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RIVALLRY BETWEEN MUSKOKA TOWNS AND VILLAGES - WHERE DID IT GO? WHAT WAS IT GOOD FOR ANYWAY?
IT'S WHAT I KNEW AS A KID PLAYING SPORTS - IT'S WHAT I KNEW AS AN HISTORIAN COMPARING COMMUNITIES
THIS IS A QUESTION I HAVE BEEN PONDERING FOR SEVERAL YEARS. WHAT WILL OUR YOUNGER GENERATIONS THINK ABOUT OUR HOMETOWN WHEN THEY REACH MIDDLE AGE? WILL THEY HAVE MORE PRIDE IN THE TOWN THAN THEY HAVE TODAY? OR WILL THEY JUST CONSIDER THIS LOVELY LITTLE TOWN, JUST A PLACE TO HANG A HAT.
WHEN WE DECIDED TO MOVE SOUTH TO GRAVENHURST, BACK IN THE AUTUMN OF 1989, I BELIEVED IN MY HEART, IT WAS THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL OF MY OLD HOMETOWN. I DIDN'T LIKE FEELING THIS WAY. IT'S NOT THE REASON WE MOVED, JUST TO TAKE A CHEAP SHOP AT BRACEBRIDGE. IT'S JUST WHAT MY CONSCIENCE KICKED-BACK ON ME, MANY TIMES IN THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS OF RESIDENCY. A FEW OF MY CONTEMPORARIES THOUGHT WE WERE NUTS FOR LEAVING A PROGRESSIVE TOWN, TO RETREAT IN TIME, BACK INTO THE TATTERED SCRAPBOOK, FADING IN THE MELANCHOLY OF THE NINETEEN FIFTIES. HONESTLY, THE BIGGEST CRITICISM OF GRAVENHURST, BACK IN THOSE YEARS, WAS THAT IT WAS THE TOWN WHERE TIME STOOD STILL. I STILL HERE THIS AS A CRITICISM TODAY. AS I RATHER LIKED THE 1950'S, I'M NOT TOTALLY DISPLEASED BY THE REFERENCE. SO HERE THEN, WAS THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ONE OF THE INTIMATE FEW TRYING TO LAUNCH WOODCHESTER VILLA, AS A NEW COMMUNITY MUSEUM, AND FORMER EDITOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HERALD-GAZETTE, ABANDONING THE COMMUNITY WHICH HAD, TO THAT POINT, GIVEN HIM HIS START AS A REGIONAL WRITER / HISTORIAN. I APPRENTICED WITH BRACEBRIDGE'S BEST KNOWN HISTORIAN, ROBERT J. BOYER. I DIDN'T NEED TO BE CALLED A TRAITOR TO FEEL LIKE ONE. BUT HERE'S THE STORY WITHIN THE STORY.
I HAD JUST COME OFF A HUMILIATING DEFEAT, IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S MUNICIPAL ELECTION. GEORGE BRODIE, WHO EVERYONE IN TOWN LIKED, HAD JUST KICKED MY ASS, AT LEAST QUADRUPLING MY VOTES FOR MONCK WARD. IT WAS THE SECOND ELECTION LOSS. THE FIRST TIME I RAN, I ATTEMPTED TO WIN A DISTRICT SEAT, AND ACTUALLY DID PRETTY WELL. I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TO BEAT THE CONSUMMATE POLITICIANS RUNNING FOR THE SAME POSITIONS, BUT FOR A FIRST ATTEMPT, I WAS SOMEWHAT ENCOURAGED. THE SECOND TIME CERTAINLY WASN'T A CHARM. OBVIOUSLY, BEING A WRITER WITH MANY BYLINES, EVERY SINGLE WEEK OF THE YEAR, OFTEN TRIPLING IN THE SUMMER SEASON, MADE LITTLE TO NO DIFFERENCE DURING THAT ELECTION CAMPAIGN. SO I WON'T DENY THAT I WAS IN A FUNK FOR SOME TIME AFTER. I NEVER SUGGESTED TO SUZANNE THAT WE SHOULD MOVE OUT OF TOWN, BECAUSE I LOST THE ELECTION, BUT I DID LOSE SOME OF MY APPETITE TO WORK HARD FOR A COMMUNITY THAT WOULDN'T EVEN GIVE ME THE SYMPATHY VOTE. I DON'T EVEN THINK SUZANNE VOTED FOR ME. SHE ALWAYS CHANGES THE SUBJECT WHENEVER I BRING IT UP. THE BOYS WEREN'T OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE FOR THE OLD MAN. WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION, THAT IF I WAS TO RUN FOR GRAVENHURST COUNCIL, WOULD THEY CHECK MY BOX ON THE BALLOT? WE WON'T GO THERE. IT'S A SECRET BALLOT.
