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| Betty Smith (top picture), Her Harbour (middle picture) and Caitlin Harnett (bottom picture). Photos by Rob Currie |
HOT NIGHT, BUT COOL EVENT, PLEASES AUDIENCE
If you were there, then you realize what can be achieved with willing partners, and a lot of networking in the Canadian music community. What it comes down to, is a willingness of organizers, and promoters, doing their job, the venue being found, with a willing directorate (Board of the Anglican Church, in Gravenhurst), musicians who want a responsive, critical audience, and patrons, who are willing to support something different in their home community, and home region. For the second time in just over a month, the union came together as if it was meant to be. No frills, no bells and whistles. Just an evening that brought out performers, a good crowd, and keen organizers. Of course, you don't get repeat business, if the event doesn't live up to a high standard. The word is, last night's concert with Ottawa based, "Her Harbour," and friends, was by patron account, a magical evening with good friends.
If you missed the event, well, you can still get in on the summer of music, in the heart of Gravenhurst, with one of the upcoming "Session's Events," up next on Friday, July 11th, with well known entertainer, Nick Ferrio, and the "Weather Station," both of the Toronto area, also playing at the Anglican Church, on Hotchkiss Street. As for "Her Harbour," organizers want this group back for another stirring evening of music, that gently but powerfully, challenges you to imagine and fantasize.
As it began, it ended. The concert was initiated on high strung anticipation, and we ended with the same feelings. It's why many in the audience, after the concert, felt compelled to visit with the performers, to buy CD's and chat for awhile. (There was also an interview being conducted, at the same time, with Her Harbour by Hunter's Bay Radio) The anticipation, at this point, was "when are you coming back to Gravenhurst?" It was one of those hot, humid, sunny early summer evenings, perfectly made for Muskoka! "Her Harbour," a tantalizingly brilliant sound experience, from Canada's capital, offered an interesting, unique opportunity, for a few of us Muskokans looking for a little something different, in musical entertainment. I don't think there was any disappointment in this regard.
The Saturday evening concert, sponsored by Andrew and Robert Currie's Music, of Gravenhurst, was the second of the 2014 "Sessions" series of musical evenings, held at the historic, and elegant St. James Anglican Church, on that park-like, beautifully treed, corner lot, on Hotchkiss Street, less than a block from the town's main street. The fact there was a town sponsored event at the Opera House, on the same block of urban landscape, didn't take away from the crowd that had gathered for something special.
Starting off the evening performance, was well travelled indie folk singer, Betty Smith, who has just recently, after years absence, moved back to Bracebridge, her former hometown. Passionate about her music, Betty has been performing around the region over the past few months, getting good reviews, for her bright and engaging style. Shortly after hearing some of her work, recorded previously, Andrew asked if she would consider opening for one of the "Sessions" events, and it happened that the main act would be "Her Harbour." Having considerable experience, playing the bar circuit, she admitted it was rather nice, to play a venue where she wouldn't have to scream over the sound of patrons yelling and laughing, and the tell tale clinking of glasses. Well, she used the opportunity to her advantage, and her powerful, alluring voice filled the interior of the church, like the daylight illumination, softly glowing through the stained glass windows. If ever you were to feel the warmth of a neighbor soul, hers was shared with the audience, and you can't be any more honest, and trusting than this, with an audience you don't know. The applause was heartfelt, and responsive to her faithful representation of music, she feels passionate about. Songs about life experiences; you know the ones, of joy, sudden sorrow, intrusive loneliness, love found, love lost, yet resolve, to tell the story in song; intimate music that makes sense of our own obstacle-laden travels through life. And when it doesn't make sense, or seem justifiable in actuality, Betty Smith takes away the rough edges of tough times, and makes them seem less daunting and insurmountable. Her music is message-filled, but never burdensome. Her music, if I could only describe it in botanical terms, well, it would be a cheerful bouquet in a charming vase, in one of these window frames, of this old church; bright, colorful, and uplifting, while at the same time, strong and bold. A flower that is of perpetual growth, and, as much, a fountain of life inspiration. Even songs, that she describes as "dark' or "sad," are the exact opposite, if you enjoyed the music as much as I did. It reminded me of the simple pleasures of commonplace, and shared inspirations, and on this evening, she was singing for us; maybe in some ways, about us!
