Memories of The Windermere Marina and The Skipper on Lake Rosseau

Rob Currie Photo

From my arts and crafts period in the 1990's

A BACKGROUNDER - THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN  - WHERE DO THE BOYS GET-OFF CALLING THEMSELVES "MUSKOKANS?"

THE VINTAGE VINYL WAS NEW IN THE JUKE BOX, WHEN SUZANNE AND HER MOTHER RAN "THE SKIPPER"

     WE'VE LIVED IN GRAVENHURST, SINCE THE FALL OF 1989. WHILE WE ARE CONSIDERED MUSKOKANS, WITH OUR TOES FIRMLY PLANTED IN ITS HISTORY, THE SAME DOESN'T GO FOR BEING GRAVENHURSTITES. THAT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALL OF WAX. WE'RE STILL CONSIDERED NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK HERE. THE FACT I'VE WRITTEN MORE ABOUT GRAVENHURST, THAN MOST LOCAL LONG-TIME HISTORIANS, HAS NEVER MATTERED A HOOT, OR THAT WE HAVE BEEN OPERATING FROM THE SAME RETAIL SPACE, ON THE MAIN STREET, FOR THE PAST DECADE; MUSIC FIRST, ANTIQUES A LATER EDITION. WE'RE STILL STUDIED WITH SOME TREPIDATION, AS ONLY BEING HERE TO SCOOP UP A QUICK PROFIT, AND THEN, WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A THANK YOU, FOR THE TOWN'S EXTENDED HOSPITALITY, WE'LL HEAD BACK TO THE CITY, LOOT IN TOW. YOU'D BE SHOCKED, HEARING THE KIND OF RIDICULOUS STATEMENTS, THE BOYS, MORE SO THAN US, ACUMMULATE IN THEIR "BOOK OF STRANGE TALES," RECEIVED OVER THE SALES COUNTER. A LOT OF LOCALS HAVE THIS IDEA WE'RE A CITY INSPIRED BUSINESS, AND REFUSE TO SUPPORT US BECAUSE WE'RE RUNNING A "TOURIST TRAP" ENTERPRISE; NOT A TRULY GRAVENHURST AND MUSKOKA INSPIRED RETAIL OPERATION. WE DON'T GET INTO ANY SKIRMISHES WITH THESE FOLKS, WHO ARE SELF-ASSURED ABOUT MAKING THESE CLAIMS, EVEN THOUGH THREE OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS, ARE MORE DEEPLY ROOTED HERE, THAN THOSE WHO CLAIM WE ARE NEW TO THE AREA. HOW NEW IS 1862, WHEN SUZANNE'S FAMILY ARRIVED HERE? I KNOW, I KNOW. WATT TOWNSHIP. NOT GRAVENHURST. I GUESS IF THE BOYS MARRY GRAVENHURST MATES, EVENTUALLY, WE GET A BUY-IN TO BEING LOCAL ONCE MORE.
     BACK IN THE LATE 1990'S, SUZANNE AND I WROTE A SMALL BOOKLET, ENTITLED "A WINDERMERE SKETCH," WHICH WAS LESS ABOUT THE VILLAGE, AND MORE ABOUT A LITTLE NOOK (OR CRANNY), KNOWN TO THE LOCALS, AND COTTAGERS, AS "THE SKIPPER." THIS WAS THE SMALL SNACKBAR BUSINESS, THAT OPERATED ABOVE THE WINDERMERE MARINA, ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ROSSEAU. IT WAS LOCATED DIRECTLY BELOW THE HISTORIC WINDERMERE HOUSE. SUZANNE'S FAMILY OWNED THE MARINA AND "THE SKIPPER," FROM THE MID 1960'S, TO THE EARLY 1970'S. IT MAY NOT SEEM A VERY EXCITING THEME FOR THE SUBJECT OF A MUSKOKA HISTORY, BUT FOR HUNDREDS OF FOLKS, IT WAS A PLEASING PLACE TO VISIT, AND FOR THOSE YEARS, EVERY CUSTOMER SEEMED TO BE PART OF THE STRIPP'S EXTENDED FAMILY. IT WAS A "CHEERS-LIKE" PORTAL, WHERE EVERYONE KNEW YOUR NAME. MAYBE NOT ON THE FIRST VISIT, BUT FROM ALL STOPS THERE-AFTER. THE BIGGER ISSUE, FOR US, WAS TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR ANDREW AND ROBERT TO HAVE, AS THE BUSINESSES WERE OUT OF FAMILY HANDS BEFORE THEY CAME ALONG. AS WE WERE LEFT WITH QUITE A FEW REMNANTS OF THOSE DAYS, INCLUDING THE ICE CREAM PARLOR CHAIRS, THE SHOWCASE, AND SOME OF THE LEFT-OVER GIFT WARE, SUZANNE'S MOTHER HARRIET (THE BOYS GRANDMOTHER, WHO PASSED AWAY BEFORE THEY WERE BORN), HAD AS INVENTORY, ON THE SHELVES OF THE SKIPPER, FOR ANYONE STUCK FOR A GIFT. SO WE THOUGHT IT WOULD COMPLETE THE STORY, IF SUZANNE WROTE DOWN SOME OF HER MEMORIES OF THOSE SUMMER DAYS, RUNNING THE SNACKBAR ABOVE THE LAKE.
