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| Early 1980's photo spread in The Herald-Gazette following a Bracebridge Main Street Fire |
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| 1980's Humphrey and District Figure Skating Club Carvnival; Booklet published by The Beacon, Photos by Ted Currie |
THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON THEIR SHOULDERS - SO WHAT CAN WE SHOULDER TO HELP OUT?
OF MANY CRITICALLY IMPORTANT DATES IN HISTORY, SUNDAY, MARCH 16TH, WILL BE EPIC!
"The fact is that history and criticism today are continually at war with the myth-making, legend-forming, tendencies of mankind. It is not what is true that takes the strongest hold on the popular mind; it is what is cast in a mould to fit popular needs; and when the people want to believe a thing it is very hard to prevent their doing so." (1913, William Dawson LeSueur)
SUNDAY, MARCH 6TH, 2014! WE SHOULD BE EXCITED BY THE CHEERFUL FACT, WE WILL THUSLY, AND KINDLY, BE ONE CALANDER-DAY CLOSER TO THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING.
THE EVENINGS ARE NOW LIGHTER FOR LONGER, AND THERE ARE TELL-TALE TRICKLES OF WATER, (I CAN HEAR, WHAT I CAN'T SEE), SHOWING THE SINCERITY OF THE MELT. PLEASANT DRIPS, THAT IF COMING FROM A TAP, WOULD DRIVE US NUTS. FROM THE ICE-COVERED ROOF, IT SOUNDS SO PLEASANT, LIKE THE CHATTER OF A NEIGHBOR SQUIRREL, AND THE CHORUS OF BLUE JAYS, CALLING BOLDLY FROM DEEP IN THE COVER OF VENERABLE EVERGREENS.
WE SHOULD BE ECSTATIC THAT WE SURVIVED, WITH ONLY BUMPS AND BRUISES, FROM THE TIGHT, ICY GRASP, NATURE THRUST UPON US UNSUSPECTING FOLKS. IT WILL BE RECALLED AS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST WINTERS IN MODERN HISTORY, AND DISCUSSED BY OLDTIMERS, SITTING ON THE PARK BENCHES UPTOWN, PIPE BOWLS CRADLED IN THEIR PALMS, TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW, AS THE REALLY BIG, HURTFUL CHILL OF 2014. WE HAVE A LOT TO THINK ABOUT, GETTING READY FOR THE CHANGE OF SEASON, AND IN MUSKOKA, THE DYNAMIC, LONG-AWAITED CHANGE OF ECONOMY. THE TOURISTS WILL BE COMING SOON. THERE WILL BE GROCERY STORE LINE-UPS, AND LOCAL BUSINESSES WILL BALANCE THEIR ECONOMIES AGAIN, AFTER THE WINTER SEASON SLOW-DOWN. IT'S NO SHAME TO HAVE TO ADMIT, THE WINTER SUCKED FINANCIALLY, BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING THE SEASONAL SLOWDOWN SINCE THE LATE 1800'S. MIXED INTO ALL THOSE DECADES, WERE PERIODS OF WAR, DATING BACK TO THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, WHEN MUSKOKA WAS FIRST BEING SETTLED. A FEW WELL APPOINTED FOLKS IN CANADA, AT THE TIME, AND IN BRITAIN, DID WORRY THE AMERICIANS, AFTER SETTLING THE NORTH-SOUTH DISPUTE, MIGHT HEAD NORTH AGAIN, (AFTER THE 1812 DEBACLE) TO CLAIM SOME WIDE OPEN SPACES. IT WAS ONE OF THE INCENTIVES TO MOVE AHEAD WITH THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY, AND TO SEEK HARDY SETTLERS FROM EUROPE, TO OCCUPY THOSE ALLURING OPEN SPACES, FOR THE BRITISH EMPIRE. WHAT WAS MUSKOKA LIKE DURING THE FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WARS? WHAT ABOUT THE GREAT DEPRESSION?
WHY DO I WANT TO KNOW? AS A REGION, HOW RESILIENT ARE WE TO TOUGH TIMES? WE DON'T HAVE THAT SAME HOMESTEAD ECONOMY, OF ONCE UPON A TIME, SO WE CAN'T COUNT ON OUR AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT, AND WE'RE PRETTY RELIANT ON THE BIG SMOKE, TO KEEP US STOCKED WITH FOOD AND COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS, WE NEED TO RUN OUR BUSINESSES AND FOR GENERAL SUSTENANCE. WHAT WOULD THE IMPACT BE, OF A WAR OVER THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UKRAINE, A HALF WORLD AWAY? WHAT KIND OF WORRIES, WOULD BE INSPIRED AMONGST THE HOME POPULATION, IF THE FREE WORLD, IS FORCED TO STEP IN, AND SAY A BIG "NO WAY," TO THE RUSSIANS, AND THEIR AGGRESSION IN THE CRIMEA, AND BEYOND? IN THE COLD WAR, IF MEMORY SERVES, TORONTO WAS A TARGET IN CANADA, IF ANY MISSILE WAS AIMED AT THIS PART OF THE CONTINENT. IT'S WHY WE HAD SAFETY DRILLS, AND KNEW HOW TO GET INTO THE SCHOOL BASEMENT QUICKLY. IT'S WHY NEIGHBORS IN BURLINGTON, DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, DUG FALL-OUT SHELTERS, AND STOCKED THEM WITH PROVISIONS. IT'S WHY OUR PARENTS PAID ATTENTION TO THE DAILY NEWS PROGRAMS, AND KNEW THE SENSORY FEELING OF WALKING THAT PATH OF EGG-SHELLS FOR MANY YEARS; JUST IN CASE RUSSIA DECIDED TO ANNEX WHATEVER THEY WANTED.