Thank you Betty Smith, for performing at this "Sessions" event, and making us think, and think hard, about what music is supposed to be, besides being for listening pleasure. The story. She is a worthy story spinner in song. And the greatest challenge for the story-teller, is to convince us that it is real. This, she accomplished. By the ovation, and it was a long one, she hit the mark with sincerity. Looking forward to having Betty back for many more of these "Sessions" concerts in the coming years.
Australian Singer / Song-writer Caitlin Harnett
The second performer of the three act evening, was a musical treat, from down-under; Australian Singer / Song-Writer, Caitlin Harnett, on tour of Canada, pleased to make a stop-over in South Muskoka. Releasing a new album, Caitlin treated the audience to the best from the compilation; and you couldn't avoid being enthralled, with a song having its inherent woes, at no expense of good will, and momentum; because you do feel like you're rolling along with her, wherever she wants to go. But not to worry, it was safe passage, and the sensory perception was free. It's what I expect of music, and I got to experience a different spin of a folk tale, and I liked it; whether it was about the inconsistencies of Canadian men or not, of which I am of that particular ilk. Caitlin has a subtle wit, or is that a wry sense of humor? Hers is a gentle play of the emotions, whether by banjo, acoustic guitar, and companion harp, and she is as much fun to be around, as she is skillfully talented. She didn't come with a companion video, so I imagined my own, and it was neat. It was like happenstance therapy. There I was standing on a railway platform, watching trains coming and going; but staying in place on the platform, waving to all those faces and silhouettes of travellers. The music didn't have to be about trains, or railway stations, fond farewells, or hardy welcomes; it's just what the music reminded me of, because, sure, I love trains, and I used to hang-out at trains stations as a kid. As I've written about previously as a new music critic, in an old body, I have always been moved, as a writer, by music; maybe too much some times. Caitlin is a singer you could listen to for hours on end, and never get tired of the blessing. There really isn't more to say, other than I know she has a great future ahead, wherever she travels; maybe even by train some time.
"Her Harbour," takes us out upon a misty sea, to fare for ourselves; to experience those tantalizing mysteries of life
"Her Harbour," is a sound garden by the sea. It was a pleasant experience of being engulfed, by the strange magic of a music that fuses together life sounds, and expectation; as if sitting on a precipice, looking out at a great untiring body of water, and feeling as if, at any moment, an ominous stormscape will rise, at any moment, from over the far horizon, and echo its inherent thunder, and augment its lightning flashes, with the black twist of clouds moving ever closer. But as an epic event, it can never eclipse with awe, the beauty of the sunscape, still blazing the water in calming sunset; the storm that never arrived, as if willed away by the poet philosopher.
"Her Harbour," has a relationship with melancholy, yet a brightness from its own velvet fog, that prevails upon us to listen and learn; that they know the way through the mist, so we should follow them, and we do. In essence, it is a haunting music they prevail upon audiences, but just when we might feel, we have been touched by an angel, we mire in a sudden uncertainty, about the very definition of life, from its beginning to its end; and we are made to believe, that we have much knowledge yet to seek. Singer Gabrielle Giguere, of this wonderfully mysterious "Her Harbour," stands in silhouette against a great light, and points for us, far down the road, that we must travel alone. Reluctantly and fearfully we walk away, with the echo of her enchantments, fading into the poetry that is our destiny.
At one moment, you might feel Gabrielle is a vapor seraph, in the veil of her own music, rising from her own memorial, to walk the earth again. In the trace moonlight, bleeding through an evergreen wreath, she is of legend, and tall tales; the essence of enchantment, but she, and the musicians of "Her Harbour," are enchanters afterall. When they began playing, the audience became spellbound and ceased to chat, ceased to look around at others. Their focus was solitary. They had drawn us into their profound illusion, as if we could smell the pine forest, and the great open water, and the first drops of rain on the dirt road that leads from here, to somewhere, but we're not quite sure if this road ends by geography, or by our own mortality.
My wife, sitting at my side, has reminded me of the music, she has always claimed to have heard, as a child, walking through the forest, just above her family's Windermere cottage, on Lake Rosseau, but could never finds its source. It was the voice of nature, she supposed, and listening to "Her Harbour," she grabbed my shirt sleeve and said, "This is it. This is what I heard on my walks. How beautifully chilling it is!"
