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| Steam and Pulleys – History comes alive at a number of the fall fairs within the area bringing back childhood memories of early methods of farming the small family farm. Here, a Waterloo Steam Engine powers a 1920 Birdsell Clover / Alfalfa Huller Threshing Machine manufactured in South Bend Indiana – Circa 1920 and sold by the Allis Chalmers Farm Equipment Company in Toronto. The demonstration took place at the Coldwater Fair on Saturday afternoon. (Photo By Fred Schulz) |
THAT WONDERFUL SENSE OF BELONGING TO A HOME REGION - THE HAMLETS OF ONCE, SOME LOST EXCEPT IN NAME
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT WAS NECESSARY BUT THE LEGISLATION HAD AN UNDERTOW WITH IT
"WITH THE COMING OF WINTER I THOUGHT THE LIFE OF A FARMER MIGHT LOSE SOMETHING OF ITS CHARM. SO MUCH INTEREST LIES IN THE GROWTH NOT ONLY OF THE CROPS, BUT OF TREES, VINES, FLOWERS, SENTIMENTS AND EMOTIONS. IN THE SUMMER THE WORLD IS BUSY, CONCERNED WITH MANY THINGS AND FULL OF GOSSIP; IN THE WINTER I ANTICIPATED A CESSATION OF MANY ACTIVE INTERESTS AND ENTHUSIASMS. I LOOKED FORWARD TO HAVING TIME FOR MY BOOKS AND FOR QUIET CONTEMPLATION OF LIFE AROUND ME. SUMMER INDEED IS FOR ACTIVITY. BUT WHEN WINTER REALLY CAME, EVERY DAY I DISCOVERED SOME NEW WORK TO DO, OR SOME NEW ADVENTURE TO ENJOY. IT IS SURPRISING HOW MANY THINGS HAPPEN ON A SMALL FARM." (DAVID GRAYSON, "ADVENTURES IN CONTENTMENT")
FROM THE EARLIEST SETTLERS, COURAGEOUS ENOUGH TO BREAK TRAIL INTO THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND, THERE WAS AN INTEREST IN NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT. EVEN THEN, A CLOSE NEIGHBOR COULD BE A COUPLE OF MILES OFF. EVENTUAL INHABITATION CLUSTERS WARRANTED CONSIDERATION FOR HAMLET POST OFFICES. TRANSPORTATION AROUND THE REGION WAS BY EITHER FOOT, SNOWSHOES, CART OR SLEIGH, PULLED BY OXEN OR HORSES. LENGTHY TRIPS WERE CONSIDERED NOT ONLY PRECARIOUSLY DIFFICULT, BUT POTENTIALLY DEADLY, DUE TO NATURAL OBSTACLES AND THE CREATURES OF THE FOREST FROM RATTLESNAKES TO A LARGE BEAR AND WOLF POPULATION. POINT IS, AS WE THINK NOTHING OF DRIVING FROM MUSKOKA TO TORONTO TO ATTEND A HOCKEY OR BASEBALL GAME, OR JUST A NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN, FOR THE HOMESTEADER, A TEN MILE TRIP TO A MAJOR SETTLEMENT, REQUIRED A LOT OF RESOURCES AND SAVVY TO PULL OFF, WITHOUT CASUALTY. SO NEIGHBORHOODS ESTABLISHED AT SIGNIFICANT CROSSROADS, DEVELOPED FAIRLY QUICKLY IN THE OUT-BACK, AWAY FROM THE LARGER SETTLEMENTS IN MUSKOKA, SUCH AS GRAVENHURST, BRACEBRIDGE AND HUNTSVILLE. THEY WEREN'T NECESSARILY SELF-SUPPORTING HAMLETS BUT THEY GOT THE JOB DOWN FOR BASIC NECESSITIES, UNTIL TRIPS TO THE LARGER CENTRES COULD BE UNDERTAKEN.
