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Hustle and Bustle of a Friday afternoon in Downtown Gravenhurst
Friday afternoon on December 20th in Downtown Gravenhurst brought out a large number of shoppers looking for that special item on their Christmas Shopping List. The sprit of the Downtown is exciting with friendly faces and happy shopping enjoying the experience of shopping locally in their own hometown stores. (Photo By Fred Schulz)
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To Connect With Today's Bracebridge Blog, Part of the Christmas Series Click Here
I FEEL LIKE HEIDI'S GRANDFATHER CLIMBING IN THE SWISS ALPS
AN OLD FASHIONED WINTER JUST WHEN I WAS GETTING USED TO THE TROPICAL ONES
LAST EVENING, CLIMBING UP THE HILL OF OUR DRIVEWAY, TO THE BIRCH HOLLOW CABIN, NOW ALMOST FULLY BURIED IN THE SNOW, A NEIGHBOR YELLED FROM DOWN BELOW,"HEY, IS THAT YOU GRANDFATHER? ARE YOU LOOKING FOR HEIDI?" I WAS BURDENED BY THREE GROCERY STORE BAGS IN ONE HAND, AND A BIG STICK I USE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THE SNOW, IN THE OTHER. SO I SUPPOSE I DID LOOK A LITTLE LIKE A MOUNTAIN-DWELLER, IN THIS STORY-BOOK WINTER-SCAPE. IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL. PERFECT FOR CHRISTMAS. APPEARS AS A WONDERFUL, HEALING SOLITUDE. GREAT FOR STAYING INDOORS AND LOOKING OUT. I NEED ASSISTANCE OF A SHERPA JUST TO GET UP THE LANE. SO NOW I HEAR REPORTS, THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SNOWED ON, RAINED ON, AND SNOWED ON AGAIN, ALL BEFORE WE HIT CHRISTMAS EVE. I FEEL SORRY FOR ANY ONE WHO HAS TO TRAVEL OUT THERE, BECAUSE EVEN ON OUR SHORT TRIP TO BRACEBRIDGE TODAY, TO PICK UP SOME NEEDED GUITAR PARTS, I HAD FOUR NEAR MISSES, AND A SLIDE TOWARD THE SNOW-BANK, THAT WAS LOOKING LIKE A ROUGH LANDING....AND A LONG WALK FOR ASSISTANCE. BUT ALAS, YEARS OF WINTER DRIVING ON MUSKOKA ROADS, GAVE ME THE EXPERIENCE TO PULL OUT OF THE SKID. ANDREW HAD TO PRY MY FINGERS OFF THE WHEEL, WHEN WE FINALLY ARRIVED IN TOWN. THE ROADS BETWEEN THE TOWNS WERE ROUGH, AND BEFORE THE DAY'S OUT, THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME VEHICLES LODGED DEEP IN THE BUSH, ESPECIALLY ALONG MUSKOK BEACH ROAD. THE HILLS AND CORNERS ARE DEADLY. I KNOW THERE'S LOTS OF SNOW TO CONTEND WITH, BUT SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT WITH THE TRAFFIC ARTERIES THIS YEAR....AND I IMAGINE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE GOING TO WANT TO KNOW WHY THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY ACCIDENTS.....AND IN CERTAIN HOT SPOTS. I HEARD ON THE RADIO THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER TRUCK OFF THE ROAD, AT AROUND PORT SYDNEY, ON HIGHWAY 11, WHICH WAS CLEARED UP AT AROUND NOON TODAY. EVEN DRIVING OUR NINE OR SO BLOCKS FROM HOME, TO THE SHOP ON MUSKOKA ROAD, HAS BEEN PRECARIOUS. IN PART BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE NOW PARKING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROADS. IT'S BAD ENOUGH TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE SNOW-COVERED ROADWAY, AND THE ALREADY NARROW LANES BECAUSE OF THE ENCROACHING SNOW BANKS, BUT ANOTHER, TO ALSO HAVE TO THREAD THE NEEDLE JUST TO GET THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE.....SOMETIMES