BRACEBRIDGE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, BEGAN AS A FITTING RECOGNITION TO THOSE WHO DIED IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
SOUTH MUSKOKA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL CARRIED FORTH THE "MEMORIAL" DESIGNATION
A few weeks ago, I read an overview, particularly critical of constituent apathy, after the poor attendance at an information meeting, held locally; organized to create discussion about the future of our hospitals. At one time, you see, it would have been about "our" hospital, meaning "one" and the "only"! There were critics of the new century amalgamation, of Muskoka's public health care services, who predicted that a struggle would develop sooner or later, and that in the future, only one would remain as it began. Which one? Or will both suffer from new economic impositions, by government, and our health services diminish from two hospitals to none? It's why they're having meetings to keep us up to speed, supposedly, although that didn't matter so much in the past. It was quite satisfactory that we were in the dark, and contented with the status quo as presented. Now, at the time when things are heating up, and the potential for hospital closings, is much more of a possibility, our attention is finally and sincerely desired. More than a few of us may be a little befuddled about this, considering how we've been given the sanitized version in the past, and told repeatedly, not to jump to conclusions. Now we're supposed to be active players in the final outcome. A few of us news hounds, who have watched as other hospitals have been closed in the past, realize it ultimately comes down to them and us, at a Queen's Park protest.
First of all, for those who have read the editorial baloney recently, about the poor turn-outs in our communities, to meet with officials from the regional healthcare service, to listen, and discuss the precarious future of hospitals in Huntsville and Bracebridge, there needs to be some clarification. Mostly, let's cut the constituents of Muskoka a little slack. I don't like it when public officials, including board members, sundry other representatives, and elected officials, believe that low turn-outs to public information events, is, by itself, a sign of apathy; sending a message, by their no-show, they don't care about the future of health-care services in Muskoka. This is balderdash and a much clearer example, of the dangers of broad-stroke generalizations; than say, offering up any useful insight. When there are low turn-outs to these public participation meetings, what the organizers should do, is look at their own actions, and inefficiencies, and the clear gap that has become a canyon, with public trust. Following this, they should take a critical look at the media, and how the electronic and print industry is being received these days; and how many people are reading and listening to what is being offered-up as news. Just because you have blanket circulation, of newspapers and feature publications, does not, by itself, prove that everyone who receives one, is going to consume the content. With some experience in the local media, this is one area that seems to be most undetermined. You can ship publications to driveways and mail boxes, but you can't make people read them. The same with local broadcasting. So what is perceived as the public's disinterest with the state of health care locally, may only be the result of a shortfall, in getting the message out there, in the first place. There has been no survey, to my knowledge, as regards how many people read what they are provided for free. Isn't that an important consideration? Especially when you then use the media, to chastise the local population for being apathetic to what's going on.
To broad stroke this, and offer the opinion that someone just like me, an average citizen of this region, couldn't care less about the future well-being of both hospitals, just because I didn't attend the meeting held for my benefit, is like wearing blinkers because the side view is so distracting. What they need to know, is that the constituents of this region, have been told there is nothing to worry about, for so many years, only to be informed the opposite is true, that they have in many ways, surrendered to the double-talk and propaganda that has flourished for years. Can you really blame the public for staying away from these forced-feedings of more simplified-for-public-consumptions advisories, which most of us knew about, back at the turn of this new century. When the questions about potential hospital closings, would be brought up, the spin through these years has been such, that well, the not-so-stupid public, has countered with intuition instead. Funny how that works.
In 2000 there were rumblings that the net result of amalgamation of the hospital services in Muskoka, was going to eventually result in the closure of one hospital. The word on the street was that the future looked precarious, and the province wasn't particularly interested in how we felt about it, or what we might want to mount in opposition. One minute we are reassured via media coverage, of Board releases, that everything is looking positive; but reading between the lines, one immediately senses it is likely the exact opposite, and we have a lot to worry about. I had a number of people ask me, if I was working on a hospital history, for an anniversary recognition that year, as a sort of final chapter to its rather amazing history. I had others tell me that the hospital was in fact, nearing its final years of operation. Not exactly the kind of incentive to push forward with the project that I had expected. But I wasn't hired to predict the future, buy rather, document the past.
