PREAMBLE TO 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF CALYDOR PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, IN GRAVENHURST
Last year, at around this time, I wrote a multi-part feature series about the upcoming 75th Anniversary of the German Prisoner of War Camp, on the former Calydor Sanatarium property, on Gravenhurst's Muskoka Bay. I suppose, when I wrote it, I thought that the Town of Gravenhurst might put together a little something, to recognize this historic anniversary, which afterall, is an international heritage site whether it is acknowledge with a special plaque, or just noted in the history books. It was as much, a tribute to Gravenhurst historian, Cecil Porter, who researched and wrote the book, "The Gilded Cage," profiling the six years of the POW facility, that just happened to be on one of the most picturesque acreages on Muskoka Bay (of the wider Lake Muskoka). I knew that Cecil had been experiencing a period of ill health, and seeing as it was his book, that reminded me of the upcoming 75th anniversary, I thought it was important to promote what I believe, is the most compelling amongst all other Muskoka histories. In fact, as a seller of old and collectable books, especially Muskoka related themes, I can not keep The Gilded Cage in stock. It is well illustrated with photographs from the period of the camp's operation, and the text is exceptionally well put together, and Cecil didn't leave stones unturned. His skill as a researcher, and ability to pull it together into a highly readable story, has made the book timeless, as far as reprinting for the future.
A short time after I'd published the series, and sold my last five copies of The Gilded Cage, I got the news here at our Gravenhurst shop, that Cecil had succumbed to his illness. I hadn't played a major role in the book's release, but I was able to hook him up with an historian-colleague, Gary Long, of Fox-Meadow Publications, who thought the book had considerable merit, carried a story that needed to be told. Cecil and Gary worked together to launch the first edition, and I was pleased to be in attendance at the Gravenhurst Senior Citizen's Centre, for the book signing. Cecil gave me a signed copy for my personal Muskoka archives, and I got Gary to sign it as the publisher. There was at least one other printing, but it should be reprinted in larger volume to meet the interests of the public, which seems to be growing year after year. This is rare for Muskoka histories, that usually flourish, like other books, shortly after release, and then, when the audience has been satisfied, sales tend to drop off significantly. Not with The Gilded Cage. We've sold upwards of a hundred copies as dealers, since it was first released, all of these being picked up from estates and church fundraising sales, (and other sales offering rebound books), and buyers include those people who can't believe there was a German POW camp in South Muskoka. Cecil's book does not disappoint.
The Town of Gravenhurst didn't see fit to recognize this very important anniversary, of this most interesting, internationally significant historic site. I didn't think they would. But it's too important to let slip by, without at least a citizen's point of view. Here now is part two of the original short series, I wrote last year for this blogsite. There will be a part three published tomorrow.
