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| Frank Johnston Watercolour of Bethune House in Gravenhurst and a sketch of the steamship Segwun below |
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| Greening Up in the Bog (Rob Currie photo) |
THE DIVERSITY OF THE ARTIST / PRINT MAKER, FRANK JOHNSTON -
DEPICTIONS OF BETHUNE HOUSE, AND THE SEGUWN, IN GRAVENHURST
NOTE: THE INFORMATION PRINTED ABOVE, WAS PROVIDED TO US, HIGHLIGHTING THE MUSICIANS WHO WILL BE PERFORMING AT THE UPCOMING "SESSIONS" EVENT, BEING SPONSORED BY ANDREW CURRIE'S MUSIC, AT GRAVENHURST'S ST. JAMES ANGLICAN CHURCH, ON FRIDAY, MAY 23RD, BEGINNING AT 8:00 P.M. TICKETS ARE FIFTEEN DOLLARS EACH, AND THERE IS LIMITED SEATING. YOU CAN PURCHASE TICKETS AT ANDREW CURRIE'S MUSIC, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, OPPOSITE THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. THIS IS THE CONTINUATION OF THE "SESSIONS" SERIES OF CONCERTS, THAT WERE FORMERLY HELD AT THE REAR OF THE MUSIC SHOP. IT IS PLANNED, THAT THERE WILL BE A SESSIONS CONCERT EACH MONTH, FEATURING SOME OF CANADA'S FINE INDIE ARTISTS. ANDREW IS DELIGHTED TO HAVE THIS HISTORIC CHURCH BUILDING, TO HOST THE MONTHLY CONCERTS, AND IS PLEASED TO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE CHURCH BOARD OF DIRECTORS, WHO HAVE DONE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE UPCOMING CONCERT SERIES. HOPE YOU CAN ATTEND.
Graydon James and the Young Novelists
In the span of four fast-paced years Toronto’s Graydon James & the Young Novelists have won a Galaxie Rising Star award, toured extensively throughout Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and British Columbia, and played numerous festivals (including the Mariposa Folk Festival, Halifax Urban Folk Festival, Burlington Sound of Music festival, OtherFolk, Niagara’s In The Soil festival). They have shared the stage with such iconic artists as Lowest of the Low, Cuff the Duke, the Wilderness of Manitoba, NQ Arbuckle, Craig Cardiff, and Peter Katz. In and amongst it all they have released three albums that have all been warmly received by audiences and critics alike.
Their first EP, a small town eulogy, was released in April 2011 and was hailed as “a work of unpretentious brilliance” by Exclaim! Magazine. During the tour to support the EP’s release they recorded a live album, live at dublin st. church, which was released in November 2011. Shortly thereafter they went into the studio with producer Chris Stringer (Ohbijou, Timber Timbre) to record their first full-length studio album with assistance from a FACTOR recording grant.
Released in September 2012, in the year you were born showcased the Young Novelists’ hard-earned, road-tested musicianship but also pushed the band’s boundaries, adding new textures and instrumentation – including string arrangements by Jaron Freeman-Fox (The Opposite of Everything). The combination of warm harmonies layered over deftly wry lyrics and intricate arrangements received critical praise and exceptional reviews. Vue Weekly said, “[No] gimmicks or studio trickery here, just good old-fashioned musical talent that combines soaring three-part harmonies, a host of instruments and storytelling to create an end result that emotes and entertains.”
Equally at home on a festival stage or playing a full-band house concert, Graydon James & the Young Novelists have played every kind of venue from small house concerts to the storied stage of The Horseshoe Tavern, from The Neptune Theatre in Halifax to Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. The band is flexible and talented enough to play roots-rock barnstormers and heartfelt folk ballads with equal parts craft and care, capable of dynamic shifts that keep audiences enchanted and entertained. Underneath it all are the songs, whether they are about love or loss, the tragedies of high school, the joys of parenthood, small town dreams, or big city truths, they are the connection between the musicians and the audience.
Every show is a new story to be shared and a new voice added to the sing-along choruses.
About Gabrielle
“When you really really focus on it, you’re going to hear some of the most beautiful music coming out of this country right now…. This is inspiring music. This is the kind of music that’s going to make you stop in your tracks. One of the finest new songwriters in Canada.”
--Tom Power, Host, CBC Radio's 'Deep roots'
--Tom Power, Host, CBC Radio's 'Deep roots'
"Youngsters, do not be fooled by her petite-ness. [Papillon] is a song avalanche. Go see this woman and you will find words that hang with meaning onto your heartstrings like a Sarah Harmer song does for a decade. Her melodies are so engaging and unique and always come as such a sweet and welcomed surprise. Her voice is pure, unaffected, distinct and nourishing. You will like it."
