Redmond Thomas and HIs Smoking Jacket; Old Folk Tales Never Die

WRITING ABOUT BRACEBRIDGE WITH A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

AS THE SONG SAYS, "I CAN SEE CLEALY NOW!" THUS, I MUST HAVE HAD CLOUDED VISION BEFORE THIS! POSSIBLY!

     A CHIPMUNK JUST RAN OVER MY BIG TOE, FOR THE THIRD TIME SINCE I LODGED UP HERE, ON THE VERANDAH AT BIRCH HOLLOW. THERE'S A PARTICULARLY SNARLY LITTLE RED SQUIRREL, THAT HAS BEEN CHASING THE BLACK AND GREY SQUIRRELS, THROUGH THE TREE TOPS, AND AWAY FROM THE COMMUNAL BIRD AND WILDLIFE FEEDER, FASTENED TO THE RAILING. WHILE THE SQUIRRELS ARE SWINGING FROM THE MAPLE BOUGHS, THE CHIPMUNK HAS FOUND IT THE PERFECT TIME TO VISIT THE FEEDER-PAN FOR SOME NOURISHMENT. THERE ARE BIRD CALLS ALL AROUND HERE, AND A COUPLE OF CROWS ARE CAWING LOUDLY, MUFFLING THE MORE PLEASANT SOUNDS OF INSECTS CHIRPING. I HAVE FOUND A GOOD PLACE TO WRITE TODAY, BUT MOSTLY SUITED TO TALES OF SQUIRRELS, BIRDS AND INTRUSIVE FELLOWS LIKE THIS CHIPMUNK. SO EXCUSE ME FOR MY DEPARTURES FROM THE NORMAL FARE, AS I'M PLEASANTLY TUNED TO THE NATURE SURROUNDING ME; VERSUS REGIONAL HISTORY WHICH SEEMS A LESSER CONCERN IN THIS PARADISE TODAY.
     A FEW MONTHS AGO, I WROTE A BLOG ABOUT MY CHANGING INTERESTS IN HISTORY. THEN, I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION, THAT IN ORDER TO BE RELEVANT WITH TODAY'S MAINSTREAM OF READERSHIP, AND THOSE NEW ERA MUSKOKANS, INCLUDING RESPECTIVE, RECENT HOMETOWNERS, THE ONLY REAL WAY TO REACH THEM, WAS TO TAKE HISTORY TO A MORE CONTEMPORARY LEVEL. THE OLD WAY OF WRITING AND PUBLISHING REGIONAL HISTORIES, IS A VICTIM OF THE WAY HISTORY HAS FOR LONG AND LONG, BEEN TAUGHT IN SCHOOL. THE SCHOOL SYSTEM GENERALLY, HAS DONE NOTHING TO ENHANCE WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE (AND EVEN THEIR PARENTS), THINK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY HISTORY. I LIKED HISTORY CLASS, BUT NOT THE WAY IT WAS BEING TAUGHT. SO MANY OF THE HISTORICAL TOMES AVAILABLE, ESPECIALLY IN THE REGIONAL SENSE (MUCH LIKE NORTH AMERICAN MUNICIPAL AND AREA HISTORIES, HAVE ALWAYS BEEN), ARE GREAT FOR REFERENCE, FOR FAMILY AND HOBBY HISTORIANS; BUT AS FAR AS SITTING DOWN WITH ONE, BY THE LAKE, FOR AN ENJOYABLE READ, MOST OF THE BOOKS TEND TO BE PRETTY MUCH BLACK AND WHITE; BEING STUFFED TO OVERFLOWING WITH FACT, BUT NOT A LOT OF CHARACTER. ANECDOTES, FOLK STORIES, AND MUCH RESEMBLING SOCIAL / CULTURAL HERITAGE, WHICH IS WHAT I LOOK FOR, FROM AUTHORS ADDRESSING THE SUBJECT OF REGIONAL HISTORY.
     THE PROBLEM FOR CONTEMPORARY HISTORIANS, RE-TELLING MANY OF THE SAME OLD STORIES, THAT WERE DULL THE FIRST TIME, IS THAT WE WERE TAUGHT HISTORY THE SAME WAY AS OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS. WE'RE MUCH MORE ENLIGHTENED TODAY, BUT STILL OF THE OPINION HISTORY HAS TO BE PAINFULLY DULL, BECAUSE ANY ATTEMPT TO GLORIFY IT, MEANS EDITORIAL CORRUPTION OF "THE WAY IT WAS." I UNDERSTAND THIS. I DON'T VIOLATE FACTS, JUST TO MAKE A BETTER STORY. I WILL HOWEVER, NEVER APOLOGIZE, FOR USING MY HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE, IN THE WIDER SENSE, TO INFILL AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE, WHEN THERE ARE SERIOUS OMISSIONS IN THE STORY; SUCH WAS THE CASE WITH THE DIARY OF JOHNNY MOON, EXAMINED THIS PAST WEEK. I HAD TO MAKE NUMEROUS TRIPS DOWN TO THE HOLLOW, WHERE HE USED TO LIVE, TO RE-INVENT HIS SHANTY, ON THE NORTH BRANCH OF THE MUSKOKA RIVER, NEAR WILSON'S FALLS, TO RE-CAPTURE THE AURA OF THE ENVIRONS; TO PUT MYSELF IN HIS COMPANY, TO SEE AND FEEL WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE, IN THE MID 1920'S, WHEN HE SET UP HOUSE HERE, AMONGST THE CRITTERS OF THE WOODLANDS, AND THE TALL, TALL PINES AT HIS BACK.
     IN THE LATE PART OF THE SPRING, I HAD A MAJOR DECISION TO MAKE, AS FAR AS MY OWN IMMERSION IN LOCAL HISTORY. I HAD COME TO A SORT OF MURKY CROSS-ROADS IN WRITING AND PRESENTATION, WHEN I FELT THAT THE OLD OUTDATED STANDARDS I HAD ADOPTED, SIMPLY HAD TO GO! I COULD LOOK AT MY DAILY READERSHIP COUNT, AND IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG TO REALIZE, THAT I WAS SCARING FOLKS OFF, WHENEVER I WROTE, WHAT, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, WERE SILENT LECTURES INSTEAD OF INTERESTING STORIES. FIRST OF ALL, OUT OF RESPECT, I WAS STICKING TO SCRIPT, AND BEING AS HONEST AS I COULD BE, WITH THE FACTS AS I POSSESSED THEM. AS SOMEONE WHO FEELS PRETTY CONTEMPORARY, AND STILL HAS A FEW GOOD YEARS TO HAMMER OUT THESE COLUMNS (BLOGS), I STARTED TO FEEL THAT I'D PASSED MY "BEST BEFORE" DATE, AND WAS STAGNATING, EVEN WITH WHAT I CONSIDERED MY "A" MATERIAL. GOSH, I WAS BORING MYSELF TO SLEEP. SOMETHING HAD TO CHANGE IF I WAS GOING TO CONTINUE THESE BLOGS.
     FIRST, I DECIDED TO SWITCH BACK TO BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA HISTORY, FROM MY PRE-OCCUPATION WITH GRAVENHURST. AS A RELATIVE NEWCOMER TO GRAVENHURST, CIRCA 1989, THERE WAS ONLY SO MUCH HISTORY I COULD WRITE ABOUT HERE, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE DAILY ACCESS TO THE HERITAGE ARCHIVES. EVEN THEN, I DON'T CONSIDER IT MY ARCHIVES, JUST BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO LIVE HERE. I FEEL THE SAME ABOUT BRACEBRIDGE, HONESTLY, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER BEEN INVITED TO SHARE THEIR COLLECTION, EXCEPT WHAT IS KEPT AT THE BRACEBRIDGE LIBRARY. SUZANNE AND I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN OWNING OUR OWN ARCHIVES, SO THAT WE HAVE IT AT OUR FINGERTIPS AT ALL TIMES. THIS INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS AND HERITAGE PAPER, AS YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO, OVER THESE PAST THREE YEARS OF DAILY BLOGS. WE HAVE BEEN COLLECTING HERITAGE DOCUMENTS, AND BOOKS, FOR A QUARTER CENTURY AS A MARRIED COUPLE, AND I HAVE BEEN PLAYING AROUND WITH ARCHIVES MATERIALS SINCE I HELPED LAUNCH THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. IT DOES LIMIT, TO ANY SIGNIFICANT DEGREE, WHAT WE HAVE AS ARCHIVE RESOURCES; BUT BECAUSE WE RECEIVE MANY IN-KIND LOANS OF MATERIALS, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE REALLY DON'T HAVE TIME, OR NEED MUCH ELSE, UNLESS IT IS A STARTLING DOCUMENT OR JOURNAL, WE DIDN'T KNOW EXISTED. WE MAKE A POINT OF KNOWING WHAT'S AVAILABLE IN ALL QUARTERS, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY DECIDE NOT TO ACCESS IT, OR THEM.
