Bracebridge and Hanging Out At Bass Rock With The Hippies, Poets and Gawkers; Having Fun On The Lawn of Woodchester Villa

HANGING OUT AT BASS ROCK WITH THE HIPPIES

AN OASIS ON THE BANKS OF THE MUSKOKA RIVER

     IT WAS ABOUT THIS TIME OF YEAR, THAT WE WOULD START VISITING OUR OLD PRIMEVAL RETREAT, SITUATED CONVENIENTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE URBAN AREA OF BRACEBRIDGE. BASS ROCK. IN APRIL THE WATER FLOW OVER THE RAPIDS, AND THROUGH THE NARROW ROCK CHASM, IS AN AWESOME DISPLAY OF NATURE'S POWER. TO SEE THE WHITEWATER SLAPPING UP HIGH ON THE ROCK FACE, MADE US FEEL PRETTY VULNERABLE AS MERE MORTALS. WE MIGHT HAVE THOUGH WE WERE PRETTY COOL, WHEN WE ARRIVED THERE WITH OUR GIRLFRIENDS, BUT IN THE FACE OF THIS UNCLENCHED POWER, OUR CAPABILITY TO IMPRESS THE LADIES, WAS MUTED IF EVEN RECOGNIZABLE. SLIDING DOWN THE LICHEN COVERED ROCK FACE, COULD BE DEATH BY DROWNING. EVEN CLOWNING AROUND HERE, COULD BE FATAL. IF YOU WENT INTO THE WATER AT THIS NARROWING PART OF THE RIVER, IF YOU SURVIVED LONG ENOUGH DOWNSTREAM, YOU WOULD BE HEADING OVER THE RAPIDS ABOVE THE BRACEBRIDGE FALLS, AND THE GOING AFTER THIS, OFFERED ABSOLUTELY NO RETURN. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE, AT THIS SPRING PEAK OF RUN-OFF, HAS EVER GONE OVER THE FALLS AND ACTUALLY LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT…..ALTHOUGH I DO KNOW OF FATALITIES.

     BASS ROCK WAS THE ROCK, TALL PINE AND WATER OASIS, WHERE THE KIDS FROM HUNT'S HILL, AND THREE OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS, COULD ESCAPE THE ADULT WORLD, AND WAX POETIC ON THE BANKS OF THIS BEAUTIFUL MUSKOKA RIVER. IN  THE LATE SPRING, THE LILACS WOULD BE BLOOMING AROUND THE SITES OF OLD HOMESTEADS, AND WILDFLOWERS, SUCH AS TRILLIUMS, BORDERED THE PATHS THROUGH THE THIN WOODLANDS, JUST OFF RIVER ROAD. THE ROCKS WOULD WARM UP IN THE SUNLIGHT, AND BY LATE AFTERNOON, ON A CHILLY DAY, YOU COULD BE WARMED WHILE YOU SAT AND PONDERED LIFE.

     Many times, back in the late 1960's, we'd meet up with hippies camping out along the shore, hobos wandering about, as there was a nearby "jungle" along the railway line, and there were a few draft dodgers, from the United States, who often found temporary housing at the monastery, of the Society of St. John The Evangelist, on the high hillside of the river's east shore. There were the restless kids, who flocked there, who called Bracebridge their home town, and at times, this natural sanctuary could get pretty busy. The hippies liked to wander the shorelines, and connect with anyone who would be willing to converse, including the Brothers of the SSJE, who had a canoe shed, along the shore, with a small platform, where they used to retreat on sunny afternoons. Many of the Brothers wore long black frocks, and for students of Canadian history, it would look at first, like some time warp, back to when the Jesuits travelled these Ontario woodlands, tending the spiritual needs of the people of the First Nations.

     In the summer season, it was a romantic and alluring place, because of its calm water, reflective bay, just before the rock narrows; and wonderfully picturesque, with a border of stately pines, and a silver and black ribbon of water flowing north to south, at this gradual bend in the river. You could find poets and artists sitting here, writing and painting, and we would just sit back and watch. Late on summer evenings, with still a trace of light, it was one of the most enchanted places in the Muskoka lakeland. Outside of the trickle of water along the rock face, and possibly the splashing of a beaver or otter somewhere out of sight, the environs evoked peace and solitude, and for some of us urban kids, it was a pleasure to be out of public and parental view…..a secret place, where skinny dipping was spectacular, with the potential of getting caught, even more incredible to the young rapscallions, always willing to follow through on a dare…..except of course at this time of the year, when getting too close to the watershed, would mean an agonizing departure from this mortal coil.

     It was a restorative place a short distance from urban neighborhoods. You could hear the town bell, in the clock tower. You get hear sirens from the fire hall. Dump trucks thumping down the dirt road nearby. Yet, there was a solitude here despite the urban textures, and the din of progress everywhere else. At Bass Rock, we enjoyed our respites from societal demands.  We were all poets then.