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Cover Graphics from the 1999 Gravenhurst history, The Gilded Cage, written by Cecil Porter and published by the Gravenhurst Book Committee
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"THE GILDED CAGE" - GRAVENHURST'S GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP - 1940 -1946
CAMP CALYDOR - OR AS IT WAS OFFICIALLY KNOWN, "CAMP 20"
CANADIAN AUTHOR, AND FRIEND, WAYLAND "BUSTER" DREW, ONCE TOLD ME ABOUT THE DAYS, HE AND HIS FAMILY CRUISED ABOARD THE MUSKOKA LAKES STEAMSHIP, SAGAMO, WHEN THEY WERE VACATIONING IN GRAVENHURST, CRUISING PAST THE GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, SITUATED ON THE PEAK OF SHORELINE ABOVE MUSKOKA BAY, NOT FAR FROM THE TOWN WHARF. HE RECALLS SEEING THE HUNDREDS OF PRISONERS, SWIMMING IN THE SHORELINE ENCLOSURE, WHICH INCLUDED THE SMALL BEACHFRONT AREA, STILL IN USE AT THE PUBLIC PARK TODAY, AT THE END OF LORNE STREET. THE CAMP AND SOLDIERS BECAME A STRANGE TOURIST ATTRACTION, AND IT WASN'T UNCOMMON, FOR SIGHTSEERS, TO ROW, OR BRING THEIR MOTOR LAUNCHES UP CLOSE TO THE FENCE, TO GAWK AT THE CONFINED SWIMMERS. IT IS SAID, THAT THE YOUNG GERMANS WERE A SOURCE OF ATTRACTION, TO GIRLS FROM A NEARBY CAMP, AMONGST THE SIGHTSEERS, CURIOUS ABOUT LIFE AND TIMES AT CAMP CALYDOR. SO HERE'S MY OPENING PITCH. THE INTERMENT CAMP FOR GERMAN PRISONERS OF WAR, WAS A TOURIST ATTRACTION, FROM ITS FIRST DAY, AS WELL AS A PLACE OF CONFINEMENT DURING THE YEARS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. A CONTRADICTION AS IT WAS, BUT A FUNCTIONAL REALITY, THAT IN A UNIQUE WAY, AND CURIOUS TWIST OF FATE, ACTED AS A CATALYST FOR THE TOWN ECONOMY, AND ITS HIGH PROFILE RECOGNITION IN CANADA, AT THE TIME. IT WAS ACCEPTED. IT WAS UNDERSTOOD BY THOSE WHO GAWKED. THOSE WHO TRADED OR BOUGHT PRISON-CAMP ART, THROUGH THE BARBED WIRE FENCES, WHO ALSO UNDERSTOOD WHAT IT ALL MEANT ON THE GRAND SCALE; AND IT DIDN'T DISCOURAGE THEM FROM TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION. IN FACT, THE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST, IN THE 1940'S, HAD A FAR MORE ACCOMmODATING MINDSET, ABOUT BEING HOST, TO MANY HUNDREDS OF DANGEROUS NAZI PRISONERS, THAN WE HAVE TODAY, 74 YEARS AFTER THE CAMP OPENED. IF IT WASN'T A MAJOR IMPOSITION THEN, WHY IS IT SO HARD TO ACCEPT THE FACT OF HISTORY, ALL THESE YEARS LATER. EVEN TO REFER TO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, AS THE REASON FOR OUR ENDURING NEGLECT, IT CAN'T, IN ALL HONESTLY, TRUMP HISTORICAL REALITY. THERE ARE THOSE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY, WHO CHOOSE TO BLOCK PROPER RECOGNITION, BASED ON POLITICAL, AND A NAIVE EXPECTATION OF PUBLIC SENSITIVITIES; MOSTLY, IT'S BECAUSE OF A SHORTAGE OF WILL, TO ENTER AN AREA OF HISTORY, THAT DOESN'T SUIT THE IMAGE THEY (AS ELECTED OFFICIALS), WISH THE TOWN TO PORTRAY, AS A TOURIST DESTINATION. IF ON THE OTHER HAND, THEY WERE TO FIND OUT, HOW MUCH APPRECIATION MIGHT BE RECEIVED, IN THE CAPITAL SENSE, BY RECOGNIZING THIS FRAGMENT OF WORLD HISTORY, IT MIGHT BE THE ONE SOURCE OF ENLIGHTENMENT, THAT FINALLY CHANGES THE MOOD AT TOWN HALL. IT'S NOT THE VEIN I WOULD USE TO ADVANCE THE PROJECT, BUT FACING FACTS, MONEY TALKS. IF TOURISTS WANT TO VISIT THE POINT OF LAND WHERE CALYDOR ONCE STOOD, AND SPEND MONEY LOCALLY, WHAT'S THE DOWN SIDE? WHILE I'M NOT PUSHING FOR A TOURIST ATTRACTION, BASED ON THE MISERY OF IMPRISONMENT, IT'S PART AND PARCEL OF SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT, THAT WOULD SEE A COMMITMENT FROM TOWN HALL, TO INVEST MONEY IN WHAT THEY ALREADY OWN AS PROVENANCE.
