From Hockey Fanatic To Forget About It!

FROM HOCKEY FANATIC AND MAPLE LEAF DIE-HARD, TO FORGET ABOUT IT!

WHAT HAPPENED? GREED ME THINKS

     I WAS THE SCRUFFY, DIRTY-FACED, OFF KILTER, TOQUE-WEARING KID, RUNNING UP AND DOWN A LENGTH OF ALICE STREET TARMAC, CHASING A BALD TENNIS BALL WITH A "SLIVER" STICK……MEANING IT ONLY HAD HALF THE BLADE. LENGTH-WISE WAS FINE. BUT IT ONLY HAD ABOUT AN INCH OF WOOD SURFACE LEFT. THE OLD STICKS USED TO SHATTER THIS WAY, AND THE BRACEBRIDGE RINK RATS, USED TO FETCH THEM HOME AFTER JUNIOR HOCKEY GAMES. THEY WERE GREAT FOR PLAYING ROAD HOCKEY. "BE CAREFUL OF THOSE STICKS, " MY MOTHER MERLE, WOULD SCREAM OUT OF THE THIRD FLOOR KITCHEN WINDOW, OF THE WEBER APARTMENTS ON ALICE STREET. WE DID NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION A LOT IN THOSE DAYS, FROM STICKS IN THE SHINS, FOREHEADS, BACK OF THE KNEES, AND THOSE SKINNED BODY-PARTS FROM SLIDING DOWN THE ROUGH TARMAC. MOSTLY, IT WAS A GUY THING, WHEN TAKING A SLAP-SHOT WITH A FROZEN TENNIS BALL BELOW THE BELT. NOTHING BUT TIME AND CRYING WOULD FIX THAT WOE.

     I PLAYED HOCKEY FROM ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OF AGE, UNTIL I WAS IN MY EARLY FORTIES, AND THE KNEES WERE FINALLY GIVING UP ON ME. I STARTED OFF AS A GOALIE ON AN OPEN AIR KIWANIS RINK IN BURLINGTON, ONTARIO, AND FINISHED UP AS A FORWARD FOR "THE HERALD-GAZETTE RINK RATS," A TEAM STILL PLAYING TODAY. JUST WITHOUT "THE HERALD-GAZETTE," PART. IT WENT OUT OF BUSINESS AFTER I QUIT THE TEAM.  I MOVED OUT OF TOWN AND HATED THE LATE NIGHT DRIVE FROM GRAVENHURST.  I DIDN'T BRING THE COMPANY DOWN BY THE EAY. HONEST.

    AS A KID, WHEN I WASN'T PLAYING HOCKEY, I WAS EITHER LISTENING TO IT, ON MY TRANSISTOR RADIO, WHICH WORKED BEST BESIDE MY BED, OR WATCHING IT WITH MY FAMILY.  BACK IN THE SIXTIES, IT'S TRUE WHAT YOU'VE HEARD, PROBABLY AS A HUMOROUS ANECDOTE, ABOUT OLD TELEVISIONS, AND WONKY RECEPTION.  FOR A STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF GAME, MY DAD GAVE ME THE OFFICIAL TITLE….AN HONOR TO HIS WAY OF THINKING, ENTITLED "OFFICIAL ANTENNAE TECHNICIAN," WHICH SUCKED, IF I ACTUALLY WANTED TO SEE THE GAME. "STAND A LITTLE TO THE LEFT, TEDDY," ED WOULD BARK AT THE TECHNICIAN, PLAYING AROUND WITH THE RABBIT EARS TO GET A CLEARER PICTURE. "NO NOT RIGHT….LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, GOOD, THAT'S IT, NOW HOLD IT THERE!"

     AT SOME POINT WE FIGURED SOME ITEMS TO USE, TO PROP THE RABBIT EARS UP AND INTO THE POSITION, GIVING THE BEST PICTURE FOR THE NIGHT, AND I'M PRETTY SURE IT WAS SEVERAL OF MY TOYS STACKED TOGETHER, ON THE TOP OF THE TELEVISION. I LIVED AND BREATHED HOCKEY. I WENT TO SLEEP, ON SUNDAY EVENING ROAD TRIPS FOR THE LEAFS, SNUG IN MY BED LISTENING TO MY TRANSISTOR RADIO, BRINGING ME THE PLAY BY PLAY, AS CALLED BY FOSTER HEWITT. I VERY SELDOM EVER MADE IT THROUGH THE GAME, BEFORE SLUMBER GOT A HOLD OF ME. I'D TURN THE RADIO ON FIRST THING IN THE MORNING TO PICK UP THE SPORTS NEWS, TO SEE IF MY FAVORITE LEAFS HAD WON.

     I CAN REMEMBER BEING HORRIFIED ONE DAY, WHEN THE BOSTON BRUINS BEAT THE LEAFS 11-0, WHEN JOHNNY BOWER WAS OUT WITH AN INJURY. POOR DON SIMMONS, I BELIEVE IT WAS. THE LOWEST TEAM IN THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE HAD BEATEN THE HIGH FLYING LEAFS. ALL US KIDS WERE SILENT THAT DAY, LET ME TELL YOU. I EVEN LIVED THROUGH THE "UNKNOWN FAN" YEARS, WHERE THE TORONTO AUDIENCE WORE PAPER BAGS OVER THEIR HEADS, WITH EYES CUT OUT, TO MAKE A POINT ABOUT THE SUCCESSION OF LOSSES THAT YEAR. THE ONLY BRIGHT LIGHT BACK THEN, WAS WHEN EDDY "THE ENTERTAINER" SHACK, WOULD DO A PIROUETTE AT CENTRE ICE DURING THE INTRODUCTION OF TEAMS…..AND IT WAS SO DARN HUMOROUS WATCHING COACH RED KELLY PUT HIS HEAD IN HIS HANDS, WHEN EDDY PLAYED FOR THE CROWD. WE GAVE HIM A STANDING OVATION THAT NIGHT, BECAUSE HE WAS THE MOST EXCITING LEAF AT THAT TIME. THIS WAS AFTER HE CAME BACK FROM BUFFALO, OR ANOTHER TEAM, TO PLAY FOR THE LEAFS A SECOND TIME.

I WORKED FOR DETROIT RED WING GOALIE, ROGER CROZIER

     I can't tell you how thrilling it was, after all my years being addicted to the culture of hockey, in this country, to then work side by side one of my childhood heroes……Roger Crozier. While Roger played for the Detroit Red Wings, the fact he was from Bracebridge, which was my new home in the winter of 1966, made him pretty important to the community….and yup, for this kid, who went from imitating Johnny Bower in road hockey, to being Roger Crozier instead. So when I did some feature writing about Roger's career, with the Red Wings, the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals, in the mid 1990's, I was asked by the man himself, to collaborate on a book that was being prepared on his hockey career. By this point Roger was an executive with a bank in the United States, known as MBNA, and he was in the process of setting up a children's charity in his former hometown, to be known as The Crozier Foundation. I was asked to be the public relations manager for the Muskoka chapter, and curator of the newly installed showcases, at the Bracebridge Arena, known as the Bracebridge Sports Hall of Fame. I worked with the organization for twelve years, after Roger's death, and looked after his hockey artifacts which were on display……alongside the trophies and skates once worn by Irvin "Ace" Bailey, of the 1920's and 30's Maple Leafs. Bailey was another Bracebridge kid who grew up to play in the N.H.L. I got to handle Roger's game stick, from the 1966 Stanley Cup playoffs against Montreal, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy. I got to handle Ace Bailey's hockey skates, and the trophies, like the "Paul Whiteman" cup, that was presented by the famous bandleader to Ace…….never to be presented again. I held this cup as if I'd won it myself. I would crouch, when no one was looking, and throw a poke check with Roger's stick, and actually feel the way his stick hand had worn down the shaft with continuous play. Back in those glory days, a stick could last a season before it was replaced; so it did show wear in this fashion.

     For a kid who had grown up with hockey as a huge part of my life, even going to hockey school in the summer months, I had some great opportunities to enjoy hockey in my elder years as well. As an editor for Muskoka Publications in Parry Sound, I got to play on a celebrity team, on the same forward line as Doug Orr, Bobby's father. He broke the blade of my stick, on the first pass he gave to me in front of the net. Talk about embarrassed. I think he scoffed the puck back, out of my skates, and put it in the net without me. For having played in a benefit game against the legendary "Flying Fathers," hockey club, I was presented a certificate announcing that I had become an "Official Flying Father." As a reporter I got into the dressing room with the N.H.L. Oldtimers, during a benefit game in Bracebridge. I got to meet Billy Harris and Ron Ellis of the Maple Leafs, two of my all-time favorites. I met Toronto Sun columnist Paul Rimstead, for another benefit hockey game, and he got stuck trying to get into my Rink Rat sweater, and it took two of us to break him loose. But it was for that good old hockey game, that I spent a large portion of my recreational and social life, having something or other to do with hockey. And then something happened. And I didn't see it coming. It also affected my interest in hockey collectables, and believe me, I had a pretty nice collection, including hockey cards by the box load.

     When the boys began asking about recreational pursuits, after they'd wrapped up their interests in Hot Wheels and Lego, they seemed to like the idea of playing hockey. But they were unsure, and had a number of other interests that were costly endeavors. We didn't have too much money back then, and had to ask them to make a choice. One but not all. It came down to money for hockey gear and registration, or guitars and amplifiers from Precision Music, in Bracebridge. Keep in mind, that they were involved with the Crozier Foundation with Suzanne and I, and even appeared with Roger in a special anniversary parade for Santa's Village, one summer in the mid 1990's. They were up to their necks in hockey and related memorabilia. One might think, that with this immersion in hockey history and culture, they would have led us to the sporting goods shop, to get outfitted. Truth is, they went through the door of Precision Music, and made friends with the proprietors, and to this day, have maintained a strong relationship even as music store operators themselves. It's kind of funny to see my two grown sons, ambling into the Manitoba Street shop, with the same bounce to their step, as they had when they were in their early teens. They never played organized hockey. They spent their money on music related hardware, CD's, old records, and I'll tell you what!  It was the right thing to do for recreation, and obviously for their present profession.

     It meant I had no reason to go to the rink, other than to tend the arena showcases. The boys would help me, but were quite satisfied to watch hockey on television, and play pick-up hockey on any ice pad they could find. Today, their world is music, even when they're not working in the shop. Both boys are vintage record collectors (and sellers, at their shop), and really don't have any interest in watching hockey, or even going to any games locally. I can remember watching games with son Robert, and having bets on the outcomes. He hated the Leafs. I had only once cheered for any other team, than Toronto, and that was when Roger played for Detroit. As a kid, my mother and I were Leaf fans, and my dad was a huge Montreal booster…which made for some nasty spats during playoff times. If Montreal scored a big goal, I let the rabbit ears fall to the side as revenge…..so Ed couldn't watch the replay.

