WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM TOWN COUNCIL? WHAT WOULD MAKE THE PERFECT BALANCE FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE? IS IT ATTAINABLE?
THE FIRST DYNAMIC? PASSION FOR THE JOB! THE SECOND, TO ADMIT SHORTFALLS IN EXPERT STATUS! IF YOU DON'T KNOW, ASK FOR HELP!
FOR THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, OVER 22 COLUMNS (BLOGS), I REPRESENTED THE ISSUE OF LOCAL HERITAGE, SOMETHING CLOSE TO MY HEART; A HUMBLE HISTORIAN'S SINCERE RESPECT FOR THE INTEGRITY OF MUSKOKA'S PIONEER CHRONICLE. IT IS A LARGELY FORGOTTEN, AND SELDOM CONTEMPLATED REALITY OF OUR LEGACY, THAT IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO MODERNIST REALITIES THAN IS CURRENTLY UNDERSTOOD. IT IS THE PLATFORM ONTO WHICH ALL ELSE IS CONSTRUCTED. THE INSTABILITY, A VERY REAL DANGER, LIES IN THE FACT, MOST OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE ONLY MINOR KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IT ACTUALLY REPRESENTS IN CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT. WHAT FOR EXAMPLE, DID THE ENTIRE HOMESTEAD PERIOD, ESTABLISH IN ECONOMICS THAT WE STILL BENEFIT FROM TODAY? TOWN COUNCILLORS LIKE TO WEIGH-IN ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND WHAT THEY SEE IN OUR FUTURE BEST INTERESTS, WITHOUT FIRST KNOWING HOW IT ALL BEGAN. I HAVE OFFERED SOME HISTORICAL TUTORING TO COUNCIL-HOPEFULS, TO OFFER INSIGHTS ABOUT HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS, THAT WILL INFLUENCE THE FUTURE; BUT APPARENTLY THEY FIND NO PRESSING NEED TO IMPROVE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PAST. WHOEVER IS PROVIDING ADVICE ON RUNNING SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS, DOESN'T FEEL COMPELLED TO INCLUDE HERITAGE TUTORING. WHY? THERE ISN'T A PUBLIC DEBATE, WHERE THIS MIGHT COME UP! WASTE OF TIME, LEARNING ABOUT STUFF LIKE THIS! IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, RIGHT? IF YOU NEED TO UPGRADE, YOU CAN ALWAYS GET A BOOK OUT OF THE LIBRARY! AS FAR AS STEWARDSHIP OF OUR COMMUNITY, GADS, SHOULD WE BE SURPRISED WHEN THEY SCREW UP!
I'VE SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE, RESEARCHING MUSKOKA'S HISTORY. IT IS A TREASURE-TROVE OF EXCITING EVENTS, AND EXCEPTIONAL BIOGRAPHIES, THAT SHOULD INSPIRE OUR CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP. THEY WERE ESTABLISHED AND REVERED ROLE MODELS, WHO BUILT STRONG AND ENDURING HOME TOWNS, VILLAGES, HAMLETS AND RURAL IDENTITIES, AND AN ECONOMY CARVED FROM THE WILDS OF ONTARIO. LONG BEFORE OUR PRESENT CROP OF COUNCILLORS WERE BORN, WE HAD IMPRESSIVE LEADERSHIP, THAT LEFT AN OUTSTANDING LEGACY, AND MODEL FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO FOLLOW IN PROSPERITY. THEY SHOULD ALL BE RESPECTFUL ENOUGH, TO LEARN ABOUT OUR HERITAGE, BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THEIR MODELS FOR ADVANCEMENT, ON A REGION THAT STILL HAS FAITH IN THE ORIGINAL FOUNDATION; WHICH HAS SERVED US PRETTY WELL THROUGH THE GENERATIONS. WE'RE NOT OPPOSED TO CHANGE, JUST TO THOSE WHO FEEL THEY HAVE AN INHERENT RIGHT, AS IF GIVEN BY GOD, TO RESHAPE THE CHARACTER OF OUR COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE OF PERSONAL AGENDA. I FIND IT IRRESPONSIBLE FOR ANYONE, TO GOVERN, WITHOUT HAVING CONSIDERABLE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR REGION'S PAST, BUT THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO CHANGE THIS BLATANT DISREGARD. I WILL HOWEVER, CONTINUE TO OFFER FREE TUTORIALS, NONE THE LESS, IN THE HOPES OF ONE DAY FINDING A COUNCILLOR WHO CAN'T CLAIM TO KNOW IT ALL.
BEFORE MY ADVERSARIES, WHO BELIEVE I SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONTEMPLATE SELF-IMPOSED EXILE, TO AVOID BEING AN ON-GOING PAIN IN THE ASS TO ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, I DO WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR, THAT I HAVE NOT, AND WILL NOT, PRESENT A LIST OF CANDIDATES I ENDORSE FOR THE NEXT COUNCIL, TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY. I USED TO HAVE THIS DEBATE WITH OUR PUBLISHER, AT THE HERALD-GAZETTE, EVERY ELECTION SEASON, (MUNICIPAL ONLY) AND I THINK I WON MOST OF THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST SELECTING FAVORITES. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH DOING SO, JUST THAT I DIDN'T WANT ANY ELECTED COUNCILLORS, I WOULD HAVE TO WORK WITH FOR THE COMING TERM, BEING PISSED-OFF AT US, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T ENDORSE THEM PRIOR TO THE ELECTION. THE COMPETITION PRESS DID SELECT CANDIDATES THEY FELT WERE BEST SUITED TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY, AND WE RESPECTED THEIR RIGHT TO DO SO. I CARRY THIS OVER TO THE PRESENT, AND ALTHOUGH THIS ISN'T A NEWSPAPER, OR MAGAZINE, IT DOESN'T SEEM FAIR TO SELECT CANDIDATES, WHICH IMPOSES MY CHOICES ON YOU; IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE HERE. I MAY BE A NAGGING CRITIQUE OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS, BUT I WON'T BE ACCUSED OF MEDDLING IN CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENT. IN MENTIONING, FOR EXAMPLE, THE NAME OF CANDIDATE STEVEN KLINCK, IN PAST BLOGS, THIS WAS ONLY TO IDENTIFY HIM AS HAVING VISITED OUR SHOP TO DISCUSS ELECTION ISSUES. SEEING AS OUR FAMILY CAN'T VOTE FOR CANDIDATES IN HIS WARD, THE MENTION OF HIS NAME SHOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED AN ENDORSEMENT. HE JUST DID SOMETHING OTHER COUNCIL HOPEFULS HAVEN'T TO THIS POINT; STOPPING IN FOR A LITTLE CHAT!
