MUSKOKA HERITAGE - ANTIQUES - AND PREPARATIONS FOR RICHARD KARON BIOGRAPHY…OH YES, AND AN 8.8 PERCENT TAX HIKE
TAX INCREASE……GLAD WE DON'T OWN A COTTAGE
THE NEWS VIA THE WEEKENDER, TODAY, IS THAT WE MIGHT BE LOOKING AT AN 8.8 PERCENT TAX INCREASE FOR THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST. IT IS SAID TO BE A STATUS QUO BUDGET, AND THAT'S WHY I REALLY HOPE THERE'S NARY A MENTION, OR REQUEST FOR A BUDGET STIPEND, TO COVER PRELIMINARY WORK EXPENSES, FOR A "SHOVEL-READY" AMPHITHEATRE, RECENTLY BEING PROPOSED FOR GULL LAKE PARK……WHICH IS A BAD IDEA IN MY OPINION. LET'S PUT SOME BUMS ON SEATS AT THE OPERA HOUSE INSTEAD….A REALLY NICE BUT "VERY LIGHTLY" USED ENTERTAINMENT VENUE, RIGHT IN THE BIA HEARTLAND. SO PUT SOME EFFORT INTO BOOKING SHOWS THERE, AND LEAVE GULL LAKE PARK AS IT IS……A REALLY SWELL, UNOBSTRUCTED TOWN PARK…..REQUIRING SOME REPAIRS TO THE BARGE…..ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR NO FRILLS VENUES ON EARTH. PUT MONEY INTO REPAIRS. NOT A HOLE IN THE SHORELINE.
AS FOR THE TAX HIKE. WELL, THE NEW POOL FACILITY IS IMPORTANT FOR MANY OF THE CITIZENS IN THIS COMMUNITY, FROM KIDS TO SENIORS, SO I WILL NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE TAX INCREASE, WHEN THIS IS A HUSKY PART OF THE REASON FOR THE HIKE. IT IS NICE TO HAVE IT OPEN, AND FROM INITIAL REPORTS FROM USERS WE KNOW, IT'S A FIRST CLASS CENTRE…..AND DESPITE THE CALAMITY TO GET HERE, THE POSITIVES ARE OUTWEIGHING THE COST NEGATIVES. IN TORONTO, AN 8.8 PERCENT INCREASE WOULD BRING ABOUT A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL PROTEST AT CITY HALL. IN GRAVENHURST, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF SITUATIONS WE'VE FACED IN THE LAST YEAR, AND PROJECTS NEGLECTED FROM THE PAST, IT IS AN INCREASE OUR FAMILY BUDGETED FOR…..SO AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T CRASH OVER 12 PERCENT, THE RECREATION CENTRE IMPROVEMENTS ARE WORTH THE PRESENT IMPOSITION. AS FOR THE ADDED EXPENSES OF ROOF REPAIR AT THE TOWN HALL…..WELL, THERE'S A RAIL THAT SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RIDING, THAT'S FOR SURE. WHAT CAN WE DO NOW? PAY THE PIPER!.
THE COTTAGERS? WELL THAT'S ANOTHER MATTER ENTIRELY. I WISH THE MAYOR WELL, WHEN ATTENDING COTTAGE ASSOCIATION MEETINGS THIS SUMMER SEASON. FROM MY OWN HISTORY COVERING THESE MEETINGS FOR THE LOCAL PRESS, I'D FEEL BAD FOR ANY POOR SOUL, HAVING TO SPRING THIS KIND OF INCREASE, ON WHAT IS ALREADY NOSE-BLEED TAXES ON WATERFRONT PROPERTIES.
