AN UNDER-APPRECIATED HERITAGE RESOURCE
WE DO A LOT OF RESOURCE SHARING WITH FAMILY HISTORIANS. SOMETIMES THEY HAVE SOMETHING NEAT TO SHARE WITH US, AND WE LIKELY HAVE SOMETHING IN OUR FILES, TO HELP WITH THEIR ANCESTRY RESEARCH. WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR THE PAST QUARTER CENTURY, AND IT HAS GIVEN US ACCESS TO SOME OUTSTANDING ARCHIVES MATERIAL, WE COULDN'T POSSIBLY AFFORD; CONSIDERING MUCH OF IT ISN'T FOR SALE AT ANY PRICE. FAMILY HISTORIES FOR EXAMPLE. WAR TIME LETTERS FROM OVERSEAS. JOURNALS. DIARIES. SOME WE CAN'T PRINT BECAUSE OF THE SENSITIVE NATURE OF THE MATERIAL, BUT FOR CONTEXT, THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY PRECIOUS. WE HAVE HAD MANY VALUABLE HERITAGE RESOURCES IN OUR POSSESSION, ON LOAN, AND WE ALWAYS GUARANTEE CONFIDENTIALITY. I WANT TO KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT LOCAL HISTORY AS POSSIBLE, AND EVEN IF THE INFORMATION CAN'T BE REPRODUCED, OR PUBLISHED, THE FACT IT PROVIDES US WITH THE TRUTH OF INDIVIDUAL REALITIES, AS THEY RELATED TO MUSKOKA, I'M JUST DELIGHTED TO POSSESS THE KNOWLEDGE, CONFIDENTIAL OR NOT. AS HISTORIANS, THERE IS NO CAP TO THE INFORMATION WE NEED, TO BE ABLE TO REASON HISTORICAL TRUTHS AND FALSEHOODS, AND ON A LOT OF OCCASI0NS, HAVING THESE FIRST PERSON ACCOUNTS, DEBUNKS A LOT OF PREVIOUSLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTS.
I WAS ALLOWED TO READ THROUGH THE DAY JOURNALS OF THE TILLSON FAMILY YEARS, OF THE ANGLO CANADIAN TANNERY, FORMERLY OF BRACEBRIDGE, ABOUT TWENTY YEARS AGO, AND I MADE COPIOUS NOTES AS I SLOWLY, AND LOVINGLY, STUDIED EACH PAGE, WHICH EVEN INCLUDED WEATHER REPORTS OF THE TIME. THERE WERE TWO BOOKS, AND THEY WERE AMAZING AND COULD HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO A REGIONAL BOOK, BASED ON THE INTERESTING INCLUSIONS, THAT WERE HONEST AND NOT CENSORED, ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE BUSINESS, ITS STEAMSHIP, AND THE EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED AT THE TANNERY. I DID WRITE A FEATURE STORY ABOUT THEM FOR A WEEKLY PAPER, KNOWN AS "THE MUSKOKA ADVANCE," BUT I COULD HAVE EASILY WRITTEN TEN TO FIFTEEN ARTICLES. THEY WEREN'T STRICTLY BUSINESS JOURNALS. THE COVERED A LOT OF COMPANY INVOLVEMENTS, AND EVEN WHAT IT WAS LIKE ON THE RIVER, AND LAKES, ON THE COMPANY STEAMSHIP. THERE WAS A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SOCIAL / CULTURAL HISTORY INCLUDED AS WELL. I WANTED THOSE BOOKS. THE OWNER HAD NO INTEREST, AT THAT POINT, OF SELLING THEM. I THINK I MENTIONED, THAT IF HE SHOULD EVER CHANGE HIS MIND, WELL, WOULD HE PLEASE CONSIDER SELLING THEM TO ME. I HAVEN'T HEARD YET, BUT I'M STILL HOPEFUL.
Our friends, from Gravenhurst, who are doing some family history sleuthing, have found a couple of great regionally significant telephone directories, from the 1930's, and 1940's, specifically because they contained the names of some of their Bracebridge relatives. We were allowed to have a look through the 1940's book ourselves, and it took Suzanne thirty seconds, to find her kin folk in the Ufford and Windermere section; including her grandfather, Sam Stripp, on her father's side, and John Shea, on her mother's. She found a whole bunch of Sheas and Veitches she's related to, and alas, I found nary a one on my side. We didn't arrive in Bracebridge until the mid-1960's. It always feels kind of weird looking through these old phone books, when you come upon family members, and think for one crazy second, "hey, I wonder if they'd answer, if I rang them up?"
