Muskoka and Canadian Antique Symbols

MAKING SMALL GAINS COLLECTING CANADIAN SYMBOLS - AND "REMEMBERING THE MINETT-SHIELDS WORK CABINET"

THE INTERESTING MUSKOKA COLLECTIBLES WE HAD….ONCE UPON A TIME

OUT ON THE ANTIQUE HUNT, THIS MORNING, ONE OF THE MOST STRIKINGLY BEAUTIFUL DAYS THIS WINTER, THE "PYTHONESQUE" QUEST FOR VINTAGE ITEMS, CARRYING THE NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF "THE MAPLE LEAF, THE ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE, AND THE BEAVER," WAS FUN, BUT ONLY MODESTLY SUCCESSFUL. CONSIDERING I MADE THIS A TWO TERM PROJECT, FOR SUZANNE AND I (YOU'RE WELCOME TO JOIN AS WELL), FOR SIX MONTHS, AS AN INTERIM "SHOW AND TELL," AND THEN AT YEAR'S END, WHEN IT WILL BE DETERMINED, WHICH PARTNER DID THE BEST AT FINDING OUR NATIONAL SYMBOLS…..ADORNING COLLECTIBLE, AND VINTAGE ITEMS RANGING FROM OLD TIN ADVERTISING SIGNS, ADVERTISING ON OLD FOOD, BEVERAGE AND TOBACCO TINS, WOOD CARVINGS, SOAP STONE, OR PAINTED ON EVERYTHING FROM MILK CANS TO CHUNKS OF BARN BOARD, AND OF COURSE, CANADIAN SYMBOL FOLK ART. WE WERE INSPIRED BY THE TERRIFIC BOOK BY DONNA & NIGEL HUTCHINS, ENTITLED "THE MAPLE LEAF FOREVER - A CELEBRATION OF CANADIAN SYMBOLS," WITH PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW BEVERLY; PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON MILLS PRESS, IN 2006. IT IS A MAGNIFICENTLY ILLUSTRATED BOOK, SHOWING A PLETHORA OF VINTAGE AND NOSTALGIC SOUVENIR AND (CANADA-PROUD) PIECES, DISPLAYING THE PRIMARY, WELL RECOGNIZED SYMBOLS, OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE, THE MAPLE LEAF, AND OF COURSE, THE BEAVER (NOT "LEAVE IT TO," OR THE "BEIBER"). WE STARTED EARLY IN JANUARY, MAKING IT A LITTLE HUSBAND / WIFE COMPETITION, TO SEE WHO COULD COME UP WITH MORE QUALIFYING SYMBOLS. WE STARTED OFF PRETTY WELL, BUT IN THE OFF SEASON HERE, AND NO YARD SALES AND FLEA MARKETS TO SHOP AT, THE PICKINGS HAVE BEEN THIN. WE RESPOND TO TOUGH CIRCUMSTANCES. WE'RE MUSKOKANS! NOTHING CAN DISTRACT US FROM THE JOB AT HAND. WELL MAYBE SKOKIE, THE WINTER OTTER. (SEE YOU AT THE GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL, THE END OF FEBRUARY.) OUR BOYS HAVE NOW HIT 1,000 VIEWS, FOR THEIR YOUTUBE MUSIC VIDEO IN SUPPORT OF THE CARNIVAL. MAYBE WE SHOULD INCLUDE SKOKIE AS A CANADIAN SYMBOL OF WINTER RECREATION HERE IN GOD'S COUNTRY? (HOW'S THIS FOR SHAMEFUL, SELF-SERVING NEPOTISM) YOU CAN SEE IT BY CLICKING ON http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuwE6cFlRCg

WE HAVE RESTRICTED OURSELVES TO MUSKOKA ONLY SHOPPING, FOR THESE SYMBOLS. IF WE HAPPEN TO STRAY OUT OF THE AREA, AS WE MUST OCCASIONALLY FOR OUR BOYS' MUSIC BUSINESS, ANYTHING WE DO FIND WITH CANADIAN SYMBOLS, WILL BE PRESENTED ON THIS BLOG, BUT WON'T COUNT WHEN WE DO OUR TWO PART "EXHIBITION," FOR EVERYONE TO SEE. IT'S BEEN FUN SO FAR, AND HAS ADDED A LITTLE "FOR FUN" COMPETITION TO THE WEEKLY ANTIQUE HUNTS. JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE ARE TWO OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET……WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE. NO KIDDING. SUZANNE IS NOT SHY AT ALL, ABOUT PUSHING ME OUT OF THE WAY, WHEN SHE DIVES FOR A GOOD PIECE. I'VE ASKED HER NOT TO DO THIS NEAR STAIRWAYS, AFTER THE LAST TIME. "WHAT WAS ALL THE NOISE," SHE ASKED THE SALES CLERK AT THE THRIFT SHOP. "OH, IT WAS JUST YOUR HUSBAND FALLING DOWN THE STAIRS." "IS HE GOING TO BE OKAY," SHE ENQUIRED, WHILE CAREFULLY EXAMINING THE TRILLIUM CUP AND SAUCER, FOR CHIPS. "WELL, HE'S MOVING HIS LEGS, AND YUP, HE JUST TURNED HIS HEAD TO LOOK UP THE STAIRS. HE'LL BE FINE MRS. CURRIE."

