PIONEER ACCOUNTS ARE PRECIOUS RESOURCES - HERE'S WHY!
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN STROLLING ALONG A NARROW, WINDING MEADOW TRAIL, OR THROUGH HIKING THROUGH A NEW-GROWTH FOREST, AND COME UPON THE RUINS OF SOME PAST STRUCTURE, AND PONDERED, EVEN MOMENTARILY, WHAT HAD STOOD ON THAT SPOT YEARS PREVIOUS? QUESTIONED, IN YOUR MIND, IN THAT SILENT CONTEMPLATION OF THE HOBBY SLEUTH, WHAT ITS ARCHITECTURE WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE; AND THE LANDSCAPE SURROUNDING IT, SAY, A CENTURY EARLIER. EVEN IF WE WERE TO SEE A DRAWING OR PHOTOGRAPH OF THIS STRUCTURE, IT'S LIKELY WE WOULD FIND IT DIFFICULT TO SITUATE, AND VISUALIZE IT, SITTING UP ON THE FOUNDATION, NOW LEFT TO ROT BACK INTO THE GROUND. THE FOUNDATION HAS LIKELY BEEN ALTERED, BY OTHER VISITORS, HUMAN AND ANIMAL, AND THE WAY THE TREES AND SHRUBS AROUND IT, HAVE GROWN WILD, EVEN THE PATH LEADING UP TO IT, IS SO HEAVILY BRANCHED OVER AS TO APPEAR NON EXISTENT. YET THE VINTAGE IMAGE SHOWS DIFFERENTLY. OUT OF CURIOSITY, AND SOME BOREDOM WITH EVERYTHING ELSE, AT THIS POINT, IN MY POST-UNIVERSITY DAYS, I EMBARKED ON THESE INVESTIGATIONS AND COMPARISONS, AS MUCH ON A LARK AS WITH ANY REAL HOPE OF REVELATION. VISITING LONG FORGOTTEN MUSKOKA HOMESTEADS, WAS JUST A NEAT PASTIME. IT WAS BACK IN THE MID 1970'S. I ALWAYS HAD A DIFFICULT TIME, TRYING TO PICTURE WHAT THESE INTERESTING FARMSTEADS WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE, WHEN IN THEIR RESPECTIVE HEYDAYS, IN FULL FAMILY ENTERPRISE, DWELLING WITHIN ITS GUARDIAN WALLS. I THINK IT'S A PART OF THE HISTORICAL PROCESS, THAT WE START ON SUCH MISSIONS, WITH ALMOST DISBELIEF, THAT THE RUINS YOU'RE STUDYING, COULD HAVE BEEN ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT AT ALL; BUT THERE'S A SPARK, THAT CATCHES ON KINDLING, IN OUR MINDS, AND WE SOON FIND OURSELVES ASKING QUESTIONS, OF THOSE WHO KNOW MORE ABOUT THESE PROPERTIES. IT WAS MY INITIAL FORAY INTO HISTORY; DEEP IN THE FIELD.
ON A RAINY, CLOUDY, COOL DAY LIKE THIS WAS TODAY, I'D WANDER BACK TO SOME OF MY FAVORITE SITES, AND EVEN IF I DIDN'T BRING ALONG A SHOVEL, TO SCROUNGE IN THE OLD DUMPSITES, I MOST DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE PEN AND PENCIL TO MAKE COPIOUS NOTES. THE FACT THAT THESE WERE ONCE THRIVING PLACES, WITH ALL KINDS OF LIFE RELYING ON ITS STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY, LIKE THE FIRST HOMESTEAD OF THE SHEA FAMILY IN WATT TOWNSHIP, MADE THEM ALL SO DELIGHTFULLY HAUNTED; NOT AS MUCH IN THE SENSE OF ROAMING SPIRIT-KIND. MORE SO, IN THE WAY IT CULTIVATED MY IMAGINATION. FOR A FLEDGLING CREATIVE WRITER, IT WAS A FERTILE FIELD FOR EXPLORATION. BUT THESE TRIPS BACK IN TIME, DID INVIGORATE MY ENTHUSIASM FOR HISTORY GENERALLY. I'D COME BACK AFTER AN AFTERNOON, AT ONE OF THESE FARMSTEADS, FEELING AS IF I HAD VISITED WITH THE FOUNDING FAMILY; AND SHARED SOME OF THEIR CHRONOLOGY TO ENHANCE MY OWN. THEY CERTAINLY WEREN'T WASTED TRIPS.