FOUR CAR LENGTHS. IT MAKES ME AWFULLY NERVOUS WHEN THERE'S ONLY THE BREADTH OF A THICK GRAY WHISKER, ON EITHER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. IT JUST SEEMS SO STUNNED TO PARK YOUR CAR LIKE THAT, WHEN THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THE SIDES OF THE PASSING VEHICLES ARE GOING TO CONNECT. I'M SURE IT HAS HAPPENED LOTS THIS YEAR ALREADY, AND SOME OFFENDING MOTORISTS JUST BUGGER OFF AND LEAVE THE DAMAGE UNREPORTED. THE BEST ADVICE IS TO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW YOU'VE PARKED, AND REFRAIN FROM PARKING OPPOSITE ANOTHER CAR, IF LIKE MOST OF THE ROADS IN GRAVENHURST, THE LANES ARE THIRTY PERCENT COMPROMISED JUST BECAUSE OF THE HUGE BANKS. I'VE GOT NOTHING AGAINST CURLERS, BUT THE DRIVE ALONG JOHN STREET, IN HEAVY SNOW, ON A CURLING NIGHT, IS ABOUT AS RISKY AS IT GETS. THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN A COUPLE OF TIMES THIS DECEMBER, WHEN IT CREATED A RURAL STYLE GRID LOCK, AS ONCOMING TRAFFIC REFUSED TO YIELD, AND THERE WAS NO MARGIN FOR ERROR ON EITHER SIDE OF THE ROAD. FOLKS PARK ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD IN NUMEROUS PLACES, AND I'M SURPRISED THERE AREN'T MORE ACCIDENTS ALONG THIS STRETCH.
BACK IN 1979 AND 1980, WORKING AS A REPORTER FOR "THE BEACON," I USED TO DRIVE DAILY FROM BRACEBRIDGE TO MACTIER, THROUGH THE DAMNATION OF THOSE TWO BLISTERING WINTERS; AND I USED TO COVER COUNCIL MEETINGS, IN THE TOWNSHIP OF GEORGIAN BAY, FORCING ME TO NAVIGATE THE INFAMOUS HIGHWAY 69 SOUTH, THROUGH ALL KINDS OF MISERABLE WEATHER, AND HORRIBLE ROAD CONDITIONS......AND NEVER ONCE DID THE PUBLISHER SAY, "TED, THE WEATHER IS JUST TOO BAD TO DRIVE TO PORT SEVERN." I WAS DRIVING A DATSUN AT THE TIME, WHICH BY THE WAY, WAS LIKE A SARDINE CAN ON WHEELS. THAT'S WHAT MY CONTEMPORARIES CALLED IT, AND WORSE. BENEATH A TRUCK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE SARDINE CAN I DIED IN. I OFTEN FANTISIZED ABOUT TELLING MY BOSS TO DRIVE TO PORT SEVERN HIMSELF, IF HE WAS SO HELL BENT ON COUNCIL NEWS, BUT I NEEDED THE JOB TO FINANCE MY DRINKING HABIT. I DIDN'T DRINK AND DRIVE HOWEVER, BUT I SURE MADE UP FOR IT WHEN I GOT HOME....ANGRILY, THINKING ABOUT THE NEAR FATAL ACCIDENTS I'D BARELY AVOIDED. EVEN THE COUNCILLORS AT THE PORT SEVERN HALL, COULDN'T BELIEVE I WAS BRAVE ENOUGH TO TACKLE THE HIGHWAY IN BAD WEATHER. IT REALLY WASN'T ABOUT BEING BRAVE. IT WAS ABOUT PASSING MUSTER AS A REPORTER. I KNEW I WOULD HAVE TO WORK IN SOME BAD JOBS BEFORE I GOT A GOOD ONE, SO I WAS JUST PAYING MY DUES TO THE PROFESSION. I WASN'T IN A WAR ZONE OR CHASING TORNADOS AT LEAST. JUST TRYING TO INCH MY WAY DOWN THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT BEING TURNED INTO A STATISTIC.....LIKE THE ONES I REPORTED ON WITH GREAT FREQUENCY IN THE BEACON. I SAW SOME BAD ONES. I HEARD THINGS. SCARY THINGS. I SUPPOSE HAVING TO COVER CARNAGE MADE ME A BETTER DRIVER. I KNEW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE FROM THE OUTSIDE, WHEN THE JAWS OF LIFE HAD TO BE EMPLOYED TO EXTRICATE A DRIVER OR PASSENGERS FROM A CRUSHED CAR OR TRUCK. I SAW A LOT OF TARPS USED TO COVER BODIES OF THOSE WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT THROUGHT THE CRASH.
