Rita MacNeil Played Two Sold Out Shows At The Gravenhurst Opera House

Two sold out performances at the Gravenhurst Opera House on Tuesday, July 6th and Wednesday, July 7th -2004

A wonderful and appreciative Lady in everyway!

People lined up at the Gravenhurst Opera House by early afternoon to wait for Rita's arrival. - Photo and caption by Fred Schulz

RITA MACNEIL A CHARMING, VIBRANT, EXCITING ENTERTAINER -

     IT WAS A PROUD AND EXCITING OCCASION, FOR MANAGER FRED SCHULZ, WHEN HE HOSTED NOVA SCOTIA (CAPE BRETON) PERFORMER, RITA MACNEIL, AT THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE, IN THE EARLY PART OF THIS NEW CENTURY. A SINGER WHO HAD TWO DOZEN ALBUMS, TO HER CREDIT, AND THE LEGACY OF  HAVING PERFORMED AT MANY HUNDREDS OF LIVE SHOWS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY, SEA TO SEA, PASSED AWAY THIS WEEK, FROM COMPLICATIONS, FOLLOWING A SURGICAL PROCEDURE. SON ANDREW HAD A CHANCE TO WORK WITH RITA, WHEN SHE WAS AT THE OPERA HOUSE, AND HE REMEMBERS HER AS GRACIOUS, FRIENDLY, AND GENEROUS……A PERFORMER WHO DIDN'T ACT SELF IMPORTANT, OR EXPECT STAFF TO DO ANYTHING MORE, THAN THEY WOULD CUSTOMARILY FOR ANY PERFORMER. THE LOCAL AUDIENCE THAT FILLED THE OPERA HOUSE TO CAPACITY, WAS ENAMORED WITH HER VIBRANT PERFORMANCE, AND IT WAS ONE OF THE MEMORABLE ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS, IN THE CENTURY PLUS HISTORY OF THIS WELL RESPECTED TOWN LANDMARK. HER HUGE FAN BASE IN THIS COUNTRY, AND INTERNATIONALLY, WERE SADDENED BY THE NEWS OF THE PERFORMER'S DEATH, AS HEARD ON TODAY'S MORNING NEWS. WE CONTACTED FRED SCHULZ IMMEDIATELY, WHO HAD ALREADY BEEN INFORMED HIS FRIEND HAD PASSED, AND ASKED FOR ANY PHOTOGRAPHS OF RITA HE HAD ON FILE. WITHIN MINUTES, FRED HAD SENT US ONE, PUBLISHED ABOVE, OF HIMSELF, SITTING WITH RITA, FOLLOWING THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL EVENING SHOW. SHE ADMITTED, WHILE HERE, THAT GRAVENHURST HAD BEEN A VERY HOSPITABLE HOST, AND SHE HAD PARTICULAR AFFECTION FOR THE HISTORIC OPERA HOUSE. IT WAS A REAL THRILL FOR OPERA HOUSE MANAGER, FRED SCHULZ, HAVING HER TO GRAVENHURST FOR A VISIT. I KNOW IT IS ONE OF FRED'S FONDEST MEMORIES, OF HIS OWN LEGACY, WORKING AT THE OPERA HOUSE. "IT WAS A GREAT NIGHT, FOR SURE," FRED ADDED. "SHE WAS A TERRIFIC PERSON….AND A GREAT PERFORMER. IT WAS DEFINITELY A HIGHLIGHT OF THE OPERA HOUSE HISTORY…..AND I WAS THRILLED TO BE A PART OF IT."

   WE ARE SO PLEASED, TO BE ABLE TO SAY, RITA MACNEIL PERFORMED IN GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO. THANK YOU RITA, FOR ENTERTAINING SO MANY, FOR SO LONG. SHE WILL BE MISSED. HER MUSIC, AS THEY SAY, WILL LIVE ON…..

