 |
| Published in 1998 by Dundurn Press |
 |
"A GRAND EYE FOR GLORY - A LIFE OF FRANZ JOHNSTON," AN IMPORTANT BOOK, CANADIAN ART ADMIRERS SHOULD WANT TO OWN
PUBLISHED IN 1999, I'M JUST GETTING AROUND TO READING IT NOW - FOR ME IT'S PERFECT TIMING
NOTE: REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN CHECK OUT "CURRIE'S ANTIQUES" ON FACEBOOK, TO CATCH UP ON WHAT WE'RE DOING THIS WEEK OR THE NEXT!
The representation above, is a digital image of an inscription, on the inside cover-page, of a book on the art of "Reubens," with the elegant, artistic script, composed by "Franz Johnston," the book owner, which you can compare to a similarly designed address, on a letter to his wife, published in the biography written by Roger Burford Mason. I found this book in a second hand shop in Bracebridge where his daughter Wenawae Stevenson, once ran a well known gift shop on Manitoba Street. The inscription above the signature, was probably from an acquaintance, possibly a gift to the artist.
"One does not need to be told, of a Johnston canvas, 'that it is a cold lonely road. The light is failing. The night is near. The whispering wind is the only sound in a silence so deep that even on's breath can be heard.' One knows inevitably in looking at a picture by him meant to tell you those things. Settlers and bushmen, timber cruisers, lumbermen and prospectors can look at a Johnston canvas and say, 'yes'." (Toronto Telegram review on a 1934 Johnstone exhibition)
I finished an older biography of A.Y. Jackson, written by his friend, O.J. Firestone, earlier this week, as part of my winter reading agenda, and now I've begun the biography of Franz Johnston, which I've been looking forward to, since, well, 1998. I know, I know, it's 2015. You wouldn't believe how many books I'm trying to read, that have been delayed by the fact I'm one of the top procrastinators in this country. Suzanne wants me to change my old ways, and I tell her, "Dear, I'll get around to it," and she walks away, shaking her head. Second verse, same as the first. I've been on a Canadian art jag most recently, and will be offering readers a much closer look at Tom Thomson's life and art work, based on two of the early biographies written circa the 1930's, that I happen to own. These are important books, part of my Thomson collection, and I want to share them with you. One is an original printing by Blodwen Davies, circa 1930. Blodwen Davies, for reference, was the first person to publicly request a police investigation into the circumstances surrounding Thomson's alleged drowning death, in July 1917. Her work, in part, inspired Judge William Little, in the mid 1950's, to investigate the Canoe Lake Cemetery, where Thomson was originally buried, finding human remains in a coffin, that was supposed to be empty. Thomson had been exhumed, you see, on the family's order, only a day after he was buried, and shipped by train to Owen Sound, for eventual re-burial in the hamlet of nearby Leith. Little would go on to write "The Tom Thomson Mystery," in the early 1970's, with many references to the earlier research of Blodwen Davies. So on Monday, I'll take you back to that 1930's book, about a Canadian artist, who would become iconic in short order, and the Canoe Lake community that has had to live with the burden of the incident ever after. Accidental death due to drowning? Death, the result of murder? Let's take another look as a preamble to a lot of other research and opinions, expected in the coming years leading up to the 100th anniversary of his death, in July 1917.
A writer doesn't usually start a column, or in this case, "a blog," with a footnote. At least not on the top of the page. In the bibliography of the Franz Johnston biography, by Roger Burford Mason, which I just now consulted, there is an inclusion about an article (or column) published in The Bracebridge Herald-Gazette, on January 20, 1970, entitled "A Rebel Recognized." Son of a gun! I became editor of The Herald-Gazette in late 1980, and my associate Editor, Bob Boyer, never once mentioned that this article had been done way back. It's not like I didn't talk with Bob about Franz Johnston, and the possibility of his daughter, Wenawae Stevenson giving us an interview one day. Maybe it didn't go so well back in 1970, although I can't imagine this being the case. I was also a frequent visitor of the newspaper's archives, in the basement of 27 Dominion Street, and I never found this important story. Oh well, I know about it now. Here's the rest of the story!
