CHRISTMAS IN GRAVENHURST -

GULL LAKE PARK IS A NOSTALGIC, SCENIC, COMFORTING RESPITE IN A BUSTLING URBAN ENVIRONS - THE BARGE - A SIMPLE, SENSIBLE VENUE

Many of us here in Gravenhurst, can look out upon the small, scenic expanse, of Gull Lake Park, and see a wee slice of unpretentious perfection. We can see our town history going back many decades, and admittedly, a few of us with vivid imaginations, can see the ghosts of dear relatives, friends and neighbors we used to meet here……possibly on those glorious summer nights, when we could find a patch of hillside grass, and enjoy a concert on The Barge……you know the one; that yellow, 1950's relic, so modestly appointed on a curving wooden platform, with the scalloped fiberglass panels, and wooden decorative edging…… and the lightning rods, (actually now, toilet floats on rods) where so many fine musicians have played since the 1950's. We might even recall the play "Our Town," and get a little misty-eyed about all the memorable times, you came here with family for an afternoon picnic, or went swimming with your kids…..now long grown up, and living somewhere else. Not here. Even at times when we feel a little overwhelmed by the nostalgia of the old park, at virtually the same time, the scenic pleasure of the hillside pinery, and the sparkling water against the rock cliffs along the horizon, inspires a welcome calm from the busy, stressful modern day. It beckons the voyeur to pause for a moment, sit on a park bench, and let its ambience sooth the weary soul. Poetic? I've never once been a guest at Gull Lake Park that I didn't feel it was a poetic experience…….with much more meaning attached than what is obvious at first glance, to those who have no vested history here……..that a park is a park…..is a park.

I felt the same way, about Bracebridge's Jubilee Park. I can remember, just before the earth movers, gouged away the sod of that old fair grounds, where I used to play as a kid, standing at its edge, feeling as if the town had just given away its most precious possession. They had surrendered what they had been guardian of…….betrayed a trusted stewardship that dated back over a century, and sold the park for a university campus. I had such a difficult time with this, because it demonstrated to me, how easy and conscience-free governance can be, to take a neighborhood park from the citizens…….because an economic advantage was so much more valued than recreation open space, in an urban environs that will, without question, increase in population density in the next quarter century. The under-prepared neighborhood and friends of the park, from the wider community, had little money to invest in a "Save Our Park" campaign, and it came down to a battle of political will, and power alignments within the town, to push acceptance through. Even at the Ontario Municipal Board hearing, those who wanted to save the park, relied heavily on the same sentiment as I presented in this blog's opening paragraph. It had no impact whatsoever on the OMB. Without Jane Jacobs in the audience, there was no way of presenting an urgent petition to maintain urban open spaces…….and the power brokers got their way. It was the first time, on such a controversial issue, (of sacrificing a park for some eventual profit), that town council was unanimous in their support. They couldn't have given a damn about the history of that neighborhood, which was a working class, modest income bailiwick, where that small park was a little heaven on earth. It was afforded the town for this purpose. Even in the 1800's, there was an awareness of the importance of social/ cultural/ recreational space in a central and convenient location to the urban heart of the community.

If I bring up the Jubilee Park situation often, I make no apology. It is, if nothing else, a learning experience for us here in Gravenhurst. When earlier this summer, while working on a number of blog submissions, regarding the failing condition of The Barge, I re-introduced issues of the former Jubilee Park…..and how easy it can be for mind-set individuals to compromise what might appear beyond such intrusion……some folks and politicians thought I was whacking a gnat with a sledgehammer to make a point. Well, as both an historian of this region, former editor, and council reporter, and someone who carried a placard during the Save Our Park protest, you should worry less about my emphatic desire to make a point, and what could become reality. Is Gull Lake Park in the same danger as Jubilee Park in Bracebridge? Here are a few points to consider and why there is some urgency for the public to put their collective foot down…..now!