I WAS SITTING ON THE VERANDAH OF BIRCH HOLLOW, THINKING ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF TODAY'S BLOG; BEING THE FIRST PIONEER HOME IN THE VILLAGE OF UFFORD, BEING TURNED, IN 1867, (AFTER IT HAD SERVED ITS FAMILY) INTO THE FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE OF WATT TOWNSHIP. IT WAS ON THE EMBANKMENT OF WHAT IS KNOWN TODAY AS SHERWOOD'S CREEK. I SURE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SEEN A PHOTOGRAPH, OR DRAWING OF THAT PIONEER SCHOOL.
A WELL KNOWN MUSKOKAN, WITH ROOTS ALMOST AS FAR BACK AS THE SHEAS, IN THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, STOOD AND TOLD ME ONE DAY, WHILE VISITING OUR BRACEBRIDGE ANTIQUE SHOP, THAT SHE HAD TORN OUT DOZENS OF PAGES FROM A PIONEER JOURNAL, LEFT BY HER GREAT GRANDFATHER, BECAUSE SHE WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE ADVERSE CONTENT. YOU MIGHT SAY, THIS PIONEER BUSINESSMAN, CALLED IT THE WAY HE SAW IT. SOME OF THE MATERIAL ADMITTEDLY, WAS PRETTY INFLAMMATORY, CONSIDERING THE NAMES OF THE FAMILIES, THAT WERE THE RECIPIENTS OF HIS SCORN. STILL, THERE WAS ANOTHER WAY OF BEING SENSITIVE, AND HISTORICALLY RESPONSIBLE AT THE SAME TIME. AS USUAL, THE HISTORIAN WHO KNOWS ABOUT THIS KIND OF THING, IS THE LAST PERSON TO OFFER ADVISE; AND YES, IT'S GENERALLY TOO LATE TO REVERSE THE DAMAGE.
I MUST HAVE LOOKED PRETTY STUPID, WITH MY MOUTH HANGING OPEN, EYES FROZEN IN A BLANK STARE, AS SHE JUSTIFIED HER RECKLESS ACTIONS. "THERE WAS A LOT OF MATERIAL IN THE BOOK THAT WOULD OF BEEN DAMAGING TO FAMILIES STILL LIVING, AND WE COULDN'T RISK IT GETTING INTO THE WRONG HANDS," SHE STATED, FEELING THE ACT OF VANDALISM WAS ACCEPTABLE. THE WORKS WERE ABOUT TO BE PUBLISHED AND THE FAMILY DIDN'T WANT TO GET INTO A LAW SUIT SITUATION, FOR INCLUDING THESE LATENT BUT STINGING CONDEMNATIONS OF SOMEONE ELSE'S KIN-FOLK.
FOR THE NEXT FEW MOMENTS, I COULDN'T GET PAST THE WORD "BUT," WHICH I REPEATED OVER AND OVER, TRYING TO DISLODGE SOME OF MY THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER. FIRST OF ALL, A PIONEER ERA PERSONAL JOURNAL IS A GOLD MINE. EVEN IF ITS ABOUT THE WEATHER, THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE TIME, AND EVEN THE WILDLIFE OF THE MID 1800'S. IMPORTANT STUFF TO MANY RESEARCHERS, ON DIFFERENT SUBJECTS. DEPENDING ON THE MEAT OF THE ENTRIES, THE VOLUME OF RECOLLECTIONS, WHAT WAS BEING PROFILED, AND ANY LIFESTYLE, DAY