When Roger Burford Mason's book, "A Grand Eye For Glory - A Life of Franz Johnston," hit the book shelves of Canadian retailers, in 1998, I wanted to race out and buy one. Jealousy, I suppose, held me back. That's right. I was angry, that after years of trying to get Wenawae Stevenson, to talk with me, or to any of the reporters who worked for Muskoka Publications, in the 1980's, she waited until Roger Mason showed up in the late 1990's. It finally gave us all, the intimate interview about her life and times with her famous painter father, Franz Johnston, one of the founding members of the Canadian Group of Seven artists. Wenawae operated a well known gift shop, known simply as "Wenawae's" about two full urban blocks, from The Herald-Gazette building, where Muskoka Publications was once housed. From my earliest days, as editor, I made several forays every year, to see if, possibly, Wenawae had changed her mind about a feature article, for either The Herald-Gazette, or more likely, The Muskoka Sun, our summer season paper; which by the way, had a huge market around the lakes. No go! Every reporter who worked for me, back then, was handed this assignment at least once if not a half dozen times. Each time, I handed Judith Brocklehurst the note, about doing this interview, she'd roll her eyes, and make it very clear, "She won't want to do it Ted; we're wasting our time." I certainly never felt that running routine trips over to her attractive shop, just in case she had changed her mind, was a waste of time, because, for me, I'd at least come back with a purchase, that I would eventually give as a gift.
I worked for the oldest newspaper in town, and most of our management knew the Stevenson family well, especially, Robert Boyer, editor of the Muskoka Sun, a member of the newspaper's founding family. He never suggested we do the story, but he was open to the possibility, that one day, on her terms (not ours), she would volunteer some time to chat more thoroughly about her father, Franz (Frank) Johnston, and as well, her eccentric artist brother, "Paul Rodrik," who I remember seeing often, when we first moved to Bracebridge in the late 1960's. He was rather exceptional in his attire, as I recall, wearing a black tam and cape. He was also a highly proficient and talented artist in his own right, and I remember seeing one of his originals, hung in the office area of the former Bracebridge Centennial Centre, on Wellington Street. Well, point is, I never got the chance, possibly because I gave up too soon, to do a story on either Wenawae, her brother Paul, or Franz Johnston, for the community press. It continues to be a nagging regret, but you see, back then, I worked for publishers and managers who didn't want ruffled feathers anywhere in the community; and as Wenawae's Gifts was a frequent advertiser, it was said in hush tones, that we must not offend the proprietor, by hounding her for this story. I didn't concur with much of what management laid down, as our rules of engagement, but damn-it, I needed the job. So I suppose, I got into that conservative groove as well, and even though it was the story of the decade, and would have given me a nice portfolio gem, as a bragging right, the risk of getting Wenawae mad with us, had greater ramifications. At least this is what I was told, and it was enough, over many attempts, to encourage me to back off the story.
When I read locally, that author Roger Burford Mason, had just released his new book on Johnston, with blessings from Wenawae, admittedly I clenched my jaw for about a week, until I had a chance to look through his text. He did a fabulous job, and there's an interview with Wenawae in the back of the text, which did remind me of what could have been presented, in the Muskoka Sun, as far back as the early 1980's, if I hadn't been spooked by her resistance to talk to local newspaper writers. The bottom line, is that this story was told, and told well! It infilled a great deal of information about one of Canada's best known artists, who not only helped launch the Group of Seven, in the 1920's, was also the first to leave the band of new-age painters; because of personal and professional differences, with the way the enterprise was evolving. I try to read all the Canadian artist biographies, and histories, I can get my hands on, and in my opinion, Mason's book is thorough and well presented; and not just aimed at scholars and art historians. A distinct advantage to the general audience, many who would not understand all the intracicies of international art, and our country's role within. It's a biography that I like to have in our shop, because, well, we are always getting into art chats around here, and I like to have reference material that is easy to use, and I understand.
One day, a teacher-friend came in, and we got talking about the local art community, for whatever reason that now escapes me, and when she started telling me about the fabulous work Group of Seven artist, Frank Johnston accomplished in his life, I brought up the fact that his daughter Wenawae had run a successful gift business for many years, on upper Manitoba Street in Bracebridge; and did she know this? She explained how Frank Johnston had been an exceptional watercolorist, and she had some of his well known greeting cards, with images such as Muskoka Pioneer Village, and other heritage buildings in Muskoka, including the former Greig Medical building, on Bracebridge's McMurray Street, near triangular Memorial Park. She had seen his painting of Bethune House in Gravenhurst, and the steamships of the Navigation Company, that used to hang in Sloans Restaurant. You'd be surprised to know that we have this happen a dozen times each year, when someone confuses the work of Frank "Franz" Johnston, formerly of the Group of Seven, and watercolorist, and graphic artist, commercial printer, Frank Johnston, of Gravenhurst and Port Hope. I've been working on the Frank Johnston's biography for several years, and it was his work that hung above the booths in the former Sloan's Restaurant in Uptown Gravenhurst. A commercial artist and well known Canadian print maker, Frank Johnston of Gravenhurst, was responsible for dozens of greeting and Christmas cards, produced at his home on Hughson Street. While Johnston, from our hometown, was a highly skilled artist, he achieved most acclaim as Canadian Group of Eleven artist, Harold Town's print maker, and was included in Town's biography, "Hot Breakfast for Sparrows," by Iris Nowell. A few months ago, I got an email from an art historian, working on research for an editorial project, on Franz Johnston, who asked for my assistance as his latest biographer. I had to email her back, to let her know, that my Frank Johnston, had never been a member of the Group of Seven, but did share the same name.