     WHEN I BEGAN WRITING MORE SERIOUSLY ABOUT BRACEBRIDGE AGAIN, THIS SPRING, WITH A GREATER FOCUS ON SELLING THE THEMES TO A TRULY CONTEMPORARY AUDIENCE, I STARTED COMPOSING, FROM A 2014 PERSPECTIVE INSTEAD; NOT AS IF I WAS LOCKED, AND FORELORNED BY A LONG AGO ERA. I DECIDED, THAT AS PART OF MY BUCKET-LIST, YOU MIGHT SAY, THAT IT WAS INFINITELY MORE IMPORTANT NOW, TO ADDRESS HISTORY AS IF IT WAS A LIVING ENTITY, AND SOMETHING YOU'D TRIP OVER IN THE DARK OF NIGHT, OR SLIDE ON, IF YOU WEREN'T WATCHING WHERE YOU WERE GOING, EVEN IN THE BROAD DAYLIGHT. I DETERMINED THAT IT SERVED NO PURPOSE TO BE A SO-CALLED, SELF-APPOINTED, REGIONAL HISTORIAN, IF NO ONE WAS PAYING ANY ATTENTION. IF READERS WERE TUNING-OUT BECAUSE IT READ TOO MUCH LIKE A HISTORY TEACHER'S LESSON, AT THE CHALK-BOARD, I WAS SERVING NO PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO KILL TIME, AND CLUTTER-UP CYBERSPACE. THIS REVERSAL OF OPINION, WAS PRETTY STARK FOR ME, BEING OF THE MORE CONSERVATIVE ILK, AS FAR AS HISTORY GOES. I GOT THIS OPINION ONE DAY, SITTING IN OUR VEHICLE, PARKED ON THE MAIN STREET OF TOWN, AND WATCHING THE PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICLE TRAFFIC, JUST AS I DID WHEN I WAS A KID, SITTING IN MY DAD'S OLD RUST-BUCKET, IN ABOUT THE SAME LOCATION; BUT MOSTLY ON FRIDAY NIGHTS. THE OCCASIONS WHEN WE SHOPPED AT LORNE'S MARKETERIA.
    I FELT THE NEED TO SPRUCE UP MY WRITING, SO THAT IT WOULD REFLECT MORE HONESTLY, ON THE PERIOD OF RELEVANCE. THE PRESENT. I'D BEEN WRITING AS IF I WAS AN HISTORICAL CHARACTER IN MY OWN STORY, AND HAD TO, BY PROFILE, BE LOCKED-IN TO THE TIME PERIOD I WAS DRAWING UPON, FOR MY SOURCE MATERIAL. WORKS FOR SOME THINGS, BUT FAILS MISERABLY ON OTHERS. I WAS IMBEDDED SO DEEP, I WAS SMOTHERING MY CREATIVE ENTERPRISE ALTOGETHER, AND TAKING THE WHOLE HISTORY THING TO THE EXTREME. WHICH MEANT I NEEDED TO COME UP FOR AIR. I'VE NEVER RETURNED TO MY OLD WAYS, AND I'M NOW IN THE THIRD MONTH OF MY PERSONAL REFORMATION. NOW, I WRITE ABOUT THE EVENTS AND PEOPLE OF THE PAST, BUT ALWAYS WITH BOOTH FEET IN "THE NOW!" THE FIRST STAGE OF THIS REFORMATION, WHICH WAS PRETTY STATUESQUE IN MY OPINION, LIKE A PAIR OF SOCKS, SO DIRTY, THAT THEY STAND BY THEMSELVES, WHEN LEFT ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR, WAS TO RECOGNIZE, THAT ALL MY WORK AS AN HISTORIAN, WOULD BE IRRELEVANT IF NO ONE WAS READING IT; LET ALONE CELEBRATING WHAT GREAT HISTORY WE HAVE IN THIS REGION. I BEGAN TAKING STEPS TO MODERNIZE EVERYTHING I WAS WORKING ON, AND BRING IT TO A CONTEMPORARY LEVEL, THAT WHEN READ, WOULDN'T HAVE THAT CLASSROOM SMELL, OF CHALK, BRUSHES, AND BOREDOM BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS. IN CHIT-CHAT. I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT I HAVE FOUND A WAY OF INFUSING EXCITEMENT INTO THE COPY, AT THE EXPENSE OF ACCURACY, AND HISTORICAL INTEGRITY. I'M TOO COMMITTED TO THIS PROFESSION, TO EVER LET HOLLYWOOD CRAFT ITS WAY INTO MY STORIES. BUT ADDING A LITTLE ELECTRICITY HOWEVER, AND CONTEMPORARY COMPARISONS, AND INSIGHTS, IT'S HARD TO DENY HOW NICE IT IS, TO HAVE ONE FOOT OUT THE DOOR OF THE CLASSROOM, IN THAT BID FOR INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM. HISTORY CAN WEIGH ONE DOWN, IF IT GETS ON TOP.
     MY POINT FOR WRITING THIS OPENING PIECE, IS TO LET YOU KNOW, THAT ALL IS GOING WELL SO FAR, AND I'VE BEEN THRIVING ON THIS NEW "ACTUALITY" PERSPECTIVE, ENHANCING WHAT IS OLD, AND OF LOW LUSTRE, TO THE CONTEMPORARY AUDIENCE. I HAVE FOUND A NUMBER OF WAYS TO REJUVENATE MYSELF TO HISTORICAL REALITIES, AND I WANT TO SHARE IT WITH ALL OF YOU. I WANT THE YOUNGER GENERATION OF MUSKOKA, AND BOTH BRACEBRIDGE AND GRAVENHURST, TO HAVE A GREATER APPRECIATION, FOR WHAT HAS CREATED THE HERITAGE CHARACTER OF THEIR COMMUNITIES. IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THIS, BEFORE YOU PUSH FORWARD WITH PLANS, TO CHANGE WHAT HAS BEEN FIRMLY ANCHORED IN THE MUSKOKA CHRONICLE. HISTORY NEEDS TO BE VIEWED BY TODAY'S CITIZENRY, THROUGH THEIR EYES; NOT JUST THE EYES OF THE HISTORIAN, WITH THE BIAS, THAT ONE HAS TO DIVE IN HEAD FIRST, IN ORDER TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE STORY. TODAY, I PUT THE BLAME ON THE HISTORIAN, FOR NOT BEING INCLUSIVE WITH HIS OR HER AUDIENCE; BEING ALL CITIZENS OF THE TOWN AND REGION, WHO MAY, OCCASIONALLY WONDER, HOW WE CAME TO BE IN THIS BALLYWICK.
     IF I FAIL, IT WILL NOT BE DUE, IN THIS PRESENT ATTEMPT, TO THE LACK OF COMMITMENT, TO MAKE WHAT IS OLD, NEW AGAIN. THERE ARE MANY CITIZENS IN MUSKOKA TODAY, WHO HAVE LITTLE TO NO INTEREST, IN WHAT HAS OCCURRED IN THE PAST, SPECIFICALLY IN OUR REGION; YET THEY WISH TO CHANGE THE SOCIAL / CULTURAL / ECONOMIC CHARACTER OF THE AREA, BECAUSE THEY FEEL IT IS IN OUR BEST INTEREST. THEY ARE, FOR THE MOST PART, HISTORICALLY IGNORANT. THIS BOTHERS ME IMMENSELY, BECAUSE IT MEANS WE'VE FAILED TO IMPRINT ON THESE CONTEMPORARY MOVERS AND SHAKERS, WHO ARE ABOUT TO IMMERSE OUR POPULATION HERE, INTO SOMETHING WE ARE UNFAMILIAR, AND POORLY PREPARED AS COMMUNITIES. NO MATTER WHAT THEY MAY THINK OF HISTORY, IT CAN NOT BE ERASED. TO IGNORE IT, IS LIKE BUILDING ON QUICKSAND, AND THEN WONDERING WHERE, AND WHY, ALL THE BUILDING SUPPLIES AND CONTRACTORS HAVE DISAPPEARED. I GET PARTICULARLY WORRIED AROUND MUNICIPAL ELECTION TIME, BECAUSE EACH TERM, WE ELECT A MAYOR AND COUNCIL WITH WEAK KNOWLEDGE OF LOCAL HISTORY; AND EVERY TIME, IT GETS US INTO A COMPROMISE POSITION, WHEN WE, AS A MATTER OF URGENT REACTION, HAVE TO REMIND THEM, OF THE CONSEQUENCE THEIR ACTIONS MAY BE HAVING ON THE SOLID ROOTS OF OUR LEGACY. I HAVE ALWAYS SEEN IT AS MY JOB TO INFORM THEM, THAT HISTORY IS BIGGER AND MORE CONSEQUENTIAL TO THE FUTURE THAN INITIALLY ASSUMED. IT IS THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.
     IN THE COMING WEEKS AND MONTHS, MY OVERVIEWS OF REGIONAL HISTORY, WILL BE VERY MUCH IN THE CONTEMPORARY SENSE, RELEVANT, AND FROM A MODERNIST PERSPECTIVE. IT MAY TAKE ME AWHILE TO SHAKE OFF THE COBWEBS, FROM MY MANY HOURS HOLED-UP IN AN ARCHIVES ENVIRONMENT, I AM STILL VERY MUCH AN IN-THE-NOW KIND OF WRITER. NOW I HAVE TO PROVE IT TO YOU. LOCAL HISTORY DOES HAVE A LUSTRE; BUT WE HISTORIANS HAVE BEEN TOO CONSERVATIVE TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE FACT.
     I WAS FORCED OUT OF THE STUDIO, AT OUR MAIN STREET SHOP TODAY, SO I'VE HAD TO RETREAT TO THE VERANDAH HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, TO FINISH UP TODAY'S BLOG. IS IT EVER HOT! EVEN IN THE SHADE. BUT, FOR A HEAT-HATER LIKE ME, IT HAS, WITHOUT DOUBT, BEEN A WONDERFUL SUMMER OF MODERATE TEMPERATURES. THANK YOU GOD.



