Gravenhurst Legacy to Uphold

A GRAVENHURST LEGACY TO BE PROUD OF - AND TO UPHOLD

HISTORY CAN BE CONTEMPORARY IF YOU GIVE IT A CHANCE  - YOU MIGHT EVEN COME TO LIKE IT, OVER TIME!!

     THIS MORNING, WHEN I TURNED ONTO MUSKOKA ROAD, NORTH, FROM WINEWOOD, THE MAINSTREET APPEARED IN THE SUNLIGHT, AS SUCH A WELL PROPORTIONED, REGIONALLY PICTURESQUE MESHING-TOGETHER OF OLD AND NEW, AND THE NEAT CONFORMITY OF A RE-CONSTRUCTED ROADWAY, SIDEWALKS, CLEAR PAINTED LINES, NO POT-HOLES,…..BUT JUST A FEW TOO MANY "NO PARKING SIGNS." IT LOOKS GOOD. IT'S A CREDIT TO THE COMMUNITY. THE FURTHER YOU MOTOR SOUTH, THE MORE INTERESTING IT BECOMES, WITH THE BRIGHT ILLUMINATION ON THE HISTORIC CHURCHES, AND POST OFFICE, MAIN STREET STOREFRONTS, AND THE TOWER OF THE OPERA HOUSE. IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A PAGE OUT OF HISTORY. IT'S BETTER THAN THAT! IT IS ALL LINKED WITH WHAT CONSTITUTES A MODERN, NEW CENTURY TOWN. ON THIS SHORT AUTOMOBILE JAUNT, I CAN ADMIT TO FEELING QUITE SATISFIED, ALL THE WORK, ALL THE SACRIFICE FOR THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION, AND ALL THE EFFORT TO KEEP THE MAINSTREET LOOKING AS ATTRACTIVE AS POSSIBLE, HAS BEEN WORTH THE PAIN AND SUFFERING TO GET TO THIS POINT. I WOULD BE PROUD TO WALK WITH ANY VISITOR TO OUR TOWN, ALONG THIS MAIN CORRIDOR OF THE GATEWAY COMMUNITY, AND TELL THEM HOW IT ALL BEGAN; AND HOW IT HAS EVOLVED SO SUCCESSFULLY TO THIS POINT. WHERE HONESTLY, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE FINALLY CROSSED A SIGNIFICANT THRESHOLD, TO THE FUTURE WE'D ALL LIKE TO POSSESS. A FLAVOR OF HERITAGE, AND A CONTEMPORARY DISH.

    TO BE THE KEEPER, THE STEWARD OF THIS TOWN, DOES NOT REQUIRE A DEGREE IN CANADIAN HISTORY. IT DOES NOT NECESSITATE ONE BEING AN HISTORIAN, ARCHIVIST, OR CONSERVATOR. IN THE SAME VEIN, THE VISIBLE HISTORY, THE ARCHITECTURE, THE MONUMENTS AND HISTORIC PLAQUES, ARE IMPORTANT, BUT NOT THE DEFINITIVE EVIDENCE A HISTORY OCCURRED HERE……SUCH THAT IF ALL THE OLD BUILDINGS WERE GONE, AND THE MONUMENTS REPLACED BY MODERN ART, AND THERE WASN'T A PLAQUE LEFT STANDING, THE MOST RELEVANT OF THE PAST, BECOMES, SIMPLY STATED, WHAT IS IN OUR CONSCIENCE, AND MINDS, TO CARRY FORTH. IF THERE SHOULD EVER BE THE WILL, TO REMOVE OURSELVES, AS A SOCIETY, FROM THE INVISIBLE TETHERS OF HISTORY, WHAT WOULD STOP THE MODERNISTS FROM RELEGATING IT TO BOOKS AND ARCHIVE BOXES ONLY. SOME OBSERVERS AND HISTORY LOVERS, MIGHT ALREADY FEEL, THAT WITHOUT THE OLD BUILDINGS AND STREET NAMES TO REMIND US OF OUR OUR PAST, THIS HISTORY STUFF, HAS BECOME MUCH LESS MEANINGFUL TO MOST CITIZENS TODAY. THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS FOR THIS, AND MUCH OF IT HAS TO DO WITH HUMAN RESOURCES. LOCAL HISTORIANS ARE GETTING OLDER, AND WHEN WE LOOK FOR OUR APPRENTICES, NO ONE'S THERE TO HOLD UP THE FLAG. EVEN MY YOUNG SONS, ARE NOT LIKELY TO FOLLOW IN THEIR DAD'S FOOTSTEPS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE FOUND A MORE PROFITABLE WAY TO RECOGNIZE HISTORY……SELLING VINTAGE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, FROM THE FORMER, STILL NOSTALGIC, MUSKOKA THEATRE BUILDING.