SO MANY HOURS SPENT ON THE HILLSIDE LAWNS OF BRACEBRIDGE'S WOODCHESTER VILLA

IT WAS MORE THAN JUST A MUSEUM - IT WAS AN OASIS

IN THE LATE 1980'S, WHEN I BECAME SITE MANAGER OF WOODCHESTER VILLA, AND MUSEUM, IN BRACEBRIDGE, I WAS ALSO A "MR. MOM." ANDREW AND ROBERT WERE PRE-SCHOOL, AND SUZANNE HAD GONE BACK TO HER TEACHING JOB AFTER A YEAR'S MATERNITY LEAVE. I WAS ALSO AN ASSISTANT EDITOR OF THE MUSKOKA SUN, AND MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS GENERALLY, SO I HAD TO PIGGY-BACK JOBS. I WAS ALSO A MUSKOKA CORRESPONDENT FOR CHAY FM, IN BARRIE. I HAD A LOT OF WRITING TO DO, WHILE LOOKING AFTER THE WEE BAIRNS.

WOODCHESTER VILLA WAS A HIGHLY ACCOMMODATING PLACE TO WRITE. THE CHORES OF MUSEUM ADMINISTRATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE SPRING AND FALL SEASONS, WERE PRETTY LIGHT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF RUNNING SCHOOL AND BUS TOURS. I DID THIS MANY TIMES WITH ROBERT IN MY ARMS, AND ANDREW HALF-HOLDING MY HAND. IT SURE MADE VISITORS COMFORTABLE, SEEING THIS FAMILY CONNECTION TO THE OLD VICTORIAN, OCTAGONALLY DESIGNED HOUSE, OF FORMER WOOLLEN MILL OWNER, HENRY BIRD. VISITORS AT FIRST THOUGHT IT WAS A HOUSEHOLD RE-ENACTMENT OF VICTORIAN PARENT-HOOD. I CAN REMEMBER, AT A CHRISTMAS IN JULY EVENT, SUZANNE DOING A BUTTER-MAKING DEMONSTRATION, WHILE HOLDING ONTO ROBERT…..BECAUSE HE WAS HAVING A BAD DAY. BUT MOST OF THE TIME, THE BOYS LOVED PLAYING BALL ON THE WOODCHESTER LAWNS. IT WAS TERRACED SO THAT IT MADE HIDE 'N SEEK MUCH MORE INTERESTING.

I USED TO, ON OCCASION, SET OUT SOME OLDER (NOT VALUABLE) TOYS IN THE FRONT ENTRANCE, OF THE HOUSE, FOR THE BOYS TO PLAY WITH, IN BETWEEN TOURS AND GUESTS, WHILE I WOULD USE MR. BIRD'S RESTORED OFFICE TO WORK ON SOME OF MY EDITORIAL COPY FOR THE MUSKOKA SUN. I DID THE SAME THING IN THE MUSEUM ANNEX, NOW THE CHAPEL GALLERY, WHERE I HAD A PLAY-PEN FOR ROBERT, WHICH I USED WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER. THE BOYS GREW UP IN A MUSEUM. THEN THEY CAME HOME TO ONE. IS IT ANY WONDER BOTH BOYS HAVE THEIR OWN ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE ENTERPRISE, (MUSIC) HERE IN GRAVENHURST? THEIR PAST HAS DEFINITELY BECOME THEIR FUTURE.

IN THE SPRING, SUZANNE AND I WOULD BRING THE WEE LADS FOR A DAY OUTDOORS. WE WOULD RAKE AND CLEAN-UP THE PROPERTY, WHILE THEY PLAYED IN THE LEFTOVER SNOWBANKS FROM WINTER LANE-CLEARING. IT WAS A BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED PROPERTY, IN THOSE YEARS, WITH GARDENS AND THE LARGE IRON FOUNTAIN, WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN MOVED TO MEMORIAL PARK, ON MANITOBA STREET. I'D BRING A COUPLE OF FOLDING CHAIRS OUT FROM THE OFFICE, AND WE'D HAVE A PICNIC, LOOKING DOWN THROUGH THE CATHEDRAL EVERGREENS, ABUTTING THE MUSKOKA RIVER, ABOVE THE BRACEBRIDGE FALLS. YOU COULD HEAR THE DISTANT ROAR OF THE FALLS, BUT IT WAS THE BIRDS AROUND "THE BIRD HOUSE" (WHAT WOODCHESTER WAS CALLED), THAT FILLED THE ATMOSPHERE WITH THE CHEERFUL SOUNDS OF EARLY SPRING. AH, THE CROWS. WE HAD A LARGE NUMBER OF CROWS THAT NESTED IN THE TALL PINES. THEY'D GATHER AROUND THE YARD, PICKING AT THE LAWN, OR SIT UP ON THE FOUNTAIN, WATCHING THE HUMANS DOING THEIR THING.