WE HAVE A LOT OF FUN OUT THERE, AND SOME GOOD NATURED RIBBING, ABOUT THE BIG FINDS OF THE DAY. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE WE HITCHED-UP, ABOUT EIGHTY YEARS AGO, OR SO IT SEEMS. YOU SEE, I GET A LITTLE RECKLESS WITH THIS BLOG, BECAUSE SHE WON'T READ IT, UNLESS I ASK HER TO PROOFREAD SOME ASPECT OF IT…..SO I CAN WRITE WHAT I WANT……AND THE ONLY REAL RISK I FACE, IS WHEN ONE OF HER COLLEAGUES MENTIONS, "TED'S BEEN AT IT AGAIN SUZANNE." WHEN SHE GETS HOME FFOM WORK, SHE WALKS RIGHT THROUGH THE HOUSE INTO THE OFFICE, SITS DOWN AT THIS CLUTTERED, MOMENTOE-FILLED DESK, AND STARTS GRUMBLING ABOUT THE WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE, TAKING CHEAP SHOTS. GUILTY AS CHARGED. I DIDN'T KNOCK HER DOWN THE STAIRS, TO GET AT THE CUP AND SAUCER AHEAD OF ANYBODY ELSE. BEFORE WE WERE MARRIED, 1983 IF MEMORY SERVES, SHE STARTED COLLECTING THE ROYAL ALBERT "TRILLIUM" SET OF DISHES, AND IT HAS TAKEN THIS LONG TO GET HALF THE COLLECTION. WE'VE LITERALLY BEEN BUYING ONE PIECE AT A TIME. I CAN GET MYSELF OUT OF THE PROVERBIAL DOGHOUSE, ON MOST OCCASIONS THESE DAYS, BY FINDING A TRILLIUM CUP, SAUCER OR PLATE, WHICH IN MY APPRAISAL, ARE SELLING THESE DAY'S FOR A "KING'S RANSOM." WHEN I GIVE HER A "FOUND" PIECE, SHE JUST SMILES, SLAPS ME ON THE BACK, AND PUTS IT SAFELY AWAY IN THE CHINA CUPBOARD IN THE CORNER. SHE TELLS ME THEY'RE WORTH TOO MUCH TO ACTUALLY USE. WE'VE GOT THREE CHINA CUPBOARDS LOADED WITH STUFF WE CAN'T USE FOR THE SAME REASON. I'M EATING MY DINNER OFF "MELMAC" PLATES (MADE FAMOUS IN THE "ALF" TELEVISION SHOW, AS BEING THE PLANET HE WAS FROM), AND SIPPING MY CHEAP WINE FROM COMMEMORATIVE GLASSES FROM THE OLD 1970'S "MUSKOKA FEST" WE STILL HAVE IN ACTIVE SERVICE.