THERE'S A FUNNY THING ABOUT STATUS QUO, I FIND WORKS WELL FOR ME

I MAKE MY BEST ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE FINDS IN SHOP CLUTTER

     THREE OF MY FAVORITE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE HAUNTS, HAVE DECIDED TO JAZZ UP THEIR JOINTS. ONE STORE HAS EVEN COLOR CO-ORDINATED THEIR COLLECTABLES, AND SET OUT FURNISHINGS AND DECORATOR PIECES, LIKE A FREAKING HOME SHOW; AS IF THERE ARE MULTIPLE LIVING-ROOMS. I'M NOT USED TO A CLUTTER-FREE ENVIRONS, TO CONDUCT MY TREASURE HUNTING BUSINESS. EACH OF THE THREE BUSINESSES, HAVE BEEN ON A DECORATING JAG, AS OF LATE, DE-CLUTTERING AND ORGANIZING THEIR RESPECTIVE INVENTORIES……AND WITHOUT CONSULTING ME. GEEZ, I THRIVE ON CLUTTER. LOTS OF IT. LANDSLIDES OF IT, IN FACT. DIDN'T THEY KNOW THAT? HELL, MAYBE THEY DID, AND THEY'RE SENDING ME A MESSAGE. "WE'RE GOING TO MAKE YOU WORK FOR YOUR BIG FINDS MR. CURRIE." I DESPISE COLOR CO-ORDINATION, AND I REALLY HATE THE ARRANGEMENT OF ROOM SETTINGS FOR FURNITURE PIECES. I DON'T WANT THESE SECOND HAND SHOPS GETTING ALL GLAMOROUS AND ARTSY-FARTSY, BECAUSE IT'S NOT HOW I DO MY BEST WORK. I LIKE LOOKING THROUGH BOXES OF JUNK, AND BEING QUAGMIRED BY MILLIONS OF PIECES OF THIS AND THAT. IT'S HOW I GOT STARTED IN THE BUSINESS, BY ATTENDING FLEA MARKETS AND AUCTIONS, WHERE I COULD BURY MYSELF IN JUNK. IT'S HOW I LEARNED TO MAKE BIG FINDS, IN THE FIRST PLACE, LIKE A HORNY HOUND DOG ON A DEER'S TRAIL. I'VE LOST THE SCENT IN THESE ULTRA MODERN SECOND HAND ENTERPRISES, WHERE SOMEONE IS STRIVING TO ACHIEVE "HOUSE BEAUTIFUL" STATUS. 

     I STOOD LOOKING AT A HUGE ROW OF SHELVING, HOLDING THOUSANDS OF BITS AND BOBBS, ALL COLOR CO-ORDINATED, WITH PINKS AND YELLOWS, BROWNS AND GREENS, AND AS I WAS STARING, AS IF SUDDENLY MESMERIZED, LIKE SNOW-BLINDNESS OUT ON THE BARRENS, ALL I COULD SEE WAS COLORS AND A FEW ODD SHAPES. I DON'T HAVE VISION PROBLEMS, JUST A COLLECTOR'S BAD CASE OF STATUS QUO. I DON'T LIKE PROFOUND CHANGES IN THE PLACES I SHOP; EVEN IN  GROCERY AND DEPARTMENT STORES, I GET COMFORTABLE WITH A DESIGN, ONLY TO FIND THAT SOMEONE AT HEAD OFFICE, FIGURES I WILL BUY MORE, BY BEING FRUSTRATED BY NEW LOCATIONS FOR THE THINGS I NEED. WHEN THE SHOP MANAGEMENT, DECIDES TO SCREW WITH WHAT WORKED QUITE WELL FOR ME, IT REQUIRES SOME BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION FOR SURE. HERE'S WHY.

I KNOW WHERE TO LOOK - OR AT LEAST I DID!

     If you're not a collector or an antique dealer, but find me an amusing sidebar to the day's current events, this will read kind of crazy…..so you may have to read it over again, to get my point. Over many years, I've become not only habitual in my outings, looking for antiques and collectables, but also in the way I hunt within these second hand venues. For example, as an old book collector and dealer, my advantage, at about twenty of my favorite target venues, is that I can memorize….or "sight" the books I've become used to seeing, in each of these shops. A little bit of memory, directly proportional to the keen senses developed by all collectors, to spot the needle in the haystack. I'm not particularly good at memorizing, but when it comes to visually knowing the changes to book shelves, and the colorations of spines, I can whittle my time in half, which means I can cover much more territory during such an outing. The moment I look at a shelf section of old books, I immediately recall the last time I visited, and stood on the exact spot, looking at the spines….which is how I determine which books to check. I can tell the age and quality of a book, by judging the cover-stock. Sorry, but it's true that I can indeed judge a book by its cover. I can easily spot a color and texture difference, in one I recall from the trip before. Some vendors will try to trick me, by changing up their status quo, but I can usually spot the spoof, without too much delay in the action. They might, for example, put new non-fiction, histories, in with the sports books, cookbooks, or fiction. I know by the cover stock, what is fiction…..which I don't collect, and the non-fiction titles I readily purchase. There is a difference but it is hard to explain something as sensory minute and peculiar as this. It comes from over thirty years handling old books, and having been in the printing industry for a decade.

