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| Photography of Archdeacon Gowan Gillmor, "The Tramp" |
"THE SEASONS OF THE LILAC," PART EIGHTEEN - WE LIVE TODAY WITH WHAT THEY FOUNDED YESTERDAY
THE INTERESTING POINTS OF HISTORY THAT COME UP, NOW AND AGAIN - FOR BETTER OR WORSE
FOLLOWING THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY, SUZANNE AND I ARE PLANNING TO STEP-UP OUR MUSKOKA HISTORY RESOURCES SERVICES, THROUGH OUR GRAVENHURST ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE SHOP, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, OPPOSITE THE OPERA HOUSE. THERE ARE A LOT OF BUSINESSES THESE DAYS, PROMOTING THEIR ENTERPRISES AS A TRUE EXPERIENCE IN "MUSKOKA LIVING," AND CLAIM, RATHER HAPHAZARDLY, THEIR PASSION FOR THE "MUSKOKA EXPERIENCE." I'M WILLING TO BET, THAT THE USE OF "MUSKOKA," AND BEING RESPECTFUL OF THE "MUSKOKA TRADITIONS," AS BUSINESS ENTITIES, ARE A LITTLE FLIMSY ON THE HARDCORE "HERITAGE SIDE." THERE ARE BUSINESSES THAT WILL TRY ANYTHING TO WIN CUSTOMERS, BY CLAIMING THEY ARE THE DEFINITIVE MUSKOKA SHOP, SERVICE OR ACCOMMODATION. AS A REASONABLY ASTUTE HISTORIAN, SERVING THIS AREA FOR A LONG TIME, I KNOW WHY THEY MAKE THE CLAIMS, BUT I COULD NEVER MAKE THE SAME STATEMENTS, BECAUSE OF THE INCUMBENT RESPONSIBILITY TO, AS THEY SAY, "PUT UP OR SHUT UP." SUZANNE AND I ARE LONG SERVING REGIONAL HISTORIANS, BUT WE WON'T ACCEPT THE STRIPES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, UNTIL SOMEONE OR SOME GROUP OF AUTHORITY, IN THESE MATTERS OF HERITAGE PROTECTION, FEEL WE HAVE PASSED ALL THE REQUIRED TESTS EVERY OTHER HISTORIAN HAS BEEN TASKED WITH, TO PROVE LOYALTY AND STEWARDSHIP TO THE REGION. WHILE WE MIGHT CLAIM THAT WE ARE MUSKOKA HISTORIANS, WE CAN PROVE THIS; SO READ THIS COLUMN FOR A FEW WEEKS. BUT WE WOULD NEVER TOUT OURSELVES AS THE END-ALL, AS FAR AS BEING THE CAT'S ARSE OF LOCAL HISTORICAL TYPES. WE'RE JUST TWO OF NUMEROUS HISTORIANS WORKING DAILY IN THE PROFESSION, OF REPRESENTING OUR REGION. AS FAR AS CLAIMING THAT WE ARE THE BIGGEST OF THE BIG, AND THE BEST HERITAGE STEWARDS ON THE BLOCK, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, OR IN THE DISTRICT, IS RIDICULOUS. WE DON'T SELF-APPPOINT OURSELVES, OR OUR BUSINESS, AS BEING "TRADITIONALLY MUSKOKAN," BECAUSE HONESTLY, WE'RE STILL RESEARCHING WHAT MUSKOKA TRADITIONS ARE; THIS SERIES OF BLOGS WAS A STARTING BLOCK IN MANY WAYS, IN TRYING TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION.
WE HAVE HAD A BUSY SUMMER AND FALL SEASON AT THE SHOP, AND I'VE HAD TO STEAL QUITE A BIT OF STORE TIME, TO WRITE THESE BLOGS. BUT SUZANNE AND I HAVE PLANNED, FOR SOME TIME, TO IMBED OURSELVES EVER-DEEPER IN MUSKOKA STUDIES, AND HERITAGE PROMOTION. WE HAVE NO AFFILIATION, AND DON'T BELONG TO ANY ORGANIZATION. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE TO THE CAUSE, OF KNOWING MORE ABOUT THE PLACE WE CALL OUR FAMILY HOME. WE HAVE HAD YEARS OF BELONGING TO HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, AND MUSEUM DIRECTORATES, AND FOUND FRANKLY, THAT HAVING TO THREAD THE NEEDLE CONSTANTLY, SEEKING PERMISSION, TO DO WHAT WE WANT TO DO IN HERITAGE STUDIES, WAS COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE AND A DRAIN ON INSPIRATION FOR FAR TOO MANY YEARS. INSTEAD OF DEALING WITH HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETINGS, OR MUSEUM RULE BOOOKS, AND COMMITTEE DEBATES, SUZANNE AND I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING, AND OVER COFFEE AND TOAST, DECIDE WHAT WE SHOULD RESEARCH AND WRITE ABOUT FOR THE DAY, AND FOR THE COMING WEEKS. THE ONLY DRAIN ON OUR ENTHUSIASM, ARE THE HOURS AVAILABLE IN A DAY. WE LOVE OUR HISTORICAL SLEUTHING, AND LIKE TREASURE HUNTERS THE WORLD OVER, WHEN WE HIT THE SWEET SPOT, AND MAKE A PRECIOUS DISCOVERY OF INFORMATION, WE HIGH-FIVE AS IF WE'VE JUST WON THE STANLEY CUP. IT'S WHAT KEEPS US INVIGORATED. WHAT KEEPS US KEEN ON FINDING YET ANOTHER PROJECT, AND POSSIBLY, ANOTHER STASH OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION, WE DIDN'T KNOW EXISTED.