The reason they're so important for regional historians, beyond the obvious validation of addresses and spelling, and of course the advertisements, is the fact that many of the phone-owners listed, have companion professions noted beside their names. The book even notes if you were a "cottager" or "seasonal" resident. Also, you can find out what you relatives specialized in, just in case you didn't already know. Suzanne's grandfather, Sam Stripp was a house painter, and this is recorded as such. There are examples of those listed as being, plumbers, lineman, butchers, bakers, contractors, carpenters, accountants, and lawyers. But these are not yellow page or business listings. These are inclusions on the white page phone directory.
If you're interested in the old Muskoka resorts, a large number were still in operation in the 1940's, as are some of the well known boat works of the district.
We use books like this to confirm the spelling of names, as a means of cross referencing with other stories we happen to be working on, although it should not be considered that Bell Telephone never made spelling mistakes in the past. Often, we will call on books like this, to confirm, for example, that a store or professional enterprise, did operated from a certain place in the main street business corridor, when other claims state the contrary. This gives us some proof to support our claims, and believe me, it does happen. I can remember having a huge argument with my former newspaper colleague, Robert Boyer, also one of the areas noted historians, about the positioning of William "Bill" Anderson's Barber Shop on Manitoba Street. He claimed my feature column on Bill was wrong, and that Bill never occupied the corner shop in the old Patterson Hotel, just opposite the clock tower, of the old federal building, at the intersection of Thomas Street. Bob didn't get his hair cut there; but I did. I found all kinds of evidence to support my claim, and validate my column, but the best proof (positive), came when the building was being renovated a couple of years ago, and the building owner, Don Skinner, told me they had found Bill Anderson art work, in that corner of the building, buried beneath some of the facade panelling erected when the hotel was turned into an entertainment venue in the late 1970's, early 80's. Bob and I used to spar all the time, and it was a fifty-fifty draw if you looked at the hundred or so debates we got into, usually about local heritage matters. To get one up on Bob was miraculous, as he had such amazing recall, and his own century plus archives stuffed into his tiny Dickensian office, at the old Herald-Gazette building, on Dominion Street.
Shown above, are some of the graphics from this on-loan 1940's Bell Telephone directory, which by the way, has an appraised market value, of about $175. It's in great condition as well. I will have some similar graphics from a 1930's phone directory coming soon. I want to thank these kind hobby historians, for sharing these important community resources with us; should you have something similar you'd like to show us, well, you know where to find us.
ADVANCE SCREENING - EDITORIAL COPY COMING SOON TO "CURIOUS; THE TOURIST GUIDE," IN THE SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSUE
I HAVE BEEN ASKED BY THE PUBLISHER OF MY FAVORITE FEATURE PUBLICATION, "CURIOUS; THE TOURIST GUIDE," TO WRITE A SERIES OF BRACEBRIDGE RELATED FEATURE STORIES, FOR THE COMING YEAR. I AM HONORED TO DO THIS, BECAUSE IT'S WHAT I KNOW BEST, AS I'VE BEEN WRITING ABOUT MY FORMER HOMETOWN SINCE THE LATE 1970'S.
THE COLUMN I'M PUBLISHING IN THIS BLOG, LIKE AN ARTIST'S SKETCH, THAT IS IMPROVED UPON NUMEROUS TIMES, BEFORE IT IS CONSIDERED THE BEST IT CAN BE, IS PROBABLY THE FIFTH ONE I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THE OLD CLOCK TOWER, ON THE FORMER POST OFFICE BUILDING ON MANITOBA STREET. THE FIRST ONE I WROTE, WAS BACK BEFORE THE YEAR 2000, AND I WAS SO PLEASED TO GET A LETTER BACK, FROM THE BUILDING OWNER, BOB BURTON, WHO WAS DELIGHTED WITH THE STORY; SO MUCH SO, THAT HE INVITED ME TO COME AND CLIMB THE TOWER, TO SEE THE TIME PIECE, AND LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ITS MECHANICS. WELL, LIKE SO MANY THINGS THESE DAYS, WORK GOT IN THE WAY, AND BY TIME I WAS READY TO VISIT THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE CLOCK THAT HAD BEEN KEEPING ME ON MY TIME FOR SO MANY YEARS, BOB HAD SOLD THE BUILDING, AND THE TOUR NEVER HAPPENED. I HOPE ONE DAY I CAN GET AN INSIDE LOOK BUT THAT WILL TAKE AN INVITATION.
