Gravenhurst Historical Society Should Be Supported and Endorsed

HISTORICAL SOCIETY PROPOSAL A HUGE LEAP OF FAITH AND RESPONSIBILITY

WITHOUT EVEN A SMIDGEON OF GAMBLE

     I AM NOT EXPECTING TO BE INVITED TO JOIN THE DIRECTORSHIP OF A NEW GRAVENHURST HISTORICAL SOCIETY, IF AND WHEN THE PEOPLE'S WILL, HERALDS ITS FORMATION. THE IDEA FOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY ESTABLISHMENT, WAS HIGHLIGHTED IN AN ARTICLE, PUBLISHED IN THIS WEEK'S GRAVENHURST BANNER. BORROWED FROM A SIMILAR MOVE TO ESTABLISH A GENERAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN HUNTSVILLE, EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE ADAPTABLE PLAN WOULD WORK PARTICULARLY WELL IN GRAVENHURST……WHERE WE'VE GOT QUITE A FEW HISTORICAL ASSETS, CURRENTLY WITHOUT TARGETED CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP.  BRACEBRIDGE ISN'T BIG ON HISTORICAL SOCIETIES AFTER THE WOODCHESTER DEBACLE. HEY, AS ONE OF THEIR HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S FOUNDERS, I OFFERED TO HELP THEM OUT RECENTLY, TO RE-ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY GROUP FOR THE NOW CLOSED MUSEUM…..BUT THE PHONE NEVER RANG. I WASN'T SURPRISED BY THIS. THEY DON'T LIKE THE CUT OF MY JIB EITHER.

     I BELIEVE THIS KIND OF ORGANIZATION, WITH THE ABILITY TO FUNDRAISE, AND BUILD A SOLID MEMBERSHIP, WILL SERVE A NUMBER OF HERITAGE CONCERNS AND SHORTFALLS I'VE BEEN WRITING ABOUT FOR THE PAST YEAR, ESPECIALLY INVOLVING THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE…..OUR MOST SIGNIFICANT HERITAGE BUILDING. WHILE I'VE BEEN NATTERING-ON ABOUT THE CREATION OF AN OPERA HOUSE ADVOCACY GROUP, TO LOOK AFTER THE HERITAGE ASSETS OF THE BUILDING, AS WELL AS ADVISE ON FUTURE ENTERTAINMENT USES, THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY FORMAT MAY SUITE AS WELL……IF A COMMITTEE WITHIN, FOR EXAMPLE, COULD WORK "SITE SPECIFIC," SIDE BY SIDE TOWN ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTED COUNCILLORS. I'M POSITIVE THAT THE OPERA HOUSE FUTURE IS TIGHTLY HINGED TO A WORKING GROUP, MADE UP OF INTERESTED AND EXPERIENCED CITIZENS, READY TO ASSIST AND NEGOTIATE WITH A MUNICIPAL BODY…… THAT HONESTLY…….SHOULD NOT BE IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS.

     SEEING AS THE OPERA HOUSE WILL CONTINUE TO NEED RESTORATION IN THE YEARS TO COME, HAVING SUCH AN ADVOCACY GROUP, EVEN IN THE FORM OF A MORE GENERAL HISTORICAL AGENCY, WOULD BECOME AN IMPORTANT ADVISORY AND FUNDRAISING FORCE FROM INCEPTION. IT SEEMS LIKE A TIMELY AND EXCITING PROPOSITION, IF IT COMES TO FRUITION. I ALWAYS LIKE A PLAN THAT ALLOWS THE CITIZENRY TO WORK CLOSER WITH THE ELECTED OFFICIALS WITHIN OUR MUNICIPALITIES, AND IN THE FIELD OF HERITAGE CONSERVATION, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE EXPERTISE AT HAND WHEN NEEDED THE MOST. IT'S COST EFFICIENT AS WELL.

     I HOPE THIS NEW HISTORICAL SOCIETY, WILL LOOK AT SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY, BEYOND THE NORMAL FARE OF ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION. IT IS A HUGELY NEGLECTED ASPECT OF OUR COMMUNITY HERITAGE. WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE EVENTS IN OUR PAST BUT NOT SO MUCH ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THE CITIZENS WHO BUILT THIS COMMUNITY……NOT JUST THE BUILDINGS. THERE'S A LOT MORE TO KNOW ABOUT GRAVENHURST AS A HOMETOWN, OF WHICH I HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT FOR YEARS……WITHOUT ONCE FEELING I HAD BUT SCRATCHED THE SURFACE OF AN AMAZING STORY OF ENDURANCE, RESOURCEFULNESS AND PRIDE. IT WAS A DAMN TOUGH HAMLET, A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE VILLAGE, AND NOW A REMARKABLE TOWN. MY INTEREST IS KNOWING MORE ABOUT THE CITIZENRY. NOT JUST THE RICH. NOT JUST THE POLITICIANS. NOT JUST THE FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS AND SERVICE CLUBS, CHURCH GROUPS AND SPORTING TEAMS. I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FOLKS WHO WORKED IN THE BAKERY, THE KITCHEN OF THE RESTAURANTS, THE MECHANICS, WAITRESSES, GROCERY CLERKS, NEWSPAPER STAFF, GAS JOCKEYS, NURSES, CARPENTERS, CRAFTSMAN IN THE BOAT INDUSTRY, TRUCK, BUS AND TAXI DRIVERS WHO KEPT US ON THE MOVE. I'M MORE INTERESTED IN THE HUMAN SIDE OF OUR HERITAGE, ADMITTEDLY, THAN SIMPLY WHEN CORNERSTONES OF BUILDINGS WERE CEMENTED INTO PLACE, OR WHEN DIGNITARIES SHOWED UP FOR SOME HISTORIC PHOTOS OPS AND CAKE EATING.

     WHILE I DON'T EXPECT THE PROPONENTS OF THIS FINE PROJECT, WILL CARE ABOUT MY POINT OF VIEW, AS THEY HAVEN'T IN THE PAST, SUFFICE THAT THIS IS A STAND-ALONE CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE WHO INTEND TO MOVE AHEAD WITH THIS RESPONSIVE, ADAPTABLE HERITAGE PROJECT. COMMITTED TO HERITAGE STEWARDSHIP, AND CONSERVATION, OUR FAMILY WILL BE AMONGST THE FIRST ENTHUSED CITIZENS TO PURCHASE MEMBERSHIPS - WHICH WE HOPE WILL BE HIGHLY SUPPORTED IN THIS TOWN.

     I HAVE HAD MY DAY SERVING AS AN HISTORICAL SOCIETY DIRECTOR, AND EVEN AS A FOUNDING MEMBER, BUT THE NEW GROUP WOULD NOT LIKELY WISH TO ASSOCIATE WITH A FREE RADICAL, POLITICAL SIDE-SWIPER, WHO HAS MADE A TRADITION….IN HIS DAY, OF MAKING SOCIETY AND MUSEUM MEETINGS HEADLINE-GETTERS. THIS HERITAGE INITIATIVE NEEDS TO BE FREE OF ENCUMBRANCES, MORE THAN IMBEDDED ACTIVISM, THAT MIGHT WELL NECESSITATE MY REMOVAL FROM MEETINGS BY THE ATTENDING FUZZ. JUST KIDDING. I LIKE THE WHOLE CONCEPT AND WISH ORGANIZERS THE BEST OF LUCK…..AND WILL OF COURSE DO WHAT I CAN TO PROMOTE ITS MANDATE, AND POTENTIAL PROJECTS UPCOMING. OF THIS I AM SINCERE. IT IS A GOOD PLAN FOR GRAVENHURST. IF THERE IS ANYTHING AT ALL WRONG WITH THE INITIATIVE, IT'S THAT IT'S FIVE YEARS OVERDUE. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

ARCHDEACON GOWAN GILLMOR OF ALGOMA….."THE TRAMP" IN GRAVENHURST

     (Taken from the biography written by E. Newton-White, about "The Tramp," Archdeacon of Algoma, Gowan Gillmor, a late 1800's, early 1900's missionary / priest, representing a huge region of northern Ontario, traveling thousands of miles by foot, serving the spiritual and often health needs of his flock. He was well known in Muskoka, particularly Rosseau, but was also revered by his many friends here in Gravenhurst.)

     "If Gowan knew all the constellations (from all the time he spent living outdoors, traveling) he also knew all the plants and flowers of the north country. His eye for beauty was very keen, and he could cleverly adapt these things in all their range, to his sermons in the most vivid terms. Survivors of the children of those days can well remember the way in which natural phenomena and wildlife would creep into his discourse."