THE DAY OF A FIXED REFERENDUM IN THE CRIMEA. A BIG DAY FOR RUSSIANS WHO SEEM TO PREFER THIS KIND OF THING, AND A CRAPPY DAY FOR EVERY FREEDOM LOVING SOUL ON THE PLANET (INCLUDING RUSSIAN CITIZENS AGAINST THIS LATEST INCURSION); WHETHER THEY'RE WATCHING THIS REALITY UNFOLD OR NOT. HISTORY DOESN'T GO ON HIATUS, JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T HAPPEN TO BE WATCHING. BUT WE ALL SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION, TO THIS ACT OF AGGRESSION; BECAUSE IN A RUSSIAN OR UKRAINIAN HEARTBEAT, IT COULD SPARK THE KIND OF CONFLICT, WE HAVE WORRIED ABOUT SINCE THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS. THE FINANCIAL CONFLUENCE WITH MILITARY CONFLICT. THE WILD PRICE INCREASES OF GAS AND OIL. IT COULD AFFECT EVERYDAY LIFE, POTENTIALLY EVEN DISRUPTING COMMUNICATIONS. JUST IMAGINE THESE MODERN ERA INCONVENIENCES, AS COMPARED TO THE HARDSHIPS EXPERIENCED DURING OTHER TIMES OF WORLD CONFLICT. ARE WE AS INFORMED, AS A POPULATION, AS WE SHOULD BE, OR ARE WE SO COMPLACENT, AND DISCONNECTED, THAT WE FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ADJUST QUICKLY TO OUT OF CONTROL WORLD EVENTS.
IF IT SEEMS A WILD STRETCH, TO THINK THAT A WAR COULD BREAK-OUT, OVER THE PRESENT AGGRESSION IN CRIMEA, AND POTENTIALLY THE UKRAINE, YOU SHOULD REFRESH YOURSELF IN WORLD HISTORY. THEN QUESTION HOW A PASSENGER JET, WITH OVER TWO HUNDRED SOULS, COULD BE LOST FOR A WEEK, IN A WORLD THAT IS SO HEAVILY MONITORED BY CAMERAS, EVEN FROM SPACE. IF THAT FALLS UNDER THE CATEGORY OF "WEIRD AND WHACKY" TO YOU, THEN WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE UKRAINE, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED, WELL, A HAIR'S BREADTH FROM FULL-OUT "FRIGHTENING"; ESPECIALLY WITH NEWS TODAY ABOUT ADDITIONAL RUSSIAN MILITARY DEPLOYMENT, TO THE BORDER AREA BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES. HOW COME I CAN'T WRITE THIS, WITHOUT FEELING I'M FIFTY PERCENT "FEAR MONGER," AND FIFTY PERCENT, A VERY, VERY NERVOUS HISTORIAN. HISTORY DOES REPEAT. THESE ARE THE TOUGHEST, CHRONICLE-LADEN, THREE WORDS TO CONFESS. AND THERE'S NOT A DARN THING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT, OTHER THAN TO, (AND YOU'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE AS WELL), LET "HISTORY TAKE ITS COURSE."
IN A WAR OF THIS MAGNITUDE, WHAT WILL GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD, DO TO CONTROL COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE ENEMY? FREEDOM EVEN IN A DEMOCRACY, WILL BE RESTRICTED. I RECALL THE INTERMENT CAMPS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, WHERE CANADIAN CITIZENS WERE IMPRISONED, BECAUSE OF THEIR POTENTIAL THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY. WHAT WAS CONSIDERED CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT BY TODAY'S STANDARDS, OF DEMOCRATIC INSIGHT, WAS OUR REALITY EVEN IN MUSKOKA, WHERE CAMP CALYDOR WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED FOR GERMAN / CANADIAN CITIZENS, WHO MIGHT HAVE BECOME DANGEROUS LIAISONS FOR HITLER, IF ALLOWED TO ROAM FREE. I KNOW A CASE OF THIS FROM PORT CARLING, WHERE A GERMAN / CANADIAN WAS MONITORED CONSTANTLY, THROUGHOUT THE WAR, AS A POTENTIAL CONDUIT OF INFORMATION. WE HAD HUNDREDS OF GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR, RIGHT HERE IN GRAVENHURST, AT CAMP CALYDOR, AND IT WAS VERY REAL TO EVERY CITIZEN IN THIS TOWN, FROM 1940 TO 1946; THAT THEY POSED A GREAT DANGER TO THE FREE WORLD. IT WAS A REALITY OF THE WAR IN EUROPE, THAT WE, AS A TOWN POPULATION, HAD TO TAKE SERIOUSLY, AS ESCAPES WERE ALWAYS POTENTIAL. SOME DID SUCCEED AT GETTING OUT OF THE LAKESHORE ENCAMPMENT. BUT JUST THINK HOW INTIMATE WE WERE TO THE WAR-FRONT, BY HE FACT WE HAD HARDCORE NAZI PRISONERS, IN FULL REGALIA, ONLY A FEW BLOCKS FROM WHAT WE KNOW TODAY, AS UPTOWN GRAVENHURST. THERE ARE STUDENTS IN THIS TOWN, HAVING TAKEN COURSES IN HISTORY, WHO DO NOT KNOW THIS FACT ABOUT OUR TOWN, AND THIS IS DISTURBING TO ALL OF US WITH AN HISTORICAL BIAS.
CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MODERN SOCIETY WOULD REACT TO A CELL PHONE RESTRICTION, DUE TO NATIONAL SECURITY? EVEN HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, THE PLACE WE LIKE TO CALL GOD'S COUNTRY, LIFE AND TIMES ARE GOING TO CHANGE. FOR THOSE WHO HATE CHANGE? LIKE MY MOTHER USED TO TELL ME; "TEDDY, THAT'S THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES." IF IT GOES AS RUSSIA INSISTS IT WILL, BY GUN DIPLOMACY, THE GLOBE WILL HAVE BECOME A MUCH MORE PRECARIOUS PLACE TO LIVE. A DAY WE WILL REMEMBER FOR VERY BAD REASONS. LIKE THE DAY PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS ASSASSINATED; THE OCCASION WHEN MARTIN LUTHER KING'S LIFE WAS SUDDENLY ENDED, BY A GUNMAN, AND SENATOR BOBBY KENNEDY WAS SHOT; WE BABY BOOMERS HAD A GOOD LOOK AROUND US, FOR THOSE FEW HOURS OUT OF A YEAR, AS IF WE COULD ACTUALLY SENSE, THE WORLD'S SPIN WAS GRINDING TO A HALT. WE NEEDED TO KNOW ALL THE DETAILS OF THOSE HISTORIC DAYS. JUST AS WE DID ON SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2001. I WAS FIXING THE KITCHEN SINK, AND I HAD GOOP ALL OVER MY HANDS, WHEN SUZANNE PHONED ME FROM SCHOOL, SUGGESTING I TURN ON THE TELEVISION. FOR THE NEXT FORTY-EIGHT HOURS, I ONLY MOVED SEVERAL TIMES, AND THAT INVOLVED WASHROOM VISITS. I REMEMBER HEARING ABOUT A LOCAL MAN, WHO WAS FOUND DECEASED IN A CHAIR, IN FRONT OF HIS TELEVISION, THE DAY AFTER NINE-ELEVEN. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT HE DIED WHILE WATCHING THE EVENTS UNFOLD IN NEW YORK. IT'S TRUE HE DID HAVE A HEART CONDITION. BUT THE SHOCK OF SEEING WHAT APPEARED TO BE THE ENDING OF THE WORLD, TIPPED HIM OVER THE EDGE. LIKE A FERRIS WHEEL STOPPING WITH YOU AT THE TOP, THERE IS THAT MOMENTARY DOUBT, THAT YOU'LL EVER TOUCH THE GROUND AGAIN. OUTSIDE OF SEEING SOME MARCH HARES HOPPING ACROSS A MEADOW, SOMEWHERE, SUNDAY WILL BE THE DAY WE FIND OUT FOR CERTAIN, WHAT RUSSIA HAS PLANNED FOR THE UKRAINE. AND, WHAT THE FREE WORLD WILL DO AS A COUNTER MEASURE. IF YOU'RE SQUEAMISH ABOUT THIS SORT OF THING, GET OVER IT! A WAR WITH RUSSIA, AS THE GERMAN CHANCELLOR SAID THIS WEEK WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC,
BUT RUSSIA SAID TODAY, IT WON'T INVADE THE UKRAINE. THAT'S FUNNY, THE CRIMEA IS THE UKRAINE. TALK ABOUT THE WAY A COOKIE CRUMBLES.
