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| Festive Christmas Lighting in Gravenhurst - This lovely home in the south end of Gravenhurst on Edward Street is colorfully displayed and sets a festive tone for the south end of Gravenhurst. Situated on a normally dark street, this display is a welcoming beacon of festive light as you enter the main street at the entrance arch of Gravenhurst. (Photo By Fred Schulz) |
THE HISTORIC NEWSPAPER OFFICE; OF WHICH I WAS A PART - IT WAS COMMUNITY HISTORY AND I WAS LIVING IT!
WHAT WOULD NOW BE CONSIDERED A MUSEUM QUALITY EXHIBIT.
WHEN PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS SHOT, IN DALLAS, FIFTY YEARS AGO, I WAS A STUDENT AT LAKESHORE PUBLIC SCHOOL, IN BURLINGTON, ONTARIO. WE LIVED IN THE NAGY APARTMENTS ON HARRIS CRESCENT. I WAS A HOLY TERROR, IF THAT INFORMATION COUNTS FOR ANYTHING. I WOULD HAVE BEEN EIGHT AND A HALF YEARS OLD. I SO CLEARLY REMEMBER, WALKING TO BRANT STREET, FOR SOME GROCERIES, AFTER SCHOOL THAT DAY, AND HEARING CHURCH BELLS RINGING, AND WITNESSING ALMOST EMPTY STREETS....THAT NORMALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN BUSY AT THAT TIME OF THE DAY. CANADIAN FLAGS WE SAW, HAD BEEN LOWERED TO HALF MAST, OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE PRESIDENT. AND THE CONVERSATIONS ON THE MAIN STREET, AT LEAST THAT WE HEARD WHILE PASSING, WERE ALL ABOUT THE DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. EVEN MY MOTHER HAD TEARS IN HER EYS WATCHING THE NEWS RIGHT THROUGH THAT WEEK, ENDING WITH THE FUNERAL PROCESSION TO THE ARLINGTON CEMETERY. SHE SAVED ALL THE NEWSPAPERS. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DID THE SAME THING.
FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY. WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE PRESIDENT WAS SHOT? WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER? WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS TELL YOU ABOUT THE ASSASSINATION? IF YOU WEREN'T AROUND AT THAT TIME, BEING YOUNGER THAN FIFTY YEARS, HOW DID YOUR PARENTS EXPLAIN THAT DARK DAY IN NOVEMBER? IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, ISN'T IT, THAT A HALF CENTURY HAS PASSED.
MY PORTAL ONTO THE WORLD...AS SMALL AS IT WAS BACK THEN
MAYBE YOU'VE BEEN MADE TO FEEL OLDER THAN YOU ARE! I'M FIFTY-EIGHT YEARS AND COUNTING, AND I WAS JUST RECENTLY GIVEN A SENIORS' DISCOUNT AT A LOCAL RESTAURANT. DOES IT MEAN I'M AGING, IN APPEARANCE, BEYOND MY YEAR? WERE THEY THINKING TO THEMSELVES, "HECK, WE DON'T KNOW....HE LOOKS LIKE HE'S A SENIOR, HE LIMPS, AND HAS A SCRUFFY BEARD. BALDING! HE MUST BE A SENIOR CITIZEN." SUZANNE WANTED TO KEEP THIS OUT OF MY BLOG, EVEN TRYING TO BRIBE ME WITH PEACH COBBLER, BECAUSE SHE GOT THE DISCOUNT AS WELL. IT WAS QUITE A JOKE FOR SONS ROBERT AND ANDREW, AND EACH TIME A RESTAURANT BILL COMES OUR WAY NOW, ONE OF THEM WILL GRAB IT, TO SEE IF WE GOT THE DISCOUNT FOR A SECOND TIME. WE LET THEM KNOW, THAT IF YOU PICK UP THE BILL, RULE IS, "YOU'RE PAYING!" SO THEY DON'T DO THAT ANY MORE!
