YARD SALE SATURDAYS ARE GREAT ADVENTURES - WITH ASTONISHING FINDS
I PROMOTE GRAVENHURST AGGRESSIVELY, BUT I'M NOT EXPECTING THANKS ANY TIME SOON. NO PARADE IN MY HONOR, OR A STREET DESIGNATION. IF TOWN COUNCIL WAS TO HONOR ME, IT WOULD BE THE OFFICIAL NAMING OF A TRASH RECEPTACLE AT GULL LAKE PARK. HEY, WITH MY ENVIRONMENTAL SLANT, IT WOULD BE AN HONOR.
WHETHER IT IS KNOWN OR NOT, MANY ARTICLES GET SENT FROM HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, TO OTHER REGIONAL PUBLICATIONS, AND IT IS A COMMON THREAD IN EVERY ONE OF THEM, THAT MY HOME BASE IS GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO. THIS INCLUDES ARTICLES SENT TO THAT TERRIFIC OLD-TIME-FLAVOR PUBLICATION, THE GREAT NORTH ARROW, PUBLISHED FROM UPTOWN / DOWNTOWN DUNCHURCH, WHICH HAS A GOOD AND BROADENING FOLLOWING IN MUSKOKA. WELL, GRAVENHURST GETS A LOT OF PLUGS FROM THIS COLUMNIST. RIGHT NOW I'M WORKING ON A YEAR-LONG PARANORMAL JAG, AND IT'S PICKED-UP A PRETTY GOOD FOLLOWING SO FAR. THIS IS MY SECOND YEAR WITH THE FLEDGLING PUBLICATION. IN MY OTHER FAVORITE PUBLICATION, "CURIOUS; THE TOURIST GUIDE," I AM WORKING ON A YEAR-LONG ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE COLUMN, ONCE AGAIN WITH GRAVENHURST AND MUSKOKA AS MY BASE OF STUDY. I'M PROUD OF THE PLACE I LIVE AND WORK, AND I'M VERY INTERESTED IN SHARING THAT OPINION, WITH RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO ONTARIO.
GRAVENHURST, IN PARTICULAR, IS A REAL HOT-SPOT FOR GOOD QUALITY YARD SALES AND FUNDRAISING FLEA MARKET EVENTS, AND THIS IS WHAT I'M SHARING WITH A LARGE AUDIENCE, LOYAL TO THIS NEAT ONTARIO TRAVEL PUBLICATION. WE HAVE HAD AN AMAZING HUNTING / GATHERING START TO THE YARD SALE AND FLEA MARKET SEASON, AND ALREADY I'VE MADE SOME BIG DISCOVERIES, AND I'M GOING TO SHARE THEM WITH YOU, AS THE SEASON MATURES. IN GRAVENHURST AND BRACEBRIDGE THERE ARE LOTS OF ANTIQUE HUNTING LOCATIONS, FROM RETAIL OUTLETS, TO GROUP EVENTS SUCH AS THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, AT ST. JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND BOTH THE ANGLICAN CHURCH AND THE UNITED CHURCH HERE IN GRAVENHURST. THE RE-STORE IN NORTH GRAVENHURST (MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD) IS A PERPETUALLY INTERESTING PLACE FOR US DIE-HARD ANTIQUE HUNTERS, AND OF COURSE THERE ARE THE TWO SALVATION ARMY THRIFT SHOPS IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. WHILE THE WINTER IS A LITTLE ON THE LEAN SIDE, THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE YARD SALE SEASON MAKES UP FOR THE SEASONAL HIATUS. THE PICKINGS ARE GOOD ENOUGH HERE, THAT I CERTAINLY FEEL THEY ARE WORTH HIGHLIGHTING TO OTHER COLLECTORS, TO COME AND HAVE A LOOK. WHILE A FEW OF MY ANTIQUE COLLECTING CRONIES, WOULD LIKE TO KEEP NEWS OF THE GOOD STUFF UNDER WRAPS, BECAUSE OF COMPETITION, I SAY "NUT TO THEM!" I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT FOLKS CAN MAKE A FEW BUCKS SELLING OFF THEIR SURPLUS ITEMS…..RIGHT FROM THEIR OWN