HISTORIANS AREN'T SOOTHSAYERS. I'VE NEVER HEARD ONE CLAIM TO THE CONTRARY. MOST OF US, UNLESS WE'RE ASKED, DON'T TRY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE. WE'RE NOT PROGNOSTICATORS, AND AS FOR PREDICTIONS, WE HAVE TO BASE IT ON THE CHRONICLE OF HISTORY THUS FAR. WE ARE NOT STRATEGISTS BUT WE ARE EAGER TO SHARE WHAT WE HAVE UNCOVERED. WE KNOW STUFF A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T. WE READ, WE REVIEW, WE RESEARCH, AND JUST BECAUSE SOME OF US ARE REGIONAL HISTORIANS, OR HISTORIANS OF TRANSPORTATION, BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, URBAN AREAS, COMMUNICATIONS, OR MILITARY, DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T SURMISE, BASED ON THE TEMPLATES OF THE PAST; TO KNOW WHICH WAY THINGS ARE LIKELY TO ADVANCE, EVEN IN AREAS WE'RE NOT EXPERTS. ALL TO DETERMINE, BY SENSIBLE PROPORTION, THE MOST LOGICAL NEXT STEP IN THE MARCH OF HISTORY. WE CAN'T CLAIM TO BEING CLAIRVOYENT, BECAUSE WE AREN'T A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE OF ANYTHING. WE JUST KNOW WHERE THE DOTS ARE, AND HOW TO CONNECT THEM, IF NEED ARISES. WHAT HISTORIANS ARE SAYING TODAY, SHOULD BE WORTH LISTENING TO, BECAUSE IT IS THEIR BUSINESS TO KNOW. I THINK SOME TIMES, EVEN THEIR FINGERS TREMBLE, WHEN WRITING ABOUT CURRENT EVENTS, BECAUSE THEY'VE WRITTEN ABOUT SIMILAR SITUATIONS THAT HAD DEVASTATING OUTCOMES, IN THE PAST. IT'S A REAL DILEMMA, WHEN YOU FEEL THE EARTH SHAKE, BUT FACE RIDICULE WHEN YOU SUGGEST TO THOSE AROUND YOU, THE NEED TO SEEK HIGHER GROUND. JUST IN CASE. IT'S BASED ON INFORMATION GARNERED FROM PAST DISASTERS, THAT THE WARNING IS ISSUED. WE'RE REDUCED TO BEING SPECTATORS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, IF OUR EXPERTISE ISN'T WANTED.
THIS BLOG WASN'T WRITTEN TO CAPITALIZE ON THE SENSATIONALISM OF CRISIS. I WON'T GAIN ONE READER BECAUSE OF IT, BUT I MAY LOSE SOME, WHO FEEL THAT I'M SIMPLY TOO NEGATIVE TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING. I HAVE LONG FELT I WAS LIMITED IN MY REVIEWS OF CURRENT EVENTS, BECAUSE I ALWAYS LEAN TOWARD THE POSITIVE, JUST AS I PRAY THERE WILL BE A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO THE PRESENT CRISIS IN THE CRIMEA. I GO TO BED AN OPTIMIST, AND I WAKE UP THE SAME, AND DESPITE WHAT MAY BECOME AN OBSTACLE IN ATTITUDE, THROUGHOUT THE DAY, IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO THINK BAD OF THE WORLD, OR ILL OF PEOPLE, STRUGGLING FOR SOMETHING BETTER IN LIFE THAN THEY HAVE. I HESITATE ONLY, AT TIMES, WHEN THAT CHASE FOR BETTER CIRCUMSTANCE, COMES AT THE DISADVANTAGE OF OTHERS. IN THIS CASE, THE PEOPLE OF THE UKRAINE. WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT IS OBVIOUS, AND DANGEROUS, ABOUT THE POLITICS OF THE DAY, I AM COMPELLED TO FEEL PROTECTIVE OF MY HOME AND COUNTRY. IT'S THE WAY I WAS BROUGHT UP, BY PARENTS WHO LIVED THROUGH WORLD CONFLICT, AND KNEW THE DIRE CONSEQUENCES OF FALLING PREY TO NAIVE OPTIMISM; BECAUSE, IT'S WHAT MY MOTHER CLAIMED, WOULD BE THE END OF THE FREE WORLD. THERE WERE THREE NAMES FROM THE WAR YEARS, SHE REPEATED OFTEN AND WITH PASSION. NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN, WHO NEARLY SOLD BRITAIN OUT TO THE GERMANS, HITLER WHO WANTED IT ALL, AND WINSTON CHURCHILL, WHO SAVED US ALL FROM A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH. IT'S WHY IN RETROSPECT, WE HAD RECORDS OF HIS SPEECHES, MERLE USED TO LISTEN TO, AS WELL AS THOSE MADE BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY, ONE OF HER FAVORITE WORLD LEADERS. DO YOU KNOW, THAT EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, AND ALL THE GREAT LEADERS OF THE WORLD SINCE, WE STILL SELL CHURCHILL AND KENNEDY RECORDS FROM OUR VINTAGE MUSIC SHOP, HERE IN GRAVENHURST.
I HOPE AGAINST HOPE, LIKE A LOT OF NATIVE UKRANIANS AND UKRANIANS ALL AROUND THE WORLD, THAT RUSSIA BACKS OFF ITS CLAIM OF THE CRIMEA, AND TAKES ITS MILITARY BACK HOME WHERE IT BELONGS. IT WOULD BE OF GREAT IMPACT AND RESPECT FOR WORLD PEACE, IF SUNDAY, MARCH 16TH, WENT DOWN IN HISTORY, AS THE GREAT DAY, A WORLD WAR WAS AVERTED, BY DIPLOMACY AND NEGOTIATION. JUST AS WE FELT A HUGE SENSE OF RELIEF, WHEN RUSSIA WITHDREW ITS CARGO OF WARHEADS, FROM THE ISLAND NATION, OF CUBA, IN THE 1960'S; IT WOULD BE JUST AS EXHILIRATING, ON SUNDAY MORNING, TO AWAKEN TO NEWS, A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT HAD BEEN ACHIEVED.
