Gravenhurst Prisoner of War Camp 75th Anniversary June 2015

Treescape in The Bog of Calydor subdivision, a block from Camp 20

Back cover photograph from The Gilded Cage by Cecil Porter

A selection of barbed wire, glass and pottery shards found on the site of Camp 20

THE FOUND HISTORY OF CAMP 20, CALYDOR, AND IT WAS PRETTY OBVIOUS

RELICS THAT WASHED UP ON SHORE -

     A PREAMBLE TO TODAY'S BLOG. WE WENT OUT YARD SALE SHOPPING EARLY THIS MORNING. WE ONLY GOT ONE THING, BUT IT WAS WHAT WE WERE SEEKING, AFTER READING IT WAS BEING OFFERED BY A SALE HOST, DEEP, DEEP IN THE PINERIDGE SUBDIVISION. I DIDN'T THINK WE WERE GOING TO MAKE IT IN TIME, OR EVEN FIND THE LOCATION, BECAUSE THE SUBDIVISION ROADS CONFUSE THE HELL OUT OF ME. IT WAS "NEIGHBORHOOD SALE DAY," SO IT WAS PRETTY WILD IN THERE, AND JUST GETTING TO THE HOUSE ADVERTISED, WAS AN ADVENTURE IN ITSELF. SUZANNE WAS ABLE TO PURCHASE A REALLY NICE 1941 SINGER "FEATHER-WEIGHT," SEWING MACHINE, TO USE IN OUR ANTIQUE SHOP; WHICH IS SLOWLY MORPHING INTO A MILLINARY ENTERPRISE, TO SUIT SUZANNE'S LIFE-LONG SEWING HOBBY. SHE NOW HAS THREE FEATHER-WEIGHTS, WHICH OF COURSE, ARE TINY, LIGHT, SINGER MACHINES, PERFECT FOR TRANSPORT, TO SUCH EVENTS AS QUILTING BEES. SHE HAS THE ABILITY TO SERVICE WHAT SHE BUYS, AND THIS NOW MAKES FOUR VINTAGE SINGERS SHE HAS READY FOR DAILY USE, TO ACCOMMODATE HER LINE-UP OF SEWING PROJECTS; SUCH AS HER LATEST FORAY INTO APRON MAKING, CREATED FROM VINTAGE FABRICS, REMNANTS, AND OLD BUT DAMAGED TABLE CLOTHS. LAST WEEKEND, SHE PURCHASED THE "WORK HORSE" OF VINTAGE SINGER PORTABLES, ALSO FROM THE 1948'S ERA, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE GREAT FOR INDUSTRIAL-TYPE WORK, BEING ABLE TO SEW THROUGH JUST ABOUT ANY MATERIAL; YET STILL POSSESSING A MODESTLY ELEGANT APPEARANCE. IT REALLY IS A NICE LOOKING MACHINE, EVEN TO THE POINT OF APPEALING TO A NON-SEWING-GUY LIKE ME. MAKES ME WISH I COULD SEW. SUZANNE IS ALREADY PLANNING FOR MORE SEWING JOBS FOR THIS COMING WINTER, AND SHE'S CERTAINLY GOT THE MACHINERY NOW TO PULL IT OFF. SHE HAS BEEN SELLING HER SHOP-MADE, NOSTALGIC APRONS FOR A MONTH NOW, AND LET'S JUST SAY IT LOOKS LIKE SHE MIGHT BE ON TO SOMETHING. THERE WILL BE NO OUT-SOURCING TO GET THESE APRONS COMPLETED. WE'RE A LITTLE OLD FASHIONED YOU MIGHT SAY. HER FAVORITE SEWING MACHINE IS A KENMORE PORTABLE, SOLD BY SEARS, FROM THE EARLY 1970'S, BECAUSE OF ITS RELIABILITY. IT COST THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS IN 1973. THIS IS HER HOME-STUDIO MACHINE, BUT AT THE SHOP, SHE PREFERS TO KEEP IT OLD-SCHOOL; AND YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE ALL THE ATTENTION SHE GETS FROM VISITORS, MANY OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION, WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE OF THESE OLD MACHINES IN OPERATION. WELL, I'VE SPENT OUR ENTIRE MARRIED LIFE TOGETHER, LISTENING TO EITHER THE HUMM OF THE SEWING MACHINE, OR THE TICKING AND TACKING OF KNITTING NEEDLES....AND THEN THERE'S THE NAGGING. IT'S OKAY FOR ME TO WRITE THIS, BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL, SHE REFUSED TO READ MY BLOGS, AND SECONDLY, BECAUSE SHE ADMITS TO NAGGING ME ALL THE TIME. "IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN GET YOU TO DO SOMETHING FOR ME," WHICH IS ALMOST, WORD FOR WORD, WHAT MY MOTHER USED TO BARK AT ME, WHEN SHE HAD TO PICK UP AFTER ME. DID I MENTION, THAT I HAVE BEEN BUYING HER THESE SEWING MACHINE RELICS. IT'S GOOD I DIDN'T BECAUSE, AS SHE POINTS OUT, SHE'S "THE BREAD WINNER IN THIS FAMILY." AS THE ANTIQUE DEALER, APPARENTLY, "I'M THE BREAD SPENDER!"
     ONE OTHER OBSERVATION FROM THIS MORNING'S YARD SALE PURSUIT. WHAT GOES ON IN THE HEADS OF YARD SALE FANATICS, TO MAKE THEM PARK SO BADLY; HAVING LITTLE IF ANY CONSIDERATION, TO THE OPEN ARTERY SENSIBILITY, THAT COMES WITH HAVING A ROAD IN THE FIRST PLACE? GADS, I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH INCONSIDERATE FOLKS, PARKING THEIR CARS ON BOTH SIDES OF A NARROW ROAD, AND NOT EXPECTING THAT THE EXPOSED SIDES OF THEIR VEHICLES MIGHT GET TORN OFF, BY OTHER VEHICLES TRYING TO SHOOT THE NARROWS. EMERGENCY VEHICLES. FORGET IT! BUT HERE'S THE THING. IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A COMMUNITY YARD SALE, MAKE SURE YOU PUT PARKING RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE, SO TIGHT CONFLUENCES WON'T OCCUR. AND IT IS INCUMBENT UPON THEM, TO CORRECT ANYONE, VISITING THEIR SALES, WHO OBSTRUCTS TRAFFIC, BY PARKING SUCH THAT THEY BLOCK ONCOMING TRAFFIC. IF THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY, AND FIRST RESPONDERS COULDN'T GET TO A PATIENT SOONER, BECAUSE OF A TRAFFIC TIE-UP, THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF SUCH A FUN MONEY-MAKING SALE, MIGHT SURPRISE YOU. THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES YOU COULD FACE AS A RESULT. I LEARNED THIS MYSELF, WHEN A SALE OF OURS, BACK IN THE LATE 1980'S, ATTRACTED SO MANY STUPID-HEADS WITH CARS, THAT IT DREW ATTENTION TO THE STUPID HEADS WHO DIDN'T PUT UP "NO PARKING" SIGNS IN ADVANCE.   SUZANNE AND I, HAD STOPPED-UP, TO A WEE TRICKLE, THE BRACEBRIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT, FROM GETTING DOWN ONTARIO STREET, IN A SAFE AND TIMELY MANNER, BECAUSE OF THE FORTY OR SO CARS THAT HAD JAMMED BOTH SIDES, OF AN ALREADY NARROW ROAD. AT THE TIME, I WAS EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND ALSO THE STORY-MAKER THAT WEEK. NO PARKING SIGNS WORK. IT PAYS TO BE PRO-ACTIVE IN THIS REGARD. EMERGENCIES AREN'T SCHEDULED. YARD SALES ARE!

