WE SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY'S HERITAGE - BECAUSE IT IS A PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE
WE JUST DON'T THINK ABOUT IT, AS BEING IMPORTANT - SOMETIMES UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE
"STRANGER AND SOJOURNER AS I AM IN THE LAND - THOUGH FOR ME NO SOCIAL HEARTH MAY BLAZE, NO HOSPITABLE ROOF THREW OPEN ITS DOORS, NOR THE WARM GRASP OF FRIENDSHIP WELCOME ME AT THE THRESHOLD - YET I FEEL THE INFLUENCE OF THE SEASON BEAMING INTO MY SOUL FROM THE HAPPY LOOKS OF THOSE AROUND ME. SURELY HAPPINESS IS REFLECTIVE, LIKE THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN; AND EVERY COUNTENANCE BRIGHT WITH SMILES, AND FLOWING WITH INNOCENT ENJOYMENT, IS A MIRROR TRANSMITTING TO OTHERS THE RAYS OF A SUPREME AND EVER SHINING BENEVOLENCE. HE WHO CAN TURN CHURLISHLY AWAY FROM CONTEMPLATING FELICITY OF HIS FELLOW BEINGS, AND CAN SIT DOWN DARKLING AND REPINING IN HIS LONELINESS WHEN ALL AROUND IS JOYFUL, MAY HAVE HIS MOMENTS OF STRONG EXCITEMENT AND SELFISH GRATIFICATION, BUT HE WANTS THE GENIAL AND SOCIAL SYMPATHIES WHICH CONSTITUTE THE CHARM OF A MERRY CHRISTMAS." WASHINGTON IRVING, "THE SKETCH BOOK."
I'M BIASED ALL TO HECK. I LOVE OUR CHRISTMASES HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. WE CAN GET VERY MERRY INDEED. BEING HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS? IT JUST WOULDN'T BE THE SAME ANYWHERE ELSE. AS TRADITIONALISTS, WE BRING ALL OUR FAMILY HISTORY, REPRESENTING A LARGE SLICE OF THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, TOGETHER FOR A REGIONALLY HAPPY HOLIDAYS. THERE ARE PIONEER TRADITIONS, OLD RECIPES FROM SUZANNE'S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, FROM UFFORD, IN THE THREE MILE LAKE AREA, DECORATIONS FROM HER FAMILY HOME IN WINDERMERE, MY FAMILY'S CHRISTMAS NATIVITY SCENE AND GLASS ORNAMENTS FROM BRACEBRIDGE, AND ALL THE NEAT THINGS WE'VE PURCHASED IN OUR YEARS LIVING IN GRAVENHURST. WHEN YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HINTERLAND, LIKE WE HAVE IN MUSKOKA, I'M JUST AS PLEASED TO LOOK OUT UPON OUR TINY WOODLAND ACROSS THE LANE, AND WATCH THE DEER WANDERING THROUGH THE BOG. A TOUCH OF SNOW, AND IT LOOKS LIKE A SNOW-GLOBE CAME TO LIFE.
AS A FAMILY OF HISTORY LOVERS, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTENSELY REVERENT OF THOSE WHO CAME, LIVED AND WORKED BEFORE US. LONG BEFORE WE ARRIVED IN OUR NEW GRAVENHURST HOME, WE WERE IMBEDDED IN THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA. AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, I WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDING DIRECTORS OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, BACK IN 1978, AND AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THE CREATION OF WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM, WHICH OPENED IN THE EARLY 1980'S. AS A FAMILY, EVEN WHEN THE BOYS WERE VERY YOUNG, OUR DAYS AND WEEKS WERE DEVOTED TO RUNNING THIS SMALL COMMUNITY MUSEUM. SUZANNE AND I RAN DOZENS OF EDUCATIONAL (HERITAGE) PROGRAMS ON THE MUSEUM GROUNDS, AND AT CHRISTMAS, WE COULDN'T HAVE HAD MORE FUN….THAN DECORATING THE VICTORIAN ESTATE, ON THE HILL OVERLOOKING THE MUSKOKA RIVER. I CAN REMEMBER WORKING IN THE DOWNSTAIRS KITCHEN, OF THE OCTAGONAL ESTATE, AND POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS FOR FRED SCHULZ, CIRCA 1988, MAKING CLOVE AND ORANGE POMANDERS WITH SON ANDREW. WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH LIVING HISTORY, AND TO THIS DAY, WE ARE STILL COMFORTABLY EMBRACED AT BIRCH HOLLOW, BY THE CURIOUS, FRIENDLY ENCUMBRANCE OF ANTIQUES; WHICH BY THE WAY, ARE ALWAYS A LITTLE MORE HAUNTED AND ALLURING AT THIS TIME OF THE ROLLING YEAR.