In Roger Burford Mason's introduction to "A Life of Franz Johnston," he notes that he "is the missing man of Canadian painting. The most prolific and financially successful of the original Group of Seven, Johnston's paintings were among the most sought after in Canada, in the years between the mid 1920's, and his death in 1949." He adds, "They appear in the collections of dozens of discriminating private collectors, and in institutions, such as the National Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the McMichael Canadian Collection, and the Canadian War Museum. As well, his work once hung in thousands of well loved reproductions, on the walls of ordinary people's homes, the length and breadth of the country. And yet, for all his distinguished success, Johnston is no more than a footnote in the many histories of the Group of Seven, and is rarely mentioned in the context of the general development of art in Canada, in the twentieth century."
Mason writes, "Johnston was born and raised in Toronto, worked with J.E.H. MacDonald, Fred Varley, Arthur Lismer, and Franklin Carmichael, at Grip, the famous commercial art studio in Toronto, and served with distinction as an official war artist in the last years of the First World War. He subsequently taught at the art schools in Winnipeg and Toronto (he was the principal of the Winnipeg Art School and Gallery for four years in the early 1920's) before opening his own art school, on the shore of Georgian Bay. When the Group of Seven held its first, seminal exhibition, at the Art Museum, of Toronto, in May, 1920, Johnston exhibited and sold more paintings than any of the others."
This book, by Mr. Mason, was the first biography of Franz Johnston, and it's amazing to me, that it took until 1998 for the Canadian art community, to pay tribute to the very great talent her brought to the national stage. This is a late book review, but quite in keeping with my delay factor, that my business partner, Suzanne, claims is my trademark characteristic, as a man dwelling in the deep recesses of retrospective. But better late than never. It's a book worth owning and a wonderful piece of Canadiana, of which we should be proud to have in our reference collections.
I don't know where one can find a copy of this book, and if it is in reprint available in new book stores. Most of my old book buying these days, is from browsing the sites on the Advance Book Exchange, (ABE) online, which is an amazing collective of rare, antiquarian, collectable, and out-of-print, book dealers, offering a high standard of service and reliability. You will likely be able to find a copy by searching ABE online, by simply typing in the author and title; and any of the partner dealers, having this biography in stock, will present their inventory with all others having the same title. This allows you to shop for the best price based on the book's used condition, and whether or not you might wish a signed copy of this hardcover first edition. My recommendation is that you seek out an autographed copy, with unscathed dustjacket, and it may be priced upwards of thirty dollars, possibly forty to fifty if it is signed and inscribed. It will hold its value, and I would expect it to become more significant as more notoriety comes to Franz Johnston, in the years to come.
If you like Canadian art, but feel you need to know more, this is a great book highlighting the outstanding career of Franz Johnston.
I'm still mad that I didn't get to write this book, or get a one on one with Wenawae Stevenson (I even coached her grandson in minor hockey), when she worked only a couple of blocks away from our newspaper office. Yet, suffice to say, I've got the story in my hands now, thanks to the fine work of Roger Mason, and it is part of our permanent reference collection here in our Gravenhurst antique shop. So thanks, Mr. Mason, for writing a damn fine book, a credit to the biographies written about our Canadian artists. I have a feeling, the future will be much kinder to the work of Franz Johnston, than history has served thus far.
THE 1960'S, THE CORNER STORE WITH CRACKER JACK AND LUCKY ELEPHANT-
WHAT WERE THE INFLUENCES OF LIL & CEC'S VARIETY STORE?