     So when I visit one of these shops, that sell old and used books, I know what is old stock, and where the new ones have been slotted-in by staff. While book buyers generally, are more persnickety, and spend far more time browsing, I can usually wrap up my visit in no more than ten minutes; and still get an armful of interesting titles, that I plucked off the vine, so to speak. I even study the habits of individual store staff and volunteers, who put these books on shelves; and where they are most likely to place them, so that I don't have to waste time hunting through thousands of books, each time I visit. My greatest moment, is to arrive after a staffer, who has no intention of sorting books, (not in their job description), has only just dumped boxes beside, and in front of the shelves, for my sorting pleasure. It happened today, and I was delighted with my haul. Point is, I have visual memory of book collections I visit frequently, and this allows me to swoop in, on any spine out of place. I also look for what we call "seams," which means books that were donated, or acquired from the same source. This is of critical importance to me, because it's often been the case, that someone of considerable prominence, has just donated their personal libraries. I've picked up thousands of books with significant owner provenance, where the signature of the book owner, on a book plate, or on an inside cover page, is as important as a signature of the book's author. I've even been able to intercept presentation copy books, gifted to a major Canadian military figure, when he was down-sizing his personal collection. I could go on for a week of blogs, just about the importance of sleuthing the books that seem to have a common ownership provenance. You can learn a lot from second hand and antique books, about their former owners…..including the discovery of interesting ephemera folded neatly inside the text.

     So what happens to someone like me, with a pretty good visual memory out on the hustings, is that I have to slow down to a snail's pace, to be able to see through the color coding, and neatly arranged shelves, and furniture lay-outs, in order to concentrate on finding "sleepers," which is my fuel for the day. The "sleepers" represent the antique and collectable items, the store staff evaluates lesser than its actual collectable worth. This is vital for the dealer-kind, because it's how we make a profit. If we didn't find under-valued pieces, we would have to shut-up shops…..because most of our inventory is found by patient hunting and gathering…..not just from the back of a picker's truck. We spend a lot of time trying to thread the proverbial needle, and return at the end of the day, with some prizes. So anything that befuddles us, and this can be as simple as sudden neatness, where chaos once ruled, means we must take things a tad slower, and be more thoughtful.

     Most dealers I have come to know over the decades, are lovers of clutter in the shops we visit for our inventories. We learned how each shop operates, and we know the times of day and week, when new inventory is added to the shelves, and onto the floor. It's our business to know this stuff, and cleaning up, means we have to re-adjust the way we look at things. I missed a nice pine kitchen table today, because of the way it was situated on the floor, differently than it would have been displayed two weeks ago. Here I was with an arm load of "okay" books, watching as they carried this pine gem to the check out counter…..while I muttered to myself about "how could I have missed that table right in front of me." This is what happens when you clean up Dodge. My antique detection has depended on clutter, to shield the "sleepers," in these shops. I knew where they would have put that table in the good old days. Now, obviously, I need to retrain. This same thing, which I suppose is just plain old spring cleaning, has happened in three of my favorite antique haunts, so I've got no choice but to comply, and learn the hunt all over again…..so I don't have to admit to my judgmental audience, that "oops, a good one got off the hook…..again!" The pine table that went out the door? It was worth a hundred and fifty dollars, but as I didn't get a chance to see the price tag first, I don't know what the margin of profit would be……if the buyer also happened to be a dealer. I don't think this was the case, as I know most of my competitors…..and they know me…..curses, its a small world when you're hunting antiques and collectables.

     Thanks for joining me today, for another look at the whacky world of collecting this and that, and sometimes for profit. Please visit again soon.

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