FRED SCHULZ - AND HIS DAY OF RECKONING…….. FEBRUARY 23RD, 1993
THE OPERA HOUSE DOORS WERE PADLOCKED….EVEN BARRING THE MANAGER FROM ENTERING
IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE IT WAS SO LONG AGO. I REMEMBER THE NEWS REPORT AS IF IT HAD JUST BEEN BLARING IN MY ONE GOOD EAR. IN FEBRUARY IT WILL MARK THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEAR TOTAL AND ABSOLUTE CLOSURE, OF THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. IT WAS ON FEBRUARY 23RD, AT PRECISELY 3:00 P.M., THAT MANAGER FRED SCHULZ BECAME IMMEDIATELY EMBROILED, IN ONE OF THE BIGGEST LOCAL NEWS STORIES OF THE DECADE. IT WAS SO BIG, IT MADE IT TO THE NATIONAL MEDIA, WITH FRED TRYING TO PUT A POSITIVE SPIN, ON WHAT MOST OF US, (THE PESSIMISTS) COULD ONLY SEE AS DIRE. NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. JUST A LOT OF WORRIED EXPRESSIONS, ON FACES OF EVEN THE MOST ARDENT AND POSITIVE OPERA HOUSE SUPPORTERS. HE WAS DANCING ON FLAMING EMBERS BUT HE WOULDN'T LOOK DOWN. HE KNEW THAT IF HE DID, HE'D FEEL PAIN, AND IT WOULD SAP HIS RESERVE OF FADING OPTIMISM. THIS WAS GOING TO TAKE MOXY AND HE WILL ADMIT NOW, TO HAVING MANY SELF DOUBTS IN THE EARLY GOING. WAS HE THE RIGHT CITIZEN FOR THE JOB? AND IN THE VEIN OF THE ARCHITECTURALLY MACABRE, THE WHOLE WORSENING SCENE, OVER THAT IMMEDIATE TWENTY-FOUR HOURS, HAD A SORT OF RIGOR MORTIS QUALITY, FOR THE ONCE LIVELY MAIN STREET THEATRE……AND A MANAGER LEFT OUT IN THE COLD TO PONDER.
IN THE OPERA HOUSE HISTORY, "THE MANY STAGES OF OUR LIVES," CIRCA 2001, WRITER / RESEARCHER J.P. STRATFORD REPORTS THAT, AT THIS MOMENT, "THE COLLECTIVE JAWS OF GRAVENHURST RESIDENTS DROPPED AS MINISTRY OF LABOUR OFFICIALS PADLOCKED AND SEALED THE DOORS OF THE OPERA HOUSE FOR SAFETY REASONS. NOBODY, INCLUDING GENERAL MANAGER FRED SCHULZ WAS ALLOWED ENTRY."
THE BOOK NOTES, "IN 1992, THE OPERA HOUSE RESTORATION PROJECT, SPEARHEADED BY MAUDE SWALM, WAS STILL AFLOAT. IN FACT, IT WAS ANNOUNCED THE NOW $3 MILLION RENOVATION, $1 MILLION TO BE RAISED LOCALLY, WOULD BEGIN WITH PHASE I IN THE SPRING OF 1993."
"ENTER ONTARIO'S MINISTRY OF LABOUR IN EARLY 1993. WITH EVERYTHING SEEMINGLY IN PLACE TO OVERHAUL THE HERITAGE BUILDING, THE FOLLOWING SPRING, THE MINISTRY, WHO HAD TOURED THE BUILDING A FEW MONTHS PREVIOUS, INSISTED ON THE IMMEDIATE SUBMISSION OF A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS. AN ENGINEERING CONSULTANT WAS RETAINED BY QUADRANGLE; THE RESULT WAS A CAUTIOUSLY WORDED REPORT, DATED FEBRUARY 12TH, SUGGESTING THE BUILDING WAS STRUCTURALLY SOUND AND SAFE, PROVIDING SOME REMEDIAL ALTERATIONS BE MADE. IN ADDITION THERE WAS TO BE CONSTANT MONITORING FOLLOWING ALL SNOWSTORMS, FOR SIGNS OF DURESS TO THE BUILDING'S SUPER-STRUCTURE. THIS WASN'T CONVINCING ENOUGH FOR THE MINISTRY. THEIR 'ERR ON THE SIDE OF SAFETY,' DECISION WAS UNDOUBTEDLY PROMPTED BY A RECENT ROOF COLLAPSE OF THE ORILLIA PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE WINTER OF 1992." THIS OF COURSE WAS LONG AFTER THE GREAT ARENA SCARES OF THE LATE 1970'S, WHEN NUMEROUS RURAL COMMUNITY CENTRES, INCLUDING BRACEBRIDGE, HAD PORTIONS OF BUILDINGS CONDEMNED DUE TO STRUCTURAL CONCERNS. AT LEAST ONE ARENA HAD COLLAPSED UNDER SNOW LOAD. SO THERE WAS FEAR OUR OPERA HOUSE COULD SUFFER THE SAME FAILURE.
