The Real Haunting Of The Gravenhurst Opera House

THE REAL HAUNTING OF THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE - AND IT ISN'T "BEN"

LET'S CALL IT, "THE SPIRIT OF SOMETHING MISSING"

     IT'S BEEN QUITE A TIME FOR THE COUNCILLORS OF THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST. THE YEAR HASN'T HAD THAT RESOUNDING AURA OF GOOD TIDINGS, THAT WE'D LIKE, TO HERALD-IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY. SO WE HAVE A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLAR EXPENSE UPCOMING, TO REPLACE THE ICE-MAKING UNITS AT THE RECREATION CENTRE, AND THEN FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE TOASTED PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING, INVOLVED IN A SUBSTANTIAL FIRE LAST MONTH. SO I GUESS IF THERE IS ANY GOOD CHEER, ALONG WITH WHATEVER THE GROUNDHOG SAW ON SUNDAY MORNING, SHADOW OR NOT, I WILL OFFER UP THIS BIT OF BREAKING NEWS. YOU WILL ONLY READ IT HERE. I HAVE FOUND A NUMBER OF POTENTIAL CANDIDATES, FOR THE UPCOMING MUNICIPAL ELECTION, WHO ARE MUCH MORE EXPERIENCED IN TOWN AFFAIRS THAN I AM; AND WHO SHARE SOME OF OUR FAMILY'S INTERESTS IN IMPROVING RELATIONS BETWEEN THE CONSTITUENTS AND THE ELECTED OFFICIALS. IT IS WITH GREAT RELIEF, THAT I CAN ANNOUNCE, WITHOUT ANY REGRET, MY DECISION TO REMAIN A PAIN IN THE ASS CIVILIAN…..INSTEAD OF A PAIN IN THE ASS, TOWN COUNCILLOR. I'M SURE MORE THAN A FEW OF MY CRITICS WILL BE DANCING ON THE CEILING. I KNOW MY WIFE IS. BUT THEN SHE IS MY BIGGEST CRITIC. BUT ALL I WAS LOOKING FOR, IN THE FIRST PLACE, WAS EVEN ONE CANDIDATE, WHO WOULD TAKE SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, TO AT LEAST ATTEMPT A RESOLVE OF WHAT I BELIEVE IS FUNDAMENTALLY RESOLVABLE. AS I INDICATED IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, OUR FAMILY HAS A PLAN FOR USE OF THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE, AND IF I WAS TO RUN FOR COUNCIL, AND WIN, WELL SIR, I WOULD THUSLY FIND MYSELF IN A PERPETUAL STATE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST, BECAUSE, YES, WILL BE ASKING FOR A DISCOUNT; A DISCOUNT BY THE WAY, FOR EVERY CITIZEN OF THIS TOWN, WHO WISHES TO RENT THE FACILITY WE OWN AS TAXPAYERS. SO NOT WANTING TO GET INTO ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST SCENARIO, AND THE FACT I'VE FOUND A FEW BRAVE SOULS, WILLING TO ENTER THE RACE, I'M FREE ONCE AGAIN TO BE A BLOGGER ON THE LOOSE. SO HERE IS A LITTLE WRAP-UP FROM YESTERDAY'S COLUMN. I WON'T BE MAKING A HABIT OF IT…..THIS CRITICAL THING, UNLESS OF COURSE, WELL, I FIND A GOOD CAUSE TO INVEST SOME VERBIAGE.

JUST AN OLD BUILDING OR SOMETHING MORE?