PURCHASED A COPY OF ONE OF MY FAVORITE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORIES - OR BEST STATED, FOLK HISTORIES

"REMINISCENCES," BY REDMOND THOMAS - A BOOK OF CURIOUS TALES ABOUT THE OLD HOME TOWN

    REDMOND THOMAS IS A NAME THE CITIZENS OF BRACEBRIDGE WILL READ ABOUT, AND HAVE AS PART OF COMMUNITY HISTORY, EVEN FIFTY YEARS FROM NOW. YET IN TERMS OF WRITING OUTPUT, I'VE PROBABLY WRITTEN MORE IN ONE YEAR, THAN HE DID DURING HIS LIFE. THE PUBLISHED STORIES ARE WHAT I'M MEASURING THIS AGAINST. BUT HE WROTE STORIES THAT ARE ABOVE AND BEYOND THE USUAL HISTORICAL ESSAYS, INCLUDING THE MANY I HAVE WRITTEN THESE PAST THREE DECADES. HIS CHOICE OF SUBJECTS, WERE WONDERFULLY FOLKISH IN CHARACTER, AND ENTIRELY MEMORABLE, AS YOU ARE ABOUT TO FIND OUT IN THE COMING WEEKS.
    I KNEW REDMOND THOMAS INITIALLY, BECAUSE OF HIS "SMOKING," AND I DON'T MEAN SPECIFICALLY THE FACT HE SMOKED CIGARETTES. THE HEAVY WOOLEN COAT, HE USED TO WEAR TO HOCKEY GAMES, ON COLD JANUARY EVENINGS, WHILE ATTENDING SCHEDULED EVENTS AT THE BRACEBRIDGE MEMORIAL COMMUNITY CENTRE, CAUGHT FIRE ONE NIGHT, AS A DIRECT RESULT OF HIS HABIT. I'M PRETTY SURE IT WAS AT THE TIME OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HUSKIES, INTERMEDIATE "C" CLUB (OR MAYBE THE FORMER MOTO-SKIS). I REMEMBER HIM IN THE OLD ARENA LOBBY, NOT THE ONE TODAY. THE FORMER, WHICH WAS RE-BUILT AFTER STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS WERE FOUND, BACK IN THE LATE 1970'S. THIS WAS THE OCCASION WHEN SOME PUBLIC BUILDINGS WERE SHOWING FAULTS UNDER THE HEAVY SNOW LOAD, AND OUR LOBBY WAS STUDIED AS PART OF THE PROVINCE'S CHECK-UPS. IT WAS A BEAUTIFULLY APPOINTED LOBBY AREA, WITH TWO BUILT-IN WOOD-PANELED PHONE BOOTHS. AT INTERMISSIONS, REDMOND WOULD STAND AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, AND HAVE A CIGARETTE. I REMEMBER ASKING MY DAD, ONE NIGHT, WHO THE MAN WAS WITH THE CIGARETTE ASH, CURVED LIKE A DOWNWARD BANANA. "THAT'S MR. THOMAS," HE ANSWERED. "REDMOND THOMAS. HE'S A LAWYER (JUDGE, I JUST FORGET EXACTLY HOW HE DESCRIBED HIS PROFESSION, BEYOND BEING A PROMINENT MEMBER OF THE LEGAL COMMUNITY.)" I THOUGHT INITIALLY, IT WAS A LITTLE ODD, THAT THE ASH WAS CURVING THE WAY IT WAS, BUT AT ONE POINT, MY DAD DID HAVE TO MENTION TO THE LARGE MAN, THAT HIS COAT WAS SMOKING. SOME OF THE ASH HAD FALLEN ON THE FRONT OF HIS GREAT COAT, AND IT WAS STARTING TO SMOLDER NEAR A BUTTON HOLE. HE THANKED MY FATHER, ED, FLICKED OFF THE OTHER LARGE WARPING SECTION OF ASH, AND VIGOROUSLY RUBBED HIS LARGE HAND OVER THE BURNING AREA. THEN IT WAS TIME TO GO BACK TO THE NEXT PERIOD OF PLAY.
     EVERY TIME I SAW REDMOND THOMAS AFTER THIS, HE WAS ALWAYS IN THE SAME POSITION, AND HIS CIGARETTE ASH ALWAYS HAD ROUGHLY THE SAME APPEARANCE, OF SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BREAK OFF, BUT IT SOMEHOW HELD IN PLACE. SO US KIDS JUST WATCHED AND BET WHEN IT WOULD FALL OFF BY ITSELF. I NEVER SAW HIM ON FIRE AGAIN. WHICH WAS GOOD. WE DIDN'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN. REALLY!
     HE LOVED GOING TO THESE HOCKEY GAMES, AND IT WAS INTERESTING, TO SEE THIS WELL DRESSED GENTLEMAN, UNDER A BLACK HAT, STANDING OUT THERE, ON THE STAIR PLATFORM, LOOKING DOWN ON ALL THE FOLKS WHO HAD COME OUT TO THE GAME; OCCASIONALLY TALKING TO THOSE CITIZENS HE KNEW, ABOUT THE GAME, THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE, OR OCCURRENCES IN THE TOWN THAT SEEMED WORTH TALKING ABOUT. HE WASN'T ONE TO CARRY ON GREAT DISCUSSIONS WHILE WARMING UP, BEFORE THE START OF THE NEXT PERIOD, AND HE STRUCK ME AS A VERY ASTUTE CHARACTER, WHO OBSERVED AND ANALYZED LIFE GOING ON AROUND HIM. I SUPPOSED, IN MY OWN RETROSPECTIVE, OF OUR REGULAR MEETINGS IN THE ARENA LOBBY, THAT HE POSSESSED A DICKENSIAN-LIKE CHARACTER, AS IF HE HIMSELF, HAD BEEN CREATED BY A GREAT WRITER. SCULPTED TO BE SO DIGNIFIED AND FULL OF PROFOUND THOUGHT, AND YET CONTEMPORARY IN THE SENSE, THAT WELL, HE WAS A VERY PUBLIC PERSONALITY. A HOCKEY FAN. HE SEEMED TO TOWER OVER ME, WHEN I'D STAND NEXT TO HIM. IT'S WHAT MOST PEOPLE DID BACK THEN. LEAVE THE COLD STANDS, AND COME TO THE LOBBY AT INTERMISSION. WE'D GET OUR TREATS AT THE SNACKBAR, MAYBE A HOT CHOCOLATE, AND WE'D PEOPLE-WATCH. YOU COULDN'T MISS REDMOND THOMAS, BECAUSE HE WAS DRESSED IN DARK CLOTHES, WITH A HUGE COAT, HAT, SMOKING A CIGARETTE, WITH A LONG, LONG ASH, ON THE HIGHEST PLATFORM IN THE OLD, HIGH-CEILING LOBBY. IT'S LIKE HE WAS OUR OVERSEER, BUT HE NEVER SAID ANYTHING TO US SPECIFICALLY. THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO TELL HIM THAT HIS ASH HAD ONCE AGAIN FALLEN ON HIS COAT, JUST IN CASE HE WAS TO GLARE, OR YELL AT ME FOR BEING "OUT-OF-ORDER," AND IN SOME WAY, INSUBORDINATE. MY MOTHER, ON THE FEW OCCASIONS SHE MET REDMOND THOMAS, SAID HE WAS A VERY NICE, AND DIGNIFIED MAN. I WAS TOO YOUNG AND UNTUTORED IN SUCH THINGS, TO HAVE ANY OTHER OPINION, THAN HE KIND OF FRIGHTENED ME, BY HIS PROMINENCE. I WAS TIMID IN THE COMPANY OF MY OWN GRANDFATHER, BECAUSE HE TOO, WORE BLACK APPAREL, AND A BLACK FEDORA WHEN HE CAME TO VISIT. HE WAS AN IMPOSING, LARGE MAN, WITH HUGE HANDS, SO I SUPPOSE I THOUGHT OF REDMOND IN SOMEWHAT THE SAME REGARD. I'M TOLD HE WAS A WONDERFULLY GENEROUS MAN, AND ABUNDANTLY KIND, ONCE YOU GOT TO KNOW HIM, AS MANY IN BRACEBRIDGE DID; AS HIS FATHER WAS G.H.O. THOMAS, PUBLISHER OF THE FORMER BRACEBRIDGE GAZETTE (WHO I HAVE QUOTED IN THESE BLOGS RECENTLY), AND REDMOND'S BROTHER, WAS DOUGLAS THOMAS, A JUDGE, WHO HAS ONLY RECENTLY PASSED AWAY.
     I REMEMBER MY FATHER TELLING US A DINNER ONE NIGHT, THAT REDMOND HAD PASSED AWAY AT HIS HOME, ON THE CORNER OF KIMBERLY AVENUE AND MANITOBA STREET, AT THE JUNCTION WITH MEMORIAL PARK, ON ITS NARROWEST END. IT WAS STRANGE NOT TO HAVE THE SILHOUETTE OF THE GOOD MR. THOMAS, UP ON THE STAIR PLATFORM, AT THE HOCKEY GAME AFTER THIS. I REMEMBER THINKING IT STRANGE, THAT NO ONE WOULD STAND IN HIS PLACE, ALMOST AS IF IT WAS OUT OF RESPECT, FOR THEIR HOCKEY-LOVING MATE. THE REGULARS WERE STILL UP THERE, AND THEY STOOD PRETTY MUCH WHERE THEY HAD, WHEN REDMOND WAS ALIVE. HIS POSITION, BY THE WAY, WAS ALWAYS ON THE RIGHT-SIDE STAIRCASE, AT THE VERY BACK, BY WINDOWS (I THINK THERE WERE WINDOWS), AT THE TOP, COMFORTABLE IN THE CORNER POSITION, FURTHEST FROM THE DOOR TO THE STANDS. IT GAVE HIM THE PERFECT VANTAGE POINT TO SEE ALL THAT WAS GOING ON BELOW THE STEEP STAIRS, AND ALSO BE CONVENIENT TO THE DOOR TO THE BLEACHERS, ONLY FIFTEEN OR SO STEPS AWAY. I WISH I HAD MORE MEMORIES OF REDMOND THOMAS IN PERSON, BUT HE DIED SHORTLY AFTER I HAD GOT USED TO SEEING HIM, ON THOSE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT GAMES. I'M PRETTY SURE ONE OF THE REASONS HE SHOWED UP FOR INTERMEDIATE GAMES, WAS TO SEE HIS IN-LAW, ART COX, PLAYING NET FOR BRACEBRIDGE. HE MAY HAVE PLAYED FOR THE BRACEBRIDGE MOTO-SKIS, A TEAM JUST BEFORE ARRIVAL OF "THE HUSKIES," AND IF MEMORY SERVES, ART WAS PLAYING NET WITH TEACHER WILF CREASOR. MAYBE ART WILL CORRECT ME ABOUT THIS; BUT HONESTLY, THESE TWO CHAPS TENDING THE PIPES, WERE OUR VERY OWN, TERRY SAWCHUK AND JOHNNY BOWER, OF THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS.
