A Muskoka Doctor and Politician Worth Knowing

A historic barn stands strong nestled in a valley along the Reay Road off the Gravenhurst Parkway on a beautiful Fall October afternoon.   The afternoon sun highlights the weathering on both the roof and barn boards. (Photo By Fred Schulz)

A MUSKOKA DOCTOR AND POLITICIAN WORTH KNOWING - DR. PETER MCGIBBON OF BRACEBRIDGE

HIS LAST MAJOR PROJECT - GETTING AN ELEVATOR INSTALLED FOR RED CROSS HOSPITAL


     YOU'LL HAVE TO EXCUSE ME. I'M DISHEVELLED AT THE MOMENT. THE OTHER NIGHT, IT WAS BECAUSE OUR HOUSE-CAT LITERALLY FELL OUT THE BACK DOOR, TUMBLING FORWARD OFF A CHINA CUPBOARD, REQURING A SEARCH AND RECOVERY MISSION THROUGH THE EVENING-SHADE, OF OUR DENSE PINERY, HERE AT THE OLD HOMESTEAD. TODAY, A LITTLE SHOCKED, I'M RECOVERING FROM THE FRIGHTENING SUGGESTION SUZANNE MADE, A FEW MOMENTS AGO, THAT WE SHOULD JOIN A NEAR-CAVE-MAN PERIOD DIET, WHICH HAS BECOME POPULAR SOMEWHERE OR OTHER, I DON'T CARE ABOUT. NO BREAD, NO POTATOES, NO PASTA, NO FUN. I ALSO TOLD HER THAT I WOULD ONLY AGREE IF SHE DONNED PRIMITIVE ATTIRE, MINE A NICE, COLORFUL, SOFT-TO-THE-TOUCH LOIN CLOTH. I INFORMED MY PARTNER, THAT I HAVE LIVED FIFTY-EIGHT PLEASANT YEARS, EATING A WIDE VARIETY OF FOODS, ALWAYS WITH MY FAVORITE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES; SOMETIMES WITH A FEW GLASSES OF ENGLISH ALE IN THE NAME OF TRADITION, A COMFORTING GLASS OF WINE, OR WHEN OF FINANCIAL MEANS, A GLASS OF BRANDY TO SETTLE MY STOMACH. I WAS EXCESSIVE WITH TRADITION IN MY YOUTH, AND ATE ANTACIDS LIKE PEZ, BUT NOW I'M LOW-KEY IN MOST PURSUITS, EXCEPT LAUNCHING TIRADES AT GRAVENHURST COUNCIL. FOR THAT I'M ALWAYS WILLING TO EXTEND THE HEALTH RISK, TO LET LOOSE MY LATEST SALVO. IF I'M GOING TO DIE, I WANT AS A LAST WISH, TO NOT HAVE ANYTHING LEFT ON MY CHEST. NOW, ACCUSTOMED TO GETTING IN THE LAST WORD ON EVERY ARGUMENT, THAT WOULD BOTHER ME. EXCEPT IT WOULD BOTHER MY SPIRIT INSTEAD, AND THEN I'D HAVE TO HAUNT SOMEONE AFTER THAT. WHAT A JOY THAT WOULD BE. GIVES ME GOOSE BUMPS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. I'VE GONE ON HIATUS, AND SEMI-RETIRED FROM THE POLITICAL DANCE HOWEVER, BECAUSE WITH A LAME DUCK COUNCIL, WITH ONLY A YEAR TO GO, WHAT'S THE POINT. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO A TOTALLY NEW COUNCIL....NEW BLOOD.....OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW! I DON'T LIKE THE PRESENT COUNCIL, AND THEY DON'T LIKE ME, AND THE BALANCE KEEPS US FROM HITTING LOWS ON EITHER SIDE.....LIKE REQUESTING A PUBLIC BOXING MATCH TO SETTLE THE DEBATE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
