Antiquing In Muskoka; The Spirit Canoe In All Its Glory

1936 Winter Olympic Pin, Germany, the last year that both winter and summer games were held in the same country.

1904 Canadian Magazine Feature on Canoes

THE CANADIAN ROMANCE - THE SUBTLE PLEASURES OF A SLOW CANOE PADDLE TO NOWHERE IN PARTICULAR

THE HERITAGE AND ALLURE OF THE CANOE - IN ART AND LITERATURE


     I STEPPED OUT OF THE HOUSE THIS MORNING, STOOD FOR A FEW CONTEMPLATIVE MOMENTS ON THE BACK STEP, AND INHALED SO DEEPLY, I FELT IT EXPANDING MY TOES....AND BY GOD, IT LOOKED LIKE....IT SMELLED LIKE....AND TASTED LIKE SPRING. JANUARY THAW. THANKFULLY IT ARRIVED AT THE BEST TIME. THE MOMENT BEFORE THIS, I HAD CRADLED THE YELLOW PAGES IN MY HANDS, OPEN TO THE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR TRAVEL AGENCIES. I HAD ACTUALLY BEGUN FANTASIZING ABOUT PALM TREES. THIS MORNING, IN THE WARMTH AND SOUND OF MELT, I WAS JUST AS HAPPY TO BREATHE IN THE SCENT OF GOOD OLD MUSKOKA PINE. HONESTLY, THIS WAS THE START-UP TO THE WINTER SEASON I REMEMBER FROM CHILDHOOD, BUT BACK THEN I WAS A WINTER FANATIC. I COULDN'T HAVE CARED-LESS ABOUT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS, BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE TO SHOVEL A ROOF. IF IT SNOWED TOO MUCH, THEN I BENEFITTED FROM THE FACT THE SCHOOL BUSES WOULD BE CANCELLED. LIKE MOST FOLKS IN THIS PART OF ONTARIO, THERE HAS BEEN NOTHING PARTICULARLY PLEASANT ABOUT GETTING THE CAR STUCK, THE DOOR FROZEN CLOSED, THE CHUNNELLING THAT HAD TO BE DONE JUST TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE IN THE MORNING, AND RECEIVING THE BRIGHTLY COLORED INVOICES FOR ROOF SHOVELLING AND DRIVEWAY CLEARING....NOT TO MENTION THE REPAIRS TO THE FURNACE AND THE SHINGLES, THAT THE ROOFER ACCIDENATLY REMOVED IN HASTE TO GET TO THE NEXT JOB. I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S GREAT NEWS TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF A SIGNIFICANT THAW EITHER, WITH THIS MUCH SNOW....BUT THE AIR IS MAGNIFICENTLY SCENTED OF A WARMER CLIME. IT IS A SMALL MERCY AT A CRUEL TIME OF YEAR.....AND EVEN AS MUCH AS I ADORE LIVING IN MUSKOKA, YOU CAN ONLY CREDIT THE BEAUTIFUL SCENERY SO MANY TIMES BEFORE IT BECOMES VISUALLY AND EMOTIONALLY BLINDING.
     I USED TO FEEL VERY CALM, SITTING HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, WATCHING A GENTLE FALL OF SNOW. THESE DAYS, I'M GRINDING MY JAW, ABOUT EVERY FLAKE ADDING WEIGHT TO OUR ROOF. WE STILL HAVE HAD IT BETTER IN MUSKOKA THAN THOSE LIVING IN OTHER REGIONS OF THE PROVINCE. AT LEAST WE DIDN'T HAVE AN ICE STORM, AND LONG TERM POWER OUTAGES. I'M JUST HOPING FOR A MILDER SECOND HALF OF THE WINTER SEASON. I JUST KNOCKED WOOD ON THIS ONE, BECAUSE MAKING A MISTAKE, MIGHT BRING A CORRESPONDING BLIZZARD. I'M ENORMOUSLY SUPERSTITIOUS. I DON'T LIKE WISHING AWAY TIME, BECAUSE IT'S PRECIOUS, BUT WHETHER IT'S MY ELDER YEARS, OR NOT, I SEEM LESS ABLE TO FIND ANYTHING INSPIRATIONAL, ABOUT HAVING TO CLIMB UP OUR DRIVEWAY, LIKE HEIDI'S GRANDFATHER, HIKING THE MOUNTAIN TRAILS TO THE SNOW ENCASED CABIN. I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD BE BLOWING ON AN ALPEN-HORN OR GETTING A ST. BERNARD WITH A KEG AROUND ITS NECK.
    I ACTUALLY STARTED TO FEEL CLAUSTROPHOBIC THE OTHER DAY, WHEN I PONDERED, IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL, WHETHER I MIGHT ACTUALLY BE BURIED ALIVE BY A SIDEYARD AVALANCHE. SHOULD I WEAR AN EXTENSION OF MY TOQUE, WITH A RED MARKER ON TOP, IN CASE MY DRIVEWAY BANKS COLLAPSE, AND SWEEP ME BENEATH THE SNOWY CHUNKS? EVEN JUST A FEW WARM MINUTES WITH SPRING AIR, SAVED MY DAY! I FELT BRIGHT AND CHEERFUL, AND WHO NEEDS TWO WEEKS IN FLORIDA WHEN YOU'VE GOT TWO DAYS OF MUSKOKA THAW IN JANUARY. DID I MENTION HOW GLAD I AM NOT TO OWN LAKE OR RIVER-FRONT PROPERTY. BEWARE FOLKS. WE COULD HAVE BACK TO BACK FLOODING EVENTS. WE'VE HAD WAY TO MUCH PRECIPITATION THIS YEAR, AND A WILD AMOUNT OF IT HAS TO EXIT THROUGH BALA. SO HAVING LITTLE THAWS THROUGH THE WINTER HELPS EASE THE BURDEN IN MARCH AND APRIL. SO WHILE YOUR BASEMENT MIGHT BE FLOODED TODAY, AND YOU'D LIKE TO KICK ME IN THE ARSE FOR PRAISING THAWS, IT WILL AT LEAST SAVE SOMEONE'S COTTAGE FROM SAILING OFF DOWN THE RIVER TO GEORGIAN BAY IN SPLINTERS.