I CAN TELL YOU HONESTLY, I KNEW ABOUT NOSTALGIA AND THE FEELINGS OF SENTIMENT IT INSPIRES, LONG BEFORE I KNEW WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANT BY STRICT DEFINITION. EVEN AS A TRINKET CHASING KID, I KNEW THAT THE PLACES I VISITED TO GET MY TREATS, WERE OUT OF THE PAGES OF A HISTORY I HADN'T YET READ. LONG, LONG BEFORE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NEAT TO BECOME AN ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE DEALER, I WAS INTUITIVELY AWARE THAT MY SURROUNDINGS WERE GOING TO CHANGE SOON. THESE OLD CORNERS STORES WERE GOING TO BE REMOVED OFF THE LANDSCAPE BY WHAT MY PARENTS USED TO TALK ABOUT……AS TRENDS IN REDEVELOPMENT AND URBAN SPRAWL. I REMEMBER WHAT THE CITY LOOKED LIKE, AND IT WAS A SERIOUS MATTER, AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED, IF THE CITY WAS TO INTRUDE UP THIS LITTLE TOWN I HAD COME TO ADORE……AFTER OUR OWN GREAT ESCAPE FROM SOUTHERN ONTARIO.
IT WAS THE LATE 1960'S IN BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO. IN BURLINGTON, WHERE WE HAD RESIDED UP UNTIL THE WINTER OF 1966, URBAN SPRAWL WAS QUITE PREVALENT, AND SACRED PLACES I'D KNOWN AS MY PLAYGROUND, HAD ALREADY BEEN SERIOUSLY COMPROMISED BY THE MID 1960'S. SO I HAD A MINOR INKLING THAT THE LITTLE "MOM AND POP" CORNER STORES, IN BRACEBRIDGE, HAD ALREADY PASSED THEIR PEAK. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ALL THE NUANCES OF COMPETITION, AND THE LAWS OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND, JUST THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A REAL SHAME TO LOSE THOSE WONDERFUL OLD SHOPS……FILLED WITH SO MUCH NEAT STUFF.
I'VE ALWAYS FELT I LIVED SOME TIME BEFORE. WHEN I PASS A PLACE AND GET THAT STRANGE FEELING, AS IF I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, WALKED THESE SAME STREETS, PLAYED IN THE ADJACENT FIELDS AND PARK, YET HAVE NEVER BEEN IN THAT LOCALE IN THE PAST. IT WAS LIKE THIS THE FIRST TIME I WENT INTO THE FORMER "BLACK'S VARIETY," ON BRACEBRIDGE'S TORONTO STREET. IT BECAME "LIL & CEC'S," AND THEN "FRASER'S" BEFORE I LEFT THAT NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE MID 1970'S. THE SHOP, UPDATED OF COURSE, STILL OPERATES, BUT NOW IS KNOWN AS THE "QUIKEE MART." THERE WAS ANOTHER CORNER STORE, ON THE OTHER END OF THE SAME BLOCK, KNOWN AS BAMFORD'S VARIETY, AND WAS PART OF THE WOODLEY PARK GUEST COTTAGES, THAT OCCUPIED THE LARGE LOT BETWEEN THE TWO STORES. I LIVED IN THE WEBER APARTMENTS, ON ALICE STREET, WHICH WAS DIRECTLY BEHIND BOTH STORES. I HAD EASY ACCESS, YOU BET.
IT WAS DURING THE LIL & CEC YEARS THAT I SPENT MOST TIME IN THAT NEAT LITTLE SHOP, WITH ONE OF THOSE COKE MACHINES WITH THE METAL TRACKING, AND ICE COLD WATER TO NAVIGATE. NEVER GOT ONE OF THOSE POPS OUT EASILY OR WITHOUT NUMB FINGERS.
BAMFORD'S STORE WAS WHERE MY MOTHER MERLE, WORKED PART TIME, AND IT WAS JUST OUT OF THIS WORLD, AS FAR AS INTERIOR DECOR. IT WAS A SMALL SHOP, WITH A CUBBY HOLE FOR THE CLERK TO SIT, WITH THE PACKAGES OF CIGARETTES ON SHELVES BEHIND. IT WAS CROWDED WITH ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING A CORNER STORE SHOULD HAVE, PLUS A LOT OF MERCHANDISE BEST SUITED A HARDWARE AND GROCERY STORE. I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY JAMMED SO MUCH INTO SUCH A SMALL SPACE. THEY DID HAVE A STORE ROOM, BUT IN THE SHOP, EVERY INCH, EXCEPT THE NECESSARY WALKWAYS FOR CUSTOMERS, WAS OCCUPIED WITH INVENTORY DISPLAY, INCLUDING THE CEILING. THERE WAS MORE STUFF HANGING OVER YOUR HEAD THAN WAS ON THE SHELVES. IT WAS JUST A DIFFERENT KIND OF MERCHANDISE. I WOULD BUY MY COMICS OFF BAMFORDS, AND MY MOTHER USED TO TIP ME OFF WHEN THE NEW SHIPMENT HAD BEEN DELIVERED. I REALLY LIKED MAD MAGAZINE BETTER, SO I HAD HUNDREDS OF THESE AT ONE TIME IN MY LIFE. THEN, ACCORDING TO MY WIFE, I GREW UP.