     I SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME GOING THROUGH SCRAPBOOKS REDMOND THOMAS KEPT, AS A SORT OF HERITAGE HOBBY, THAT HIS FAMILY KINDLY DONATED TO THE MUSKOKA COLLECTION, OF THE BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY. I READ THROUGH THEM THOROUGHLY, OVER ABOUT FIVE VISITS, AND I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, IT WAS A REMARKABLE COLLECTION OF NEWS CLIPPINGS, FROM THE FORMER BRACEBRIDGE GAZETTE; WHICH AMALGAMATED WITH THE BRACEBRIDGE HERALD, OWNED BY THE BOYER FAMILY, BACK IN THE 1950'S. THE NEW PAPER OF COURSE, WAS THE BRACEBRIDGE HERALD-GAZETTE, OF WHICH I EVENTUALLY BECAME ITS EDITOR. BY THE WAY, I STILL OWN THE IRON LETTERS THAT USED TO BE SCREWED TO THE OUTSIDE WALL OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE BUILDING, ON DOMINION STREET. THE SCRAPBOOKS WERE FULL OF STORIES I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT, BUT HAD NEVER BEEN ABLE TO FIND ELSEWHERE, ABOUT OUR HOME TOWN. THIS WAS AFTER YEARS AND YEARS OF SEARCHING THROUGH ARCHIVE FILES, OF OLD NEWSPAPERS, THAT WERE KEPT IN THE BASEMENT OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE. I COULDN'T BELIEVE HIS CLIPPINGS, OF CRIME, ACCIDENTS, AND FIRES, THAT WERE SO INCLUSIVE, WHEN I HADN'T GATHERED EVEN HALF AS MUCH INFORMATION, FROM OUR OWN NEWSPAPERS, WHICH I THOUGHT WERE COMPETENTLY THOROUGH. I DON'T KNOW IF THE GAZETTE JUST CARRIED MORE OF THESE BREAKING NEWS STORIES, OR IN RETROSPECT, WHETHER IT JUST SEEMED MORE NEWS-INTENSIVE, BECAUSE OF THE "CLIPPING" FACTOR, IN THE FACT, PARALLEL NEWS STORIES WERE PASTED IN CONSECUTIVE SCRAPBOOK PAGES. BUT THESE WERE TRAGIC STORIES I HAD TO KNOW ABOUT, AS A REGIONAL HISTORIAN. THERE WAS NO WAY, I COULD WALK A QUARTER OF MILE, IN HIS OLD BLACK SHOES, BECAUSE THESE NEWS ACCOUNTS, OF SERIOUS AND DEADLY EVENTS IN OUR CHRONOLOGY, WERE, IN MANY CASES, HISTORY CHANGING, ESPECIALLY IN COMMUNITY ATTITUDE.
     AS AN EXAMPLE, HE OFFERS A NUMBER OF NEWS CLIPPINGS, ABOUT A TRAGIC HOUSE FIRE IN BRACEBRIDGE, MANY YEARS AGO, THAT KILLED THREE MEMBERS OF A FAMILY, INCLUDING A PET DOG. THE FIREMEN ATTENDING THE SCENE, WERE IN A POSITION TO RESCUE THE YOUNGSTERS, WHEN THE FLOOR FELL THROUGH, AS A RESULT OF THE BLAZE IN THE ROOM BELOW. IT WAS NOTED THAT A FIREMAN ACTUALLY HAD HOLD OF THE YOUNG MAN'S HAND, AND WAS PREPARING TO PULL HIM FREE, THROUGH AN UPSTAIR'S WINDOW, WITH HIS SIBLINGS, WHEN THE JOIST HAD BURNED THROUGH, AND THE COLLAPSE OF WOODWORK TOOK THEM DOWN INTO THE INFERNO. THEY WERE FOUND TOGETHER IN THE RUINS, INCLUDING THE DOG THAT NEVER ABANDONED THEM. I KNEW ALL THE FIREMEN INVOLVED, IN THAT TRAGIC HOUSE FIRE, AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY. BY JUST TAKING THE TIME TO READ THROUGH REDMOND'S CLIPPINGS, I GAVE MYSELF AN ENLIGHTENMENT ON COMMUNITY HERITAGE, I SO BADLY NEEDED, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE PROFOUND DIFFERENCE, BETWEEN HISTORY AND COMMUNITY HISTORY. FROM THAT POINT ON, I UNDERSTOOD MORE CLEARLY, WHAT THESE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS MUST HAVE EXPERIENCED ON THAT NIGHT, BEING UNABLE TO SAVE THOSE CHILDREN; AND HOW IT STUCK WITH THEM FOR ALL THE YEARS FOLLOWING. YOU CAN'T BE A THOROUGH COMMUNITY HISTORIAN WITHOUT KNOWING ABOUT THESE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT EVENTS, AND APPRECIATING WHAT THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT WAS, TO NOT ONLY FAMILY AND FIRST RESPONDERS, BUT TO EVERY CITIZEN IN TOWN, WHO WAS BURDENED BY THE WEIGHT OF THIS TRAGEDY. THERE WAS NO ONE WHO WAS UNSCATHED. THIS WAS TRUE FOR MANY OTHER UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE LATE 1850'S. THEY ALL TOOK TURN AT CHANGING SOCIAL ATTITUDES, AND HOW OUR HAMLET, VILLAGE, AND TOWN WAS BEING INTERPRETED BY ITS OWN CITIZENRY, AS A CARING PLACE TO CALL HOME. IT'S THE SAME FOR ANY COMMUNITY. ANY NEIGHBORHOOD. ANY FAMILY. BUT EACH TIME, THERE IS A CHANGE OF CHARACTERISTIC ATTITUDE, IN THE DAY TO DAY THOUGHTFULNESS, REGARDING HOMETOWN QUALITIES. JUST LIKE, FOR MANY MONTHS, NO ONE WHO KNEW REDMOND THOMAS, WOULD DARE TO STAND IN HIS PLACE, AT THE BRACEBRIDGE ARENA, ON GAME NIGHTS. MAYBE THEY THOUGHT HIS GHOST WAS STILL STANDING THERE, SMOKING A CIGARETTE. POINT IS, IT WAS A SITUATION OF CONSIDERABLE REVERENCE, AND RESPECT, SHOWN A WELL KNOWN CITIZEN-FRIEND. AS REDMOND THOMAS HAS IMPACTED THE CHARACTER OF THE TOWN, IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS FATHER, IT WAS BEING DULY NOTED BY THOSE WHO KNEW HIM. AND ALTHOUGH THAT NEVER MADE THE COPY, OF HIS OBITUARY, IT WAS ALIVE IN US, HIS CASUAL OBSERVERS. I AM NOW PASSING THIS ON TO YOU, IN THE HOPES YOU WILL ALSO REMEMBER THE NAME, REDMOND THOMAS, BEYOND HIM BEING A DIE-HARD HOCKEY FAN.
     I HAVE JUST BEEN SHIPPED A FINE CONDITION COPY OF REDMOND'S POPULAR BOOK, "REMINISCENCES," FROM AN OTTAWA AREA RARE AND COLLECTABLE BOOK SHOP. I HAVE USED AND REFERENCED REDMOND'S BOOK ABOUT A THOUSAND TIMES, ESPECIALLY WHEN I WAS WRITING FEATURE ARTICLES FOR MUSKOKA SUN EDITOR, ROBERT BOYER. REDMOND WAS MY KIND OF HISTORIAN, BECAUSE HE NEVER LET FACT GET IN THE WAY OF A GOOD STORY. HE WAS ANECDOTAL, AND FOLKSY IN HIS PRESENTATIONS, BREATHING LIFE INTO HIS STORIES, WHICH ARE UNPARALLED IN TOWN, EXCEPT FOR CAPTAIN FRASER'S HISTORY OF MUSKOKA, PUBLISHED MUCH EARLIER. OF ALL THE REGIONAL HISTORIANS, I PREFER TWO, BECAUSE OF MY OWN LEANINGS TOWARD SOCIAL / CULTURAL STUDIES, IN THE REGIONAL SENSE; REDMOND THOMAS AND THE TWO EXCEPTIONAL FOLK-FAMILY HISTORIES WRITTEN BY SUZANNE'S UNCLE BERT SHEA, IN THE UFFORD AREA, OF THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES. IF I, ONE DAY, WOULD BE CONSIDERED EVEN HALF AS COMPETENT AT MY PROFESSION, AS THEY WERE IN THEIR CHRONICLING OF LOCAL HISTORY, I WOULD CONSIDER MYSELF AS TRULY ACCOMPLISHED, IN WHAT I HAVE BEEN MOST INTERESTED-IN, FOR ALL THESE YEARS.
     I'M EXCITED TO HAVE FOUND THIS COPY OUT THERE, WHICH HAS BEEN A CHASE FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS NOW. IN THE PAST, I HAVE SOLD A DOZEN OF REDMOND'S BOOKS, TO LOCAL HOBBY HISTORIANS, AND COLLECTORS, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN LUCKY FINDING REPLACEMENT COPIES. SUDDENLY, THE WELL DRIED UP, AND I'VE KICKED MYSELF IN THE ARSE FOR THREE YEARS, HAVING TO GO TO THE LIBRARY EVERY TIME I NEED A PASSAGE FROM ONE OF HIS STORIES, TO SUPPORT ONE OF MY OWN EDITORIAL ASSERTIONS. FINALLY, AND THANKFULLY, I WAS ABLE TO MAKE THIS PURCHASE, AND SHOULD HAVE IT BEFORE THE END OF THIS WEEK. I CERTAINLY HOPE YOU WILL STICK WITH ME, FOR THE HAPPY RE-INTRODUCTION, TO REDMOND THOMAS, WHO WAS A BRILLIANT WORDSMITH, JUST AS HIS FATHER G.H.O. THOMAS, WAS WELL KNOWN BEFORE HIM. ONE OF MY TWO FAVORITE REDMOND THOMAS STORIES INCLUDES, THE PRE-MATURE DEPARTURE OF A WELL KNOWN LOCAL CITIZEN, MR. BROWNING, WHOSE COFFIN FELL OUT OF THE HORSEDRAWN HEARSE, IN FRONT OF WILLIAM KINSEY'S FUNERAL ENTERPRISE, WHEN THE TEAM OF HORSE REARED-UP; AND THEN, THE AMAZING STORY OF THE STEAM POWERED MERRY-GO-ROUND, THAT VISITED BRACEBRIDGE, AROUND THE TIME OF THE WORLD FAIR IN ST. LOUIS. THE MUSIC TO GO ALONG WITH THE RIDE, ON THAT OCCASION, WAS "MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS." AS SOON AS THE BOOK ARRIVES, I WILL SHARE SOME OF THESE STORIES WITH YOU. I THINK YOU'LL AGREE WITH ME, THAT REDMOND WAS A MASTER STORY TELLER. IT SHOULD BE HERE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

