Woodchester Villa and Museum and Lessons Learned

NOTE: 

Due to technical difficulties...son of a bitch, I lost my blog opening into the abyss of cyber space. Possibly, martians will be able to read it floating out there as "five misplaced paragraphs," written by an earthling...but just not on this planet. Sorry about the missing material but such is life and computers.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2011

ARRIVAL OF MUSEUM.....A GLOWING ACHIEVEMENT

WOODCHESTER HAD IT ALL - OR SO IT APPEARED

When Wayland Drew called me one evening, and asked if I had time to meet with him, regarding the idea I had recently proposed (in the local press) for a Bracebridge Historical Society (circa 1978 I believe), I was thrilled to have a potential partner. The initial response had been slow. I didn’t really know who Wayland (Buster) was, at that point, until my girlfriend at the time, Gail Smith, told me about the book he wrote on Lake Superior. I found out quite a bit about the good Mr. Drew, before I attended the meeting at his Bracebridge house. Here I was, a snotty nosed recent university graduate, with the ink still wet on the diploma, and I’m having an intimate meeting about Canadian and regional history, with an author of considerable national acclaim.

I wasn’t in that meeting five minutes, before I knew we would come to be good friends, and something terrific would happen up on that Woodchester Villa hillside. He had such a gentle, calming influence over a scared kid, who had just then, been happily, but politely put in his place. I was delighted to be his underling. And that never changed through many years and quite a few challenges. We didn’t always agree. Wayland and I got into a terrible fight over the removal of huge trees, that lined the steep lane up to the Bird house. He was trying to protect the century old pines and I advocated cutting them down. I was wrong. I told him so later. By then some of those trees had been removed. I won the initial argument, siding with the town, but it was no victory when I realized I’d crushed my partner.....a keen environmentalist who cared so much about the heritage of nature.....

Wayland may never have known this, because I certainly gave the appearance of being an unflinchingly independent, arrogant son-of-a-bitch, but he became one of the only mentors I’ve ever had. I read everything he’d put his pen to, and I thoroughly enjoyed his company for those early Historical Society evenings. He was an important man but you’d never know it, being in his company. It’s at Woodchester now that I see him so clearly. Every time I visit the site, I think about our first tour up to the Bird House, all boarded-up and desolate in early 1978. Gail and I walked around the property with him.....and despite how desperate the situation to reclaim the building, he had confidence something construction could happen here. And it did. He called his friends. Those friends called others, and it kept going and going, until there was a battalion of volunteers. I spent a lot of time in Wayland’s company, usually with my chin stuck against my chest, in absolute awe how he did what he did!

While to many Bracebridge citizens today, Woodchester Villa isn’t even a blip on the community radar. Why would it be? It’s just a museum. It has become largely a tourist-only venue, in its own thirty year history, although that was never the intent by those who faithfully tended the restoration. There is something important here that has been lost....just as much in need of refurbishing as the building itself. It’s the attitude we nursed along for that first decade, trying to make Bracebridge citizens as proud of the museum as we were. It was the exceptional show of citizen action, the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of folks who worked on that restoration......, and set-up the museum, that inspires me even today about the power of a hometown to attain incredible milestones. I think now about the thousands of hours spent on paper work issues, negotiations for the Alvin Kaye collection, gardening, decorating, painting and trimming.....not to mention work spent on so many elaborate fundraising events in those early years. To many weary folks, exhausted from exquisite Empire Dinners, and both Blueberry and Strawberry Socials, that took so many, many hours away from family, home and business responsibilities. It did result in family stresses. I was threatened with divorce many times during my years of near-residence on-site. Yet, at the end of every event, at closing time every day, sitting on those steps of the front verandah, it all seemed worth the effort. It seemed so very relevant to Bracebridge.....and it’s true that all the work, and blind faith in what we were doing, tended to blind us to the reality many citizens still had no interest in visiting.....even when we suspended admission charges. We just didn’t have the money to invest in promotion and counted on the generosity of two local newspapers to help us out. But that was running into opposition as well, by the late 1980's, as their publishers decided the free-ride was over. It was a back breaker but they were right. We should have been able to pay for and profit from promotions. It didn’t happen that way. Then came the recession. Change was imminent.

