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| A Centennial History of the CNE signed by the author to boat racing legend Harold Wilson owner of Miss Canada |
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HISTORIANS WITH A STORY TO TELL - DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR ARCHIVES MATERIAL TO SHARE?
TWICE A YEAR, OR MORE, BASED ON THE SPECIFIC PUBLICATION SHOVED IN MY FACE, I WILL BECOME ILL WITH ANGER, ABOUT THE LIBERTIES TAKEN TO DESCRIBE THE SO CALLED "MUSKOKA LIFESTYLE;' BY THE VESTED INTEREST, WHO DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A CLUE, THAT MUSKOKA LIFESTYLE, ALSO INCLUDES THOSE CITIZENS WHO HAVE TO VISIT THE FOOD BANK, TO AVOID STARVING TO DEATH. THEIR MUSKOKA, FALLS UNDER THE HEADING, "THE LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS," NOT THE POOR AND DESTITUTE. SUZANNE AND I CERTAINLY DON'T FIT INTO THE LIFESTYLE, AS SHOWN IN GLOSSY ADS, EVEN THOUGH MY WIFE'S FAMILY OWNED A LAKE ROSSEAU COTTAGE. IT OF COURSE, WAS A FAMILY HOMESTEAD FIRST, BEFORE IT WAS USED AS A COTTAGE. IT WAS A NEAT PLACE, BUT IT DIDN'T HAVE A HOT TUB AT THE END OF THE DOCK. THE LUXURY WAS A ROOF, A DOCK, AND OF COURSE, THE BEAUTIFUL LAKE. WHENEVER I SEE THIS LIFESTYLE REFERENCE, USED RECKLESSLY, I WANT TO RESPOND, WITH THE UNEARTHLY SPARKS OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE; TO CHALLENGE THE WRITERS AND PUBLISHERS, WHO IRRESPONSIBLY PORTRAY MUSKOKA, IN THE ILLUMINATION OF DAZZLING WEALTH, AND LUXURIOUS LIVING; ONLY BECAUSE OF THIS LIMITED FOCUS FOR THE SAKE OF EXPLOITATION AS ONLY A MEANS TO PROFIT.
THE SO CALLED, "ADJUSTED TRUTH" THAT SUITS A PARTICULAR NEED, FOR A BUSINESS PROTOCOL, THAT IN ALL OTHER DEGREES, REPRESENTS MORE FICTION, THAN FACT. I HAVEN'T HAD MY FILL OF IT YET, THIS YEAR, BUT EACH SPRING, I WILL RUN INTO SOME TOOL, IN THE PRINT MEDIA, WHO HAS REVISIONIST PLANS, TO TAKE OVER THE REGION, AND SCULPT IT INTO A LAKELAND MONEY TREE; AS IF THAT'S THE WHOLE STORY, ABOUT WHAT MAKES THIS REGION KNOWN, AND RESPECTED AROUND THE WORLD, FOR ITS BEAUTY AND HOSPITALITY. MOST HISTORIANS OF THE REGION TODAY, JUST CRINGE, INHALE IT INTO THEIR SOULS, AND THEN BURY IT DEEP, DEEP WITHIN; VERSUS SAY, TRYING TO UNDO ALL THE FABRICATIONS, AND GENERALIZATIONS, CREATED TO SUIT WHAT BUSINESS WANTS MUSKOKA TO BE! MUSKOKA AND OUR TOWN DESERVE BETTER, AND MORE SENSITIVE TREATMENT, CONSIDERING THAT WE HAVE A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF FOLKS, LIVING BENEATH THE POVERTY LINE.