THEY WERE CONSIDERED HAMLETS ACCORDING TO GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS, AND GUIDELINES, BUT THEY WERE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO THOSE WHO DWELLED IN THE VICINITY. THERE MOST LIKELY WAS A SMALL GENERAL STORE, A LIVERY, BLACKSMITH SHOP, AND POSSIBLY EVEN A WOODWORKERS SHOP, WHERE SHINGLES MIGHT BE CRAFTED ALONGSIDE HOUSEHOLD FURNISHINGS AND EVEN ROUGH BOXES IN CASE OF A DEATH IN THE SETTLEMENT. IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY TO FIND A LOCAL "SCHOOLED" UNDERTAKER, A PHARMACY OR DOCTOR'S OFFICE IN THESE TINY ENCAMPMENTS, BUT THERE WOULD SOON SPRING UP PLACES OF WORSHIP, A ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE, AND FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION BUILDINGS. IT WAS VERY LIKELY, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ORANGE LODGE HALL ERECTED SOMEWHERE IN THIS CLUSTER OF PIONEER BUILDINGS.
SO IT WAS THE CASE, THAT SETTLERS TOOK THEIR MONTHLY TRIPS TO THE LARGER CENTRES IN THE REGION, TO ACQUIRE ITEMS THEY COULDN'T PURCHASE, TO THEIR LIKING, LOCALLY; AND FOR THE LITTLE MONEY THEY HAD FOR PURCHASING ANYTHING AT ALL, IN THESE HAMLETS AND VILLAGES. ONE HAD TO BE FRUGAL. OF COURSE YOU KNOW THIS STUFF WITHOUT ME STICKING MY OAR IN, BUT IT'S FORCE OF HABIT. BUT GRADUALLY, THE LARGE CENTRES AND THE IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION, AND RELATED LINKS, DECREASED THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE TINY CROSS-ROADS SETTLEMENTS. WHEN THE LOCAL ECONOMY FALTERED, THERE WAS STILL A STALWART LOYALTY TO THE HOME NEIGHBORHOOD, WHERE GENERATIONS OF MUSKOKANS WERE RAISED; IN EVIDENCE ON THE DEEPLY INSCRIBED, MOSS-LADEN FAMILY TOMBSTONES, TUCKED ALONG PICTURESQUE ROWS, IN SHADED CHURCH-YARDS. SOME OF THOSE PIONEER NAMES ARE STILL CONNECTED TO THESE COMMUNITIES. I AM THINKING ABOUT THE FOLKS AT THE RYDE COMMUNITY CENTRE, (THE FORMER PUBLIC SCHOOL, IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF GRAVENHURST) WHO ARE DOING SO MUCH TO KEEP THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD VIBRANT AND FORWARD THINKING, AND THE HALL, A REVITALIZED, CENTRAL MEETING PLACE FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS AND FRIENDS. THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL HERITAGE EVENT IN THE SPRING OF 2014 IN RYDE, TO RECOGNIZE THOSE AMAZING PIONEER ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND ALL THE AREA TOGETHERNESS, ENJOYED EVER SINCE. FRED SCHULZ AND I HOPE TO BE A PART OF THIS IMPORTANT AREA MILESTONE. WE'LL LET YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THE EVENT IN THE COMING MONTHS.
BY TIME THE PROVINCE INTERVENED WITH THE SWELL IDEA OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, IN THE LATE 1960'S, IT WAS ALREADY AN HISTORICAL REALITY, THAT THESE HAMLETS AND VILLAGES WERE FAST BECOMING "NAME-ONLY" PLACES ON OLD MAPS, AND AS MANY OF THE ORIGINAL FAMILIES PASSED AWAY, AND OTHERWISE LEFT THE NEIGHBORHOODS, MOST RESIDENTS CAME TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS BEING FROM A RURAL ROUTE IN BRACEBRIDGE, GRAVENHURST, OR HUNTSVILLE INSTEAD. THAT'S WHAT THE POST OFFICE OPTED FOR IN THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OVERHAUL. OBVIOUSLY, THE RURAL INTEGRITY HAS BEEN MAINTAINED LONGER IN THE TOWNSHIPS OF GEORGIAN BAY, MUSKOKA LAKES AND LAKE OF BAYS, DUE TO THE VILLAGE STATUS OF THEIR MAIN BUSINESS CENTRES; DWIGHT AND BAYSVILLE IN LAKE OF BAYS; PORT CARLING AND BALA IN MUSKOKA LAKES; AND PORT SEVERN AND MACTIER IN TOWNSHIP OF GEORGIAN BAY. THE ADVENT OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, OPPOSED VEHEMENTLY BY MANY OF THESE RURAL DWELLERS, CREATED SIX LARGE MEMBER MUNICIPALITIES, TAKING AWAY WARD, VILLAGE AND HAMLET COUNCILS. THE 1970'S PROFOUNDLY CHANGED THE CHRONICLE OF THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA, AS IT HAD BEGUN IN THE LATE 1850'S. REGIONAL GOVERNANCE REALLY ONLY ACCELERATED WHAT WAS HAPPENING ANY WAY, YEAR BY YEAR, AS MORE PEOPLE WERE MOVING TO THE MAJOR TOWNS, FOR ECONOMIC REASONS.