--Jenn Grant, CBC Music Blog
--Jenn Grant, CBC Music Blog
"Papillon’s acoustic delivery is the sort that will stay with you, kicking around in your head long after each track ends. She has a way of articulating that gives life to the edges of those letters most people skip over."
--Josh Doyle, The Ontarion
--Josh Doyle, The Ontarion
Canadian singer-songwriter Gabrielle Papillon sings stories real and imagined, strums chords both grand and delicate. Words, melancholy melodies, and lush harmonies are her currency.
In 2001 Papillon released her first album Songs for a Rainy Day. She then turned to academia for eight years, completing BA and MA degrees in English Literature and History, emerging with fresh songs spilling from her lips and a ripened musical sensibility. Papillon released The Wanderer in January 2010 and The Currency
of Poetry in October 2011, which hit a number of “Best Of” lists
and landed in !Earshot’s Top 20 National Chart for Folk/Roots/Blues.
of Poetry in October 2011, which hit a number of “Best Of” lists
and landed in !Earshot’s Top 20 National Chart for Folk/Roots/Blues.
Her fourth album, Little Bug, was recorded at Montreal’s Treatment Room (Stars, Snailhouse, Timber Timber) and produced by Daniel Ledwell (Jenn Grant’s Honeymoon Punch and The Beautiful Wild). The album was nominated for a 2013 ECMA for Folk Recording of the year, spent three months charting on the national !Earshot charts, and is nominated for three Music Nova Scotia Awards (SOCAN Songwriter of the Year, Folk Recording of the Year, and Female Artist Recording of the Year). Little Bug was also named one of the Top 12 Albums of 2012 on CBC Radio’s Atlantic Airwaves and Papillon was a Mountain Stage Newsong Regional finalist in 2012 for the song ‘Go Into the Night’.
Gabrielle's fifth full length album (and second with producer Daniel Ledwell) will be released in late 2014.
BETHUNE HOUSE AND THE SEGWUN
IF YOU ARE JUST JOINING THIS BRIEF RETROSPECTIVE, OF FORMER GRAVENHURST ARTIST, FRANK JOHNSTON, YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK THREE PREVIOUS BLOGS, TO CATCH-UP ON THE ART BIOGRAPHY.
PERSONALLY, AND CONSIDERING I DO HAVE A BIAS, I STILL BELIEVE THAT FRANK JOHNSTON'S WATERCOLOR PAINTING, OF BETHUNE HOUSE, IN GRAVENHURST, IS ONE OF THE BEST I'VE VIEWED, OF MANY THAT HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED. AS RE-PRODUCED ABOVE, THE VICTORIAN ERA CHURCH MANSE, WHERE DR. NORMAN BETHUNE SPENT THE EARLY DAYS OF HIS LIFE, IS DELICATELY PROFILED AMONGST THE SUMMER HARDWOODS, FROM A CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE AWAY. MOST CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS, AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, PREFER A TIGHTER CROPPING OF THE SCENE, WHICH REMOVES THE PARK-LIKE CHARACTERISTICS. IT SHOWS THAT JOHNSTON, WHO JUST LIVED A BLOCK AWAY, ON HUGHSON STREET, HAD THE SENSE THAT THE TREES, ON JOHN STREET, MADE UP A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE HISTORY OF THE ELEGANT HOME, SUCH THAT HE DROPPED BACK ACROSS THE STREET, TO INCREASE THE BORDER; VERSUS PAINTING IT CLOSER AND LOSING THE WREATHING OF TREES AND FULL, LEAFY BOUGHS. YET WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN DEPICTED WITH THE EXTRA SWEETNESS OF SENTIMENTALITY, IS REDUCED TO ITS ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY, AS WITH THE NATURAL HERITAGE OF THOSE BEAUTIFUL TREES, AT FRONT AND BESIDE. HE COULD HAVE MADE IT LOOK LIKE A STORY-BOOK VICTORIAN, ESTATE BY GOING IN TIGHT ON THE BUILDING, BUT INSTEAD CHOSE TO PAINT IT AS A RATHER ORDINARY, BUT PLEASANT SCENE, IN ONE OF THE OLDEST NEIGHBORHOODS IN GRAVENHURST. AS MUCH TO SAY, MANY OF OUR HISTORIC HOUSES ARE SIMILARLY APPOINTED, AND THIS IS THE CHARACTER OF OUR HOME TOWN. IT'S A SUBTLE PROMOTION OF BETHUNE HOUSE, AS IT WAS, AND A MODEST, DIGNIFIED ENDORSEMENT OF THE WAY IT USED TO BE, AS A CHURCH MANSE AND FAMILY HOME, AND HOW IT HAS EVOLVED IN THE MODERN ERA. LIFE AND RESIDENCY IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, IS PRETTY DECENT AFTERALL. SO SAYS THE ARTIST.
