WHY WE SHOULD PROMOTE SOCIAL / CULTURAL HERITAGE - OF WHICH THE BARGE IS SO MUCH A PART?
TO MANY, IT'S JUST A PARK WITH A BAND STAGE IN THE LAKE! WE KNOW BETTER
THIS WEEKENED, WHEN THE BARGE IS OUTFITTED FOR ITS FIRST CONCERT OF THE 2012 SEASON, THERE WON'T BE A BOOKLET HANDED OUT, TO TELL YOU JUST HOW MUCH WORK WAS REQUIRED, TO SAVE THE LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT VENUE. NOBODY CONNECTED REALLY WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT, BECAUSE IT JABBED AT THE NERVES FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS. POSSIBLY AT THE END OF THE SEASON WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO OFFER THIS RETROSPECTIVE, OF HOW CLOSE IT CAME TO BEING A SUMMER WITHOUT A GULL LAKE BARGE. EVEN TWO MONTHS AGO, IT WAS PRETTY GRIM. THE STRUCTURE LOOKED AS IF IT HAD BEEN VANDALIZED BY AN ARMY. THE FACT WAS, THEN, THAT PLACING THE NEW IRON SUPPORT POSTS, DEMANDED THAT SECTIONS OF DECKING AND ROOFING HAD TO BE REMOVED, TO DRIVE THEM DEEP INTO THE LAKE BOTTOM. DEADLINES DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THEY WERE GOING TO BE MET, AND THE BARGE DEBATING SOCIETY, WAS LOOKING AT PLANS "B" THROUGH "Z" TO PULL OFF THE SUMMER SERIES, EVEN WITHOUT THE BARGE.
WHAT GOOD ARE MEMORIES ANYWAY? HOW MUCH ARE THEY WORTH? THEY'RE NOT RESOURCES? ARE THEY?
THE NIGHT I ATTENDED THE FIRST PUBLIC MEETING, ABOUT THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE'S PLAN TO SELL OFF THE HISTORIC JUBILEE PARK, ON WELLINGTON STREET, I WAS READY TO TAKE THE MICROPHONE AND SWALLOW IT INTO MY SOUL. I WAS BEYOND ENRAGED. THE MORE I HEARD ABOUT THE PLAN TO SELL IT, FOR A TINY FEE, TO DEVELOP A SATELLITE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE CAMPUS, THE MORE I WANTED THAT MICROPHONE IN MY HAND; OR ANYWHERE ELSE MY INNER FEELINGS COULD BE BROADCAST FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. I HAD ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT SPEECHES PLANNED, WHEN I FINALLY GOT MY CHANCE TO SPEAK. ONE OUT OF THREE WAS CALM AND GENTLY ARGUMENTATIVE. THE SECOND WAS, WHAT WOULD JANE JACOBS, THE REVERED URBAN PLANNING GURU, SAY, TO THE COMPROMISE OF OPEN SPACE IN A CROWDED URBAN AREA? THE THIRD WAS AS IF SATAN WAS TWISTING MY INTESTINES, AND HELL FIRE WAS ABOUT TO SPEW-FORTH SOMETHING LIKE, "YOU CRAZY BASTARDS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
AFTER EACH RESPONSE TO A QUESTION, THAT ANSWERED NOTHING, IT WAS OBVIOUS COUNCIL HAD GANGED-UP TO GET THIS PROJECT SHOVEL READY, AND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I HASTILY RECALLED SOME OF THE BEST KNOWN SPEECHES OF HISTORY, AND THOUGHT I WOULD BORROW A LITTLE OF THIS AND SOME OF THAT, TO MAKE MY POINT, WHY THIS TOWN SHOULD NEVER SACRIFICE ITS CENTURY (PLUS) PARK. THE LONGER THE MEETING WENT ON, THE MADDER I GOT, BUT THE STRANGEST THING HAPPENED WHEN IT WAS FINALLY MY TURN TO SPEAK. I WAS SO EXASPERATED BY THE PRE-PLANNED RESPONSES, THAT ALL THE ARGUMENTS WERE CONSOLIDATED INTO A ONE SENTENCE RETORT. A LOUD ONE THAT IF I WAS WRITING IT, WOULD END WITH THREE EXCLAMATION MARKS.
