Hometown, Hometown Shop, and The Pleasures of Both

THE SERIOUS SIDE OF COLLECTING - IS ALSO SOME SERIOUS FUN

USING COLLECTING AS A STRESS RELIEVER - LIVING IN A SMALL TOWN BECAUSE IT'S LOVELY

     I'VE GOT GRIEVANCES WITH MY PROFESSION. EVERY TENTH BLOG TAKES A FEW CHEAP SHOTS AT WHAT I BELIEVE IS WRONG WITH THE ANTIQUE TRADE. I'M KIND OF A SCOUNDREL THAT WAY, AND I WAS LIKE THAT WITH LOCAL POLITICS AROUND HERE, UNTIL I FINALLY REALIZED THAT HARPING WASN'T GETTING THE RESULTS I WAS LOOKING FOR…..AND IN FACT, IT WASN'T EVEN SATISFYING, TO JUST GET ISSUES OFF MY CHEST. IT USED TO WORK AS A NEWSPAPER STAFFER, BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING MISSING BEING A SOLO CRITIC (OR PAIN IN THE ASS, AS I WAS BETTER KNOWN IN THIS TOWN). BUT BECAUSE I'M A STRICT ADVOCATE OF CRITICAL REPORTING, AND THINKING, AND THE GOOD THAT CAN COME OUT OF CLOBBERING A RUG FREE OF ITS DUST, I STILL HAVE FAITH THAT SENSIBLE, RESEARCH-MOTIVATED THINKING, AND GOOD OLD PRACTICAL PROPORTION, WILL HELP ADJUST THE COURSE OF WHAT GOES ASTRAY. I HAVE TONE DOWN MY ATTACKS FOR JUSTICE BECAUSE I'M GETTING TOO OLD TO HAVE MY BLOOD PRESSURE STAND MY HAIR ON END. I SEE AND HEAR A LOT OF THINGS WRONG, BUT I'M FIFTY PERCENT A PACIFIST THESE DAYS, AS AN ANTIQUE DEALER……HAVING GIVEN UP ON MAKING STRAIGHT FURROWS, IN RETURN FOR PEACE AND RELAXATION ON EARTH. THAT'S RIGHT. I HAVE NEVER HAD STRESS PROBLEMS IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, BUT A THUNDERING AMOUNT IN THE WRITING PROFESSION, WHERE LIKE "SHANE," I FEEL COMPELLED TO FERRET OUT THE SKUNKS.

     BY THE WAY, I'M GENTLY CALMED ABOUT THESE EVENTS, AND ALLEGED MISDEMEANORS OF OTHERS, BY THE KINDNESSES OF MY WIFE….REPEATING OVER AND OVER, "NOW TED…..YOU ARE AN ANTIQUARIAN, NOT AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER…..REMEMBER OUR LITTLE TALK?" ACTUALLY, SUZANNE TALKS ME DOWN A LOT THESE DAYS, WHEN I GET CRAZY-POLITICAL, AND SHE KNOWS WHEN IT'S TIME TO POINT AT THE CANOE, AND THE VAN, AND OFF WE GO TO ALGONQUIN TO RESEARCH TOM THOMSON…..WHICH NOW IS ENTIRELY RECREATIONAL.

     FOR EXAMPLE, JUST BECAUSE I COMPLAIN THAT A MAJORITY OF ANTIQUE DEALERS ARE MISSING THE WHOLE POINT OF THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE, BY PRICING THEIR INVENTORIES HIGHER THAN THEY SHOULD, BASED ON MARKET VALUES, THE CHANGES MY CRITICISM WILL INSPIRE, WILL LIKELY ONLY ACCOMPLISH A SHARP REDUCTION IN READERS OF THIS BLOG, AND AVOIDANCE OF OUR FAMILY SHOP BECAUSE OF UNWANTED EDITORIAL OPINION. ARGUABLY SOME OF MY READERS NOW MAY BE IN THAT NUMBER, I'VE LOOSELY IDENTIFIED AS "OVER-PRICERS." I'VE BEEN PUNISHED A LOT FOR BEING OUTSPOKEN, AND EDITORIALLY BLUNT, BUT I'VE ALWAYS OFFERED TO MAKE AN APOLOGY, IF AND WHEN IT CAN BE PROVEN, I HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY WRONG WITH MY ASSERTIONS. GENERALIZATIONS? WE'RE ALL GUILTY OF THAT ON OCCASION. THERE ISN'T AN ANTIQUE BUYER OR COLLECTOR, IN THIS DOMINION, WHO AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER, RECENTLY, HASN'T THOUGHT THE DEALER-KIND WERE LOSING PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT "MARKET VALUE," ACTUALLY MEANS. THEY MIGHT MUMBLE THEIR CONCERNS, AND CRITIQUES, TO AVOID BEING HEARD, BUT THEY STILL HAVE THEM. THE REAL ISSUE HERE, IS WHY THOSE ANTIQUE DEALERS WHO KNOW THE EXCESSES, AND DON'T AGREE WITH THE SEEMINGLY OUT-OF-CONTROL VALUATIONS, WON'T STAND UP FOR THE WELFARE OF THE INDUSTRY, AND SUGGEST THE CREATION OF AN UNDERLING MOVEMENT OF "PRICE BUSTING DEALERS," HELL BENT ON BRINGING BACK SOME SENSIBILITY TO AN INDUSTRY DEVOURING ITSELF BY COMPLACENCY.