THE FOLK TALES AND SAYINGS THAT ARE STILL MAKING THE ROUNDS

FROM THE MUSKOKA HOMESTEADS INTO THE MODERN ERA

     "THE FIRST DEATH IN THE SETTLEMENT (SOUTH MUSKOKA), WAS THAT OF POOR JOHNSTON; HE WAS DROWNED AT SEVERN BRIDGE, ONE SUNDAY WHILST FISHING. THE POOR WIDOW STRUGGLED WITH HER TWO LITTLE BOYS - THE OLDER NOT MORE THAN NINE YEARS - AND, WITH THEIR HELP, SHE MANAGED BEFORE SHE DIED, TO CLEAR ABOUT EIGHT OR NINE ACRES; BUT ALAS FELL IN THE HARNESS."

     THE PASSAGE ABOVE, WAS CONTAINED IN THE INTRODUCTION OF THOMAS MCMURRAY'S SETTLEMENT GUIDEBOOK, "MUSKOKA AND PARRY SOUND," CIRCA 1872. THE PLENTIFUL WATER, AND THE DEATHS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO IT, CREATED MANY FOLK STORIES AND SUPERSTITIONS, PARTICULARLY RELATED TO WHITE WATER AND UNDERTOW. I REMEMBER ONE OLD-TIMER TELLING ME, THAT HE KNEW OF RAPIDS THAT HAD A CONCLUDING UNDERTOW, THAT WOULD TAKE A FULL LENGH LOG, AND COMPLETELY STRIP IT OF BARK, BEFORE LETTING IT OUT OF ITS PULL. IT HAD ALSO TAKEN MANY HUMAN LIVES THE SAME WAY. JUST AS MANY FOLK STORIES TOLD OF HARDSHIPS ON THE BACKWOODS HOMESTEAD, AND THOSE WHO SUCCUMBED TO THE BURDEN OF WORK, AND THE POOR FARM ECONOMY. SO MCMURRAY HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD, WITH THIS PARAGRAPH, BECAUSE WATER AND HOMESTEADING WERE A DEADLY DUO, AT THIS TIME OF THE HOMESTEAD GRANTS. MUSKOKA WAS HOWEVER, FERTILE GROUND FOR THE CREATION OF THESE FOLK STORIES. IT'S ONE GOOD THING ABOUT HARDSHIP.....PEOPLE WANT TO COMPARE EXPERIENCES.

     "A PENNYSLYVANNIA GERMAN STORY OF THE WILL-O'-WHISP;..... ONCE UPON A TIME, AS A YOUNG MAN WAS PASSING THROUGH A CLEARING AT NIGHT, HE SAW A BRIGHT LIGHT AND ON APPROACHING THE SPOT WHERE IT WAS, HE FOUND IT ON THE SIDE OF A STUMP. HE CAUGHT IT, BUT ON SO DOING, SO FOUND HIMSELF IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE BLACK MAN (THE DEVIL?)."

     THE STORY ABOVE WAS ONCE AGAIN, HARVESTED FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CANADA BOOKLET, PREVIOUSLY USED IN THIS SERIES, ON LOCAL FOLKLORE, ENTITLED "FOLK-LORE OF WATERLOO COUNTY, ONTARIO, BULLETIN NO 116, ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES NO. 28," RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN BY W.J. WINTEMBERG. IT WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1950, FROM RESEARCH UNDERTAKING IN THE 1940'S, BY THE FOLK-LORE HISTORIAN.