FRANK JOHNSTON WAS AN ARTIST FIRST AND FOREMOST. HE WAS A HIGHLY SKILLED AND ACCOMPLISHED COMMERCIAL ARTIST AS AN ECONOMIC MAINSTAY. THIS IS WHAT COUPLED HIM WITH CANADIAN GROUP OF ELEVEN, ABSTRACT ARTIST, HAROLD TOWN. TOWN WAS AWARE OF JOHNSTON'S CREDENTIALS, AS BEING A PRINT MAKER OF NATIONAL ACCLAIM. SO, AS FAR AS THE DEPICTION OF BETHUNE HOUSE, IN GRAVENHURST, IT'S OBVIOUS HE WAS TRYING TO SELL THESE HERITAGE IMAGES, THROUGH HIS COMMERCIAL PRINT OPERATION. YET STRANGELY, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS STYLE, HE DIDN'T COMMERCIALIZE THE ILLUSTRATION, AS HE COULD HAVE, SETTLING INSTEAD, TO CREATE A WORK OF ART THAT COULD HANG IN ANY HOME, OFFICE OR COTTAGE, AS A COMPETENT PROFILE OF AN INTERESTING GRAVENHURST LANDMARK. IF YOU HAPPENED TO GAZE UPON THIS SAME PAINTED SCENE, ON A HOT SUMMER DAY, JOHNSTON MADE IT EASY TO IMAGINE THE COOLNESS, PROVIDED BY THE SHADE OF VENERABLE HARDWOODS; EVEN TO THE POINT, THAT WE COULD FEEL THE CHILL OF THE GROUND, SHOULD WE ALSO IMAGINE SITTING WITH OUR BACKS UP AGAINST, ONE OF THE FRONT YARD TREES, FEELING THE DISTINCT COOL GRACE OF THE GRASS AGAINST OUR LEGS; THE RIDGES OF THE BARK AGAINST THE SHOULDERS. FRANK JOHNSTON MADE AN URBAN SCENE, A STORIED, EXTRAORDINARY PAINTING, WITHOUT ANY EMBELLISHMENT; BECAUSE AFTERALL, HE WASN'T IN THE PRACTICE OF ALTERING HISTORY ON THE GRAND SCALE, JUST TO TURN A PROFIT. HE CUT OUT EXTRAVAGANCE, AND TOOK WHAT WAS VISIBLE IN ACTUALITY, AND FOUND IT WAS PERFECT AS IT PRESENTED, ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY, OF THAT PARTICULAR YEAR. I HEARTILY AGREE. HE DIDN'T SEE ANY REASON TO JAZZ-UP WHAT WAS A PERFECT SCENE. THIS SEPARATED HIM FROM MANY OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES, WHO FELT THE NEED TO ENHANCE THE ORDINARY, AND REFUTE THE COMMONPLACE, BY ARTISTIC LICENSE.
FRANK JOHNSTON'S SKETCH OF THE STEAMSHIP SEGWUN, IS OLD AND FAMILIAR; AND IN THIS TOWN, IT'S ALMOST A RITE OF PASSAGE, FOR ARTISTS TO CREATE AT LEAST ONE DRAWING, OR INTERPRETATION OF ONE OF OUR HISTORIC STEAMSHIPS. FRANK JOHNSTON TOOK THIS TO AN EXTREME, OF COURSE, AND PAINTED MANY OF THE NAVIGATION COMPANY'S STEAMSHIP FLEET, IN FULL COLOR; AND AS I'VE NOTED PREVIOUSLY, THESE MASSIVE ART PIECES HUNG FOR ONE AND ALL TO ENJOY, IN THE DINING AREA OF THE FORMER SLOAN'S RESTAURANT, ON MUSKOKA ROAD. SO THIS SKETCH, OF THE SEGWUN, IS FUNDAMENTAL, AND WITHOUT MUCH HUBBUB WHATSOEVER; YET IT IS STRIKINGLY HISTORIC WHILE AT THE SAME TIME BEING OF A BUSINESS EFFICIENCY, AS IF EVERY DAY LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY, MAY INVOLVE A TRIP OUT ON THE STEAMSHIP, OUT OF ACCEPTED COMMONPLACE. AS A COMMERCIAL ARTIST, WHO WAS ALSO STRUCK BY THE FANCY OF THE MOMENT, JOHNSTON'S TRUE TALENT, WAS THAT HE COULD ADAPT A VISUAL TO SUIT THE PREVAILING NEED, EVEN TO THE POINT OF DESIGNING A TEMPLATE FOR A REALLY NEAT, ALMOST INTERACTIVE RESTAURANT PLACEMAT. IN FACT, HE DESIGNED THE MENU COVERS, AND JACKET FOR THE WINE LIST, AS EMPLOYED BY THE SLOAN FAMILY; AND I HAVE A COPY OF A GRAVENHURST TOURISM BROCHURE FROM THE 1970'S, THAT FRANK ADORNED WITH HIS DEPICTIONS, OF THE TOWN'S NOTABLE STOPS ALONG THE WAY. DURING HIS YEARS SPENT IN GRAVENHURST, HE COMMITTED TO A LARGE NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL PROMOTIONS, AND WAS ESPECIALLY WELL KNOWN FOR HIS GREETING CARDS, OFTEN WITH REQUESTED IMAGES, SUCH AS ONE I USED TO HAVE, OF THE FORMER GREIG MEDICAL BUILDING, ON KIMBERLY AVENUE IN BRACEBRIDGE. SEVERAL TIMES, EVEN RECENTLY, I HAVE RE-PUBLISHED THE IMAGE OF A CHRISTMAS CARD I RECEIVED, AS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, FROM THEN MINISTER OF HEALTH, FRANK MILLER, MUSKOKA MPP, WITH COVER ART PROVIDED BY JOHNSTON, PROFILING A STREET SCENE FROM MUSKOKA PIONEER VILLAGE IN HUNTSVILLE.