YOU SEE, IT WAS LIKE THIS. TRANSPORT DRIVERS, ON THE OLD NARROW HIGHWAY WITH PAVED SHOULDERS, USED TO BLINK THEIR HIGH BEAMS AT ME, WHICH MEANT "GET OVER YOU LITTLE TURD, OR ELSE." I COULDN'T RECALL THE "BLINKING LIGHTS" RULE, WHEN I TOOK MY DRIVER'S TEST, SO I'M ASSUMING IT BECAME A LOCAL TRADITON ON THAT STRETCH OF HIGHWAY 69....OR WHAT WE CALLED DEATH ALLEY. I KNOW THAT BECAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT CALLS I WENT TO, AS A REPORTER / PHOTOGRAPHER. AND THOSE ACCIDENTS WERE IN THE DAYLIGHT AND ON GOOD ROADS. I TRAVELLED IN BLIZZARDS AND FREEZING RAIN, AND WHEN I HAD TO PULL OVER, TO LET A TRANSPORT PASS, USUALLY ON THE HORRIBLE STRETCH CALLED THE "S-TURN" IT WAS LIKE HAVING ONE HAND ON THE HEAVENLY WING OF AN ANGEL, THE OTHER ON THE HORNY TAIL OF THE DEVIL, EXPECTING AT ANY MOMENT, TO BE SUCKED CLEAR UNDER THE PASSING TRAILER....WHICH BY THE WAY, I COULD HAVE TOUCHED OUT MY WINDOW WITH AN OUTSTRETCHED HAND. THE GUIDE-POSTS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, WERE ABOUT FOUR INCHES AWAY FROM THE SIDE OF THE CAR, AND ONE LITTLE SLIP OR SLIDE, AND I WOULD HAVE BEEN SENT SPINNING ONTO THE BUSY ROAD.....MOST LIKELY IN FRONT OF AN ONCOMING TRANSPORT; OR IF NOT, A BLUNT FACE ROCK CUT, THAT HAD KILLED MANY MOTORISTS WHO STRAYED OFF THE BEATEN PATH. I LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE OUT OF FEAR AND LOATHING. I LOATHED MY BOSS, AND I FEARED BEING CRUSHED IN A CAR ACCIDENT. WHEN I GOT TO THE COUNCIL MEETING, I WAS SHAKING WITH FEAR AND DREAD, AND MARG LEDUC, THE MUNICIPAL CLERK BACK THEN, WOULD OFFER ME A BLACK COFFEE TO STEADY MY NERVES. MAYOR JOE JACQUES WAS A GOOD GUY, AND HE WOULD ACTUALLY STOP THE MEETING, TO ASK ME TO GIVE COUNCILLORS A ROAD AND WEATHER REPORT. "WELL SIR, IT WAS CRAPPY, BOARDING ON THE CRAPPIEST I'VE EVER SEEN," AND THAT ONLY REFERRED TO THE ROAD CONDITIONS. THEN I'D GIVE THEM AN INSIGHT ABOUT THE WEATHER I'D JUST DRIVEN THROUGH, AT LESS THAN TEN MILES PER HOUR. "IT WAS LIKE I WAS SITTING BESIDE ROD SIRLING, MAN, AND HE WAS TELLING MY HOW I WAS GOING TO DIE IN MIDST OF THIS BLIZZARD....WHICH HE KEPT CALLING 'THE TWILIGHT ZONE'." I'D EXPLAIN, WITH MUCH THE SAME QUAKE AND SHIVER, AS SOMEONE WHO HAD JUST BEEN SHOT OUT OF A CANON INTO THE DARK SKY....AND STILL WASN'T SURE IF THE LANDING HAD BEEN SAFE OR NOT. I SUPPOSE I WAS STILL WEIGHING OVER THE POSSIBILITY I HAD ARRIVED AT THE MEETING, A GHOST OF MY FORMER SELF, HAVING TO SPEND A FEW MOMENTS TOUCHING MY LIMBS, AND PINCHING MYSELF, TO GUARANTEE MY MORTALITY HADN'T BEEN COMPROMISED. WELL FOLKS.....I FEEL LIKE THIS AGAIN, DRIVING THE ROADS IN OUR REGION. WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE OTHER THAN MOTHER NATURE DOING HER THING? I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY COMPLAINTS THE TOWN AND DISTRICT HAVE BEEN GETTING SO FAR THIS YEAR, ABOUT THE COMPROMISED ROADS, BUT I'M SURE THE ACCIDENT CLAIMS HAVE BEEN STAGGERING SO FAR, CONSIDERING THAT TODAY HERALDS IN THE WINTER OF 2013-14. WE'VE JUST HAD THE PRE-SEASON WARM-UP, AND IT'S LOOKING LIKE A BUMPER SEASON FOR COLLISION REPAIR SERVICES, AND THE TOWING INDUSTRY. WE CAN'T HAVE THESE KIND OF SITUATIONS ON OUR ROADWAYS, AND IT'S THE ONE PART OF THE MUNICIPAL BUDGET I WILL ALWAYS AGREE TO GREASE WITH CASH. ROAD CONDITIONS ARE CAUSING ACCIDENTS. NOT JUST BAD DRIVING HABITS.