     When I hear about the big Leaf game, and the start of the playoffs with the Bruins, I find myself a little bit annoyed at my lot in life, these days… annoyed at the federal government, that cut back the budgets of the CBC, so that they suddenly, with little warning, changed over their transmission signal to digital, and cut off our access to national television. That's right, we don't have cable. We cut off cable during the recession of the 1990's, and I haven't been interested in renewing it ever since. In my upbringing, hockey was our national sport, and was brought to our living-rooms by the CBC affiliate on Saturday nights.  Wednesday games I think were shown on CFTO, which I still receive today with a conversion box…..but they no longer bring in the hockey games. The Tories caused my national dream to disappear. My Saturday night hockey games, that I had been watching since the early 1960's. I still refuse to pay for cable, and I'm damn mad that our digital converter and power antennae won't, in Gravenhurst, pull in a CBC signal. There's something wrong about this in our country. And it distances me from my occasional moments with the Leafs, in a setting I can actually afford. I heard the prices of tickets for these games, at the Roger's Centre, and it also made me want to give up on hockey for good.

     I've heard over and over again, how long it has been since the Leafs were in the playoffs. I don't need the refresher information. I was glued to the tube the last time they won the cup.  Add on to this frustration, the fact that I've also waited for this just as long, as everyone else, and now I won't get to see the games……as I have for most of my life, because of political baloney, and cutting the CBC budget that would have continued an analogue signal in my neighborhood. I hate them for this, and well, I hate that standing room only tickets, at the game, were priced at $200 each. I just find myself losing interest in hockey generally, because of a lot of connecting issues, and this has most certainly affected my interest in collecting hockey memorabilia…..which was a large obsession for me for many decades. I've actually sold a lot of it off, and other materials, like an original six hockey jersey from the Red Wings (not Roger's), I purchased at an auction; now passed on in the family. Andrew was given this as an inheritance early…..before dad kicks the bucket. Robert got a skid of hockey cards as his inheritance.

     I'm truly sorry about losing my interest in hockey. I know I could listen to it on the radio, but it just wouldn't be the same…..as when I kept late nights with Foster Hewitt. I was with his son Bill, for Saturday night broadcasts. But despite having played, and socialized in hockey, up to my ears, this season has just left me cold…..from the once warm spirit, carrying that Leaf banner, one bad season after another. Suzanne, reading over my shoulder tonight (which I despise), reminded me of the interview I had, up close and personal, with Bobby Baun, probably the best defenseman the Leafs ever had……and I did ask him about scoring that overtime winning goal with a broken leg. He told me that when a veteran player looked over his shoulder, on the bench, and saw the young players grinding their teeth, for an opportunity to take an old guy's place on the bench, you just went out an carried on, and worried about injuries after the game. He was a great guy to talk with. I also met Frank Mahovolich in our antique shop, in Bracebridge, one afternoon, and I had the chance to tell him how many times, I'd imitated his end to end rushes, during hotly contested road hockey games, between the make believe Leafs, and the rest of the Original Six teams.

     I am kind of sorry about this turn of events, where I will wind up watching a murder mystery or sitcom on television, instead of Hockey Night in Canada. But you know, it's funny, how it comes down to that informal antennae once again. But this time, no matter how I move it up and down, east and west, the signal remains the same. Non existent.

     Thanks for letting me harp, editorially, on a personal sore point, about the way I was, and how I have become disgruntled in my old age. Damn rabbit ears. It's as if Ed is getting even from the great beyond. See you again soon!

Please visit my other blog at http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca

Buying Cookbooks One At A Time On A Budget

"One of the sure signs that spring has arrived is the appearance of daffodils with their brilliant yellow blooms.   These beautiful daffodils were found on an abandon property along the Southwood Road.   It the warm weather continues, the spring wild flowers will soon be appearing.   Certainly one of my favourite subjects to photograph!" - Photo by Fred Schulz

BUYING A COOKBOOK COLLECTION WOULD BE EXPENSIVE AND CHEATING - AT LEAST FOR US

WE'RE NOT THROWING MONEY AT THIS BID TO SPECIALIZE

     AN ANTIQUE DEALER ACQUAINTANCE, ASKED ME THE OTHER DAY, IF SUZANNE AND I WERE IN THE PROCESS OF BUYING A COLLECTION OF VINTAGE COOKBOOKS, TO START OUR PLANNED COOKERY REFERENCE COLLECTION, SLATED TO OPEN, AT LEAST IN PART, BY THE FIRST OF JULY, IN OUR GRAVENHURST RETAIL LOCATION.  I WASN'T SURE HOW TO TAKE THIS QUESTION, BUT HE REITERATED, THAT IN ORDER TO FULFILL OUR AMBITIOUS PLANS, WE WOULD HAVE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, IN ORDER TO MEASURE UP TO THE HYPE. I STOOD THERE SILENT FOR A FEW MOMENTS, AND THEN ASKED HIM IF HE KNEW THE STORY OF HARRY HOUDINI, AND HIS GREAT FEATS AND INCREDIBLE ESCAPES…….ALL DEATH DEFYING FOR THE BENEFIT OF LARGE AUDIENCES, WHO SUPPOSED THAT EACH FEAT MAY HAVE BEEN HIS LAST. THIS WAS THE ATTRACTION AFTER ALL….THE POSSIBILITY, PATRONS WERE GOING TO SEE THE MAN FAIL, AND PERISH IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES. "YOU'RE BEING A LITTLE DRAMATIC AREN'T YOU TED," HE ASKED, SUPPOSING THAT OUR ACT OF OPENING UP A COOKERY COLLECTION, COULDN'T RESPONSIBLY BE STRETCHED INTO A MORAL CONNECTION, WITH THE ANTICS OF THE DEVIL-MAY-CARE CHARACTER, OF THE GREAT HOUDINI.

     THE POINT I WANTED TO MAKE TO MY COLLEAGUE, WAS THAT WE HAD NO SUCH ESCAPE STRATEGY, AS SUCH, AND UNLESS SOMETHING SPECTACULAR WAS TO HAPPEN IN THE NEAR FUTURE, OUR SUCCESSFUL ENTERPRISE, WOULD DEPEND ONLY ON OUR EXCELLENCE IN BOOK ACQUISITION, ONE TEXT AT A TIME. WE HAVE NO SAFETY NET. NO PLAN "B." AS I MENTIONED IN A PREVIOUS BLOG, I HAVE A CONSIDERABLE REPUTATION, FOR CHALLENGING MY FAMILY TO CAREER DEFINING OR DESTROYING CHALLENGES. FORTUNATELY, THEY'VE ALL WORKED OUT WELL IN THE END, BUT EACH QUEST HAS BEEN A LITTLE MORE DAUNTING AND PRECARIOUS, THAN THE ONE BEFORE. I AM ALWAYS EAGER TO TRY SOMETHING UNUSUAL, AND ALTHOUGH I'M NOT OF HOUDINI'S CAPABILITY, ESCAPING BINDINGS OF ROPE AND CHAIN, I HAVE PROVEN A PRETTY FAIR COMPETITOR, OF TURNING ONE CAREER INTO ANOTHER, WITH A LITTLE MANIPULATION AND CAUTIOUS COAXING. SO TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT FOR A CHANGE, I INFORMED MY DEALER FRIEND, THAT WE HAD NO SUCH INTENTION, OF ACQUIRING OUR REFERENCE LIBRARY, BY MAKING ONE HUGE PURCHASE TO COVER THE CLAIMS WE'RE MAKING AT PRESENT; TO CREATE THIS LARGE COOKERY REFERENCE COLLECTION. WHICH OF COURSE, MAKES THIS A TRUE FEAT OF THE COLLECTOR, TO BE ABLE TO PULL OFF SUCCESSFULLY, WITH ONLY TWO MONTHS LEFT BEFORE IT IS UNVEILED…..AND ABOUT TWO HUNDRED BUCKS TO STRETCH FOR A THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF NEEDED BOOKS. THIS IS THE KIND OF CHALLENGE I NEED IN MY LIFE. IT'S WHAT I'VE LIVED BY AS AN ANTIQUE DEALER FROM MY FIRST DAYS IN THE PROFESSION.

WE DON'T SPEND OUR WAY TO GOALS

     What makes this cookery collection such a challenge, and an enjoyable one at that, is the fact we are acquiring ninety percent of what we need, one book, one handwritten recipe at a time, from a variety of sources. All of it requiring a major commitment of time and patience. We're not placing advertisements in the local newspapers, or tacking up "wanted" notices on grocery store bulletin boards. We are going to complete this project the way we have handled every other collecting mission in the past…..and that's using the traditional hunt and gather strategy. Once we get going, and have the bulk of our permanent collection in place, we will gladly accept over the counter books, cartons, shipping containers, and skids of cookbooks brought to us by forklift; but not as a quickie strategy for having several thousand texts to start with, that we haven't been able to pick and choose according to Suzanne's taste. While we are starting with many hundreds of books from our own private library, it will represent only one tenth of the collection, when we finally get up and running as a resource. Since we began this particular mission, in early January, we have spent every weekend and sundry outing, searching through antique and collectible shops, second hand stores, thrift and charity shops, at flea markets and even online, to find the cornerstone cookbooks, we know are required to even qualify as a decent cookery library.

     The biggest challenge, and what I want to share with anyone who is interested in such acquisition, is to take a modest purchasing budget, and make it work three times as hard. That's right. We're not throwing money at this project, to make it happen. We're working with an intentionally tight budget, of several thousand dollars, and depending on our capabilities as seasoned antique hunters, to find what we need at very affordable prices. We have rejected a lot of good books that we need, because the real Houdini-like challenge, is to succeed at this venture, by making every acquisition of what we call "cornerstone" books, by being ambitious, learned book hounds. We have had to be resourceful in this business, right from inception, so it's like any other day in the antique trade for us, to have to purchase inventory, for a fraction of the price you might expect. You'd be surprised what we have already acquired, in the first four months, on a thin shoestring, that have met Suzanne's strict requirements for the best of the best. It's also true, that we are, for the time being, opting for some reprints of cookbooks we haven't yet found, or been able to afford, as stated first editions. I would love to have signed first editions of Julia Childs cookbooks, but we're trying to stay out of the multi-thousand dollar, single purchases, until sometime in the future. In case you're unaware of the prices being asked for out of print and first edition cookbooks, from folks like Childs and James Beard, it's hefty and then some. I want an inscribed Martha Stewart "Entertaining," because I happen to like the way she has helped the antique trade, by using so many vintage pieces in the photographic component of her decorating and seasonal books…..and magazines. "Entertaining," was an early 1980's book, that was landmark in so many ways…..showing how to entertain really big crowds, with elegant extravagance….and delicious, beautifully presented food. I'm a long time Martha Stewart fan, and have all but a few of her books. I sold my first edition "Entertaining" several years ago, and I've regretted it ever since. So I'm making a play for, at the very least, a signed first edition, for our permanent collection. But this will be one of the only bulges in the budget, to build this collection the old fashioned way…..with nickel and dimes, because we really have no choice. If there was a large collection come up for sale, I know it would be well beyond our budget for the next ten years.