A SCROUNGER'S LIFE I'VE LED

   FIRST OF ALL, I HAVE BEEN A SCROUNGER FROM CHILDHOOD. I HAVE NEVER CHANGED, AND I'M NOW AN IRISHMAN'S WHISKER AWAY FROM MY FIFTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY. THAT'S A LONG TIME TO BE STARING AT THE GROUND, AND POKING AT HALF BURIED THINGS, FOUND ON A HIKE THROUGH THE WOODS. HAVEN'T FOUND A SINGLE CORPSE YET. BUT I'M NOT DONE YET EITHER. I'VE GOT FEW GOOD SCROUNGING YEARS LEFT. AS I USED TO COME HOME FROM SCHOOL, IN THE LATE 1950'S, AND EARLY 60'S, (WHEN I ATTENDED LAKESHORE PUBLIC), HAVING POCKETS FULL OF THIS AND THAT, I'M STILL, TO THIS DAY, ON THE LOOK OUT FOR INTERESTING RELICS, FOUND, AND SOME OTHERS, I ACTUALLY HAVE TO PURCHASE. WHILE ADMITTEDLY, MY MOTHER WONDERED WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME IN THE WOMB, TO MAKE ME CRAZY FOR THE BITS AND BOBBS OF MANKIND AND NATURE, BY THE TIME WE OPENED OUR FIRST ANTIQUE SHOP TOGETHER, AND STARTED SELLING THIS "FOUND" STUFF, FOR PROFIT, SHE CUT ME A LITTLE SLACK. "THE BOY MUST KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING," I HEARD HER TELLING MY FATHER, WHO HAD THE PHILOSOPHY, THAT IF SOMEONE THINKS THEY'RE A CHICKEN, BUT YOU LIKE HAVING THE FRESH EGGS IT'S PRODUCING, THEN FORGET TRYING TO CONVINCE IT OTHERWISE. THEN EVERYONE'S HAPPY AND THERE'S ALWAYS A GOODLY SUPPLY OF EGGS.
     IN MY LATE TEENS, I TOOK IT ONE STEP FURTHER, WHEN MY DAD ACTUALLY POINTED OUT AN OLD DUMPSITE, IN THE HAMLET OF FALKENBURG, NORTH OF BRACEBRIDGE. THE SITE WAS LOCATED AT THE NORTHERN-MOST CORNER, OF THE FORMER BUILDING TRADES CENTRE YARD, NOT FAR FROM THE MAIN ROAD FROM BRACEBRIDGE TO ROSSEAU, AND EVENTUALLY HIGHWAY 69. MY FATHER, ALSO KNOWN AS TED CURRIE, WAS THE GENERAL MANAGER OF BUILDING TRADES CENTRE AT THIS TIME, AND I ACTUALLY WORKED AS A SHIPPER THAT SUMMER AS WELL. WHENEVER I GOT A BREAK, I'D GO OVER TO THE EMBANKMENT, WHERE THE OLD DUMP HAD BEEN LOCATED, AND IT BECAME MY FIRST FULL SCALE EXCAVATION. BY THE WAY, I ALWAYS INFILLED THE SITE WHEREVER I LEFT AFTER DIGGING, SO AS NOT TO LEAVE IT LOOKING LIKE A DEMOLITION SITE. I PROBABLY PULLED THREE HUNDRED CORK TOP BOTTLES FROM THAT DIG-SITE, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF WINE, WHISKEY, AND POP BOTTLES AS WELL. I FOUND ONE TORPEDO BOTTLE BUT A LOT OF OTHER PARTLY ROUNDED-BOTTOM SODA BOTTLES (NOW TRY TO SAY THAT FAST, OVER AND OVER), AND I EVEN LOCATED A HALF DOZEN UNBROKEN LIGHT BULBS.
     I'VE DUG AND FISHED FOR BOTTLES, AND OTHER IRON RELICS, FOR AS LONG AS I REMEMBER, AND I'VE NEVER GOT TIRED OF THE TREASURE HUNT. WHEN WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, IN THE FALL OF 1989, IT'S MY FIRST MEMORY OF THE FORMER GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR, "CAMP 20," OR OTHERWISE KNOWN, "CAMP CALYDOR," AFTER THE NAME OF THE TUBERCULAR SANITARIUM, THAT WAS ON THE SITE PREVIOUSLY; AND THEN CONVERTED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IN THE EARLY DAYS OF WORLD WAR II. SUZANNE AND I, AND THE YOUNG LADS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, USED TO COME BACK FROM OUR WALKS THROUGH THE CALYDOR PROPERTY, WITH OUR POCKETS AND ARMS FULL OF NEAT FINDS. OF COURSE, WE BROUGHT BACK LENGTHS OF BARBED WIRE, WE HAD BROKEN-OFF THE TWO GIANT BALES, LEFT TO RUST IN THE ABUTTING WOODLAND. BUT OVER TIME, WE FOUND DUMP SITES, THREE SIGNIFICANT LOCATIONS, ON THE MULTI-ACRE LAKEFRONT PROPERTY. AS IT WASN'T OUR PROPERTY TO EXCAVATE AT WILL, WE ONLY PICKED UP WHAT WAS OBVIOUS, AND WITHIN A KICK OR TWO OF BEING EXPOSED. THERE WAS A LARGE QUANTITY OF TYPICAL HOUSEHOLD AND RESORT CAST-OFFS, ESPECIALLY TIN AND BOTTLES. THE OCCUPATION OF THE PROPERTY GOES BACK TO THE EARLY HISTORY OF GRAVENHURST, AND FROM THE MINNEWASKA HOTEL, UP TO THE POST WAR, GATEWAY HOTEL; SO THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF CAST-OFFS, BY EACH INSTALLATION AND EACH OCCUPATIONAL AND RESIDENTIAL USE. LET'S JUST SAY, EACH ERA LEFT ITS FOOTPRINT, AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE FINDING ON OUR CASUAL STROLLS THROUGH THE HISTORIC PROPERTY, NOW FILLING OUT AS AN URBAN SUBDIVISION.
     THE BEST "DEBRIS FIELD," OF COURSE, WAS THE BEACH FRONT. DUE TO THE UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF GLASS, OLD NAILS, SPIKES, AND CHINA BITS AND PIECES, STUCK IN THE MUD JUST OFF THE SHORE, WE MADE THE BOYS WEAR SPECIAL WATER SHOES, TO AVOID GETTING CUT OR STABBED BY WHAT WAS LURKING BELOW. PARTLY AS A BEACH CLEAN-UP SERVICE, THE CURRIES, THE NEW FOLKS TO TOWN, BEGAN PICKING THIS HISTORIC REFUSE OUT OF WATER OF MUSKOKA BAY. WE FILLED SIX OR SEVEN SIGNIFICANTLY LARGE BOXES AT HOME, OVER THREE YEARS, JUST FROM THIS SAFE-BEACH EXERCISE, AND FROM THE CASUAL FIND-AND-SEEK POKING THROUGH THE NEARBY WOODLANDS. WHAT YOU SEE IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS ABOVE, IS A VERY TINY PORTION, OF WHAT WE USED TO UNCOVER WITHOUT WORKING VERY HARD. AFTER A SIGNIFICANT STORM, OVER THE LAKE, WE WOULD HEAD DOWN TO THE BEACH SHORTLY AFTER, AND THERE WOULD ALWAYS BE AN INTERESTING SELECTION OF NEWLY WASHED-UP BOTTLES ESPECIALLY; ALTHOUGH IT WAS COMMON TO FIND AN ARRAY OF CHINA AND GLASS SHARDS. ALTHOUGH WE DIDN'T KEEP ALL OF IT, I ALWAYS FELT THERE WOULD BE A TIME DURING OUR RESIDENCY IN THIS TOWN, WHEN I'D PUT TOGETHER A LITTLE DISPLAY IN RESPECT TO CAMP CALYDOR. SO IT PLEASED ME, YESTERDAY, TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE ONE OF THE BOXES OF CALYDOR RELICS SO EASILY, FROM OUR STORAGE SHED JAMMED TO OVERFLOWING.
     SOME FOLKS WHO KNOW THE BOYS, AND WHO OCCASIONALLY READ THEIR OLD POP'S BLOG, CONNECTED TO THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE, PROBABLY THINK THAT A LOT OF MY CLAIMS ABOUT THEIR UPBRINGING ARE GROSSLY EXAGGERATED; BEING MORE FICTION THAN FACT. WE USED TO DEAL WITH THIS ALL THE TIME WHEN THE LADS WERE AT SCHOOL, AND SEVERAL TIMES WE GOT NOTES HOME FROM THE TEACHER, RECOMMENDING WE HAVE A TALK WITH THEM ABOUT "MAKING UP STORIES." THEY COULD HANDLE THE FREQUENT PUNCHES AND TAUNTING OF BULLIES, AND FIGHT BACK WHEN A SCHOOLYARD NUMB-NUTS, WOULD STEAL THEIR TENNIS BALL OR FOOTBALL. BUT IT WAS REALLY CRUSHING WHEN A TEACHER WOULD DISMISS THEIR CLAIMS AS BEING "MADE-UP," AND GENERAL, SELF ABSORBED "UNTRUTHS," FOR THEIR OWN GAIN; COMING FROM OVER-ACTIVE IMAGINATIONS. WE WOULD HAVE TO STEP-UP AND MAKE A PERSONAL VISIT TO THE TEACHERS, WHO HAD LEVELLED THESE CRITIQUES, OF WHAT WAS THE HONEST TRUTH; AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THEIR ADVENTURE STORIES WEREN'T MADE-UP TALES JUST TO AMAZE FELLOW STUDENTS. SUZANNE AND I HAVE ALWAYS INCLUDED ANDREW AND ROBERT IN HERITAGE ADVENTURES, AND THIS INCLUDES THE HUNTING AND GATHERING OF BURIED, OR SUBMERGED TREASURE. AND WHILE WE HAVEN'T PULLED UP A TREASURE CHEST FULL OF GOLD, AND SILVER RELICS, FROM LOCAL LAKES AND RIVERS, OR DUG-UP A SEALER JAR OF OLD COINS, FROM WHAT WERE KNOWN AS "POST HOLE" ACCOUNTS (BECAUSE THEY WERE BURIED BENEATH FENCE POSTS FOR SAFE KEEPING), WE HAVE RETRIEVED A LOT OF HISTORY, IN THE FORM OF "FOOTPRINT" DEBRIS, LEFT BY A HOST OF FORMER PROPERTY OWNERS; AND A WIDE ARRAY OF USES. CALYDOR HAS BEEN ONE OF OUR FAVORITE HUNTING GROUNDS, AND THE MATERIALS FOUND THERE, SHOW A WIDE DIVERSITY OF RESIDENTIAL ACTIVITIES, AND THE CONSIDERABLE YEARS OF PROPERTY USE, DATING BACK TO THE EARLIEST YEARS OF GRAVENHURST SETTLEMENT. SO AS FAR AS BEING STORY-TELLERS, ANDREW AND ROBERT LOVE TO RECOLLECT THESE ADVENTURES, BUT THERE'S NARY A FIB IN THE MIX. WHAT YOU SEE IN THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPHS, WAS ALL RETRIEVED BY OUR SONS, FROM THE BEACHFRONT AT CALYDOR. THE EXCEPTION, IS THE BARBED WIRE FROM THE FORMER PRISON CAMP, WHICH ANDREW AND ROBERT RIPPED OFF FROM THE BALES, ONCE STORED ON PROPERTY CLOSE TO SEGWUN BOULEVARD, PART OF THE CALYDOR SUBDIVISION. THE BALES ARE NOW GONE.
     ONCE AGAIN, LIKE MY DAYS DIGGING AT THE FALKENBURG SITE, WE FOUND INTACT LIGHTBULBS, THAT HAD SURVIVED YEARS OF SEASONAL CHANGES, AND HEAVY DEBRIS BEING TOSSED ON TOP. THE REALITY IS, WE HAVE BEEN ABUSING THE LAND AND WATER FOR CENTURIES, EVEN IN THIS BEAUTIFUL PART OF THE WORLD. ROW BOATS FILLED WITH REFUSE OF ALL SORTS, WERE ROWED OUT INTO THE DEEPER PARTS OF LAKES AND RIVERS, AND WEIGHTED WITH ROCKS AND IRON PIECES, TO DISAPPEAR FROM SIGHT. IN ESSENCE, AS LONG AS THEY DIDN'T SEE IT, THE DEED WAS A GOOD AND SAFE ONE. THERE WAS NO APPARENT WORRY, THAT TOXINS FROM OLD MEDICINE AND CHEMICAL CONTAINERS, MOSTLY BOTTLES, WOULD EVENTUALLY CONTAMINATE
DRINKING WATER. I'VE UNCOVERED DUMPSITES FULL OF OLD CAR AND BOAT BATTERIES, THAT BY MEASUREMENT, WERE ONLY, AT MOST, A HUNDRED FEET FROM DUG WELLS. I GUESS THEY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE SEEPAGE OF WATER THROUGH THE SOIL. I'VE SEEN THE SAME THING IN THE WATER, OF OUR BEAUTIFUL LAKES, WHILE SNORKELING FOR OLD BOTTLES. I'VE FOUND UPWARDS OF TWENTY OLD BATTERIES, TOSSED INTO THE WATER, A SHORT DISTANCE FROM WATER INTAKE VALVES, AND WHERE FAMILIES USED TO SWIM. I LIKE TO THINK WE'RE NOT DOING THE SAME THINGS TODAY, AS WE DO KNOW QUITE A BIT MORE ABOUT ISSUES, OF CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION, AND HOW WATER FINDS THE LOWEST POINTS TO DRAIN.
     EVEN THE MEDICINAL BOTTLES IN THE PICTURES ABOVE, MAY HAVE BEEN TOSSED INTO THE MAKESHIFT DUMP SITES, YOU CAN OFTEN FIND BY WALKING THROUGH THE BUSH OF AN OLD HOMESTEAD PROPERTY; MANY OF THESE PROBABLY HAD SOME CONTENTS WITHIN, AT THE TIME OF DISPOSAL. THE METAL LIDS ON THESE EXAMPLES, HAVE RUSTED THROUGH, AND OBVIOUSLY, ANYTHING THAT WAS INSIDE, BECAME PART OF THE SOIL OVER THE DECADES. I'VE PULLED HUNDREDS OF THESE BOTTLES OUT OF RETIRED DUMPSITES, AND THEN CAREFULLY DRAINED ANY CONTENTS (ESPECIALLY FROM CORK-TOP BOTTLES, THAT DIDN'T LEAK), INTO SAFE CONTAINERS, (BUT NEVER MIXED) TO THEN BE TAKEN TO THE MUNICIPAL LANDFILL SITE, WHEN THEY HAVE A DANGEROUS CHEMICALS DISPOSAL DAY. THERE WERE SOME NASTY CHEMICALS BACK THEN, INCLUDING A LOT OF ARSENIC. SO WHEN POKING AROUND THESE DUMP LOCATIONS, THE BOYS ALWAYS WORE SAFETY GLOVES, AND WE INSPECTED ALL GLASS CONTAINERS FOR POSSIBLE CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION. WE WERE CONTINUALLY AWARE OF WHAT MIGHT RISE IN DUST, AND VAPOR, FROM THE AREAS WE DISTURBED; SO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, WE MITIGATED THE RISKS OF TREASURE HUNTING.
     AS FOR THE CALYDOR PROPERTY, OUR POKING ABOUT SINCE THE LATE 1980'S, HAS, I THINK, SPANNED THE AGES OF ITS PROPERTY USE. AND IT'S BEEN A NEAT STUDY, WITH LOTS OF "WOW" MOMENTS WE COULDN'T HAVE EXPECTED. I OFTEN WONDERED WHAT KIND OF ARTIFACTS WERE FOUND DURING THE EXCAVATIONS FOR THE PRESENT HOUSES, ON THE OLD PRISON OF WAR CAMP PROPERTY. ANY BUTTONS OFF UNIFORMS? GERMAN OR CANADIAN? THE CANADIAN VETERAN'S GUARD SPECIFICALLY. OF ALL THE PRISONERS KEPT IN THE CAMP, MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED AT TIMES, THERE HAD TO BE A LOST BUTTON OR SO, FROM THEIR DRESS UNIFORMS, WORN ON CERTAIN OCCASIONS; SUCH AS DURING MARCHES AND THE TWO FUNERALS WHICH COMMENCED FROM THE CAMP SITE, TRAVELLING TO THE NEARBY MICKLE CEMETERY. MAYBE SOME OF THE RESIDENTS HAVE FOUND RELICS, WHILE GARDENING, THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND, OR APPRECIATE HOW THEY WOUND UP THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST STORIED PROPERTIES IN OUR TOWN, AND ANYTHING PULLED FROM THE SOIL OF WHAT HAD BEEN A TUBERCULAR SANITARIUM, AND A GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, TO NAME JUST TWO OF THE LAND USES, IS OF INTEREST TO HISTORIANS LIKE ME; AND IT HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH ANTIQUE OR COLLECTABLE VALUE. BUT IT IS OUR HERITAGE AS BROKEN-UP AS IT IS; CHINA, POTTERY, AND GLASS SHARDS OF A LARGER, MORE SIGNIFICANT MOSAIC.
     AS I NOTED IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, SUZANNE AND I PLAN TO OFFER A SMALL DISPLAY OF CALYDOR RELICS, AND MEMORABILIA, ONE YEAR FROM NOW, AT OUR MUSKOKA ROAD ANTIQUE SHOP, COMMEMORATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAT FIRST MARCH OF GERMAN OFFICERS, AND SOLDIERS, DOWN THE STREETS OF UPTOWN GRAVENHURST, AS THE INAUGURAL GROUP OF PRISONERS OF WAR, TO BE HOUSED IN THE FORMER CALYDOR SANITARIUM, WHICH HAD BECOME "CAMP 20;" AN INTERMENT CAMP IN ONE OF THE MOST SCENIC LAKESIDE LOCATIONS IN THE SMALL TOWN. FROM JUNE 1940. THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST WOULD COME TO PLAY AN INTERNATIONAL ROLE, BY SECURING SOME OF THE MOST DANGEROUS NAZIS OF ADOLPH HITLER'S WAR MACHINE, TERRORIZING EUROPE AT THE TIME. FROM 1940 TO 1946, THIS SOUTH MUSKOKA TOWN, WATCHED OVER THESE P.O.W.'S, AS IF THEY WERE MAINTAINING THE FLANK FOR THE APPOINTED GUARDS. THE CITIZENS BEING ON PERPETUAL ALERT FOR ANY ESCAPING INMATES. THE INMATES WERE SUPPOSED TO WEAR SHIRTS WITH LARGE RED DOTS ON THE BACK, WHEN THEY WERE WORKING ON OFF-SITE PROJECTS, SUCH AS THEIR SMALL FARM SITE ON MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD. OF COURSE, THIS IS OFFERED IN MUCH GREATER DETAIL, AND IN PHOTOGRAPHS, IN THE CAMP HISTORY WRITTEN BY GRAVENHURST HISTORIAN, CECIL PORTER, ENTITLED "THE GILDED CAGE."
     WHAT HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ME, ABOUT THE CAMP 20 STORY, IS THAT UNLIKE OTHER MUSKOKA HISTORIES I'VE RESEARCHED, AND WRITTEN ABOUT, I HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME APPRECIATING WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE, TO HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT OF THE COMMUNITY IN THOSE YEARS; AND BEEN A WITNESS TO THE FULL-UNIFORM MARCHES, FROM THE TRAIN STATION TO CALYDOR, UNDER GUARD. THERE ARE MANY PICTURES OF THIS IN THE BOOK, AND YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK SEVERAL BLOGS, IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST TWO OF THIS SMALL SERIES. SO I THINK THIS IS WHAT COMPELS ME TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THOSE YEARS, AND HOW THE RESIDENTS FELT, OVER THOSE SIX YEARS, OF BEING HOSTS TO A PORTION OF HITLER'S ARMY; AND LISTENING AND READING ABOUT THE LATEST NEWS FROM OVERSEAS, REGARDING THE DEVASTATING CASUALTIES OF WAR. UNLIKE THE FIRST WORLD WAR, THOSE KEEPING THE HOME FIRES BURNING, DIDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR IN THEIR PRESENCE. YET BY ALL ACCOUNTS, THERE WERE FEW IF ANY PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF ANGER, OR PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, SHOWN TOWARD THESE INMATES OF CALYDOR. MAYBE I'M ASSUMING TOO MUCH, WHEN I SUGGEST, THE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST, AND SOUTH MUSKOKA, WERE PRETTY GOOD AND KINDLY HOSTS, TO OUR GERMAN GUESTS. IF YOU KNOW DIFFERENTLY, AS A RESULT OF PASSED DOWN STORIES IN FAMILIES, I WOULD APPRECIATE THIS INFORMATION, AS I AM WORKING ON A BROADER STORY OF THE CAMP, IN RESPECT TO THE UPCOMING ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION IN 2015. AND BY THE WAY, I EXPECT NOTHING FROM THE MUNICIPALITY, AND IT WILL ALL BE DONE PRIVATELY, WITHOUT A NICKLE OF PROFIT.
     SO ONCE AGAIN, AND KEEPING IN MIND, I'VE GOT A YEAR OF WIGGLE ROOM, TO RESEARCH AND DEVELOP THIS EXHIBIT, I WOULD ALSO APPRECIATE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAMP YOU MIGHT POSSESS, OR MATERIALS THAT HAVE A CONNECTION TO THE "PRISONER OF WAR" YEARS; RANGING FROM FURNISHINGS FROM THE CAMP BUILDINGS, TO PHOTOGRAPHS, HOME MOVIE FILMS, EXAMPLES OF CAMP ART WORK OR CRAFTS, PAPER WORK, COVERS WITH POSTAL CANCELLATIONS, TO AND FROM CAMP 20, AND ANY OTHER MEMORABILIA WE COULD USE TO FRAME A SMALL EXHIBIT. POSSIBLY YOU ACQUIRED SOME HOTELWARE THAT WAS USED IN THE DINING HALL OF THE CAMP, OR PAPERWORK FROM AREA BUSINESSES, THAT DEALT WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON A SUPPLY AND SERVICES BASIS. SUCH AS LOCAL LAUNDRY WORKERS. THE LAUNDRY WAS SENT OUT FOR CLEANING. ORIGINAL SIGNAGE WOULD BE AN EXTREME EXAMPLE, OF WHAT WOULD MAKE US WILD WITH ENTHUSIASM. SEEING AS WE ARE PRETTY LOW, AT THE PRESENT TIME, IN ARCHIVES AND MEMORABILIA DISPLAY ITEMS, YOU'D BE SURPRISED WHAT WE WOULD SING AND DANCE TO OBTAIN. WE CAN EITHER PURCHASE THE RELICS FOR A FAIR PRICE, (BUT WE WILL NOT SELL THEM LATER FOR A PROFIT), OR PHOTOGRAPH (COPY) THE PIECES, AND RETURN EACH PIECE AS QUICKLY AS THE CLICK OF A CAMERA. CREDITS WILL BE GIVEN TO EVERYONE WHO ASSISTS. WE ARE DOING THIS WITHOUT ANY COMPENSATION, AND IF AND WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO MOUNT A DISPLAY, THERE WILL BE NO ADMISSION FEE. WE ARE DOING THIS BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WILL. THE MUNICIPALITY HAS NO APPETITE FOR SUCH AN ANNIVERSARY, AND THE BOOKS ON CAMP 20 ARE IN LOW SUPPLY. JUST BECAUSE THE TOWN HASN'T FELT IT IMPORTANT TO APPLY FOR AN HISTORIC MARKER, FROM THE FEDERAL OR PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT, DOESN'T MEAN A DULLING OR DIMINISHING OF HISTORICAL FACT. WE WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN, AND IF YOU'VE FOLLOWED OUR WORK, SUCH AS THE RECOGNITION WE PROVIDED OF THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAMING OF OUR TOWN, WE WON'T DROP THE BALL ON THIS PROJECT EITHER. JUST HAVING YOU ABOARD FOR THIS BLOG, REGARDING OUR RECOGNITION EFFORTS, FOR CAMP CALYDOR, IS THE KIND OF SUPPORT WE NEED, TO BRING IT ALL TO FRUITION.
     SO THANKS AGAIN, FOR YOUR SUPPORT, VISITING THIS BLOG-ENTRY, WRITTEN DAILY, HERE IN PICTURESQUE (DID I MENTION HISTORIC) UPTOWN GRAVENHURST. LOTS MORE COMING.
     AS A SIDEBAR, SUZANNE AND I JUST ACQUIRED AN ORIGINAL PRINTING BLOCK, THAT WAS USED TO CREATED THE FIRST EDITION, DUSTJACKET ART, FOR CANADIAN ARTIST, EMILY CARR'S FAMOUS BOOK, "KLEE WYCK." WE WANTED TO PICK UP A FIRST EDITION, SIGNED COPY, TO GO WITH THE RARE PRINTING BLOCK, FROM OXFORD PRESS, BUT IT WOULD HAVE COST US $2,700 IN AMERICAN FUNDS. A FIRST EDITION OF THE BOOK, IN GOOD CONDITION COSTS ABOUT SIXTY DOLLARS, IF AND WHEN YOU CAN FIND ONE. I'M HAPPY TO HAVE THE PRINTING BLOCK, BECAUSE IN TERMS OF RARITY, THERE ARE A LOT FEWER OF THESE OUT THERE, THAN SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS.
     SEE YOU AGAIN SOON.

