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A Christmastime Visit to Knox Presbyterian Church – Gravenhurst
Knox Presbyterian Church in Gravenhurst, one of the most picturesque Churches located on Muskoka Street, Gravenhurst is decorated for the Christmas season for the many visitors who attend the Christmas services over the upcoming weeks.
The history of Knox Presbyterian Church, Gravenhurst began over a century ago in 1875. In December of that year, Rev. Allan Findlay of Knox Church, Bracebridge officially “erected” the congregation and supervised the election and ordination of elders. Plans were immediately drawn up for the building of a suitable church and despite hard times, and limited funds, construction was started in 1877 and the building was completed in 1878. The Church was dedicated later that spring in a service at which the guest speaker was Rev. D. J. Macdonnel, on of Canada’s most famous clergyman at that time. Fred Schulz Photos
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A SOURCE OF SEASONAL GOODWILL - HELPING THOSE WITHOUT - HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS
GRAVENHURST SALVATION ARMY FOOD BANK COULD USE YOUR HELP
MOST OF US, AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, FEEL THOSE SEASONAL STRESSES. THE PRESSURE TO BUY THE RIGHT PRESENTS, AND THE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TASK OF STAYING WITHIN A BUDGET. GOING OVER THE BUDGET CREATES AN ANGRY JANUARY, WHEN THE BILLS ARRIVE IN THE MAIL. THE TELEVISION COMMERCIALS BOMBARD US WITH OVER-SPENDING STRATEGIES, AND MANY I'VE WATCHED THIS SEASON, HAVE TAKEN "MERRY" RIGHT OUT OF THE RECOGNITION OF CHRISTMAS. APPARENTLY, YOU SHOW UP AT AN ELECTRONICS STORE, HAND THE CLERK A LIST (OR FOLDER WITH A LINK OF PHOTOGRAPHS) OF KIN FOLK, YOU'RE BUYING GIFTS FOR, AND THEN LIKE ONE OF SANTA'S MISFIT ELVES, THE CLERK MAKES THE BUYING DECISIONS BASED ON NAME (IMAGE) ALONE. THE CUSTOMER IS LOADED-UP FULL OF CLERK-SELECTED GIFTS, AND A WRAPPED CANDY-CANE IS JAMMED INTO THE SHOPPER'S MOUTH. NICE TOUCH. ANOTHER OFFENSIVE AD TO ME, SHOWS A WOMAN WRAPPING A CHRISTMAS TREE, WHILE SHOPPING ON HER PHONE, AND BAKING COOKIES.....HER HUSBAND IS MAKING A GINGERBREAD HOUSE TRIPLE THE SIZE, OF THE BIGGEST ONE YOU'VE EVER SEEN. NOTHING SAYS MERRY CHRISTMAS, LIKE MULTI-TASKING AND RELATED EXCESSES. IT USED TO BE THAT DECORATING A CHRISTMAS TREE WASN'T A CHORE TO BE DOUBLED WITH ONLINE SHOPPING. THEY WERE SIMPLER DAYS, WEREN'T THEY? MAYBE WE'VE BEEN LIKE THIS LONGER THAN WE CAN REMEMBER. I SUPPOSE THERE ARE THOSE WHO THINK THESE ADS ARE EFFECTIVE AND EVEN COMPELLING. I JUST DON'T HAVE THIS CONTEMPORARY "SPEND TILL YOUR BURST," VIEW OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, AND FRANKLY, I NEVER DID. WE ARE SLOW AND PLODDING PEOPLE, POSSIBLY TO OUR GENERAL DISADVANTAGE. OUR FAMILY MEMBERS SPEND A LOT OF TIME THIS MONTH, FEELING VERY FORTUNATE FOR OUR ADVANTAGES IN THIS LIFE; THINGS LIKE GOOD HEALTH, AND FOOD RESERVES, AND NEVER, EVER, TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED, AS LASTING FOREVER. SUZANNE AND I BOTH GREW UP WITH FAMILIES OF MODEST INCOMES, AND WE BOTH WORE AT TIMES, SECOND HAND CLOTHING, BECAUSE IT'S WHAT OUR FAMILIES COULD AFFORD. AT CHRISTMAS, GIFTS WERE WHAT WE NEEDED, AND THAT INCLUDED SHOES, SWEATERS, SOCKS, PANTS, SCARVES, UNDERWEAR AND TOQUES. WE GOT TOYS BUT NOTHING THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED EXTRAVAGANT.