THERE ARE MANY LOCALS WHO HAVE THE ANSWERS TO SOME OF THE MOST DIFFICULT MUNICIPAL CONUNDRUMS, FACING OUR TOWN, INCLUDING ISSUES OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. YET WE CONTINUE TO SEEK ADVICE FROM EVERYWHERE ELSE, AND ANYONE ELSE, VERSUS SEEKING-OUT HOMEGROWN SOLUTIONS; WHICH ARE ALREADY DEEPLY ROOTED IN OUR OWN HISTORY. NOW IF WE CAN ONLY GET THE ATTENTION OF A NEW TOWN COUNCIL, THAT TO LOOK LOCAL, ISN'T JUST TO FIND A PARADE OF WELL-WISHERS AND "ENABLERS". HOW ABOUT, "IN QUEST OF GOOD ADVICE."
SOMEONE ASKED ME ONE DAY, IF I CONSIDERED MYSELF A POLITICAL ACTIVIST. IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME, I'D BEEN ASKED THIS QUESTION, AND HONESTLY, I'VE NEVER BEEN STUCK FOR AN ANSWER. I'VE NEVER ONCE, CONSIDERED MYSELF, POLITICALLY OR ENVIRONMENTALLY, OF THE STATURE AND IMMENSITY OF CONVICTION, THAT WOULD QUALIFY ME AS A SERIOUS, BATTLE-READY ACTIVIST. SOME FOLKS, WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT TAKES TO BE INVOLVED IN HARD-CORE ACTIVISM, MIGHT MISTAKENLY, (AND I UNDERSTAND THIS) SEE ME AS SOMEONE WHO IS "ACTIVELY" PUSHY, MOUTHY, PROLIFIC IN CRITICISM, AND A COMPLAINER. WELL, IF I WAS TRULY AN ACTIVIST, EVEN BY MY OWN ADMISSION, IT WOULD BE A LOW CALORIE VERSION OF WHAT ACTUALLY QUALIFIES SOMEONE AS A ALL-CORNERS-COVERED ACTIVIST. I WOULD CERTAINLY TAKE CREDIT FOR BEING OUTSPOKEN AND DETERMINED TO MAKE A POINT. ALTHOUGH I ONCE THREATENED TO CHAIN MYSELF TO A TREE, TO SAVE "THE BOG," FROM COUNCIL PLANS A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, I WAS QUITE RELIEVED WHEN THE PROJECT TO SELL OFF THE WETLAND WAS DROPPED, BEFORE "CHAINING" BECAME NECESSARY. I DO KNOW HOW TO INCITE PROTEST, BUT I WOULDN'T DESCRIBE MY FRONT-LINE EXPERIENCE AS ANYTHING CLOSE TO ACTIVISM. IT'S OUT THERE, AND IN ABUNDANCE, BUT NOT IN MY HEART. I LIKE TO THINK NEGOTIATION AND DIALOGUE ARE PRETTY GOOD ALTERNATIVES, TO HOSTING SIT-INS, PROTEST MARCHES, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, AND FLAG BURNINGS. I HAVE CARRIED PLACARDS BEFORE, PROTESTING THE LOSS OF JUBILEE PARK IN BRACEBRIDGE, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT I DIDN'T HIT ANYONE WITH IT, UNLESS ACCIDENTALLY.
THE REASON I OFFER THIS EXPLANATION, IS THAT THERE ARE TOWN HALL, AND COUNCIL FOLK, WHO HAVE THIS OPINION, THAT I'M OF THE OVER-ZEALOUS ILK, WHO MIGHT AT SOME POINT, STAGE A COUP, AND IMPLANT MYSELF FORCEFULLY AS THE NEW MAYOR; MY CRONIES IN ACTIVISM, FILLING OUT THE COUNCIL SEATS. SORT OF A MARX BROTHERS THING, BUT MORE REALISTIC. BUT IF THEY WERE TO LOOK AT MY BIOGRAPHY, I'VE BEEN MUCH LESS AN ACTIVIST THAN MOST OF MY READERS, WHO UPON REFLECTION, COULD LIKELY CLAIM TO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN MORE PUBLIC PROTESTS AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE THAN ME. AS A NEWSPAPER REPORTER / EDITOR, FOR MANY YEARS, AND A COLUMNIST WITH THE LOCAL PRESS FOR DECADES AFTER THIS, (AND WORKING FOR A CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION AS PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR) I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO APPLY MYSELF TO ACTIVISM, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE CONTAMINATED MY VOW OF OBJECTIVITY. EVEN AS A COLUMNIST, I AM COMPELLED BY CONSCIENCE, TO MY READERS, TO BE FAIR, ALTHOUGH MOST COUNCILLORS HERE, IN GRAVENHURST, WOULD FIND THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE.