IN THE COMING WEEKS, I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE UP TO, AND GIVE YOU AN ADVANCE NOTICE OF EXCITING PROJECTS WE'VE DECIDED TO PURSUE. WE ALWAYS HAVE FIVE OR SIX ON THE GO, BECAUSE THERE ARE DELAYS WITH RESEARCH, BASED ON AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS AT THE TIME. IF YOU HAVE ANY MUSKOKA HERITAGE QUESTIONS OR ISSUES, OR RESOURCES / INFORMATION YOU WISH TO OFFFER, OR SHARE, FEEL FREE TO SEND US A NOTE. WE ARE ALWAYS INTERESTED IN MATTERS OF LOCAL HERITAGE, AND ESPECIALLY ANCESTRY, THAT SUZANNE HAS TAKEN NOW, AS HER MAIN FOCUS OF STUDY. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN ANCESTRAL RESEARCH, SHE WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO CONSULT ON THE BEST WAY TO GET STARTED, OR TO JUMP OVER THE OBSTACLES FOUND ALONG THE WAY. KEEP AN EYE ON THIS BLOG FOR HERITAGE UPDATES.
OF ALL THE MANY MUSKOKA REGION HISTORIES I'VE READ AND OWNED, AND HELD DEARLY OVER THE PAST THREE DECADES, WORKING IN THIS FIELD, THERE IS NO BOOK THAT HOLDS ME AS SECURELY, AND JOYFULLY, AS THE PRECIOUS LITTLE COPY OF E. NEWTON-WHITE'S BIOGRAPHY, OF "GILLMOR OF ALGOMA - ARCHDEACON AND TRAMP," PUBLISHED IN CANADA'S CENTENNIAL YEAR, 1967, BY THE DIOCESE OF ALGOMA, THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA. LONG BEFORE I OWNED A COPY OF THIS RARE REGIONAL HISTORY, I HAD READ BRIEFLY, FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, ABOUT THE MISSIONARY THEY CALLED "THE TRAMP," AND HEARD THE STORIES ABOUT HIS MANY MILES TRAVELLED ON FOOT THROUGHOUT OUR REGION, FROM ROSSEAU TO GRAVENHURST, WINDERMERE, PORT CARLING, UFFORD, AND FALKENBURG, PLUS MANY MORE STOPS AT AREA HOMESTEADS, TO ASSIST THE POOR AND SICK. ALL THE RESIDENTS OF HIS REGION, OF MISSIONARY OUTREACH, WERE PART OF HIS RESPONSIBILITY, AS HE SAW IT, REGARDLESS OF THE RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION OF THOSE HE TENDED. THE STORIES ARE RICH AND EXTRAORDINARY, AND WE IN THE BUSINESS OF RECORDING HISTORY, ARE SO HAPPY THAT THE ANGLICAN CHURCH PUBLISHED WHAT WAS ONLY INTENDED FOR GILLMOR'S EYES. HIS STORIES REFLECT HONESTLY, WHAT HE SAW IN A PIONEERING COMMUNITY, AND RECORDED A GREAT DEAL OF SOCIAL / CULTURAL HERITAGE, THAT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST. HIS UNDERSTANDING OF OUR REGION, IN THOSE TIMES, WAS EXCEPTIONAL, AND HE WAS OF ALL THINGS, AS REMARKABLY INTUITIVE, AS HE WAS SENSITIVE TO WHAT THE HOMESTEADERS, AND EARLY RESIDENTS OF THE HAMLETS AND VILLAGES, SCATTERED THROUGH THE OUTBACK, WERE LIVING WITH, IN POOR ECONOMY, MULTIPLE HARDSHIP, PHYSICAL DISADVANTAGE, POOR HEALTH, LACK OF PROPER NUTRITION AND LONELINESS. VERY FEW WOULD EVER TURN THIS CHARMING IRISHMAN AWAY; AND HE COULD HONESTLY SAY, WITHOUT EXAGGERATION, THAT HIS FRIENDS WERE IN THE THOUSANDS, SPREAD ALL OVER MUSKOKA, PARRY SOUND, ALGONQUIN AND ALGOMA. HE GAVE US A PICTURE OF EARLY RURAL LIFE IN THIS REGION, AND WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PIECE TOGETHER MUCH MORE INTIMATE, FAMILY INFORMATION, REGARDING LIVING-STANDARDS FOR THE LATE 1800'S, (THE LATER PIONEER AND SETTLEMENT PERIOD IN MUSKOKA) THAN WE HAD KNOWN PRIOR TO THIS BOOK. HE NEVER LOST HIS PASSION TO HELP OTHERS, UNTIL THE MOMENT OF HIS FINAL BREATH. THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNT, IN CASE YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD OF "THE TRAMP, GOWAN GILLMOR, SHOULD EXPLAIN, WHY HIS BIOGRAPHY IS SO SOUGHT-AFTER BY HISTORIANS.
THE HEADING OF THIS PARTICULAR CHAPTER, IS "PARISH PRIEST, CHAPTER 20 - AT ROSSEAU." THE WRAP-AROUND COPY WAS PREPARED BY E. NEWTON-WHITE.
