Building A Four Year Tribute to Tom Thomson

NEXT MAJOR MISSION……BUILDING A SIGNIFICANT TOM THOMSON ARCHIVE COLLECTION

TO RECOGNIZE THE UPCOMING 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH; 1917 - 2017

     SUZANNE ASKED ME IF I WAS PLANNING ANY BIG RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. NEWLY RETIRED, AND WITH HER COOKERY HERITAGE BUSINESS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED….."SUZANNE CURRIE'S COOKERY NOOKERY," I THINK SHE WAS A LITTLE NERVOUS, I WAS GOING TO SPRING A NEW RESEARCH MISSION ON HER. SUZANNE HAS BEEN MY LONG-SUFFERING RESEARCH PARTNER SINCE BEFORE OUR HONEYMOON, AND SHE KNOWS WHEN I'M GETTING RESTLESS. SHE'S RIGHT ABOUT THIS, OF COURSE, AND HERE'S WHY. IF I'M UNSETTLED, I NEED TO LATCH ONTO SOMETHING THAT WILL GENERATE SOLID RESULTS. SOMETIMES THE PROJECTS NEVER GET OFF THE GROUND. HERE IS A CASE IN POINT.

     I HAD BIG PLANS TO PUT TOGETHER AN ARTIST BIOGRAPHY, OF FORMER GRAVENHURST PAINTER, FRANK JOHNSTON. I HAVE WANTED TO DO THIS FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS NOW, BUT OTHER UNANTICIPATED RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS GOT IN THE WAY. HEY, PAYING GIGS DESERVE SPECIAL TREATMENT. SO WHEN I TRIED TO PROMOTE THE IDEA OF PUTTING TOGETHER A MEANINGFUL BIOGRAPHY, OF AN ARTIST, KNOWN AS ONE OF THE FINEST PRINT MAKERS IN CANADA, AND AN OUTSTANDING WATERCOLORIST, WHO PAINTED MANY HISTORIC SCENES IN GRAVENHURST, AND THE WIDER MUSKOKA, RESULTS WERE IMMEDIATELY POSITIVE. SO POSITIVE IN FACT, THAT I WAS READY TO DROP EVERYTHING ELSE, INCLUDING A PAYING JOB, TO GIVE THIS PROJECT MY UNDIVIDED ATTENTION. A YEAR AGO, I CONNECTED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND IT APPEARED AS IF THE BIOGRAPHY WOULD GET UNDERWAY IMMEDIATELY. BY THE WAY, I WAS DONATING MY TIME TO WRITE THE MANUSCRIPT, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN DONATED AS A FINISHED BOOK, TO BOTH THE NATIONAL GALLERY AND THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO. I WAS SO CONFIDENT, I TOLD EVERYONE, INCLUDING READERS OF THIS BLOG, THAT IT WAS COMING.  SUZANNE, LIKE MY MOTHER, ALWAYS REMINDS ME ABOUT GETTING MY HOPES UP, AND WELL, "PUTTING ALL MY EGGS IN ONE BASKET." A BIG BASKET. WITH TOO MUCH EXPECTATION INSIDE. THIS WAS AN EXAMPLE OF BEING MONSTROUSLY OVER-CONFIDENT THAT I WAS GOING TO GET WHAT I NEEDED, AS PROMISED, TO PUT SUCH A BIG RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT TOGETHER.

     THREE TIMES I'VE HAD TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT IN MY SCHEDULE, ANTICIPATING THAT AT ANY MOMENT, THE MATERIAL WAS GOING TO ARRIVE FOR ME TO USE AS A FOUNDATION, TO START THE BIOGRAPHICAL INTERVIEWS. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I'VE HAD TO OFFER AN APOLOGY, THAT FOR REASONS UNKOWN, FAMILY HAS DECIDED NOT TO PARTICIPATE…..WHICH KILLS THE PROJECT BEFORE THE FOUNDATION HAS BEEN PROPERLY ESTABLISHED. I AM A GREAT ADMIRER OF FRANK JOHNSTON'S WORK, AND I DO THINK THAT WE NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS TALENTED PRINT-MAKER AND PAINTER, AS DO THE RESEARCHERS INTERESTED IN REGIONAL, PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL ARTISTS. ALAS, I DON'T HAVE THE PATIENCE……LIKE FRANK HIMSELF WAS FAMOUS FOR, TO DILLY DALLY, ANY LONGER, HOPING MATERIALS WILL BE FORTHCOMING, TO ALLOW THE BIOGRAPHY TO CONTINUE. THE UNANTICIPATED DELAYS, AND MY GENERAL FRUSTRATION, AT NOT GETTING WHAT I NEED TO ADVANCE INTERVIEWS, AND INFORMATION GATHERING, HAS BECOME THE END BEFORE THERE WAS A GOOD AND SOLID BEGINNING. I'M SORRY TO HAVE TO ABANDON IT, BUT I'M GETTING TOO OLD TO "WAIT FOR GODOT"…..OR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE. POSSIBLY ONE DAY, THERE WILL BE A CHANGE OF HEART, AND A GENUINE INTEREST IN MOVING THE BIOGRAPHY FROM PROPOSAL, TO FULL ENGAGEMENT. MAYBE SOME OTHER BIOGRAPHER WILL TAKE AN INTEREST IN THIS STORY…..BECAUSE IT'S A DANDY.