WHEN WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, BACK IN THE AUTUMN OF 1989, I CAN REMEMBER THE EXCITEMENT OF COMING TO A NEW TOWN WITH AN AMAZING HISTORY TO EXPLORE. IN THIS REGARD, WE APPRECIATE THAT NOT EVERYONE THINKS OF HISTORY FIRST, WHEN THEY ARRIVE IN A NEW COMMUNITY, AND LODGE THEMSELVES QUIETLY IN THEIR NEW NEIGHBORHOOD. IN THIS RESPECT, WE ARE DIFFERENT……SO IF YOU HAVE THOUGHT THIS……WELL, I'M CONFIRMING AS FACT, THE CURRIES ARE DEFINITELY "LEFT OF CENTRE." EVEN BEFORE WE ARRIVED IN TOWN, WE SPENT THREE MONTHS, AFTER THE SALE OF OUR HOUSE, IN A PLEASANT LIMBO AT THE FAMILY COTTAGE IN WINDERMERE, READING ABOUT THE TOWN WE WERE PLANNING TO RESIDE WITH OUR YOUNG FAMILY…….JUST BEFORE THE END OF OCTOBER. AS A BOOK COLLECTOR AND HISTORIAN, EVEN BY THIS POINT, WE HAD EVERY BOOK AND DOCUMENT WE COULD GET OUR HANDS ON, SO THAT WE WOULDN'T ARRIVE IN GRAVENHURST WITHOUT BACKGROUND…….REGARDING HOW IT ALL BEGAN. ARE WE THE MOST BORING PEOPLE ON EARTH? STRANGELY, WE FIND HISTORY STIMULATING, AND OUR RESEARCH FORAYS, ARE ALWAYS ADVENTURE-LADEN. OUR "HISTORY WALKS" ARE ENCHANTING. OF COURSE, NOBODY WANTS TO COME WITH US. YUP, WE'RE THAT BORING! FRANKLY, WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY OTHERS DON'T SEE OR FEEL THE HISTORY WE CAN…..BY JUST WALKING DOWN THE MAIN STREET. IT'S NOT LIKE WE CAN'T MAINTAIN A CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE. WE JUST INCORPORATE HERITAGE INTO OUR CONTEMPORARY POINT OF VIEW. OF COURSE, WE ALSO SENSE THE PRESENCE OF WAYWARD SPIRITS. WELL, WE MAY BE "NUTTY" TO SOME, BUT OUR BOYS LIKE US…….AND THE NICE LADY WHO BRINGS US COOKIES TO THE SHOP, SEEMS TO APPRECIATE OUR LITTLE HISTORY VIGNETTES. I MEAN SHE KEEPS COMING BACK, AFTER ALL. SHE'S GOT SUCH A NICE SMILE, AND PATIENT DEMEANOR…..FOR SOMEONE WHO PROBABLY WANTS TO BOLT AFTER THE TENTH AMUSING ANECDOTE……YET FEARS SHE'LL HURT MY FEELINGS…..SO STICKS AROUND UNTIL THE STORY WELL IS DRY.