     Suzanne and I work on the cheap all the time. It doesn't imply that we're cheapskates. Just frugal collectors, who find it a great challenge to acquire what we set out to, and have a few coins left over, to buy ourselves a treat. We have been performing these reality-defying feats for going on thirty years of marriage. And we've never had a time when we couldn't finally acquire all that we needed, and a little bit extra, when time is on our side. We understand that it would be impossible to have an archive collection of rare cookbooks after only six months of hard core collecting. We also recognize, that we are a twosome, who need daily challenges, to make us better at what we do……and it is what has motivated us through almost unbelievable budget restraint, to come up with enough inventory to keep the shop doors open. I am glad we learned in those bleak early years, how to hustle for what we needed, at any one time, to satisfy our customers. We've never once had the privilege of tossing money at something we wanted, just so we could show off our spending prowess. We'd far sooner be able to show you what we have collected, book by book, dollar by dollar, based on the resources of the capable antique hunter, than unveil an inventory we purchased in one lot, because we had oodles of money to spend to show off. This isn't like that. It is in the tradition of what thousands upon thousands of struggling antique and collectable dealers have had to do for centuries; do the best with the resources at hand. And count your personal experience and capabilities, as the major resource.

     I remember once being absolutely stunned, when an antique dealer we knew, remarked to my son Andrew, that it was great to have parents who "bought you a business," which was a reference to his vintage guitar and music collectable shop here in Gravenhurst. (That was eight years ago) Even when he denied it, she just laughed at him, doubting, that as a recent graduate of high school, he could have possibly built up enough resources to start his own business before he was twenty years of age. I met this woman some time later, and she pursued this same opinion. I straightened her out. It's true that we offered to help as "bankers" for their start up, because Andrew couldn't get a bank loan, back then, but we at no time, with either son, purchased their businesses for them. They worked non-stop to get what they have today. Those two lads built their thriving little empire, one instrument at a time, when they could afford to do so…..and their biggest resource was patience. I walked away from this lady, because she didn't believe me either. Why it was any of her business, I can't say. But this is exactly, what my friend meant, when he suggested that we would undoubtedly be acquiring a major collection of cookbooks, by writing a cheque from our massive account. Geez, you know what…..I have never done anything like this, and I certainly have no appetite for that today. Nope, it's one book at a time, and a whole lot of enjoyable hunting. Like angling, but for antiques instead. Just watch us. I've got nothing to hide. Like Houdini, we've got ourselves in a fine mess…..and I hope we can get out of it…….without showing our customers what failure looks like, up close and personal.

     Thanks so much for joining me for today's blog. Please drop by again, soon.

Please visit my other blog at http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/

Being A Generalist Dealer Not So Bad, Now 100,000 Views!

Long Oak Antique Wine Casket Barrel

OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY WHEN YOU'RE A BIG TIME ANTIQUE HUNTER

BACK TO BEING A GENERALIST ANTIQUE DEALER - THAT'S OKAY TOO

     TO BEGIN THIS BLOG TODAY, AND I GUARANTEE THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WILL BRING IT UP, (BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE I'M OVERLY FOND OF MYSELF), MY DAILY COLUMN HAS NOW HAD 100,000 HITS SINCE THE FALL OF 2011. SOME CELEBRITY AND POLITICAL BLOGGERS GET THIS IN ONE DAY. BUT WHEN YOU POUND OUT A SMALL TOWN, SMALL BUSINESS BLOG, WELL, THIS IS BIG BANANAS TO A HACK LIKE ME. I'VE GOT MY OLD SMITH-CORONA PORTABLE BESIDE ME, SO I WILL OCCASIONALLY BE REMINDED HOW IT ALL BEGAN IN THE MID 1970'S, WITH MY FIRST PAID WRITING GIG. A YOUNG JIMMY OLSEN WITHOUT A SUPERMAN CAPE. I HAD THIS TYPEWRITER AND A BEAT UP OLD DATSUN….THAT WAS AS BIG AS A PHONE BOOTH. AND FIVE BUCKS LEFT AT THE END OF THE WEEK TO GET WILD AND CRAZY.

     IT WAS IN NOVEMBER 2011 THAT I BEGAN WRITING A DAILY BLOG. I HAD BEEN WRITING A BLOG PREVIOUSLY, DEALING WITH THE ISSUES OF SOUTH MUSKOKA GENERALLY, GRAVENHURST SPECIFICALLY. WHEN I BEGAN TAPPING AWAY AT THIS KEYBOARD DAILY, I WAS RE-LIVING MY OWN EARLY DAYS OF JOURNALISM, WITH MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, AND MY YEARS WITH THE HERALD-GAZETTE, THE MUSKOKA SUN, THE MUSKOKA ADVANCE, THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, MUSKOKA TODAY, THER WAYBACK TIMES, THE BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER, AND THE GRAVENHURST BANNER. I ENJOYED THOSE YEARS BUT I WASN'T A GOOD EMPLOYEE. I COULDN'T, AS THEY SAY  TOE THE LINE; EVEN IF MY TOE HAD BEEN NAILED TO THAT SAME LINE. I WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS TO EVERY PUBLISHER BACK IN THOSE DAYS, AND I DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS RIGHT EDITORIALLY, WHICH TO MY CREDIT, EARNED ME THE DISTINCTION OF NEVER HAVING BEEN SUED, OR GETTING THE NEWSPAPERS, I WAS ASSOCIATED WITH, IN ANY LEGAL TROUBLE BECAUSE OF MY INACCURATE REPORTING. I NAVIGATED THE HERALD-GAZETTE THROUGH SOME PRECARIOUS WATERS BACK IN THE 1980'S, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE MOST AGGRESSIVE NEWSPAPER COMPETITION IN THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA MEDIA. YOU HAD TO BE AGGRESSIVE BUT YOU COULD NEVER BE WRONG, OR YOU'D PUT THE NEWSPAPER IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY. THERE WASN'T A WEEK THAT WENT BY, THAT I WASN'T ACUTELY AWARE JUST HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO BE COMPETITIVE…..AND PICK UP SUBSCRIPTIONS, TO KEEP OUR ADVERTISERS HAPPY WITH PAID CIRCULATION NUMBERS, WITHOUT GETTING TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE OF THE BOTTOMLESS ABYSS……OF A MAJOR LAWSUIT, BY FLIRTING WITH "THE RISQUE."

     I WASN'T SORRY TO LEAVE THAT ERA OF WRITING BEHIND. I WANTED TO BE A FEATURE WRITER, OR A BASIC WEEKLY COLUMNIST, AND SO I DECLINED TO JOIN ANY OTHER PUBLICATION AS PAID STAFF IN THE 1990'S ONWARD, PREFERRING INSTEAD TO WRITE FOR EXPOSURE, AND MY ENJOYMENT. SINCE THE SUMMER OF 1990, I HAVE HAD AN ENJOYABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL THE PUBLISHERS I'VE WORKED WITH, AND HELPED OUT WITH COPY DEMANDS, WITHOUT EVER BEING COMPELLED TO ATTEND MEETINGS WITH THE RESPECTIVE EDITORS. THE LAST MEETING I WENT TO, AFTER I HAD ASKED TO BE REASSIGNED TO THE POSITION OF ASSISTANT EDITOR, OF THE MUSKOKA SUN, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ROBERT J. BOYER, (I WAS A STAY-AT-HOME DAD), THE EDITOR OF THE WHOLE OUTFIT, MISTAKENLY REFERRED TO ALL STAFF WRITERS AS "FLOWERS," "THAT NEEDED TO BE NURTURED….. TO MAKE US BETTER AT OUR JOBS." I TOOK THE CHAP ASIDE, (AND I MAY HAVE CALLED HIM LES NESMAN, OF "WKRP IN CINCINATTI ), LETTING HIM KNOW THAT IF HE EVER REFERRED TO ME AS A "FLOWER TO NURTURE," AGAIN, HE COULD TAKE HIS JOB….AND YOU KNOW THE REST. HE MADE SOME OTHER RIDICULOUS STATEMENT, I FOUND HUGELY OFFENSIVE, FOR MY TENURE TO THAT POINT, AND I LET HIM KNOW THAT I COULDN'T POSSIBLY WORK THERE ANY LONGER, AS IT WOULD LEAD TO MY EVENTUAL SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION….AND THAT WOULDN'T BE GOOD FOR ANY ONE. INCLUDING MY TWO BOYS WHO NEEDED THEIR MR. MOM AT HOME.

     NOW I WRITE FOR TWO WONDERFULLY PLEASANT PUBLISHERS, AT "CURIOUS;THE TOURIST GUIDE," (YOU CAN ACCESS ONLINE), AND "THE GREAT NORTH ARROW," FROM DOWNTOWN OR UPTOWN DUNCHURCH, ONTARIO. THEY ARE GREAT FOLKS TO WORK FOR, AND THEY HAVE NEVER ONCE REFERRED TO ME AS A FLOWER THAT HAD TO BE NURTURED. I THANK THEM FOR THIS, AND THEY GET THE BEST OF THE BEST THAT I CAN STILL MUSTER, FROM BIRCH HOLLOW.

     A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, SON ROBERT, WHO IS MY COMPUTER GEEK, AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATE IN ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, SUGGESTED THAT I SHOULD TRY WRITING A BLOG. WELL, I NEVER DO THINGS IN A SMALL WAY…..LIKE TIM TAYLOR OF THE OLD SITCOM, "HOME IMPROVEMENT." SO I HAD FIVE BLOG-SITES, REFLECTING MY MOODS OF WRITING. SOMETIMES I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT HANDWRITTEN RECIPES, AND AT OTHER TIMES I NEEDED TO WRITE ABOUT GHOSTS, AFTER STRANGE ENCOUNTERS. IF I WAS FEELING A LITTLE NOSTALGIC, I'D PUT SOME TIME INTO RECOLLECTIONS ABOUT GROWING UP IN BRACEBRIDGE. "MUSKOKA AS WALDEN," WAS MY BLOG TO USE WHEN I WAS "PINING FOR THE FJORDS," (TAKEN FROM A MONTY PYTHON SKIT), AND MY GRAVENHURST, HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE SITE, WAS TO WAX POLITICAL WHEN NOT POETIC. IT BEGAN AS A CRITIQUE OF LOCAL AFFAIRS, AND IT MORPHED INTO REGIONAL HISTORIES, AND NOW INTO AN ANTIQUE BIOGRAPHY…..THE ONE I FELT WAS LONG OVERDUE, AND SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO LEAVE MY SONS WHEN THIS  OLDTIMER MAKES HIS LAST ANTIQUE PURCHASE….OR SALE, WHICH EVER COMES FIRST.

