Outdoor Education, Old Books, A Snake and a Log

DAVE BROWN WAS FASCINATED BY HISTORY - ESPECIALLY LOGGING

HE GAVE STUDENTS A CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE HISTORY AND NATURE

     DAVE BROWN'S ELDERLY MOTHER WAS LIVID, WHEN HE ANNOUNCED TO HER, THAT HE WANTED TO BUY THE SUMMER CAMP WERE HE HAD BEEN EMPLOYED. HIS IDEA WAS TO TAKE OVER THE OPERATION OF CAMP COMAK, NEAR DORSET, ONTARIO, AND TURN IT INTO THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION RETREAT HE HAD LONG DREAMED OF……BUT OPPORTUNITY HAD NEVER PRESENTED. WHEN THE OWNER DECIDED TO SELL THE LAKELAND PROPERTY, DAVE TRIED TO COME UP WITH THE NECESSARY CASH, TO STOP WHAT HE BELIEVED, WOULD BE THE CLOSURE OF THE WELL KNOWN SUMMER CAMP FOR KIDS. HE DIDN'T LIKE THE IDEA OF THE PROPERTY BEING SUBDIVIDED FOR COTTAGE LOTS. HE HAD GREAT PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. NOT ONLY WOULDN'T HIS MOTHER SUPPORT THE IDEA, OR GIVE HIM A FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION, SHE LET HIM KNOW, WITH ALL HER MOTHERLY INFLUENCE, THAT HIS SECURE FUTURE DEPENDED ON STAYING WITH THE TEACHING PROFESSION, AND RETIRING WITH A DECENT PENSION. SHE FELT IT WAS TOO MUCH OF A FINANCIAL RISK, IN AN UNCERTAIN AND EVER-CHANGING MARKET; AND DAVE TOOK THIS REJECTION, OF MONEY AND PERSONAL ENDORSEMENT VERY HARD. SO HARD, THAT HE WOULDN'T TALK TO HER FOR QUITE SOME TIME. HE COULD HOLD A GRUDGE FOR DECADES. DUE TO THIS LACK OF FINANCING, HE LOST HIS BID TO PURCHASE THE CAMP OPERATION, WHICH HE FELT WAS A BETRAYAL OF PAST LOYALTIES WITH THE OWNER (HE HONESTLY FELT THAT HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE CAMP, OR OFFERED IT FOR A SMALL FEE); AND BROODED ABOUT IT FOR YEARS AFTER. TO DAVE, IT HAD BEEN THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY THAT GOT AWAY. YET MOST OF HIS FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES, FELT HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RUN THE CAMP PROFITABLY. HE WAS NOT A GOOD FINANCIAL MANAGER, AND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUSLY HARD ON HIS STAFF……BECAUSE HIS DAY WAS AT LEAST EIGHT HOURS LONGER THAN ANYONE ELSE'S. MORE THAN A FEW CAMP COLLEAGUES THOUGHT HE WAS CRAZY, AND TOLD HIM SO.

     DAVE BROWN PUT HIS ENERGY INTO TEACHING, AS HIS MOTHER HAD ADVISED, AND IT WOULD APPEAR TO THOSE CLOSE TO HIM, THAT HE WORKED HARDER TO ADVANCE THE PURPOSES OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION IN THE PROVINCE, TO SOMEHOW PROVE, THAT IF HE HAD BEEN ABLE TO RUN CAMP COMAK, IT WOULD HAVE BECOME A CANADIAN BUSINESS LEGEND AMONGST MANY OTHER FINE SUMMER CAMPS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN ALGONQUIN PARK; OF WHICH HE WAS ABUNDANTLY AWARE OF, AND KEEN TO COPY…..IF NOT IMPROVE UPON. WHETHER THE HAMILTON BOARD OF EDUCATION, HIS TEACHING COLLEAGUES, OR STUDENTS KNEW THIS ABOUT MR. BROWN, ALL THAT REALLY MATTERED, WAS THIS GUY WAS GOING TO PUT IN AN AMAZING EFFORT TO COMPENSATE FOR WHAT HE BELIEVED HE'D LOST. AND BY THE WAY, THIS WASN'T THE ONLY DISAGREEMENT, IN THE CASE OF A SUMMER CAMP ARRANGEMENT EITHER, AS HE HAD WORKED FOR OTHERS, HAVING THE SAME AMBITION……..TO ONE DAY BE THE OWNER-OPERATOR. HE HAD HIS SHARE OF DISAPPOINTMENTS IN LIFE, INCLUDING THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, WHEN HE WAS STILL A YOUNGSTER.