ASSIGNMENT THOMSON; TO BUILD A REMARKABLE, DYNAMIC AND INTERESTING THOMSON COLLECTION BY 2017

     I AM COMMENCING THIS NEW PROJECT, BASED ON THE SUCCESSES OF ALL THE OLD MISSIONS OF DISCOVERY, I'VE LAUNCHED REGARDING TOM THOMSON, SINCE THE MID 1990'S. IT'S TRUE, THAT MY FOUR YEAR PLAN, TO BUILD A HUGE COLLECTION OF THOMSON MEMORABILIA, COLLECTABLES, RESEARCH MATERIALS, BOOKS AND PRINTS, WILL COMMENCE FROM A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL PLATFORM, ALREADY IN MY POSSESSION. I'VE BEEN COLLECTING THOMSON MATERIALS, AND CONSERVING THEM AS A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SINCE I FIRST BEGAN WRITING ABOUT THE MYSTERY OF HIS DEATH, THE RESULT OF ALLEGED DROWNING, WHILE TRAVERSING ALONGQUIN PARK'S CANOE LAKE, BACK IN JULY 1917.

    DURING THIS PERIOD, LEADING UP TO THE PRESENT, I'VE PUBLISHED HUNDREDS OF ARTICLES AND AT LEAST FOUR SERIES, IN REGIONAL PUBLICATIONS, REGARDING THE TOM THOMSON MYSTERY, AS FIRST PRESENTED BY JUDGE WILLIAM LITTLE, IN A BOOK OF THE SAME TITLE. OF ALL THE THOMSON BOOKS, I AM PARTICULARLY FOND OF JUDGE LITTLE'S WORK, AND IT REMAINS THE CORNERSTONE OF MY OWN WRITING FORAYS, INTO THE THOMSON DEATH. I HAVE READ HIS BOOK AT LEAST FIVE TIMES, ONCE FROM COVER TO COVER WHILE CAMPING ON TEA LAKE. IT WAS THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CBC FILM DOCUMENTARY IN THE EARLY 1970'S, ABOUT THE MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ARTIST'S SUDDEN DEATH…..AND INSIGHTS BY LITTLE, REGARDING THE "STILL OCCUPIED" ALGONQUIN GRAVE…..THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EMPTY. IT WAS LITTLE, AND MATE JACK EASTAUGH (PLUS TWO OTHERS) WHO DUG UP THE SUPPOSEDLY EMPTY GRAVE AT MOWAT, ON CANOE LAKE, BECAUSE LOCAL RESIDENTS CONCURRED……THE BODY OF CANADIAN ARTIST, TOM THOMSON HAD NEVER BEEN MOVED FROM THE PARK, CONTRARY TO WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE HAPPENED. THE ORIGINAL BURIAL OF THOMSON WAS UNEARTHED BY A HUNTSVILLE UNDERTAKER, A DAY AFTER THE ORIGINAL CEREMONY, AND SHIPPED BY TRAIN TO LEITH, ONTARIO, WHERE IT WAS LATER RE-BURIED AFTER A FAMILY FUNERAL SERVICE. THE PROBLEM FOR LITTLE, WAS THAT FORENSIC TESTING, AS IT WAS THEN, AND EXAMINATION OF THE SKULL FOUND IN THE GRAVE, WAS RULED BY SEVERAL EXPERTS, AS A FIRST NATIONS SKELETON; NOT THOMSON AT ALL. SO HOW WERE THE BODIES SWITCHED? IT WAS THOMSON'S GRAVE, HIS COFFIN, BUT WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN EMPTY GRAVE, TURNED OUT TO BE A PLACE OF RESIDENCE. I LOVED ALL THE INTRIGUING REALITIES OF THIS FAMOUS CANADIAN COLD CASE…..THAT WAS SO OBVIOUSLY COVERED-UP FOR SO MANY YEARS, OUT OF FEAR OF SOMETHING……BUT WHAT? THERE ARE MANY THEORIES ABOUT THIS, AND I'VE BEEN PURSUING EACH OF THEM, OVER TIME, AND WHEN RESOURCES BECOME AVAILABLE…..WELL, I'LL KEEP PLUGGING AWAY.