THE LOCAL HUNT'S HILL LADS USED TO DIVIDE OUR ALLOWANCE MONEY UP BETWEEN THE SHOPS. THE TREAT ITEMS WERE PRICED ABOUT THE SAME, BUT THERE WAS NO PORCH TO SIT ON AT BAMFORD'S. JUST A CONCRETE PAD, AND CARS COULD DRIVE INTO A PARKING SPOT RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SHOP, THAT LEFT YOU SUCKING EXHAUST FUMES. THAT WENT BACK TO THE STORE'S HEYDAY, AS A TOURIST AND CAMPING RESORT. SO IF YOU WANTED TO GET OUT OF THE MOTOR POOL, YOU COULD SIT ON THE STOOP AT LIL & CEC'S, AND THEY'D ONLY KICK YOU OFF AT STORE CLOSING….WHICH WAS LATE ON THOSE HOT SUMMER NIGHTS. THEY ALWAYS HAD THE AIR CONDITIONING CRANKED WAY UP, SO WE LINGERED A LOT OVER THE CENT CANDY DISPLAY, ENJOYING THE COOL RESPITE FROM THE STEAMY ENVIRONS OUTSIDE.
THE POINT IS, AND I'M NOT SURE HOW THIS WAS SEEDED IN MY MIND, BUT I LIVED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT NOSTALGIA WAS, AND THE SENTIMENT IT INSPIRED……AND REPRESENTED, IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, EVEN BEFORE I KNEW WHAT IT MEANT BY DICTIONARY DEFINITION. I HAD A BASIC IDEA OF HISTORY BUT THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING COMPELLING ABOUT THE OLD SHOPS, THAT BEGGED MY UNDIVIDED ATTENTION……MUCH AS IF IT WOULD ONE DAY BE OF CONSIDERABLE IMPORTANCE. EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND MY FEELINGS ABOUT THESE PLACES, AND CERTAINLY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT RE-INCARNATION (IF I'D BEEN A FORMER OWNER OF A SHOP LIKE THIS), I PAID ATTENTION THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PERIOD, ALMOST AS IF I FEARED MISSING SOMETHING I WOULD NEED LATER. LIKE THE RAW INFORMATION TO PUT THIS ANTIQUE BIOGRAPHY INTO PRINT. I STUDIED THESE SHOPS, TRYING TO SECURE THESE MEMORIES FOR POSTERITY. AS SOON AS I'D POP IN THE DOOR OF THOSE SHOPS, I FELT THIS TIDAL WAVE OF SENTIMENT THAT AT TIMES MADE ME SAD, FOR NO APPARENT REASON, AND AT OTHER TIMES, JOYOUS THAT I STILL HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY ITS LAST FEW YEARS OF OPERATION.
SO WHAT HAPPENED AS A GENERAL PANG, OF KINSHIP TO THIS WAY OF LIFE, ALSO GOT SPECIFIC, ABOUT WHAT I WAS SECURING IN THESE CURIOUS HOLE-IN-THE-WALL CORNER STORES. WITH MATES, WE SPENT LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY, AND INVESTED HUGE AMOUNTS OF TIME, BUYING AND ENJOYING THE MERCHANDISE WE WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE THERE. YOU KNOW, THE TREASURES FOUND IN LUCKY ELEPHANT PINK POPCORN, CRACKER JACKS, HOSTESS POTATO CHIPS, BURIED TREASURE ICE CREAM CONES, AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. THEN THERE WERE THE PACKAGES OF HOCKEY AND BASEBALL CARDS, WITH THE ROCK HARD, THIN CHEWING GUM. THERE WERE "MONSTER" CARDS WHEN I STARTED COLLECTING, ADDING TO MY SMALL COLLECTION OF "MUNSTER" CARDS, THE OFFSHOOT OF THE TELEVISION SHOW, AND OF COURSE "BEATLES" CARDS, OF WHICH I HAD STACKS AT ONE TIME. THIS WAS THE DAY, HOWEVER, WHEN CARDS WERE TOSSED AT SCHOOL, IN GAMES LIKE "CLOSEST TO THE WALL" WINNING THE LOT. I WAS GOOD AT THIS BUT THE CARDS WERE DESTROYED ON THE ASPHALT, AND CONCRETE SURFACES, WE SLID THEM ACROSS. THERE WERE ALSO COLLECTOR PICTURE COINS THAT CAME IN CHIP BAGS, THAT I REALLY LIKED. I'M NOT SURE OF THIS HOWEVER, THOUGH I DID GET THE JELLO PICTURE COINS AS WELL;…..CARS AND PLANES IF NOT MISTAKEN. I MAY BE WRONG ABOUT THIS. I'M NOT SURE WHAT SHERIFF PUDDINGS OFFERED IN THEIR PACKS. MY FAVORITE COLLECTIBLE FROM THIS TIME, WERE THE PLASTIC WAR PLANES FOUND IN HOSTESS CHIPS. I HAD THE WHOLE COLLECTION AT ONE TIME, UNTIL MERLE DECIDED TO GIVE THEM TO SOME LOCAL KIDS WHEN I WENT OFF TO UNIVERSITY.