WHEN OUR FAMILY ARRIVED IN MUSKOKA, IN THE WINTER OF 1966, A NEW TREND WAS COMMENCING IN THE REGION, DUE TO THE ANTICIPATION OF NEW GOVERNANCE RULES AND TAXATION COMING. MY FATHER ED, WAS IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, AS A LUMBER SALESMAN, AND HE KNEW HUNDREDS OF CUSTOMERS WELL INTO THE 1970'S, WHO WERE LEAVING THE URBAN BOUNDARIES OF THE MAJOR TOWNS, IN A BID TO ESCAPE THE INCREASING TOLL OF PROPERTY TAXES. THERE ARE AREAS OF THESE TOWNS, THAT SHOW THIS MIGRATION, BACK TO RURAL LIVING, TO AVOID BEING FORCED TO PAY A LEVY FOR SEWER AND WATER HOOKUPS. IT IS STILL AN ISSUE TO THIS DAY, AND WHENEVER THE MATTER OF EXTENDING TAXATION FOR THESE SERVICES MUSKOKA WIDE, TO BE INCLUSIVE WHETHER YOU ARE USING A WELL OR A SEPTIC BED, THE EMBERS OF REBELLION GLOW RED ONCE AGAIN. THE MOVEMENT AWAY FROM URBAN AREA SERVICES AND TAXATION, IS STILL AN INCENTIVE FOR RURAL LIVING, ALTHOUGH TRANSPORTATION COSTS THESE DAYS, HAVE SOMEWHAT INHIBITED MORE MIGRATION TO THE HINTERLAND.
AS I WROTE ABOUT IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, THE HINTERLAND IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN FOR FLEDGLING MUSKOKANS, TAKING UP THE HOMESTEAD CHALLENGE, FROM THE 1850'S, AND TO AN ACCELERATED LEVEL, WHEN THE FREE LAND GRANT AND HOMESTEAD ACT WAS INITIATED IN THE LATE 1860'S, BASED ON A FEDERAL PLAN TO FILL UP A COUNTRY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.......FIRSTLY TO JUSTIFY HAVING SO MUCH LAND UNDER BRITISH CONTROL, (AS THE AMERICANS BEGAN LOOKING NORTHWARD), AND SECONDLY, TO JUSTIFY THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY. THE FEDERAL GOVERMENT WITH THE PROVINCE'S APPROVAL, BEGAN A RECRUITMENT PROGRAM, TO ATTRACT THOUSANDS OF IMMIGRANTS, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS GARDEN OF EDEN. OF COURSE, THE PROMISES MADE TO THESE FOLKS DIDN'T QUITE MEASURE UP, AND THIS WAS ONLY DISCOVERED, WHEN THE ILL PREPARED SETTLERS, FROM THE POOREST NEIGHBORHOODS OF EUROPEAN CITIES, ARRIVED IN A HARSH ENVIRONS, SHORT OF SUPPLIES AND GENERALLY BROKE. SO IT WAS THE GOOD GRACES OF THESE SHARING PLACES, THE CROSSROADS HAMLETS, THAT SAVED THE LIVES OF THESE BEATEN-DOWN HOMESTEADERS, WHO DID, OF COURSE, FIND STRENGTH IN NUMBERS. WHILE THESE HAMLET AND VILLAGE NAMES TODAY HAVE BEEN PRESERVED BY THE MUNICIPALITIES, ON THE FAMILIAR BLUE AND WHITE HIGHWAY SIGNS, THEY CERTAINLY AREN'T AFFORDED THE SAME RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF ONCE. POSTAL CANCELLATION COLLECTORS, LIKE TO POSSESS THESE MARKERS OF TIMES' PAST, WHEN THE STAMP AT THE LOCAL POST OUTLET, IN A GENERAL STORE, PROUDLY DISPLAYED THAT PARTICULAR DOT ON THE MAP; A STAMP AND CANCELLATION THAT MIGHT TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD, REPRESENTING THAT PLACE IN ONTARIO, AND CANADA. DID YOU KNOW HEKKLA WAS REGISTERED BY ITS SETTLERS AFTER THE TITLE OF A VOLCANO IN ICELAND? I'M NOT SURE IF THEY WERE RELATING LIFE IN NORTH MUSKOKA AS BEING A PARALLEL TO LIVING IN CONSTANT FEAR OF A VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN ICELAND. MAYBE SO!