"On the 8th of September, 1891, the Gillmors (family) left North Bay to live in Rosseau, twelve miles off the railway, in Muskoka District. (the Village of Rosseau is actually not within the boundary of the District of Muskoka). To this parish, Gowan had just been appointed; in a sense, as parishes are usually constituted, it was his first. North Bay, had been from the beginning of his ministry there, the site of new development, ever growing, ever changing; its population largely floating; its social problems never constant; its area far too large. Church life and organization, under such influences, had as yet (offered him) no time to settle down, into the normal channels; it was frontier district; and in some respects, mildly raw. Very different was Rosseau. It was set out to be an agricultural community at the time of the Free Grant land policy already mentioned and, as with so many other like places, its 'farm' lots had at one time been more or less fully taken up. The surveyor's lines, with absolute disregard of topography, also disregarded arable values; so that a 'lot' might have had anything (but not too many) from tillable soil to zero quantity. Still less of the tillable soil was good soil. From these conditions, the Rosseau section had slowly graduated, by a process, the nature of survival of the fittest, to a settlement of good, solid, hardworking small farmers; with only a sprinkling of hard-case and ne'er-do-well families and, of course, unfortunates."
In only a few lines in his journal, Gowan Gillmor addresses an issue I've been harping on through this series of columns, regarding the injustices of the entire free land grant enterprise, of settling the open areas of our region and beyond. Advertising the advantages of homesteading in the district, and very clearly noting, in numerous pioneer guidebooks, the arable quality of the soil; if they could find it, in the midst of huge pine forests, rock outcroppings, hills, valleys and boglands. By time the settlers did arrive here, they didn't have much choice but to deal with the cards as dealt, so to speak. The settlers by and large, were prepared to make-do with what they were afforded of homestead acreage. Those urban refugees the urban regions of Europe, were not best suited for life on a district homestead, known for harsh winters and short growing seasons. So there were lots of failures. Lots of abandoned allotments, half finished cabins, and acreages where the pine forests had only been modestly cleared for farm gardens. The less than truthful representation of homestead potential, by government land agents working abroad, brought hopeful pioneers to Canada, but set off quite a number of social / economic problems they weren't prepared to deal with, with their growing rural population. It's what government levels wanted. Just not the social problems inherent of the exercise of bring poor settlers to the Ontario frontier. Gillmor was exposed to the adverse aspects of this, as he tended his flock, and the misery was compounded each year, by the influences of more settlers, more poverty and continuing farmstead failures. It can be said, that this humble, but determined soul, did what he could to lift the spirits of all those he visited, on his lengthy countryside walks around the district, administering to God's work, in a most humane, inspirational way.
"Rosseau had been fortunate. Its pockets of good soil, where they happened to fall into good hands, provided a decent living by old-time standards. Among its original settlers were thrifty and industrious folk, many from overseas, who would have done credit to, and made good in, almost any region anywhere. Some arrived with nothing but determination and freedom from debt; some had capital in varying amounts. It must be admitted, however, that the latter advantage remained an advantage only if the owners possessed the same basic qualities of those who had to start from scratch, and yet succeeded. Around the period of which we write, a quiet development was already going on in Muskoka - its use as a unique recreational region, for quiet people who asked only to have summer homes amid its woods and waters. The Rosseau section at this time, was more akin to the quiet and sedate communities of Old Ontario, than the bustling rawness of the new northland, and ever since it has kept something of its quiet summer-home atmosphere, with its regular summer people coming year after year, even generation after generation to the same places.
"The work of the Parson - Gowan Gillmor that is to say - differed but little in some respects, from serving the northern communities, along the new railways. As a thoroughly conscientious Parson, he visited, and he walked along distances to do it; some of the distances were not far short of his construction tramps, much of it on snowshoes and over ice-bound lakes. Also, because Rosseau was his base, he made many extra trips to other parts of Muskoka. Parry Sound and Nipissing as occasion demanded. But now more of the homes he visited were comfortable and clean, and belonged to more cultured people. Tents, bunk-houses, empty shacks, and brush beds in the bush, were no longer a major part of his life. But there were still the poorer homes and the primitive, and the whose standard of values in humanity recognized only spiritual and physical need, yet he played no favourites. Dirt and squalor could not deter him; and he gave the needy all of his best."
E. Newton-White notes that, "Not altogether conducive to a good start at Rosseau was the fact that Gowan had to succeed an incumbent who was probably an alcoholic, and had to be removed by the Bishop. There were stories of parishoners walking in to church several miles over had roads, only to find the (church) building shut and cold; the clergyman being in no condition to conduct the service. Working in Rosseau, there would be a difference in that he no longer visited universally; there was no necessity. There was indeed, at least once, a case of Gowan visiting a non-Anglican ex-European home regularly. It was in an isolated spot a long distance out; but the name appeared in the diary as often as any other. They had, as Gowan put it, 'great talks together'. Evidently his visits were bright spots in their lives. But in general, religious organization has crystallized for all the denominations. Gowan was now in comparative comfort, and acknowledged it in as many words. But he also said this; 'I do not expect, however, that I can stay long thus; for we must face, and step by step contend with, the evils and dangers growing apace in the world. I feel strongly that it is now for God's servants to be active and earnest, even to the utmost agony of spirit, in the saving of souls, and to be making ready against that day, surely near at hand, of bitter strife and turmoil.' He said that then, he could be saying it today. We are fortunate to have a rare description of Rosseau scenery of that time, from Gowan's own hand, in the 'Algoma Missionary's News.' He says, 'It must resemble the Lake District of England - Cumberland and Westmoreland, especially when, centuries ago, they were covered with forests, and wolves hunted the deer. We even have places near Rosseau called Ullswater, and Windermere so others must have thought the same."
Gowan Gillmor writes, "We are to be envied, we who are able to realize how old England looked, when Chaucer's words were everyday speech; when they wore buskins of fine soft leather with long pointed toes; like our own moccasins. It has occurred to me when traveling on our roads, through the dense woods, that they ware like the back avenues for local uses, through some great demesne in Ireland; but I never come across the gamekeeper or catch a glimpse of running pheasants. But there, however grand it might seem, it would be so closely bounded by high walls covered by ivy, and separating it from the human life of the surrounding country."