TO DAY ACTUALITY BEING REPORTED, WOULD MAKE THE JOURNAL EITHER A SMALL GOLD MINE, OR A MASSIVE, WONDERFUL, EXCITING GOLD MINE; WITH MANY FRINGE BENEFITS. TEARING PAGES OUT OF IT, FOR AN HISTORIAN, WAS HONESTLY, LIKE POUNDING A WOODEN STAKE INTO MY HEART. IT'S NOT THAT I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE HAD FELT IT IMPERATIVE, TO REMOVE ADVERSE REFERENCES, (TO SPARE THE FEELINGS OF SURVIVING FAMILY) CONTAINED IN THE JOURNAL, JUST THAT SHE DIDN'T THINK IT PRUDENT, IN THE SAME VEIN, TO RUN IT BY AN HISTORIAN FIRST. I'VE HANDLED HUGE VOLUMES OF SENSITIVE MATERIAL, IN THE PAST, SO I KNEW WHERE SHE WAS COMING FROM, AND THERE WAS JUSTIFICATION FOR BEING CAREFUL. AND IT WAS CORRECT TO HAVE CENSORED WHAT NEEDED TO BE REMOVED FOR SAFE PUBLICATION. BUT IN BETWEEN WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE REFERENCES, WERE PROBABLY A LOT OF OTHER IMPORTANT REFERENCES, CULLED SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE PLACEMENT ON THE SUBJECT PAGES. I WOULD HATE THIS AS WELL, BUT I COULD HAVE ASSISTED BLACKING OUT REFERENCES THE FAMILY WANTED REMOVED, WITHOUT LOSING ENTIRE PAGES; SIMPLY BECAUSE NO ONE IN THE FAMILY THOUGHT TO SAVE MATERIAL, SANDWICHED THAT WASN'T CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE. SO IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME, TO BE CONGRATULATORY IN THIS CASE, BECAUSE THE REALITY WAS, WE LOST SOME OF OUR HERITAGE DUE TO RECKLESSNESS. IT'S NOT LIKE THERE WEREN'T REGIONAL HISTORIANS, USED TO THESE KIND OF SITUATIONS, READY TO ADVISE. WE'RE ALWAYS EAGER TO HANDLE QUESTIONS LIKE THIS. IT'S BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE OUR HERITAGE. THANKFULLY, BERT SHEA AND THE SHEA FAMILY, HELD ON TO THEIR PIONEER JOURNALS, AND CAPTURED THE FAMILY MILESTONES, DATING BACK TO THE EARLY 1860'S. THERE ARE NUMEROUS JOURNALS FROM THE PIONEER PERIOD, THAT HAVE BEEN CONSERVED, BUT ONLY A FEW THAT HAVE MADE IT TO PRINT, LIKE BERT'S TWO BOOKS, ON THE SHEA FAMILY, AND WATT TOWNSHIP. IT'S WHAT MAKES THESE ACCOUNTS, MANY TOLD FIRST HAND, SO VALUABLE TO LOCAL HISTORIANS. MUCH OF THE TIME, WE HAVE TO DRAW PARALLELS FROM OTHER REGIONS, THAT EXPERIENCED SIMILAR HOMESTEADING SITUATIONS, TO INFILL WHERE THE MUSKOKA CHRONICLE IS LACKING. I'VE NEVER MET AN ANTIQUARIAN YET, OR ANY OF MY HISTORIAN COLLEAGUES, WHO WOULD HAVE RIPPED PAGES OUT OF A PIONEER JOURNAL, TO SANITIZE THE TEXT.