THE PERIOD WHEN COKE HAD THE SPECIAL EDITION CAPS WITH NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PICTURES ON THEM, WAS A DANDY AS WELL……AND WE STILL HAVE A FEW FROM THOSE DAYS. OUR FAVORITE, AS A FAMILY, IS THE ONE OF ROGER CROZIER, THEN OF THE DETROIT RED WINGS. AS ALL US CURRIES WORKED WITH ROGER IN LATER YEARS, WITH HIS CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION, WE ACTUALLY FOUND OURSELVES VISITING SPORTS CARD SHOPS, TRYING TO BUY BACK WHAT I HAD AS A KID. ROGER WAS A HOMETOWN HERO, THAT'S FOR SURE, AND HAD A PARADE IN HIS HONOR, AFTER WINNING THE CONN SMYTHE TROPHY, IN THE 1966 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS AGAINST MONTREAL. I REMEMBER HE WAS AWARDED A GOLD MUSTANG FOR HIS GOALTENDING PROWESS. SO WE COLLECTED EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING WITH HIS NAME ATTACHED. IN BRACEBRIDGE SPECIFICALLY, THIS ALSO GENERATED A HUGE INTEREST IN HOCKEY CARDS FOR THE REST OF THE 1960'S.
YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS PERIOD, AS BEING A BIG INFLUENCE ON MY ANTIQUE HUNTING CAREER. I KNOW IT WAS, ESPECIALLY WHEN I PUT THESE RECOLLECTIONS IN PRINT, AND FORCE MYSELF TO RE-LIVE THOSE EARLY HUSTLING TIMES IN MY LIFE, HOARDING "BOUGHT AND FOUND" STUFF INTO MY PARENTS SMALL APARTMENT. IT DID SORT OF BECOME AN OBSESSION, TO COLLECT, BECAUSE OF THIS OFTEN REPEATED ISSUE OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. WE WERE CONVINCED, YOU SEE, THAT HOSTESS WAS GOING TO RUN OUT OF WAR PLANES, OR THAT THE PROMOTION WOULD END BEFORE OUR COLLECTION WAS FILLED. WE SUSPECTED THE HOCKEY PLAYER BOTTLE CAPS WERE ALSO BEING HOARDED BY OTHERS, RUINING OUR CHANCES OF GETTING A COMPLETE SET. THE SAME FOR HOCKEY CARDS, AND ALL THE CARDS WE COLLECTED, INCLUDING "THE MONKEES" I BELIEVE. IN FACT, IT WAS A BRILLIANT STRATEGY BY THESE COMPANIES, TO CREATE COLLECTORS OUT OF THIN AIR. I DID THE EXACT SAME THING WITH CEREAL BOXES. I HAD TO BUY HONEYCOMBS, WHEN THEY CAME OUT WITH A BRILLIANT COLLECTION OF WESTERN FIGURES, AND WAGONS, AND I'M PRETTY SURE, CUT-OUTS ON THE BACK OF THE BOXES, TO MAKE FORTS FOR THE CAVALRY TO DEFEND. THE CEREALS WERE EXPENSIVE, AND WE WERE BROKE MOST OF THE TIME, SO IT WAS A LOW PRIORITY ON GROCERY NIGHT, TO BUY ME HONEYCOMBS, WHEN CORN FLAKES WERE MUCH CHEAPER. I BEGGED A LOT IN THOSE DAYS.
