Muskoka Antiquing and What Not To Do With A Ouija Board

1920's Hawaiian Harp in Original Case with Slide and Instruction Book; New Arrival

Long time Music Shop Mascot, Carved Wooden Alien Made in Muskoka

ANTIQUE DEALERS WHO HAVE ADOPTED THE "STRANGE" AND "UNUSUAL" AS "THE WAY TO GO"

STRAYING OFF THE BEATEN PATH? RISKY BUSINESS OR THE BETTER WAY?

WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT OUIJA BOARDS

AN OPENING APOLOGY: I'M SORRY I WASN'T ABLE TO PUBLISH THIS BLOG A LOT SOONER TODAY. I HAVE FOUND THAT WORKING IN A MUSIC STUDIO HAS ITS DRAWBACKS, BEYOND THE COMINGS AND GOINGS OF MUSICIANS ALL DAY LONG. SON ROBERT, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, HAS NOW FIGURED OUT HOW TO SILENCE ME. I'M A SUCKER FOR SOFT MUSIC THAT GOES NOWHERE IN PARTICULAR. SO AS I'M WORKING ON MY BLOG, HE COMES IN FREQUENTLY TO RELAX. THE WAY HE UNWINDS, INVOLVES PLAYING HIS GUITAR. SO I LISTEN. WHAT COULD BE GREAT BACKGROUND SOUND, HAS BECOME AN ETHEREAL EXPERIENCE, THAT BY GOLLY, PUTS ME TO SLEEP. TWICE TODAY. THE SECOND TIME, I WAS EVEN DREAMING OF MY CHILDHOOD ABOUT A HALF CENTURY AGO. GET THIS.....I WAS DREAMING OF THE SPRING AFTERNOON, BACK IN PUBLIC SCHOOL, IN BRACEBRIDGE, WHEN I GOT MY FIRST "SUPER BALL." CIRCA 1967 OR 68. I COULDN'T AFFORD TO BUY ONE, BUT THE BALL I FOUND IN THE PUDDLE WAS FREE.
    I WAS SO FREAKING PROUD OF MYSELF, THAT I SUDDENLY BECAME SIX FEET TALL FOR THE WALK HOME. GOT TO THE APARTMENT UP ON ALICE STREET, GAVE A BOB GIBSON STYLE FASTBALL ONTO THE BRICKS, AND SHATTERED THE LITTLE BLUE BALL INTO A HUNDRED PIECES. I SUPPOSE THE BALL HAD BEEN FROZEN IN THE WATER FOR SOME TIME THAT WINTER, AND BROKE DOWN WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE MOST DYNAMIC BALL EVER MADE.
     I WOKE UP. ROBERT WAS GONE. SO WAS THE SUPER BALL. TALK ABOUT STRANGE. SO NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO WEAR EAR PLUGS WHEN I WORK IN HERE, WHICH WILL COST ME THE JOY OF ACTUALITY. BUT I HAVE TO SEE FOR MYSELF NOW, WHETHER ROB CAN PUT ME TO SLEEP JUST PLAYING THE GUITAR IN FRONT OF ME.....WITHOUT A SOUND. SO ALL THIS PUT ME BEHIND TODAY. I'M WEAK. A PARENT  NEVER LIKES TO SHOW THIS TO THE OFFSPRING, JUST IN CASE.

     I CAN WITH A SHIVER OF CONSCIENCE, REMEMBER BACK TO THE HALCYON DAYS OF SPORTS-CARD MANIA, WHICH HAD THAT SHORT, STEEP RISE IN POPULARITY, BACK IN THE LATE 1980'S; ONLY TO COLLAPSE LIKE THE HOUSING MARKET DURING THOSE SAME YEARS, INTO ITS OWN OUTRAGEOUS OVER INDULGENCE. AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, BY THIS OPENING, WE HAVE SEVERAL SKIDS OF HOCKEY AND BASEBALL CARDS,  STILL STUFFED IN CUPBOARDS ALL OVER BIRCH HOLLOW, IN THE HOPES THAT ONE DAY, MANY DECADES FROM NOW, WE WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE BACK HALF WHAT WE INVESTED. LET'S JUST SAY, ANDREW AND ROBERT'S GRANDCHILDREN MAY GET TURNED ON TO THEM, EVEN IF THEY JUST WANT TO "CLOTHES-PEG" THEM ONTO THEIR BIKE FORKS....TO MAKE THAT COOL ENGINE SOUND US OLDTIMERS USED TO ENJOY, WAY BACK WHEN.