"THE NAME ON THE SIGN OUTSIDE INDICATES THAT THIS OPEN SPACE IS A PUBLIC PARK; MEANING IT BELONGS TO THE CITIZENS OF THIS TOWN…..NOT TOWN COUNCIL ALONE!!!"
WHEN THE UNIVERSITY FOLKS CONVERSED AMONGST THEMSELVES, ABOUT THE LOUD MOUTH OUT FRONT, I HAD ONE MORE ITEM ON THE TIP OF MY POISON TONGUE. "WHAT IS IT ABOUT 'PARK' THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND?" WHAT I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND, WAS HOW A PARK, THAT SERVED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE OVER THE YEARS, IN SO MANY RECREATIONAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES, COULD BE WADDED-UP AND THROWN AWAY BECAUSE "WE SAID SO!" "IT'S WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS," THEY SAID. "IT'S GOOD FOR THE TOWN," THEY FELT OBLIGED TO STATE OVER AND OVER, AS IF TRYING TO BELIEVE THAT WHAT THEY WERE SAYING WAS ACTUALLY TRUTHFUL. IT WAS NOT WHAT A MAJORITY OF CITIZENS WANTED BECAUSE NO REFERENDUM WAS EVER TAKEN. IT WAS AN ABUSE OF AUTHORITY, IN MY MIND, AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM FOR TAKING A PARK FROM PUBLIC PRIVILEGE. BUT THERE WAS JUST NO WAY TO PUT SENTIMENT AND NOSTALGIA AHEAD OF THE ALMIGHTY BUCK. THE HISTORY I WAS RELYING ON DIDN'T HAVE FLOOR JOIST, OR A CORNERSTONE, OR EVEN A GREEK REVIVAL PILLAR. IT WAS SOFT HISTORY, I GUESS YOU MIGHT SAY. A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE. NO MEAT AND POTATOES TO THE ARGUMENT. JUST EMOTION. A TEAR. BELIEVE ME, THIS DECISION INSPIRED MANY TEARS, FROM RESIDENTS WHO COULDN'T SAVE WHAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BARTERED AWAY.
HOW THIS RELATES TO GRAVENHURST'S GULL LAKE IS SIMPLE. WHAT I COULDN'T SAY, OR BRING MY MIND AND MOUTH TOGETHER, TO BLOW INTO THE MICROPHONE, WAS THAT AS AN HISTORIAN, IT IS IMPERATIVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS MORE TO CONSERVATION, AND HERITAGE DESIGNATIONS, THAN ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY ALONE. JUBILEE PARK HAD AN AMAZING SOCIAL / CULTURAL HERITAGE THAT WASN'T GIVEN ONE TINY BIT OF RECOGNITION. THE ARGUMENTS WERE LARGE ABOUT RECREATIONAL DISADVANTAGE. NOT THE FACT, THAT THE PARK HAD BEEN A SOCIAL MEETING PLACE SINCE THE LATE 1800'S, WHEN IT HAD BEEN GIVEN AS A GIFT TO THE TOWN, FOR EVENTS SUCH AS THE ANNUAL AGRICULTURAL FAIR. FUNNY THING ABOUT THIS. I WAS COVERING COUNCIL, WHEN THE NEW AGRICULTURAL FAIR GROUNDS, ADJACENT TO HIGHWAY II, WAS PURCHASED, AND THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY THEN, WAS IN NO HURRY TO MOVE FROM JUBILEE PARK. ASD I RECALL, SOME DIRECTORS DIDN'T WANT ANY PART OF THE MOVE. HOW TIMES CHANGED. THEY DIDN'T UTTER A WORD, WHEN JUBILEE PARK WAS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK, BUT THEY'D HAD LOTS TO SAY ABOUT THE MOVE THEY REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE IN THE FIRST PLACE. THERE WAS A LOT OF AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE AT THE CENTRAL PARK, AND IT GOT NOTHING AS FAR AS CONCERNED COMMENTS OR EVEN CASUAL REGRETS.
