 |
| Tanglefoot on The Barge - Photo By Fred Schulz |
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE OLD HOMETOWN - IS ITS HISTORY - MADE FRESH DAILY
I HAD SOME RECREATION WITH THE GRAVENHURST LIONS, EVEN BEFORE BREAKFAST
"TRUTH AND TRUTH ONLY IS OUR AIM. WE ARE BOUND AS HISTORIANS TO EXAMINE AND RECORD FACTS WITHOUT FAVOUR OR AFFECTION, TO OUR OWN NATION OR ANY OTHER. SEEING THAT WE ARE, BY THE WORK WE FOLLOW, LED TO LOOK FURTHER BACK AND MORE WIDELY AROUND, THAN MOST OF OUR FELLOW CITIZENS CAN DO, ARE WE NOT CALLED UPON TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO TRY TO REDUCE EVERY SOURCE OF INTERNATIONAL ILL-FEELING. AS HISTORIANS, WE KNOW THAT EVERY GREAT PEOPLE HAS HAD ITS CHARACTERISTIC MERITS ALONG WITH ITS CHARACTERISTIC FAULTS. NONE IS SPECIALLY BLAMELESS; EACH HAS RENDERED ITS SPECIAL SERVICE TO HUMANITY AT LARGE. WE HAVE THE BEST REASON FOR KNOWING HOW GREAT IS THE DEBT EACH ONE OWES TO THE OTHER; HOW ESSENTIAL NOT ONLY TO THE MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT OF EACH, BUT ALSO TO ITS INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL ADVANCE, IS THE GREATNESS AND WELFARE OF THE OTHERS AND THE COMMON FRIENDSHIP OF ALL."
SOME PEOPLE WAKE UP WITH A SONG REPEATING IN THE HEAD, FOR NO APPARENT REASON. OTHERS ONLY COME ALIVE WHEN THEY HEAR THE STEAM WHISTLE FROM THE KETTLE ON THE STOVE, OR INHALE THE FIRST VAPOR TRAIL OF FRESHLY BREWED COFFEE. FOR THE PAST THIRTY-FIVE YEARS, WORKING AS A REGIONAL HISTORIAN, I HAVE AWOKEN WITH WORDS LIKE THIS, IN THE QUOTATION ABOVE, ETCHED LIGHTLY, BUT PROFOUNDLY ONTO MY PYSCHE. IT'S HOW I VIEW THE SCENE HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, AT FIRST LIGHT; HOW I LOOK AT THE TOWN WHEN I DRIVE THROUGH IT; WHAT I HAVE AS MY PROFESSIONAL CRUTCH, WHEN I'M ATTENDING EVENTS, (ONES I FIND OF SOCIAL / HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE); WHAT I USE AS MY FOUNDATION WHEN I'M WORKING ON THESE HERITAGE BLOGS, AND THE LAST THING I THINK ABOUT, WHEN I RETIRE TO BEDLAM, AFTER A RELAXING WALK WITH MY OLD CANINE COMPANION, BOSKO. MAYBE I AM A DULL FELLOW. POSSIBLY I DWELL TOO LONG ON THESE IMBEDDED PROTOCOLS, OF WHAT HISTORIANS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO, AS FAR AS RECORDING DAILY LIFE AND TIMES, IN THE PLACE WE DWELL. I CAN'T HELP IT, YOU SEE. I FIND IT IMPORTANT, LIKE NOTING THE PROMINENCE OF FAMILIAR ARCHITECTURE, WHILE WE STILL HAVE IT, AND THE TREES THAT NOW SO FULLY SPREAD OVER THE ROADWAYS OF THE OLD NEIGHBORHOODS. THE CHARACTERS I SEE SITTING EACH DAY, ON FAVORITE PARK BENCHES, AND WHO WALK UP AND DOWN THE STREETS, ON LEISURELY STROLLS, SUCH THAT YOU COULD SET YOUR WATCH BY THEIR COMINGS AND GOINGS. I WILL NOTICE SMALL THINGS, LIKE THE FACT, TODAY, AT THIS MOMENT, A PERSON MAY PASS OUR SHOP, WITHOUT THE HAT THEY USUALLY HAVE RESTING SLIGHTLY TO ONE SIDE OF THEIR HEAD. SMALL DETAILS DON'T ESCAPE ME. I AM ODD THIS WAY. YET I HAVE NEVER FELT DISADVANTAGED, BY BEING TOO NOSEY FOR MY OWN GOOD.