AT AROUND THIS TIME OF YEAR, I ALWAYS MISS THOSE DAYS, WORKING IN, WHAT I REALIZE NOW, WAS A VERY HISTORIC NEWSPAPER OFFICE. BY TODAY'S STANDARD, WHERE MAIN BUSINESS-CORE NEWSPAPER OFFICES ARE DISAPPEARING, THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE NEWSPAPER OFFICE, AT 27 DOMINION STREET, IN BRACEBRIDGE, SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONSERVED AS AN HISTORIC SITE; NOTHING ALTERED FROM THE WAY IT WAS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE EARLY 1980'S, BEFORE PHYSICAL ALTERATIONS WERE MADE DOWNSTAIRS. WHEN I ARRIVED IN THE OFFICE, FOR MY FIRST DAY OF WORK, IT WAS LIKE WALKING INTO THE PAST. THE BOYER FAMILY HAD KEPT IT SO WONDERFULLY TRADITONAL, YET FUNCTIONAL, AND I WAS ATTRACTED TO THOSE RAISED, HAND CUT IRON LETTERS, THAT SPELLED-OUT, "THE HERALD-GAZETTE," WHICH WERE ANCHORED TO THE STUCCO WALL. FOR GOOD LUCK, I USED TO TOUCH ONE OF THE LETTERS, EVERY TIME I CAME INTO THE BUILDING. I DID SO WHEN I WENT FOR MY FIRST INTERVIEW. AND EVERY DAY AFTER. I DON'T DO IT ANY MORE, BECAUSE THEY'RE TUCKED INTO A BOX, IN STORAGE, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT HOW TO DISPLAY THEM PROPERLY. DID I MENTION, I OWN THE LETTERS. BOUGHT THEM AT THE LOCAL RE-STORE FOR TWENTY BUCKS. MY GOOD FORTUNE. BUT THEY SHOULD BE IN A MUSEUM. WHICH BRINGS UP ANOTHER POINT. FEELING OLD, IS PART OF MY LIFE THESE DAYS, AS THE TYPEWRITERS I USED TO WORK ON, ARE NOW COLLECTABLE, AND THE OFFICE I USED TO WORK IN, I'M TOLD, SHOULD HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO A MUSEUM. OR PACKAGED AND SENT TO THE SMITHSONIAN. THAT WOULD MAKE ME A MUSEUM PIECE, IF I WAS ONE OF THE OLD FARTS INCLUDED IN THE EXHIBIT. STANDING THERE, WEARING A FEDORA, WITH A "PRESS" CARD INSERTED BEHIND THE HAT BAND. DID YOU EVER THINK THAT SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT, AND INGRAINED IN A COMMUNITY, LIKE THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER OFFICE, WOULD DISAPPEAR FROM THE MAIN BUSINESS AREA? WHEN I TRY TO EXPLAIN TO YOUNGER FOLKS, WHY THIS WAS A PIVOTAL PLACE IN THE SOCIAL / CULTURAL LIFE OF OUR TOWNS, I FIND MYSELF BECOMING MIRED IN SENTIMENTALITY, AND THUS, THE STORY GETS WATERED DOWN, AND SNUFFS OUT; WHEN I REALIZE THEY THINK OF ME AS AN ANTIQUARIAN OF INDUSTRY.....SUCH THAT I SHOULD HAVE AN EXPLANATORY PLAQUE ON MY CHEST, OUTLINING WHAT I WAS ONCE USED FOR AROUND THE OFFICE.