Their music is both calm and storm in one, as history has been both burdened and blessed by its chronicle. It is a symphony at once, and a dirge a moment later, but there is always, a beam of light that breaks through what might be considered the darkest moment; such that we might again rest in peace, at the last spray of sunlight before nightfall. We have been contented ironically by the musical storm, that should have left us unsettled and unresolved. It left us, as some irony, wanting more.
Group members of "Her Harbour," include Gabrielle Giguere, lead singer, Pierre-Luc Clement, Philippe Charbonneau, and Jamie Kronick.
Organizers of the event, wish to thank the performers and the audience, for supporting this new-to--Gravenhurst music series, which will be back in action, on July 11th with Nick Ferrio and Weather Station. Tickets will be $15 per person, and are available now at Currie's Music on Muskoka Road here in Gravenhurst.
THAT WONDERFUL SENSE OF BELONGING TO A HOME REGION - THE HAMLETS OF ONCE, SOME LOST EXCEPT IN NAME
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT WAS NECESSARY BUT THE LEGISLATION HAD AN UNDERTOW WITH IT
"WITH THE COMING OF WINTER I THOUGHT THE LIFE OF A FARMER MIGHT LOSE SOMETHING OF ITS CHARM. SO MUCH INTEREST LIES IN THE GROWTH NOT ONLY OF THE CROPS, BUT OF TREES, VINES, FLOWERS, SENTIMENTS AND EMOTIONS. IN THE SUMMER THE WORLD IS BUSY, CONCERNED WITH MANY THINGS AND FULL OF GOSSIP; IN THE WINTER I ANTICIPATED A CESSATION OF MANY ACTIVE INTERESTS AND ENTHUSIASMS. I LOOKED FORWARD TO HAVING TIME FOR MY BOOKS AND FOR QUIET CONTEMPLATION OF LIFE AROUND ME. SUMMER INDEED IS FOR ACTIVITY. BUT WHEN WINTER REALLY CAME, EVERY DAY I DISCOVERED SOME NEW WORK TO DO, OR SOME NEW ADVENTURE TO ENJOY. IT IS SURPRISING HOW MANY THINGS HAPPEN ON A SMALL FARM." (DAVID GRAYSON, "ADVENTURES IN CONTENTMENT")
FROM THE EARLIEST SETTLERS, COURAGEOUS ENOUGH TO BREAK TRAIL INTO THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND, THERE WAS AN INTEREST IN NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT. EVEN THEN, A CLOSE NEIGHBOR COULD BE A COUPLE OF MILES OFF. EVENTUAL INHABITATION CLUSTERS WARRANTED CONSIDERATION FOR HAMLET POST OFFICES. TRANSPORTATION AROUND THE REGION WAS BY EITHER FOOT, SNOWSHOES, CART OR SLEIGH, PULLED BY OXEN OR HORSES. LENGTHY TRIPS WERE CONSIDERED NOT ONLY PRECARIOUSLY DIFFICULT, BUT POTENTIALLY DEADLY, DUE TO NATURAL OBSTACLES AND THE CREATURES OF THE FOREST FROM RATTLESNAKES TO A LARGE BEAR AND WOLF POPULATION. POINT IS, AS WE THINK NOTHING OF DRIVING FROM MUSKOKA TO TORONTO TO ATTEND A HOCKEY OR BASEBALL GAME, OR JUST A NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN, FOR THE HOMESTEADER, A TEN MILE TRIP TO A MAJOR SETTLEMENT, REQUIRED A LOT OF RESOURCES AND SAVVY TO PULL OFF, WITHOUT CASUALTY. SO NEIGHBORHOODS ESTABLISHED AT SIGNIFICANT CROSSROADS, DEVELOPED FAIRLY QUICKLY IN THE OUT-BACK, AWAY FROM THE LARGER SETTLEMENTS IN MUSKOKA, SUCH AS GRAVENHURST, BRACEBRIDGE AND HUNTSVILLE. THEY WEREN'T NECESSARILY SELF-SUPPORTING HAMLETS BUT THEY GOT THE JOB DOWN FOR BASIC NECESSITIES, UNTIL TRIPS TO THE LARGER CENTRES COULD BE UNDERTAKEN.