EITHER WAY, THE REALIST CAN'T TURN AWAY FROM THE TRUTH. THE DENIERS AND THE DELUDED, WILL UNDOUBTEDLY, AS THEY DID DURING THE BAY OF PIGS INCIDENT, CARRY ON AS IF NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE OCCURRED. IGNORANCE AS THEY SAY, IS BLISS. JUST NOT FOR ME.
THE LAST THING WE NEED, AS A GLOBAL COMMUNITY, IS ANOTHER WAR TO TEAR COUNTRIES APART. WE ALREADY HAVE EXPERIENCED ENOUGH CARNAGE IN THE PAST TWO DECADES, TO REMIND US ALL, ABOUT THE INHUMANITY OF CONFLICT. WE HAVE LIBRARIES FULL OF HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION, ABOUT THE DEVASTATION OF WAR. I DARE SAY, THEY AREN'T CONSULTED MUCH ANY MORE.
HYSTERICAL SOCIETIES AND WHY MY BIBLIOPHILE FRIEND HATED THEM
HE WAS NO LESS AN HISTORIAN - JUST BECAUSE HE DIDN'T LIKE HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
I'VE TOLD THIS STORY ABOUT DAVID BROWN AND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, AND ONCE AGAIN, I WON'T REPEAT THE ENTIRETY OF WHAT I WROTE ABOUT, JUST OVER A YEAR AGO. YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO JANUARY OF LAST YEAR, IF YOU DIDN'T CATCH THE ORIGINAL. BUT AS THIS IS BIOGRAPHICAL, AND LOOSELY INSTRUCTIONAL, FOR SOME UP AND COMING ANTIQUE HUNTERS, IT'S NECESSARY ME THINKS, TO AT LEAST SUMMARIZE. IT WAS ONE OF DAVE BROWN'S FAVORITE STORIES, AND HE CHANGED IT TO SUIT THE AUDIENCE AND THE CIRCUMSTANCE THAT WARRANTED ITS RE-TELLING. NOW FOR THOSE FOLKS JUST TUNING IN, YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK A FEW BLOGS, THIS PAST WEEK, TO READ MY INTRODUCTION AND FOLLOW-UP COLUMNS, ABOUT MY RELATIONSHIP TO THE GOOD MR. BROWN; NOTED OUTDOOR EDUCATOR, HISTORIAN AND BIBLIOPHILE……A WELL KNOWN BOOK AND PAPER COLLECTOR, ESPECIALLY RECONGIZED, WHEN IT CAME TO NATURAL HISTORIES AND CANADIANA. YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET THE OOMPH FROM THIS BLOG, WITHOUT THE LEAD-UP MATERIAL. SO HERE GOES.
AS DAVE BROWN WAS MY TUTOR IN THE OLD BOOK GAME, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE PRECEDENTS ATTAINED THUS FAR, IN OUR RESPECTIVE COLLECTING ADVENTURES. WE SHARED A LOT IN COMMON. HE GREW UP IN HAMILTON, ONTARIO, AND VISITED BURLINGTON FREQUENTLY. I SPENT MY EARLY YEARS IN BURLINGTON, AND VISITED HAMILTON OFTEN. I STARTED COLLECTING AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL KID, AND SO DID HE. I BECAME AN ANTIQUE DEALER IN MY EARLY 20'S, AND DAVE ALREADY HAD SEVERAL THOUSAND BOOKS, AND A NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTION BY THE SAME AGE. I HAD A SECONDARY CAREER AS A NEWSPAPER EDITOR, WRITER, AND FREELANCE HISTORIAN, DAVE HAD A WELL KNOWN OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTRE IN HAMILTON, WHERE HE TAUGHT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF LOCAL KIDS, OVER HIS MANY YEARS ON STAFF…..TAKING THEM FOR ABOUT A MILLION MILES OF NATURE HIKES, IN THE WOODLAND AREA OF THE FAMED BOTANICAL GARDENS.
I WAS A FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF AN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. DAVE LOATHED HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, GENERALLY. BY THE TIME DAVE AND I GOT TOGETHER, AS BOOK COLLECTORS (ME BEING A COLLECTOR AND DEALER), I HAD LEFT THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND SEVERED MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MUSEUM I HELPED LAUNCH, AS A DIRECTOR AND EVENTUAL SITE MANAGER. I RATHER ENJOYED THE REDUCTION OF THE HERITAGE TITHE, BECAUSE THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY BUSINESS AND THE MUSEUM RESPONSIBILITIES, WERE LIKE CARRYING AROUND AN ANCHOR. I'D HAVE TO LEAVE WORK AT THE HERALD-GAZETTE, EVEN ON A PRESS DAY, WHEN THERE WAS A PROBLEM AT THE MUSEUM WITH STAFF. I'D HAVE TO DRIVE FROM OUR RURAL HOME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, TO JOIN A CONSTABLE OF THE ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE, ON A FULL TOUR OF THE OLD HOUSE, KNOWN AS WOODCHESTER VILLA, BECAUSE THE BURGLAR ALARM HAD GONE OFF. SQUIRRELS FOUND THE COATING ON THE WIRING, TO THE SENSORS, TASTED LIKE LICORICE……SO TO STOP THE FALSE ALARMS THE WIRING HAD TO BE CHANGED, BECAUSE WE COULDN'T KEEP THE SQUIRRELS FROM GETTING INTO THE ATTIC. THEY ATE THROUGH EVERY BARRIER WE CREATED. WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY TO FIGHT THE LITTLE BUGGERS. SERIOUSLY. NO MONEY. THAT'S HOW THE MUSEUM OPERATED. NINETY PERCENT ON VOLUNTEER LABOUR.