     THE OLD BUILDING HAS ITS STORIES, ALL RIGHT. SOME SAY IT HAS A GHOST NAMED "BEN," BUT IT'S COMMON KNOWLEDGE AROUND HERE, IT WAS JUST A LESS THAN SLICK GIMMICK, CONJURED UP IN THE 1990'S, AS A PROMOTIONAL USE OF THE DEARLY DECEASED; TO IN PART, PUT "BUMS ON SEATS." OF COURSE, IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN, GHOSTS CAN MAKE UP FOR WHAT THE PREVAILING ENTERTAINMENT LACKS. LET'S JUST SAY, BEN'S HAD QUITE A WORK OUT FOR MOST OF THE PAST DECADE, BECAUSE THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE HAS BEEN IN A SLOW, PAINFUL SLIDE INTO IRRELEVANCE. WHAT A PITY. IT ISN'T TO SUGGEST THERE HAVEN'T BEEN CITIZENS TRYING TO REVERSE THE TREND. THEY JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CRACK THEIR WAY INTO A MUNICIPAL WAY OF THINKING, THAT WEAVES IN AND OUT OF THE BOOK OF "STATUS QUO," FOR BETTER OR WORSE. THEY WON'T BUDGE. BELIEVE ME, I'VE TRIED. I'D BE DELIGHTED TO FIND JUST ONE WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO BREAK RANK ON THIS ISSUE. 

    MOST OF US PASS IT EVERY DAY, AND OUTSIDE OF CATCHING OUR EYE, FROM TIME TO TIME, IT REMAINS A FUNDAMENTAL, SEASONALLY ADORNED, ARCHITECTURAL CORNERSTONE OF A SMALL TOWN'S MAIN STREET. A MONUMENT TO EARLIER TIMES. WHAT BEGAN AS A TOWN HALL, AND GATHERING PLACE FOR THE CITIZENS, OVER MANY TURBULENT PERIODS IN THE 1900'S, EARNED MOST OF ITS CREDITS AS AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE. SOME OF THE BIGGEST ACTS IN CANADA PLAYED THE MAIN STAGE. SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST PERFORMERS AND UP AND COMING STARS, HAVE THEIR FOOTPRINTS SOMEWHERE IN THIS TIRED BUILDING, WHICH AT ONE TIME, WAS NEARLY TORN DOWN BECAUSE OF ITS FAILING CONDITION. TIME AND AGAIN IT WAS SAVED BY THE CITIZENS, WHO RALLIED TO FUNDRAISE, AND CO-ORDINATE A BETTER, MORE PROSPEROUS FUTURE. WHICH OF COURSE BRINGS US TO THE PRESENT, AND THE REALITY IT IS A SAD REMNANT OF ITS FORMER GLORY. NOT BECAUSE IT ISN'T FIT FOR DUTY. QUITE THE CONTRARY. BUT RATHER, BECAUSE THERE IS NO WILL, NO AMBITION TO BREAK AWAY THE STATUS QUO, OF WHICH THIS COMMUNITY HAS MIRED FOR FAR TOO MANY YEARS. SOME CALL IT A CONTAGION OF APATHY, AND I AM MORE LIKELY, THESE DAYS, TO ALLIGN MYSELF THUSLY.

     THERE ARE OTHER OPERA HOUSES AND MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS THAT LOOK SIMILAR, AND AS FAR AS BEING HISTORIC, THIS BUILDING'S HERITAGE BEGAN PRETTY MUCH AFTER THE DEATH OF QUEEN VICTORIA. IT IS NOT A REMNANT OF ANCIENT HISTORY, SO IT'S NOT THAT GRAVENHURST TOWNSFOLK, CAN CLAIM THE BUILDING TO HAVE BEEN BUILT AT THE TIME THE JESUITS WERE EMPLOYED SAVING SOULS, THROUGHOUT OUR WOODLANDS; OR EVEN DATING AS FAR BACK AS CONFEDERATION. IN EUROPE, A BUILDING CONSTRUCTED AT THE TURN OF THE 1900'S IS MORE MODERN-AGE THAN ANTIQUATED. IT'S HISTORIC TO US, BUT IN YEARS IT'S STILL IN ITS PRIME.