      NOW BACK TO THE DIET, I MADE IT CLEAR TO SUZANNE, I'M HEALTHY AND HAPPY FOLLOWING THE STANDARDS OF CANADA'S FOOD GUIDE.....WHICH SHE, ACTUALLY TAUGHT TO HER HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, IN FAMILY STUDIES, FOR SEVERAL DECADES.....AND BROUGHT THAT STANDARD HOME FOR US. I DON'T LIKE DIETS SO I EAT SENSIBLY MOST OF THE TIME, TO AVOID THE EXPENSE I HATE THE MOST.....OF HAVING TO BUY NEW CLOTHES TO FIT MY BULK. I'M OVERWEIGH BY MEDICAL STANDARDS BUT MOST OF THE BULGE IS WITH MY ATTITUDE. THAT'S WHAT SOME OF MY POLITICAL FOES CLAIM. SO HONESTLY, I DON'T KNOW IF SUZANNE IS SERIOUS ABOUT THIS DIET-THING, BUT I'M GOING TO FIGHT AGAINST IT.....WELL SIR, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME. HOW IRONIC. SHE WANTS ME TO EAT MORE PARSNIPS. TWICE A YEAR IS MY LIMIT AND THEY'D BETTER HAVE A BROWN SUGAR GRAVY. ANY MORE AND THEY WOULD KILL ME!
      NOW FOR THE MUSKOKA FOLK TALE OF THE DAY.
     WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE TRANQUIL, BEAUTIFULLY TREED BRACEBRIDGE UNITED CHURCH CEMETERY, SITUATED ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF ANNIE WILLIAMS MEMORIAL PARK, IN BRACEBRIDGE, ON THE LEFT SIDE, THERE IS A LARGE FAMILY MARKER, A BEAUTIFULLY SCULPTED MONUENT, DEPICTING A WOMAN IN THOUGHT, DEDICATED TO THE MCGIBBON FAMILY; DR. PETER MCGIBBON, HIS WIFE MABEL, AND THEIR DAUGHTER, WHO IF MEMORY SERVES, PREDECEASED HER PARENTS. I HAVEN'T VISITED THE CEMETERY IN SEVERAL YEARS. THERE ARE QUITE A FEW CITIZENS I USED TO KNOW, BURIED HERE, SO IT'S A VERY COMFORTING PLACE TO RE-CONNECT, SO TO SPEAK, WITH OLD FRIENDS, ASSOCIATES AND GOOD NEIGHBORS. SOME LIKE GORDON BLACK, A NEIGHBOR DURING MY ALICE STREET YEARS, MIGHT REACT IN SPIRIT, "OH GOD, IT'S THAT DAMN CURRIE KID AGAIN. THE LITTLE BUGGER USED TO STEAL THE TOMATOES OUT OF MY GARDEN." OR FRED "BING" CROSBY, MY FORMER HOCKEY COACH, MIGHT RECALL IN SPIRIT, THAT I OWED HIM TWENTY BUCKS, DATING BACK TO WHEN I WAS A RINK RAT; I KEPT HITTING ON HIM, YOU SEE, AS WAS A RINK RAT TRADITION, FOR TREAT MONEY AT THE ARENA SNACK BAR. I FIND CEMETERIES FRIENDLY PLACES NONE THE LESS. IF I'M FEELING STRESSED ON THE WAY THROUGH THE GATES, I LEAVE FEELING THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE.....AND I DON'T MEAN DECEASED.
     DR. PETER MCGIBBON WAS ONE OF BRACEBRIDGE'S MOST PROMINENT DOCTORS, AND A MAJOR FORCE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RED CROSS HOSPITAL, IN THE LATE 1920'S. IT WAS ESTABLISHED AS A WAR MEMORIAL TO THOSE OF THE COMMUNITY, WHO HAD LOST THEIR LIVES IN BATTLE, DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR. DR. MCGIBBON HIMSELF, HAD BEEN AN OFFICER IN THE SHORT LIVED MUSKOKA 122ND BATTALION, AND WAS WELL RESPECTED INTERNATIONALLY, AS AN EXCEPTIONAL LEADER.