OUR PARENTS, AND GRANDPARENTS HAD MANY ONGOING STRUGGLES, CONTENDING WITH EFFECTS OF WORLD WAR AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION, WHILE TRYING TO HAVE THEIR MERRY CHRISTMASES. IF THEY COULD PROVIDE A NICE MEAL, THAT WAS THE BIG DEAL. THE CHURCH PROVIDED GIFT BAGS OF ORANGES AND HARD CANDY. GETTING A MAJOR CHRISTMAS PRESENT IN MY HOUSEHOLD, WAS FINDING A TWENTY DOLLAR BILL, IN A CARD FROM MY GRANDMOTHER....WHO COULD ILL AFFORD IT. I'D GIVE IT TO MY MOTHER ANYWAY, AS REPAYMENT FOR HOCKEY REGISTRATION THAT SEASON....OR TO HELP US KEEP FOOD IN THE CUPBOARD. WINTERS WERE HARD AND MERLE OFTEN GOT CUT BACK HOURS, WHERE SHE WORKED AS A SHOP CLERK. WHEN I SEE THE WAY CHRISTMAS IS MARKETED TODAY, A TRADITIIONALIST CAN'T HELP BUT HAVE A HARD TIME WATCHING UNREPENTENT GREED, OOZING UP ALL OVER THE PLACE. I UNDERSTAND FREE ENTERPRISE AND THE WHOLE CAPITALIST AGENDA. WE'RE A FAMILY OF RETAILERS BUT WE'D NEVER, EVER BE DISRESPECTFUL TO THIS IMPORTANT TIME OF MORAL - SPIRITUAL RECONCILIATION. I'M SORRY, BUT FROM THE DEBACLE OF BLACK FRIDAY, AND THE TERRIBLE CONDUCT OF SOME BOX STORES, AND THE WAY THEY TREAT THEIR CUSTOMERS, WORSE THAN LIVESTOCK, IT'S HARD FOR ME, ANYWAY, TO SHOP THERE AT ANY TIME. THIS IS MY PEROGATIVE.
I SHOP WHERE THE OWNERS SHOW SOME MARKETING SENSIBILITY, AND SENSITIVITY, WITHOUT RIDICULOUS EXPLOITATION OF THE SEASON, PURELY FOR FINANCIAL GAIN. I COME FROM A FAMILY OF OLD FEZZIWIGS, ALMOST OF DICKENS CREATION, WHO HAPPEN TO LIKE THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, FOR MORE THAN ITS ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES. WE ARE JUST HAPPY TO SEE EVERYBODY, AND TO BE ABLE TO EXTEND CHRISTMAS GREETINGS, TO CUSTOMERS, NEIGHBORS AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, WHETHER THEY SPEND A DIME IN OUR SHOP OR NOT. MAYBE WE SET A POOR STANDARD, AS FAR AS DOG-EAT-DOG COMMERCE. WE'RE NOT ASKING TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR ANY SUCCESSES WE MIGHT HAVE ACHIEVED, IN OUR TEN YEARS ON THE MAIN STREET OF GRAVENHURST. BUT OUR MEASURE OF SUCCESS, IS OF A MORE TRADITIONAL RECKONING. IT'S OUR WAY OF LIFE, YOU SEE; THIS ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE PROFESSION. WE LIVE WITH A LOT OF CHRISTMASES PAST, BY THE NATURE OF OUR INVENTORY OF OLD STUFF, AND IT'S KIND OF RUBBED-OFF OVER THE DECADES OF OUR PLEASANT ASSOCIATION. BUT WE COULD NEVER, IN GOOD CONSCIENCE, BETRAY OUR OWN JOY FOR THE SEASON, BY BASING OUR ENJOYMENT, SOLELY ON THE PROFIT REACHED BY THE FINAL CHIME OF THE NEW YEAR'S BELL. IF WE WERE TO ARRIVE AT THE NEW YEAR, AND REFLECT ON OUR BUSINESS, AS AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE, FULL OF FINANCIAL STRESSES, AND UNHAPPINESS, WE WOULD SURELY CLOSE IT, AND FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO OCCUPY OUR TIME AND ENTERPRISE. I'M PRETTY COMFORTABLE, OUR PASSIONS WILL PREVAIL ONCE AGAIN, AND WE WILL HAVE ENJOYED A PROSPEROUS CHRISTMAS SEASON, WITHOUT ONCE, HAVING TO COMPROMISE OUR BELIEFS ABOUT GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE, AND RESPECT OF THE HOLIDAY.....TO PLEASE AN ACCOUNTANT OR BANK MANAGER. WE COULDN'T SURVIVE WITHOUT MAKING A PROFIT, BUT WE COULDN'T WORK AT A PROFESSION THAT FORCED US TO MAKE