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Waiting for a Train at the Gravenhurst Station
A once busy rail passenger destination in Gravenhurst particularly during the Christmas Season is now all but a distant memory for those traveling north during the holiday season. In recent weeks the Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk has prepared a special report on the Divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission stating the costs of selling the Corporation and the advantages of continuing to provide a service in a more efficient manner. Will passenger rail service return to this region? We can only hope and time will tell. In in meantime, I sure miss the comings and goings of rail passengers at the Gravenhurst Station particularly at this time of year. Fred Schulz Photo
To Connect With Today's Bracebridge Blog, Part of the Christmas Series Click Here
PART OF THE GRAVENHURST CULTURE - DINING AT SLOANS RESTAURANT
TO THIS DAY - COTTAGERS AND VISITORS STILL REMINISCE ABOUT BLUEBERRY PIE
WHAT ARE YOU MEMORIES OF SLOANS RESTAURANT? IF YOU'RE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE ICONIC MAIN STREET DINING ESTABLISHMENT, HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF THIS BLOG, YOU WILL KNOW IT A LITTLE BETTER. IF YOU REALLY GET INTO IT, MAYBE YOU'LL EVEN GET A BLUEBERRY STAIN ON YOUR SHIRT. I'D SURE LIKE THE BLOG TO READ THAT REAL AND COMPELLING. THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT THE FORMER LANDMARK RESTAURANT. EVERY VILLAGE, TOWN AND CITY HAS AT LEAST ONE RESTAURANT THAT DEFIES NORMAL DESCRIPTION, THAT HAS BECOME A HANG-OUT FOR LOVERS OF TRADITION. A PLACE WITH A ZEN QUALITY TO ITS ATMOSPHERE, THAT ESCAPES NORMAL DESCRIPTION....BUT IT'S THERE "IN THE AIR." FRESH BAKING FOR ONE THING! THAT WAS WHAT SLOANS MEANT TO MANY OF US, WHO FELT COMFORTED AND JOYFUL, ABOUT SPENDING MONEY TO KEEP THIS RESTAURANT IN BUSINESS.
EVERY YEAR WE HAVE DAY-TRAVELLERS, COTTAGERS, AND FORMER GRAVENHURST RESIDENTS, WHO HAVE COME HOME FOR A HOLIDAY VISIT, STOP BY OUR MUSKOKA ROAD SHOP, AND WILLINGLY REMINISCE. I SAY "WILLINGLY" BECAUSE WE DON'T MAKE IT A REQUIREMENT OF ENTERING OUR STORE, THAT YOU BE WILLING TO SHARE YOUR PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY WITH US. THE FACT OUR ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE MUSIC SHOP, IS SITUATED IN THE COMFORTABLE OLD DIGS OF THE FORMER MUSKOKA THEATRE BUILDING, INSPIRES A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON ITS OWN. 0NE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER, AND PRETTY SOON, AS ALMOST ROUTINE IN RECOLLECTING GRAVENHURST'S PAST, THEY'LL BRING UP THEIR FOND MEMORIES OF THE FORMER SLOANS RESTAURANT, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, AND OF COURSE, THEIR FAMOUS BLUE BERRY PIE. I FIND THIS FASCINATING. AS AN HISTORIAN I SHOULDN'T FIND THIS ALL THAT ODD, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT WE'VE FOUND THIS OUT BY SHEER HAPPENSTANCE; THAT SLOANS WAS A LOT MORE IMPORTANT IN OUR COMMUNITY THAN WE'VE GIVEN IT CREDIT, FOR ALL THESE YEARS SINCE. IT'S HAD A STAYING POWER, THAT'S FOR SURE, AND THE NICE PART IS, WE CAN ALSO COMPARE OUR OWN STORIES OF THE ICONIC RESTAURANT, EVEN IF THEY WERE FROM THE DECLINING YEARS OF ITS LAST DECADE. IF ONE WAS TO COMPILE ALL THE RECOLLECTIONS, WHAT AN INTERESTING STORY THAT WOULD PROVIDE, FOR SUCH DIVERSE GROUPS OF PEOPLE.....EVEN INCLUDING THOSE RETIRED TRAVELLING SALESMEN, (AND LADIES) WHO USED TO INSIST ON STOPPING IN GRAVENHURST....IF NOT FOR SALES' CALLS. "BLUEBERRY PIE." IT SEEMS THAT BLUEBERRY PIE WAS A SORT OF SECRET WEAPON.....TO BEAT OUT OTHER NOTABLE EATING ESTABLISHMENTS.
AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT MANY TIMES BEFORE, OUTSIDE OF MEETING HUGH CLAIRMONT AT THE FORMER "MUSKOKA TODAY" OFFICE, OVER ON FIRST STREET, THE NEXT BEST PLACE TO CATCH-UP WITH HIM, WAS SOMEWHERE IN VICINITY OF SLOANS. HE HAD A FAVORITE TABLE, CLOSE TO THE BACK COUNTER, OF THE DIMLY LIT ROOM, THAT USED TO BE CALLED, "THE INNER SANCTUM." NORMA WALKER, THE LONG TIME STAFF MEMBER, KEPT HUGH IN CHECK, SO TO SPEAK, AND WOULD OFTEN INTERRUPT HIM, IN THE MIDDLE OF CONVERSATION, WHEN HE'D DISTRACTED HIS DINING FRIENDS, FOR TOO LONG, WHILE THEY WERE EATING HIS DINNER. SUZANNE AND I NEVER MINDED BEING INTERRUPTED BY HUGH, BUT MRS. WALKER KNEW HOW TO RUN AN EFFICIENT DINING ROOM, AND KEEP HER CUSTOMERS CONTENTED. HUGH HAD A GREAT RAPPORT WITH STAFF AND THEY LOVED HAVING HIM IN THE BUILDING. HE BROUGHT AN EXCITEMENT TO THE RESTAURANT THAT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THE MAN. IF YOU WERE EVEN A CASUAL ACQUAINTANCE, HUGH WOULD FIND THAT REASON ENOUGH, TO COME TO YOUR TABLE FOR A SHORT VISIT. I ALWAYS THOUGHT OF HIM AS A GOODWILL AMBASSADOR; BECAUSE AFTERALL, HE DIDN'T WANDER AROUND THE RESTAURANT TALKING POLITICS; EXCEPT IF HE WAS DRAWN INTO SUCH A CONVERSATION, DEEP IN THE INNER SANCTUM. I DON'T THINK HE ENJOYED THAT KIND OF BANTER, AS MUCH AS GENERAL CONVERSATION....AND HE'D ASK ABOUT YOUR FAMILY AND HOW WORK WAS GOING; BUT MOST OF ALL, HE WAS JUST A BIG RAY OF SUNSHINE; AND HONESTLY, IN PUBLIC, HE WAS BEST KNOWN, BESIDE HIS HALE AND HARDY GREETING, FOR HIS BELLOWING LAUGH, THAT INSTANTLY CHEERED YOU UP, EVEN IF HE WAS STANDING FIVE TABLES AWAY. IT WAS INFECTIOUS, AND JOLLY. HE ALWAYS REPRESENTED GRAVENHURST WITH GREAT RESPECT; THE KIND YOU'D EXPECT FROM A MAN WHO HAD FAMILY ROOTS BACK MANY, MANY DECADES. IT WAS HIS TOWN. SORT OF. AND HE ALWAYS LOOKED AFTER IT.