THE QUOTATION ABOVE WAS WRITTEN BY NO ONE YOU WOULD KNOW. I'M PRETTY SURE OF THAT. HIS NAME WAS THE RIGHT HONORABLE MR. BRYCE, A FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE QUINQUENNIAL HISTORICAL CONFERENCE, OF LONDON, ENGLAND. ONE OF THE REASONS IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME, IS THAT IT APPEARED IN THE BIOGRAPHY, WRITTEN BY A.B. MCKILLOP, IN THE TEXT OF "A CRITICAL SPIRIT - THE THOUGHT OF WILLIAM DAWSON LESUEUR." IT WAS A QUOTE MCKILLOP USED, TO DESCRIBE THE LIFE AND WORK OF CANADIAN LITERARY CRITIC, AND HISTORIAN, DR. LESUEUR. I HAVE BEEN WRITING QUITE A BIT ABOUT THE GOOD MR. LESUEUR RECENTLY, WHILE WORKING ON THE STORY OF BRITISH POET, WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, AND HIS FAMOUS BOOK, "GRAVENHURST; OR THOUGHTS ON GOOD AND EVIL." DR. LESUEUR, OF COURSE, WAS THE POSTAL AUTHORITY, IN AUGUST 1862, WHO SELECTED THE NAME "GRAVENHURST," FOR THE TITLE OF OUR NEW POST OFFICE. FOR WELL MORE THAN A CENTURY, VERY FEW PEOPLE KNEW WHO W.D. LESUEUR WAS, AND FEWER HAD EVER HEARD OF WILLIAM HENRY SMITH. WELL IF YOU'RE NEW TO THIS STORY, YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK FOUR COLUMNS TO FIND OUT. THE POINT IS, WE WERE NAMED BY A WELL INTENTIONED CIVIL SERVANT, WHO WAS ALSO A BRILLIANT LITERARY CRITIC, AND HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED HISTORIAN…..AND I FIND THIS REMARKABLE. HE CHOSE THE WORK OF A BRITISH POET, WHO HE ADMIRED, IN HIS ROLE AS A CRITIC, AND BORROWED THE NAME FOR THE TINY HAMLET THAT WAS ONCE KNOWN AS MCCABE'S LANDING. HE GAVE US A LITERARY PROVENANCE, WE HAVE KNOWN VERY LITTLE ABOUT, UNTIL THIS NEW CENTURY; WE'RE STILL A LONG WAY FROM ACCEPTING IT, AS A GOOD THING……TO HAVE SUCH AN INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION WITH THE POET SCENE, OF NINETEENTH CENTURY ENGLAND.
