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The Christmas Lights of Gravenhurst (continued)
Beautiful outdoor lighting displays are appearing throughout our lovely town this season that certain deserve recognition for the joy that the displays bring to everyone touring the town. This beautiful display is located on the corner of First Street and Winewood Avenue in Gravenhurst.
Fred Schulz Photos
To Connect With Today's Bracebridge Blog, Part of the Christmas Series Click Here-The Polar Express
THE UNDERLYING CHRISTMAS MESSAGE - FROM THE PERSONAL JOURNAL PENNED BY ADA FLORENCE KINTON
I TOOK A SHORT WALK IN THE SNOWY WOODS A FEW MOMENTS AGO. IT WAS AS IF ROBERT FROST WAS MY NARRATOR. I ALWAYS LIKED HIS POEM, "STOPPING BY THE WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING." THIS WAS EARLY AFTERNOON. TRUTHFULLY, I DIDN'T WANT TO COME BACK INDOORS. IT WASN'T TOO COLD, AND I COULD RETRACE MY FOOTSTEPS STILL IMPRINTED FROM YESTERDAY. THE BIRDS WERE IN A FRENZY AROUND THE FEEDER, ON THE VERANDAH OF BIRCH HOLLOW, AND THERE WAS JUST A LIGHT FLURRY OF SNOW DUSTING DOWN ON THIS SILENT, BEAUTIFUL BOG. IF YOU LISTEN PATIENTLY, FOR A FEW MOMENTS, YOU CAN HEAR THE TRICKLE OF WATER IN THE LITTLE CREEKS THAT CRISS-CROSS THE LOWLAND. THE LARGER POOL OF WATER HAVE ALL FROZEN OVER NOW. BUT WATER IS STILL COURSING THROUGH HIDDEN VEINS SUNKEN IN THE FROZEN GROUND, EVENTUALLY EMPTYING INTO MUSKOKA BAY.
IN A WHOLE YEAR, IN A DECADE, AND OVER THE PAST FIFTY YEARS, THERE HAVE BEEN VERY FEW VISITORS, TO THE HUNTSVILLE CEMETERY PLOT WHERE ARTIST / MISSIONARY, ADA FLORENCE KINTON IS BURIED. THERE HAVE BEEN NO PILGRIMAGES THAT I KNOW OF, EXCEPT MY OWN. SUZANNE AND I HAVE PROBABLY BEEN THE ONLY ONES, TO HAVE VISITED MULTIPLE TIMES, OVER SEVERAL YEARS. WE'RE NOT FAMILY. ALTHOUGH I HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY ONE OF HER RELATIVES IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. A GREAT NEPHEW'S WIFE CONTACTED ME SEVERAL CHRISTMASES AGO, TO LET ME KNOW THEY OWN THE BOOK, "JUST ONE BLUE BONNET," WHICH WAS PUBLISHED A FEW YEARS AFTER ADA'S DEATH, IN THE EARLY 1900'S. AFTER THE DEATH OF QUEEN VICTORIA I BELIEVE. ADA'S JOURNAL, WHICH CONTAINS MANY MORE MISSIONARY AND TRAVEL STORIES, THAN I HAVE PUBLISHED HERE, WAS RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC, BY HER SISTER, SARAH RANDLESON, AS AN ACT OF TIMELY MEMORIAL, TO RECOGNIZE THE MANY SACRIFICES THE YOUNG WOMAN MADE, TO ASSIST THE LESS PRIVILEGED AND THE HOMELESS; ESPECIALLY IN THE CITY OF TORONTO. RANDLESON FELT THAT THE BIOGRAPHY WOULD INSPIRE THOSE OF LIKE MIND, TO RISE AND FOLLOW IN A SIMILAR PATH. FROM WHAT I HAVE RESEARCHED ABOUT ADA KINTON, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PLEASED THE PRIVATE, INTIMATE JOURNAL HAD BEEN PUBLISHED. EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS A PROLIFIC WRITER, AND ARTIST, HAVING PRODUCED MUCH OF BOTH, FOR THE SALVATI0N ARMY'S "WAR CRY" MAGAZINE, IN THE LATE 1800'S. I WOULD FEEL THE SAME, IF FAMILY PUBLISHED MY OWN PERSONAL JOTTINGS AS PART OF A BIOGRAPHY. I'M GLAD, IN THIS CASE, THAT HER JOURNAL WAS RELEASED FOR OUR BENEFIT, BECAUSE IT HAS DONE MUCH GOOD OVER THE DECADES. THE BO0K WAS REPRINTED SOME YEARS BACK, AND IS A NICE PIECE OF CANADIANA.