HONESTLY, AND THINKING OF MYSELF AS SOMEWHAT VISIONARY, I COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED, A TOWN LIKE OURS, OR BRACEBRIDGE, NOT HAVING A NEWSPAPER OFFICE IN, AND AROUND THE HISTORIC DOWNTOWN. EVEN TWO YEARS AGO, I WOULD HAVE ARGUED, THAT OUR BANNER OFFICE, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, WOULD BE THERE LONG AFTER MY LIFE EXPECTANCY. IT'S KIND OF SHOCKING TO A TRADITIONALIST LIKE ME, AND STRANGE THING......, OUTSIDE OF ME REPORTING ON THE DEPARTURE, FOR THIS BLOG, NO ONE ELSE HAD ANYTHING TO SAY. WHAT WAS AN UNFORTUNATE MOMENT IN TOWN HISTORY, AS FAR AS THIS HISTORIAN IS CONCERNED, WASN'T EVEN A BLIP ON THE RADAR FOR LOCAL READERS. EITHER THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY, OR WHETHER IT WAS POLITICALLY CORRECT TO PROTEST THE MOVE, IT WILL CERTAINLY BE RECORDED IN TOWN HISTORY, THAT WE CAPITULATED TO THE NEW PLAN FOR US WITHOUT A WRINKLE OF PUBLIC CONCERN. NOT FROM THE LOCAL BIA, NOT FROM THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, NOT FROM TOWN HALL, AND NOT FROM THE CITIZENS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE OTHER HISTORIANS IN TOWN THOUGHT ABOUT IT, BUT BY REMAINING SILENT, REGARDING SUCH A MILESTONE EVENT, WAS MORE THAN A LITTLE CURIOUS. OF COURSE, I DON'T AGREE WITH THEM, AND THEY DON'T TALK TO ME. BUT LOSING THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN DIFFERENCES OF OPINION AND PROTOCOLS. HISTORY IS HISTORY, AND THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THESE HISTORIANS. IT'S NOT THE QUESTION THEY COULD HAVE STOPPED WHAT BIG BUSINESS WANTED TO DO, BUT EVEN A WHIMPER OF PROTEST WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN LEAVING THE VERY PUBLIC, CULTURAL CHANGE, WITHOUT COMMENT; ESPECIALLY FROM THOSE WHO KNOW GRAVENHURST BEST. I AM STILL CONSIDERED A TRANSPLANTED BRACEBRIDGE HISTORIAN, EVEN THOUGH OUR FAMILY HAS BEEN HERE SINCE 1989. SO KNOWING MY PLACE, I ALWAYS LET THEM CUT IN FRONT, TO HAVE THEIR SAY. LATELY I'VE BEEN DISAPPOINTED THEY HAVEN'T SAID MUCH OF ANYTHING ABOUT DAY TO DAY HISTORY BEING MADE. IT'S PART OF THE VOLUNTEER JOB WE HISTORIANS ACCEPT, TO REPRESENT OUR COMMUNITY CHRONICLE, BECAUSE IF WE DON'T.....THEN WHO WILL.
MUSKOKA HISTORIANS, GEORGE BOYER, AND HIS SON ROBERT BOYER, WROTE IMPORTANT REGIONAL HISTORIES. BUT I KNOW, FROM WORKING WITH ROBERT BOYER, AT MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, THAT OLD NEWSPAPER FILES, WERE ONE OF HIS MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCES, WHEN HE WROTE "A GOOD TOWN GREW HERE." IN 2000, WHEN THE TOWN HISTORY WAS UPGRADED BY A HERITAGE COMMITTEE, FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR TO THE NEW CENTURY, THOSE NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES WERE OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE, TO COMPOSING THE YEAR BY YEAR ACCOUNT, ENTITLED "A GOOD TOWN CONTINUES." AS IT HAS BEEN IN THOUSANDS OF OTHER NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNITIES, THE NEWSPAPER FILES HAVE BEEN USED SIMILARLY, TO DOCUMENT NEWS EVENTS FROM THE FIRST ROUGH-HEWN NEWSPAPER OFFICES, RIGHT UP TO THE PUBLICATION DATE OF RESPECTIVE BOOKS. MOST OF THOSE HISTORIES, INCLUDING OUR OWN, COULD NOT HAVE BEEN AS THOROUGH, WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF THESE WEEKLY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY ARCHIVES. WITH RECENT CHANGES IN THE PUBLICATIONS IN MUSKOKA, HISTORIANS ARE GOING TO BE HARD PRESSED, TO FIND COMPARABLE RECORDS TO USE IN THE FUTURE, AS WORKING ARCHIVES, BECAUSE A MAJORITY OF THE MATERIAL PUBLISHED, IS WHAT WE OLD NEWS HOUNDS CALL "SOFT NEWS." THE HISTORY TEXTS WERE NOT COMPOSED OF FEATURE NEWS, BECAUSE THERE WAS ONLY A MINOR AMOUNT EVER PUBLISHED, AND THEY WERE MOSTLY FROM COMMUNITY NEWS CORRESPONDENTS, REPRESENTING AREA TOWNS, VILLAGES, HAMLETS AND CROSSROADS. NICE STUFF BUT NOT WHAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE NEWS COMPENDIUMS WE FIND SO VALUABLE TODAY. THE NEWSPAPERS CARRY MUCH MORE SOFT NEWS, IN THE WAY OF FEATURES, AND THIS WILL NOT SERVE FUTURE HISTORIANS, AS WE, TODAY'S ARCHIVISTS, WERE ADVANTAGED IN OUR EARLY RELATIONSHIP, WITH THE COMMUNITY PRESS. SO LOSING A NEWSPAPER OFFICE, IN THE MAIN BUSINESS AREA OF TOWN, IS MORE THAN JUST THE LOST OF AN HISTORIC ENTERPRISE, AND A TRADITION; BUT THE LOSS OF A VEHICLE THAT MAINTAINED THE CHRONICLE OF OUR MARCH THROUGH TIME.