SO TO GET MORE MONEY TO BUY MORE PRODUCTS CONTAINING BURIED TREASURE, WE WOULD HUSTLE-UP EMPTY POP BOTTLES FOR THE REFUND. ON SOME DAYS, WE COULD GATHER UP FIVE TO TEN BUCKS WORTH OF EMPTIES, AND THAT BOUGHT A LOT MORE PRODUCT. MY MOTHER THOUGHT I WAS STEALING MONEY FROM SOMEWHERE, AS SHE COULDN'T BELIEVE I COULD FIND SO MANY EMPTIES LAYING AROUND. HERE'S THE THING. THE LOCAL "JAMES DEAN" WANNABES, USED TO HANG AROUND THOSE SAME STORES, ESPECIALLY LIL & CEC'S, DRINKING POP AND EXCHANGING GIRL STORIES. WE'D WAIT TILL COOL AND THE GANG DEPOSITED THEIR POP BOTTLES IN THE TRASH. THEY WERE TOO COOL TO CASH THOSE BOTTLES IN FOR THE SMALL REFUND. SO THEY EITHER HANDED THEM TO US, WAITING ON THE STORE PORCH, OR TOSSED THEM IN THE GARBAGE….JUST TO MAKE US GET IN TO FISH THEM OUT. LOTS OF PEOPLE WOULD SIT IN THEIR CARS, AFTER COMING OUT OF THE SHOP, READ A LITTLE OF THE PAPER, AND FINISH A BOTTLE OF POP BEFORE DRIVING AWAY. I HAD LOTS OF FOLKS YELL AT ME, "HEY, CURRIE, WANT THIS POP BOTTLE." I'D HAVE JUMPED OVER THEIR CAR TO BEAT ONE OF MY BOTTLE COMPETITORS. I'D BE RIGHT BACK AT THE COUNTER, BUYING MORE TREATS WITH THAT LITTLE EXTRA INSIDE. YES, IT WAS BONKERS, AND I COULD HAVE BOUGHT A HOUSE WITH WHAT I SPENT ON TRADING CARDS, TOY PLANES, PICTURE COINS AND BURIED TREASURE THEME-STICKS, BUT I WAS DOING WHAT MADE ME HAPPY. AND THEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME VISITING THE DENTIST…..WHO I THINK WHOLE-HEARTEDLY SUPPORTED MY EXCESSES.
SUZANNE, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DISTRICT, GROWING UP IN WINDERMERE, ON LAKE ROSSEAU, HAD A BIG ADVANTAGE OVER ME. HER FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED THE WINDERMERE MARINA, AND "THE SKIPPER," THE SNACKBAR IN THE UPPER LEVEL OF THE LAKEFRONT BUILDING. THEY SOLD LUCKY ELEPHANT, AMONGST OTHER TREASURE FILLED MERCHANDISE, AND PATRONS USED TO DONATE THEIR PRIZES, TO ADD TO A LARGE DISPLAY OF FOUND OBJECTS ADORNING A CAFE SHELF. WHEN WE WROTE A SMALL BOOK ABOUT THE SKIPPER, IN THE LATE 1990'S, MANY PEOPLE COMMENTED THAT THIS WAS STILL A VIVID MEMORY TO THEM……THE FAMOUS LUCKY ELEPHANT PRIZE PARADE.
SUZANNE AND I BOTH HAVE SOFT SPOTS FOR THOSE DAYS, AND THE PLACES WE WORKED, SHOPPED, OR VISITED OCCASIONALLY, THAT DIDN'T SIMPLY INSPIRE US AS TODAY'S COLLECTORS, BUT MADE US APPRECIATE THE QUALITIES OF WHAT MAKES SOMETHING COLLECTIBLE…..SOMETHING PERSONAL AND MEMORABLE. FOR ME, COLLECTING STUFF WAS ALMOST SECOND NATURE, AND IT SEEMED TO DEVELOP LIKE A PIMPLE. ONE MOMENT IT ISN'T THERE, AND THE NEXT, IT'S PART OF WHO YOU ARE. I DIDN'T THINK OF IT, AS THE BEGINNINGS OF A LIFE-LONG PROFESSION. I WROTE ABOUT IT LOTS, ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAD A COLUMN IN A PUBLICATION KNOWN AS THE MUSKOKA ADVANCE, BACK IN THE 1990'S. I DID A COLUMN ABOUT MY OWN YOUTH, GROWING UP IN BRACEBRIDGE, WHERE I DEVOTED MANY COLUMNS TO THOSE WONDERFUL CORNER STORES IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD…….WHERE TRUTHFULLY, I CUT MY TEETH AS A FLEDGLING COLLECTOR. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW SERIOUS IT WAS GOING TO BECOME. I CAN TRACE A LOT MORE INTERESTS IN ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES, BACK TO THOSE EARLY DAYS, STUDYING THE CORNER STORES, AND THE INVENTORY THEY USED TO STOCK. I PARTICULARLY HAVE AFFECTION FOR THE ADVERTISING SIGNS AND DISPLAYS, FROM GUM RACKS (WE HAVE A COUPLE), TO THOSE CARDBOARD BACKDROPS SENT BY COKE AND PEPSI FOR THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD. THERE WAS A CULTURE WITHIN THOSE SHOPS, WHERE SMALL WAS GOOD, AND IT WAS GOOD TO BE SMALL……AND WE WERE VERY SATISFIED SMALL CUSTOMERS.