I MUST ADMIT, I HAVE FOUND IT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO COMPLIMENT THIS PRESENT COUNCIL, BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO. I THINK WHAT BOTHERS ME MOST, LOCALLY, IS THAT COUNCILLORS PREFER TO HUDDLE WITHIN, THAN EXPOSE THEMSELVES TO HARDY CRITIQUES INDIVIDUALLY. RATHER THAN BELIEVING THEY HAVE TO BE RIGHT, AND STAND TIGHT IN THEIR DECISIONS, THEY TEND, FOR WHATEVER REASON, TO LOOK UPON CRITICISM AS IF CONSTITUENTS ARE BEING AS MOOT, AS TO COMMENT ON THE OUTFITS THEY'RE WEARING; VERSUS THE POLICIES THEY ARE ENDORSING. I GREW UP IN AN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT, EVEN ON THE JOB, THAT MADE IT VERY CLEAR, I WOULD NEVER KNOW IT ALL. IT'S WHY I ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS. IF I DON'T KNOW SOMETHING, THAT IS IMPORTANT TO MYSELF, FAMILY, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, I INTEND TO ASK FOR CLARIFICATION. IT SHOULDN'T NECESSITATE ANY ONE RUNNING FOR COVER, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER HIT ANYONE SINCE MY HOCKEY DAYS; WHEN I CONFESS, I WHACKED A LOT OF ANKLES WITH MY STICK, OF FORWARDS JAMMING MY GOAL CREASE. I'M SORRY I MIGHT ANNOY COUNCILLORS BY NOT ALWAYS ACCEPTING THEIR WORD AS GOSPEL, OR AGREEING WITH THEIR DECISIONS. AS MANY CITIZENS ON THIS GLOBE, DON'T HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF DEMOCRACY, AT THEIR BACK, I MAKE UP FOR IT, BY USING OURS CONSTANTLY.
THERE ARE SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS, I THINK, WHO FIND DEMOCRATIC PRIVILEGE A BIT OF A NUISANCE. PUBLIC CONSULTATION A WASTE OF TIME. IF I WAS AN ACTIVIST IN EARNEST, THIS IS WHERE I WOULD FOCUS MY ATTENTION. TO EDUCATE COUNCILLORS ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF CONSTITUENTS TO ASK QUESTIONS, AND RECEIVE CORRECT ANSWERS IN RESPONSE. NOT ANSWERS MEANT TO BLOW-OFF THE OVER-INQUISITIVE. BANKABLE ANSWERS, THAT SHOW CONCERNED CITIZENS, THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE REPRESENTING THEIR BEST INTERESTS, AS A COMMUNITY; WITH CORRESPONDING EVIDENCE THIS IS TRUE. IF I'VE HEARD, "YOU CAN'T DO BUSINESS WITH TOWN," ONCE, I'VE HEARD IT DOZENS OF TIMES IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS, FOR ALL KINDS OF REASONS. WHY ARE CITIZENS SAYING THIS? HOW WOULD PRESENT COUNCILLORS ADDRESS THIS QUESTION? OR WOULD THEY ENDORSE A BLANKET RESPONSE, LIKE "YOU'RE ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION," OR "LET THEM EAT CAKE!" IS THIS A GOOD REPUTATION TO HAVE? THAT THE TOWN IS DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH; PRESUMABLY, TO ADVANCE PROJECTS? COUNCIL AND COUNCILLORS DON'T LIKE TO ADMIT BEING WRONG. NOW THAT'S REALLY WRONG. WE CAN'T BE RIGHT ALL OF THE TIME. ADMITTING THAT, HOWEVER, IS THE GREAT LIBERATION OF CONSCIENCE. WE DON'T SEE MUCH LIBERATION AROUND HERE.
WHAT CONSTITUENTS WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE, BEGINS WITH ITS PERCEIVED AND ACTUAL DYNAMIC OF TRANSPARENCY. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US ALL, WHO VALUE THE DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES WE ARE AFFORDED IN THIS COUNTRY, TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE COUNCIL MECHANISM WORKS. HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE, AND REASONS WHY. THERE SEEMS TO BE A MUCH STRICTER CONTROL OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, THESE DAYS, AND THE REASON IT HAS SEEMED THIS WAY, IS LARGELY BECAUSE THE LOCAL MEDIA HASN'T BARED THEIR FANGS; IF THERE ARE ANY FANGS AT ALL. FOR MANY YEARS IN MUSKOKA, WE ABSOLUTELY DEPENDED ON THE PRESS, TO PULL BACK THE CURTAINS ON BACK ROOM DEALS, AND "OUT" THOSE WHO WERE CARRYING ON NEGOTIATIONS IN SECRET; WITH THE VERY REAL CONCEPT, AS RIDICULOUS AS IT IS, THAT WHAT THE PUBLIC DOESN'T KNOW WON'T HURT THEM. THIS KIND OF THING HAPPENS WHEN THE PRESS LOSES ITS INTEREST IN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM; AND COUNCIL RARELY BEGS THE PRESS TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER INTO THEIR BUSINESS AFFAIRS. HONESTLY, FROM MY YEARS AS ONE OF THOSE PRYING REPORTERS, IT IS THE BEST RELIEF VALVE FOR ANY COUNCIL. CO-OPERATION WITH THE MEDIA, TO PROVIDE INFORMATION THE PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW ABOUT, SERVES TO TUNE-UP THE WHOLE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, AND IMPROVE RELATIONS ALL ROUND. BUT HERE'S THE PROBLEM. TODAY, MORE THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE, THERE IS A "WHAT THEY DON'T KNOW WON'T HURT THEM," ATTITUDE OF ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND BECAUSE THERE IS NO PRYING MEDIA, IN COMPARISON TO THE PAST THIRTY YEARS IN THIS REGION, THIS MANTRA IS THE ROCKS OF THE FORTRESS AROUND COUNCIL'S BEHAVIOR.