WHILE THE WORK OF DICKENS AND IRVING ARE MY CHRISTMAS-SEASON MAINSTAYS, I DO LOVE TO RE-VISIT SOME OF HER STORIES, AND THE SEVERAL ARTICLES I HAVE, THAT WERE CLIPPED AND COPIED FOR ME, BY THE SALVATION ARMY ARCHIVES IN TORONTO. THE STORY RETOLD BY SARAH RANDLESON THAT HAS ALWAYS HAD MOST IMPACT ON ME, ABOVE ALL THE OTHER INSIGHTFUL ENTRIES, INVOLVES HER CROSSROADS EXPERIENCES BETWEEN OCCUPATIONS. ART AND WORK FOR GOD. IT IS THE STORY RANDLESON KNEW, FROM ANOTHER SOURCE, BUT IS NOT ACTUALLY INCLUDED IN THE PERSONAL JOURNAL OTHERWISE. ADA WAS EMBARRASSED BY THE STORY. IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, IN THIS COLLECTION OF BLOGS, BUT I WANT TO POINT OUT WHY IT IS OF MUCH MORE IMPORTANCE, THAN JUST A BRIEF EXAMPLE OF HER SHYNESS AND MODESTY.
AGNES MAULE MACHAR, WAS AN IMPORTANT CANADIAN WRITER AT THE TIME, IN THE GENRE OF HISTORICAL FICTION, AND DEVELOPED A LASTING FRIENDSHIP WITH ADA KINTON. MACHAR, AT THE TIME, WAS CONNECTED WITH MANY OTHER SIGNIFICANT CANADIAN AUTHORS AND ARTISTS, WHO WERE MAKING LITERARY AND ART HISTORY IN OUR COUNTRY IN THE LAST YEARS OF THE OLD CENTURY. TO HAVE HAD THIS AUTHOR AS A CLOSE FRIEND, WOULD HAVE MEANT SHE HAD INTIMATE ACCESS TO THIS ARTISTIC COMMUNITY, ANY TIME SHE REQUIRED ADVICE, OR ASSISTANCE, TO ADVANCE THE PROMINENCE OF HER PAINTING CAREER. SHE NEVER USED HER FRIEND IN THIS FASHION.
ADA FROM A YOUNG AGE, IN ENGLAND, WAS A HIGHLY SKILLED ARTIST, WHO TAUGHT MANY BUDDING ARTISTS, WHO THEMSELVES, PROGRESSED DEEPER INTO THE PROFESSION....AS A DIRECT RESULT OF HER INFLUENCES. EVEN IN CANADA, SHE WAS EARNING SIGNIFICANT RECOGNITION AS AN ART INSTRUCTOR, AND SHE HAD THE POTENTIAL OF BECOMING A WELL KNOWN NATIONAL ARTIST, IF SHE HAD CHOSEN TO BECOME PART OF THE COMMUNITY, MACHAR WAS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED.
