Victoria Day Weekend in Gravenhurst & Muskoka

THE BIG WEEKEND IN MUSKOKA - OUR LASTING TRIBUTE TO GOOD OLD QUEEN VICTORIA

WE SHOULD WELCOME OUR VISITORS HEARTILY -

     I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY KIDS YOU COULD FIND TODAY, WHO WOULD THINK THAT THE BEGINNING OF THE TRADITIONAL TOURIST SEASON, IN MUSKOKA, IS A BIG DEAL. IT IS WHAT IT IS. A TIME OF YEAR WHEN CITY FOLKS WANT SOME REST AND RELAXATION. WHEN I WAS A YOUNG MUSKOKAN, MYSELF, MOST OF US LOCAL KIDS, DID GET EXCITED ABOUT THE CHANGE, HEADING OUR WAY……VACATIONERS MOTORING UP THAT BUSY HIGHWAY WITH CAMPERS, TRAILERS, BOATS AND RECREATIONAL GEAR HANGING OUT OF TRUNKS AND HATCHES.

     AS AN IMPATIENT, ALWAYS LOOKING-FORWARD KID, I TRULY LOOKED FORWARD TO THE VICTORIA DAY WEEKEND. THE FIREWORKS WERE NEAT, OF COURSE,  AND I ALWAYS HAD A FEW DOLLARS' ALLOWANCE TO BUY A SMALL PACKAGE OF THIS AND THAT, (EXPLOSIVES WITH WICKS) BUT THE REAL EXCITEMENT, WAS TO SEE THE STORE-FRONTS OF SHOPS, LIKE ELLIOT'S IN BRACEBRIDGE, WITH ALL THEIR MUSKOKA WARES ON DISPLAY. MAYBE IT'S TACKY TODAY, THOSE SOUVENIRS OF CANADA, MADE ELSEWHERE, BUT IT WAS THE FIRST CLEAR SIGN OF THE BEGINNING OF VACATION SEASON. EVEN THOUGH WE WEREN'T ON VACATION, IT WAS EXCITING TO SEE THE OLD TOWN THRIVING AGAIN…..BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC LIKE THE CITY. HEY, WE WERE KIDS LOOKING FOR EXCITEMENT AFTER THE WINTER HIATUS.

    IT WAS NEAT TO SEE A HUB-BUB OF INTEREST IN OUR MUSKOKA TOWNS. AND WHILE THE LOCALS LIKED TO COMPLAIN AND OBJECT TO THE LONG LINE-UPS AT THE GROCERY AND HARDWARE STORES, NO ONE FROM THAT VINTAGE, OF THE 1960'S, DISMISSED THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE TOURISTS FLOODING OUR AREA. EVEN TODAY, YOU CAN HEAR THE COMPLAINING IN THE SAME BUSINESSES, AND YET A LARGE PORTION OF THAT NUMBER, ALSO BENEFIT FROM THE INFLUX OF VISITORS. THEY JUST DON'T WANT TO ADMIT IT. IT WOULDN'T SOUND RIGHT. BLURTING OUT SOMETHING LIKE, "I WISH THESE TOURISTS WOULD GO BACK TO THE CITY," AND THEN BEING FORCED TO ADMIT THEY WORK FOR A LOCAL MARINA OR HOTEL. ALTHOUGH SOME OF US MIGHT LIKE TO HAVE AN EXCLUSIVE ON MUSKOKA, THE REALISTS AMONGST US, KNOW OUR PERSONAL ENJOYMENT OF GOD'S COUNTRY DEPENDS ON BEING ABLE TO AFFORD LIVING HERE YEAR-ROUND. OUR SEASONAL VISITORS KEEP US HERE. YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE PEOPLE I'VE TALKED WITH OVER THE YEARS, ABOUT TOURISM, AND THEIR INDIVIDUAL ROLES IN THE INDUSTRY, ARE QUITE HAPPY THAT MUSKOKA CONTINUES TO BE SUCH A RESPECTED AND CELEBRATED DESTINATION FOR THE VACATIONING PUBLIC. THEY'RE PROUD TO SHOW OFF THEIR HOME REGION. IT'S ALSO TRUE, THEY ARE VERY PROTECTIVE, AND WILL DEFEND HER HONOR IF NEED ARISES. FOR SOME FAMILIES, WHO HAVE BEEN PART OF THE TOURIST INDUSTRIES FOR GENERATIONS, THESE TRAVELLING FOLKS ARE NOT AS MUCH VISITORS, AS OUR PARTNERS. IN MANY CASES, THEY ARE CLOSE FRIENDS, WHO HAVE BEEN VACATIONING HERE FOR DECADES…..POSSIBLY GENERATIONS. AS FOR SECOND HOME OWNERS, THEY'RE JUST AS PROUD OF THEIR MUSKOKA CONNECTION, AS THOSE OF US WHO RESIDE HERE YEAR ROUND…..POPULATING OUR HAMLETS, VILLAGES AND TOWNS. SO WHEN, AT THIS TRADITIONAL TIME OF YEAR, WE MEET UP AGAIN IN THE GROCERY STORE AISLES, AH, SURE, THERE ARE THE CUSTOMARY COMPLAINTS, BUT NOTHING SERIOUS. TODAY WE'RE ALL IN SUCH A HURRY. IT'S MORE ABOUT LINE-UPS IN GENERAL, VERSUS BEING INCONVENIENCED BY THE TOURIST INFLUX.

