CHRISTMAS IN MUSKOKA - I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT IS A WELL EARNED RETIREMENT, OR NOT - BUT MY FINAL BLOG WILL BE JANUARY 1ST
I NEED TO MOVE ON TO OTHER PROJECTS, LIKE TRAVEL FOR ONE, BUSINESS THE OTHER!
I HAVE ALWAYS FOUND WRITING TO BE THERAPEUTIC. BEFORE NOW, I HAVE NEVER KNOWN IT TO BE EXHAUSTING. WHEN I BEGAN MY FIRST SERIOUS BOOK PROJECT, LIVING IN THE HOUSE OF FORMER BRACEBRIDGE DOCTOR, PETER MCGIBBON, I WOULD WORK UNTIL THREE IN THE MORNING, TURN-IN FOR A FEW HOURS, AND THEN BE BACK AT THE TYPEWRITER, IN THE ATTIC OFFICE, OVERLOOKING MEMORIAL PARK UNTIL LUNCH. I WOULD THEN WORK MOST OF THE AFTERNOON, AND FOLLOWING SUPPER, HEAD BACK UP AND REPEAT THE WORK SESSION, THAT WAS BECOMING QUITE NORMAL FOR ME.
THEN WHEN I BEGAN WORK AS A REPORTER IN 1979, I WOULD WRITE THROUGH THE DAY FOR THE PAPER, AND THEN I'D WRITE MOST OF THE NIGHT FOR MYSELF. FOR SOME REASON, CALL IT YOUTH, I ALWAYS HAD THE ABILITY TO RENEW MYSELF, WITH ONLY A FEW HOURS OF SLEEP, AND LOTS AND LOTS OF COFFEE. MY GIRLFRIEND GAIL, DIDN'T GET ME, AND QUITE A FEW AFTER HER DIDN'T GET ME EITHER. WHEN SUZANNE CAME ALONG, WELL SIR, SHE FORCED ME TO RE-FASHION MY WRITING JAGS, SUCH THAT IT WOULD NOT DESTROY MY HEALTH. I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED WRITING WAS A SORT OF ELIXIR, A SNAKE OIL, THAT GAVE ME A DEEP RESERVE OF ENERGY TO HANDLE THOSE LATE NIGHTS AT THE NEWSPAPER, AND THEN AT HOME, AFTER EVERYBODY ELSE HAD GONE TO BED. SHE BEGAN MANAGING ME, SEEING AS I COULDN'T MANAGE MYSELF, AND IN NO TIME, MY QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVED IN A HUNDRED DIFFERENT WAYS.
I WAS STILL WRITING LIKE A MADMAN, BUT I WASN'T LIVING ON WHISKY, COFFEE AND POTATO CHIPS ANY LONGER. I OWE A LOT TO THIS FINE WOMAN, WHO HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH SO MANY ECCENTRICITIES, I NEED A FILE CABINET TO KEEP THEM ALL SORTED OUT. I WARNED HER BEFORE WE GOT MARRIED, THAT HAVING AN ANTIQUE DEALER, A NEWSPAPER EDITOR, AND A WRITER, AS A HUSBAND, WOULD BE NEAR CATASTROPHIC AT TIMES; AND WAS SHE ABSOLUTELY SURE IT WAS A CONUNDRUM SHE WANTED TO EMBRACE. I WAS SO PLEASED SHE SAID YES. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A MORE STRUCTURED EXISTENCE, FOR ME, AND A FAMILY LIFE THAT I MIGHT NEVER HAVE SEEN, THE WAY I WAS BURNING THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS.
SUZANNE DESERVES A LOT OF CREDIT FOR KEEPING ME OFF THE BOOZE, AND MAKING ME SET TIGHT PARAMETERS FOR ALL MY WRITING PROJECTS, IN ORDER TO KEEP WORK AND RECREATION IN BALANCE. WRITING, YOU SEE, BECOMES AN OBSESSION, THAT BECOMES A NASTY TASKMASTER, COMMANDING THOSE IN ITS GRASP, TO WRITE UNTIL THE INSPIRATION IS EXHAUSTED. WHEN IT'S EXHAUSTED, I AM PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY DRAINED, AND WILL ARRIVE IN MY FAVORITE CHAIR, AND FALL ASLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF WHAT SHOULD BE A SOCIAL TIME WITH MY BRIDE. WHILE SHE HAD BEEN ABUNDANTLY PATIENT, AND ALLOWED ME SOME EXCESSES, AND THE OCCASIONAL BEER AND WINE AT CHRISTMAS, I'VE PUT HER THROUGH A LOT, WHILE WRITING THESE BLOGS OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, I WRITE A LOT FOR A BLOGGER, AND CERTAINLY DON'T MEASURE UP TO THE MODEL OF THE PERFECT BLOG EDITORIALIST. LET ME EXPLAIN.