WHAT HAPPENED OVER THE NEXT YEAR, BECAME A REAL ESTATE ISSUE, MORE THAN TRYING TO GET EVEN WITH MY HOME TOWN. WE HAD A HOUSE OUT OF TOWN, THAT WAS CAUSING US ALL KINDS OF GRIEF, MOSTLY BECAUSE OF DISTANCES WE HAD TO TRAVEL. HOUSE PRICES WERE GOING CRAZY IN TOWN, BECAUSE OF THE REAL ESTATE BOOM, WHICH WOULD LEAD TO A GREAT COLLAPSE IN TWO YEARS. WHEN WE BEGAN LOOKING, AFTER WE SOLD THE HOUSE ON GOLDEN BEACH ROAD, WE ASKED OUR AGENT TO SHOW US TWO HOUSES IN URBAN GRAVENHURST.....THAT KIND OF APPEALED TO US. WE LIKED THE SECOND ONE ON THE LIST. SO WE BOUGHT IT. WE WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE A NEARLY NEW BUNGALOW, ACROSS FROM A MAJOR GREEN BELT, "THE BOG," A FEW BLOCKS FROM THE MAIN STREET, AT ABOUT THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS LESS, THAN THE OTHER HOUSES WE HAD LOOKED AT, IN BRACEBRIDGE. WITH A LITTLE FINISHING WORK AND LANDSCAPING, IT BECAME "BIRCH HOLLOW," AND I HAVE NEVER ONCE HAD REGRETS, EVEN WHEN IT TOOK A NOSE DIVE IN VALUE, BACK IN THE EARLY 1990'S, DURING THE REAL ESTATE COLLAPSE. IT'S TRUE WE TRIED TO SELL IT AFTER THE FIRST YEAR, JUST AHEAD OF THE FULL COLLAPSE, BUT AFTER A FEW WEEKS OF NO SHOWINGS, OR ANY INTEREST, WE DECIDED TO HUNKER DOWN FOR THE LONG HAUL. IT WAS A GREAT PLACE TO RAISE OUR BOYS, AND A LOW MAINTENANCE HOUSE AND PROPERTY. SUZANNE AND I WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT IT, A FEW MOMENTS AGO, OVER A COFFEE, AND EVEN TO THIS DAY, AFTER A LOT OF ROUGH TIMES AND ROUGHER WATER, FINANCIALLY, THROUGH THE 1990'S, WE'D STILL DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN....JUST A TAD MORE FRUGALLY. WE LOVE OUR RESIDENCY AT BIRCH HOLLOW AND LIKE WORKING HERE ON THE MAIN STREET. I HOPE IT SHOWS.
IN THE NEXT EIGHTEEN OR SO YEARS, WE WOULD LIVE IN GRAVENHURST, BUT DO A LOT OF WORK IN BRACEBRIDGE. WE HAD AN ANTIQUE SHOP THERE, SUZANNE TAUGHT AT BRACEBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL, THE BOYS WENT TO BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOL, I WAS THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF WOODCHESTER VILLA, AND CURATOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE SPORTS HALL OF FAME AT THE ARENA, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR OF THE CROZIER FOUNDATION OF MUSKOKA. BUT WE GRADUALLY BEGAN SWITCHING OVER; THE BOYS BEING TRANSFERRED TO GRAVENHURST PUBLIC SCHOOL AND SUZANNE BECAME A MEMBER OF STAFF AT GRAVENHURST HIGH SCHOOL. WE CLOSED DOWN OUR FORMER ANTIQUE SHOP, AND SOLD ONLINE AND AT ANTIQUE SHOWS ETC, UNTIL WE OPENED OUR SHOP IN GRAVENHURST LAST YEAR. (WE JOINED OUR BOYS WHO HAVE NOW BEEN HERE TEN YEARS AS MAINSTREET BUSINESSMEN). WHEN I LEFT MY POSITION WITH THE HALL OF FAME, A FEW YEARS AGO, THAT WAS MY LAST WORKING CONNECTION WITH BRACEBRIDGE. I OCCASIONALLY TAKE WRITING GIGS FOR CLIENTS IN BRACEBRIDGE, BUT THERE'S CERTAINLY NOTHING THAT TETHERS ME TO THE TOWN LIKE THE OLD DAYS. OUR FAMILY ARRIVED IN BRACEBRIDGE IN THE LATE WINTER OF 1966. I'VE NEVER BEEN DISMAYED WITH MY YEARS CONNECTED WITH THE TOWN, REGARDLESS OF HOW A COUPLE OF ELECTION DEFEATS MADE ME FEEL OUT OF SORTS WITH MY FELLOW HOMETOWNERS. THEY ELECTED THE BEST PERSON FOR THE POSITION. I KNOW THAT WAS THE CASE.