     I BEGAN IN NOVEMBER OF 2011 WITH ONLY A FEW HITS (READERS) EACH DAY. BY CHRISTMAS I WAS LUCKY TO GET FORTY, AND BY JANUARY OF 2012, WHEN I STARTED WRITING ABOUT ANTIQUES FOR A TAD, MY NUMBERS STARTED TO INCREASE CONSISTENTLY DAY AFTER DAY. WHEN I WROTE AN ONLINE BIOGRAPHY OF MUSKOKA ARTIST, RICHARD KARON, (BAYSVILLE), I JUMPED TO BETWEEN SEVENTY AND ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY EACH DAY. BUT BY THE LATE AUTUMN OF 2012, I HAD JUMPED TO BETWEEN THREE HUNDRED AND FIVE HUNDRED A DAY, WITHOUT THE USE OF NUDITY OR MENTIONING NAMES OF HOLLYWOOD OR MUSIC CELEBRITIES, JUST TO BUMP UP THE DAILY HITS. NOW AT THE FIRST OF MAY, STILL WRITING THIS BLOG ON A DAILY BASIS, I AVERAGE SIX HUNDRED PER DAY, AND HAVE HAD A RECORD OF EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY, NOTCHED IN THE LAST MONTH. PART OF THIS I HAVE TO CREDIT TO THE OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHY OF FAMILY FRIEND, FRED SCHULZ, WHO HAS BEEN HELPING ME ILLUSTRATE MY "MUSKOKA AS WALDEN," SITE…..AND I'VE BEEN SNITCHING A FEW EXTRAS TO HEAD THIS DAILY BLOG…..BECAUSE I BELIEVE HE IS ONE OF THE FINEST PHOTOGRAPHERS WORKING IN THE DISTRICT TODAY…..AND A CHAP WHO HAS CAPTURED A GREAT DEAL OF MUSKOKA HISTORY OVER FORTY YEARS, OF ALWAYS BEING CAMERA-READY. SO I WOULD BE NEGLECTFUL NOT TO MENTION, THE CONTRIBUTION HE HAS MADE TO THIS ENTERPRISE, OVER THE PAST MONTH OF OUR MOST RECENT COLLABORATION. YOU KNOW, FRED'S A GOOD FRIEND AND A GOOD SPORT, AND I'M DRIVING HIM NUTS, BY USING FOUR TO SIX PHOTOS A NIGHT. POOR GUY. WHEN HE AGREED, HE UNDERSTOOD IT WAS GOING TO BE ONE PHOTO FOR ONE BLOG EACH DAY. LIKE I MENTIONED EARLY ON, I'M A LITTLE UNPREDICTABLE THIS WAY…..BUT I MEAN WELL.

     SO IT IS A RE-GENERATING SORT OF EVENT, TO BE ABLE TO SAY I'VE HIT THE 100,000 MARK, IN DAY TO DAY WRITING SINCE NOVEMBER 2011. BUT HONESTLY, THE REAL BOOM HAS COME IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE VISITED THIS COLUMN ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK, OR EVEN DAILY, AND BELIEVE ME, IN THE WRITING PROFESSION, HAVING AN AUDIENCE IS, WELL, THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS. SO IT IS MY JOB TO PROVIDE SOME INTERESTING MATERIAL, AND I'M THE KIND OF WRITER WHO LIKES TO FLY BY THE SEAT OF HIS PANTS……AND MOST OF THIS IS INDEED, THAT SPONTANEOUS. I DON'T SIT DOWN WITH ROUGH NOTES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WILL WRITE ABOUT UNTIL MY FINGERS HIT THIS KEYBOARD, AND MY WIFE KNOWS THIS WELL……BECAUSE OCCASIONALLY, I HAVE THE KIND OF BLOCK THAT FORCES ME TO SING TO MYSELF, DRUM ON MY DESKTOP, AND TALK TO NO ONE IN PARTICULAR, UNTIL THE CREATIVE JUICES START FLOWING.

     SO SPONTANEOUSLY, AND OFTEN THE RESULT OF TAPPING INTO A CREATIVE POOL I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD, AT THAT MOMENT, I START WRITING IN UPPER CASE, AND GET SO FREAKING CARRIED AWAY, I FORGET TO DROP THE CAPS. THIS IS THE CASE IN POINT TODAY. I'M BUZZED BY HAVING HAD A GOOD DAY OUT ON THE "YE OLDE" ANTIQUE HUNT AND GATHER, AND FEELING ENTIRELY UPBEAT, ABOUT HAVING REACHED THIS LITTLE MILESTONE OF READERSHIP. SOMETIME AGO, I ASKED IF SOMEONE OUT THERE HAD A MILLION BUCKS TO INVEST IN A NEWSPAPER, SUGGESTING THAT I WOULD GLADLY WORK, FOR A SMALL WAGE, JUST TO SIT IN THAT EDITOR'S CHAIR ONCE AGAIN. I LOVED BEING EDITOR. BUT YOU KNOW, WITH THE PUBLICATIONS I CURRENTLY WRITE FOR, THE BLOGS, AND THE FREELANCE WRITING THESE DAYS (JUST FINISHED A MAJOR HISTORY FOR A SPORTING ORGANIZATION), I'M PRETTY CONTENT TO SPEND THE REST OF MY DAYS DOING THIS WONDERFUL "SAME OLD, SAME OLD." I'M AN ANTIQUE DEALER. "OLD" IS WHAT I DO TO MAKE A LIVING. IT WORKS IN WRITING AS WELL.

     MAYBE IF I ACHIEVE A MILLION HITS, I MIGHT MENTION THIS IN PASSING…..CASUALLY, NONCHALANTLY, JUST BECAUSE IT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL GOOD, THAT WITHOUT BEING NURTURED BY A DING-DONG EDITOR, I HAD HIT THE NOSE-BLEED SECTION OF WRITING ACCOMPLISHMENT. OTHERWISE, I WILL JUST CARRY-ON, AND BE VERY THANKFUL ABOUT HAVING NICE FOLKS LIKE YOU, WILLING TO TRUST A NON-BLOOMING FLOWER-GUY LIKE ME, TO SPIN A GOOD STORY NOW AND AGAIN. IT IS A PLEASURE SERVING YOU…..I AM YOUR SERVANT.

A FIND IN A PAWN SHOP - WHERE?

     I've been visiting pawn and hock shops, as an antique and collectable dealer, since I began in this profession, back in the mid 1970's. I used to visit them in Florida, when I was with my parents on holidays. I used to visit dozens when I was living in Toronto, during my university years, but I never hockey my typewriter for booze, like Ray Milland, in the movie "The Lost Weekend."

     There are a lot of antique collectors and dealers, who have just gasped (I heard them), with this admission that I shop regularly at places where people turn, as a last resort, to pawn stuff…..including family heirlooms. I've talked to quite a few dealers, who don't share my interest whatsoever, and even on a dare, wouldn't visit one of these shops because of this negative connotation. There is the perception that everything they sell is "hot," having been stolen from someone, or some business, house or cottage. It's not to say they haven't been subject to investigations, for these kind of situations, but by and large, I find staff in these businesses to be quite reliable and very honest. And generally very thorough when people come in to pawn items. We are voyeurs all the time. We pay attention to all transactions within ear-shot, because it is our advantage, to know as much as possible, about the way these shops conduct routine business. We feel more comfortable knowing just how thorough shop staff is, on these purchases; some which we are of course interested in ourselves.

    We of course are fussy about who we will deal with, and make at least ten trips in, to investigate, before we actually buy our first pieces. For about nine years we've been actively buying from these pawn style shops, and there has only been one occasion, when there was a problem, and that was handled immediately, and without any argument. They had sold something that had been stolen, and we had been the unsuspecting purchasers. The shop co-operated with the police in this case, and they refunded our purchase price immediately, with an apology. When we had guitars stolen from our shop, a number of years ago, we put a call out to regional swap and hock shops, and within 48 hours, we got calls back from the shops where the perpetrator had gone to flog them for a quick profit. The materials were returned to us quickly.

      It is unfortunate when someone is forced to sell off cherished, heirloom pieces, because of a financial pinch. Geez, when I was a starting dealer, this used to happen all the time. I just didn't go to pawn shops, because we didn't have any locally. I just put sales on, in our shop, with give-away prices, so that I could pay rent, and buy some groceries. A shortage of cash does this to people, and whether it is an antique shop selling wares, because a client needed to raise some quick money, or a hock shop doing the same, why wouldn't we….as collectors and dealers, take a little sneak peek to see if there's something we might like?

     Today was a good example, of reasons you should visit these kind of second hand shops. I was able to pick up a rare "22.25 inch long oak antique wine casket barrel," worth between $200 and $400 based on condition. This one is missing the tap, but has the apparatus to plug the hole. It was sitting in the window of a little pawn shop in our region of Ontario, and the owner didn't know what it was…..and suggested it would come back into shape if we soaked it in oil. Wrong answer. But it demonstrated why he had under-priced it by at least three hundred percent, based on the fact he didn't know it was for wine….or water, but definitely not oil. The price was more than right. It was generously low. Similar ones were used on sailing ships, and could even hold water. To get this piece back in shape, it needs to have some water put back inside, so the oak will swell and seal the casket. This is the kind of antique you can find in these shops, brought in from someone's household to sell or hock. And sometimes the items hocked aren't picked up, and can be sold-off later. These shops are a fact of life and times, and we're in that kind of business, dealing with facts, fortunate and unfortunate. We even hate going to estate sales and auctions, when family is bidding alongside us for heirloom pieces. But I've gotten used to this, and all the sentiment that goes along with it. I've been in the same situation myself, and yup, it sucks. But we'd be shortchanging our businesses out of a lot of inventory, if we didn't prep ourselves to deal with these kind of emotional, sentimental issues. So I was really pleased to find this interesting piece, and it will be passed on to a collector who will cherish and look after its well being in the future. So the piece is going to be conserved and survive……and be on display, despite where it has travelled, and with a piece like this, potentially on the seven seas……all over the place.

         Thanks for visiting today, on what I'm feeling is a banner day for being a writer, with so many friends; and an antique dealer, who gets ethereal pleasure, roaming around the countryside, looking for the holy grail. See you again soon.

Please visit my other blog at http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/

Suzanne Currie's Cookery Nookery Officially Launched!

THE COOKERY NOOKERY WILL BE A FULFILLMENT OF TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF PLANNING

THE COOKERY RESOURCE COLLECTION BEING FINALIZED

     FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO READ THIS BLOG REGULARLY, YOU MAY APPRECIATE THAT, LIKE MANY ANTIQUE DEALERS (AND YOU MAY BELONG TO THAT ILK YOURSELF), I AM NOT DISCIPLINED WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT I HUNT AND GATHER. AS A GENERALIST DEALER SINCE 1977, TO THE PRESENT, I HAVE OPERATED ON THE SIMPLE PLAN, THAT I PURCHASE WHAT CATCHES MY ATTENTION IN THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE DOMAIN; FOR THE PRICE I CAN AFFORD.