     IN ADDITION, WHENEVER SOMEONE COMES INTO THE SHOP, AND TREATS THE WEE LADS AS IF THEY'VE JUST ARRIVED HERE FROM THE BIG SMOKE, OR FROM SOME OTHER SOUTHERN ONTARIO METROPOLIS, THEY CAN RETALIATE WITH A LITTLE MORE SUBSTANCE; AND INSTEAD, PROUDLY RETORTING, THAT THEY ARE INDEED HOME-GROWN; AND IN FACT, HAD FAMILY IN THIS DISTRICT AS EARLY AS 1862, IN THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES. WHY DOES THIS MATTER? WELL, MUSKOKA IS KIND OF A FUNNY PLACE THAT WAY. IF YOU LIVE HERE, YOU'LL APPRECIATE THIS FACT, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT QUALIFIES A RESIDENT, THUSLY BEING CONSIDERED A "LOCAL." I DIDN'T BELIEVE THE STORIES, THAT YOU COULD NEVER BE A TRUE MUSKOKA, UNLESS YOU WERE EITHER BORN HERE, OR MARRIED SOMEONE WITH THEIR PAST ROOTED IN THE REGIONAL SOIL. I FOUND OUT FOR MYSELF. AS EDITOR OF THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE, IN BRACEBRIDGE, IT WAS JAMMED IN MY FACE A THOUSAND TIMES, THAT I WAS NOT A HOMETOWNER. THIS IS TRUE. I WAS BORN IN TORONTO, AND SPENT THE FIRST ELEVEN YEARS OF MY LIFE, IN BURLINGTON, ONTARIO. I MOVED TO BRACEBRIDGE IN THE MID 1960'S. WHEN I WAS APPOINTED EDITOR, TO THAT POINT, I'D BEEN LIVING IN BRACEBRIDGE FOR FIFTEEN YEARS. SORRY CHARLIE. I WAS A NEWCOMER. DIDN'T MATTER ABOUT BEING EDITOR OF THE LOCAL PAPER. I WAS NOT A MUSKOKAN. BUT HERE'S THE THING. AFTER YEARS OF BEING FRUSTRATED AT ALMOST EVERY TURN, IN MY POSITION TO WIN OVER READERS, AND WORK SIDE BY SIDE LOCAL POLITICIANS AND NOTABLES, THE ONLY WAY THINGS IMPROVED, (AND DOORS BEGAN OPENING TO ME) WAS WHEN I MARRIED A "LOCAL." SUZANNE, DAUGHTER OF NORM AND HARRIET STRIPP, OF WINDERMERE, IS RELATED TO THE LARGE AND EVER EXPANDING COMMUNITY OF SHEAS AND VEITCHES, INITIALLY OF THE THREE MILE LAKE AREA, OF WATT TOWNSHIP. SO THROUGH MARRIAGE, I BECAME RELATED TO A HUGE WHACK OF MUSKOKANS, ALL VERY PROUD OF THEIR STAKE IN GOD'S COUNTRY. WELL SIR, LIKE MAGIC, BOLTED DOORS OF ONCE, STARTED TO OPEN FOR ME IN THE LOCAL PRESS CORP. SHORTLY AFTER WE WERE MARRIED, IN THE EARLY 1980'S, THOSE WHO HAD BASICALLY IGNORED ME, WOULD SAY THINGS INSTEAD, LIKE, "AREN'T YOU NORM STRIPP'S SON-IN-LAW?" OR, "HOW'S SUZANNE'S MOTHER, HARRIET (SHEA)," AND "ARE THERE ANY MORE OF BERT SHEA'S FAMILY HISTORIES LEFT," REFERRING TO HIS WATT TOWNSHIP CHRONICLES, OF WHICH HE WROTE TWO.
     ONE FELLOW CONFRONTED ME ONCE, ASKING WHETHER I KNEW THAT THE SHEAS, OF WATT TOWNSHIP, WERE ONCE KNOWN AS THE "THREE MILE LAKE WOLVES." WHEN I SHOOK MY HEAD, HE TOLD ME ABOUT THE SECTION OF BERT'S BOOK, THAT TOLD THE STORY ABOUT THE SHEAS COMING INTO BRACEBRIDGE, AND AS A GROUP, LOCKING ARMS, AND WALKING DOWN THE CENTRE OF MANITOBA STREET, TO CHALLENGE ANY CATHOLICS, TO STEP IN THEIR WAY. ACTUALLY, ANY CHALLENGERS WOULD DO. OF COURSE, THEY ALSO MADE UP A GOOD CHUNK OF THE WATT TOWNSHIP ORANGE LODGE, WHICH SORT OF EXPLAINS THE CHALLENGE TO THE LOCAL CATHOLICS. WELL, SOME THINGS ARE BETTER LEFT TO THE PAGES OF HISTORY. I READ THE PASSAGE MYSELF. I MARRIED INTO A FAMILY OF WOLVES, WHICH IF YOU WATCH THE TELEVISION SHOW, "GRIMM," MAY SEEM A LITTLE MORE OMINOUS THAT IT REALLY IS. SHE HASN'T BITTEN ME ONCE SINCE WE'VE BEEN MARRIED, AND THE BOYS MIGHT GROWL AND HOWL, BUT IT'S ONLY WHEN SOME CLOWN REMINDS THEM, THEY'RE "NOT FROM HERE," AND THEY CAN'T BE BOTHERED TRYING TO CHANGE THEIR OPINION ON THE MATTER. MARRYING INTO A LOCAL FAMILY MADE ME A MUSKOKAN, AND AN HONORARY WOLF. I'M SO DARN PLEASED.