I REALIZE WE'VE HAD A REALLY SUBSTANTIAL DUMPING OF SNOW IN THESE PARTS, DURING THE PAST TWO WEEKS. BUT THIS IS AN HISTORIC HALLMARK OF WINTER IN MUSKOKA AFTERALL, AND WE'VE GOT A PRETTY FAIR UNDERSTANDING, GARNERED OVER THE CENTURIES, OF JUST HOW BAD IT CAN GET WITH COLD AND ACCUMULATED SNOW. I'VE SEEN THE PICTURES. HAVE YOU? EXPERIENCE THEN, SHOULD DICTATE A WINTER PREPAREDNESS MUCH BETTER THAN I SEE IN SERVICE TODAY. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF TIME TO DEAL WITH THIS KIND OF WEATHER BOMBING....AND THE WISDOM PASSED ON BY OUR ANCESTORS, WHO SAW SOME PRETTY BAD YEARS, LIVING WITH A LOT FEWER CONVENIENCES THAN WE HAVE TODAY.....ESPECIALLY IN THE QUALITY OF THE SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT. WE NEED MORE PLOWS ON THE ROAD, AND A LOT MORE SAND, AS THIS WINTER PEAKS. THE INCREASED HOLIDAY TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY AND IN TOWN, OVER THE NEXT FOUR DAYS, IN THE MIDST OF WHAT IS SHAPING UP TO BE A HUGE TWO-PART STORM, IS GOING TO TEST OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND SNOW REMOVERS TO THE LIMIT. I HOPE THE TOWN IS READY FOR THIS....BECAUSE IT'S WHY WE PAY THE BIG BUCKS IN TAXES. LIVES DEPEND ON SAFE ROADS. THE ROADS I DROVE ON TODAY, IN ONLY LIGHT SNOW, WERE PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF THE LEVELS OF SNOW STILL ON THE SURFACE, AND THE ICE BENEATH. GOING SLOW DIDN'T MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE. THE CAR, WITH NEW TIRES, WAS SLIDING ON ICE. IT WAS NOON. LOTS OF TIME FOR THE MORNING CREW TO DEAL WITH THESE DANGEROUS CONDITIONS. COUNCILLORS NEED TO GET OUT AND DO THEIR OWN ROAD SURVEYS.
BUT HERE'S WHERE GRAVENHURST SHINES - AND I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT!
MUSKOKA ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES? GRAVENHURST HERITAGE ITEMS AMONGST THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER, YEAR IN, YEAR OUT!
I'M AN "OLD FART OF AN ANTIQUE DEALER." THIS IS WHAT MY LOVELY WIFE AND BUSINESS PARTNER CALLS ME THESE DAYS. WHICH IS BETTER THAN WHEN SHE USED TO REFER TO ME AS……"OLD JOE," IN FOND RESEMBLANCE, AFTER THE DICKENSIAN CHARACTER, FROM "A CHRISTMAS CAROL." OLD JOE OPERATED THE CLUTTERED SECOND HAND SHOP, WHERE SCROOGE'S MAIDS, AND THE UNDERTAKER, TOOK THEIR STOLEN GOODS TO SELL, AFTER THE DEATH OF THE OLD SKIN FLINT.