THIS BLOG TODAY, ISN'T ABOUT DR. LESUEUR, AS SUCH, OR MR. SMITH. AS SOMEONE OBSESSED BY HISTORY, I DO VERY MUCH ADHERE TO THE OBSERVATIONAL DEMANDS OF THE HISTORIAN, AND FRANKLY, IT'S TOUGH TO SEPARATE MYSELF FROM ITS BURDENS. WHICH I FIND NONE THE LESS A PLEASANT OBSESSION, AS OBSESSION GO! BEING A WRITER AND AN ANTIQUE DEALER, PRETTY MUCH GUARANTEES, MY DAYS ARE GOING TO INVOLVE SOMETHING HISTORICAL, THAT I FEEL NEEDS TO BE RECORDED FOR POSTERITY. TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE JOLLY DAYS, IN THIS HOMETOWN, AND IT COMES ON THE HEAL OF A RECENT BLOG I PUBLISHED HERE, EARLY THIS WEEK, ON MY OLD FRIEND, AND WORK COLLEAGUE, JOHN BLACK, WHO TOOK AN EXCEPTIONALLY STORIED PHOTOGRAPH, ONCE, OF THE GRAVENHURST ARCHWAY, BACK IN 1981, WHICH WAS THEN PUBLISHED ON THE FRONT COVER OF THE FORMER "GRAVENHURST LEADER." IT WAS A PHOTOGRAPH THAT SAID A LOT, WITHOUT USING EVEN ONE WORD OF DESCRIPTION. IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE MEMORABLE IMAGES, POSSESSING THAT HAUNTING QUALITY, THAT NO MATTER WHEN YOU VIEW IT, MEMORIES CHIRP THROUGH THE FOG OF TIME, AND MAKE US PINE FOR OUR OLD NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, ASSOCIATES, CLUB MATES AND FAMILY. I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS, EARLY TODAY, WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE CAR, AT MUSKOKA WHARF, AND TRUNDLED WITH FAMILY OVER TO THE LION'S PAVILION, WHERE THE CLUB WAS HOSTING THEIR ANNUAL FUNDRAISING YARD SALE. IT WAS THE KIND OF GOOD NEIGHBOR SCENE, THAT JOHN BLACK WOULD HAVE TAKEN A PHOTOGRAPH OF, AS NOT JUST EVIDENCE OF YET ANOTHER COMMUNITY EVENT……BUT RATHER, A SOCIAL, CULTURAL, RECREATIONAL MOMENT IN HISTORY……THAT PERSONIFIED THE FUN ASSOCIATED WITH BEING A RESIDENT OF THIS THRIVING SOUTH MUSKOKA TOWN.
THE LIONS CLUB PUT ON A FUN MORNING SALE - GOOD FOR WHAT AILS US AFTER A LONG WINTER
I am notoriously long winded in my lectures, in front of half-asleep patrons. I am famous for long openings, in my feature editorials. As I've noted previously, these blogs are biographical, for my sons and their families, and it's kind of important to me, that they get the full picture of their controversial (at times) father…..to balance against what they might hear, or read, after I depart this mortal coil. So I offer an apology, once again, for spinning out of control, to describe one event, in a long list of events, that I found myself engaged with today.
I enjoy antique hunting as much as researching and writing about local history, and this morning, meeting up with the Lions by 7 a.m., was a fantastic way to start the day in Gravenhurst. As it has been in the past, the Lions Club made their annual sale a friendly, welcoming, interesting stop along the way…..for antique hunters and home decorators…..and the curious amongst us. And there were plenty of eager hunter-gatherers sharing the space. The Lions Club members were offering free coffee and treats, for morning rejuvenation, as well as a huge (and I mean huge) collection of bric-a-brac, and lots of books. I bought a box full, and at least five histories on the War of 1812, of which I had a number of family members in volunteer regiments. Suzanne secured a basket of knitting needles and sewing patterns, some nostalgic glassware, cookbooks for her new business, "The Cookery Nookery," at our Muskoka Road shop, and son Andrew, was able to pick up some vintage games, and a few records, for his brand new "Muskoka Jam Room," in the back room (where the movie screen used to be), that he will be opening this coming Saturday, in the former Muskoka Theatre building. We got funky 1960's stools, a nice 1920's table, and a shelf unit for all the books we just acquired.
What I like about community sales like this, is the gathering of people…..the intermingling of friends and soon-to-be friends, sharing a few sparkling moments, in one of the most beautiful regions on earth. Of course we should be happy and contented. There are some stodgy historians, who have little use for social / cultural heritage, as a mainstay. I have been consumed by social history from the first research paper I wrote, back in university. Out of ten antiquarians, who might have visited the same sale this morning, at The Wharf, I would have been the only one, who felt it important to imprint it, in my mind, as a truly historic occasion, of hometown culture and recreation. I met up with at least a dozen folks I know, from around town, and business, and we had short and enjoyable conversations. Suzanne, Andrew and Robert, each had about the same number of encounters, and by golly, it was the kind of social "happening," writer Stephen Leacock, might have found worthy of a few lines for a short story. There were the customary hands outstretched, as greetings, pats on the backs, hugs, laughter, a few tasteful jokes, kind assistance from member Lions, and significant others, to help carry purchases to waiting vehicles. It was an atmosphere of light-heartedness, such that when you left, the good cheer found there, at no cost, lingered contently through the coming adventures of the yard sale Saturday.
