Sanctuary - Gravenhurst
The Ultimate Writer’s Retreat
For the first time since I graduated university in 1977, I am now officially unfettered from a long list of community projects that yes, at times, were unmistakably "millstones". While I enjoyed my volunteer involvement with several local museums, historical societies, and two well known and respected Foundations, plus many writing commitments across the district, I did rather seriously weigh myself down over the decades with social-cultural responsibility. It was okay at times but of course once you’re committed to a project, and hold one of the directorship portfolios, it’s bloody hard to find a replacement. The most burdensome aspect was attending so many meetings each month.......as I detested classroom instruction as a kid, well.... in adulthood I hated being confined in lengthy meetings. I didn’t mind the work-load but I couldn’t get around being tied-up for so many hours in stuffy meeting halls. We made more progress before and after the meetings over coffee than we did during the official portion of the get-togethers.
Admittedly, I got involved with a significant number of initiatives that were so exciting and rewarding that you just couldn’t imagine the good times ever ending. But they did! For example, I was the curator of the Bracebridge Sports Hall of Fame, at the Bracebridge Memorial Community Centre. I used to get a laugh about this because of the ongoing rivalry between the two towns......so they put a Gravenhurst resident in charge of a Bracebridge sport’s heritage display.....for 12 years! Well, the only way that posting continued as long as it did, was due to the fact I was appointed to the position by former National Hockey League goaltender, (and Bracebridge native) Roger Crozier, founder of the Crozier Foundation for youth in Muskoka (circa 1995). The Hall of Fame showcase was constructed as a memorial to Roger in 1996, following his passing. In the spring of 1995 Roger had asked what I thought would be a good first project for the newly created Foundation, other than charitable donations which were made in abundance, and I borrowed an idea given to me by former arena Manager Tom Robinson, suggesting a greatly expanded showcase, which would allow for a much more expansive display of sports memorabilia from the community. The Foundation put money up for the construction of the showcase as a tribute to Roger, and I was handed the exhibit keys that summer during a special grand opening ceremony. I was both Hall of Fame Curator and Public Relations Director of the Foundation for the next decade. The Crozier Foundation did close its operations here in 2006 due to unforseen circumstances, but I remained curator for the next two years until either an agreement could be made with the Town of Bracebridge, or a replacement found. As it turned out a replacement was found, and at long last the town was finally looking after its own display.....without that Gravenhurst influence.
The reason I got involved with this newly established charitable organization, was on account of Roger, plain and simple. One long, hot, boring summer back in the late 1960's, Roger called my mother to ask if I would like to attend a free week of hockey instruction at the Red Wing Hockey School he sponsored at the arena. We didn’t have money for such things back then and his kind offer was so incredible.....I was at the arena in minutes after getting the news. Roger had heard I was a promising minor league goalie and could use some brushing up for the coming season. And I suppose he knew money was tight for our family back then....as it was for many. I wasn’t the only kid to get a free week of instruction but I’ve always been the only one to make a big deal about it.....because it was a turning point not just in hockey but in my perception of what makes a community a "home town!" It was his generosity to me and my family that left a huge and lasting imprint. As Roger had been assisted by the same community, when he needed rides to junior games when he played in St. Catharines, among many other kindnesses bestowed by good citizens, he came back to town to return favors. To the end of his life he felt strongly about his friends in Muskoka and was able to re-visit with many before the final stage of his illness.
There wasn’t one moment at the helm of the Hall of Fame, or during my public relations stint with the Crozier Foundation that I didn’t feel an enormous pride working in Roger’s memory to promote athletics and help local youth achieve goals by removing economic barriers. From the first day as a member of his executive in 1995, to my retirement in the autumn of 2008, I celebrated the association as did the rest of my family who also thought the world of Roger. He had been very kind to my boys Andrew and Robert, and my wife Suzanne. He had even sent a corporate jet to the Muskoka airport to pick me up, for a several day tour of his work-place at MBNA (Bank) in Wilmington, Delaware.....and a chance to see what his life was like as a bank executive in contrast to his days as an allstar goalie for the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and then Washington Capitals. It was a terrific experience I will never forget.
I have had many interesting years of involvement with various community organizations in our home region of Ontario, ranging from a stint as historian of South Muskoka Memorial Hospital, director of the Muskoka Lakes Museum, founding director of the Bracebridge Historical Society, Manager of Woodchester Villa and Museum, a former director of the Bracebridge Branch of the Ontario Humane Society, and co-founder of both the Herald-Gazette Rink Rat Hockey Club and the annual Lovable Losers Hockey Tournament, both of which are still in operation and still fundraising for the betterment of the community. While it may not seem as onerous as it feels to me in retrospect, on top of my myriad writing responsibilities and the fact I’m a small business owner, it has been a crammed sort of existence since the mid 1970's when I decided to move back to Muskoka after a taste of city life......which I deplored.
But there comes a time when you realize that you’ve neglected a lot of other important life and times matters, and finally possess a clear recognition you’re pretty much spent as a volunteer..
Since 1989 my safe haven has been Gravenhurst. Not that I don’t help out here when I can with fundraising projects my sons Andrew and Robert get up to, .....just that I’m a little more focused at home with writing these days and on our several decade foray in the antique business which consumes a weighty amount of time each year hunting relics. I am currently writing my own epic column this year for a wonderful little publication, available locally, known as "Curious; The Tourist Guide," which will be an adventure-filled and unique feature series about my years involved with antique hunting you might say.....which is my own way of settling down to enjoy an unencumbered passion for collecting,..... with nary a meeting or any encumbrance. So with this long overdue project I’m finally putting together my die-hard commitment to writing, with this insatiable appetite for what I fondly call...."Zen and the Art of Antique Collecting."
As well, I have recently published a new blog site detailing my connections with the paranormal in Muskoka, and you can link with this collection of stories by searching Ghosts of Muskoka. Everything has been authored in Gravenhurst, as it has been since 1989. As I’ve noted previously in this collection of blog-vignettes, of all the places lived in this region and beyond, I have never found a place that has inspired me more....than this wonderful sanctuary in the snowy Muskoka woodlands. Us writer-kind are rather fussy about our environs, and Gravenhurst has worked just fine for the past 20 years. I’m pleasantly stuck here at Birch Hollow where I will continue to enjoy a good and inspiring home town ambience.....just with a tad more free time these days to pursue a wee bit more writing....and home repairs which frankly I’ve rather neglected while working on everything else. I’d rather sit at this keyboard all day than tend a garden or paint the deck.....but it’s kind of caught up with me such that I don’t have any choice but to work at home improvement.
Till we meet again.