     The biographer continues, "An Alberta lady, once of Gravenhurst, has treasured memories of him in her childhood. Especially she recalls a Sunday School Christmas Concert, which he opened with a most fascinating account of his approach to the town at dusk, that evening, and seeing the Evening Star rise over Gull Lake, 'with fairies accompanying it.' He held us spellbound."

     In another account of a friend, "A businessman of Gravenhurst can remember Gowan visiting his home at an age when his interest was certainly not the church, but the stories Mr. Gillmor told them. He says 'He did not believe in spoiling a good story by adhering too closely to the truth'. On one of his regular trips, Gowan had to pass by an empty house, said to be haunted. One day, curiosity got the better of him, and he went inside to look around. He moved very quietly and listened. Hearing a mysterious noise upstairs, he went cautiously all ready to come down in a hurry. There was nothing. Then he found the sound was coming from the attic. Taking some time to gain courage, he finally climbed the attic ladder - 'and there, sitting up and staring at me, was a ground-hog…..yes, a ground-hog! And, d'ye know he was almost as scared as I was'."

     "The grumpy looking ground-hog provided the peg upon which many an apposite tale could be hung to fit an occasion. The ground-hog being, as Gowan would say, the most curiosity-stricken person of all our little people; he had only to stand close to the hole into which one had vanished at his approach, and it would appear again. First the tip of is nose, then its eyes, then its ears, and finally its shoulders. Then they would talk' Gowan would ask questions or make the statement, and the would-chuck would reply in perfectly good Connaughtese brogue. The uses of such discussions were inexhaustible. It is almost certain that the haunted house episode, was expanded into such a dialogue many times at appropriate junctures; but if so, they are lost to posterity."

     Newton-White also makes note of a special gift given to Gowan in Gravenhurst. "One gift of which we have no more record, was of a fine sleeping bag, given him by a Gravenhurst bank manager, to use when he had to spend the night in the open. One doubts he ever used it." (He made do, preferring less bulk when walking on his regional rounds)

     Before leaving Gravenhurst, he said, "I have made friends here, whose friendship will last all the years of my life, and on through eternity."

     In future blogs, I will have a few more stories about this remarkable man, who gave so much of himself, to the spiritual and emotional needs of his many friends…..regardless of religious faith.

     Thanks so much for joining today's blog. I hope you will all consider joining the Gravenhurst Historical Society, if and when it becomes a reality. This is a very positive development on the heritage front. Please join me again soon. There's always a little more room around the Birch Hollow hearth, for a few more interested souls. How can you tell I grew up with the "Friendly Giant"?

Bring Out The Dead - The Horror of Diphtheria

THE RIDERS IN THE NIGHT - BRING OUT THE DEAD - THE HOMESTEADER'S DEMISE

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE WAS DAYS AWAY - AND DEATH COULDN'T WAIT

     MAYBE I AM "OLD BEFORE MY TIME," AS SOME OF OUR FAMILY FRIENDS CLAIM. I CAN BUY THAT. HAVING SPENT SO MUCH OF MY TIME RESEARCHING THE PAST, I SUPPOSE IT'S POSSIBLE I HAVE ABSORBED QUITE A BIT OF HISTORY WITHOUT KNOWING IT! I'M NOT UNHAPPY ABOUT THIS. I REALLY FEEL I'VE LEARNED SOMETHING IMPORTANT, ABOUT THE PERILS OF DISCONNECTING FROM THE PAST……BECAUSE IT MISTAKENLY SEEMS IRRELEVANT. I FEEL DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THIS, AND I HAVE A GRAVE CONCERN THIS INCREASING IGNORANCE OF HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS, WILL SNAP BACK ON US ONE DAY, WHEN WE ARE MOST VULNERABLE. WE HAVE SEEN EXAMPLES OF THIS RECENTLY; AND THERE HAVE BEEN HUMBLING CIRCUMSTANCES, CREATED BY THE HAND OF NATURE, THAT HAVE MADE US ALL OF A SUDDEN, WONDER OUT LOUD, WHAT OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS WOULD HAVE DONE, DEALING WITH A SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCE OF HARDSHIP.

     THERE SEEM TO BE A LOT OF PEOPLE THESE DAYS, WHO HAVE FORGOTTEN THE PASSED-DOWN STORIES, ABOUT THE INHERENT HARDSHIPS OF RESPECTIVE ERAS IN OUR FAMILY'S PAST. THE JOY AND TRAGEDY AS EXPERIENCED BY OUR ANCESTORS. MORE THAN EVER, I BELIEVE, WE ARE OBSESSED WITH THE RIGORS OF THE PRESENT, AND DRAW VERY LITTLE FROM THE EXPERIENCES OF THE PAST. WHICH OF COURSE, ARE LIFE EXPERIENCES THAT SHOULD MAKE US MORE RESOURCEFUL AND PREPARED. EVEN FOR WHAT WE ONLY PERCEIVE TODAY, AS ANNOYING INCONVENIENCES. YET IF YOU GO BACK INTO YOUR FAMILY TREE, YOU WILL CONNECT WITH A BLOOD-LINE THAT HAD IT VERY MUCH WORSE, THAN EVEN THE MOST TROUBLESOME DAY YOU CAN IMAGINE TODAY. AS AN HISTORIAN, I FIND THIS DISASSOCIATION WITH THE PAST RATHER DISTURBING, BECAUSE IN THAT SAME FAMILY HISTORY, WITH CENTURIES OF EXPERIENCE, THERE ARE LESSONS ABOUT SURVIVAL, AND ADAPTABILITY TO DO SO, THAT WE SUDDENLY FEEL WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW.

     WE ARE NOW BECOMING ISOLATED FROM A MEANS OF COPING WITH HARDSHIP THAT WAS ONCE COMMONPLACE. AS IF WE KNOW IT ALL, IN THIS MODERN TECHNOLOGICAL ERA, IT'S AS IF WE HAVE EVERYTHING WORKED OUT IN ADVANCE. WE CAN HANDLE CRISIS. THERE IS NO STORM BIG ENOUGH. NO EARTHQUAKE VIOLENT ENOUGH. NO FAMINE. NO DROUGHT SERIOUS ENOUGH TO DESTROY CROPS. THERE IS THE FEELING THE PAST WILL NEVER RETURN. SO WHY WORRY ABOUT THE WAY OUR ANCESTORS LIVED THEIR DAILY LIVES. WELL, THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR MODERN SOCIETY. THE RECENT HURRICANE THAT HIT THE EASTERN SEABOARD OF THE UNITED STATES, TOOK THOSE AFFECTED, BACK TO PIONEER DAYS IN A MATTER OF HOURS. IF THEY HAD FOLLOWED SOME PIONEERING ADVISE BEFORE THE STORM, MAYBE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN LESS HARDSHIP AND DEATH ASSOCIATED, WITH THIS VIOLENT BUT NATURAL TURN OF WEATHER.

     OUR PIONEER COMMUNITY DIDN'T HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF ANYTHING MORE THAN BASIC PROVISIONS, IN ORDER TO SURVIVE THE HARD LIFE IN THE WILDERNESS. THEY HAD LITTLE CHOICE BUT TO PREPARE FOR THE COMING WINTER, EVEN IF IT WAS THE EARLY SPRING. IT WOULD TAKE THE BETTER PART OF A YEAR, TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS A FULL SUPPLY OF FOOD AND WOOD IN TIME FOR THE TURN OF WEATHER IN OCTOBER. AS FOR PROFIT, IT WASN'T NEARLY AS IMPORTANT AS PREPARING FOR WINTER WITH THE RESOURCES AT HAND. ANY PROFIT WAS TURNED BACK INTO THE FARMSTEADS, TO MAKE A MORE COMFORTABLE LIFE FOR THOSE KNOWING FEW COMFORTS IN A SMALL, DRAFTY LOG CABIN CARVED FROM THE MUSKOKA BUSH.