FOR MANY YEARS, I HAVE HAD MUCH OF MY RESEARCH AND HISTORIES INFRINGED UPON, BY THOSE I CALL SURFACE SKIMMERS, WHO HAVE NO SERIOUS STAKE IN MUSKOKA, BUT LIKE TO ASSUME THE POSITION OF EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELD. THEY USE MY EDITORIAL MATERIAL WITHOUT WORRYING WHETHER I'LL FEEL COMPROMISED, AND SOMETIMES, THEY SWIPE MY IDEAS AND COPY, WITHOUT ANY CREDIT WHATSOEVER. THE BLOG, FOR ME, HAS BEEN GREAT FOR ARCHIVING THIS COPY, SO THAT THERE IS A DATE OF PUBLICATION, WHICH ASSISTS WITH OWNERSHIP ASSERTIONS. THIS WAS WHAT MY COMPUTER-WHIZ SON, ROBERT, SUGGESTED, AS A MEANS OF COPYRIGHTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. I SUPPOSE THIS WILL SEEM A LITTLE PRESUMPTUOUS, SUGGESTING I'M INTELLECTUAL. IT HAS WORKED, AND STEERED A FEW INTERLOPERS AWAYS FROM USING MY BLOG AS A DEEP WELL OF STORY IDEAS, FOR THEIR OWN PROFIT-MAKING. I DON'T WRITE THESE BLOGS FOR PROFIT. BUT THEY WRITE BOOKS FOR FINANCIAL GAIN.
I HAVE APPRECIATED ALL THE SUPPORT I HAVE RECEIVED SINCE I BEGAN MY BLOGS, FROM YOU FOLKS, AND ALL MY FAMILY HAS BEEN FANTASTIC, ASSISTING ME WITH EDITING WORK, AND COMPANION PHOTOGRAPHS, FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. IT IS A HUGE COMMITMENT OF TIME AND EFFORT, AND I ACHIEVED MORE THAN I EVER EXPECTED, WHEN I BEGAN WITH ABOUT TWENTY READERS PER BLOG. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS VETERAN OF THE PROFESSION, IS STARTING TO RUN OUT OF STEAM, LIKE THE PETTICOAT JUNCTION "CANNONBALL." IT IS BECOMING HARDER AND HARDER TO COME UP WITH STORY IDEAS, TO KEEP YOU FOLKS ENTERTAINED, AND INFORMED, AND TO MUSTER THE STAMINA TO WORK TWO TO FOUR HOURS, OR LONGER, AT HOME, LATER IN THE DAY, TO PUT A BLOG TOGETHER THAT MAKES SENSE. I HAVE ALWAYS TOLD SUZANNE, THAT THE MOMENT WRITING BECOMES TOO MUCH LIKE WORK, IT WOULD BE TIME TO ENTERTAIN A CHANGE OF PACE, POSSIBLY EVEN RETIREMENT. IT HAS OFFICIALLY HIT THIS MARK. I AM EXHAUSTED. THE BLOGS ARE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO COMPLETE, AND NOT FALL ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH. THEREFORE, IT HAS BECOME ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT I'M PRODUCING "A" QUALITY COPY, AND NOT JUST A BLOG TO HONOR A COMMITMENT.