TO SUGGEST THE ARTIST WAS IN DEMAND, WELL, THAT WOULD BE A BOLD LETTERED UNDERSTATEMENT. HE LOVED BOTH THE ART PROFESSION, AND HIS PLACE IN IT, PLUS THE CRAFT OF PRINTING, OF WHICH HE WAS AN EXPERT. TO SUGGEST HE WAS PROLIFIC AS A PAINTER, AND COMMERCIAL ARTIST, WOULD BE ACCURATE. BUT HE DIDN'T SKIMP ON THE QUALITY OF HIS PRODUCT, IN EITHER HIS ART, OR THE STANDARDS OF WORKMANSHIP, SHOWN IN THE FINISHED PRINTING, HE CRAFTED FOR HIS CLIENTS; WHICH BY THE WAY, INCLUDED QUITE A NUMBER OF PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL HERITAGE SITES. TOMORROW, I WILL RE-PUBLISH TWO EXAMPLES OF THIS ARTIST-OUTREACH, WITH IMPRESSIONS HE PAINTED, OF HURONIA'S "SAINTE MARIE AMONG THE HURONS", IN MIDLAND, ONE OF MY FAVORITE MUSEUM VISITS IN ONTARIO.
FOLLOWING THIS, I WILL PRESENT A SELECTION OF FRANK JOHNSTON'S MUSKOKA LANDSCAPES, WHICH DEMONSTRATE CLEARLY, ONCE AGAIN, THE ARTIST'S CAPABILITY TO PAINT ANYTHING THAT CAUGHT HIS ATTENTION. ALTHOUGH I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF HIS MATES, EVER ASKED HIS OPINION OF LIVING, AND WORKING IN GRAVENHURST, (AND MUSKOKA); BY VIEWING HIS LANDSCAPES, IN PARTICULAR, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT HIS OPINION WAS ANYTHING LESS THAN FAVORABLE. HIS AWE FOR NATURE, AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS, SEEMS SO OBVIOUS NOW IN THIS RETROSPECTIVE. HE PROFILED POWERFUL AND BREATHTAKING SCENES HE CAME UPON; HE PERCEIVED SO FULL OF LIFE. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT THESE IMAGES OF WATERFALLS AND REFLECTIVE LAKES, AND IT'S OBVIOUS, FRANK JOHNSTON WAS KEEN ON STIMULATING THE VOYEUR'S SENSORY PERCEPTION, FOR THOSE SPECIAL PLACES IN OUR REGION. IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN THE COMPANY OF MOZART, AND AT THE SAME TIME, CAN LOOK UPON HIS PROFILE, OF FOR EXAMPLE, BRACEBRIDGE'S HIGH FALLS, IT IS NO EFFORT AT ALL, TO IMAGINE THE DEEP ROAR OF THE CATARACT, AND FEEL THE WAFTING MIST AGAINST THE SKIN. THERE IS AN IMPRESSIONABLE AWE, INSPIRED BY HIS ART, JUST AS THERE IS, IN THE FEAR AND TREMBLING EXPERIENCED, WHILE SITTING ALONE ON THE SHORE, WATCHING THE CRASHING, TUMBLING WATERS, UNDERTOW THEIR WAY, DEEP INTO THE NIGHT BLACKNESS OF THE MUSKOKA RIVER.