     IN OUTDOOR EDUCATION, AND HIS SCHOOL COMMITMENT GENERALLY, DAVE PUT HIS KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IN COLLECTING, AND HISTORY, (PARTICULARLY CANADIAN; AND THE LOGGING INDUSTRY) TO WORK HUNTING AND GATHERING ARTIFACTS AND NATURAL HISTORY ITEMS, WHICH HE WOULD TAKE TO EITHER THE CENTRAL BOARD OFFICE, WHERE HE WAS IN CHARGE OF THEIR SMALL DISPLAY FACILITY - OR  HIS MINI MUSEUM, OUTDOOR EDUCATION CLASSROOM, WHERE HE EXHIBITED HIS BEST FINDS, ON A THEME-OF-THE-SEASON BASIS, OF COURSE. NATURAL HISTORY ITEMS WERE TAKEN TO HIS OUTDOOR EDUCATION CLASSROOM, WHERE HE HAD A MINI-SMITHSONIAN, WITH ENOUGH CONSERVED WILDLIFE, (AND LIVE) TO QUALIFY AS A NATURAL HERITAGE SITE. DAVE WAS GOOD AT WHAT HE DID…..AS A COLLECTOR, HUNTER GATHERER, HISTORIAN, AND INSTRUCTOR. HE KNEW HOW TO USE NATURAL AND HISTORICAL MATERIALS, TO INSPIRE HIS STUDENTS, AND WHILE I WAS WORKING ON HIS BIOGRAPHY, I WAS AWARE OF MANY TESTIMONIALS, ABOUT HOW FAR HE WOULD GO, TO SECURE A BIG FIND FOR DISPLAY USE. MOST OF US WOULD WISH TO SHY AWAY FROM SUCH ADVENTURES, THAT HE FELT WERE COMMONPLACE AND PART OF THE JOB OF BEING AN EDUCATOR.

     ONE COLD CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON, HE GOT A FRANTIC PHONE CALL AT HOME, ABOUT A PIECE OF SUCH MISPLACED NATURAL HERITAGE, THAT HAD SOMEHOW, FROM SOMEPLACE, SLITHERED INTO A CAR'S ENGINE COMPARTMENT TO GET WARM; AND THEN, AS TEMPERATURES DROPPED, AND THE ENGINE COOLED, THE SERPENT HAD FROZEN COILED IN THE SUBJECT CAR. A RESCUE WAS TOO LATE, BUT THE CHAP KNEW DAVE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THE BOA CONSTRICTOR'S SKIN, IF NOT THE WHOLE HUGE BODY. WELL SIR, DAVE WENT OUT WITH THAT ZEAL FOR ADVENTURE, AND IN NO TIME, HAD MANAGED TO UNWRAP THE CREATURE FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, AND HAD IT IN THE BACK OF HIS PICK-UP WITHOUT MUCH FUSS AT ALL. OF COURSE DAVE WAS ALSO A PUBLICITY HOUND, AND HE HAD BEEN ON CHCH NEWS AND FEATURE PROGRAMS MANY TIMES, SHOWING HIS SCIENCE AND BOTANICAL FINDS. I HAVE A TAPE OF HIM EXPLAINING THE SKELETAL REMAINS OF A RACCOON, HE HAD FOUND ON ONE OF HIS WOODLAND JAUNTS. HE HAD LOTS OF ITEMS LIKE THIS FOR STUDENTS OF ALL AGES, AND ALL INTERESTS. SO IF MEMORY SERVES, I THINK HE HAD A FILM CREW COVER PART OF THE SNAKE RECOVERY MISSION. IT MADE GOOD TELEVISION, AS HE WOULD SAY, WITH AN EAR TO EAR GRIN.