WHAT'S A MANAGER TO DO……TO SAVE THE DAY
"Provincial authorities decided the building's 92 year old wooden arch superstructure, never 'code-compliant,' in the first place (was there a provincial building code in 1901), may have deteriorated to such an extent that collapse under a winter's snow-load, especially if combined with high winds, was a possibility," notes the book's author. "It's totally devastating. It breaks the continuity of being known as an entertainment centre. The Opera House is now known as an entertainment centre as well as a theatrical centre. Should this building be re-opened, we'd have to start all over again. It's a dark day for culture in Gravenhurst." This was the response by Manager Fred Schulz. February 1993.
If it hadn't been for the efforts and courage of folks like Fred Schulz, the Opera House might not be getting a roof-job today. It might have been a parkette with a little blue historical marker, with a "raised letter" editorial, about the building that used to stand on the corner lot. The beautiful 1901 former town hall, and community theatre, that we all adored……..until we got the repair bill……and there were a few frugal citizens who began questioning the tax burden we might be faced with, down the road. There were detractors in 1993 who didn't think the building was worth fixing. Fred wasn't one of them. I wonder how many folks in Gravenhurst today, especially our town council, realize just how important the present manager of The Barge, and the "Music on the Barge" summer concert program, at Gull Lake Park, became, in the community-wide effort back then, to save the Opera House from being torn down. While Fred wasn't a one man band on this project, he was certainly one of the most visible, and pivotal movers and shakers…….and the few today, who remember that period of bleakness, suffering from a spate of bad news in the community generally, will surely recognize how Fred kept-up enthusiasm for fundraising…..and boy did he do the walk.
Fred and I get together a couple of times each month, to chat about current events but it usually winds-up slipping back into talk about the good old days. Well, February 23rd, of any year, still gives him a chill up the spine, recalling the terrible situation, where he had to inform the townsfolk, their main street jewel was being closed…..and possibly forever. He didn't know what was going to happen, other than a change of schedule for quite some time into the future. He couldn't have known then, where the money would come from, over and above the renovation project, that had commenced on paper, the year before. Fred still gets a little misty-eyed thinking about the stresses of that moment in time, and himself at the helm of an apparently sinking ship. If you know Fred like we Curries do, you would appreciate that he felt as if he'd done something wrong, and that he should accept the blame, for apparently putting lives at risk in a theatre deemed unsafe by the Ministry. He spent a lot of time in fearful retrospectives, with the "what ifs"…… What if something had gone wrong earlier, and there had been a collapse, trapping people inside. Then he fixated on the possibility he hadn't reacted soon enough; wondering as only he would, if he could have corrected all the deficiencies single handedly. He did the same thing with The Barge for decades, always trying to keep ahead of the structural demands, that could have inspired a similar closure due to safety concerns. He has always gone above and beyond. But as there was nothing that could fix the Opera House, without major surgery, the Barge had to have its own intervention, finally.
Fred and I have been yarning away the hours, talking about the present roofing issues, the delays, and some of the problems encountered with certain areas of the decking beneath the shingles. He knows that building inside and out, and when he looks at it, if there was a blood-pressure cuff on the man, it would blow-off the rubber bulb. He might not be the present manager…..although I've often thought he retired way too soon, but it's as if his soul dwells within…..and every hammer blow to the structure, seems to injure him in some way. But he'll admit, that what happened twenty years ago still bothers him to this day. Fred has made a career, of helping others in this town. As he felt that somehow, he had let the community down, he's still paying for it emotionally, all these years later. That's how big his conscience is. Just try to change his mind. It's as if the "locking of the Opera House doors," happened yesterday. That's how fresh it is in his mind. Each time he tells me about facing the national media, with tears rolling down his cheeks, representing our town, I know that he retired in body, but never in spirit. You couldn't love a place, as much as he still admires the old building, on that corner lot of the main street, and not dwell a little bit too long, in the nostalgic glitter of those house lights, that always seem so mysterious and ghostly. So what has been assumed to be the ghost of a past caretaker…..well folks, this just isn't so. I would venture to say, that if there is any apparition attached to that building, it's a poltergeist former manager, who never really retired at all.