I AGAIN OFFER THIS APOLOGY. I HAVE BEEN A FAN OF FRANK JOHNSTON'S ART WORK FOR MORE THAN FORTY YEARS. IT'S HARD TO BE OBJECTIVE. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY, AND HOPEFULLY, YOU CAN RETURN FOR THE BALANCE OF THIS SPRING'S FRANK JOHNSTON RETROSPECTIVE.
THE OBVIOUS NEGLECT OF GRAVENHURST IN THE FIRST BOOKS WRITTEN ON MUSKOKA
DID THE "JUMPING-OFF" ASPECT, HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT
NO MATTER WHERE I DROVE THIS MORNING, IN GRAVENHURST, IT WAS BRIGHT AND CHEERFUL. SURE, THERE WERE A FEW CARS OFF THE ROAD, ON THE COUNTRY LANES, AND I SAW A COUPLE OF SMALL FENDER-BENDERS, ONE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. BUT THERE WERE MORE SLEDDERS AND SNOW-BALLERS, IN EVIDENCE, THAN SAD FACED MOTORISTS, WITH BURIED CARS. AFTER THE EVENING'S SNOWFALL, IT LOOKED LIKE EITHER A GROUP OF SEVEN LANDSCAPE, OR A PAINTING NORMAN ROCKWELL MIGHT HAVE COMPOSED, LOOKING AT THE FOLKS, PARCELS UNDER THEIR ARMS, PARKA HOODS PULLED-UP TIGHT, WALKING AND SLIPPING ALONG THE SNOWY MAIN STREET. I HAD REASON TO STOP THE CAR IN NUMEROUS LOCATIONS, EARLIER IN THE DAY, WHILE FAMILY MEMBERS TENDED BUSINESS; AND MADE VARIOUS POST CHRISTMAS PURCHASES. NO RETURNS THIS YEAR! I WAS SITTING THERE, LISTENING TO THE CLASSICAL MUSIC ON CBC 2, AND HONESTLY, THE SCENES I WAS WATCHING OUT OVER, LOOKED MAGNIFICENT ON THEIR OWN….BUT WITH MOZART, AS A BACKDROP, WELL, WITHOUT EMBELLISHMENT……THE SCENES WITH ALL THE CHARACTERISTIC HUMAN INTRUSIONS, AND NON-STOP VEHICULAR TRAFFIC, INCLUDING THE ADORNMENTS OF THE STREET SCAPE, MADE THE PANORAMA SEEM SO INCREDIBLY NOSTALGIC AND SENTIMENTAL OF MANY WINTERS' PAST……BUT I REALLY WANT TO USE WORDS LIKE "MAGICAL" AND "ENCHANTED," TO CAPTION EACH MEMORY OF THE DAY THAT WAS. THE LANDSCAPE OF SOUTH MUSKOKA WAS PERFECTLY PICTURESQUE, AND SO WAS OUR MAIN STREET, SO BRILLIANTLY ADORNED BY THE CHRISTMAS SEASON. BUT IT WASN'T A QUIET OR INACTIVE TOWN. QUITE THE CONTRARY. IT WAS ON THE MOVE AND COMMERCE LOOKED TO BE PRETTY BRISK ALL AROUND THE URBAN AREA OF THE TOWN; AT LEAST WHERE WE TRAVELLED.
IN THE YEAR 1879, THE MUSKOKA GUIDEBOOK AND ATLAS WAS PUBLISHED. IT WAS OBVIOUSLY A FOR-PROFIT PUBLICATION, AT A TIME WHEN SETTLERS DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO BE THROWING AROUND FOR READING MATERIAL. THE IDEA OF THE BOOK, WAS THAT IT WOULD BE SOLD ON A SUBSCRIPTION BASIS, SUCH THAT IF YOUR NAME WAS TO APPEAR, OR BUSINESS, YOU WOULD BE OF COURSE, INTERESTED IN ACQUIRING A COPY. THE MUNICIPAL MAPS CONTAINED LANDOWNERS' NAMES. THE IDEA WAS TO SELL THESE EARLY HOMESTEADERS A BOOK WITH THEIR OWNERS' ACREAGES DULY NOTED, IMPRESSED IN THE ATTRACTIVE HARDCOVER COPIES. SOME, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY, WERE ACTUALLY HAND-COLORED. TWO IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS TO MUSKOKA, WERE HIRED-ON FOR THE PROJECT. ONE BEING CAPTAIN ROGERS AND THE OTHER SEYMOUR PENSON, AN ACCOMPLISHED ARTIST, WHO WAS WELL KNOWN FOR HIS HUGE MURAL BACKGROUNDS, FOR FIREWORKS MUSICALS. IN THE VERY EARLY YEARS OF THE CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION, IN TORONTO. THESE GENTLEMAN MADE THE BOOK POPULAR ALMOST FROM THE BEGINNING, AND IN FACT, TO THIS DAY, AS THE BOOK IS STILL AVAILABLE IN REPRINT.
