OPERA HOUSE'S "HERITAGE SQUARE," NO LONGER A CONSTRUCTION EYESORE - OH WHAT A VIGOROUS CLEAN-UP IT WAS
GETTING READING FOR THE VINYL CAFE WITH A TOUCH OF MID-ROOFING-JOB CLASS
BEFORE I LEFT OUR SHOP LAST EVENING, I STOOD FOR A DREAMY-WHILE, LOOKING AT THE CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS, SCATTERED ACROSS HERITAGE SQUARE, IN FRONT OF THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE, PONDERING IF A MONSTROUSLY HUGE SLICE OF ASTROTURF WOULD MAKE THE OVERFLOWING GARBAGE BOX, AND SUNDRY OTHER DEBRIS, LOOK LIKE PICTURESQUE GRASSY KNOLLS. COVERING IT WITH SOMETHING NATURAL-LOOKING WOULD BE BETTER THAN WHAT WAS "LOOKING NATURALLY OFFENSIVE," HANGING GROTESQUELY OVER THE SIDES OF THE REFUSE BOXES. MASSIVE HUNKS OF NAIL AND SHINGLE-ADORNING SHEETS, OF ROTTING PLYWOOD, THAT WAS DAYS EARLIER, THE HISTORIC OPERA HOUSE ROOF. WITH A FOOTBALL FIELD SIZED, CHUNK OF FAKE GREEN, TO DRAPE OVER THE DEBRIS BINS, SUCH THAT IF THERE WAS SNOW ON FRIDAY, STUART MCLEAN COULD SEEMINGLY AND ALMOST SENTIMENTALLY WALK THROUGH A HILLY WINTER WONDERLAND, WITH A LONE ICE-DUSTED "FROM A BOX" CHRISTMAS TREE, (ERECTED EARLIER TODAY, BY THE LOCAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION)……AND GET TO THE FRONT DOOR WITHOUT SEEING A SINGLE BROKEN SHINGLE, SHARD OF PLYWOOD, OR HAVING STEPPED ON, AND SUFFERED INJURY, ON EVEN ONE ROGUE ROOFING NAIL. ONCE IN THE LOBBY, THE HERITAGE OPERA HOUSE AMBIANCE, OF COURSE KICKS IN. IT'S A WONDERFULLY SOOTHING AND INSPIRING PLACE, ONCE OUT OF THE LANDSCAPE OF DESTRUCTION.
STUART MCLEAN MAY HAVE BEEN KEEPING UP WITH THE MOST RECENT DEBACLE WITH THE ROOF REPLACEMENT AT THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, AND SOME SENSE OF URGENCY, CONSIDERING HE HAS TWO SOLD-OUT SHOWS ON FRIDAY, AND THEN ON SATURDAY, WITH ABOUT 700 FOLKS, EAGER TO MEET THE LEGENDARY HOST OF CBC'S "VINYL CAFE." AS I NOTED IN MY PREVIOUS BLOG, I'M SURE THE RADIO HOST, WHO TRAVELS ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY, HAS OCCASIONALLY RUN INTO A DELAYED ROOFING-JOB OR TWO, IN SOME OF THE HISTORIC VENUES WHERE HE HAS PERFORMED. I'M NOT SURE THE CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS, EVEN COVERED OVER, AND SNOWED UPON, WOULD REALLY FOOL HIM INTO THINKING OUR HERITAGE SQUARE IS REMARKABLY HILLY (SNOWBOARD SUITABLE) TERRAIN. BUT WHAT STARTED EARLIER THIS FALL, AS A TOWN FUNDED PROJECTED TO REPLACE A FAILING ROOF, HAS BECOME A BATTLE OF WILLS, TO SOME FOLKS, AND A SOURCE OF CONSIDERABLE EMBARRASSMENT TO CITIZENS, WHO CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT HAS TAKEN SO LONG TO PUT ON A FEW SHINGLES. OF COURSE, IT HAS BEEN A MUCH MORE INVOLVED AND DIFFICULT PROJECT, THAN JUST A CASE OF SHINGLE REPLACEMENT. A SMALL PIECE OF PLYWOOD ON THE SOUTH SIDE, BECAME AN UNFORTUNATE PORTAL BETWEEN THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND INSIDE, AND THANK GOD THE ROOFER DIDN'T LAND IN THE HOUSE. HITTING AN OPERA HOUSE SEAT IN A SITTING POSITION IS ONE THING. HEAD FIRST, NOT SO ACCOMMODATING.