     IN MUSKOKA, WE GLAMORIZE OUR MARINE HERITAGE AND SPEND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON ITS CONSERVATION AND PROMOTION, AS A GENEROUS SPARK TO THE CONTEMPORARY TOURISM INDUSTRY. THERE IS A HUGE ATTENTION DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF COMMUNITY MILESTONES, IN DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMICS AND POLITICS. WHILE THERE IS COVERAGE OF NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS, IN SOME OF THESE LOCAL PUBLISHED HISTORIES, AND A CURSORY OVERVIEW OF PIONEER LIFE, DUE TO ITS ROMANTICISM, THE UNFORTUNATE FACT IS, THE STUDY AND CONSERVATION OF LOCAL FOLK-LORE IS POOR TO ALMOST NON-EXISTENT. YET IT IS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING AND ENLIGHTENING ASPECTS OF LOCAL HISTORY, WHEN GIVEN THE RIGHT EXPOSURE. MOST OFTEN HOMESTEAD HERITAGE STICKS TO THE BASICS, AND MUSEUMS FEEL COMPELLED TO HAVE PIONEER EXHIBITS, ESPECIALLY FARM IMPLEMENTS AND EARLY KITCHEN-WARES, AND OF COURSE, THE TRADITONAL IRON COOK STOVE. IF YOU WERE TO ASK A MAJORITY OF THESE MUSEUM CURATORS, TO PROFILE THE EARLY FOLK-LORE THAT WAS WIDELY EXPRESSED AND BELIEVED, IN THIS SAME PIONEERING ERA, YOU'D GET NOTHING MORE THAN A PUBLIC RELATIONS FOBBING-OFF, OR AT THE MOST, A CURSORY OVERVIEW WITHOUT MUCH MEAT ON THE OLD BONES. I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH MUSEUMS IN MUSKOKA, AND THIS IS THE COMMON FARE. UNFORTUNATELY, THESE SAME CURATORS AND MUSEUM STAFF, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE BEST OF THE BEST FOLK-TALES, BECAUSE LOCAL HISTORIANS, EXCEPT A FEW, HAVEN'T DONE MUCH TO RESEARCH AND EXPOSE SOME OF THE RICHEST VEINS OF CULTURAL HERITAGE.

      WHAT CULTURAL HERITAGE? WHAT FOLK-LORE? WHO CARES ANYWAY? FOLK-LORE DOESN'T IMPACT HISTORICAL FACT. OR DOES IT? WELL, I'LL LET YOU BE THE JUDGE. HERE ARE SOME FOLK STORIES FROM THE WINTEMBERG MANUSCRIPT, AND ALTHOUGH IT DEALS LARGELY WITH SETTLERS OF GERMAN STOCK, THE STORIES GENERALLY HAVE PARALLELS IN MOST OF THE NATIONALITIES, CULTURES AND RELIGIONS THAT SHOWED UP, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MUSKOKA FREE LAND GRANTS AND HOMESTEADS ACT, OF THE LATE 1860'S......THE FOLKS WHO OCCUPIED THOSE ISOLATED LOG HOMESTEADS, SOME STARVING OR FREEZING TO DEATH DURING THE BITTER AND LONG MUSKOKA WINTERS. HERE ARE A FEW THAT WERE UNDOUBTEDLY CIRCULATED, WITH SLIGHT DIFFERENCES, AMONGST THE EUROPEAN POPULATION, INCLUDING ENGLISH, IRISH, SCOTTISH, ICELANDIC, NORWEGIAN, GERMAN, DANES AND SWEDES IN THOSE OPENING YEARS OF FEDERAL INTEREST, IN POPULATING THE WILDS OF THE PROVINCE.

      "WALKING IN THE WATER; THE WRITER'S FATHER (WINTEMBERG), RELATES A STORY THAT HE HEARD FROM AN OLD ALSATIAN NAMED KUTLER, LONG SINCE DECEASED. KUTLER SAID THERE WAS ONCE A WIZARD WHO WAS STANDING WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER MEN IN FRONT OF A TAVERN. IN THE DISTANCE HE SAW SOME WOMEN COMING TO MARKET, CARRYING THEIR PRODUCE ON THEIR HEADS. AS SOON AS THEY CAME CLOSE, THE WIZARD HAILED THE FOREMOST - A VERY GARRULOUS WOMAN - AT THE SAME TIME REMARKING TO THE BYSTANDERS THAT HE WOULD HAVE SOME FUN AT THE WOMEN'S EXPENSE. THEY HAD TO WADE THROUGH A SHALLOW STREAM BEFORE THEY ENTERED THE TOWN, AND, OF COURSE, HAD TO RAISE THEIR SKIRTS TO KEEP THEM FROM GETTING DEEPER AND DEEPER, THOUGH IN REALITY THEY WERE WALKING ON DRY LAND, AND THEY LIFTED THEIR SKIRTS HIGHER AND HIGHER, QUITE UNCONSCIOUS OF THE MIRTH THEY WERE PROVOKING."

     "A MAISTRE PIERRE PATHELIN STORY - ONCE A MAN WAS ARRESTED FOR SOME CRIME HE HAD COMMITTED, AND WHEN HE CONSULTED HIS LAWYER THE LATTER ASKED HIM TO BE HONEST, AND TELL HIM WHETHER HE WAS GUILTY OR NOT. THE MAN ADMITTED HIS GUILT. THE LAWYER PROMISED TO GET HIM FREE BY ENTERING A PLEA OF INSANITY ON CONDITION THAT HE PAY HIM A CERTAIN SUM OF MONEY ON THE CONCLUSION OF THE TRIAL," WRITES, WINTEMBERG. "THE MAN WAS TO ACT HIS PART BY REPLYING TO EVERY QUESTION THAT WAS PUT TO HIM BY RUNNING HIS EXTENDED INDEX FINGER HORIZONTALLY ACROSS HIS MOUTH, AT THE SAME TIME PRODUCING A WHISTLING NOISE. WHEN THE TRIAL CAME OFF, THE LAWYER HAD MANAGED TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO ASK THE PRISONER A QUESTION, AND THE MAN DID AS HE WAS REQUESTED. THE OTHER LAWYER THEN FOLLOWED WITH A QUESTION AND RECEIVED A LIKE REPLY. THEN THE PRESIDING JUDGE, BECOMING ANGRY, THOUGHT HE WOULD TRY, BUT HIS QUESTION WAS GREETED WITH THE SAME REPLY, AND THIS CONVINCED HIM THAT THE MAN WAS INSANE; SO HE DISCHARGED HIM FROM CUSTODY. THE MAN HASTENED AWAY, BUT THE LAWYER RAN AFTER HIM AND HIS DEMAND FOR HIS FEE WAS MET WITH THE SAME RESPONSE." A SIMPLE STORY ABOUT MORALS AND RETALIATION. THE LAWYER GAVE HIS CLIENT GOOD ADVICE, BUT THEN IT WAS USED ON HIM. IF HE HAD TOLD THE JUDGE THE LAWYER HAD URGED HIM TO LIE, AND THAT HE WASN'T INSANE, THEN HIS LEGAL CAREER WOULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY COMPROMISED IF NOT CONCLUDED.

    "ONCE THERE WERE TWO TAILOR'S APPRENTICES WHO WERE BOTH ASPIRANTS FOR THE HAND OF THE MASTER-TAILOR'S DAUGHTER. THEIR MASTER TOLD THEM THAT THE ONE WHO WOULD FINISH A COAT THE SOONEST, COULD HAVE HER FOR HIS WIFE. SO THEY BOTH STARTED. ONE THREADED HIS NEEDLE WITH A LONG PIECE OF THREAD AND OTHER STARTED WITH A SHORT PIECE. THE ONE WHO HAD THE LONG THREAD THOUGHT HE WOULDN'T HAVE TO THREAD HIS NEEDLE SO OFTEN, AND THUS, HE WOULD GAIN TIME. THE OTHER ONE KNEW, AS EVERY GOOD TAILOR KNOWS, THAT THE ONE USING THE SHORT THREAD COULD SEW QUICKER. SO, BECAUSE THE LONG THREAD OF HIS RIVAL WAS CONTINUALLY FORMING KNOTS AND IN OTHER WAYS KEEPING HIM BACK, THE ONE WHO USED THE SHORT THREAD COMPLETED HIS TASK FIRST, AND WON THE DAUGHTER. THIS STORY IS TOLD TO THE APPRENTICE WHEN HE BEGINS TO WORK IN A GERMAN TAILOR'S SHOP."

     THE AUTHOR WRITES ABOUT "THE DEVIL'S BRIDGE:" "THERE IS A CURIOUS LEGEND CONNECTED WITH A BRIDGE THAT SPANS SOME TRIBUTARY OF THE RHINE FORMING THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN ALSACE AND SWITZERLAND. WHEN THIS BRIDGE WAS BEING BUILT, AN ALMOST INSURMOUNTABLE DIFFICULTY AROSE. BEELZEBUB, ALWAYS WILLING TO WIN A HUMAN SOUL, OFFERED TO AID THE BUILDERS ON CONDITION THAT THE FIRST LIVING BEING THAT CROSSED THAT BRIDGE SHOULD BE HIS, AND HE SENT ONE OF HIS IMPS TO HELP. THE BRIDGE BUILDER, BEING AWARE OF THE EXTREME GULLIBILITY OF THE FIEND, CONSENTED, BUT OUTWITTED HIM, FOR AS SOON AS THE BRIDGE WAS COMPLETED, HE BROUGH A BLACK GOAT, AND PLACING IT BEFORE HIM, PUSHED IT ACROSS THE BRIDGE. BEELZEBUB'S IMP, IN HIS RAGE AT BEING OUTWITTED, GRASPED THE GOAT BY THE HORNS, AND HURLED IT THROUGH THE FLOOR OF THE BRIDGE. EVERY OLD ALSATIAN WHO COMES FROM THIS PART OF ALSACE WILL SOLEMNLY AVER THAT THE HOLE IS STILL THERE, BECAUSE ALL EFFORTS AT REPAIRING THE BREACH ARE FRUSTRATED BY BEELZEBUB'S IMPS."

