Tour Guide at Woodchester Villa

LOVING HISTORY, ANTIQUES AND A FORMER WAY OF LIFE - WOODCHESTER VILLA WAS A DREAM JOB

WE ALL WANTED SATISFIED VISITORS - WE HOPED THEY WOULD COME BACK

I WAS A BAD, BAD BOY. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM A FELLOW WHO WAS ONCE KICKED OUT OF CUBS FOR INSUBORDINATION? I ASKED THE LEADER TO REIMBURSE MY MOTHER FOR A NEW SHIRT, THAT HAD JUST THEN BEEN RIPPED APART, WHILE PLAYING BRITISH BULLDOG AT THE OLD SCOUT HALL, ACROSS FROM THE BRACEBRIDGE TRAIN STATION. WHEN HE SAID IT WASN'T HIS FAULT THAT ANOTHER CUB HAD RUINED MY NEW SHIRT, I INFORMED HIM OF HIS RESPONSIBILITIES AS A CUB LEADER, TO CONTROL HIS TROOP'S BEHAVIOR. SO HE SHOWED ME THE DOOR. SO IT HAS BEEN A LIFE-LONG TRAIT OF MINE, TO CHALLENGE AUTHORITY.

I DID IT AS A DIRECTOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND THEN MANAGER OF THE SITE BACK IN THE 1980'S. I WAS SO ENTHRALLED WITH THE "BIRD HOUSE," AS IT WAS KNOWN THEN, BECAUSE OF THE BIRD FAMILY CONNECTION, THAT I WOULD CONDUCT COMPLETE TOURS OF THE HOUSE WITH STUDENT GROUPS. WHY I BECAME A HISTORICAL SOCIETY BAD BOY, WAS DUE TO MY PENCHANT FOR DEFYING THE BOARD AND THE TOWN ITSELF, BY ALLOWING STUDENTS AND OTHER GUESTS TO VISIT THE WIDOW'S WALK AT THE VERY TOP OF THE OCTAGONAL HOUSE. WHILE IT WASN'T FORBIDDEN, AND I NEVER ONCE HAD A FORMAL, WRITTEN DECREE, FROM TOWN, IN MY HAND, IT WAS GENERALLY ACCEPTED THE ROOFTOP RAILING WAS UNSAFE. THIS WASN'T THE CASE. IT WAS MORE THE SECURELY REINFORCED, OR I NEVER WOULD HAVE ALLOWED ITS USE. IT WAS CLEARLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE WOODCHESTER EXPERIENCE. I FELT I HAD TO USE IT, AND I WAS WELL AWARE OF THE CONSEQUENCES. HERE'S WHY I DID IT?

FROM MY EARLIEST WORK IN THE MUSEUM, AND AS A VOLUNTEER TOUR GUIDE, THE WIDOW'S WALK WAS FOR SMALL TOURS, AND IT WAS ALWAYS DISCRETIONARY. IF WE HAD A RAMBUNCTIOUS SCHOOL GROUP, FOR EXAMPLE, I MIGHT DECIDE THE RISK WASN'T WORTH THE EXTRA EFFORT. I HATED DOING THIS, BECAUSE A TRIP TO THE TOP OF THE HOUSE, TO OVERLOOK THE MUSKOKA RIVER, AND THE HISTORIC DOWNTOWN, WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE…..THAT FRANKLY MADE THE TRIP TO WOODCHESTER, FAR MORE MEMORABLE, THAN JUST THE BASIC THREE FLOOR TOUR, AND THEN OVER TO THE MUSEUM ANNEX. ONE DAY, SOMEONE FROM THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ON ADVICE FROM SOME TOWN OFFICIAL, ASKED STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS TO CEASE TAKING VISITORS TO THE ATTIC OF THE HOUSE, WHICH OF COURSE LED TO THE STEEP LADDER TO THE ROOF-HATCHWAY. SAFETY WAS THE CONCERN, BUT IT WASN'T BASED THEN, ON ANY SERIOUS DETERIORATION OF THE RAILING, THE WIDOW'S WALK PLATFORM, OR THE STAIRS FROM THE ATTIC. IT WASN'T BASED ON ANYTHING MORE THAN THE FEAR OF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING. WELL, THERE WAS POTENTIAL FOR THAT IN A HUNDRED OTHER LOCATIONS, IN THE MUSEUM AND AROUND THE TREED PROPERTY. I JUST COULDN'T SHORT-CHANGE THE INTEGRITY OF THIS OCTAGONAL WONDER OF THE 1880'S. I FELT IT WAS WORTH THE RISK, USING IT ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. I COULD TAKE SMALL GROUPS, OF TWO PEOPLE PLUS MYSELF, UP TO THE ROOF PEAK, TO ENJOY THE GREAT VIEW. NEVER LOST A SINGLE SOUL. BUT I MAY HAVE INSPIRED A FEW.

