Captain S. J. Montague Tuke Part 3; Anglican Church Concert on Friday; Ada Kinton, Muskoka Pioneer Artist

Tickets are still available from the shop or at the door on Friday, May 23rd, at 7:30p.m

1918 in Mesopotamia. Captain Tuke is in the middle and in the top photo he is seen holding a dog.

In Palestine, 1919, Captain Tuke is in the center of the front row

Captain Tuke's wife, Mary's, Red Cross Certificate from September 1942

PHOTOGRAPHS OF CAPTAIN S. MONTAGUE TUKE IN MESOPOTAMIA POST FIRST WORLD WAR

THE HISTORY THAT HUMBLES THE VOYEUR

CONCERT FRIDAY IN GRAVENHURST

NOTE: ABOUT OUR FRIDAY NIGHT SESSION'S CONCERT, TO BE HELD AT ST. JAMES ANGLICAN CHURCH, IN GRAVENHURST; THERE ARE STILL TICKETS AVAILABLE, AND THEY WILL BE SOLD AT THE DOOR, THE NIGHT OF THE CONCERT. THEY ARE $15 DOLLARS EACH. SEE POSTER ABOVE. SONS ANDREW AND ROBERT ARE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THIS WEEK'S CONCERT, AND HAVE EVEN JUDGED IT TO BE A SUCCESS, EVEN BEFORE THE EVENT ITSELF. ANDREW TELLS ME HE'S ALREADY NEGOTIATED FOR THE NEXT FIVE SHOWS, DOWN THE ROAD, WHICH HAVE BEEN SCHEDULED ONCE EVERY FOUR WEEKS FROM NOW ON. IN SOME CASES, DEPENDING ON THE AVAILABILITY OF THE ARTIST, WE WILL LIKELY HAVE SEVERAL SHOWS IN THE MONTH OF JULY FOR OUR MUSIC-LOVING PATRONS. THE SHOWS WILL ALL BE LOW COST, TICKETS COMING IN, BELOW TWENTY DOLLARS FOR A NIGHT OUT, WITH SOME EXCEPTIONAL TALENTS, AND BUDDING STARS, TOURING CANADA. THE BOYS ARE REALLY ENTHUSED ABOUT THE CHANCE TO STAGE THESE MUSIC CONCERTS IN THE HISTORIC ST. JAMES CHURCH ON HOTCHKISS STREET, IN GRAVENHURST, ON THE SAME BLOCK AS THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. A BEAUTIFUL BUILDING, GREAT ENTERTAINERS, WONDERFUL MUSIC, AND WELL, WHAT ELSE CAN YOU SAY; OTHER THAN "WELCOME TO GRAVENHURST, WE'RE SO GLAD YOU CAME." YOU CAN STILL RESERVE OR PICK UP TICKETS, AT ANDREW CURRIE'S MUSIC AND ANTIQUES, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, OPPOSITE THE OPERA HOUSE, OR BY CALLING THE NUMBERS OF THE POSTER REPRINTED ABOVE.
    ANDREW AND ROBERT ARE PLANNING TO CREATE A LEGACY EVENT, WITH THE CONTINUATION OF THE "SESSIONS CONCERTS," THAT WERE ORIGINALLY HELD, IN THEIR INFANCY, AT THE REAR OF OUR MUSIC AND ANTIQUE SHOP ON MUSKOKA ROAD. WE OUTGREW THE ROOM, AND THE ANGLICAN CHURCH BOARD OF DIRECTORS, OFFERED US, SO KINDLY, THE USE OF THEIR BUILDING FOR THIS ONGOING CULTURAL PROGRAM. WE THINK IT WILL BE A WINNER, BUT WE'RE ITS FOUNDERS, SO OF COURSE WE FEEL THIS WAY. BUT WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK AS WELL. WE CAN ONLY HAVE A GREAT EVENT, IF WE PLEASE OUR PATRONS. YOU FOLKS. YOU SEE, WE WANT TO CHANGE SOME ATTITUDES IN GRAVENHURST, AND OPEN UP SOME NEW AVENUES THROUGH THE STATUS QUO THAT SOMETIMES FRUSTRATES US. WE WANT TO CREATE A DIALOGUE BETWEEN ARTISTS AND PATRONS, ABOUT WHAT KIND OF ENTERTAINMENT WE WANT TO SEE GETTING EXPOSURE HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD, ISN'T WHAT WE'RE PLANNING HERE, SO EXPECT DIVERSITY OF ENTERTAINERS, BUT ALWAYS REVERENCE TO THE FOLKS WHO MAKE THE EVENTS FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE.
     PLEASE COME AND JOIN US FOR A NICE SOCIAL / CULTURAL EVENING, IN THE BOSUM OF A CHARMING, AND HISTORIC CHURCH BUILDING, IN THE CENTER OF THE OLD TOWN.