LOTS OF INTERESTING PROJECTS HIGHLIGHTING MUSKOKA'S PAST
NOTE: WORK ON THE BIOGRAPHY OF MUSKOKA LANDSCAPE ARTIST, RICHARD KARON, IS PROGRESSING WELL. WE ARE HOPING TO START PUBLISHING CHAPTERS AS EARLY AS THE MIDDLE OF MARCH, ALTHOUGH THIS MAY CHANGE TO EARLY APRIL, DEPENDING ON THE FLOW OF INFORMATION, NOW COMING FROM FAMILY AND ASSOCIATES. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN MUSKOKA, THE WORK OF A TALENTED LANDSCAPE ARTIST, AND VALUATIONS FOR HIS WORK…..MUCH OF IT STILL POPPING UP FOR RESALE ON THE LOCAL MARKET, PLEASE JOIN ME FOR A FASCINATING GLIMPSE AT OUR REGION, THROUGH THE EYES OF THE PAINTER. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON MR. KARON, THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, PLEASE EMAIL ME. IF YOU HAVE SOME OF HIS ART WORK, AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT INCLUDED IN THIS RETROSPECTIVE, I WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO SEE IMAGES. AS WITH BIOGRAPHIES I HAVE DONE FOR OTHER MUSKOKA ARTISTS, INCLUDING ROBERT EVERETT, OF BRACEBRIDGE AND MILFORD BAY, AND ADA FLORENCE KINTON, OF HUNTSVILLE, I ANTICIPATE THIS WILL BE AS MEMORABLE FOR ME, AS IT WILL BE INFORMATIVE FOR YOU. PLEASE JOIN ME. THE BIOGRAPHY WILL BE PUBLISHED ON THIS BLOG-SITE ORIGINALLY, AND THEN IT WILL BE DONATED TO THE ARCHIVES OF BOTH THE NATIONAL ART GALLERY IN OTTAWA, AND THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO, IN TORONTO, AS A BASE OF INFORMATION FOR FUTURE ART BIOGRAPHERS AND HISTORIANS, WANTING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT PROVINCIAL ARTISTS.
THE INFORMAL ARCHIVES OF THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE
IF YOU'VE BEEN VISITING THIS BLOG, RECENTLY, YOU ALREADY KNOW, I HAVE AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR INTERESTING LOCAL STORIES, BIOGRAPHIES, HISTORICAL SLEUTHING, AND INEVITABLY, BRINGING THOSE STORIES TO YOU. FROM 1979 TO 1989 I DID THIS FOR READERS OF MUSKOKA PUBLICATION NEWSPAPERS, INCLUDING THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, THE HERALD-GAZETTE, THE MUSKOKA SUN, AND THE MUSKOKA ADVANCE.
I WORKED WITH THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR, ROBERT BOYER, ONE OF MUSKOKA'S WELL KNOWN WRITER / HISTORIANS, DEVELOPING FEATURE STORY IDEAS FOR THE SUMMER-SEASON RUN OF THE MUSKOKA SUN….WHICH WAS HIS BABY. I'D WRITE LOTS OF MATERIAL FOR BOB, USUALLY OVER THE WINTER MONTHS, AND SPECIAL FEATURES FOR THE HERALD-GAZETTE, WHICH WAS THE WEEKLY NEW PUBLICATION. TO DO THIS, I SPENT HOURS DOWN IN THE HERALD-GAZETTE DUNGEON, AT 27 DOMINION STREET……IRONICALLY, THE SAME BUILDING FORMER CONVICTED MURDERER, GEORGE CYR, WAS JAILED IN, AWAITING HIS EXECUTION. CYR, WHO HAD MURDERED THREE PEOPLE HE KNEW, WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO HEAR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GALLOWS, MADE JUST FOR HIM. HE WAS GUILTY, BY THE WAY, AND HIS LAWYER, REDMOND THOMAS, WROTE ABOUT HIS LAST DAY CONFESSION……..WHEN CYR TOLD HIM WHERE THE GUN WAS BURIED, THAT HE HAD USED TO KILL HIS FRIENDS. IT WAS A ROBBERY GONE BAD, WHEN HE WAS INTERRUPTED LOOKING FOR MONEY IN THEIR HOUSE.