MAYBE, IN A SMALL WAY, BRINGING OUR HISTORICAL RESOURCES ENTERPRISE, UP TO THE MAIN STREET, IS THE RESULT OF THIS DISLIKE FOR THE RELENTLESS BASTARDIZATION OF OUR HERITAGE, FOR FINANCIAL GAIN. THOSE WHO BELIEVE THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO RECONSTITUTE OUR LEGACY; TO MAKE IT SEXY AND LUSCIOUSLY APPEALING, TO THOSE WITH THE CASH TO MAKE MUSKOKA DANCE TO THEIR OWN DRUMBEAT. I COME FROM A SCHOOL OF THOUGHT, THAT HISTORY IS HISTORY. WHAT MAKES IT SIGNIFICANT, IS THE CAPABILITY OF THE RESEARCHER, TO INFILL WHAT ISN'T KNOWN. I'M A LONG WAY FROM AN HISTORICAL PURIST, BUT I'M A LOT CLOSER THAN THESE FOLKS. IT'S ONE THING TO PROFIT FROM HISTORY. I USED TO BE IN THE MUSEUM BUSINESS, AND SUZANNE AND I ARE ANTIQUE DEALERS. SO WE PROFIT FROM HISTORY PERPETUALLY. BUT WE RESPECT THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURACY AND FACTUAL REPRESENTATION. IF WE DON'T KNOW A DETAIL OF HISTORY, WE WILL TRY EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO FIND THE MISSING INFORMATION. BUT AS FAR AS EMBELLISHING OUR HISTORY, OR GENERALIZING, ON WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE IN THIS REGION, THEN AND NOW, WE WON'T COLOR WHAT ISN'T ALREADY COLORED. OUR HERITAGE IS COLORFUL ENOUGH AS IT IS!
WHEN WE OPENED OUR BASEMENT ANTIQUE SHOP, ON UPPER MANITOBA STREET, WHICH WOULD BE BACK IN THE LATE 1980'S, I USED TO JOKE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY, THAT IT WAS THE PERFECT PLACE TO WRITE. AS IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PLACE OF BUSINESS, SELLING ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, SLOW BUSINESS DURING THE RECESSIONARY YEARS OF THE EARLY 1990'S, ALLOWED ME A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF FREE TIME, TO RESEARCH MUSKOKA HISTORY, AND TAKE ON SOME FREELANCE PROJECTS. ONE OF THE FIRST ASSIGNMENTS, WAS A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BRACEBRIDGE SENIOR CITIZENS' CLUB. THEN THERE WAS THE COLUMN SPACE I WAS OFFERED, IN THE MUSKOKA ADVANCE, TO WRITE "SKETCHES OF HISTORIC BRACEBRIDGE," WHICH A FEW YEARS LATER, MORPHED INTO "BRACEBRIDGE SKETCHES," AND THEN FINALLY "MUSKOKA SKETCHES," BY THE TURN OF THE NEW CENTURY. I WROTE COLUMNS AT MY SALES DESK, IN BETWEEN TRANSACTIONS (HOURS UPON HOURS), AND STARTED TO SUBMIT FEATURE STORIES TO THE MUSKOKA SUN AS WELL. THIS, OF COURSE, AFTER AN ELEVEN YEAR WRITING RELATIONSHIP WITH MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS AND THEN THE BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER, AND GRAVENHURST BANNER. DURING THIS SAME PERIOD, OF THE MAINSTREET SHOP, I EVEN GOT INVOLVED IN RESEARCH FOR THE BIOGRAPHY OF ROGER CROZIER, FORMERLY OF THE DETROIT RED WINGS OF THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE. THIS WAS ON THE CUSP OF ROGER SETTING UP "THE CROZIER FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN," IN MUSKOKA, AND THE UNITED STATES. I WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR OF THE MUSKOKA CHAPTER. ROGER, OF COURSE, WAS A BRACEBRIDGE HOMETOWNER. AFTER HIS HOCKEY CAREER, HE BECAME A BANK EXECUTIVE WITH MBNA. I WROTE ABOUT A MILE OF EDITORIAL COPY, FOR A SPECIAL ROGER CROZIER TRIBUTE SUPPLEMENT, TO THE HERALD-GAZETTE, WHICH WAS LATER RE-PUBLISHED, IN ITS ENTIRETY, IN THE MBNA NEWSLETTER, THAT HAD A HUGE CIRCULATION FROM CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, IN WILMINGTON, DELAWARE. IT GOT ME A FREE TRIP TO DELAWARE TO VISIT WITH ROGER; SO THAT LITTLE OFFICE SPACE, IN AN ANTIQUE SHOP, IN A QUIET TIME OF RETAIL, PRETTY MUCH CHANGED MY LIFE. I WOULD EVENTUALLY CLOSE THE SHOP, TO WORK WITH ROGER'S FOUNDATION, WHICH I UPHELD WITH GREAT ENTHUSIASM UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO. A LOT OF HISTORICAL PROJECTS WERE SEEDED BACK THEN, AS A RESULT OF A REALLY LONG OFF-SEASON; WHICH ONLY SEEMED TO END WHEN JULY ROLLED AROUND. THINGS, THANKFUL, ARE A LOT DIFFERENT NOW. I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THE BUSY SEASON IS MUCH LONGER IN THIS NEW CENTURY.