MY PROBLEM WITH THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND THE MUSEUM BOARD, (I WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE MUSKOKA LAKES MUSEUM, IN PORT CARLING), CAME DOWN TO MONEY AND THE LACK OF IT! VOLUNTEERS HAD TO PUT IN WAY TOO MUCH TIME, BECAUSE OF THE FINANCIAL SHORTFALLS, WHICH AT WOODCHESTER WERE UNENDING. THERE WAS NO LIGHT, NOT EVEN A TWINKLE, AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL FOR WOODCHESTER, OR THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND IT EVENTUALLY FOLDED. THE MUSEUM WAS CLOSED SOME YEARS BACK BECAUSE OF STRUCTURAL ISSUES. I PREDICTED IT WOULD HAPPEN AND IT DID. THE MUSKOKA LAKES MUSEUM HAS ENJOYED MUCH GREATER SUCCESS, AFTER A ROUGH PATCH TO KEEP IT OPEN, OF WHICH I WAS A SUCCESSFUL PLAYER……FIGHTING TOWN HALL ON THIS ONE. AFTER THE BATTLE WAS WON, AND THE MUSEUM WAS GUARANTEED ITS FUTURE, I DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO PULL BACK AND WORK ON MY OWN BUSINESS, WHICH HAD ALWAYS BEEN SECOND TO MY INVOLVEMENT IN HERITAGE MATTERS; FIRST WITH WOODCHESTER, THEN THE MUSKOKA LAKES MUSEUM. I ADORED BOTH OPERATIONS, BUT THE WEIGHT OF RESPONSIBILITY WAS HUGE, AND THE LIABILITY FACTOR WAS BECOMING A FAR MORE SERIOUS ISSUE, ESPECIALLY MANAGING THE SITE OUT OF ANY SERIOUS DEFICIT SITUATION……THAT DIRECTORS COULD HAVE BEEN HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR, IF IT WAS DEEMED WE HAD MISMANAGED FUNDS. I DIDN'T LIKE THE DEGREE OF RISK.
DAVE BROWN PROBABLY HAD MANY YEARS OF AMICABLE RELATIONS WITH MUSEUM AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY DIRECTORS. THERE WAS A FALLING OUT, AND I NEVER FOUND OUT WHAT IT WAS ABOUT, PRECISELY, BUT I KNOW HOW IT ENDED. DAVE MADE UP HIS MIND, THAT HE WOULD NEVER SURRENDER ANY GROUND TO WHAT HE CALLED "THOSE PEOPLE FROM THE HYSTERICAL SOCIETY." IN MY OWN YEARS AS A DIRECTOR, I HAD EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, ESPECIALLY ON THE BRACEBRIDGE BOARD, WHEN MEETINGS GOT SO NASTY, IT ALMOST CAME TO FISTICUFFS OUT ON THE MUSEUM LAWNS. AS PRESIDENT I HAD A LOT ON MY PLATE, AND THERE WERE A FEW DIRECTORS WHO PURPOSELY TOSSED OUT OBSTACLES, AND CREATED MORE WORK FOR VOLUNTEERS…….AT TIMES WHEN WE COULDN'T AFFORD TO STAFF THE PLACE. SO BY THE END OF MY TENURE, AND SOME MANAGEMENT CONFLICTS WITH THE TOWN ITSELF, THAT HAD OVERALL ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROPERTY, I COULDN'T LEAVE MY JOB FAST ENOUGH. MY LIFE AND WORK ACTUALLY IMPROVED, DUMPING THE BURDEN OF RUNNING A MUSEUM THAT NEVER ONCE HAD ENOUGH MONEY. I WAS TIRED OF BEGGING FOR MONEY JUST TO MAKE THE TOWN LOOK GOOD FOR HAVING A COMMUNITY MUSEUM. THEY MILKED IT BIG TIME, UNTIL IT CAME DOWN TO THE BUDGET CRUNCH EACH YEAR. THEY LIKED THE IDEA OF HAVING A MUSEUM, JUST NOT ONE THEY HAD TO PAY FOR. MY YEARS WITH THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY WERE ADVERSE, FRUSTRATING, AGGRAVATING, AND LARGELY UNREWARDING. IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, NO WAY.
SO WHAT WAS THE FUSS ABOUT?