    AS FOR WHAT IS IN-BOUNDS, AS FAR AS WHAT COLLECTABLES ARE MOST KEENLY "SOUGHT AFTER," IT IS A MONSTROUSLY HUGE ZONE, AND WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING A SMALL SHOP, WITH A LARGE AUDIENCE, IT'S BLOODY DIFFICULT TO PLEASE EVERYONE. FOR ECONOMIC REASONS, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO PLEASE MOST OF YOUR AUDIENCE. THE REASON I'VE BEEN A GENERALIST FOR SO LONG, IS THAT I LIVE IN AN AREA THAT HAS A HUGE TOURIST ECONOMY. WE HAVE  A CRAZY PERIOD OF TIME, FROM THE FIRST OF JULY UNTIL LABOUR DAY, EVERY YEAR, THAT DEMANDS WE MAKE THE MOST OUT OF THE SHORT ECONOMIC BOOM. IF WE WERE SPECIALIZED TO JUST OLD BOOKS, OR QUILTS, ART, OR PRESSED GLASS, WE WOULD BE OUT OF BUSINESS BY THE START OF SEPTEMBER. THERE HAVE BEEN THOSE WHO HAVE TRIED TO SPECIALIZE, BUT WHEN THEY GOT INTO TROUBLE, THEY DID WHAT WE ALL HAVE HAD TO RESOLVE, TO KEEP THE CASH REGISTERS RINGING. MAKE SURE THAT ALONG WITH YOUR SPECIALTY INVENTORY, YOU HAVE A GOOD SMATTERING OF GENERAL ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, SO THAT IF THE HOUSE-SPECIALS DON'T SELL, THE PINE CUPBOARDS, OLD CHAIRS, HARVEST TABLES, BUTTONS, BOWS, AND KITCHEN MEMORABILIA WILL……ENOUGH FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO GET GROCERIES AND PAY THE RENT.

   SELLING YOUR SPECIALTY ITEMS WILL OCCUR ANYWAY, AND THEY ARE GREAT TO HAVE AS BUSINESS PILLARS, BUT IN A SEASONAL ECONOMY LIKE OURS, YOU CAN'T AFFORD MISSED DAYS DURING THE TWO BUSIEST MONTHS. TO SOME ANTIQUE DEALERS I'VE KNOWN, THEY HATE THE IDEA OF HAVING TO RESORT TO THE COMMONALITIES OF THE ANTIQUE TRADE, AND PREFERRED TO CONTINUE INVESTING THEIR MONEY, WHERE THEY WERE MOST COMFORTABLE. THEY HAD A FIRM BELIEF, THAT IF CUSTOMERS WERE TO PASS THE WORD AROUND, THAT THEY HAD FOUND A MUSKOKA BUSINESS, WITH A HUGE INVENTORY OF DEPRESSION GLASS, FOR EXAMPLE, EVERYONE WHO COLLECTS DEPRESSION GLASS, WOULD COME BY THE BUS-LOAD TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SPECIALTY OFFERING. A FEW OF THESE FOLKS HAVE COME BACK TO TALK TO ME, ABOUT THE FAILINGS OF THAT PARTICULAR IDEA. NOT THAT IT'S A BAD IDEA, REALLY, JUST ONE THAT PRESENTS CHALLENGES IN A TOURIST BASED ECONOMY. IT MIGHT WORK BETTER ON A CITY LANDSCAPE, WHERE THE YEAR-ROUND CLIENTELE IS MORE SUBSTANTIAL, AND COLLECTORS MORE NUMEROUS.

     AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, WHEN ANTIQUE DEALERS SET UP SHOP IN MUSKOKA, THEY ARE MOST OFTEN AWARE, THAT THE SUMMER SEASON IS GOING TO DECIDE THEIR FUTURE. AND THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. I HATE TO ADMIT THIS, BECAUSE I WANT IT TO BE DIFFERENT, BUT WE COULDN'T SURVIVE OURSELVES, WITHOUT OUR OUT-OF-TOWN CUSTOMERS. A LOT OF LOCALS FEEL WE ARE A "TOURIST TRAP," FROM THE GET-GO, AND WOULD RATHER SHOP FOR THEIR ANTIQUES ANYWHERE BUT HERE. IT'S A LONG STORY, BUT PART OF THE PROBLEM OF BEING IN A SEASONAL ECONOMY, THAT DOES CATER TO VISITORS. WHICH IS A SEVERAL CENTURY TRADITION, BY THE  WAY. WE HAVE ESTIMATED THAT LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT OF OUR RETAIL BUSINESS, COMES FROM OUR HOME TOWN. IT'S KIND OF SAD WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, BUT THE OUT OF TOWN CONNECTIONS WE HAVE MADE, MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR THIS, AND IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS, THAT WE HAVE OPTED TO TAKE A BIGGER STEP AT DEVELOPING AN OUT-OF-DISTRICT PRESENCE, IN THE COOKERY END OF ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, AND THE FOOD INDUSTRY ITSELF. WHILE I'M CRAPPY AT SPECIALIZING, I'M ALSO A SUCKER FOR A CHALLENGE. WHILE I'M NEVER GOING TO ALLOW OUR ENTERPRISE TO BE DOMINATED BY ONE DISCIPLINE, OR ONE ASPECT OF THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE FIELD, WE REALIZE THAT, IF WE WANT TO DO THIS FOR THE LONG-TERM, WITHOUT FEARING A SLACKING OFF OF RETAIL SALES, WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO GET HOLD OF SOMETHING ELSE, AND DO IT REALLY WELL……SUCH THAT IT WILL SOON HAVE A PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL IDENTITY. NO SMALL ORDER FOR HUSBAND AND WIFE, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS HISTORY AND ANTIQUE THING SINCE WE GOT HITCHED. SO TO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN PULL THIS SPECIALTY THING OFF, AND PROFITABLY, REQUIRES THAT WE PUT ALL OUR LIFE, BUSINESS AND COLLECTING EXPERIENCES TOGETHER, AND BRAVELY GO WHERE NO CURRIE HAS GONE BEFORE.

OUR NEWEST ENTERPRISE

     I was unable to get on the computer this evening, at my usual time, which has delayed my other online work as well. But it was a worthwhile delay. Suzanne has finally been able to register her new business venture in "old stuff," which she has called "Suzanne Currie's Cookery Nookery," the result of about 27 years of collecting and cooking, and being in the antique profession. Our previous business was known as Birch Hollow Antiques, which we maintain as my covering business name; but it reflects my general interests in collecting, that of course, I'll still be able to offer my customers. Suzanne is in a position now, as a retiring teacher, to be finally able to fulfill a nearly three-decade-old ambition, to specialize in cookery heritage, as part of our overall commitment to the antique profession. She will get to be part archivist, part collector, a little bit of a librarian…..which is right up her alley, and public speaker if required.

    She has been looking forward to this business expansion for some obvious reasons, which we'll call a passion for cooking, and culinary arts traditions, but pretty much because this is something for her to be boss of……and dictate to me what goes in the shop, and what gets chucked into the discount bin. In our longstanding antique business, it was largely my enterprise that she helped with, and I want to stress this carefully, so there is no confusion (should you be discussing this with here later); she made my business successful because she's a very astute retailer, and good at presentation and sales. But it wasn't hers to nurture. This new venture allows her to develop the interests she has had in cooking, since childhood, into something tangible, other than what we Curries benefit from, at meal time. She likes cooking and we sure as heck love eating. What pleases me the most about her new venture, that has today become fact, is that she will appreciate the ownership of the good work she does, to get it going…..without having to share credit with a glory hound like me, who is always glad handing and looking for a byline. When folks have called us about antiques, they don't ask to speak with her, which, as an equal partner, has always been a little frustrating. The fact is, Suzanne is a much better hunter for china, heritage fabric, old blankets, including Birds (Bracebridge) and Hudson's Bay, glass, and kitchen nostalgia. I fail miserably in these categories. I'm an art, book and primitives enthusiast, and general collectables. I will buy collectable bottle openers, but Suzanne wouldn't waste her hunting time, with such trivial pursuit. Which is good, because then we don't trip over each other at flea markets and yard sales.

     Suzanne's favorite television shows, are the TVO (Ontario) Christmas season feature series, from England, such as the re-living of "a Victorian Christmas," and others, where a crew of re-enactors bring back all the traditions of these times, with a special component based on the culinary arts of each period in history……Medieval to Edwardian. We've watched them all, and this has been one of the major influences on her desire to start such an "in-time," contemporary business and service, based on the best of the past. We are both long-serving Muskoka historians, and Suzanne has been my long-suffering research assistant, and co-author on several dozen major research projects, including some of our outreach lectures at museums on the topic of cookery heritage. Suzanne used to do demonstrations on such components of pioneer cookery, as butter making, which at times, would have forty to fifty kids, and parents, eagerly hovering over her. Once, we had lost the services of my mother to babysit, and Suzanne had to take Robert, in a snuggly, while making butter. I was the acting manager, so I had to do my rounds with Andrew in tow. And we've done demonstrations at the Muskoka Lakes Museum in Port Carling as well, and being a teacher, has certainly helped her ability to command an audience. She has a lot of fun at the same time, which is really the whole idea behind this latest venture. It's a business on one hand, but most of us in the antique related trade, never get caught up on just the money showing at the end of the day. Everything we do to improve our business, is an investment in a future valuation. We've both committed to seeing this project through, and we've both taken an oath, that no matter how tough it gets building this collection, we're going to improve constantly. As pretty serious book collectors, having had mentorship from some well appointed bibliophiles imbedded in the discipline, we feel we have served our apprenticeship, and are ready to cut loose.

     I'm as proud as Suzanne is tonight, in the realization of this little dream come true. To some readers it will seem a trivial thing, unworthy of so many words to describe its inception. If however, you have similar aspirations in the antique and collectable profession, then you might just look at this as a real learning experience…..because I'm not a "good time was had by all" writer. If we have pitfalls, disasters, shortfalls, shortcomings, and pains in the bum, getting it all together, I won't hide this fact. Suzanne won't deny problems that have arisen, because she feels it's important to be a good mentor and role model, to others interested in something similar in the future. If you can learn by our mistakes, then it means our follies weren't without some benefit. We understand the serious shortfall in mentoring in the antique trade, and as veterans of the profession, we would love to be able to lend some advice on the dos and don't of establishing a business like ours……generalist in inventory, for fifty percent of the business…..specialist for fifty percent of the business. It is our outrigger for shoulder season slowdowns, because the cookery heritage theme, has an international audience, and we collect globally significant cookbooks when available. As I've mentioned previously, our major theme, to commence, will be Canadiana, with a strong regional representation. We will expand over time, to reflect a more global knowledge in cookery traditions. We didn't expect to have this done completely by the first of July this year. We know we are looking at potentially, a five year mission, to get that kind of international repertoire. Please be patient with us, because it's going to be a learning experience to the exponent of ten. As one of the star book collectors out there, boy oh boy, have I got my work cut out for me. I'm good at what I do, with non-fiction, but I've never had to put the blinkers on before, and looked specifically for cookbooks on Suzanne's want list. I'll let you know how I do, and if I suck at it, I'll share my disasters out on the book hunt. Consider it the how-to, and how not to, of establishing a cook book resource collection as a business.