WHEN MACHAR RELATES TO RANDLESON, THE OCCASION, WHEN SHE ATTENDED A PARTICULAR ART SALON, WHERE SOME OF HER STUDENTS WERE RECEIVING RECOGNITION FOR THEIR ART ON EXHIBIT; WITH SOME OF HER CONTEMPORARIES OF WHICH SHE WAS AN EQUAL, IN TERMS OF ART PROFICIENCY. ADA KINTON, IN HER DISCOLORED AND VISIBLY WORN SALVATION ARMY UNIFORM, STOOD AT THE DOOR OF THE FORMAL AFFAIR, AND SATISFIED HERSELF, WATCHING FROM A DISTANCE.....WHEN, AS MACHAR POINTS OUT, SHE HAD EVERY RIGHT, AND WOULD HAVE BEEN AFFORDED EVERY PRIVILEGE, OF BEING AMONGST THE SPECIAL GUESTS INVITED TO THE ART EXHIBITION. INSTEAD, FEELING SHE WAS NOT OF THE SOCIAL STANDING, OF THE ARTISTS AND GUESTS, DECIDED AGAINST ENTERING FOR FEAR IT WOULD ATTRACT ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE PRESTIGE OF THE CEREMONY. AN ARTIST MORE THAN QUALIFIED TO BE IN THAT ROOM, FELT SHE WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH. I SUPPOSE THAT SHE FELT A LESSER CHARACTER, FOR THOSE FEW MOMENTS OF CONTEMPLATION, RECALLING HER LIFE BEFORE JOINING THE MISSIONARY WORK OF THE SALVATION ARMY. IT WAS PROBABLY ONLY A TEMPORARY SENSATION, BECAUSE SHE DID FEEL CONTENT AND PRIDE WORKING ON GOD'S BEHALF.....BUT IT WAS DIFFICULT AT TIMES SEPARATING THE TWO DISTINCT TIMES OF HER LIFE. SHE TURNED AWAY FROM A LIFE OF CELEBRITY AND SUCCESS, TO GIVE THE REST OF HER LIFE, TO THE RELIEF OF MANKIND'S SUFFERING. IT DOESN'T TAKE TOO MUCH IMAGINATION, TO VISUALIZE HER, IN THAT SAME FADED UNIFORM, CRADLING THE SICK AND DIEING OF THE MEAN CITY STREETS, IN THE WINTER ENVIRONS, OF THOSE MANY DECEMBERS, WORKING AT THE SOUP KITCHENS THAT PROVIDED TEMPORARY RELIEF FOR THE POOR AND DESTITUTE, SO EASILY FORGOTTEN BY SOCIETY IN ITS CASUAL WORKDAY PASSING.
ADA FLORENCE KINTON EVENTUALLY DID BECOME A HIGHLY RECOGNIZED INDIVIDUAL, BECAUSE OF HER UNIFORM, AND THE KINDNESSES SHE BESTOWED EVERY DAY, AS SHE WORKED DEVOTEDLY, IN MISSIONS, OR ON THE CITY STREETS. BUT HER WORK WAS NOT BEING REPORTED-ON BY THE DAILY PRESS, AND NO REPORTER SOUGHT HER OUT, TO PROFILE IN THE MAGAZINES OF THE DAY. WHEN SHE GOT TO WRITE ON HER OWN, FOR THE "WAR CRY," SHE NEVER BECAME SO INTIMATE, THAT SHE REVEALED MUCH OF HERSELF IN THE COPY.....OTHER THAN THE BEAUTIFUL ACCOMPANYING ILLUSTRATIONS, SHE CREATED SPECIALLY TO AUGMENT THE ARTICLES....OBVIOUSLY THE INSPIRATION FROM A CHEERFUL HEART...AND AN EVER-WATCHFUL EYE. THE MEMORY AND HIGH REGARD WE SHOULD HAVE FOR THIS WARM, KINDLY SOUL, SHOULD BY SHEER ACCOMPLISHMENT, ATTRACT A CROWD OF ADMIRERS TO GRAVE-SIDE, EACH YEAR. THE FAMILY PLOT DOESN'T HAVE THE GRADIOSE SCULPTURE OF TOMBSTONE, THAT RISES WITH GREAT PRETENSE, ABOVE THE OTHER MONUMENTS OF THE CEMETERY. NOTHING IS LEFT BY VISITORS, AS A REMEMBRANCE OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, AS SIMPLE A TRIBUTE AS A SPRIG OF HOLLY, OR A SEASONAL FLOWER, IN RECOGNITION OF HOW SHE MADE SO MANY CHRISTMASES "MERRY," AND UPLIFTING, DESPITE THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF POVERTY AND HARDSHIP, THOSE UNFORTUNATE CITIZENS FACED AS CRISIS, DAY AFTER; DAY AFTER DAY.