     AS SOME MUSICIAN WOULD CLAIM, THAT INSTRUMENTS, SUCH AS THE LEGENDARY VIOLINS MADE BY STRADIVARIUS, CONTINUE TO RESONATE, OF THE MUSIC PLAYED BY ALL ITS VIOLINISTS OF THE PAST, I UNDOUBTEDLY REMINISCE LIKE A WAYWARD BARD, WHEN I SUGGEST, THERE ARE STILL THOSE MEMORABLE VOICES THAT SOFTLY, IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY, ECHOE IN THE GRAND HOUSE OF THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. YOU HAVE TO SIT IN THE HOUSE, IN THE LOW LIGHT OF THE CHANDELIERS, WITH A SPOTLIGHT BEAMING DOWN ON CENTRE STAGE, TO REALIZE JUST HOW RELEVANT THIS PLACE IS....AND HOW IT IS STILL SO PLEASANTLY HAUNTED BY ITS PAST. IT HAS ITS PLACE IN CANADIAN ENTERTAINMENT HERITAGE. THERE WAS A BOOK WRITTEN ABOUT IT ALL, AND I WON'T TAKE UP SPACE HERE, FOR WHAT WAS WRITTEN SO ELOQUENTLY, BACK IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE NEW CENTURY....IN THE TEXT OF "THE STAGES OF OUR LIVES." IT'S OF COURSE DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN, WHAT COMES DOWN TO A SENSORY PERCEPTION; MAYBE WITH A TRACE ELEMENT OF PARANORMAL BELIEF, THAT ONE, EVEN THE KEENEST AMONG US, COULD ACTUALLY HEAR THE DISTANT VOICES OF RITA MCNEIL, OR GORDON LIGHTFOOT, RESONATING AROUND THOSE MAGNIFICENT ARCHES....OR HEAR THE MEMORABLE LINES ONCE SPOKEN BY ACTOR TED FELLOWS, OR THE MODERN DAY STORY-TELLING OF STUART MCLEAN OF THE VINYL CAFE. HEARING VOICES. THE WRITER MUST BE MAD. YET THERE ARE THOSE WHO WOULD AGREE, THAT SUCH A STORIED PLACE, WEARS ITS EMOTIONAL, CELEBRATORY PAST, JUST AS THE PATINA OF THE OPERA HOUSE WOODWORK, SEEMS TO GET RICHER AND DEEPER EVERY TIME WE VISIT. THOSE SOUNDS? JUST THE CREAKING OF OLD BONES, OF THE BUILDING, SETTLING BACK INTO THE EARTH FROM WHICH IT WAS CONCEIVED. THE ECHO OF THE VENTILATION SYSTEM AND THE FURNACE RATTLING, THROUGH DAY AND NIGHT. YES, MAYBE IT IS TRUE....THAT THOSE VOICES, AND THE TRAILING-OFF MUSIC, A POET LIKE ME, HEARS, WHEN ALL ALONE IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE, CAN BE EXPLAINED BY THE ACTUALITY OF AN OLD BUILDING GETTING ONE DAY OLDER. BUT AS AUTHOR WASHINGTON IRVING ONCE WROTE, PERCEIVED  ENCHANTMENTS NEED NEVER BE DISSECTED FOR THEIR TRUTHS; RATHER, ENJOYED, AND CELEBRATED, AS THEY PRESENT IN CASUAL, UNANTICIPATED ENCOUNTERS.

      Most of us, who have attended performances at the Gravenhurst Opera House, have their special memories, stirred by some exceptionally poignant moment on-stage. While it was a secondary performance, during the show by comedian Lorne Elliot, (a packed house by the way), I was enthralled by the performance of the Canadian folk group, Tanglefoot.....which our family was familiar with, from their annual visits to "The Barge," on Gull Lake, as part of the Music on the Barge summer series. Suzanne and I considered ourselves the small "f" of their "Foot-head," following, which in the heyday of the group, represented a substantial number of fans, who often followed their tour schedule. Tanglefoot members, often described their choice of music as being somewhere between, Stan Rogers and Van Halen. Andrew and Robert worked with Tanglefoot for many years, as part of the technical staff, of The Barge, and Andrew, as a technical crewman, during the Lorne Elliot show, once again had a chance to assist Tanglefoot back stage.