     THE ONLY WAY THE TOM THOMSON MYSTERY WILL EVER BE, EVEN PARTLY RESOLVED, IS IF FAMILY AND THE PROVINCE AGREE TO EXHUME THE SKELETON IN THE MOWAT PLOT, AND CONDUCT APPROPRIATE DNA TESTING, WITH THE COOPERATION OF EVERYONE CLOSE TO THE CASE. THE GRAVE IN LEITH DOESN'T NEED TO BE DISTURBED, WHICH HAS BEEN PART OF THE PROBLEM…..GETTING FAMILY TO AGREE TO THIS INVASIVE PROCEDURE, TO FIND OUT IF THERE IS A BODY IN THE GRAVE…..OR JUST AN EMPTY COFFIN. THE FACT THERE IS STILL A SKELETON BURIED IN THOMSON'S PLOT, IS PARTICULARLY TROUBLING, AND IF A DNA TEST WAS DONE, AND PROVEN THE BONES OF THIS CANADIAN ARTIST, THEN A PROPER GRAVE MARKER SHOULD BE ERECTED ON THE SITE. SEEMS LIKE THE THING TO DO. AND BY THE WAY, THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF ALGONQUIN VISITORS EACH YEAR, WHO FIND THEIR WAY TO THE TINY, OBSCURE LITTLE PLOT, WITH ONLY A FEW OCCUPIED GRAVES. THEY ALSO BELIEVE, THOMSON IS RESTING IN PEACE, DEEP IN THE ALGONQUIN SOIL. WHY NOT PROVE IT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER? THE PROVINCE SHOULD WANT THIS TO BE SETTLED ONCE AND FOR ALL, AND THEY HAVE THE JURISDICTION, EVEN WITHOUT FAMILY'S APPROVAL, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CEMETERY PLOT INTERLOPER.

I'M BUILDING THE COLLECTION AS A TRIBUTE TO THOMSON, AND TO MARK THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH

     I'D LIKE TO THINK, THAT FOUR YEARS FROM NOW, THE THOMSON FAMILY AND THE PROVINCIAL AUTHORITY FOR THE PARK, WILL HAVE FINALLY AGREED TO ASK FOR DNA TESTING OF THE ALGONQUIN BONES. IF THE BONES LEFT BEHIND, ARE INDEED THOSE BELONGING TO THOMSON, WOULDN'T THAT BE UPSETTING TO FAMILY?  JUST THE FACT THERE IS THIS DOUBT, SEEMS REASON ENOUGH TO END THE SPECULATION…..AND IF JUDGE LITTLE AND COMPANY, WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG, BELIEVING THE ARTIST NEVER LEFT THE PARK, THEN IT WOULD BE PARTICULARLY PRUDENT, TO THEN, AFTER POSITIVE TESTING, MARK HIS GRAVE APPROPRIATELY, FOR ALL PARK-GOERS, WHO REVERE THE NAME "THOMSON." BUT REGARDLESS, I PLAN TO PUT ALL MY EFFORTS, FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, TO SEEK OUT AND ACQUIRE WHATEVER THOMSON RELICS (COLLECTIBLES), OF GOOD TASTE (AND SOME ARE DEFINITELY NOT), I CAN, WITH THE INTENT OF SHARING THEM WITH THE PUBLIC, WHEN WE HIT JULY 2017…..WITH BOTH AN EXHIBIT IN GRAVENHURST, AND PUBLISHED ONLINE VIA THIS BLOG. THIS WON'T BE THE LONGEST COMMITMENT OF TIME TO ANY ONE PROJECT, FOR SUZANNE AND I, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY ONE THAT WILL BE MY LAST MAJOR PROJECT BEFORE RETIRING MYSELF…..TO WRITING PASSIVE (NO BARBS) LANDSCAPE STORIES, FROM HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW. SO I WANT TO DO THIS WELL, AND HAVE A COLLECTION, THAT WILL BE REVERED FOR ITS CONTENT, AND ENJOYED BY ITS RESIDENT STEWARD……WHO WILL GET A HUGE BUZZ, LET ME TELL YOU, SHARING IT WITH ALL OF YOU. OF COURSE I WILL NEED SUZANNE'S HELP. I WILL NEED EVERYONE'S HELP, INCLUDING YOURS…..SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY RELEVANT THOMSON RESEARCH, RELICS OR COLLECTIBLES YOU WISH TO PART WITH…..OR DONATE TO A GOOD CAUSE.