THE REASON I INCLUDE THIS HISTORICAL SNIP-IT, IS THAT IT WAS THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT STORY I DEVELOPED USING THE BASEMENT ARCHIVES……STUFFED WITH RELICS OF THE PRINTING INDUSTRY. YUP, THERE WERE TRAYS FULL OF LEAD TYPE, AND PRINTING BLOCKS FROM THE OLD PRINTING PRESSES, AND HAND-SET PRINT MATERIALS, AND DEVICES, ALL OF WHICH WERE EMPLOYED IN THIS INTERESTING OLD BUILDING……STILL ON THE URBAN LANDSCAPE TODAY. IF YOU LOOK AT THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING, YOU CAN STILL SEE THE SCREW HOLES WHERE THE IRON LETTERS WERE ONCE ATTACHED, THAT READ SIMPLY, "THE HERALD-GAZETTE." AS ANOTHER STRANGE IRONY, I JUST RECENTLY PURCHASED THOSE IRON LETTERS, FROM THE LOCAL HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RE-STORE….THE SAME LETTERS I LOOKED AT EVERY DAY WHEN I WORKED IN THAT OFFICE AS EDITOR. I CONFESS TO STILL GETTING A LITTLE CHOKED-UP WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE MANY EMPLOYEES THAT I GOT TO KNOW, IN THOSE YEARS, THAT ARE NOW THE DEARLY DEPARTED. FOLKS LIKE NORMAN TANNER, ON THE FRONT DESK, BOB BOYER CHEWING ON AN OLD CIGAR IN HIS DICKENSIAN OFFICE, JUDITH BROCKLEHURST, MY TALENTED REPORTING COLLEAGUE, RAYMOND LEE, THE EFFERVESCENT ADVERTISING MANAGER, JACK WELLS, ONE OF OUR PRINTING TECHNICIANS, AND REG THOMPSON, WHO FAITHFULLY CLEANED THE BUILDING ON SUNDAY NIGHTS. I HAD A LOT OF INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS WITH REG., WHILE I WAS WORKING DOWN IN OUR NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES.
IN MY OWN PERSONAL CONFLUENCE OF INTERESTS IN ALL THINGS HISTORICAL, I IMMERSED MYSELF IN THE PRINT HERITAGE OF THE COMMUNITY, DATING WELL BACK INTO THE 1800'S. I'D SIT ON A STOOL IN THE COOL BASEMENT, AND READ THROUGH A DOZEN OR MORE OLD PAPERS A NIGHT. MANY HAD BEEN MICRO-FILMED, AND THEN BROUGHT BACK HOME TO THE BOB BOYER, WHO PLACED THEM CAREFULLY BACK DOWNSTAIRS. IT WASN'T THE BEST PLACE FOR THEM, BUT THE BUILDING WAS CRAMMED FULL OF EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL, AND THERE WASN'T MUCH ROOM ABOVE THE BASEMENT FOR NEWSPAPER STORAGE. SO THERE WAS OBVIOUS DETERIORATION. MUCH OF THIS MATERIAL WAS EVENTUALLY THROWN AWAY, IN THE CHANGEOVERS OF OWNERSHIP THROUGH THE YEARS, AND THEN AGAIN, WHEN THE PAPER WAS FINALLY CLOSED. I'M GLAD I SPENT SO MUCH TIME DOWN THERE, TRYING TO RESEARCH STORY IDEAS FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. I DON'T HAVE THE NOTES ANY MORE BUT I HAVEN'T FORGOT THE HISTORY I READ ABOUT.