    THE POINT OF THIS EXPLANATION, IS THAT THE BOYS, OUTSIDE OF THE WOLVES SCENARIO, HAVE BEEN CARRYING ON MANY OF THE FAMILY TRADITIONS, AS THEY OPERATE OUR MAIN STREET GRAVENHURST MUSIC AND ANTIQUE SHOP. WHEN SUZANNE AND I JOINED THEIR BUSINESSES (EACH HAS THEIR OWN), MANY OF "THE SKIPPER," AND "WINDERMERE MARINA" TRADITIONS, WERE BROUGHT TO THE MAINSTREET OF GRAVENHURST. BUT, WE DON'T PUMP GAS, REPAIR MARINE ENGINES ANYMORE, AND WE CERTAINLY DON'T SERVE HAMBURGERS OR SELL LUCKY ELEPHANT POPCORN; AS OUR FAMILY DID IN THE WINDERMERE SNACKBAR. INSTEAD, WE NOW OFFER VINTAGE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, OF ALL KINDS, AND A WIDE ARRAY OF ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE PIECES, WHICH, WHILE A STRETCH FROM PAST ENTERPRISE, IS STILL VERY MUCH INFLUENCED BY OUR DESIRE TO KNOW OUR CUSTOMERS BY THEIR FIRST NAMES, AND MAKE THEM FEEL JUST AS WELCOME, AS THEY WERE CUSTOMARILY GREETED BY THE STRIPP FAMILY OF WINDERMERE. IN A HISTORY-LADEN FAMILY LIKE OURS, WE DON'T TAKE OUR MUSKOKA ROOTS FOR GRANTED. WE'RE PROUD TO CARRY ON THE SPIRIT OF THIS BUSINESS HISTORY, EVEN IF THE RETAIL MATERIALS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE DECADES. AS FOR KNOWING HOW TO TREAT OUR GUESTS, I WANT TO TAKE YOU FOR A BRIEF VISIT, TO "THE SKIPPER," SEEING AS WE ARE A HAIR'S BREADTH FROM THE OPENING OF TOURIST SEASON IN MUSKOKA....AND IT'S, OF COURSE, GOING TO GET BUSY FOR THE COMING SIX MONTHS. IT'S WHAT WE DREAM OF THROUGH THE DARK DAYS OF WINTER, WHEN THE ACCOUNTANT STARTS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SHORTAGE OF SALES. WE HAVE TO LOOK AFTER OUR TOURISM INDUSTRY, BECAUSE IT IS OUR NUMBER ONE INCOME PRODUCER; AND IN THIS CASE, THE HISTORIAN HAS A LOT OF PRECEDENTS TO PROVE THE POINT.     SO JUST IN CASE, YOU WONDERED WHERE THE BOYS GET OFF, CLAIMING THEMSELVES TO BE "LOCAL" AND "MUSKOKAN," HERE'S A WEE TASTE OF WHERE OUR BUSINESSES GOT THEIR START....FROM BACK ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ROSSEAU, IN A TRADITIONAL LAKESIDE BUILDING, WHERE THE JUKE BOX WAS PLAYED ALMOST CONSTANTLY, THROUGH EACH BUSINESS DAY. THOSE OLD 45'S? SUZANNE PASSED THEM ON TO ROBERT AND ANDREW, AT AROUND THE TIME THE BOOKLET WAS PUBLISHED, WHICH MAY EXPLAIN IN PART, WHY THEY ARE STILL IMBEDDED UP TO THEIR CHINS, IN VINTAGE VINYL. THE WONDERFUL INFLUENCES OF "THE SKIPPER," STILL BEING JOYFULLY ENJOYED HERE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF MUSKOKA.
     THIS IS A SMALL OVERVIEW, TAKEN FROM THE BOOKLET, "A WINDERMERE SKETCH," AND WAS WRITTEN BY SUZANNE, BASED ON HER MEMORIES OF LONG, LONG SUMMER DAYS, WITH MUSIC AND GOOD COMPANY.
     "MY CO-WRITER HAS FINALLY WRAPPED-UP HIS PORTION OF OUR STORY ABOUT THE SKIPPER. NOW HERE'S WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT. MAYBE WE'LL SKIP A FEW THINGS, AND GLOSS OVER A FEW OTHERS THAT MIGHT MAKE A FEW OF OUR FORMER CUSTOMERS AND STAFF BLUSH. THIS IS A FAMILY STORY AFTERALL. BUT THERE'S A LOT WE CAN PRINT AND HERE GOES.
     "THE SAYING IS THAT TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT. AT THE SKIPPER IN ITS HEYDAY, WE PROVED THIS TO BE INCORRECT. ON ONE PARTICULARLY BUSY DAY, I WAS MAKING MILKSHAKES AND SUNDAES PRETTY MUCH NON-STOP. I WAS A LITTLE MUDDLED YOU MIGHT SAY, AS WELL AS COVERED IN ICE CREAM AND SYRUP. I RECEIVED AN ORDER FOR ONE BUTTERSCOTCH AND ONE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE. ONE OF EACH. I CAREFULLY PUT THE REQUIRED SCOOP OF SAUCE IN EACH SUNDAE GLASS, FILLED THEM WITH ICE CREAM AND CONTINUED TO TOP THEM GENEROUSLY WITH MORE SAUCE, NUTS AND OF COURSE, THE CROWNING