A Muskoka Profile By A Four Season Muskokan; Christmas Series Coming Soon

WHAT WE'VE BEEN MISSING IN MUSKOKA - AND WE PROBABLY NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT BEFORE

WRITERS AND ARTISTS HAVE, BY TRADITION, UNDER-REPRESENTED THE FOUR SEASONS OF MUSKOKA

     BEFORE I BEGIN TODAY'S BLOG, I WANT TO MAKE TWO REALITIES ABUNDANTLY CLEAR TO READERS. FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS A LEAD-UP BLOG, TO MY MUSKOKA CHRISTMAS SERIES, THAT WILL COMMENCE ON THE EVENING OF NOVEMBER 12TH, AND CONTINUE UNTIL NEW YEAR'S DAY 2015. SECOND OF ALL, THE CONTENT OF TODAY'S BLOG IS NOT INTENDED TO SPARK DISSENSION BETWEEN PERMANENT AND SEASONAL RESIDENTS. BUT IF THERE IS ANY WRITER / HISTORIAN, WITH MILEAGE ON BOARD, WHO CAN WRITE ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP, WITH SUCH A STARK AND SOMEWHAT RISQUE ASSESSMENT, WELL, THAT WOULD BE ME. IT IS THE CASE, THAT OUR HISTORIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERMANENT AND SEASONAL RESIDENTS, HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MILD LOVE-HATE SITUATION, BUT IN TERMS OF HONEST OPINION, STATED FOR ALL TO HEAR, A RATHER INCONVENIENT TRUTH, SEEN BY MANY AS BEST SUPPRESSED. THE BLOG ISN'T INTENDED TO BE A NO HOLDS BARRED CRITIQUE, OF HOW TOURISM BEATS DOWN THE LOCALS, OR HOW THE COTTAGERS LORD THEIR SOCIAL STATUS OVER US. OR THE OTHER WAY AROUND. IT IS ABOUT HOW MUSKOKA'S FOUR SEASON IDENTITY HAS BEEN COMPROMISED, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE TOURISM ENTERPRISE, BECAUSE OF THE DOMINATING ATTENTION OF PROMOTING TOURISM "ALWAYS". SO THE LOCALS HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE WITH THIS CONSTANT INTRUSION OF TOURISM PROMOTION, IN GLARING OVER-EMPHASIS, OF THE PLACE THEY CALL HOME FOUR SEASONS OF THE YEAR. SO MUCH SO, THEY HAVE A LESSER CONCEPT OF WHAT MUSKOKA MEANS, AS RELATES TO PERMANENT RESIDENCY. FOR MANY, IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM WORTH GETTING RILED-UP ABOUT. IT IS WHAT IT IS! BUT WAIT A MINUTE. A FEW OF US WANT TO BRAG ABOUT WHAT IT'S REALLY LIKE, WITH NO EMBELLISHMENTS AND GLITZ, TO LIVE AND WORK HERE YEAR ROUND. BEING PROUD OF OUR HOME REGION, WHY SHOULDN'T WE WANT TO SHOUT OUT LOUD, ABOUT HOW GREAT IT IS TO BE A GARDEN VARIETY MUSKOKAN? DAMN RIGHT! PLEASE READ-ON!

     "UNDER THIS CLOUD I WALK GENTLEMEN; PARDON MY RUDE ASSAULT. I AM A TRAVELLER, WHO, HAVING SURVEYED MOST OF THE TERRESTRIAL ANGLES OF THIS GLOBE, AM HITHER ARRIVED TO PERUSE THIS LITTLE SPOT." (CHRISTMAS ORDINARY, "BRACEBRIDGE HALL," BY WASHINGTON IRVING)

     "I SHALL CONTINUE ON, THEREFORE, IN THE COURSE I HAVE HITHERTO PURSUED; LOOKING AT THINGS POETICALLY, RATHER THAN POLITICALLY; DESCRIBING THEM AS THEY ARE, RATHER THAN PRETENDING TO POINT HOW THEY SHOULD BE; AND ENDEAVOURING TO SEE THE WORLD IN AS PLEASANT A LIGHT AS CIRCUMSTANCES WILL PERMIT. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD AN OPINION THAT MUCH GOOD MIGHT BE DONE BY KEEPING MANKIND IN GOOD HUMOUR WITH ONE ANOTHER. I MAY BE WRONG IN MY PHILOSOPHY, BUT I SHALL CONTINUE TO PRACTICE IT UNTIL CONVINCED OF ITS FALLACY. WHEN I DISCOVER THE WORLD TO BE ALL THAT IT HAS BEEN REPRESENTED BY SNEERING CYNICS AND WHINING POETS, I WILL TURN TO, AND ABUSE IT ALSO; IN THE MEAN WHILE, WORTHY READER, I HOPE YOU WILL NOT THINK LIGHTLY OF ME, BECAUSE I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS TO BE SO VERY BAD A WORLD AS IT IS REPRESENTED." THE PASSAGE ABOVE WAS CREDITED TO GEOFFREY CRAYON, TRAVELLER, THE NARRATOR OF THE STORY OF "BRACEBRIDGE HALL." IT IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTATIONS, ESPECIALLY WHEN I FIND MYSELF FRUSTRATED BY THE FOUL WIND OF POLITICAL ILL WILL, AND MEDDLING WHERE IT SHOULD NEVER INFILTRATE.