POINT IS, WHILE THIS COLUMN MAY SEEM AWFULLY FAMILIAR, TO OTHER FEATURE BLOGS ABOUT THE OLD FEDERAL BUILDING, THIS IS THE END RESULT OF SKETCHING AND RE-TOUCHING MANY, MANY TIMES, TO GET IT RIGHT, AND WITH, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, A MINIMUM OF WORDS. I AM A DIE-HARD ROMANTIC, AND THROUGH EVERY ROMANCE I HAD, BACK IN MY YOUTH, THIS CLOCK TOWER PLAYED A CENTRAL ROLE; IT KEPT ME ON TIME FOR MY FIRST DATE, LET ME KNOW THE APPROXIMATE TIME OF MY FIRST KISS, ONE SNUCK ON THE WAY HOME ALONG THE TRAIN TRACKS, AND THEN, WHEN I GOT DUMPED, I'D LOOK AT THOSE ILLUMINATED CLOCK DIALS, AND PONDER IF, IN TIME, I WOULD EVER RECOVER FROM THE IMPACT OF LOVE LOST. SO WHEN I WAS ASKED TO WRITE SOME SPECIAL BRACEBRIDGE HERITAGE COLUMNS, I DECIDED TO RE-FASHION THIS WELL-USED STORY-LINE, BUT MAKE IT NEW AND IMPROVED; AND ONE THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL ALL THE BASES WERE COVERED, AND THAT IT WOULD BE JUST AS RELEVANT IN A QUARTER CENTURY, AS IT SHOULD BE AT PRESENT. WHILE IT MAY SEEM A REPEAT OF AN ARCHIVES COPY, IT IS NEWLY REFURBISHED, TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE DAY. SO HERE'S A SNEAK PREVIEW. IF YOU GET A CHANCE TO PICK-UP A COPY OF "CURIOUS; THE TOURIST GUIDE," YOU WILL FIND A GREAT ONTARIO COMMUNITY DIRECTORY, WITH MAPS, TO ASSIST WITH DAY TRAVELS. IN THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION, WE MAKE USE OF IT CONSTANTLY WHEN WE GET OUR OR FAMILIAR ZONE; AND WANT TO KNOW WHAT SPECIAL EVENTS ARE GOING ON IN OTHER PARTS OF THIS GREAT PROVINCE.
THANKS FOR JOINING ME TODAY. WE HAVE JUST COME BACK FROM A DAY TRIP INTO HURONIA, AND WE CAME BACK WITH SOME GREAT FINDS; FROM A REALLY NICE HOFFNER HOLLOW BODY GUITAR, TO A SCOTTISH PIPER'S JACKET FROM BURNETT'S & STRUTH - SCOTTISH REGALIA LTD., AN ORIGINAL STEAM TRAIN WATERCOLOR BY AN ARTIST, BY THE NAME OF GEORGE MENENDEZ RAE, WHO WORKED ON THE WARTIME EDUCATIONAL COMIC BOOK CANADIAN HEROES AND CREATED THE CHARACTER, "CANADA JACK." LOTS OF FOLK ART, SOME GLASS, AND BRIC 'A BRAC FOR OUR CUSTOMERS; WHO BY THE WAY, KEEP US HOPPING, WITH THEIR WIDE RANGING INTERESTS IN COLLECTIBLES. ALSO SO SOME GREAT VINTAGE BOOKS, INCLUDING A REALLY NEAT REGIONAL HISTORY OF "THE GASPE," SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. I'LL LET YOU IN ON SOME MORE OF THESE FINDS, LATER THIS WEEK. HERE NOW IS A RE-EXAMINATION OF THE OLD CLOCK TOWER, AND WHY IT WAS THE BEACON OF MY YOUTH.
THE EYES OF ECKELBURG - THE CLOCK TOWER FACES THAT WATCHED OVER US
By Ted Currie
If you asked any citizen of urban Bracebridge today, how they felt about the edifice of the old clock tower, I'm reasonably confident, not a single person would have much more to say, than "yes, I know what you're talking about," and "I know where it is on the main street," but not much more. Unless of course you happen to be the building owner, or maintain the clock's inner workings. Afterall, it's not required knowledge, in order to qualify as a citizen of Bracebridge, to be able to recite the history of the former federal post office building, dating back to 1914, of which the large tower is attached at its north end. If however, you were to think back on all the times you consulted its glowing dials, to find out the time of day, or gazing upon it as an urban landmark, it's likely you could find poetic parallels and analogies, about rural charms of small town culture.
I remember having a discussion with my editor colleague, at the former Herald-Gazette, Robert Boyer, shortly after I joined the staff of Muskoka Publications, about the history of the clock tower. He rustled for a few moments, through his clutter of old paper, and books, and found some handwritten notes he had made, about the former post office, published in the text of his 1975 town history, "A Good Town Grew Here."
"Throughout the year, 1914, the work on the new post office building, in Bracebridge, was proceeding," wrote Mr. Boyer. "Bracebridge Council sent an enquiry to William Wright, M.P., asking for a clock to be installed in the tower, and received the reply that this already had been provided for. The new clock was installed in November (1914) by J.H. Elliott, Bracebridge, and the familiar timepiece was described as having four dials, each four and a half feet across, with hands two and a half feet long, the faces to be lighted up by electricity and striking bell weighing 800 pounds." It was officially opened on May 4th, 1915.