I CAN'T OFFER MUCH CLARIFICATION ON THIS, EXCEPT TO SUGGEST THE TOWN PREFERS TO KEEP THEIR DEBACLES CONFIDENTIAL, EXCEPT THE ONES YOU CAN SEE, EVERY DAY, AS YOU PASS THE OPERA HOUSE, ON FOOT OR BY AUTOMOBILE……AND EITHER CONSUME IT AS A "WORK IN PROGRESS," OR NOT SO MUCH…….AS THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF SUNNY AUTUMN DAYS WHEN NO ONE WAS WORKING UP TOP. SO WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A FINISHED ROOF, BY TIME THE VINYL CAFE ROLLED INTO TOWN, ISN'T QUITE DONE YET. WITH SNOW IN THE FORECAST, A FEW OF US OLD FARTS, FEARING THE WRATH OF AN OLD-TIME MUSKOKA WINTER, LIKE THE MONSTER ONES FROM OUR YOUTH, HAVE BEEN DONNING OUR TOOL BELTS AND HARD HATS, THINKING WE JUST MIGHT HAVE TO CLIMB UP THERE, AS A SHOW OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH, IF IT COMES TO PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITY ASSETS. CALL US THE "GRAVENHURST ROOFING RESERVISTS." WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY FAMILIAR WITH ROOFING, BUT WE KNOW HOW TO KEEP THE WINTER OUT, JUST BY THE FACT WE'VE SPENT MOST OF OUR LIVES IN MUSKOKA. IT'S THAT PIONEERING THING, YOU KNOW. BACK TO THE LOG CABIN TRADITION, WHEN ONE HAD TO KNOW HOW TO DO EVERYTHING, AS LIFE AND TIMES DEPENDED ON YOUR SUCCESSES. WHEN THE SNOW DRIFTED THROUGH THE CRACKS BETWEEN THE LOGS, LANDING ON YOUR IRISH STEW, YOU FOUND SOMETHING TO STUFF INTO THE SEAM. SEEING THE ROOFING WORK ADVANCE SO WELL IN THE PAST FIVE DAYS, HAS ALLOWED US TO LOOSEN THE BELTS FOR NOW, AND TIP BACK THE HARD HATS…..IN A WAIT AND SEE FRAME OF MIND…….AND IF THE MAYOR WAS TO CALL, BY GOLLY, WE'D BE UP THAT ROOF FASTER THAN WE COULD FALL OFF.
CLEANED UP SITE LOOKS GREAT
This morning the Heritage Square was covered in "hard hatted" humanity, the men with white helmets and yellow, and those without any hats or hair at all, moved this and that in a "Whoville" kind of pleasantness, as a massive clean-up was underway. What we assumed was going to be the rustic, construction-theme decoration, to greet the CBC's Stuart McLean, was getting shifted, lifted, swept-up and pulled-away. It was an interesting transition to watch, and although temporary, only for the weekend shows, it still made us front-window watchers, sightseeing passersby, critical voyeurs and nail-biting ponderers, pleased that there was now no requirement for massive tarpaulins, with a thick grass nap, to doll-up the entrance to one of the town's most historic buildings.
The ceremonial Christmas tree, imbedded closer to the old Carnegie Library building, took shape rather nicely, with lights on its long wire boughs. The refuse bins were hauled off to somewhere unknown, and every scrap of tin flashing, styrofoam and splintered plywood, was thoughtfully swept clear of the grand entrance. What had been a great worry, had kindly been resolved. And to those people who decided it was necessary to spruce up, from our construction attire, to host a Canadian icon, we of "perpetual worriers' anonymous," extend our sincere congratulations. It was the right thing to do. A behemoth task, with little time to spare. Up top, you know what? It looks almost complete. Of course, looks can be deceiving. Don't we know?