IF THERE IS ONE THING I HAVE NOTICED ABOUT GRAVENHURST, ESPECIALLY IN THE PAST TWENTY YEARS, IT HAS BEEN THE DECLINING INTENSITY OF COMPETITIVENESS. A LESSENING OF COMMUNITY PRIDE THE WAY I HAD KNOWN IT, EVEN AS A KID, PLAYING MINOR HOCKEY HERE. THERE WAS NO LOVE LOST, AND THIS IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT, BETWEEN THE TWO TOWNS OF SOUTH MUSKOKA, WHEN IT CAME TO ANY SPORTING COMPETITION. YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE LATE 1800'S, AND FIND THIS TO BE TRUE. THERE WERE STRONG IDENTITIES IN BOTH COMMUNITIES, THAT SEEMED TO TORCH-UP WHENEVER THERE WAS A PAD OF ICE, STICKS, A PUCK, AND TEAM COLORS. SOME OLDTIMERS WOULD CALL THE TOWNS "BITTER" RIVALS. IF MEMORY SERVES, THE EARLY HISTORY OF SPORTING ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN THE TOWNS, FROM CURLING TO HOCKEY, BROUGHT OUT THUNDEROUSLY LARGE CROWDS AND EACH CONTEST WAS A GRUDGE MATCH. WHILE IN TERMS OF EMERGENCY SERVICES, THE TOWNS HAVE ALWAYS COME TOGETHER TO ASSIST IN FIRES AND ACCIDENTS, BUT PUT A BALL DIAMOND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PICTURE, AND WHAT HAPPENED NEXT WAS ALWAYS CROWD PLEASING....UNTIL ONE SIDE CAME OUT A LITTLE SHORT ON THE SCOREBOARD. I CAN TELL YOU THIS. WHENEVER OUR HOCKEY CLUB ARRIVED IN GRAVENHURST FOR A GAME, WE KNEW FULL WELL, THAT WE HAD TO PLAY THE CROWD AS WELL AS THE TEAM. IT WAS A VERY INTIMIDATING ENVIRONMENT IN THE OLD ARENA, BESIDE THE RUBBERSET PLANT, AND WHENEVER I LET IN A GOAL, THE FANS SMASHING ON THE MESHWORK BEHIND, SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. IT WAS DEAFENING. BUT IT WAS MORE THAN JUST A THUMPING, CHEERING, HARD PLAYING KIND OF COMPETITIVE PRIDE. THERE WAS AN UNWRITTEN HISTORY, OF ONE TOWN TRYING TO BETTER (SMASH TO SMITHERINES) THE OTHER, AND ALTHOUGH IT MAY NOT BE SPELLED OUT IN THE CHRONICLES OF EACH TOWN, THE STORIES PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE CENTURIES, HAVE BECOME THE FRAMEWORK OF LOCAL LEGEND. IF YOU WEIGHED THE FAN-POWER, IN THE BLEACHERS OF THOSE HISTORIC GAMES, YOU'D NEVER EXPECT GRAVENHURST AND BRACEBRIDGE COULD HAVE EVER WORKED TOGETHER AT ANYTHING. FUNNY THING THOUGH. MANY OF THE CITIZENS WERE ACTUALLY RELATED. KIN PLAYING OFF AGAINST KIN. ON THE ICE IT WAS WINNING OVER KINSHIP. IT DIDN'T MATTER WHEN IT CAME TO THE BATTLE FOR SUPREMECY. AND IT EVEN STRETCHED INTO POLITICS AND ECONOMICS. THIS RIVALRY WAS, ONCE UPON A TIME, A MORE VICIOUS PURSUIT, AND INVOLVED A LOT OF PUSHING AND SHOVING FOR ECONOMIC INVESTMENT. THE LAST AND MOST MEMORABLE ONE, WAS IN THE MILD JOSTLING TO WIN A UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE CAMPUS FOR SOUTH MUSKOKA, WHICH NEVER REALLY AMOUNTED TO MUCH BACK AND FORTH WHATSOEVER. BRACEBRIDGE WON THE CAMPUS. GRAVENHURST ONLY SEEMED HALF INTERESTED, AT LEAST WHAT WE COULD PICK UP FROM THE MEDIA. IN TERMS OF THE NEW FEDERAL PENITENTIARY, GRAVENHURST, LIKE THE AIRPORT, WAS ALREADY IN THE BALL GAME MUCH EARLIER THAN THE MODERN DAY COMPETITION FOR ECONOMIC SPIN-OFF. THERE WERE MANY MORE CHALLENGES FOR GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT, THAT GO BACK TO THE DAYS WHEN BRACEBRIDGE WAS AWARDED THE CENTRAL PROVINCIAL COURT HOUSE, REGISTRY OFFICES, UP TO AND INCLUDING THE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE MUSKOKA BOARD OF EDUCATION, THE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY OF MUSKOKA, AND THE MUSKOKA-PARRY SOUND HEALTH UNIT. THEN THERE WAS THE AWARDING OF THE CONTRACT TO EXPAND THE FORMER RED CROSS HOSPITAL IN BRACEBRIDGE, INTO THE CURRENT SOUTH MUSKOKA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. EVEN THOUGH, WE ALREADY HAD A FACILITY, AT THE MUSKOKA CENTRE, THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ADDED TO, GIVING A TRUER MEANING TO A HOSPITAL IN SOUTH MUSKOKA.
GRAVENHURST HAD BEGUN LOSING A LOT OF ITS HALLMARK, AND HISTORIC OPERATIONS AND INDUSTRIES, INCLUDING THE MUSKOKA CENTRE AND RUBBERSET, AMONGST OTHER ECONOMIC CHANGES, THAT SEEMED TO MANY DESPAIRING LOCALS, AS THE PROOF OF AN ONWARD, UNFORTUNATE DECLINE IN STATURE. OF COURSE ATTITUDE IS IMPORTANT, AND THE TREND OF NEGATIVITY SEEMED TO BE BUNDLING INTO A SERIOUS OBSTACLE. EVEN SINCE OUR ARRIVAL IN TOWN, THERE HAS BEEN MORE EMPHASIS ON THE TOWN'S DOWNWARD TREND, THAN FOCUS ON THE MOVES IT HAS MADE TO STEADY ITSELF, AND BECOME MORE ATTRACTIVE FOR FUTURE INVESTMENT. FROM THE CITIZENS THEMSELVES. THEY HAVE HELD ON TO SOME HARD FEELINGS ABOUT LOST OPPORTUNITIES. I OFTEN BELIEVE THAT ONE OF THE GREATEST LOSSES WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING, RECENTLY, IS THE DECLINE OF THAT ABSTRACT AURA OF PRIDE; AND IT'S KIND OF A HARD CHARACTERISTIC TO TRACK UNLESS YOU'VE GOT FORENSIC CAPABILITIES BEYOND THE REALITIES OF FUNDAMENTAL OBSERVATION. FROM THE DAYS I KNEW GRAVENHURSTS AS A KID, ONTO MY YEARS WITH THE COMMUNITY PRESS, AND THEN FROM OUR ARRIVAL HERE, I FIND IT MOST UNFORTUNATE, THAT GRAVENHURST DOESN'T HAVE THE BOOSTERS AND OPTIMISTS IT ONCE POSSESSED IN DROVES. YOU DIDN'T CRITICIZE GRAVENHURST, TO A LOCAL CITIZEN, AND GET AWAY WITH IT. IN THE SPORTING SENSE, IF YOU WANTED TO GET YOUR CLOCK CLEANED AS THEY SAY, YOU'D BE LIPPY LIKE ME, AND GET A MOUTH FULL OF HOCKEY STICK.....AND A GOAL CREASE FULL OF GRAVENHURST LADS IN FULL RAGALIA.