     I have now, like joining the French Foreign Legion, imbedded myself into something of my wife's design, falling back on my stubborn, bibliophile determination, to come back with what I was sent to uncover. I'd hate to have to admit to you kind folks, that I've been fired for being an inconsistent book hound……of which I've never failed in over thirty years buying and selling old and antiquarian books. Truth be known, I am a little nervous, because if I fail, she doesn't have another bibliomaniac to call upon, to fill the book shelves. Hey, when I played goal, for a dozen hockey teams, I was most often the only netminder dressed for the game. That was in the good old days, when the goalie was bandaged up, and sent back to the crease after all injuries. So I know what it's like to work without a back-up. The team is counting on me, so I'd better deliver. I'll give you a play by play when we get rolling here….so you can judge for yourself, if Currie is just a mouthpiece, a showoff, a grandstander, a jerk…….or a guy who can deliver on a promise.

     Thanks for joining today's blog. I hope you can remember the name "Cookery Nookery," and what it might be able to offer the foodies reading this blog…..come the first of July this year. See you again soon.

Please visit my other blog http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/

The Allure of Well Constructed Antique Cupboard

THE BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED ANTIQUES WE COME UPON ON OUR TRAVELS

LEFT BREATHLESS AFTER A GOOD FIND

     ONE ASPECT OF THE ANTIQUE TRADE, THAT I'VE NEGLECTED TO WRITE ABOUT TO THIS POINT, IS REALLY A FUNDAMENTAL, FOUNDATION QUANTITY AND QUALITY; TO THE WAY MANY OF US FOUND SANCTUARY, AS INDUSTRY FOUNDLINGS, IN THIS HISTORIC AND TRADITIONAL LINE OF WORK. IT IS THE DIVIDE ACTUALLY, BETWEEN THE ANTIQUE COLLECTOR / ADMIRER, AND THE PROFESSIONAL WHO NEEDS TO TURN A PROFIT. WHEN WE THINK BACK TO HOW WE GOT STARTED IN THIS LINE OF WORK, MOST FROM MY VINTAGE, WERE ATTRACTED BY COMPARISONS TO OTHER LESS EXCITING PROFESSIONS. OVERWHELMINGLY SO. AS IF WE WERE OLD SOULS IN NEW BODIES, WE LIKED WHAT CAME BEFORE OUR PHYSICAL SELVES, MORE THAN WHAT WAS THE TREND OF THE DAY. WE LIKED THE POSSESSIONS AND KEEPSAKES THAT WE SAW IN OUR GRANDPARENTS' HOMES, AND FOUND WHAT OUR PARENTS KEPT AS HOUSEHOLD FURNISHINGS AND DECORATION, RATHER BORING AND UNINTERESTING.

    MY PARENTS, THROUGH MY YOUNG LIFE, WERE OF A CONTEMPORARY MINDSET, WHEN IT CAME TO WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE HOUSE. I CAN LOOK BACK AT PICTURES, AND SEE THAT NOTHING IN THEIR FIRST APARTMENT, SMACKED OF EITHER YESTERDAY'S MEMORABILIA OR DEMONSTRATED, EVEN WITH ONE RANDOM PIECE, ANY PARTICULAR ANTIQUE VALUE. THERE WAS ONE PAINTING THEN, DONE BY WILLIAM KRANLEY, WHO MY MOTHER HAD WORKED FOR, AT THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF ART ONE SUMMER. OR AT LEAST THIS IS THE STORY SHE TOLD ME. THAT PAINTING OF AN AUTUMN SCENE, HANGS ABOUVE MY DESK, IN THIS PORTAL AT BIRCH HOLLOW.

     PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE COLLECTED ALBUMS OF FAMILY LIFE AND TIMES, THROUGH THE DECADES, UP TO AND INCLUDING THIS NEW CENTURY, CLEARLY SHOW THAT MY PARENTS, WHO LIVED WELL INTO THEIR EIGHTIES, WERE FOLLOWERS OF THE TIMES. WHEN THOSE TIMES ELAPSED, AND THE TREND CHANGED, MY MOTHER LED THE CHARGE TO BUY NEW. THIS IS A WOMAN, WHO ONE DAY, THREW OUT TWO BEAUTIFUL PRESS BACK CHAIRS WE OWNED, AND A CHINA CUPBOARD SHE HAD PURCHASED SECOND HAND, FROM A MOVING SALE IN THE EARLY 1970'S. SHE GAVE THAT AWAY TO A FAMILY FRIEND. I LOVED THOSE PIECES. I USED THOSE TWO CHAIRS IN MY BEDROOM, FOR MY HOCKEY GAME, UNTIL ONE DAY, SHE JUST DECIDED TO UNLOAD THE OLD, AND BRING IN THE NEW. I WAS HORRIFIED. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD BE TRAUMATIZED, COMING HOME FROM A STAY ELSEWHERE (UNIVERSITY FOR ME), AND FIND THAT THE ANTIQUES WERE CAST-OFF WITHOUT ANY CONSULTATION, OR CONSIDERATION, FOR YOUR INTERESTS IN KEEPING THEM FOR THE FUTURE.

     SO MY PARENTS WERE MORE INTERESTED IN THE IMPROVEMENTS OF THE DAY. THEY LIVED THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR, AND SUBSISTED ON A MODEST ECONOMY; BOTH WORKING FOR MOST OF THEIR LIVES TO MAINTAIN A MODEST EXISTENCE. THEY LOVED THEIR WINTER TRIPS TO FLORIDA, WHERE THEY RENTED A SMALL EFFICIENCY CABIN, IN DAYTONA BEACH. OTHER THAN BUYING NEW STUFF FOR THEIR TINY BRACEBRIDGE APARTMENT, THIS WAS THEIR GREAT EXTRAVAGANCE. BUT HONESTLY, THEY THOUGHT I WAS MAD….A REAL NUTTER, TO BE INTERESTED IN ANTIQUES. I CAN ONLY EXPLAIN MY PARENTS DISLIKE FOR OLD THINGS, SUCH AS ANTIQUE FURNISHINGS, AS BEING PERCEIVED TO BE OBSTACLES TO BEING IN STEP WITH EVERYONE ELSE. EXCEPT ME OF COURSE, AND MY ANTIQUE CRONIES. IN THE EARLY 1970'S, MY FATHER HAD LONG HAIR. FOR A MANAGER OF A LUMBER COMPANY, IT WAS A LITTLE WEIRD. MY MOTHER WORE SHORT SKIRTS AND HAD DYED BLOND HAIR. THEY EMBRACED CONTEMPORARY TIMES, WHILE I WAS MUCH HAPPIER GOING BACK IN TIME, AND SURROUNDING MYSELF WITH REMNANTS OF THE PAST INSTEAD.

     One of my keenest interests, was in the quality craftsmanship of a bygone era. When I would come upon a one hundred and fifty year old cupboard, and see the saw marks on the side, and the exceptional way it had been constructed, I was enthralled to have it in my collection. I once had this early craftsmanship explained to me, by a new age furniture maker, who was following the traditional way of cabinetry, as practiced in small workshops around the world for centuries.

    He explained to me how the early craftsman understood, like a fine violin maker, the true nature of the wood being used. He showed me how the cabinet doors, on a handcrafted cupboard, of about two hundred years of age, worked as precisely, in opening and closing, as they would have, on the day it was first carted from the workshop. It was the case, where these pioneer woodworkers, understood the conditions of the day, and the inconsistencies of the building's these furniture pieces would be housed. In other words, the furniture, like this cupboard, was crafted with the knowledge, they would be kept in buildings without adequate heating sources, plagued by dry conditions at times, damp and cold conditions most often. At night time, the fires in the home hearth and stove, would dry out the air, and would reach substantial temperatures before it was time for the residents to retire to bedlam. The heat would last in the house most of the night, this time of year, but as many old-timers can still remember, there would be ice on the wash basin at bedside, by early morning. These furnishings had to be built, in such a way, as to allow for constant swelling and then contraction. Modern day, factory made furniture, is generally made to handle a moderation of temperature and moisture fluctuations. I've seen new cupboards and dressers, that become swollen, with drawers and cupboards that are stuck, because of a minor shift of atmospheric condition. Old time cabinet makers understood how these wild fluctuations, even in the fine houses of the time period, would affect their furniture creations. So they built them to handle this swelling and contraction, without cracking the wood, and constricting movement of drawers and cupboard doors. They allowed for this, in the hinging together of the wood, and how the doors were hung on the cupboards. They understood what kind of fluctuations the pieces were going to experience over their lifetime of usefulness, so this is how they were built in the first place. The fact that so many of these fine pieces, are still around after centuries of use, is a testament to the fine work of these early cabinet makers. Can we say the same about modern era pieces, many of which were manufactured of boards made out of wood particles, or laminates, covered over with veneers and plastic coating?

     When we come upon one of these true antique pieces of furniture, out on our regular antique hunts, I am compelled to study the workmanship. I can't justify buying every piece I come upon, built to this standard, but as an antique dealer, this is what I want most in my shop. This is the kind of quality I want to offer customers. It's what I want in my own home. Quality is always the best choice when buying, and that ranges from glass, china, pottery, to books, art and furniture. Most self help books, written about collecting, stick to this point as a standard. If you buy items of high quality, at a fair market value, you're guaranteeing, (as much as you can, while speculating on antiques), that your investment will at least hold its level of value. I might pay a little bit more for an antique cupboard I want for our house, but it will do triple service for us over the long-haul. First, it will function more than adequately for the task we assign it; and it will look real nice with the other antiques; and it will hold its value, or increase marginally or greater, for as long as I hang onto it. Unlike the new production line furniture, that is expensive to start with, and will generally lose its value the longer its in your possession. I like buying household items for functionality and investment value. It might fall under the category of used furniture, but not in the same degree that new century pieces are considered "second hand," and sold for a fraction of the cost at yard sales.

     My parents couldn't have cared less about investment value of their furnishings. They were old-timers, who surprisingly wanted a youthful, contemporary look and feel to their apartment. Even though their son, and business partner, was an antique columnist for the local press, and a fledgling dealer, they had no interest in hearing my pitch for buying "old." On the other hand, I have lived with the advantages of buying heritage furniture and decorations for our abode, as well as for our antique business, and benefitted in many ways as a curator of my own museum. It's exactly what Merle and Ed hated about old stuff…..as if they wanted liberation from the bad stuff of history…..and this I understood. My dad had seen the horrors of war up close, and my mother and her family had suffered during the Great Depression. History had not been kind to them, so they had no interest in surrounding themselves, with reminders of what they had lived through. Suzanne's parents, on the other hand, were quite content and proud, to have heirloom pieces in their Windermere home. Each piece had a story attached…….a family provenance, and I was in heaven each time I visited. Many of those pieces are in our possession now, and we are just as proud and respectful, as they were…..and those who had enjoyed them previously, some since the late 1800's.