ANYWAY, WE DID MAKE SOME FINDS TODAY, IN THE CANADIAN SYMBOLS CHALLENGE, AND THEY INCLUDED FOUR VERY NICE, HIGH QUALITY SOUVENIR SPOONS, THREE WITH SILVER MAPLE LEAVES, AND ONE WITH THE RCMP LOGO. I'M WAITING FOR A FEW MORE SPOONS TO FINISH OFF THE WOODEN "MAPLE LEAF SPOON HOLDER" I FOUND LAST WEEK, AT THE SALVATION ARMY THRIFT SHOP, IN BRACEBRIDGE. WE FOUND ALL BUT TWO OF THE SOUVENIR SPOONS AT THE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RE-STORE, ON MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD, ON THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN BRACEBRIDGE AND GRAVENHURST…..WHICH IS ABOUT A CHIP SHOT BETWEEN MUNICIPALITIES, IF YOU MEASURE IN GOLF STROKES. I DID GET A LOVELY LITTLE HEART-SHAPED, PRESSED METAL ORNAMENT, DEPICTING THE OLD "TORONTO CITY HALL", SET IN A WREATH OF FLOWERS, ONE BEING THE IRIS MOTIFF. WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT THE FLOWERS ARE AROUND THE TOP PORTION. WE FOUND THIS WHILE LOOKING FOR CANADIAN SYMBOL PIECES, BUT DARN IT ALL - THERE ISN'T A MAPLE LEAF, BEAVER OR RCMP TRACE INSIGNIA, ANYWHERE ON THE ELABORATELY DECORATED, EARLY 1900'S SOUVENIR. STILL A NICE BIT OF TORONTO HISTORY. THERE IS A DIGITAL IMAGE OF THIS COPPER COLORED PIECE PICTURED ABOVE. I ALSO FOUND A WELL CRAFTED, SILVER SOUVENIR BELL, WITH A NICE RING, WITH A MAPLE LEAF DESIGN, AND A THREE DIMENSIONAL STEAM LOCOMOTIVE, AS A FINIAL ON THE HANDLE (AT THE BRACEBRIDGE THRIFT SHOP). AT THE GRAVENHURST SALVATION ARMY THRIFT SHOP, WELL, I GOT A "THISTLE" MOLD IN PINE, THAT SUZANNE TELLS ME WAS FOR IMPRINTING SHORTBREAD. I'VE INCLUDED A PHOTOGRAPH OF THIS AS WELL. ANY IDEAS? I DON'T SUSPECT IT'S VERY OLD, BUT WHAT A NEAT PIECE TO DECORATE A HARVEST TABLE WITH, OR HOOSIER CUPBOARD…..SUZANNE HAS A NICE ONE IN THE KITCHEN. SUZANNE GOT A COUPLE OF MAPLE LEAF SOUVENIR SPOONS HERE, IN GRAVENHURST, TODAY AS WELL. THE REALLY NEAT FIND OF THE DAY, WAS A HUGE WOODEN LEVEL, FROM ABOUT THE 1930'S, WITH JUST A FEW TRACES OF ITS ORIGINAL RED PAINT. THIS IS ONE I PLAN TO RESTORE AND REFINISH IF POSSIBLE. IT HAS FOUR GLASS WINDOWS AND THE LIQUID IN THE LEVELS IS STILL VISIBLE, AS IS THE ALL IMPORTANT BUBBLE. IT CAME COURTESY THE NEAT INVENTORY OF COLLECTIBLES AND USEFUL MATERIALS ALWAYS IN STOCK AT THE RE-STORE.

DID I TELL YOU THE ONE ABOUT THE MINETT-SHEILDS WORK-ORDER CABINET? I FOUND IT!

A FRIEND CAME INTO MY SHOP ONE DAY, AND ASKED IF I HAD ANY INTEREST IN A WOOD FILING CABINET HE HAD STORED IN HIS SHED, FROM ONE OF THE OLD MUSKOKA BOAT WORKS. HE MAY HAVE SEEN THE LARGE INSURANCE MAPPING BOOK (IN HARDCOVER), I HAD ON THE SHOP COUNTER. IT WAS FROM EARLIER IN THE CENTURY, THAT SHOWED THE BREAKDOWN OF THE BUILDINGS AT MUSKOKA WHARF, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, AND HAD DETAILED PLANS OF THE FORMER DITCHBURN BOAT WORKS. IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION, HAD THE COMPANY NAME WITH AN "E" AT THE END….DITCHBURNE. I'D PICKED THE BOOK UP FROM MY OLD BOOK CHUM, DAVE BROWN OF HAMILTON. HE HAD A SECOND ONE, HE'D PURCHASED AT A CITY AUCTION, WITH SIMILAR INSURANCE MAPPING OF PORT CARLING, ALSO BACK IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE 1900'S. I'M NOT SURE IF HE SOLD IT TO THE MUSKOKA LAKES MUSEUM IN PORT CARLING OR NOT. IT WAS HIS INTENTION. I WAS MORE INTERESTED IN THE DITCHBURN MAPPING. I SOLD IT THE FIRST YEAR WE JOINED AS VENDORS, AT THE ANNUAL ANTIQUE BOAT SHOW, HELD AT SAGAMO PARK, HERE IN GRAVENHURST. NOW GETTING BACK TO THE CABINET.

I WAS SOLD AT THE MENTION OF "OLD MUSKOKA BOAT WORKS." I ALMOST JUMPED ON THE GUY'S BACK, TO TAKE ME TO SEE THIS FABULOUS PIECE, OOZING WITH PROVENANCE. THE MULTI-DRAWER UNIT, HAD BEEN PART OF THE OFFICE FURNITURE OF THE FAMOUS MINETT-SHIELDS BOAT WORKS, ONCE LOCATED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO BRACEBRIDGE FALLS. IT WAS MORE THAN SIX FEET TALL I BELIEVE, AND THE BONUS WAS, OF COURSE, THAT IT CAME WITH MINETT-SHIELDS "WORK ORDER" CARDS, WITH THE NAMES OF THE BOATS AND CLIENTS NOTED AT THE TOP, AND THE INDIVIDUAL STAFF MEMBER RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT PARTICULAR WATERCRAFT. THIS WAS BACK IN THE EARLY 1990'S, SO I'M A LITTLE FUZZY ON THE DETAILS, AND I DON'T REMEMBER EVER TAKING A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE PIECE. WE DID SELL SOME OF THE CARDS SEPARATELY, FOR ABOUT TWENTY DOLLARS EACH, WHICH MORE THAN PAID THE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE CABINET.