UNSAVORY COMPRIMISES, AND WALK THE HIGH-WIRE, TO JUSTIFY OUR OBLIGATIONS. THIS HEART AND SOUL WORK ARRANGEMENT MAY SOUND LIKE "HUMBUG," AND SHAMELESS PROMOTION, FOR THE SIMPLE LIFE, BUT THOSE WHO SHOP HERE, KNOW IT TO BE THE TRUTH. OUR BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY WOULD PROVE A TOTAL FAILURE, IF WE GOT UP IN THE MORNING, AND EVEN ONCE, WISHED WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SHOW UP FOR WORK. IT'S WHY WE CRAFTED A BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE, THAT WOULD BE OUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME. AND WHEN WE SELECT OUR GIFTS FOR KITH AND KIN, WE DO SO, USING OUR OWN HANDS AND ENTERPRISE; NOT FOBBING-OFF TO A STORE CLERK, TO PROVIDE A CONVENIENT WAY TO GET THE JOB, OF GIFT-BUYING, OUT OF THE WAY.....AS IF IT IS ONLY A CHORE TO BE ENDURED.
THIS MULTI-BLOG SERIES, ON THE LIFE AND WORK OF ADA FLORENCE KINTON, A TIRELESS MISSIONARY FOR THE SALVATION ARMY, IN MY OPINION, DEMONSTRATES HOW HER KINDNESS AND HUMANITY, IMPACTED EVERYONE WHO CAME TO KNOW HER, IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE AND PROFESSION, ESPECIALLY FOR HER VALIANT EFFORT IN THE SOUP KITCHENS OF VICTORIAN ERA TORONTO. SHE GAVE WHAT EVER SHE HAD, TO ASSIST OTHERS, AND IT TOOK A TOLL ON HER OWN LIFE AS WELL. SHE DIED AT A YOUNG AGE, PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTED BY HARD WORK FOR THE PEOPLE SHE LOVED. SHE LOVED MANKIND. IT WAS A SERIES I RAN A FEW YEARS BACK, IN A PUBLICATION KNOWN AS "CURIOUS; THE TOURIST GUIDE," AS A TRIBUTE TO THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION OF SALVATION ARMY VOLUNTEERS, WHO HELP MAINTAIN AND OPERATE THE SALVATION ARMY FOOD BANKS. I DEDICATED THE SERIES THEN, TO THE GRAVENHURST FOOD BANK, SIMPLY BECAUSE I LIVE AND WORK HERE, AND ADA KINTON HAD BEEN VERY FOND OF THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, WHERE SHE IS BURIED TODAY. A DONATION TO ANY COMMUNITY FOOD BANK IS AN EXCELLENT WAY TO HELP OUT THE LESS FORTUNATE, DURING THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON. THERE IS A SEVERE NEED. WE MAY NOT SEE IT OURSELVES. THE VOLUNTEERS AT THE FOOD BANK, WELL APPRECIATE WHAT THE NEED IS, AND SEEING AS NONE HAVE CLOSED, DUE TO DECLINING DEMAND, IT IS LEFT TO CITIZEN-FRIENDS AND KINDLY BUSINESSES, TO HELP OUT AT THIS TIME OF GREAT NEED. I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT ADA KINTON'S STORY WILL INSPIRE GENEROSITY, AS IT WAS TRUE TO HER OWN HEART. I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY THE SERIES AS IT PROGRESSES THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON. WE MUST LOOK OUT FOR THOSE WHO CAN NOT HELP THEMSELVES. THESE ARE OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS FACING HARD TIMES. THIS IS THE GREAT POWER WITHIN THE HOMETOWN CHARACTER, IMBEDDED SINCE PIONEER TIMES, TO STICK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF ALL CONSTITUENTS. THE SALVATION ARMY NEEDS TO KNOW THAT THE HOME COMMUNITY STANDS BEHIND THEM, WILLING TO CHIP IN WHERE AND WHEN NEEDED. OUR TOWN SHOULD BE THANKFUL, WE HAVE THE SALVATION ARMY TO COVER THE URGENT NEEDS FOR CITIZENS.....SUCH AS IN THE CASE OF DISASTER RELIEF, AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS.
HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GOOD FESTIVE SEASON. PLEASE CONTINUE YOUR SUPPORT OF THIS CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY, OF ADA FLORENCE KINTON.
ADA KINTON WAS FASCINATED BY THE NATURAL SURROUNDINGS OF FRONTIER ONTARIO
By Ted Currie
The toughest day to day challenge for my mother, was to keep me indoors. I would have been outdoors through the night, if Merle hadn't been standing guard. My dad told me she truly slept with one eye open, suspecting I might try a daring, early morning escape. I loved exploring the small ravine, and greenbelt that embraced the sparkling length of Burlington's Ramble Creek, on its way to Lake Ontario. It was a glorious place for a wide-eyed kid, who never suffered from a lack of imagination.
I loved the seasons in that Burlington neighborhood, with its venerable chestnut trees on Torrance Avenue, and the pear and cherry trees on Harris Crescent, next to the market garden. But it was in that ravine, invigorated by explorations into all the magical places a watershed can afford, that reminds me now, of the treks into the woodlands by pioneer artist, Ada Florence Kinton, back in 1883.
When our family moved to Muskoka, in 1966, I carried my enthusiasm for the outdoors deep into the forests and lowlands around our new Bracebridge abode. I couldn't find anything that paralleled the valley of Ramble Creek but I did have so much more acreage to roam freely, in this rural part of the province. The Ramble Creek oasis, a more than worthy childhood haven, was in reality, only a couple of city blocks from Brant Street, the main business corridor. Point is, I grew up with a particularly ravenous appetite for outdoor exploration, and both places of my youth, offered enough adventure to satisfy this curious wanderlust.
As I was preparing for this latest installment, of the biography of Ada Kinton, I couldn't help myself from falling dreamily, helplessly into those wonderful childhood days, learning about nature by immersion. It's what, of nature, inspired Miss Kinton to sketch and paint what she adored about the Ontario wilds. From the busy streets of Victorian England, the hustle and bustle of London, Ada found herself wandering the narrow cartways and forest paths of pioneer Huntsville, in the northern climes of Muskoka. Having recently lost her father to illness, she was brought to Huntsville, by her brothers, Ed and Mackie, both local businessmen. She was later to become a missionary, working with the Salvation Army. But in that emotionally stirring spring of 1883, she spent considerable time pondering the future, and as it was, asking in prayer, what God had in store for her. In the meantime she looked after her nieces and nephews at the Kinton residence. Already an accomplished artist and instructor, in England, she put her experience to work, sketching the flora and fauna of this largely untouched wilderness.
Enjoying this beautiful August season, in Ontario, we have to take a little trip back in years, and season, (are you feeling a little colder?) to revisit Miss Kinton's fascinating journal, the one published following her death, by her sister Sara Randleson. It is now late March in the year 1883.