     THERE IS AN UNDEFINED, UNREGULATED CIRCUMSTANCE, THAT ALLOWS HISTORY TO DRIFT OFF INTO THE DARK RECESSES OF A STORAGE LOCKER, WITH NARY A MUFFLED CRY FOR HELP; A MODERN COMMUNITY, WHERE HISTORY IS VISIBLE AND INTERESTING, BUT NOT SO MUCH. NOT AS IT WAS THIRTY YEARS AGO, ARGUE THE OLDTIMERS, IN COFFEE TIME CHIT-CHAT. IN ITS STRICTEST SENSE, AS PART OF OUR FUTURE-MINDED MUNICIPALITY'S DAY TO DAY PROTOCOLS, HISTORY IS WHAT'S BOUND IN LARGE DUST-COVERED TEXTS, TO BE CONSULTED IF NECESSARY, BUT NOT NECESSARILY CONSULTED.

     THE DIMINISHING OF HISTORY, IN THIS FASHION, IN OUR MODERN COMMUNITIES, WILL SPEED-UP OVER TIME, AS ENTHUSIASTIC HISTORIANS BECOME SCARCE, AND AREN'T REPLACED WHEN THEY RETIRE FROM ACTIVE SERVICE, OR BECOME RESIDENTS OF THE LOCAL CEMETERY. THE FACT, IN OUR OWN TOWN, THAT WE DON'T HAVE YOUNG ASPIRING HISTORIANS, APPRENTICING NOW, WHO WILL, IN TURN, UPHOLD THE RELEVANCE OF HISTORICAL RECORD, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO OUR HERITAGE THEN? WHO WILL PROTECT IT? WHO WILL TEACH OTHERS ABOUT OUR PAST? WHO WILL PROMOTE OUR HISTORY AS BEING UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT? IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT OUR PRESENT COUNCIL, AS THE LINK TO HISTORICAL PRESERVATION, WHAT MIGHT WE EXPECT FROM THEIR LEADERSHIP? HOW MUCH HISTORICAL BACKGROUND DO OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES HAVE, ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR TOWN? BEYOND WHAT THEY KNOW OF THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF TOWN INCORPORATION, WHAT KIND OF HISTORICAL TALK COULD THEY GIVE, ABOUT THE COMMUNITY THEY GOVERN? WHO WAS WILLIAM HENRY SMITH? WILLIAM DAWSON LESUEUR? DO THEY REALIZE, THAT IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR, OUR TOWN "WON'T OFFICIALLY" CELEBRATE THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS NAMING……AFTER THE TITLE OF A BOOK WRITTEN BY A BRITISH POET? HONESTLY, IT'S NOT INKED ON THEIR AGENDA. THE ONLY RECOGNITION OF THIS ANNIVERSARY, THAT I KNOW OF, IS THE ONE I'M GOING TO BE PRESENTING, ON THIS BLOG-SITE, IN JULY, THE RESULT OF MANY YEARS' RESEARCH…….AND GENUINE ENTHUSIASM TO PROMOTE (BRAG-ABOUT) OUR LITERARY PROVENANCE, FEW IF ANY COUNCILLORS CARE ABOUT. I DIGRESS. THE POINT IS, HISTORY ISN'T A BIG DEAL FOR OUR LOCAL COUNCIL. IF IT DOESN'T SAY IT ALL, IN THE FEW LINES OF A HERITAGE PLAQUE, OR FALL INTO AN ARCHITECTURAL ZONE FOR RECOGNITION, IT IS WHAT IT IS…….TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED BUT NOT CELEBRATED. WHICH IS KIND OF NUTS, WHEN YOU REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH WE RELY ON OUR HISTORICAL RESOURCES, LIKE OUR RESTORED STEAMSHIPS, TO BOOST THE TOURIST ECONOMY. "OH THAT KIND OF HISTORY, YOU SAY. WELL THAT'S DIFFERENT."  AS FOR THAT POET GENTLEMAN, "WHAT IS THAT KNOWLEDGE GOING TO DO FOR US IN CASH REVENUE?" GEEZ, I WISH I COULD PROVE THAT IT WOULD EARN US MILLIONS, BUT I'M A REALIST. IT'S JUST A NAME. A 150 YEAR OLD NAME. WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THAT? WELL FOLKS, STICK WITH ME THIS SUMMER AND YOU'LL FIND OUT.