AT THE HERALD-GAZETTE, REPORTING STAFF WAS OFTEN PUT IN A POSITION, BY HAPPENSTANCE, (JUST HAPPENED TO BE STANDING THERE), WHERE THEY HAD TO COVER THE FRONT DESK, IF ONE OF THE CLERKS GOT BUSY, OR HAD TO LEAVE THE BUILDING FOR A TAD. I'D DONE THIS IN MACTIER, AT THE BEACON, AND IT WASN'T SO BAD. AT THE BEACON I HAD TO SELL OFFICE SUPPLIES DURING THE LUNCH-HOUR WHEN JOYCE LUSK, THE FIRST PERSON TO EDUCATE ME ABOUT THE RIGORS OF THE NEWSPAPER BUSINESS, WENT FOR HER AFTERNOON BREAK. I WASN'T VERY GOOD AT BEING A CLERK. NOT EVEN IN THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS, MANY YEARS LATER. ON DOMINION STREET, I WAS OFTEN AT THE FRONT DESK WHEN SOMEONE WOULD COME IN LOOKING FOR LOCAL HISTORY BOOKS, THAT HAD BEEN PUBLISHED EARLIER, BY THE HERALD-GAZETTE PRESS. YOU WILL FIND MANY OF THESE BOOKS IN THE MUSKOKA COLLECTIONS OF OUR LOCAL LIBRARIES. SOME OF THEM ARE QUITE VALUABLE NOW. BACK THEN, THEY WERE LITERALLY A DIME A DOZEN. OUR COUNTER WAS FULL OF THEM, INCLUDING THE WELL RESPECTED HISTORY, "A GOOD TOWN GREW HERE," BY ROBERT BOYER, PUBLISHED IN 1975 AS A CENTENNIAL RELEASE, COMMEMORATING THE TOWN'S 100 YEARS OF INCORPORATION. I THINK THE BOOK WAS SELLING FOR FIVE DOLLARS A PIECE, AT THAT TIME, AND LIKE THE OTHERS, IT WAS A SLOW PROCESS TO SELL WHAT WE HAD IN RESERVE. WHEN THE PAPER SOLD, JUST BEFORE I JUMPED SHIP MYSELF, THE BOOKS DISAPPEARED, AND BECAME THE MERCHANDISE OF A BOOK STORE IN HUNTSVILLE. IT'S WHERE I WENT ONE DAY, AS AN ANTIQUE PROPRIETOR, AND BOUGHT TWENTY-FIVE OF VICTORIA BOYER'S BOOK, ON THE OLD HOUSES OF BRACEBRIDGE. THE PHOTOS IN THIS BOOK WERE TAKEN BY MY REPORTING BUDDY, (DRINKING MATE) BRANT SCOTT, THE GUY WHO WROTE POPULAR COLUMNS LIKE "A WEE BISCUIT." HE WAS ALSO A CO-FOUNDER OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE RINK RATS HOCKEY TEAM, (NOW KNOWN AS THE MUSKOKA RINK RATS). I DIGRESS. BY ABOUT 1993 ONWARD, I WAS SELLING BOB BOYER'S BOOK FOR A HUNDRED BUCKS, BECAUSE DEMAND INCREASED AND SUPPLY HAD EVAPORATED. HAVING SOLD THOSE SAME BOOKS FOR FIVE BUCKS A FEW YEARS EARLIER, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT SUPPLY WOULD HAVE MANAGED DEMAND FOR ANOTHER TWENTY YEARS.
OF ALL THE BOOKS OF MUSKOKA HISTORY I POSSESS, MY FAVORITE IS A DOG-EARRED SOFTCOVER TEXT, ONCE OWNED BY ITS ORIGINAL PRINTER, JACK WELLS, THAT IS SIGNED BY BOTH THE AUTHOR, BOB BOYER, AND THE PRINTER WHO RAN IT THROUGH THE PRESS. I FOUND IT IN A LOCAL SECOND HAND SHOP NOT SO LONG AGO, AND I WAS ECSTATIC TO FIND THE PROVENANCE OF THE ACTUAL PRINTER OF THIS HISTORIC, AND NOW RARE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORY; AND OF COURSE, THE SIGNATURE OF MY OLD MENTOR AND PUBLISHER, BOB BOYER. I'VE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, BUT I'M RATHER PROUD OF IT……MY YOUNGEST SON ROBERT, WAS NAMED OUT OF RESPECT FOR MR. BOYER. ROB USED TO JOIN ME, WHEN I HAD TO DRIVE BOB FOR HIS EYE APPOINTMENTS AND SURGERY IN ORILLIA. I LOVED DRIVING BOB'S CADILLAC. HE USED TO TREAT US AT THE SUNDIAL RESTAURANT…..NOW UNFORTUNATELY A HOLE IN THE GROUND, AND BOTH OF US ENJOYED HIS COMPANY…….AND HIS ONGOING HISTORICAL ANECDOTES. BOB BOYER WAS ALSO OUR MEMBER OF PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT FOR MANY YEARS, AS WELL AS A FORMER CHAIRMAN OF ONTARIO HYDRO. HE HAD LOTS OF STORIES TO SHARE, AND I DRANK THEM IN, LET ME TELL YOU. I'VE BEEN SO PRIVILEGED, OVER MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE, TO HAVE WORKED BESIDE MANY ACCOMPLISHED INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING WRITERS LIKE WAYLAND (BUSTER) DREW, AUTHOR OF THE BOOK, "SUPERIOR; THE HAUNTED SHORE," PLUS MANY OTHERS. WAYLAND AND I WERE MEMBERS OF THE FIRST BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BACK IN 1978. WAYLAND WAS A COLLEAGUE OF SUZANNE'S AT BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA LAKES SECONDARY SCHOOL.