     WHEN I GOT INVOLVED RESEARCHING THE LIFE AND DEATH OF TOM THOMSON, IT CHANGED A LOT OF THINGS FOR ME……PARTICULARLY ATTITUDE. I BECAME MORE AGGRESSIVE AS AN HISTORIAN, AND I HAVE DEBATED THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THOMSON'S DEATH WITH HUNDREDS OF HOBBY RESEARCHERS, AND THOMSON ADMIRERS…..AND EVEN A GHOST HUNTER, WHO SOUGHT OUT MY OPINION. IT INFLUENCED ME TO SPEND MORE TIME IN ALGONQUIN PARK, AND IT LED TO HUNDREDS OF FAMILY OUTINGS, CAMPING NEAR WHERE THOMSON PAINTED, FISHED, AND TRAVERSED REGULARLY. WE USED TO PICNIC ONCE A MONTH, FROM THE SPRING TO FALL, ON THE SHORE OF THE TEA LAKE DAM, WHERE THOMSON LOVED TO FLY FISH IN THE RAPIDS. I CAN STILL REMEMBER, THE FIRST TIME I STOOD ON THE SHORE OF CANOE LAKE, AND THE SENSATION OF THAT COOL WATER ON MY FINGERS, WHEN, IN MY MIND, I FINALLY, INTIMATELY AND SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED TO THE LEGEND OF TOM THOMSON. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THOMSON TRAVERSING THE LAKE IN HIS PHANTOM CANOE, WHICH, IT IS CLAIMED, MAKES ITS APPEARANCE IN THE FINAL MOMENTS BEFORE SUNSET. BUT I HAVE FELT HIS PRESENCE……AND I'M WILLING TO BET, THAT ANYONE INTIMATE WITH THE CAREER OF THIS CANADIAN PAINTER, HAS FELT THE SAME.

     TO GET STARTED ON THIS FOUR YEAR ADVENTURE, IN HUNTING AND GATHERING, BOTH IN AN OUT OF A CANOE, FAMILY FRIEND FRED SCHULZ, SO KINDLY GOT SUZANNE A BAG OF THE SAME TYPE OF COFFEE BEANS, BREWED BY THOMSON, CIRCA 1917, IN A TIN POT OVER HIS LAKESIDE CAMPFIRES. IT WAS ACTUALLY A RETIREMENT GIFT TO SUZANNE, WHO FINISHED HER TEACHING CAREER YESTERDAY, AFTER THIRTY-ONE YEARS…..BUT THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THAT WE CURRIES ARE GOING TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN ALGONQUIN OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS……SO THE COFFEE WILL GET US IN THE MOOD.

     AS I HAVE DONE OVER THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS, WITH OTHER COLLECTING INTERESTS, I WILL KEEP YOU UP TO DATE, ON MY LATEST THOMSON FINDS, AND WHERE THEY WERE MADE. I LOVE STARTING OUT ON NEW PROJECTS, WITHOUT ANY BOUNDARIES. MY ONLY CONCERN NOW, IS IF MY WONKY HIP WILL ALLOW ME TO FIT BACK INTO OUR CANOE. IT'S BEEN IN DRY-DOCK FOR AWHILE.

     THANKS AGAIN FOR JOINING ME. IT'S ANOTHER YARD SALE SATURDAY TOMORROW, AND WE'VE GOT A LOT OF STOPS TO MAKE OUT THERE. IF YOU'RE OUT AND ABOUT THIS WEEKEND…..PLEASE DRIVE CAREFULLY….AS TRAFFIC VOLUME IS HUGE FOR THE HOLIDAY.