THE FIRST TIME I READ ABOUT THE GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, WHICH HAD BEEN LOCATED IN GRAVENHURST, DURING THE YEARS OF SECOND WORLD WAR, WAS IN THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY, "LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS." BUT IT WAS WHEN I READ A FEATURE SERIES, ON THE CAMP, PUBLISHED IN THE MUSKOKA SUN, BY STAFF WRITER, SCOTT MCLELLAN, THAT REALLY TURNED ME ONTO THIS UNDER KNOWN ASPECT OF LOCAL HISTORY. SCOTT AND I TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT "CAMP CALYDOR," OR BETTER KNOWN AS "CAMP 20," AND ANOTHER FEATURE STORY HE WAS WORKING ON, ABOUT "LITTLE NORWAY," ALSO FROM THE ERA OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. BOTH WELL WRITTEN STORIES THAT, ACCORDING TO OUR READERSHIP, WERE WELL RECEIVED; MANY NOT HAVING KNOWN ABOUT EITHER FACT OF REGIONAL HISTORY PREVIOUSLY. THIS WAS BACK IN THE EARLY 1980'S, WHEN BOTH SCOTT AND I WORKED FOR MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS. SCOTT WORKED DIRECTLY WITH MUSKOKA SUN EDITOR, ROBERT BOYER, ALSO A REVERED LOCAL HISTORIAN, AND I WAS THE EDITOR OF THE SISTER PUBLICATION, THE HERALD-GAZETTE. SCOTT AND I GOT TOGETHER, OVER A FEW COLD POP, AT THE LOCAL PRESS CLUB, AND DISCUSSED SOME ASPECTS OF LOCAL HISTORY THAT WERE DESERVING OF MORE PUBLIC EXPOSURE, IN THE SO-CALLED MODERN ERA. SCOTT WENT ON TO RESEARCH AND WRITE A NEAT LITTLE BOOK, ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SUMMER THEATRE, IN MUSKOKA, ENTITLED "STRAW HATS AND GREASE-PAINT," PUBLISHED BY OUR NEWSPAPER. IF MEMORY SERVES, HE DID QUITE A BIT MORE RESEARCH ON THE NORWEGIAN TRAINING ENCAMPMENTS, IN MUSKOKA, ONE IN GRAVENHURST, AND THE OTHER IN HUNTSVILLE, AND IF MEMORY SERVES, HE EVEN VISITED NORWAY, TO DELVE FURTHER INTO THAT COUNTRY'S RECORDS, OF THE TEMPORARY BASES. BOTH CAMP CALYDOR AND LITTLE NORWAY ARE GREAT STORIES. THERE IS A "LITTLE NORWAY" EXHIBIT LOCATED AT THE MUSKOKA AIRPORT, SHOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN MAKING A VISIT. I WISH I COULD SAY THERE WAS A MUSEUM-STYLE DISPLAY, ACKNOWLEDGING THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF THE PRISONER OF WAR CAMP, BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN EXHIBIT OF THIS GROSSLY UNDER-RECOGNIZED CAMP, THAT PUT GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO, CANADA, ON THE WORLD MAP. AND IT DID!
THE 1999 RELEASE OF TOWN HISTORIAN, CECIL PORTER'S BOOK, "THE GILDED CAGE - GRAVENHURST GERMAN PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMP 20, 1940-1946," WAS A COURAGEOUS ENTERPRISE, TO TAKE AN HISTORICAL EVENT, WITH ITS DARK, AND NEGATIVE SIDE, AND PUT IT OUT THERE, IN FULL REGALIA, FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION. I WASN'T ASKED TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION, TO THE PROJECT, BUT CECIL DID ASK ME IF I KNEW ANY PUBLISHER THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN GETTING INVOLVED IN SUCH A PROJECT. I THOUGHT ABOUT MY OLD SCHOOL MATE, AND FELLOW HISTORIAN, GARY LONG, OF FOX MEADOW CREATIONS, THEN OF HUNTSVILLE. GARY AND FOX MEADOW CREATIONS HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RELEASE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF REGIONAL HISTORIES, AND REPRINTS, OF SOME OF OUR RAREST BOOKS IN THIS DISTRICT, SO I KNEW GARY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TALKING WITH THE GRAVENHURST BOOK COMMITTEE, THE GROUP RESPONSIBLE FOR A NUMBER OF LOCAL HERITAGE PUBLICATIONS. I WAS DELIGHTED TO HEAR A DEAL HAD BEEN MADE, AND THE BOOK WOULD BE PUBLISHED LOCALLY. I ATTENDED THE BOOK LAUNCH AND SIGNING, AND I STILL HAVE MY SIGNED COPY FROM THAT EVENT, AND IT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY MUSKOKA ARCHIVES.