     DR. MCGIBBON WAS ALSO AN ELECTED OFFICIAL REPRESENTING THE RIDING OF MUSKOKA, IN FEDERAL POLITICS, AND SERVED UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF SIR ARTHUR MEIGHEN, IN OPPOSITION, TO THE KING GOVERNMENT OF THE 1920'S. IT IS SAID THAT SIR ARTHUR MEIGHEN STAYED WITH THE MCGIBBON FAMILY, IN THEIR MAIN STREET HOUSE, ACROSS FROM MEMORIAL PARK, IN BRACEBRIDGE. THE HOUSE WAS TORN DOWN SOME YEARS AGO, AND A NEW BUILDING ERECTED ON THE SITE. I WAS PRIVILEGED TO HAVE LIVED IN THE BEAUTIFUL THREE STORY, EARLY 1900'S ESTATE (HAVING A BALCONEY OVERLOOKING THE PARK), WITH CARRIAGE HOUSE, IN THE MODERN ERA, FROM 1977 UNTIL 1983. IT HAD BEEN REFURBISHED THEN INTO THREE APARTMENTS IN THE HOUSE, INCLUDING RETAIL SPACE, AND THE CARRIAGE HOUSE HAD ALSO BEEN TURNED INTO A SMALL RESIDENCE.
     I HAVE WRITTEN EXTENSIVELY ABOUT THE MCGIBBON HOUSE, AS RELATES TO ITS PARANORMAL CHARACTERISTICS, ONE OF THE TALES BEING INCLUDED IN A BOOK ON CANADIAN GHOSTS, WRITTEN BY JOHN ROBERT COLOMBO. IT WAS ALSO THE HOUSE THAT SO COMFORTABLY ACCOMMODATED THIS WRITER, DURING MY OWN PERIOD OF DISCOVERY, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER I SHOULD WRITE NOVELS OR BECOME A POET. WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT ATTIC LOFT, LOOKING OUT ON MY HOMETIME FROM THE THIRD FLOOR, INSPIRED ME TO WRITE ABOUT REGIONAL HISTORY. IN FACT, IT WAS THE PLACE WHERE THE FIRST ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING OF THE SOON-TO-BE-FORMED BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY WAS HELD.....WHICH INSPIRED AUTHOR / TEACHER, WAYLAND "BUSTER" DREW, TO GET INVOLVED AND THE REST IS, OF COURSE, TOWN HISTORY. WAYLAND BECAME THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND I WAS RECORDING SECRETARY. OTHER MEMBERS BACK THEN INCLUDED RALPH MELVIN, WENDY WILSON, AND GIL SCOTT. AND THE INSPIRATION CAME FROM MY EARLY MONTHS IN THE MCGIBBON HOME, BENEFITING FROM THE AURA OF COMMUNITY HISTORY PREVAILING IN THE BUILDING. IN SO MANY OBVIOUS WAYS, IT WAS THE PERFECT PLACE TO LAUNCH HISTORICAL PROJECTS, BECAUSE IT WAS OVERFLOWING ITSELF. DID I MENTION THAT I STILL DREAM ABOUT THE MCGIBBON HOUSE, AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN OCCURRING EVER SINCE I MOVED OUT IN THE MID 1980'S. THE SPIRITS NOW WITHOUT THE OLD HOMESTEAD, HAVE MADE ME A PART-TIME HAUNT INSTEAD. I'M GOOD WITH THAT. THEY WERE ALL FRIENDLY SOULS THAT'S FOR SURE.