     AT A SPECIAL ARTS CAMP, AT A LODGE ON SKELETON LAKE, HERE IN MUSKOKA, DAVE RAN THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION COMPONENT OF THE WEEK LONG PROGRAM. I WAS THERE TO DO A STORY FOR THE LOCAL PRESS, AND OF COURSE, TO GIVE MY COLLECTING BUDY A LITTLE MEDIA COVERAGE. AT LUNCH TIME, WITH A FULL CAFETERIA OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, DAVE TOOK OVER THE CAPTIVE AUDIENCE, WITH AN ARRAY OF "WHAT IS IT" EXHIBITS. HE WOULD HOLD UP ITEMS HE HAD FOUND ON HIS OWN NATURE WALK IN THE SKELETON LAKE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THE STUDENTS WERE, FOR PRIZES, TO GUESS WHAT THEY WERE. MOSTLY, THAT AFTERNOON, HE HAD A NUMBER OF METAL CAST-OFFS FROM ANOTHER ERA, INCLUDING THE DOOR OF AN OLD COOKSTOVE, HE HAD FOUND IN A NEARBY WOODLOT. THE KIDS DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT THIS THING WAS, BUT OFFERED SUGGESTIONS THAT INCLUDED, A KNIGHT'S ARMOR, AND BATTLE SHIELD. HE WOULD HAVE HAD TEN OR SO ITEMS FOR IDENTIFICATION. HE LOVED WHEN THEY COULDN'T IDENTIFY THE OBJECTS. HE FELT THAT IF THEY EVER SAW A COOKSTOVE UP CLOSE, THEY'D REMEMBER THAT DOOR HE HAD SHOWN THEM, DURING A CAMP LUNCH. THIS YOU SEE, IS THE VERY POSITIVE SIDE OF COLLECTING, AND ALSO BEING A TEACHER. DAVE WAS EVER WILLING TO BRING HIS PASSION FOR OLD STUFF, INTO THE MAIN STREAM OF EDUCATION. THE BOARD WASN'T ASKING HIM TO DO THIS. AND HE DIDN'T ASK THEIR PERMISSION EITHER. OF COURSE HE WAS A ROGUE, BUT ONE WHO ALWAYS PUT THE KIDS FIRST, AND HE WOULD HAVE MADE A WONDERFUL FATHER. FATE JUST DIDN'T CO-OPERATE IN THIS WAY. HE WASN'T GOOD AT THE MARRIAGE THING. ALL THE STUDENTS WHO PASSED THROUGH HIS OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTRE WERE HIS KIDS. THIS IS WHAT I SAW OF DAVE BROWN, AT THIS JUNCTION BETWEEN BEING A MAJOR COLLECTOR OF BOOKS, AND PIONEER ARTIFACTS, AND BEING A CAREER EDUCATOR…..AND A DUTIFUL CURATOR OF SO MANY FOUND ARTICLES, HE GATHERED ON HIS MILLION MILES OF TRAVEL IN THIS PROVINCE, AND THE UNITED STATES.

THE STAMPED LOG IN THE SWAMP HE COULDN'T RESIST RETRIEVING

     What I feel compelled to point out, is that Dave Brown (and there are others with just as much enthusiasm and civic mindedness out there), enjoyed his adventures as a collector, but particularly so, when what he was about to retrieve, or acquire, was going to serve two distinct purposes. A jewel for his private collection, and a diamond in the rough, as an educational tool he could use in either his classroom, or as a display piece at the Education Centre…..which he put a lot of time into; and I possess quite a few of those exhibit plans he always drew in advance…..documenting the locations where all his found treasures would be positioned during the official set-up. So when I tell you that, in this case, Dave pursued a sunken length of pine, it was one of those dual interest projects. He found the large end piece, pointing up from the bottom muck, (when cleaned off), had a clearly visible logging company imprint, cast from a special iron stamp that had been hammered into the wood as identification. Many, many decades ago.

     Dave found it one year, and came back the next, to figure a way of pulling it free of the muck, and up into his canoe. I've written about this previously, so I won't go into great detail here. Suffice to say, he had a plan for that big chunk of wood, and a future logging exhibit he was planning for the Education Centre showcase. He had lots of logging artifacts, many of them hauled out of Algonquin Park and Northern Ontario lakes. Pulling the preserved but water-logged pine chunk out of the water, required a Herculian effort on his part…..and a stomach for leeches. The swamp was full of them. He labored at it for hours, but it required him getting into the water, and that meant getting covered in leeches, for the sake of an old piece of wood. He was able to get it onto the canoe, nearly dumping it with his provisions inside, and he decided that he would just walk the length of the swamp, pushing the canoe toward a convenient landing place. The first job on dry land, was to begin removing his travelers, stuck all over his bare legs and arms, and that took considerable time. But Dave wouldn't have cared about this inconvenience, because he got exactly what he wanted. He'd been thinking about that gnarled old log for an entire year, and that for him, was almost too much to endure. He wasn't patient, you see, and everything he did was scheduled. I found this odd, because I always attached "punctuality" to people who were similarly fussy about appearances, and the neatness of their residences. Dave had no concern about his appearance, other than just wearing clothes, and his residence was pretty clogged with dust bunnies. It wasn't easy to clean around 100,000 books and a wild assortment of shelves of every description…..and oh yes, the many thousands of pounds associated with his logging-artifact collection.