     I AM A MINDFUL CHAP WHO WONDERS (AND WANDERS) A LOT. I WALK OUT OF MY HOUSE EACH MORNING, AND SEE A NEAT LITTLE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH ITS TIDY YARDS AND BLOSSOMING LILACS, AND THE FOREST ACROSS THE ROAD WITH ITS OUTCROPPING OF TRILLIUMS, AND I THINK TO MYSELF, "WHAT A WONDERFUL LITTLE TOWN." WHEN I DRIVE UP TO WORK, THROUGH THE FAMILIAR NEIGHBORHOODS, I'VE WATCHED GROW AND CHANGE EVERY DAY SINCE THE FALL OF 1989, I'M SO VERY THANKFUL TO LIVE IN THIS CHARMING SMALL TOWN. WHEN I LOOK UP AND DOWN THE MAIN STREET, BEFORE I SETTLE INTO THE CHORES OF THE DAY, YES INDEED, I THANK MY LUCKY STARS WE LIVE WHERE WE WORK. I HEAD BACK INTO OUR ANTIQUE SHOP, SUBTLY REMINISCING ABOUT THE DECISION TO RE-LOCATE TO THIS SOUTH MUSKOKA TOWN, AND HOW WE VERY NEARLY MOVED NORTH TO HUNTSVILLE, AND ALMOST TO ORILLIA, WITH A YOUNG FAMILY IT TOW. I SETTLE IN BEHIND THE COUNTER, AND BEGIN THE DAY'S CONTENTING OPERATION, OF RUNNING A SMALL BUSINESS, IN A SMALL TOWN.

     YET YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW IT WAS A SMALL TOWN, IF YOU WERE TO CONSULT WITH THOSE OF LOFTY POLITICAL ASPIRATION, WHO WOULD CLAIM OTHERWISE, AND SUGGEST THAT TO CALL OUR BURG A "SMALL TOWN," WOULD BE TO DISCOURAGE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THAT TO DENY OUR TOWN ITS CREDITS, OF PAST PROGRESS, WOULD BE TO SHORTCHANGE THE FUTURE, AND ALL THE MASSIVE NEW INVESTMENT COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE. I MAY BE THE MOST BLASPHEMOUS OF ALL, TO SUGGEST TO THOSE CITY-BUILDERS, LOST IN THEIR OWN DELUSIONS, THAT FOR MANY YEARS YET TO COME, (AS A REALIST) I WILL DO AS I HAVE SINCE THE LATE 1980'S, AND STEP OUT OF MY HOUSE EACH MORNING, AND PRAISE MY LIFE AND HABITATION IN A SMALL TOWN, IN A BIG HINTERLAND DISTRICT OF ONTARIO. GOD WILLING, I WILL TRAVEL SIMILAR ROUTES AROUND TOWN, AND OCCASIONALLY VISIT A PARK, OR MEANDER DOWN SOME SUNNY LANE, AND THINK AGAIN TO MYSELF, "WHAT A GREAT LITTLE TOWN THIS IS, TO RETIRE TO, AFTER ALL THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF YOUTH." I WON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT THINKING THIS EITHER. I WILL CONTINUE, AS IS MY HERITAGE HERE, TO WAVE TO FRIENDS, HAVE COFFEE WITH OTHERS, EXCHANGE POLITICAL VIEWS WITH ASSOCIATE BUSINESS OWNERS, COMPLAIN ABOUT LINE-UPS AT THE GROCERY STORE, AND STILL GET MY COFFEE AND MUFFINS FROM THE GREAT LITTLE SHOPS, THAT SERVE US SO WELL, AND AFFORDABLY, IN OUR LITTLE TOWN.

     FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT GRAVENHURST IS ABOUT TO CHANGE INTO AN URBAN JUNGLE, I'M THUSLY SORRY THEY ARE SO DISCONNECTED TO ECONOMIC REALITIES. THOSE WHO OPERATE AS IF THIS IS THE BIG CITY, AND SET THEIR POLICIES TO MESH WITH URBAN CONUNDRUMS, I WORRY MOST ABOUT THESE PEOPLE, BECAUSE THEY ARE MISSING THE TRUE CHARM OF SMALL TOWN LIFE AND TIMES, THAT FRANKLY, ARE STILL A LITTLE BIT LIKE STEPHEN LEACOCK'S DEPICTION OF THE VILLAGE OF MARIPOSA; JUST A LITTLE MORE CONTEMPORARY. BUT IT IS WHAT I FIND SO ENDEARING ABOUT THIS SOUTH MUSKOKA COMMUNITY; THAT WE STILL HAVE TIME TO THOROUGHLY ENJOY ALL THE GOOD QUALITIES OF KNOWING AND CARING ABOUT ONE ANOTHER……SHARING, WORKING AND VOLUNTEERING TOGETHER; BEING NOT ONLY GOOD NEIGHBORS BUT CLOSE, LONG TIME FRIENDS, WHO NOTICE WHEN ONE OR THE OTHER HAS BEEN OUT OF CIRCULATION FOR AWHILE; POSSIBLY DUE TO AN ILLNESS OR FAMILY MATTER THAT REQUIRES A PERIOD OF ABSENCE, FROM THE COMMONPLACE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD TRADITIONS. AH, THE GOOD GRACES OF BEING SMALL. BEING GIANT AND METROPOLIS IN DIMENSION, ISN'T ALWAYS AS LUCRATIVE AND DYNAMIC AS IT APPEARS, BECAUSE DYSFUNCTION DOESN'T GET PUBLICITY…..JUST SWEPT UNDER THE CARPET.