WE HAVE BEEN QUIETLY WORKING AWAY ON RESEARCH PROJECTS AT OUR NEW SHOP, ON THE MAIN STREET OF GRAVENHURST, AND WE HAVE ACTUALLY UNDERTAKEN SEVERAL MAJOR ONES IN THE PAST YEAR; INCLUDING A PUBLISHED HISTORY OF A REGIONAL GOLF AND CURLING CLUB, WHICH WAS INCREDIBLY INSIGHTFUL, PRIMARILY BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST SERIOUS BUSINESS CHRONICLE I'D EVER WRITTEN. BUT MORE AND MORE, SUZANNE AND I ARE BEING ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT REGIONAL HISTORY, FROM FOLKS WHO HAVE KNOWN US SINCE THOSE SHOP DAYS IN BRACEBRIDGE. AND WE HAVE HAD TO ASK FOR ASSISTANCE FROM THE GRAVENHURST ARCHIVES COMMITTEE, A GROUP ALWAYS READY TO LEND A HAND, TO SOLVE AN HISTORICAL IMPASSE. SO WE FINALLY DECIDED, NOW THAT WE ARE BOTH CONSIDERED HERITAGE ITEMS OURSELVES, THAT WE WOULD BE MORE PUBLIC ABOUT OUR HERITAGE RESOURCES, WHEN PREVIOUSLY, WE DIDN'T ACTIVELY PROMOTE IT, BECAUSE WE WERE SWAMPED GETTING THE SHOP UP AND RUNNING. WE COMPLICATED IT ALL, TIMING WISE, WITH THE EXTRA WORKLOAD OF CREATING THE COOKERY ARCHIVES, WHICH IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS, AFTER THE FIRST FULL YEAR OF OPERATION. IT'S NICE TO SEE SOME MUSKOKA CHEFS USING OUR RESOURCES. AS PART OF THE MUSKOKA HISTORY RESOURCES, WE NOW HAVE A BONUS COLLECTION OF REGIONAL COOKBOOKS, THAT WE KEEP ON-SITE FOR REFERENCE. WE COULD ALWAYS USE MORE. WE ONLY SELL OFF THESE BOOKS IF WE HAVE DOUBLES, OR TRIPLES, OF THE SAME BOOK. BUT WE ARE WILLING TO SHARE WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR SMALL BUT GROWING ARCHIVES COLLECTION.
SO YOU'LL SEE PUBLISHED ABOVE, MY LITTLE "MUSKOKA HISTORY RESOURCES" SIGN, FOR THE SHOP, WHICH HOPEFULLY, WILL ENCOURAGE VISITORS TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR DISTRICT; AND FEEL COMFORTABLE CHATTING WITH A COUPLE OF WELL-TRAVELLED, WELL-TUTORED, AND HISTORICALLY ENCUMBERED, (AND A LITTLE CRUMPLED AROUND THE EDGES) HISTORIANS, WHO LIVE AND BREATHE THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA. SUZANNE'S FAMILY SETTLED IN THE UFFORD AREA, OF THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, BACK IN THE EARLY 1860'S, REPRESENTING BOTH THE SHEA AND VEITCH FAMILIES, AND WAS A LONG-TIME RESIDENT OF THE VILLAGE OF WINDERMERE, ON LAKE ROSSEAU. I DON'T HAVE TO REPEAT MY CREDENTIALS, BUT I FIND IT WONDERFUL ENTERTAINMENT, TO HAVE HERITAGE TALKS ROUTINELY WITH OUR GUESTS. SUZANNE AND I JUST DECIDED TO OFFER THIS AS A FREE SERVICE, FOR THE FOLKS WHO COME TO SEE US. SEEING AS THERE ARE A LOT OF CLAIMS THESE DAYS, ABOUT MUSKOKA LIFESTYLE, AND ALL THE ACCOMPANYING DISTORTIONS, AND LIBERTIES BEING TAKEN BY NON-HISTORIANS, THIS SEEMED THE PERFECT TIME, AND PERFECT LOCATION, TO OFFER THOSE WHO WANT THE TRUE STORY, TO ASK THOSE CLOSEST TO THE CHRONICLE. IF WE DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER OURSELVES, WE'LL FIND OUT FOR YOU.