BACK TO THE ARCHIVES

     THERE ARE THREE INTERESTING PHOTOGRAPHS OF CAPTAIN SHIRLEY MONTAGUE TUKE, TAKEN DURING HIS POST FIRST WORLD WAR TOUR, OF THE LANDS OF THEN "MESOPOTAMIA," MODERN DAY IRAQ, AND THE LANDS BETWEEN THE TIGRIS, AND THE EUPHRATES RIVERS. IN THE BOTTOM TWO, HE IS SEEN WITH FELLOW OFFICERS, AND CIVILIANS. IN THE TOP PHOTOGRAPH, OF THIS PAIRING, YOU CAN SEE CAPTAIN TUKE, IN THE CENTRE, HOLDING A DOG, AS IF IT WAS AN INFANT. IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, THERE ARE A TOTAL OF SEVEN DOGS IN THE PHOTOGRAPH. BOTH THESE IMAGES WERE TAKEN IN 1918. THE PHOTO ABOVE, LOCATION UNKOWN, IS ALSO DATED, 1918. HIS ROYAL SERVICES CORP WAS IN PALESTINE, IN THE YEARS 1918-1919, AND TO SEE THIS PHOTOGRAPH, OF CAPTAIN TUKE ON HORSEBACK, YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO YESTERDAY'S BLOG. IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS MINI BIOGRAPHY, YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO MONDAY, MAY 19TH, WHEN WE LOOKED BACK UPON THE CAREER OF THE CAPTAIN'S FATHER, DR. GEORGE MONTAGUE TUKE, OF SUTTON VALANCE, KENT, ENGLAND.
     EARLIER THIS MORNING, I HAD A LOOK AT YET ANOTHER HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION, UP FOR AUCTION LOCALLY, AND I FIND MYSELF GETTING ANTSY, WAITING FOR A CHANCE TO OWN SUCH AN INTERESTING GROUPING OF IMAGES, DATING BACK TO THE LATE 1800'S. I START IMAGINING ALL KINDS OF WILD SCENARIOS, WHERE SOMEONE WILL UP-THE-BID BY HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS, ONLY THEN, TO SELL THE IMAGES FOR FIVE BUCKS EACH AT A LOCAL ANTIQUE SHOP. OR TO BE USED AS INTERESTING DECORATOR PIECES IN A NEW ERA MUSKOKA COTTAGE. THERE ARE VERY FEW OF US HISTORICAL TYPES, WHO WOULD WANT A FAMILY HISTORY LIKE THIS, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T APPEAR, ON INITIAL EXAMINATION, TO BE OF LOCAL KITH AND KIN. THE FACT THAT IT MAY BE OF HERITAGE INTEREST TO SOME OTHER COMMUNITY IN THE BIG WIDE WORLD, WILL ESCAPE MOST LOCAL HISTORIANS, BECAUSE FOR THE PRICE THEY ARE LIKELY TO SELL FOR, THEY WILL ONLY MAKE SENSE TO SOMEONE WILLING TO INVESTIGATE THE FAMILY CONNECTION, AND POTENTIALLY, WRITE A COMPANION HISTORY, AS I HAVE ATTEMPTED WITH CAPTAIN TUKE; OR RE-UNITE THEM WILL LONG SEPARATED FAMILY. IN THIS CASE, I HATE THE IDEA THE PHOTOGRAPHS WILL BE BROKEN UP AND SOLD INDIVIDUALLY.
    AS FOR PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY OF SUCH COLLECTIONS, AND SERIOUSLY RESEARCHING THE PROVENANCE OF ARCHIVE PIECES, (LOOKING FOR A PEDIGREE OR NAME ASSOCIATION, IN GENERAL CROSS REFERENCING) SUZANNE AND I HAVE DONE THIS DOZENS OF TIMES IN THE PAST; WHEN WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RE-CONNECT HANDWRITTEN JOURNALS AND FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS, WITH RELATIVES WHO NEVER KNEW THEY EXISTED. IT HAPPENS THAT BRANCHES OF THE FAMILY TREE, BECOME, OVER TIME, DISASSOCIATED WITH THEIR LEGACY RELICS, AND IT IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE, THAT AN ACTIVE FAMILY HISTORIAN, MAY JUMP AT THE CHANCE TO OWN LONG LOST IMAGES OF THEIR GREAT, GREAT, GREAT GRANDPARENTS, AND ALL THE OTHER KIN DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. I HAVE PARTICIPATED PERSONALLY, IN MANY RELIC REUNIONS, AND THEY'RE ALWAYS VERY SATISFYING.