GRADUALLY THESE SMALL COMMUNITIES LOST THEIR LUSTER, AND FAMILY TRADITION WAS NOT ENOUGH TO COMPEL OFFSPRING TO REMAIN WHERE THERE WERE NO AVAILABLE JOBS, AND THUS NO FUTURE, EXCEPT THE CEASELESS TRAVEL TO BIGGER CENTRES FOR BASIC NEEDS. SOON THE POST OFFICE OUTLETS WERE CLOSED, AND THE POSTAL CANCELLATION STAMPS SHELVED, OR RETURNED TO THE FEDERAL AUTHORITY, AND THE STORES THEMSELVES WERE CLOSED FOREVER, THAT ONCE WERE GATHERING PLACES. THE KILWORTHY STORE COMES TO MIND, AS I'M SURE FRED SCHULZ IS THINKING ABOUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, AS HE READS TODAY'S BLOG. I'M PRETTY SURE HE'D BE INTERESTED IN RE-OPENING THE OLD STORE THAT HIS FAMILY USED TO OPERATE, EXCEPT FOR ONE STINGING REALITY. IT WOULD MOST LIKELY MEET THE SAME FATE, AS THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH CUSTOMERS TO MAKE IT A GOING CONCERN. IT WOULDN'T BE FINANCIALLY VIABLE TO COMPETE AGAINST THE MEGA GROCERY STORES ONLY A SHORT DRIVE NORTH, OR SOUTH, AND SENTIMENTALITY IS A WEAK FOUNDATION ON WHICH TO BUILD A BUSINESS. NONE THE LESS, IT IS KIND OF SAD, THAT OUR CHILDREN TODAY, WON'T EXPERIENCE WHAT OUR RURAL TRADITIONS WERE, FROM THE LATE 1850'S. THERE WAS A LOT OF SOCIAL/CULTURAL HERITAGE GENERATING FROM THOSE OLD HAMLET GENERAL STORES.....THAT IS HARD TO EXPLAIN REALLY, BECAUSE IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT HAD TO BE EXPERIENCED. LIKE THE SIGHT OF A MASSIVE WHEEL OF CHEDDAR CHEESE BEING SLICED IN FRONT OF YOU, TO FILL A CUSTOMER'S ORDER. CHRISTMAS TIME. I WANT FRED TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR US ALL, ABOUT HIS CHRISTMAS MEMORIES AT THE KILWORTHY STORE, BACK IN HIS GROWING-UP ERA. I'VE GOT LOTS OF WHITE SPACE TO FILL, AND WE WANT OLD PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE BUILDING. WE'LL TAKE UP A PETITION TO GET HIM WORKING ON THIS, IN TIME FOR OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BLOG-SPECIAL, WHERE WE ALL GATHER AT HEARTHSIDE, TO EXCHANGE STORIES ABOUT OUR MEMORIES OF MUSKOKA WINTERS OF THE PAST.
VERY FEW CUSTOMERS WERE IN A HURRY TO LEAVE THE GENERAL STORE, IN THOSE HALCYON DAYS OF SIMPLE MERCHANDIZING. I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE MYSELF TO CATCH THE FINAL DAYS OF THOSE MOM AND POP INDUSTRIES, THAT MADE THOSE HAMLETS SO ENDEARING, WITH THEIR UNIQUE SOCIAL TRADITIONS, IN THE RURAL CHARACTER. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE MACTIER RED AND WHITE STORE, AND THE DORSET GENERAL STORE.