German Prisoner of War Camp in Gravenhurst, Captured in the book "The Gilded Cage"

Cover Graphics from the 1999 Gravenhurst history, The Gilded Cage, written by Cecil Porter and published by the Gravenhurst Book Committee

"THE GILDED CAGE" - GRAVENHURST'S GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP - 1940 -1946

CAMP CALYDOR - OR AS IT WAS OFFICIALLY KNOWN, "CAMP 20"

     CANADIAN AUTHOR, AND FRIEND, WAYLAND "BUSTER" DREW, ONCE TOLD ME ABOUT THE DAYS, HE AND HIS FAMILY CRUISED ABOARD THE MUSKOKA LAKES STEAMSHIP, SAGAMO, WHEN THEY WERE VACATIONING IN GRAVENHURST, CRUISING PAST THE GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, SITUATED ON THE PEAK OF SHORELINE ABOVE MUSKOKA BAY, NOT FAR FROM THE TOWN WHARF. HE RECALLS SEEING THE HUNDREDS OF PRISONERS, SWIMMING IN THE SHORELINE ENCLOSURE, WHICH INCLUDED THE SMALL BEACHFRONT AREA, STILL IN USE AT THE PUBLIC PARK TODAY, AT THE END OF LORNE STREET. THE CAMP AND SOLDIERS BECAME A STRANGE TOURIST ATTRACTION, AND IT WASN'T UNCOMMON, FOR SIGHTSEERS, TO ROW, OR BRING THEIR MOTOR LAUNCHES UP CLOSE TO THE FENCE, TO GAWK AT THE CONFINED SWIMMERS. IT IS SAID, THAT THE YOUNG GERMANS WERE A SOURCE OF ATTRACTION, TO GIRLS FROM A NEARBY CAMP, AMONGST THE SIGHTSEERS, CURIOUS ABOUT LIFE AND TIMES AT CAMP CALYDOR. SO HERE'S MY OPENING PITCH. THE INTERMENT CAMP FOR GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR, WAS A TOURIST ATTRACTION, FROM ITS FIRST DAY, AS WELL AS A PLACE OF CONFINEMENT DURING THE YEARS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. A CONTRADICTION AS IT WAS, BUT A FUNCTIONAL REALITY, THAT IN A UNIQUE WAY, AND CURIOUS TWIST OF FATE, ACTED AS A CATALYST FOR THE TOWN ECONOMY, AND ITS HIGH PROFILE RECOGNITION IN CANADA, AT THE TIME. IT WAS ACCEPTED. IT WAS UNDERSTOOD BY THOSE WHO GAWKED. THOSE WHO TRADED OR BOUGHT PRISON-CAMP ART, THROUGH THE BARBED WIRE FENCES, WHO ALSO UNDERSTOOD WHAT IT ALL MEANT ON THE GRAND SCALE; AND IT DIDN'T DISCOURAGE THEM FROM TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION. IN FACT, THE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST, IN THE 1940'S, HAD A FAR MORE ACCOMmODATING MINDSET, ABOUT BEING HOST, TO MANY HUNDREDS OF DANGEROUS NAZI PRISONERS, THAN WE HAVE TODAY, 74 YEARS AFTER THE CAMP OPENED. IF IT WASN'T A MAJOR IMPOSITION THEN, WHY IS IT SO HARD TO ACCEPT THE FACT OF HISTORY, ALL THESE YEARS LATER. EVEN TO REFER TO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, AS THE REASON FOR OUR ENDURING NEGLECT, IT CAN'T, IN ALL HONESTLY, TRUMP HISTORICAL REALITY. THERE ARE THOSE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY, WHO CHOOSE TO BLOCK PROPER RECOGNITION, BASED ON POLITICAL, AND A NAIVE EXPECTATION OF PUBLIC SENSITIVITIES; MOSTLY, IT'S BECAUSE OF A SHORTAGE OF WILL, TO ENTER AN AREA OF HISTORY, THAT DOESN'T SUIT THE IMAGE THEY (AS ELECTED OFFICIALS), WISH THE TOWN TO PORTRAY, AS A TOURIST DESTINATION. IF ON THE OTHER HAND, THEY WERE TO FIND OUT, HOW MUCH APPRECIATION MIGHT BE RECEIVED, IN THE CAPITAL SENSE, BY RECOGNIZING THIS FRAGMENT OF WORLD HISTORY, IT MIGHT BE THE ONE SOURCE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, THAT FINALLY CHANGES THE MOOD AT TOWN HALL. IT'S NOT THE VEIN I WOULD USE TO ADVANCE THE PROJECT, BUT FACING FACTS, MONEY TALKS. IF TOURISTS WANT TO VISIT THE POINT OF LAND WHERE CALYDOR ONCE STOOD, AND SPEND MONEY LOCALLY, WHAT'S THE DOWN SIDE? WHILE I'M NOT PUSHING FOR A TOURIST ATTRACTION, BASED ON THE MISERY OF IMPRISONMENT, IT'S PART AND PARCEL OF SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT, THAT WOULD SEE A COMMITMENT FROM TOWN HALL, TO INVEST MONEY IN WHAT THEY ALREADY OWN AS PROVENANCE.
     THE FIRST TIME I READ ABOUT THE GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, WHICH HAD BEEN LOCATED IN GRAVENHURST, DURING THE YEARS OF SECOND WORLD WAR, WAS IN THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY, "LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS." BUT IT WAS WHEN I READ A FEATURE SERIES, ON THE CAMP, PUBLISHED IN THE MUSKOKA SUN, BY STAFF WRITER, SCOTT MCLELLAN, THAT REALLY TURNED ME ONTO THIS UNDER KNOWN ASPECT OF LOCAL HISTORY. SCOTT AND I TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT "CAMP CALYDOR," OR BETTER KNOWN AS "CAMP 20," AND ANOTHER FEATURE STORY HE WAS WORKING ON, ABOUT "LITTLE NORWAY," ALSO FROM THE ERA OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. BOTH WELL WRITTEN STORIES THAT, ACCORDING TO OUR READERSHIP, WERE WELL RECEIVED; MANY NOT HAVING KNOWN ABOUT EITHER FACT OF REGIONAL HISTORY PREVIOUSLY. THIS WAS BACK IN THE EARLY 1980'S, WHEN BOTH SCOTT AND I WORKED FOR MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS. SCOTT WORKED DIRECTLY WITH MUSKOKA SUN EDITOR, ROBERT BOYER, ALSO A REVERED LOCAL HISTORIAN, AND I WAS THE EDITOR OF THE SISTER PUBLICATION, THE HERALD-GAZETTE. SCOTT AND I GOT TOGETHER, OVER A FEW COLD POP, AT THE LOCAL PRESS CLUB, AND DISCUSSED SOME ASPECTS OF LOCAL HISTORY THAT WERE DESERVING OF MORE PUBLIC EXPOSURE, IN THE SO-CALLED MODERN ERA. SCOTT WENT ON TO RESEARCH AND WRITE A NEAT LITTLE BOOK, ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SUMMER THEATRE, IN MUSKOKA, ENTITLED "STRAW HATS AND GREASE-PAINT," PUBLISHED BY OUR NEWSPAPER. IF MEMORY SERVES, HE DID QUITE A BIT MORE RESEARCH ON THE NORWEGIAN TRAINING ENCAMPMENTS, IN MUSKOKA, ONE IN GRAVENHURST, AND THE OTHER IN HUNTSVILLE, AND IF MEMORY SERVES, HE EVEN VISITED NORWAY, TO DELVE FURTHER INTO THAT COUNTRY'S RECORDS, OF THE TEMPORARY BASES. BOTH CAMP CALYDOR AND LITTLE NORWAY ARE GREAT STORIES. THERE IS A "LITTLE NORWAY" EXHIBIT LOCATED AT THE MUSKOKA AIRPORT, SHOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN MAKING A VISIT. I WISH I COULD SAY THERE WAS A MUSEUM-STYLE DISPLAY, ACKNOWLEDGING THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF THE PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN EXHIBIT OF THIS GROSSLY UNDER-RECOGNIZED CAMP, THAT PUT GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO, CANADA, ON THE WORLD MAP. AND IT DID!
     THE 1999 RELEASE OF TOWN HISTORIAN, CECIL PORTER'S BOOK, "THE GILDED CAGE - GRAVENHURST GERMAN PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMP 20, 1940-1946," WAS A COURAGEOUS ENTERPRISE, TO TAKE AN HISTORICAL EVENT, WITH ITS DARK, AND NEGATIVE SIDE, AND PUT IT OUT THERE, IN FULL REGALIA, FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION. I WASN'T ASKED TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION, TO THE PROJECT, BUT CECIL DID ASK ME IF I KNEW ANY PUBLISHER THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN GETTING INVOLVED IN SUCH A PROJECT. I THOUGHT ABOUT MY OLD SCHOOL MATE, AND FELLOW HISTORIAN, GARY LONG, OF FOX MEADOW CREATIONS, THEN OF HUNTSVILLE. GARY AND FOX MEADOW CREATIONS HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RELEASE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF REGIONAL HISTORIES, AND REPRINTS, OF SOME OF OUR RAREST BOOKS IN THIS DISTRICT, SO I KNEW GARY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TALKING WITH THE GRAVENHURST BOOK COMMITTEE, THE GROUP RESPONSIBLE FOR A NUMBER OF LOCAL HERITAGE PUBLICATIONS. I WAS DELIGHTED TO HEAR A DEAL HAD BEEN MADE, AND THE BOOK WOULD BE PUBLISHED LOCALLY. I ATTENDED THE BOOK LAUNCH AND SIGNING, AND I STILL HAVE MY SIGNED COPY FROM THAT EVENT, AND IT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY MUSKOKA ARCHIVES.
     WHEN WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, IT WAS NO COINCIDENCE, THAT WE FOUND A RESIDENCE (THE PRESENT BIRCH HOLLOW) ON THE SAME FORMER FARM ACREAGE, THAT WAS ONCE USED TO HOUSE HUNDREDS OF NAZI PRISONERS, MOVED FROM EUROPE FOR SAFE KEEPING IN CANADA (AT NUMEROUS INTERNMENT CAMPS), DURING THE YEARS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. WE WERE LIVING IN THE CALYDOR SUBDIVISION, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY THE NAME OF THE FORMER SANATORIUM, OF THE SAME NAME, BEFORE IT WAS ACQUIRED IN 1939 BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, FOR WAR TIME INTERMENT PURPOSES. WHAT FASCINATED ME ABOUT THE CALYDOR PROPERTY, ON THE SHORE OF MUSKOKA BAY, OF THE WIDER LAKE MUSKOKA, WAS ITS HISTORICAL RELEVANCES IN DIVERSE AREAS. FIRST OF ALL, THE LAKE FRONT PROPERTY, WAS THE SITE OF THE MINNEWASKA HOTEL, WHICH OPERATED AS SEASONAL ACCOMMODATION FOR TOURISTS, FROM 1897 TO 1908. A TRANSITION THEN OCCURRED, IN THAT YEAR, CHANGING THE BUILDING FROM A LUXURY HOTEL FOR TOURISTS (AND FAMILY OF TUBERCULAR PATIENTS OF THE MUSKOKA COTTAGE SANITARIUM AND THE MUSKOKA FREE HOSPITAL), TO A FLEDGLING TREATMENT FACILITY, TO BE KNOWN AS THE MINNEWASKA HOSPITAL, IN PART DUE TO THE RE-ORGANIZATION EFFORTS OF DR. CHARLES PARFITT, THE PHYSICIAN-IN-CHIEF, OF THE MUSKOKA FREE HOSPITAL. FROM 1906 TO 1915, THE OLD HOTEL OPERATED AS A SANITARIUM, AND UNDER DR. PARFITT'S CONTROL, THE SITE WOULD SOON BECOME A PRIVATE SANITARIUM FACILITY, RECONSTRUCTED, WHICH WOULD RE-OPEN IN APRIL OF 1916, AND BE EXPANDED A NUMBER OF TIMES DURING IS HISTORY AS A MEDICAL TREATMENT CENTRE. NOT ONLY DID IT TREAT SOLDIERS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, WHO HAD SUFFERED FROM BEING GASSED, BY THE GERMAN ARMY, BUT IT WOULD ALSO BE THE FACILITY WHERE DR. NORMAN BETHUNE BECAME A PATIENT, DURING HIS INITIAL TREATMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS. WHILE THERE HE WROTE LETTERS, TO FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, SOME OF THEM CONSERVED IN NATIONAL ARCHIVES. BETHUNE, OF COURSE, WAS BORN IN GRAVENHURST, AND LIVED FOR A SHORT PERIOD IN A JOHN STREET MANSE, NOW A NATIONAL HERITAGE SITE, VISITOR CENTRE AND MUSEUM.
     IT'S NOT CLEAR, AT LEAST TO ME, HOW SOON THE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST KNEW THAT, WHAT HAD ONCE BEEN A WORLD CLASS PRIVATE SANATORIUM, WAS TO BECOME AN INTERMENT CAMP, FOR SOME HIGH RANKING, HARD CORE NAZI'S, CAPTURED BY ALLIED FORCES, DURING THE BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. IT IS APPARENT THAT CAMP REMODELING, WHICH WAS ONGOING IN THAT FIRST YEAR OF OCCUPATION, HAD CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF NEIGHBORS AND MOST LIKELY THE LOCAL PRESS, BUT WHAT WAS KEPT SECRET, ABOVE ALL ELSE HAPPENING ON THE CALYDOR PROPERTY, WAS THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST GROUP OF GERMAN PRISONERS, THAT ARRIVED ON SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 1940, FROM THE CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY STATION, WHICH REQUIRED A GUARDED MARCH WEST ON BROCK STREET, ACROSS MUSKOKA ROAD, TO THE CAMP LOCATED ON ACREAGE ABUTTING LORNE STREET, AS IT ENDS AT THE SHORE OF MUSKOKA BAY. THE PICTURES PUBLISHED IN "THE GILDED CAGE," ARE COMPELLING AND A LITTLE STARTLING, EVEN IN THIS NEW CENTURY, ON THE CUSP OF THE 74TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CAMP'S OPENING. I OFTEN WONDER WHAT THOSE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST, ON THAT SUNDAY, SHORTLY AFTER THE WAR IN EUROPE COMMENCED, FELT AT THAT MOMENT, ENCOUNTERING THE PUBLIC DISPLAY OF FULL-DRESS GERMAN SOLDIERS, FROM ADOLPH HITLER'S WAR MACHINE, MARCHING THROUGH THE STREETS OF A QUIET, UNASSUMING ONTARIO TOWN; WHILE SOMEWHERE, FROM AN APARTMENT OR STORE, A RADIO NEWS BROADCAST, MIGHT HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR AN ATTENTIVE AUDIENCE IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY. THE PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS BOOK, ESPECIALLY OF THESE VERY PUBLIC MARCHES, FROM THE TRAIN STATION, AND GLIMPSES OF CAMP LIFE, AND INCLUDING IMAGES OF THE FUNERAL PROCESSION FOR TWO GERMAN INMATES, TO THE MICKLE CEMETERY FRO BURIAL, ARE POWERFUL AND COMPELLING, SUCH THAT WORDS JUST CAN'T POSSIBLY INFILL THE EMOTION OF THOSE UNIQUE OCCASIONS. AND IT ALL HAPPENED IN THIS TOWN, ALTHOUGH, OUTSIDE OF FINDING THE BOOK ON A NEIGHBOR'S COFFEE TABLE, OR BOOK SHELF, OR BY DROPPING INTO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, YOU WILL FIND IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCOVER MUCH AT ALL, ABOUT THIS INCREDIBLE CHAPTER OF COMMUNITY HISTORY. JUST THINK OF THE SHOCK YOU WOULD GET TODAY, IF RE-ENACTORS, IN THE SAME GERMAN UNIFORMS, OF SECOND WORLD WAR VINTAGE, WERE WITNESSED MARCHING ALONG THE MAIN STREET TODAY, OR TOMORROW. NO ADVANCE WARNING. JUST THE SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS OF A LARGE GROUP ON ASPHALT. I THINK THE WOW FACTOR, WOULD BE PRETTY IMPRESSIVE, AND ALTHOUGH OF COURSE DIFFERENT, IN ATTITUDE, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT, AFTERALL, IN A WAR WITH GERMANY; THE SHOCK FACTOR, OF SEEING THE PARADE OF OFFICERS, IN FULL MILITARY UNIFORM, WOULD CREATE, WITHOUT QUESTION, AN IMMEDIATE REALIZATION, THIS WAS OUR PAST. ONCE A MORE INTIMATE REALITY. ONE THAT LASTED SIX YEARS; WITH MANY SOLEMN MARCHES TO AND FROM THE TRAIN STATION.