IF THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH SHORTFALLS OF TRANSPARENCY, AND IT SAVES THEM STIRRING UP A HORNET'S NEST OF CONTROVERSY, GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT'S THE POPULAR CHOICE OF CIRCUMNAVIGATING ALL DIFFICULT SITUATIONS. THE PROBLEM IS, TRYING TO AVOID A NASTY SHOWDOWN, BY MINIMIZING THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW, OFTEN SNAPS BACK WITH TWICE THE FORCE; AS IF IT HAD, OUT OF A SENSE OF DUTY, BEEN BROUGHT TO THE PUBLIC ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. WE DO HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE UP TO, AND DESPITE WHAT COUNCILLORS MIGHT BELIEVE IS AN INVISIBLE FORCE-FIELD AT THE FRONT OF TOWN HALL, DEMOCRACY WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL; ALTHOUGH ADMITTEDLY THE PROCESS FRUSTRATES MANY OF US, AND DELAYS RE-ACTION TO WHAT WE FIND OBJECTIONABLE. WHILE COUNCILLORS, WISHING TO BE ELECTED, WILL PROMISE TRANSPARENCY, FIVE MINUTES AFTER BEING SWORN IN, THE METAMORPHOSIS COMMENCES. WHAT THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW BECOMES, MINUTE BY MINUTE THEREAFTER, A MUCH LESS SIGNIFICANT CONCERN; AND OUR RIGHT TO KNOW BECOMES SEVERELY COMPROMISED BY A SCULPTED PRIVACY POLICY, THAT SEEMS TO US CIVILIANS, LIKE IT WAS CUSTOM BUILT TO KEEP US OUT OF THE LOOP. POWER CORRUPTS. THE SAME WILL HAPPEN WITH THE INCOMING COUNCIL, WHEN THEY'RE SWORN IN LATER THIS YEAR. THEY WILL SLOWLY MORPH THEIR OWN COUNCIL PRIVACY TAKE ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO POSSESS, IN TERMS OF OPERATIONAL INFORMATION; AND AFTER AWHILE, WE'LL BE REMINDED THAT ELECTION PROMISES ARE CHEAP AND BREAKABLE. A COUNCIL THAT IS ALLOWED TO OPERATE IN SECRECY, WILL OPERATE IN SECRECY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. IT'S NOT UNTIL A LEGAL CHALLENGE OR PROTEST, OR THE MEDIA GETS HUNGRY FOR A HEADLINE, THAT THEIR CONDUCT, AS A GOVERNANCE BODY, IS CHALLENGED.
I'VE TRIED FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, TO CONVINCE COUNCILLORS, THE FEW THAT WILL EVEN TALK TO ME, THAT BEING CHALLENGED ON POLICY AND DIRECTION IS A GOOD THING. THERE ARE A LOT OF EXPERTS WITHIN THE CONSTITUENCY. THEY DON'T WANT COUNCIL TO FAIL, BECAUSE THAT MEANS OUR TOWN SUFFERS; BUT THEY WANT TO FEEL THAT THEY CAN APPROACH COUNCIL, AND NOT BE GIVEN THE BUM'S RUSH, BECAUSE NO FEEDBACK WAS REQUESTED.
THERE IS A FEELING HERE, IN GRAVENHURST, MORE SO THAN I HAVE SEEN IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, IN MUSKOKA, THAT CONTRARY OPINION ISN'T WANTED. WHEN THE WINTER CARNIVAL, THIS PAST WINTER, WAS REMOVED FROM THE MAIN STREET OF TOWN, BECAUSE OF BIA OBJECTIONS TO CLOSING MUSKOKA ROAD FOR EVENTS, THE TOWN, WHICH MADE THE ULTIMATE FINAL DECISION ON THE MATTER, REFUSED TO CONSULT THE MERCHANTS IN THE SUBJECT AREA FIRST. EVEN THOUGH THEY SUSPECTED IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO DO! THEY WOULDN'T MAKE THE EFFORT, OF VISITING THOSE BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS MOST EFFECTED BY THE SHORT-TERM ROAD CLOSURE, FOR AN EVENT, THAT WAS DESIGNED TO PROMOTE WINTER ACTIVITY, AND OFF-SEASON TOURISM. I CAN UNDERSTAND THE WINTER CARNIVAL COMMITTEE BEING BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE, AS THEY NEED THE TOWN SUPPORT FOR USE OF PUBLIC FACILITIES, BUT HONESTLY, ENABLING THE TOWN TO GET AWAY WITH THIS WAS WRONG IN SO MANY WAYS. WE CURRIES HAD A GOODLY NUMBER OF SUPPORTERS, WHO WOULD HAVE GONE TO BAT FOR THE WINTER CARNIVAL COMMITTEE, BUT WE WEREN'T ASKED TO SUPPORT THEM AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL. ALL THAT WOULD HAVE COME OUT OF IT, WAS A GIANT CONTROVERSY THE COMMITTEE DIDN'T NEED HEAPED ONTO WHAT, I'M SURE, WAS, AND STILL IS A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING. BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HARD FOR ME, A CONCERNED CITIZEN AND BUSINESS OWNER IN THE AFFECTED AREA, TO RESIST ASKING FOR THE RESIGNATIONS, OF EVERY COUNCILLOR WHO VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE BIA REQUEST, TO FORMALLY DENY THE WINTER CARNIVAL'S ANNUAL REQUEST, TO CLOSE THE ROAD FOR THE SPECIAL EVENTS OF FEBRUARY 2014. WHAT WAS PARTICULARLY IRKSOME, WAS THE FACT THE WHOLE BIA MEMBERSHIP WASN'T ASKED TO VOTE ON THE MATTER IN THE FIRST PLACE. WE WOULD NEVER HAVE VOTED TO CHALLENGE THE WINTER CARNIVAL COMMITTEE, AS WE HAD PARTNERED WITH THEM IN PAST EVENTS, TO WRITE AND PERFORM THE WINTER CARNIVAL THEME SONG. THIS WAS A DEBACLE. COUNCIL MADE A MISTAKE. THE BIA MADE AN ERROR IN JUDGEMENT, NOT ASKING FOR A FULL CONSENSUS OF MEMBERS. COUNCIL SHOULD HAVE CONDUCTED THE VOTE TO MAKE SURE THEIR REPS HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO THE MAINSTREET COMMUNITY. THIS IS A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLE, OF HOW COUNCIL FAILED THE COMMUNITY. DUE DILIGENCE IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY, AND THEY DIDN'T THINK IT WAS NECESSARY TO ATTAIN AN ACCURATE CONSENSUS. THEY KNOW DIFFERENTLY TODAY. BUT WILL THEY DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN? FORGIVE US IF WE WORRY ABOUT THE PRECEDENTS OF THE PAST.