     THE FUNNY THING ABOUT THIS PERIOD, AND ANTIQUE DEALER ANTICS, IS THAT NO MATTER HOW ELEGANT AND UPPETY, A SHOW AND SALE  APPEARED, AT FIRST GLANCE, YOU COULD ALWAYS FIND A SPRAY OF A DOZEN OR SO SPORTS CARD IN PLASTIC COVERS, ON TOP OF THE STRANGEST VINTAGE SURFACES. HOW WILDLY ODD IT WAS, TO FIND A FRANK MAHOVOLICH, BOBBY ORR, OR PHIL ESPISITO HOCKEY CARD, ON TOP OF A PRIMITIVE PIE SAFE. HEY, IT WAS A SIGN OF THE TIMES, AND ANTIQUE DEALER KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE TRENDS. OF COURSE WHEN THE BOTTOM FELL OUT, VENDORS NO LONGER SAW THE NECESSITY TO HAVE SPORTS CARDS IN PLAIN VIEW. THEY STILL HAD THEM BUT NOW THEY WERE AT THE BACK OF THE BOOTHS. BUT TO A VENDOR, IF THEY SOLD FOUR OR FIVE OF THE MARQUIS HOCKEY, OR BASEBALL CARDS, IT WOULD OFFSET THE COST OF LUNCH OR DINNER. WE ALL THINK ABOUT OFFSETTING COSTS WITH SOME TRENDY STUFF, OUT OF OUR NORMAL COMFORT ZONE. IT DOES WORK!
     I ALWAYS GET A CHUCKLE WHEN I GO TO A SHOW AND SALE IN MUSKOKA, AND SEE THE VENDORS FROM OUTSIDE THE REGION, WITH TOKEN COTTAGE COLLECTABLES, MUSKOKA POST CARDS, PADDLES, (OH, SO MANY PADDLES), OLD WOODEN DECK CHAIRS, AND ASSORTED MUSKOKA POSTERS; AND SOUVENIR COLLECTABLES, BROUGHT ALONG TO WOW THE AUDIENCE. I'M SELDOM WOWED. I KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING, AND IT MAKES SENSE. I JUST DON'T GET TURNED ON, BY STEREOTYPICAL MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES, LIKE COTTAGE CHIC FURNISHINGS. JUST BECAUSE WE LIVE IN MUSKOKA, DOESN'T MAKE US ALL MILLIONAIRES. ...OR COTTAGE DWELLERS. LAST TIME I CHECKED, I LIVED IN A SUBDIVISION, GRANTED, ONE BLOCK EAST OF THE LAKE. POINT IS, IN OUR TRADE, WE LEARN HOW TO MARKET JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING TO PAY THE BILLS. SOME HAVE EVEN LEARNED, THAT THE STRANGER THE ANTIQUE OR COLLECTABLE, THE MORE ATTENTION THEY DRAW FROM CURIOUS SHOW AND SHOP PATRONS.
     WHEN I FIRST CONSIDERED GETTING INTO THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE BUSINESS, I TALKED TO A LOT OF VETERANS OF THE PROFESSION. THERE WERE NUMEROUS SHOPS IN THE JANE AND BLOOR AREA OF TORONTO, AND SOME DAYS, I'D TAKE OFF FROM YORK U. A LITTLE EARLY, BECAUSE I HATED MY HUMANITIES COURSES, (EXCEPT THE STUDY OF "ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYLCE MAINTENANCE"), AND I'D MAKE MY ROUNDS OF THE SHOPS. THERE WAS A NEAT LITTLE STORE-FRONT, IN THE JANE AND RUNNYMEDE AREA, AND THE OLDTIMER LOVED TO TALK WITH KEENERS LIKE ME. I MIGHT HAVE ONLY HAD MONEY TO BUY AN OLD SEALER JAR, OR OIL LAMP WITHOUT ITS BURNER, BUT THESE MOM AND POP SHOPS OF THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES, CATERED TO CUSTOMERS LIKE ME. BROKE BUT WITH HIGH, HIGH HOPES, OF ONE DAY, ENTERING THIS NOBLE, LEGENDARY PROFESSION. SO I GOT TIPS ON HOW TO BE BETTER AT THE ANTIQUE TRADE. YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO TELL YOU, MY INFORMAL APPRENTICESHIP WITH THESE DEALERS, HAD VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH MAKING MONEY TO PAD A LIFESTYLE.