CHERRY. THEN I NOTICED MY MISTAKE. OOPS! THE BUTTERSCOTCH BASED SUNDAY HAD A CHOCOLATE TOP AND THE CHOCOLATE WAS ENHANCED BY BUTTERSCOTCH. THE RECIPIENTS OF WHAT WAS LATER OFFICIALLY NAMED THE 'MISTAKE SUNDAE,' WERE ED AND KAY PAULLETTE. INSTEAD OF SENDING IT BACK AND WASTING ALL THAT GOOD ICE CREAM AND TOPPING, ED AND KAY INSISTED ON HAVING THEM 'AS IS.' FROM THIS POINT, THE MISTAKE SUNDAE WAS ON THE MENU. NEAT HOW THAT HAPPENS FOR THE BETTER, ALL IN GOOD TASTE OF COURSE. ED AND KAY WERE DEAR FRIENDS OF OUR FAMILY, AND WE ALWAYS LOOKED FORWARD TO THEIR VISITS AT THE SKIPPER. AS MEMORY SERVES, THEY HAD LUNCH AT THE SKIPPER EVERY SUNDAY. IT WAS THEIR TRADITION AND IT BECAME OURS TOO."
     SHE RECALLS, "THE SECOND WRONG, WHICH BECAME, AS A MATTER OF SOME IRONY, 'A RIGHT,' WAS THE CREATION OF'SWAMP WATER.' THIS WAS THE CURIOUS COMBINATION OF COKE, ORANGE, GINGER ALE AND ROOT BEER. IT DEVELOPED WHEN THE DREGS OF SODA WERE DRAINED FROM THE POP CANISTERS. IF THE COKE WAS RUNNING DRY, WE COLLECTED THE REMAINDER IN A GLASS. THE NEXT CANISTER TO BECOME LOW, THE DREGS WERE SPRAYED INTO THE GLASS WITH THE COLA, AND THE ROUTINE CONTINUED. AND WHAT MIGHT HAVE SEEMED AN UNDRINKABLE CONCOCTION, WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD. IT BECAME AN ASKED-FOR BEVERAGE, QUITE POPULAR IN FACT. AH, THE SWEET UNPREDICTABLE TASTE OF SODA FOUNTAIN SWAMP WATER. AS FAR AS DRAINING THE POP CANISTERS, THIS WAS A MUCH FEARED SITUATION. THEY OFTEN RAN DRY AT THE BUSIEST TIME, AND CHANGING THEM TO THE FULL UNITS WAS NOT AS SIMPLE AS SOME PEOPLED BELIEVED. THERE WERE CERTAIN RISKS ASSOCIATED. AND USUALLY THERE WAS A FULL HOUSE TO WATCH STAFF PERFORM THE CHANGE-OVER, AND FOR ME, IT USUALLY WAS MOST EXPLOSIVE WHEN I HAD A CLEAN WHITE UNIFORM. THE SPRAY. OH WHAT A SPRAY IT WAS. MORE OF A PLUME. THERE WAS ALWAYS A WARNING THE BIG CHANGE WAS COMING. THERE WOULD BE A TALLER THAN USUAL FOAM CAP ON THE LEAD-UP BEVERAGE SERVED TO CUSTOMERS. YOU ALWAYS HOPED THE OTHER STAFF WOULD GET THAT LAST CALL; THE FINAL FILL-UP FROM THE DEPLETED CANISTER. FOR SOME REASON THE LAST BIT OF PRESSURIZED POP SPRAYED THE SERVER. NEVER FAILED. SO IT BECAME KIND OF A CONTEST, TO DRAIN IT AS LOW AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT GETTING THAT LAST SHOT-GLASS FULL, AND THE RESULTING POP SPRAY. OF COURSE, IT BACKFIRED A LOT. SO THE AUDIENCE AT THE COUNTER GOT A GOOD LAUGH, AS WE WIPED POP FROM OUR EYES AND OUT OF OUR HAIR. IT WAS PART OF THE JOB; THE TERRITORY OF THE SODA JERK, AND THAT'S THE WAY WE FELT, STANDING A MOMENT TO COMPOSE YOURSELF, TO THE POP SHED TO RETRIEVE A NEW CANISTER. BUT SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE WHOLE UGLY EVENT COULD REPEAT ITSELF. I HAVE TO ADMIT, THAT IT WAS KIND OF FUNNY, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WERE ON THE SAFE SIDE OF THE SNACKBAR. I STILL HAVE A FEAR OF SODA FOUNTAINS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS."
     "BETWEEN THE MISTAKE SUNDAE AND THE SWAMP WATER, WE SHOULD HAVE LOST MONEY AND PATRONS, BUT ALL WORKED OUT FOR THE BEST. IT WAS SUMMER. WE NEEDED TO HAVE THINGS HAPPEN OUT OF THE ORDINARY. ORDINARY WAS FOR THE OTHER TEN MONTHS. ANOTHER DISASTROUS SITUATION WOULD DEVELOP IF YOU DARED TO CUT CORNERS BY MIXING-UP A MILKSHAKE IN THE PAPER TAKE-OUT CUP, INSTEAD OF THE PROPER METAL CONTAINER. TAKING THE SHAKE OFF THE BEATER SYSTEM COULD EASILY RESULT IN THE BLADE RIPPING THROUGH THE PAPER CUP. IT WAS A GOOD THING THEN THAT THE SINK WAS WITHIN EASY REACH. OH, WHAT A SPLENDID MESS IT