     THE HOUSE WAS FULL OF STRANGE, INSTRUSIVE ACTIVITIES, THE RESIDENTS COULD ONLY ATTRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO HAD ONCE LIVED IN THE OLD HOUSE, WHO MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN PLEASED, BY OUR OCCUPATION OF THE SPACE; ROOMS THEY OBVIOUSLY STILL FELT A GENIAL SENSE OF HOME OWNERSHIP. THERE IS NO WAY TO MAKE THE CLAIM, THAT THE GHOSTS THAT WANDERED THOSE DARK HALLS, AND WALKED UP AND DOWN THOSE CREAKING STAIRWAYS, FRONT AND BACK, AND WHO SENT THOSE COLD CHILLS AND HOVERING VAPORS, HAD ANY CONNECTION TO THE MCGIBBON FAMILY. MANY OTHERS HAD LIVED IN THE HOUSE SINCE THE MCGIBBONS PASSED AWAY, AND YES, A NUMBER OF THEM DIED IN THE RESIDENCE. BUT AS I'VE STATED TIME AND AGAIN, BECAUSE I WORRY ABOUT MISCONCEPTIONS GETTING LARGER THAN LIFE, THE MCGIBBON HOUSE, AS IT WAS, PROVIDED A COMFORTABLE, ENCOURAGING, NURTURING ENVIRONS, FOR ALL OF US BACK THEN. THIS DESPITE THE SOMEWHAT UNSETTLING NOISES, AND TURNING OF THE DOORKNOBS, WHEN NO HUMAN WAS PHYSICALLY RESPONSIBLE. I'D SIT UP IN THE ATTIC, LOOKING OUT THE BIG PANEL OF SMALLER WINDOWS, THROUGH THE FOUR SEASONS, AND I SELDOM IF EVER, FELT BANKRUPT OF THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT. IN THE WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, THE VIEW WAS AMAZING....A WINTERTIME PANORAMA OF MEMORIAL PARK, THE CENOTAPH AND THE BANDSHELL. AFTER THE FIRST SNOW, I'D BE ABLE TO WATCH AS THE KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL, STOPPED FOR A MOMENT OF PLAY, TO MAKE ANGELS ALONG THE PATH LEADING TO BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOL. I GOT TO SEE A LOT OF INTERESTING THINGS HAPPEN, WHILE LODGED AT MY DESK, BELOW THE BIG WINDOW. I'D WATCH THE COMINGS AND GOINGS OF LOCAL NOTABLES, LIKE CANNON MITCHELL, OF ST. THOMAS CHURCH, OFTEN IN HIS BLACK ROBE, TRAVELLING FROM HOME TO CHURCH AND BACK ACROSS THE MAPLE-LINED PARK. IN THE SUMMER MONTHS, I USED TO WORK OUTSIDE, ON THE SECOND FLOOR BALCONY. IN FACT, WHEN IT GOT REAL HOT, I WOULD EVEN SLEEP OUT THERE, IT WAS SO ACCOMMODATING. IT WAS THE PERFECT HOUSE FOR THE PEOPLE AT THE TIME. WE WERE ALL SINGLES, A LITTLE CONFLICTED ABOUT LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS, AND SHORT OF JOINING THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION, WE JUST LET THE OLD HOUSE AND ITS ENCHANTED AURA, RESTORE OUR FAITH THE FUTURE WOULD BE BETTER THAN THE IMMEDIATE PAST. THERE WAS MYSELF THEN, MY GAL PAL CHERIE, AND POET FRIEND SID, IN THE LOWER APARTMENT. ANOTHER WRITER KIND, NAMED JEFF, WHO WORKED FOR THE OPPOSITION PRESS, LIVED FOR AWHILE IN THE CARRIAGE HOUSE, UNTIL A BASEMENT FLOOD TOOK OUT THE FURNACE, AND THEN THE LANDLORD DECIDED TO LEAVE IN VACANT.