SUZANNE GREW UP IN THE VILLAGE OF WINDERMERE, ON LAKE MUSKOKA, AND KNOWS ALL ABOUT THE TRUE COMFORTS OF BOTH RURAL LIVING, AND THE NEIGHBORLINESS OF VILLAGE LIFE. WE TALK ABOUT IT FREQUENTLY, AND WE OFTEN THINK HOW NEAT IT WOULD BE TO RETURN, AND SET UP OUR OWN RETIREMENT NEST. YET THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER, IS THAT WHEN, ALMOST A DECADE AGO, WE HAD A CHANCE TO BUY HER FAMILY'S HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE, AFTER HER FATHER DIED, WE BOTH DECIDED RATHER QUICKLY, THAT WITH EMPLOYMENT CIRCUMSTANCES, AND A YOUNG FAMILY, THAT IT WOULD HAVE PUT TOO MUCH STRAIN ON US.....TAKING AWAY ANY ENJOYMENT WE MIGHT GAIN FROM LIVING IN PARADISE. THE SAME HOLDS TODAY. WE CAN FANTASIZE ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES, BUT HONESTLY, RURAL LIVING DOESN'T SUIT US ANY MORE. WE FEEL KIND OF BAD ABOUT THIS, BUT IT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING EITHER. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS LIVING JUST LIKE US.....WHO WOULD LIKE A LESS URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD TO RAISE THEIR FAMILIES, BUT SIMPLY CAN'T AFFORD THE LUXURY FOR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, WAS AN ADMINISTRATIVE BLOW TO THE LAST BREATHS FOR MANY OF THESE HAMLETS, TO EVER GROW INTO MORE IMPORTANT COMMUNITIES. IT CENTRALIZED REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, AND PULLED MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE TO EITHER A MAJOR TOWN OR VILLAGE. IN MUSKOKA LAKES, PORT CARLING BECAME THE LOCATION FOR THE MUNICIPAL OFFICES; PORT SEVERN WAS THE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE FOR GEORGIAN BAY, AND DWIGHT BECAME THE MUNICIPAL HEADQUARTERS IN LAKE OF BAYS.
AS HISTORIANS, AND MUSKOKANS GENERALLY, WE OWE A LOT OF RESPECT TO THESE PIONEER SETTLEMENTS, AND THE ROLE THEY PLAYED GETTING US FROM PIONEER STATUS, TO THE MODERN ERA. WHILE MOST TRAVELLERS OF OUR ROADWAYS TODAY, ARE AWARE OF THESE COMMUNITY NAMES, FROM HAVING SEEN THEM THOUSANDS OF TIMES, THROUGH ALL KINDS OF WEATHER AND THE FOUR SEASONS, VERY FEW PAUSE LONG ENOUGH, TO GIVE THEM MORE THAN A PASSING GLANCE AND MODEST CONSIDERATION, MORE SO AS A MARKER OF MILES TRAVELLED, AND MILES YET TO COMMUTE. WHEN SUZANNE AND I, ARE OUT FOR A DRIVE, AS I'M SURE IS THE CASE FOR PHOTOGRAPHER FRED SCHULZ, WE ALWAYS MAKE COMMENT ABOUT THE HAMLETS OF ONCE, WE USED TO KNOW, AND STOP TO VISIT. HOW MANY TODAY REMEMBER HAMLETS SUCH AS GERMANIA, COOPER'S FALLS, BARKWAY, UFFORD, ULLSWATER, DEE BANK, FOOTE'S BAY, UFFINGTON, KILWORTHY, ROSSEAU FALLS, PURBROOK, FRASERBURG, FALKENBURG, BEATRICE, LEWISHAM OR MONSELL? THE FOLKS WHO STILL LIVE THERE KNOW ITS HERITAGE VALUE, BUT DO YOU? I AM ADAMENT THAT REGIONAL HISTORY SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS, SO THAT THESE IMPORTANT CROSSROADS FROM OUR PAST AREN'T FORGOTTEN, OR SWALLOWED BY THE PROGRESSIVE AND URBANIZING TRENDS HEADED OUR WAY IN THE NEXT QUARTER CENTURY.