We've been talking a lot lately about new beginnings, and projects we'd both like to do……in the future, and a few things we'd like to give up. Seeing as we both don't smoke or drink, at least to any excess, we'd have to give up something we can really do without. The more we talk, the more we realize, we're kind of attached to it all, regardless of its inherent weight. Fred is for all intents and purposes, still the unofficial manager of the Opera House. The fact that he's no longer getting a pay cheque doesn't matter. He's still got one hand on that proverbial ship's wheel, and yes it is rooted back in Februrary 1993. That was the day he knew he had to dig in if he wanted to save the building. That meant rooting deeper than he had ever imagined, as a facility manager. It went well beyond the definition of a job. It became his obsession. Maybe he won't like me writing this, but he knows it would be impossible to prove me wrong. He has a hard time looking up, as the roofers continue their precarious job, to give the old building its shielding for another couple of decades. The tell-tale wince, when he has watched big slabs of shingle-covered plywood, flipping end over end, off the edge of the building, proves to me he's not over it yet.
I'll tell you what he's feeling pretty good about though…..in case you're wondering. When Fred was manager, for the second time, early in the new century, he had a chance to bring-in the very talented Stuart McLean, and his nationally celebrated "Vinyl Cafe." It was one of Fred's highlights as manager. He admits to still getting choked-up, when he hears a replay of the show, and how wonderful it was, to have Gravenhurst profiled so poignantly by Mr. McLean…..during his monologue. So he and I are sharing the excitement of having Stuart and his CBC crew back in town……this time, the town that will commence his Canadian Christmas Show schedule……what an honor in 2012. Most of all, Fred and I wonder if the visit by the Vinyl Cafe, and the fact that both shows have been sold-out, will inspire the town to commence an entertainment renaissance so to speak……..seeing how the old building, built back in 1901, can still host a major act…….and as many theatre managers have prayed, good ones "that will put bums on seats." Well, Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe have done this for Gravenhurst, because they decided to visit us first, on this Christmas season tour……and having possibly more confidence in us, than we have in ourselves…….well sir, it sold out fast. Both shows. The naysayers were left without tickets. I would fall into this category by the way. I delayed getting tickets for my wife and I. "What a maroon," says Bugs Bunny. Reality is, we can fill the Opera House with big and popular acts. Hopefully, hosting these sell-out shows will give the town, and Opera House management, a little more confidence to get out there and hustle.
Fred and I would love to meet up with Stuart McLean while he's here. Fred's a big fan of the show too. Suzanne has made five dozen "Vinyl Cafe" tribute cookies…..that are supposed to look like vintage vinyl (records), but from the cussing this evening, some are looking more like flying saucers or shuffleboard discs than records. She's pretty excited, because a dear friend of the family, had an extra ticket for the Friday night show…….and offered it to her…..for the price of a packet of home made cookies. Done and done. Same with the good Mr. Schulz. Suzanne made him a large one with extra icing as he ordered well in advance. We've got cookies and more cookies here, and there's a special parcel for Mr. McLean and his companions with the show, we're sending with son Andrew, who will be working with him, as a technical assistant. This will mark his forth and fifth time as a small part of the Vinyl Cafe tradition.
We had all hoped the roof repairs had been finished by time the CBC rolled into town. But I'm sure Stuart will understand the needs of old theaters across the land, and forgive some of the inconveniences, and construction bins dotting the landscape.
In the meantime, Fred and I recollect about this and that…….and always arrive at the same place, each time……at the final cookie crumb. We love this place……Gravenhurst. Good times and not so good, by golly, it's been much of our past, as it will be much of our futures. Never just a place to hang a hat. As for the Opera House……we hope for many profitable and entertaining years to come.
Thanks very much for joining today's editorial offering. It's always nice meeting up with friends and friends soon to be. If you are going to the show, Friday or Saturday night, I hope you have a great time. Mr. McLean is a crowd pleaser, from coast to coast.
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