NORMA WALKER PASSED AWAY RECENTLY. SHE WAS ONE OF THE MOST FAMILIAR FACES IN THOSE YEARS, CERTAINLY FOR US, WHEN WE BEGAN VISITING SLOANS RESTAURANT, FOR OUR WEEKLY TREAT ON SATURDAYS; THOSE OVERFLOWING PLATES OF GOLDEN CRISP FRENCH FRIES AND ALL-DRESSED CHEESEBURGERS. NORMA THEN, WORKED MOSTLY ON THE INNER SANCTUM SIDE OF THE RESTAURANT, AND WHENEVER THE BOYS WERE STAYING WITH MY PARENTS, SUZANNE AND I WOULD SNEAK OUT FOR A NICE DINNER IN THAT COZY ROOM. AND SURE ENOUGH, HUGH WOULD WANDER IN AFTER CROSS COUNTRY SKIING, AROUND THIS TIME OF YEAR, AND HAVE A LITTLE VISIT BEFORE HEADING BACK TO HIS TABLE. NORMA WOULD JUST MOVE HIM ALONG WHEN OUR DINNER WAS BEING SERVED, AND HAVE A DRINK READY FOR HIM ALREADY ON THIS TABLE. IT WAS AN EVENING "SOCIABLE" YOU MIGHT SAY, BECAUSE AS THE DINNER HOUR WENT ON, A FEW MORE OF THE OLD GANG WOULD SHOW UP, AND IT WAS FANTASTIC TO HEAR THEM LAUGHING AND EXCHANGING STORIES, ABOUT THEIR RESPECTIVE DAYS AND WEEKS, WHICH HAD HAPPENED SINCE THEY'D MET UP LAST. I CONSIDER MYSELF FORTUNATE INDEED, TO HAVE BEEN PART OF THAT EXPERIENCE AND THAT LIBERAL SHARING OF INISDE STORIES IN A PLACE, THAT OF ALL NAMES, WAS CALLED THE INNER SANCTUM. IT LIVED UP TO ITS NAME. I LEARNED MORE ABOUT GRAVENHURST IN SLOANS THAN IN ANY OTHER PLACE, SOCIAL GATHERING, OR HISTORY BOOK. IT WAS LIVING HISTORY AT ITS FINEST. YOU ALWAYS OVER-STAYED WHEN YOU VISITED SLOANS. I'D KEEPING GETTING COFFEE RE-FILLS TILL NORMA GAVE ME THE SAME LOOK AS SHE GAVE HUGH.....WHICH SUBTLY INDICATED, WITHOUT A BLINK, "IT'S TIME TO GO HOME NOW."
I CAN SO CLEARLY RECALL GOING INTO SLOANS, ON A TYPICAL SUNDAY MORNING, AT AROUND THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, AND SEEING TOM BROOKS, DRESSED IN HIS CIVIL WAR ATTIRE, SITTING WITH HIS FRIEND AL MITCHELL, AT THE LUNCH BAR, THAT HAD THAT STRANGE UPWARD SLOPE AT THE SERVING SIDE. ANDREW AND ROBERT BOTH LIKED TO RUN THE SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS UP THE INCLINE, TO SEE IF THEY COULD GET THEM TO SLIDE DOWN WITHOUT TIPPING OVER. SO THE FIRST THING SUZANNE DID, EVEN BEFORE WE'D GET THEIR COATS OFF, WAS TO MOVE THE SHAKERS OUT OF REACH, AS WELL AS THE SUGAR. SOMETIMES THEY GOT THEM BEFORE WE COULD REACT, AND ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, THEY FOUND OUT THAT THE TOPS HADN'T BEEN SCREWED-ON TIGHTLY, MEANING WE HAD A LOT OF SALT OR PEPPER TO CLEAN UP, EVEN BEFORE WE WERE SERVED. OUR FAVORITE PLACE TO HAVE OUR BREAKFAST OR LUNCHES, OF COURSE, WAS AT "OUR" BOOTH, ON THE RIGHT SIDE, GOING DOWN THE LENGTH OF THE RESTAURANT, BEING THE FIRST TABLE AND BENCHES AFTER THE COUNTER. THAT WAS THE PLACE WHERE MOST OF THE ACTION OCCURRED, AND WE WENT TO SLOANS BECAUSE IT WAS BUSY. NORMALLY, THAT WOULD HAVE DETERRED ME, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAD THE KIDS WITH US, BECAUSE WE WOULDN'T HAVE NEEDED ANY MORE EXCITEMENT TO MAKE US RIP OUT OUR HAIR. ANDREW AND ROBERT WERE A HAND-FULL AS THEY SAY, BUT FOR SOME