THEY WERE CONSIDERED HAMLETS ACCORDING TO GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS, AND GUIDELINES, BUT THEY WERE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO THOSE WHO DWELLED IN THE VICINITY. THERE MOST LIKELY WAS A SMALL GENERAL STORE, A LIVERY, BLACKSMITH SHOP, AND POSSIBLY EVEN A WOODWORKERS SHOP, WHERE SHINGLES MIGHT BE CRAFTED ALONGSIDE HOUSEHOLD FURNISHINGS AND EVEN ROUGH BOXES IN CASE OF A DEATH IN THE SETTLEMENT. IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY TO FIND A LOCAL "SCHOOLED" UNDERTAKER, A PHARMACY OR DOCTOR'S OFFICE IN THESE TINY ENCAMPMENTS, BUT THERE WOULD SOON SPRING UP PLACES OF WORSHIP, A ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE, AND FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION BUILDINGS. IT WAS VERY LIKELY, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ORANGE LODGE HALL ERECTED SOMEWHERE IN THIS CLUSTER OF PIONEER BUILDINGS.
SO IT WAS THE CASE, THAT SETTLERS TOOK THEIR MONTHLY TRIPS TO THE LARGER CENTRES IN THE REGION, TO ACQUIRE ITEMS THEY COULDN'T PURCHASE, TO THEIR LIKING, LOCALLY; AND FOR THE LITTLE MONEY THEY HAD FOR PURCHASING ANYTHING AT ALL, IN THESE HAMLETS AND VILLAGES. ONE HAD TO BE FRUGAL. OF COURSE YOU KNOW THIS STUFF WITHOUT ME STICKING MY OAR IN, BUT IT'S FORCE OF HABIT. BUT GRADUALLY, THE LARGE CENTRES AND THE IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION, AND RELATED LINKS, DECREASED THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE TINY CROSS-ROADS SETTLEMENTS. WHEN THE LOCAL ECONOMY FALTERED, THERE WAS STILL A STALWART LOYALTY TO THE HOME NEIGHBORHOOD, WHERE GENERATIONS OF MUSKOKANS WERE RAISED; IN EVIDENCE ON THE DEEPLY INSCRIBED, MOSS-LADEN FAMILY TOMBSTONES, TUCKED ALONG PICTURESQUE ROWS, IN SHADED CHURCH-YARDS. SOME OF THOSE PIONEER NAMES ARE STILL CONNECTED TO THESE COMMUNITIES. I AM THINKING ABOUT THE FOLKS AT THE RYDE COMMUNITY CENTRE, (THE FORMER PUBLIC SCHOOL, IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF GRAVENHURST) WHO ARE DOING SO MUCH TO KEEP THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD VIBRANT AND FORWARD THINKING, AND THE HALL, A REVITALIZED, CENTRAL MEETING PLACE FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS AND FRIENDS. THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL HERITAGE EVENT IN THE SPRING OF 2014 IN RYDE, TO RECOGNIZE THOSE AMAZING PIONEER ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND ALL THE AREA TOGETHERNESS, ENJOYED EVER SINCE. FRED SCHULZ AND I HOPE TO BE A PART OF THIS IMPORTANT AREA MILESTONE. WE'LL LET YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THE EVENT IN THE COMING MONTHS.
BY TIME THE PROVINCE INTERVENED WITH THE SWELL IDEA OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, IN THE LATE 1960'S, IT WAS ALREADY AN HISTORICAL REALITY, THAT THESE HAMLETS AND VILLAGES WERE FAST BECOMING "NAME-ONLY" PLACES ON OLD MAPS, AND AS MANY OF THE ORIGINAL FAMILIES PASSED AWAY, AND OTHERWISE LEFT THE NEIGHBORHOODS, MOST RESIDENTS CAME TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS BEING FROM A RURAL ROUTE IN BRACEBRIDGE, GRAVENHURST, OR HUNTSVILLE INSTEAD. THAT'S WHAT THE POST OFFICE OPTED FOR IN THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OVERHAUL. OBVIOUSLY, THE RURAL INTEGRITY HAS BEEN MAINTAINED LONGER IN THE TOWNSHIPS OF GEORGIAN BAY, MUSKOKA LAKES AND LAKE OF BAYS, DUE TO THE VILLAGE STATUS OF THEIR MAIN BUSINESS CENTRES; DWIGHT AND BAYSVILLE IN LAKE OF BAYS; PORT CARLING AND BALA IN MUSKOKA LAKES; AND PORT SEVERN AND MACTIER IN TOWNSHIP OF GEORGIAN BAY. THE ADVENT OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, OPPOSED VEHEMENTLY BY MANY OF THESE RURAL DWELLERS, CREATED SIX LARGE MEMBER MUNICIPALITIES, TAKING AWAY WARD, VILLAGE AND HAMLET COUNCILS. THE 1970'S PROFOUNDLY CHANGED THE CHRONICLE OF THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA, AS IT HAD BEGUN IN THE LATE 1850'S. REGIONAL GOVERNANCE REALLY ONLY ACCELERATED WHAT WAS HAPPENING ANY WAY, YEAR BY YEAR, AS MORE PEOPLE WERE MOVING TO THE MAJOR TOWNS, FOR ECONOMIC REASONS.