The problem these days, in our communities, is that constituents have lost faith in elected officials, and the diminishing voter turn-outs across the country, is showing a growing lack of faith in our three levels of governance. The public in this region, is pretty clear, about the risks of government under-funding, and political double-talk. So when they hear once again, about the threat of potential hospital closing, or even greater reductions in service, it's the convenient assessment by officials, to label the public's reluctance to attend information meetings, as evidence they don't care one way or another. It's faulty logic to believe this, because it simply isn't true. Most folks, like me, know that the ultimate decision, on whether the hospital remains, or is closed, is a matter that will have to be taken-up with Queen's Park, and that any determined protest, has to jump the protocol of petitioning the local board, and moving on to the governing party for action. So when it comes right down, to whether Muskokans can kick-ass when they are cornered, my experience as a journalist in this region of Ontario, is that a punch of protest should be expected. If officials are only looking at the turn-out at public meetings, as the bellwether of "what comes next," then this should be reviewed internally as dangerous short-sightedness.
The situation is a simple one to figure out, if our governance in all regards, would be critical of its own operation for a few moments of contemplation. The public has to deal with spin, propaganda, political-speak, protocol, facades and diversionary tactics to such a huge degree these days, that honestly, getting at the truth and realities is almost impossible. The public, in my opinion as a regional historian, has been aware of the hospital's potential of closing, since the first days of operation. All the way back, when it opened as a Memorial to those who perished in the First World, serving our country and the Commonwealth, operated by the Red Cross. Going back in published clippings, gosh, there were tough financial times from the beginning. There have been very few years since the opening of the first public hospital, in Bracebridge, that it has been clear sailing. And when you go back, and you read about the incredible determination of individuals, and the local medical community, to keep the facility operating, it's pretty damn insulting then, to find out that any politician, or board member, could believe, for a moment, that the town and South Muskoka generally, isn't concerned about the future of their hospital. They've been concerned since day one. Here's how it came about.
When the citizens of Bracebridge, decided, post First World War, to erect a memorial tribute to those soldiers from the town, who had given their lives for home and country, the first choice was that a bandshell be erected in what became Memorial Park. There were citizen activists at the time, who felt that a bandshell, as nice as it was, did not fully address the way a majority of the population was feeling, about the service these soldiers had dedicated for our welfare. It was addressed for a second time, by public show of support, that a more fitting, more substantial, long-term tribute, would be to establish a new public hospital, as a "Memorial," to the war dead. The work commenced soon after, this public outcry, and the Red Cross was consulted, about co-operating on a new regional hospital for Ontario. November 11th, 1928 was when the Bracebridge Memorial Hospital was officially dedicated, on the present site of South Muskoka Memorial Hospital. When the present hospital was built, and the former house, where the facility had been located, was torn down, in the early 1960's, the title "Memorial" carried into the future. I get mad today, when I read an account of something at the hospital, when it is not referred to as it should, being South Muskoka Memorial Hospital, which in fact, is a history now, that dates back to November 1928; and the fulfillment of a public initiative to build a medical facility as a war memorial.
There are hundreds of names that can be listed, of those who gave so much of themselves, to keep the hospital doors open through some horrendously difficult times and circumstances. I place Major Lyndon as one of the most important individuals, during his years as Hospital Board chairman, in the Red Cross affiliation, along with Dr. Peter McGibbon, who gave so much of themselves, physically and emotionally, to find resources, and capital, to stave off closure orders. Time and again, these stalwart souls, fought to preserve this memorial, and maintain health care services for the region. In the modern years of South Muskoka Memorial Hospital, two individuals stand out, as being those most intimate to survival of the facility or closure. One was former Provincial Minister of Health, Frank Miller, and long serving Hospital Administrator, Frank Henry. While it is presumptuous to a fault, to say these men, who worked beyond what could have ever been expected of them, by job description alone, drained themselves physically, exhausting themselves healthwise, trying against the odds, to find ways to maintain and increase funding; and overcoming what were often huge obstacles. I was close with the Henry family, and later, as an editor, with The Herald-Gazette, I covered, and in fact studied, the work of MPP Frank Miller, then Treasurer of Ontario, and after many informal, off the record chats, with both men, can say without any doubt in my mind, that they felt enormous pressure keeping South Muskoka Memorial Hospital in funds. Many of the same constituents, who it might be said are apathetic to the possibility of hospital closure today, were part of this public sentiment then; that these two chaps had better not let South Muskoka down. It was, you see, riding on their ability to dodge political and economic bullets, and whenever one crisis was averted, another seemed to arrive with a full head of steam.