     IT WAS RUMOURED SOME YEARS AGO, AS A PRIVATE CONFESSIONAL, THAT GROUP OF SEVEN ARTIST, A.J. CASSON, OPINED, PRESUMABLY AS LATE AS THE 1960'S, THAT MUSKOKA NO LONGER HAD INTERESTING BUILDINGS TO PAINT. HE DID SKETCH A FORMER SCHOOL HOUSE, IN GRAVENHURST, QUITE A DISTANCE ALONG REAY ROAD. IT MAY BE THAT THE TRANSITION OF MUSKOKA, WHICH CERTAINLY GAINED STEAM IN THE LATE 1960'S, OLD BUILDINGS BEING REPLACED BY NEW, REMOVED SOME OF THE PICTURESQUE RURAL, AND FARM-SETTLEMENT CHARM, CASSON LOOKED FOR THROUGHOUT CANADA. BUILDINGS AND FARM HOUSES MADE LEGENDARY VIA HIS ART PANELS.
     IN THE EARLY YEARS OF SETTLEMENT IN THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, THERE WERE VISITS BY MANY TRAVELING WRITERS AND ARTISTS, WORKING FOR A WIDE ASSORTMENT OF PUBLICATIONS. THERE WAS A FASCINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, ABOUT THE WILD LANDS OF THE NORTH COUNTRY, AND WHEN THE HOMESTEAD GRANTS WERE ANNOUNCED, THE FASCINATION QUADRUPLED, ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO LIVE IN SUCH AN UNTAMED WILDLIFE-ABUNDANT REGION; NOT SO FAR AWAY!      IN THE MID 1870'S, THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS, WERE QUICK TO ATTRACT ATTENTION, AND FREELANCE WRITERS, ARTISTS, AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, WERE ARRIVING IN THE STILL PIONEER SETTLEMENTS, LOOKING TO EXPLOIT ALL OUR NATURAL RESOURCES (IN THE MEDIA EXPLOITATION SENSE); AND TO DISCOVER, AND PUBLISH STORIES AND VISUALS, ABOUT HOW PIONEER BUSINESSMEN WERE BENEFITING FROM  HIGHLY SPECULATIVE SETTLEMENT INVESTMENT; AND BOTH INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION. BOTH LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT OVERSEEING THE OPENING OF THE FRONTIER, WERE EAGERLY AND SUCCESSFULLY RECRUITING HOMESTEADERS FROM EUROPE, AND THESE EMIGRANTS WERE GOING TO BE CONSUMERS ONCE ROOTED IN THE REGION. THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, IN PARTICULAR, WAS ROOTED ITSELF, IN SOME OF THOSE PIONEER CABINS, AS SETTLERS EARLY-ON, OPENED THEIR DOORS TO VISITING SPORTSMEN, FROM SOUTHERN ONTARIO AND THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES. THOMAS AITKEN, FOUNDER OF WINDERMERE HOUSE, ON LAKE ROSSEAU, PLAYED HOST TO CANADIAN BUSINESS TYCOON, TIMOTHY EATON, ON A FISHING TRIP TO THE MUSKOKA LAKES, AND HE SUGGESTED STRONGLY TO MR. AITKEN, THAT HE COULD MAKE A LOT OF MONEY, BY EXPANDING HIS CABIN DWELLING, ON THE PROMINTORY ABOVE THE LAKE, TO HOUSE OTHER HUNTERS AND ANGLERS NEEDING PLACES TO LODGE. WINDERMERE HOUSE WAS BORN. AITKEN DID JUST WHAT EATON HAD RECOMMENDED, AND THE REST IS HISTORY. THE WORD OF HIS SUCCESS SPREAD, AND PUBLICITY PROVIDED BY THESE WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS, WORKING FOR MAJOR MEDIA OPERATIONS IN CANADA AND UNITED STATES, WAS ALSO CAUSING A GREAT STIR AMONGST THE WEALTHY CLASSES, TO VACATION VICTORIAN -STYLE, AS A TRAVEL ADVENTURE, WHERE ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN. THE VICTORIANS LIKED THIS KIND OF EXCITEMENT IN THE UNPREDICTABLE WILDS.
     AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT MANY TIMES BEFORE, THE PROBLEM, AS RELATES TO A CLEAR PROFILE OF THE MUSKOKA CHARACTER, IS THAT IT WAS HIJACKED VERY EARLY IN DISTRICT HISTORY, BY THOSE WISHING TO PROFIT FROM ITS EXPLOITATION. SERIOUS EXPLOITATION. MUSKOKA WAS BEING SOLD AROUND THE GLOBE AS BEING A HEALTH-RESTORING, HEART INVIGORATING, INSPIRATIONAL LOCALE ON NORTH AMERICA, WITH GENEROUS ETHEREAL ENHANCEMENTS; HAVING LUXURIOUS ACOMMODATIONS, FINE FOOD, AND AMAZING RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. THE PUBLICITY DOESN'T REPORT ON THE PIONEER POPULATION, STRUGGLING FOR SURVIVAL, ONLY A FEW MILES FROM ALLEGED PARADISE FOR THE WELL-TO-DO!
     IN THE 1880'S, PIONEER ARTIST, ADA FLORENCE KINTON, ARRIVED IN MUSKOKA AS A GUEST OF HER BROTHER ED, AND MACKIE, BOTH NEW BUSINESSMAN, SETTLED IN THE VILLAGE OF HUNTSVILLE. WHILE LODGING WITH HER BROTHER ED, SHE PAINTED VILLAGE SCENES, AND OUTREACHED INTO THE FRINGE HINTERLAND, TO PAINT THE FLORA AND FAUNA BEFORE IT WAS DESTROYED BY THE WOODSMEN, WHO HAD, EVEN AT THIS EARLY DATE, CLEAR CUT GIANT SWATHS OF MUSKOKA FOREST. BY THIS TIME IN HISTORY THERE WERE MANY OTHER ARTISTS PASSING THROUGH THE REGION, AND SOME WITH VESTED INTERESTS, SUCH AS SEYMOUR PENSON, OF PORT CARLING, WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ART WORK IN THE MUSKOKA GUIDEBOOK AND ATLAS. EVEN THESE PANELS, AND THE BOOK GENERALLY, WERE COMPONENTS OF A COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE, AND THUS, THE ART WORK WAS TO SELL PRODUCT; THE BOOK. THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF ART DEPICTIONS OF THE REGION AT THIS TIME, BY THE HAND OF THOSE WITH NO VESTED INTEREST OTHER THAN THEIR OWN FAMILY'S SURVIVAL. FOLK ART. THAT'S WHAT'S MISSING. RELICS OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION FROM THOSE WHO WERE JUST INTERESTED IN CAPTURING A PERIOD OF TIME, SPENT ON THE HOMESTEAD; LIVING ON THE CROSSROADS, IN THE HAMLETS, VILLAGES AND TOWNS THAT WERE EXPANDING SUBSTANTIALLY, EVEN BEFORE THE TURN OF THE 1880'S. ON THE OTHER HAND, PROMOTIONAL ART WORK, PHOTOGRAPHS AND WRITTEN MATERIAL, WAS FAR MORE AGGRESSIVE, COVERING THE SURGE IN THE TOURISM SECTOR OF WHAT WAS STILL LARGELY A PIONEER ECONOMY. WHILE PIONEERS STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE ON THEIR ISOLATED HOMESTEADS, LUXURIOUS ACOMMODATIONS WERE BEING OFFERED TO THOSE WITH ABUNDANT FINANCIAL RESOURCES. IT WAS THE STRANGE AND ONGOING DIVIDE BETWEEN MUSKOKA LIFESTYLES, THAT CARRIES ON TO THIS DAY.
    WHEN A MAJOR RESORT OR CONDO DEVELOPMENT, PROMOTES THE "MUSKOKA LIFESTYLE," WE MUSKOKANS KNOW, THIS DOESN'T REALLY COVER THOSE OF US WHO LIVE MODESTLY IN THIS REGION. I CRINGE WHEN I HEAR THIS REFERENCE, BECAUSE IT IS SO ARROGANT AND A STEREOTYPE OF HOW THE RICH AND FAMOUS LIVE, VERSUS THOSE WHO DWELL A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY, IN TINY, COMFORTABLE, ECONOMICAL BUNGALOWS, SMALLER THAN SOME COTTAGE BOATHOUSES. THIS IS A CRASS GENERALIZATION, SO I WILL EXPLAIN FURTHER. BUT I KNOW HOW IT ALL BEGAN, AND HOW IT HAS PERPETUATED.