THE LEAD-UP TO CHRISTMAS, WAS A WONDERFUL TIME AT THE ANTIQUATED HERALD-GAZETTE OFFICE. READERS AND ADVERTISERS WERE ALWAYS IN SUCH GOOD HUMOR, AND WE USED TO INVITE FOLKS INTO THE INNER SANCTUM, AND UP TO THE NEWSROOM FOR A LITTLE VISIT.....WHEN FOR MOST OF THE YEAR, WE RAN A PRETTY TIGHT SHIP, SECURITY WISE. IT WAS NICE TO TALK WITH READERS PARTICULARLY, BECAUSE WE ONLY HAD JOBS IF THEIR NUMBERS STAYED UP. MANAGEMENT REMINDED US, OF THIS FACT, WHENEVER WE ASKED FOR A RAISE. IF THE PAID CIRCULATION WAS UP, OUR CHANCES OF GETTING A FEW MORE COINS, IN THE PAY ENVELOPE, WERE GOOD. IF WE'D SUFFERED A DECLINE, WE ALWAYS GOT BLAMED FOR IT, AND REMINDED OF OUR TASK, WHICH WAS TO BUILD AN EMPIRE, NOT CHOP IT DOWN. SO WHEN WE COULD GET UP CLOSE, TO THE READERS, IN THIS COMFORTABLE SETTING, ON THE CUSP OF CHRISTMAS, WE GOT TO CONDUCT OUR OWN SURVEY OF WANTS AND SUGGESTIONS. BUT MORE THAN THIS, IT WAS WHAT A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER WAS SUPPOSED TO DO AFTERALL. IT WAS THE SOCIAL / CULTURAL CONDUIT FOR THE COMMUNITY; FROM US, ON TO THE READERS, AND BACK AGAIN TO US; AND IT JUST KEPT SHINGLING OVER AND OVER. WE WERE A REFLECTION OF THE COMMUNITY, AND EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN ANYONE'S MIND, BACK THEN, THAT WE WERE A CONSERVATIVE NEWSPAPER, OUR COMMITTMENT WAS TO ALL READERS AND POTENTIAL SUBSCRIBERS, TO STALWARTLY REPORT THE NEWS, AND ENTERTAIN THOSE WHO STUCK WITH US DURING THE PERIODS OF INTENSE COMPETITION.
THE CLOSER WE GOT TO THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY, WHICH I VOLUNTEERED TO WORK, BECAUSE I WAS THE ONLY UNATTACHED STAFFER, THE MORE FESTIVE WE ALL BECAME. I WAS ALWAYS AGHAST ABOUT THE NUMBER OF GIFTS THAT CAME INTO THE OFFICE, OFTEN DESIGNATED FOR THE NEWS DEPARTMENT, OR TO BE SHARED WITH COLLEAGUES IN PRODUCTION. WE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE EATEN THEIR PORTION, IF IT WAS CANDY. IF IT WAS BOOZE TO THE PUBLISHER, WE CLAIMED HALF AS A SORT OF TOLL, FOR PASSAGE THROUGH THE NEWSROOM.