I HAVE READ AND RE-READ BERT SHEA'S BOOKS THREE TIMES, SINCE SUZANNE'S MOTHER, HARRIET STRIPP, GAVE THEM TO US, AFTER WE WERE MARRIED, INCLUDING HER FATHER, JOHN SHEA'S COPY OF THE ORIGINAL PRINTING, OF THOMAS MCMURRAY'S, 1871, SETTLERS' GUIDEBOOK, "MUSKOKA AND PARRY SOUND." I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I'VE USED THESE BOOKS AS A CRUTCH, TRYING TO SORT OUT MY OWN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PIONEER PERIOD, AND TO FAMILIARIZE MYSELF WITH THE FOLKS WHO SETTLED IN THE REGION. IT'S WHY I USE IT FREQUENTLY, TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS STILL LARGELY UNDER KNOWN PERIOD OF DISTRICT HISTORY; NOT JUST BECAUSE IT IS A FAMILY STORY. I WISH I HAD A HUNDRED MORE SIMILAR TEXTS, JOURNALS AND LETTERS, TO PERUSE, FOR PERSONAL ENLIGHTENMENT. BUT BERT SHEA'S BOOK GIVES ENOUGH LEADS, THAT WE CAN CROSS-REFERENCE WELL BEYOND HIS STORIES, AND THE TEXT ALLOWS US TO FOSTER OPINIONS ABOUT THE PERIOD, THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD OTHERWISE. THE LOCAL PERSPECTIVE IS THE REAL WEALTH HERE. WE CAN FIND LOTS OUT ABOUT THE PIONEER PERIOD IN ONTARIO AND CANADA, BUT NOT ALWAYS ABOUT OUR HOME REGION. THAT LEAVES US WITH A LOT OF GAPS IN THE STORY. SO WE HAVE TO USE, AND RE-USE RESOURCES, LIKE BERT SHEA'S WELL DOCUMENTED HISTORIES, TO WORK OUT THE KINKS IN THE REST OF THE REGION, WHERE THERE IS OFTEN LESS INFORMATION TO WORK WITH. I FEEL VERY PRIVILEGED TO HAVE RECEIVED THESE BOOKS, FROM MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, A HOBBY WRITER / HISTORIAN HERSELF, WHO WAS VERY PROUD OF THE SHEA AND VEITCH FAMILY CHRONICLE. SUZANNE'S MOTHER DIED VERY EARLY IN OUR MARRIAGE, BUT SHE DID KNOW THAT HER GRANDSON, ANDREW, WAS ON THE WAY, A FEW DAYS BEFORE SHE PASSED AWAY. HARRIET AND I DID WRITE A SMALL BOOK TOGETHER, ENTITLED "THE LEGEND OF TALL PINES." IT SOLD OUT IN THE FIRST MONTH. IT HAD A STRONG PIONEER THEME THAT'S FOR SURE.
IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, BERT SHEA WAS PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN LILY SHEA'S RESCUE OF A MAN, HALF FROZEN, WHO HE HAD FOUND IN A HALF BUILT SHANTY ON TOBIN'S ISLAND, LAKE ROSSEAU, ONE BLUSTERY WINTER DAY, WHILE HUNTING WITH HIS DOG. BY SNOWSHOES AND HEAVY PACK, HE HAD TO CARRY HIM ALL THE WAY BACK TO PORTAGE BAY, TO A CABIN OWNED BY A MAN NAMED "SMALLBONES." THIS PART OF THE LAKE WAS KNOWN AS "SMALLBONES BAY" FOR MANY YEARS. THE RESCUED MAN, MR. GILL, AN ENGLISHMAN, WAS ON HIS WAY TO THE VILLAGE OF ROSSEAU, FROM PORT CARLING, CROSSING OVER THE LAKE ICE, BUT GETTING BOGGED DOWN WITH THE SLUSHY CONDITIONS. YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO READ THE INTRODUCTION OF THE STORY, THAT RAN IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG. THE EVENT, AND MISADVENTURE, TOOK PLACE IN THE WINTER OF 1867. WE RETURN TO THE STORY OFFERED TO US BY MR. SHEA; AT THIS POINT, WITH JOHN LILY AND MR. GILL, STILL IN THE WARM CABIN OWNED BY MR. SMALLBONES. YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR THE CRACKLE OF THE FIRE IN THE SMALL IRON STOVE, AND THE WIND WHISTLING THROUGH THE SHORELINE PINES. SENSE THE AROMA OF WOODSMOKE AND WET WOOLEN-WEAR, AND FEEL COMFORTED BY THE GLOW OF THE OIL LAMP FLAME MAKING THE LITTLE CABIN LOOK LIKE HOME.
FROST-BITE TO RECOVER FROM - ANOTHER HOME TO FIND
"After a rest and a chat with the old gentleman Smallbones, John Lily with his dog and gun, bid the two goodnight, to disappear in the darkness 'neath the heavy forest, up the Indian Trail across the Portage, for a two and one-half mile trip to lot 20, con. 6, and on down Green Bay to lot 10, con. 6, and his home; and father, and mother, brother and sisters who were anxiously waiting his return. Needless to say, his coming was well announced by the barking of his big hound, that several times, had with muzzle held high, loudly disturbed the silence of Green Bay; as they drew near home to more tea, buckwheat pancakes, good pork, and a good night's rest for a tired body, but a happy mind."