I AM IN THE FINAL STRETCH OF MY 59TH YEAR. SUZANNE RETIRED A YEAR AND A HALF AGO FROM GRAVENHURST HIGH SCHOOL, AND I HAD PLANNED TO RETIRE THIS BLOG AT THE SAME TIME OF YEAR. SHE ENDED HER 31 YEAR CAREER IN JULY 2013, AT AGE 59. I AM HER JUNIOR, SO I HAD TO HANG IN A LITTLE WHILE LONGER, BUT THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES NOW THAT HAVE MADE ME HURRY UP THE RETIREMENT DATE. FOR ONE THING, THE BUSINESS SUZANNE AND I SET UP FOR OUR RETIREMENT YEARS, HAS BECOME SO SUCCESSFUL, THAT I SIMPLY CAN'T BUDGET THE TIME TO WORK ON THE BLOG AT THE SHOP. WHEN I COME HOME AT NIGHT, FORGIVE ME, I JUST CAN'T MANAGE A TWO HOUR JAG AT THE COMPUTER, AS I DID FOR YEARS. OUR SALES ARE WAY UP, INCLUDING OUR SONS' MUSIC BUSINESS, AND WE HAVE TO START EARLY IN THE NEW YEAR, BUILDING UP INVENTORY FOR THE SHOP, WHICH DEMANDS A LOT OF TRAVEL AND SOME REFINISHING WORK. WE BEGAN OUR ANTIQUE BUSINESS, IN 1986, WITH THE PLAN ONE DAY, OF HAVING IT AS A RETIREMENT BUSINESS. YES INDEED, IT HAS TAKEN CLOSE TO THIRTY YEARS TO GET IT RIGHT. WE ARE ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED, BUT IT DOES MEAN WE HAVE TO PUT IN MORE HOURS, IN THE SHOP, AND ON THE ANTIQUE HUNT, IN ORDER TO KEEP UP WITH DEMANDS. I'M GLAD THERE ARE DEMANDS. USUALLY THE OFF-SEASON IN MUSKOKA, IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION, MEANS WE GET A LOT OF TIME TO WRITE AND READ BOOKS. NOT THIS YEAR. IT'S GREAT EXCEPT THERE AREN'T ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY. SEEING AS SUZANNE AND I HAVE BEEN FINE TUNING THIS BUSINESS FOR THREE DECADES, IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THIS BUSINESS SUCCESS, INSTEAD OF FLAILING AWAY AT BLOG WRITING, JUST TO KEEP MYSELF IN SHAPE AS A COLUMNIST. HELL, I STILL THINK I COULD PLAY THREE PERIODS OF HOCKEY, TENDING THE PIPES, BUT TRUTH IS, I PROBABLY COULDN'T SKATE THE LENGTH OF THE ICE WITHOUT DROPPING DEAD.
THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT, IS THAT ANDREW AND ROBERT, HAVE TEAMED UP WITH A LOCAL COUNTRY SINGER, AND A CELEBRITY DRUMMER, TO CREATE AN EXCITING CONTEMPORARY BAND, AND THEIR FIRST GIG IS THIS COMING THURSDAY IN BRACEBRIDGE. I'VE OFFERED TO WORK WITH THEM IN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PROMOTIONS, IF THEY NEED HELP. THIS IS A BIG DEAL FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED, AND PROMISES TO BE QUITE EXCITING FOR GRAVENHURST IN THE FUTURE; THE MEMBERS ALL HAVE GRAVENHURST IN COMMON. I CAN'T RELEASE MUCH MORE THAN THIS AT THE TIME BEING, BUT I WILL AS SOON AS THE BOYS GIVE ME THE NOD. I'M NOT SURE ABOUT VENUE CAPACITY, SO I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL PROMOTING IT TOO WELL.
SUZANNE AND I HAVE SOME TRAVEL PLANS IN THE FUTURE, ALTHOUGH SHE DOESN'T KNOW IT YET, AND I'VE GOT IDEAS TO UNFOLD TO ENHANCE OUR COLLECTIONS AT THE SHOP, THIS COMING YEAR, AS WELL AS TRYING MY HAND AT A FEW OTHER ARTISTIC PROJECTS AS A BUCKET LIST ADVENTURE. I BEGAN WRITING FOR PUBLICATION BACK IN THE SPRING OF 1978, AND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A SHORT HIATUS PERIOD, I HAVE NEVER NOT BEEN A WRITER ON A MISSION. NOW, I WANT TO CEASE THE "MISSION" ASPECT OF WRITING, AND FOCUS ON A NUMBER OF OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST, THAT I HAVE PUT OFF FOR THE RAINY DAY THAT NEVER CAME. WE'VE NEGLECTED A LOT OF ACTIVITIES WE BOTH WANTED TO PURSUE BEFORE WE GET TOO OLD. TODAY, I FEEL TOO OLD. SO WE'VE GOT TO WORK QUICKLY TO JAM IT ALL IN. A LOT OF THIS ACTIVITY, WE WANT TO EXPEND IN OUR HOME DISTRICT, WHICH WE TRULY LOVE. WE DON'T HAVE A COTTAGE ANY MORE, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW. WHERE THERE'S A WILL! OR A MILLION BUCKS!