BUT IT WAS GREAT TO MEET THESE KIND CITIZENS, WHEN THEY CAME INTO THE OFFICE WITH THEIR NEATLY WRAPPED GIFTS, AND WHAT A CONNECTION WE MADE THEN, SHAKING THEIR HANDS, AND WISHING EACH OTHER A MERRY CHRISTMAS. THERE WAS AN HISTORIC AND TRADITIONAL CONNECTION BEING REINFORCED, THROUGH THAT PERIOD OF GENEROUS GOODWILL, THAT WE ALL FELT, AFTER A BUSY, AND FREQUENTLY CONTROVERSIAL YEAR OF REPORTING. WE HAD A LOT OF TOUGH AND VERY SAD HARD NEWS TO REPORT, MANY TRAGIC REVELATIONS TO LAY BEFORE OUR READERS, AND WE ALL TOOK THE STORIES LIKE THIS, SO PERSONALLY, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO MANAGE THE EXPOSURE. THE YEAR WHEN WE COVERED THE SAD STORY, OF A YOUNG GIRL, SUFFERING FROM TERMINAL CANCER, THROUGH THE LONG RIGORS OF CHEMOTHERAPY, WE ALL, BECAUSE OF INTIMATE EXPOSURE TO THE GIRL, AND HER FAMILY, HAD HUGE DIFFICULTY SEPARATING OUR JOB, OF FUNDAMENTAL REPORTING, FROM THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION WE MADE WITH HER. WHEN SHE PASSED AWAY, WE FOUND OUT INDIVIDUALLY, THERE WERE MORE DANGERS TO THE JOB THAN GETTING INJURED AT FIRE SCENES, OR COVERING ACCIDENTS. BUT WE WEREN'T THE HIGHLY TRAINED STAFF OF A BIG CITY NEWSPAPER. WE WERE CITIZENS FIRST, SOME OF US HAVING LIVED HERE MOST OF OUR LIVES, WRITERS SECOND. THIS WAS OUR HOME. HER NAME WAS SUSAN MITCHELL. A CHARMING GIRL AND SHE TOOK US ALL BY THE HEART-STRINGS. WE WEREN'T AS TOUGH AS WE THOUGHT WE WERE, BECAUSE IT BROUGHT ABOUT A HARSH HEARTFELT REALITY, WE'D ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO KEEP AT A SAFE DISTANT.
OUR NEWSPAPER OFFICE WAS A COMMUNITY DROP-IN CENTRE MOST OF THE TIME, BUT AT CHRISTMAS, IT WAS JUST NEAT TO BE A PART OF THIS SOCIAL HAPPENING. WE DIDN'T OVER ANALYZE IT. WE DID COME TO INCLUDE THESE SOCIAL MOMENTS, AS PART OF OUR OWN CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS, BECAUSE THE HERALD-GAZETTE IN THOSE DAYS, WAS A SMALL, INTIMATE GROUP, AND WE HUNG-OUT TOGETHER, AFTER WORK AS WELL. I LIKED THE PATINA OF THAT NEWSPAPER OFFICE. TODAY, THAT SAME BUILDING, RE-ANIMATED BACK TO THE 1980'S, COULD BE TURNED INTO A MUSEUM...... EXHIBITING WHAT AN OLD-TIME WEEKLY NEWSPAPER'S ROLE WAS, IN THE HOST COMMUNITY. I COULD BE THE GREETER. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW GREAT IT WOULD BE, TO RE-VISIT THAT HISTORICALLY HAUNTED OLD BUILDING, AND THOSE OLD CHUMS ON STAFF, DURING THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD....WHEN HAVING A CENTRAL NEWSPAPER OFFICE WAS A TRADITION TO BE RESPECTED.