ADA KINTON FOUND MUSKOKA A WONDERFUL RESPITE, FROM THE DEMANDS OF A PHYSICALLY DIFFICULT LIFE. SHE SAW OUR REGION AS AN EVER-FLOWING SOURCE OF INSPIRATION, THROUGHOUT THE FOUR SEASONS; ESPECIALLY REMARKABLE BECAUSE OF ITS DIVERSE NATURAL RESOURCES....BEYOUND JUST THE PICTURESQUE. WHEN ADA RETURNED TO MUSKOKA, FOR THOSE FINAL DAYS OF LIFE, SHE WAS STILL A VERY YOUNG WOMAN. THE WORK AS A MISSIONARY, BEAT HER DOWN EMOTIONALLY AS WELL. DESPITE THE DEFORMATIONS OF INTRUSIVE AND PROGRESSIVE ILLNESS, VISIBLE BY HER SWOOLEN JOINTS MOST NOTICEABLY, AND THE PAIN SHE SUFFERED DAILY AS A RESULT, SARAH RANDLESON STILL WITNESSED IN HER SISTER, THE BRIGHT, WARM, LOVELY LIGHT OF ALWAYS, AND THE CHARACTER KINDNESS THAT HAD NEVER DIMINISHED FROM THOSE DAYS OF CHILDHOOD; THOUGHTFULLY SKETCHING THE LANDSCAPE, AT THE HAPPY PARENTAL HOME IN ENGLAND. SHE WAS BORN AN OPTIMIST AND DIED THE SAME, NEVER FEARING THE END, THE CLOSER IT GOT. SHE LOVED THE VIEW, OUT ONTO THE STILL SMALL TOWN, OF HUNTSVILLE, IN NORTH MUSKOKA; BUSTLING AND EXPANDING, THEN ON THE CUSP OF THE NEW CENTURY. SHE ADORED ANY OPPORTUNITY TO BE AROUND CHILDREN OF THE FAMILY, AS SHE ADMIRED THEIR CREATIVE ENERGY. ADA EVEN SAW BEAUTY IN THE CESSATION OF LIFE ITSELF, EVIDENCED BY ONE OF HER AWARD-WINNING PAINTINGS, WHERE SHE DEPICTED A DEAD SONG BIRD, STILL BEAUTIFUL AS GOD'S CREATURE, YET INTIMATE WITH THE SADNESS OF DEMISE.....AS LIFE'S CURIOUS CYCLE WE PONDER MOSTLY WITH REGRET.
THE SALVATION ARMY HAS A HIGH REGARD TO THIS DAY, FOR THE WORK OF ADA FLORENCE KINTON. I FOUND THIS OUT, VIA RESEARCH, A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO; HAVING COMMUNICATED PERSONALLY WITH A CHURCH MEMBER, WHO HAD MADE IT A PRIORITY, TO DRAW ATTENTION TO MISS KINTON'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE BENEVOLENT WORK OF MISSIONARIES; PARTICULARLY IN THE EARLY DAYS OF WORK AMONGST THE POOR AND DESTITUTE. HE WAS PLEASED, FROM A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE, I WAS WILLING TO KEEP HER NAME IN PRINT AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. I BELIEVE THERE'S A LOT TO BE LEARNED FROM THE BENEVOLENT WORK OF OTHERS.....SEEING AS WE ARE DEALING WITH THE SAME DEFICIENCIES IN SOCIETY, IF NOT MORE, IN THIS MODERN ERA.
PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION TO A FOOD BANK IN YOUR COMMUNITY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. I PREPARED THIS SHORT SERIES SEVERAL YEARS AGO, ALSO IN SUPPORT OF THE GRAVENHURST SALVATION ARMY FOOD BANK, AND I HAVE DONE THE SAME THIS CHRISTMAS.....ALSO EXTENDING IT TO THE MANNA FOOD BANK IN BRACEBRIDGE; BOTH NEEDING DONATIONS TO HELP FEED THOSE OF OUR NEIGHBORS, FACING A BLEAK CHRISTMAS SEASON WITH LIMITED RESOURCES. I BELIEVE ADA KINTON WOULD HAVE BEEN PLEASED TO LEND HER NAME TO THIS IMPORTANT CAUSE, TO ASSIST THOSE WITHOUT. I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A NICE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS SO FAR THIS SEASON.