IN YOUR OPINION, IS THERE REALLY A DECLINE OF GRAVENHURST BOOSTERS TODAY? OR AM I LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACES, OR LISTENING AT THE WRONG FENCE-POST? WHERE DID THAT RALLYING CRY COME FROM IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS? WHO LED THE CHARGE? HUGH CLAIRMONT AND HIS TRUMPET? THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL? THE HOCKEYISTS AND BASEBALL TEAMS? THE RABID, "FROTHING AT THE MOUTH" FANS? WAS THIS RIVALRY BETWEEN TOWNS HEALTHY, AND GOOD FOR BUILDING COMMUNITY PRIDE? OR WAS IT JUST THE SIGN OF THE TIMES, BEING OUTDATED TODAY? I HAVE SOME HISTORICAL INSIGHT, THAT BRACEBRIDGE ISN'T QUITE AS FEAR-RAISING AS IT ONCE WAS, WHEN FANS WERE PART OF THE EQUATION OF EVERY GRUDGE MATCH. IS COMMUNITY PRIDE A BIG DEAL ANY MORE? OR HAVE WE JUST CHANGED OUR INTERESTS IN HOME TOWN LIVING. I CONFESS THAT I DON'T KNOW. I MISS IT, THE BOISTEROUS VIGOR, IN MANY WAYS. IN MY OPINION IT HAD GOOD QUALITIES ABOUT IT, THAT WOULD TRANSLATE INTO EXTENDED AMBITION INTO OTHER FIELDS, AND DISCIPLINES, OTHER THAN JUST THE BALL DIAMOND, OR ON THE HOCKEY RINK. MAYBE IT HAS DIMINISHED IN OTHER COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
I STILL CONSIDER MYSELF AN OUTSIDER IN GRAVENHURST. SOME THINGS EVEN HISTORIANS SHOULDN'T TAMPER WITH. BUT IT WAS AN ISSUE HUGH CLAIRMONT AND I USED TO TALK ABOUT, INDIRECTLY, WHEN WE'D MEET-UP ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH, AT THE FORMER STAR MOTEL, DEBATING CURRENT EVENTS OVER A COLD PINT OR TWO. I ALWAYS BELIEVED HUGH WAS A GOOD MOTIVATOR OF CIVIC PRIDE AND HOMETEAM ENTHUSIASM; IF YOU WERE TO ANALYZE ALL THE PAST ISSUES OF MUSKOKA TODAY, THAT HUGH AND HIS SON MARK HAD THEIR HAND IN, FOR SO MANY YEARS, IT WAS ALWAYS THE UNDERLYING PURPOSE OF THE PUBLICATION, TO REPRESENT, THE POSITIVES OF SOUTH MUSKOKA; SPECIFICALLY GRAVENHURST. THE OFFICE WAS OFTEN FULL OF THOSE OLD CRONIES WHO KNEW THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN "LIKE THE BACK OF THEIR HANDS." THEY DIDN'T NEED TO READ A BOOK TO KNOW WHAT HISTORY THEY'D LIVED. I HAD THE RARE OPPORTUNITY, TO SIT BETWEEN THESE OLDTIMERS, AND BOTH THE CLAIRMONTS, AND IT GAVE ME THE KIND OF HISTORICAL TUTORING I DIDN'T GET IN UNIVERSITY. IT WAS RAW AND IT WAS INSIGHTFUL. I MAY HAVE BEEN A NEW GUY TO TOWN, BUT LET ME TELL YOU, THEY NEVER HELD IT AGAINST ME. IN ONLY A COUPLE OF YEARS, I FELT LIKE I'D HAD A REAL, NO HOLDS-BARRED IMMERSION IN LOCAL HISTORY....JUST LIKE THE DAYS IN THE OLD GRAVENHURST ARENA, HAVING FIVE OF THE HOME CLUB'S PLAYERS, JAMMED INTO MY CREASE.....JUST IN CASE I WAS OF THE OPINION IT WAS GOING TO BE AN EASY GAME. IF YOU GOT TOO CLOSE TO THE MESHING BEHIND THE NET, YOU MIGHT HAVE A FAN'S HAND POKE THROUGH, TO GRAB YOUR SWEATER, WHICH ABRUPTLY HALTED YOUR PROGRESS. THEY COULDN'T PENALIZE THE TEAM FOR SOMETHING A FAN DID? AT LEAST THEY DIDN'T. WE JUST SKATED WELL AWAY FROM THE BOARDS AFTER THAT.