     I BID ON VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS, IF, AT LEAST PART OF THE COLLECTION, IS IDENTIFIED WITH NAMES AND LOCATIONS OF FORMER RESIDENCES. BY TAPPING INTO LOCAL AND REGIONAL HERITAGE SOCIETIES, AND BY PERFORMING ASSOCIATED ONLINE SEARCHES, WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, WE ARE ABLE TO PICK UP SOME CLUES ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE COLLECTION, BEYOND HOW THEY WOUND UP IN A LOCAL AUCTION SALE. IT'S ALSO A CASE, VERY MUCH SO, THAT THESE RELICS, ARE ALMOST ALWAYS OF MINOR VALUE, UNLESS OF COURSE, THERE ARE IDENTIFIABLE LANDMARKS, THAT ARE OF INTEREST TO COLLECTORS. A CASE IN POINT, WOULD BE A FAMILY PICTURE TAKEN, IN FRONT OF LAKE ROSSEAU'S WINDERMERE HOUSE, OR THE ROYAL MUSKOKA HOTEL. POSSIBLY A FAMILY PHOTO WITH ONE OF MUSKOKA'S STEAMSHIPS IN THE BACKGROUND. EVEN ONE OF THESE, IN A LARGE COLLECTION OF ORDINARY PORTRAITS, CAN GIVE A SIGNIFICANT VALUE TO THE COLLECTION. IT WOULD, AT FIRST GLANCE, SUGGEST THAT PART OF THE FAMILY IN THE IMAGES, VACATIONED OR COTTAGED IN THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA. WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THESE BACKGROUNDS, WHICH VALIDATE THE IMAGES AS BEING REGIONALLY-COLLECTABLE. THE MORE PROMINENT THE BACKGROUND, OR THE SEPARATE IMAGE, SUCH AS A TRAIN STEAMING AT THE FORMER MUSKOKA WHARF, THE MORE VALUABLE THE PHOTO ALBUMS GENERALLY.
    I ALWAYS ADVISE DEALERS, TO NEVER SEPARATE THE SIGNIFICANT LANDMARK PHOTOGRAPHS, FROM THE GENERAL PORTRAITS, BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO SELL VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS, EVEN IF THE SUBJECT IS IDENTIFIED. THAT'S BECAUSE THERE ARE TRILLIONS OF VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE MARKET, AND ALMOST EVERY ANTIQUE SHOP, HAS A SELECTION OF ALBUMS AND SINGLES LAYING AROUND, FOR BETWEEN FIVE DOLLARS TO TEN. PUT A SIMILAR PHOTO IN THE MIX, OF A STEAM LOCOMOTIVE, AND ACQUIRING THE COLLECTION BECOMES MUCH MORE INTERESTING. THESE ARE VALIDATING IMAGES, THAT MAKE THE GENERAL PORTRAITS MORE SIGNIFICANT (THE INFLUENCE OF ASSOCIATION AS VAGUE AS IT MIGHT BE). I WILL NEVER LET A VALIDATING PHOTOGRAPH, WHICH PULLS THE STRING OF CONTINUITY, RIGHT THROUGH A COLLECTION, BE SOLD OFF FOR A QUICK PROFIT. HAVING THE LEFT OVER PORTRAITS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT, IF YOU'RE AT ALL INTERESTED IN MAKING A PROFIT. WE SELL OUR CUSTOMERS, ON THE INTEGRITY AND PROVENANCE OF A COLLECTION, EVEN IF THERE ARE ONLY FIVE OR SO STRONG, IDENTIFIABLE, POPULAR IMAGES AMONGS HUNDREDS. GET RID OF THOSE FIVE FOR A QUICK PROFIT, AND LIVE WITH THE LEFTOVERS FOR YEARS AFTER THIS. AND BY THE WAY; WE PERFORM OUR DUE DILIGENCE ON THE IMAGES, EVEN INVESTIGATING THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S