THE WIND HAS PICKED UP A BIT, SINCE I ARRIVED BACK INDOORS, AND THE FLURRIES ARE A LITTLE HEAVIER. IT'S STILL ONE OF THOSE BEAUTIFUL WINTER DAYS, YOU HAVE TO EXPERIENCE LIKE ADA KINTON.....WHICH WILL OF COURSE INVOLVE WARM WINTER ATTIRE AND BOOTS SUITED FOR A LONG WALK. GET OUT AND ENJOY MUSKOKA AT ITS MOST PICTURESQUE.
MORE CHRISTMAS STORIES COMING. ALSO EAGERLY AWAITING SOME WARM REKINDLING ABOUT FORMER CHRISTMASES AT THE LONG-RETIRED KILWORTHY GENERAL STORE, THAT PHOTOGRAPHER FRED SCHULZ WAS GOING TO REGALE US WITH.....
HUGH CLAIRMONT USED MUSIC TO LIGHTEN UP THE DULLEST DAY - SO GRAVENHURST WAS PRETTY BRIGHT WHEN HE WAS AROUND
THE SANTA CLAUS PARADE IN BRACEBRIDGE - WHAT AN EXPERIENCE WITH HUGH ON BOARD
HUGH CLAIRMONT, AND SON MARK, WEREN'T STATUS QUO PUBLISHERS. NOT A CHANCE. THAT'S THE FIRST THING I LEARNED ABOUT WORKING WITH THEM. I HAD TO BE AS DIFFERENT AS THEY WERE, IN ORDER TO FIT IN….WITHOUT A SEAM SHOWING TO THE READER. THERE WAS NO "SAME-OLD, SAME-OLD" WITH THESE CHAPS, AS I WOULD LEARN HELPING OUT WITH THE MID-1990'S START-UP OF "MUSKOKA TODAY;" A REGIONAL PAPER WITH A STRONG BIAS TO HOMETOWN GRAVENHURST. AND OF COURSE, HUGH WAS WELL KNOWN ALL OVER MUSKOKA, FROM THE HUNDREDS OF PUBLIC PERFORMANCES, OF HIS MANY BANDS, OVER MORE THAN A HALF CENTURY. SO RIGHT OFF THE MARK, HUGH COULD TAP INTO A LARGE AUDIENCE OF FOLKS HE KNEW, FROM A LIFETIME ON THE MUSIC SCENE, IN ORDER TO HELP LAUNCH THE PUBLICATION. THE FACT THAT HUGH HAD ALSO BEEN A MEDIA PERSONALITY FOR YEARS, WITH OTHER PUBLICATIONS, GAVE "MUSKOKA TODAY," A HEFTY START IN A TOUGH MARKETPLACE.