"AS SORROWFUL YET ALWAYS REJOICING"
"The Gillmors had arrived in Rosseau on the 8th of September, 1891," records biographer, Newton-White. "On the 15th (of September) an entry read, 'Gowan went back to school,' which is the first mention of Gowan Jr., since his arrival in Canada. On the 21st, the diary records, 'The son born. A gift from God to be brought up for Him. We thank Him and bless His Holy Name.' But in five months this entry for February 17th, 1892; 'At an early hour this morning, our little John Edward was taken away to the Saviour's home on high.' On the 18th, 'Our cottage is lonely and desolate.' On the 19th, 'We buried our darling in Ullswater Churchyard.' Stark entries never intended for strangers to read, and only brought in here for a reason. The burial at Ullswater rather than Rosseau, could have been for several reasons; the beauty of the place, its convenience of winter access, because it was purely an Anglican Cemetery with local historical ties, the traditional resting places of Anglican old-timers. There was more trouble in store for the Gillmors. In the days of which we write, mental illness was regarded in a very different light, and certainly with much less sympathy, than it is today. It had never been understood and because of that, was feared; its victims did not receive the general sympathy given to an ordinary sick person. A few days after the baby's burial, Col. Gregory arrived at Rosseau, and took his daughter back to North Bay with him; a month later she returned home. Quite a normal proceeding after tragedy; but this marked the beginning of trouble. Laura's mental condition slowly became evident, that is, to the friends and neighbors.
"On December 16th, 1892, another child was born. 'My dear Laura safely delivered a baby boy. I thank God our Father, and trust in Him and on our Saviour and the Holy Spirit, to enable me to be a good faithful husband and father to them throughout my time in this life.' On a Sunday morning, in February, 1893, "Baptized my son William at Mattins.' Then, on Jan. 15th, 1895, 'Another boy born to Laura and me. (This would be Thomas). May God give us His power and strength to train up this son, also in the true faith of Jesus Christ. Again Laura was taken to her parents in the hope that a change of surroundings would benefit her. About this time, Col. Gregory sold his North Bay property, and with his wife, moved to Alberta, settling on a homestead at Lacombe. At no time did references to Mrs. Gillmors condition appear in the diary, and certainly Gowan gave none to his friends. Meanwhile his own constant appearance of well-being, and his happy smile, gave rise to the kind of speculation to which people in the backwoods communities were especially prone; and a mystery resulted. Mostly these were simple folk to whom the idea of religious convictions so deep - the Peace which passeth understanding - that they could counter the worst personal misfortunes that men are called to bear, would be incomprehensible. Many years later when Gowan was nearing the end of his life, a young priest who was very near to him, said this; 'His whole family life seemed fraught with sadness; yet despite it all he always seemed full of joy and fun and enthusiasm."
Newton-White adds, "Perhaps there was no mystery; that the trouble was something which the medical sciences of today, could have found and remedied. Then and there it was something hush-hush; never to be discussed in mixed company. The pioneers had a sense of delicacy which modern people appear to have lost. In August, 1896, appears this poignant diary not; 'Col. Gregory arrives from Alberta - He, Laura, Willie and Tom off to Lacombe, and I am left alone; but not alone.' No explanations of the last sentence. It would have been superfluous. Yet we know his passionate love of children. He did not see his family for years. The diary has an entry Feb. 9, 1897, 'Baby Born.' This presumably would be the third son, James. So here again was the vain hope that a complete change of environment and the constant company of parents might be beneficial. The loneliness of a rural clergyman's wife in those days, especially one tied with small children and especially with a husband whose sense of parochial duty was as strong as Gowan's, would have been acute. In the Algoma Missionary News, of June 15th, 1893, appears the only direct reference we have, to Laura, as part of the Parish Life. At a Rosseau W.A. election of officers, 'Mrs. Gillmor elected president.' Years afterward, Gowan was to speak, in rare intervals of confidence, of this wonderful wife. He thought that perhaps all the lonely hours she had spent, caring for their children, and anxious for his safety, were more than she could endure. Only partly, perhaps."
It wasn't just the loneliness for a backwoods clergyman's wife. It was a way of life for many of the rural residents of Muskoka and Parry Sound, from the first homesteads of the late 1850's, to the turn of the new century. The rural way of life was as inspiring as it was a damnation, to many residents who had come to the frontier, ill prepared for the privations of a more urban way of living. Coming from the cities of Europe, as new emigrants, this was most certainly an issue for a percentage of settlers; unused to the hard life full of hardships, isolated from their families still in Europe, and miles distant from their nearest neighbor. While it was better in this regard, in the hamlet of Rosseau, it still was for all intents and purposes, backwoods isolation, with its seasonal peaks, due to the growing tourism industry, as it was moving upwards in popularity, by the 1890's. There is the additional thought, on the loss of the baby boy, less than a year old, that being closer to a larger settlement, with a better medical establishment, might have saved the child's life. Health care was one of the key disadvantages to rural living, especially in this period in history.
I will re-visit the story of Archdeacon Gillmor Gowan, in tomorrow's blog. Please join me. Remember, you can archive back through the blogs, if there are days you have missed. In fact, there are more than three years of blogs, that you can reference through, should you have the desire. Thanks for joining me today. Lots more to come, in this Thanksgiving series of articles on the history of Muskoka (and Rosseau, in the case of Gowan Gillmor).