THE PROBLEM WITH THE BOOK, IS THAT IT ALMOST IGNORES THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF MUSKOKA. BRACEBRIDGE AND THE MUSKOKA LAKES GENERALLY, ARE WELL REPRESENTED, BUT AS FAR AS OUR FAIR TOWN, IT SEEMS ALMOST AN ANNOYANCE, TO HAVE TO EXPEND EVEN A FEW INCHES OF EDITORIAL SPACE. HOW SMALL IS THE DESCRIPTION, AS COMPARED TO THE PAGES PROFILING BRACEBRIDGE? HERE GOES:
"1879, MUSKOKA GUIDEBOOK AND ATLAS, PG 22-23: "GRAVENHURST, THE PRESENT MUSKOKA TERMINUS OF THE NORTHERN RAILWAY, LIES IN THE TOWNSHIP, (MUSKOKA) AND CONTAINS (AS OF DEC. 1878), ABOUT 200 HOUSES, ONE HARDWARE STORE, EIGHT DRY GOODS STORES, ELEVEN SHINGLE MILLS, TWO SHOEMAKERS, ONE TAILOR, TWO WATCHMAKERS, THREE DRESSMAKERS, TWO SADDLERS, ONE ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, FOUR HOTELS, TWO BAKERS, ONE BUTCHER, ONE BOOK STORE, ONE FLOUR AND FEED STORE, ONE DOCTOR, ONE DRUG STORE, ONE FOUNDRY, BOARDING HOUSES, THREE TELEGRAPH OFFICES, EXPRESS OFFICE, GRAVENHURST AND MUSKOKA WHARF, RAILWAY STATIONS WITH WAITING ROOMS, TICKET OFFICES, FREIGHT SHEDS, WIND MILL, PUMPS ETC. IT POSSESSES A TOWN HALL, (WITH LOCK-UP UNDERNEATH), PUBLIC SCHOOL, FOUR CHURCHES, AND CLAIMS 1,200 INHABITANTS. SOME IDEA OF THE IMPORTANCE OF GRAVENHURST AS A DISTRIBUTING STATION, ON THE NORTHERN, MAY BE GATHERED FROM THE FACT THAT 2,881 TONS, 1,219 POUNDS OF FREIGHT (MUCH OF IT OF A MOST COSTLY NATURE), LEFT THE RAILWAY FREIGHT HOUSE IN 1878 FOR VARIOUS PARTS OF MUSKOKA. NATURE HAS GIVEN TO EACH OF OUR INCORPORATED VILLAGES SPECIAL ADVANTAGES."
THAT'S IT! BUT KEEP IN MIND THE USE OF THE WORDS "DISTRIBUTING STATION." EVEN THOUGH GRAVENHURST, WHICH BEGAN AS "MCCABE'S LANDING," WAS OF ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL IMPORTANCE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENTIRE MUSKOKA REGION, AND BEYOND, THE VILLAGE WARRANTED NEXT TO NOTHING, IN THE WAY OF EDITORIAL RECOGNITION, IN THIS WIDELY CIRCULATED BOOK. IT WAS THE SAME IN MANY OTHER BOOKS, THEN AND ONWARD, WHERE THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA, AS MUCH AS WE LOCALS MIGHT HATE IT, BEGAN IN AND AROUND BRACEBRIDGE. WE AREN'T EVEN CONSIDERED AS "THE AROUND BRACEBRIDGE," IN MOST OF THE BOOKS. AS CLOSE AS GRAVENHURST GETS TO BEING SIGNIFICANT BEYOND THE OBVIOUS LOCALE OF ITS RAILWAY AND STEAMSHIP CONNECTIONS, WAS ITS PROXIMITY TO THE "GREAT FALLS" AT MUSKOKA FALLS, WHICH WAS ON WHAT HAD BEEN CALLED, THE GRAVENHURST ROAD. IN FACT, THE GREAT FALLS WAS PRETTY IMPORTANT TO GRAVENHURST, AS IT IS WHERE IT WOULD EVENTUALLY RECEIVE ITS POWER GENERATION.
WHILE THERE ARE OBSCURE RARE BOOKS OUT THERE, WITH LONGER AND MORE SIGNIFICANT PASSAGES, ABOUT GRAVENHURST, IT IS OBVIOUS TO THE HISTORIAN, THAT BRACEBRIDGE WAS THE CHOSEN COMMUNITY FROM THE EARLY GOING……AND THAT HASN'T CHANGED A LOT SINCE THE EARLY 1870'S.