WHEN WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, IT WAS NO COINCIDENCE, THAT WE FOUND A RESIDENCE (THE PRESENT BIRCH HOLLOW) ON THE SAME FORMER FARM ACREAGE, THAT WAS ONCE USED TO HOUSE HUNDREDS OF NAZI PRISONERS, MOVED FROM EUROPE FOR SAFE KEEPING IN CANADA (AT NUMEROUS INTERNMENT CAMPS), DURING THE YEARS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. WE WERE LIVING IN THE CALYDOR SUBDIVISION, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY THE NAME OF THE FORMER SANATORIUM, OF THE SAME NAME, BEFORE IT WAS ACQUIRED IN 1939 BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, FOR WAR TIME INTERMENT PURPOSES. WHAT FASCINATED ME ABOUT THE CALYDOR PROPERTY, ON THE SHORE OF MUSKOKA BAY, OF THE WIDER LAKE MUSKOKA, WAS ITS HISTORICAL RELEVANCES IN DIVERSE AREAS. FIRST OF ALL, THE LAKE FRONT PROPERTY, WAS THE SITE OF THE MINNEWASKA HOTEL, WHICH OPERATED AS SEASONAL ACCOMMODATION FOR TOURISTS, FROM 1897 TO 1908. A TRANSITION THEN OCCURRED, IN THAT YEAR, CHANGING THE BUILDING FROM A LUXURY HOTEL FOR TOURISTS (AND FAMILY OF TUBERCULAR PATIENTS OF THE MUSKOKA COTTAGE SANITARIUM AND THE MUSKOKA FREE HOSPITAL), TO A FLEDGLING TREATMENT FACILITY, TO BE KNOWN AS THE MINNEWASKA HOSPITAL, IN PART DUE TO THE RE-ORGANIZATION EFFORTS OF DR. CHARLES PARFITT, THE PHYSICIAN-IN-CHIEF, OF THE MUSKOKA FREE HOSPITAL. FROM 1906 TO 1915, THE OLD HOTEL OPERATED AS A SANITARIUM, AND UNDER DR. PARFITT'S CONTROL, THE SITE WOULD SOON BECOME A PRIVATE SANITARIUM FACILITY, RECONSTRUCTED, WHICH WOULD RE-OPEN IN APRIL OF 1916, AND BE EXPANDED A NUMBER OF TIMES DURING IS HISTORY AS A MEDICAL TREATMENT CENTRE. NOT ONLY DID IT TREAT SOLDIERS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, WHO HAD SUFFERED FROM BEING GASSED, BY THE GERMAN ARMY, BUT IT WOULD ALSO BE THE FACILITY WHERE DR. NORMAN BETHUNE BECAME A PATIENT, DURING HIS INITIAL TREATMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS. WHILE THERE HE WROTE LETTERS, TO FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, SOME OF THEM CONSERVED IN NATIONAL ARCHIVES. BETHUNE, OF COURSE, WAS BORN IN GRAVENHURST, AND LIVED FOR A SHORT PERIOD IN A JOHN STREET MANSE, NOW A NATIONAL HERITAGE SITE, VISITOR CENTRE AND MUSEUM.
IT'S NOT CLEAR, AT LEAST TO ME, HOW SOON THE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST KNEW THAT, WHAT HAD ONCE BEEN A WORLD CLASS PRIVATE SANATORIUM, WAS TO BECOME AN INTERMENT CAMP, FOR SOME HIGH RANKING, HARD CORE NAZI'S, CAPTURED BY ALLIED FORCES, DURING THE BATTLES ON LAND AND SEA OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. IT IS APPARENT THAT CAMP REMODELING, WHICH WAS ONGOING IN THAT FIRST YEAR OF OCCUPATION, HAD CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF NEIGHBORS AND MOST LIKELY THE LOCAL PRESS, BUT WHAT WAS KEPT SECRET, ABOVE ALL ELSE HAPPENING ON THE CALYDOR PROPERTY, WAS THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST GROUP OF GERMAN PRISONERS, THAT ARRIVED ON SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 1940, FROM THE CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY STATION, WHICH REQUIRED A GUARDED MARCH WEST ON BROCK STREET, ACROSS MUSKOKA ROAD, TO THE CAMP LOCATED ON ACREAGE