Make no mistake. Frank Miller and Frank Henry were not going to let our hospital close. It wasn't because they were the most powerful chaps in the region, or at Queen's Park. It was because they understood the collateral damage of closing a hospital, that they were in charge of, each in their own way, and to say they took it personally, is a huge, gaping understatement. While it can't be said with any accuracy, that the problems of the hospital, in their years of overseeing, contributed to their respective health complaints, it would also be impossible to deny that they shouldered stress, beyond what most of us understood, of their sense of responsibility to the community. If they were flanked by critics who wanted to reduce the hospital budget, and potentially close it, in favor of a hospital expansion in some other location, they knew the battle would be lost. Just like Major Lyndon worked behind the scenes, for a positive outcome, the two Franks never dropped their guard, while they were in positions of authority. Not to suggest that the constituents were unkind to them, but facing facts, both were reminded by the public, how important it was, to keep up a strong defense; which ultimately meant, they could never really relax at their post. Frank Miller had huge responsibilities as both Minister of Health, and then Treasurer of Ontario, and Frank Henry also served as a councillor for the Town of Bracebridge, in the few hours a week, he had away from hospital. He spent a lot of late nights there, problem solving. He'd walk home for dinner, and then walk back, a couple of hours later, for some evening catch-up work. As teenagers, we spent a lot of time in and around the Henry house, so I watched his comings and goings, in and around the hospital. Plus, I worked at the hospital, in the summer months, over four years, in the 1970's, as a seasonal painter. You hear things, see things, and become a party to other things you didn't expect.
It bothers me greatly, when I read untutored, poorly researched editorials, and directorate overviews, that suggest the constituents of this region, are disinterested in the welfare of their community's hospital. You can not judge the feelings of our region of Muskoka, based on the fact that we don't show up in the thousands, to learn more about what is going to be imposed upon us, for the good of the province. A few years ago, despite some badgering by the local news media, the board was distancing itself from any discussion of a potential outcome, that could see the hospital reduced to nursing home status. There were so many denials and evasive overviews, whenever the subject was raised, that it seems so ridiculous now, to validate what most of us have been thinking all along. That the decision was going to be made at Queen's Park, and only Queen's Park, so what the hell good does it do, to attend meetings hosted by officials who are, in reality, the conduit but not the ultimate authority. When officials in the same capacity, were asked the same questions a decade ago, and five years ago, the answers were rounded at the edges. These issues, have always been out of our control, yet it is crafted by these same officials, to give the appearance that we can be players in the ultimate decision, as to whether or not the hospital survives the latest burdens set down by Queen's Park. It's hardly fair, to judge the citizens of our region, as being apathetic, when in fact, all they're doing, is being rational and sensible, about what they can accomplish by attending public meetings, and re-hashing what most of us already know. from having respect for history; because it will be this history, pulled up for contemporary use, that will back the citizenry, for what may become the fight of the new century.
The fear I have, is that without stalwart folks like Major Lyndon, Frank Henry, and Frank Miller, we will have much more infilling to do, when it comes right down to the crunch.
For the record, I began warning the councillors of the Town of Gravenhurst, via these blogs, that they needed to formulate an action-plan, to work with other municipalities, to challenge as a political unit, any bid by the province to reduce services and potentially close the hospital. I pointed out, that for decades, both Bracebridge and Gravenhurst have been using the reality of our hospital, as a foundation to solicit economic development investment. If we've got a hospital, we've got it made, as far as an investment cornerstone. It has been one of the reasons, although most councillors today don't remember this, why so much investment was made in our area, to encourage retirees to re-located to Muskoka. Facing of course, the reality, a retirement community likes to know about things like health care services, in the immediate area, our towns have, without any shame, promoted our hospital to get this lucrative investment. When you then suggest to them, that in regards to this, they should have a behemoth political machine in place, between partner communities, including the Township of Muskoka Lakes, it becomes a much diminished issue; even to this day when cut-backs in available services have been made. For at least the past decade, these hospital concerns have been getting press, but as far as council actions, nothing to parallel the seriousness of the ever-developing issue. Yet I don't read or hear much criticism, that as far as leading by example, apathy would thusly seem the standard these days. Or are we all just more finely tuned, to what is going to be a bare-knuckles fight, with the governing party at Queen's Park. With a majority, well, they can pretty much do what they want.