     AFTER WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, POKING AROUND THE CALYDOR CAMP WAS A DAILY PASSTIME. THE BOYS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, USED TO SWIM IN THE SAME LOCATION, AS THOSE HUNDREDS OF GERMAN PRISONERS HAD ONCE ENJOYED. WE HIKED THE SAME LANES THEY USED TO PASS, AND THE ROAD WHERE THEY MARCHED FREQUENTLY. WE FOUND BROKEN PIECES OF POTTERY THAT HAD BEEN USED AT THE CAMP, AND AT THE SANITARIUM, AND THE HOTEL BEFORE THAT; JUST BY LOOKING IN THE SHALLOW WATER AT THE BASE OF THE ROCK CLIFFS, THAT OVERLOOK MUSKOKA BAY. WE USED TO HUNT THROUGH THE RUINS FOR OLD BITS AND BOBBS, TO PUT IN OUR CALYDOR COLLECTION OF FOUND-ITEMS, AND WE TRANSPLANTED SOME SMALL LILAC PLANTS, FROM THE PROPERTY, AT BIRCH HOLLOW, TO REMIND US OF THE FORMER CAMP. WE KNEW THAT WE HAD LIMITED TIME TO EXPLORE THE PROPERTY, BEFORE IT BECAME A SUBDIVISION, WHICH IT IS TODAY. SO WE DID USE OUR TIME WISELY.
     WE NEVER ENTERED THE PROPERTY, ALONG THE NARROW, SHADED PATHWAYS, WITH ALL ITS OVERGROWTH AND HODGE-PODGE CLUSTERS OF VEGETATION, WITHOUT FEELING THERE WERE WATCHERS IN THE WOODS. WE STARTED OUR ADVENTURES IN THE WOODS OF CALYDOR, IN THE AUTUMN OF 1989, A DECADE BEFORE PUBLICATION OF "THE GILDED CAGE." FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF THIS TIME, WE NEVER RETURNED HOME WITHOUT A HUNK OF PRISON CAMP BARBED WIRE, WHICH HAD BEEN LOCATED IN BALES, ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF LORNE STREET. THESE HAVE SINCE BEEN REMOVED, BUT WERE REFERENCED IN A PARAGRAPH, IN THE BOOK BY JOHN MALADY, IN HIS HISTORY, "ESCAPE FROM CANADA." WE WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES TO HAVE RIPPED CHUNKS OFF THOSE BALES OF BARBED WIRE. SOME FORMER INMATES OF CAMP 20, RETURNED IN THE LATE 1980'S, EARLY 90'S, AND CLAIMED SOME OF THE WIRE FOR THEMSELVES, AS STRANGE SOUVENIRS OF ANOTHER TIME IN HISTORY. THEY HAD ALSO SPRAY PAINTED A NOTE IN GERMAN ON THE CEMENT WALLS OF ONE OF THE BUILDING RUINS, THAT IN ESSENCE REFLECTED IN ENGLISH, "WELCOME, GERMAN SOLDIERS." AS I HAD READ THE STORIES OF THIS AT THE TIME, I KNEW IT WAS A KINDLY MESSAGE, ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR STAY IN CANADA, AND GRAVENHURST SPECIFICALLY; THIS PLACE HAVING A PLACE IN THEIR COLLECTIVE MEMORIES, AS I SUPPOSE, THEIR FORMER GILDED CAGE; A COMFORTABLE PLACE TO BE IMPRISONED, IF EVER THERE WAS SUCH A SITUATION IN THE MIDST OF WAR.
     IN OUR YEARS TRAVERSING THE TREED ACREAGE, WE THOUGHT WE SAW PEOPLE MANY TIMES, WHO WOULD SUDDENLY DISAPPEAR, MAKING US QUESTION EACH OTHER, ON HOW AND WHY THEY HAD VANISHED. THERE WAS AN AURA TO THE SHADED PROPERTY, WHICH WASN'T ALWAYS THAT PLEASANT, BUT WE ALWAYS FELT THAT IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRISON CAMP. IN OUR CASE, IT SEEMED THAT THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF HISTORY WAS WEIGHING HEAVILY, ON A LAKEFRONT ACREAGE, THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHEERFUL AND OTHERWISE RECREATIONAL. TO SAY IT CARRIED ITS BURDENS IN AN OBVIOUS WAY, IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. IT WAS HARD TO WATCH, AS PEOPLE BEGAN INFILLING THE RUINS WITH BAGS OF GARBAGE AND YARD WASTE. AS I THOUGHT IT WAS INSULTING THEN, I ALSO HAVE FELT INCREASINGLY DISSATISFIED WITH THE TOWN'S LESS THAN INTERESTED, SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY, TO DEAL WITH SUCH AN IMPORTANT NATIONAL HERITAGE SITE. AND IT IS AN IMPORTANT SITE, MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, WHETHER IT HAS A SUBDIVISION LOCATED ON TOP OR NOT. IT WILL ALWAYS CARRY ITS HERITAGE, IF ONLY IN PUBLIC RECORD, WHETHER THERE'S A SITE MARKER ERECTED, DETAILING THIS PERIOD OF WORLD HISTORY, OR NOT. WHILE CECIL PORTER'S BOOK IS THE DEFINITIVE CHRONICLE, ON THE MARKET TODAY, ITS CIRCULATION IN BOOK FORM IS INADEQUATE. IT WOULD BE WORTH CONSIDERING, AFTER THE REMAINING BOOKS HAVE BEEN SOLD, FOR THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST TO CREATE AN ONLINE INFORMATION SITE, AND FOR THAT MATTER, REPUBLISH THE ENTIRE CONTENTS (ONLINE) FOR THE BENEFIT OF INTERESTED FOLKS AROUND THE WORLD; HOW A LITTLE LAKESIDE COMMUNITY PLAYED HOST TO SOME OF THE MOST DANGEROUS NAZIS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
     AS I HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE IN ESTABLISHING AND WORKING WITH HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, AND MUSEUM EXHIBITS REGIONALLY, I HAVE ENTERTAINED THE IDEA OF MOUNTING A CAMPAIGN TO SELL TOWN COUNCIL, ON A FUTURE INITIATIVE TO INVESTIGATE, THE PROMOTION OF CAMP CALYDOR, AS A HERITAGE ATTRACTION, FOR THE BENEFIT OF PERMANENT RESIDENTS AND OUR VISITORS. WHILE I WILL NEVER ADVOCATE FOR THE CREATION OF A MUSEUM, OR SUGGEST THAT AN ON-SITE STRUCTURE BE BUILT, IN THE PRESENT SUBDIVISION, TO SERVE AS A VISITOR'S WELCOME CENTRE, TO DIRECT WALKING TOURS OF THE FORMER PRISON CAMP PROPERTY, I WOULD MOST DEFINITELY LIKE TO SUGGEST MORE PUBLIC INFORMATION, BEING AVAILABLE, IN AT LEAST BROCHURE FORM, AND THAT TEMPORARY EXHIBITS BE UNDERTAKEN TO PROFILE THE CAMP YEARS; WHETHER AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, OR THE OPERA HOUSE. THE FIRST STEP HOWEVER, REQUIRES A PUBLIC REQUEST, WITH A LARGE AMOUNT OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION. IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO CONVINCE COUNCILLORS, THAT THE NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS OF THE PRISON CAMP, HAVE POSITIVE ATTACHMENTS, THAT ARE EXCEPTIONALLY IMPORTANT, IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HISTORY; AND THAT EVEN WITH ITS DARKER SIDE, ITS RECOGNITION PRIMARILY, WOULD BE THE FACT, GRAVENHURST PLAYED THE PERFECT HOST, AND HELPED THE COMMONWEALTH MAINTAIN ITS SECURITY, AT A TIME WHEN THE GERMAN INVASION OF BRITAIN WAS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. THE WORRY WAS, THAT IF AN INVASION DID OCCUR, THE DANGEROUS PRISONERS WOULD BE RETURNED QUICKLY TO ACTIVE SERVICE, IN HITLER'S ARMY, AND BRITAIN'S ABILITY TO REPEL THE INVADERS, MADE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
     IT WILL BE NECESSARY, IN ANY SUCH INITIATIVE, TO PROVE TO TOWN COUNCIL, BY DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED, THAT THE GERMAN-CANADIAN COMMUNITY, AND THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT GENERALLY, WOULD NOT FIND SUCH HISTORICAL RECOGNITION TO BE OFFENSIVE; OR INSULTING TO GERMAN VISITORS TO CANADA AND MUSKOKA. WHILE WE CAN'T CHANGE HISTORY, IN THIS CASE, THERE IS MUCH TO BE GARNERED, OF A POSITIVE NATURE, FROM WHAT MAY ONLY BE THOUGHT OF TODAY, IN ONLY NEGATIVE TERMS. THE FACT IS, AND IS COMMONLY KNOWN, THAT MANY OF THE PRISONERS FELT CANADA, AND CANADIANS, HAD BEEN PARTICULARLY KIND, DURING THE YEARS OF THEIR INTERMENT, AND FRIENDSHIPS WITH THE VETERANS GUARDS, THEIR JAILERS, HAD GENERATED POSITIVELY OVER SIX YEARS, SHOWING A VERY DIFFERENT SIDE, TO WHAT MANY BELIEVE WAS A DARK PERIOD IN LOCAL HISTORY.
     CECIL PORTER'S BOOK WAS A BREAKTHROUGH OF THIS INVISIBLE BUT OBVIOUS BARRIER, IN LOCAL APPRECIATION, OF JUST HOW MUCH GRAVENHURST BENEFITTED FROM THE FEDERAL CONTRACT, TO HAVE THE PRISON CAMP LOCATED HERE. THERE WERE MANY ECONOMIC BENEFITS, AND MANY LOCAL SERVICE BUSINESSES, AND SUPPLIERS, DID BENEFIT FROM THIS SIX YEAR OCCUPATION OF THE CALYDOR PROPERTY. BUT THE BOOK WAS JUST THE BEGINNING OF WHAT WILL ONE DAY, BECOME A MUCH MORE IMPORTANT HERITAGE DESIGNATION. IT WILL TAKE A MORE HISTORICALLY INCLINED COUNCIL, AND SOME AMBITIOUS FOLKS, WHO KNOW THE TRUE INTERNATIONAL RELEVANCE OF OUR STORY; OF LOOKING AFTER NAZIS IN A VERY PRECARIOUS BATTLE FOR FREEDOM.
     ONE YEAR FROM NOW, WE WILL BE A MONTH AWAY FROM THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAT FIRST MARCH OF GERMAN SOLDIERS, THROUGH THE MAIN BUSINESS AREA OF THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST. IF THERE IS NO INTEREST OTHERWISE, I CAN GUARANTEE READERS AND THE TOWN, THAT OUR OWN LITTLE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE, OF HERITAGE RESOURCES, WILL MOUNT THE BEST EXHIBIT WE CAN OFFER, WITH THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE; AND WE'VE GOT SOME WIGGLE ROOM TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. WE HEAR A LOT OF GRUMBLING AROUND THIS TOWN, ABOUT THE NEED FOR MORE TOURISM ATTRACTIONS, AND YEAR-ROUND PUBLIC EVENTS. SO WE'RE GOING TO GIVE IT A SHOT, AND IT'S KIND OF APPROPRIATE, AS THERE IS A VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH IN "THE GILDED CAGE," SHOWING A CANADIAN MILITARY PARADE, OF THE VETERAN'S GUARD, PASSING IN FRONT OF THE OLD THEATRE BUILDING, WHICH WE CURRENTLY OCCUPY. IT'S TOO IMPORTANT, TO OUR HISTORICAL CHRONICLE IN THIS TOWN, TO SHY AWAY FROM; AND JUST AS WE HAVE EMBRACED THE CONTROVERSIAL DR. NORMAN BETHUNE, AND HIS POLITICAL LEANINGS, WE SHOULD BE OBJECTIVE ENOUGH BY IMMERSION, TO EMBRACE THE HISTORICAL REALITIES OF THE WELL KNOWN "CAMP 20," AS IT OPERATED, FROM 1940 TO 1946.
     SO, AS A PREAMBLE TO WHAT MIGHT COME DOWN THE PIKE IN THE FUTURE, SUZANNE AND I, OF MUSKOKA HISTORY RESOURCES, WILL MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS UPCOMING 75TH ANNIVERSARY, AND IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY RELICS FROM THE CAMP ITSELF, PHOTOGRAPHS, PAINTINGS OR CARVINGS, DONE BY INMATES, OR FURNITURE FROM THE BUILDINGS, WE WOULD BE HONORED TO EITHER BORROW THEM FOR DISPLAY, OR PURCHASE THESE PIECES, FOR WHAT COULD BECOME A PERMANENT DISPLAY IN THE FUTURE. WE DO BELIEVE, WITHOUT QUESTION, THAT OUR OWN CITIZENS, FELLOW MUSKOKANS, AND OUR VISITORS, WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT CAMP CALYDOR. THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT FOR SURE, IS TO DO A SURVEY, AND THIS WILL BE THE JUSTIFICATION, FOR NEXT JUNE'S SPECIAL EXHIBIT; POTENTIALLY, HERE IN THE FORMER THEATRE BUILDING ON MUSKOKA ROAD. WE'RE OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS. WE WELCOME YOUR OPINIONS.
     BY THE WAY, THIS IS AN INITIATIVE FROM THIS HISTORIAN ONLY, NOT THE AUTHOR OF "THE GILDED CAGE," OR THE LOCAL HERITAGE COMMITTEE, OR ANY OTHER HERITAGE-PROMOTING GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS. IF AT SOME POINT, ANY OF THESE HISTORY-MINDED FOLKS WISH TO DISCUSS THE MATTER FURTHER, OR OFFER SOME CONTRIBUTIONS, THIS WOULD BE MOST DEFINITELY WELCOME; AND POTENTIALLY LEAD TO A FUTURE PROJECT, TO MORE PUBLICLY RECOGNIZE, GRAVENHURST'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE ALLIED EFFORT, OF WORLD WAR II. FEEDBACK ALWAYS WELCOME.
     THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE YOU ALONG FOR THE RIDE.