NAMES AND STUDIO ADDRESSES, TO BUILD PROVENANCE THAT THE COLLECTION MAY LACK IN THE BEGINNING. WE HAVE NEVER HAD A COLLECTION OF IMAGES, FROM A FAMILY ESTATE, THAT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO BUILD A CONNECTING STORY, BASED ON HOURS OF RESEARCH, MANY EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS. WHAT STARTED AS AN UNIDENTIFIED COLLECTION, BLOSSOMS AFTER A MONTH OF SLEUTHING, AND WE WILL TARGET THE SENSITIVE REGION OF CANADA, OR THE UNITED STATES, TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY FAMILY CONNECTIONS REMAINING, WHO WOULD LIKE TO ACQUIRE THE ASSORTED IMAGES.
     WE ONLY HAVE ONE LARGE PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION LEFT, OUT OF A DOZEN IN THE PAST TEN YEARS, AND THIS WAS FROM THE ESTATE OF MARY REID, OF GRAVENHURST, AND BROWNING ISLAND. HER FATHER, REVEREND EWING REID, WAS THE MINISTER OF TORONTO'S ALHAMBRA CHURCH, AND BOTH FATHER AND DAUGHTER WERE HOBBY PHOTOGRAPHERS. THEY TOOK HUNDREDS OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF TRANSPORTATION AND RECREATION ON LAKE MUSKOKA, GOING BACK TO THE 1930'S, AND WERE FASCINATED BY MUSKOKA STEAMSHIPS AND YACHTS; SO WE HAVE MANY MARINE IMAGES IN THE FORM OF NEGATIVES. WE HAVE TWO LARGE VICTORIAN ERA PHOTO ALBUMS, AND A BOX OF NEGATIVES, OF SUBJECT PORTRAITS FROM THE BRONTE AND MILTON AREA OF THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO, AND SOME FROM ENGLAND, OF OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS. WE CAN'T AND WON'T SEPARATE THE ALBUMS, FROM THE REST OF THE REID PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION. WE ARE ITS STEWARDS UNTIL SOMEONE OF THE FAMILY EVENTUALLY COMES FORWARD, WISHING TO RE-CONNECT WITH THESE IMPORTANT RELICS. SOMETIMES YOU CAN GO FOR YEARS WITH THE COLLECTIONS IN STORAGE, WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN A DISTANT FAMILY MEMBER, HAVING FOUND A REFERENCE ONLINE, GIVES US A CALL TO ASK WHETHER OR NOT, WE STILL HAVE THEIR FAMILY ARCHIVES. WE NEVER LOOK AT THIS PERIOD OF STEWARDSHIP, AS A HASTLE OR IN ANY WAY INCONVENIENT. IT GIVES US A FEELING OF COMPLETION WHEN THIS HAPPENS. AT TIMES, WE ALSO SELL THE ITEMS TO COMMUNITY MUSEUMS, WHO RECOGNIZE THE FAMILY AND WISH THE MATERIAL FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES. THEN AGAIN, IT CAN HAPPEN THAT A COLLECTOR, WHO SPECIALIZES IN PHOTOGRAPHS, WILL BE THE ONE WHO DESIRES TO RESUME THE STEWARDSHIP, INSISTING ON KEEPING THE MATERIALS TOGETHER.
     TWO OTHER PROMINENT PHOTO COLLECTIONS WE HAVE OWNED, INCLUDED THE SLIDES TAKEN BY FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH, DR. WILF BENNETT, OF GRAVENHURST AND BALA, AND BILL SKINNER OF WINDERMERE, WHO HAD AN AMAZING ARRAY OF GLASS SLIDES OF THE FORMER WIGWASSAN LODGE, ON TOBIN'S ISLAND, WHERE HE USED TO WORK AS A YOUNG MAN. WE HAD GLASS SLIDES OF WATER SKIERS FROM THE LODGE BEING PULLED BY A DITCHBURN LAUNCH. WE STILL HAVE A FEW OF THESE IMAGES, WE KEPT BACK FOR OUR OWN ARCHIVES, BECAUSE OF THE SUBJECT MATERIAL. PHOTOGRAPHS CAN BE MADE FROM THESE SLIDES, SO THEY CAN BE VERY VALUABLE IN REPRODUCTION; ALTHOUGH, FOR US, WE HAVE NEVER DUPLICATED HISTORIC IMAGES, TO SELL COPIES. IT'S JUST OUR POLICY. WHAT A FUTURE OWNER DOES WITH THEM, IS THEIR BUSINESS.