When it comes to a thorough examination of Woodchester’s future, I will have no hesitation whatsoever, barking out in a loud, clear, and arrogant voice, about my very great pleasure in life, to have been associated with the grand effort of the Bracebridge Historical Society, the Bracebridge Rotary Club and the Town of Bracebridge, in a hometown partnership that produced a really fine museum. What might now be considered a nuisance expense, and a civic burden, was once considered the hallmark of citizen action. It was not just the “who’s who” of Bracebridge who rebuilt Woodchester, but a mixture of casual acquaintances who became friends; good and lasting friends.

The last time I spoke with Wayland Drew, it was at an outdoor literary event, sponsored by “Muskoka Ink,” held at Woodchester, long after we had both retired from the Historical Society. Quite ill, by this time, I remember him walking across the lawn to shake my hand, after I’d read a short paper about former Toronto Sun columnist, Paul Rimstead, a former Bracebridge lad. I didn’t know it prior to this, but Wayland and I were both Rimstead fans. He let me know I’d written an excellent tribute piece. From him, it was a moment to be cherished. The fact that he acknowledged my writing at all, was a great honor. We stood for awhile talking about the old days at Woodchester, all the work, the frustrations, anxious moments, and successes we both felt had been achieved on this beautiful hillside, overlooking the Muskoka River. It was such a perfect, warm and memorable evening. We shook hands, made the same trustful eye contact, we had on our first meeting, and wished each other well. And I knew this would probably be our last meeting. It was.

When it comes to making a decision about the property, there are many who should be consulted about its fate. There’s a lot more to this old building than what appears to the eye. It is very much a monument to so many people, who had the best intentions for the site.......but if they can be at fault for anything, it was a general misunderstanding of grants and revenues, long past those first five years of operation. The fact so many of these people were elderly at the beginning, meant an ongoing need to bring aboard enthusiastic young folks to carry the burden. It didn’t happen with the same vigor as it had begun. As the town debates this site’s future, I hope it will consider its history with some sensitivity and compassion......because to dismiss it casually, or disregard its storied past, would be unforgivable to all hometown values.

Let Town Council know what you think. They know my opinion!

SOME FINAL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT WOODCHESTER VILLA AND THE ILL FATED BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY WAS LAUNCHED BY GOOD INTENTION. IT'S MISSION TO RESTORE ONE OF NORTH AMERICA'S FEW REMAINING OCTAGONAL BUILDINGS, BASED ON THE DESIGN OF ORSON SQUIRE FOWLER, WAS AN IMPORTANT HERITAGE PROJECT. IT WASN'T FRIVOLOUS OR A WASTE OF MONEY. IT WAS A GOOD AND SOUND PROPERTY ACQUISITION, AND THE FACT THE CHAPEL GALLERY HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL WITH ITS MUSKOKA ARTS AND CRAFTS ASSOCIATION, PROVES THAT FOLKS WILL TRAVEL A LITTLE OUT OF THE WAY TO SEE SOMETHING THAT PLEASES THEM. THE MUSEUM FOR MANY YEARS, DID THE SAME, AND REPRESENTED BRACEBRIDGE AND ITS HERITAGE QUITE WELL. I KNOW SO. I WAS THERE.

WELL RESPECTED CITIZENS WERE BEHIND THIS PROJECT. I CO-PRODUCED THE WOODCHESTER VILLA BOOKLET WITH BRACEBRIDGE HISTORIAN ROBERT BOYER. THE PRESIDENT OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, WAYLAND DREW, WAS A WELL KNOWN CANADIAN AUTHOR. HIGHLY RESPECTED LAWYER, E.P. LEE HELPED DRAFT OUR CONSTITUTION. BANK MANAGER AND TOWN COUNCILLOR, RALPH MELVIN, OFFERED A WEALTH OF INFORMATION ON THAT FIRST BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THE LIST OF VIPS IS A LONG ONE. THE WORK OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF BRACEBRIDGE WAS REMARKABLE. THESE WERE THE HALCYON HERITAGE DAYS IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND IT WAS EXCITING. WHEN WOODCHESTER VILLA IS CONSIDERED TODAY, UNFORTUNATELY, MUCH OF THIS IS MISSING FROM COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS, AND NEWSPAPER REPORTING. I COULDN'T NEGLECT THIS MINOR RE-TELLING OF A MEMORABLE PERIOD IN OUR LOCAL HISTORY. IT IS SUCH A SAD OCCASION NOW, TO KNOW ITS FUTURE LOOKS SO BLEAK.