The Wharf is a commercial park. It was designed this way. The developer and the town decided on this for us, to a large extent, and they gave the townsfolk access…..sometimes for a fee to private enterprise activities. While there is a lovely nature preserve out onto lake Muskoka, one has to penetrate the commercial network first, before the first step of the nature walk is employed. The boardwalk experience is good to a point but some of us don't care for the commercial component that is pretty hard to ignore, especially on a busy day. While I am happy about the commerce it attracts…..(I'm less enthusiastic about the architecture), and the potential it has for improving our stake in Muskoka's number one industry, I often feel, as a homeowner, that this wasn't created for my recreational interests. Our boys, and mates don't even feel comfortable fishing there anymore, and they'd been going there for years to drop a line. There are urban legends abounding, that fishers are subtly informed to bugger-off……although I don't have this on first person authority. I would never, with my knowledge of this town's history, say that of the two main parks, that The Wharf was the "people's park." It is for the more fiscally prosperous, generally, who can arrive for dinner by motor launch……it's for folks who can afford the luxury of boat cruises and museum admissions……and afford the condos and hotel accommodation nearby.

If you were to do a survey…..and the town might find this a worthwhile project, (seeing as they're getting antsy looking for projects), and ask how many of the citizens of this community have been on the boat cruises based from our home port……or have been to the new waterfront museum; which of course, you would like to find to the positive…..that indeed most have participated in these hometown opportunities. I expect the contrary holds true. When our boys were younger, taking a cruise on the Segwun was too expensive……we didn't have a lot of money, and when we did take the shortest tour available, we had to count on a small recreation-spending jar we'd been adding to for just such an occasion. Here we have these two wonderful boats in this community, and so many youngsters who have never been able to catch a ride because of economic circumstance. Is this wrong? It's business. Right?

So the Wharf has become a park situation for the better off, you might say, and there is a perception it wasn't built to satisfy the townsfolk, but to make our town a destination in the tourism business. I don't have a problem with this….because we benefit from tourism enhancement.

But here's the problem. Gull Lake Park is perfect for the townsfolk of all incomes, and most interests in casual or more formal recreation….such as baseball in the summer, skating in the winter…..snowmobiling when the ice covers the lake, and cross country skiing throughout the winter months. Swimming! Great! You can't swim at The Wharf. The canoes and boating opportunities are excellent, at Gull Lake, and the music venue….The Barge, is absolutely perfect with its inherent modesty of construction and proportion. It is neither grandiose or too small for the groups of musicians who tromp onboard, for those incredibly popular Sunday evening concerts in the glorious months of Muskoka summer. It is all so unpretentious and honest, as it was designed, and how it has operated for decades, without the need for anything more substantial than ongoing maintenance……which has been less than a town priority for many years. Some would say it is the "have not" park, of the two. Possibly it is this that has inspired some on town council, to consider giving the park some added attention……such as gouging out the shoreline, and building a concrete bunker, they will call, under the guise of urban sophistication, an "amphitheater"……..a constructed one versus the natural one that The Barge architect took advantage of in the 1950's, and what has served the concert goers well ever since.

I am seriously worried about Council's meddling in these type of physical alterations to the park, without full disclosure of their plans, and why it is necessary, before it arrives at the council table for approval. The fascination about a new amphitheater, underscores what I have been warning about since the Jubilee Park fiasco……and that is, the involvement of council members and staff, in large part, working to make changes to the townscape, with their own agenda…….not ours! This was not a plan that was presented by the citizenry or the manager of the Concert on the Barge program. This was a concocted idea that may have seemed good in the banter stage, that got wings because of a few affirmations found along the way. This warrants far more investigation and sensitivity than these council folk are apparently willing to lend. So my advice to the citizens of Gravenhurst, is that they let town hall know how they feel about these proposed improvements to Gull Lake Park, before this slice of shoreline is compromised by what seemed like a good idea…..by some…..but not the majority.

I would really like Town Council to deal with the problems at hand here, like the debacle of an ever-delayed and grossly expensive recreation centre, and not get into projects that should be citizen-inspired and presented. We all want improvements but sometimes, we differ on what an "improvement" means to the whole town…..and not just a few mind-set individuals who claim to have the formula, for making our lives oh so much better.

Pay attention to the progress of this council-inspired adventure…..to improve a park that, by all accounts, doesn't need anything more than tender maintenance, to serve the public well.

Repair The Barge? Now there's a stellar idea!