IT'S CERTAINLY TRUE I COULD HAVE BEEN IN SERIOUS TROUBLE IF ANY ONE HAD TOPPLED OVER THAT RAILING. IF I HAD ACTUALLY SURVIVED THE FALL, THAT IS! YOU SEE, I HUNG ONTO EVERYONE WHO VENTURED ONTO THAT ROOF, SUCH THAT IF THEY FELL, SO DID I. MALE OR FEMALE, BOY OR GIRL, I TOLD THESE FOLKS IN ADVANCE, MY HANDS WERE GOING TO BE ALL OVER THEM……SO DON'T BE SURPRISED IF THE TOUR GUIDE GETS FAMILIAR. EVEN IN THE ATTIC AREA OF THE HOUSE, WHERE THERE WERE SECRET WALL COMPARTMENTS AROUND THE OUTSIDE EDGE, I WAS GUILTY OF ALLOWING FOLKS TO HAVE A WEE GANDER AT THE DETAILED (EXPOSED) CONSTRUCTION OF AN OCTAGONAL HOUSE. OF COURSE, ONE OF THE OTHER PROBLEM AREAS, WAS THAT THE BOARD HAD ALSO DECIDED, THE VERY NARROW STAIRCASE FROM THE SECOND FLOOR TO THE ATTIC, WAS ALSO TOO STEP TO NAVIGATE. I DISAGREED. IT WAS THE DESIGN OF THE TIME, AND A RARITY VISITORS NEEDED TO SEE, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND LIVING CONDITIONS IN SUCH AN ODDLY DESIGNED HOUSE. I ONLY ALLOWED SEVERAL GUESTS TO CLIMB WITH ME TO THE ATTIC ROOM, AND THEN WE HANDLED A SLOW, CAREFUL HIKE UP TO THE WIDOW'S WALK. SAFETY WAS ALWAYS MY CONCERN, AND THIS WENT FOR MY OWN FAMILY MEMBERS CLIMBING THOSE STAIRS ALMOST DAILY.

ON MORE THAN A FEW OCCASIONS, I'D HAVE TO DUCK BACK THROUGH THE HATCH, WHEN A PERSNICKETY DIRECTOR WOULD SHOW UP UNANNOUNCED, BUT MY GUESTS WERE ALWAYS GOOD SPORTS ABOUT IT……AND FELT PRIVILEGED THAT THE GUY WHO HELP COMMENCE THE MUSEUM PROJECT IN THE FIRST PLACE, WAS GIVING SUCH A PERSONAL TOUR, INTO FORBIDDEN NOOKS AND CRANNIES. MY WIFE AND I DID A LARGE NUMBER OF SPECIAL TOURS, DURING THE OFF-SEASON, AND FOR SCHOOL AND BUS TOURS, SPECIAL DELEGATIONS, VISITING DIGNITARIES, POLITICIANS, FILM COMPANIES, AND FOR THE NATIONAL MEDIA. WE ATTRACTED QUITE A NUMBER OF JOURNALISTS BACK THEN, FASCINATED BY THE OCTAGONAL DESIGN. AS WELL, THERE WERE QUITE A FEW TRAVEL WRITERS WHO'D SHOW-UP, OFTEN UNANNOUNCED, AND TO KEEP THE PRESS "POSITIVE" ABOUT OUR SITE, WE HAD AN EMERGENCY DRILL TO STAFF THE MUSEUM WITH VOLUNTEERS. I WOULD OFTEN GET A CALL FROM A STAFF MEMBER, LETTING ME KNOW ABOUT A TRAVEL WRITER SHOWING UP, AND IT WOULD TAKE ME ABOUT FIVE MINUTES TO DASH FROM THE HERALD-GAZETTE OFFICE, ON DOMINION STREET, TO THE TOP OF THAT HISTORIC HILL. AND OF COURSE, THESE SPECIAL GUESTS TOOK A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE, AND VISITED THE FAMED WIDOW'S WALK, WHERE THE LADIES OF THE BIRD FAMILY OFTEN SAT, TO ENJOY THEIR AFTERNOON TEA. IT WAS THE ONE ASPECT OF THE TOUR, THAT SEALED THE DEAL. FOLKS ADMITTED IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF WHAT WAS OTHERWISE JUST AN ORDINARY TOUR OF A VICTORIAN ERA HOUSE. OF COURSE WE MIGHT HAVE MENTIONED ITS RESIDENT SPIRITS, WHICH DID GET A LITTLE PRESS BACK IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES. GHOST STORIES AND MUSEUMS…..THEY JUST SEEM TO WORK SO WELL TOGETHER.

