a pending project. As I only ever buy art work that inspires me, regardless of its condition, I know that a few moments in my home gallery, proper illumination, and a chair in front, will give me something to write about if I'm patient. And when my partner, Suzanne, questions my expenses in the art enterprise, I can always answer back, "do you know how many writing projects have been generated by these paintings?" Knowing what annoyance an uninspired writer can be, around the house, she nods and smiles, "well, as long as they work for you!" They do!

It's true, of course, that as an antique dealer, I will sell a few paintings now and again, mostly to make room for more acquisitions. It's more than just anecdotal that I usually have to force my clutching fingers apart, in order to let go of the panels, before the new owners can get a secure hold on their purchase. I love what I collect. Being a dealer is such a pain, having to make decisions on what stays for inspiration, and what goes to pay the bills.

This particular winter scene, of which I write and am inspired today, is our centre-piece this year. Due to space and conservation concerns, it has been in storage for about five years. I recently decided it should be mounted in our livingroom, near the hearth, for the coming winter season. Suzanne has already commenced stringing long strands of bright green holy and red berries around the frame, and up the wall, along with those Christmas collectibles from so many past celebrations of her family and mine. Of course there are the standards of our immediate family's Christmases past; ribboned and worn old teddy bears, that were once toted everywhere by our young lads, and so many long retired toys attributed to the generosity of doting grandmothers, and grandfathers and so many aunts and uncles, who are no longer with us….except in fond memory.

I will sit here for hours on end, egg-nog in hand, with good cheer in heart, and look upon this old painting, and wonder about its past. It will be regaled in the tradition of our family, at present, who quite adore the idea of having historical relics as part of holiday celebrations. I will hear the bells from the horsedrawn cutter, gliding down that hillside, the clinking of iron skate blades shattering the lake-ice in play, and I dare say the homestead hearth with be scented, warm and inviting, as the lamps in the window entice the voyeur, and we shall dine together on Christmas Day, as part and parcel, of a splendid tradition, a painting, a family, and the embrace of something contenting….something comforting.

It has begun to snow lightly now, at this late hour of the day. I have worked late and the flickering oil lamp on the sill, is running low of fuel. I must walk the dog and then, as ritual for a seven-cat household, make sure there is enough food in the dishes until morning. Everyone else here has retired, as Dickens would say, "to bedlam," this Christmas Eve. I am mindful of all the spirits that roam this house, and I bid them all a good night. I stop for one more glance at this storied painting, in the low light of a distant lamp, and feel its aura of enchantment and friendship….as if to say, "Merry Christmas you old writer." And Merry Christmas to you, as well!