FROM THE ARCHIVES
A PREAMBLE EXPLANATION
"CANADA IS RICH IN FOLK-LORE. HER NATIVE RACES, THE INDIANS AND ESKIMOS HAVE SONGS, TRADITIONS, AND CUSTOMS, THE STUDY OF WHICH HAS LONG OCCUPIED THE ATTENTION OF THE ETHNOLOGISTS AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM AND FURNISHED MATERIAL FOR HUNDREDS OF PHONOGRAPHIC RECORDS. FRENCH CANADA IS PARTICULARLY RICH IN FOLK-LORE SONGS, AND MUCH ATTENTION HAS BEEN, AND IS BEING DEVOTED, TO ITS COLLECTION AND COMPILATION. LESS ATTENTION HAS BEEN PAID TO THE FOLK-LORE OF THE OTHER STOCKS FROM WHICH CANADIANS ARE DESCENDED; BRITISH, SCANDANAVIAN, CENTRAL EUROPEAN ETC. THIS IS REGRETTABLE, AS THE FUSION OF THESE VARIED ELEMENTS RESULTS IN THE GRADUAL LOSS OF MANY DETAILS OF VERY GREAT INTEREST."
THE QUOTATION ABOVE WAS WRITTEN IN 1949 BY F. J. ALCOCK, CHIEF CURATOR OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CANADA. IT WAS CONTAINED IN A NATIONAL MUSEUM BOOKLET, WRITTEN BY W. J. WINTEMBERG, ENTITLED "FOLKE-LORE OF WATERLOO COUNTY, ONTARIO."
I PICKED UP THIS AMAZING LITTLE GEM OF CANADIAN HISTORY, WHILE ON AN OLD BOOK-HUNT TODAY, IN ORILLIA, AND WHEN WE ARRIVED HOME, TO GRAVENHURST, I SAT OUTSIDE WITH OUR OLD CAT BUDDY, ON MY LAP, AND READ THE ENTIRE CONTENT WITHOUT INTERRUPTION. WHICH IS ODD AROUND HERE, BECAUSE OURS IS A WHACKY NEIGHBORHOOD OF INTRUSIVE NEIGHBORS, WITH THEIR WILD ARRAY OF HOME MAINTENANCE MACHINERY, SCOOTERS, SKATEBOARDS, AND LEAF BLOWERS. IT WAS IRONIC, SOMEWHAT, AND A LITTLE PROVIDENTIAL FRANKLY, TO FIND THIS BOOK, AT A TIME WHEN I'M ALREADY HUNKERED DOWN, EXAMINING THE FOLK HISTORY OF OUR REGION OF ONTARIO.
WHILE THE BOOK OF COURSE, DEALS MOSTLY WITH GERMAN FOLK-LORE, MUSKOKA AS WELL (ALTHOUGH MUCH LATER IN CANADIAN HISTORY) HAD CLUSTERS OF GERMAN IMMIGRANTS, DURING ITS PIONEER DAYS, INTERMINGLING WITH HOMESTEADERS FRESH FROM ICELAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND, ENGLAND, NORWAY, DENMARK AND SWEDEN; FROM THE LATE 1850'S ONWARD. AND GRADUALLY THESE FOLK STORIES AND SUPERSTITIONS WERE SHARED, AND POTENTIALLY ALTERED BY THE GENERATIONS, WHEN THERE WERE MARRIAGES BETWEEN THESE CULTURAL GROUPS.
I WILL BE LOOKING CLOSER AT THIS BOOKLET, IN THE COMING WEEKS, AND USING SOME REFERENCES WHICH I BELIEVE WILL HAVE A RELEVANCE TO PROFILES OF THE SETTLERS IN THE WILDS OF MUSKOKA, AS FAR BACK AS THE 1850'S,.....AND WHAT THEY MAY HAVE BELIEVED ABOUT GHOSTS AND WITCHES, THAT INFLUENCED THEIR VIEWPOINTS OF HOMESTEAD EXISTENCE. THE STORY OF PAT LOVELY'S ARRIVAL IN THE HAMLET OF UFFORD, IN THE THREE MILE LAKE AREA OF THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, IS A CASE IN POINT. IT IS A WONDERFULLY TOLD MUSKOKA FOLK TALE, THAT IN FACT, RIVALS WHAT HAS BEEN COLLECTED FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE BOOKLET I HAVE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED.
AS I WAS SITTING OUTSIDE, THIS AFTERNOON, LOOKING OUT OVER THE BOG, AND WONDERING HOW THE SETTLERS VIEWED LAND LIKE THIS, AS THEY HUNTED ACROSS THE DISTRICT FOR ARABLE FARMLAND? THERE ARE A LOT OF "BOG" ACRES IN THIS DISTRICT. THEN I BEGAN THINKING ABOUT THE STORY OF PAT LOVELY, AS WRITTEN ABOUT, BY SUZANNE'S UNCLE, BERT SHEA, IN HIS BOOK, "HISTORY OF THE SHEAS; BIRTH OF A TOWNSHIP." THE FACT HE INCLUDED HIS STORY, SHOWS HIS RESPECT FOR THE FOLK HISTORY OF OUR REGION. SO MUCH HAS BEEN LOST, BECAUSE IT WASN'T DEEMED IMPORTANT.