THERE ARE THOSE WHO FEEL SMALL MEANS "DEFICIENT."

     In the antique trade, I modeled my first business after my hometown. Bracebridge in the 1970's, was a small town, with an interesting, traditional, historic downtown…..that oozed Muskoka ambience. It wasn't a giant trying to stretch out of its modest britches. It was a surprisingly content community, looking to improve its lot, but still generally satisfied with its inherent heritage and local traditions. So we put together a small shop that reflected hometown and district values. It wasn't a shop designed to be an "urban themed" venue, and I never once instituted a plan, to make it look like a shop you would find on Toronto's Queen or King Streets. Our shop was home-inspired, and our home at the time was the main street of Bracebridge. When the boys opened their vintage music shop, eight years ago, they did so with the utmost respect for their hometown. Gravenhurst. They did not design a business to look like a shop you would find on Bloor or Yonge Streets, in Toronto, and even though they have had huge access to shops they approve of, in Ottawa, (for example) when you walk through their shop doors today, you will find an aura of small town ambition, in one of the most beautiful regions on earth. We don't need to borrow anything from the urban experience. We hope the visitors to our shop, from the urban areas of North America, and Europe, will feel this commitment to our home town and region…..and the greatest compliment they could provide us with, upon leaving, besides "we'll be back," is to grace us kindly with the compliment, that they enjoyed the hospitality of Gravenhurst…..the small, friendly town it is……and without increasing in size by more than a half dozen souls every year.

     When I'm critical of the antique profession, it is because I love the industry. When I'm particularly frank, and a little scathing in my criticism about my hometown, it is also, because I am a passionate resident, who gets riled up by those who can't see the forest for the trees. I'd like to see the antique profession improve its standards and reputation, to appeal to more customers with fair pricing. I'd like to see my hometown leadership, understand, up close and personal, that no matter how much they might desire the kind of economic development, that grows "small" into "humongous," the truthfulness of the present tense, suggests we are wasting time, by not building upon what resources we have……making better, instead of dreamily pondering what it would be like to have a city plop-down where once, there was a charming but small town. It's really a matter of perspective. It's a foible of over-active planning, to miss the possibilities of home, gambling instead on the magic beans of "promise." To wander about the town, as I do, to see the town as it lives and works, in that old fashioned harmony, is the inherent prosperity of the historian. Despite all the kicks and punches it sometimes has to endure, from the critics, Gravenhurst seems to rebound with increased vigor. I pity those who dwell on the negatives, and who believe Gravenhurst is incapable of benefitting from lasting success and continued good fortune…..much as if we have never experienced either. That's not what this historian would write, if commissioned to overview its heritage.

     I will be very sad, one day, to arise in the morning, full of vim and vinegar, step out on this verandah, overlooking The Bog, and not see the calming essence of a small, rural community, rising to its daily challenges…….of work and enterprise, and good neighborliness, which after all, is a hallmark of which we should all be proud. There are truths about this small town existence that may lack flash and glory, to those who have urban expectations…..yet other signs are so warm and tangible, like the pat on the back and the handshake, and the glorious goodwill of trust and loyalty between community partners….of which we are all stakeholders.  I think it would be time to move on, if I came to distrust my hometown, as a place secretly moving to citydom without asking our permission….."our" being the folks who happen to like what legacy and tradition represent…..and not simply as we might be reminded by the local historical society, of a condition, once, long ago. Some times, me thinks, there are those of greater authority, who have lost their perspective about the spirited nature, and endearing qualities of living, working and friendship in a small town…..such that they actually begin preparing in advance, for something that never arrives…..and in the meantime, tragically miss the prevailing pleasantness of the rural climes on heart and soul. I worry you see, that by attempting to impose city values, because it seems like the progressive thing to do, the collateral damage on the way it is, will be much greater than anything progressive it might actually and eventually attain.

     I have lived as a small town antique dealer for my entire professional life. I have lived in a small town, seemingly forever, and what a charmed life I have led……and my family has benefitted from, for all these years, and generations, which for Suzanne and our sons, Andrew and Robert, dates back to the 1860's, and the Free Land Grants that opened up this region, to the rest of the world. You'll have to excuse us for being so protective of our region. It's obviously a family thing!

     Thank you for taking a few moments today, to join me for this hometown blog. Please visit again soon.


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