ABUTTING LORNE STREET, AS IT ENDS AT THE SHORE OF MUSKOKA BAY. THE PICTURES PUBLISHED IN "THE GILDED CAGE," ARE COMPELLING AND A LITTLE STARTLING, EVEN IN THIS NEW CENTURY, ON THE CUSP OF THE 74TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CAMP'S OPENING. I OFTEN WONDER WHAT THOSE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST, ON THAT SUNDAY, SHORTLY AFTER THE WAR IN EUROPE COMMENCED, FELT AT THAT MOMENT, ENCOUNTERING THE PUBLIC DISPLAY OF FULL-DRESS GERMAN SOLDIERS, FROM ADOLPH HITLER'S WAR MACHINE, MARCHING THROUGH THE STREETS OF A QUIET, UNASSUMING ONTARIO TOWN; WHILE SOMEWHERE, FROM AN APARTMENT OR STORE, A RADIO NEWS BROADCAST, MIGHT HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR AN ATTENTIVE AUDIENCE IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY. THE PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS BOOK, ESPECIALLY OF THESE VERY PUBLIC MARCHES, FROM THE TRAIN STATION, AND GLIMPSES OF CAMP LIFE, AND INCLUDING IMAGES OF THE FUNERAL PROCESSION FOR TWO GERMAN INMATES, TO THE MICKLE CEMETERY FRO BURIAL, ARE POWERFUL AND COMPELLING, SUCH THAT WORDS JUST CAN'T POSSIBLY INFILL THE EMOTION OF THOSE UNIQUE OCCASIONS. AND IT ALL HAPPENED IN THIS TOWN, ALTHOUGH, OUTSIDE OF FINDING THE BOOK ON A NEIGHBOR'S COFFEE TABLE, OR BOOK SHELF, OR BY DROPPING INTO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, YOU WILL FIND IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCOVER MUCH AT ALL, ABOUT THIS INCREDIBLE CHAPTER OF COMMUNITY HISTORY. JUST THINK OF THE SHOCK YOU WOULD GET TODAY, IF RE-ENACTORS, IN THE SAME GERMAN UNIFORMS, OF SECOND WORLD WAR VINTAGE, WERE WITNESSED MARCHING ALONG THE MAIN STREET TODAY, OR TOMORROW. NO ADVANCE WARNING. JUST THE SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS OF A LARGE GROUP ON ASPHALT. I THINK THE WOW FACTOR, WOULD BE PRETTY IMPRESSIVE, AND ALTHOUGH OF COURSE DIFFERENT, IN ATTITUDE, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT, AFTERALL, IN A WAR WITH GERMANY; THE SHOCK FACTOR, OF SEEING THE PARADE OF OFFICERS, IN FULL MILITARY UNIFORM, WOULD CREATE, WITHOUT QUESTION, AN IMMEDIATE REALIZATION, THIS WAS OUR PAST. ONCE A MORE INTIMATE REALITY. ONE THAT LASTED SIX YEARS; WITH MANY SOLEMN MARCHES TO AND FROM THE TRAIN STATION.
AFTER WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, POKING AROUND THE CALYDOR CAMP WAS A DAILY PASSTIME. THE BOYS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, USED TO SWIM IN THE SAME LOCATION, AS THOSE HUNDREDS OF GERMAN PRISONERS HAD ONCE ENJOYED. WE HIKED THE SAME LANES THEY USED TO PASS, AND THE ROAD WHERE THEY MARCHED FREQUENTLY. WE FOUND BROKEN PIECES OF POTTERY THAT HAD BEEN USED AT THE CAMP, AND AT THE SANITARIUM, AND THE HOTEL BEFORE THAT; JUST BY LOOKING IN THE SHALLOW WATER AT THE BASE OF THE ROCK CLIFFS, THAT OVERLOOK MUSKOKA BAY. WE USED TO HUNT THROUGH THE RUINS FOR OLD BITS AND BOBBS, TO PUT IN OUR CALYDOR COLLECTION OF FOUND-ITEMS, AND WE TRANSPLANTED SOME SMALL LILAC PLANTS, FROM THE PROPERTY, AT BIRCH HOLLOW, TO REMIND US OF THE FORMER CAMP. WE KNEW THAT WE HAD LIMITED TIME TO EXPLORE THE PROPERTY, BEFORE IT BECAME A SUBDIVISION, WHICH IT IS TODAY. SO WE DID USE OUR TIME WISELY.