I TOLD HIS WIFE, GWEN, ONE DAY, SHORTLY AFTER WAYLAND'S PASSING, THAT I HAD ALWAYS FELT "BROWN'S WEIR," A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO, WAS MY FAVORITE……AND ON MY DESK NOW IS A COVETED, AUTOGRAPHED HARDCOVER COPY. I HAVE INCLUDED AN IMAGE OF THEIR AUTOGRAPHS. WAYLAND DREW WAS ONE OF THIS COUNTRY'S FINE WRITERS, AND WHETHER IT WAS "WABENO FEAST," OR "HALFWAY MAN," OR HIS STUDY OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER, THE INLAND SEA, HIS WORDS WERE POWERFUL AND INFLUENTIAL. I GOT TO KNOW WAYLAND BECAUSE OF OUR MUTUAL INTEREST IN WRITING AND HISTORY. HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM, THE OCTAGONAL FORMER HOME OF BIRD'S WOOLLEN MILL FOUNDER, HENRY BIRD, OF BRACEBRIDGE……THAT'S RIGHT, THE MUSEUM NOW CLOSED BECAUSE OF ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEMS. WAYLAND WOULD BE UPSET BY THIS NEWS. WE STOOD ON THAT HILLSIDE, ABOVE THE MUSKOKA RIVER, SOMETIME IN LATE 1977, I THINK IT WAS, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE COULD DO TO PRESERVE THIS INTERESTING EIGHT-SIDED ARCHITECTURE. WE BOTH PUT IN A LOT OF HOURS BUT WITH AN ARMY OF LIKE-MINDED VOLUNTEERS, THE MUSEUM BECAME A REALITY IN THE EARLY 1980'S. I BECAME ITS MANAGER IN THE LATE 1980'S.
BACK IN MY YEARS WORKING AT MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, I WAS VERY MUCH IMMERSED IN LOCAL AND REGIONAL HISTORY. I READ EVERYTHING I COULD, FROM HANDWRITTEN NOTES, ANCIENT THEMSELVES, TO VARIOUS REPORTS STORED IN THE BASEMENT, TO OF COURSE, EVERY SHRED OF YELLOWED NEWSPAPER, INCLUDING THE COPIES OF THE MUSKOKA HERALD. THE BRACEBRIDGE-GAZETTE, OWNED BY THE THOMAS FAMILY, AND THE MUSKOKA HERALD, BELONGING TO THE BOYERS, MERGED IN THE 1950'S I BELIEVE, TO CREATE THE HERALD-GAZETTE. THERE WERE EVEN BRACEBRIDGE GAZETTES IN THE ARCHIVES AS WELL. G.H.O. THOMAS HAD WRITTEN A HISTORY OF BRACEBRIDGE, WHICH I STILL HAVE IN MY ARCHIVES SOMEWHERE, AND HIS SON REDMOND THOMAS, A MAGISTRATE, ALSO WROTE AN IMPORTANT HISTORY…..WHICH WAS WONDERFULLY ANECDOTAL, ABOUT HIS MEMORIES OF LOCAL EVENTS AND CHARACTERS. I'VE READ BOTH OF THEM MANY TIMES. I WOULD SPEND THREE OR FOUR HOURS, MAKING COPIOUS NOTES FROM THOSE BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS. WHEN READERS TODAY, ASK HOW I BECAME SO WELL INFORMED ABOUT MUSKOKA HISTORY, AND WELL VERSED ON THE APPRAISAL OF MUSKOKA COLLECTIBLES (AND HERITAGE ITEMS), A LOT CAME FROM THOSE NEWSPAPER RELATED ASSOCIATIONS, THE PROMINENT CITIZENS I WAS ABLE TO INTERVIEW AND WORK WITH….SUCH AS WELL RESPECTED LAWYER E.P. LEE, WHO HELPED US CREATE THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S CONSTITUTION. AND I WAS LEARNING ABOUT THEM, AND