THE REAL NUTS AND BOLTS OF THE WOODCHESTER DILEMMA, HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE MUSEUM'S PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE. IT'S POPULARITY, AS PERCEIVED BY TOWN HALL. AS IT HAD LONG BEEN A STRUGGLE TO CREATE THE KIND OF INTEREST, THAT MADE BEGGING FOR MONEY SOMEWHAT EASIER. I THOUGHT THAT IF I COULD PRODUCE ENOUGH CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, AND BOTH TESTIMONIALS AND SOME MAJOR NEWSPAPER HEADLINES, ENDORSING THE PLACE, TOWN COUNCILLORS MIGHT LOOK MORE FAVORABLY ON THE SITE. NO MATTER WHAT WE DID, OR HOW MANY ACCOLADES WE RECEIVED, IT NEVER REALLY CHANGED THE LAGGING GENERAL OPINION, SUCH THAT IT WOULD INSPIRE MERIT INCREASES TO FUNDING. IT WAS A FAILED DREAM OF MINE, TO HAVE ALL OF BRACEBRIDGE'S COUNCILLORS COME FOR A VISIT. SO THAT WE COULD REGALE THEM WITH TRIPS UP TO THE WIDOW'S WALK, AND LET THEM SEE, FIRST-HAND, THE LARGE CROWDS THAT USED TO COME FOR STRAWBERRY AND BLUEBERRY SOCIALS, AND THE POPULAR "CHRISTMAS IN JULY" WEEK OF PROGRAMS. ACTIVITIES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. BUT OUTSIDE OF THE PRESS COMING FOR SOME FILL PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THEIR SUMMER PAPERS, THE POSITIVES OF THE MUSUEM DID NOT MAKE IT TO THE COUNCIL TABLE. THIS IS NOT TO SAY WE DIDN'T HAVE SUPPORT FROM CERTAIN COUNCILLORS. JUST NOT ENOUGH TO CONVINCE TOWN HALL GENERALLY, WE WERE A THRIVING COMMUNITY ASSET OF CULTURE AND HISTORY. NO MATTER WHAT WE DID, ALL OF IT FINANCED ON A SHOE-STRING BUDGET, NOTHING COULD ELEVATE US FROM NUISANCE STATUS…..AND THIS GOES BACK TO THE START-UP OF THE RESTORATION PROJECT. WHAT SEEMED MORE THAN JUST A GLIMMER OF INTEREST, WAS JUST FOOL'S GOLD TO THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. COUNCILLORS WOULD SMILE FOR THE CAMERA, WHEN ATTENDING SOMETHING HERITAGE RELATED, LIKE ONE OF THE HUGE EMPIRE DINNERS, PUT ON BY THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BUT NOT MUCH MORE. IT WASN'T A PRIORITY FROM DAY ONE. IT WOULDN'T HAVE REQUIRED A CLAIRVOYANT TO PREDICT THE FUTURE, WHICH WAS WITHIN A HAIR'S BREADTH OF FLAT-LINING FROM THE EARLY 1980'S. WHICH BRINGS US TO THE PRESENT MISFORTUNE FACING A WONDERFUL LITTLE HILLSIDE MUSEUM……THAT HAD, OH SO MUCH POTENTIAL…..BUT OH SO LITTLE MONEY, TO FULFILL ITS POTENTIAL.