SHORTLY AFTER WE HAD MOVED IN TO THE HOUSE, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, ON THE EMBANKMENT JUST ABOVE THE BOG, WE BEGAN TRAVELING ALL OVER THE COMMUNITY, WHEN WE HAD A FREE DAY FROM WORK AND FAMILY COMMITMENTS. I HAVE TO TELL YOU, WE WERE ABSOLUTELY SPELLBOUND, BY THE FACT WE WERE LIVING A SHORT WALK AWAY FROM THE CALYDOR PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, WHERE GERMAN SOLDIERS WERE DETAINED, DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. IN FACT OUR SUBDIVISION HERE WAS KNOWN AS "CALYDOR." I HAD ALREADY STUDIED THE SCATTERED HISTORY OF THE CAMP, WRITTEN BY ONE OF MY REPORTER COLLEAGUES, SCOTT MCCLELLAN, OF THE MUSKOKA SUN……SO I WAS EAGER TO EXPLORE THE PROPERTY……WHICH WE DID ABOUT A MILLION TIMES BEFORE IT TOO, BECAME A NEW URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD. THE POINT IS, WE WANTED TO CONSUME IT ALL, AND BE A PART OF THE HISTORICAL CONSERVATION PROGRAM, WELL ESTABLISHED BY THE BAND OF HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED GRAVENHURST HISTORIANS…….OF WHICH MY RESPECT AND ADMIRATION EXTENDS TO THE PRESENT. WE HAVE MANY DEDICATED HISTORICAL TYPES IN THIS MUNICIPALITY AND A SUPERB ARCHIVES COMMITTEE, THAT HAS PRESERVED A HUGE VOLUME OF THE TOWN'S WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED HERITAGE. THE CITIZENS WHO ARE STAKE-HOLDERS HERE, MIGHT NOT APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT HAS GONE INTO PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE, IN THIS FASHION, BUT THOSE OF US WHO KNOW THE NUMBER OF HOURS IT TAKES TO ESTABLISH A FIRST RATE ARCHIVES, ARE HUGELY INDEBTED TO THOSE WHO HAVE COMMITTED TO ADVANCING THE PROJECT……..WHICH IS IN USE REGULARLY FOR REFERENCE, AT THE GRAVENHURST PUBLIC LIBRARY.
EVEN AT CHRISTMAS, AS PART OF OUR OWN FAMILY CHRONICLE, WE USED TO TAKE NIGHTLY TOURS OF TOWN NEIGHBORHOODS, WITH THE BOYS UNDER BLANKETS IN THE BACK SEAT, TREATS IN ABUNDANCE, TO SEE THE DECORATIVE LIGHTS ON HUNDREDS OF RESIDENCES MARKING THE FESTIVE SEASON. WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY BACK THEN, BUT THIS WAS PRETTY CHEAP AND ENJOYABLE RECREATION, AND THE LADS WOULD SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS WITH SUZANNE…….AS WE TOURED A DIFFERENT AREA OF TOWN ON EACH EVENING, THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS EVE. THIS IS WHAT WE WANTED THE BOYS TO KNOW AND APPRECIATE ABOUT THEIR NEW HOME TOWN. JUST AS WE INSISTED THEY RESPECT THE HERITAGE OF THE REGION, WHICH THEY ACTUALLY ENJOYED…..ESPECIALLY ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE RMS SEGWUN. ANDREW USED TO BUILD MASSIVE LEGO "SEGWUNS" THAT HIS BROTHER ROBERT WOULD, SOMEHOW, AND INEVITABLY, DESTROY INTO A MILLION PIECES. THESE ARE THE SAME LADS WHO USED TO BRING BACK POTTERY PIECES AND CHUNKS OF BARBED WIRE FROM THE CALYDOR CAMP, TO ADD TO THEIR COLLECTIONS OF HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS……WHICH WE BEGAN WHEN THEY WERE TWO AND THREE YEARS OF AGE. ALL KIDS LIKE DISCOVERY AND THRIVE ON ADVENTURE. WE GAVE THEM EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN HISTORY LESSONS, BEYOND WHAT THEY WOULD JOIN WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN SCHOOL……AND MOST OF THEIR INSTRUCTION CAME FROM BOOKS. WE INSISTED ON A MORE COMPLETE PROGRAM OF HERITAGE STUDY, BUT IT WAS A LOT MORE FUN THAN YOU MIGHT SUSPECT. I WAS BORED AS A KID IN HISTORY CLASS AS WELL. SO WE DECIDED TO MAKE HISTORY MORE ALLURING AND FUN, AND IT EVENTUALLY EMBEDDED US IN MUSEUM LIFE, AND I CONDUCTED MANY HOUSE AND PROPERTY TOURS, FOR GROUPS, WITH ONE OR BOTH BOYS IN TOW.