     I LET THIS STORIED, CHARMING OLD HOUSE, AND ALL THE SPIRITS THAT MAY HAVE DWELLED THERE, AND THE WARM AURA OF THE MCGIBBONS FAMILY HISTORY, SINK INTO MY LIFE.....MY CREATIVE ENTERPRISES AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES. THE MCGIBBON HOUSE WAS WHERE I SET UP MY FIRST RETAIL VENTURE, KNOWN AS OLD MILL ANTIQUES, IN THE FALL OF 1977; A FAMILY BUSINESS WITH MY PARENTS. IT IS WHERE I WORKED FROM, WHEN I WAS ABLE TO SECURE THE HEADSHIP OF AN "EXPERIENCE '78" HERITAGE GRANT, TO INITIATE A TAPED HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, FOR USE AS A CLASSROOM RESOURCE FOR THE ENTIRE MUSKOKA BOARD OF EDUCATION REGION. I HAD TWO REPORTERS, ONE PHOTOGRAPHER / AUDIO VISUAL TECHNICIAN, AND TWO SECRETARIES WORKING FOR ME, ON THIS HUGE PROJECT WHICH PRODUCED A SIGNIFICANT COLLECTION OF TAPE RECORDINGS OF MUSKOKA'S OLDEST CITIZENS. THE PROJECTS WERE STILL IN THE COLLECTION, WHEN THE BOARD AMALGAMATED AND BECAME THE TRILLIUM LAKELANDS BOARD OF EDUCATION. IT WAS WHERE I LIVED WHEN THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY BEGAN INITIAL WORK TO ACQUIRE WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM, "THE BIRD HOUSE," IN 1978 TO 80, IN THE BID TO CREATE THE TOWN'S FIRST COMMUNITY MUSUEM AND COLLECTION. IT WAS ALSO WHERE I LIVED WHEN I WORKED AS A FLEDGLING REPORTER FOR THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, AND EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE IN BRACEBRIDGE. I ALSO HAD A FIVE MINUTE HERITAGE MOMENT, HEARD WEEKLY ON CHAY FM IN BARRIE. IN BETWEEN THESE PROJECTS, IT WAS THE HOUSE THAT INSPIRED MY FIRST BOOK, "MEMORIES AND IMAGES," WITH WELL KNOWN MUSKOKA PHOTOGRAPHER, TIM DUVERNET, IN THE EARLY 1980'S. IT WAS ALSO THE SUBJECT HOUSE, FOR THE FIRST FEATURE ON "GHOSTS," EVER PUBLISHED BY THE HERALD-GAZETTE, WITH STAGED PHOTOGRAPHY BY HAROLD WRIGHT, AN OUTSTANDING ARTIST, WHO WORKED WITH US AT THE NEWSPAPER. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST WELL RECEIVED FEATURE ARTICLES, RUNNING FULL PAGE, THAT I'VE EVER WRITTEN, AND BOY OH BOY, THERE'S BEEN A PLETHORA TO CHOOSE FROM.
     THE REASON I WANTED TO RE-HASH THE BIOGRAPHY OF DR. MCGIBBON, AND A BACKGROUNDER ABOUT HIS FAMILY HOME AND MEDICAL OFFICE, IS THAT CAPTAIN LEVI FRASER, ALSO A REGIONAL POLITICIAN, WHEN HE WASN'T PILOTING A MUSKOKA STEAMSHIP, HAS A SMALL REFERENCE TO HIM IN HIS 1942 BOOK, "HISTORY OF MUSKOKA." SO THAT WHEN I'M REFERENCING THE MCGIBBON HOUSE IN THE FUTURE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO RECALL THIS BRIEF OVERVIEW OF A KIND MAN, A CHARITABLE FAMILY, AND A CHARMING PLACE IN WHICH TO DWELL. CAPTAIN FRASER OFFERS THIS INSIGHT INTO DR. MCGIBBON'S POLITICAL DEMEANOR:
     "BY 1934 THE DEPRESSION HAD BECOME SO SERIOUS THAT LAW-ABIDING CANADIANS WERE ALMOST IN REVOLT, BUT AN ELECTION WAS NOT THE OFFING, AND OUR PEOPLE WERE CLAMORING FOR A CHANGE. HARD TIMES ARE ALWAYS BLAMED ON THE PARTY IN POWER. THE ELECTION FOLLOWED IN 1935 AND THE BENNETT GOVERNMENT WAS HEAVILY DEFEATED. IN THIS RIDING, DR. PETER MCGIBBON, M.P. CONSERVATIVE, WAS OPPOSED BY J. FURNISS OF MARA TOWNSHIP, LIBERAL-PROGRESSIVE, H.E. RICE, OF HUNTSVILLE, RECONSTRUCTION, AND ARTHUR SHIPMAN OF WALKER'S POINT, C.C.F.; MR. FURNISS, WAS ELECTED BY A COMFORTABLE MAJORITY.