WHEN OUR FAMILY ARRIVED IN MUSKOKA, IN THE WINTER OF 1966, A NEW TREND WAS COMMENCING IN THE REGION, DUE TO THE ANTICIPATION OF NEW GOVERNANCE RULES AND TAXATION COMING. MY FATHER ED, WAS IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, AS A LUMBER SALESMAN, AND HE KNEW HUNDREDS OF CUSTOMERS WELL INTO THE 1970'S, WHO WERE LEAVING THE URBAN BOUNDARIES OF THE MAJOR TOWNS, IN A BID TO ESCAPE THE INCREASING TOLL OF PROPERTY TAXES. THERE ARE AREAS OF THESE TOWNS, THAT SHOW THIS MIGRATION, BACK TO RURAL LIVING, TO AVOID BEING FORCED TO PAY A LEVY FOR SEWER AND WATER HOOKUPS. IT IS STILL AN ISSUE TO THIS DAY, AND WHENEVER THE MATTER OF EXTENDING TAXATION FOR THESE SERVICES MUSKOKA WIDE, TO BE INCLUSIVE WHETHER YOU ARE USING A WELL OR A SEPTIC BED, THE EMBERS OF REBELLION GLOW RED ONCE AGAIN. THE MOVEMENT AWAY FROM URBAN AREA SERVICES AND TAXATION, IS STILL AN INCENTIVE FOR RURAL LIVING, ALTHOUGH TRANSPORTATION COSTS THESE DAYS, HAVE SOMEWHAT INHIBITED MORE MIGRATION TO THE HINTERLAND.
AS I WROTE ABOUT IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, THE HINTERLAND IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN FOR FLEDGLING MUSKOKANS, TAKING UP THE HOMESTEAD CHALLENGE, FROM THE 1850'S, AND TO AN ACCELERATED LEVEL, WHEN THE FREE LAND GRANT AND HOMESTEAD ACT WAS INITIATED IN THE LATE 1860'S, BASED ON A FEDERAL PLAN TO FILL UP A COUNTRY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.......FIRSTLY TO JUSTIFY HAVING SO MUCH LAND UNDER BRITISH CONTROL, (AS THE AMERICANS BEGAN LOOKING NORTHWARD), AND SECONDLY, TO JUSTIFY THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY. THE FEDERAL GOVERMENT WITH THE PROVINCE'S APPROVAL, BEGAN A RECRUITMENT PROGRAM, TO ATTRACT THOUSANDS OF IMMIGRANTS, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS GARDEN OF EDEN. OF COURSE, THE PROMISES MADE TO THESE FOLKS DIDN'T QUITE MEASURE UP, AND THIS WAS ONLY DISCOVERED, WHEN THE ILL PREPARED SETTLERS, FROM THE POOREST NEIGHBORHOODS OF EUROPEAN CITIES, ARRIVED IN A HARSH ENVIRONS, SHORT OF SUPPLIES AND GENERALLY BROKE. SO IT WAS THE GOOD GRACES OF THESE SHARING PLACES, THE CROSSROADS HAMLETS, THAT SAVED THE LIVES OF THESE BEATEN-DOWN HOMESTEADERS, WHO DID, OF COURSE, FIND STRENGTH IN NUMBERS. WHILE THESE HAMLET AND VILLAGE NAMES TODAY HAVE BEEN PRESERVED BY THE MUNICIPALITIES, ON THE FAMILIAR BLUE AND WHITE HIGHWAY SIGNS, THEY CERTAINLY AREN'T AFFORDED THE SAME RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF ONCE. POSTAL CANCELLATION COLLECTORS, LIKE TO POSSESS THESE MARKERS OF TIMES' PAST, WHEN THE STAMP AT THE LOCAL POST OUTLET, IN A GENERAL STORE, PROUDLY DISPLAYED THAT PARTICULAR DOT ON THE MAP; A STAMP AND CANCELLATION THAT MIGHT TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD, REPRESENTING THAT PLACE IN ONTARIO, AND CANADA. DID YOU KNOW HEKKLA WAS REGISTERED BY ITS SETTLERS AFTER THE TITLE OF A VOLCANO IN ICELAND? I'M NOT SURE IF THEY WERE RELATING LIFE IN NORTH MUSKOKA AS BEING A PARALLEL TO LIVING IN CONSTANT FEAR OF A VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN ICELAND. MAYBE SO!