PROPERTIES. IT GIVES OUT-OF-TOWNERS A CHANCE TO SEE WHAT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS LOOK LIKE, AND USUALLY, THESE YARD-SALERS, WILL STOP FOR BREAKFAST, AND AT THE VERY LEAST, A CUP OF JAVA, UPTOWN OR AT THE SOUTH END. THEY GET GAS AND ICE CREAM CONES HERE TOO. I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS FREQUENTLY…….THE FACT THAT TOURISM GETS A PRETTY FAIR BOOST FROM THESE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SALE HOSTS. CONSIDER VILLAGES LIKE PORT SYDNEY AND BAYSVILLE, TO NAME A FEW, THAT HAVE COMMUNITY-WIDE GARAGE SALES. LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOOD SALES HERE, SUCH AS IN THE PINE RIDGE COMMUNITY, IN GRAVENHURST. STREET SALES. BRILLIANT. WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE MORE OF THESE. THE TOWN COULD EASILY ESTABLISH A BOOT SALE (AS THEY DO IN ENGLAND, SELLING FROM THE TRUNKS OF THEIR CARS), AT A LOCAL PARK ON A SATURDAY OR SUNDAY MORNING. THINK OF THE CROWDS OF PEOPLE. I'D PROMOTE, JUST AS I DO THE OTHER SALES I FIND HERE, ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
I DON'T TEAR OFF TO ORILLIA, OR EVEN HUNTSVILLE ON SATURDAYS, AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, AND FOR ONE GOOD REASON. THERE'S ENOUGH HUNTING AND GATHERING, AND PROFIT MAKING BETWEEN OUR TWO TOWNS, TO SATISFY OUR SENSES OF ADVENTURE. AS FOR PROMOTING GRAVENHURST, AS A GOOD PLACE TO SHOP AND HUNT, I'M ONLY TOO GLAD TO HELP OUT. I HAVE BOUGHT SIX EXCELLENT PAINTINGS IN THE PAST SEVEN DAYS. SON ANDREW, WAS ABLE TO BUY SIX COCA COLA POP CRATES, IMPRINTED BY THE FORMER BROWN'S BEVERAGES, AT THE ROYAL LEPAGE FUNDRAISING SALE TWO WEEKS AGO, IN GRAVENHURST. IT'S FUN, AND FOR THE CHARITABLE GROUPS, IT HELPS RAISE MONEY FOR A GOOD CAUSE. IT'S JUST GREAT TO BE OUT AND ABOUT IN OUR TOWN……NETWORKING, MEETING UP WITH FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS DOING THE SAME THING……MAYBE NOT FOR ANTIQUES……POSSIBLY FOR SLIGHTLY USED GARDEN UTENSILS AND WHEELBARROWS WITH A FEW MILES LEFT ON THEM.
PHOTOGRAPHED ABOVE, IS AN AMAZING CANADIAN ART PANEL, MEASURING ONLY FIVE INCHES BY FOUR, BUT POSSESSING ALL THE CHARACTER-HISTORY, A TIME CHRONICLER LIKE ME DESIRES. IT WAS FOUND AT A GRAVENHURST YARD SALE, AND WHILE NOT PROVEN AS A GROUP OF SEVEN WORK, IT HAS SOME VERY CANADIAN ATTRIBUTES THAT MAKE IT A SUBSTANTIAL FIND. THIS IS THE KIND OF TREASURE THAT AWAITS OUT THERE, FOR THE KEEN EYE, AND THE INTREPID TRAVELER. AND WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MOTOR-TRIP IT WAS ON SATURDAY…….THROUGH AN AMAZING SUNLIT MUSKOKA LANDSCAPE. WE STOPPED FOR A SALE AT A LOCAL FARM, AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE. WHEN WE DID, WE LEFT WITH A DOZEN POTS OF FLOWERS FOR THE BIRCH HOLLOW GARDEN. YEA, IT WAS A GOOD DAY. HAPPY TO BE LIVING IN A REGION WITH SO MANY YARD SALE HOSTS. IT'S LOOKING LIKE A RECORD SUMMER SEASON. GET OUT THERE AND HAVE A LOOK AROUND. MAYBE YOU'LL FIND SOMETHING YOU CAN'T LIVE WITH OUT.