       When my family moved to Muskoka circa 1965, everyone my dad talked to, attached to the lumber trade, in Southern Ontario, told him roughly the same thing. "You know it's a seasonal economy, don't you?" And "What are you going to do for the rest of the year, up there in the north country?" Of course, to them, the North Country began at King City. There are a lot of people who think Muskoka is rolled-up, and stored some place, after Thanksgiving, and ponder the same questions. "How do you people survive without us?" We Muskokans, have had since the 1870's, to work these details out. From the commencement of the tourist industry, we've had to figure out how to balance work over the course of twelve months. When agricultural enterprise and the logging industry started to sputter and fail, the tourism industry kept on flourishing. It went through rough patches, and paralleled, as it does today, the fluctuations of the world economy. We had downturns at the times when it was anticipated and expected. There were, understandably, a lot fewer vacations, being taken by families during both World Wars, and through economic calamities, such as the 1929, multi-year grind of the Great Depression. Trends and economic variables still impact us today. We're a lot better off today than we were in the 1960's, and we can function on a wider economic base these days, than we could have fifty years ago. We've still got a long way to go, in order to diversify the economy, but for those old-timers who remember the way it was, rest assured, much has been done in recent years to broaden our economic resilience. Recessions and Depressions? That's a different story. Austerity? Now that's precarious. Should we ever have massive layoff of public service employees, we may be in trouble. So far so good.

     So as newcomers to Muskoka, back then, we had to do as the locals did, and adjust immediately to the tourism realities. Except for a short period at the Bank of Nova Scotia, in Bracebridge, my mother Merle worked at a tiny corner store known as Bamfords…..which I have written about frequently on my Bracebridge blog. Bamfords was a store that had originally been opened, to serve the tiny cottage resort on the same property, on Toronto Street. There were probably 10 cottages, and most were rented to regular clientele, who had been coming to Woodley Park (which it was called) for many years. The corner store run by Mary and Fred Bamford, sold Muskoka and Canadian souvenir items, and the kinds of basic food requirements (and charcoal), a seasonal cottager would need. What happened was kind of neat. What had been created for the guests of Woodley Park, became an actual neighborhood store, on the opposite corner of the same block, from where Black's Variety had operated successfully for many years…..also serving the neighborhood needs. I don't know whether there was a feud between proprietors over the years, but I know we, as nearby residents, visited both shops on an almost daily basis. The odd thing about this cottage park, was that it was sitting in a residential area. We lived in the Alice Street apartments, situated directly behind the Bamford's forest, and so did a very old residential street. Woodley Park was a leftover from another era in the tourism industry. The fact there was no waterfront associated with the property, just trees and Muskoka atmosphere, always seemed strange to those who thought the hinterland experience had to involve a beach, or some type of shoreline for boating and swimming. My mother looked after the needs of the cottagers who came back every summer to the little cabins, as well as the small grocery and treat needs of the nearby residents. The local scalawags used to show up at the cabins for evening open-fire marshmallow roasts, and we made good friends in those modest, affordable cottages. So within a year of arriving in Muskoka, as transplants from a city way of life, my mother was gainfully employed in the tourism business.