AS FAR AS THE BIA BOUNDARY EXPANSION DEBACLE, THE TOWN AND THE BIA WERE TAUGHT A VALUABLE LESSON, ABOUT THE FULL BOUNDARY OF EXERCISED DEMOCRACY. THE TOWN COULD, AND SHOULD HAVE INFORMED THE BIA, VERY EARLY-ON IN NEGOTIATIONS, FOR DOWNTOWN AREA EXPANSION, THAT THE BOUNDARY REQUEST WAS RIDICULOUSLY HUGE; AND THAT THEY WOULD NOT ENDORSE SUCH A RISKY VENTURE WHICH WOULD IMPOSE ADDITIONAL TAXATION AT A TIME WHEN ADMITTEDLY, THE SAME REGION HAD BEEN ECONOMICALLY STRESSED. IT WAS THE LAST THING THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY NEEDED. ONE MORE UNNECESSARY, UNWANTED, FINANCIAL OBLIGATION. I BELIEVE THE TOWN COULD HAVE STOMPED ON THIS EARLY ON, AND DEMANDED THE BIA SCALE BACK ITS REQUEST FOR A BOUNDARY CHANGE, TO REFLECT SENSIBLE PROPORTION. THERE WAS NO SENSIBLE PROPORTION TO IT; AND THEIR COMBINED LACK OF INTUITION ABOUT SUCH THINGS, HERALDED THAT STIR...., THE SPARK OF OPPOSITION, FROM DEMOCRATIC PRIVILEGE, THAT HOPEFULLY SENT A MESSAGE TO BOTH THE TOWN AND THE BIA, THAT THERE ARE NO DONE DEALS JUST BECAUSE IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME. THEY MIGHT NOT SEE IT THIS WAY, BUT HAVING TO PRESENT THE PLAN FOR MANDATORY PUBLIC SCRUTINY, (MUCH WAS DONE BEHIND THE SCENES TO FIGHT THIS) FIRED-UP SOME LATENT ACTIVISM, AND HONESTLY, IT WAS KIND OF THRILLING TO KNOW THE SLEEPING GIANT WAS ONLY DOZING.
INSTEAD OF NOT CARING ABOUT PUBLIC INPUT, AND LOATHING OBJECTIONS, TO WHAT WAS SEEN BY COUNCIL AS A PRESENTABLE PLAN, THE CRITICAL APPROACH TO GOVERNANCE, MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE ENHANCED DECISION MAKING; BECAUSE, AS RELATES TO THE EXAMPLES ABOVE, THERE WERE CONSTITUENTS IN THE EARLY GOING OF BOTH SITUATIONS, WHO COULD HAVE SAVED A LOT OF FRUSTRATION AND IMPASSE, IF THEY HAD BEEN WELCOMED TO SHARE, AS A PREAMBLE INVESTIGATION, (RUNNING THE IDEA UP THE FLAGPOLE TO JUDGE CONSENSUS) THEIR CONCERNS. BEFORE A LOT OF PAPER AND PROTOCOL RULED THAT OUT. THE WORD ON THE STREET, LONG BEFORE THE VOTE TO ACCEPT THE EXPANSION OF THE BIA COVERAGE AREA, WAS, "HELL WILL FREEZE OVER FIRST." IF THE BIA HAD TRULY BEEN LISTENING TO THEIR GRAPEVINE, THEY WOULD HAVE DROPPED THE PLAN VERSUS FAN ADVERSITY. I TRULY BELIEVE THE TOWN, THAT HAS CONSIDERABLE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE BIA INITIATIVES, COULD HAVE LOBBIED FOR A GREATLY REDUCED EXPANSION PROPOSAL, OR ASKED FOR AN INDEFINITE HIATUS, TO GATHER MORE INFORMATION; MORE CONSENSUS. I WASN'T IN ON THE FINAL PUSH, TO OUT-VOTE THOSE WHO WANTED THE EXPANSION. I WAS NOT ASKED FOR EVEN ONCE SENTENCE OF INPUT, OR TO JOIN A DELEGATION TO FIGHT THE ISSUE AT TOWN HALL. I DID WRITE ABOUT THE ISSUE MANY TIMES BEFORE THE ACTUAL VOTE, BUT THE PROPERTY OWNERS AND BUSINESS PROPRIETORS, WHO NEEDED TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED, EXERCISED THEIR RIGHTS. OF COURSE I WAS PLEASED. PLEASED MORE SO, THAT DEMOCRACY RULED. THE PEOPLE IN THE AFFECTED AREA WERE AWARE WHAT WAS COMING AT THEM, AND IT WASN'T THE RESULT OF A PARTICULARLY KEEN MEDIA. IT CAME FROM INTERNAL ACTIVISM, TO ACHIEVE AN OBJECTIVE, OF VOTING DOWN THE PLAN.