There was no escaping those large illuminated eyes, of the old red brick clock tower, of the long retired federal building, positioned so stately, on the corner of Manitoba and Thomas Streets, in the heart of historic Downtown Bracebridge.
I remember reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby," in english class, at Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, and then walking home for lunch one afternoon, and suddenly, as if I had never seen them before, looking up at the clock faces, of the impressive tower, and making a literary connection to the book.
I was probably only sixteen, when Fitzgerald sparked my interest in analogies and metaphors, in the literary sense, and I stood there, on the west side of Manitoba Street, looking up at the huge clock face, and thinking about the author's reference to "the Eyes of Eckleburg." This is an important reference point in the novel, being a sign-board advertisement, for an optometrist's eye glass service. These were, in so many ways, my own reference points, with those four directional faces, pointing east, west, north, and south. In my days growing up in Bracebridge, the clock tower watched over me, day and night.
It kept me on time for lunch and dinner, if I had been hanging around the downtown too long. Coming home from swimming at Bass Rock, or from a game of road hockey up on Liddard Street, I could see if I was in trouble, long before I met my mother coming down the street, shaking her finger at me for being late. Knowing I was late, after consultation with the clock tower, I could prepare my strategy, to stave off my mother's reprimand. The clock seemed kindly in that way, but I can't explain why I feel that way.
If you didn't see it first, the chimes on the hour, would remind you it was still on duty, as social / cultural beacon of the old town.
Each day, on the way to school, walking down the daunting slope of Hunt's Hill, I would catch my first image of the clock tower, on the brink of the decline, either through the heavy, wind-blown flurries of an early winter snowfall, or the rain and mist of an early morning in spring. In the late spring it was wreathed in the deep green of the background hardwoods, of the more westerly Dominion Street, and in late September, it was story-book picturesque, to see it draped with the maple crimsons of the harvest season.
Those clock faces followed all of us citizens, through the days of our lives, whether we knew it or not. On mornings when I felt chipper, heading off to school, those clock faces had an imbedded sense of joy. On days when I was feeling lowly, they seemed to sense the need for brightness and good cheer. I can remember clicking my heels coming down that hillside, in the early evening of warm September day, anticipating the good graces of a date with my girlfriend. I can remember times, walking back up those hills, as if carrying cement blocks, having just been despatched by the same girlfriend, who had apparently found someone else. I'd look back at the tower, as if I needed to remember the time, of my latest, greatest desolation of love, and relationship.
I looked at those illuminated faces, on the way home after high school graduation, and I still recall getting misty-eyed, when I drove by the tower, on my way out of town, to attend university for that first week away from home. And when I'd return, it would be the first architectural icon that I would look for, travelling north over the famous Silver Bridge, across the cataract of Bracebridge Falls. Just as it had welcomed us to town, when we first arrived here, in the late winter of 1966, as urban refugees, hoping for a better life, in what my mother called, with considerable affection, "Sleepy Hollow."
The night that my son Andrew was born, I made a point of checking out the time, on the bright clock faces, on the way home from the hospital. I did the same when second son, Robert, arrived in this world. It seemed important to make this contact, as somewhat tradition, of what I had always done since childhood, hiking to and from school in all kinds of weather.
The day my mother died, I did the same, on the way back from the nursing home. When my father died, less than two years later, I actually paused at the intersection of River Road, where my parents used to live, and what I once knew as Thomas Street, or Toronto Street as it became, at west edge of the Hunt's Hill bridge. I stopped the car at the side of the road, and I studied my "Eyes of Eckleburg," the clock faces, that had always been a friendly beacon of small-town commonplace, and kinship with everyone else who called Bracebridge their hometown.
I saw them on my Christmas Day walks. I was intrigued by their festive, promising glow, beaming through the icy mist, on New Year's Eve, when I'd stand for a few moments, coming down the hill, to more fully comprehend the full measure of my own history here; and what pray tell, was yet to come. I remember walking to the skating rink, with my then girlfriend, Linda Dawson, and being drawn to the dials, as if I felt time should stand still for that teenage romance. I saw them so bright and comforting, on those hot summer nights, when there wasn't even a whisper of breeze, over the width of the Muskoka River, which had been so intense and bitter during winter hikes. I was most allured by these clock faces, in September, when the old town seemed to relax after the busy summer season, and the smell of the harvest permeated the air like a haunting country perfume. The clock tower has meant a lot to many of us, and been an unexpected companion, through the emotions of everyday life. To some, it's just historic architecture, with a clock imbedded in a brick tower. If I was to write a novel, about Bracebridge, it would be impossible not to include the clock tower, as Fitzgerald used the Eyes of Eckleburg as a reference point. There was a resident enchantment with that clock tower I will never forget.
Next time you're in Bracebridge, look up, look way up!
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