THERE WAS LOTS OF COMPETITION. SOME IN THE BUSINESS, FELT THE CLAIRMONTS WERE CRAZY TO EVEN ATTEMPT SUCH A RISKY VENTURE, KNOWING HOW CUT-THROAT IT COULD GET OUT ON THE HUSTINGS, TRYING TO SCARE-UP ENOUGH ADVERTISING TO AT LEAST BREAK-EVEN. THERE HAD BEEN OTHER NEWSPAPER FAILURES IN THE RECENT PAST, AND THE ROAD BEHIND WAS STREWN WITH THE BONES OF LOST ADVENTURERS. I PROBABLY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST CRITICS OF THE PLAN, BECAUSE I HAD CONSIDERABLE EXPERIENCE WITH THE OTHER PUBLISHERS OPERATING IN BRACEBRIDGE AND GRAVENHURST. AS I HAD WORKED FOR BOTH, AND SHORT OF SLIDING DOWN AN DECLINE OF UPRIGHT RAZOR BLADES, THE BID FOR MARKET SHARE WAS GOING TO HURT EVERY DAY FOR A LONG TIME. THEY WERE, AS THEY SAY, UNDAUNTED. THE HELD TO THEIR CONVICTIONS, THAT A GOOD QUALITY, ENTERTAINING, WELL WRITTEN TWICE-MONTHLY, WOULD GET ITS SHARE OF READERS RIGHT OFF THE BAT. ADVERTISERS WOULD NOTICE THIS, AND BEG TO JOIN FORCES WITH THE CLAIRMONTS, TO CREATE A DISTRICT-WIDE PUBLICATION……UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE ON THE LOCAL MARKET. HONESTLY, THEY DID WHAT THEY SET OUT TO DO. I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY, BUT I WAS DEAD WRONG ABOUT MARK AND HUGH'S WILLINGNESS TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT……AND SECURE ENOUGH ADS TO KEEP THE PAPER AFLOAT. THEY DEFIED A LOT OF CRITICS. NICK THE GREEK WOULD HAVE GIVEN THEM ONE IN A THOUSAND ODDS OF SUCCEEDING…..AND LOST. BOTH NEWSPAPER PROS, DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SURRENDER, FIRST OF ALL, AND THEIR PASSION WAS LIKE NOTHING I HAD EVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE. CERTAINLY NOT IN THE PRINT MEDIA, OF WHICH I HAD BUNDLES OF PAST EXPERIENCE. MOST OF THE PEOPLE I WORKED WITH THEN, HATED TO GO TO WORK…..EVEN SOME OF THE MANAGERS.
WHEN I LEFT THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE TWO WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS, IN BRACEBRIDGE, I SWORE-OFF EVER GETTING INVOLVED WITH PUBLISHERS AGAIN. I JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE PATIENCE TO DEAL WITH THEIR EDITORIAL PROTOCOLS, AS A STAFFER, AND WHAT THEY RESPECTIVELY WANTED TO ACHIEVE….WHICH WAS FINE FOR THEM….BECAUSE THEY WERE THE OWNERS. TO SIDE WITH THEM EDITORIALLY, I FOUND THE CHASM GROWING DEEPER AND WIDER EACH WEEK. I'D BEEN SIDELINED FOR AWHILE AFTER, SO I COULD CONCENTRATE ON RUNNING OUR LITTLE ANTIQUE ENTERPRISE, IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND WRITING SEVERAL MANUSCRIPTS THAT NEVER MADE IT TO PRINT. I WORKED ON SOME FREELANCE PROJECTS, AND HAD A COUPLE OF PUBLISHED COLUMNS HERE AND THERE, BUT NO FORMAL ARRANGEMENT. WHEN MARK AND HUGH OFFERED ME A REGULAR COLUMN SPOT IN THE NEW AND EXCITING "MUSKOKA TODAY," I AGREED WITHOUT HESITATION, BECAUSE I KNEW THEIR POPULARITY WOULD GUARANTEE A POSITIVE ENTRY INTO THE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE MARKET. I WAS RIGHT. THEY WERE RIGHT. AND WE WERE TURNING A LOT OF HEADS WITH THOSE FIRST EDITIONS.
WHAT WE ALL DID FOR HUGH CLAIRMONT - AND YES IT INVOLVED A PARADE
ANY FRIEND OF PAUL RIMSTEAD, WAS A FRIEND OF MINE. I HAD READ ABOUT HUGH, IN ONE OF RIMMER'S TORONTO SUN COLUMNS, ACTUALLY WRITTEN AND PHONED-IN, FROM THE CLAIRMONT'S BAY STREET HOME. RIMSTEAD HAD SPENT THE NIGHT, AND WAS LIKELY A LITTLE HUNGOVER IN THE MORNING, BUT STILL MANAGED, AFTER A HARDY BREAKFAST, TO MAKE THE DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT DAY'S COLUMN. I WOULD HAVE PAID A MILLION BUCKS TO HAVE SAT IN THE SAME ROOM WITH HUGH AND PAUL…..TALKING ABOUT STUFF. HERE WERE TWO WILD STORY-TELLERS, WHO COULD BOTH FILL A LOT OF WHITE SPACE FOR NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS, AND THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A FLASK OF SOME LIQUID REFRESHMENT, TO LOOSEN THE WRITERS' LIPS. IT MAKES ME MAD. I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE GETTING TOGETHER LIKE THIS……SO CLOSE TO HOME. I'D HAVE JUST FOISTED MYSELF ON THE TWOSOME, AS I USED TO VISIT HUGH ON OCCASION ANYWAY……UNINVITED, BUT ALWAYS WELCOMED IN FOR A CHAT. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN EPIC CHAT….RIMMER AND CLAIRMONT LETTING LOOSE ON EVERY SUBJECT THAT THEY FELT OBLIGED TO OPINE ABOUT.