REASON, THEY WERE SPELLBOUND WHILE SITTING IN SLOANS. THEY JUST STARED AT ALL THE STUFF GOING ON AROUND THEM, AND ANDREW LOVED THE HUGE FRANK JOHNSTON WATERCOLORS, OF STEAMSHIPS AND TRAINS, THAT HUNG ABOVE THE OPPOSITE BOOTHS. THEY DEPICTED THE EARLY YEARS OF ENTERPRISE AND NAVIGATION AT MUSKOKA WHARF, AND ANDREW WAS A HUGE STEAMSHIP ADMIRER. HE'D COME HOME TO BIRCH HOLLOW, AFTER OUR OUTING, AND BECAUSE OF FRANK JOHNSTON, WOULD BUILD A HUGE STEAMSHIP MODEL, MOSTLY DEPICTING THE SAGAMO, OUT OF HIS LEGO BLOCKS. THE JOHNSTON PAINTINGS GAVE SLOANS AN HISTORICAL THEME, LADEN-ON TO WHAT WAS ALREADY ONE OF THE MOST NOSTALGIC BUILDINGS IN OUR TOWN. CURIOUSLY, IT WAS REPRESENTED IN ART WORK BY JOHNSTON, WHO, FOR THE SLOAN FAMILY, PUT IMAGES OF THE BUILDINGS AND ITS INTERIOR ON THE MENU COVERS AND THEY WERE USED FREQUENTLY IN NEWSPAPER AND BROCHURE ADVERTISING. FOR A LOT OF YEARS, FRANK JOHNSTON AND SLOANS, WERE THE TWO BEST KNOWN NAMES IN SOUTH MUSKOKA....IF YOU HAPPENED, OF COURSE, TO BE AMONG THE THRONGS WHO USED TO DINE THERE OFTEN.
IT BROKE A LOT OF HEARTS, WHEN THE PAINTINGS WERE SOLD TO A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE IN HUNTSVILLE, I BELIEVE, INSTEAD OF BEING ACQUIRED BY THE TOWN FOR INCLUSION IN THE TOWN HALL, AND RECREATION CENTRE COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL ART. AND FRANK JOHNSTON WAS PRETTY DISENCHANTED WHEN HE HEARD ABOUT THE SALE OF THE ART WORK, AND SOME INSIDERS BELIEVE IT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS HE DECIDED TO MOVE BACK TO PICTON; THE CONSERVATIVE STORY WAS THAT HE DID SO TO BE CLOSER TO FAMILY IN HIS ELDER YEARS. HIS CLOSE FRIENDS NO BETTER.
AFTER ONE OF THE SEVERAL SALES THAT OCCURRED, AFTER THE SLOANS FAMILY HAD GIVEN UP THE BUSINESS, SUZANNE AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY SOME OF THE CONTENTS LEFT OVER. WE COULD HAVE EVEN PURCHASED ONE OF THE BOOTHS WE USED TO SIT IN, PLUS VARIOUS ADVERTISING SIGNS, AND A LOT OF RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT. I HATED MY CIRCUMSTANCES THAT DAY, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH MONEY TO SPEND ON NOSTALGIA ITEMS. WE HAD ENOUGH TO BUY SOME OLD MENUS IN THEIR PLASTIC COVERS, WINE AND ALCOHOL LISTINGS, AND THE CERAMIC SYRUP CONTAINERS FOR MAKING MILKSHAKES AND SUNDAES PRESUMABLY, ALL WITH THEIR CHROME LIDS AND IDENTIFYING LABELS. IN THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTIQUE DEALER'S FAMILIAR LAMENT, YES, WE SOLD THEM SEVERAL YEARS LATER, TO SOMEONE, LIKE US, WHO HAD BEEN A BIG FAN OF THE SLOANS EXPERIENCE. TRUTH IS, WE COULD HAVE SOLD THEM FOR A LOT MORE NOW, BECAUSE, BELEIVE IT OR NOT, THE SLOANS NAME JUST SEEMS TO GET MORE POPULAR AS TIME GOES BY.....INSTEAD OF BECOMING A FADED, SELDOM RECALLED MEMORY. IT APPEALED TO ALL PEOPLE, NOT JUST TOURISTS AND VISITORS, BUT THE PERMANENT POPULATION. IT WAS A KIND OF MELTING POT, WHERE THE RICH AND POOR GOT ALONG FAMOUSLY WITHOUT ANY PRETENSE WHATSOEVER.