IT IS HARD FOR AN HISTORIAN, TO GET UP IN SUCH AN ENVIRONMENT, TO ARGUE AGAINST THE MODERNISTS, WHO HAVE THEIR IDEA WHAT THE TOWN FORTUNE WILL BE TEN YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. IF I HAD GOT UP ON MY SOAP BOX, AND ARGUED ABOUT THE HISTORY THAT HAD OCCURRED ON THE SITE, THEY WOULD HAVE LAUGHED ME OFF MY HIGH HORSE. IF I COULD HAVE SHOWN THEM ARTIFACTS FROM A NATIVE BURIAL GROUND, THEY'D HAVE STOPPED BREATHING. TELLING THEM ABOUT SOCIAL / CULTURAL HISTORY, AND HOW MANY ENGAGEMENTS WERE INSPIRED FROM ATTENDANCE OF YOUNG PEOPLE, AT THE SEPTEMBER FALL FAIR, WOULD HAVE RAISED NOTHING MORE THAN THE LARGE OUTCRY OF "OUT OF ORDER, OUT OF ORDER. HOW DARE YOU TRY TO USE EMOTION TO STOP THE WHEELS OF PROGRESS." YET THAT'S WHAT IT CAME DOWN TO, AND IT'S WHY WE LOST THE BID TO SAVE THE PARK. THE BARGE? IT WAS LARGELY EMOTION, AND SOCIAL / CULTURAL HISTORY THAT SAVED IT, BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
GULL LAKE PARK SITUATION SOMEWHAT SIMILAR
When you come and see the refurbished Barge, this summer season, at Gravenhurst's Gull Lake Park, you probably won't appreciate that it was, in large part, its inherent social / cultural heritage we had to rely on, to save it from complete demolition. From a nuts and bolts perspective, it was just a wooden platform on stilts, a few feet out into the lake. Boat houses are taken down and rebuilt all the time. It's also true, that old boathouses, representing past values, are seldom replicated exactly, and most often, rebuilt bigger and more intrusive than the one it replaced. To the bean counters, The Barge could be torn out of there, and a new one eventually put in its place, that would have modern conveniences, and possibly a shell covering the stage, to keep the music playing in the event of inclement weather. A few early ideas I heard, were for a smaller but better equipped stage, in an ultra modern design. I would have sided with the accountants and the realists, that it might have been cheaper in the long-run, to haul the present Barge down, and invest in a facility that could be used for more of the year, than just ten or so Sundays in the summer. Even the historically inclined, can be shifted by the offer of something new, from time to time. We're not so set in our ways, that we can't see the benefit of new versus refurbished. Refurbished still means that new has been added to old, and that is at best, a temporary change for the better. How is the money best spent? It was a conundrum for Barge manager Fred Schulz, a lover of tradition. I know it was hard for him, to argue on the grounds of the best interests of social / cultural heritage, when those looking at preserving architectural heritage in Gravenhurst, had basically given The Barge a pass. I don't know if it was even on the list. It should have been. It might have made the job a little easier, trying to sell the town on the idea, the Gull Lake stage could be re-built, preserving its 1959 design.