LIKE I NOTED EARLIER IN THIS COLUMN, MY MOTHER DECIDED TO GIVE A LOT OF MY COLLECTIBLES AWAY, WHEN I REGISTERED FOR UNIVERSITY. THERE WAS AN ELDERLY WOMAN, WHO LIVED NEAR THE STORE, WHO HAD TAKEN IN TWO GRANDCHILDREN DUE TO DOMESTIC PROBLEMS. THE KIDS ADMITTEDLY HAD LITTLE TO PLAY WITH…..AND AS MY MOTHER USED TO SAY, "YOU'VE GOT WAY TO MUCH, AND YOU NEVER PLAY WITH IT ANYMORE." MERLE USED THAT ARGUMENT THROUGHOUT MY CHILDHOOD, WHENEVER SHE PLANNED A TOY CULL. THAT MEANT I HAD TO HIDE MY "A" QUALITY MATERIAL. ON THIS OCCASION, I WAS AWAY AT THE TIME, AND WHEN I ARRIVED BACK HOME, MY FAVORITE TOY…..GAME, WAS GONE. MY MUNRO TABLETOP HOCKEY GAME. SHE GAVE IT TO THE KIDS, ALONG WITH BAGS OF MY CORNER-STORE NOSTALGIA. I WAS FURIOUS. WHY COULDN'T SHE HAVE ASKED FIRST? ONE DAY, A SHORT WHILE LATER, WHILE ON MY WAY TO GRAB A COLD BOTTLE OF POP AT THE CORNER STORE, THE GRANDMOTHER CAME OFF HER PORCH TO MEET ME…….TO THANK ME FOR HELPING OUT HER GRANDSONS, WHO HAD LEFT THEIR PARENTS HOME WITHOUT MUCH MORE THAN A CHANGE OF CLOTHES. ALL OF A SUDDEN, WHAT HAD BEEN A GRIEVANCE WITH MY MOTHER, BECAME AN ACT OF BENEVOLENCE. I'D BEEN GIVEN TOYS IN MY TIME AS WELL, SEEING AS WE WEREN'T ALL THAT WELL OFF OURSELVES. I WENT FROM FEELING ANGRY, TO BEING QUITE CONTENT, THAT WHAT I HAD COLLECTED IN MY YOUTH, WAS GOING TO BENEFIT THE ASPIRATIONS OF TWO YOUNG FELLOWS, WITH A LOT OF DISCOVERY TIME YET TO COME. THIS PROBABLY DID MORE FOR ME, AS A HUMAN BEING, THAN ANYTHING ELSE, BECAUSE OUR WHOLE FAMILY HAS BEEN WORKING WITH CHARITIES EVER SINCE, HELPING THE LESS FORTUNATE…….AND FEELING VERY GOOD ABOUT SHARING WHAT WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO ATTAIN IN OUR LIVES.
I ADMIT HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO GET A CIRCA 1967 TO 69 MUNRO HOCKEY GAME, WITH THE EXPANSION TEAMS, TO PLAY IN MY RETIREMENT. IT WAS A FANTASTIC, DURABLE, HIGHLY ENTERTAINING GAME, THAT THE HUNTS HILL LADS PLAYED OVER AND OVER, IN SOME INCREDIBLE PLAYOFF HOCKEY. I WAS KNOWN AS A TABLE TOP HOCKEY "SHARK." CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? MY MATES OUTSIDE OF CALLING ME DORK, JACKASS, DROOPY DRAWERS, AND PATCHES, BELIEVED ME TO BE A "HOCKEY SHARK." THE ONLY DISADVANTAGE OF ATTAINING THIS LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT, WAS THAT NO ONE WOULD PLAY ME ANY MORE. IT'S JUST THE NATURE OF A SHARK TO PLAY ROUGH. THAT'S WHY MERLE GAVE IT AWAY. OH WELL, I BET THOSE KIDS HAD A BLAST. I'D LOVE TO HAVE ONE TO PLAY OUR BOYS, ANDREW AND ROBERT……UNTIL, OF COURSE, THEY TOO RECOGNIZE "THE SHARK" RESIDING COYLY, IN OLD DAD'S CLOTHING.
THANKS FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. MORE ON THE WAY.
No comments:
Post a Comment