Gravenhurst To Be Re-Branded; Destination or Long Standing Gateway.

IS IT TRUE THE BUSY BODIES OF OUR TOWN PLAN TO REDESIGNATE GRAVENHURST?

TO BE RE-BRANDED AS A "DESTINATION" VERSUS; ITS LONG HELD HISTORIC POINT OF REFERENCE, AS "GATEWAY TO MUSKOKA"

     Politicians and significant other big whigs in our town, stay as far away from me as possible, as a rule, for fear I'll rag on them about some other perceived or actual indiscretion, as far as manipulating our history is concerned. They'll fob-it-off by suggesting I'm of the radical element, and treat them with disrespect as elected officials, and hangers on! As I've tried to explain to them, as nicely as possible, it's the reason they should be more cautious about changing, or intruding upon our heritage quality and quantities in the first place. Having to deal with me standing there with arms folded, angry and determined to restore what should never have been screwed-with. Truth is, and this is the sad part, they really don't care about changing or watering down what they find uninteresting, or of little concern to their administration. Or how they perceive the town, and what, according to their agenda, they would like it to represent in a perfect world that suits them. I have for years tried to help these folks understand what community history entails, and what they should avoid messing with, having little if any background or preparedness for kicking away the platform so much has already been built upon. I have offered free tutoring. No takers. So I won't apologize, for making it my mission, to step in their way, when I feel they're trying to change what doesn't require updating or their re-evaluation. As if it is their right to stick their oars in, trying to change what the good folks of this town etched of their own free will and ambition, more than a hundred years ago. Well, if this is the case, in their rule book, (which they wrote themselves) then by golly, I won't feel the slightest pang of over indulgence, if I step in, and show them a contrary point of view. They could have just got an historian's opinion from one of our own scholars, but they decided there was no real need to get all tangled in protocols, as sensible as that would have been, mind you.
      I confess that I had to stop reading an article in last week's newspaper, dealing with the new municipally driven mission to change the historic reference to Gravenhurst, as the "Gateway to Muskoka," to reflect the economic interest of the day; to be a clear "Destination Location" instead. I've read about some ridiculous initiatives from town hall, but this one, even as a crumb on the chin, a tongue's reach away, is just busy work, and proof that our council thinks it's more important, to buy magic beans on a promise, than to honor and respect the details of our chronology in this burg. It's one thing to read that the BIA is re-branding the main street business corridor, as "Historic Downtown Gravenhurst," from its former "Uptown" designation, that few of us agreed with, when that issue began trending a few years back. Historic, of course, being that hollow designation, that few who voted its approval, believe, will involve a future Q. & A. by tourists visiting town. "Hey buddy, what makes this main street historic?" "Old buildings, you say?" How many "Historic Downtowns" are there in Ontario, and Canada at present? Lots.
     When however, there is a bureaucratic move, to mess around with what our ancestors thought was a good idea, and was proven so over the decades, such that it has become deeply ingrained in the tourist psyche, they certainly can't expect regional historians are going to look favorably on a revisionist strategy, because town hall feels like tampering with a history they don't understand! If I read this part of the article correctly, before dropping it to the floor, it was noted that there were only seventy or so respondents to the questions about Gravenhurst's future identity. Or something like that! So what the hell does that mean, other than only a tiny, tiny portion of the population, wants to play these reindeer games with town administration? As far as staunch local citizens who happen to like the heritage we've earned, we know that no matter what administration decides to do, in the future, especially any attempts to take away what we admire of our past, to color what would better reflect our community, we will roll it back anyway, just to remind them of their limitations as elected officials and civil servants.    
     Gravenhurst is the "Gateway to Muskoka," and that goes back to pioneer days, when it was exactly this; a place for a respite, maybe at McCabe's Tavern (and lodging), to refresh before heading further north, or off on the Muskoka lakes, for either hunting or fishing pursuits, or to find permanent homesteads in the newly opened region, courtesy the Free Land and Homestead's Act of the late 1860's. It was the "Gateway" particularly, to the chain of the Muskoka Lakes and beyond, and it served, at this capacity, so well in fact, that a village, grew from a hamlet, and a town then grew from a village. It was a supply depot, a launching place, and in so assisting the moving public, it enjoyed an economic boom, especially when Mr. Cockburn introduced his first steamship on Lake Muskoka. And when it was the railway terminus, before pioneer service was extended to Bracebridge and then Huntsville, yup, sure enough, Gravenhurst was was the geographical Gateway to the north and the rest of Muskoka. Traffic, you see, was coming from the south to the north. It was logical then, to follow through with this chronologically supported reputation, by making it more official with an actually built gateway at the south end, to herald the blossoming, exciting, economically generous tourist season. We were the Gateway, at this point, for tourism; tourist by majority, coming from the south to enjoy the north.