     The reason Suzanne and I became "Footheads," was because we adore folk music generally, and especially, when that music reflects the heritage of our country. Tanglefoot represented the sounds, of the antique world our family lives in, day in, day out. Suzanne and I are working regional historians, and this is our background music. I remember talking to an old school-chum, Jason Everett, (son of Muskoka artist, Robert Everett) who was a re-enactment British soldier, at historic Fort York, in Toronto, and telling him about going to the Tanglefoot concert that particular Sunday night. He told me about the special occasions, when Tanglefoot has appeared where he has been soldiering....and how much their music augmented the whole historic atmosphere....that as re-enactors, they were trying so hard to achieve. There are all kinds of testimonials about this group of musicians, who created so much excitement about the dynamic of Canadian history; a history that many of us have thought boring, as relates to the way it was taught in high school. Not the way Tanglefoot presented the same lesson via their music. I have included a link on today's blog, to one of our favorite Tanglefoot youtube videos, featuring the performance of "Secord's Warning."

     We recently acquired a Tanglefoot DVD from a friend, "WAY MORE LIVE," and we watch it at least once a month. It just makes us happy, and well, we can't ever have too much happiness. Right. And every time we watch this recorded concert, we can't help but think of the evening they played at the Gravenhurst Opera House. It was kind of a graduation, you see, for us low "f" class "Footheads." We were, by this point, fully turned on to their music. We'd follow them anywhere. We found the historic setting of the Opera House, magnificently suited, to the re-telling of Canadian history, via their music. Their traditional music, made everything inside that Opera House-chamber sparkle, from the chandeliers, to the light bouncing off the polished arches. How can music do this? Or was it just one of those dream-like enchantments I wrote about earlier. Or is it possible, that their music, on that night, connected with the spirit of history, as it exists to poets like me, looking for that little bit extra? It made Suzanne and I feel that Canadian history was being generously honored, at that moment, in the bright light of the Opera House stage. As lecturers on matters of local history, we can only dream of being as compelling, as they were with their singing; and then garner such a thunderous applause at the conclusion.

     Whenever I hear their well-travelled song, "Radio Man," by golly, I think about the Gravenhurst Opera House. In retrospect, I don't even remember, if it was on their "play list" that night. The song just reminds me of small town Ontario, a rural way of living, and the old floor-model radio my grandfather Stanly Jackson, used to listen to every night in the parlor….with great, unyielding respect, for the entertainers on the other side of the dial. Everyone who has attended an event at the Opera House, has a favorite act to rekindle. Maybe it was a play put on by Muskoka Festival, or a particularly memorable evening spent with the Irish Rovers. When I start think about my own true discovery, of just how historic the Opera House was, beyond its architecture, I confess, that it was the performance by Tanglefoot, on this night, which you might say, brought it all into perspective. History and culture, in a nice wrap of a charming building, many in our town, have never set foot in, let alone know much about. This folks, is the sad reality. The building is under-used and under-recognized....by the citizens who should know it intimately.

     Beyond the professional acts, which have graced that beautiful stage, I'm reminded of the many shows we've attended, when the cast of performers were all local residents. I believe the greatest void at the Opera House today, involves the glaring absence of local talent, in community produced theatre, and music. Truthfully, it's what brings about the largest show of support. But because of prevailing circumstances, the "locals" have become as distant to their own resource, as if they were living in another community entirely. The fact that so many have given up on the Opera House, as representing anything local, is what I find most alarming. The folks who are paying hefty taxes on this building, wonder why the facility is so under-utilized by the talent of our own town. Why shouldn't our local musicians, theatre-proponents, and show and event organizers, feel every right and privilege, to sit down with the Opera House manager, and arrange time for their event? Well, there is an inhospitable environs about renting what constituents already own. There are more hurdles than you can imagine, and the expense is so restrictive, even for-profit activities, are thwarted due to economics 101. So why has this continued for so long unchallenged? Why is it so difficult for the town to admit they can't solve the problems at the Opera House? Why did they lose so many staff members last spring, and decide it was just normal turn-over? Is it because they wanted to believe their own version of events, because it was convenient and less controversial? Two of our family members were part of this debacle....the rest were good friends. Highly skilled and talented people. Insiders downplay it as "just one of those things," and others are a little more cynical.