     ONE OF THE GREAT HARDSHIPS ENDURED, OF COURSE, WAS THE DISTANCE FROM MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. IT WAS BAD ENOUGH TO BE A CONSIDERABLE WALK OR WAGON RIDE TO THE NEAREST CHURCH, OR GENERAL STORE, BUT THE LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE IN ISOLATION, COST A LOT OF LIVES THAT COULD HAVE BEEN SPARED, HAD THEY BEEN RESIDENTS OF ONE OF THE LARGER SETTLEMENTS…..WHERE A DOCTOR OR TWO HAD SET UP PRACTICE. IN TERMS OF HEALTH, THE HOMESTEADERS WERE CONSTANTLY AT HIGH RISK, BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THEIR LIFESTYLE, SHORTAGE OF NUTRITIOUS FOOD, LACK OF MONEY TO PAY FOR A DIVERSE FOOD SUPPLY, AND THE PHYSICAL STRESSES OF THE HOMESTEAD. THERE IS A STORY TOLD BY SUZANNE'S UNCLE, BERT SHEA, IN HIS WELL KNOWN TALES OF PIONEER TIMES, IN THE THREE MILE LAKE AREA OF THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, ABOUT AN ELDERLY WOMAN, LEFT ALONE AT HER CABIN, WHO WAS INJURED WHILE SPLITTING WOOD TO KEEP THE HOME FIRE BURNING. A SHARP FRAGMENT OF WOOD FLEW-UP WHEN THE AXE HIT THE LOG, AND HIT HER EYE, EDGE FIRST. THE WOOD SHARD IMBEDDED SO DEEPLY INTO HER EYE SOCKET, THAT SHE COULDN'T PULL IT OUT BY HERSELF. MEDICAL HELP WAS A LONG DISTANCE AWAY, AND SHE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO COME BY HER CABIN, SO SHE COULD ASK FOR ASSISTANCE. SHE LIVED WITH THAT WOOD SPLINTER IN HER EYE FOR SOME TIME AFTER, BUT THE INFECTION PROVED TOO MUCH FOR THE ELDER SETTLER, WHO EVENTUALLY SUCCUMBED. THERE ARE MANY SIMILAR STORIES ABOUT SICKNESSES THAT HAD TO BE TENDED BY THE SETTLERS THEMSELVES, AS DOCTORS OF COURSE, WERE NOT AS NUMEROUS AS THEY ARE TODAY.

THE SUDDEN ONSET OF A SICKNESS THAT COULD KILL OFF A HOUSEHOLD WITHIN HOURS

     DIPHTHERIA: "AN EPIDEMIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE OF THE AIR-PASSAGES, AND ESPECIALLY OF THE THROAT, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FORMATION OF A FALSE MEMBRANE." BY ANY OTHER NAME, A KILLER DISEASE THAT SPREAD RAPIDLY UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS.

     Suzanne's grandfather, John Shea, a former clerk in the present Township of Muskoka Lakes, and farm owner in the hamlet of Ufford, on the shore of Three Mile Lake, took it upon himself, to erect a fence around a small previously unmarked multi-plot gravesite, belonging to a family, wiped out by an outbreak of diphtheria, sometime, we believe, in the late 1800's. The Dougherty family, of which "Dougherty Road" was named, in Ufford, (near Windermere), had contracted the deadly disease, at a time when it was ravaging the pioneer communities in this vicinity of Muskoka. From what we can find, of this tragic circumstance, upwards of five family members died within twenty-four hours, and had to be hastily buried in the late hours of the night to avoid spectators, who could also become infected by close proximity. A number of lilacs were planted by neighbors at the gravesite, some time after, and it was how John Shea knew where to find the plots, when he decided to create a fence to mark the family plot as a latent memorial. This came many years after their deaths. Suzanne and I have visited the site numerous times, and it was always the same lilacs, that led us to the spot. The fence has long since deteriorated. It is located only feet from the route of the present Dougherty Road, not far from the present Ufford Community Cemetery.

     "Diphtheria, in the old days, took its course - whole families were wiped out. Burials after midnight by law," wrote family historian, Bert Shea. "The ghastly sound of wagon wheels and horses feet, or the thump of the jumper and the rattle of the bullchair, as slowly the oxen drew the caskets in the dead of night to the place of burial. I will not write more of the terrible procedure, save to say that there are cemeteries in Watt, where there were none present at the midnight burial, save the dim oil lantern…..two figures, one at each side of the grave, shovels in hand, and the good man at the head, conscious of the risk he was taking with his own family, but who, in faith, stood with his parishioners to declare the words of the Master….'I am the resurrection and the life."

     He also notes that fumigations were ordered by doctors to prevent diphtheria outbreaks, including after infectious events had occurred. Diphtheria was an agonizing ailment marked by severe fever, coughing, choking, and sore throat. Having a whole house infected, must have sounded horrible, to the attending doctors, nurses, and preachers, if in fact, they were able to attend, related to proximity from established villages. One can imagine the fury of activity around these affected homesteads, and the worry in the surrounding neighborhood, with rampant fear that they would be the next victims of this most vicious illness, that killed children in front of their helpless parents…..the weakest succumbing first. Then the elderly and parents meeting the same fate, often in the same day. There were survivors. But it depended on the care the victims received.

     Imagine hearing what Mr. Shea reported, on those fateful nights, the eerie sounds of wagon wheels on the hard packed dirt roads, and the twinkle of lamplights on the sides, helping to guide the way through the woods and partly cleared pastures, to the afflicted household, where death was imminent, some family having already succumbed, and been hastily prepared for a quick funeral before sunrise. This was not the work of an author penning a horror story, or a movie script for profit. It was reality at its most unfortunate, and there were many heroes from this period, and one of them was known as the "Tramp," an Anglican missionary of considerable acclaim, and compassion, by the name of Gowan Gillmor. From his Ministry in the Village of Rosseau, and the Diocese of Algoma, he moved his residence to nearby Ullswater, at the time of a smallpocks outbreak, (and circulated similarly during the diphtheria epidemic) and was one of very few who would tend the sick and those near death, medically and spiritually, and of this, he became a Muskoka legend in his time and beyond.

     "Gillmor of Algoma, (written by E. Newton White), is the story of a missionary's life, his struggles, heartaches and joys in those early wilderness areas, along the base of the Canadian Shield, which one Bishop used to describe as 'a land of rock of ages and Christmas trees.' It is the story of a beloved priest who tramped over those rocks and probably even slept under some of those trees, here and there, carving upon them, 'The Tramp'."

     "During the years Gowan Gillmor was at North Bay, the scourge of diphtheria was sweeping the north country. It was then a lethal disease and caused terror in the backwoods communities," notes E. Newton White. "What his son in Canada did, is best pictured in Gowan's own tribute to a predecessor in the Parish of Rosseau; the Rev. A. W.H. Chowne - "when there was a terrible epidemic of diphtheria and scarlet fever, he himself nursed the child patients; with his own hands, he prepared the dead for burial, put them in their coffins, dug their graves, and committed them therein, - in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to Eternal Life."

     "The epidemic diseases did not spare Rosseau, and Gowan took up his self appointed duties again. Smallpox broke out in Ullswater, and he closed up the Rosseau Rectory, to take up residence there to minister to the sick. When diphtheria was rife in Rosseau, he had his parsonage quarantined and spent all his time among the stricken homes; only stopping when, as he said, 'there are no more throats to look down'." Additionally, according to White, there was also a case further north, when, on a bitterly cold winter night, with a storm brewing, he planned to attend a family suffering from diphtheria, more than ten miles away. He was to travel on foot, as he usually did. Before he left, he had secured groceries and medicine for the family. Eleven children were infected. According to Gillmor, "Arrived safely." He nursed the family until all were well.

     "Gowan used to tell Rosseau people what he told many others in his long experience….that only he and death had undisputed entry into the homes where contagion had taken hold; quarantines notwithstanding. Death kept very close vigil while his own presence lent help, hope and consolation. He did not tell them that he often disputed death's entry, and many a time was able to bar the door to him," notes the author / historian.

     There were others throughout our district who defied the deadly disease, to help those in need. It is known that amongst the bravest, were those who tended the burials of the deceased, risking the possibility of carrying the contagion into their own homes. Often there were no doctors attending, and it was family that had to send for help to bury the deceased. This was life and survival on the frontier.

     "I have heard the voices of his loved ones in mourning, and the men of the river in silent groups, standing around, the slow tread of the horses and wheels of the carriages, as they bore him away to the quiet burying ground." From the book written by Bert Shea.

     Thanks so much for joining today's historical blog. It's always good to have you aboard.

Emigrants to Muskoka Were Duped By Government Agents

OPERA HOUSE ROOF GETS WORK - NICE TO SEE ON A PARTLY SUNNY AUTUMN DAY

     JUST A SHORT OBSERVATIONAL NOTE, FROM A NON-APPOINTED GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE WATCHER. THE ROOFING CREW WAS BACK ON SITE TODAY, WORKING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ROOF. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A RELATIVELY CALM WEEK WEATHER-WISE, SO POSSIBLY GREAT GAINS CAN BE MADE……BEFORE THE NOVEMBER GALES COME CALLING. I'M GOING TO BET THE ROOF ISN'T DONE BY THE END OF THE FIRST WEEK IN NOVEMBER, AS PREVIOUSLY PROJECTED. OF COURSE THERE WAS A WEATHER-INCLUSION ON THAT PREDICTION. AND WE DID HAVE A LOT OF IT. I JUST HOPE THERE'S A SNOW-LESS COUPLE OF WEEKS COMING.