GRADUALLY THESE SMALL COMMUNITIES LOST THEIR LUSTER, AND FAMILY TRADITION WAS NOT ENOUGH TO COMPEL OFFSPRING TO REMAIN WHERE THERE WERE NO AVAILABLE JOBS, AND THUS NO FUTURE, EXCEPT THE CEASELESS TRAVEL TO BIGGER CENTRES FOR BASIC NEEDS. SOON THE POST OFFICE OUTLETS WERE CLOSED, AND THE POSTAL CANCELLATION STAMPS SHELVED, OR RETURNED TO THE FEDERAL AUTHORITY, AND THE STORES THEMSELVES WERE CLOSED FOREVER, THAT ONCE WERE GATHERING PLACES. THE KILWORTHY STORE COMES TO MIND, AS I'M SURE FRED SCHULZ IS THINKING ABOUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, AS HE READS TODAY'S BLOG. I'M PRETTY SURE HE'D BE INTERESTED IN RE-OPENING THE OLD STORE THAT HIS FAMILY USED TO OPERATE, EXCEPT FOR ONE STINGING REALITY. IT WOULD MOST LIKELY MEET THE SAME FATE, AS THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH CUSTOMERS TO MAKE IT A GOING CONCERN. IT WOULDN'T BE FINANCIALLY VIABLE TO COMPETE AGAINST THE MEGA GROCERY STORES ONLY A SHORT DRIVE NORTH, OR SOUTH, AND SENTIMENTALITY IS A WEAK FOUNDATION ON WHICH TO BUILD A BUSINESS. NONE THE LESS, IT IS KIND OF SAD, THAT OUR CHILDREN TODAY, WON'T EXPERIENCE WHAT OUR RURAL TRADITIONS WERE, FROM THE LATE 1850'S. THERE WAS A LOT OF SOCIAL/CULTURAL HERITAGE GENERATING FROM THOSE OLD HAMLET GENERAL STORES.....THAT IS HARD TO EXPLAIN REALLY, BECAUSE IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT HAD TO BE EXPERIENCED. LIKE THE SIGHT OF A MASSIVE WHEEL OF CHEDDAR CHEESE BEING SLICED IN FRONT OF YOU, TO FILL A CUSTOMER'S ORDER. CHRISTMAS TIME. I WANT FRED TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR US ALL, ABOUT HIS CHRISTMAS MEMORIES AT THE KILWORTHY STORE, BACK IN HIS GROWING-UP ERA. I'VE GOT LOTS OF WHITE SPACE TO FILL, AND WE WANT OLD PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE BUILDING. WE'LL TAKE UP A PETITION TO GET HIM WORKING ON THIS, IN TIME FOR OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BLOG-SPECIAL, WHERE WE ALL GATHER AT HEARTHSIDE, TO EXCHANGE STORIES ABOUT OUR MEMORIES OF MUSKOKA WINTERS OF THE PAST.
VERY FEW CUSTOMERS WERE IN A HURRY TO LEAVE THE GENERAL STORE, IN THOSE HALCYON DAYS OF SIMPLE MERCHANDIZING. I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE MYSELF TO CATCH THE FINAL DAYS OF THOSE MOM AND POP INDUSTRIES, THAT MADE THOSE HAMLETS SO ENDEARING, WITH THEIR UNIQUE SOCIAL TRADITIONS, IN THE RURAL CHARACTER. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE MACTIER RED AND WHITE STORE, AND THE DORSET GENERAL STORE.