The common thread here, is that as collectors of some accomplishment, Dave Brown, in Hamilton, and Suzanne and I, here in Muskoka, had considerable civic pride. We liked the idea of being involved with heritage projects. For many years we served long hours, on difficult projects, and were treated as rank and file volunteers. We certainly didn't get special consideration, and for the most part, we held little sway within the groups. This will read badly, and appear as if vanity was the only reason we got involved in the first place. The fact is, we had heritage capabilities, as collectors and part-time historians, that were particularly useful to the community projects, where we got involved. None of us were interested as much in the social side of the programs, but mostly it was the historical relevances that turned our respective cranks. But there was a social agenda attached, and seeing as we didn't have any political will, or desire to re-adjust issues of seniority, and reform their ideas on governance and protocol, the three of us just began drifting away from the central authority…….making us rogues within. We actually started to get shunned, and bypassed altogether, and it never really got better. It's still an ongoing issue, the difference being, I don't care. I'm overloaded with heritage projects anyway, and these ones, are done my way. (Suzanne is my editor)
We had tried our best to work with members of the Historical Society responsible for the museum's heritage collection. I remember donating a very rare plaster plaque of the original Muskoka 122nd Battalion pin, from World War I, (done as a wall hanging for veteran soldiers) that I paid dearly for, at a Gravenhurst auction, to the Muskoka Lakes Museum, for their local military display. All I asked was for a tax receipt, in the amount that I had paid for it, at this local auction. That was more than a decade ago, and I haven't received it yet. Dave probably would have experienced the same kind of problem…..donating items to an historical group or museum in his neck of the woods, and then on checking later, finding the item either had never been registered, or was lost before it could be registered into the collection. There are all sorts of stories like this, and while I don't know the specifics in his case, it was enough to turn him off forever, from donating to museums. He did donate a large quantity of books to McMaster University, via his will, but just not to museums. One of the issues that bothered him, had to do with they way historical society members intruded upon him at auctions and estate sales……believing that they could overpower free-enterprise, because they were affiliated with a museum. Dave made it a point, of standing in their way, every chance he got, and it was most definitely a mean spirited pursuit on his part. He didn't see it this way, when we talked about it, but that was the sum total anyway. I may not have liked the way some historical society members acted, even up here, but I never set out to trip them up, for sport. I could have, but just never felt myself angry enough to do so. I knew how to out-muster them, however, and get what I wanted, and needed; over and above their attempts to pull the "we're from the museum" trump card, to cut in line. If I had one definable moment, when I realized my difference of opinion with those who align themselves with pre-planned historical purpose, it came when, locally, I attended an auction where there was a huge quantity of historic paperwork pertaining to the Muskoka region. I have by the way, done appraisals for area museums, to evaluate donations of Muskoka collectibles. I know the market value of these heirloom regional pieces. I sell a significant volume each year, in private enterprise.
It was a huge estate sale, with a nice Muskoka flavor to it……which is right up my alley. Under one long length of table, which had a cloth covering that blocked what was below (but I've learned to be inquisitive), I found boxes and boxes of historical documents relevant to the district. Gads, on the open market, I was looking at about five thousand dollars worth of ephemera. There were receipts tacked inside from the major industries and boat builders in Muskoka, and just those bits of paper alone, today, would be worth in the neighborhood of a hundred bucks each. The books were full of them, and other important written history, that belonged here…..in a safe climate controlled environs. While Suzanne and I were buried in these boxes, other collectors at the sale were reaching over top to grab up some of the documents. I was freaking out, because I didn't have enough money to beat out the Southern Ontario dealers who were milling around….two of them, were drooling while looking over our shoulders. I didn't like that, but in my business it happens all the time. It's like a rugby scrum but meaner. So we tried to crowd them out, and it wasn't working. By accident, we happened to find an off-duty government official, who just happened to be at the sale, who was identified to us by another antique dealer friend, and she informed us that the documents actually belonged to the community governance, and could not be legally sold by the auctioneer. Yea, good luck with that, and more people spotted the frenzy of activity around the boxes, and decided to see what the fuss was about.
We sent a message to any other local historian available, who had a few bucks to spare (in case we had to pool money to buy them from the estate), to get over to the auction without delay, so we could either buy the job-lot of documents (if the auctioneer went ahead, despite the advice we had received), or block their sale long enough in the day, to involve the town itself in the negotiation. Suzanne and I neglected one of the best sales of the season, as antique dealers, to try and protect these documents from winding up for sale somewhere else in the province. The book and old paper dealers at the sale, at this time, had lots of money to invest in this kind of written documentation, and even with three or four concerned citizens, we probably couldn't have outbid them. I decided to go it alone, and approach the auctioneer, to beg at the very least, a delay in selling off these boxes of documents. Suzanne and I explained the situation, and we called upon the lady, from an unnamed provincial ministry, to back up our claims…..that these municipal documents containing sensitive information, shouldn't be sold……and that it might well have been illegal to do so. We were winging it, let me tell you. God bless the man. He agreed to have the subject boxes removed immediately from the sale agenda, to be considered later with the estate executor. We toted the boxes to the verandah where the clerk's desk was situated, that day, and let me tell you folks…..as we walked with these overflowing boxes, we were jeered by the dealers who had been interested in bidding on them. In fact, one guy I used to call "Wally the Weasel," followed me right into the porch area, to complain to the auctioneer. Fortunately the veteran auctioneer knew how to handle this kind of situation, and calmly explained that the matter was under consideration, as to whether or not it could be legally auctioned. The delay gave us time, and our new civil servant friend an opportunity, to make a few phone calls on our behalf, to see if we could block the sale officially. Well, this is exactly what happened. This was a major effort of support, for the historian collective of our region.