I REMARKED TO SUZANNE, LAST NIGHT, THAT I HAVE HAD THE LONGEST APPRENTICESHIP, AS AN HISTORIAN, IN NOT ONLY THE REGION, BUT IN THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD. BY THIS I MEAN, THAT I HAVE NEVER STOPPED BEING REVERENT TO THOSE WHO HAVE HAD MORE EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD, THAN ME (AND YES, THERE ARE A FEW OF THOSE FOLKS AROUND). I'M REVERENT TO HISTORIANS WHO HAVE PASSED, WHO MENTORED ME IN MY EARLY YEARS, SUCH AS WELL KNOWN MUSKOKA HISTORIANS, LIKE ROBERT BOYER, LESLIE TENNANT, (BOTH WHO HAVE PASSED), AND GARY DENNISS, ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC OF OUR MUSKOKA WRITERS, WHO TAUGHT ME ABOUT REGIONAL HERITAGE AT BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOL. AS YOU KNOW, BY READING THIS BLOG, I FEEL HUGELY INDEBTED TO HISTORIANS LIKE HUGH MACMILLAN, AND DAVE BROWN, WHO GAVE ME THE RARE OPPORTUNITY, TO DISCUSS THE INTIMATE DETAILS OF HUNTING AND GATHERING HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, AND THEN USING THEM TO MY ADVANTAGE. THEN THERE WAS GRAVENHURST RESIDENT, A CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN, TOM BROOKS, WHO PASSED AWAY LAST YEAR. I REMEMBER THE DAY HE RODE HIS HORSE OVER TO BIRCH HOLLOW, TO BUY A COPY OF OUR BOOK ON THE NAMING OF "BRACEBRIDGE," AND "GRAVENHURST." I REFUSED TO TAKE MONEY FOR THE BOOK, BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH RESPECT I HAD FOR HIM AS AN HISTORIAN. I MADE A TRADE INSTEAD. I ASKED HIM TO SIGN OUR COPY OF THE MOVIE "GETTYSBURG," OF WHICH HE WAS ONE OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY RE-ENACTORS, IN RETURN FOR OUR BOOK. AND A CARROT FOR HIS HORSE.