     I'LL KEEP UP MY UNOFFICIAL WATCH FOR READERS. I'M A CURIOUS FELLOW, AND THESE ARE CURIOUS TIMES.

EMIGRATION TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - IN THE 1860'S

THE POOR LOOKING FOR THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY - GOT TREES, ROCK AND SWAMP

     "TO INTENDING EMIGRANTS: OUR BRITISH AND OLD COUNTRY READERS, NO DOUBT, ARE AWARE THAT THERE IS SUCH A COUNTRY AS CANADA, ALTHOUGH WHERE IT IS, AND WHAT IT IS LIKE, MANY OF THEM DO NOT KNOW, EXCEPT BY LOOKING AT A MAP OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT. TO ALL SUCH WHO MAY DESIRE TO MEND THEIR PRESENT POSITION, TO BECOME FREEHOLDERS, INSTEAD OF LEASEHOLDERS OR ANNUAL TENANTS, TO OWN A FARM OF THEIR OWN, INSTEAD OF SITTING UNDER THE SHADOW AND WILL OF A LANDLORD, TO THOSE WHO CANNOT GET LEASES WHATEVER, THEIR IMPROVEMENTS MAY BE, AND WHO, IN SHORT, FEEL TOO INDEPENDENT FOR THEIR PRESENT POSITION, WE MAY SAY UNHESITATINGLY, 'COME TO CANADA.' TAKE SHIPPING TO QUEBEC OR MONTREAL, THEN TAKE THE GRAND TRUNK RAILROAD FOR TORONTO, AND FROM TORONTO SET OUT ON THE IMMEDIATE EXPLORATION FOR A NEW HOME."  READS LIKE SOMEONE IS GIVING AWAY SOMETHING FOR FREE! BUT AS THEY SAY, NOTHING IS FREE.

     "ONTARIO HAS ALL SOILS, AND ALL SORTS OF SITUATIONS AVAILABLE. TO THE POOR LABOURING MAN THE FREE GRANTS ARE OPEN, AND ALTHOUGH THE FOREST IS HARD TO CLEAR, YET WHEN THE SETTLER FEELS THAT EVERY STROKE OF HIS AXE IS A BLOW TOWARD INDEPENDENCE, THE LABOUR BECOMES LIGHT AND PLEASANT. IF THE FREE GRANTS DO NOT PLEASE, THERE IS PLENTY OF WILD LAND TO BE HAD ON THE EASIEST OF TERMS; THE PRICE WILL VARY FROM TWO DOLLARS TO TEN DOLLARS PER ACRE, ACCORDING TO SOIL AND SITUATION; AND THE TERMS OF PAYMENT ARE MADE ACCORDING TO THE REQUIREMENT OF THE SELLER WHOSE OBJECT IT ALWAYS IS TO SELL. THE POOR MAN CAN, HOWEVER, ALWAYS GET LAND ON SUCH TERMS THAT HE CAN LIVE ON IT, AND PAY FOR IT FROM OFF THE LAND ITSELF; HE IS ALWAYS SURE OF EMPLOYMENT WHEN HE WANTS IT AT THREE QUARTERS OF A DOLLAR TO A DOLLAR AND A QUARTER A DAY, ACCORDING TO THE KIND OF LABOUR HE IS FIT FOR, AND HE CAN CHOOSE HIS OWN EMPLOYER AT THESE PRICES, AND NEVER NEED BE OUT OF WORK. NO ONE WHO IS INDUSTRIOUS NEED STARVE OR BE AT A LOSS FOR SOMETHING TO DO, WHEN ONCE HE HAS SET FOOT IN OUR HIGHLY FAVORED DOMINION."

SO FROM THE BEGINNING, THE LIES

     This is what became the worse case scenario for thousands upon thousands of poor homesteaders, arriving in Canada, Ontario, and the free land grant territory of the Districts of Muskoka and Parry Sound. Settlement was encouraged based on mistruths, conflicts of interest, shady deals, pay-offs, commissions, and general lies, based on someone or other getting paid for doing the job well. If you read the passages above, in the context of the previous two blogs, over the past few days……and you archive back to the summer, when I wrote about the Diary of Granny Bowers, and the Icelandic settlement in Hekkla, in North Muskoka, you'd certainly recognize that our region got its boost based on deception, and the capital gains of those perpetuating the tall, tall tales, about prosperity to be found as a freehold homesteader. The shady property speculators fared much better, flipping partly cleared acreages, even in the 1860's.

     Today there are historical plaques, books, films, and occasional newspaper features, that tell us the importance of maintaining our high regard, for our respective community's heritage. Yet when it comes around to what might be described as dialogue on history, as it relates to modern day politics, there is little appetite for this kind of enlightenment. If one thing bothers me more, about modern day municipal councils, in particular, it's this outright refusal, to delve into the past to appreciate how history continues to influence the present. There's the delusion, that somehow, you can bypass heritage matters, by approving a plaque for a central location, or agreeing to name a street or lane, in the memory of a respected community builder. The closest touch to living history, is when, on November 11th, some members of council will attending the Remembrance Day ceremonies at the town cenotaph. This is important. It is a poignant reminder, that all that matters isn't present tense.

     When discussing the matter of poverty and unemployment in Muskoka, there is no way of understanding its underlying causes, without going back to the way it all began. Not twenty years ago, or fifty. Much further back. Those horrendous conditions and circumstances set the precedent, and even though an answer like this, will not make much sense to someone suffering these conditions today, it is a fact of existence here…..that we are still a seasonal economy with all the pitfalls that precarious reliance creates.

     "It is, however, to the farmer of moderate means that Canada holds out the greatest inducements, and of all the Canadian Provinces, Ontario certainly holds out those most advantageous. All through the earlier settled portions of the Province, in the neighborhood of all the principle towns, and in the spaces between the Great Lakes, of Ontario, Erie, and Huron, there are hundreds of thousands of good cleared farms that can be purchased at from twenty to fifty dollars per acre. These farms are generally of 100 acres each, and they will have from forty to eighty acres cleared. They have all buildings of some kind or other on them, and the good or bad quality of the buildings usually governs the price." The guidebook reveals that, "The soil of the Province of Ontario is, as a whole, not to be surpassed in fertility by any part of the world; indeed, it is its very fertility that has been its worst enemy, inducing neglect of good and scientific farming to which is to be attributed the exodus, which is always taking place throughout America from front to back settlements."

     There are so many things wrong with the above editorial materials, it would take me hours to break it down, as to how these stunningly error-filled assessments, created misery for those who were gullible enough to believe the claims. To the writer, who had probably never grown a flower, let alone a farmstead garden, promoting the advantages of free grant lands, such as were to be found in Muskoka and Parry Sound, was not the same whatsoever, as the discussion of lands in the southern area of the province……that the word "arable" was a responsible claim. Our regions had thin soil on underlying rock shield, billions of trees, huge rock outcroppings, bogs, swamps, waterways, and a very short growing season. When the Icelanders fell for the same solicitations, in their country, they arrived in Muskoka to find that at least half the promises made by land agents had been incorrect. They weren't really informed about just how "treed" we were in this part of the country. You may not know this, but Iceland isn't known for its large stands of forest. So here these future farmers, find a mountain of timber, without having a lot of background in cutting them down…..hauling out the massive roots, to find that little slice of fertile ground to plant crops for sustenance. This same situation was experienced by many new land owners, who brought with them many trades, that didn't help them become good farmers.

     So based on lies and deception, Muskoka got its base population. The homesteaders couldn't survive without supplementing their incomes, and were forced into the logging industry, and had to leave their families over the off-season, to participate in the winter cut at lumber camps. I have always wanted to know the statistics on these lumber camps and the spring drive, down the rivers and across the lakes of Muskoka, and from those employed, how many perished by any number of horrible accidents, in one of the most brutally dangerous industries from the period of the 1860's onward. So imagine the homestead family, who finds out their loved one has succumbed to injuries at one of these winter camps? Fathers and sons who weren't killed by logging, could have been physically disabled on the job without any compensation to the surviving family. This happened a lot. Now tack on the incredibly difficult task of surviving on an isolated homestead, and the rigors of clearing the land, and tending the gardens…..keeping the cabin stove engaged, and money coming in, and is it any wonder that so many frustrated and beaten-down emigrants returned to their country of origin, or moved well beyond Muskoka and Parry Sound to seek better opportunities.