WE NEVER ENTERED THE PROPERTY, ALONG THE NARROW, SHADED PATHWAYS, WITH ALL ITS OVERGROWTH AND HODGE-PODGE CLUSTERS OF VEGETATION, WITHOUT FEELING THERE WERE WATCHERS IN THE WOODS. WE STARTED OUR ADVENTURES IN THE WOODS OF CALYDOR, IN THE AUTUMN OF 1989, A DECADE BEFORE PUBLICATION OF "THE GILDED CAGE." FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF THIS TIME, WE NEVER RETURNED HOME WITHOUT A HUNK OF PRISON CAMP BARBED WIRE, WHICH HAD BEEN LOCATED IN BALES, ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF LORNE STREET. THESE HAVE SINCE BEEN REMOVED, BUT WERE REFERENCED IN A PARAGRAPH, IN THE BOOK BY JOHN MALADY, IN HIS HISTORY, "ESCAPE FROM CANADA." WE WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES TO HAVE RIPPED CHUNKS OFF THOSE BALES OF BARBED WIRE. SOME FORMER INMATES OF CAMP 20, RETURNED IN THE LATE 1980'S, EARLY 90'S, AND CLAIMED SOME OF THE WIRE FOR THEMSELVES, AS STRANGE SOUVENIRS OF ANOTHER TIME IN HISTORY. THEY HAD ALSO SPRAY PAINTED A NOTE IN GERMAN ON THE CEMENT WALLS OF ONE OF THE BUILDING RUINS, THAT IN ESSENCE REFLECTED IN ENGLISH, "WELCOME, GERMAN SOLDIERS." AS I HAD READ THE STORIES OF THIS AT THE TIME, I KNEW IT WAS A KINDLY MESSAGE, ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR STAY IN CANADA, AND GRAVENHURST SPECIFICALLY; THIS PLACE HAVING A PLACE IN THEIR COLLECTIVE MEMORIES, AS I SUPPOSE, THEIR FORMER GILDED CAGE; A COMFORTABLE PLACE TO BE IMPRISONED, IF EVER THERE WAS SUCH A SITUATION IN THE MIDST OF WAR.
IN OUR YEARS TRAVERSING THE TREED ACREAGE, WE THOUGHT WE SAW PEOPLE MANY TIMES, WHO WOULD SUDDENLY DISAPPEAR, MAKING US QUESTION EACH OTHER, ON HOW AND WHY THEY HAD VANISHED. THERE WAS AN AURA TO THE SHADED PROPERTY, WHICH WASN'T ALWAYS THAT PLEASANT, BUT WE ALWAYS FELT THAT IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRISON CAMP. IN OUR CASE, IT SEEMED THAT THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF HISTORY WAS WEIGHING HEAVILY, ON A LAKEFRONT ACREAGE, THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHEERFUL AND OTHERWISE RECREATIONAL. TO SAY IT CARRIED ITS BURDENS IN AN OBVIOUS WAY, IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. IT WAS HARD TO WATCH, AS PEOPLE BEGAN INFILLING THE RUINS WITH BAGS OF GARBAGE AND YARD WASTE. AS I THOUGHT IT WAS INSULTING THEN, I ALSO HAVE FELT INCREASINGLY DISSATISFIED WITH THE TOWN'S LESS THAN INTERESTED, SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY, TO DEAL WITH SUCH AN IMPORTANT NATIONAL HERITAGE SITE. AND IT IS AN IMPORTANT SITE, MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, WHETHER IT HAS A SUBDIVISION LOCATED ON TOP OR NOT. IT WILL ALWAYS CARRY ITS HERITAGE, IF ONLY IN PUBLIC RECORD, WHETHER THERE'S A SITE MARKER ERECTED, DETAILING THIS PERIOD OF WORLD HISTORY, OR NOT. WHILE CECIL PORTER'S BOOK IS THE DEFINITIVE CHRONICLE, ON THE MARKET TODAY, ITS CIRCULATION IN BOOK FORM IS INADEQUATE. IT WOULD BE WORTH CONSIDERING, AFTER THE REMAINING BOOKS HAVE BEEN SOLD, FOR THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST TO CREATE AN ONLINE INFORMATION SITE, AND FOR THAT MATTER, REPUBLISH THE ENTIRE CONTENTS (ONLINE) FOR THE BENEFIT OF INTERESTED FOLKS AROUND THE WORLD; HOW A LITTLE LAKESIDE COMMUNITY PLAYED HOST TO SOME OF THE MOST DANGEROUS NAZIS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