     "DR. MCGIBBON SERVED THE RIDING WELL AND FOR A LONG TIME, BUT NOW, HIS HEALTH WAS FAILING, THOUGH HIS AMBITIONS WERE AS GREAT AS EVER. HE WAS NOW ON THE WAY OUT ALTHOUGH HE DID NOT SEEM TO REALIZE IT; ONE YEAR LATER HE DIED, AND BY HIS DEATH, I FEEL THAT I HAD LOST A REAL FRIEND. WE DIFFERED FREQUENTLY, SOMETIMES LOUDLY AND VIOLENTLY, BUT FORGOT IT A FEW MINUTES LATER AND WERE ALWAYS THE BEST OF FRIENDS. I RECALL ONE STORMY MONCK BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING, HELD IN DR. MCGIBBON'S OFFICE; H. F. BICKMORE, THE CLERK OF MONCK, AND THOMAS BLACKWELL, SANITARY INSPECTOR, WERE PRESENT (TWO FINE OLD SCOUTS). I DO NOT RECALL THE CAUSE OF THE ARGUMENT BUT IT GREW LOUD AND HOT. NOW TO YOU MILD, SMOOTH, EVEN-TEMPERED CREATURES, SUCH ALTERCATIONS SEEM RIDICULOUS, BUT TO SCOTCH FIRE-BRANDS THERE IS A 'STERN JOY THAT WARRIORS FEEL IN FOEMEN WORTHY OF THEIR STEEL!' THE DOCTOR AND I WERE NO DOUBT ENJOYING OURSELVES BUT THE ARGUMENT GREW HOTTER AND APPEARED ABOUT TO CHANGE FROM VERBAL TO PHYSICAL, WHEN THE DOCTOR BURST OUT LAUGHING. 'WELL, CAPTAIN, I THINK WE HAVE EARNED A DRINK,' AND AT THE MENTION OF A DRINK, WE ALL LAUGHED HEARTILY. THE ROW WAS OVER. AFTER THE DRINKS WERE SERVED, WE COMPLETED OUR BUSINESS AS IF NOTHING AT ALL HAD HAPPENED. AFTER LEAVING THE OFFICE, I REMEMBER MR. BLACKMORE SAYING QUITE SERIOUSLY, 'BY JOVE FRASER, I WAS SURE YOU AND THE DOCTOR WOULD COME TO BLOWS'."
     IN A PREVIOUS REFERENCE TO MCGIBBON, I POINTED OUT THAT TO HIS OWN DEATH, DR. MCGIBBON NEVER GAVE UP ON TRYING TO CONVINCE THE DIRECTORSHIP OF THE HOSPITAL, AND THE RED CROSS, TO PROVIDE MONEY TO INSTALL AN ELEVATOR, AT THE BRACEBRIDGE HOSPITAL, ON THE PRESENT SITE OF SOUTH MUSKOKA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. THE FACT THE HOSPITAL HAD BEEN CONSTRUCTED IN A LARGE FAMILY HOME, ADDED-TO SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE DECADES, CREATED SOME OPERATIONAL NIGHTMARES FOR MEDICAL STAFF, ESPECIALLY NURSES. MOVING PATIENTS UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS ON STRETCHERS AND HOSPITAL BEDS, WAS AWKWARD AND PHYSICALLY DRAINING. FOR MANY YEARS, DR. MCGIBBON WOULD CONTINUE TO BRING THE MATTER UP TO THE BOARD, UNDER DIRECTION OF MAJOR LYNDON, AND THE MATTER WOULD BE DEFERRED ONCE MORE, DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS. WHEN DR. MCGIBBON
DIED, AS A TRIBUTE TO THIS FALLEN HERO OF THE COMMUNITY, IT WAS DECIDED AN ELEVATOR WOULD BE FUNDED, AND A PLAQUE ERECTED IN HIS HONOR, AT THE MAIN FLOOR DOOR. I SHOULD ALSO NOTE THAT MABEL MCGIBBON WAS ALSO KNOWN FOR HER BENEVOLENCE AROUND THE COMMUNITY, AND HER INVOLVEMENT IN MANY GROUPS AND INITIAVIVES OF OVERALL TOWN IMPROVEMENT. THE LOSS OF THE MCGIBBONS' DAUGHTER, WAS SAID TO HAVE HAD A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE DOCTOR'S LIFE, BECAUSE HE FELT HUGE GUILT, AT NOT BEING ABLE TO, AS AN ACCOMPLISHED PHYSICIAN, SAVE HER LIFE.