I SELL A LOT OF MUSKOKA RELATED COLLECTIBLES, MEMORABILIA AND ANTIQUES WITH PROVENANCE. I BEGAN SELLING OUT-OF-PRINT MUSKOKA BOOKS, ORIGINALLY, BACK IN THE EARLY 1970'S, AND ALTHOUGH THE MARKET FOR VINTAGE REGIONAL HISTORIES HAS DECLINED SOMEWHAT, I ALWAYS HAVE A SUPPLY OF LOCAL HISTORIES IN RESERVE. WHAT HELPED TO SOFTEN THE MARKET, WAS WHEN A NUMBER OF REPRINTS WERE ISSUED OF THE ORIGINAL TEXTS, INCLUDING THE MUSKOKA GUIDEBOOK AND ATLAS. IN THIS CASE, I WAS SELLING SOME EARLY 1970'S HARDCOVER REPRINTS……ONE A NUMBERED VERSION, IN BLACK I BELIEVE, AND A GENERAL CIRCULATION ISSUE, WITH A BLUE COVER. THE SMALL PRINTING KEPT PRICES HIGH UNTIL THE LATE 1990'S, WHEN ANOTHER REPRINT BEGAN DRIVING PRICES LOWER. I OFTEN SOLD THE NUMBERED COPIES FOR $125 EACH, AND THE BLUE COVER, GENERAL PRINTING, FOR $75.00. GADS, I WAS MAKING SUBSTANTIAL PROFITS BUILDING MUSKOKA REFERENCE LIBRARIES FOR MY COLLECTOR FRIENDS. I EARNED MY PROFITS, BECAUSE I HAD TO TRAVEL THOUSANDS OF MILES BACK THEN, TO GATHER UP MUSKOKA HISTORIES FROM BOOK SHOPS ALL OVER SOUTHERN ONTARIO.
FROM THE ONSET OF THE 1990'S, A LARGE PART OF OUR DAY TO DAY BUSINESS, WAS THE HUNT FOR RARE MUSKOKA COLLECTIBLES. WE HAD BUYERS FOR BOOKS, EVEN BEFORE WE FOUND THEM. I'VE SOLD SO MUCH STUFF SINCE, I ONLY HAVE A FAINT MEMORY OF ALL THE IMPORTANT RELICS THAT PASSED THROUGH OUR SHOP DOORS…..AND OTHER PIECES THAT WE SOLD ONLINE FOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS. AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, SOME OF THE MILESTONE PIECES INCLUDED A SPECIAL INVOICE AND BOAT REPAIR "CARD" FILE CABINET, ONCE IN THE MINETT SHIELDS BOAT WORKS, IN BRACEBRIDGE. IT STILL CONTAINED DOZENS OF MINETT SHIELDS WORK ORDERS, STAMPED WITH THE BOAT-BUILDERS' NAME, WITH INDICATIONS ABOUT THE WORK COMPLETED, AND THE EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIRS. THIS WAS SOLD TO AN ADMIRER OF MINETT-SHIELDS BOATS. THE SECOND GEM, WAS A BENCH FROM THE SAGAMO, WE PURCHASED AT AN AUCTION IN WINDERMERE. WE ALSO PURCHASED A LARGE WHACK OF GLASS SLIDES, DURING THIS SAME SALE, IN THE VILLAGE, WITH MANY PHOTOGRAPHS OF WIGWASSAN LODGE, ON TOBIN'S ISLAND. WE SOLD MOST OF THE COLLECTION OFF, BUT KEPT SEVERAL KEEPSAKE IMAGES OF THE WIGWASSAN DITCHBURNS, WHICH WERE KNOWN AS "WIGGY I," WIGGY 2," AND "WIGGY 3." IN SEVERAL OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS, THERE ARE IMAGES, FEATURING ONE OF THESE BEAUTIFUL DITCHBURNS, PULLING WATER SKIERS.