Hugh was remarkable for his ability to persuade the undecided. When he began telling me about the plan to get a half-ton truck, and put a band in it, so they could enter the annual Bracebridge Santa Claus Parade, I wasn't particularly surprised. Hugh was a showman. It's what he did best. Folks liked him, with either trumpet in hand, or in front of his lips. It didn't matter. He had a likable face, and a personality that made him endearing by sight, if not at first, by sound. So I bought into the story he was spinning, sitting back in his office chair, at the Muskoka Today office, on First Street, here in Gravenhurst. I think Mark interrupted, to tell me that it was really going to be a promotion, via entertainment on the back of the truck, for Muskoka Today. I assumed that would require a couple of signs to be mounted on the back panels of the truck. Yup, that was going to happen. And Hugh with drummer Wayne Hill, Mark and someone else I can't remember, would be playing a variety of Christmas songs all the way from North Manitoba Street, down to the Silver Bridge, and up and around the Ontario Street to Kimberley, looping behind Memorial Park, and then back to the arena. Sounded good. Great for introduction of the new publication to the citizens of Bracebridge. If you remember Hugh, well sir, there was more. A lot more. The entire Currie family was involved in this strategy.
I had one significant problem with Hugh Clairmont. I could say "no" to Mark without blinking, and we'd both get over it! I didn't know if Hugh would have had hurt feelings, if I had ever declined a request to assist him, but it never got to that point…..because I just couldn't say "no" in the first place. Honestly, he could manipulate me all over the place…..but it always paid off for me…..even when we followed his advice and moved our family, lock, stock and barrel to Gravenhurst. When Hugh suggested that we would be of immeasurable assistance to the newspaper promotion, if we got our wee lads to hand-out newspapers along the parade route……at first, I thought he was kidding. Before I knew it, he found some old newspaper bags, and we'd been recruited before I had more than a few seconds to mull-it-over……especially what Suzanne was going to say about exploiting our children, for the good of the newspaper.
The boys had been with me at the time, so they were in, hook, line and sinker. They liked Hugh as much as I did, so when they got a chance to be part of a Santa Claus Parade, the little cherubs couldn't contain their enthusiasm. They rolled up a couple of old papers, and pretended to throw them at spectators. I wasn't at all sure how this was going to work out, but it would most definitely be memorable. Nothing with Hugh was boring or routine, so I had a few days to get mentally prepared for what was coming down the pike.
It was a bitterly cold son-of-a-bitch, that day, and we all had extra sweaters and long-johns, mitts, toques, and yes, newspaper bags. Hugh was delighted to see that Suzanne had come with us, and in fact, offered both of us matching newspaper bags, (old Toronto Star bags) just like the boys were wearing over their tiny shoulders. Not exactly designer bags, as Suzanne would undoubtedly have preferred. It definitely didn't go with her outfit. Geez, Hugh had done it again. All four Curries, were part of the Santa Claus Parade, and while Hugh and the lads played merry Christmas tunes, we carried heavy bags of papers which we handed out the whole way…..against the wind. Suzanne gave me angry looks every step of that parade, and I had lots of time to think about what wonderful treats I was going to bestow on her, at the end, to make up for the newsprint ingrained in her skin, and the blisters from her "non-parade suitable" footwear. The boys had a blast. That's right. Our two musician sons, Andrew and Robert, apprenticed with one of Muskoka's legendary trumpet player - writers, along that really long and cold parade route. It was the adults newsies who were having problems keeping up. I had crappy shoes on as well, and by time I hit the bottom of Queens Hill, and Thomas Street, the sole of my right running shoe, had separated, and begun to flap with each step. I had, by circumstances beyond my control, become an uninvited and unwelcome second percussion player, with drummer Wayne Hill.