     HE WRITES THEN ABOUT "A FAIRY WIFE OF NIGHTMARE." "THE GABLE ENDS OF THE ALSATIAN PEASANT'S LOG HOUSE WERE COVERED WITH BOARDS, AND BETWEEN THESE WERE CRACKS THAT WERE SOMETIMES NOT CLOSED EVEN IN THE DEPTH OF WINTER, ALTHOUGH THIS PART OF THE HUT OFTEN WAS THE SLEEPING APARTMENT OF SOME MEMBER OF THE PEASANT'S FAMILY. IT WAS IN A ROOM OF THIS SORT THAT A YOUNG ALSATIAN SLEPT. HE WAS VISITED EVERY NIGHT BY A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN - A SORT OF FAIRY - WHO ALWAYS ENTERED AND DISAPPEARED THROUGH ONE OF THE CREVICES BETWEEN THE BOARDS. AS IS USUAL IN SUCH CASES, THE YOUNG MAN FELL IN LOVE WITH THE BEAUTIFUL VISITANT, AND RESOLVED TO SECURE HER FOR HIS WIFE; SO HE TOLD HIS FATHER OF HIS DETERMINATION. HIS FATHER ADVISED HIM TO HAVE ALL THE CRACKS BETWEEN THE BOARDS, EXCEPTING ONE, CLOSED, AND WHEN THE MAIDEN WAS IN THE ROOM, HE WAS TO TAKE A KNIFE AND INSERT IT IN THE APERTURE THROUGH WHICH SHE ENTERED. THIS WAS DONE, AND ONE MORNING THE YOUNG MAN WAS OVERJOYED TO FIND HIS BEAUTIFUOL VISITOR STILL IN HIS ROOM. THEY WERE MARRIED AND LIVED TOGETHER FOR NEARLY ELEVEN YEARS, AND HAD FIVE CHILDREN. THE MAN FELT CONFIDENT THAT HIS WIFE WOULD NOW STAY WITH HIM, AND ONE DAY, WHILE MAKING SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HOUSE, HE REMOVED THE KNIFE, AND AT THE SAME MOMENT HIS WIFE VANISHED AND NEVER RETURNED. SEVERAL SIMILAR STORIES ARE CITED BY HARTLAND IN HIS 'SCIENCE OF FAIRY TALES.' HE MAKES THE FOLLOWING COMMENT ON ONE PARTICULAR FEATURE OF THESE STORIES; IN THE NIGHTMARE TYPE, OF THE SWAM MAIDEN GROUP OF STORIES, THE WIFE CANNOT TAKE THE WOODEN STOPPER OUT OF THE HOLE THROUGH WHICH SHE ENTERED, BUT, DIRECTLY, IT IS REMOVED BY ANOTHER, SHE VANISHES."

    A FASCINATING STORY IS TOLD BY WINTEMBERG ENTITLED "THE BLACKSMITH AND BEELZEBUB'S IMPS." IT GOES LIKE THIS: "ONCE UPON A TIME THERE LIVED, IN A CERTAIN TOWN IN ALSACE, A BLACKSMITH WHO HAD SOLD HIMSELF TO THE DEVIL. THIS DEVIL GAVE HIM THE POWER TO HOLD THE PERSON WHO PICKED NAILS OUT OF HIS SHOEING-BOX, SAT IN A CERTAIN CHAIR IN HIS HOUSE, OR ASCENDED A HIGH PEAR TREE IN HIS GARDEN. WISHING TO OBTAIN SOME MORE MONEY, THE BLACKSMITH AGAIN SOLD HIMSELF, BUT THIS TIME TO BEELZEBUB, THE PRINCE OF DEVILS, WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FABULOUSLY RICH. THE BLACKSMITH WAS TO GET SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS, BEELZEBUB HAVING THE RIGHT TO CLAIM HIM, BODY AND SOUL, AT THE THE END OF TWENTY YEARS. WHEN THIS TIME EXPIRED, BEELZEBUB SENT ONE OF HIS IMPS TO CLAIM THE BLACKSMITH. THE LATTER ASKED THE IMP IF HE WOULD HELP HIM FOR HE WAS VERY BUSY. THE IMP WAS WILLING, SO THE BLACKSMITH TOLD HIM TO PICK THE BENT SHOENAILS OUT OF HIS SHOEING-BOX, BUT AS SOON AS HE PUT HIS HAND IN THE BOX, HE BECMAE POWERLESS AND COULD NOT MOVE. THEN THE BLACKSMITH, IN GREAT GLEE, HEATED A PAIR OF TONGS AND BEGAN TO PINCH THE IMP. AFTER TORTURING HIM TO HIS HEART'S CONTENT, HE RELEASED HIM FROM THE SPELL, AND THE IMP RETURNED TO BEELZEBUB. BEELZEBUB THEN SENT ANOTHER IMP, AND THE OTHER ONE HAVING RELATED HIS EXPERIENCE, THIS ONE WAS A LITTLE MORE CAUTIOUS. WHEN THE IMP ARRIVED, THE BLACKSMITH WAS JUST GOING INTO THE HOUSE TO EAT HIS DINNER, SO HE INVITED HIM TO COME IN ALSO, AND TOLD HIM TO SIT DOWN WHILE HE WASHED AND GOT READY FOR DINNER. THE UNSUSPECTING IMP, SEEING NO OTHER CHAIR IN THE ROOM, SAT DOWN IN THE MAGIC CHAIR, AND THEREUPON CAME UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE BLACKSMITH'S SPELL. THE BLACKSMITH RETURNED TO HIS SHOP AND HEATED SOME IRONS WITH WHICH HE TORMENTED THE UNLUCKY IMP, MORE THAN HE DID THE OTHER; THEN RELEASING HIM FROM THE SPELL, HE SAT DOWN AND ATE HIS FOOD, CONFIDENT BEELZEBUB WOULD NOW BE WILLING TO LET HIM LIVE IN PEACE.

     "BUT FIEND, UNDAUNTED, SENT ANOTHER IMP. THE BLACKSMITH HAD STILL ANOTHER METHOD OF ESCAPE - THE HIGH PEAR TREE. AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME THE TOPMOST BRANCHES BORE SOME LARGE JUICY PEARS. WHEN THE IMP APPEARED THE BLACKSMITH TOLD HIM ABOUT HIS PEAR-TREE AND THE PEARS THAT WERE RIPE AND WHICH, OWING TO THE FACT HE AND HIS APPRENTICE WERE BUSY, AND ALSO BECAUSE HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER WERE UNABLE TO CLIMB TO SUCH A HEIGHT, WOULD SPOIL IF THEY WERE NOT SOON PICKED OFF THE TREE. SO HE ASKED THE IMP IF HE WOULD KINDLY UNDERTAKE TO PICK THEM FOR HIM. THE IMP, EAGER TO CLAIM THIS TROUBLESOME SOUL FOR HIS MASTER, CLIMBED THE TREE, BUT AS SOON AS HE WAS UP AMIDST THE BRANCHES HE BECAME POWERLESS. THE BLACKSMITH THEN CALLED HIS APPRENTICES AND THEY HEATED UP SOME LONG IRON RODS WITH WHICH THEY TORTURED HIM UNTIL THEY THOUGHT HE HAD ENOUGH. BEELZEBUB COULD NOT GET ANOTHER IMP TO GO FOR THE BLACKSMITH, AND SO HE WAS LEFT IN PEACE."

     ON THE SUBJECT OF "RENDERING ONESELF INVISIBLE AT PLEASURE," THE AUTHOR-HISTORIAN WRITES, "THE POWER OF MAKING HIMSELF INVISIBLE WOULD BE THE GREAT 'DESIDERATUM,' OF A MEDIAEVAL MAGICIAN. THE BELIEF IN THIS MAGIC POWER APPEARS TO BE CONFINED TO THE TEUTONIC RACES. THE ICELANDERS BELIVE 'THAT THERE IS A STONE OF SUCH WONDEROUS POWER THAT THE POSSESSOR CAN WALK INVISIBLE.' AND IN ONE OF GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES, 'THE RAVEN,' THIS POWER IS CONFERRED ON A PERSON BY WEARING A CERTAIN CLOAK. THE OLDER GERMANS OF THE COUNTRY OF WATERLOO BELIEVED THAT A PERSON COULD BECOME INVISIBLE BY PLACING A CERTAIN BONE OF A BLACK CAT, BETWEEN THE TEETH. THAT CAT WAS TO BE STOLEN, AND AT MIDNIGHT PUT INTO A KETTLE A BOILED.