PRESENT BRACEBRIDGE COUNCILLORS MIGHT STAND UP ON THAT HILLSIDE TODAY, AND LOOK AT WOODCHESTER AND THE ANCHOR OF ITS HERITAGE DESIGNATION, AND FEEL IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A LEGACY "MONEY PIT." AS I MENTIONED NUMEROUS TIMES THROUGHOUT THE SMALL SERIES OF WOODCHESTER BLOGS, THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE NARROW VIEW, CERTAINLY FROM THE MID 1980'S, WHEN EVEN MENTIONING WOODCHESTER VILLA TO A COUNCILLOR, BROUGHT ABOUT A SUDDEN CHILL IN THE CONVERSATION. SO IT'S NOT THAT I BLAME PRESENT COUNCILLORS FOR VIEWING THE MUSEUM THIS WAY, AND MOST OF IT IS TRUE. THE MEASURE OF ITS SUCCESS HOWEVER, HAS ALWAYS BEEN CLOAKED BY ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES. THE NON-FISCAL REALITIES OF THE SITE, ARE EITHER IGNORED OR MISUNDERSTOOD, BECAUSE NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO PRESENT ITS TOURISM VALUE SUCCESSFULLY, TO A TOWN COUNCIL DEALING WITH PROFIT, LOSS AND COMPLIANCE TO BUDGETS. THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR MANY HERITAGE SITES, ART GALLERIES, AND I DARE SAY EVEN PUBLIC LIBRARIES. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF "GOODWILL." HOW MUCH "GOODWILL" HAS BEEN RAISED BY THIS LITTLE OCTAGONAL HOUSE ON THE HILL? WHAT ABOUT THE CHAPEL GALLERY?

WHENEVER I HAD TO APPROACH COUNCIL FOR ASSISTANCE, AT WOODCHESTER, IT WAS ALWAYS THE CASE OF "SHOW US THE MONEY." I UNDERSTOOD THAT NEED. NO MATTER HOW MANY VISITORS TO WOODCHESTER WERE IMPRESSED BY THE SHOW WE PUT ON FOR THEM, THE ONLY ACCOUNTING THE TOWN WAS CONCERNED WITH, WAS THE EVENTUAL DEPOSIT WE MADE AT THE BANK. THEY NEVER UNDERSTOOD THAT BECAUSE WE HAD A TIGHT BUDGET, THERE WASN'T MUCH MONEY, AFTER STAFFING THE PLACE, LEFTOVER TO PLACE ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE LOCAL PRESS, OR ANYWHERE ELSE. I HAD TO BEG MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS TO RUN OUR PRESS RELEASES AT LEAST, TO PROMOTE SOME OF OUR LARGE EVENTS. I BECAME VERY PROFICIENT AT THE ART OF THE "PRESS RELEASE." I GOT A LOT OF PUBLICITY FOR FREE, AND ANYONE WHO CONTACTED US ABOUT DOING A STORY ON WOODCHESTER, WAS TREATED AS IF THEY WERE ROYALTY. I ENTERTAINED MANY TRAVEL WRITERS FROM DAILY PUBLICATIONS, LIKE THE TORONTO STAR, AND MAGAZINES FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, WHO WERE LOOKING AT INTERESTING HERITAGE LOCATIONS IN CANADA. IT WAS THE SAME WITH THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY FREEBIES I CONNED OFF CKCO REGIONAL NEWS REPORTER, GAR LEWIS, WHO THANKFULLY WAS A GOOD FRIEND…..AND ALWAYS INTERESTED IN SOMETHING NEW AT THE MUSEUM. I JUST KEPT COMING UP WITH INTERESTING ANGLES, AND COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT WOULD MAKE GOOD PHOTO-OPS. WE HAD TO TAKE WHATEVER WE COULD TO PROMOTE THE MUSEUM, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE MORE THAN ABOUT A GRAND A YEAR, FOR CONVENTIONAL NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING. THE TOWN COULDN'T HAVE CARED LESS ABOUT OUR DISADVANTAGES THAT WAY, AND YUP, THIS WAS THE NAGGING PROBLEM THAT FRANKLY, DOOMED THE MUSEUM FROM THE BEGINNING.