     The fact that thousands of homesteaders survived in this region of the province, attests to their fortitude and resilience against what most found as insurmountable odds, to find prosperity amidst such horrific challenges. These settlers learned how to diversify, and work at other enterprises beyond the small farm acreages. Early on in our history, in Muskoka, the relationship with tourism showed its potential, and it became an even stronger union, when the logging industry began its decline, and other economic pursuits, in our fledgling hamlets, from tanning to the woolen mill industry, started to falter from their historic peaks. While tourism has always had its fluctuations, based on the national and international stresses of the time, such as during the periods of World War, and the Great Depression….amongst other recessions etc., it has been our most enduring economic engine, still employing a large number of permanent residents in a wide ranging number of disciplines. What developed out of necessity in the 1870's, was based on the sporting, recreational advantages of the picturesque lakeland…..which soon began to draw those with the financial means to purchase lakefront property, to build their hinterland retreats. Canadian Department Store magnate, Timothy Eaton, began his visits to Muskoka as a sportsman, and found accommodation in the humble abode of Thomas Aitken of Windermere, on the shore of Lake Rosseau. It has been said, that Eaton was so smitten by the area, and by the Aitken family's hospitality and kindness, that he suggested Thomas consider building a larger house to offer rental rooms to the increasing number of city visitors to the outback. Eaton would later make a deal with the Forge family, to by a large tract of land where he would then build the famous cottage compound, he named "Ravenscrag," a short distance from where Aitken would eventually build Windermere House. The rest, as they say, is history.

     When I'm confronted by the issue of modern day poverty, and unemployment issues, in Muskoka today, I am sensitive to the plight of my friends and neighbors who find themselves in these unfortunate situations. I've been there myself. My wife's family, who were original pioneers in this region, experienced the same, and at times, probably thought about abandoning the farmsteads, and heading to more profitable areas for agriculture. There have been those who moved-on, because of a shortage of opportunities. This happened from the beginning of the homesteading period. It has never ceased to be a condition of life and survival amidst a seasonal economy. For those who believe that job creation is the answer to the problem, here in this beautiful region of our country, it is exactly what the settlement guidebooks of the 1860's were promoting, and misrepresenting, just to achieve their objective of settling the unoccupied lands of our country. When government gets into job creation projects, they are short termed, and give the illusion of being permanent and resistant to political change and the prevailing economy. There have been many short-term solutions, that ended just as they had begun…..with disappointment and a list of failings that survive in memory when the money runs out.

     This is an historic problem, with no clear and reliable remedy, that many multi-generational Muskokans would look at, as we always have……knowing full well, it will be personal resilience and adaptability that saves us from economic ruin. As it always has, for those who have committed their lives to live and work in this natural paradise. With national, provincial and regional economic stresses these days, and the cost of living as high as it is, like the most recent hurricane, "Sandy," there is a near-perfect storm brewing, and I'm not at all optimistic, about our mutual ability to weather its wrath.

A LITTLE COMPANION NOTE FROM 1874

     To conclude this blog on the conditions facing those emigrants taking advantage of the Free Land Grants, in Muskoka, there was a self-published pamphlet, written by a gentleman named Joseph Dale, titled, "Warning to English Immigrants." Dale circulated these pamphlets as a counter measure, to the extravagant lies being told by Canadian land agents, recruiting British subjects for this homestead project. He visited Muskoka and reported his findings, which were contrary to what the Settlers' Guidebooks were promoting. So in sharp contrast to the passages above, from the "friendly" version of the land grand propaganda, here is what I believe to be the correct, critical version of conditions in1874.

     "Having recently returned from Northern Canada where I remained some little time in what is at present, the Free Grant District of the Province of Ontario, it occurred to me that the few following pages might be of some assistance to those who are about to take such an important step to emigrate. I would beg the reader to understand that my observations are not addressed to those who are about to make the settled districts of Canada their future home, but that class of men, with families, and a little capital, who go out with the intention of making a home in the bush, and who, fully prepared, to undergo many hardships and severe toil, leave the country in the hope that their efforts and the expenditure of their hard earnings will give them such a reward, as they might reasonably expect, and which settlers years ago have worked for and realized."

     Mr. Dale continues his description of the conditions in Muskoka, that he witnessed in 1874: "The nearer we approach to Severn Bridge the more the impression comes upon us that we are entering upon as new and stony country, but when arrived there, we got a first view of the sort of land which emigrants from the old country are invited to settle on and cultivate. Hence, we take the mail carts to a place called Gravenhurst, through a most dismal, rocky and wild country. About three or four years ago a great bush fire passed over, and completely revealed its barren nature. No doubt this fire has done much to produce an unfavorable impression as to the desirability of a settlement in Muskoka, but on the other hand, it unmistakably shows the traveller what sort of country he is passing through, and is likely to meet for many miles.

     "On all sides are great masses of granite, containing veins of plutonic origin on which it is a wonder how anything, even a birch tree, can grow; here and there are to be seen a few poverty-stricken shanties and attempts at settlement, most of them deserted, the unfortunate settler having been compelled to leave such an ill-favored unremunerative spot, and seek to retrieve his lost time and labour, in the front of the settled country."

     In conclusion he notes, "As the food supply is one of the most important items to the emigrant, it would be as well, that he should understand that although the bush may abound with deer and other game, yet that hunting for it is a matter of food, is a most precarious thing, when even experienced trappers find a great difficulty in getting sufficient to live on; how much greater then, must be the difficulty of the emigrant. To hunt in the bush, as a matter of necessity requires the cunning of an Indian, and a life as nomadic. Any settler who attempts such a thing must neglect everything else. Nothing but an organized hunt by a number of settlers and dogs will accomplish anything worth the trouble, and such an organization is seldom or never made. The emigrant must not look therefore to the bush for a supply of animal food.

     "Our emigrant having been settled down on his land for eight to twelve months, will now, perhaps begin to reflect upon his position, which I venture to say is a most painful one. Where now is gone that little capital which he has so industriously saved and got together in England. Wasted upon a worthless block of rock. He has found out at a ruinous cost, that the accounts given in books on settlement in the bush in Canada, which were written some years ago, and spoke in glowing terms of settlements rapidly rising around the industrious settlers, and of lands which by labour and self-denial, have developed into an inheritance, do not apply to the Free Grant District of 1874."

     The relationship with imbedded poverty and the conditions of unemployment over more than a century, has a long and winding root, reaching back through history. Maybe it doesn't speak to the present circumstance, or offer any remedy, but it is, none the less, the legacy of our settlement in the District of Muskoka……that is at times, just as precarious and vulnerable as it was in the 1860's.

     Thanks so much for joining today's blog. Tomorrow I would like to take you on a midnight funeral……back to the days of the dreaded outbreaks of diphtheria, ravaging the pioneer inhabitants along those narrow country roads…..where medical assistance was always a long way away. Please join me for a look back at a medical reality, that killed thousands of folks in its heyday, with a look at the brave souls who tended the sick and deceased.

Charles Dickens Observes The Emigrants in Canada 1868

IN THE YEAR 1868 CHARLES DICKENS, ON A VOYAGE TO AMERICA, SAW EMIGRANTS IN THE ROUGHEST OF CONDITIONS

SOME WERE PROBABLY HEADED TO THE FREE LAND GRANT DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA

     UPON LANDING BY BOAT IN QUEBEC, AFTER A ROUGH CROSS-ATLANTIC VOYAGE, INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AUTHOR, CHARLES DICKENS, MADE A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE STEERAGE CLASS PASSENGERS, SOME, WHO WOULD ONE DAY SOON, BE LABORING ON THE NEWLY OPENED LAND GRANTS IN REGIONS LIKE MUSKOKA AND PARRY SOUND. HIS VANTAGE POINT, OF COURSE, WAS AS A FIRST CLASS PASSENGER, OF CONSIDERABLE PRIVILEGE. HE WRITES AS FOLLOWS:

     "IN THE SPRING OF THE YEAR, VAST NUMBERS OF EMIGRANTS WHO HAVE NEWLY ARRIVED FROM ENGLAND OR IRELAND, PASS BETWEEN QUEBEC AND MONTREAL ON THEIR WAY TO THE BACKWOODS AND NEW SETTLEMENTS OF CANADA. IF IT BE AN ENTERTAINING LOUNGE (AS I OFTEN FOUND IT) TO TAKE A MORNING STROLL UPON THE QUAY OF MONTREAL, AND SEE THEM GROUPED IN HUNDREDS ON THE PUBLIC WHARF ABOUT THEIR CHESTS AND BOXES, IT IS MATTER OF DEEP INTEREST TO BE THEIR FELLOW-PASSENGER ON ONE OF THESE STEAMBOATS, AND MINGLING WITH THE CONCOURSE, SEE AND HEAR THEM UNOBSERVED.