THE LESSON OF THE "NO" VOTE, AGAINST BIA EXPANSION, IS A PRIME EXAMPLE, OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN, WHEN CONSTITUENTS GET FED UP WITH THE PROCESS OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE, WITH ITS IMPOSITIONS. IT SHOULD BE A POSTER EXAMPLE, OF WHAT CONSTITUENTS CAN IMPOSE ON THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS, BY ORGANIZING STRONG GROUPS AND COMMITTEES, TO INSIST COUNCIL PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR REQUESTS. IT DOESN'T MEAN TO SUGGEST, THAT THE ONLY WAY IS TO FORCE-FEED DEMOCRATIC RIGHT, AND EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL RIGHT. SOMETIMES LOBBY AND RELATED PRESSURE GROUPS MAY BE REPRESENTING AN UNDESIRABLE POLICY, OR UNWORKABLE PLAN OF ACTION. BUT IT IS AT THE VERY LEAST, THEIR RIGHT TO MAKE SUBMISSION, AND ENTIRELY NECESSARY, FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO LISTEN FIRST, BEFORE HAMMERING DOWN THEIR OBJECTION, OR DENYING THE APPLICATIONS. WE ALL WANT A TOWN COUNCIL THAT IS OPEN TO INPUT, BUT WE DON'T EXPECT TO GET OUR WAY, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE ORGANIZED, WELL STAFFED, HAVING POWERFUL ARGUMENTS AND LEGAL REPRESENTATION. WE DO WANT THE SYSTEM TO BE FAVORABLE TO THE DEMOCRATIC RIGHT, TO GAIN AN AUDIENCE OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS; AND TO KNOW HOW, AND WHY, ANY REQUEST OR PETITION, IS DENIED OR APPROVED. PRESENTERS, REGARDLESS WHAT THE ISSUE, THEY ARE PUTTING FORWARD, NEED TO FEEL THEIR POSITION IS TAKEN SERIOUSLY. THE VOTES BY COUNCILLORS, SHOULD BE BASED ON KNOWLEDGE, PRECEDENTS, POLICY, AND SENSIBLE PROPORTION TO THE WANTS AND NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. PERSONAL AGENDAS GET IN THE WAY, LIKE A STICK JAMMED INTO A SPINNING WHEEL. I WORRY A LOT ABOUT THESE AGENDAS, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH ELECTION PROMISES. OUR COUNCILLORS ARE ELECTED TO REPRESENT THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CONSTITUENTS, WHO BY THE WAY, ARE NOT JUST PROPERTY AND BUSINESS OWNERS. COUNCILLORS ARE OUR STEWARDS AS WELL, AND SOME DECISIONS CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT THE NATURE OF OUR REGION. THIS WORRIES ME MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, BECAUSE IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE AND WILL HAPPEN AGAIN; THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRUMPS ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS.
WHY DON'T YOU KEEP YOUR BIG MOUTH SHUT - THEN ALL WILL BE GOOD IN EDEN!
If Suzanne and I had weighed the advantages, of living in South Muskoka, based on our support and respect for the politics of the region, we would have moved twenty years ago. This is a very political area, and at times, in my opinion, it seems more like a return of the Family Compact, of Upper Canada, with power tightly held in the hands of a few. I would probably have to explain this reference to some councillors, who slept through that part of High School history class. Point is, there is deluded thinking here, that being a town councillor is somehow a matter of divine intervention. Political agenda trumping the protestations of the peasant-underlings. Understanding, from an historical point of view, what sparks revolution, there is a limit to what the constituents of any community, are going to put up with, in terms of wide-spread indifference to our state of the union. While it's true, that a lot of citizens, have just given up trying to fight town hall, or even run for political office, it's not true that the citizens are passive to what's happening to their community. Their way of fighting back today, is more precision, and surgical than I can remember in the past, with more localized issues and protests; versus having thousands march on town hall to scare councillors into retreat. I predict it's going to happen a lot more, where well managed opposition, is going to rely less on vast numbers, to crowd a council chambers, but more legal representation from the get-go, to preserve whatever integrity they're pursuing. Hong Kong style street protests, I think, are less relevant here. Precision is easier to hone and manage.
The reason our family has remained in Gravenhurst, despite many major philosophical, political differences with elected officials, is that we adore everything else about this South Muskoka jewel. It is a hometown worth fighting for! When our boys finished studies at Gravenhurst High School, it was a natural extension for our sons, Andrew and Robert, to look locally for an opportunity to remain here, open a business, and eventually raise their own families. When we arrived here in the late nineteen eighties, we worried initially, that we had made a mistake. The next day (and it was this quick), we were tromping around in The Bog, next door, thrilled to bits, about this most amazing neighborhood, in such a quaint, historic little town. It was a little town then
and for all intents and purposes, it still is; but elected officials I'm sure, think of it as a metropolis instead.
Through the years since, we have seldom found ourselves onside with the decisions of Town Council. Sometimes, yes. But truthfully, we have lost a lot of respect for local governance, after the debacle of The Bog. What shocked us all so much, was that these elected officials, were prepared to consider the twenty acre wetland surplus property, without visiting the site. We only know of two council members who took the time to visit, and see what topography they were about to declare surplus (basically, useless land otherwise, that might turn a profit when sold off). In turn, councillors became irate with us, because we kept harping at this point. Before you go any further, with the plan to unload the property, come and visit with us, who consider ourselves up-to-speed about the intricacies of this particular wetland. How else were we to look at the shunning, other than a raised middle finger in our direction? We won back the property, based on the accounts from those who visited the property, discussing it with other councillors, who had apparently been too busy to perform their own due diligence. It left a bad impression, let me tell you, of what other similar situations the town might entertain from the council table; not first hand immersion.
The Curries, like most folk in this town, are generally pacifists. We don't get up in at the morning, planning to object to a town initiative. But by experience, we know that remaining silent, and agreeable, has its dire consequence. We continue to believe in our town, knowing it to be a good place to live and work. We have come to tolerate the decisions made at town hall, but have no reservation whatsoever, of rearing up, the moment we feel too many liberties have been taken at our general expense. While we don't have even a single entry written into our "up next" book, of pending protests, it takes but a moment to jot down a few helpful notes. We are prepared to give a new council the benefit of the doubt. It will be a shallow patience, due to a lot of bad experiences in the past. What we would appreciate so much, is for councillors to get out from behind the council table, and the comforts of the town hall we afforded (when actually we couldn't), and meet with constituents on the hustings. Not just on special occasions. If there is any one failing of councillors, serving this town, at present, it's the clear fact, they are not visible and approachable day to day, even occasionally strolling in our commercial areas, visiting with shop-keeps, where there's a lot to be learned; by those apparently interested in economic development. The first step, and I shouldn't have to tell them this, is to know what the economic conditions are at present. So maybe future councillors, might think it a good investment in community relations, to immerse themselves in the town they are vested to govern. There's more to running this town, than sitting around a council table.