     My father Ed, began working in Bracebridge, at the lumber company founded by J.D. Shier, one of the legends of the logging industry in this region. Most of his customers in those days, were cottagers, and soon-to-be cottagers, and even in the shoulder seasons, he was shipping building supplies to contractors, constructing cottages for the next vacation season. During his early years here, there was a lot more work, selling to cottage owners, and to lodges being built and remodeled, than to local building projects for the permanent population. This would increase substantially in the future. When he went to work as a salesman for Building Trades Centre, a few years later, the local scene was becoming quite a hustle and bustle, with lots of building going on. By time he became general manager of the company, under new ownership, in the 1990's, it was a pretty good mix between local projects and lakeside and cottage developments. Truth is, Ed was working through the four seasons, at the same wage. It pay didn't drop in the traditional off-season. That's when he got to take a vacation.

     I worked at Clark's Produce in Bracebridge for several years, delivering fruit and vegetables to many of the resorts and summer camps around the district. It was a beast, for a first-ever job, because I wasn't all that much bigger than the bag of potatoes I was expected to load on and off the trucks. I got a chance, at a young age, to see how the resorts and summer camps operated, and how Jimmy Clark treated his customers. He was big on service with a smile……when he wasn't chewing on that old cigar he used to clench in his jaw. I saw first hand, how responsive he was to his customers' needs. If we screwed up on a delivery, he'd break his back to get the missing veggies to the customer, or anything that was damaged or rotten, replaced immediately. He'd drive them out himself, and that might have been all the way to Kawagama, to Mountain Trout House. He worked us kids very hard. But when I think about it now, I'm really rather thankful I had Jimmy as an early boss, because he gave me an experience in the tourist trade, very few would have known or thought about, let alone sign-up for because it was so darn much fun. From an historical perspective, which I write from quite often, I saw the insides of quite a few summer places that are now no longer in existence. When I later became a feature editor with The Muskoka Sun, the summer paper published by Muskoka Publications, under direction of Robert Boyer, I was thankful to have had the experience garnered, from those days on the fruit and vegetable circuit with Jimmy Clark. Those early adventures, in my teens, helped me write about the resorts being profiled by our paper in later years. I had been in the inner sanctum of some great old Muskoka resorts……in time for breakfast. What heaven on earth, to smell those glorious breakfasts being served up to guests and campers. Of course all I got, when we arrived (vegetable stained) back to the truck, was another round of cigar eating…..with smoke. It would have been okay, if he hadn't been so damned persnickety about letting me have the window open. He would allow me have the window down, if he could turn the heater on…..which blew the smoke in my face twice as much.

     As I've also noted in previous blogs, my wife Suzanne, and her mother Harriet, and father Norman, had been involved in the tourist business as operators of the Windermere Marina, and "The Skipper," upstairs, which was a small summer-time cafe, largely utilized for light lunches and ice cream treats, by cottagers and guests of Windermere House. On the Friday evening of the Victoria Day weekend, the kids with parents coming from the city, tumbled out of the cars to run enthusiastically onto the dock to board the Shirl-Evon the marina's Ditchburn for the trip to the cottage. Norm was always at the helm. Norm's father, Sam, was a painter, who was often employed by the cottage community, and he and Norman, once painted the hull of the steam yacht, "Wanda," when it belonged to the Eaton family of Windermere. To the end of his life, Norm Stripp restored dozens of antique wooden motor launches, mostly for those with cottages. Suzanne worked in The Skipper with her mother, putting in some very long days, and went on to work at a gift shop at Windermere House, and then as a manager of the Pro Shop, at the Windermere Golf and Country Club. As a married couple, we ran a main street shop in Bracebridge, known as Birch Hollow Antiques. We still operate it today, but now in conjunction with our boys vintage music shop, on Muskoka Road, here in Gravenhurst. Yes, our business is local, the way it should be, and we couldn't survive without the support and patronage of the permanent population in our district. We won't lie. Without the six month boost from the vacation season crowd, we'd be a much less significant business. We need the tourist season to pump-up our business figures from year to year. This is a Muskoka tradition. We don't have a problem with it, or having developed a strategy to capitalize on its good graces. But we don't take any commerce, from any source, as being low swinging fruit to harvest at will. We have to work hard to build confidence in our product and service. I really don't think there is any difference, overall, between the demands of the permanent and seasonal population, as far as our business goes. They insist on the best service for the best price. Nothing wrong with that!