Gravenhurst's Role in Housing German Prisoners of War Not Respected As It Should Be

OUR KITH AND KIN - NOT ALWAYS A SOFT LANDING WHEN COMPARING THE DEEDS OF OUR ANCESTORS

IT'S PART OF THE PACKAGE OF BEING "US"; ROOTS RUNNING DEEP AND SOMETIMES A LITTLE DARK

     I'VE TALKED CASUALLY TO FRIENDS, IN SOCIAL OCCASIONS, ABOUT THE CURIOSITIES OF OUR ANCESTRY, AND A FEW HAVE TOLD ME NEAT STORIES ABOUT BEING RELATED TO BUCCANEERS, MUTINEERS, TRAITORS, ROBBERS, MURDERERS, AND ON THE OTHERS SIDE, ADVENTURERS, WELL KNOWN POLITICIANS, INDUSTRIAL MAGNATES, AND THE CLERGY. ONE ANCESTOR OF MY GRANDFATHER'S WAS A MINISTER, IN A CHURCH IN THE LIVERPOOL AREA OF ENGLAND, AND ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE JACKSON CLAN, WAS, ME THINKS, A GAD-ABOUT WHO MADE MANY TRIPS VIA SCHOONER, FROM ENGLAND TO JAMAICA. ONE OF MY AUNTS THOUGHT HE WAS A RUM-RUNNER. MORE OF AN ADVENTURER-PIRATE-SPECULATOR. GENERALLY, THE JACKSONS, OF TORONTO, AND TRENTON BEFORE THIS, WERE SETTLERS TO THE BAY OF QUINTE REGION AFTER THE WAR OF 1812, EMIGRATING LIKE MILLIONS OF OTHERS, FROM ENGLAND. THEY WERE TINSMITHS AND FARMERS. NOT TOO MUCH CONTROVERSY IN THAT WING OF THE FAMILY. ON MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S SIDE, OF THE SANDERCOCK AND VANDERVOORTE BRANCHES, OF THE OLD FAMILY TREE, THE DUTCH AND GERMAN SIDES WERE MUCH MORE INTERESTING, THAN THE BRITISH COMPONENT. AS FOR THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, I THINK WASHINGTON IRVING, MAY HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT MY KINFOLK, WHEN HE PENNED THAT SHORT STORY IN 1819. THEY WERE MAINSTAYS OF THE NEW YORK, HISTORIC HUDSON RIVER REGION, FROM THE FIRST DAYS OF ITS EUROPEAN INFILTRATION. AS FOR THE DUTCH SIDE, OF MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S FAMILY, WE MAY HAVE EVEN BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING THE MOST LAND AWAY FROM THE ABORIGINAL POPULATION OF THE NEW YORK AREA. NICE EH? AND THEN THERE WAS THE GERMAN SIDE OF THE FAMILY, AND WE ARE WELL APPOINTED IN THIS REGARD, BEING RELATED TO ONE OF THE FIRST INDUSTRIALISTS, AND MAJOR MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE COMMUNITY OF BELLEVILLE, ONTARIO. IT'S ON THIS SIDE THAT BOTH FAMILIES CAME TO CANADA AS UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS, DURING AND AFTER THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

BUT WHAT ABOUT CARRYING THE BURDEN OF WAR, AND REPRESENTATION OF FAMILY ON THE LOSING SIDE

     MOST OF YOU WILL, BY NOW, BE WONDERING WHAT THE DEVIL CURRIE IS UP TO NOW. PONDERING THE PURPOSE OF HEADING TODAY'S BLOG, WITH PORTRAITS OF GERMAN SOLDIERS, ONE FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR, THE OTHERS FROM THE PERIOD OF WORLD WAR TWO. IT'S NOT FOR SHOCK VALUE, THAT'S FOR SURE. I DON'T GO IN FOR THAT KIND OF STUFF. IT'S ACTUALLY A PREAMBLE OF A SHORT SERIES OF UPCOMING BLOGS, WRITTEN ABOUT GRAVENHURST'S UNDER-RECOGNIZED, GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, KNOWN AS BOTH "CALYDOR," AND "CAMP 20, WHICH WAS OPERATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, FROM 1940 TO 1946. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT HISTORICAL REALITIES IN THIS COMMUNITY, AND THE WIDER MUSKOKA, AND AS AN HISTORIAN OF SOME MILEAGE, I WILL TELL YOU HONESTLY, IT OUTRANKS MANY OF THE OTHER HERITAGE SITES AND CIRCUMSTANCES, PROMOTED BY REGIONAL MUNICIPALITIES. IN GRAVENHURST, IF IT WASN'T FOR CECIL PORTER'S WELL RECEIVED BOOK, "THE GILDED CAGE," WHICH WAS THE STORY OF THE INTERNMENT CAMP, PUBLISHED IN 1999 BY THE GRAVENHURST BOOK COMMITTEE, IT WOULD BE OUR BEST KNOWN SECRET. THE OFFICERS IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS ABOVE, WERE NOT IMPRISONED HERE IN GRAVENHURST, BUT THERE WAS AN ASSOCIATION, OF CIRCUMSTANCE BY RESIDENCE, THAT BROUGHT THESE IMAGES OF FAMILY TO OUR REGION OF SOUTH MUSKOKA. THE OWNER OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS, OWNED SEVERAL COPIES OF "THE GILDEN CAGE," AND WAS VERY VOCAL ABOUT ITS CONTENT TO THIS WRITER, DURING NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WAR AND CONSEQUENCE.
     I KNOW OF AN INCIDENT AT A REGIONAL SCHOOL, THAT HAD A MINOR HISTORICAL KICK-BACK, BECAUSE OF THE ANCESTRAL TREE. THE STUDENT, FOR A PARTICULAR HISTORY PROJECT, BROUGHT IN A SELECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF HER GRANDFATHER, IN FULL MILITARY UNIFORM. WHILE OTHER STUDENTS HAD SIMILAR VINTAGE IMAGES, FOR THAT AFTERNOON'S "SHOW AND TELL," TAKEN DURING THE FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WARS, SHOWING THEIR RESPECTIVE GRANDFATHERS, IN CANADIAN AND BRITISH UNIFORMS; THIS STUDENT PROUDLY EXHIBITED A STRIKING PORTRAIT OF HER GRANDFATHER, IN THE ATTIRE OF A HIGH RANKING GERMAN OFFICER. THE STUDENTS, VIEWING THIS, WERE SOMEWHAT STARTLED BY THE PORTRAIT, AS WAS THE INSTRUCTOR, BUT IT ACTUALLY FOSTERED A POSITIVE DIALOGUE, ABOUT ALL SIDES OF WAR. MANY OF THE STUDENTS, WOULD FIND OUT LATER, BY ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS OF THEIR PARENTS, ABOUT THEIR OWN STAKE IN THE FAMILY TREE, THAT THEY ALSO HAD GERMAN ANCESTORS MANY GENERATIONS EARLIER. WHILE THE CARNAGE OF THE WAR WASN'T THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION, WHAT TRANSPIRED WAS A SOLID, BALANCED LOOK AT HOW INTERNATIONALLY CONNECTED, THEY ALL WERE TO THE CULTURES OF THE WORLD. SOON, IT WASN'T ABOUT THE STUDENT'S GERMAN GRANDFATHER ANY LONGER, BUT ABOUT THE ANCESTRAL CONNECTEDNESS TO WORLD HISTORY.
     THE VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS PUBLISHED ABOVE, WERE ACQUIRED FROM THE ESTATE OF A LOCAL GERMAN / CANADIAN WOMAN, WHO I KNEW FROM NUMEROUS PHONE CONVERSATIONS. SHE LIKED MY EDITORIAL POINTS OF VIEW, PUBLISHED IN THE LOCAL PRESS, AND THE FACT I WAS AN ACTIVE SHIT-DISTURBING HISTORIAN. SHE WAS CONVINCED I WAS A GOOD PERSON TO TALK TO, ABOUT GERMAN HISTORY, AND HOW IT HAS IMPRINTED IN CANADA SINCE CONFEDERATION. IT'S TRUE SHE HAD PROBLEMS WITH CLAIMS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST, BUT ON THOSE MATTERS, I DECLINED TO COMMENT. SHE DID TALK ABOUT FIRESTORM BOMBINGS IN GERMANY, THAT KILLED THOUSANDS OF INNOCENTS, AND FOR THIS, I JUST LISTENED. SHE WAS WELL INFORMED BUT CARRIED A RESPECT FOR HITLER I COULD NEVER TRULY UNDERSTAND. SHE WAS OLD AND SET IN HER WAYS. I WAS A LITTLE YOUNGER, AND LOOKING FOR AS MANY OPINIONS ABOUT HISTORICAL EVENTS AS I COULD. JUST BECAUSE I DIDN'T AGREE WITH HER, BASED ON MY OWN RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE, DIDN'T MEAN I WASN'T GOING TO LISTEN TO HER RECOLLECTIONS AND CLAIMS. SHE WASN'T TRYING TO CHANGE MY MIND ABOUT THE GERMAN MILITARY CAMPAIGN, BUT SHE MADE ME UNDERSTAND MORE CLEARLY, THAN EVER BEFORE, WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A CIVILIAN AND A CHILD, DURING THE ALLIED BOMBING OF HER COUNTRY. MOST OF US, BECAUSE OF THE NARROW HIGH SCHOOL STUDY OF WORLD WAR, HAVE BECOME HARDCORE SUPPORTERS OF THE IDEA, THERE WERE NO INNOCENTS IN GERMANY, DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR; WHICH OF COURSE, IS UTTER NONSENSE. THEY TOO WERE VICTIMS OF A MAD DICTATOR. WE TEND TO LOOK AND JUDGE GERMANS FROM THIS PERIOD, AS IF THEY WERE ALL NAZIS IN HITLER'S ARMY, WHICH WASN'T TRUE; BUT IT'S THE RESULT OF DECADES OF IMBEDDED GENERALIZATIONS, WHICH TAUGHT STUDENTS THE "ONE SIZE FITS ALL" (THAT'S ALL WE HAVE TIME FOR) COURSE OF STUDY. SO I DID LISTEN TO HER OWN STORIES OF WATCHING RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS BURNED ALIVE IN THE BOMBINGS; FOLKS WHO HAD NEVER PICKED UP A GUN, OR ENGAGED IN ANY BATTLE WITH ANY ONE, FOR ANY REASON. IT'S NOT ABOUT FORGIVENESS, BUT UNDERSTANDING. I ENJOYED OUR CHATS, AND SHE HAD AMAZING KNOWLEDGE OF GERMAN HISTORY, HAVING LINKS BACK TO THE 1500'S, THAT SHE KNEW ABOUT. SHE WAS PROUD OF HER HERITAGE, AND SHE SHARED QUITE A BIT WITH ME, LONG BEFORE I HAD SOMETHING TO SHARE WITH HER.....ABOUT MY OWN NEWFOUND ANCESTRY.
    I TALKED TO HER, ONE AFTERNOON AT SOME LENGTH (SUZANNE TOLD ME IT WAS A TWO HOUR CONVERSATION), A YEAR AND A HALF BEFORE SHE DIED, AND I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK ABOUT THE AREA OF GERMANY, MY OWN FAMILY HAD EMIGRATED FROM, TO AMERICA, IN THE 1700'S. IT WAS ONLY A FEW MONTHS EARLIER, THAT SUZANNE, A FAMILY HISTORY SLEUTH, UNCOVERED THE FACT MY GRANDMOTHER, BLANCHE JACKSON, WAS FROM BOTH GERMAN AND DUTCH ANCESTRY, ON HER MOTHER'S SIDE. IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE, AFTER SHE TOLD ME THIS NEWS, AND HAVING JUST SHOWED ME THE FAMILY TREE SHE'D BEEN PENCILLING-IN, THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT ABOUT, WAS IF ANY OF MY KIN HAD BEEN IN THE GERMAN ARMY, IN EITHER WORLD WAR. I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT HOW CULTURALLY GREAT IT WOULD BE TO BE CONNECTED, BY GERMAN BLOOD, TO ALL THE HISTORY, ART, LITERATURE AND MUSIC OF THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. I THOUGHT ABOUT WAR, AND EVEN NOW, AS I'M WRITING THIS, IT STILL BOTHERS ME TO A DEGREE, WHY I KEEP GETTING STOPPED-UP WITH WAR, EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT FAMILY HISTORY. I'M NOT ASHAMED, JUST A VICTIM OF LIFE-LONG NARROW THINKING, I SUPPOSE; AND THE REALITY, HAVING A FATHER WHO SERVED IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC, WITH THE R.C.N.V.R. HAS MADE THE BIAS MORE INTIMATE, AND EMOTIONALLY JAGGED. MY FATHER SUFFERED FROM POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, BY DEFINITION OF THE CONDITION, FROM WHAT HE SAW AND DID ONBOARD HIS SHIP, THE "COATICOOK," BUT PREFERRED TO DRINK INSTEAD OF TALK ABOUT IT. WAR HAS DEFINITELY IMPRINTED AS NEGATIVELY AS YOU WOULD EXPECT. WHAT INTERESTS ME NOW, IS WHY MY GRANDMOTHER'S GERMAN KIN, WERE NEVER RESEARCHED, AS WAS THE BRITISH ANCESTRY. THERE WAS A FAMILY TREE SKETCHED OUT AND INFILLED, BUT ONLY FOR THE JACKSON SIDE OF THE FAMILY. BUT IT IS THE DUTCH AND GERMAN SIDE, THAT IS MOST ALLURING, AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THEM, IF THEY HAD TAKEN THE TIME TO INVESTIGATE. AND WITH NO RELATIVE OF MY MOTHER'S FAMILY STILL ALIVE, THERE IS NO WAY OF FINDING OUT HOW THEY FELT.
    AS THE STUDENT DIDN'T APOLOGIZE FOR PRESENTING THE PICTURE OF HER GRANDFATHER, AND THE CLASS ACCEPTED THE PORTRAIT WITHOUT PREJUDICE, I AM STILL NAVIGATING THE SENSITIVITY CURVE MYSELF; SO THAT IF I SHOULD SOON FIND OUT, THAT MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY TREE DID PARTICIPATE IN WORLD WAR, AS PART OF THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE, THEY MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED RESPECTFULLY, ALONGSIDE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO FOUGHT WITH THE ALLIES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. SEEING AS WE CAN'T CHANGE HISTORY, WE HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE WITH IT, AND BENEFIT FROM THE KNOWLEDGE!
     THE PHOTOGRAPHS ABOVE, WERE ACQUIRED WHEN WE PURCHASED PORTIONS OF THE WOMAN'S ESTATE. I REMEMBER THE DAY WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE SHOP, AND WERE DISCOVERED AMONGST THE SMALL COLLECTION OF VINTAGE IMAGES, PLUS A HALF-FILLED PHOTO ALBUM. SUZANNE AND I JUST STARED AT THE PORTRAITS OF THE GERMAN OFFICERS, FROM WORLD WAR II, AND WONDERED, AT THAT MOMENT, WHAT WE WOULD DO WITH THEM; ESPECIALLY AS WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD A POLICY ABOUT NOT SELLING THESE KIND OF MILITARY RELICS. WE ARE SELECTIVE ABOUT WAR MATERIALS WE SELL, AND THAT'S WHY I RAN THE RECENT SERIES OF BLOGS ABOUT CAPTAIN SHIRLEY TUKE, OF THE BRITISH MILITARY, CIRCA WORLD WAR I. THESE ARE PERSONAL, FAMILY ITEMS, THAT WE BELIEVE SHOULD BE KEPT TOGETHER IN A COLLECTION. AS FOR THE GERMAN MILITARY PHOTOGRAPHS, WE DON'T LOOK UPON THEM NOW, WITH ANY SENSE OF UNEASE, OR FEAR OF CONDEMNATION, FOR EXHIBITING THEM UNDER, WHAT WE BELIEVE, TO BE THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES OF RECOGNITION. NOT FOR SENSATIONALIST PURPOSES. THEY ARE PART OF THE CHRONICLE OF WORLD HISTORY, AND AS MUCH AS THE NAZI SYMBOLS REMIND US OF THE HORRORS ASSOCIATED WITH JEWISH CAMPS, LIKE AUSCHWITZ, AND BERGEN-BELSEN, PLUS MANY MORE ASSOCIATED WITH THE HOLOCAUST, WE CAN'T ASSESS ALL THE EVILS OF THAT WAR, ON EVERY SOLDIER WHO JOINED HITLER'S FORCES. GERMAN CITIZENS WERE IMPOSED-UPON TO JOIN THE WAR EFFORT; AND MANY BECAME THE FACES IN THESE FAMILY PORTRAITS. GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION. SOME MIGHT WISH THAT ALL THESE REMEMBRANCES OF THE NAZI ERA BE TORN UP AND DISPOSED OF, REGARDLESS OF THE SUBJECT INDIVIDUAL'S ACTUAL ROLE IN THE TURMOIL OF WAR. THIS IS NOT THE SUGGESTION, THAT WE SHOULD, NOW 68 YEARS AFTER THE WAR, FORGIVE THE NAZI WAR MACHINE FOR THE SUFFERING IT INFLICTED UPON HUMANITY.
   FOR ME, A LIFE LONG LOVER OF HISTORY, IT IS JUST PART OF THE JAGGED, UNFORTUNATE, INHUMANITY OF MANKIND'S WELL DOCUMENTED STRUGGLE AGAINST ITSELF, AS THE CHRONICLE OF LIFE AND TIMES. OF WHICH SOME OF US ARE CONNECTED MORE INTIMATELY, BY THE BLOOD OF OUR ANCESTORS. SOME READING THIS BLOG TODAY, WILL ALSO HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE, THEY HAVE SIMILAR PORTRAITS IN THEIR FAMILY ALBUMS, THAT THEY ARE SOMEWHAT ASHAMED OF, AND RELUCTANT TO SHARE WITH OTHERS. I THINK BACK TO THE COURAGEOUS YOUNG LADY, WHO VOLUNTARILY SHARED HER FAMILY ALBUM, WITH FELLOW STUDENTS, BECAUSE IT WAS A FACT OF HER LIFE, AND NOTHING COULD CHANGE THAT REALITY. SHE WASN'T ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS, AND HER CLASSMATES NEVER MADE IT AN ISSUE. IN SOME WAYS, I FIND THIS AN UPLIFTING STORY, BECAUSE IT IS STILL VERY MUCH AN OBSTACLE OF UNDERSTANDING; AND A CONNECTION, SOME PREFER TO IGNORE, AND BYPASS, WHEN THE ISSUE OF THE FAMILY TREE, AND ALL ITS BRANCHES, COME UP FOR DISCUSSION. ME INCLUDED. BUT FROM THIS STUDENT'S PRESENTATION, IT CERTAINLY HAS SHED MORE LIGHT ON THE ISSUE, FROM THE WAY I WAS A WHILE AGO; A VERY RELUCTANT INDIVIDUAL OF GERMAN DESCENT.
     MORE COMING UP IN FUTURE BLOGS, HIGHLIGHTING GRAVENHURST'S YEARS, AS HOSTS TO GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR.