Bert Shea records, "That night in Smallbone's cabin, there was only one narrow bed. And the stranger occupied it, and the old gentleman sat up in his chair and kept a cheery fire burning all night. At breakfast they dined on rolled oats porridge without sugar or milk, the best he had and freely given. It was a part of his stores he had provided fro his winter's food, as he was old and unable to travel the long hard trail for supplies. And it is very doubtful if he had money to buy more. John Lily knew all of this, and that the old man would divide to the last morsel without complaining, so he scouted around. Housing quarters were also a problem. Families who had food did not always have any more than sufficient room for themselves. And Gill was in need of someone who could give treatment to his frost bitten parts, and provide the necessities for medical care. Undoubtedly he would be weeks in bed, if he survived. Dear reader, if you have not been in circumstances as these, or talked to those who have, to realize what it means, no doctor, no drug stores, no care other than neighbor families. We talk of the hardy pioneers and pass it on, but 'hardy' alone is not the proper description. Add resourcefulness, determination, self-reliance, endurance, trust worthiness, considerate co-operation, and in the full meaning of it all. It is not overdone. John Lily ran several families through his mind and weighed matters; he at length decided to call on the Sherwoods who lived on Lot 13, Con. 4. They had just built a new home with a fair amount of room. Nelson, a good manager, and provider, and Susan his wife, was one whose 'candle goeth not out'. This was a home where the stranger in need, was never turned from their door.
With the request by John Lily, for a place for the young Englishman, consent was given. And with the help of a toboggan or wide runner sleigh, the young man was brought through the forest trail to the home of the Sherwoods, to be put in a warm bed of blankets and quilts, woven on a loom by the hand of the good woman of the house, Susan Sherwood, from wool taken from their own sheep. A bed fit for a king. The winter wore on and as it passed slowly away, the frost bitten feet and hands of the patient, showed favourable signs, responding to the pioneer treatment. And Kay, Sherwood's brother-in-law, in his off-handed way, firmly declared on one visit, 'you will be all right.' Nelson is a good doctor; it will be remembered that in these days, sickness and need was everybody's concern. During his (Gill's) period of sickness, many were the visits by the pioneers to his bedside, showing interest in the stranger. And the hospitality and kindness shown to him by his host and hostess, awakened in him a feeling of gratitude. Why should they all do this for him, a stranger, and give for this benefit without hope of remuneration. Giving from their resources and store. He truly was a stranger and they took him in. Pondering these things in his mind, he found a deep desire growing in his will, to stay among such people and to try to make his way."
The Shea family historian, Bert Shea writes, "As the spring drew near and the daylight lengthened, the sun became warmer, it was good to be out, to sit on a block of wood by the door, and drink in the sunlight, listen to the songsters of the spring, hear the babbling of the rapids, as the water of Morley's, or now Sherwood's Creek, as it sang the song of freedom once again. He too (Mr. Gill), felt like singing; he thought of how he had been taught to sing the songs that were foremost in his mind, were songs he had learned at school and Sunday School. How precious were these reflections, and how precious they should be, to all who had been taught as he, by faithful teachers. And then his thoughts were drawn closer to him and his present surroundings. Here in this settlement were children, sons and daughters of pioneer families, who had no one to teach them to read, to write, to add, subtract or divide. During his stay in the community, he had noticed there were people who could sing. He had heard them sing shanty songs, and other songs he knew, and hymns of the church. Pondering these things, in his mind, he could hear a call. He could see a vacant place where a man such as he could fill. Scarcely able to hobble, he could sit on a bench or a block, and teach little children to read and to write, and further on, if the opportunity afforded.