The re-roofing project had been complicated, as is frequent with old structures on restricted budgets, by those little, pesky, but time-consuming issues, like rotting-away boards beneath the multi layers of shingles, plywood, insulation and more shingles. The archaeology of a roof, I suppose you might say, can hold some costly surprises, for the roofer with the arm's length scraper. History always requires a little extra work, and patience to restore to a modern usefulness. (Suzanne references the work she did on me, to upgrade to the present tense) Then there were the construction delays caused by inclement weather, the outstretched finger of Hurricane Sandy, and ongoing Opera House use, which as retrospective, will be good for council's file folder of things not to do another time. The bigger problem, as the old-timers around here grumble, while looking way up, is that late November can bring a cruel twist of weather, that takes the fun seeker from shorts and a t-shirt, to thick mackinaw, knee-high snow boots, fur-lined thong (or boxers), wool pants, parka, snow goggles and a imitation fur hat in about six hours, from a storm front's arrival from across the windswept lakes of our dominion. With an unfinished roof this late in November, well sir, it could get ugly, inside and out. Having a foot of snow on an unfinished roof, is just one of those believe it or not things you might find in the city clime, but not here in God's country, when it's clearly known, by all the signs (including upside down owls) winter officially starts after the last bowl of turkey soup, and cranberry on toast, five days after Thanksgiving dinner. So we've got our gnarled old fingers crossed, that we won't have to deal with a winter storm just yet. We need a few more shingles before then. I use plumber's goop on my roof.
My sincere congratulations to all those who assisted in any way, any capacity, and any employ, getting the Heritage Square cleaned up, for the arrival of Stuart McLean, and the Vinyl Cafe. It will suit the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, earlier in the evening, and the "Carol sing" in the main street square. It will be a Dickensian reminiscent moment, but without a Scrooge, unless of course, it becomes a snowmagedon sometime this weekend. Like an old prize fighter, who never really left the ring…..despite the numerous times hauled out on a stretcher……this band of seasoned old-timers, unofficially known as the Opera House defense league, will all be ready to man the snow scoops to make sure Mr. McLean's show is a go…..inside and out!
Suzanne has finished up dozens and dozens of special edition "Vinyl Cafe" cookies, that really do look like records……but don't play very well when tossed on the old turntable. She's really excited about going to the show, thanks to a wonderful act of neighborliness, by a family friend. Some cookies were sampled by the CBC crew on site today, and the initial response is favorable. We've got a special packet ready for Mr. McLean when he arrives. Hope he can see the resemblance to vinyl. You wouldn't believe the sounds of the kitchen nightmare, as Suzanne found more error and trial, than success, on the first hundred out of the gate. When she finally got it……then the sounds of music were delightful…..not frightful.
I hope what shows through, all the construction hubbub, and tidy-up, in our little burg, in our little corner of Ontario, Canada, is that Gravenhurst is very pleased and honored, to have Stuart McLean perform at our old and dear Opera House. It may still have a wonky roof, and you never know, you might just feel a drop of rain, or a flake of snow, as the outdoors comes in, especially if the wind blows the right way; possibly finding the tiny hole or unnoticed crack that was somehow overlooked. But in the spirit of Muskoka, where we are hale and hardy from birth, and always ready to celebrate something or other, we extend our best wishes for a great two night stand for the Vinyl Cafe…….and on the way down the highway, toward another locale, another show, later on, we do hope Stuart will look back, and say……."I think I'll come back here another day." We'd like that a lot. Of course what he may have said in a whisper, "so I can see if they finally got that roof fixed."
Thanks for joining today's blog. I will give you an accounting of the Friday night edition of the Christmas Vinyl Cafe, from Suzanne's perspective. This will be her first show review. Maybe she will see you there. So say hello, or exchange a "Merry Christmas," greeting.
We should be ecstatic you know…….to have had our town chosen as the first venue, for the annual Canada wide Christmas tour, of the Vinyl Cafe. That's really neat. Thank you Stuart and staff, and the CBC for putting us first. We haven't had a lot of that lately. This is a nice little pick-up to start the Christmas season for us South Muskokans. So Merry Christmas to you all!
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