     My point is, after all this verbiage, our family became immersed in a seasonal economy from the first days of living here. We found out how to survive the off-season, and make the most out of the summer months. We followed the traditions set down by thousands of others in the local labour force, and the business community, permanent and seasonal. It can be a hard summer for a lot of folks, but the argument is….., and has been, "Well, we can relax a bit over the winter months." This isn't as prevalent any more, because the business dynamic has changed, from the 1960's and 70's, and for many business owners, the winters can be quite demanding. Even preparing for the summer blitz requires a lot of off-season dedication and upgrading. Maybe those who look at our lifestyle from afar, would still ask questions like, "So, you'll be hibernating again this winter," or "How do you avoid going stir-crazy without us?" We've heard so many questions and comments like this, since the homesteading years of our region, to just nod, chuckle, and say positive things like, "Hope to see you again next year."

     I'm really looking forward to this weekend, and I hope local businesses will be able to report a good and profitable start to the vacation season of 2012. With the lingering recessionary burdens, still limiting the growth of some industries, and business ventures, it would be great to see a return to sustained prosperity, which will translate into more jobs and better income for permanent residents. There's no doubt that ongoing debt problems in Europe, specifically Greece, will have an impact on the economic climate in Canada, and even in Muskoka. Being resourceful and adapting to change is what successful business folk have learned to do, knowing that there is always collateral damage from downturns and, as in the past, world conflict. When you look around at the nicely spruced up businesses, and new installations, store openings, and festivals planned for this spring, summer and fall, you have to feel a little chipper, after all the hard work, that the efforts will be worth it, in the long run.

     It pleases a Muskoka historian, and businessman, when folks visit our home district, and feel it was well worth the time and money invested. We're all proud of Muskoka, and we know that it's true what the say. It is "God's Country," and that makes it all the more significant, to share with those who are in need of restoration of body and soul.

     Gravenhurst is looking good, and is generally road-construction-free (with minor exceptions). We've had some tough years, with construction, destruction, main street fires, and business woes. So we kind of deserve to feel good about this re-emergence, and everyone looks to be quite eager and prepared for a demanding tourist season. I sense a much more positive outlook, than we've had, at least internally, during the past five years. We've got some bright new investors, who are willing to take a chance on a fine town in South Muskoka. There's an unmistakable vigor and anticipation here, like the artist moving from the easel, to offer the public a wee peak. Will you like what you see? 

     At last we look cohesive, and welcoming as a town, eager to improve our chances in the competitive bid for visitor approval. Working together is so much more effective. There's much less bickering amongst business owners, and representative groups, and the town has lived up to their part of the bargain…….as good and caring hosts, in one of the best known vacation areas in the world. The work they have funded, to restore The Barge (concert venue), in Gull Lake Park, will make this a summer season to remember, and for the first time in years, entertainment manager Fred Schulz can't wait to get back on that main stage for the annual summer music series. For a few years now, the failing woodwork and support system of The Barge was causing some chagrin for Fred and staff, and there was a genuine concern, the half century tradition was going to meet an unfortunate end. It just wouldn't be the same, to have an on-shore concert, after fifty plus years, of watching out over Gull Lake, and seeing some fine performers entertain on that brightly illuminated island-platform, against the backdrop of the final glowing burst of daylight, during those enchanted Muskoka sunsets. We hope everyone, permanent and seasonal residents, tourists, day travelers, swimmers and non-swimmers, and the picnic gang, will come out and support the 2012 Concert on the Barge program, and offer some thanks to the Town of Gravenhurst, for the work they have implemented to save The Barge. I will be doing a season profile via this blog, and an event by event promo and review of each concert, beginning in mid June. Please join me, and we'll have a great and memorable summer together.

     Thanks for visiting today's blog. Please join me again soon. Till we meet again.