I HAVE APPRAISED MUSKOKA RELATED ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES FOR SEVERAL REGIONAL MUSEUMS, AND HAVE BEEN CONSULTED MANY TIMES, PRIVATELY, ABOUT SIGNIFICANT COLLECTIONS OF LOCAL MEMORABILIA…..AND WE'VE PURCHASED A NUMBER OF THEM, INCLUDING A LARGE COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 1920'S TO 1950'S, FROM A COTTAGER ON BROWNING ISLAND. WE HAVE A LOT OF NEGATIVES, AND MANY IMAGES OF THE MUSKOKA LAKES STEAMSHIPS IN PASSAGE…….AND SOMETIMES MOORED TOGETHER TO EXCHANGE FREIGHT, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE. WE DON'T POSSESS AS MUCH AS WE ONCE DID, BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS IN THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS……ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'VE BEEN WORKING IN THE FIELD SINCE THE LATE 1970'S, WHICH WAS FROM MY FIRST BRACEBRIDGE SHOP, ON MANITOBA STREET, KNOWN AS OLD MILL ANTIQUES.
GRAVENHURST IS A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE OLD MUSKOKA STUFF GAME
It may surprise some Gravenhurst folks, to know that our town's heritage, is highly sought after by Muskoka collectors. Rabid Muskoka collectors! I've been one myself, and I've met a lot of up and coming collector obsessives, who have found a great deal of enjoyment collecting regional antique and nostalgia items. Right now, Muskoka pieces, with full provenance, are attracting huge prices on the open market. The Toronto market is certainly where it's happening most of all. The demand is larger than I've ever known it, and demand appears to be insatiable.
It just so happens, that Gravenhurst is amongst the best of the best, when it comes to the most expensive pieces coming for sale these days. In my well tutored experience, the huge increase in marine heritage regionally, has pushed both the Navigation Company, as it existed, and the major boat works, like Ditchburn, into the nose-bleed section of price escalation. The Greavette Boat Works memorabilia is close behind. There are a lot of steamship heritage items out there, and whether it is a Sagamo inscribed spoon, or Navigation Company hotel-ware, the asking prices are staggering……well beyond anything I could have imagined, when I began selling these type of collectibles, in my early years of antique hunting. If you have engraved, stamped, or marked pieces with the Navigation Company crest, you have amongst the most collectible items of all the regional fare. In a parallel, are any items similarly marked or attributed to Ditchburn Boats…..including the launches themselves. Our only claim here is a distant memory now. Suzanne's parents used to own the second longest Ditchburn ever built, known as the Shirl-evon, which was used by staff at the Windermere Marina, when the Stripps owned it, to deliver luggage and cottagers, heading over to Tobin's Island from the mainland. Gravenhurst is definitely in the forefront, in terms of value of collectibles, for these two well known industries from the past.
Of course, crested items from Windermere House, (Lake Rosseau) the Royal Muskoka, (also Lake Rosseau) and Bigwin Inn, (Lake of Bays), also attract substantial prices from Muskoka collectible dealers. Additionally, other boat works are also in high demand, ongoing, including Minnett-Shields and Duke Boats. Muskoka postcards are a huge and active collecting enterprise, and resorts and steamships are amongst the biggest sellers. Prices for original documents, with key Muskoka businesses, especially the steamships, and boat-works, have escalated annually, over the past ten years, and the sale of original photographs of boats, trains, and resort life, have also gone through the roof. Even items like Windermere Dairy cans, in short supply, and stamped crocks, for local mercantile enterprises, can easily hit from between two hundred to six hundred dollars per item. I have heard stories about crested Muskoka hotel-ware chamber pots, being sold for half a grand, because of their rarity.
One of the most coveted collectible items, today, is an original Kee Poster, from Bala, from its heyday. The bigger the performer, like Louis Armstrong, the bigger the price. In fact, there are many reprints out there that are basically worthless…..at least in my appraisal. I hate seeing things like this happen, but where there's big money, there's an urge to duplicate for profit. I am careful to avoid all such reproduction situations, and they do happen with increasing regularity these days. It started off with poor blow-up reproductions of area postcards, which I have always refused to have in my shop or possession. We will only deal with original items, that can be authenticated.
Brown's Beverages was known throughout the District of Muskoka, and its vintage bottles are still highly sought after by collectors. In the last year or so, I sold a good condition seltzer bottle, with a big and beautiful "J.D. Brown," labelled on the front, and engraved on the chrome seltzer top. I have a really neat, 1970's Brown's Beverages ginger ale bottle, with the stretched neck, as they did with 7-Up as a sales gimmick. It's just a great piece that I'll show you in a future blog…..if and when I can get son Robert to take a digital image. I've never seen another one like it, but I'm assuming they did more than one as a company promotion. It will sell eventually for about fifty bucks. I recently sold a Santa's Village collectible, with two carved bears, for forty dollars. It was one that I had never seen before, which as a rabid Muskoka collector, means it's one of only a few available out there on the hustings.