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, THAT I'VE RETIRED. THE FIRST TIME, I GOT MAD AT MY WIFE BECAUSE SHE CHALLENGED HOW MANY HOURS I WAS SPENDING ON THE LAP TOP, AND NOT DOING MY SHARE OF CHORES FOR THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS, AND NOW, THIS IS ALL MY IDEA, BASED ON THE FACT I'M NOT AS VIGOROUS THESE DAYS, WITH TOO MANY RESPONSIBILITIES, AND THE ANTIQUE SHOP GROWING FASTER THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AN INDIVIDUAL CAME INTO OUR SHOP, AND TOLD US OF HER BUSINESS PLAN, TO OPEN UP A GIANT ANTIQUE SHOP TWO BLOCKS FROM US. LAST YEAR, WE HAD AN ANTIQUE SHOP LOCATE BESIDE US ON THE MAIN STREET. ADDING ANOTHER LARGE ANTIQUE VENUE WILL DO A NUMBER OF THINGS, INCLUDING STRETCH OUR CUSTOMER BASE, WHICH MEANS WE COULD LOSE REVENUE AS A DIRECT RESULT. ON THE OTHER HAND, WITH MORE SHOPS IN THE UPTOWN AREA, IT COULD BECOME AN ANTIQUE MECCA, LIKE THE OLD DAYS OF COOKSTOWN, WHEN IT WAS A BUSTLING COMMUNITY OF ANTIQUE SHOPS AND MALLS. I'M NOT TOO SURE HOW MANY ANTIQUE SHOPS ARE TOO MANY, BUT WE CAN'T REALLY WAIT TOO LONG BEFORE REACTING, AND BECOMING AS COMPETITIVE AS POSSIBLE BEFORE THEIR DOORS OPEN. IT SHOULD CREATE SOME COMPETITIVE PRICING, THAT'S FOR SURE.
I AM GRATEFUL TO EVERY READER WHO HAS JOINED ME FOR PERIODS OVER THIS THREE-PLUS YEAR ADVENTURE IN WRITING. IT HAS BEEN A BLAST IN SO MANY WAYS, AND I SHALL NEVER FORGET THE MANY EMAILS I'VE RECEIVED, FROM THOSE WHO ENJOYED OR SIMPLY AGREED WITH THE BLOG CONTENT. I WON'T SAY FOR CERTAIN, THAT I WON'T USE THE BLOG SITE, FROM TIME TO TIME, BASED ON NEED OR OPPORTUNITY. I MAY ADAPT IT TO THE SHOP INSTEAD, SO I WOULDN'T WANT TO CONFUSE YOU ABOUT FUTURE CONTENT, BEING THE SAME AS IT HAS BEEN THESE THREE YEARS. I HAVE MOVED HEAVILY INTO SELLING OLD BOOKS AND ART, AND IF A BLOG IN THE FUTURE, IS PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, FOR THIS WING, I SHALL FIND THE GUMPTION TO CARRY-FORTH. IT JUST WON'T BE AS GENERAL AS IT HAS BEEN. IN OTHER WORDS, IT WOULD BECOME A BLOG DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO OUR GRAVENHURST ANTIQUE AND MUSIC BUSINESS, AND OF COURSE, MY HAUNTED BOOKSHOP. I WILL MAKE THIS DECISION IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
I WILL CARRY ON THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON SERIES, AND COMPLETE THE LAST GENERAL BLOG ON JANUARY 1ST 2015. NOW LET'S GET BACK TO CHRISTMAS 2014, AND MAKING IT A FABULOUSLY APPOINTED, MEMORABLE MUSKOKA CHRISTMAS.
CHRISTMAS IN BRACEBRIDGE -
THOMAS BLOCK FIRE WAS THE BIGGEST, MOST FRIGHTENING - CALAMITOUS TOWN EVENT I HAD EVER COVERED - NO ONE PERISHED - THANKFULLY
BY THE TIME I SQUISHED MY BEHIND DOWN INTO THAT EDITOR'S CHAIR, OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, (BACK IN THE EARLY 1980'S), IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE JAWS OF LIFE TO SPARE THE CHAIR. FROM MY FIRST YEARS OF UNIVERSITY, I SET MY SIGHTS ON BEING A FUTURE EDITOR. IT TOOK A WHILE, AND SOME HUSTLING TO PROVE MY WORTH, BUT I FINALLY ACHIEVED MY GOAL. I WAS THE BOSS. I HAD THE CHAIR AND DESK TO PROVE IT. DID ANYBODY GIVE A RAT'S ARSE? JUST THE PUBLISHER. HE WANTED ME TO EARN MY KEEP, MOTIVATE THE STAFF, AND CO-OPERATE WITH THE TOUGH COOKIES IN THE PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT. MOST OF ALL, HE DIDN'T WANT TO GET A/ SUED, B/ VOID OF ADVERTISING.