    I DIDN'T LEAVE THEIR SAGE COMPANY, THINKING THAT I WOULD MAKE ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY BUYING AND SELLING ANTIQUES. THEY NEVER BROUGHT IT UP. WHAT THEY DID SHOW ME, HOWEVER, WAS AN INCREDIBLE RESPECT FOR THEIR ENTERPRISES, AND LIKE THE MORAL OF DICKENS' CHARACTER, "OLD FEZZIWIG," WHO I QUOTE A LOT, THEY WERE LIVING THE LIFE THEY MOST ENJOYED. NOT BECAUSE OF MAKING LOTS OF MONEY. RATHER, BECAUSE THEY INTIMATELY ENJOYED THE WHOLE REALM OF POSSIBILITIES, OF BEING IN THE BUSINESS OF "CELEBRATING HISTORY". "IT'S A WAY OF LIFE, SON," ONE SOON-TO-RETIRE DEALER TOLD ME, ON MY LAST VISIT. "YOU HAVE TO LOVE IT, OR YOU WON'T SURVIVE." I LIKE TO THINK THAT AFTER THIRTY-FIVE YEARS, I'VE SURVIVED BECAUSE OF THIS LIFESTYLE THING. THE SAME FOR THE REST OF MY FAMILY. BUT LET ME TELL YOU, I WENT THROUGH A LOT OF GIRLFRIENDS, WHO HATED AUCTIONS, AND HAD NO INTEREST IN ANYTHING LESS THAN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE AND ITS ADORNMENTS.  "YOU'RE NOT BRINGING THAT OLD THING HOME IN MY CAR," GAIL USED TO SAY, JUST AS I HAD A VICTORIAN CHAIR IN MY ARMS....AND VERY MUCH NEEDING A RIDE HOME. I USED TO ATTEND AUCTION TO DE-STRESS. I USED TO GO ON THE ANTIQUE HUNT, TO ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE, AND MEET NEAT PEOPLE OF THE TRADE. AND MY GAL PALS SAID, BLUNTLY, CLEARLY, AND WHILE TURNING TOWARD THE DOOR...."NUTS TO YOU....ANTIQUE DEALERS SUCK!"
    MOST IMPORTANT, I LEARNED THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE FROM VETERANS, WHO LIKED THE IDEA OF BEING MY MENTORS. THEY HAD WONDERED ALOUD, WHO WAS GOING TO TAKE THEIR PLACE IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION, ONCE THEY WERE GONE....AND I SUPPOSE THE SNOTTY-NOSED KID HOVERING NERVOUSLY AROUND THE COUNTER, WOULD HAVE TO DO AS A WORK IN PROGRESS. SUZANNE STILL CALLS ME THAT, BECAUSE I STILL REFUSE TO BE DEFINED BY WHAT I BUY FOR THE SHOP. OF COURSE, SHE WAS A TEACHER, AND I HATED SCHOOL. SO WHEN SHE, IN PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS, SUGGESTS I SHOULD TRY CONFORMITY FOR A WHILE, AND COLOR WITHIN THE LINES..., WELL, LIKE PAUL RIMSTEAD, I JUST DO MY OWN THING AND TAKE THE RESULTING FLACK. THAT'S MY PHILOSOPHY. SO WHEN I COME HOME WITH A STUFFED HORSE STRAPPED ONTO THE ROOF OF THE VAN....WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE'S GOING TO SAY. SHE WAS PRETTY CROSS WITH ME, WHEN I WAS THE HIGHEST BIDDER FOR THE CARVED WOODEN ALIEN, AS SEEN AT THE TOP OF TODAY'S BLOG, WHICH BY THE WAY, WAS CARVED BY A REALLY TALENTED ARTISAN IN NORTH MUSKOKA. IN THE SEVEN YEARS WE'VE HAD THE LITTLE GREEN CHAP, HE'S BEEN WELCOMING GUITAR STUDENTS, AND TRAVELLING WILBURYS, ANTIQUE HUNTERS AND THE HOPELESSLY BORED, WEARING THE SELECTED HAT OF THE WEEK. I THINK HE'S WEARING A PETER NEWMAN STYLE CHAPEAU IN THE PIC. YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE THE ATTENTION HE GETS, AS OUR INANIMATE GREETER. HE'S NOT FOR SALE, WHICH BOTHERS SOME OF HIS FANS, BUT THE POINT IS, WE LOVE TO HAVE SHOP PIECES THAT ARE EXCEPTIONAL AND MEMORABLE, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT PRECIOUS PIECES IN TERMS OF STORE ECONOMY.
     TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, HOW FAST WE CAN SELL VINTAGE OUIJA BOARDS. THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE WITH THE ORIGINAL BOX. JUST THE BOARD ITSELF WILL SELL. AND YES, IT'S VERY MUCH A "COTTAGE" STANDARD. IT SEEMS THAT PART OF COTTAGE CHIC THESE DAYS, IS TO HAVE A OUIJA BOARD FOR THOSE RAINY SUMMER EVENINGS, WHEN KINDRED SPIRITS GATHER FOR A LITTLE FUN. THE OTHER FUNNY ASPECT, IS THAT FOLKS WHO OPENLY ADMIT, THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN THE BOARD'S POWER, TO SUMMON THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED, OFTEN WIND UP BUYING THEM ....WHILE AT THE SAME TIME DURING THE TRANSACTION, CONFESSING HOW STUPID IT IS, TO THINK TWO MANUFACTURED PIECES, AND FOUR HANDS, WILL CONNECT WITH THE DECEASED. WE SEE AND HEAR A LOT OF CONTRADICTORY STUFF LIKE THIS IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, FULL OF MEMORABLE QUOTES. ONCE THE OUIJI BOARD IS PUT TO THE TEST, BELIEVE ME, THE SKEPTIC PART OF THE THE SELF, BECOMES THE LESS DOMINANT PARTICIPANT. I'VE WATCHED HARD CORE DISBELIEVERS, DRIVEN TO THE PEAK OF ANTICIPATION, STARING INTENTLY AS THE BOARD SEEMS TO COME TO LIFE, AND ANSWER QUESTIONS; A LETTER OR NUMBER AT A TIME. I'M NOT GOING TO QUESTION WHAT THEY BUY, BUT I PLAN ON STOCKING UP FOR THE COMING SUMMER SEASON, AS ONE OF THOSE LITTLE MARKETING SCHEMES, TO OFFSET THE COST OF SOME OF MY OTHER EXCESSES. I'M ALL FOR OUIJA IN MY SHOP. THERE ARE SOME PLACES I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT TURN UP.
     ON THE TOPIC OF OUIJA BOARDS, CONSIDER THIS PAST EXPERIENCE FOR A MOMENT. IT WAS BACK WHEN THE BOYS WERE FAIRLY YOUNG, AND AS I RECALL, IT WAS ONE OF THOSE RAINY SUMMER DAYS WHEN THE POGS WEREN'T CUTTING IT, AND THE LEGO HAD RUN ITS COURSE FOR THE WEEK. WE WERE BROWSING AROUND THE LOCAL STEDMANS STORE, AND SHARED SOME FRENCH FRIES IN THEIR LITTLE RESTAURANT. ON THE WAY OUT, ANDREW ASKED IF WE COULD BUY THE GAME THAT TALKS TO GHOSTS. HE MEANT OUIJA BUT COULDN'T SOUND OUT THE NAME. IT JUST SO HAPPENED WE HAD A LITTLE MAD MONEY THAT DAY, WHICH WAS UNUSUAL, AND IT HAPPENED TO BE ON SALE. SUZANNE THOUGHT IT WOULD GENERATE A LITTLE BIT OF FUN FOR THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING, AND FOR ABOUT TEN BUCKS, IT WAS AFFORDABLE. WE HAD AGREED, THAT ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS WE WANTED TO ASK "OUIJA," WAS ABOUT THE "LITTLE VICTORIAN GIRL," THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT, WE HAD ACQUIRED FROM A RECENT AUCTION IN MILFORD BAY (NEAR PORT CARLING). THE PICTURE REFUSED TO HANG STRAIGHT NO MATTER WHAT WE DID TO MAKE THE CORRECTION. A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENED AROUND THE HOUSE SINCE WE HAD PURCHASED IT, INCLUDING BOOKS BEING PULLED OFF MY SHELVES, AND THE PORTRAIT ITSELF, FALLING OFF THE WALL....BUT NEVER JUST DROPPING AS YOU WOULD EXPECT. IT WOULD BE FLUNG THREE OR FOUR FEET FROM THE WALL, OFTEN TIMES, MISSING ANTIQUE CHINA PLACED DIRECTLY BELOW. IT WASN'T UNCOMMON, TO COME HOME, AND FIND HER LAYING ON THE FLOOR, STARING UP AT THE CEILING. HE FALL HOWEVER, WAS NEVER AS YOU WOULD EXPECT. THERE WAS ALWAYS EVIDENCE, SHE TOOK A LITTLE LEAP TO THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR. SO WE THOUGHT ASKING THE BOARD ABOUT HER DISPOSITION WOULD WORK FOR US.