SO WHEN TODAY, WE HAVE A CUSTOMER IN OUR SHOP, WAXING NOSTALGIC ABOUT THE GRAVENHURST THEY USED TO KNOW, THE VERY NEXT TOPIC OF CONVERSATION, AFTER THEY TELL US ABOUT THE MANY SHOWS THEY USED TO ATTEND AT THE OLD MUSKOKA THEATRE, IS AN UNSOLICITED BUT WELCOME RECOLLECTION, OF WHAT GREAT MEMORIES THEY HAD OF THE FORMER SLOANS RESTAURANT. AND OF COURSE, THE AMAZING BLUEBERRY PIE WITH ICE CREAM. MOST REMEMBER SEEING HUGH IN THERE, AND BEING SERVED BY NORMA WALKER. THEY REMEMBER THE COMPELLING ART WORK OF FRANK JOHNSTON, AND SOME OF THEM EVEN REMEMBER SEEING A CIVIL WAR SOLIDIER HAVING A COFFEE AT THE LUNCH BAR. THE FIRST TIME I SAW TOM, SITTING THERE, I THOUGHT I'D GONE THROUGH SOME SORT OF PORTAL IN TIME...SUCH THAT IT WOULD BE NORMAL TO FIND A SOLDIER OF GENERAL LEE'S ARMY HAVING A RESPITE IN SUCH A RELAXING POSITION. OVER THE YEARS TOM BROOKS AND I OFTEN TALKED ABOUT THE INHERENT MAGIC OF SLOANS RESTAURANT, WHICH HAD PART OF HIS MYSTERY DEEPLY IMPLANTED IN TOWN HISTORY, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, HAVING THE CASUAL ATMOSPHERE, THAT MADE ALL THE PATRONS FEEL AS IF IT WAS THE SLOANS OWN LIVINGROOM, WHERE EVERYBODY WAS WELCOME TO SIT AND SOCIALIZE....OR IN THE CASE OF HUGH CLAIRMONT, HOVER AND SOCIALIZE, WHICH WAS HIS FAVORITE POSITION. IF EVER THERE WAS A TRUE CALMING INFLUENCE, IT WAS A FOUNTAIN OF "SERENITY NOW," DINING AT SLOANS. THE CONTRADICTION HERE, IS THAT IT WAS BUSY AND NOISY AT THE SAME TIME. NO ONE CARED. IT WAS PART OF THE AMBIENCE. TO FIND SLOANS QUIET, MUST HAVE BEEN IN THE MOMENTS BEFORE THE MORNING RUSH, OR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE CLOSING IN THE EVENING. IN THOSE HALCYON DAYS OF THE GOOD OLD TOWN, SLOANS WAS AN EVER-BUILDING CHAPTER IN LOCAL HISTORY, THAT WAS BOTH SOCIAL AND CULTURAL, BUT MOST OF IT, TRUTH BE KNOWN, WAS NOT JUST ABOUT THE FOOD, OR EVEN THE BLUEBERRY PIE. IT WAS ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THE PLACE. IT WAS A SANCTUARY AND EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T OPENED TO BE ONE, IT'S EXACTLY WHAT MADE IT SO DARN ENDEARING, AS YEARS ROLLED BY.