WHEN I DID MAKE MY WAY TO THIS STATION IN LIFE, I HAD EXPERIENCED A PRETTY GOOD WORK-OUT ON THE LOCAL NEWS SCENE, STRETCHING FROM THE TOWNSHIP OF GEORGIAN BAY, MUSKOKA LAKES, AND BRACEBRIDGE. GRAVENHURST WAS STILL IN RANGE, BUT IT WOULD BE YEARS, AND A CHANGE OF EDITOR'S CHAIR BEFORE I BEGAN COVERING ITS MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, AND THE LOCAL BEAT. AS FOR HAVING COVERED ACCIDENT AND FIRE SCENES, I'D CUT MY TEETH ON SOME REAL DANDIES, AND DESPITE THE PROMOTION, I WOULD FOB-OFF AN ACCIDENT OR FIRE CALL ON ANYONE ELSE IN THAT NEWSROOM. MY CONSTITUTION WAS NOT SUITED TO THE KIND OF SCENES FIRST RESPONDERS HAD TO DEAL WITH. IF THERE WAS NO CHOICE, NO ONE TO HAND THE CAMERA TO, I DID WHAT WAS REQUIRED TO JUSTIFY THE PURPOSE OF OUR "NEWS" PAPER. I GOT MY WOBBLY KNEES JUST HEARING THE COMMUNITY FIRE SIREN, OR THE SCANNER WE KEPT IN THE OFFICE FOR EMERGENCY CALLS.
ON THIS BITTERLY COLD WINTER MORNING, SHORTLY AFTER CHRISTMAS-FESTIVITIES, THE CALL CAME OVER THE SCANNER ABOUT A FIRE AT A BUILDING ON MANITOBA STREET, AT CHANCERY LANE. I KNEW IT AS THE THOMAS COMPANY BUILDING, WITH LEGAL OFFICE UPSTAIRS, JUST BEHIND THE HERALD-GAZETTE BUILDING ON DOMINION STREET. I WOULD LATER THAT DAY, BE ABLE TO STAND OUT ON THE ROOF OF THE HERALD BUILDING, TO WATCH THE PROGRESS OF THE FIRE.
EVERY REPORTER WE HAD WAS CALLED OUT TO COVER THIS BREAKING NEWS EVENT. WHILE TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS HEADED DOWN CHANCERY LANE, TO GET SOME FRONT SHOTS OF THE BUILDING, I STOOD AT THE TOP OF THE LANE, JUST BEHIND THE FORMER BRACEBRIDGE TOWN HALL, BECAUSE I NOTICED A LOT OF SMOKE COMING FROM VENTS AT THE SIDE. I TOOK SOME SHOTS DOWN THE SLOPE OF THE LANE, CONNECTING TO THE MAIN STREET, AND SAW A FIRE CAPTAIN I KNEW AT THE BASE. WHEN STAFF FROM THE LEGAL OFFICE OPENED THE SIDE DOOR TO ESCAPE THE BUILDING, THE GLASS IN THE STOREFRONT BELOW, BLEW OUT, THE BURST OF AIR, TOSSING THE FIREMAN ARSE OVER TEA KETTLE, INTO THE ROADWAY. I GOT A SHOT BUT THE SMOKE GOT IN THE WAY OF A CLEAR IMAGE. THE SAME HAPPENED FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHERS BELOW, WHO, AT THAT POINT, DIDN'T KNOW HOW SERIOUS THE FIRE HAD BECOME IN MY ZONE. THE CUSTOMERS AND STAFF HAD JUST GOT OUT OF THE WAY IN THE KNICK OF TIME, BEFORE THE WINDOW EXPLODED.
FROM THIS POINT, INDEED, ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.
The fire had been manifesting for some time before, inching through the openings above the numerous false ceilings in the store. Somehow, as I had been witnessing, the smoke was venting to the side, not the front, and it had not reached a serious degree of burn, until that morning's store opening. When the front and side doors were opened for customers and clients,I suppose it was acting as a sort bellows on the flames. Customers reported feeling very hot in the store, but the smoke wasn't an issue. It was exciting the building, in a less than obvious place.
After the window blew…..and we saw the fireman had escaped serious injury, I tried to talk to the business owner who was in shock at the time. I chased him up the lane, away from the fire, to get one or two sentences to use……as with events like this, print reporters were often asked to do "voicers" for regional radio and television stations. That's when I noticed the shards of glass that had injured his rear end…..obviously from the explosion at the front of the building. I left the rest to his son…..but it looked painful.