There are times, when even the stalwart, unflappable historian has to pause, thoughtfully, to answer the question, "What is this town all about?" It would be a thinly evidenced overview, to say that this simple, unfettered, morning social, put on by the local Lions, answered the broad spectrum of this question. Yet what I see, with so many of these community events, put on by local churches and service clubs, is the essence, the flesh of all the history that has ever been recorded here……in the social / cultural chronicle; and as the time traveller I am, the scene that unfolded so pleasantly today, was hauntingly reminiscent, of similar events, and fundraisers, dating back through the decades; the centuries……staffed by the same vigor of volunteerism, as witnessed tenfold today. When I get frustrated by local politics, admittedly, I find myself thirsting for something that reminds me of the true history makers of our home town; the citizens who rally time and again, free of political tithes, to make life better here. Charity begins at home……and these words say it all…..about what I witnessed today, and at so many other community functions, put on by caring volunteers.
As a family of collectors, we enjoyed this event immensely. We filled our vehicle with interesting finds. And we enjoyed the good company of the Gravenhurst Lions, and the good neighbors who turned out to help make this annual fundraiser a success. But we also have a personal connection to the Lions organization, and we always go out of our way, to support one of their events around the district. Suzanne's father, and our boys' grandfather, was Lion Norm Stripp, of the Windermere and District Lions Club. Suzanne gets a wee tear at every one of these events, but only with fond memories, of what the Lions meant to Norman over many decades. So if the Lions plan on having a fundraising yard sale, again next year, we shall arrive with great anticipation, our usual fifteen minutes before opening. We extend our thanks to the Gravenhurst Lions for putting on a fun event, in a fun town. Even the historian can have fun now and again.
Thanks so much for joining today's blog. We were hugely busy at the shop today, and we have to get up bright and early tomorrow, to attend the last day of the twice yearly Automotive Flea Market, at Burl's Creek, just north of Barrie. A lot of folks, interested in antiques and collectables, know that this event offers some interesting surprises, if you are able to hustle through the hundreds of vendors. There is a lot more than just old car parts at this intriguing - and huge sale. The last day of the sale is best for pickers like us, because a lot of vendors are more likely to be negotiable on prices…..not wanting to haul the pieces back home. The same works at antique shows. Last year we came home with some great antique finds, including a turn of the century cylinder player (a talking machine), and I found a really neat, sea-shell encrusted memorial cross, in a shadow box, that was a folk art creation, by a hobby crafter, made thoughtfully following a tragedy at sea. I had to buy a collectable red wagon, off another vendor, just to haul it back to the car. We all have a lot of fun roaming through this huge acreage of vendors. Each time we've attended, we've come back with significant investment pieces. So if you're looking for something to do, check it out first on the internet……to get an idea just how big it is. Maybe we'll see you there.
I'm glad to announce that Fred Schulz is going to be re-joining me, this time on my Gravenhurst blog instead, as the lead photographer. He had a little business to take care of for several weeks, but he was suffering withdrawal from the limelight, and told me of some big photographic adventures he's got planned in the near future……roaming the pioneer hamlets and villages of our region. That's coming soon to this blog, and I'm grateful for his outstanding contributions…..because, he is one of the district's finest photographers. No doubt about it! And speaking of Mr. Schulz, I will also be doing some more profiles of upcoming "Music on The Barge" performers, and it's only a few weeks away from the start of the 2013 Sunday night series, at Rotary Gull Lake Park. All the more reason to stick with me, for an exciting summer season in Gravenhurst. Fred, by the way, is the Manager of the Music on the Barge program……and he's been associated with the summer tradition for yes…..most of his life. It promises to be a great season of outdoor entertainment.
No comments:
Post a Comment