"PROMINENT AMONGST THE EARLY SETTLERS STAND THE NAMES OF MR. AND MRS. MCCABE; THEY OPENED A TAVERN AT GRAVENHURST IN 1861, AND MANY A WORN-OUT TRAVELLER HAS BEEN GLAD TO SEE THEIR UNPRETENTIOUS LOG CABIN, WHERE THEY MIGHT REST THEIR WEARY LIMBS AND GET SOME REFRESHMENT TO SUSTAIN NATURE," WROTE PIONEER HISTORIAN, THOMAS MCMURRAY, IN HIS 1871 SETTLERS' GUIDEBOOK. "NEVER SHALL THE WRITER FORGET HIS FIRST INTERVIEW WITH 'MOTHER MCCABE.' WHEN HE ARRIVED THERE, HE WAS HUNGRY AND FOOTSORE; BUT HE MET WITH AN IRISH WELCOME, AND A DINNER WAS SERVED UP BY MOTHER MCCABE, WHICH WOULD NOT HAVE DISGRACED ANY HOTEL NORTH OF TORONTO. THE OLD LOG SHANTY LOOKED DULL OUTSIDE, BUT WITHIN, ALL WAS CLEANLINESS AND ORDER; HER CLEAN WHITE CURTAINS KEPT OUT THE MOSQUITOES IN SUMMER AND COLD IN THE WINTER, WHILE HER FEATHER BEDS AFFORDED SWEET REST TO MANY A WEARY LAND-SEEKER. HOW WELCOME WAS THE SIGHT OF THE DIM LOW LIGHT THROUGH THE BUSH, TO THE WEARY TRAVELLER, CAN ONLY BE FULLY APPRECIATED BY THE EARLY PEDESTRIANS WHEN NO HORSES OR VEHICLES WERE ON THE ROAD; THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF SETTLERS WHO REMEMBER THEM, AND SOME OF THEM HAVE CAUSE TO BLESS MOTHER MCCABE FOR HER GENEROSITY.
THE FIRST DEATH IN THE SETTLEMENT WAS THAT OF POOR JOHNSTON; HE WAS DROWNED AT THE SEVERN BRIDGE, ONE SUNDAY WHILST FISHING. THE POOR WIDOW STRUGGLED HARD WITH HER TWO LITTLE BOYS - THE ELDER NOT MORE THAN NINE YEARS - AND, WITH THEIR HELP, SHE MANAGED BEFORE SHE DIED, TO CLEAR ABOUT EIGHT OR NINE ACRES; BUT ALAS, FELL IN THE HARNESS (DECEASED WHILE WORKING THE FIELDS)."
THE ABOVE PASSAGES WRITTEN BY MCMURRAY, ARE PRECIOUS TO THE HISTORY OF GRAVENHURST. THEY MAY BE THE MOST PROFOUNDLY SIGNIFICANT OBSERVATIONS, WE POSSESS, IN THE MODERN ERA, TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS LIKE IN THOSE VERY EARLY DAYS, OF NOT ONLY OUR PRESENT TOWN, BUT THE OPENING OF THE ENTIRE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA.
THE 1970'S POINT OF VIEW - BENEATH THE ART WORK OF WATERCOLORIST, FRANK JOHNSTON
(CAVALCADE OF COLOR PROMOTION) "Color your world and, yes, you're in Gravenhurst, Muskoka. The time is late September or early October. There, before your very eyes, is nature's magic, painting a scene of unexcelled beauty. If a picture tells a thousand words, then being here at Cavalcade of Color-time, is a whole story-book. One million acres of lush green countryside gradually blazes into every color of the rainbow - and more. With Gravenhurst as your headquarters, you can tour the countless side roads. Hike through the bush. Throw a pebble in a creek and watch a mirror of color dance on the water as you click your camera. Breath-taking. Yes. Just as invigorating as a brisk winter's day on your snowmobile venturing down a frozen lake. Or cutting the swells with your boat on a balmy summer's day. And there's nothing quite like a deep breath of fresh Muskoka air in spring time. Mother nature has been good to Gravenhurst and Muskoka. It can be good for you. Vacationing is always in season here."
The most significant aspect of this brochure, is not the editorial content, but rather the outstanding illustrations made by Frank Johnston, who I believe, for even his short time working here, was the town's definitive artist. He may not have been home-grown, but he knew the cultural heritage of this town, better than some local long-time residents. And it's true he did carry a grudge at the end, understandable after his paintings were sold and moved from Gravenhurst, contrary to an original agreement for his major art pieces, which had been on display at Sloans Restaurant….. It sure would have been nice for all of us, if the paintings had remained here, on display at the new town hall. In light of the fact, the observational, anecdotal history of Gravenhurst is a little thin, compared to other towns in the district, we can fall back on the work of artists like Frank Johnston, who found no shortage of inspiration, for his historical watercolors…..which of course included the Gravenhurst Train Station in the winter, illustrating the "Northlander" picking up passengers.