     WHEN I TAKE A WALK IN A LOCAL CEMETERY, WHICH I DO FREQUENTLY, I AM NEITHER MOURNFUL, ABOUT THE DEPARTED, NOR GHOULISH BECAUSE I FEEL A SENSE OF COMFORT AND PEACE BEING IN THE COMPANY OF DEAD PEOPLE.

     I'M THE HISTORIAN. THESE WERE THE HISTORY MAKERS. WHAT I RESEARCH ABOUT GRAVENHURST TODAY, IS WHAT THESE FOLKS LIVED THROUGH IN YEARS PAST. IT IS ALWAYS A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE, LOOKING UPON THESE GRAVE MARKERS, AND READING THE NAMES OF FORMER BUSINESS LEADERS, POLITICIANS AND MEMBERS OF THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY FROM DECADES AGO. WELL KNOWN NAMES INSCRIBED, SUZANNE AND I RECALL, FROM THE HISTORY OF STEAMSHIPS WE'VE READ ABOUT; NAMES OF THOSE WHO PERISHED WHEN THE SMALL STEAMER WAOME WAS CAPSIZED IN A VIOLENT WIND-STORM IN LAKE MUSKOKA. HISTORY. SO MUCH HUMAN HISTORY BENEATH THESE SLOWLY ERODING STONES. SOME INSCRIPTIONS HAVE ALMOST BEEN WEATHERED-AWAY, AND SO GROWN OVER BY MOSSES AND LICHEN, THAT THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. THIS IS OUR HISTORY. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO CARVED THIS TOWN OUT OF THE PINE FOREST. THOSE WHO CONSTRUCTED THE FIRST LOG CABINS. CUT THE FIRST PATHS INTO THE DENSE BUSH. THERE ARE MANY ENDURING FAMILY NAMES, IN GRAVENHURST, TODAY, ORIGINATING FROM THESE SAME STALWART PIONEERS, WHO ESTABLISHED THE SETTLEMENT AND ITS FUTURE. AS WITH HISTORY, IT IS OFTEN RELEGATED TO QUIET, SEREEN PLACES LIKE THIS, OR IN PRINTED RECORD, KEPT IN A CLIMATE-CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT, IN A SHELVED ARCHIVES BOX……TO BE POSSESSED, AND CONSERVED BY PROTOCOL. JUST NOT FULLY APPRECIATED BY THE CONTEMPORARIES AMONGST US. THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND WHY WE KEEP RECORDS, AND MAINTAIN ARCHIVES, BUT NOT NECESSARILY, WHY WE ARE ALSO SUPPOSED TO BE REVERENT, AND SO PROUD, OF WHAT IS HOUSED WITHIN. WHEN HISTORIANS DO GET A CHANCE TO PRESENT THEIR HOLDINGS, FOR THE SHEER JOY AND PRIDE OR REPRESENTING THEIR COMMUNITY, THE AUDIENCE IS PREDICTABLY, THE CONVERTED; THE HISTORICALLY INCLINED.  THOSE WHO ARE PART OF THE FAMILY LEGACY, AND WHO AT ANY TIME, COULD TAKE THE CURIOUS, FOR A GRAVEYARD WALK, POINTING OUT THE FINAL RESTINGS PLACES OF THEIR FAMILY TREE. AS HISTORIANS ARE BECOMING ANTIQUATED THEMSELVES, AND APPRENTICES ARE OFTEN JUST AS OLD, I HAVE A GREAT FEAR, CONTEMPORARY DISINTEREST IN THE PAST, WILL INCREASE THE GAP BETWEEN MODERN HISTORY AND A LEGACY TO UPHOLD. HOW MANY OF OUR PRESENT ELECTED OFFICIALS, HAVE VISITED THE HERITAGE COLLECTION, THE GRAVENHURST ARCHIVES COMMITTEE HAS SO DILIGENTLY, AND THOUGHTFULLY PRESERVED FOR FUTURE POSTERITY?  IF NOT……WELL, WHY NOT? IT'S JUST SOMETHING I CAN'T DIGEST. IF YOU WANT TO REPRESENT OUR COMMUNITY, CAPABLY, AND INCLUSIVELY, YOU HAVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT, THAN FROM JUST THE YEARS OF YOUR RESIDENCY.