COULD BE TO CUT CORNERS IN SHAKE PREPARATION. THE MILKSHAKE AND SUNDAE STATION, SHARED SPACE WITH THE SOUP KITCHEN. THE SOUP KITCHEN WAS ACTUALLY A UNIQUE ELECTRICAL APPARATUS THAT ALLOWED YOU TO PLUG IN TWO CUPS TO HEAT SOUP SERVINGS, STEW OR CHILI. IT WAS KIND OF A NEAT DEVICE. I'VE ONLY EVER SEEN ONE OF THESE UNITS SINCE MY DAYS AT THE SKIPPER, AND THAT WAS IN AN ANTIQUE SHOP IN THE COMMUNITY OF BEAVERTON. IMAGINE THAT! SOMETHING I WORKED WITH EVERY DAY, AND THOUGHT PRETTY ORDINARY, IS NOW CONSIDERED ANTIQUE MATERIAL. IT WAS A HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS. I WONDER HOW MUCH IT COST WHEN WE FIRST GOT IT. PROBABLY A LOT LESS THAN THAT. THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR GETTING OLDER I GUESS."
     SUZANNE REMEMBERS, "OVER THE YEARS WE HAD MANY DELIVERY FOLK, WHO BECAME OUR GOOD FRIENDS. A FEW OF THESE PEOPLE COME TO MIND FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. SOME CONTINUED TO VISIT SUMMER AFTER SUMMER AND SOME BECAME SO FAMILIAR TO THE BUSINESS, WELL THEY BECAME PRETTY-MUCH FAMILY. THERE WERE OFTEN SOME MEMORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES ATTACHED, THAT BROUGHT THEM CLOSER TO OUR HEARTS. FUNNLY LITTLE EVENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ICE CREAM DELIVERY GUY, LEONARD, WHO WAS WILLING TO MAKE EMERGENCY DELIVERIES, CARRYING THE GOODS IN THE TRUNK OF HIS CAR. ONCE HE BROUGHT US A TUB OF BLACK LICORICE ICE CREAM ON SPEC. WE DIDN'T LIKE IT BUT WE TRIED IT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. THEY DIDN'T LIKE IT EITHER, AND IT HAS TO GO DOWN AS THE STRANGEST ICE CREAM WE TRIED AT THE SKIPPER. LEONARD WAS KIND ENOUGH THOUGH, TO HELP US OUT WHENEVER HE COULD. WE APPRECIATED THIS HELP. WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF ICE CREAM, JUST TRY EXPLAINING THAT TO A GROUP OF KIDS WAITING AT THE COUNTER. ICE CREAM WAS A MAINSTAY, SO FINDING SOMEONE WHO WOULD MAKE SUCH DELIVERIES WAS EXCEPTIONAL. THERE WAS ANOTHER GENTLEMAN WHO DELIVERED OUR BEVERAGE SUPPLIES AND HE WAS PARTICULARLY INTEREST IN A SOUND HE COULD HEAR WHILE UNLOADING POP. HE USED TO REMARK ABOUT THE 'OLD LADY DOING HER LAUNDRY.' THE SOUND HE THOUGHT WAS AN OLD WASHING MACHINE ON ITS LAST LEG WAS ACTUALLY A WATER PUMP FOR THE THEN WINDERMERE HOUSE ON THE ADJACENT HILLSIDE. HE WAS CONVINCED WE HAD SOME OLD GAL HIDDEN SOMEWHERE CLOSELY DOING HER LAUNDRY EVERY TIME THE PUMP KICKED-IN. ESPECIALLY IF THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO TALK ABOUT, OR A CHUCKLE WAS NEEDED TO CLEAR THE AIR.
     "THE ONE DELIVERYMAN WE WERE PROBABLY MOST UNKIND TO, WITH OUR CHIDING, AND BEHIND THE SCENES BANTER, WAS THE DRIVER FOR WAGGS LAUNDRY SERVICE. THEY ALSO HAD A DIAPER SERVICE AND OF COURSE, THIS WAS BOLDLY PRINTED THEIR SERVICE WAS 'ROCK-A-DRY-BABY,' WHICH WE CHANGED TO 'ROCK-ABY-BABY.' SO WE BEGAN TO REFER TO THE DRIVER, WITHOUT HIS APPROVAL OF COURSE, AS 'DADDY WAGGS.' AND IF MEMORY SERVES, WE SANG A LITTLE DITTY TO A FAMILIAR ORCHESTRATION....'DADDY WAGGS ROCK-ABY-BABY.' POOR GUY. WE SORT OF LOOKED FORWARD TO HIS VISITS BUT I'M PRETTY SURE HE WASN'T THRILLED ABOUT STOPPING AT THE SKIPPER, TO SUCH A BELITTLING CHORUS. POOR OLD DADDY WAGGS.