THERE IS NO WAY OF EVER TRULY KNOWING WHAT GOODWILL WAS WORTH IN THOSE YEARS, AND WHAT THE SPIN-OFF WAS TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY. WE ALWAYS REMINDED GUESTS TO VISIT DOWNTOWN BRACEBRIDGE, AND WE WOULD ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT GOOD PLACES FOR FAMILY DINING, CLOTHES SHOPPING, ANTIQUE SHOPS AND SO MANY INQUIRIES ABOUT SANTA'S VILLAGE. WE WERE AS MUCH A TOURIST INFORMATION SITE, AS A COMMUNITY MUSEUM. WE FELT, ON MOST OCCASIONS, THAT WE WERE SENDING PEOPLE OFF TO SEE THE REST OF TOWN, FEELING AS IF THEY HAD ENJOYED OUR HOSPITALITY AS A STARTING POINT TO A COMMUNITY-WIDE VISIT. THE STAFF WAS RIGOROUSLY REMINDED THAT THEY WERE TOWN AMBASSADORS, AND AS SUCH, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BE AS OBLIGING AS POSSIBLE. IF WE HAD A COMPLAINT, IT WAS NEVER BECAUSE A STAFF MEMBER WAS RUDE, OR INDIFFERENT. IF WE WEREN'T ABLE TO AFFORD A NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT, THEN WE HAD TO COUNT ON OUR SATISFIED CUSTOMERS, SPREADING THE WORD AMONGST OTHER POTENTIAL VISITORS. IT DID WORK TO A DEGREE. WHEN WE PUT ON CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS ESPECIALLY, WE HAD MANY RETURNING FAMILIES EVENT AFTER EVENT. SOME CAME FROM AREA RESORTS, THAT HAD OFFERED OUR SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ON THEIR COMMUNITY RECREATION BOARDS. WE FLEW ON THE CHEAP, AND HONESTLY, WE FLEW A LONG WAY ON A LITTLE.

IF I STOOD SIDE BY SIDE PRESENT BRACEBRIDGE COUNCILLORS, AT THE FRONT OF WOODCHESTER VILLA TODAY, I WOULD HAVE THE SAME PERPLEXING PROBLEM AS I HAD IN THE 1980'S, WHEN I FIRST MENTIONED THE NEED TO MAKE SOME REPAIRS TO THE VERANDAH….THE PORCH, THE CRUMBLING WALL. "SHOW US THE MONEY?" WHY WOULD IT BE ANY DIFFERENT NOW? IF I COULDN'T GENERATE ENTHUSIASM WHEN WE HAD FIVE HUNDRED OR MORE VISITORS TO A BLUEBERRY SOCIAL, OR A CHRISTMAS IN JULY EVENT, HOW IN THE WORLD WOULD I BE ABLE TO SELL THEM ON THE PRESENT, LOOKING-ABANDONED BIRD HOUSE? IF EVER THERE WAS THE REQUIREMENT OF A COUNCILLOR TO BE CONCILIATORY AND VISIONARY, ABOUT THIS HERITAGE SITE, NOW IS THE TIME. WHAT A TIME FOR THIS TO HAPPEN! WITH THE ABSOLUTE NEED FOR BUDGET RESTRAINT, AND TAXPAYER EXHAUSTION, I'M AFRAID IT IS THE WORSE PERIOD IN MODER HISTORY, TO BE ASKING COUNCIL FOR A HAND-OUT OR A HAND-UP. PROVINCIAL AND FEDERAL FUNDING IS GOING TO BE HARDER TO GET.