ONE AFTENOON, MY FATHER-IN-LAW, NORM STRIPP, A WELL KNOWN MAHOGANY BOAT RESTORER, CAME INTO OUR MAIN STREET ANTIQUE SHOP, TWISTED AROUND THE TIGHT CORNER, AND STOPPED DEAD IN HIS TRACKS……JAW CLENCHED, WITH A TWINKLE IN HIS EYE, AND THE VERY REAL NECESSITY TO SAY….."BY GOLLY TED, YOU DID SOMETHING RIGHT." HE KNEW IT WAS FROM THE MINETT-SHIELDS BUILDING, AND AS HE LOOKED AT IT MORE CLOSELY, I REALLY THINK HE WAS LOOKING FOR THE SMUDGE, OR FINGERPRINTS HE'D LEFT ON IT…….LEANING UP AGAINST IT ON HIS MANY VISITS TO THE SHOP IN THE PAST. "HOW DID YOU EVER GET THIS," HE ASKED. WHEN I TOLD HIM WHO HAD SOLD IT, AND THE FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAD ONCE WORKED THERE, HE KNEW THE CONNECTION IMMEDIATELY. HE COULD EVEN REMEMBER WHERE IT STOOD IN THE BUILDING. HE OFFERED AN ALMOST IDENTICAL OBSERVATION, WHEN HE CAME INTO THE SHOP ONE DAY, AND WENT RIGHT OVER TO THE HUGE "NATIONAL" CASH REGISTER, ON AN OAK PEDESTAL STAND, WITH DRAWERS (THAT POPPED OUT WHEN THE RIGHT KEY WAS HIT), AND HE STOOD LEANING UP AGAINST IT, JUST AS HE USED TO AS A YOUNG MAN, HANGING AROUND BRACEBRIDGE'S "MUSKOKA GARAGE," ON MANITOBA STREET. WE NEVER HAD TO EXPLAIN TO NORM, WHERE IT HAD COME FROM. HE ALREADY KNEW HOW TO WORK THE DRAWERS. HE HADN'T SEEN IT IN DECADES, BUT HE KNEW ITS PRECISE PROVENANCE, AND TOLD ME WHERE IT HAD BEEN ON ITS LAST TOUR OF DUTY, AFTER MANY YEARS AT MUSKOKA GARAGE. HE WAS RIGHT. HE WAS REALLY IMPRESSED BY THE FACT WE HAD THIS OLD WORK CABINET FROM THE MINETT-SHIELDS BOAT WORKS, HE HAD BEEN SO FAMILIAR IN HIS YOUTH. AND HE KNEW ALL THE NAMES ON THE TOPS OF THE WORK-ORDER CARDS. YUP, TED DID WELL. I DIDN'T COME OUT ON TOP, DURING MANY OF THESE LITTLE HISTORY SESSIONS, BECAUSE HE COULD OBVIOUSLY "BEST" ALMOST ANYTHING I COULD MUSTER, FROM MY BRIEF PERIOD AS AN ANTIQUARIAN…..BUT THIS ONE WAS MEMORABLE FOR BOTH OF US.

THE PROUDEST MOMENT, WAS WHEN WE SOLD THE CABINET TO SOMEONE WITH AN INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE, AND LOVE FOR MUSKOKA'S OLD BOATS. BELIEVE ME. IT WASN'T SOLD AS A DECORATOR PIECE, AND I DON'T SUPPOSE THE PATINA WAS ALTERED MUCH….AS IT STILL HAD THAT AROMA OF MUSKOKA'S MARINE HERITAGE, AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS. IT'S ALWAYS NICE IN OUR BUSINESS, TO SELL THESE PIECES, WITH PROVENANCE, TO THOSE WHO HAVE ALL INTENTIONS OF PURSUING CONSERVATION AND BESTOWING ADMIRATION. I WAS SORRY TO SEE IT GO, BUT PLEASED IT WENT TO A GOOD AND CARING HOME.

I'VE JUST BEEN ADVISED SUZANNE HAS SET OUT A BOWL OF STEAMING GRUEL FOR ME, SO I MUST SIGN OFF FOR TODAY. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING THIS BLOG. THERE ARE MANY STORIES YET TO TELL. PLEASE JOIN ME AGAIN. GOOD NIGHT!