MY FRIEND FRED SCHULZ, IS AN AUTUMN-SEASON CELEBRANT, AND HAS BEEN CRUISING THE BACKROADS OF OUR REGION, AND BEYOND, LOOKING TO CAPTURE SCENES OF OUR RURAL PAST.....STILL OPERATING HALE AND HARDY INTO THIS NEW CENTURY. I HAVE ENCOURAGED HIM TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF WHAT APPEALS TO HIM, WHEREVER AND WHENEVER HE COMES UPON SOMETHING MEMORABLE, TRADITIONAL, SENTIMENTAL, NATURALLY SPECTACULAR, OR REMINISCENT OF WHAT HE VALUES AS A COUNTRY INSTITUTION.....A REGIONAL TREASURE, A MOMENT FROM THE PAST, CAPTURED IN THE PRESENT TENSE. ALTHOUGH THIS IS PRIMARILY A MUSKOKA THEMED BLOG, WITH A HERITAGE BANNER, MUSKOKA DIDN'T FUNCTION ECONOMICALLY, SOCIALLY OR CULTURALLY, WITHOUT INFLUENCES FROM OUR NEIGHBOR REGIONS, IN THIS PART OF THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. WE WERE OF COURSE, GREATLY INFLUENCED BY WHAT WAS HAPPENING SOUTH OF THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, AND WE WERE VERY DEPENDENT ON THE SERVICES AVAILABLE IN ORILLIA AND BARRIE, EVEN FROM THE 1850'S. SO I'M DELIGHTED BY THE INCLUSION OF COUNTRYSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS, FROM OUR BORDER AREAS, OF THIS DISTRICT, BECAUSE IN ESSENCE, WE WERE ALL IN THE SAME PROVERBIAL BOAT BACK THEN, TRYING TO SURVIVE AGAINST GREAT ODDS. IN MANY WAYS, THE HISTORIC LINKS BETWEEN REGIONS, IN TERMS OF SHARING ECONOMICS, IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TODAY, AS WE WILL FIND OUT INCREASINGLY, AS THE HUGE GROWTH SPURTS BEING EXPERIENCED BY BOTH BARRIE AND ORILLIA AFFECT OUR OWN DISTRICT. IT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING STATISTIC TO KNOW TODAY, JUST HOW MANY MUSKOKANS TRAVEL SOUTH DAILY, TO BOTH THESE URBAN AREAS, TO ATTEND THEIR PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT.
AS WE CARRY-ON THIS BLOG PROFILE OF MUSKOKA, OVER THE FOUR SEASONS, EXPECT TO FIND FRED SCHULZ PHOTO-STUDIES THAT REACH OUT OF THE DISTRICT, COVERING SUCH EVENTS AS THE FARM HARVEST, ALONG WITH SEASONAL FLICKS OF PASSING TRAINS, PARADES, FESTIVALS, CULTURAL EVENTS, LANDSCAPES IN SUNNY WEATHER, STORMSCAPES AS THEY PASS OVER OUR PINE WOODLANDS. WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT, IS THAT FRED WILL CHALLENGE HIMSELF TO REPRESENT THE REGION OF ONTARIO HE KNOWS BEST, AND HAS TRAVELLED THROUGH FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE, NOW FOCUSING FROM EXPERIENCE AND INSTINCT, THROUGH A CAMERA LENS. SO GET READY FOR SOME SURPRISES. WE'VE MADE A GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT, NOT TO TELL THE OTHER ONE, WHAT'S UP......TO MAKE THIS A SPONTANEOUS OFFERING TO OUR READERS, AS A SORT OF LATE CHALLENGE IN BOTH OUR PROFESSIONAL LIVES; AND OF COURSE, FOR ONCE, TO UNFETTER OURSELVES FROM ANY STRICT PROTOCOLS, OTHER THAN TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING INTERESTING TO SEE AND READ EVERY DAY OF THE ROLLING YEAR.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR VISITING WITH US TWO WILD AND CRAZY CHAPS TODAY. LOTS MORE COMING.
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