AS I HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE IN ESTABLISHING AND WORKING WITH HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, AND MUSEUM EXHIBITS REGIONALLY, I HAVE ENTERTAINED THE IDEA OF MOUNTING A CAMPAIGN TO SELL TOWN COUNCIL, ON A FUTURE INITIATIVE TO INVESTIGATE, THE PROMOTION OF CAMP CALYDOR, AS A HERITAGE ATTRACTION, FOR THE BENEFIT OF PERMANENT RESIDENTS AND OUR VISITORS. WHILE I WILL NEVER ADVOCATE FOR THE CREATION OF A MUSEUM, OR SUGGEST THAT AN ON-SITE STRUCTURE BE BUILT, IN THE PRESENT SUBDIVISION, TO SERVE AS A VISITOR'S WELCOME CENTRE, TO DIRECT WALKING TOURS OF THE FORMER PRISON CAMP PROPERTY, I WOULD MOST DEFINITELY LIKE TO SUGGEST MORE PUBLIC INFORMATION, BEING AVAILABLE, IN AT LEAST BROCHURE FORM, AND THAT TEMPORARY EXHIBITS BE UNDERTAKEN TO PROFILE THE CAMP YEARS; WHETHER AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, OR THE OPERA HOUSE. THE FIRST STEP HOWEVER, REQUIRES A PUBLIC REQUEST, WITH A LARGE AMOUNT OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION. IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO CONVINCE COUNCILLORS, THAT THE NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS OF THE PRISON CAMP, HAVE POSITIVE ATTACHMENTS, THAT ARE EXCEPTIONALLY IMPORTANT, IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HISTORY; AND THAT EVEN WITH ITS DARKER SIDE, ITS RECOGNITION PRIMARILY, WOULD BE THE FACT, GRAVENHURST PLAYED THE PERFECT HOST, AND HELPED THE COMMONWEALTH MAINTAIN ITS SECURITY, AT A TIME WHEN THE GERMAN INVASION OF BRITAIN WAS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. THE WORRY WAS, THAT IF AN INVASION DID OCCUR, THE DANGEROUS PRISONERS WOULD BE RETURNED QUICKLY TO ACTIVE SERVICE, IN HITLER'S ARMY, AND BRITAIN'S ABILITY TO REPEL THE INVADERS, MADE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
IT WILL BE NECESSARY, IN ANY SUCH INITIATIVE, TO PROVE TO TOWN COUNCIL, BY DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED, THAT THE GERMAN-CANADIAN COMMUNITY, AND THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT GENERALLY, WOULD NOT FIND SUCH HISTORICAL RECOGNITION TO BE OFFENSIVE; OR INSULTING TO GERMAN VISITORS TO CANADA AND MUSKOKA. WHILE WE CAN'T CHANGE HISTORY, IN THIS CASE, THERE IS MUCH TO BE GARNERED, OF A POSITIVE NATURE, FROM WHAT MAY ONLY BE THOUGHT OF TODAY, IN ONLY NEGATIVE TERMS. THE FACT IS, AND IS COMMONLY KNOWN, THAT MANY OF THE PRISONERS FELT CANADA, AND CANADIANS, HAD BEEN PARTICULARLY KIND, DURING THE YEARS OF THEIR INTERMENT, AND FRIENDSHIPS WITH THE VETERANS GUARDS, THEIR JAILERS, HAD GENERATED POSITIVELY OVER SIX YEARS, SHOWING A VERY DIFFERENT SIDE, TO WHAT MANY BELIEVE WAS A DARK PERIOD IN LOCAL HISTORY.
CECIL PORTER'S BOOK WAS A BREAKTHROUGH OF THIS INVISIBLE BUT OBVIOUS BARRIER, IN LOCAL APPRECIATION, OF JUST HOW MUCH GRAVENHURST BENEFITTED FROM THE FEDERAL CONTRACT, TO HAVE THE PRISON CAMP LOCATED HERE. THERE WERE MANY ECONOMIC BENEFITS, AND MANY LOCAL SERVICE BUSINESSES, AND SUPPLIERS, DID BENEFIT FROM THIS SIX YEAR OCCUPATION OF THE CALYDOR PROPERTY. BUT THE BOOK WAS JUST THE BEGINNING OF WHAT WILL ONE DAY, BECOME A MUCH MORE IMPORTANT HERITAGE DESIGNATION. IT WILL TAKE A MORE HISTORICALLY INCLINED COUNCIL, AND SOME AMBITIOUS FOLKS, WHO KNOW THE TRUE INTERNATIONAL RELEVANCE OF OUR STORY; OF LOOKING AFTER NAZIS IN A VERY PRECARIOUS BATTLE FOR FREEDOM.