     Being this Gateway to Muskoka, has for long and long been good for tourism. Hundreds of thousands of tourists, know us today as the Gateway town, just as their parents and grandparents appreciated, when they were welcomed to our region early in the past century. Visitors still like being welcomed to our town, thanks to the restored heritage gateway at the south end if the main street, and we, as stakeholders in the business community, like the idea that our guests feel this heartfelt welcome; just as generations have sensed when passing beneath what has never been considered a waste of building materials.
     I realize that there is no bid to remove the "Gateway" edifice from its pleasant place, and the suggestion by town staff, is more of a conceptual proposal at this stage, in an attempt to create a more aggressive "you're here now," business plan, in the attempt to make our municipality a "destination," and not just a place to pass through, onward to other locales to spend money. Unfortunately, those civil servants dealing with this issue, at present, having little to no background in local history, are fumbling with the fact, "Gateway" in its founding grace, must have meant that local citizens merely facilitated travellers moving on to the next stop on the Navigation or Rail company schedule; only giving the traveller a few moments for a washroom break, and a hot meal, before being rushed off to resume their travels. It's just not so. For some the stay might not have been a long one in Gravenhurst, but that had nothing to do with the attractiveness of our hometown; just that this is what the travellers had planned, and would have carried out, even if Bracebridge had been branded the "Gateway to Muskoka" instead. It is all about topography and relation to the Muskoka Lakes that made Gravenhurst the logical launching community for northerly vacations. But remember, that in this designation, in respect to economics, our town made a crap load of money servicing and accommodating tourists, and that commitment for decades, gave us a branding that is forged in bold print in every local historian's archives. There was no shame in being referred to as a "Gateway to Muskoka," and by golly, the same can be said for today.
     This is what happens when you don't consult historians before you start campaigns to improve traditions barely understood, and almost totally unappreciated. We are a destination whether these administrative folks recognize it or not, and we benefit from all those who live and vacation in Muskoka; not just within our municipal boundary. We are not a stand alone community when it comes to the tourism industry, because we benefit from the successes of the whole district, to attract and accommodate tourists; as well as looking after our second home owners, otherwise the cottage community. Muskoka is a destination in this regard, and Gravenhurst is still its host Gateway, and of this, we should be proud, and committed to keep our reputation at its highest possible level of hospitality.
     Although elected officials in this town, have a bad habit of getting into debates and projects, grossly ill prepared, that they should have steered clear of, for fear of starting an avalanche of dissent for no good reason, the part I will never understand, is why, when they have lots of well versed folks to discuss historical precedents with, they simply refuse, because they apparently know better. They look so darn foolish when they try to make up for their lack of knowledge, by pointing to their place at the council table, as if this flirtation with Oz, can ever make up for the fact they want to play hardball with a badminton bird.
     We have an incredibly diverse history in this charming little town, that we should be celebrating, not trying to erase or revise, because it's outdated. History is outdated. That is a fact! This blog is a heritage matter, a mere fraction of a second after I've struck a letter key. It's stands to reason then, that what is considered history, isn't in the "now," and to some, it can give the appearance of being retrospective, when it is supposed to be futureisitic. I could wax philosophic on this topic for another hundred paragraphs but I won't. You don't deserve it. You folks like history or you wouldn't be reading this blog. To summarize, I intend to get very political in the future, whenever I deem the town's elected officials, are screwing with something of an historical reality, that doesn't need adjustment, refining, restoration, or their opinion attached. The reference to "Gateway of Muskoka," is an earned honor for our community, whether their administrative toadies think it or not. Buzz off. Leave our heritage alone. Find some other way to spend our tax dollars. Unless it is a needed restoration to a heritage public building, there is little reason to re-visit what our forefathers and mothers accomplished, with our future welfare in mind.