This may be considered harping and annoying; rabble rousing and unsportsmanlike conduct. I come from a long line of critical thinkers, who believe, that more compensating good, can come from constructive criticism, than will, by its nature, inflict actual emotional scarring. It was once said to me that elected officials have thick skin. I pondered it this meant they weren't easily offended, or that it was okay to blast them at will, because they wouldn't be paying attention anyway.
Our family has voted for our choice of council representatives. I'd like to say, we have high hopes the election will determine the best of the best. We'll see!
But Ted, what do you really want? I knew someone would press me for this kind of confessional. Well, what would be nice to see, and hear, is a Town Council that doesn't dismiss the history of our town, and community, as yesterday's news. A Council that appreciates there is more to our past than steamships, and what may be on display at a local museum. It's not my suggestion that town should live as a retrospective of former councils. Happiness for me, stretches beyond heritage conservation. Saving heritage architecture, in my opinion, is a waste of time and money, without a genuine conviction by town hall, that historical record is just as important, and deserving of is rightful place as a functional template, for what we want as our progress for the future. It doesn't take much searching back in the archives, to find photographs of a thriving, full, traffic-laden main street, fifty to a hundred years ago. Do you think now and again, councillors might look back on these images for inspiration, on how it could become again. Ah, the precedents of the past, just as worthy today, as they were in their vintage of actuality. We don't need to re-invent the wheel. We just need to go back to the time it was invented, and remind ourselves how innovation sparks imagination in the first place. It's a big nutshell, but this is it!
FROM THE ARCHIVES
THE TREACHEROUS LOGGING OPERATIONS IN MUSKOKA
HUNDREDS ARE KILLED AND SERIOUSLY INJURED BY MISADVENTURE
"Come to the land of rivers, and groves of goodly pine, a land to last forever, to be both yours and mine; our rulers now, God bless them, in wisdom they designed, Free Grants of land to give away, in this most favored clime."
The verse is from "The Backwood's Song," sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, and was published in the 1871 "Settlers' Guide," entitled properly, "Muskoka and Parry Sound," by Thomas McMurray. "One hundred acres every man, shall have on terms good, only to come and lead the van, to grand Muskoka's wood. Here are the falls of splendor, magnificent and grand; and here are nature's wonders, on these same free tracts of land."
"Here may the angler's wishes, be more than satisfied; a good shot may make riches, down by the Severn side. The Severn side in his grandeur, which dashes from rock to rock, reminds us of our native land, our fathers free tracts of land."
"Then come along, young men of sense, bring axes and bring hoes; begin your farms now to clear - the woods resound with blows. Your old friends and your comrades may wish to live at ease; take courage boys, and come along, it will your sweetheart please."
Homesteaders on this new frontier, of the 1860's and 70's, did profit from the fact their free grant allocations were forested. The trees felled were used for building the first cabins and out buildings, the remainders used to heat the abodes, and to sell off to others in need of fuel. Excess timber, being cleared from future agricultural plots, could be sold off to bring money in, at a time when there were no harvests…..because any open fields were full of stumps that had to be removed over many months if not years. As the soil in Muskoka is thin on top of rock, and the growing season was short, agriculture could not rival the logging enterprise as a parallel industry. The logging economy helped homesteaders, by employing the young men of the family over the winter months, into the spring. The unfortunate reality of logging, was that it took its toll on the work force. Many were killed by falling trees, axe mishaps, falls, crushed by rolling logs, and those river drivers who drowned in the lakes and rivers during the spring run. The story, as told by family historian, Bert Shea, in his second book, "History of The Sheas and the Paths of Adventure," looks at a later period in the lumber business, but none the less, the dangers were ever present. Many of those homesteaders and their sons, didn't come back after the spring drive, and others came back with serious injuries, without a lot of money to survive, but still facing the demands of isolated farmstead life. A missing arm or leg for a farmer, could kill the chances to successful cultivation and harvests on the rock strewn acreages. There was no government compensation or industry insurance, to cover death or injury. The ladies of the homestead, lost their men, husbands and sons, in increasing numbers, to the treacherous conditions of the logging industry.
Now we return to the Three Mile Lake area, the Dee River, and the falls of Dee Bank, near the Village of Windermere, on Lake Rosseau. (If you are just joining us, having missed yesterday's blog, please archive back to read the preamble to this logging tale).
The logs were going over the rapids. Earl Duboise was standing on a pier "in the middle of the river at the head of the spillway, with the wild water boiling all around him, the last of the plank dam at the rivermouth had been taken out to wash the river clear of logs. Dr. McGibbon (of Bracebridge, who had been in the area to visit a patient, was on the riverbank to watch), called to him (Earl) to get out of that place or get drowned. Earl laughed, jumped up and clicked his heels together, waved to the doctor, and continued to feed logs through the slide. The doctor shook his head and went away - gone on his medical duties," wrote Bert Shea.
The historian recorded of the incident, "The last of the logs had gone through and over, and the glance booms were about to be released from their anchor but someone hesitated to break them apart. But the drive had been cleaned off the lake and over the falls in record time. Thrilled by this, someone called 'Let them all go together.' Dubois stabbed his pike pole into the lot of the first boom and guided it to the slide; it entered, followed by another but for some reason they failed to keep a draw on the following members and the speed of the upper water swung the remaining timbers sideways to the current, driving them forcibly against the pier on which Dubois was standing. As Billie Crowder told me years after, 'I stood right there on the bank of the river and saw the whole affair. When the booms swung they came so fast sideways and hit the pier with such force, there never was such a report from a cannon. The pier completely disappeared. I saw Earl shoot up in the air and then he turned and headfirst, he struck the water right at the break over the falls, and the last I saw of him, was the caulked boots disappearing in the water and then what a roar as the water in the fore bay emptied as well."