"But how could this be arranged, he pondered; where could he have a school room? Where could be continue to stay; he knew there could be no salary expected. But when there is a will, there is a way. Before him stood the old Morleys squatter's shanty, built of round hardwood, ash, hemlock and maple logs round and rough. A door, a small window to the south. Could he have this shanty for a school room. Some way he could get slates and pencils for the pupils. He could set their copy down, of letters, figures and sentences, and carry on till they could get a blackboard, and some readers. In this way, the foundation could be laid. To those thoughts he wondered how the people would respond, and if he could have the little building for a school. Filled with enthusiasm known only to them who have lived through the rigors of a Muskoka old-time winter, and feel the drawing of the spring's awakening, in the land of the ancient woods, his first thought was to discuss the question with his host and hostess, Nelson and Susan Sherwood. The Sherwoods, having three children of their own, were very much in favour of the plan, and in the expression of that day, the intimation was soon noised around the settlement. A meeting was called, or a get-together, on the question by all concerned, and it was agreed that if Sherwoods were good enough to give the use of the little log building, where the lilacs grew, and Mr. Gill would teach, they would be more than glad to send their children and trust them in his care. Needless to say, this was the topic of interest, the delight of the settlement. How favoured they were then to think of the families in the other parts of the township, and surrounding area, and plenty of children and no provisions for education. This arrangement for school in Ufford was long before the organization of the township, before any department assistance on record. The move was by the people and the stranger within their gates."
THE PREPARATION FOR THE FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE IN WATT TOWNSHIP
"Preparation was made and arrangements were set about, to fit the little shanty for the school room; straight grain logs, probably basswood, were split, smoothed with the axe and jack plane the flat side for the seat or upper side, and in the round side, auger holes were bored, and (wood) pins were driven in for legs, to make the benches, for the pupils to sit on. These were arranged along the wall, a table for the teacher and a bench for him to sit on, and all was in readiness. And on a Monday morning, in May 1867, as the sun shone in spring time splendor, o'er forest and on the little clearings in the woods, as from the door of the humble cabins, stepped forth the little children of school age, on their way to school in Ufford by the forest paths. The wild flowers of spring decked the woods, the winged songsters sang, as little feet pattered along the way. The chatter of children's voices filled with excitement and expectation as they met the first schoolmaster in the Township of Watt, as he stepped by the help of a cane and made his way slowly down the path to the little shack, that had been one of the first to be called a home in Watt; and now to be the first school house in the township. And now on this beautiful morning of May, school-master and pupils together, entered and took their seats as they were called to order. At this time the Old Book was opened, a chapter read, followed by prayer and the first public school in Watt was being opened by a staunch Anglican, who taught pupils from Methodist, Presbyterian, Anglican, and Roman Catholic homes. The roll was called, but it has long since been lost. But recorded on the memory of Mary Oldham, who later joined the number, and as she sat in her arm chair, in her 82nd year, in her calm and gentle manner, passed on to me the record of the names of the children who attended the first school, on the bank of Sherwood's Creek beside the lilac bush. They were as follows; Annie Smalley, Mary Oldham, Annie Sherwood, Martha Wright, Elizabeth Bogart, Mollie Smalley, Tommy Sherwood, David Morley, Bill Polly, Harry Smalley, Billie Kay, Jim Bogart, John Kay, Jim Lovely, Mary Bogart."
Mr. Shea adds, "After a time, it was decided unfair, for the teacher to board continuously at the Sherwood's home. There was no money to pay board. So those having children, going to school, decided that the teacher should change his boarding place every week, and board each week about, at the home of they who had children going to school. This arrangement laying the burden evenly on each interested family, when the school-master had sufficiently recovered to be able to walk the longer distances, to the several boarding places. This plan having been adapted worked so well, it was carried on for some time. But the community was growing. More settlers coming, younger children coming up. The little squatter's shanty soon would be too small, and since the machinery for the education of the young, was set in gear, it was not likely to stop. Mr. Gill, the teacher, made application to the Board of Education, in Toronto, and received the first Government grant for educational purposes, north of Bracebridge, late in the year, 1867; a new school building was erected on Lot 10, Con. 4, by Jacob Bogart. From good authority, it is said this was the first schoolhouse in Muskoka, if not north of Bracebridge. There was some controversy as to the purchase of the building. It was said to be too far from the centre of the community, it being a bigger building than the first one, on the bank of Sherwood's Creek. It was used for some time. But shortly after the organization of the township, a new school was built on the corner of Lot 16, Con. 4. It is a frame building. John Lily throughout the year, with satisfaction, watched the progress of education, among the young of the community. And it was his common question, whenever he saw a boy or girl of school age, who was not at school, to ask them, 'Do you go to school?' If the answer was no, he would reply, 'Well you ought to!"
Thanks very much for joining me today, for this look back at the pioneering years in Muskoka. Much more to come, in this Thanksgiving special series, "Seasons of the Lilac."
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