     "THE MOST LOOKED FOWARD-TO-VISIT WAS FROM MR. ARNIE FROM THE LEGENDARY 'BALACADE ARCADE,' IN BALA. MR. ARNEY WAS THE GENTLEMAN WHO PROVIDED US WITH A JUKE BOX, A PINBALL MACHINE AND IN LATER YEARS, AN ELECTRONIC GAME KNOWN AS THE 'SHOOTING GALLERY.' HE WOULD APPEAR, ON A REGULAR DAY, TO CHANGE THE RECORD SELECTION, IN THE JUKE BOX, BRINGING THE BIG HITS OF THE DAY. AS A TREAT FOR US, WHEN HE LEFT AFTER SERVICING THE MACHINES, HE WOULD LEAVE SEVERAL PAID-FOR GAMES, FOR THE FIRST COMERS. HE EVEN LEFT SOME FREE SONG SELECTIONS ON THE JUKE BOX. TO SAY THE LEAST, WE LOOKED FORWARD TO HIS VISITS, AND WELL, HIS DEPARTURES. SOME OF MY GREATEST, MOST CHERISHED TREASURES, FROM THE SKIPPER, ARE THE 45'S FROM THE JUKE BOX, HE LEFT BEHIND, AFTER REPLACING THE SONG SELECTION WITH HOT NEW RELEASES. WHEN I PUT THEM ON THE PHONOGRAPH TODAY, THEY CARRY ME BACK TO THE SKIPPER, AND THE REACTIONS OF ALL THE JUKE BOX JUNKIES WHEN THEY FIRST HEARD THEM; WHILE OF COURSE, QUENCHING THEIR THIRSTS WITH A SODA FOUNTAIN BEVERAGE; OR WHILE SLURPING AN ICE CREAM CONE. I PUT THEM ON, SIT BACK, AND CHUCKLE TO MYSELF ABOUT ALL THE NEAT STUFF OF TEENAGE HOOD, IN MUSKOKA, THAT FRANKLY, SEEMS A WHOLE LIFETIME REMOVED. THERE WAS A CHARM TO THOSE DAYS THAT HAD A PARTICULAR SPARKLE, BECAUSE OF ALL THE GREAT MUSIC. THE SENTIMENTAL SONGS. THE ROCK 'N ROLL, THE LOVE SONGS, BALLADS, AND BLUES. THE TUNES CONNECTED US; MADE THE SUMMER MEMORABLE. WHEN I THINK BACK TO THE DAYS AT THE SKIPPER, MUSIC IS THE MOVING FORCE, BY WHICH EVERYTHING ELSE IS MEASURED. IT WAS THE MOOD OF THE MOMENT.
     SHE REMEMBERS THAT, "THE JUKE BOX I WAS MOST FOND OF, (WE HAD A FEW IN TEN ODD YEARS), WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST ONE. IT WAS A MUSICAL WONDER CALLED THE 'ROCK-OLA.' FORGIVE ME IF THIS IS SPELLED WRONG. IT HAD A ROUNDED GLASS FRONT AND A THREE-SIDED DISPLAY FOR THE SONGS. WHEN YOU PRESSED THE RED BUTTON THE DISPLAY WOLD TURN TO LET YOU SEE THE NEXT SIDE. TUNES WERE TEN CENTS EACH OF THREE FOR TWENTY-FIVE CENTS. WHAT A BARGAIN. I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I THOUGHT THAT WAS EXPENSIVE AT THE TIME OR NOT. IT SURE SEEMS INEXPENSIVE BY TODAY'S STANDARD, EVEN THE WAY THE DIME HAS BECOME AS OUTDATED AS THE NICKLE AND PENNY. MY FAVORITE PINBALL GAME WAS THE 'DANCING DOLLS,' A REAL CROWD PLEASER. WE HAD SOME GREAT COMPETITIONS FOR, GET THIS, FIVE CENTS EACH GAME. THE HIGH SCORER'S NAME WAS ALWAYS NOTED WITH THE TOTAL. DANNY BEAVAN WAS THE OVERALL CHAMPION. HE EVEN HAD A GALLERY POSITIONED TO WATCH THE COMPETITION. WE ALSO LEARNED, AS GOOD PINBALLERS THE WORLD OVER, HOW MUCH SHAKING AND PHYSICAL MANIPULATION WOULD CAUSE A 'TILT.' THERE WAS A LOT EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE PINBALL MACHINE AND WITH THE JUKE BOX, THE SKIPPER WAS A BEEHIVE OF ACTIVITY.
     "IN THE MORNINGS DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, THE WINDERMERE SWIMMING SCHOOL WOULD HOLD CLASSES AT THE WATERFRONT. THE INSTRUCTOR, AL WAITES, (NOTED AS ONE OF CANADA'S FINEST COACHES), AND HIS ASSISTANTS FROM PORTAGE BAY, WOULD DESCEND ON THE SKIPPER AFTER CLASSES, OR IF INCLEMENT WEATHER SENT THEM SHIVERING FOR COVER. AL WAS ALWAYS PICKING UP THE TAB FOR POPSICLE TREATS FOR THE YOUNG SWIMMERS. IT WAS QUITE A MADHOUSE WITH ALL THE KIDS AT ONCE, BUT AS I THINK ABOUT IT NOW, IT WAS JUST PART OF THE OVERALL PATINA OF WHAT THE SKIPPER REPRESENTED AND OFFERED OVER THOSE YEARS. ALL THE PERSONALITIES LUMPED TOGETHER, AND WE ALL GOT ALONG PRETTY WELL."
     THANKS FOR JOINING SUZANNE AND I TODAY, FOR A LOOK BACK AT A LITTLE HOLE-IN-THE-WALL SNACKBAR, ABOVE THE WINDERMERE MARINA, AND THE SPARKLING WATERS OF LAKE ROSSEAU, IN THE 1960'S, WHERE THE TRADITION OF MUSKOKA BUSINESS BEGAN FOR OUR FAMILY; AND WHICH ANDREW AND ROBERT HAVE NOW, IN ITS LATEST VERSION, INHERITED AS THEIR OWN "AMAZING TIMES."