     WITH THE MOST RECENT SMALL COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS, AND DOCUMENTS, OF CAPTAIN TUKE, THEY WILL REMAIN WITH US, AS I NOTED YESTERDAY, TO BE USED IN AN ANNIVERSARY DISPLAY, THIS COMING SEPTEMBER, IN COMMEMORATION OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF OTHER FIRST WORLD WAR VINTAGE ARTIFACTS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND DOCUMENTS, TO INCLUDE IN THE DISPLAY, WE WILL RUN IN OUR GRAVENHURST SHOP, UNTIL THE END OF NOVEMBER. WE ARE JUST THRILLED TO BE THE NEW STEWARDS OF THIS SMALL BUT INTERESTING MILITARY COLLECTION, AS AFFORDED US, THIS MONTH, OF 2014, BY MEMBERS OF THE SURVIVING TUKE FAMILY OF SOUTH MUSKOKA.
     IN 1940, CAPTAIN TUKE MARRIED HIS WIFE MARY, AND THERE IS A CERTIFICATE DATED, SEPTEMBER 13, 1942, FROM THE BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY, THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE OF ARCHIVE MATERIAL, WITH HER HUSBAND'S MILITARY DOCUMENTS. IT READS AS FOLLOWS: "THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT MARY TUKE, HAVING ATTENDED A COURSE OF LECTURES AND DEMONSTRATIONS IN HOME NURSING, HAS BEEN EXAMINED, AND SATISFIED THE EXAMINER IN THE SAID SUBJECT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REGULATION OF THE SOCIETY." YOU CAN SEE AN IMAGE OF THE CERTIFICATE PUBLISHED ABOVE TODAY'S BLOG. ALSO INCLUDED, ARE TWO HANDWRITTEN PAGES OF FAMILY HISTORY, BEGINNING WITH DOCTOR GEORGE MONTAGUE TUKE, WHO WAS THE ELDEST OF SEVENTEEN CHILDREN OF F.E. TUKE. EVEN DOWN TO THE REFERENCE, OF A CHILD OF THE DOCTOR'S, ONE OF SEVEN, (CAPTAIN TUKE'S SISTER), VIOLET MONTAGUE TUKE, "KILLED, AT AGE SIX, BY A FALL FROM A DOG-CART, WHO IS BURIED WITH HER PARENTS, IN A SUTTON VALANCE, KENT CHURCH YARD (CLOSE TO THE PATH LEADING FROM THE GATE TO THE CHURCH)."
     I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT CHURCH YARD. I WOULD LIKE TO STAND BESIDE THE TOMBSTONE OF DOCTOR GEORGE MONTAGUE TUKE, WHO, FROM WHAT I READ, WAS A FASCINATING CHAP OF FULL, OLD SCHOOL, COUNTRY CHARM. AND WE HAVE SEEN AN IMAGE OF CAPTAIN TUKE'S OWN GRAVESTONE, AND I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT THIS ONE AS WELL. AS I SAID EARLIER, WHEN YOU WORK CLOSELY WITH FAMILY ARTICLES, AND ARCHIVES LIKE THIS, IT'S NATURAL FOR US, TO BECOME EMOTIONALLY IMBEDDED WITH OUR STORY, AS THE MODERN BIOGRAPHERS, BRINGING THOSE OLD DAYS BACK TO LIFE, FOR THE AUDIENCE OF THE DAY. WHICH IS PRETTY PROFOUND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT FOR AWHILE. IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE CASE THE MONTAGUE-TUKE FAMILY STORY, WOULD HAVE REMAINED IN SEALED ENVELOPES, AND TUCKED IN STORAGE, FOR ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS. IT WAS ASSUMED BY PRESENT FAMILY MEMBERS, THAT FEW IF ANY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THIS