Our family has sat, at bedside, in that same hospital, to hold the hands of three family members, in the final moments of their lives. I have been in the maternity ward, to see our two sons born, and known intimately well, the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff, who have devoted way more of themselves, to the well being of others, than they ever benefitted in repayment. It's just part of the job, they say! Just as it always has been, when tending the sick and dying. Of course it's an emotional issue. How can it be otherwise. But the mere suggestion that we're all so indifferent to the urgency connected to this issue, that we won't rise to the occasion, for its defense, is offensive to all the thousands of people, who have been involved in the hospital, in some capacity, right from the beginning. The folks who think there is apathy amongst us, should look more closely, such that they can identify between resignation, and retaliation. My hunch, as an historian, is that any attempt to close or seriously alter the operation of our historic hospital, will be met with considerable opposition and protest; such that there will be no correlation between the numbers of those who attend public meetings, that will accomplish nothing in particular, and the outpouring of support when the chips have actually fallen. We are not a deluded population, that will accept what Queen's Park dishes out, without a measured, serious response. Public meetings at this stage, can not be used as an accurate gage for the end result, of being pissed off as a region.
When the public, attending meetings, has asked pro-active questions in the past, the answers have been affirmative, that there was nothing to worry about. If the board was to go back in their minutes, to find out how many times in the past ten to twenty years, they've tried to defuse concern, by padding their responses with positives, they might then be able to look at their statements today, regarding poor public participation, and attribute some of this reality, to the way they've handled public meetings in the past. Certainly they have to take responsibility for some of the miscommunications, and misinformation of the past, as a contributing factor to the present state of affairs. If they knew the history of the hospital, like some of us do, they would never make the mistake of broad-sweeping opinions, that suggest we aren't too concerned about its future. It just isn't so, and we will prove it in the future.
FROM MY BRACEBRIDGE ARCHIVES
AN ANTIQUE ANECDOTE - HARD TO BELIEVE BUT TRUE
I WAS AN ANTIQUE PURIST AND IN THIS CASE, IT CARRIED A LOT OF WEIGHT
I ALLUDED TO THIS EARLIER, IN THIS SERIES, BUT KEPT ON FINDING OTHER THINGS AND EVENTS TO WRITE ABOUT INSTEAD. YUP LIKE LOCAL POLITICS, WHICH STILL GETS ME FOAMING AT THE MOUTH. I DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE COLLECTORS AND DEALERS THE WRONG IDEA, THAT I WAS TAKING OUR PROFESSION LESS SERIOUSLY THAN IT WARRANTS. I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE STATS ON THIS, BUT I THINK THAT BOTH ANTIQUE DEALERS AND COLLECTORS, ARE A MORE SERIOUS LOT, THAN THE FANS WHO GATHER TO WATCH THE HOCKEY PLAYOFFS, OR WHO ENJOY A ROUSING GAME OF EUCHRE, OR SHARPLY POINTED ROUND OF DARTS. AT LEAST THIS IS MY OPINION, BASED ON THE DEALERS AND COLLECTORS I'VE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH OVER THE YEARS. EACH HAD A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR, BUT IT WAS A LITTLE TRICKY, PRYING THEIR LIDS OFF IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I CALL THIS SERIES OF BLOGS, UPCOMING, THE "LIGHTER SIDE OF ANTIQUE COLLECTING." NOW THAT'S ORIGINAL, EH? MY YEARS SPENT ANTIQUE HUNTING, ACROSS THIS BEAUTIFUL REGION OF ONTARIO, HAVE BEEN RIDDLED THROUGH AND THROUGH, WITH HUMOROUS MOMENTS AND STRANGE, "BELIEVE IT OR NOT" CIRCUMSTANCES. SOME