A HISTORY OF COMING TOGETHER TO MEET ADVERSITY - IT WOULDN’T BE THE FIRST TIME WE’VE HAD TO RE-BUILD AND RESTORE

Have you ever been in the situation, (of course you have) elevated on a ledge or rock face, with one foot secure, and the other dangling below, trying desperately to get even the slightest hold, to anchor safely onto the next step down? You can imagine falling. Like a dream tumble downward, that seems endless and heavenly. It’s much harder and fearful to imagine the impact against the ground! The pain! It makes us hold onto our position longer. No one wants to fall by misadventure.

It takes a while, even when your foot hits a secure opening below, before trust signals it’s okay to make the next move. On occasion, the rock or step-down falters, and you have to search again, for a better foothold. We’re always looking for a secure way through life. Yet there are no guarantees. Life is a precarious balance. A fire on our main street, on Monday, was pretty clear evidence, “new normals,” are as ever-changing as the time of day. Often these changes are subtle. For the owners and residents of our mainstreet buildings, damaged in the fire, these changes were a long way from subtle. They were cruel. The fall was painful.

History is a lot like this. At least for me. Whenever I have a doubt about the future, I know there will be something in the past, a half-forgotten milestone, a success of some nature, that will allow me to step down confidently. It is the realization that someone has passed this way before, and dutifully carved out steps, to let us know where we’ve been..... and how we got there. How it was that we were able to pull ourselves from the carnage, and start repairing the damage. Each time with the resolve, we can’t be held down. We won’t be held down!

Knowing the history of this community, for example, allows me the privilege of unyielding confidence. We are survivors of many other unfortunate circumstances. And we’re still here. There’s something important about “precedent setting,” that we shouldn’t forget!

If you could imagine the feelings of townsfolk, during other periods of our mutual heritage. How did our past citizens deal with the results of large scale fire? Fires that destroyed entire blocks of buildings? How did they cope watching their families trundle away to Europe, during the years of World War? Tell me, what was it like to meet the train, knowing there would be a coffin aboard carrying a loved one? Tragedy was shared. Feelings of loss weren’t confined to one family, or one household but were endured by the entire community. When news arrived that kin had been killed-in-action, that message reverberated through all the homes, all the businesses, all the fraternal and community organizations. It was talked about on the baseball diamonds, in the coffee shops, on the front porches and post office steps. In fact, it was just how Monday’s devastating fire was dealt with, by citizens of Gravenhurst, who understood what the loss has meant to good neighbors......and the main street which is still the center, the “heart” of our town. The place where a thousands parades have trundled along, celebrating our life and times through all the seasons, all the decades, from there to here and beyond!

Maybe I do have an advantage being an historian. A few will still only recognize history as a quagmire of cobwebs and irrelevance. While many were turned off history after the tedium of the high school classroom, I was one of few who held onto the past because it provided that secure step-down when it was most needed. At times, you see, when those same steps upward seem so precarious and frightening. Just knowing how much courage has been shown in the past, by folks who were just as vulnerable, just as doubtful about their ability to carry-on, means I can step-up more aggressively. Afterall, the precedents have been notched below, making the future itself more secure and attainable. “The will of the people.” It’s a pretty powerful resource. You are seeing this now, by the show of community generosity, and you’ll have a full view of this home town resilience, if you attend our concert this Sunday.

Once again, forgive the country philosopher for an attempt to apply color to what some may see only, as a black and white issue. In our hometowns, we are often guilty of ignoring the true wealth within. It has nothing to do with architecture, the sprawl of the urban landscape, the signs on soon-to-be-developed commercial lots, promising more progress to come. The resource most easily forgotten, is of the human-kind. A lot of “human-kind” worked to create our hometown.... from the first hinterland shanties, of the 1850's, into the recognized hamlet, village and town we celebrate today. It’s that human element, the fortitude of folks when put to the test, who are the true anchors of future prosperity. And that doesn’t have a blessed thing to do with capitalism. If we didn’t have a dollar to share, we’d pitch-in with whatever sweat equity we could muster as a collective. Helping each other. And between every line, accenting every single word printed in our local histories, is the reflection of human accomplishment to make a good “home” for us all.

It’s easy to look at a decimated main street, after this week’s fire in Gravenhurst, and worry about the future of the business community. What I see, and what so many other citizens of this community know, you can replace buildings! And we will. Folks survived the fire. That’s the most important reality of recent history.

After 48 hours, since sons Andrew and Robert began piecing together the fire victim benefit concert, “FOR OUR NEIGHBORS,” we are pleased to report Mayor Paisley Donaldson will officially open this Sunday’s event at the Opera House......starting at 2 p.m. This is an important show of support from the Town of Gravenhurst. Getting an immediate response back from the Mayor’s office, yesterday, was the boost of confidence we needed. You always wonder, in situations like these, how Town Hall is perceiving the aftermath. I’m seeing a Mayor who is one of us.......not elevated above us!

We have already been receiving cash donations (at the boy’s music shop, opposite the Opera House) from concerned citizens, wanting to help out families who lost all their possessions, and had no insurance coverage. Just as encouraging, has been the volunteer support offered by hundreds of others, from musicians, entertainers generally, business owners around the town, organizations, all wanting to know how to assist. Even the word “overwhelming” hasn’t been enough to describe the last two days of outreach and support, to help those who were seriously impacted by Monday’s fire.

We have added many more names to the list of musicians joining us, including well known singer / guitarist, Ginger Graham, who has teamed up with us for dozens of fundraisers in the past, and performer / colleague of ours, Wayne Hill, no stranger to helping out important community fundraisers. We have folks joining us, such as Gill and Jon O’connor, their daughter Dani O’Connor and guitarist Aaron Binder, of the duo “Pressure Point.” There are technical helpers joining us as volunteers, including James Lucibello and Luke Thompson, only part of the crew now being assembled for Sunday’s concert. We have received assistance from Gravenhurst’s “Artstract” to create posters needed to promote the event. The “MOOSE” Radio Station, in Bracebridge, and Cogeco, Cable Ten, here in Gravenhurst, have been of immeasurable help to us, promoting the benefit concert. We will provide a more thorough list of our supporters and volunteers in future blogs.

And we certainly have to recognize the support of Fred Schulz, our old friend, who has again assumed responsibilities as master of ceremonies. We couldn’t imagine one of these events without his statesmanship on stage.

The boys are proud of their home town, let me tell you.