LONG AGO FAMILY CHRONICLE. THANKS TO THE INTERNET, AND INFORMATION SHARING AROUND THE GLOBE, THIS RE-INTRODUCTION, OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE TUKE FAMILY, WITH ORIGINS IN SUTTON VALANCE, KENT, WILL BE USEFUL TO FAMILY AND REGIONAL HISTORIANS IN ENGLAND, AND ANYWHERE ELSE THE TUKES PRESENTLY RESIDE IN THE WORLD. IT WILL BE USEFUL TO MILITARY RESEARCHERS, ALWAYS LOOKING TO TIE-UP LOOSE ENDS, AND IDENTIFY WHERE WORLD WAR RELICS HAVE WOUND UP AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.     WHAT MANY READERS PROBABLY WON'T APPRECIATE, IS THAT THE "ARCHIVES" VALUE OF THESE BLOGS, ACTUALLY OUT-WEIGHS THE DAY TO DAY ACTIVITY; THE FACT THAT IT HAS BECOME A SORT OF ONLINE ARCHIVES FROM REGIONAL MUSKOKA, WITH GLOBAL CONNECTEDNESS. I HAVE A COUNTER, ON MY STATISTICS PAGE, WHICH I CONSULT EVERY DAY, SHOWING ME, THE CURRENT READERSHIP OF MY TOP SIX OR SEVEN BLOGS, BEING VIEWED AT PRESENT, AND SOME OF THEM ARE SEVERAL YEARS OLD. WHAT THIS MEANS, IS THAT RESEARCHERS ARE CONNECTING TO CERTAIN MATERIAL, I HAVE RESEARCHED AND PUBLISHED PREVIOUSLY, ABOUT SOME HERITAGE MATTER, OR OTHER; SUCH AS THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CANADIAN PAINTER, TOM THOMSON, WHICH IS THE ONE SUBJECT THAT ROUTINELY IS IN THE TOP FIVE FOR ARCHIVE READERSHIP. WHERE, IN THE OLD DAYS, NEWSPAPERS WERE MOST OFTEN THROWN OUT WITH THE WEEKLY TRASH, AND MOST NEVER MICROFILMED FOR POSTERITY, EXCEPT THE OLDEST ONES, TODAY, THESE BLOGS, USEFUL OR NOT, HAVE A MUCH LONGER LIFE SPAN; TO INFINITY, YOU MIGHT SAY, OR HOW EVER LONG THAT'S GOING TO BE; AND WITH TENSIONS PEAKING IN THE UKRAINE, PRIOR TO SUNDAY'S ELECTIONS, YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT A WAR WILL DO TO THE WHOLE MEANING OF "INFINITY". I DON'T KNOW WHETHER DOCTOR TUKE, OR HIS SON, CAPTAIN TUKE, WOULD BE IMPRESSED WITH THIS MODERN DAY RE-INTRODUCTION TO THE PUBLIC, OR NOT, BUT BELIEVE ME, ON OUR END, AS HISTORIANS, WE CAN ONLY HOPE THEY WOULD BE AS PLEASED AS WE ARE, THAT OUR MODERN DAY READERSHIP HAS FOUND THEIR CHRONICLE QUITE INTERESTING; AND WE HAVE THE COMMENTS TO BACK THIS UP. WE DON'T TAKE OUR STEWARDSHIP OF THESE MATERIALS LIGHTLY. SOME TIMES, WE CAN ACTUALLY COME TO FEEL QUITE BURDENED BY THE RESPONSIBILITY, OF REPRESENTING THEIR LIVES AND FAMILY WITH THE RESPECT THAT IS DESERVED. THUS, WE SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME, IN PREPARATION, MAKING SURE THE INFORMATION IS CORRECT, AND AS COMPLETE AS FOLLOWS. IN THE CASE OF CAPTAIN TUKE, WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO ADD TO THE CHRONICLE IN THE FUTURE, AS WE ARE OFFERED ADDITIONAL FAMILY INFORMATION; SOME WE EXPECT WILL BE CONTRIBUTED BY NEW FRIENDS WE CONNECT WITH ONLINE, WHO HAVE A STAKE IN THE TUKE STORY. THIS CAN BE A STORY WITHOUT ENDING, AND IT MAY BE THE CASE, WE WILL STILL BE PURSUING MORE INFORMATION TEN YEARS FROM NOW. OF COURSE, WE ARE GETTING OLDER, BUT THIS ARCHIVES WILL EVENTUALLY BE PASSED ON, TO A NEW GENERATION OF STEWARDS, SAFEGUARDING ITS INTEGRITY.