THEIR FAMILIES, THROUGHOUT THE PAGES OF THESE OLD PAPERS…..WHETHER IT WAS FRONT PAGE NEWS, SPORTS COVERAGE, BIRTHS, DEATHS, GRADUATIONS, MARRIAGES, OR ABOUT THE BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS THEY WERE OCCUPIED IN THEIR YOUNGER LIVES. THE ARCHIVES OFFERED A HUGE WINDOW ONTO THE HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY. IT GAVE ME A SUBSTANTIAL ADVANTAGE TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUSKOKA HISTORY DEVELOPED, AND WITH BOB BOYER AS MY IN-HOUSE PROFESSOR, WELL SIR, I HAD IT GOOD.
I GOT TO UNDERSTAND MUSKOKA'S BOOKS AND THEIR RARITY, BY WORKING IN THE MIDST OF THE PRINTING COMPANY THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR PUBLICATION. I GOT TO SMELL PRINTERS INK EVERY DAY ON THE JOB. EVEN THOUGH THE OLD PRINTING PRESSES WERE GONE, THE NEW-AGE MACHINES WERE STILL A WONDER TO WATCH. I USED TO SADDLE-UP TO PRINTING STAFF IN THOSE DAYS, TO WATCH PRINTING JOBS RUN THROUGH THE PRESSES. PRESSMEN LIKE HARRY RANGER, JIM WRIGHT, GARY CAMPBELL AND DOUG JADRODNIC, USED TO ALLOW ME THE PRIVILEGE OF GETTING CLOSE TO THE ACTION. I ACTUALLY WATCHED TWO OF MY OWN BOOKS COMING OFF THOSE SAME PRESSES. WHAT A RUSH. I WATCHED OUR TYPESETTERS, WHEN THE MACHINES SPIT-OUT A YELLOW "PUNCHED" TICKER-TAPE, THAT THEY COULD ACTUALLY READ, AND CORRECT IF AN ERROR HAD APPEARED. I WAS ABSOLUTELY FASCINATED TO WATCH OUR TALENTED TECHNICAL STAFF AT WORK. HAVE I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, OR RECENTLY EVEN, THAT SUZANNE AND I SPENT OUR HONEYMOON IN VIRGINIA'S "COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG," BUT MOSTLY IN THE QUAINT BASEMENT SHOP OF THE VILLAGE PRINTER, WHERE I WAS TRULY IN MY ELEMENT. IT ALMOST PROVOKED A QUICKIE DIVORCE.
BACK IN THOSE DAYS WITH THE NEWSPAPER, AND MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, I KNEW THE IMPORTANCE OF APPRECIATING EVERYTHING THAT WAS PART OF THE OLD BUSINESS….THE OLD WAY OF CONDUCTING THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY. I DIDN'T NEED TO BE CLAIRVOYANT TO FIGURE IT OUT, THAT THE NEWSPAPER WAS GOING TO CHANGE DRAMATICALLY WITH THE INCLUSION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY. WHEN I STARTED AS EDITOR, ALL THE REPORTERS WERE WORKING ON MANUAL TYPEWRITERS…..LIKE THE ONES NOW ON SALE FOR THIRTY TO FIFTY BUCKS IN ANTIQUE SHOPS I VISIT. THIS MAKES ME FEEL AWFULLY OLD. THE FIRST SERIOUS INVASION OF TECHNOLOGY WAS WHEN THE PAPER PURCHASED, WHAT WERE THEN CALLED "MDT TERMINALS" FOR THE WRITING STAFF. I FOUND OUT, BY MISADVENTURE, YOU COULDN'T GET AWAY WITH SPILLING A COFFEE INTO ITS KEYBOARD, LIKE I USED TO ON MY OLD UNDERWOOD. I SMOKED A FEW OF THOSE MDT'S DURING MY TENURE.