IN THE 1990'S, AFTER MOVING TO GRAVENHURST, I GOT A CHANCE TO WORK IN BOTH THE BANNER OFFICE, WHEN I WAS NEWS EDITOR, AND AT THE MUSKOKA TODAY OFFICE, ON FIRST STREET, IN THE FORMER ORANGE LODGE BUILDING, I BELIEVE. WORKING AS A COLUMNIST WITH PUBLISHERS HUGH CLAIRMONT AND SON MARK, WAS A GREAT INTRODUCTION TO LIFE IN OUR NEW TOWN.....AND AS I REMEMBER OF THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD, IT WAS ALSO A MEETING PLACE FOR READERS AND STAFF, TO TALK ABOUT, WITH GRAND REVELLRY, THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS. I PROBABLY LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GRAVENHURST, WORKING AT A DESK BETWEEN MARK AND HUGH, THAN I COULD HAVE EVER PICKED UP FROM A BOOK ONLY. THIS WAS AN ANIMATED HISTORY, AND ALTOGETHER MEMORABLE. OUR CHRISTMAS GET-TOGETHERS WERE MILESTONE EVENTS, LET ME TELL YOU....AS HUGH CLAIRMONT WAS THE HOST WITH THE MOST.....BUT WHAT AMAZING GOODWILL GENERATED FROM THAT OFFICE, ESPECIALLY DURING THE FESTIVE SEASON AND NEW YEARS. I HOLD ONTO THESE MEMORIES WITH PRIDE, THAT I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE A TRADITION, NOW REMEMBERED BY ONLY A FEW OF US SURVIVORS......WHO CAN'T QUITE GRASP YET, HOW HISTORY SLIPPED THROUGH OUR FINGERS WITHOUT US KNOWING, JUST HOW SEVERE A LOSS IT WOULD BE. WILL A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER EVER AGAIN OPEN, AND OPERATE FROM A MAIN STREET BUSINESS LOCATION? I THINK NOT! NOW IN RETROSPECT, THESE WERE MY GOOD OLD DAYS. AND YES, I FEEL A LOT OLDER THAN MY FIFTY-EIGHT YEARS. I REALIZE HOW LUCKY I WAS, TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WORK WITH THESE NEWSPAPERS, AT A TIME, WHEN THEY WERE STILL A VIABLE ENTITY.
HERE NOW, ARE A FEW PARAGRAPHS FROM NOVEMBER 2012
CHRISTMAS SKETCHES OF GRAVENHURST - A TOWN WORTH KNOWING
WITH SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE MEANING OF CANADIANA
For those who were following my blog, way back in the spring of this year, you might remember that my wife and I, who are both antique hunters, issued a very public challenge, to see who was the better collector, when it comes to being able to find iconic Canadian symbols. For example, those collectible pieces with emblems of "the beaver," a "maple leaf," or images (symbols) of the "Royal Canadian Mounted Police." Actually, we kind of opened it to any other symbol that is clearly identifiable as homegrown "Canadian," and that could have included maple syrup relics etc. I had a half dozen maple sugar molds but I sold them. We got the idea from a collector's book, entitled "The Maple Leaf Forever - A Celebration of Canadian Symbols," written by Donna and Nigel Hutchins, and published in 2006 by Boston Mills Press. The fabulously illustrated book details what collectors of Canadiana, depicting some form of nationally recognized symbols, have been able to acquire, ranging from vintage tin table-hockey players, to graphics, posters, advertising tins, games, business signs, collector plates, novelties, to folk art carvings of beavers, and maple leaves…… amongst about a million other items of iconic significance to our affection and pride, being Canadian. And of course, there are a lot of Canadiana collectors who are not Canadians, and who don't even live in this country. They just admire our national symbols…..and they like to visit our country to buy up these traditional icons. I've known many Canadiana collectors from the United States, especially in rare books. I've shipped a lot of Canadian history south and overseas, and although I hate to admit this……it averages to about seventy percent heading everywhere else but here. This has been a trend, for us at least, over about twenty years.