OLD BARBED WIRE FROM CALYDOR - MANY PASSERSBY TORE OFF A HUNK

     FROM THE FALL OF 1989, SHORTLY AFTER WE ARRIVED IN GRAVENHURST, AND SETTLING INTO OUR NEW HOME, WE WERE HEAVILY INTO THE HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY. WE KNEW A LOT ABOUT THE TOWN BEFORE WE MOVED, AND ONE OF THE PLACES OF FASCINATION, WAS THE CALYDOR PROPERTY. SO SMITTEN BY ITS HISTORY, THAT WE MADE SURE OUR HOUSE WAS LOCATED IN THE ZONE, PROBABLY THE MOST HISTORIC IN TOWN.......OVER AND ABOVE BETHUNE HOUSE. SORRY TO SAY THIS, BUT WHEN YOU WEIGH THE REALITY, WE WERE ACCOMMODATING HOSTS TO GERMAN PRISONERS, AND HIGH RANKING NAZIS, THROUGHOUT THE SECOND WORLD WAR, IT DOES TRUMP THE HOUSE WHERE NORMAN BETHUNE SPENT HIS FIRST FEW MOMENTS OF LIFE. AND REALLY, NOT MUCH MORE. IT IS WORTH NOTING, THAT BETHUNE, IN ADULTHOOD, DID SPEND TIME AT THE CALYDOR SANATORIUM, SUFFERING FROM TUBERCULOSIS. THE SANATORIUM WAS EVENTUALLY ACQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN THE LATE 1930'S, AS A FUTURE INTERMENT CAMP, WHEN GERMANY BEGAN ITS MARCH ON EUROPE.

     THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT VERY FEW HISTORIANS AND CITIZENS HAVE DEMANDED HISTORIC SITE RECOGNITION, BECAUSE IT IS STILL DEEMED, BY TOWN HALL, AS TOO CONTROVERSIAL, AND POLITICALLY INCORRECT.....WHICH COULD ONLY BE THOUGHT OF, IN THIS WAY, BY FOLKS WHO ARE UNAWARE OF MORE NEGATIVELY STORIED PLACES THAN THIS.....ACKNOWLEDGED AND RESPECTED, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. ALTHOUGH IT WAS COVERED BY A BOOK, ENTITLED "THE GILDED CAGE," SOME YEARS AGO, THERE HAS BEEN A PREFERENCE BY THE TOWN, OVER MANY DECADES, TO AVOID PLACING AN HISTORIC PLAQUE, OR PROMOTING IT ACTIVELY AS A PLACE, NOW A SUBDIVISION AND PUBLIC BEACH, WHERE WORLD HISTORY WAS MADE. WE HAVE HAD A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF GERMAN VISITORS ASK US ABOUT THE CAMP PROPERTY, WISHING TO VISIT. THEY SEEM PERPLEXED GENERALLY, THAT THERE ISN'T A PROPER HISTORIC PLAQUE, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HISTORY THAT OCCURRED ON THE PROPERTY.....WHICH IS THOROUGHLY AMAZING. ESCAPES, FUNERAL PROCESSIONS, IN FULL MILITARY DRESS, THROUGH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, TO THE MICKLE CEMETERY, WHERE TWO BEAUTIFULLY CARVED OAK TABLETS, ONCE MARKED THE GRAVES OF THE SOLDIERS WHO DIED WHILE IN CUSTODY. THE BODIES WERE EXHUMED MANY YEARS AGO, AND THE GRAVES RELOCATED TO A GERMAN CEMETERY IN KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     IN ALL OF MUSKOKA, THIS IS CLEARLY THE MOST INTERNATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC SITE, EVEN BEYOND THE MUSEUM OF LITTLE NORWAY, AT THE MUSKOKA AIRPORT, BUT A FEW FOLKS, WITH NARROW FOCUS, HAVE BEEN BLOCKING FULL RECOGNITION OF THE PROPERTY'S TRUE DIMENSION IN LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HISTORY. HAVING SPENT THOUSANDS OF HOURS WANDERING THROUGH THE PROPERTY, WE NOT ONLY HAVE A LOT OF ARTIFACTS, MOSTLY BROKEN GLASS AND POTTERY, AND THESE HUNKS OF RUSTED BARBED WIRE, BUT WE HAVE A BOOK LOAD OF MEMORIES OF THIS BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY ON THE SHORE OF MUSKOKA BAY. I WILL HAVE A SMALL COLLECTION OF THESE STORIES IN THE COMING DAYS......WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY CREATE SOME INTEREST, IN ONE DAY OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZING THE PROPERTY, AS AN INTERNATIONAL HERITAGE SITE. I THINK IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO OUR GERMAN-CANADIAN HERITAGE, AS MANY FORMER POWS DID RETURN TO CANADA TO LIVE, FOLLOWING THE WAR, AND SOME BACK TO GRAVENHURST AND MUSKOKA. IT IS NOT FAIR TO SAY, OR ALLUDE TODAY, TO CALYDOR AND THE GERMAN POW CAMP, AS BEING POLITICALLY INCORRECT.....AND NOT FOR PRIME TIME VIEWING. IT WAS A FACT OF LIFE.....AND AN AMAZING REALITY FOR ALL THE CITIZENS BACK THEN, WHO ALSO BECAME THE EYES AND EARS OF CAMP SECURITY. HERE IS A PIECE I WROTE AFTER A LENGTHY CHAT WITH SEVERAL GERMAN VISITORS, TO GRAVENHURST, LAST SUMMER, WHO ASKED US FOR DIRECTIONS TO TOUR THE PROPERTY. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE FROM THE TOWN, TO THE BLOG, AS PREDICTED, BUT THIS ISSUE WILL COME UP MANY TIMES IN THE FUTURE; AND I'M HOPEFUL THE SITE WILL BE PUBLICLY RECOGNIZED WITH SIGNAGE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

     POSSIBLY IT WILL COME AS A REQUEST FROM THE FAMILIES OF FORMER INMATES, WHO FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT, THAT THE SITE BE DOCUMENTED FOR ALL TO SEE.....AND BE UNDERSTOOD, AS IT WAS, IN THE DAYS OF WORLD WAR. 

      WHENEVER WE WENT OUT FOR A FAMILY WALK DOWN TO MUSKOKA BAY, THROUGH THE PROPERTY OF THE FORMER CALYDOR PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, WE'D STOP TO TEAR OFF A COUPLE OF LENGTHY CHUNKS OF BARBED WIRE, FORMERLY OF THE CAMP. THESE BALES WERE EVEN NOTED IN THE BOOK, "ESCAPE FROM CANADA," BY JOHN MELADY. FORMER POW'S FROM THAT PERIOD, AND THEIR FAMILIES, VISITING GRAVENHURST, HAVE ALSO BEEN KNOWN TO TEAR OFF BITS OF THE WIRE.......EVEN AS UNFORTUNATE REMINDERS, OF A TERRIBLE PERIOD IN WORLD HISTORY....THAT MANY OF OUR FAMILIES WERE INVOLVED.

     THIS ISN'T A PROJECT TO CREATE ANOTHER TOURIST ATTRACTION. IT'S TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE HERITAGE CHRONICLE OF OUR COMMUNITY.....AND IT IS SOMETHING REMARKABLE, THAT WE PLAYED SUCH AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE PROTECTION OF THE FREE WORLD......BY KEEPING THESE PRISONERS FROM RE-ENTERING THE FIGHT. THIS COULD WELL HAVE HAPPENED IF THERE HAD BEEN AN INVASION OF BRITAIN, RELEASING THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS BACK INTO THE INVADING ARMY. INSTEAD, THEY WERE SHIPPED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, AND TO OUR COMMUNITY, UNTIL THE END OF THE WAR.

     WE SHOULD BE PROUD OF THIS HERITAGE.....NOT TRYING TO AVOID IT!