We currently have a Bigwin Inn, labelled Bird's Blanket, I believe it is……sort of a double blessing, in that it is from a local resort and a local industry at the same time. We usually have four or five Birds Woollen Mill Blankets in, at our shop, as they are still popular amongst the cottagers. The Bird's Mill was in Bracebridge, which dated back to the late 1880's, and the cottage community was a huge economic boost to the industry well into the 1900's. In many of the old family cottages, you can find a collection of Birds wool blankets still in the cupboards. Suzanne and I used to run the Bird's museum in Bracebridge, known as Woodchester Villa, back in our wild days of too much energy…..too few hours in the day.
There are thousands of significant Muskoka heirloom, heritage pieces out there, yet to be discovered. Maybe you have some you'd like to sell off. We welcome consignments, if we can't afford to buy it outright, and frankly, some of the pieces are so costly, we probably couldn't afford the luxury. But there are lots of buyers out there, who are more than a little desirous, of getting navigation and boat building nostalgia, from chrome decorations, and logos, to old brochures and postcards. In addition, if you have an interesting piece, that isn't marked, but you can prove belonged to a steamship, or that was on a Ditchburn, or Greavette launch, provenance is just as important as an actual crest in most cases. Our Sagamo bench, did not have a name imprinted, or a stamp to identify positively, that it came from this Gravenhurst steamship. But the chap we purchased it from, who was well known for his navigation connections, had the provenance to prove its past use. The bench sold in one day, from our Bracebridge shop.
There are other significant Muskoka related collectibles, that should be mentioned, including railway memorabilia, that have Muskoka as a destination; or have local stops registered on a schedule….or train station map or poster, showing connections with Navigation Company steamships at Muskoka Wharf. This is the same for Bala and Lake Joseph stations, two highly desirable and valuable poster schedules.
We have an original fold-up showcase / counter from the former Bush IDA in Gravenhurst, and another cabinet with glass door, that apparently was from one of the oldest hotels in Gravenhurst…..which may have been the Queen's. We do believe it held liquor, as we have seen similar cases, in old photographs of other hotels, in Ontario, from around the same time. We also possess an old showcase from the Windermere Marina, from its earliest days, connected to Windermere House. A few years ago we owned a section of the original Windermere House post boxes…..all brass fixtures with bevelled glass windows in each of the door windows. My prize, was a hand carved battleship, about two feet long, that had been crafted by a solider, in the Calydor German Prisoner of War Camp, here in Gravenhurst. It was traded for a bottle of liquor, through the fence, or at least the story goes. I sold it to an American collector more than a decade ago. One of the pitfalls of being a dealer but also a very obsessed collector. To keep collecting, yup, we have to keep selling.
The biggest one that got away? The dealer colleague who sold off an original Ditchburn Boat Works company seal, (levered device to make paper imprints), for a hundred bucks. This would be worth from between six hundred and a thousand dollars by today's collecting interest. So if you think you might have something of interest, to my collector friends, well, don't be a stranger. If you want a rough appraisal, feel free to send me an image of the item(s), or description. Or better still, when you're in the vicinity of our main street shop, here in Gravenhurst, bring it in for a free appraisal. The cost to you……that I am at least able to make note of it, in my book of Muskoka collectibles……which is of critical importance for any appraiser…..and author of stories like this.
Just thought Gravenhurst folks might like to know, just how popular our town and its history is these days, in the steaming hot collectible market…..which has, by the way, traversed through quite a number of economic down-turns, and is still active, and escalating, in values, for the most coveted pieces. As for the treasure remaining? I'm willing to bet, the best finds are yet to come, as more people become aware of the gold-mine their sitting-on here in Gravenhurst. Look around. Maybe it's time to part with that Sagamo silver "sugar and cream set"…… or the Ditchburn sign you've got mounted on the family room wall.
Hope everything is going well for you, on the cusp of a great New Year. Ours will be a quiet family celebration, with good food and beverage, and this cozy old hearth, where we will spend many winter nights this coming New Year. Thanks for visiting. Wrap-up, because the forecast is for a big chill coming.
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