     HERE'S THE STRANGE PART. AT THE CHECKOUT, THE CLERK, OF SCOTTISH ANCESTRY, MADE QUITE A FACE AT US, FOR BUYING SUCH A DEVICE FOR CONTACTING THE DEAD. WE WERE BOTH A LITTLE SURPRISED BY HER REACTION, WHICH SEEMED A WEE BIT CONTRARY TO GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE. SHE DIDN'T REFUSE TO SELL IT TO US, BUT DID OFFER A WARNING ABOUT WHAT SUCH TAMPERING COULD CAUSE, BY BRINGING IN UNWANTED AND UNSAVORY SPIRIT-KIND. I ALWAYS REMEMBER A SIMILAR SITUATION, WHEN MY GIRLFRIEND AND I WERE APPROACHED BY THE "RELIGIOUS FRONT," WHILE WE WERE STANDING IN THE LINE-UP, WAITING TO SEE THE OPENING OF THE MOVIE, "THE EXORCIST," SOMEWHERE IN PICADILLY CIRCUS, BACK IN THE MID 1970'S. THEY INFORMED US WE'D BE GOING TO HELL, IF WE SAW THE MOVIE. WELL THERE'S ANOTHER WASTED WARNING. SO ALTHOUGH I DID PAY ATTENTION TO THIS STORE CLERK'S ADVISORY, AND I UNDERSTOOD WHY SHE MIGHT FEEL THIS WAY, (BEING VERY SUPERSTITIOUS), WE LET HER KNOW WE WERE OLD HANDS WHEN IT CAME TO THE SPIRIT-SIDE OF THINGS. WE WEREN'T KIDDING ABOUT THIS EITHER. BY THIS POINT IN OUR LIVES AND MARRIAGE, WE'D ALREADY EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS PARANORMAL INCIDENTS, SO WE FELT WE COULD ENDURE THE RISK OF USING A OUIJA BOARD.
     AS FAR AS WARNINGS GO, ABOUT A OUJIA BOARDS ATTRACTING WAYWARD AND UNDESIRABLE SPIRITS, WITH NOTHING BETTER TO DO, (THAN HAUNT UNSUSPECTING FAMILIES), THERE WAS ANOTHER PREAMBLE INCIDENT, INVOLVING USE OF THE BOARD, THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT BEFORE WE'D ACTUALLY MADE THE STORE TRANSACTION. WHEN I WAS A MANAGING DIRECTOR OF WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM, IN BRACEBRIDGE, BACK IN THE EARLY 1980'S, OUR STUDENT STAFF, ON SUMMER LUNCH-HOUR, THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NEAT TO BRING IN A OUIJA BOARD FOR A LITTLE POST SANDWICH ENTERTAINMENT. I DON'T THINK SOMETHING LIKE THIS WAS OUTLAWED IN THE STAFF HANDBOOK, ALTHOUGH WE MIGHT HAVE OBJECTED, AS DIRECTORS, IF WE HAD KNOWN THE PRECISE REASON IT WAS BEING USED. THE STAFF, YOU SEE, BELIEVED THERE WERE GHOSTS IN THE OLD OCTAGONAL HOUSE, AND THEY WERE GOING TO USE THE BOARD TO BRING THEM TO THE FOREFRONT. WHEN WE DID FIND OUT THAT STAFF WAS USING THE BOARD IN THE LUNCH ROOM, WE STILL DIDN'T REACT WITH ANY SENSE OF URGENCY, TO HAVE IT REMOVED. I REMEMBER ONE DAY, TALKING TO A FEMALE FRIEND OF MINE, WHO WORKED AT THE LOCAL HEALTH FOOD STORE (BELOW WHERE I USED TO LIVE ON MANITOBA STREET), AND KNOWING HER STRONG BELIEF IN THE PARANORMAL, I JUST MENTIONED WHAT OUR STAFF WAS PLAYING AT, WITH A OUJIA BOARD. SHE LOOKED AT ME, GOT ASHEN IN COLOR, AND MEASURED HER WORDS VERY CAREFULLY. "TED, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THING IS REMOVED FROM THE HOUSE IMMEDIATELY, OR YOU WILL REGRET WHAT COMES NEXT." ACCORDING TO HER, THE OUIJA BOARD CREATED A DANGEROUS CONDUIT FOR ALL KINDS OF FOUL SPIRITS, TO RETURN TO HAUNT THE LIVING WITH EVIL INTENT. THIS WAS A RATIONAL INDIVIDUAL WHO I TRUSTED, SO IT DID CATCH ME OFF GUARD A TAD. I LISTENED. I KNEW WHAT THE BOARD WAS FOR, OR AT LEAST EXPECTED TO PERFORM, FOR TRUE BELIEVERS, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS PORTAL THING, WHERE A BUNCH OF UNDESIRABLE SPIRITS WERE WAITING TO GET BACK TO HAUNT US MERE MORTALS. SHE WAS PATIENT WITH ME, TRYING TO EXPLAIN WHAT IT MEANS TO OPEN SUCH A FREE PASSAGE, AND SUGGESTED KIDS PLAYING AS MEDIUMS, COULD LEAVE WOODCHESTER OPEN AS A WELCOMING SANCTUARY FOR ANY OLD GHOSTS, WITHOUT ANY BETTER PLACE TO GO. BASICALLY, WHAT SHE WAS SAYING, WAS THAT IF I ALLOWED THIS TO CONTINUE, I WOULD HAVE MORE GHOSTS ON ANY GIVEN DAY THAN VISITORS. SHE MADE ME PROMISE TO GET THE BOARD, AND EXIT IT OUT OF THE BUILDING.