ON ONE OCCASION, AT A SPECIAL HERITAGE EVENT, ANDREW EVEN VOLUNTEERED FOR A COSTUMING DEMONSTRATION, BY THE STAFF OF BETHUNE HOUSE, WHICH THAT DAY WAS HELD IN BRACEBRIDGE, AT THE FORMER CENTENNIAL CENTRE. IT WAS ANDREW'S FIRST TIME ON-STAGE, AND IT MUST HAVE APPEALED TO THE LAD, BECAUSE HE'S BEEN ON IT EVER SINCE…….AS A MUSICIAN, AND A TECHNICAL ASSISTANT FOR OTHER MUSICIANS.
WHEN WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, WE KNEW A LOT ABOUT ITS HERITAGE IN ADVANCE, BECAUSE WE THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT, ALMOST A REQUIREMENT, AS NEW, AND EAGER PARTICIPANTS IN OUR WELCOMING NEW TOWN…….TO JUMP RIGHT IN TO AS MANY HERITAGE PROJECTS AS WERE AVAILABLE. AS SUZANNE'S FAMILY, (SHEA AND VEITCH), ARE PART OF THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA, PARTICULARLY IN THE PIONEER PAST OF UFFORD AND WINDERMERE, IN THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, SHE WAS OFF-AND-RUNNING, AS A LIBRARIAN-ARCHIVIST IN TRAINING, TO GET US ALL UP TO SPEED ON THE HERITAGE SITES AND ACTIVITIES AROUND US. AND FOR YEARS AND YEARS, SHE TOOK THE BOYS TO EVERY EVENT AT BETHUNE HOUSE, INCLUDING THE ANNUAL CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE. THEY MIGHT GO SIX OR SEVEN TIMES OVER THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD. THEY LOVED THAT IMMERSION IN TRADITION. THEY BECAME PRETTY KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT DR. NORMAN BETHUNE AS WELL. THEY HAD PICNICS AT MUSKOKA WHARF, ALTHOUGH I MUST CONFESS, WE DIDN'T ALWAYS HAVE THE MONEY TO TAKE AS MANY TRIPS OUT ON THE LAKE, AS ANDREW AND ROBERT WANTED EACH SUMMER SEASON.
THE ADVANTAGES OF KNOWING THE HISTORY OF YOUR TOWN
I am shocked when I run into new residents to this town, having arrived sometime in the past decade, who have little if any interest in the heritage of the place they now call home. I appreciate that the Currie family takes heritage matters way overboard, without apology, but I find it sad actually, that they don't find our past worthy of investigation. I think some of the problems facing our town today, are in part, the result of failing knowledge of the precedents of the past. Like the chap who spoke at a public meeting, several years ago, suggesting we could improve the attractiveness of our town, if only we would change its name. He didn't think the "Grave" part was endearing and alluring to our town, for the tourism sector. Balderdash! Blasphemy! Out of order, I say! I nearly put my head through the freaking roof when I heard that pearl of wisdom. The only good thing, in this case, was that I missed that meeting, because I can tell you, there would have been a duel fought over it. Yes, I'm that defensive of the naming of our town. You can archive back in this year's blog collection, to the 150th anniversary, feature series I wrote, dated around the first of August, in reference to the naming of our town, after a book written by William Henry Smith. What an honor it was to be named after an internationally recognized poet / philosopher. No not a grave and "hearse."