According to Billie Crowder's account, "All the drivers heard the crash and saw he was gone. Some went down the river below the falls to catch him if he floated up but there was no sign of him. I could see there was only one thing to do and that was to shut the water off up at the dam at the lake, and I started up. Add Vetich was there and some other went with me. There were men all along the river below the falls searching for Earl but when we arrived at the dam, the whole channel was running free; there was a pile of two inch elm planks on the bank, fourteen feet long and twelve inches wide, green and heavy."
"Black Billie Crowder picked up the first plank and walked out on the pier, lifted the plank above his head, turned it in the air and brought it down into that fast water endways at an angle that when caught by the water, it was snapped into its place at the lower end, far below the the surface of the water, and held against the bottom timbers that held the bottom of the dam. We handed him another and another, setting their edges together one foot at a time, walking that trembling timber over that racing water till the last plank was in; that closed the flow of water. We who carried the planks to him had helped in amazement. We didn't know there was such a man among us. Of a hundred and twenty-five men, there was not another who had the strength or the nerve, or the knowledge of how to handle those heavy planks and in that fast water, to put them in so that each one snapped right into its place and not a miss," wrote Bert Shea of the effort to save Earl Dubois.
He continues his recollection, noting that, "Down below were boulders and broken rocks; here we spread out to look and there he was, just below where Billie Crowder said he last saw him as he disappeared. He was driven head first in between two boulders. We had to pull on him to get him out - he was all smashed up. When free, Billie Crowder picked him up and put him on his shoulder, one hundred and eighty pounds, and carried him out of the riverbed, stepping from stone to stone and up the south bank and he laid him down on a rock, fell on his knees and looking into his face, he said, 'Earl, why didn't you come out of there when the doctor told you that you had been there too long then?' He straightened up slightly, put his hand on Earl and said, 'My cousin Caroline's little boy.' He then threw himself on the ground on his face and cried like a child. The men had all gathered around, not a word was spoken, silence reigned, even the mighty river that had for centuries flowed in freedom and might, and the falls whose voice even cause the earth to tremble in flood time, and had never known silence, after its desperate act, stood silent and subdued."
In conclusion Mr. Shea writes of the tragedy, "At length someone picked up an axe and slowly walked up the river to the dam and standing in a safe place, swung a few sharp blows with the cutting edge into the downstream edge of the pine timber that warped from the strain, then came the crackling of the timber, the shifting of the planks and the roar of the water as it broke free, carrying the wreckage of the dam before its flood. The tumbling of the river once more became alive; the voice of the falls returned to its thunder and spray. A light evening breeze caught a column of mist and bore it heavenward beyond our sight, as if in token of the life that gone from our midst."
(Taken from a poem in Mr. Shea's book, entitled "The Boom Chain's Lament." "I am hoping to hear me the sound of the river, in springtime when cataracts and rapids roll free, and the voices of men around me with pike poles, with the white water flying and the logs running free. I long for the surge of the booms in my linkage, that snugs me together to my toggle snub-tree, in the snow or the rain as it drops from the willows, and the cannon-like book of the logs running free. Or the days and the nights that I rode on the waters, and bound the boom of timbers that circled the logs, as we moved by the wind or the gales on high waters, or the throb of the piston that towed us along. For a life, for to work I was forged by my maker, as he welded each link so neat and so strong, with a toggle and ring that held me together, my strength unbounded and my years service was long."
The verses continues, "Could I go back to the days of my making, with the men and my fellows as we used to be, but the logs are all finished and the men have departed, and I'm alone in this place, just my memories and me. For years I have waited since he set my last toggle, the boss of the drivers, this is where he hung me, on this beam in this barn, I am here as a witness, of the days that have parted and ne'er more shall be. I have heard the voices of his loved ones in mourning, and the men of the river in silent groups standing around, the slow tread of the horses and wheels of the carriages, as they bore him away to the quiet burying ground."
I am told, there are many unmarked graves, holding the remains of fallen loggers, crushed or drowned during the river drive. You may find one yourself, along some local river bank, in proximity to a water fall, where the danger was always highest. It was generally acceptable, to hastily arranged funeral parties, that these graves could be pleasantly situated at the base of falls or rapids, where the loggers themselves would stop for river camps, and for food preparations. And to bury any logger who had perished in the vicinity. Someone in the group would say a few words, extend heartfelt wishes, praying their comrade would get to heaven, with "God-speed." Then it was back to work. As cut and dried as that! There were contracts to complete, wages to earn, loggers to pay.
I have often called upon Bert Shea's book, for early homesteading research and of course his many references to life in lumber camps, and during the winter cuts. Bert was Suzanne's uncle, and lived in close proximity to the family farm, established by her grandfather, John Shea, a former municipal clerk in the Township of Muskoka Lakes. Since the first time I used portions of the Earl Dubois story, back in the mid-to-late 1980's, (Muskoka Sun)I've never been able to look at a boom chain, pike pole or two-man saw, without thinking about the tragic event, that took a young logger's life.
There are lots of incredible Muskoka stories contained in the hundreds of locally written histories, kept in the "Muskoka Collections" of our regional libraries. As an antique dealer, and collector, with a home base in Gravenhurst, I have long made it a point to know the history of our community and our region. It may seem like a waste of time to some dealers, but you'd be surprised how many times I have drawn on my knowledge of local history, when dealing with long time citizens, and family, about cherished collections and artifacts they wish to sell. When they wish to talk about local heritage, and the role their families played, in most cases, I'm well aware of their place in community affairs…..and feel I can chat intelligently about the way it was……and the way it has since become. Trust is important. Being sensitive to history and having the knowledge to carry on a conversation about it, can't help but to facilitate an understanding…….an appreciation, that while on the open market, the items will have a money value. In the hands of the owners, the value isn't always about money. They would like to pass the items on, with a story…..and of this, I am an eager listener.
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