I wasn't in Gravenhurst, on July 4th, 1959, when The Barge was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth, on her Cross-Canada Tour. I wasn't here when Hugh Clairmont and his Dixieland Band, was playing on its grey stage, with yellow fiberglass backdrop, in the 1980's. I wasn't here to see Wanda Miller officiating the concerts, on the upper balcony. I missed a lot of great musical history, but not the vibe of this wonderful venue, on a sparkling Muskoka lake. After more than a decade of making this a Sunday night tradition, and reading everything I could about The Barge, and all the talented performers who played on its large stage, I felt it imperative to help Fred with a public relations campaign, to help conserve our town's summer time tradition…..on this historic plank platform. Staring down the accountants and the naysayers who felt it was a waste of money to sink good money onto old, failing piers, the Barge Debating Society stepped up its efforts, to make the public aware, just how important social / cultural heritage is, to what we call our "hometown values." This urban area park, like Bracebridge's Jubilee Park, may not have had the strikingly significant heritage architecture, deemed worth official declaration, but it most definitely had the citizens' heart and soul all over it…..as if a web of integral arteries, connected with everything else, and everyone else, who has and continues to reside here. I couldn't give the town council, an emphatic, boisterous, compelling argument, like Hugh Clairmont would have presented to an audience in awe, but I could at the very least, try to write about it; almost as spirited! As well as offering our family's unconditional support, as a band of historical types, to fight for its conservation…..even when the odds seemed stacked, the Rotary Pavillion was going to be The Barge of the future.
Over the past year, I have written no fewer than twenty-five individual pieces, blogs, now archived on this site, (you can access) in an attempt to address this social / cultural / recreational heritage, that deserved respectful consideration, before it was dismissed as being out of step with modern thinking. When I was writing yesterday, about the role Hugh Clairmont and family played, in the history of The Barge, it was a subtle reminder to me, that this is exactly what I had been trying for 24 blogs to represent. All it took was one column about Hugh, and reminiscing about my own relationship with the musician / writer, to realize that this was the pivot of the whole darn exercise. There is no one who knew Hugh Clairmont, who would deny he was a Gravenhurst ambassador. Even at home, he was like the town flag, and he presented home town values like they were the Royal Jewels. As The Barge had been designed as a showcase, for local talent, as well as visiting musicians, the Gull Lake stage, from the beginning, was a giant soap box on piers, where we could boast about, and honor, our home-grown talent, and applaud heartily, all our local heroes. We could extend ovations to performers from all over the world, and feel this place on earth, was a fertile haven for arts and culture. If someone asked me a philosophical question, out of the blue, wondering where the true centre of town was, I would say Gull Lake Park. Most would have said town hall. If I was asked where the character of the town is best reflected, I would say, Gull Lake Park on a busy weekend. If I was also asked, where the best place to be comfortably entertained, well, "The Barge," would roll-off my tongue like it was coated with butter. Not just because I'm a big user of this particular park, supported by the Gravenhurst Rotary Club. It's just how I think of all the great hours I've spent, lazily lounging on that picturesque shoreline, having our family picnics, waiting for Fred to officiate that night's Concert on The Barge. The music and the scenery, make this place so incredibly inspirational, and I don't care what age you are, each concert brings forth an excitement about summer, nature, culture and recreation. You will remember this place, this neighborhood, this town and this time of your life, when you leave. For our visitors, we hope you will return.