I'VE USED THIS STORY PREVIOUSLY BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT. IT IS THE ONLY STORY I KNOW OF, IN OUR REGION, THAT SUGGESTS AN ACT OF "BE-WITCHING," ON THE PART OF PAT LOVELY, ON TWO COUNTS. FIRST, THIS PIONEER SETTLER, AN IRISH CATHOLIC, HAVING CLAIMED LAND IN AN IRISH PROTESTANT NEIGHBORHOOD, IN A NEW LAND, IS SAID TO HAVE PUT MUSKOKA'S FIRST "CURSE" ON A NEIGHBOR'S SWINE, BECAUSE IT KEPT GETTING INTO HIS GARDEN, AND DESTROYING HIS CROP. ON THE SECOND MATTER, AND IN A BENEVOLENT WAY, IT IS CLAIMED THE GOOD MR. LOVELY WAS ABLE TO SAVE A NEIGHBOR CHILD FROM BLEEDING TO DEATH, ACROSS A FARM PASTURE, WITH NOTHING MORE THAN A STEELY GLARE AT THE HOUSE. IT IS ALSO SAID, BY THE NEIGHBOR CHILDREN, THAT HE WAS ABLE TO REDUCE HIMSELF TO A VAPOR, AND GET INTO A WOODEN KEG, FROM WHICH HE COULD TALK TO THEM. THESE ARE JUST REMARKABLE STORIES, AND TELL US A LOT ABOUT HOW SCARED AND VULNERABLE THESE FOLKS WERE.....AND HOW POWERFUL SUPERSTITION WAS, IN THE 1850'S AND 60'S, IN DEALING WITH THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NATURE AROUND THEM. MUSKOKA. A BEAUTIFUL PLACE BUT A DANGEROUS ONE AT THE SAME TIME.
THE STORY OF PAT LOVELY AND FAMILY'S ARRIVAL IN MUSKOKA, IS NOT AN ISOLATED ONE......AND THIS HAPPENED MANY TIMES, IN THOSE PRECARIOUS YEARS, WHEN SETTLERS HANDLED THEIR OWN JUSTICE AND GOOD NEIGHBOR PROTOCOLS....AS POLICING AND LEGAL ASSISTANCE WAS IN SHORT SUPPLY, AND DEARLY EXPENSIVE TO PROCURE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT, FOR PAT LOVELY, TO THINK ABOUT THE STRONGHOLD OF THE ORANGE LODGE, A SHORT DISTANCE FROM HIS OWN CABIN, AND A VERY SPARSE NUMBER OF CATHOLICS IN THE VICINITY.....OR CHURCH TO ATTEND. AND ALTHOUGH HE WAS WARNED OF THE "THREE MILE LAKE WOLVES," AND WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO HIM, IN THAT WILD AREA OF THE DISTRICT, WELL BEFORE HE OPENED THAT CABHIN DOOR ON THAT FIRST NIGHT OF OCCUPATION, HE HAD THE PIONEER FORTITUDE TO FACE WHATEVER ODDS PRESENTED......AND NOT JUST THE PERILS OF FARMSTEADING ON A TREED, ROCK-FILLED, HILLY TERRAIN, WITH A SHORT GROWING SEASON, AND A LONG, COLD WINTER.
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL AFTERNOON IT WAS, TO SIT HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, AND LOOK OUT AT THE BORDER HARDWOODS, CHANGING COLORS, AND SEE THE CASCADE OF WINDBLOWN LEAVES ALREADY ACCUMULATING IN THE FRONT YARD. I SEE MANY ENCHANTMENTS, WHERE OTHERS SEE NOTHING BUT A CHANGING SEASON. I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE, YOU SEE, OF HAVING AT MY FINGERTIPS, BOOKS WRITTEN BY KEEN FOLK-HISTORIANS LIKE BERT SHEA. THE SHEA BOOKS I POSSESS NOW, IN MY LIBRARY, WERE GIVEN TO ME BY SUZANNE'S MOTHER, HARRIETT, WHO OF COURSE, WAS BERT SHEA'S BROTHER. OF ALL THE MUSKOKA BOOKS, HONESTLY, THIS IS THE ONE I CONSULT MOST OFTEN, IN MY ONGOING CAMPAIGN TO CONSERVE MORE REGIONAL FOLK-LORE.
YOU MAY HAVE READ THIS STORY BEFORE. IF YOU HAVE, THEN PLEASE READ IT AGAIN; THIS TIME, WITH THE PERSPECTIVE OF IT HAVING NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. THE ESSENCE OF CANADIANA. WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN A NATIONAL INVENTORY OF FOLK-TALES, AS WERE COLLECTED IN WATERLOO COUNTY, IF THE SAME INVENTORY HAD BEEN COMPILED ABOUT OUR REGION OF CANADA. MAKE NO MISTAKE. THERE IS A CLEAR ACCUSATION THAT THIS IRISH CATHOLIC SETTLER, COULD BE-WITCH AND CURSE WITH A BLINK OF THE EYE. SO IT DOES SUGGEST VERY MUCH SO, THAT CATHOLICS HAD A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA, WHEN IT CAME TO HOMESTEAD SURVIVAL.....THAT THE PROTESTANTS DIDN'T POSSESS. PLEASE READ ON, AND ENJOY.
SUPERSTITIONS AND FOLKLORE ON THE MUSKOKA FRONTIER
SETTLERS BROUGHT FEAR AND LOATHING FROM THE OLD COUNTRY - BELIEFS IN HOBGOBLINS, TROLLS, LEPRECHAUNS AND ASSORTED BANDY-LEGGED WEE BEASTIES
I DON'T LIKE GIVING LECTURES, AND I DON'T LIKE SITTING-IN ON THEM EITHER. DID THIS AT UNIVERSITY AND HATED EVERY MOMENT. YES BUT DID I LEARN ANYTHING? INDEED. THAT I DON'T LIKE LECTURES!