ABOUT CANOES AND THE LEGEND THAT PADDLES ALONGSIDE -

(YOU CAN READ SOME PORTIONS ABOUT "THE CANOE" FROM THE ORIGINAL PAGES OF THE 1904 CANADIAN MAGAZINE - SEE ABOVE)

     TOM THOMSON'S CANOE WAS, TO SOME WHO KNEW HIM, PRETTY MUCH AN EXTENSION OF HIS CHARACTER. HE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE MOST PROFICIENT CANOEIST, ACCORDING TO OVERVIEWS FROM HISTORIANS, SUCH AS RALPH BICE, FORMER ALGONQUIN TRAPPER AND GUIDE. BICE THOUGHT HE WAS GENERALLY INEPT, AND CLUMSY IN HANDLING PADDLE AND CANOE....AND IN FACT, HAD EVEN CONTRIBUTED TO HIS OWN DEMISE, BY MISHANDLING HIS WATERCRAFT. BICE BELIEVED THOMSON HAD BEEN DRINKING BEFORE GOING OUT IN HIS CANOE, AND WHEN HE HAD STOOD UP, TO RELIEVE HIMSELF OVER THE SIDE, ACCIDENTALLY TOPPLED OVER, BANGING HIS HEAD ON THE GUNNEL; SOMEWHAT EXPLAINING A HOLE FOUND IN THE SKULL, DUG UP FROM HIS CANOE LAKE CEMETERY PLOT. OF COURSE, THERE IS STILL A RAGING ARGUMENT ABOUT THE REMAINS FOUND IN THOMSON'S PLOT, DURING AN UNAUTHORIZED EXHUMATION IN THE 1950'S, ORCHESTRATED BY WILLIAM LITTLE; THE MAN WHO WOULD GO ON TO WRITE THE WELL KNOWN BOOK, "THE TOM THOMSON MYSTERY," IN 1970. BICE BY THE WAY, GAVE NO SUPPORT TO THE THEORY THOMSON HAD BEEN THE VICTIM OF FOUL PLAY. JUST ERRANT PEEING.
     BUT FOR MOST OF THOSE WHO KNEW HIM, THOMSON GLIDED ALONG IN HIS CANOE WITH A SMOOTH, REFLECTIVE SILENCE, AS IF HE WAS MORE PHANTOM THAN REALITY. HIS PADDLE ONLY MADE A TRICKLING SOUND, AS IT CUT THROUGH THE WATER. IT WAS THE CANADIAN ARTIST'S CANOE, THAT GAVE THE FIRST CLUES, THOMSON HAD DROWNED, THAT JULY DAY, 1917; ON THE CALM WATER OF ALGONQUIN PARK'S CANOE LAKE. EVERYONE WHO LIVED AND WORKED AROUND CANOE LAKE, KNEW THOMSON'S CANOE, BECAUSE HE HAD USED ARTIST'S OILS, TO PAINT THE HULL....WHICH I BELIEVE NOW WAS A SORT OF GRAY-GREEN HUE OR THERE ABOUTS. IT WOULD BE HIS CANOE THAT EVENTUALLY GAVE MOST OF THE CLUES, WHICH ALSO SUGGESTED THOMSON HAD MET WITH FOUL PLAY. THE WAY THE PADDLES WERE LASHED INSIDE THE CANOE, WAS NOT WHAT THE ARTIST WOULD HAVE DONE, AS A RULE, WHEN SETTING OUT FOR A MULTI-PORTAGE, SEVERAL DAY FISHING AND PAINTING TRIP. THE WAY THE CANOE WAS FOUND, WHERE IT WAS LOCATED, A MISSING PADDLE, AND HOW IT WAS ORIGINALLY IGNORED BY ONE OF THE WITNESSES THAT FATEFUL DAY, ARE ALL PART OF THE ONGOING MYSTERY OF TOM THOMSON'S DEATH. TODAY, MOST