     Quality workmanship, whether visible on a handmade quilt, or in the painting hanging on my wall, is what attracted me to antiques and collectables in the first place. I didn't like the cheaply crafted pieces from my vintage, that while certainly nostalgic today (as seen on That 70's Show), doesn't inspire me to re-live my youth in their company. I will sell these pieces……but they won't be found in our house, where even the most primitive of items, attracts me, more than any manufactured furniture, hammered together by the thousands, outside of this country, to meet mass market demand. But then I am set in my ways. Whole heartedly, an antique lover, who would, as they say, "rather fight than switch." Wasn't that the slogan for some brand of cigarettes?

     Thanks so much for taking time to visit this blog today. And by the way, as you're probably well aware, there isn't anything so intoxicating to an antique dealer, than the smell of well aged wood, in these magnificent cupboards, dressers and tables. This is my daily connection with the pioneer times I adore. See you again soon. Please visit my Muskoka as Walden at http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/

Salvation Armies Handling Flood Relief, Cookery Will Be Based On Tradition

 SALVATION ARMY TO HELP WITH FLOOD RELIEF IN BRACEBRIDGE AND HUNTSVILLE

VICTIMS NEED ASSISTANCE TO DEAL WITH THEIR LOSSES

    I HAVEN'T HEARD, AS OF YET, WHETHER OR NOT THE SALVATION ARMY, IN GRAVENHURST, WILL BE HELPING TO CO-ORDINATE RELIEF, FOR VICTIMS OF RECENT FLOODING, IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, SUCH AS IN THE SEVERN BRIDGE AREA, WHERE MANY RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN SEVERELY AFFECTED. WE RAN SOME IMAGES TAKEN OF THE AREA, YESTERDAY, AS PHOTOGRAPHED BY FRED SCHULZ. WITH FLOODING IN THE LARGER TOWNS, GETTING MOST OF THE MEDIA ATTENTION, WE WERE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT, WE'VE GOT PARALLEL PROBLEMS IN THIS MUNICIPALITY WITH HIGH WATER…..THAT WASN'T GETTING ANY SERIOUS MENTION, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, AND OF COURSE THOSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SPRING RUN-OFF CALAMITY. THEY NEED HELP AS WELL.

     I HEARD TODAY THAT FLOOD RELIEF CO-ORDINATION WILL BE UNDERTAKEN BY THE SALVATION ARMIES IN BOTH BRACEBRIDGE, AND HUNTSVILLE. THERE ARE QUITE A FEW CITIZENS WHO HAVE BEEN DISPLACED BY THE HIGH WATER FROM THE MUSKOKA RIVER, AND THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED MAJOR DAMAGE AND LOSSES TO THEIR HOMES AND PROPERTY. THIS INCLUDES FOOD IN ADDITION TO LOST CLOTHING AND PERSONAL ITEMS. SOME PROPERTY OWNERS, SUCH AS IN SPRINGDALE PARK, ON HIGHWAY 117, HAVE HAD THEIR HYDRO TURNED OFF FOR MOST OF A WEEK NOW, AND  FOOD PROVISIONS REQUIRING REFRIGERATION WOULD BE LOST NOW. THE FLOODING ISSUE, EVEN IN BRACEBRIDGE, HASN'T BEEN GETTING MUCH COVERAGE IN THE NATIONAL MEDIA IN THE PAST FEW DAYS. DESPITE THE FACT THERE IS STILL A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE. IT IS ALSO REPORTED, WATER IS RISING IN LAKE MUSKOKA, AND THIS MAY BECOME THE NEXT SERIOUS ISSUE, TO FOLLOW WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO THE NORTH. ANY ASSISTANCE YOU CAN OFFER, WOULD BE APPRECIATED, I'M SURE, BY THE PARTICIPATING SALVATION ARMIES. YOU CAN CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY, TO FIND OUT WHAT IS ON THEIR "NEEDS" LIST, AT PRESENT. IT'S REALLY HARD TO KNOW, AT THIS POINT, JUST HOW MANY OF OUR LOCAL CITIZENS HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY COMPROMISED BY THE FLOOD WATER, BUT THIS WILL BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD IN THE NEXT WEEK, AS WATER DOES EVENTUALLY RECEDE. THANKS FOR CARING ABOUT THESE FOLKS. IT MUST BE AWFULLY DISTRESSING, TO BE STARING OUT AT A POWERFUL RIVER AT YOUR DOORSTEP, WONDERING WHAT COMES NEXT. SO FAR HOWEVER, THERE HAVE BEEN NO CASUALTIES, AND OF THIS, WE SHOULD ALL BE THANKFUL.

ONE OR TWO MORE WORDS ABOUT COOKERY HERITAGE COLLECTION

     I began reading cookbooks this past winter. I know you're probably thinking, "the man's a loon." Actually, I found it pretty interesting reading, about a subject I'm awfully close to…..being of course, "food" and lots of it!  I started with a neat little Canadian collection, by well known historian, Dorothy Duncan, and it referenced many of the first of these recipe collections, to be published, even before the arrival of Confederation. I also read numerous other books written about culinary heritage, and I learned a lot about the processed, frozen and canned foods that arrived on store shelves, after the cessation of fighting in the Second World War. I learned how scratch cooking for cakes, was put in a box, so that anyone could successfully bake one. Even a toadstool like me. I read all about the way food manufacturers, and corporations in the food industry, force-fed the North American population on the idea of "TV Dinners" for convenience, of the new age family, where husband and wife now had jobs and a family to look out for……perfect for the development of convenience food.

    It marked the beginning of a great and profound change to cooking in the home, and has led us to this point in history, where it can be said with some accuracy, that these corporations are now cooking for us most of the time. The microwave has in many households, actually replaced the stove as the key appliance at meal time. It is stated by many health experts, that convenience food, with too much of what we don't need…..fat, salt and sugar, is injuring our health. The fast food joints, well, they're the result of our harried lifestyles, and the mindset, that we need to race from here to there and back, because everyone else is doing the same thing. Food that travels well, and can be consumed in transit, and out of a bag, is a trillion dollar business, so it's even kicking the microwave out of the way, for numerous meals each week. Gads, what have when been doing to ourselves?

     In many ways, just so you know, (but I'm sure you can figure it out anyway), our desire to open a cookery heritage reference collection, for fun and a little profit, may also be our failing. At a time when the kitchen stove is a second class appliance, and  processed foods have become a staple, for millions of folks who have, for all intents and purposes, given up scratch cooking, for anything more than the occasional fried eggs, and a little bacon on a Sunday morning. It may be the wrong time to re-introduce some old fashion ideas, about home cooking and its traditions. Maybe we will have several thousands cookbooks that no one will be interested in, and possibly, our collection of old and out-of-print books won't wow a single patron….or convince even one customer, to follow a handwritten recipe from the 1880's, to make a basic chocolate scratch cake…..the way a great-great grandmother might have, on an old cookstove. Maybe we're delusional, thinking that we can inspire folks to over-haul their kitchens, and clear the clutter off their old electric or gas stoves, that they haven't used in years. Possibly we are the kind of romantics, who will build up this collection, only to haul it all home one day, as a sort of unfortunate reminder of the bad investments you can make in the antique trade.

     Today I read Suzanne an interesting article from the newspaper, about a representative from the Agricultural sector, of this fine province, asking the Ministry of Education to re-adopt the Home Economics programs of once, for our high school students today…..some who have no cooking experience whatsoever…..which remains this way right up to graduation. Suzanne was a career Home Economics teacher, back in the good old days, when yes, they did instruct their students on how to prepare a healthy meal. Then the brain trust, decided to revamp the program, and call it Family Studies, with a greatly reduced emphasis on food, and cooking essentials; and today, in many schools, this program has all but disappeared. Yet I hear time and again how the education system in this province is doing so well, with much credit going to the government of the day. "Horse-hockey" I say. Our youth need to know how to cook to survive. As is unfortunately the case, many of their parents at home, also don't know how to cook properly and safely….and rely on microwave ovens to heat packaged convenience foods. Maybe if the only thing we do, is surround ourselves with the wonderful heritage cookery from a distant time and place, it will be worth the effort and expense it has taken so far, to develop this interesting legacy collection.

     The theme behind our resource collection, will be dedicated to the traditions of the kitchen…..the way it was….and the way it still is in our house. We're not big on gourmet foods in our house. Suzanne, carrying some of her teaching into the household, has raised our family on the foundations set out by Canada's Food Guide. Nothing fancy. Good healthy grub. Fruits and vegetables at the forefront. Even when we were broke, which was most of the time, as young parents, with a booming mortgage, Suzanne could make a hardy soup out of discounted vegetables with a beef or chicken broth, that with a big chunk of her fresh bread, kept us from going hungry. It was food preparation as it had been passed down to her, from her mother, Harriett, that she picked up from her mother's farm kitchen in the Village of Ufford, in the present Township of Muskoka Lakes. Even when she was canning in the fall of the year, Suzanne used to have her fondest memories, of how she had worked so many days with her mother, in Windermere, canning provisions for the long winter season. I have to admit, that being in the house during chutney making time, was a constant allure….even days later, as the glorious aroma hung around. I was the official sampler. There were the pickled carrots, beans, peaches, strawberry jams, and salsa. My God, it was beastly being near that kitchen at canning time. I wanted it all.

     What I have just described, is what our cookbook collection and resources will herald for us, as we make it a public presentation. Without apology, it will draw on our family's passion for cookery traditions, and will be characterized by our own desire to have heavy representation, in our collection, of recipes, many handwritten, that do go back to the homestead era of our region, and our province. We will eventually have ample Canadiana included in this collection, which we hope will become of national significance one day…….such that a museum may wish to carry on where we have left off. Above all, it will reflect our long-time interest in antiques and collectables, and we will certainly carry-on with the normal hunt and gather, of a general inventory of old stuff, for as long as we can…….and have the space permitting, for its display.

    I was able to purchase four more vintage and specialty cookbooks today for Suzanne, and she welcomed them into her budding collection. As I've noted previously, she has the privilege, in this sector of the business, to select precisely the books she wants to have in her permanent collection, and ones she believes are of the quality, to be sold through our shop. She is a fussy cook, and I love that about her. She loves to cook, we Curries like to eat, and we hope this new venture, is going to feel as home-spun, as it has been in its manifestation here at Birch Hollow.

    As a sidebar to this story……beyond the cookbook finds this morning, I was also able to purchase three beautiful landscape paintings, done by my former barber, in Bracebridge. I found them in a second hand shop, and one of them, may actually be one that I watched being painted, while in Bill Anderson's barber shop, in the corner of the former "Patterson Hotel," on Manitoba Street. In my childhood vintage, back in the mid to late 1960's, I used to visit Bill's corner barber shop once every two weeks, and while he worked on my hair, he would often stop and make an addition to his art work, upon an easel in front, and then stop to make a pot of tea. He needed his tea to paint and to cut hair. He was an outstanding landscape artist, and I will get images to share on this blog, for early next week. In Bracebridge, during those fascinating years, we had a painting barber, with Bill, an artist pharmacist, Robert Everett, and a painting gas jockey, being Ross Smith, at Ted Smith's Uptown Garage. Gads, no wonder I love art. I was surrounded by it, back then, even getting my cough syrup.