SUZANNE AND I VIEWED THE TWO PART FILM, ON THE EASTER WEEKEND, AND WATCHED TOM GET KILLED TWICE IN THE MOVIE. HE LAUGHED ABOUT THIS, DURING THAT CONVERSATION. HE JUST PUSHED HIS WAY INTO THE TWO MAJOR SCENES, AND THE CAMERA LOVED HIM. WE BOTH GOT A LITTLE TEARY-EYED, BECAUSE TOM WAS SUCH A NEAT CHAP, WHO WAS SO EASY TO TALK TO; AND HE WAS SO INCREDIBLY INTUITIVE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF WAR, ON THIS CONTINENT AND IN EUROPE. I ALWAYS WANTED TO PAIR HIM UP WITH MY OLD FRIEND, CHARLIE WILSON, WHO USED TO WORK AT THE MBNA OFFICE IN WILMINGTON. I WORKED WITH CHARLIE ON THE ROGER CROZIER BIOGRAPHY, BUT WE HAD SOME GREAT DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR, AND I TOLD HIM ALL ABOUT OUR FRIEND TOM BROOKS. NOW BOTH ARE DECEASED, AND IT WILL BOTHER ME TO THE END OF MY LIFE, THAT I HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO ARRANGE A MEETING, WHEN CHARLIE FLEW UP TO MUSKOKA ONE WEEKEND. IT WAS THE ONE WEEKEND TOM WAS ON ONE OF HIS RE-ENACTMENT TOURS OF DUTY. BUT I AM ENORMOUSLY PROUD, TO PUT THESE NAMES ABOVE MY OWN, AND THE ONLY HOPE I HAVE EVER HAD, WAS THAT I WOULD ONE DAY, BE CONSIDERED WORTHY OF THE TITLE, "HISTORIAN," AS THEY WERE, IN THEIR ACCOMPLISHED LIVES. SUZANNE HAS SHARED EVERY RESEARCH PROJECT, SINCE WE MARRIED, IN THE EARLY 1980'S, I CAN HONESTLY SAY, SHE HAS SHARED THIS APPRENTICESHIP, WITH THE SAME PEOPLE, FOR LONG AND LONG.
YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY HERITAGE QUESTIONS SHE GETS, OVER-THE-COUNTER, AND HOW MANY NIGHTS SHE SPENDS HER FREE, TIME GOING THROUGH OUR FILES, TO HELP A CUSTOMER LOCATE A BUILDING, OR FIND A FAMILY REFERENCE, IN LOCALLY PUBLISHED HISTORIES. AND SHE HAS ASKED FOR HELP FROM A FRIEND, CONNECTED TO THE GRAVENHURST ARCHIVES, AND BOY OH BOY, WHAT A NICE FEELING IT IS, TO BE ABLE TO NETWORK AND CONNECT PEOPLE, TO A FAMILY HERITAGE LOCALLY, THEY HAD NEVER FULLY KNOWN PREVIOUSLY. SUSPECTED, YES! THEY JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO TURN. OF COURSE WE'RE GLAD TO HELP, AND WE HAVE QUITE A FEW FRIENDS IN THE HERITAGE FIELD, SO WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA WHERE TO GO FOR ANSWERS. WE'RE NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT ON OUR MISSIONS, BUT CLOSE.
ANOTHER REASON, WE'VE DECIDED TO GO PUBLIC WITH THIS FREE SERVICE, IS THAT I'VE GROWN A LITTLE WEARY OF SURFACE-SKIMMER WRITERS, (I WON'T CALL THEM HISTORIANS), WHO ROUTINELY BORROW OUR WORK FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT. AS FAR AS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, GADS, I'M QUITE USED TO READING MY MATERIAL, RECONSTITUTED IN THE BOOKS OF OTHERS, WITHOUT EVER HAVING GIVEN PERMISSION, WHICH IS THE PROTOCOL AFTERALL. I FIGURE THAT IT'S PROBABLY TIME, BEFORE ANY MORE IS BORROWED, AT LEAST WHILE I'M STILL ALIVE, THAT WE CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF CONTENT WE'VE RESEARCHED, AND DEVELOPED, INTO PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS; ALONG WITH WORK WE'RE STILL PRODUCING FOR A VARIETY OF WRITING PROJECTS. IT'S NOT THAT I AM ADVERSE TO BEING QUOTED, BUT I SURE HATE READING A BOOK, IN A "FOR PROFIT" VENTURE, AND FINDING THAT I HAVE BEEN QUOTED WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE, OR PERMISSION. IF I WAS DECEASED, THIS, WITH APPROPRIATE CREDITS, WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE. I DO THIS ALL THE TIME. BUT IT IS ALWAYS IDENTIFIED, AS THOROUGHLY AS POSSIBLE, INCLUDING THE PUBLICATION INFORMATION, FROM ANY BOOK QUOTED FROM; NO EXCEPTIONS. I AM ALWAYS WILLING TO CO-OPERATE WITH AUTHORS, AND WE USUALLY ASSIST ON A HALF DOZEN, OR MORE PUBLICATION PROJECTS EVERY YEAR; SOME THAT ONLY HAVE A MINOR CONNECTION TO MUSKOKA. AND BY THE WAY, I DON'T MAKE A DIME ON THIS BLOG, ALTHOUGH SOME BELIEVE I MUST PROFIT SOMEHOW. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE COMMERCIAL ADS, ACCOMPANYING THIS BLOG, IN TWO YEARS, I HAVEN'T RECEIVED ONE CENT OF PROFIT. SO IF I USE A NAME, OR MAKE A REFERENCE, NONE OF IT IS BEING USED TO PAD MY RETIREMENT INCOME. SUZANNE AND I CAN BE HIRED TO RESEARCH AND WRITE LOCAL HISTORIES, BUT THIS IS QUITE SEPARATE FROM WHAT WE'RE LAUNCHING AS A FREE SERVICE FOR OUR VISITORS.