A SHORTAGE OF WRITERS, WRITING ABOUT MUSKOKA, ARTISTS, UNDER REPRESENTING THE URBAN LANDSCAPE

     It may seem shocking to readers, that I would state, the true and historic Muskoka lifestyle, of everyday, four seasons living, is under-studied, and fundamentally ignored, except wherever it might benefit the tourist trade. There are very few writers in this region doing what I am; basing a majority of my work on this commonplace of Muskoka living. I am not writing about cottage living, resort vacations, boating pleasures, or luxurious acommodations. I write about four seasons living, whether in the rural areas of the district, or in the communities dotting the district. I have lived in three cottages, in my life, including on Alport Bay, of Lake Muskoka, in Bracebridge, Seven Persons Cottage, on Lake Joseph, at Foote's Bay, and at my wife's homestead legacy, in Windermere, on Lake Rosseau. This residence had been built by her grandfather, Sam Stripp, and was a family home for many decades. It only became a cottage, when Suzanne's parents purchased it from the Stripp estate, and because they already had a house in Windermere, it was classified for taxes reasons, as a cottage property. But it was by all definition, a home first, cottage second.
     Most of my residency in Muskoka has been in the urban communities. I lived in urban Bracebridge, and now in Gravenhurst, and it is largely the inspiration for my stories. I have lived in apartments and old houses, and humble bungalows, such as here at Birch Hollow. We live as modestly as our house appears, and when we have a few days to ourselves, away from work, we are the poster folks for the "Muskoka Stay-cation." We are four season residents and we love it. We don't have a boat, but we do have two old canoes. We don't have a dock, a verandah overlooking a lake, or a boathouse to keep our canoes. I don't have any argument, that I can think of, about those who have all of the above, but we don't wish to give-up what we consider comfortable and charming, in our general appreciation of fundamental and homestead Muskoka living.
     The point is, the most active representation of Muskoka, in a variety of art forms, as it was, almost from the beginning, is on the for-profit side of profiling, and exploiting the Muskoka lifestyle; that is intimately linked with tourism and cottaging. While there may be artists who will refute this, it's not to suggest they are purposely ignoring the commonplaces of everyday life here in Muskoka; and some do prefer to capture this side of the home experience. The tradition has been to serve the interests of the tourist component, and cottagers, and this is a reality I didn't create; but I do understand. What has happened over the centuries, is that the true Muskoka lifestyle, and enterprise, of four seasons residents, has been seriously neglected, to the point, most of us have never really thought about what we look like as a mirror reflection. Muskoka watercolor artist, Frank Johnston, for example, was particularly interested in capturing streetscapes, especially in the 1970's and 80's, and painted wonderful panels of Bracebridge and Gravenhurst and its interesting and historic architecture. Mary Thrane, another highly regarded watercolorist, did an exceptional painting of Bracebridge United Church. But generally, I suppose like Casson is alleged to have said, there aren't many interesting buildings left to paint. I don't believe this for a moment.
     I don't know how many writers, compose Muskoka themed stories, on most days of the year. And without remuneration. I know of one. Yes, that would be me. I write about this amazing district, and the towns and rural areas I have lived, since my family moved here in the spring of 1966; and I earn absolutely nothing in terms of a wage or salary for doing so. How many other writers, poets included, and artists, work at portraying their home region, with no interest in profit, or potential future rights to publication, or distribution. I have no financial gain to make, and therefore, I am indebted to no one, and responsible only to myself; although I do feel enormously tithed to the district, I actively represent. If I should fail to portray it, as accurately as I possibly can, I would feel it time to retire for good. If you look at the whole picture here, if there was one, it would balance heavily on the side of exploitation for the tourist, cottager marketplace; and not intended to make us additionally proud of the place we reside. It's the circumstance of our founding, in fact, that this divide has occurred here, where there are two Muskoka lifestyles, and the only confluence which usually occurs, regards business services. The cottager, tourist concept of the "Muskoka Lifestyle," is not the way most four seasons residents understand our day to day living. I have never once heard a "local" comment on their "Muskoka lifestyle," which on any given autumn weekend, if detailed for a magazine, would be pretty mundane and generally uninteresting. It's impossible to be anything more than widely speculative on this, but when a resort or new condominium development uses "Muskoka lifestyle," as  promotional bait, we're pretty sure what they mean; and not about what we accept as our daily chores and the art of living the good life. When four seasons Muskokans, who live and work here, see these Muskoka lifestyle promotions, they feel like permanent residents have since the 1870's; "them" and "us." It may seem politically incorrect to state this, but no one will ever accuse me of being politically correct in the first place. There are other references, in this regard, highlighting the relationship to the tourism and cottage industry, as "master-servant." Cottagers may be called our "over-lords," and "our cottage bosses." Suzanne remembers one rude statement, from a cottager many years ago, that went like this: "who will work for us, if we educate them." "Us" meant the cottager class and the "them" of the statement, represents the permanent population. Find this shocking? This is the mild references. There are more but profoundly inflammatory. As for permanent residents, commenting on cottagers and tourism, pretty much the same, and quite rude. It does demonstrate the divide that has been a wide one for many years, except in terms of the related economy. There is a lot of corroborating evidence, that we may not care for each other, dating all the way back to the first resorts, and humble homesteads on the adjacent acreage, but we've agreed to work together in a unique harmony for the good of one another.