"Ed (her brother) is better (following the influenza). The doctor comes jingling up the hill in a cutter. It is like a perambulator on light runners. The sleigh proper is a long low box, shallow and close to the ground, and rough; the cutter has a row of bells. The swing from England is very popular today, Boyo (her nephew) repeats. 'Ting giddy,' and Frank's little plump feet in the red socks work vigorously. Sun going down golden again. River all snow, except a dark serpentine twist in the middle. Curious to see the way fields and garden are herring boned all over with the dog tracks, according to the vagaries of the canine mind. Feel sick with neuralgia - went to bed supperless."
She revisits the journal on Good Friday. "Bad night all round. No service - unlike English Good Friday. No noisy bank holiday folks in front of the window to watch. Now 'rows" to the police station. No almond trees in bud or blossom, no women at the corners with baskets of violets and primroses to sell at two pence a bunch. No South Kensington Galleries, and no Art Library to go to and read Ruskin and Longfellow. No paps at Cornwall. Why are things so nice when they are gone? Made a discovery. Can make delicately pretty Easter eggs by etching with common ink. Going to try paint brush tomorrow. (Easter Day) Afternoon, went for a long walk to Vernon Lake. Large clearings leave good vistas of distant hills and the bush and the bay and the lake. Thaw commenced. Snow soft, and melted slightly on surface." Later in the day she pens, "Large party off to tea. Tea table loaded with good things. Big bake on Saturday. The choke-cherry-jelly cake and cookies look so rich and golden, with the blue glass service. My room is quite a picture all the afternoon, when the sun shines. The glare of the snow is so bright that red curtains are always drawn but the light is so radiant that the place looks like a blaze of fire, and the pink roses on the chintz quilt, are like lumps of glowing coals; and as a foil against the rosy wood, big bunches of myrtle-green hemlock and tamarack. The hemlock has a habit of pointing the topmost branch always northward. Saw a squirrel in the woods, and one or two birds tempted out by the mild warm air. No other signs of life yet. Went to church. Large congregation. The Bishop preached eloquent, thoughtful sermons."
Sketching as much with her words, as pencil on paper, she wrote of the weather, "Tuesday, still snow. Mother Earth seems to have freshened-up her ermine robe to last a little longer this spring. Cold looking clouds over the horizon. Couldn't rest last night, so sat up and repeated (verses) of Milton, and gazed out at the bush and the snow-lighted sky, and thought of Milton's stars, 'that in their glimmering orbs did glow,' until sleep came at last. (Next morning) Dreary outside. Spent the chief part of the day down at the office, with my brothers, very quietly. Saw a new phase of the village. The post office and store. Funeral procession of a young man from Fairy Lake passed the window; about 15 sleighs following - chief mourners with large scarfs of some white material tied around the right arm. Mourning suits mottled and varied, none of the intense pomp and gloom of a London funeral. One man had a plug hat, a rare occurrence here."
"Sketched a view of the river disappearing in the bush, and the steamer 'Northern,' still sleeping (iced in at wharf). Not satisfactory. Try to paint instead or chalk tomorrow. Delicious light and shade on the snow all day, as bright and radiant as the petals of a jonquil, all over everywhere. Past six and sun not gone down yet. Imitation rainbow reflection under the bridge. The big bluff edged with faint purple and fringed with russet trees; pale peacock green and rosy sky, shadows delicate, fawn colored, all melting together into a sweet glow. River gradually breaking through the ice."
I think it would have been enchanting, to accompany Ada Kinton on her walks through and around this quickly rising pioneer hamlet. I think she may have enjoyed some of the travels I took, as a young lad, seeking out some of life's beautiful and tranquil places, in the haunted woodlands I was able to wander. As she saw landscapes she wished to paint, I have witnessed scenes I wished only to describe in written sketches. These sojourns in the relative wilds of Ontario, served us both well, I suppose, as dream-filled, wide-eyed adventurers, who endured indoors on the promise of our precious time out-of-doors.
This series of year-long columns, is dedicated to the Gravenhurst Food Bank, operated by the Salvation Army, an organization Ada Kinton supported for most of her young life. She most certainly would have endorsed the food bank program. Please support the food bank program in your own community.
As Ada Kinton celebrated the beauty of the hinterland, please take the time this harvest season, to take in the sights, activities, and special events planned in our regions of this beautiful province.
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