SUZANNE GREW UP IN THE VILLAGE OF WINDERMERE, ON LAKE MUSKOKA, AND KNOWS ALL ABOUT THE TRUE COMFORTS OF BOTH RURAL LIVING, AND THE NEIGHBORLINESS OF VILLAGE LIFE. WE TALK ABOUT IT FREQUENTLY, AND WE OFTEN THINK HOW NEAT IT WOULD BE TO RETURN, AND SET UP OUR OWN RETIREMENT NEST. YET THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER, IS THAT WHEN, ALMOST A DECADE AGO, WE HAD A CHANCE TO BUY HER FAMILY'S HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE, AFTER HER FATHER DIED, WE BOTH DECIDED RATHER QUICKLY, THAT WITH EMPLOYMENT CIRCUMSTANCES, AND A YOUNG FAMILY, THAT IT WOULD HAVE PUT TOO MUCH STRAIN ON US.....TAKING AWAY ANY ENJOYMENT WE MIGHT GAIN FROM LIVING IN PARADISE. THE SAME HOLDS TODAY. WE CAN FANTASIZE ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES, BUT HONESTLY, RURAL LIVING DOESN'T SUIT US ANY MORE. WE FEEL KIND OF BAD ABOUT THIS, BUT IT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING EITHER. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS LIVING JUST LIKE US.....WHO WOULD LIKE A LESS URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD TO RAISE THEIR FAMILIES, BUT SIMPLY CAN'T AFFORD THE LUXURY FOR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, WAS AN ADMINISTRATIVE BLOW TO THE LAST BREATHS FOR MANY OF THESE HAMLETS, TO EVER GROW INTO MORE IMPORTANT COMMUNITIES. IT CENTRALIZED REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, AND PULLED MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE TO EITHER A MAJOR TOWN OR VILLAGE. IN MUSKOKA LAKES, PORT CARLING BECAME THE LOCATION FOR THE MUNICIPAL OFFICES; PORT SEVERN WAS THE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE FOR GEORGIAN BAY, AND DWIGHT BECAME THE MUNICIPAL HEADQUARTERS IN LAKE OF BAYS.
AS HISTORIANS, AND MUSKOKANS GENERALLY, WE OWE A LOT OF RESPECT TO THESE PIONEER SETTLEMENTS, AND THE ROLE THEY PLAYED GETTING US FROM PIONEER STATUS, TO THE MODERN ERA. WHILE MOST TRAVELLERS OF OUR ROADWAYS TODAY, ARE AWARE OF THESE COMMUNITY NAMES, FROM HAVING SEEN THEM THOUSANDS OF TIMES, THROUGH ALL KINDS OF WEATHER AND THE FOUR SEASONS, VERY FEW PAUSE LONG ENOUGH, TO GIVE THEM MORE THAN A PASSING GLANCE AND MODEST CONSIDERATION, MORE SO AS A MARKER OF MILES TRAVELLED, AND MILES YET TO COMMUTE. WHEN SUZANNE AND I, ARE OUT FOR A DRIVE, AS I'M SURE IS THE CASE FOR PHOTOGRAPHER FRED SCHULZ, WE ALWAYS MAKE COMMENT ABOUT THE HAMLETS OF ONCE, WE USED TO KNOW, AND STOP TO VISIT. HOW MANY TODAY REMEMBER HAMLETS SUCH AS GERMANIA, COOPER'S FALLS, BARKWAY, UFFORD, ULLSWATER, DEE BANK, FOOTE'S BAY, UFFINGTON, KILWORTHY, ROSSEAU FALLS, PURBROOK, FRASERBURG, FALKENBURG, BEATRICE, LEWISHAM OR MONSELL? THE FOLKS WHO STILL LIVE THERE KNOW ITS HERITAGE VALUE, BUT DO YOU? I AM ADAMENT THAT REGIONAL HISTORY SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS, SO THAT THESE IMPORTANT CROSSROADS FROM OUR PAST AREN'T FORGOTTEN, OR SWALLOWED BY THE PROGRESSIVE AND URBANIZING TRENDS HEADED OUR WAY IN THE NEXT QUARTER CENTURY.
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