I won't be petitioning town council, to enact some all-encompassing bylaw, to force new residents in town, to read all the relevant books written about our heritage, from pre-history, to the pioneering period which began in the late 1850's. I'd like to do this, but how unconstitutional would that initiative be? Might finally get me run out of town on that rail I've been writing about. The problem of not knowing about our heritage, and wanting to be part of the home town culture, is that the lack of knowledge is like wearing socks with holes. It's fine as long as you keep the shoes on. When you get into a social scrum, and one of the more astute party guests, inquires about some vestige of the past, and your opinion on the matter, might you decide to defer…..keeping the proverbial shoes on; or start pontificating and offending every one who is aware of that particular historical precedent? I have run into both, and recently……each time from a customer visiting our shop in fact. I'm very patient when someone asks about local history, and if they have the time, I'll be able to infill with books and related material I keep on site, especially for these occasions. Lately, I've had folks who "blurt," "state," "dictate," and "officiate," with the weak knowledge they possess…..and they sure don't like to be corrected. I don't provide options, even if it means they return their intended purchases back to the shelf they found it, and tell me to "flake off." When I ask them where they got their information, to make such assertions, they can't provide a single name of a book, or author, or even the color of the cover…..or the graphics on the front. The problem is, they've been telling these unfounded, under-researched mini-histories, all over the place, and that really doesn't help…..especially if they're in social quarters with others who find it too taxing to read a book. Eventually, all the research and discovery we historians have imbedded, is bypassed by indifference and laziness, and the new version histories are made to suite the "story teller." To heck with historical accuracy.
As we continue to grow as a community, and more residents arrive from all other regions of our province, hoping to build lives for themselves here in our little burg, it does become an issue for local historians, to maintain relevancy in the future. We are not attracting young people to the profession, and correct me if I'm wrong, but at 57 years of age, I'm likely the youngest of the small wrinkled collective of regional historians. I've asked this question many times before…..but I don't see many budding historians riding like the cavalry behind us old farts, to pick up the flag when we finally have to give up the fight……..to impress upon the citizenry, the importance of respecting our mutual heritage.
At Christmas, I find history and tradition so compelling…..warm and fuzzy, like the curly-toed elf slippers, Suzanne bought me for the holidays. I thrive on the congenial aura that comes from being a part of the town's history…..not simply a wishful voyeur looking at it all, as if handling a snow globe…..seeing but not being able to take full advantage of its charming, inspiring actuality. Our heritage characterizes how we began, how we have advanced, and what we have become. There is no hard mandatory line of heritage protocol, or unwavering boundaries of thread-bare tradition, as it must be observed. Yet there is a richness and pleasantness within it all, read between the lines, that is so immensely enthralling and full of pride, that to not recall, or weave it into the fabric of daily life, at present, shortchanges us all, of benefitting from the legacy of prosperity we've earned, by centuries of being good and benevolent neighbors.
After all these years, we sentimental Curries, still load up the family van, in the final few nights before Christmas, and take a slow, meandering auto-tour of our town, to see the fabulous light displays, area residents have thoughtfully created in traditional recognition, of both past Christmases, and present. We stop for treats whenever the mood strikes, and we might wander the boardwalk at The Wharf, or look out over the water, from the hillside of Gull Lake Park. We often stop at Muskoka Beach Park, to witness the spectacular scene of the sparkling Muskoka lakeland, under the twinkling stars of a vast heavenly universe. We are home, and thankful of it! Take a drive around yourself, mid-evening, in the Muskoka moonlight, or in that gentle snowfall that always enhances the Christmas spirit, for us lovers of old fashion winters. It is at this time, most of all, that we subtly thank God, that we chose this town, to raise our family. If it was the last scene I witnessed of Muskoka, on the cusp of immortality, I would be satisfied at life's precious fulfillment to a life time wanderer……who never thought he could find just one place on earth to reside…..for long. Except here. Where my last paragraph will be composed, one day, with cheerful exclamation.
I hope you will have a traditional Christmas season yourself. And thanks for dropping by, for today's fireside story. It's always a pleasure.
"Now Christmas is come,
Let us beat up the drum,
And call all our neighbors together;
And when they appear,
Let us make such a cheer,
As will keep out the wind and the weather."
(An Old English Ditty of seasonal acclaim)
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