A MUSKOKA HISTORY LESSON THAT HAS NEARLY BEEN FORGOTTEN

WHAT HARDSHIPS DID MUSKOKA RESIDENTS FACE - WAY BACK WHEN

     I CAN REMEMBER BEING HUGELY OFFENDED BY A MANAGEMENT INDIVIDUAL, AT THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE, WHO LAUGHED WHEN I SAID I WAS PREPARING A FASCINATING STORY ABOUT GRANNY  BOWERS FOR THE NEXT ISSUE. HE LOOKED AT ME WITH A SMIRK, AS IF TO SAY, DON'T BOTHER.

    "I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT OLD GRANNY BOWERS IN YEARS," HE SAID, ''SHE HAD QUITE A REPUTATION YOU KNOW." CONTINUING TO HIGH STEP DOWN THE HALLWAY, I ASKED HIM TO EXPLAIN, BECAUSE "HAVING A REPUTATION" WAS IN MY MIND, SUGGESTING SHE HAD SOMEWHAT LOOSE MORALS. ABOUT THE LAST APPRAISAL I WOULD HAVE AFFORDED THIS STALWART, GOD FEARING WOMAN, WHO SPENT MOST OF HER LIFE ALONE, DESPITE HAVING A LARGE FAMILY. HE JUST SAID SOMETHING LIKE, "SHE WAS WELL KNOWN IN HER DAY," FROM HER LITTLE SHACK ON THE FRASERBURG ROAD, IN BRACEBRIDGE. "SHE DID WHAT SHE HAD TO DO IN ORDER TO SURVIVE I GUESS," HE ADDED, TURNING HIS BACK ON OUR CONVERSATION. I WAS STUNNED BY THIS STATEMENT, AND WANTED TO CHALLENGE HIM FURTHER, BUT BECAUSE I DIDN'T BELIEVE THE ALLEGATION, I JUST LET IT GO. WOULD HE AGREE TO RUN THE FEATURE? WHETHER HE AGREED WITH MY STORY OR NOT, HE DIDN'T SAY ANOTHER WORD TO ME ABOUT IT, AND IT BECAME ONE OF MY MOST COMPLIMENTED PIECES. HEARSAY CAN BE SO CRUEL. IMAGINE HOW SHE WOULD HAVE FELT, HEARING THE SAME KIND OF COMMENTS FROM NEIGHBORS WHO SHE THOUGHT WERE FRIENDS?

     AS I DID MOST OFTEN, I DIDN'T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT MANAGEMENT, AND DID MY OWN THING. TO THIS DAY, I'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN THOSE STATEMENTS ABOUT THE RECLUSIVE MRS. BOWERS, AND WHETHER OR NOT SHE DID WHAT THE MAN CLAIMED, DOES NOT ALTER MY OPINION THAT SHE WAS A SURVIVOR OF GOOD FAITH, AND A LOT OF SCHOLARLY FOLKS THOUGHT THE SAME. IN FACT, IT'S A STORY I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU, FROM A BOOK PUBLISHED IN THE NINETEEN FORTIES, BY THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST, IN BRACEBRIDGE. IT IS A STORY ABOUT PERSONAL HARDSHIP IN THE MUSKOKA WILDS, AND FAITH IN GOD. IT IS ALSO THE HISTORY OF A LITTLE LOG CHURCH ON THE FRASERBURG ROAD, THAT GRANNY BOWERS HAD A HAND IN ESTABLISHING. THE BOOKLET IS VERY RARE AND MY COPY IS STARTING TO FAIL. IT'S A STORY I DON'T WANT LOST IN THE SEA OF NEW LOCAL HISTORIES, BECAUSE IT IS AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL AND MORAL HISTORY, AND A REFLECTION OF JUST HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO SETTLE IN SUCH ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES, WHERE THERE WAS MORE FOREST THAN OPEN GROUND FOR GROWING CROPS. HERE IS A START TO THE STORY OF GRANNY BOWERS. THE BOOK WAS PURCHASED AT A CHARITY AUCTION IN GRAVENHURST A FEW YEARS AGO.

     THE INTRODUCTION HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY THE SSJE, PUBLISHERS OF THE BOOK, AND THE FATHERS WHO CONDUCTED THE SERVICES AT ST. PETER'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, ON THE FRASERBURG ROAD. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LITTLE LOG BUILDING, MAKE IT A POINT TO VISIT SOME TIME SOON. I'LL GET YOU STARTED ON THE GUIDED TOUR, BY FIRST VISITING THE BIOGRAPHY OF GRANNY BOWERS.

1942 BRACEBRIDGE

BY FATHER ROLAND PALMER, SSJE.

     "One day, soon after we came to Bracebridge, one of the Fathers was walking out to Purbrook, a Mission, about twelve miles away. It was snowing hard. Presently a team of horses and sleigh caught up with him. A pleasant voice called out ' Want a ride, Father?' He looked up to see Mrs. Criddiford, who drove the mail from Fraserburg to Bracebridge and back three times a week. With her was Mrs. Leslie Leeder, a neighbor. The Father replied that he would like a ride, but wondered where he could sit. With all their coats the two good women seemed to fill the only seat. The back of the sleigh was full of mail bags, lengths of stove-pipe, bags of flour and cans of coal oil for people along the road. The kind women pushed over and made room, so that. by putting a timid arm around one of them the Father could stay aboard.