     I DID. I DID IT QUICKLY. BUT I WAS TOO LATE TO STOP SOME OF THE BAD STUFF FROM HAPPENING. IN THIS CASE, THE DAMAGE WASN'T SO MUCH, THE MANY NEW SPIRITED GUESTS AT WOODCHESTER. IT WAS THE FACT A STAFFER, ON GETTING A THREATENING MESSAGE FROM OUIJA, AND APPARENTLY HAVING HEARD A THREATENING VOICE ON THE THIRD FLOOR STAIRCASE, WENT TO THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA, TO GIVE THE MUSEUM SOME EXTRA PUBLICITY. GOSH, DID I EVER GET A LOT OF PHONE CALLS, INCLUDING FROM THE BIRD FAMILY, FOUNDERS OF THE HISTORIC HOUSE. IT SEEMS THE STAFF CAME UP WITH THE IDEA, THAT  A FAMILY MEMBER HAD BEEN MURDERED IN THE HOUSE, AND BURIED IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE.....WAY BACK IN TIME.  I WAS SITTING IN FRONT OF THE TELEVISION, HAVING MY DINNER, WHEN THE NEWS CLIP CAME ON. I'VE BEEN IN PUBLIC RELATIONS A LONG TIME, AND AS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, I KNEW HOW TO SPIN INTO ACTION TO SAVE THE REPUTATION OF THE MUSEUM, AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS; BUT IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING MITIGATION TASKS I'VE EVER HAD. THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MOMENT. ONE MINUTE WE'VE GOT A HIGH PROFILE COMMUNITY MUSEUM, AND THE NEXT, WE'VE GOT A BUDDING MURDER INVESTIGATION IN A HAUNTED HOUSE. WHILE I WAS THINKING INITIALLY, ABOUT UNWANTED GHOSTS IN THE HOUSE, I HAD BEEN THRUST INTO A FULL MEDIA DEBACLE, WHERE FILM CREWS AND REPORTERS WERE PHONING TO GET ACCESS TO THE VICTORIAN ESTATE, PERCHED ON THE HILLSIDE ABOVE THE FAMOUS SILVER BRIDGE.
     SHORT VERSION. I SPUN OUR WAY THROUGH THE NEXT WEEK OF MEDIA FOCUS, BANISHED THE OUIJA BOARD FROM THE WORK PLACE, INFORMED STAFF ,THERE WAS NO TIME FOR INVESTIGATING ALLEGED MURDERS ON THE PROPERTY (A STORY THAT HAD BEEN MANUFACTURED FROM THIN AIR), OR TURNING THE PROPERTY INTO A PARANORMALIST RETREAT. I STILL FEEL BAD THIS EVENT HAPPENED BUT IT DID IMPROVE ATTENDANCE FOR THE REST OF THAT SUMMER. THERE'S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND, WOODCHESTER WAS HAUNTED, AND PLEASANTLY SO; AND I HAVE WRITTEN EXTENSIVELY ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS (YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO READ THEM). GETTING BACK TO THE STORE CLERK, WHO TRIED TO PERSUADE US TO MY ANOTHER GAME INSTEAD OF THE OUIJA BOARD...., ALL THIS FLOODED MY MIND, YET WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, THE USE OF THE BOARD DIDN'T CAUSE MY MUSEUM PROBLEMS.....THE STAFF DID. SO I EXPECTED WE COULD HANDLE WAYWARD SPIRITS, IF WE USED THE BOARD APPROPRIRATELY….SO AS TO CONFINE OUR QUESTIONS TO SPECIFIC ENTITIES. TIGHTEN UP THE CONDUIT SO TO SPEAK.