     IF I WAS IN A POSITION TO DO SO, I WOULD MAKE "LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS," GRAVENHURST'S LANDMARK CENTENNIAL HISTORY, COMPULSORY READING. I WOULD INSIST THAT EACH COUNCILLOR, PARTICIPATE IN A TUTORIAL, ADMINISTERED BY THE GRAVENHURST ARCHIVES COMMITTEE, AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. A MANDATORY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION WOULD FOLLOW, AND THOSE WHO FAIL, SHOULD BE THROWN RIGHT BACK INTO THE LOOP, TO GET UP TO SPEED, ON A LEGACY THEY WILL BE EXPECTED TO UPHOLD, HONOR AND PRESERVE. I SUGGESTED THIS TO A FEW COUNCIL HOPEFULS, AND ONLY ONE HAD ANY SERIOUS INTEREST, IN KNOWING ANYTHING EARLIER THAN THE DISCO ERA, AND UNFORTUNATELY, HE DIDN'T GET ELECTED.

    THERE ARE COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES WHO DO SHARE IN THE GRAVENHURST LEGACY, AND WHO I BELIEVE, ARE SINCERE AND REVERENT ABOUT ITS INCORPORATION IN CONTEMPORARY POLICIES, AND GENERAL GOVERNANCE. THERE ARE OTHERS WHO ARE ENTIRELY CONTEMPORARY, AND FIND LITTLE REASON TO DRAW ON THE PRECEDENTS OF THE PAST, TO GUIDE THEM IN PRESENT COUNCIL SITUATIONS. THIS IS A FAILING, IN MY OPINION. APPRECIATING HOW WE ARRIVED IN 2012, AND ALL THE HURDLES AND CALAMITIES THAT HAVE HAD TO BE OVERCOME, SINCE TO TOWN'S FOUNDING, IS CLEAR EVIDENCE OF OUR CHARACTER-PATINA AS A COMMUNITY. THERE ARE BLOOD LINKS TO OUR FOUNDING SETTLERS, AND TO MANY OF THE BUSINESS, INDUSTRIAL, POLITICAL LEADERS OVER THE PREVIOUS 15O YEARS. THIS ISN'T TO SAY THAT THE PAST 150 YEARS WAS WITHOUT CONTROVERSY, CRIME, DISENT, POLITICAL DISHARMONY, AND SOCIETAL UNREST. REGARDLESS OF THE HIGHS, LOWS, AND PLACES IN BETWEEN, IT IS OUR HISTORY. AND IT'S AN INCREDIBLY INTERESTING HISTORY, AT THAT. HOW MANY COMMUNITIES DO YOU KNOW, IN CANADA, HAVE HAD A GERMAN PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMP, AND FULL REGALIA, NAZI FUNERAL PROCESSIONS? IN OUR CASE, FROM LORNE STREET, TO THE MICKLE CEMETERY? HOW MANY COMMUNITIES DO YOU KNOW, HAD NAZI PRISONERS-OF-WAR, MARCHED DOWN THE MAIN STREET OF TOWN, DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR? EVEN THE HISTORY OF THE CALYDOR CAMP, IS A STUDY IN CONTRASTS. WHAT BEGAN AS A SANATORIUM, WHERE DR.NORMAN BETHUNE WAS ONCE A PATIENT, BEFORE GOING TO AN AMERICAN FACILITY, WAS TO BECOME A NAZI PRISON CAMP, FOLLOWED, AFTER A MAKE-OVER, BY A SUMMER RESORT KNOWN AS THE GATEWAY HOTEL, OWNED BY A WELL KNOWN JEWISH FAMILY. ON THE SAME PROPERTY. IT'S MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I USED TO GIVE TOURS OF THE SITE. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE STORY THIS IS, AND ONE THAT HAS BEEN HANDLED SUPERBLY, BY LOCAL HISTORIAN, CECIL PORTER. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT, YOU CAN FIND ONE ON THE LIBRARY SHELF. OR YOU CAN TAKE A HIKE TO THE UNGERMAN SUBDIVISION AND THE LORNE STREET BEACH FOR A LITTLE GANDER.