WHEN I'VE BEEN ASKED TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS, IN THE PAST, I ALWAYS AGREE AT FIRST, BUT HATE THE IDEA IN RETROSPECT. IT WAS BEFORE SUZANNE TOOK OVER MANAGING MY PUBLIC PERFORMANCES. I'M NOT A BAD PUBLIC SPEAKER, SO I'M TOLD, BUT LIKE FLYING, I STEW ABOUT IT FOR THE WEEKS AND DAYS LEADING UP TO THE ENGAGEMENT. THE FIRST THING THAT SUZANNE DID FOR ME, AS MY MANAGER / AGENT, WAS TO INSIST ON AT LEAST A MONTH'S NOTICE OF A SPEAKING GIG, AND MOST IMPORTANT, THAT I BE ALLOWED TO SELECT THE TOPIC. I WON'T BUDGE ON THIS. I'M MORE COMFORTABLE CHATTING ABOUT THOSE AREAS OF REGIONAL HISTORY, I'M MOST FAMILIAR. WHEN THE MUSKOKA LAKES MUSEUM CONTACTED ME, ABOUT A PRESENTATION THEY WANTED ME TO DO FOR THEIR WEEKLY "LECTURE SERIES," I REFUSED TO DO WHAT THEY WERE MOST INTERESTED IN……..(NOT SURE WHAT THAT WAS), AND INSTEAD TOLD THEM I WANTED TO DO A LECTURE ABOUT LOCAL FOLKLORE, HOMESTEAD SUPERSTITIONS AND REMINISCENCES OF PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES HERE IN THE HINTERLAND OF ONTARIO. THEY WEREN'T SURE ABOUT THIS, BUT I INSISTED. WELL, IT TURNED OUT TO BE A REMARKABLE EVENING, AND WE TALKED WITH GUESTS FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR AFTER THE TALK. IT'S THE REASON I'VE KEPT UP ON PARANORMAL TALES, AND FOLK LORE, AS DOCUMENTED BY HISTORIANS AND STORY-TELLERS THROUGHOUT OUR REGION. I FIND IT COMPELLING.
WE MUST UNDERSTAND, FIRST OF ALL, THAT THOSE WHO EMIGRATED TO CANADA, AND TO THE MUSKOKA REGION IN THE 1860'S ONWARD, BROUGHT OLD-COUNTRY SUPERSTITIONS TO OUR DISTRICT…..CULTURAL FOLKLORE FROM ICELAND, NORWAY, GERMANY, SCOTLAND, IRELAND, ENGLAND AND DENMARK, TO NAME A FEW COUNTRIES, WHERE EARLY SETTLERS CAME FROM, DURING THE YEARS OF THE FREE GRANT AND HOMESTEAD ACT; GUARANTEEING 100 ACRE PARCELS TO PIONEER FARMERS. IT WAS, IN MOST CASES, A WICKED CONTRAST OF ENVIRONS, FROM THE URBAN AREAS OF EUROPE WHERE THEY HAD LIVED, ONLY MONTHS EARLIER, BEFORE FACING A BLEAK SCENE IN THE HEAVILY FORESTED MUSKOKA OF THE 1860'S AND 70'S. THERE IS ONE OF THESE FOLK STORIES, OF WHICH I AM PARTICULARLY FOND, AND ONE THAT I USED IN MY LECTURE, AT THE MUSEUM IN PORT CARLING. IT'S CONTAINED IN THE FIRST BOOK, WRITTEN BY FAMILY HISTORIAN, BERT SHEA; "HISTORY OF THE SHEAS AND BIRTH OF A TOWNSHIP," AND INVOLVES THE INTER-ACTION BETWEEN IRISH PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS, LIVING SIDE BY SIDE, IN THE UFFORD / THREE MILE LAKE AREA, OF THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES. THE PROTESTANTS BEING THE SHEAS, WELL KNOWN MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL ORANGE LODGE, AND THE LOVELYS, AN IRISH, ROMAN CATHOLIC FAMILY, SETTLED IN THE MIDST OF "ORANGE" AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE. HERE NOW IS BERT SHEA, PROFILING THIS SCENE, CIRCA 1865, (BASED ON FAMILY STORIES) IN THE HILLY, PICTURESQUE COUNTRYSIDE OF UFFORD, TITLED AFTER A BRITISH NAMESAKE.
"THE COMING OF THE LOVELYS"
"Pat Lovely, a stout, heavy bodied man, born in Ireland, a shoemaker by trade, migrating to Canada, and settled around or near Sarnia, moving to the County of York, where he traded twelve pairs of men's handmade boots for the one hundred acres where sits the St. Clair Railroad Station, who from there, having heard the call of free grant land in Muskoka, with his young wife and family of small children, joined in the great move northward; their destination Watt Township and the Three Mile Lake settlement of Ufford," penned Bert Shea, about the coming of this hopeful, enterprising young family.
"Journeying by rail as far as the Iron ran, then on foot, carrying their belongings, stopping somewhere within the boundary of Muskoka for a night's lodging. And in conversing with others, someone inquired where his destination lay, to which Pat answered, Watt Township. 'Ah,' says his friend, 'I would advise you to stay away from there: in that Three Mile Lake settlement, they are a bunch of savages. Around Three Mile Lake, that place in known far and near as the home of the Three Mile Lake Wolves. And Ufford is the centre of it. On your way in you will come over Bogart's Hill and before you is the place known as the Devil's Den, and the next big hill you look down is Smalley's Hill, and that is the home of the Three Mile Lake Wolves. They will poison your cattle, they will burn you out. You will never get along; you are Irish Roman Catholic and they are all Orangemen."