I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN ABOUT, LIKE THE CHAP WHO DECIDED TO MOVE OUR HUGE PEDESTAL "NATIONAL" CASH REGISTER, (AGAINST OUR ADVICE), WITHOUT A TROLLEY. HE WOUND UP WITH THE BRASS SECTION OF THE LARGE REGISTER (WITH WOODEN DRAWERS), CRUSHING DOWN ON HIS GENITALS, ON OUR STAIRCASE, AT THE FORMER BIRCH HOLLOW ANTIQUES IN BRACEBRIDGE. IT WAS A NARROW STAIRCASE, AND WE HAD HELPERS ON THE UPPER STAIRS AND THE LOWER STAIRS, BUT NOTHING THAT WOULD SAVE THIS MAN'S PRIVATES SOME SERIOUS AND PAINFUL COMPROMISES. ADD TO THIS THE TEN CUSTOMERS WHO REALLY WANTED TO LEAVE BUT COULDN'T, (ONE KID HAD TO PEE BAD) ON ACCOUNT OF THE CASH REGISTER INCIDENT. THE CHAP WAS A GOOD SPORT, AND DID LAUGH, BUT IN A VERY HIGH PITCHED TONE. WE EVENTUALLY FIGURED A WAY OF FREEING HIM, AND IT WAS EVENTUALLY BROUGHT UP THE STAIRS WITH THE TROLLEY HE WAS FORCED TO RENT.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE ANTIQUE STORIES, IS THIS SELDOM SPOKEN-OF TALE, INVOLVING A CHARITY EVENT IN THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE. I HAD JUST BECOME INTERESTED IN THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS, AND HAD STARTED OUT AS A BOTTLE DIGGER, AT ABANDONED HOMESTEADS AROUND THE DISTRICT. I WAS INSANELY ANXIOUS TO GO TO AUCTIONS, AND I VISITED ANTIQUE SHOPS FREQUENTLY, INVESTING THE LITTLE MONEY I HAD, IN WHAT I BELIEVED WOULD INCREASE IN VALUE…., THE OLDER THE PIECES GOT. SO WHEN I SAW AN ADVERTISEMENT, CIRCA 1975, I BELIEVE, FOR A BATHTUB RACE, IN BRACEBRIDGE BAY, AS PART OF THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS OF THE TOWN'S INCORPORATION, I GOT THE BALL MOVING WITH MY MATES. TWO OF THE CREW HAD JUST ARRIVED BACK IN TOWN, AFTER UNIVERSITY STUDIES, AND TWO OTHERS WERE FINISHING UP HIGH SCHOOL. WE HAD THE BRAINS AND BRAWN TO BUILD, AND THEN RACE A BATHTUB IN THIS CENTENNIAL EVENT. AN IRON BATHTUB. A BIG, HULKING, RUSTY BATHTUB, WITH FIXTURES STILL ATTACHED, RIPPED UNCEREMONIOUSLY FROM A FARMHOUSE, AND THUSLY, IN MY OPINION, READY FOR SAILING.
I DIDN'T READ THE RULES CORRECTLY
I don't remember how exactly it happened, that I found a cast iron bath-tub, with claw feet, and how we managed to get it to our cottage on Alport Bay of Lake Muskoka. We must have had use of a truck, and I'm assuming it would have belonged to racing partner, Scott Rintoul. Steve Henry was to be the pilot, Ron Boyer the pit crew, and I was to act as manager and public relations director of "Four Guys Racing Team." We had been chums a long time, but mostly at milder preoccupations, like ball hockey in the Henry's driveway, and billiards in their recreation room. This put the friendship bond to the test, because from the early going, there were a lot of outbursts, that sounded like, "Hey, who are you calling stupid, you moron?" And, "Who took the last beer?" I was famous for doing this, and fibbing about it!
My father Ed, a manager of Building Trades Centre, at the time, got us a large slab of dock styrofoam, that we planned to carved tightly around the hugely heavy iron tub. It would sort of look like a hydro plane, when we finished our design work, and we took great lengths to get the balance correct, so that Steve wouldn't got down with the iron ship, if he hit a brisk ripple on the bay. We had a couple of issues, and we had to re-shape, and modify the original design, just to keep the hulk's bow above the water line. The foam wrap had to be pretty wide, to keep the tub from flipping. We had a seven and a half horsepower Johnson outboard engine, from the 1950's, and it was strained to the limit, just getting up to a knot or two. We were starting to worry that the iron tub was going to be a disaster, but we weren't as concerned about winning, as putting on a good show for the large crowd expected for the regatta, that perfect summer day, in Bracebridge Bay Park, just below the famous town falls.