     "THE VESSEL IN WHICH WE RETURNED FROM QUEBEC TO MONTREAL, WAS CROWDED WITH THEM, AND AT NIGHT THEY SPREAD THEIR BEDS BETWEEN DECKS (THOSE WHO HAD BEDS, AT LEAST), AND SLEPT SO CLOSE AND THICK ABOUT OUR CABIN DOOR, THAT THE PASSAGE TO AND FRO WAS QUITE BLOCKED UP. THEY WERE NEARLY ALL ENGLISH; FROM GLOUCESTERSHIRE THE GREATER PART; AND HAD HAD A LONG WINTER-PASSAGE OUT; BUT IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE HOW CLEAN THE CHILDREN HAD BEEN KEPT, AND HOW UNTIRING IN THEIR LOVE AND SELF-DENIAL ALL THE POOR PARENTS WERE."

THE WRITER LOOKING AT DEGREES OF POVERTY, OF THESE NEW CANADIANS

     Dickens goes on to observe, "Can't as we may, and as we shall to the end of all things, it is very much harder for the poor to be virtuous than it is for the rich; and the good that is in them, shines the brighter for it. In many a noble mansion lives a man, the best of husbands and of fathers, whose privateer worth in both capacities is justly lauded to the skies. But bring him here, upon this crowded deck. Strip from his fair young wife her silken dress and jewels, unbind her braided hair, stamp early wrinkles on her brow, pinch her pale cheeks with care and much privation, array her faded form in coarsely patched attire, let there be nothing but his love to set her forth, or deck her out, and you shall put it to the proof indeed. So change his station in the world, that he shall see in those young things who climb about his knee; not records of his wealth and named; but little wrestlers with him for his daily bread; so many poachers on his scanty meal; so many units to divide his every sum of comfort, and further to reduce its small amount. In lieu of the endearments of childhood in its sweetest capacity, heap upon him all its pains and wants, its sicknesses and ills, its fretfulness, caprice and querulous endurance; let its prattle be, not of engaging infants, but of cold, and thirst, and hunger; and if his fatherly affection outlive all this, and he be patient, watchful, tender; careful of his children's lives, and mindful always of their joys and sorrows, then send him back to Parliament, and Pulpit, and to Quarter Sessions, and when he hears fine talk of depravity of those who live from hand to mouth, and labour hard to do it, let him speak up, as one who knows, and tell those holders forth, that they, by parallel with such a class, should be High Angles in their daily lives, and lay but humble siege to Heaven at last."

     The legendary author pens, in his observations on board the ship, that "Which of us shall say what we would be, if such realities, with small relief to change all through his days, were his! Looking round upon these people; for from home, houseless, indigent, wandering, weary with travel and hard living; and seeing how patiently they nursed and tended their young children; how they consulted ever their wants first, then half supplied their own; what gentle ministers of hope and faith the women were; how the men profited by their example; and how very, very seldom even a moment's petulance or harsh complaint broke out among them; I felt a stronger love and honor of my kind come glowing on my heart, and wished to God these had been many Atheists in the better part of human nature there, to read this simple lesson in the book of life."

     Charles Dickens, famous for his portrayals of the slums and the dark side of England, saw the plight of those hopeful but destitute emigrants, who were confined to the steerage class, in passage across the Atlantic. They were the poorest of the poor, and they came to Canada specifically, to take advantage of the newly created Free Land Grants, of a hundred plus acres. The Government of Canada, wanted to occupy the unoccupied lands to the west. They wanted to be able to justify the creation of a transcontinental railway, linking the country sea to sea. The people stuffed, often mercilessly into steerage class, represented the hope and aspirations of the nation builders. They sent government land agents to preach the good graces of arable farm land, and employment opportunities in many new and thriving industries, operating in the cities of the new Dominion. The steamship agents pushed the same agenda, and were credited for emigrants they signed up, to travel to a wild frontier an ocean-away. Even those who wrote and sold settler's guide books, portrayed the regions of settlement, as places of great opportunity, and potential for future wealth. There were very few trying to discourage these gullible homesteaders, so impoverished and beaten down by the stresses of urban living in Europe, it was an obvious outcome, that millions wanted to believe the promises of new and prosperous lives……and boarded those steam vessels with their families, with only meagre provisions and very little money to acquire what they needed, heading out to some of the roughest terrain in the country.

     These are the same folks who cleared our forests for pioneer farmsteads. They built the roads and the bridges, and supplied the lumber camps and general stores, and tourist accommodations with their produce……at least what they had to spare. Some failed. Many moved on, before they had cleared half the acreage they were contracted to cut; others lived miserable lives, in the harshest of conditions, and perished the direct result of homestead hardships. There were thousands of others, who persevered and never gave up on the task of community building. They never got rich, but they survived, generation after generation, to work the land, and man the industries……and be the customer base, for the businesses that depended on them. There families came here in the most adverse, terrible circumstances, and they are buried in our pioneer settlements, without glowing testimonials, about how their struggles, with only minimal resources, gave us today's communities. The poorest and most inadequately suited homesteaders, carved out our futures. Believe it our not.

     When we look at Muskoka's relationship with poverty today, and diminishing employment opportunities, it is one of those unfortunate traditions, we feel reluctant to embrace as legend……because we expect what is legendary should also be positive and of considerable and noble stature……as roll models of our past. Their determination, and stalwart pride in those early, humble homesteads, created a survival mentality here……and a neighborliness that goes back to those first isolated pioneer cabins, where those with more, shared more often. Historically, I look upon this early relationship with poverty, as an important marker, of the cultural identity of what it means to be called a Muskokan……that we have learned to live with a great respect for the values of resourcefulness and resilience, because it's the way it all began. It initiated as a struggle, to live and work here, and it is no different today in many regards.

     "All this I see as I sit in the little stern-gallery mentioned just now. Evening slowly steals upon the landscape and changes it before me, when we stop to set some emigrants ashore," writes the good Mr. Dickens, from the ship. "Five men, as many women, and a little girl. All their worldly goods are a bag, a large chest, and an old chair; one, old high-backed, rush-bottomed chair; a solitary settler in itself. They are rowed ashore in the boat, while the vessel stands a little off awaiting its return, the water being shallow. They are landed at the foot of a high bank, on the summit of which are a few log cabins, attainable only by a long winding path. It is growing dusk; but the sun is very red, and shines in the water and on some of the tree-tops, like fire. The men get out of the boat first; help out the women; take out the bag, the chest, the chair; bid the rowers good bye, and shove the boat off for them. At the first splash of oars in the water, the oldest woman of the party, sits down in the old chair, close to the water's edge, without speaking a word. None of the others sit down, though the chest is large enough for many seats. They all stand where they landed, as if stricken into stone; and look after the boat. So they remain, quite still and silent; the old woman and her old chair, in the centre; the bag and chest upon the shore, without anybody heeding them; all eyes fixed upon the boat. It comes alongside, is made fast, the men jump on board, the engine is put in motion, and we go hoarsely on again. There they stand yet, without the motion of a hand. I can see them through my glass, when in the distance, and increasing darkness, they are mere specks to the eye; lingering there still; the old woman in the old chair, and all the rest about her; not stirring in the least degree. And then I slowly lose them."

     They are home. But it takes time, to fulfill the enthusiasm they had, when signing onto the adventure of homesteading in a new land. For many, the enthusiasm became a horror. Imagine the feeling of panic, seeing that ship pass along, as they sat in the darkening environs, having no assistance from anyone, to help them on their way. Possibly, these emigrants, were coming to Muskoka.

     I will offer a few more historical notes about Muskoka's hardy pioneer lifestyle, in the next several blogs. Please join me for another retrospective, on how Muskoka has been associated with poverty from the beginning of its history. Thanks for joining me today.