THE TRULY CRITICAL RESULT OF THIS GENERAL DISINTEREST FROM THE MUNICIPALITY, AND THE ONGOING SHORTAGE OF MONEY, WAS THAT VOLUNTEERS JUST GAVE UP ON TRYING TO CHANGE PERCEPTION. IT WAS WORK ON TOP OF WORK, AND IT BECAME A JOY-LESS WAY TO SPEND TIME. WHEN I APPROACHED MUSKOKA ARTS AND CRAFTS MEMBER, JAMIE SHERMAN, IN THE LATE 1980'S, ASKING IF THE ASSOCIATION MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN SHARING A PROPERTY WITH THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, IT WAS WITH THIS SENSE OF THE INEVITABLE……THAT WE EITHER FIND A WAY TO REDUCE OUR EXPENSES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ON THAT HILLSIDE, OR FACE IMMINENT CLOSURE. NEGOTIATIONS WITH MUSKOKA ARTS AND CRAFTS WENT WELL, AND THEY WOULD EVENTUALLY TAKE-OVER THE MUSEUM ANNEX (ON THE SITE OF A FORMER 1800'S CHURCH), AND CALL IT THE CHAPEL GALLERY. IT COST ME DEARLY IN SO MANY WAYS, BECAUSE MUSEUM PURISTS WERE OUTRAGED THAT I HAD INITIATED THIS DOUBLING-UP OF PROPERTY USE…..AND WATERED DOWN THE WHOLE HISTORIC ATMOSPHERE OF THE PROPERTY. I SAW IT AS A WAY OF MERGING ART AND HISTORY, CULTURE AND RECREATION, ON A TRULY BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF URBAN LANDSCAPE. I SAW IT AS A MEANS OF BRINGING MORE PEOPLE ANNUALLY, TO THE OFTEN FORGOTTEN HILLSIDE. I SAW THE ART GALLERY, AND MUSKOKA ARTS AND CRAFTS GENERALLY, BECOMING BIGGER PARTNERS ON-SITE, AND I THINK THIS IS WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO A DEGREE. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN HAPPY ABOUT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GALLERY. THE OTHER OPTION WAS TO PLYWOOD-UP BOTH BUILDINGS, AND WALK AWAY WITH HEAD LOWERED.

I HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, FROM ITS FOUNDING. MY FIRST POST, UNDER PRESIDENT WAYLAND DREW, WAS AS RECORDING SECRETARY. FROM THEN ON, I'D BEEN AN ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN DIRECTOR, DUE TO THE FACT I WAS WORKING OUT OF TOWN. I REMEMBER AT ONE SOCIETY MEETING, HELD AT BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOL, I BELIEVE, BEING NOMINATED AS PRESIDENT. EVEN MY WIFE, ALSO A DIRECTOR, PUT HER HAND UP, AND ALTHOUGH FLATTERED TO PIECES, I WASN'T UNDER ANY ILLUSION ABOUT THE ROUGH PASSAGE AHEAD. THE MUSUEM HAD ALREADY COME IN CONTACT WITH THE ICE-BERG. SO WHEN THE DIRECTORS CAST THEIR VOTES,……AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE CANDIDATE BY THE WAY, WELL, I GOT MY CHAIN OF OFFICE ALRIGHT. IT WAS ATTACHED TO A PONDEROUSLY LARGE ANCHOR. THE OFFICIAL TRANSFER OF POWER INVOLVED THE PAST PRESIDENT, UNCEREMONIOUSLY SLIDING THE BOX OF WOODCHESTER DOCUMENTS, LIKE A CASE OF BEER ON A TRACK, DOWN THE LONG TABLE TO WHERE I WAS SITTING. NOT QUITE WHAT I HAD FANTASIZED ABOUT. IT DIDN'T EVEN TAKE "READING THROUGH THE LINES," TO APPRECIATE THAT THE MESSAGE ATTACHED WAS "GOOD RIDDANCE." SO I STARTED OFF WITH THE AUDIBLE WHISPER OF A WORD THAT SOUNDED A LOT LIKE "SUCKER."