     The iron logging stamps are a prized collectable, as there were never many produced in the first place. The stamp, like a brand used on livestock, was to imprint the company logo on the end of the log, as a physical identification of ownership. In our area, for example, we had the J.D. Shier Lumber Company, which would have had its own iron stamps, and I'm pretty sure Dave had one of those in his private stash. I imagine they could be worth many hundreds of dollars because of the limited supply, and the fact that they were from an era of Canada's logging boom……an industry that helped build a nation. So the intent was, that Dave would haul the pine chunk home, dry it out, clear the swamp growth off it, and then take it to the Education Centre, with a collection of the iron stamps, and probably old axes and saws, and make one of his trademark displays for the benefit of everyone coming and going from the busy offices. This kind of effort was nothing special for Dave Brown, but it did reflect on his unyielding passion for his Camp Comak Days, where he would have provided the same display for the the young campers. Actually, truth be known. Dave would have employed his campers to help out on that log recovery. It is known that Dave had many canoe excursions, with campers under his leadership, paddling the lakes and rivers of the region, looking along the shores for remnant artifacts, chains and cant hook heads, to add to his collection. He had a lot of angles and he worked every one of them. Yet he gave his students an incredible opportunity, to see an historian and collector at work…..without having to go to Egypt to experience what a "dig" in progress, looked like. They got to pitch in, with running commentary provided by Mr. Brown, about how the artifacts got into the water in the first place. But he would have over-stressed the importance of safety in all recovery operations. He did look out for his campers well being.

     Dave Brown spent thousands of hours, scouring the waterways of this province, hoping to recover anything identifiable back to the logging industry. He had done well, by the end of his life, and I think he would have liked to put all those adventures into a book…..or to write one specifically about the logging industry, as it had existed in pioneer Ontario. I believe, if Dave had survived his illness, he might have recruited me to work alongside him, to put such a book together. I think Dave had a lot of stuff like that planned for me, but he hadn't counted on developing leukemia either. What I admired most about Dave Brown, as I have admired about the other characters I have written about, so far in this blog series, on antique hunting and gathering, was his deep well of enthusiasm to live an adventurous, ever-changing, dynamic life. He liked status quo when it suited him. He wanted status quo at our homestead, where he slept on the same couch, amongst the same books of mine, and enjoyed the same creature comforts of being a house guest. He liked the comforts of old books in his own house, as crowded as it was. It was his castle, you see, and the place where he squirreled away his big finds. He was happy with this, and with all the other commonplace realities, in our intertwined lives……that would eventually lead to him authorizing me to write his biography. When he employed me to do this, I assumed we would be working on it together……but then, as I should have known, it was something he already knew, and was prepared for. He had got my approval to take on the job, because he realized he was going to die….. very soon, and wanted to leave more of a legacy than books and lumbering antiques.

     I have met many antique collectors and dealers, who have had strikingly similar traits. What I admire most, is when these specialists in their field of collecting interest, are willing to share their information and experiences with others……rookie collectors, history students, or with anyone who demonstrates a willingness to learn about their area of expertise. I have always found dealers chatty about their collecting interests, but I don't think they get asked to talk about their travels and adventures…..at least very often. They have a huge wealth of knowledge, and it's information that needs to be passed down….for the next wave of collectors. Present dealers, like the generations of dealers and collectors before them, were integral to this information passing-down, to those coming into the field. Otherwise, what was it all about? If it was all just to die, and waste away, without being handed down to the up and coming collectors, how could any of us feel truly good about our moth-eaten legacies? Our underlings, who we expect to carry-on the enterprise, of collecting and stewarding these heirloom pieces, need our help…..our advice and predictions for the future……just as we needed our host of willing mentors who got us from here to there, somewhat profitably.

      Dave empowered me to preserve his legacy for him, an honor, and since 1997, I have done that routinely…..frankly, because I know it will benefit someone else coming up through the ranks, who might like to know how a veteran bibliophile, a legend in his own time, acquired so much knowledge, and so many incredible books……making it all appear so natural and easy. So it feels good to be able to represent Dave Brown the collector / historian……and of course the educator. Even though he was a pain in the ass at times, and moody to a fault, he gave me access to the inside track of collecting books and old paper, that I could never have gathered from a book alone. Dave had no compunction whatsoever, of correcting his apprentice, when a mistake in judgement had been made. That's what an apprenticeship is all about, right? Getting jigged back into place, when the underling fails to navigate yet another curve in the long and winding road. When I'm asked by book collectors I meet, where I learned my trade, I am so darned proud to ask, "Did you ever hear about David Brown?" Even though Dave has been gone a long time now, his name still makes his associates wince, as if a cold wind has, at that moment, suddenly washed over them…… unexpectedly, coming up from behind behind, as he used to at book sales; where he would put his huge mitt like hand, on their shoulders, as his idea of a bookman's surprise greeting. Really, it was to let them know, the master was in the building, to keep out of his way.

     Tomorrow, I'll tell you about my first major step as a collector…….that earned my mentor's praise……while raising his ire at the same time. It was good to have you all here for a mid-winter visit today. I hope you will come to think of Dave Brown as the gentle-man, and wonderful teacher that he was……despite the peculiarities of being "a collector." He was just one of millions of us otherwise normal mortals, who go a little bonkers, when it comes to collecting "a few of our favorite things." Lots more to come. Please visit again soon for some more antique and collecting adventures…….some you will believe…..others, not so much. But there's no fiction here……no way!