     "We talked of many things as we jogged along, everything from cakes to cancer operations. Every now and then Mrs. Criddiford would blow and blast on her whistle and a youngster would run out from a farmhouse to claim the groceries that she had bought for the family in town. Presently we drew in from the road to a tiny one roomed shack. It was almost dark. The door opened and in the faint light we saw a dear little old lady with apple cheeks and a little round straw hat on her head. 'I haven't got anything for you, Granny, but I just wanted to be sure you were all right.' We drove on. That old lady is Church of England,' said Mrs. Criddiford.

     Father Palmer continues, "It did not take us long to get to know Granny Bowers. She had recently moved to the tiny shack after being burnt out of her home near Falkenburg (north of Bracebridge). She was a churchwoman and missed the services she had attended so regularly at Falkenburg. We began taking her the Holy Communion from time to time. You would arrive with the Blessed Sacrament, which she liked to receive at an early hour, fasting. She had no clock, so sometimes you would knock on the door and she would reply, 'Bless Me! Is it eight o'clock already? You'll have to sit on the step, my boy, until I get my clothes on.' She would dress and open the door. The one room contained a bed, two chairs, a table, a stove and an old cupboard. She spread her only cloth and took her seat at the North end. The Priest laid out the Communion things. Granny followed the service in her big Prayer Book. She read it all aloud - Absolution, Consecration, and Blessing. It meant a lot to her.

     "She depended on water from the roof or from the bottom of the gravel pit. A neighbor boy brought her a pail of drinking water each day. She had a neat little garden where she raised her potatoes and other vegetables. When her son was very ill she begged the fathers to go and annoint him. She had read about it in St. James Epistle. She often said, 'I wish there was a little church I could go to.' At that time no one else in the neighborhood was friendly toward us. 'I have an idea,' said Granny. 'That some day there will be a church on that there rock.' Only once did she get to go to Church. We took her to Vankoughnet for the Confirmation. She was most impressed at 'All those young things giving themselves to God.' She saw the Bishop's staff and asked, 'What was that there pole he carried?' One day dear Mrs. Criddiford, who is the mainstay of the United Church in Fraserburg, came to tell us that Granny was very ill. Father Serson hurried out with the reserved Sacrament. Granny's daughter, herself an old woman, who had come to care for her, said, 'I'm sorry, Mother cannot take the Sacrament. She don't know nobody.' But Granny could. As Father Serson gave her the Sacrement and a few minutes later she died. She knew we would come and she had waited for her viaticum, her food for the journey.

     "Only a few weeks had gone by after her death when quite suddenly the district opened up to us. Mr. Herbert Shire, offered his house for services. Soon a church had to be built. On Granny's rock a lovely little log building was erected and called St. Peter's. It cost very little, for it was made out of an old log stable that the men took down and moved. A generation of children had grown up in that little Church. Many of them are in the King's forces (Second World War) today. There is a very faithful congregation and a fine band of communicants. We believe that as soon as Granny saw her Savior she began to talk about 'That there rock. There should be a church on it.' And we think the Master said, 'Well, if the good soul wants it so badly, give it to her.'

     "We had often heard Granny tell of her experiences. Last winter (1941), her favorite grandchild came to live near St. Peter's. She produced an exercise book in which was written down Granny Bower's own account of her life." (Reverend Roland Palmer)

    Granny Bowers' biography in her own words, begins with the paragraph, "I was sitting here in my little cottage in peace and quietness, and I thought to pass the time, I would write my little story. My thoughts go back to my early life and I wondered if you would like to hear of my hardships, I had to endure in the early pioneering days of Muskoka."

    She writes, "Young people today do not believe these things and so I feel it's not much use telling them. But old folks like myself love to talk over old times together and I sometimes long to be someone of my own age for a really good talk. I am eighty-three years of age. I have six children living, about thirty grandchildren and twenty-five great grand children. I will tell you first about my father. He lived in England when he was young with his parents and one brother, and his father worked in the coal mines. When father was seventeen years old his parents put him to learn the lawyer business. He was three years at that when his boss was shot while fighting a duel and was killed. He went home then and remained there till he was twenty-one.

    The journal continues, "About this time his father died and the property was divided. My father took his portion in money and soon after crossed over to the state of Maine where he completed a course of learning in the doctor's business. Not long after this the Napoleonic War broke out. Father was called upon to offer his services and was with Lord Nelson when he died. In the year 1815 was the Battle of Waterloo and Father also was doctor there. It was not long then till England sent out a band of explorers to explore the North West and father went with them also. He was about forty years of age then and about that time he was married to my mother, a farmer's daughter. They lived there out West till the lower Canadian Rebellion broke out then moved to Quebec, where they stopped a short time. By this time they had twelve children.

     "From Quebec they went to Alliston and drawed farms. The remainder of their children were born there, having twenty in all, eight sons and twelve daughters, of which I was the next to the youngest. The four eldest boys soon were settled on farms of their own. Then father died in 1879 being 83 years old and mother managed the farm till her death eight years later. When she died the place went to the three youngest sons. As was stated in my father's will that any who left the farm, would forfeit any claim to the estate, so when one of the boys left, there was just two to share it. Father gave two sons property in Nebraska near Elkhorn City and one of the remaining boys went to them, leaving one on the homestead. He was married to a fine good woman and had seven sons and four daughters who were reared in plenty. The sons received good trades and two of the girls became high school teachers. Several of the boys went west and settled on good farms and were very thrifty."