     LATER THAT NIGHT, WE TOOK THE BOARD DOWNSTAIRS, AND SET UP ON A LITTLE TABLE, RIGHT BELOW THE PICTURE OF THE LITTLE VICTORIAN GIRL, WITH THE EVER-SO SAD FACE. THE FOUR OF US PUT OUR FINGERTIPS ON THE GUIDING DEVICE, AND BEGAN ADDRESSING THE BOARD, "OUIJA," TO ASK THE LITTLE GIRL WHAT HER NAME WAS....AS A SORT OF FIRST STEP TO GETTING USED TO THE SENSITIVITY OF THE BOARD, AND THE WILLINGNESS OF THE PORTRAIT TO COOPERATE. IN ONLY A FEW MOMENTS, THE GUIDE POINTED TO THE LETTERS, SPELLING OUT THE NAME "KATHERINE." SHE HAS BEEN KNOWN AS KATHERINE EVER SINCE. IT HAS HUNG IN THE SAME PLACE EVER, AND HAS NEVER ONCE HAD TO BE STRAIGHTENED ON THE WALL., OR PICKED UP OFF THE FLOOR. OF COURSE, WE DID ASK HER ABOUT THINGS SHE LIKED AND DISLIKED, AND FROM THE OUIJA ENQUIRY, WE DISCOVERED SHE WAS MUCH MORE CONTENT DWELLING, AS ONLY A PICTURE CAN, IN OUR FAMILY ROOM; MORE SO THAN THE MUCH BRIGHTER LIVING ROOM.
     THE SPIRIT OF KATHERINE HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT MANY TIMES, VIA THESE BLOGS, AND CARRIED BY ASSORTED ONTARIO PUBLICATIONS;  SOME MATERIAL THAT CAN ALSO BE ARCHIVED IN THIS BLOG OR ON MY MUSKOKA AND ALGONQUIN GHOSTS SITE. IN BRIEF, THE OUIJA EXPERIENCE, ENDED SOME PRETTY HAIRY MOMENTS WITH KATHERINE, AT HOME, AND IN OUR FORMER SHOP IN BRACEBRIDGE. SHE DIDN'T LIKE BEING HUNG UPSTAIR IN OUR HOUSE, AND WOULD REGULARLY FLING HERSELF OFF THE WALL, NEVER ONCE KNOCKING OUT THE SCREW, OR BREAKING THE WIRE HANGER. SHE HATED HANGING IN OUR SHOP, SO EVERY MORNING WHEN I'D GET READY TO OPEN, KATHERINE WOULD BE HANGING CROOKED. BY THE WAY, I CAN'T STAND CROOKED PICTURES. AS WELL, ALL OF SUZANNE'S DOLLS WOULD BE KNOCKED OVER ON MOST MORNINGS, AND BOOKS WOULD BE PULLED OUT OF THE ADJACENT SHELF, AND THOSE THAT DIDN'T FALL TO THE FLOOR, WERE LEFT PULLED OUT, JUST ABOUT TO DROP. WHEN WE LOANED HER AS A SET PROP, FOR A COMMUNITY THEATRE , WHICH JUST HAPPENED TO BE PRODUCING A VICTORIAN THRILLER, KNOWN  AS "GASLIGHT," SHE MADE THE SET DESIGNERS NUTS, BECAUSE SHE WOULDN'T HANG STRAIGHT. WE SAW THIS FOR OURSELVES, WHEN SUZANNE AND I ATTENDED THE THIRD EVENING, OF THE FIVE NIGHTS THE PLAY WAS RUNNING. THE CURTAIN OPENED, THERE WAS SILENCE FROM THE AUDIENCE, AS THE LIGHTS SLOWLY TURNED UP, AS THE MAID WAS LIGHTING THE GAS LAMPS IN THE PARLOR; AND THERE, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL, AND CROOKED AS WAS HER CHARACTERISTIC, HUNG KATHERINE, WITH A LEFT TO RIGHT LEAN. IT WAS AN INTERESTING NIGHT, BECAUSE AN ACCOMPLISHED ACTOR, SIMON RICHARDS, HAD TO JUMP INTO THE MAIN ROLE, AFTER THE ORIGINAL CAST MEMBER SUFFERED A HEART ATTACK, DURING THE FINAL CURTAIN-CALL THE PREVIOUS NIGHT.....AND WHEN HE WENT DOWN, (AND IF IT HAD BEEN ON CAMERA),  RIGHT OVER HIS HEAD, WAS THE CROOKED MISS KATHERINE, JUST HANGING AROUND. WHEN THE STAGE MANAGER CAME BACK TO THE SHOP, WITH OUR DARLING KATHERINE, SHE COULDN'T HELP CHUCKLE ABOUT HOW MISCHIEVOUS A PORTRAIT COULD BE.