     What we find however, after all these decades of being on the opposite side of the high profile "Muskoka Lifestyle," is that our four seasons relationship with Muskoka, is virtually a silhouette of something that should be clearly definable; not just in a tourist brochure, or travel video. From an historical perspective, while the promotional heritage of Muskoka would require a huge warehouse to archive, the day to day Muskoka lifestyle, is mostly a print media collection of newspapers, filled with current events, notes on local history (small but real) but not much more, at least in comparison to what has been written to promote Muskoka as a tourist destination. So what the heck defines us, as a four seasons community, particularly as portrayed by the arts community? What writing for example, has as its sole purpose, the express mission of profiling what it's like to live in this beautiful region, twelve months each year? Muskoka from a the perspective of a full time, "love to live here," Muskokan. I often wonder, whether it's just perceived, permanent residents are shy about this exposure, or just don't care whether they're included in artistic or written portrayals regardless. Maybe this is so.
     There is one point, about this shortfall of Muskoka opinion on the matter, that pokes me now and again. We are not just the caretakers of the tourism industry, in the economic sense. We are above all else, the stewards of this beautiful lakeland. We are the ones charged with looking after it through the four seasons, and most of the time, it is the permanent residents taking up the seats around the council tables, in our six member municipalities. These elected representatives, a majority with local backgrounds and in some cases, ancestry here, are the folks entrusted to the region's overall welfare. Yet, when it comes down to status, why is it then, we feel as guests in our own ballywick? Well, this is how the tourism industry has worked for long and long in Muskoka. It is the reason we often know a lot less about our own identity as stewards of Muskoka, than we do about the lifestyles of cottagers and the tourism component. It has been a long term compromise of truly knowing ourselves, as four season dwellers, and it's why, when we lose our folk history, as we have been for all these years, that we also lose the sharp, clear lines of our character; being the population that has made tourism possible, by its provision of services since the very first places of lodging, opened up in the wilds of our district. Is it our fault that we have a lesser respect for our identity as a permanent population? In a way, we have simply never had reason to worry about the fair play of which lifestyle is perpetuated most aggressively. One side, is to advance an economy. The other is to justify a lifestyle in a nice region. Obviously, Muskokans generally, have figured our interests would be just as well regarded, as the tourism industry is bolstered, by what at times, has been pretty arrogant, and not reflective of all, in regards to our values as permanent residents.
     When I undertake my Christmas in Muskoka series of blogs, beginning on the 12th of November, it will be from a local perspective, and from the pen of a writer who has nothing to gain, other than readership, in the promotion of the four seasons residency, our family has enjoyed here for most of our lives. I find living in Muskoka greatly under-rated and most definitely under-recognized for its benefits, in oh so many ways, which I hope to be able to illustrate over the stretch of the festive season feature. This will be a Muskoka profile, written by a Muskokan, without any vested interest attached. As a regular reader, you already know our family runs and music business and antique shop in Gravenhurst. You will not read about this for the balance of the the multi-week feature, because I don't want it to be perceived as a business outreach. I want readers, some who don't live in Muskoka, (but would like to one day; even some who live year round in their cottages) to know what it's like to live in this region throughout the rolling year; from the perspective of one who will never move from this area of his own accord. I would very much like this to be a series of blogs bestowing a tribute to unsung Muskokans, for their year-round commitment, to the District of Muskoka; and who are very much the heart and soul of the whole Muskoka living experience. Lots more to come. Please join me this Christmas, for a closer look at what it really means, to be "home for the holidays."