Another artist, I have begun researching, may have been our first serious artistic interpreter. His name was G. (presumably George) Harlow White, born in London, England in 1817, and later died in Chatterhouse, London, England, in 1888. White was an accomplished painter. His mother was also an competent artist, as was his uncle George A. Harlow, also a known painter in England.
In the book, "Early Painters and Engravers in Canada," by J. Russell Harper, 1970, it is recorded, that the younger White, was educated at Chatterhouse School, and "commenced painting in 1830. Thereafter, an artist. Emigrated to Canada in 1870 or 1871, buying a bush farm in Oro Township, near Lake Simcoe, where he lived for five years. During this time he made innumerable small pencil and watercolor sketches of pioneer Canadian life. Probably lived briefly in the Toronto district. He returned to England in 1879 where he painted thereafter." One of the early Canadian painters, to travel to the western provinces to sketch the scenery, White was in good company, in the budding national art community….including well known painters, such as Lucius O'Brien, Bell-Smith, and Mower-Martin. So why bring up the name George Harlow White? Well, because he happened to have loved the scenery in an around Gravenhurst, and painted many well known locations on Lake Muskoka, Gull Lake, and Sparrow Lake, to name a few. I have a book in my archives, from the well known "Robertson" collection, listing hundreds of his sketches in this part of Ontario, a goodly number in Muskoka, and specifically in Gravenhurst. You can check out George Harlow White on the internet for additional information. I am currently working on this, to be able to identify more of the places around our township, this highly acclaimed artist painted…..in the years from 1870 to 1879, which captured much of our pioneer period, which is of enormous importance to local heritage. This, for me, is a work in progress, and I will continue to bring you updates, when more precise information is uncovered.
A WORD OR TWO ABOUT WILLIAM HENRY SMITH AND THE NAMING OF GRAVENHURST AFTER THE TITLE OF A BOOK
Most readers know, and maybe even read, about the writer / philosophers responsible for the name of our community. That's right. Not just one philosopher / writer but two. William Dawson LeSueur, a civil servant with the federal postal authority, by day, was a literary critic, historian and noted philosopher after hours. He was responsible for naming new post offices in hamlets across Canada. In our neck of the woods, LeSueur turned down the tribute to the McCabe's, by refusing to name the new post office, "McCabe's Landing," and instead borrowed the name of a book, written by a British poet / philosopher, by the name of William Henry Smith, that he happened to approve of, and newly published, entitled "Gravenhurst; or Thoughts on Good and Evil." This year, without acknowledgement by the town or the committee of historians, I celebrated…..with only a few balloons, the 150th anniversary of the controversial naming. The town decided it was more important to celebrate the 125th year of the town's incorporation instead. Point is, and let me be clear about this……the main reason for working on the naming project in the first place, which commenced back in the 1990's, was my deep seeded discontent, that Bracebridge had actually taken credit for the historical record……that instead….the Town of Gravenhurst, had been named after a book by American author, Washington Irving…..entitled "Bracebridge Hall." Their hamlet post office, was indeed, named after the book by Irving. The claim, by historians in that town, that Gravenhurst was also a name used by Irving, was proven wrong by Irving scholars, on my request for validation, that this was either fact or fiction. It was a big fiction. LeSueur named Gravenhurst two years before Bracebridge, but just months after the release of William Henry Smith's book. You will find this error in many books now, on community names in Canada, and other regional histories, and it makes me nuts. I've been trying to correct this error for the past twelve years or more.
We have a lot to be proud of in this town, especially its heritage. It has been compromised somewhat over the centuries, by other communities in Muskoka. Of this, there is ample evidence, and it is what inspired me to set the record straight about the origins of the name "Gravenhurst," which by the way, is a huge honor for the town……whether residents appreciate it or not. Smith's book can be viewed, online, through Google books, where it is reprinted. The book is still being studied in many universities. I even purchased the town's Heritage Committee a second edition of the book, for the town archives, as well as a book and archival photograph of William Dawson LeSueur, who was responsible for the town's naming.
For more information on this, you can archive back to the first part of August this year, when I began publishing a lengthy series of articles on the author, and LeSueur, in recognition of the 150th anniversary of the naming. Since then, and a brief newspaper article on Smith, published in the Gravenhurst Banner, there hasn't been another word mentioned on the subject…..which tells me, pretty clearly, I should have let sleeping dogs lie. But then I'm well known for sticking my oar in, where it is least desired. Point is, it is an honor to the Town of Gravenhurst; and probably long after I'm deceased, town leadership will come to appreciate the provenance more fully. I'm good with that.
Thank you for joining today's blog. I am a boastful, aggressive, loyal hometowner, and I hope it shows. Please continue dropping by……to share some Muskoka stories…..about the great place in which we reside, or wish to…….
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