SUZANNE AND I UTILIZED THE GROUNDS OF WOODCHESTER FREQUENTLY, FOR MANY DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND SOCIALS. ONE OF OUR FAVORITE PRESENTATIONS, WAS THE "THEATRE IN THE ROUND" PEFORMANCE OF THE PLAY, "PAPER WHEAT," BY THE TOURING COMPANY FROM MUSKOKA FESTIVAL, BASED AT THE OPERA HOUSE IN GRAVENHURST. WE SET THE LARGE AUDIENCE IN A CIRCLE ON THE LAWN, BETWEEN WOODCHESTER AND THE PRESENT CHAPEL GALLERY, AND THE PERFORMERS WORKED THEIR MAGIC IN THE MIDDLE. IT WAS DONE TWICE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, AND IT WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED. THE WEATHER CO-OPERATED, AND THE MAGIC OF VENERABLE OLD HARDWOODS, THE WINDSONG IN THE PINERY, THE SOUND OF THE FALLS, THE CROWS, AND BACKGROUND DIN OF THE DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC, MADE THIS A VERY DRAMATIC PLAY…..AS WAS THE IDEA. WE ALL ENJOYED THE PERFORMANCE, AND I WOULD HAVE ENJOYED MANY MORE, IF THE OPPORTUNITY HAD PREVAILED.

THERE WAS AN OLD WOODEN ARCHWAY AT THE TOP OF A STEEP HILLSIDE PATH, THAT I USED TO SIT BESIDE ON THOSE STILL-CHILLY SPRING DAYS, ENJOYING THE TINY BUDGET OF SUN THAT MADE IT WAY THROUGH THE THICK OVERHEAD BOUGHS. LOOKING DOWN UPON THE SILENT RIVER, JUST BEFORE THE DECLINE INTO BRACEBRIDGE BAY, WAS A POET'S DELIGHT. THE SOUND OF ANDREW AND ROBERT LAUGHING, AND HEARING THEM RUNNING ACROSS THE YARD, BROUGH LIFE BACK TO THIS FAMILY HOME, WHICH DATED BACK TO THE EARLY 1880'S. I THOUGHT ABOUT ALL THE BIRD FAMILY YOUNGSTERS DOING THE SAME THING, OVER THE GENERATIONS, AND THIS THEN WAS VERY MUCH AN HISTORICAL RE-ENACTMENT. AT TIMES, I DID LOOK BACK FROM MY PLACE ON THE HILL, EXPECTING TO FIND SOMEONE STANDING RIGHT BEHIND MY CHAIR. AT OTHER TIMES, I HEARD VOICES THAT WEREN'T FROM THE BOYS, AND ON MANY OCCASIONS, I'D GLANCE UP TO A SECOND FLOOR WINDOW, AND SWEAR THERE WAS A FACE LOOKING OUT. WOODCHESTER WAS A HAUNTED PLACE. NOT IN A FRIGHTENING SENSE. BUT MANY PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE HOUSE HAD EXPERIENCED HOUSEHOLD CURIOSITIES…..VOICES WHERE THERE WAS NO ONE PRESENT…..DOGS BARKING, WHEN THERE WASN'T A DOG INSIDE OR OUT, AND FREQUENTLY THE SOUNDS OF CHILDREN CRYING SOMEWHERE CLOSE, WHEN MY YOUNGSTERS WERE PLAYING WITH TOYS AT MY FEET, QUITE CONTENTED AND CERTAINLY NOT TEARFUL. I ALWAYS FELT IT WAS A LONELY HOUSE, MORE THAN ONE THAT WAS HAUNTED.

LATELY WOODCHESTER VILLA HAS BECOME THE SUBJECT OF DEBATE, AS TO WHETHER IT SHOULD BE RESTORED, AND RE-OPENED AS A MUSEUM, OR POSSIBLY EVEN REMOVED FROM THE HILLSIDE ALTOGETHER. SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THE WRAP-AROUND VERANDAH COLLAPSED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF SUBSTANTIAL SNOW-LOAD, AND THE MUSUEM HAS BEEN CLOSED EVER SINCE. AS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS, OF BOTH THE LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND THE CREATION OF A MUSUEM IN THE OCTAGONAL ESTATE, I FELT COMPELLED A YEAR AGO, TO OFFER MY ASSISTANCE TO HELP A FRIEND IN NEED. IN THE PAST WEEK, AFTER READING A SUGGESTION THE SITE COULD BE CLOSED FOR GOOD, AND THE HOUSE REMOVED, DUE TO THE EXPENSE OF RESTORATION, I WEIGHED IN ONCE MORE, AND VOLUNTEERED TO HELP ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF WOODCHESTER'S FUTURE. I THOUGHT IT IMPORTANT TO STAND-UP FOR THE MUSEUM THAT I HELPED LAUNCH. WITH THE GENERAL INDIFFERENCE OF THE LOCAL COUNCIL, TO ANYTHING I MIGHT SAY TO THE CONTRARY, OR BE ABLE TO ADVISE ABOUT, SUFFICE THAT AT LEAST THE PUBLIC KNOWS, OF MY SINCERE COMMITMENT TO A TRULY REMARKABLE HOUSE ON THE HILL.