THERE WAS A VISIBLE, AUDIBLE, SENSORY PRIDE IN ALL OF IT, THAT SEEMS DIMINISHED TODAY; AND I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY. MAYBE IT'S OBVIOUS TO YOU, OR MAYBE YOU'VE NEVER GIVEN IT MUCH THOUGHT. BUT HONESTLY, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN COMMUNITY ATTITUDE, TODAY, VERSUS TWENTY TO THIRTY YEARS AGO. MAYBE IT HAS TO DO WITH THE LOSS OF MANY OF THOSE OLDTIMERS WHO REGALED ME WITH THEIR STORIES OF YESTERYEAR. MAYBE IT'S THE FACT WE HAVE MANY MORE CITIZENS IN OUR TOWN, WHO DON'T REMEMBER THE GOOD OLD DAYS. WE HAVE A LARGE POPULATION OF SENIOR CITIZENS WHO RESIDE HERE, BUT DIDN'T GROW-UP HERE. WHILE THAT DOESN'T BY ITSELF, DIMINISH AN ATTITUDE OF PRIDE, ABOUT THE HOMETOWN FLAG, IT'S NOT QUITE THE SAME AS HAVING ROOTS THAT GO BACK TO THE PIONEER FARMSTEADS, AS MANY STILL DO. JUDGING THE AMOUNT OF PRIDE IN A COMMUNITY IS A DIFFICULT AND EVEN QUESTIONABLE TASK, BECAUSE IT IS ALL SO NEBULOUS AND "OUT THERE." WHO IS AN IMPARTIAL JUDGE TO THIS KIND OF THING? POSSIBLY WE'RE JUST A LOT SOFTER IN OUR "RAH, RAH," THESE DAYS....DOWN TO A WHISPER. ENTHUSIASM, OF COURSE, BUT DOWN TO A DULL ROAR.
WE GET A LOT OF STREET TALK IN OUR MAIN STREET SHOP EACH YEAR. WE ALSO RECEIVE A LOT OF COMMENTS ABOUT MERCHANTS WHO ARE UNHAPPY ABOUT THEIR LOT IN LIFE, AND THEIR ENTERPRISE ON THE MAIN STREET. IT'S ALWAYS PRECARIOUS WHEN YOU HAVE DISGRUNTLED BUSINESS OWNERS, SPREADING THE WORD OF THEIR UNHAPPINESS ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY, TO CUSTOMERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE VISITING FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES. OFTEN THEY WILL TELL US WHAT THEY HEARD, TO ENQUIRE IF THE PROBLEMS ARE COMMUNITY WIDE, OR JUST ISOLATED TO PARTICULAR BUSINESSES. WE HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO BE DISGRUNTLED, BUT WE CERTAINLY REFRAIN FROM PASSING IT ON TO OUR CUSTOMERS. WE HAD SALES FOLKS COME INTO THE SHOP, AWHILE BACK, OFFERING THE SAME OPINION, ENQUIRING WHY MERCHANTS WERE SO EDGY THESE DAYS. WHAT, IN MY OPINION, SHOULD BE A SOLID OPINION, OF "GRAVENHURST - THE GREAT COMMUNITY OF SOUTH MUSKOKA," TENDS TO BE, BY A MORE GENERAL CONSENSUS, JUST "THE PLACE I LIVE," INSTEAD. THERE'S NO RULE, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THAT DISALLOWS YOU VENTING FRUSTRATION, ALTHOUGH IT DOES SEEM A LITTLE SELF DEFEATING IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY, SOME OF US BELIEVE IS ALREADY MANIFESTING ITSELF....AT LEAST IN CERTAIN POCKETS. EVEN THOUGH I HAVE MY MOMENTS OF CRITICISM, AND I WON'T DENY MY LACK OF RESPECT FOR TOWN COUNCIL, I WILL NEVER LET THAT BE THE OVER-RIDING INFLUENCE OF OUR FAMILY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH A REALLY NICE TOWN.....THAT DESERVES A LOT MORE RESPECT THAN IT GETS.
I WILL ALWAYS HAVE A SOFT SPOT IN MY HEART FOR BRACEBRIDGE, FOR THE GOOD YEARS AND EXPERIENCES IT GAVE ME. AND I WILL CONTINUE BEING A TOWN BOOSTER FOR GRAVENHURST, IN MY (OUR) OWN WAY, BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT DESERVES A LOT MORE OF THE "RAH, RAH," OF THE OLD DAYS......TO BUILD BACK, EMOTIONALLY, SOME OF THAT ROUGHLY HEWN PRIDE, THAT IN SOME QUARTERS, ALWAYS MADE "OUR TEAM," FEARED AND REVERED RIVALS......NOT JUST "THAT TEAM" FROM TOWN TEN MILES SOUTH.
MAYBE I'M ALL WRONG. BUT I WAS THERE WHEN GRAVENHURST'S PRIDE HURT US BAD! AND BACK THEN, I WAS FROM THAT OTHER TOWN.
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