     HOW MANY COMMUNITIES, CAN BOAST A CENTRAL SQUARE, BRONZE STATUE, OF A WORLD FAMOUS COMMUNIST…….DR. NORMAN BETHUNE? A HERO TO THE CHINESE! A GREAT CANADIAN!

     BEING AN ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE OF THIS TOWN, IS MORE THAN JUST A CONTEMPORARY SITUATION. SOME COUNCILLORS MAY FEEL THAT ALL THAT MATTERS, IS WHAT THEY ARE FACED WITH AS CONTEMPORARY ISSUES, AND THE PRECEDENTS ARE ALL WITHIN THE BLACK AND WHITE OF THE PREVAILING MUNICIPAL ACT. THE TOWN HAS ITS ROLL OUTLINED, SOMEWHERE IN THE MASS OF BOUND PAPER, IN ITS PROCEDURAL HANDBOOK, AND IN ALL THE SHELVES OF BYLAWS PASSED, AND OCCASIONALLY IMPLEMENTED, TO THIS POINT OF HISTORY. BUT THIS IS NOT ENOUGH. GOVERNING OUR MUNICIPALITY REQUIRES A GENUINE SENSITIVITY TO THE CHARACTER OF OUR COMMUNITY. IT REQUIRES A RESPECT FOR THE COMMUNITY BUILDERS, AND THE POLITICAL WILL OF A BYGONE, BUT "IMBEDDED HISTORY," AS THE PATINA AND PROVENANCE OF THE CHAIN OF OFFICE. THERE ARE CITIZENS IN THIS TOWN, GENUINELY CONCERNED, THE MODERNISTS ARE COVERING OVER THE PAST, MUCH AS THE LICHEN CLINGS TO THE FACE OF SO MANY TOMBSTONES. THEY ARE SEEN AS DIMINISHING THE RELEVANCE OF LEGACY, AND PROVENANCE, AS IF, BY THEIR INTERPRETATION, GRAVENHURST WAS BORN YESTERDAY.

    ALTHOUGH IT ISN'T REQUIRED OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, BEFORE BEING SWORN-IN, THAT THEY PAY ALLEGIANCE TO THE FOUNDERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, IT WOULD BE REFRESHING TO KNOW, THAT OUR OFFICIALDOM KNEW ENOUGH, AND APPRECIATED THE STRENGTH OF PRECEDENTS, TO MAKE HISTORY AN ARM OF GOVERNANCE. NOT JUST PORTRAITS HANGING ON A WALL. THEY DON'T MEAN ANYTHING, WITHOUT COMPLIANCE, TO WHAT OUR HISTORY ACTUALLY MEANS…..AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, TO THOSE FAMILIES, WHO ARE STILL REPRESENTED IN OUR COMMUNITY; TO KNOW THE BUILDING WORK OF THEIR ANCESTORS, IS FULLY ACKNOWLEDGED, AND APPRECIATED. IT DOESN'T REQUIRE A PLAQUE OR A CEREMONY. IT WON'T BE IMPROVED BY A MURAL ALONE, OR A CHAPTER IN A BOOK. IT NEEDS TO BE IN THE MINDS OF OUR REPRESENTATIVES, SUCH THAT WHEN THEY HAVE A CONTEMPORARY ISSUE, THAT HAS BEEN DEALT WITH BEFORE, THEY WILL FEEL COMFORTABLE, AND WELL-SERVED, DELVING INTO THE ARCHIVES TO RE-LIVE THOSE LANDMARK DECISIONS OF THE PAST. SOME WERE RIGHT. SOME WERE WRONG. LEARNING FROM THEM, EITHER WAY, SEEMS IMMEASURABLY MORE SENSIBLE, THAN HAVING NO PRECEDENTS AT ALL.