WHO HAVE RESEARCHED THE MYSTERY OF HIS DEATH, RECOGNIZE THAT FOUL PLAY WAS INVOLVED. THOMSON WAS EVEN PULLED OUT OF THE LAKE, BY TWO CANOEISTS HE KNEW. WHENEVER I BEGIN WRITING AGAIN, ABOUT TOM THOMSON, I GET THIS IMAGE OF A CANOE....WHICH IS FITTING FOR A STORY SET ON "CANOE LAKE." IT IS REPORTED, EVERY FEW YEARS, THAT SOMEONE IN ALGONQUIN PARK, WITNESSED A PHANTOM CANOEIST PADDLE BY THE END OF THEIR DOCK, OR IN FRONT OF THEIR CAMPSITE, AND FOR THOSE KNOWING THE LORE, IT IS AUTOMATICALLY ASSUMED, THE SPIRIT PADDLER, WAS ANOTHER SPIRITFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THOMSON'S MANY TRAVERSES OF HIS FAVORITE ALGONQUIN LAKES.....OF WHICH HE PAINTED SO POIGNANTLY. THE CANOE! A LOT OF HISTORY IN THIS COUNTRY HAS SOMETHING OR OTHER TO DO WITH THE CANOE, AND ITS LEGENDARY USES; FROM THE FUR TRADERS TO THE PRESENT, AS A FORM OF BUSINESS... BUT MOSTLY RECREATION. AS ANTIQUE DEALERS, WE LOVE ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH THE CANOE, TO BUY AND SELL...EVEN IF THAT IS CONFINED TO BOOKS ON OUR SHELVES, AND PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE WALLS.
     ILLUSTRATED ABOVE, AS COPIED FROM THE ORIGINAL TEXT, THERE IS A RATHER INTERESTING EDITORIAL PIECE, IN THE SAME 1904 COMPENDIUM OF CANADIAN MAGAZINES, THAT I HAVE BEEN QUOTING FROM, FOR THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. IT IS A SENTIMENTAL, THOREAUESQUE, POETIC GLIMPSE OF THE CANOE, AND THE WATERSCAPES IT HAS BEEN PADDLED THROUGH, IN THE CHRONICLE OF CANADIAN HISTORY. IT IS BY ALL ACCOUNTS, A ROMANTIC IMPRESSION, OF JUST HOW LIBERATING THE CANOE IS FOR THE WATER TRAVELLER, AND WHEN I READ IT, I IMAGINE SO CLEARLY, THE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM BOOKS LIKE PICTURESQUE CANADA, AND OTHERS LIKE IT, SHOWING THE PRIMAL FORESTS, THE RUGGED LAKESHORES, AND THE LONE CANOE AGAINST THE THREATENING SKY OF A PIONEER DOMINION. THE ARTICLE MIGHT BE CONSIDERED TO BE A PROMOTION FOR VACATIONING IN CANADA, AND HOW RESTORATIVE THE SCENERY IS WHEN WITNESSED DURING THE DELICATE GLIDE, OF A SLEEK CANOE, OVER A SILVER, MIRRORING LAKE. I DON'T NORMALLY LIKE THESE EDITORIAL PIECES, BECAUSE THEY AREN'T THE KIND OF HISTORICAL, FIRST PERSON OVERVIEWS THAT I SEEK OUT, WHEN FACT FINDING, WHILE WORKING ON THESE REGIONAL CHRONICLES. THIS SHORT ESSAY, APPEALS