     "WHEN THE BODY WAS BOILED TO A PULP, THE BONES WERE TO BE PICKED OUT OF THE MESS AND PLACED BETWEEN THE TEETH. WHILE PERFORMING THIS OPERATION, THE PERSON LOOKED IN A MIRROR, AND WHEN HE FOUND THE RIGHT BONE HE COULD NO LONGER SEE HIS REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR. MR. W.W. NEWELL, THE EDITOR OF THE 'JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE,' IN COMMENTING ON THIS SUPERSTITION, SAYS, 'HOW SINGULAR SUCH A BELIEF, RETAINED TO THE BEGINNING OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY! THE UNDERLYING IDEA IS OBVIOUS. A BLACK CAT, AS A WITCH, POSSESSES THE ABILITY OF TRANSFORMATION; AND SUCH MAGIC POWER MUST BE DUE TO SOME PARTICULAR ELEMENT OF THE ORGANISM' THE THING TO BE DONE IS TO DISCOVER THAT ELEMENT, WHICH CONFERS ON ITS POSSESSOR A LIKE POTENCY. THUS THE SURVIVAL OF THE PRESENT DAY GIVES A GLIMPSE INTO THE PREHISTORIC CONCEPTS OF MILLENNIALS AGO'."

     IN CONCLUSION, THE AUTHOR, WINTEMBERG NOTES, "THE GATHERING AND PRESERVATION OF ITEMS OF FOLK-LORE IS ALMOST AS IMPORTANT AS THE COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL RECORDS. TO THE FUTURE STUDENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY, THEY WILL BE OF INCALCULABLE VALUE. WE ALL ARE MORE OR LESS SUPERSTITIOUS, THOUGH MANY SCORN TO ADMIT IT. THE LARGE NUMBER OF FOREIGNERS WHO ANNUALLY FLOCK TO OUR SHORES ARE 'CHUCK-FULL,' OF SUPERSTITION, AND IT IS ONE OF THE DUTIES OF THE FOLKLORIST TO GATHER FROM THE LIPS OF THESE PEOPLE, THE DARLING FAITHS AND SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES OF THEIR DAILY LIVES. WE HAVE WITH US BESIDE THE ABORIGINES, REPRESENTATION OF NEARLY EVERY EUROPEAN RACE - ENGLISH, SCOTCH, IRISH, WELSH, FRENCH, GERMAN, DUTCH, RUSSIAN, SLAV, RUTHENIAN, ITALIAN, AND GALICIAN. EVERY CITY AND NEARLY EVERY TOWN HAS SUCH ORIENTALS, JEWS, SYRIANS, ARMENIANS, AND CHINESE. THOUGH THE LAST-NAMED MAY NEVER BECOME PERMANENT CITIZENS, (REFLECTION OF THE TIMES, AS REGARDS TO THE CHINESE), THEIR IDEAS REGARDING ETHICS AND THEIR SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS WILL BE OF GREAT VALUE TO THE STUDENT OF COMPARATIVE FOLK-LORE, AND EVERY EFFORT SHOULD BE MADE TO GATHER AND PRESERVE ORAL TRADITIONS OF THESE PEOPLE. THIS SHOULD BE DONE BEFORE ALL KNOWLEDGE OF THEM HAS PARISHED. THROUGH THE COLLATION AND STUDY OF THE FOLK-LORE OF THESE VARIED RACES, WE MAY HOPE TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BELIEFS AND IMAGININGS, AND THE 'HOPES AND FEARS,' OF OUR OWN ARYAN FOREFATHERS." KEEP IN MIND THIS WAS WRITTEN FIRST IN THE 1940'S, AND THERE ARE REFERENCES TO THE CHINESE, AS CANADIANS CITIZENS, THAT IS OUT OF PLACE, AND OF COURSE, MISTAKEN.

     THE CULTURES AND RELIGIONS OF THE SETTLERS, WHO RESPECTED THESE TIME-HONORED AND MATURED STORIES OF "THE FANTASTIC;" FOLK-LORE THAT EMBODIED THE CHARACTERISTICS OF HISTORY, THE SUPERNATURAL AND WHAT PREVAILED AS NATURALLY-PRESENT, GAVE THEM A RICH VOLUME OF LEGEND AND LORE, TO DISCUSS ON THOSE LONELY HOMESTEAD NIGHTS, SITTING BY THE CRACKLING FIRE. THEY WERE TOLD AND RE-TOLD, AND OF COURSE EMBELLISHED, WITH KEEN PRIDE BY THESE NEWCOMERS, FACING THEIR DEMONS IN A HARSH ENVIRONS. THE FOLK-TALES AND SUPERSTITIONS, WERE AS DIVERSE AS THE PLACES OF ORIGIN OF THESE PEOPLE. THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM MANY FASCINATING FOLK-TALES, SUPERSTITIONS AND BELIEFS IN THE PARANORMAL GENERALLY, THAT THEY FORMED, WITHOUT ACTUALLY INTENDING TO, INTO A DEEP, RICH FOLK-PATINA ACROSS THE HINTERLAND.....FROM ACCOUNTS OF WITCHES AND DEMONS MUCKING ABOUT, TO TROLLS AND OGRES LIVING UNDER BRIDGES, OR IN THE CREVICES OF ROCKS ON CLIFF-SIDES. THERE WERE POCKETS OF WOODLAND, CONSIDERED PRECARIOUS BECAUSE OF NASTY FAIRIES (YES THERE WERE), WHO SOUGHT REVENGE FOR SOME PERCEIVED SLIGHT; AREAS OF THE FOREST THAT WERE SAID TO BE HAUNTED BY GHOSTS OF TRAVELLERS WHO MET THEIR FATE THERE, BY UNNAMED MISFORTUNE. AND WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN MUSKOKA, IN THE MID 1960'S, I HEARD MANY OF THESE SAME STORIES AND WARNINGS, ABOUT THE PLACES WE LOVED TO HIKE-THROUGH; SWIMMING HOLES WE LOVED TO ATTEND FOR SUMMER RECREATIONS.

     IN MORE CONTEMPORARY TIMES, GROWING UP IN BRACEBRIDGE, WE WERE TOLD TO STAY AWAY FROM THE LOCAL HOBO JUNGLE, THE HELTER SKELTER ENCAMPMENT, ALONG THE RAIL LINE, TOWARD FALKENBURG, BECAUSE THESE QUESTIONABLE CHARACTERS POSSESSED MURDEROUS INTENTIONS; OR IF THEY DIDN'T KILL US, WOULD FORCE US UP ONTO THE PASSING FREIGHT TRAINS, AS THEIR NEW TRAVEL SLAVES.

    I CAN REMEMBER MY MOTHER TELLING ME, THAT THE LOCAL FATHERS OF THE SOCIETY OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, WOULD PUT WAYWARD CHILDREN IN THE BLACK BAGS THEY USED TO CARRY DOWNTOWN IN THOSE YEARS. SHE NEVER SAID WHAT THEY WANTED CHILDREN FOR, SO I ASSUMED IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN FOR A TASTY COUNTRY STEW. HEY, I WAS A KID, AND THE STORIES SEEMED PLAUSIBLE. THESE WERE STORIES TOLD TO SCARE US FROM BOTHERING THESE CHAPS, ON THEIR DAILY HIKES AROUND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD; THE OLD COMPOUND WAS ONLY SEVERAL BLOCKS AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVED; HOUSING WHAT WAS KNOWN WIDELY, EVEN THEN, AS THE "HAUNTED" MONASTERY. THE BLACK BAGS, BY THE WAY, WERE FOR PICKING UP THE MAIL AT THE MAINSTREET POST OFFICE, AND THERE WAS NEVER A SINGLE REPORT OF A CHILD ABDUCTION VIA "MAIL BAG." IT WASN'T JUST FROM THE PIONEER ERA THAT WE GOT OUR LOCAL FOLK-LORE. I CAN REMEMBER, AS THE THEN EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, IN THE 1980'S, GOING ALONG WITH A FABRICATED STORY, PLANTED BY THE CONTRACTORS, BUILDIING THE WELLINGTON STREET BRIDGE, OVER THE MUSKOKA RIVER...., REPORTING THAT POISONOUS WATER MOCCASIN SNAKES, HAD BEEN ACCIDENTALLY BROUGHT TO MUSKOKA, FROM THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES; HAVING SLITHERED INTO THE NOOKS AND CRANNIES OF THE PRE-FABRICATED IRON WORK. IT WAS A STORY CRAFTED TO SCARE SIGHTSEERS AND SWIMMERS AWAY FROM THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, WHICH HAD MANY OTHER INHERENT DANGERS. IT APPARENTLY WORKED, AS NO SWIMMER OR SIGHTSEER WAS LOST DUE TO SNAKE-BITE. I DID FEEL A LITTLE FUNNY ABOUT MY OATH TO OFFICE, BEING THE "PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW," AND THEN RUNNING A BOGUS STORY, JUST TO FACILITATE ORDER AT A MAJOR CONSTRUCTION SITE. PROBLEM IS, FOR HISTORIANS DOWN THE ROAD, TO FIGURE OUT IF THE STORY WAS TRUE, OR NOT, BECAUSE THIS, TODAY, IS THE ONLY TIME IT HAS BEEN PUBLICLY DECLARED AS BEING PURPOSEFUL PROPAGANDA TO ACHIEVE A POSITIVE RESULT.