GULL LAKE PARK NEEDS SOME WORK - SHOULD HAVE BEEN READY FOR VICTORIA DAY WEEKEND
COUNCILLORS SHOULD TAKE A WALK
IT WAS ONE OF THE FINEST VICTORIA DAY HOLIDAY WEEKENDS IN MANY YEARS. WHAT CAN BE A COLD AND RAINY SPRING WEEKEND, WAS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FROM BEGINNING TO END. THERE SEEMED TO BE A PRETTY GOOD CROWD OF VISITORS BEGINNING ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WE LINED UP HAPPILY FOR OUR GROCERIES, OUR HARDWARE, AT THE GARD
EN CENTRE, AND FOR ICE CREAM IN THE EVENING. IT WAS QUITE ENCOURAGING TO SEE SO MUCH COMMERCE IN ACTION, AFTER A LONG WINTER SEASON. I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WAS IN FINANCIAL TERMS, FOR LOCAL GARDEN CENTERS, BUT THE CUSTOMERS, WITH ARMS AND CARTS LOADED, SUGGESTED A CERTAIN BUT UNSPECIFIED PROFITABILITY. THE GROCERY AND HARDWARE STORE PARKING LOTS, UPTOWN AND IN THE SOUTH END, WERE JAMMED EVEN ON SUNDAY, AT LEAST FOR OUR VENTURES AROUND GRAVENHURST. AS FAR AS THE MAIN STREET, IT LOOKED POSITIVE, AND THERE SEEMED TO BE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE OUT STROLLING. DID THEY BUY SOMETHING? ONLY THE MERCHANTS KNOW FOR SURE. OUR BOYS TOOK ONE DAY OFF, OUT OF THE WEEKEND, TO RELAX A LITTLE; BUT FROM FRIDAY TO SUNDAY NIGHT, THEY HAD ENJOYED A VERY PROFITABLE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. IT WAS WHAT MADE MOM AND POP DECIDE TO HELP THEM EXPAND THE SHOP ONE MORE TIME THIS SPRING, TO ALLOW FOR SOME ANTIQUE INVENTORY IN THE BACK SECTION. ANDREW AND ROBERT ALREADY EXPANDED TO CREATE A NEW RECORDING STUDIO BACK IN MARCH. WE'VE BEEN INTERESTED IN DOING THIS ANTIQUE-SHOP-THING FOR SOME TIME, BUT WE WERE HOLDING OFF UNTIL SUZANNE RETIRES ONE DAY SOON FROM TEACHING. WE STARTED BIRCH HOLLOW ANTIQUES IN THE MID 1980'S, AND ALTHOUGH WE HAD A MAIN STREET SHOP IN BRACEBRIDGE, IN THE 1990'S, WE'D PLANNED THE NEXT ANTIQUE SHOP AS OUR RETIREMENT BUSINESS. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF PREPARATION TIME TO GET IT RIGHT. SO WE THINK WE'VE GOT IT CLOSE…..AND NOW. SO HOPEFULLY, WE WILL HAVE TWO BIG ROOMS TO ADD ONTO ANDREW AND ROBERT'S MUSIC SHOP BY JULY 1ST. LOTS OF ART. I'VE BEEN COLLECTING IT FOR THE PAST TWENTY YEARS.