GRAVENHURST'S CALYDOR PRISONER OF WAR CAMP SHOULD BE HIGHLIGHTED AS A TOWN HISTORIC SITE

WOULD GERMAN VISITORS BE INTERESTED TO SEE THE SITE OF FORMER PRISON CAMP?

     AS A RESIDENT OF THE CALYDOR SUBDIVISION, WE ARE ON THE FRINGE OF THE FORMER NAZI PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, SITUATED A FULL BLOCK WEST, ON THE SHORE OF MUSKOKA BAY. WHEN WE FIRST MOVED HERE, BACK IN THE EARLY 1990'S, I USED TO OFFER ANYONE WHO WAS INTERESTED, A GUIDED TOUR OF THE WORLD WAR II CAMP, THE SUBJECT OF A RECENT BOOK WRITTEN BY GRAVENHURST HISTORIAN, CECIL PORTER, CALLED "THE GILDED CAGE."

     MY INTRODUCTION TO THE CAMP CAME MANY YEARS BEFORE MR. PORTER'S BOOK WAS PUBLISHED, WHEN A REPORTER WORKING FOR US AT THE FORMER HERALD-GAZETTE, AND MUSKOKA SUN, IN BRACEBRIDGE, DECIDED TO DO A LENGTHY FEATURE COLUMN ON THE CAMP. SCOTT MCCLELLAN WORKED FOR ABOUT A MONTH, RESEARCHING THE NAZI PRISON CAMP, AND WHEN THE STORY WAS PUBLISHED, SOMETIME IN THE MID 1980'S, IT CAUSED QUITE A STIR. THERE WERE THOSE WHO WERE TRULY INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE ABOUT THIS PREVIOUSLY UNDER-KNOWN CONTRIBUTION OF CANADA TO THE WAR EFFORT, AND THERE WERE THOSE WHO DIDN'T WANT THE STORY TO GET ANY INK WHATSOEVER. I NEVER FELT THIS WAY, AND I BEGAN DOING MY OWN RESEARCH OF THE CAMP, ONCE WE MOVED INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD. IN FACT, I PLANNED TO DO MY OWN BOOK ON THE CAMP BUT OUR ANTIQUE BUSINESS NEEDED MORE ATTENTION AND I SIMPLY ABANDONED THE IDEA. IT IS AN FOUR STAR INTERNATIONAL STORY, THAT SOMEHOW WAS BURIED FOR MANY YEARS, OUT OF MISGUIDED POLITICAL CORRECTNESS.

     WHEN CECIL LET ME KNOW HE WAS WRITING THIS LONG OVER-DUE STORY, I WAS THRILLED BECAUSE IT IS A CRITICALLY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF GRAVENHURST HISTORY, THAT PUTS US ON THE WORLD STAGE OF HISTORIC SITES. CECIL PRESENTED ME WITH A COPY AND I READ IT COVER TO COVER ON THE FIRST NIGHT. IT WAS EVERYTHING I HAD WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRISONER OF WAR CAMP. THE ONLY THING MISSING? THERE ISN'T A PROPER HISTORIC PLAQUE, ON THE CALYDOR PROPERTY, AND WE'VE LARGELY AVOIDED PROMOTING IT, BECAUSE OF THE NEGATIVE REALITIES OF WAR-TIME IMPRISONMENT. WELL, I DON'T AGREE. WE SHOULD CELEBRATE THE HISTORY WE CONTRIBUTED TO, BY HELPING THE COMMONWEALTH, PARTICULARLY BRITAIN, BY HOUSING SOME OF THE MOST STALWART NAZIS……WHO WOULD HAVE POSED AN IMMEASURABLE THREAT TO THE SECURITY OF ENGLAND, IF A GERMAN INVASION HAD SET THEM LOOSE, WHICH WAS A MAJOR REASON FOR GETTING THEM OUT OF THE COUNTRY.

A SENSITIVE ISSUE? OF COURSE IT IS! BUT LIFE AND ITS HISTORY ARE FULL OF SENSITIVE STORIES THAT STILL HAVE TO BE TOLD

     I spoke with a German visitor to our town this morning, and we talked for almost an hour, about local history, and particularly the former Calydor Prison Camp. I have talked to elderly German-Canadians, who have a general interest in the camp's heritage, and each one I've chatted with, had a basic knowledge of Calydor, and some of the inmates who were imprisoned there. And they were acquainted with those German citizens, who after the war, wished to come back to Canada, Muskoka specifically, where they had served part of the war years incarcerated. I always found this so amazing, as an historian, that they thought enough of our town and the region, to leave their homeland for good, and take up residence here….living amongst those who were once their armed guards.

     I offered an apology, to this gentleman and his partner, that there was no historic plaque marking the site of the former camp, and that there was no brochure offering a walking tour of the new subdivision, that might be appreciated by those who may have even had family members at Calydor during the war. I asked him if German visitors today, would be offended to see a plaque, commemorating the years of Nazi incarceration, in Gravenhurst, and he answered that they wouldn't be upset by this type of identification, as there are similar World War II sites, with much more tragedy attached, than our small camp, patrolled by the Veteran's Guard, who never had to shoot a prisoner…..and for the most part, became friendly with most of the inmates. As to whether or not German tourists would visit such a site, if properly identified, he was noncommittal, but he did suggest that younger people from Germany, are less likely to attend such historic locations out of disinterest. But we had a good talk about life and times at the camp, and how the people first found out a POW facility was being located in their town……..when Gordon Sloan took that famous photograph, on the main street, of the parade of Nazi prisoners of all ranks, walking down the centre of Muskoka Road, under guard, journeying between the train station and the Calydor property which is quite a hike. He was quite interested in the two full-dress funerals held, and the parades from the camp to the Mickle Cemetery, and the two beautifully carved wooden grave markers, that adorned the plots. The German soldiers were exhumed in the late 1960's, and reburied in Kitchener, Ontario.

     I think we have been overly sensitive in this town, ever since the war, about offending Germans who visit as tourists. Yet there have been many former prisoners of the camp, who have re-visited the place they were once under armed-guard, and they had, up until the reclamation of the property for a new subdivision, been leaving small and large written messages on the former concrete ruins of camp buildings. There are some who have reportedly broken off portions of barbed wire leftover from the prison years, that were coiled up near a path just across Lorne Street. While it was there, our boys used to break-off chunks once a week, and keep them in a wooden box, because we expected that at any time, the property owner would dispose of the barbed wire, not really knowing its significance. The barb wire even made it to print, in a paragraph of the Canadian POW camp history, "Escape from Canada," noting that former POW's did claim some of the wire as souvenirs, many years after the war.

     This is an important location to be recognized. In fact, I believe it as important as the recognition of Dr. Norman Bethune, and it would be of even greater significance, if it had been acknowledged many decades before now, and given the respect it clearly deserves as a national heritage site. I think that most German visitors would acknowledge the same, that it is what it is! But I think to not recognize it, with a public plaque, or similar site identification, clearly points out, that as a town, we're kind of embarrassed the whole situation occurred in the first place. Why acknowledge the presence of a prisoner of war camp? The fact that the camp at Calydor, was a well run, and generally amicable arrangement for staff and prisoners; and was a credit to Canada and to the host community. Our town handled some of the most ardent, die-hard Nazi prisoners in Canada, and they handled the assignment capably, which should be recognized; not just by a book, but with public recognition, that this was an acreage on beautiful Muskoka Bay that made history every day it was in operation. Now think about this. Calydor began as a sanatorium for tubercular patients. It also treated some Canadian soldiers who had been injured by gas warfare in the trenches of France. Dr. Bethune was a patient at Calydor, before transferring to a sanatorium in New York. Then came the Nazi Prisoner of War Camp years, and then onto the Jewish Gateway Hotel, in its later years. Now its a nice, well treed subdivision, overlooking the sparkling water of a great Muskoka lake. There's a huge whack of history on that property, that does need to be properly addressed by this municipality, and Cecil Porter's book has led the way, to facing this perceived negative aspect of local history, with a proud outlook, about lessons learned……and obstacles overcome.

     I don't expect the homeowners of the new waterfront subdivision, will appreciate tourists walking constantly through their subdivision, and I can understand this. I do believe however, most who have built on the site, know the history of the acreage, and have some reverence of what the land uses have meant to local history. There weren't many camps in Canada, and we had one of them. We had tunnels, we had escapes, and we had lots of drama. Yes you could make a movie about Calydor, and it would be interesting without a doubt.

     I would have liked to take my German friend for a visit to the camp property, but alas we both ran out of free time to wander about the town. He seemed pleased a local citizen was willing to talk candidly about the circumstances of Calydor, without fear of upsetting him with details of camp life, armed guards and failed attempts at escapes. I think other German and European visitors might feel the same, and want to see where the camp was located, and learn more about its history, from tour guides interested in promoting local heritage. I believe, in fact, many folks would like to have this option, and know more about our small town's big role in the Second World War. I always enjoyed giving my tours, and many of those folks, after this, ran their own tours of the sprawling lakeside property. I think it's time to stop fearing that the public recognition of the Calydor Camp, will be detrimental or insulting to our German visitors, and show respect for the fact that even in the most desperate times of world crisis, friendships were being made here in Canada that would last a lifetime, and encourage many Germans to emigrate to our country and region, when given the post war climate of forgiveness.

     I am certainly not suggesting that a museum be constructed and outfitted with memorabilia and articles from the period. I'm not recommending that a huge bill board be erected at the property to acknowledge Camp Calydor, or that a highway sign direct traffic up Lorne Street to see the place Nazis used to reside. I am most definitely suggesting, that a respectful and interpretative marker be considered, at various locations, to at the very least, let those interested in seeing the property, learn more about the years of its service to country and home. I think it should be the subject of special historical walking tours of the town, and can also be respectfully acknowledged in town promotional material, informing the public of our heritage attractions. We are avoiding a huge chunk of international heritage, and those who are part of the "let's leave it alone" group, are doing the community a disservice, at the same time, as they are trying to sanitize heritage on the mistaken hunch, a POW camp can't possibly offer anything positive, and advantageous, so therefore, it should be ignored. If it was a good enough bit of history to base a book, then it is worthy of full town recognition, that it is part of our history……and for our effort as a community, to help the war effort, it should be proudly acknowledged;  credited to our ever-watchful citizens, at the time, who had to contend with the burden of Nazis in their midst, while they listened to the nightly war updates from Europe, on their crackling, static interrupted tube radios. From 1939 to 1946, our town played host to German Prisoners of War. It's fact. So let's get on with our own liberation from the fear of its public recognition, in case someone gets offended. It is wrong-minded to think that this part of our history is either negative, or best forgotten.

Crested Hotel Ware in Muskoka is expensive for the most historic hotels; Railway and Steamship pieces are good investments

A Portion of the Tom Thomson reference books at our shop in Gravenhurst

A classic from Temagami; the Lady Evelyn Hotel

From the top left to right, The Albion Hotel, Elgin House and bottom row Bigwin Inn

CRESTED HOTELWARE IS A BIG DEAL, BUT ARE PRICES JUSTIFIED? MUSKOKA PIECES? HOW HIGH IS HIGH?