     This blog isn't suppose to be political. I couldn't write about the Opera House today, and not trend toward political criticism. And if you know the situation at all, I'm pretty sure you could add a few paragraphs to a council submission. After some contemplation this week, following the (our) decision to cease holding our small sessions events, at the shop, we have made it our project for this all important election year, to change some minds at town hall. The only way we can do that, is to seek support of council-hopefuls, to take this message to the council-table. This isn't a decision for town administration. This is a decision for our elected officials to make. Like many other potential Opera House users, in this town, we want to make a serious proposal, to a group of elected councillors, who are on the same page....and recognize the importance of not only keeping up the building's maintenance, but restoring the cultural energy and significance that only a hometown can provide. The citizens need to be proud of their cultural cornerstone. They need to get into this building, as step one. They need to feel they are welcome. They need to know they can afford to attend events, and be able to rent the facility for their programs, without having to pay a king's ransom. And while administrators might like to throw down the governing documents, it would be hoped, a new and more engaging council, will close up the rule book, and have a conversation with constituents about the Opera House; that we'd all like to see restored in the spirit of social / cultural integrity.....that mirrors town values, instead of reflecting back at us, a perspective from anywhere else but here. The Opera House, we pass daily, along this portion of Muskoka Road, is paid for, by us, and the shortfalls, are covered by us, and when it needs restoration, the taxpayers come through once again.....yet when we ask, that some consideration be given to local concerns, we are seen, simply, as pests. I have been a source of annoyance for three years, and for probably five before the last election. I'm not one fraction closer today, in convincing council to change its ways, than I was way back when. So why bother? My mother used to ask me that, and we used to ask sons Andrew and Robert the same thing. Well, as sentimental as this might read, to those who don't know us that well, our mission has everything to do with the fact, that our family has its roots firmly planted in this Gravehurst soil, and some things are worth fighting for; let's just say, to make it better for our future kin-folk and yours. I want my grandkids to be able to attend matinee events at the Opera House, on a regular basis, and I want our boys and their future spouses, to be active in the music enterprise of this community; and fulfill their inherent rights, to be welcomed, as contributors, to the cultural mosaic that becomes the future heritage of Gravenhurst. This is not someone else's venue. It is ours. Yours. The Town acts as its steward. We call the shots. So, that said, how would you feel about running for town council, this coming October.

     We plan to make this an election issue. We will draft up the submission, or petition, to request the new council, organize an immediate review of the past ten years of Opera House management, and compile a report on its financial successes and failures, to be made public...with the plan, to find immediate solutions to the excessive rental fees, and to promote discounts for multiple users, and for local citizens who reside in the Town of Gravenhurst. Now all we need are some like-minded advocates, who are willing to invest a little time, in making future change;  something exciting and adventure-filled, well beyond the present status quo.

     To start the ball rolling, as I noted in yesterday's blog, the Currie brothers are prepared to produce twelve "sessions" events following the next election, slated for the Trillium Court. And we would also agree to help promote the Opera House, and offer large main stage events, if we can find a council, down the road, that is as excited about change as we are in promoting it!

     Once again, to all the folks who have sent us comments, in the past forty eight hours, regarding our decision to cancel the sessions events, we offer our humble gratitude. And, just so you know, we have already had friends tell us, they will stand shoulder to shoulder, when it comes time to facing off against a new town council. Maybe instead of a face-off, we could arise with handshakes all round, and agree the best way to move forward, is to first agree, there is a problem.

     We'll keep you up to speed on the latest developments. Drop in for a visit. We have a few comfortable sofas in which to recline.