Every time I looked back at the truck, these guys were having way too much fun, playing, laughing, chatting, playing and waving a lot. I don't know how many papers we gave out that afternoon, but we actually ran out before the loop was completed. It must have been several thousand, but then who was counting. Suzanne was. Oh boy! I think it was the first time ever, a publication had been handed out, from a float, in the Bracebridge Santa Claus Parade. Hugh knew how I liked historical "firsts," so he gave me a big one on that day. Strangely, I met up with quite a few former readers from my Herald-Gazette and Muskoka Advance days, and I was able to let them know that my columns were still in active publication…..and only a few miles south. Suzanne met up with a lot of her former teaching colleagues and students, from Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, where she was before transferring to Gravenhurst. So she made it a social occasion, as did I. Actually, these friends also distracted her from planning ways to kill me, at the end of the parade. The boys were just thrilled to get back to the arena, for the free hot dogs and hot chocolate served to parade volunteers.
It was a tough haul on a cold winter day, but it provided a memory that was well worth the experience. I have remembered everything I ever did with Hugh Clairmont, because they were always unique, and absolutely remarkable in their own peculiar way. Hugh habitually thought outside the box, as they say today, so it was his commonplace, to do something to attract attention…..and if you happened to be with him at the time…..well by golly, you were going to get attention deflected your way………as it was just one of the risks of being in his company. He knew everyone. If you walked down the street with Hugh, his arm was in the air rotating like a propellor, at passing motorists, cops, delivery drivers, cabbies, mayors in passing, and all the pedestrians and shopkeepers on both sides of the street. He said hello to people he didn't know, as a matter of routine. He figured that if you were visiting his town, he should get to know you. I had a lot of respect for his public relations savvy, and while some thought him to be intrusive, they could never say he wasn't friendly…..in the most outgoing way.
Hugh was in his element, in the back of that pickup truck, playing the frosty horn and waving to the crowd……who were thinking of him as part Santa, part Elf, part musician, but most part entertaining character…….who was being yelled at by acquaintances, from the parking lot of the arena, even before we started, all the way back to the parking lot….where they were still yelling at him. And he was waving. So based on this public relations lark, it worked out pretty well for the first year of Muskoka Today. I got lots of feedback, and many new readers, in part, because it was assumed, that anyone who wrote for the same paper as Hugh Clairmont, had to be "good people." Being associated with this legend of music and print in Muskoka, was a career booster…..at the same time as it was an odyssey to behold.
I can't imagine what Gravenhurst would have been like, if Hugh Clairmont had never been born. Gads would we have been duller than Bedford Falls. Hugh gave our town a buzz that was hard to ignore, and we all benefitted, whether we ever told the old guy or not….. just how much we cared for him. That starting year, of Muskoka Today, we shared our Christmas with Hugh Clairmont and family……and we would eventually wind-up, celebrating the season at Muskoka Sands, with associate writers like Jack Hutton and Mel Malton amongst many others. What a highly charged, fascinating time it was. I wish you could have been there.
I've always thought, that like Parry Sound has a billboard picture of Bobby Orr, Gravenhurst should have a huge photo of Hugh with his panama hat and trumpet. It would be the face that reminds visitors, just how much fun we're all about in this neck of the woods. You know what? We could use some of that Clairmont excitement again. Get some smiles back on our faces.
Thanks very much for joining me for this look back, to another era of local history. I'm delighted you had some time to visit. Please come again. There's always another seat available, around the old Birch Hollow hearth…..especially at Christmas time. Suzanne has brought out some extra chairs for late-comers. Like I said before, our favorite program as kids, was the "Friendly Giant"….so how can you tell?
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