     I NEVER DRIVE PAST THE PLACE WHERE THE MCGIBBONS ONCE LIVED, AND WHERE I WAS RESIDENT FOR THOSE FEW YEARS, WITHOUT OFFERING AN UNSPOKEN RECOGNITION, OF ITS HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE, THAT ALTHOUGH NOT MARKED BY A SPECIAL HERITAGE-SITE PLAQUE, IS STILL ALIVE AND THRIVING IN THE MEMORY OF THIS GRATEFUL WRITER.....WHO WILL NEVER GROW TIRED OF AUTHORING TRIBUTES LIKE THIS, TO A TRUE COMMUNITY LEADER, WHO HELPED SHAPE THE FUTURE OF MUSKOKA. AT THE FAMILY PLOT, IN THE UNITED CHURCH CEMETERY, I PAUSE AND OFFER A HUMBLE THANK YOU, FOR HAVING ALLOWED ME AN OPPORTUNITY, TO SHARE THE SPIRIT OF A FINE HOME, SITTING AMIDST THE GIANT MAPLES, ACROSS FROM MEMORIAL PARK, ON UPPER MANITOBA STREET.
     ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME, ON A BUSY AUTUMN WEEKEND, TO VISIT WITH FRED SCHULZ AND I, ON THIS MUSKOKA-THEMED BLOG-SITE. FRED HAS BEEN MOTORING ALL OVER THE DISTRICT LOOKING FOR INTERESTING PLACES TO PHOTOGRAPH, AND I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE WHAT HE'S FOUND AND DEPICTED IN HIS LANDSCAPE IMAGES TAKEN MOST RECENTLY. LOTS MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, WHICH WILL COMMENCE ON THE 16TH OF NOVEMBER.
     FRED AND I ALSO WANT TO ENCOURAGE THE FOLKS FROM RYDE TOWNSHIP, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, TO SEND US SOME OF THEIR HERITAGE MATERIAL, AS A PROMOTION, WHILE THEY GET READY FOR A SPECIAL EVENT AT THE RYDE COMMUNITY CENTRE (FORMER SCHOOL) THIS COMING SPRING. WE HOPE TO BE A PART OF THIS GREAT COMMUNITY CELEBRATION. LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP PROMOTE THE OCCASION. AS FOR THE BALA CRANBERRY FESTIVAL, I HAD TO WORK AT THE SHOP, AS SON ROBERT WAS ATTENDING A CONCERT IN TORONTO, SO WE COULDN'T LEAVE ANDREW TO RUN THE STORE SOLO. IT IS A WELL MANAGED EVENT, SO IT HAS BECOME A TRADITION TO EXPECT GLOWING, WELL ATTENDED, BACK TO BACK SUCCESSES; IT'S JUST THAT WEATHER-THING WHICH SEEMS TO GET IN THE WAY. HOPE ALL WENT WELL. MAYBE FRED WILL HAVE A FEW PHOTOGRAPHS TO SHARE.
     SEE YOU AGAIN SOON!