When we finally gave it our seal of approval, and our respective girlfriends had all said, unanimously, "you're going to fail, and you'll probably drown," we assumed all pre-race obstacles had been successfully navigated, and capably bypassed. We were fond of ourselves, as far as egos were concerned. It showed. Stubborn? You bet! On the day of the race, the four of us, and my father, helped load the newly painted watercraft onto a vehicle, for transport to the park, and shook hands in expectation of a thrilling day of competition. We were excited about joining the field of racers, most we knew from town, and the fact we had built an attractive craft……well sir, it just was eye candy to our girl fans in the audience, even if our significant others thought we were on a mission of no return. It's true it was tortoise-slow, but it's not every day you make a boat out of a cast iron bathtub either.
We got to the park, and saw the array of competitors. What struck my mates, when they started to study some of the other entries, was that we had the only real "bullet proof" bathtub. And to boot, ours was iron, and not steel, which was a difference of about two hundred pounds. All the other entrants, had used fiberglass and other pliable materials, to model the shape of a bathtub, but nothing had an outboard engine strapped to it, that had at any time in its past, been hooked up to plumbing in someone's house. I read the rules wrong. As God is my witness, I thought we had to use the real McCoy, and for this fledgling antique dealer, only the real thing would do.
So it's not hard to imagine that we drew a lot of attention at the starting line, and very many laughs, jokes, chortles, criticism, mockery, without any flattery whatsoever. Even our girlfriends disowned us for those few hours, when truthfully, we were the laughing stock of Muskoka. It didn't get much better when the tubs were launched, and it was obvious, the tubs made out of plastic and other much lighter materials, were going to do much better with their horsepower, strapped on the sterns, than we were, with most of our craft pushing the river water, instead of cutting its surface. Most of the tub was well below the surface of the water, so they called us the "Submarine Gang." We had about the same draft as the RMS Seguwn, without the pilot. So for the first few practice laps, we winced a lot, and held our collective breath, at the turns, when our vessel seemed most precariously balanced. The other bathtub concoctions were much faster, and yet Steve was determined to make the best of the equipment available. Actually, we couldn't believe how steady he was out on the choppy water, and he seemed to mesmerize the competition, who spent so much effort taunting him, that he was able to make unexpected gains.
Throughout the long afternoon, and quite a number of individual races, to narrow down the field, Steve had actually managed to get a couple of narrow third place finishes, when other bathtub creations faltered and disintegrated into the brine. In the final analysis, I believe we finished third overall in points, largely because other competitors had engine failures and hull collapses, which was funny considering we had a 1950's engine pushing this heavy iron bathtub on floats, susceptible to water currents and the wind, because there was quite a bit of surface area, late in the race, actually rising above the waterline. We actually seemed to gain elevation out of the water, the more we raced. I think Steve had probably perspired-off a few pounds, during the hot afternoon of vigorous competition. We were all proud of Steve's effort, and honestly, it was kind of neat to have placed in the top three, using an original bathtub, contrary to every one else. Folks were taking a lot of pictures of the old iron water-horse, and I think Steve got his mug in the paper the next issue, for his piloting prowess.
Steve was awarded a Bracebridge Centennial Medal, that he gave to me for safe-keeping, and I simply never gave it back. It was my bathtub, I argued, and my dad got us the foam platform free, from the lumber yard. I told him I would give it back after my month of ownership, and well, I never did. I feel bad about this, but you know, I just forgot about the darn thing, when we once again went off to university. It's somewhere here at Birch Hollow, and about once every ten years someone here will find it, ask what it is, and I will offer the explanation above, take the medal, and plan to give it to Steve the next time I meet him. Well, that doesn't happen too often these days, but my intention is good. Just now, I can't find it again, so I may have to wait another decade for it to turn up.
This wasn't my first foray into such crazy for-fun events, that usually had something or other, to do with antiques, and how to revamp them into something else useable. I had good training in this department. When I was younger, poor Seth Hillman couldn't keep us Hunt's Hill kids from swiping his lawnmower wheels, to make our go-carts, for racing down Flynn's Hill. That's a story for another day. I just looked, this moment, and found two scars I still have, from those old downhill misadventures, when Seth's wheels would suddenly fall off, at about thirty miles per hour, giving the riders a real thrill, with asses smoking down the tarmac of one of the biggest hills in Bracebridge. Good times. Sore times too. See you all again soon. I've got a million of these antique anecdotes, that will show that some of us antiquarians are ripe with horseplay, even after all the errors of our ways.
See you again soon. Drive carefully out there. It's that busy time of year again, when our highways become a lot more dangerous with traffic.
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