ONE YEAR FROM NOW, WE WILL BE A MONTH AWAY FROM THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAT FIRST MARCH OF GERMAN SOLDIERS, THROUGH THE MAIN BUSINESS AREA OF THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST. IF THERE IS NO INTEREST OTHERWISE, I CAN GUARANTEE READERS AND THE TOWN, THAT OUR OWN LITTLE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE, OF HERITAGE RESOURCES, WILL MOUNT THE BEST EXHIBIT WE CAN OFFER, WITH THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE; AND WE'VE GOT SOME WIGGLE ROOM TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. WE HEAR A LOT OF GRUMBLING AROUND THIS TOWN, ABOUT THE NEED FOR MORE TOURISM ATTRACTIONS, AND YEAR-ROUND PUBLIC EVENTS. SO WE'RE GOING TO GIVE IT A SHOT, AND IT'S KIND OF APPROPRIATE, AS THERE IS A VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH IN "THE GILDED CAGE," SHOWING A CANADIAN MILITARY PARADE, OF THE VETERAN'S GUARD, PASSING IN FRONT OF THE OLD THEATRE BUILDING, WHICH WE CURRENTLY OCCUPY. IT'S TOO IMPORTANT, TO OUR HISTORICAL CHRONICLE IN THIS TOWN, TO SHY AWAY FROM; AND JUST AS WE HAVE EMBRACED THE CONTROVERSIAL DR. NORMAN BETHUNE, AND HIS POLITICAL LEANINGS, WE SHOULD BE OBJECTIVE ENOUGH BY IMMERSION, TO EMBRACE THE HISTORICAL REALITIES OF THE WELL KNOWN "CAMP 20," AS IT OPERATED, FROM 1940 TO 1946.
SO, AS A PREAMBLE TO WHAT MIGHT COME DOWN THE PIKE IN THE FUTURE, SUZANNE AND I, OF MUSKOKA HISTORY RESOURCES, WILL MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS UPCOMING 75TH ANNIVERSARY, AND IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY RELICS FROM THE CAMP ITSELF, PHOTOGRAPHS, PAINTINGS OR CARVINGS, DONE BY INMATES, OR FURNITURE FROM THE BUILDINGS, WE WOULD BE HONORED TO EITHER BORROW THEM FOR DISPLAY, OR PURCHASE THESE PIECES, FOR WHAT COULD BECOME A PERMANENT DISPLAY IN THE FUTURE. WE DO BELIEVE, WITHOUT QUESTION, THAT OUR OWN CITIZENS, FELLOW MUSKOKANS, AND OUR VISITORS, WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT CAMP CALYDOR. THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT FOR SURE, IS TO DO A SURVEY, AND THIS WILL BE THE JUSTIFICATION, FOR NEXT JUNE'S SPECIAL EXHIBIT; POTENTIALLY, HERE IN THE FORMER THEATRE BUILDING ON MUSKOKA ROAD. WE'RE OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS. WE WELCOME YOUR OPINIONS.
BY THE WAY, THIS IS AN INITIATIVE FROM THIS HISTORIAN ONLY, NOT THE AUTHOR OF "THE GILDED CAGE," OR THE LOCAL HERITAGE COMMITTEE, OR ANY OTHER HERITAGE-PROMOTING GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS. IF AT SOME POINT, ANY OF THESE HISTORY-MINDED FOLKS WISH TO DISCUSS THE MATTER FURTHER, OR OFFER SOME CONTRIBUTIONS, THIS WOULD BE MOST DEFINITELY WELCOME; AND POTENTIALLY LEAD TO A FUTURE PROJECT, TO MORE PUBLICLY RECOGNIZE, GRAVENHURST'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE ALLIED EFFORT, OF WORLD WAR II. FEEDBACK ALWAYS WELCOME.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE YOU ALONG FOR THE RIDE.
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