ADA KINTON'S FAMOUS JOURNAL THAT SHE NEVER WANTED PUBLISHED

     "Out painting a fallen hemlock all afternoon, till it commenced to rain and forced me to return," wrote pioneer artist Ada Florence Kinton.  "I made an attempt to complete my fallen hemlock but got cramped with cold, so meandered about a bit in the pathless tangle of fallen trees and splintered boughs, damp leaves, and sprouting ferns and curious little four-leaved vegetation which is just appearing above the earth with a few violet leaves."

     Ada Kinton penned this passage into the dog-eared journal she kept with her, on many sketching forays into the north Muskoka wilds of 1883. Following her death at the turn of the century her sister Sara Randleson insisted that this journal be published under the heading "Just One Blue Bonnet". 

     Having just recently arrived, in Canada, following the settling of the family estate in England, the young painter lodged with her brothers in the hamlet of Huntsville, situated in the northern climes of the District of Muskoka. Undecided about what she would do with her life, just into her twenties, Ada divided her time between looking after her brother's children, and exploring the neighboring woodlands.

     This portion of the artist's journal was written in the spring of 1883.  "I started for a solitary scramble or stroll through the bush. It was very pleasant under the graceful maples, so light and slim, and walking over the elastic carpet of dry brown leaves. I suppose there were beech, too, for there were quite a few chipmunks about; one dear little bright-eyed creature came and played around me with the nuts, and at last sat down at my feet."

     Ada Kinton was both an accomplished artist and soon-to-be published writer, both clearly celebrated in later-century copies of "The War Cry," published by the Salvation Army, an organization she dedicated herself to, on missions, for most of her young life.  In art, she truly understood the inner currents of nature, manifesting a life force within her landscapes. As there was a pulse in her veins, there was an equal, vibrant pulsation in the nature she attached herself. She appreciated, and tried to capture, the essence of the rise of wind over the far shore of a mist-covered lake, and the gentle lapping of waves against the beachfront. Feel the kind warmth of the morning sun, all emanating from her paint-boards, so full of appreciation for the environment of North Muskoka.