I'd never seen a fire accelerate like this one. It was obvious the fire had gotten into the nooks and crannies, enough to make it twice as difficult for firemen to douse. Within minutes of that window being blown out, the mood changed big-time. Spectators were fleeing and there were sirens everywhere. As we all know about these downtown fires, along the traditional, historic main streets in Bracebridge and Gravenhurst, it couldn't possibly be a simple, one building fire. It was the test to see if there were any firewalls between the old structures. I'm not sure now just how many of the buildings were gutted, but that it stopped before it hit Thatcher Studio. I'm pretty confident it affected three businesses, a medical office, and a law office upstairs. Fortunately no one was seriously injured. Emotional trauma. There was lots of that…..especially when, as historical record in Muskoka towns has documented, you could literally lose the downtown during one out-of-control fire event. There were a lot of gut-wrenching, nervous moments for all stake holders that day.
What was the saving grace, if memory serves, was that a "Tele-squirt" aerial firetruck was loaned by the Fire College, in Gravenhurst, which effectively stopped the progression from consuming other vulnerable buildings. It knocked the flames down, and gave firemen on the ground a better chance of stopping the carnage from heading north, or south, or even leaping west across Manitoba Street. The deep freeze made it a most unfortunate situation for firemen, who were quickly exhausted, carrying around ice on their backs and arms. The cold air and smoke made it hard for everyone to breathe, working on the ground level of the multi-building fire. I can remember spectators who had crept closer and closer over the long day, finding jewelry washing down the road from the shop. Rings were being found frozen in the ice for days after the event.
What had begun at about mid-morning, had carried on through the night….and I remember looking down on the fire scene, from the roof of The Herald-Gazette, and it appearing the mouth of a volcano. There was no roof structure left. Just an expansive, threatening, wavering glow in the sub-zero night air. As we said over and over again that day and night….and for the next week, "at least no one was injured." And you know, the owners of the property, rebuilt the structures that seemed beyond repair….and you can visit them today…..and see no evidence of that great winter fire, of once.
Over the past year, we've had several major fires in downtown Gravenhurst, and although I'm not employed as a reporter any longer, I still got those wobbly knees, and churning stomach, that always went along with the territory. I watched those fire fighters tackle that blaze, with the prowess I recall seeing so many times in the past. On both fires, I saw the terrible odds they were facing….old buidlings, many renovations in the past, all kinds of nooks and crannies for a fire to hide, and the looks of sincere regret……on their faces…..that they couldn't do more to stop the disaster in its tracks. No one can tell me, after my own years of experience covering accidents and fires, that first responders are void of emotion at times of crisis……just because they're used to difficult circumstances. No, they're mortal, and they wish for a better outcome from their efforts. Some times it just isn't possible, and I've identified this, from my own experience, in two recent Gravenhurst blogs.
I heard a smart ass, at the first downtown fire, back in the spring, say "Yup, they haven't lost a foundation yet!" Insensitive bastard.
As a wee footnote to this blog, I remember reporting on a side-bar story, of the fire that claimed Windermere House, a few years back. It was about the emotional state of a few of the firefighters, one who had been in tears, because, in some way, he felt that losing the building was the brigade's fault……that a landmark was lost because they couldn't beat the flames back. Do you think I'm blowing smoke. Tell me then, the last time you heard of a memorial service being held for a building……and for all those who fought the blaze. It was held at the Windermere United Church shortly after the fire, which was begun by the way, during the filming of a Hollywood movie. I was at that service, as my wife is from Windermere. We felt bad for the firemen, that they shouldered responsibility this way….when they had done everything possible to extinguish flames in that very old, very dry resort building. It was clear evidence for me, even though I had seen it in my photographs, showing firemen in action….for years, first responders take it on the chin every time…..and wish there was a positive outcome to each event.
Windermere House was rebuilt, as it was on that promontory, overlooking Lake Rosseau, and it is every bit the historic landmark it once was……but thoroughly modernized. No one had been killed or seriously injured in what could have been much more serious.
As a reporter who shadowed the firefighters of South Muskoka for more than a decade, I have the utmost respect for them, and confidence they will do everything humanly possible to maintain our health and welfare in the event of crisis. But don't think for a minute, they have any choice, about taking their work home with them……and that's something we need to know about their dedication….before we make insensitive comments…….about saving foundations, and such.
Thank you firefighters of Muskoka. Thank you all first responders.
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