THE FIRST FOLKS WE'D LOVE TO CHAT WITH, ABOUT LOCAL HISTORY, ARE THE YET-TO-BE-REGISTERED CANDIDATES, FOR THE UPCOMING MUNICIPAL ELECTION, IN OCTOBER. IT WOULD BE GREAT TO MEET WITH THESE PEOPLE, BEFORE THEY GET FULLY OUT THERE ON THE ELECTION HUSTINGS; THE PROBLEM IS GETTING THEM TO ADMIT, THEY DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THIS TOWN, OR REGION'S HERITAGE. I DO BELIEVE THERE SHOULD BE AN APTITUDE TEST, FOR COUNCIL HOPEFULS, THAT DEMANDS A BASIC, WORKING KNOWLEDGE, OF HOW THIS TOWN WAS ESTABLISHED, AND ABOUT ITS MILESTONES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. SAME GOES FOR THE DISTRICT. I CAN HANDLE THEM NOT KNOWING ABOUT ASPECTS OF CANADIAN AND GLOBAL HISTORY, BUT IT REALLY SUCKS, WHEN THERE ARE CANDIDATES WHO HAVE ONLY MINOR KNOWLEDGE, OF THE TOWN THEY MAY COME REPRESENT. SO I OFFERED A LONG TIME AGO, TO TUTOR ANY POTENTIAL CANDIDATES, WHO HAVE AN INTEREST IN BRUSHING UP ON MATTERS OF LOCAL HISTORY. WE'RE ALWAYS WILLING TO SHARE OUR INFORMATION, WITH ANYONE FEELING THEY COULD USE A TOP-UP. I PUT THIS OUT TO SITTING COUNCILLORS, OVER THIS PAST FOUR YEAR TERM, BUT WELL, THEY DIDN'T RESPOND. I WASN'T EXACTLY SURPRISED. BUT WE'RE NOT FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS OF THE TOWN, OR THE DISTRICT, SO WE HAVE AN OPEN INVITATION TO VISIT. YOU SEE, THE HISTORIAN'S WILD DREAM, IS FOR EVERY TOWN COUNCILLOR TO BE HISTORICALLY INFORMED; BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW! AND EQUALLY SIGNIFICANT, TO APPRECIATE HOW OUR SOCIAL / CULTURAL HERITAGE, HAS DEVELOPED EVER SINCE OUR FOUNDING MOTHERS, AND FATHERS, BUILT THOSE FIRST LOG SHANTIES. NO, WE ARE NOT THE SAME AS BRACEBRIDGE, OR HUNTSVILLE, OR PORT CARLING. WE'VE EVEN DEBATED THIS WITH OUR HISTORICAL COLLEAGUES. BUT AS A FOLK HISTORIAN, TRUST ME, WE ARE DIFFERENT; AND IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE WE'RE FROM THE DEEP SOUTH (OF MUSKOKA). SO WE'D REALLY LOVE TO SHARE OUR FINDINGS AND KNOWLEDGE, WITH THE IDEA, THAT BY RESPECTING THIS CHRONICLE, I MEAN TRULY RESPECTING IT, THE DECISIONS OF A NEW COUNCIL WILL BE SENSITIVE AND RESPONSIVE, TO OUR VALUES, AS TOWN AND REGIONAL STAKEHOLDERS. AS FOR DESIGNATING HERITAGE BUILDINGS, THIS COUNCIL SEEMS TO BE ON ITS GAME. AS FOR EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE HERITAGE SCHEME OF THINGS, NOT SO MUCH! SO SUZANNE AND I HAVE A STANDING INVITATION FOR CANDIDATE HOPEFULS, TO DROP BY FOR A VISIT. HISTORY DOESN'T HURT. IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE INVIGORATING.