     It can be said with some accuracy that she was as poetic with a paintbrush as she was with pen and journal. She found beauty where others found physical discomfort, and the heavily treed vista, oppressive and threatening to the homesteading life. The aspiring painter was an eternal optimist, and sought out beauty in the most unsuspecting places; a tiny flower poking through the debris of fallen branches and rotting logs. On her excursions through the thick woods she studied the contrasts of light and shadow, the interesting shapes of trees and rocks, the illumination of sun on the forest floor, and the way the maturing light changed the hue of the water in the nearby river and lake. Ada was fascinated by the intricacies of life, and how even the slightest of creatures and plants, could survive in such a harsh climate, and dark tangle of thick growth. She observed what most of us take for granted, or ignore altogether. Changes of weather had a profound impact on her moods, but throughout her artistic life and literary accomplishments, the artist was a mirror of hope and inspiration, and even in the most solemn scene, while on mission work, or tending soup kitchens in downtown Toronto, she found reason to be of good cheer. Hopeful that faith would always prevail, and that the setting sun on one day, would inspire expectation about the next sunrise. Even at the end of her life, she was unfaltering in her optimistic outlook, that life is to be cherished, and time, a precious resource not to be squandered.

     As written by her sister Sara Randleson, in 1907, following Miss Kinton's death, "To the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1884, she sent in one of her pretty watercolor paintings; a dead canary by a cage, with a bunch of violets. It was accepted and hung on the line, greatly to her surprise and gratification." The artist could represent beauty, pleasantness and even in the portrait of death, such that life exuded-forth despite." A close friend, Canadian author Agnes Maule Machar, wrote of Ada Kinton, that "If she had privations and felt them, she had also great compensation over and above the approval of her own conscience. The joy of doing good, the sunshine of a settled faith, and the sense of the Divine Presence, as her unfailing guide. The new associations into which her work led her, as well as the new experiences enriched her mind and widened her horizon. Her long sojourn in Australia, notwithstanding some trying experiences and the task of writing millions of letters, profoundly impressed her, stimulating her interest by the multitudinous development of teeming and luxuriant life, on which she afterwards loved enthusiastically to enlarge."

     The author noted, "Visiting the writer not long after her return, she riveted the attention of two intelligent children by her graphic descriptions of the wonders of vegetable and animal life she had observed, which, after years of travel of their own, they still vividly remember. In the children who were in her charge in Australia, and afterwards at Evanston, Illinois, she found one of her greats joys, her heart beating so closely drawn to them that she could hardly bear the subsequent separation from them any better than they could bear theirs from her." She was working at the time for members of the Booth family, themselves on Salvation Army mission work.

     Machar suggests, "perhaps she continued too long at work, in a climate doubly trying after the Australian warmth, in which she delighted, and should have sooner sought the rest and quiet of her Canadian home. Only the doctor's imperative mandate forced her to this at last; and the suffering she endured so patiently during the last two years of her life was inexpressibly painful to the loving hearts that tended her to the end." She concludes by writing, "But if the Captain of our Salvation was made perfect through suffering, the soldier may claim no immunity, however strange to us may seem the mystery of pain. To her friends her life story seems to have closed too soon - so far, at least, as this world is concerned. We may not trace its continuance but we know that she fought the good fight and overcame, and to her was given to eat of the 'Tree of Life,' which is in the Garden of God."

     This late August morning has been one of those days of striking contrasts, Ada would have found enthralling. At one moment, the cloud cover is black, and it might appear as if a great storm will unfurl. After a short, heavy rainfall, and the bluster of wind against this homestead, the dazzling sunbeams illuminate the tops of the border maples and towering evergreens. The artist loved the inter-play of light and shadow across the hinterland, and this vantage point today, from this verandah, would have undoubtedly inspired pen to paper. Possibly a sketch. More likely a written description. And she watched these same enchanted, late summer days, from the verandah of her brother's house in Huntsville, and very much enjoyed the changing seasons, despite the toll illness, at this time, had taken on her slight body. The last time I visited her grave, it was on one of those wildly contrasting days, yet it was a beautiful and peaceful scene, birds in the tree-tops, squirrels leaping from bough to bough, and the landscape being very much one the artist might have found uplifting despite its solemn character.