If I was asked, right now, to make a presentation to council, about the reasons The Barge is historically significant, I could have them in tears, with an array of sentimental reminiscences, some they might remember from their own youth growing up here….or attending the Sunday events as children, traveling from other nearby communities, to participate in the festivities. I could make them re-live the days when community pride was like a sledge-hammer, and when we got excited about doing things better than our neighboring towns. I might pull at their heartstrings, and sprinkle them with magic dust, to travel back in time, to the Neverland of fun, and perpetual childhood, one feels when being comfortably entertained, and encouraged to imagine and dream without consequence. Fred knows exactly the magic, of standing out on that grey platform, to announced the start of yet another season, of Music on the Barge; and what fun to see the familiar faces of so many folks in the audience, just as excited as they were the season before, and the season before that. Bet if you were to ask them, about their own memories of the concert series, they could tell you some dandies…..like attending, as little kids, playing on the beach, while their parents watched the concerts. Memories of fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, who used to love being part of these summer nights, but who have since passed away, leaving only a few kin left to celebrate what was once, a cherished family outing. This is the heritage, the individuality of family history, connected to this venue, this park, and our town, that doesn't sit up on iron piers, or have joist to nail boards upon. Yet each one of these long time patrons, feels as much a part of this program, and tradition, as if they too, were the piers and joist, of a secure platform built to endure the seasons. I'm telling you honestly, it is difficult to get an historic dedication, granted because of spent emotion, and heartfelt sentiment for the preservation of tradition. It's not like any of the boards were hammered in place by former Prime Ministers, the Queen or the Pope. It was built by townsfolk who saw it as an opportunity, to entertain ourselves…..and our guests, with modest proportion, and the most basic of services. The magic of The Barge is its simplicity. Nothing pretentious. Nothing grandiose. Until of course, someone like Hugh Clairmont, walked out onto that platform, with the members of his band, and the whole "electric" thing, burst from every pore in every board, and what an enchanted showcase it was then……and now, under the direction of manager Fred Schulz, who made the right pitch at the right time, to save it for our posterity.
I wanted to share with you, a brief paragraph, published in the 1967 town history, "Light of Other Days." It is just as modest and proportional as it might appear, looking at the platform on a Sunday afternoon, before Fred has wheeled the first loads of technical gear onto the main stage, in preparation for the evening concert. It reads as follows:
"Probably the most imaginative scheme of the late fifties was the building of the Gull Lake Barge. Designed by Stanley White Jr., it was financed through the combined efforts of the Lions Club, the Rotary Club, the Board of Trade, the Municipality, and generous citizens. Mr. Harry Schofield was the contractor of the fiberglass superstructure. At a cost of approximately fourteen thousand dollars, the Barge was completed by July the fourth, nineteen fifty-nine. And just in time, the first official performance was held that date on the occasion of the visit of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Nearly five thousand people crowded into the town for the event. The visiting band was the Barrie Collegiate Band under the direction of Dr. Leslie Bell. Their selection was the final movement of Handel's 'Water Music.' On the withdrawal of the Royal Couple from the Park, the Broughton Carillons of the United Church pealed forth. Before their departure from the town, the Queen and Prince Philip signed a large photograph of themselves which now hangs in the Municipal Building."
Short and sweet. But this was just the beginning of the story.
Remember to come out this coming Sunday night, June 24th, for the 7:30 start of the first concert of the year, courtesy the Muskoka District Concert Band, under the direction of well known conductor, Neil Barlow. For the Canada Day Sunday concert, on The Barge, Mr. Barlow will bring the Bifocals Band to the Gull Lake venue. Please come out and show your support for The Barge, and the incredible work done by Fred Schulz to move forward with the refurbishing project; with thanks of course to the the Town of Gravenhurst for funding the necessary repairs, and the workers from Beaver Creek Correctional Institute, who did the physical work to replace the failing woodwork. What a great effort. Now we need to celebrate it all!
I will be haunted that first night, by the ghosts of all the fine performers who have stood out on that stage, and given us such amazing musical events, at such a spectacular local venue. We should all be proud of what has been spared in our town, because of the abstract sentiments of history, and the silhouettes over time, of social / cultural milestones, that a few folks thought was worth saving for future posterity. If you would like to donate a little extra to The Barge fund, this coming Sunday, Fred would be delighted by the generosity. With no rain-out relocations this year, inclement weather could cost him considerable money, from the usual Sunday night collections. Concerts can continue in a light, short-term rain, so please bring some rain gear on nights that look a little threatening. In the event of storms, the concerts will be cancelled.
If I haven't made this clear before….well, let's correct that now. Thanks Mr. Schulz, for sticking with this project to completion. As it was Fred who helped spearhead the fundraising drive to restore and rebuild the Gravenhurst Opera House, quite a few years back, today he's added one more credit to his list of accomplishments. Of this, we should all be grateful, to have a caring guy like this, willing to go the distance, to keep a tradition alive.
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