"A blast like this to a man on his way to a new home, among strangers, a law-abiding citizen and a young family, was a terrible dampener to his inspirations. Pat stood silent and motionless for a short time in deep thought. Then turning around facing the direction of his journey, in a low voice and Irish accent say he, 'I'm going anyway.' Pat arrived in Ufford in the dark dreary month of November in the late afternoon. The heavy clouds skidded across the sky, borne on the northwest wind. Darkness creeping down as he travelled over Bogart's Hill and through the Devil's Den. And over Smalley's Hill into the home of the Three Mile Lake Wolves, to the centre of the valley. And wending in the darkness up the brush trail to his little shanty on the hillside of Lot 15, Con.4, the naked limbs clashed in the wind overhead, low whirling blasts swirled the dead leaves around, the little shanty door creaked, as he swung it open to admit the good wife and children. In the dim light of the little lantern, he started a fire on the hearth, that brought light and cheer. This was their home."
Bert Shea records that, "It is hard to know what thoughts may have run through the mind of an Irishman awakened by the voices of the wind or the night, moaning of the trees and the clashing of the gads. And above all, the recommendations he had received on his way in, from his friend at the tavern, regardless of thoughts or feelings that may have reigned in the heart and mind of Pat Lovely; prayers were said and all was left in the keeping of the Good Saint and the little family slept, as only they of clean conscience and weary from their travel. The morning broke. Pat and the good woman were astir, the children's voices were heard and little feet pattered about the shanty. Then suddenly from the cover of thick bush walked a tall black whiskered man. He walked directly to the cabin door. Pat met him at the step, and an Irishman whose face bore the scars of fighting in Ireland, and ready for the worst. Not saying a word, the stranger strode to within arm's length of Pat, and stopped looking the Irishman in the eyes, extending his hand saying, 'I'm Bill Shea; I believe you are Pat Lovely.' 'It's Pat Lovely I am,' says he, as he slowly accepted the outstretched hand as a female voice from within the shanty proclaimed, 'May the Gods in mercy give us peace'."
The historian, Mr. Shea, writes, "What else was said, we do not know, but from that day on, the Lovely's and Sheas were the best of friends. This friendship extended from neighbors to neighbors, till Pat became the Irish seasoning in a mixed community. But as time went on, he became regarded by some in a very serious way. As one who possessed certain powers that were mysterious, which he could use in different ways. One most talked of, especially by the young people who declared to be true, that Pat had the power to put himself in a 45 gallon oak barrel with both ends closed, the only opening being the two inch bung out of which he would talk to them. (He could throw his voice). Pat was a good neighbor and had good neighbors, but sometimes neighborly good nature will wear threadbare. In this particular case, Wm. Kay had a very fine black boar that was hard to keep in his pen; a log enclosure and when free, took a particular liking to the flavor of Pat Lovely's potatoes. Pat continued to fix the fence and chase the boar out till at last his potato crop was going to be ruined. This, to an Irishman, was sufficient reason and justification for retaliatory actions; so he openly pronounced a curse on Kay's pigs for a duration of twenty years. The writer is not adding to or taking away, when he related that it was acknowledged by Wm. Kay that he had trouble raising pigs for some years. After the pronouncement of Pat's curse, and not until the elapse of the years of its duration did he enjoy the measure of satisfaction that eventually became his in later years. The following account is a true happening and known throughout the neighborhood. Though years have passed since its time, the writer has often heard the aged of the community relate this marvelous affair."
He writes, of the near tragic mishap, that "A neighbor boy of ten or twelve years had gotten seriously cut and was bleeding to death. The bed was soaked with blood. All efforts to save the boy seemed to be a failure; he could not last much longer. The father walked out of the house, leaving the mother and the boy alone, as he stood there before the door, the thought came to him. He immediately called the younger son, a boy of perhaps nine years old, saying 'Go over and tell Pat to come over quick, your brother is bleeding to death.' The young man fleet as the wind, lost no time on the run and delivered the message. As the father of the bleeding boy stood on the door yard waiting to see Pat's sturdy body coming hurriedly over the fields. But not so; he appeared from the door of his own house. Before the door, he stood looking over to this troubled neighbor for a short time, in whose interval the mother of the bleeding boy rushed out the door to the father saying the blood has stopped. The writer heard the father, when an old man, declare the truth of the whole affair, saying, 'Pat didn't need to come over. He could stop the blood from where he was, and the boy got better. Pat, as others, gave his time and energy to the rolling back of the frontier, and bringing in an era of development to the community. He built the first frame house in the Three Mile Lake settlement. The writer would question, the thought; at that date it could be the first frame house in the township, as at that date there was a sawmill at Lot 8, Con. 4, to cut the lumber. This house was lath and plastered, the lath having been made by hand. The man who did the plastering and carpentry, his name has passed from the memory of the writer. And at this date there are some remaining to ask, but this home has since been remodeled and is in a state of good repair."
This is a good story of tolerance….. most of the time, except for the black boar incident. A story of the Green and the Orange living side by side in a new country, and actually getting along. Is it possible that Pat Lovely had such power of prayer, that he could stop a child's bleeding? It's a folk tale. It's just one of thousands, a majority of these remarkable stories having been lost over the centuries. It is thanks to family historians like Bert Shea, who have saved this important tale, for enjoyment by a modern, new century audience.
Thanks for joining me today, for this historical blog. There are so many wonderful regional and family histories, contained in the respective Muskoka Collections, of our district libraries. Go and have a look for yourself. Today when we travel frequently, looking for antiques and collectibles, in virtually every nook and cranny in this district, we appreciate the ghost towns and forgotten hamlets, the less travelled crossroads and country lanes, as being the habitations and former caraways that opened up this region to settlement. We are reverent of all the things that have come before us……we are but voyeurs upon the work of so many others. Knowing the history of this region, as antique hunters, has always given us a big advantage over our competitors, especially when dealing with long-time citizens, who wish to share their memories of important heirloom pieces they wish to sell……many items tied in to those earlier days on the Muskoka frontier. We love to talk history.
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