I LIKED WHAT IT DIDN'T HAVE, AND CELEBRATED WHAT IT DID POSSESS. OUR GHOSTS STILL HAUNT THAT BUILDING, AND WHEN I HAVE DINED IN THEIR RECENTLY, COURTESY MIKE OF "MIKE'S PLACE," I CAN NOT ONLY SEE US AS A YOUNG FAMILY, COMING IN, ALL COVERED IN SNOW, BUT I CAN HEAR A VERY DISTANT ECHO OF HUGH AND NORMA, WHO MADE THE PLACE AS CLOSE TO HOME AS YOU COULD GET. IT'S NOT HARD AT ALL TO GET MISTY EYED, I'LL TELL YOU. BUT IT'S THE KIND OF FOLK HISTORY I'VE BEEN WRITING ABOUT THIS PAST YEAR. IT'S THE KIND OF HERITAGE THAT IS MOST OFTEN NEGLECTED BY FORMAL HISTORIES, BECAUSE THERE ISN'T AS MUCH FACT, AS THERE IS EMOTION....AND THAT'S HARD TO DOCUMENT FOR THOSE BLACK AND WHITE HISTORIES I GET BORED OF, REAL FAST. IF I WAS WRITING A BOOK ABOUT SLOANS RESTAURANT, ONE CHAPTER WOULD BE NOTHING BUT FACT, AND THE OTHER NINE WOULD BE ANECDOTAL. IT'S JUST THE WAY I REMEMBER IT, AND FOR ME, IT WOULD BE WHAT MOST OF US ALSO REMEMBER OF THOSE TIMES, PALMING A COFFEE MUG, FOR ITS WARMTH, AND TALKING TO FRIENDS AT THE LUNCH COUNTER THAT, AT TIMES, DEPENDING ON HOW BUSY IT WAS, SEEMED THE LENGTH OF A FOOTBALL FIELD.....BUT IT WAS JUST OUR PERCEPTION PLAYING TRICKS. EVERYTHING LOOKED BIGGER AND MORE ELABORATE IN THE OLD DAYS. RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT MY BOYS TELL ME WHEN I START REMINISCING.
SON ROBERT ONCE WON THE ANNUAL "GORDON SLOAN AWARD," FOR MUSIC PROFICIENCY, BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC CLASS. GORDON SLOAN WAS A LOCAL MUSIC LEGEND....AND IF YOU GO BACK FAR ENOUGH, HIS NAME APPEARED IN THE SOCIAL / CULTURAL COLUMNS OF THE GRAVENHURST NEWS, ALMOST WEEKLY, FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNITY ENTERTAINMENT. IF ANY ONE OF US WAS ASKED, OF THE TOP, TO LIST TEN MEMORABLE THINGS ABOUT GRAVENHURST, THE NAME "SLOANS" WOULD BE IN THE TOP THREE.....ONLY BEHIND "THE BARGE," AND "THE SEGWUN."
AS I'VE NOTED SO MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, THE MOST EXCITING ASPECT OF OUR HERITAGE, IS WHAT REMAINS LARGELY UNWRITTEN....AND IT'S SIMPLY CALLED FOLK HISTORY. NOTHING BLACK AND WHITE ABOUT IT! AND IT'S THE MOST VULNERABLE PART OF OUR CHRONICLE, BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN PROPERLY RECORDED. THIS IS OUR SHORTFALL. THERE AREN'T ENOUGH HISTORIANS TO GO AROUND. LOOKING IN MY REAR VIEW MIRROR, THERE AREN'T ANY COMING BEHIND EITHER. FOLK HISTORY HAS NOT BEEN RECORDED AS DILIGENTLY AS THE HARD FACTS. NOW THIS IS A REAL SHORTFALL FOR THE FUTURE. I'D LOVE TO SAY I HAVE AN APPRENTICE. A YOUNG HISTORIAN-IN-TRAINING, WHO I CAN PASS THESE STORIES ON TO FOR POSTERITY. WHEN SOMEONE ASKS ME FOR A SHORT APPRAISAL OF GRAVENHURST HISTORY, BY GOLLY, I GIVE IT TO THEM FROM THE FOLK PERSPECTIVE.....MUCH AS I WOULD PAINT THEM A PICTURE, IF I HAD THE SKILL OF FRANK JOHNSTON, AND ON SUCH A PAINTED PANEL, SLOANS WOULD ALWAYS BE IN THE PICTURE.
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