The point for mentioning this, is that Suzanne and I did find, that for the first three months, we were able to go out, and by negotiating with second hand and antique shop owners, by sneaky and even underhanded means, acquire some pretty interesting bits and pieces of classic "vintage" Canadiana. I was clearly the front-runner in the early going, and our plan was to have had two showings of our finds; one being on Canada Day, on July Ist, and the wrap-up on New Year's Day. I can't explain this sudden change of availability, but our cockiness was very premature. The supply ran out almost instantly. It has never returned. The deal you see, was that we would each set out on a typical antique hunt, usually on Saturdays and Sunday, in the off season, and what each of us found, of an iconic nature, "beaver, maple leaf or RCMP," of good quality, and priced within our budget, would be purchased and added to our respective inventories. Which was, if everything went as it began, of enough volume to fill a small warehouse. I was going to need a slightly bigger warehouse, because my finds were twice as much, and of better quality. Of course Suzanne will disagree with this. The whole reason we wanted to do this, is to challenge ourselves…..as collectors, and of course, entertain you folks, by coming up with some fascinating articles of all shapes, sizes and purposes.
What we found, was a lot of really poor quality products out there, much newer, and produced anywhere but Canada. I just couldn't bring myself to buy an RCMP decorative candy tin, that was made in some other country than our own. We were actually educating ourselves, about the differences of collecting pieces from the last 25 years, as compared to the those decorative items twenty-five years and older. Then we were finding a few more items made in Canada. Truth was, we found it necessary to go to antique shops specifically, to find Canadian-made products, often of more than fifty years of age, with those same iconic images. It kind of made us mad; the fact our Canadian souvenirs, simply aren't made in Canada anymore. We did find a few exceptions, such as the small pottery canoes, made in the 1950's and 1960's, that advertised Canadian towns and cities, which were actually manufactured by potters in this country. So to round this long explanation out, we just dropped the whole thing, because we outrightly refused to spend money on iconic symbols of our country, made everywhere else but in Canada. So we didn't offer anything on July Ist, which was kind of disappointing, and as we continued hunting right up until this week, without luck, I confess, it is the first time in our marital bliss, that the usual cut-throat rivalry, between business partners, ended with a dull, uninspiring stalemate. We turned down thousands of really crappy souvenir and collectible Canadiana, that was offered to us, by kind dealers and second hand shop clerks, simply because we couldn't justify acquiring foreign made symbols of our country. If we had only been hunting the antique shops, and spending upwards of four to five thousand dollars, we could have come home with twenty or thirty major historic items each. Items, by the way, that would have not only held their value, but in time, increased in significance. Canadiana is a good investment generally. There's no shortage of iconic pieces for anyone who has a meaty acquisition budget. But as we stated in the opening foray, of the challenge, our interest was to buy cheaply. That was where we went wrong. If you want the good stuff…..the genuine Canadiana…..well sir, it's going to cost you!
I was looking out the window, here at Birch Hollow, this morning, trying to get moving on that elusive first paragraph, for my new series of Gravenhurst Sketches, which I promised to be ready on this last day of November 2012. It was shortly after sunrise, and after two cups of coffee, I had watched a beautiful pre-winter morning illuminate the snow-covered Bog across the road. I looked out at the cluster of stately maples, thick, venerable old pines, and leaning birches, with the light and shadow contrasting the snow to the border cedars, and I thought to myself, what an absolutely breathtaking scene it all is……..so powerfully alluring and yet subtly mysterious; a place of gentle solitude, yet a deep bubbling pool of inspiration. And I began writing what I felt at that moment, about home and region, and what a pleasure it has been, for all these years, to have had this same vista rising to greet me each morning, of each season of the year. The panorama that has always given something curious of nature to study, and patiently watch through the days and weeks, and has never once, since we arrived here in Gravenhurst, left me without motivation at this keyboard. I can remember the painful hiatus, in so many other residences, when I found myself without any interest to write even a single sentence. I look out upon the woodlands at first light, and I wander the paths through the bog at mid-day, and stand looking over the lowland before turning-in, the dog and I, and I offer my humble thanks to God, for allowing me this precious experience, this wonderful day; these splendid hours of pure enjoyment of our hinterland.