They came (associated historians), loaded up the boxes, took them off for sorting and any conservation required, and we went on to buy some articles from the last half of the auction sale. So everything worked out well? It did! And we were happy to help. But here's what has always bugged my ass. I could have purchased those documents myself. Knowing what was in those boxes, I can tell you, I would have sold shares to get enough money to swing the deal. But we knew enough, that what was inside was more important to the district heritage community, than to be pissed away in retail sales, pleasing collectors, but losing the historical continuity;…..as everything in the boxes was related…..and one page tied to the other, in all the books in the collection. I suppose we were naive to think that one of the folks of the local historical group might thank us, for having done so much personally, to guard and spare the items…..including the successful negotiation with the auctioneer. What did I want from them? Other than to feel good inside, that Suzanne and I had helped save local heritage? We would have been happy to received a simple and heartfelt thank you. Nuff said. The fact that we were ignored, as if we had done nothing at all of merit, left a bad feeling with us that has never diminished. Would I do something like this again? Save this material for the town? For me, the answer is yes. But I just wouldn't let them wander off, without an acknowledgement of why they got the treasure in the first place. It was from this point, that Dave Brown and I merged in attitude, I'm sorry to say.
THE AUCTION SWITCH AND SWAY
Dave had this favorite story, he told and re-told, about one of the legendary battles he had with the "hysterical society" (historical society), in his part of the province. He never officially named the society or the museum they represented. It was at an auction where there were thousands of books up for sale, in a long row of cardboard boxes. As it was a known estate of a local collector, there were quite a few books that the regional heritage group wanted for their museum archives. Dave had played silly-ass games with these people at other auctions in the area, when it came to regionally significant pieces. If they wanted to challenge for specific pieces, and they also happened to be ones he wanted, a fight would ensue. That was a guarantee. He won more than he lost, lets say that! So at this sale, the heritage group volunteers, got the idea of stacking the boxes, which is a common practice at auctions, where there is a large volume of books. This means, that volunteers were taking the books they were interested in, and placing them in one big box at the front of the line. The idea was, that when the auctioneer sold them "on choice," they would win the bid, and take only one box for that price. And leave the rest. Depleted of anything good, as Dave saw it! So he would go back, and put all the books back in the boxes, where they had been, because he had studied them carefully from the preview of the sale. The volunteers, seeing this, would fly back into action, and as soon as Dave was back in the thick of the auction, the first box would be stacked once more. He told me, that he played with them four or five times, before he made the decision to end the nonsense. This was classic Dave Brown. But truthfully, I would have done the same thing. Maybe you would have to!
Dave knew most of the auctioneers in the region he called his hunting and gathering ground. They knew him as a regular customer who took lots and lots of books off their hands. This was to his credit. They didn't want to haul leftovers to the landfill site. He cleaned up every last book, when he did make a major purchase. So Dave was not out of line, going up to his auctioneer friend, who had stopped the sale, in order to have a short coffee break,…..asking if he could deal with the books immediately when the sale resumed, as he had a prior commitment and would have to leave the auction. The auctioneer would have taken this seriously, because they needed Dave to boost the price of the books being offered. Without him the sale price would have been a lot less, and most likely, many of the boxes would have remained unsold. The historical society only wanted one box. What about the other twenty-five? So for Dave, the auctioneer had no problem adjusting the sale order. First item on the list for the resumption of the auction……a "lot" of books.
The ever-observant Mr. Brown, had also been aware, that the historical society volunteers had also retreated for a wee coffee break, from all the book sorting they'd been doing. They knew the auction was resuming, but had little idea the order of the sale had been changed. They might have expected it would have been at least another half hour before they came for sale. So they were wrong. By time they ambled back to the sale-front, Dave had already pulled his truck close to the piles of books, and was seen loading them into the back. "They insisted I stop doing this," he told me. "They went to the auctioneer, and complained that I was basically stealing the books." Well, in their absence, he had bought the whole lot. Not on choice, but the whole shooting match. Especially the stacked first box. He had outsmarted the hysterical society, and that's pretty much the way he left them on the lawn, that day, stomping up and down that they had been deceived. I wouldn't call it being deceived. Outsmarted, yes indeed.
When Dave began sorting out the books at home, there was a significant one missing. He would later find it in a collection belonging to the same museum. Now this is just a story, and while he never said they had stolen the book from him……I knew what he was getting at! He'd hustled them, and they hustled him back. Nothing else was ever said. But he never, ever asked for a historical society membership card.
In tomorrow's blog, I will give a more in-depth overview, of the relationship between collectors, dealers and historical societies……and how free enterprise can and does function with public institutions. When of course, everyone plays fair.
Thanks so much folks, for dropping by for a little visit. There's lots more hair raising stuff to come. Trust me on this. The antique profession, even on a regional scale, can get pretty wild and wooly on occasion. And it can get real funny out there as well. See you again soon. In the meantime, drive carefully. More freezing rain on the way. What a whacky winter it's turned out to be. Back to the Canadian winter I knew as a kid.
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