GULL LAKE PARK
Suzanne and I had one disappointment on the holiday weekend. We went down to the park for one of our typical afternoon picnics, and were both quite surprised by the condition of the grounds. It wasn't the dumped pop cans and plastic bottles (we picked those up) from the busy weekend, that made the park looked neglected. Honestly, we were both wondering aloud, on our hike around the park-site, why it hadn't been tidied up for the traditional opening weekend of our tourist season. There were lots of strewn limbs and way too many inches of pine cones and needles, that should have been raked up long before the Victoria Day holiday. There was a large crowd of tourists using the Rotary Pavilion, as is typical of Sundays, especially, and we counted twenty other picnic benches being utilized around the park. But it was not as attractive as it should have been, with unsightly clumps of grass rising out of the pine needles, and piles of cones, making the site look neglected. You're not going to grow too much grass with the blanket of pine needles. And some of us do appreciate grass more than slipper brown pine needles. I think that if councillors, had taken a walk through the park last Thursday, they would have made a subsequent request to Parks and Recreation, to get the rakes out, and the debris and limbs bagged-up and hauled away. The fallen limbs, which are leftovers from the winter season, and the mass of pine needles, aren't the leftovers of a busy weekend in the park. Unless, of course, the city folk were bringing up bags of yard waste from their properties, to dump at Gull Lake. It's just part of the regular chores of a park with all those pines.
I don't want to suggest that Sagamo Park, and the events' field gets better treatment than Gull Lake Park, but there are those in our town who believe this is absolutely the case. I have spent time at both parks this past weekend, and there's little comparison. One has a huge quantity of trees, and the other doesn't. Gull Lake Park is a non-commercial jewel for out town. Councillors really have very little idea how many people are coming through the park every day during the traditional tourist season. These are potential customers for Uptown Gravenhurst, the South End plazas, and maybe even The Wharf businesses. It is of considerable importance to have the park looking as good as it can be……and the washrooms sanitary, especially with the food vendor attached. There have been times in previous years, where I wouldn't use them, because of the bodily excesses of the daily traffic, and the fact the toilets were plugged and over-flowing. I understand the budget stresses but when our reputation is on the line, and it is, do we really want a visitor's memory of Gravenhurst, to be the shocking sight of rogue "turds flipping end-over-end, over toilet rims?" On one memorable occasion, a managerial miscue, meant that, on a busy Civic Holiday Sunday, crews were not manning the washrooms, and one performer, on The Barge that night, gave the crowd quite an ear-full, about the unsanitary conditions of the washroom she had needed to use. All us locals bowed our heads that night, thank you very much. It couldn't have been more embarrassing. I believe the situation was corrected by the next weekend. But it was a classic example of short-sightedness, and the real need for town councillors to be checking up on the properties they are stewards of……to make sure we're running things up to snuff.
You know, we spend a lot of time and money around this town, on special resource books, that highlight town services; making the best damn web site, in the whole of cyber-space, printing up and distributing acts-of-kindness-day cards, and investing in oh-so-many grip and grin photographs, as proof Council is on the ball here. Yet if we really, really wanted a good and immediate return on the money we invest, it would seem pretty much "Administration 101" to keep our actual, physical, geographic resources neat and tidy…….especially for the benefit of our tourists. What I saw this weekend, was that outside of the flags on the poles, the park itself was not a priority to Gravenhurst Parks and Recreation. The Barge has a reason to look disheveled. It's under repair. If there was some budget cut for raking, and picking up fallen branches, trimming branches, and pulling drifting boughs out of the water, then cripes, we need to amend this, because it's unacceptable. One minute, we're planning to gouge out the embankment to put in an amphitheater, and the next we can't seem to afford some staff-time and enough rakes to go around. These are the contradictions that drive me nuts. Why worry about a beautifully printed, and wonderfully detailed resource book about our town, at the expense of leaving our park looking like we just had a massive windstorm…….on a hugely busy weekend in a tourist town. What doesn't the town understand about tourism? Gull Lake Park is one freaking huge advertisement diorama……..of the good and natural life in Muskoka. The gateway arch is neat, but the real tourist candy, is a nice, clean, well maintained place to have a swim, a picnic, and listen to a Sunday evening concert.