SOME COLLECTORS ARE SPECIFIC TO A RESORT, RAIL OR SHIPPING LINE, OR MILITARY

     THERE ARE COLLECTORS AMONGST US, PLEASANT, DETERMINED FOLKS, WHO LOVE THEIR CRESTED HOTELWARE. AS THOSE WHO COLLECT STERLING SILVER ANTIQUITIES, AND OTHERS WHO COLLECT ENGLISH-MADE CERAMIC TEA POTS, HOTELWARE ADMIRERS ARE JUST AS PASSIONATE TO FILL OUT THEIR SHELVES WITH BIG FINDS. THE CEILING? THERE REALLY ISN'T ONE UNLESS IT IS SELF IMPOSED. I LIKE COLLECTING FIELDS THAT CAN NEVER TRULY BE CONQUERED. AND IN HOTELWARE THE SKY IS THE LIMIT. THEY MAY HAVE AMASSED THOUSANDS OF EXAMPLES, AND WHEN YOU FIND OUT, AS IS MOST DEFINITELY THE CASE, HOW MANY VARIATIONS THERE ARE, YOU MIGHT ALSO EXPECT TO FIND THOSE WHO ARE SPECIFIC TO A STYLE; FOR EXAMPLE, MUGS, CUPS, OR, MY FAVORITE, HOTELWARE CREAMERS. I'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION TO OFFER, ABOUT THE EXAMPLE SHOWN ABOVE, WITH THE IMAGE OF A MOOSE ON THE SIDE. READ ON!
     ONE OF OUR FIRST MAJOR MUSKOKA COLLECTABLE FINDS, AS ANTIQUE DEALERS, WAS A CRESTED "SIDE PLATE" (FOR BREAD OR BUN) FROM ONE OF THE VINTAGE STEAM BOATS, PART OF THE MUSKOKA NAVIGATION FLEET IN ITS HEYDAY. WHEN MY COLLECTOR MATE, BOB BOOTH, CAME INTO THE SHOP A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE REMINISCED ABOUT THAT PLATE, BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE WHO PURCHASED IT, BACK IN THE MID 1980'S. WE'VE HAD OTHER NAVIGATION COMPANY HOTELWARE, BUT YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST. BACK THEN, WE SOLD IT FOR TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS, AND BOB KNEW THAT IT WAS NOT ONLY A BARGAIN, BUT ONE THAT WOULD BECOME OF SIGNIFICANT VALUE DOWN THE ROAD. WE SHARED A LAUGH ABOUT HOW FAR WE BOTH GO BACK IN THE MUSKOKA COLLECTING FIELD. HE CLAIMS TO HAVE BEEN COLLECTING THIS STUFF FOR ABOUT FIFTY YEARS, LOOKING AT ME AS BEING THE ROOKIE, AT ONLY FORTY YEARS. FOR ME, IT ALL BEGAN WHEN MY GIRLFRIEND AT THE TIME, GAIL SMITH, STOPPED AT AN AUCTION SALE IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND SUGGESTED I MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN CHECKING OUT THE ANTIQUES UP FOR SALE. IT'S WHERE I BOUGHT MY FIRST VINTAGE CANADIAN OIL LAMP FOR TWENTY BUCKS. THAT'S HOW MUCH SHE LOANED ME, BECAUSE I WAS DOWN TO LINT IN MY NOT-VERY-DEEP POCKETS. SO WHILE I DON'T HAVE FIFTY YEARS UNDER MY BELT, I'M DEFINITELY PAST THE ROOKIE LEVEL. WE GOT TOGETHER IN THE MID 1980'S BECAUSE OF CRESTED HOTELWARE, AND WE'RE STILL MEETING UP TO DISCUSS ACQUISITIONS, OF THE SAME STYLE OF COLLECTABLES, IN THIS SECOND DECADE OF A NEW CENTURY. SO AS MUCH AS I CRITIQUE THE HIGH PRICES OF CRESTED HOTELWARE, ESPECIALLY IN MUSKOKA, I DO VERY MUCH UNDERSTAND ITS APPEAL TO DEALERS AND COLLECTORS. FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSES? WELL, MOST OF THESE CRESTED PIECES HAVE HELD THEIR VALUE AT THE VERY LEAST. AS FOR THE NAVIGATION COMPANY PLATE? I THINK NOW, ON THE OPEN MARKET, A SMALL PLATE WITH CREST, WOULD SELL IN THE RANGE FROM A HUNDRED DOLLARS, TO ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY, DEPENDING ON CONDITION. NOT A HUGE INCREASE IN VALUE, BUT PRETTY GOOD FOR A SMALL   PLATE.
     HOW RIDICULOUS CAN PRICES GET? WE HAVE BEEN OFFERED FIFTY DOLLARS FOR A SHARD OF HOTELWARE, THAT SHOWS THE "ROSTREVOR" RESORT CREST. APPARENTLY, THESE EXAMPLES ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY. ROSTREVOR WAS A POPULAR RESORT LOCATED NEAR THE VILLAGE OF WINDERMERE. THE FRAGMENT OF THE ROSTREVOR PLATE, WAS FOUND ALONG THE SHORE OF LAKE ROSSEAU, WHERE SUZANNE'S FAMILY USED TO HAVE A COTTAGE. I HAVE BEEN IN ANTIQUE SHOPS THAT HAVE HAD SHARDS-FOR-SALE, AND IT ALWAYS AMAZES ME THE VALUATIONS. I SUPPOSE SOMEONE MUST BE BUYING THEM, TO ESTABLISH THESE ADVANCING ASKING PRICES. IF I'D KNOWN THIS, AS A MUCH MORE NIMBLE, YOUNGER MAN, I WOULD HAVE SPENT A LOT MORE TIME CANOEING, ALONG THE SHORELINES OF OUR MUSKOKA LAKES, LOOKING FOR DISCARDED POTTERY FROM THE HOTELS. JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE LAKES WERE ROUTINELY USED AS DUMP SITES FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY. SUZANNE USED TO INSIST THAT WE TAKE THE CANOE OUT, AFTER MAJOR STORMS, BECAUSE OF WHAT THE WAVE ACTION WOULD STIR UP ON THE LAKE-BOTTOM, AND PUSH ASHORE. SHE PULLED A "BROWN'S BEVERAGES" SELTZER BOTTLE OUT OF THE LAKE ONE DAY, AND LOTS OF POTTERY PIECES AND OLD GLASS. THE SAME FOR ME, WHEN I WAS DIGGING AT OLD COMMUNITY AND HOMESTEAD DUMP SITES. THE PROBLEM IN THIS CASE, WAS THAT NASTY PIECE OF BUSINESS, KNOWN AS PRIVATE PROPERTY. THE BEST SITES WERE ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, AND BY TIME YOU GOT PERMISSION, AND ROUSED THE OWNER'S ATTENTION, NEXT THING, WAS THEIR OWN FULL SCALE EXCAVATION OF THE RETIRED DUMPS. THEN THEY WOULD BE SELLING THE OLD BOTTLES AT THEIR YARDS SALES. SO HUNTING THE WATERWAYS FOR WASHED UP COLLECTABLES, INCLUDING BOTTLES AND HOTELWARE, WAS THE EASIEST, LESS CUMBERSOME PROJECT. IT DOES HAVE ITS RISKS, LIKE DUMPING, WITH ALL THE FINDS GOING BACK TO THE BOTTOM. YOU SEE, SOMETIMES YOU CAN STRETCH TOO FAR OUT OF THE CANOE, TO REACH THAT EVASIVE PLATTER OR TORPEDO BOTTLE PROTRUDING FROM THE MUD. BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHAT; LIKE MY COLLECTOR FRIEND DAVE BROWN WAS FAMOUS FOR, ESPECIALLY IN THE RETRIEVAL OF LOGGING INDUSTRY ARTIFACTS, A CRESTED WINDERMERE HOUSE OR NAVIGATION COMPANY PLATTER, WOULD GET ME JUMPING OUT OF THE WATERCRAFT. ACTUALLY, I'D JUMP OUT OF THE CANOE FOR ABOUT A BILLION DIFFERENT REASONS THESE DAYS, AS COLLECTABLES HAVE BEGUN OVER-TAKING LARGER ANTIQUES, AS THE NEW HOLY GRAILS. I LIKE COLLECTING PRIMITIVE PINE AND FOLK ART, BUT MORE AFFORDABLE NOSTALGIA PIECES ARE GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION THESE DAYS; LEAVING THE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE AND SPACE INTENSIVE FURNITURE FOR SOMEONE ELSE. THIS IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE I'VE SEEN IN THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS IN RECENT HISTORY. WE SELL FURNITURE PIECES BUT NOT LIKE WE DID IN YEARS PAST.
     OUR COLLECTOR ALLY, CHRIS THOMSON, OF GRAVENHURST, WITH FAMILY ROOTS IN BRACEBRIDGE. AND THE REGION OF ALMAGUIN, BROUGHT IN FOR OUR DISPLAY OF CRESTED HOTELWARE, TWO FINE CONDITION EXAMPLES, OF DISHES FROM LEGENDARY BIGWIN INN, OF LAKE OF BAYS, (FORMER GRAND HOTEL NEAR BAYSVILLE, ONTARIO), A CRESTED PIECE FROM THE FORMER ELGIN HOUSE RESORT, ON LAKE JOSEPH, NEAR PORT SANDFIELD, AND "THE ALBION" HOTEL, OF GRAVENHURST. THE MOST VALUABLE PIECES ARE FROM BIGWIN INN, BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT MUSKOKA DISTRICT RESORTS OF ITS PERIOD, AND THERE HAS BEEN A LOT WRITTEN ABOUT ITS HEYDAY. PRICES ARE PROPORTIONAL TO PUBLICITY, AND AVAILABLE REFERENCE MATERIAL, AND BIGWIN CONTINUES TO BE WELL RECOGNIZED EVEN IN THIS NEW CENTURY. WHILE ELGIN HOUSE WAS A POPULAR RESORT, IT FALLS BEHIND IN VALUE GENERALLY, TO CRESTED HOTELWARE FROM WINDERMERE HOUSE, THE ROYAL MUSKOKA HOTEL, CLEVELANDS HOUSE, AND APPARENTLY, ROSTREVOR. ROSTREVOR OF COURSE, IS MORE VALUABLE BECAUSE IT IS IN SHORT SUPPLY. THE ALBION HOTEL WOULD BE MORE VALUABLE IF IT WAS CRESTED AS BEING FROM GRAVENHURST, AS THERE WERE QUITE A NUMBER OF ALBION HOTELS OUT THERE.
     I SHOULD NOTE HERE, THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE CASE OF BIGWIN INN, THERE WERE LATER EDITIONS OF THE CRESTED HOTELWARE, AND WHILE I USED TO BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE ART WORK, AND COLORATION, TODAY I ONLY SEEM TO BE ABLE TO JUDGE AN OLD PIECE FROM ONE THAT IS NEWER, BY EXAMINING THE CERAMIC FINISH ITSELF, AND CHECKING FOR DECADES OF WEAR. IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THE NEWER HOTELWARE FROM BIGWIN WAS ONLY USED FOR A FRACTION OF THE TIME, OF THE ORIGINAL CRESTED COLLECTION, SO IT SHOULD SHOW LESS WEAR AND CRAZING. NOT ALWAYS A SURE THING BUT I DO COUNT ON MY MAGNIFYING APPARATUS A LOT. BUT IN THE MARKET PLACE, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO MATTER A LOT, BETWEEN THE PRINTING DATES, AS RELATES TO PRICING. IN SOME CASES, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE ART WORK OF THE CREST, AND THE COLORATIONS, WHICH OF COURSE DATES THE PIECES, AND CAN INCREASE THE VALUATIONS.
     WHILE MUSKOKA COLLECTORS ARE KEEN TO GO AFTER THE MAIN RESORTS AND NAVIGATION COMPANY, AS FAR AS CRESTED HOTELWARE GOES, I STILL BELIEVE THAT GOOD CONDITION PIECES FROM CANADIAN PACIFIC AND CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAYS, AND ASSOCIATED STEAMSHIP LINES, ARE MUCH MORE POPULAR AMONGST CANADIAN COLLECTORS GENERALLY, THAN REGIONAL ITEMS. AS FAR AS TRANSPORTATION GOES, ANYTHING FROM CUNARD OR WHITE STAR LINES, IS HIGHY COLLECTABLE, AND IN SOME CASES, DEPENDING ON THE SHIPS, THE PRICES ARE SUBSTANTIAL (OF NOSE BLEED ELEVATION), AND IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON STARTING A COLLECTION, YOU WILL NEED TO BE EITHER A GREAT SLEUTH, OUT ON THE HUSTINGS, OR HAVE DEEP, DEEP POCKETS. IF YOU HAVE HOTELWARE THAT WAS ACQUIRED (RESCUED) BEFORE A SHIP WAS SUNK, LIKE THE "LUSITANIA," "THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND," OR THE "TITANIC," YOU'VE MADE A GOOD INVESTMENT. THE SAME CAN GO FOR MILITARY CRESTED HOTEWARE, WHICH OF COURSE, DEPENDS ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE SPECIFIC PIECE. WE'VE HAD LOTS OF CANADIAN REGIMENTAL HOTELWARE OVER THE YEARS, SUCH AS FROM THE QUEEN'S OWN RIFLES," AND FROM THE "ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE;" AND EVEN FROM BRITISH AND AMERICAN MILITARY OR NAVAL DIVISIONS. POINT IS, IF YOU WERE INTERESTED IN COLLECTING CRESTED HOTELWARE, RIGHT DOWN TO THE SILVERWARE, TEA CUPS AND SAUCERS AND COFFEE MUGS, YOU WOULD NEED A WAREHOUSE AFTER FIVE YEARS OF SPENDING AND COLLECTING. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF EXAMPLES, AND SOME OF THEM, MOST DEFINITELY, CAN BE ACQUIRED FOR PENNIES, FROM CHURCH RUMMAGE SALES, THRIFT SHOPS, SECOND HAND SHOPS, AUCTIONS AND YES, NEIGHBORHOOD YARD SALES. THERE'S NO SHORTAGE, IF YOU ARE JUST INTERESTED IN GETTING A SAMPLING OF CRESTED HOTELWARE ETC., AND AFTERALL, WE PURCHASED THAT FIRST MUSKOKA NAVIGATION COMPANY PLATE, FROM THE LOCAL THRIFT SHOP FOR A QUARTER. THEY'RE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN, BUT AS FAR AS ARDENT COLLECTORS GO, WE STILL KNOW THERE ARE OTHERS OUT THERE; SO IF YOU'RE HUSTLING ABOUT FROM SALE TO SALE, MAYBE YOU'LL FIND AN ENGRAVED SPOON, FROM THE STEAMER SAGAMO, (A MUSKOKA LAKES STEAMSHIP), A NAVIGATION COMPANY OVAL PLATTER, OR EVEN A ROSTREVOR DINNER PLATE, AMONGST THE YARD SALE INVENTORIES. THE MUSKOKA CRESTED PIECES ARE IN DEMAND. THEY ARE SO RARE IN FACT, THAT WE HAVE STOPPED SELLING THEM, IN ORDER THAT WE CAN BUILD BACK OUR COLLECTION OF ONCE, AND NOW OFFER THEM AS DISPLAY "EXAMPLES," FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE. WE CAN APPRAISE THESE PIECES FOR CUSTOMERS, AND WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO BUYING MUSKOKA PIECES, BUT WE WON'T BE SELLING THEM.
     ONE OF THE NEATEST CRESTED PIECES CHRIS BROUGHT TO SHOW US, AND OFFER FOR DISPLAY, IS A WONDERFUL LITTLE HOTELWARE CREAMER, WITH THE IMAGE OF A MOOSE AS PART OF THE CREST, FROM THE FORMER "LADY EVELYN HOTEL," IN TEMAGAMI, WHICH ACCORDING TO THE ACCOMPANYING NOTE, WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE YEAR 1906, BY DAN O'CONNOR, WHO HAD ALSO LAUNCHED A STEAMSHIP COMPANY, ON LAKE TEMAGAMI. HE ALSO WENT ON TO BUILD THREE HOTELS ON THE LAKE, ONE OF THEM, OF COURSE, KNOWN AS THE "LADY EVELYN." IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP OF TODAY'S BLOG YOU WILL SEE AN IMAGE OF THE LITTLE CRESTED JUG, AND THE TRADEMARK MOOSE. THIS IS A GEM, AND EVEN THOUGH IT HAS A HAIRLINE CRACK, IT IS A GREAT RELIC OF TEMAGAMI HISTORY. I WOULD LOVE A WHOLE SHELF OF CRESTED CREAMERS. THIS IS ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES I'VE SEEN, OF CRESTED CREAMERS, OF WHICH THERE ARE THOUSANDS FROM HOTELS AND RESORTS ALL ACROSS CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. DON'T GET ME STARTED ON WHAT'S AVAILABLE OF EUROPEAN CRESTED HOTELWARE.
     WE ARE INTERESTED, FOR PURCHASE AND DISPLAY, ANY RELICS THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FORMER GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, KNOWN AS "CALYDOR," IN GRAVENHURST, WHICH OPERATED FROM 1939 TO 1946. WE LIVE IN THE PRESENT CALYDOR SUBDIVISION, NAMED AFTER THE HISTORIC BLOCK OF LAND USED FOR THE SECOND WORLD WAR PERIOD PRISON CAMP, BORDERING ON MUSKOKA BAY, OF THE WIDER LAKE MUSKOKA. I'VE WRITTEN QUITE A BIT ABOUT THE CAMPS OVER THE YEARS, AND EVEN CONDUCTED TOURS OF THE PROPERTY BACK IN THE 1990'S. CECIL PORTER WROTE AN INTERESTING HISTORY OF THE PRISON CAMP, WITH SOME OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS, ENTITLED "THE GILDED CAGE." IN THE BOOK, THERE ARE REFERENCES AND A FEW EXAMPLES OF "PRISON ART," THAT WAS CREATED BY THE INMATES, AND OFTEN OFFERED TO GUARDS, RELATED STAFF, FAMILY MEMBERS OF THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH CALYDOR, AND THOSE CITIZENS WHO LIVED IN VICINITY OF THE PRISON. I HAVE OWNED TWO CARVED PINE PIECES, FROM THE CAMP; ONE BEING A BEAUTIFUL PINE PICTURE FRAME, AND A GERMAN NAVY SHIP, ALSO CARVED FROM FOUND PINE ON THE CAMP PROPERTY. THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SPECIAL DINNERWARE (HOTELWARE) BUT I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THIS. ANY FURNISHINGS FROM THE CAMPS, OR COLLECTABLES GENERALLY WITH THAT PARTICULAR PROVENANCE, IS WHAT WE WANT FOR A FUTURE DISPLAY TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE CAMP YEARS. MANY OF OUR GERMAN CUSTOMERS, HAVE ASKED US ABOUT THE CAMP'S HISTORY, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO SHOW THEM MORE THAN JUST MR. PORTER'S FINE BOOK ON THE SUBJECT. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY CAMP CALYDOR RELICS, FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, FILM, TO BENCHES, CHAIRS, BOOKS AND PAINTINGS, YOU MIGHT WISH TO SELL OR SHARE AS EXHIBIT PIECES.
     THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. LOTS MORE GOOD STUFF ON THE WAY.