     Thanks for joining me again today. I always enjoy when friends drop by for a visit. Us writer-kind get lonely in this professional solitude of creativity. See you again soon. Drive carefully out there.

      To read my Muskoka as Walden blog go to  http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/

Severn Bridge Flooding and Bracebridge State of Emergency

Severn Bridge Area -  5:30 p.m. – Wednesday

Particularly hard hit by the flooding this afternoon was Bagley Road, just off Graham Road, located at the most southern boundary of the Town of Gravenhurst.    Many of the year-round homes and cottages located on Bagley Road are completely surrounded by water and authorities are called for a rise in the river over night - Photos by Fred Schulz

SITUATION BAD, BUT HOLDING. THE REPORTS ON FLOODING CONTINUE TO BE HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE - PAINFULLY SHORT OF FACTS

     AS AN EAGER BEAVER NEWS WATCHER, I AM TOTALLY FRUSTRATED BY THE POOR QUALITY OF MEDIA FOCUS, ON THE FLOODING OF THE MUSKOKA RIVER, IN BRACEBRIDGE DURING, THE PAST WEEK. THIS UNDOUBTEDLY READS, LIKE A BROKEN RECORD SOUNDS. I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT FOLKS, WHO HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY AFFECTED AND INCONVENIENCED BY THE FLOOD, THINK ABOUT THE MEDIA COVERAGE TO DATE, AND THE UNIMPRESSIVE PHOTO SPREADS IN THE LOCAL MEDIA….WHICH FOR AN OLD NEWS REPORTER, SEEM TO MISS THE POINT ENTIRELY. I USED TO RUN PHOTO SPREADS IN THE HERALD-GAZETTE ALL THE TIME, IN MY TERM OF OFFICE; BUT ON SERIOUS NEWS MATTERS, THEY WERE THE BEST OF ALL THE NEWS FLICKS OUR REPORTERS CAME BACK WITH…..NOT FEATURE NEWS PHOTOGRAPHS, THAT LOOKED LIKE SCENICS MORE THAN SPOT NEWS, HAVING AN IMPACT OF NOTHING LESS THAN…."OH WOW, LOOK AT THAT. THAT'S HARD TO BELIEVE." IT'S BEEN THE SAME ALL WEEK, AND IT'S GOT TO BE A NEW TREND WITH THE MEDIA THESE DAYS, THAT EVEN HARD NEWS IS MADE TO LOOK SOFT…..OR DOWNPLAYED BY LESSER COVERAGE, OR FEWER SECONDS OF TELEVISED COVERAGE. CAN THEY SPARE IT? THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF DAMAGE OUT THERE, AND MANY LIVES AFFECTED, BUT HONESTLY, BY THE COVERAGE I'VE READ AND WATCHED, IT'S MORE LIKE A CURRENT EVENT THAN SOMETHING DEVASTATING, TO A LARGE CHUNK OF WATERSHED, WHERE GOOD FOLKS HAVE BUILT THEIR HOMES, COTTAGES AND BUSINESSES. AND THEN, I HEARD TODAY, THAT THE RAIN WON'T BE A PROBLEM AT PRESENT, BECAUSE IT WILL JUST BE SOAKED UP BY THE UNFROZEN GROUND. WHO COMES UP WITH THIS STUFF? THE GROUND DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF FROST BUILT-UP OVER THE WINTER MONTHS ANYWAY, AND WHEN WE HAD TORRENTIAL RAIN LAST WEEK, THE GROUND SHOULD HAVE SOAKED UP THE WATER AS WELL…..EXCEPT, LIKE TODAY, THE GROUND IS SATURATED, AND CAN NOT ABSORB MUCH OF THE PRESENT RAINFALL. I DON'T NEED TO GO TOO MUCH PAST MY OWN LAWN, WITH A SANDY SOIL, TO SEE THAT THERE'S WATER RESTING ON TOP…..SIMPLY MEANING IT HAS NO WAY OF GOING DOWN; SO INSTEAD IT WILL GO TO THE LOWEST POINT AND BUILD-UP THERE. SO WHETHER THEY BELIEVE THIS OR NOT, THE RAIN WILL ADD TO THE RUN-OFF SITUATION, AND THE RIVER VOLUMES, EVEN IF ONLY IT ACTS TO DELAY THE WATER LEVELS FROM RECEDING. ON THE NIGHTLY NEWS, EVEN THOUGH BRACEBRIDGE IS STILL UNDER A STATE OF EMERGENCY, IT'S LUCKY TO EVEN GET A MENTION FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE NATIONAL OR PROVINCIAL AUDIENCE. THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG IN MEDIA CIRCLES THESE DAYS, AND IT HAS SHOWN ITSELF DURING THIS MOST RECENT CATASTROPHE OF TOO MUCH WATER, TOO SOON.

     ONCE AGAIN, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THOSE FOLKS SURROUNDED BY WATER, OR WHO HAVE HAD TO BE SHELTERED AWAY FROM THEIR HOMES, AND WHO HAVE SUFFERED SERIOUS PROPERTY DAMAGE DURING THIS SERIOUS FLOOD OF 2013. I HOPE THE MEDIA WILL TAKE UP THE INITIATIVE TO HELP WITH THE FLOOD RELIEF, THESE PEOPLE WILL NEED, WHEN THEY ARE ABLE TO RETURN HOME TO BEGIN RESTORATIONS.

THE COOKBOOK FEVER RAGING

     Suzanne is used to my mood swings and excesses. She knows when I get that wild look in my eyes, when I'm explaining a mission I want to embark on, that her commonplaces of the day, week, or month, will be compromised in some way. When I talked about establishing a cookery collection, and a new business venture for our retirement recreation, she made mental notes that the worse was yet to come. Not that the idea was a bad one, just where and how it came about.

    I often get one of these mission statements from God, I think, and become so consumed by the possibilities, that I totally forget the humans who are left to put it all together. Suzanne has shouldered many of my great ideas in the past, and although she's kind enough not to remind me of my failings, I'm aware when we chat, that she's holding a lot back, with what I would say was Devil's Advocate material. So when I went all gonzo about this new idea, to develop, get this….."an old idea" we had ten years ago, I started the dialogue in the parking lot of the local grocery store here in Gravenhurst. I'm like that, you see. I am spontaneous. Terribly spontaneous. That was good when I was playing hockey and baseball, because it's part of the game. Being spontaneous about starting a cookery collection, for fun and profit, isn't really a good way to get the ball rolling so to speak. I could have called a meeting of the board, or made "an intervention" on Suzanne, asking her to abandon all other interests, to follow me into the oblivion I sometimes dwell. At home. Comfortably so. Not in the front seat of the van, where I couldn't even find space to put down my soap box. She has a sweet look in her eyes you know……as if she really does sense that my intentions are good and kindly, when not just wild and wooly.

     The truth of the matter, is that we both have been toying with this idea for the past decade. We just didn't know how to execute it, and with Suzanne working full-time, and with antique business obligations, we just couldn't get enough down-time to put the essence of a good plan onto paper. So when I started beating down the door, to get this idea its modern day exposure, with Suzanne, she was already on the same page. I was kind of disappointed, that she didn't make me fight to defend my idea…..like usual. She thought it was a workable plan, and that there was enough time, to make the required acquisitions of cook books, and reference material, to make our collection worth noting. Satisfying foodies today isn't easy. So the bar had to be set a lot higher, than if we were just selling some old cookbooks from our shop here in Gravenhurst. This was going to be different, because it will eventually include a reference / resource component for our customers…..who hopefully will be professional types, chefs, home cooks, researchers, authors and food lovers from all over God's half acre. We want to measure up to all kinds of demands…..and this is what I mean, about my penchant for getting involved in mega projects, as the next great idea for family enterprise.

     The demands of this current book finding project are enormous. Like building a library in six months, collecting one book at a time. Truthfully, we did start with a reasonable collection of old and out of print cookbooks, and many hundreds of handwritten recipes dating back to the middle of the 1800's. Suzanne, an amazing cook herself, was a long time teacher in the Home Economics department of our local high schools in Muskoka. But she has been involved in so many hands-on food related events, in the past, including as a caterer with her high school students, doing the food for major events; she worked the church circuit and helped the local Lions Club in Windermere, run their special community suppers, and bake sales. She comes from a family of outstanding home cooks, dating back to the Shea and Veitch family homesteads in Ufford, on the shore of Three Mile Lake. So my partner knows all about food preparation, and you should see her personal stash of heirloom cookbooks and handwritten recipes from family sources. Well actually, you will be able to see them, and get some copies of fabulous recipes right from these 1800's family homesteads. This however, is only a small component of what we want to offer, via our private (not for sale) collection, and those books we are willing to part with.

     The biggest task I placed before Suzanne, was the acquisition of cookbooks…..thousands of them. As a book collector and seller with three decades of experience, she knows that I will deliver on my promise to fill her book shelves; and not with just any old cookbooks. No matter how many I drag home, in overflowing boxes, she will have the final say, whether they are up to her standard or not. At least the ones she wants to use as part of her permanent collection, to be offered as reference material for the benefit of our patrons and guests. She may agree to sell books based on the fact I might start crying otherwise, but generally speaking, she is the head book selector, and I'm just the guy who hunts for them throughout the region.

     I want to keep you informed about what we're doing, with this cookery collection, so you can get an idea just how wild we are, about creating mountains just so we have something to climb over, day to day. I can honestly say, that this will be, without doubt, the biggest and most ambitious project, as a book collector, I've ever faced….and I'm no stranger to crazy deadlines and wild objectives. This will test me like never before, and sure, there's a chance it will fail….well maybe at first. This is a longterm project for us, so the short term failure wouldn't be too bad. I've got some time yet, to hunt and gather, as we have set the Canada Day holiday, as the starting point for our cookery adventure, as part of our little antique business in Gravenhurst.

     Suzanne Currie's Cookery Nookery. It's all coming together but I'm still about a thousand cookbooks shy of what I want to have for day one. I've got two months to pull off a miracle. Suzanne was just reading this paragraph, over my shoulder, which I hate…..and slapped me on the top of the head, as if to say, in the words of "Oliver Hardy," "Well, that's another fine mess you've got us into Stanley!"

     I'll give readers regular updates on the way we are gradually achieving this cookery resource collection…..and folks, if I fail, you will be the first to know.

     Thanks for visiting today. I hope if you happen to be one of those affected by the high water in our region, that you're safe at least. You've got be careful out there.

     If you would like to visit my other blog site, "Muskoka as Walden," you can visit by clicking on http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/