WE SHALL ONLY IMPOSE OUR VALUES WHEN ASKED FOR OUR OPINION. THE ONLY NECESSARY OPINION, OF SOME COMMITMENT, THAT IS REQUIRED FOR THE STUDY OF HISTORY, IS THAT IT IS WORTH KNOWING; AND OURS IS A JEWELL TO CELEBRATE.
Storied Muskoka –
Canada’s Haunted Lakeland
When I pass from this tired, frayed mortal coil, I too shall find Muskoka an accommodating domain for the still-unsettled spirit…..in this hauntingly craggy, gnarled, forested landscape that has for too long been taken for granted by her users and abusers.
I can’t take but one footfall from this homestead, here at Birch Hollow, than I feel the invigoration of unspecified old spirits and musty legend left to its own devices. Even when I sit in this creaking office chair, looking out over The Bog, I feel the presence of so much more than does the everyday traveler, who out of imposed necessity is too busy to stop and ponder the grand virtues of nature, and the subtle intrigue of the unexplained.
There are many good folks who reside down this lane, who have little use for “haunts” and the “marvels” of the hinterland. They have more important things to do in this frenetic world in which we live. There are aspects of this ballywick I feel are important and life-enhancing but a few of my contemporaries believe I am wasting my time selling virtues of enchantment and poetry; fantasy and the good graces of both legend and lore. The woodland I see now has a depth beyond what the naturalists identifies. The snaking creek through the hollow means more to me as analogy than the science of watershed alone. I suppose I am forever locked into the confusing hiatus between the natural and the supernatural. Yet I am contented to experience the joys of reality and then expectation while walking down these misty, well-worn pathways down into the hollow.
When the wind gusts bang at the light fixtures on the verandah, it’s as if the spirits are attempting to awaken the dead to their own new reality. Right this moment the gale force wind of an early spring storm whines through the cracks in this humble abode, and it’s as if there’s a cauldron of boiling souls somewhere beyond.
There are those who prefer to acknowledge weather as weather, wind as wind, and sunrise and sunset as a matter of sheer routine. There is no reason to question the quirks and peculiarities of a given day, other than possibly to offer some complaint about the inconvenience of having to go out in the rain or snow, or the blast of spring wind that puts sand into eyes, and hair into disarray.
I am rather passionate about these blustery circumstances, as I can always find something to write about when the sky is black, or the lightning flashes ignite so much brighter than white. I might sit here for an hour in a gentle submission, listening to birds chirp from the lilac boughs. In the event a fringe of dark, ominous looking cloud was to appear suddenly over the horizon pines, my typewriter would be employed in a rapid transmission from mind to key to paper. It is so wonderfully provocative when the wind howls and this house creaks in the thrusts of a storm’s initial bluster. Just as the wind etches down upon this vulnerable landscape presently, as we reside precariously on the brink of yet another spring storm. It is oh so much more interesting when nature decides it’s time to shatter mortal complacency. While the calm of early morning inspires the poet to write sentimentally about new beginnings and the rejuvenation of life, a mid afternoon storm cascades a wild fury of emotion and contempt, and it’s difficult to keep the fingers in tempo with the peaks and valleys of a powerful gale force.
I can sit here in the company of modern conveniences, a hot cup of tea and fresh biscuit, in warmth and comfortable sanctuary, yet feel as if, with this display of violent weather outside, I am alone in some remote wilderness cabin with a modest fire in the hearth, and most basic, humble shelter. I can feel the reaper’s long nails scraping at the window pane to harvest yet another wayfarer at the end of an adventure. I feel the icy grasp of death on my shoulder and shudder at the possibility this fire will extinguish, this hot tea run cold, this storied cabin left to erode into the landscape from which it was raised. There are many faces pressed against the glass, of travelers once, who may have lodged here for a time, partaking of nourishment to continue their passage to a homestead allotment further down the road.