    THE PUBLIC SENSES, AND TO SOME DEGREE, OBSERVES FIRST HAND, (ATTENDING COUNCIL MEETINGS), THIS FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE THE RESPONSIBILITY THEY HAVE, TO RESPECT THE INHERENT CHARACTER OF "WHO AND WHAT WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY." IT ISN'T JUST ABOUT HISTORICAL REVERENCE. BUT IT IS ABOUT APPRECIATING, THAT THE CHANGES THEY ARE IMPOSING, AND THE DECISIONS THEY MAKE THROUGHOUT THEIR FOUR YEAR TERM OF OFFICE, IS PROGRESSIVELY CHANGING THE CHARACTER OF THE TOWN, BIT BY BIT. BUT NOT NECESSARILY, IN KEEPING WITH THE WAY WE BELIEVE IT SHOULD MORPH INTO THE FUTURE. HOW FAR SHOULD WE GO, WITH THIS DISTANCING FROM THE WAY WE WERE? IF OUR COUNCILLORS WERE GIVEN A LOCAL HISTORY QUIZ, WITHOUT BENEFIT OF A PRECEDING TUTORIAL-UPGRADE, AND THE QUESTIONS WERE GENERAL, HOW MANY WOULD GET A PASSING GRADE. IN THE MODERNIST POINT OF VIEW……WHO CARES IF THEY PASS OR NOT? THIS IS 2012. THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW! RIGHT? SO THEN WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CANADIAN? AN ONTARIAN? MUSKOKAN? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A RESIDENT OF GRAVENHURST? WHAT SHOULD IT MEAN? WHY? IT IS REALLY THE CASE, WE NEED TO FIND INTEREST IN OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, TO TAKE UP THE CAUSE OF LOCAL HISTORY……BECAUSE IT'S IN OUR BEST INTERESTS. PERIOD.

     MORE THAN JUST A FEW BUILDERS OF EMPIRES, IN THE PAST, HAVE DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED GRAND AND FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES, AND CITYSCAPES, THAT WHILE ARCHITECTURALLY APPEALING, AND FUNCTIONALLY SUPERIOR TO OTHER STRUCTURES, AND URBAN LANDSCAPES, FAIL OVER TIME, BECAUSE OF DEFICIENCIES. OVER-SIGHTS. THINGS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE, BUT WERE NEGLECTED. IT MIGHT, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE A WEAK AND CRUMBLING FOUNDATION. WE STILL, IN THIS SOCIETY, NEED OUR FOUNDATION TO BUILD-UPON. IF CONTEMPORARY COUNCILS HAVE LITTLE IF ANY INTEREST IN WHAT HAS GONE ON HERE, IN THE PAST, THEN THEY ARE BUILDING THEIR PLAN OF ACTION AND PROGRESS, ON THE SAME WEAK, AND UNWORTHY FOUNDATION, THAT WILL EVENTUALLY FALTER AND FAIL. THE FUTURE OF THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE COMES TO MIND. THE LONGTIME CITIZENS OF THIS TOWN, ARE APPALLED AT THE LACK OF ENTERTAINMENT AT WHAT HAS BEEN CALLED, FOR MANY DECADES, AN "OPERA HOUSE;" MEANING "NOT AN OFFICE FOR MEETINGS." NOW IT IS, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, AND BY MODERN APPLICATION, REVERTED BACK TO ITS EARLIEST DAYS AS MUNICIPAL OFFICES. IF THEY HAD REVERENCE FOR THIS REPEAT OF HISTORY, THAT WOULD BE ONE THING. AS IT IS, HOWEVER, THE CHANGE TO MEETING PLACE, FROM ENTERTAINMENT VENUE, IS DUE TO LACK OF DIRECTION AND NOTHING MORE. THERE ARE OTHER ENTERTAINMENT VENUES IN GRAVENHURST, CAPABLE OF DRAWING A CROWD. ONE OF THE MOST HISTORICAL VENUES, IS OPERATING AT A GREATLY DIMINISHED CAPACITY, IN THIS REGARD, BECAUSE ITS OWN HISTORY DOESN'T CARRY THE WEIGHT IT SHOULD, WITH OUR CONTEMPORARY COUNCIL. INSTEAD OF READING AND UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY OF THE OPERA HOUSE, THAT WAS DOCUMENTED IN A RECENT BOOK FOR ITS ANNIVERSARY, THE HISTORY IS RELEGATED TO THE BOOK SHELF…..APPARENTLY WHERE IT BELONGS. IF HISTORY WAS UTILIZED, AND CELEBRATED, THE OPERA HOUSE WOULD HAVE A HUGE FUTURE UNFOLDING, IN THE REALM OF THE PERFORMING ARTS. INSTEAD OF CALLING UPON HISTORY FOR HELP, THE MODERN COUNCIL, IN THIS NEW CENTURY, FOLDS ITS COLLECTIVE HANDS, AND REFUSES TO BUDGE. THUS, MORE SPACE FOR MEETINGS. LESS INTEREST IN THE OLD THEATRE, FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT IT CAN STILL SHOWCASE. WHEN I SUGGESTED A CITIZENS' COMMITTEE BE FORMED, TO HELP LEAD COUNCIL OUT OF THEIR SELF IMPOSED-STALEMATE, ON THE MATTER OF REJUVENATING THE OPERA HOUSE, NARY A WORD WAS OFFERED IN SUPPORT……AND STILL NO INDICATION COUNCIL CARES WHAT THE PUBLIC THINKS ON THE MATTER.

      WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS TOWN? NOT A THING THAT CAN'T BE CORRECTED, OR IMPROVED UPON, IF THERE IS THE ENTHUSIASM AND WILL TO RESTORE RESPECT FOR OUR HERITAGE…….NOT JUST FRAMED IN A MOUNTED PLAQUE, IN A PAINTING, PHOTOGRAPH OR MURAL…….BUT EMPLOYED IN REAL TIME, REAL LIFE SITUATIONS, WHERE IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE, TO SOLVE AND OVERCOME CONTEMPORARY STALEMATES.

     TO BE HISTORICALLY RESPECTFUL, DOESN'T IMPOSE A DRESS CODE. IT ISN'T NECESSARY TO WEAR A TOP HAT, OR A VICTORIAN FROCK, OR TO ARRIVE AT A COUNCIL MEETING VIA HORSE AND BUGGY. IT IS NECESSARY, FOR HISTORICAL ACCURACY, TO CONDUCT A MEETING BY THE LIGHT OF SEVERAL OIL LAMPS. IT'S AN ATTITUDE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. AN UNDERSTANDING, THAT TO MANY OF US, THE INDIFFERENCE TO WHAT WE HOLD NEAR AND DEAR, IS FRANKLY, WORRISOME. LIKE CARRYING THE FLAG PROUDLY, IT IS INCUMBENT TO KNOW WHAT THAT PROTOCOL MEANS……NOT JUST WHAT YOU ASSUME IT MEANS. THERE ARE SOME OLDER CITIZENS HERE, WHO BELIEVE OUR OWN FLAG, IS COMING PRECARIOUSLY CLOSE TO HITTING THE GROUND. ELECTED OFFICIALS SURELY APPRECIATE WHAT THIS MEANS. 

STILL TIME TO RE-CONSIDER VOTE ON THE USE OF THE HAIGHT BEQUEATH

     There is still lots of time, before the June 5th vote, on a committee proposal, to use the one million dollar bequeath, made by the estate of the late Terrence Haight, to pay down the town debt….., for Gravenhurst councillors who voted for the motion, to change their position on the decision. There is time to opt for public consultation, in order to allow interested residents, to offer their suggestions, on how the money can be best invested, to assist our community at large. As a watcher of local politics, I think this is a more important council reaction, and decision, than councillors may have previously thought……and a lot of citizens are openly critical about council's jumbo-sizes arrogance. The word on the street is that the town would be making a huge mistake, to spend the memorial bequeath in this fashion, and my advice to councillors who may be reading this tome, is to hit the street, and ask the pertinent question yourself. Possibly ten out of ten citizens asked, would recommend the establishment of a future community grant program, or the same percentage suggesting that paying off the debt would be best. Maybe it would be fifty-fifty. But to not allow the public to enter into the discussion, will have its political consequence. What needs to be shown here, is that our elected officials, are prepared to allow the public to decide. The residents of this town. Not just ratepayers. Not just a table of councillors, or administrative staff at town hall. The everyday folk who call this south Muskoka town their home. It would sure be neat, to see our council members, out on the street seeking consensus, because they believe it is the right thing to do.

    It's okay to re-think a position. The vote that counts, is what council decides, and I'm betting, councillors will judge the prevailing protest, by enthusiastic citizens, as proof, the public wants to, and will be involved in the process. Being unmoved, indifferent and stubborn in this case, won't be a credit to recall, at the very next all-candidates meeting……when we really will open the floor to debate.