SO PUT YOURSELF IN THE PRESIDENT'S SHOES. WHEN THE BURGLAR ALARM WOULD GO OFF, USUALLY AT 2 A.M., IT WAS MY JOB TO MEET THE ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE, ON SITE, TO CONDUCT A ROOM TO ROOM SEARCH. FORTUNATELY, ON NUMEROUS OF THESE OCCASIONS, THE OFFICER WOULD BE CONSTABLE ED KOWALSKY, ONE OF MY HOCKEY CLUB TEAM-MATES, AND WE TOOK A MORE LIGHT-HEARTED APPROACH TO THE INVESTIGATION. THEY WERE ALL FALSE ALARMS. BUT WHEN ANOTHER OFFICER WOULD HAVE TO ATTEND, THE SEARCHES WERE A LITTLE LESS ENTHUSIASTIC. SOMETIMES IT HAPPENED SEVERAL NIGHTS A WEEK. SEEING AS I LIVED QUITE A DISTANCE OUT OF TOWN, THESE EARLY MORNING SITE INSPECTIONS WERE BECOMING QUITE DISRUPTIVE. ESPECIALLY FOR OUR WEE LADS, WHO HAD A HARD TIME GETTING BACK TO SLEEP, THINKING ABOUT DAD TRACKING BAD GUYS, WHO HAD APPARENTLY BROKEN INTO THE MUSEUM. EACH TIME, I WOULD OFFER MY SINCERE APOLOGY TO THE OPP, AND VOW TO GET THE ALARM RE-ADJUSTED.

AFTER ABOUT A YEAR OF THIS NONSENSE, WE FINALLY FOUND OUT THE CAUSE OF THE FALSE ALARMS. THE WIRING OF THE ALARM ITSELF, THROUGH THE ATTIC, WAS ATTRACTIVE TO SEVERAL RESIDENT SQUIRRELS. IT SEEMS THE COATING ON THE WIRE, TASTED LIKE LICORICE TO THEM. SO THEY HAD STRIPPED SUBSTANTIAL AREAS OF COATING, AND EACH TIME THEY HAD A TREAT, THE ALARM WENT OFF. THEY LIKED POST MIDNIGHT SNACKS. THIS WAS THE LIFE OF THE PRESIDENT, AND FIRST LADY.

I LIKED TO STIR THINGS UP THEN, MUCH AS I DO NOW. SO WHEN WE HIRED A CURATORIAL DUO, TO TAKE OVER THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS, DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, I HAD NO IDEA IT INVOLVED A CANON. A SMALL ONE. NOT LIKE A FORT HENRY, OR GETTYSBURG CANON, BUT A CANON NONE THE LESS. ONE DAY I STEPPED OUTSIDE THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE, ON DOMINION STREET, IN TIME TO HEAR A LOUD REPORT…..AS IF A SUBSTANTIAL GUN HAD BEEN FIRED SOMEWHERE CLOSE-BY. I ALSO NOTICED, BY MY WATCH, THAT IT WAS 1 P.M. IT WAS AN OLD REPORTER'S HABIT, TO TIME STRANGE, OR OUT-OF-PLACE EVENTS, IN CASE I WOULD HAVE TO WRITE ABOUT IT LATER. I DIDN'T HEAR ANY AMBULANCE SIRENS, AND THERE WAS NOTHING GOING ON AT THE FIRE HALL, SO I WENT BACK INTO THE OFFICE. THEN THE PHONES BEGAN TO RING. YUP, THOSE CALLS WEREN'T FOR THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE. THEY WERE FOR SOMEONE, ANYONE FROM THE MUSEUM, WHO COULD EXPLAIN WHY THERE WAS CANON-FIRE COMING FROM THE HILLSIDE. GEEZ, HAD THOSE PESKY AMERICANS INVADED US AGAIN? AS I HAD KIN IN THE WAR OF 1812, I WAS READY TO DEFEND CANADA ONCE MORE.

WHEN I DROVE UP THE LANE TO WOODCHESTER VILLA, I COULD SEE MY CURATORIAL STAFF, STANDING BESIDE A TINY IRON CANON ON WHEELS, PARKED ON THE SIDE LAWN. IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME, THAT THE STAFFER PLANNED ON FIRING THE CANON EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, AT PRECISELY I:00 P.M., SO THAT TOWN FOLKS COULD RE-SET THEIR CLOCKS TO THE ACCURATE TIME OF THE DAY. MEANWHILE NEIGHBORS ARE LOOKING ON, AS IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE RETURN FIRE FROM SOME UNIDENTIFIED MILITIA , CLIMBING UP FROM THE VALLEY BELOW. I DID KNOW ABOUT THE CANON BEFORE THIS, BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN USED EARLIER THAT WEEK, AT A SPECIAL HERITAGE PLAQUE UNVEILING AT WOODCHESTER. I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS GOING TO BECOME A REGULAR THING. IT WAS AN INTERESTING SITUATION, AND VISITORS TO THE MUSUEM SEEMED AMUSED. THE KIDS LIKED TO WATCH THE PREPARATION, AND FIRING, LIKE THEY WOULD AT FORT YORK, SO I TRIED TO PACIFY THE NEIGHBORS THAT THEY WEREN'T IN ANY IMMINENT DANGER…..AND AS A BONUS, THEY COULD GET THE ACCURATE TIME EACH DAY.