Muskoka has been a tantalizing, alluring mistress for all these years. She has inspired me onward to discover the road less traveled, and left me questioning pertinent legend and lore at lakeside, when a spring sunset ignites the water into a great ball of liquid fire. I watch phantom canoes drift slowly across the lake, and have heard the whistle of a long lost steamship, and then saw the vapor off a lakeside bog float across the waterscape like two dancers in a tango. Nothing is quite as it seems. There is an intermingling of fact and fiction, legend and lore, ghosts and wee beasties that travel in the twilight of summer nights, up and down the rock faces of frozen-in-time ogres, and assorted other malevolent entities who curl up in the story-lines yet to be written.
There is a deep satisfaction in making a connection, with the qualities and quantities of unspecified manifestations; the ghost witnessed along the fern-laden garden path, or the fairy-kind found in dance ‘neath the midnight moon. It’s truly marvelous to find yourself in company with some goblin or other, at a time when a source of inspiration proves hollow and boring. How could any writer or artist-type, fail to be thoughtfully provoked, when provided exposure in some fashion, to the curious facets of what is often called the supernatural. I consider myself quite fortunate indeed to feel the hair on my neck standing in the chill of strange company, possibly encountered on a cemetery walk, or on a misted-over trail from one cottage structure to another.
I have no interest in protecting myself against all exposures to what a soothsayer might call “the paranormal.” I drink it all in as would any inspiration-starved creator, having this unnatural craving to compose until the final, ultimate collapse into exhaustion. It would be an unremarkable enterprise should these paranormal encounters suddenly cease. My goodness, what would I do? What would inspire me to sit for hours on end at this typewriter, if it wasn’t for a well placed, unanticipated haunting?
It’s apparent from what visitors to Birch Hollow tell me…. that we have quite enough ghosts already, to keep me company for many years to come. As an antique collector it is said that these wayward spirits may have arrived in our abode, quite unceremoniously attached to a work of art,….possibly an old pine cradle, a painting, book, or even a Victorian era teddy bear. My wife claims we have haunted dolls, and I have nary a reason to challenge her assumption.
Muskoka is most definitely a haunted, spiritual place, and there have been many testimonials from some of the country’s great poets and artists, agreeing there’s more here than just rocks, trees and water. There’s an ecstasy to experience. A spiritual freedom, a universality of potential beckoning free-thinkers to explore and create.
For those who wouldn’t recognize a spirit if they had one hop on their back for a wee joy-ride, sensing out the paranormal from the normal, the supernatural from the natural, is a matter of letting one’s imagination run unencumbered. It is necessary to allow your sensory perception to delve beyond the obvious. Pre-conceived notions block out a great deal of sensory perception. It’s a modern day condition consuming the child before its time. Possessing the good graces of a child’s imagination is the catalyst of unfettered adventure.
What do you feel sitting out along the Muskoka lakeshore in the darkness, and watching the magnificent fanning colors of the northern lights? Do you hear voices in the wind, when a spring gale washes down over the rock bluffs, and then through the pinery highlands? Do you feel that sense of awe when a storm-front rages down over the lakeland with a powerful fist, unclenching onto vulnerable lowlands, and then culling old leaning birches and evergreens as it rages through the woodlands.
Muskoka is a storied place, much like the historic valley of the Hudson River, made famous by American author Washington Irving. Muskoka has a collection of tales and legends to bestow the keen watcher….the curious traveler, the seeker of adventure, with the truths of good, faithful and historic hauntings.
If ye are the seekers of such adventure, you are welcome to join this mission of discovery…..and yes, I’ve known a few spirits in my time. If you don’t believe in ghosts and the paranormal, then consider these coming entries as wild speculation, ravings of a lunatic, and flights of unfathomable fancy. But if you dare to experience Muskoka’s spirited legacy, do read on…..more to come soon in this blog journal….the Nature of Muskoka.
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