Muskoka Has Danced With Poverty From The 1850's

THE PROBLEM WITH UNEMPLOYMENT, AND THE INCREASING CRISIS OF POVERTY AMIDST PLENTY

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?  FIRST OF ALL……, LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT THAT APPRECIATE WHAT VULNERABILITY REALLY MEANS

     I JUST RECEIVED AN ASTUTELY WRITTEN EMAIL, FROM A BLOG-FRIEND, WHO HAS POIGNANTLY DETAILED THE GAPING, DANGEROUS SHORTFALLS IN OUR LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, TO EFFECTIVELY DEAL WITH THE CRISIS OF UNEMPLOYMENT, AND THE SERIOUS ESCALATION OF POVERTY……IN OUR REGION, AND YES, WELL BEYOND. I GET THIS A LOT. NOTES FROM FOLKS WHO WANT TO WORK; WHO ARE WELL QUALIFIED FOR MANY JOBS, BUT ARE CRUNCHED HERE IN PARADISE FOR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS. IF THERE'S ONE THING ABOUT MUSKOKA HISTORY, THAT HAS INTERESTED ME MORE THAN ANY OTHER ASPECT, IT HAS BEEN OUR INHERENT RELATIONSHIP WITH POVERTY. I DON'T WANT TO SEND THE MESSAGE, OUT THERE, THAT ALL OUR PROBLEMS ARE HISTORIC IN NATURE…..BUT I WILL SUGGEST WITH A FAIR BIT OF CORROBORATING EVIDENCE, THIS IS EXACTLY THE WAY THE ECONOMY HAS DEVELOPED SINCE THE FREE LANDS GRANTS WERE OFFERED IN THE LATE 1860'S ONWARDS. THIS MAY NOT BE THE KIND OF RESPONSE MY READER WAS LOOKING FOR, BUT I ASK FOR SOME PATIENCE, SO THAT I CAN OFFER A CLEARER EXPLANATION.

     IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, I WILL PRESENT A LITTLE HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDER, WRITTEN BY NONE OTHER THAN CHARLES DICKENS. NOT ONE OF HIS STORIES, SET IN THE MEAN STREETS OF ENGLAND, BUT RATHER OBSERVATIONS FROM A TOUR HE TOOK TO AMERICA IN THE 1840'S, VIA THE SHIP BRITANNIA, I BELIEVE. I HAVE A LATER EDITION OF HIS "AMERICAN NOTES," AND OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO ME, IS THE REFERENCE HE MAKES TO THE STEERAGE CLASS ON THE SAME BOAT. THE POOR AND DESTITUTE, LOOKING TO AMERICA FOR A BETTER LIFE. FROM HIS FIRST CLASS ACCOMMODATION, BUT HIS ASTUTE REGARD FOR THE PLIGHT OF THE LESS FORTUNATE, HE PUBLISHES AN ENLIGHTENING ACCOUNT OF JUST HOW MISERABLE PASSAGE WAS FOR THESE POOR SOULS, INCLUDING CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY……SOME WHO NEVER MADE IT TO THE PARADISE THEY WERE PRAYING FOR.  ALL OF THEM GAMBLING ON THE POTENTIAL, THE FRONTIER ACREAGES, OFFERED BY LAND AGENTS TO THE MOST VULNERABLE IN EUROPE, WERE GOING TO BE FULFILLING OF DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS.  DICKENS, LONG BEFORE HE ARRIVED IN HALIFAX, AND ONTO QUEBEC AND ONTARIO, REALIZED THAT FOR MANY OF THESE FLEEING THOUSANDS, IT WOULD BE AN UNFORTUNATE ODYSSEY OF MISADVENTURE.

     FROM MUSKOKA'S ORIGIN, THE POOR OF EUROPE, WERE ENTICED TO TAKE A CHANCE ON A NEW LIFE IN A NEW LAND. I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS EXTENSIVELY, AND I DON'T WANT TO BORE ANYONE WITH THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD. THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE TIME IN THIS COUNTRY, SANCTIONED THE SOLICITATION OF THE MOST VULNERABLE, AND SO DID THE STEAMSHIP AGENTS, AND THOSE WHO WROTE SETTLERS' GUIDE BOOKS, MAKING THE HINTERLAND APPEAR IN GRANDER, MORE ACCOMMODATING TERMS, THAN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. THOSE WHO WERE DOING WELL FINANCIALLY IN EUROPE, HAD LITTLE IMMEDIATE INTEREST IN JOINING THE EXODUS FOR FREE LAND GRANTS IN CANADA, AND THE UNITED STATES. AS INVESTORS, SENSING THERE WAS MONEY TO BE MADE, SUPPLYING THE POOR HOMESTEADERS, THE PROVISIONS THEY NEEDED, THEY WOULD EVENTUALLY EMBRACE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THEIR HOLDINGS. BUT THEY HAD RESOURCES TO INVEST, WITHOUT THE SAME DIRE CONSEQUENCE, AS EMIGRANTS WITH ONLY PENNIES TO BALANCE THEIR SUSTENANCE. WHAT CAME AFTER THE FREE LAND GRANTS? PROPERTY SPECULATION! MANY WITH MONEY, SCOOPED UP HUGE TRACTS OF PARTLY CLEARED LAND, AND YES…..EVENTUALLY FLIPPED THE LAND FOR LARGE FINANCIAL GAINS. THIS HAPPENED IN MANY OTHER LOCALES, SO IT'S NOT JUST A MUSKOKA-THING. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS IS A REALITY OF FREE ENTERPRISE. IT'S DEMOCRACY, AND AT TIMES IT'S TRAGIC AS WELL.

     WHEN I HEAR AND READ STORIES ABOUT THE TERRIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES, THAT PREVAIL FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN MUSKOKA AT PRESENT, AND READ HASTILY PREPARED EDITORIALS, THAT SEEM TO IMPLY POVERTY HAD ITS ORIGIN IN OUR REGION IN THE 1980'S ONWARD, I ADMIT FEELING THE NECESSITY TO FIRE BACK AN EDITORIAL, CORRECTING WHAT IS USUALLY A THINLY BASED, LAST MINUTE EDITORIAL, IN RESPONSE TO THE LATEST STATISTIC…..OR GOVERNMENT PROFILE. WE HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH POVERTY IN OUR REGION FROM THE LATE 1850'S. SIMPLY BECAUSE OUR GOVERNANCE AT THE TIME, SOUGHT OUT THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE DESPERATE, AND WHO WOULD TAKE-UP THE OFFER, TO COME TO OUR REGION OF ONTARIO, AND MAKE WORKING FARMS FROM SOME VERY POOR LAND. MANY SETTLERS, WHO HAD NO BACKGROUND IN AGRICULTURE, OR DEALING WITH A WICKED CLIMATE, STARVED TO DEATH ON THESE FAILED HOMESTEADS. BUT THEN THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT KNEW THERE WOULD BE CASUALTIES, AND WERE QUITE INTERESTED TO SEE JUST HOW MANY WOULD SURVIVE, AND MANAGE TO EKE OUT SUSTENANCE FROM MODEST FARMSTEADS. TRUTH IS, MUSKOKA WAS AN EXPERIMENT. IN AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE RECORDS, IT'S KNOWN THAT THE SETTLEMENT OF MUSKOKA WOULD HAVE A LOSS ATTACHED, JUST AS THE MILITARY WOULD BE ABLE TO CALCULATE BEFORE ENTERING CONFLICT. ACCEPTABLE LOSS, I THINK THEY CALL IT! HOW MANY FAILED AND DECEASED EMIGRANTS WAS TOO MANY?

     THE SUCCESS OF THE HOMESTEADERS WAS ENOUGH TO SHOW THE AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION, THAT FREE LAND GRANTS WORKED. THERE WAS A LOT OF SIMILARLY POOR, WET LANDS IN THE NORTH, THAT ALSO NEEDED COURAGEOUS SETTLERS. IF HOMESTEADS COULD PROSPER, EVEN MARGINALLY, IN MUSKOKA, THERE WAS HOPE FOR DEVELOPING CRAPPY LAND ELSEWHERE. WHO CARED ABOUT THOSE WHO BECAME CASUALTIES OF A GOVERNMENT PLAN? CONSIDERING THAT THIS IS WHERE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH DIRE CONSEQUENCE BEGAN, POSSIBLY YOU CAN SEE, THAT THIS WAS ONE INCREDIBLY ROOTED TREND THAT HAS, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, LASTED FOR ALL THESE YEARS. HERE'S WHY!

     WHEN TRAPPING, LOGGING, AND THE TANNING INDUSTRIES FALTERED, THE TOURIST REVENUE BECAME THE OUTRIGGER FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY. THE FIRST VISITORS TO OUR REGION, FOR HUNTING AND FISHING, WERE BACK IN THE 1850'S. BY THE MID 1870'S, EVEN THE HOMESTEADERS, WERE FINDING ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES, WORKING FOR THE BUDDING TOURIST ECONOMY. MUSKOKA'S LAKES AND RIVERS, AND VAST HINTERLAND (NOT MUCH GOOD FOR FARMING), BECAME A HAVEN FOR THOSE WISHING TO ESCAPE THE URBAN CLIMES. THE POOR WERE ESCAPING FROM THE FETTERS OF DEPRESSED ECONOMY, AND THE TOURISTS WERE ESCAPING FOR VACATIONS FROM THEIR PROSPEROUS ECONOMY. ON STEAMSHIPS INTO THE HINTERLAND, THE BOATS HELD THE RICH AND THE POOR, GOING TO ROUGHLY THE SAME PLACES, BUT WITH MUCH DIFFERENT OUTLOOKS ON THEIR TIME TO SPEND IN THE DISTRICT.