     SOME YEARS LATER,  I ALSO TOOK KATHERINE TO A LECTURE, SUZANNE AND I WERE CONDUCTING, AT THE MUSKOKA LAKES MUSEUM, IN PORT CARLING, AND SHE PERFORMED MARVELOUSLY FOR A DELIGHTED CROWD. ON THAT OCCASION, WE WERE THERE TO DISCUSS MUSKOKA FOLKLORE AND LEGEND. SHE WAS THE BEST DARN PROP I'VE EVER WORKED WITH.
     A LADY, HAVING READ A STORY ABOUT KATHERINE, OFFERED ME A HUNDRED DOLLARS, FOR A PORTRAIT I HAD PAID TWENTY BUCKS FOR AT A LOCAL AUCTION. I DECLINED THE OFFER. SHE UPPED IT BY ANOTHER HUNDRED, AND THEN ANOTHER, AFTER I TURNED THAT DOWN. I FINALLY SAID, "KATHERINE IS A LITTLE TREASURE OF THE PARANORMAL, AND AS MUCH AS ANY ONE CAN LOVE A PICTURE, WE LOVE THIS ONE....SO NO, I'M SORRY, IT IS NOT FOR SALE." AS ODDBALL AS THIS MAY READ, AND KEEP IN MIND I MAKE NO APOLOGY FOR OUR ECCENTRICITIES, KATHERINE HAS BEEN VERY HAPPY GUARDING OUR FAMILY ROOM, SINCE I BROUGHT HER HOME FROM THE SHOP, CIRCA 1995. SHE HAS KEPT OUR HOME SAFE AND SOUND FOR A LOT OF YEARS, AND WE'VE HAD SOME BIG- SUCKER STORMS PASS OVERHEAD. TO THE DISBELIEVERS, I SENSE THEIR "HUMBUG" REACTION. THIS OF COURSE, FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO TAKE PRECISELY THREE PRACTICE STROKES, NO MORE, NO LESS, BEFORE EVERY GOLF STROKE....BUT NO....THIS ISN'T SUPERSTITIOUS BEHAVIOUR. WELL, I DON'T GOLF ANYMORE, BUT I DID USE TO PERFORM THIS PRE-DRIVE ACT; AND I EVEN USED TO HAVE TO TAP EACH GOAL POST THREE TIMES, ON EACH SIDE, WHEN I PLAYED GOAL IN HOCKEY. SO NOW, I JUST BELIEVE I'VE GOT SOME GOOD KARMA GOING ON HERE, THAT KATHERINE MAY HAVE A LITTLE PART TO PLAY. I FIGURE THAT IF SHE'S NOT CROOKED, SHE CONTENT, AND MY BOOKS STAY ON THE SHELVES.
     I DON'T FEAR USING A OUIJA BOARD. AND BY ITS POPULARITY AROUND HERE, OTHERS DON'T HAVE ANY WORRIES EITHER. IT'S A MIND OVER MATTER ISSUE I THINK, BECAUSE A SPIRIT THAT WANTS TO MAKE CONTACT, HAS THE TOOLS TO DO SO, THAT DON'T COME IN A PACKAGE.
     AS FOR US STRANGER BREED OF ANTIQUE DEALERS, WHO LIKE TO HAVE SHOW-STOPPER PIECES IN THEIR STORES, I'VE GOT A FEW MORE STORIES TO SHARE. THANKS FOR JOINING ME TODAY, WRITING IN THE HEART OF ANDREW CURRIE'S MUSIC AND COLLECTABLES, HERE IN BEAUTIFUL UPTOWN GRAVENHURST. MUCH MORE TO COME ABOUT THE JOYS AND VICTORIES OF ANTIQUING IN MUSKOKA.
DRIVE SAFELY OUT THERE. THERE'S MORE SNOW COMING.