The picnic tables, beneath pine trees, will obviously gather unwanted accumulations of pitch. Every now and again, Parks and Recreation could take some sandpaper, and take off some of the sticky, staining substance. A lot of folks won't sit down on pitch for some pretty obvious reasons. They don't need to be sanded down to bare wood. They need to be brought to an acceptable sitting and dining quality. Not every picnicker has a table cloth or seat covers. The paths are greatly intruded-upon, weed-filled limestone, and the wood-chip mulch in pockets, sucks big time. If you've got some walking issues, the mulch is a challenge to navigate. It looks exactly like it is. "We had some wood chips, so we dumped them at Gull Lake Park." With the grass growing up through scattered chips, it looks neither natural nor attractive when there are other solutions. Down along the shore, in the vegetation, we saw bags of garbage, knotted between trees, and all kinds of refuse, natural and manmade that has been there longer than a few days. I don't think there is any excuse whatsoever, that the approach of the May 24th holiday, didn't inspire Parks and Recreation management, to get over to the park, and find out precisely what needed to be upgraded, and cleaned up for the people, expected to make use of the site over three potentially busy days. Councillors must not continue to use the old standby as an argument…….."We left it to Parks and Recreation to look after." In this case, as far as I'm concerned, someone dropped the ball, and councillors should find out who pulled-back the raking detail and why. I'd like to think councillors would have had the exact same reaction, as we had, looking at the untended grounds. If it was on your home grounds, you'd have had the needles and boughs removed at least a month ago.
We were pleased however, to find that the two picnic tables had finally been removed from the water of Gull Lake. This also seemed to take far longer than it should have.
Here's what's at issue. Admittedly, we have been hustling like little beavers, trying to innovate and diversify in this town, to improve our business durability. Especially so in the uptown area of town. From an historic point of view, Gull Lake Park is a major uptown attraction. Whether or not it is in the BIA zone, or not, doesn't matter. It is a central town park for everyone to use. The view is magnificent. The beach, on hot summer days, is jammed with fun seekers. There are cameras clicking all times of the day until sunset. There is a huge ethnic interest in Gull Lake Park, and thousands of international travelers, stop here for a stroll-about, a picnic, or a swim. There are many family events, and the Rotary Pavilion is a gathering spot on almost every weekend of the summer season. So for all the dilly-dallying we do, and pre-occupying with other less significant aspects of town commerce, a great town resources appears of only basic interest. By the way, this is an opinion that has been shared by quite a few people over the years, and maintenance issues have always seemed the bare minimum.
As the Town saw fit to restore The Barge, which does make a lot of sense, in so many ways, it must also look at the way the park is being maintained. It deserves better. If this sounds insulting, or insensitive, that's too bad. We had a long, long snow-free period in Gravenhurst, this spring, so the debris should have been cleared away weeks before the holiday weekend. My hope is, that for the re-opening of The Barge, later in June, that councillors may have been inspired to check the park out for themselves……and as they have standards for the maintenance of their own home properties, may have also made a few helpful suggestions to Parks and Recreation, about the standard of excellence we'd all like to attain in our showplace park. So that when folks leave our park, they will tell others how clean and well groomed it appeared……..a great place to visit. Just like we hope they will remember the Gravenhurst business community, as serving all their customer needs.
We've spent a king's ransom on the newly refurbished recreation centre. And we're about to spend more. Somewhere in the mix, is a lovely little park, that's getting short-changed. There may be councillors who visit the site, and complain that this blogger is out of line, nasty, unforgiving, and insensitive. I don't care. What I care about, is that they see the yard waste, and get it cleaned-up. If telling the truth makes me a trouble-maker, then a trouble-maker I shall be. I have no reason to embellish, exaggerate, or pick on another living soul. But I know what's right. Change focus from the recreation centre, and look at our other town resources, and their needed upgrades. If the town needs volunteers to help rake Gull Lake Park, then put out a request for assistance. We'll be there!
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