I turned to Suzanne this morning, and informed her, that I had found the ultimate Canadian icon we'd both been searching for; "our town," I blurted, as if just awakening to the reality we live in one of the most naturally significant regions in Canada. "How could we have missed this?" I asked. "Gravenhurst is a town full of iconic Canadiana; in the forests, on, and around the lakes, in the countryside, and in the history of the town itself. It's all here. We're surrounded by Canadian symbols, and attitude……, so basically, as I thought about it first……I win." Suzanne replied, "You're a cheater." And, "You said we had to be able to buy it, to have it count." With a smile on my face, and a wee wink of the Irish eye, I said, "I paid our taxes……so therefore, I am a partner constituent in our hometown!" Well, as I am accustomed to, she laughed, and her laugh made me laugh, and I think the cats were laughing too. Over a couple more coffees, and pancakes with yes……real maple syrup, Suzanne agreed with me, that our wonderful little hometown was full to overflowing with lots of Canadian symbols……not ones imprinted on ashtrays or coffee mugs, cups and saucers, or on playing cards……but a part of everyday life, such that we hardly notice just how nationally imbedded our lives have become. I'm reminded how wonderful it is to be Canadian, when I look out at this snow-laden wetland, this morning, and wonder if Canadian landscape artist A.Y. Jackson, or Tom Thomson, might have found it a significant scene to sketch; with its beautiful maples backed by towering pines, and shouldered by those beautiful, storied birches that beckon poets to create analogies.
On a drive uptown, and along side-streets and small lanes, we took a few extra moments on the way to work, to see the other reminders of Canadiana, we are so fortunately exposed…..but most often ignore as the commonplace of living here. It's when you start pondering, the unique qualities of our town, for a project like this, that it all emerges so charmingly…..historically, and at times, we both got a little misty-eyed, because it can become almost overwhelming…..this national obsession……for the good of course; when you realize what our district possesses in natural resources, and offers in opportunity. We drove to the shore of Lake Muskoka, and Muskoka Beach, and the scene by mid morning, was stunningly beautiful and beckoning. The trip along the winding, forested trail of Muskoka Beach Road, with its lowlands and pastures, and the famous cathedral maples, is an adventure in solitude……but as much, an odyssey of discovery. This is our home town. The mix of urban life and country living. The amalgamation of what is naturally beautiful, and what is historically relevant. A place of rare enchantments, and a locale of stunning actuality. It's where we live. Where we work. The town where we attend church. Where we shop, stop to chat, sit in coffee shops with friends, dunk donuts, and carry-out hot pizzas fresh from the oven. It is the hometown where several newborns have just helped increase the population. It is the place we come together to curl, and skate, and play hockey…….watch and cheer our hockeyists, and the place where we gather for community suppers and for special entertainment. It is the hometown in which we awake each morning, through each day of our vibrant four seasons, and it's where we arrive back, at the end of the day, to hang our caps, and settle for an evening supper; and maybe then a comfortable seat by the hearth…..or television, for a quiet time before retiring to bedlam. We will ponder our coming weeks, appointments we have to keep, plan out our agendas, prepare to go to work another day…..and think about the donation we have yet to make to the food bank, and the money that will be donated to the supper club, or the Salvation Army, to help the less fortunate. There will be, of course, thoughts about the coming Christmas holidays, and the raging good cheer……that if we think about…..is with us all year…..just slightly subdued.
My Christmas Sketches of Gravenhurst, will thusly, reflect very closely, the vestiges of Canadiana, so charmingly ingrained in the way we live our lives…….the way we function as stakeholders in this amazing little town, tucked between the lakes and woodlands of South Muskoka. This series of articles, is as much a tribute to Canada, as it will be to our hometown. It will, I think, give us all a little bit to rekindle, this Christmas, as to how special it is……to be iconically Canadian…..and the real life players, in the ever-evolving novelty, and vibrant actuality, of the real life performance of "Our Town."
I hope you will join me for this month-long tribute to our fine little town, and this great big lovable country, many of us have taken for granted for far too long. Politics aside, this is a Christmas celebration. With a Happy New Year attached neatly on the end.
Thanks once again, dear friends, for visiting this Gravenhurst blog. We'll keep the fire roaring in the hearth, and an open place on the bench beside…..for whenever you can return to Birch Hollow for a visit.
We're all friends here…..despite our politics.
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