WORKING AT WOODCHESTER VILLA WAS ALWAYS AN UNPREDICTABLE VENTURE. WHEN PLAYING HOST TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, YOU HAD TO BE EVER WATCHFUL. FROM PREVENTING ICE CREAM CONES BEING TAKEN IN THE HOUSE, TO DISALLOWING PIANO SMASHING IN THE VICTORIAN PARLOR. QUITE A FEW PARENTS, AS I REMEMBER, USED TO LET THEIR KIDS RUN, AS SOON AS THEY HIT THE FRINGE OF THE PROPERTY, AND IT CARRIED ON, INTO BOTH MUSEUM BUILDINGS. IT WAS HIGH STRESS, BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF VALUABLE ANTIQUES IN THE HOUSE, ESPECIALLY, THAT COULD BE DAMAGED BY ROUGH-HOUSING. LARGE CAMP AND SCHOOL TOURS EXHAUSTED STAFF, AND NO MATTER HOW CLOSELY WE WATCHED, THERE WAS ALWAYS SOME TYPE OF DAMAGE, AND YES…..TOPPLED ICE CREAM ON A RUG, OR ON A VINTAGE TABLE CLOTH.

THE BIGGEST DISASTER I EVER ENCOUNTERED, DURING MY TENURE, WAS WHEN SOME STAFFER HAD DECIDED TO PLACE A BIRD FAMILY WEDDING DRESS, FROM THE VICTORIAN VINTAGE, ON A BED IN THE MASTER BEDROOM. IT WAS SECURELY ROPED OFF, FROM VISITORS, BUT NOT FROM THE DEVASTATION THAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN THE HEATING SYSTEM EXPLODES, WITH WHAT I UNDERSTOOD WAS A "SOOT BLOW-BACK," WHICH I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED PREVIOUSLY……OR WOULD LIKE TO AGAIN. NOW IMAGINE, IF YOU CAN, THE LARGE AMOUNT OF LACE ON A DRESS LIKE THIS. WHAT WAS WHITE BECAME BLACK. THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE. THE DRESS HAD TO BE SHIPPED TO A MUSEUM CONSERVATOR, IN OTTAWA, FOR RESTORATION. EXPENSIVE. YES IT WAS. DID WE HAVE MONEY TO COVER THE CLEAN UP? NO WE DIDN'T. WE JUST HAD TO DRAIN ONE RESOURCE TO OFFSET THE DEMANDS OF ANOTHER. WE HADN'T CREATED AN EMERGENCY FUND, IN OUR ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGETS, AS SHOULD HAVE OCCURRED FROM THE BEGINNING, EXPECTING SITUATIONS TO HAPPEN WELL IN ADVANCE. WE JUST KEPT FALLING FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND IN THIS REGARD. WE COULD HAVE BEEN FUNDRAISING EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR AND STILL FALLEN SHORT OF NEEDED FUNDS.

IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT, AT THIS TIME IN THE MUSEUM'S HISTORY……AND IN THIS ERA OF AUSTERITY….. WHETHER THE RESTORATION COSTS AND THE DAY TO DAY EXPENSES, COULD EVER BE RECOVERED BY OPERATION REVENUE. I AM A PAGE FROM THE PAST, AND I HAVE TO BE HONEST HERE. I CAN'T SEE IT EVER BEING COST EFFICIENT AS A MUSEUM, AND NEVER PROFITABLE UNDER OPERATION PROTOCOLS FROM MY ERA. AS MUCH AS I ADORE WOODCHESTER VILLA, ITS TRUTHS MUST PREVAIL…..FOR THE WELL BEING OF TAXPAYERS OF THE MUNICIPALITY.