A YEAR AGO I STUCK MY OAR IN, ON THE WOODCHESTER DEBACLE. I DID SO AS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEMBERS, AND INITIATORS OF THE BIRD HOUSE RESTORATION, DATING BACK TO 1977-78. I FELT AN OBLIGATION TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM, I HAD A HAND IN CREATING IN THE FIRST PLACE. I WROTE TO THE TOWN, AND COMPOSED A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER, OFFERING MY ASSISTANCE, TO DEAL WITH ANY IMMEDIATE AND FUTURE ISSUES…..WHICH COULD HAVE MEANT GOING INTO THE BUILDING AND SECURING THE VALUABLE ANTIQUES AND HERITAGE ITEMS IN THE MUSEUM. FROM THE LETTER IN THE NEWSPAPER, I ONLY RECEIVED TWO RESPONSES, AND FROM THE TOWN, A POLITE "THANK YOU." NOW CONSIDERING WOODCHESTER WAS RESTORED BY HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS, STRETCHING OVER ABOUT FIVE YEARS OF ITS MOST ACTIVE MUSEUM BUSINESS, IN THE EARLY 1980'S, THE COMMUNITY WAS BEING QUITE CLEAR ON THE MATTER. "LEAVE US ALONE." AS FOR THE TOWN, MY FEELING WAS THE SAME. AND I DID. UNTIL JUST RECENTLY, READING COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL SOURCES, INDICATING THE BUILDING MIGHT BE BULLDOZED, TAKEN APART, AND REBUILT PIECE BY PIECE, AND THAT AT LEAST ONE COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE, WAS UNAWARE IF THE CONTENTS WERE STILL IN THE MUSUEM. SO I STUCK MY OAR IN AGAIN, WHETHER IT WAS DESIRED OR NOT.

I INFORMED THE EDITOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER, THAT SHOULD THE REPORTER, WHO DID THE MOST RECENT STORY ON WOODCHESTER, WISH SOME BACKGROUND ON THE MUSEUM…..SOME INSIGHT ABOUT THE YEARS OF STRUGGLE TO KEEP IT AFLOAT, AND MY INVOLVEMENT AS ONE OF THE FOUNDING DIRECTORS, I WOULD WELCOME THE REVIEW OF MY POSTED BLOGS, DATING BACK TO THE LATE WINTER OF 2011. JUST FOR THE RECORD. TO CLEARLY SHOW THAT I HAD OFFERED TO HELP AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE WRAP-AROUND VERANDAH, AND ADVISE ON THE POSSIBLE FUTURE OUTCOMES FOR THE SITE. AS YOU CAN READ FROM MY PREVIOUS BLOGS, POSTED ON THIS BRACEBRIDGE SITE, I AM NOT A STRICT ADVOCATE FOR SITE RESTORATION, OR ITS RETURN TO MUSEUM FUNCTION, BASED ON THE HIGH COST OF REPAIRS INSIDE AND OUT. I HAVE SUGGESTED THE SITE BE CONSIDERED AS AN ARTS / HERITAGE CENTRE, AND IF THE BUILDING COULD BE RESTORED, THAT IT BE USED AS AN ART-RELATED FACILITY. I SEE THE VALUE OF A COMMUNITY MUSEUM IN THE FUTURE, BUT IN A NEW BUILDING IN A MORE ACCESSIBLE, VISIBLE PART OF TOWN.

THIS IS MY LAST WORD ABOUT WOODCHESTER…..AT LEAST UNTIL I READ THE NEXT NEWS ITEM ABOUT ITS FATE. I WISH THE TOWN HAD BEEN BETTER STEWARDS OF THE SITE, SINCE MY DEPARTURE IN 1989, BUT WHAT IS DONE IS DONE. WHAT HAPPENS NOW? MAYBE YOU CAN PLAY A ROLE. DON'T BE AFRAID OF MAKING COMMENT.