TO MY ANTIQUE-LOVING SENTIMENTS, BECAUSE IT CREATES BEAUTIFUL IMAGES IN MY MIND, AND TAKES ME TO A PLACE ON THE LAKES, I FEEL I'VE PADDLED BEFORE. I ADMIRE THE WORK OF ANY WRITER WHO CAN DO THIS FOR ME, BECAUSE I'M A FUSS-POT, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THOSE STORIES THAT APPEAR TO BE NON-FICTION; BUT QUICKLY SLIDE INTO FICTION. SUBTLY SO, AS THE PARAGRAPHS SEEM TO PASS LIKE SCENERY TO A CROSS-LAKE PADDLER. THIS COLUMN, WRITTEN BY WALTER S. JOHNSON, IS DIFFERENT. IT IS WHAT I WOULD WRITE, AFTER COMING BACK FROM A MUSKOKA CANOE-TRIP, OR ONE OF OUR FAMILY OUTINGS ON THE ALGONQUIN LAKES. ONTARIO TOURISM, CIRCA 1904, WAS CERTAINLY BOOSTED BY THE EDITORIAL MESSAGE, AND EVEN THOUGH PERMANENT RESIDENTS IN THE REGIONS OF HALIBURTON, ALGONQUIN, ALMAGUIN, PARRY SOUND, AND MUSKOKA, WOULD FEEL THE CONTENT WAS A LITTLE ON THE FLOWERY, POETIC SIDE...., THEY WOULD HAVE LITTLE TO CHALLENGE, ABOUT THE ETHEREAL EFFECTS OF A CANOE TRAVERSE, ANYWHERE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE REGION OF THE COUNTRY. THERE'S SOMETHING ENCHANTED IN THE PADDLING OF A CANOE THAT DEFIES EXPLANATION. EVEN USING A CANOE FOR WORK, WOULDN'T DIMINISH THE EXCEPTIONALLY LIBERATING EXPERIENCE, OF A WILDERNESS PADDLE....OR A WINDING TRAVERSE DOWN A DARK RIVER, OR CREEK, THROUGH THE PINE FORESTS. NO MATTER THE UTILITY-RELEVANCE OF THESE RELIABLE, HISTORIC WATERCRAFT, THOSE WHO USE THEM AS A REGULAR MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION, FOR WORK OR RECREATIONAL PLEASURE, STILL HAVE MOMENTS OF QUIET CONTEMPLATION, WHEN THEY LOOK UPON THE CANOE AS AN EXTENSION OF THEMSELVES....A SORT OF DREAM CANOE THAT CAN ACTUALLY BE PADDLED.
     I HAVE TALKED AT GREAT LENGTH, WITH A FRIEND, WHO HAS MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF RESTORING HISTORIC BIRCH BARK CANOES, AND HE ADMITS, WITHOUT A PERPONDERENCE OF EMOTION, THAT THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING REMARKABLE IN ITS SIMPLE, FUNCTIONAL DESIGN, AND MODEST PROPORTION, THAT HERALDS IT AS A LEGEND OF NAVIGATION; ITS EVER SO GENTLE CARESS OF THE WATER, THAT RAISES THE SLIGHTEST OF RIPPLES, AS IF THERE ARE HANDS OF THE SPIRIT-KIND, BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE WATER, PASSING IT SMOOTHLY ALONG IN THAT SILENT REFLECTION OF SHEER POETRY OF MOTION.