ONE DAY, GETTING READY FOR AN EXPANSION I HADN'T BEEN WARNED ABOUT (WHICH HAPPENED FREQUENTLY, SUCH AS WATCHING YOUR DESK MOVE WHILE YOU WERE STILL WORKING AT IT), I WATCHED STAFF CHUCKING THE OLD PRINTING BLOCKS, WITH THE ETCHED METAL PLATES, INTO A GIANT RECYCLING BIN. CRIPES, I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EYES. EVERYTHING FROM DOWNSTAIRS WAS BEING TOSSED INTO THE BIN, AT THE LOADING DOOR, INCLUDING ALL THE LEAD TYPE THAT HAD BEEN STORED IN THE GIANT CABINETS, ORGANIZED ON DOZENS OF WOODEN TRAYS (THESE WERE OFFERED TO A LOCAL ANTIQUE DEALER, I BELIEVE, AND IT WASN'T ME). THE LEAD AND METAL WERE BEING SENT FOR RECYCLING. WELL SIR, I INTERCEPTED A LOT OF THOSE BLOCKS. OF COURSE, I WAS TOLD THIS WAS OKAY, SO I DIDN'T SWIPE THEM OR ANYTHING. BUT HERE WAS THE HERITAGE OF THIS COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER, BEING TURFED IN FRONT OF MY EYES. THE PAPERS WENT ROUGHLY THE SAME WAY, EXCEPT I WASN'T IN THE BUILDING AT THE TIME. I WAS ANGRY OF COURSE, THAT I HADN'T BEEN ASKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE PAPER FILES, AND SEEING AS MR. BOYER WAS STILL AN ACTIVE EDITOR, I KNEW HE WAS THUSLY UP-TO-SPEED WITH THE CLEAR-OUT. WAS I BEING OVERLY SENTIMENTAL? I ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, WHICH EXPLAINS WHY I AM BURIED BY KEEPSAKES HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW. POINT IS, I'M GLAD I CAUGHT THE TAIL END OF THE OLD DAYS OF THE PRINTING AND PUBLISHING BUSINESS. IT WOULD NEVER RETURN TO THE WAY IT WAS, AND SOME WOULD SAY IT WAS LONG OVERDUE. IT WAS A TOUGH BUSINESS, AND SETTING EACH LETTER BY HAND, MUST HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTING. YET I NEVER ONCE THOUGHT THAT WORKING ON MY OLD MANUAL TYPEWRITER AS DIFFICULT, OR PAINSTAKING, OR IN ANY WAY AN INCONVENIENCE. EXCEPT OF COURSE WHEN I HAD TO ASK ONE OF THE ACCOUNTING GIRLS TO HELP ME UNTANGLE THE RIBBON. I STILL HAVE A COUPLE OF MANUALS SOMEWHERE IN AND AMONGST MY NEWSPAPER RELICS. THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE THE NOISY CADENCE OF THREE MANUAL TYPEWRITERS, POUNDING OUT BREAKING NEWS, IN THAT LAST HOUR ON PRESS DAY. REPORTERS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS TO MAKE DEADLINE. NOW THAT WAS HISTORY IN THE MAKING.
MY OFFICE HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, LOOKS A LITTLE LIKE THE ONE MR. BOYER HAD IN THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE BUILDING ON DOMINION STREET. ALL IT REALLY NEEDS IS A TRADEMARK HALF-EATEN OLD CIGAR IN AN ASHTRAY, TO RE-CREATE THE AMBIENCE I SO DEEPLY CHERISHED. IT'S JUST HARD TO EXPLAIN. IT WAS LIKE THE PATINA OF OLD WOOD. SO MUCH HISTORY WITHIN!
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