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO MODERN DAY MUSKOKA

     Tourism is the number one industry in Muskoka. Even thirty years ago, when we had much greater diversity of industry in this region, tourism out-performed all other established industries in our district. There was a time, and l remember it well, as editor with Muskoka Publications, that I watched as municipal councils started getting ridiculously cocky, about industrial diversification in our respective towns. What they forgot, for a long period of time, was that there was little encouragement for the tourism industry, which after all, is worth multi-millions each year. We stopped building resorts. We weren't even building average motel and hotel accommodations, and for awhile, it looked as if we were actually trying to become something we could never be……an industrial area. Quite a few industries tried, and some were successful. In the meantime, the pre-occupation with trying to create diversification, put us decades behind meeting the needs of the tourism economy. We allowed other tourist regions to gain on us, spending huge amounts, to upgrade their attractions and accommodations. What has always amazed me about this, is that local politicians seemed so bewildered during this period, as if it was unbelievable, industry wasn't able to thrive this close to Toronto and other major markets. The historian could find hundreds of precedents of the past, that if councillors had only asked, could have been offered, as clear evidence, the beanstalk syndrome was at best, wishful…..even delusional thinking. Not that there's anything wrong with diversification. What is wrong, is chasing magic beans, instead of looking at what the realities are……and this has always pointed back to our modern times' under-investment in tourism. But tourism is seasonal, right? It is. It has been. But it doesn't mean it is a forever thing. Unfortunately, there are still lots of key players, in local and regional government, still chasing the dream of industrializing Muskoka…..trying to prove that there's more to the local economy than tourism. This is their folly, and it has hurt Muskoka's bid to be competitive. Certainly in the past. What I will predict for those who are interested, is that, in twenty years, providing we have any environment left, Muskoka's number one industry will be tourism. If you don't like that projection, you'd better pack up and move. Unless of course you happen to be a municipal, provincial or federal employee. By the way. If there is ever a serious government downturn, such that civil servants are reduced in numbers, Muskoka will be the setting of the new realities of the "Grapes of Wrath," and "Tobacco Road," because these jobs give a false sense of security to the local employment profile. Consider the federal government staffing cuts. The province's debt-load, and the very real possibility, of future cuts to its bureaucracy. How depressed do you want to get? You see, historically speaking, I'd rather be enlightened by the truths of the economy, than live with the impulses of delusion, that often paint possibility where there is none.

      While I sympathize with my reader-friend, there are troubling aspects to the local economy, that are irreparable. Just as many homesteaders, at least the ones who could physically do so, abandoned Muskoka entirely. In this region, there is nothing that will change local unemployment trends in the near future, and possibly for the next decade. The politicians who claim that diversification of the economy is possible, are misrepresenting the information they have at their disposal. With the current social / economic crisis, in our region, with more numbers added each month, there is no possibility this can be reversed, in a region that is over-retailed, under industrialized, and in that historic relationship with seasonal tourism. With the huge debt-load being faced by thousands of Canadians, and the potential of not only increasing unemployment, but many more personal bankruptcies, blending in with weak government initiatives to do anything more than plug holes in the proverbial dam, I find it difficult to provide optimism where I can find only potential for greater disaster.

      The historical precedent is this. The ill-prepared settlers who arrived here, without much of anything to assist their survival, other than gumption and desperation, either stayed and made working homesteads, and learned to live with less, or they moved on to more fertile ground, in a better suited region. There are many accounts of this, particularly so with the Icelanders in the 1870's, who came to Muskoka looking for the milk and honey, and instead found rock, trees and swamp in north Muskoka. So many moved on to western Canada and the United States. While I am a big Muskoka supporter, and have been since I arrived here from the city, circa 1966, our family are amongst the survivors, who have had no choice but to diversify constantly, to make lives for ourselves in the hinterland of Ontario. There are thousands of success stories this way too, and if one has a passion for the region, and the willingness to take whatever chances are necessary, to balance life and economy, then, I would say, the pioneering spirit has planted a strong, healthy, resistant seed.

     Our family, in one way or another, has always been involved in the seasonal tourist enterprise. My wife's family were pioneers in Ufford, and the Three Mile Lake area of the present Township of Muskoka Lakes, and they knew all about poverty and the fearful enterprise of struggling for survival. They made it! As a result, I have two boys today, who are Muskoka entrepreneurs, who have invested in main street commerce, here in Gravenhurst, begun on a pittance of capital, but pioneer determination to succeed. To this day, they haven't borrowed a cent from a bank, to fund their retail enterprise. They don't even accept credit cards or debit transactions, knowing they must run a lean business, yet provide every customer service expected of modern day retail. They are now entering their seventh year, and have just recently expanded into antiques and collectibles, to offer their own speciality of diversification, to meet the demands of their customers. There are success stories out there. But there is no minimizing, the destructive force of increasing poverty, on our entire region. From experience however, there just isn't a cure-all other than stop-gap measures that don't provide solutions…..just patches on top of patches.

     The municipalities of this region are fighting a losing battle with both the province and the federal government, and for once I have to admit…..no amount of criticism aimed at them, is going to fix the problems of economic disparity. The upper levels of government stick to the stats they approve of……..not the ones you and I know, from everyday living in a small town, in a rural region, of a province very much in harm's way of indebtedness.

     In tomorrow's blog, I'd like to begin sharing a few historical accounts, that in a small but significant way, point out, the relationship we have had with hardship from the beginning……and that it is all related to the present day…..despite the fact, historians are seldom invited to participate in municipal debates on the situation. Refusing to take into account the economic history of our region, destines their research to be hollow at the centre, and unreliable generally. We've had generations to deal with inequality in Muskoka, yet it always amazes me how our politicians will make naive statements about it, as if the circumstance was out of the ordinary, and an unexpected phenomenon we could blame on another country's fiscal problems. Our problems are homegrown. Sorry if we don't agree. I invited you to prove me wrong.

     More to come on our historic economic woes.

     Thanks so much for joining me today. Even though we don't always agree……shared opinions create enlightenment…..and we can never get too much of this! Please come again.

Remembering Our Veterans, The Missing Popeye

REMEMBERING OUR VETERANS, AND THE GREAT SACRIFICES FOR FREEDOM

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO BUY A POPPY AS A SIGN OF ENDURING RESPECT FOR THEIR FIGHT TO GIVE US A BETTER LIFE

THE OLD SAILOR'S LAMENT

     THE COLUMN BELOW WAS RECENTLY PREPARED FOR "CURIOUS; THE TOURIST GUIDE," FOR THEIR NOVEMBER ISSUE, AND IS ON NEWSTANDS NOW. IT IS A STORY I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT BEFORE, WITH SOME ADMITTED HASTE, BECAUSE FRANKLY, IT PROFOUNDLY BOTHERED ME. EVEN AFTER DECADES, THE MISSING WORLD WAR II PORTRAIT OF MY FATHER, CAN AT TIMES, THROB LIKE A DEEP SLIVER, THAT HAS NEVER BEEN PULLED OUT. I KNOW IT'S THERE, AND THAT I COULD GET RID OF THE PROBLEM IF I DESIRED. THERE'S ALWAYS A BUMP WHERE IT RESIDES, AND ONCE IN A WHILE IT HURTS THE SOFT TISSUE, AND MAY EVEN BECOME INFECTED. I DON'T KNOW WHY I FEEL THE ANALOGY OF A SLIVER FITS THIS STORY. IT JUST DOES.

    FOR YEARS I WAS FURIOUS ABOUT LOSING AN IMPORTANT HEIRLOOM, AND NEVER GETTING A SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION FROM EITHER MY FATHER OR MOTHER. SHORTLY BEFORE MY MOTHER DIED, SHE DID OFFER SOME INSIGHT, ABOUT AN EVENT I HAD BEEN TOLD TO FORGET……AND GET ON WITH MY LIFE. AFTER MY FATHER PASSED AWAY, I STARTED PICKING AT THIS SLIVER, UNTIL I FINALLY PUT ALL THE INFORMATION TOGETHER, AND ALTHOUGH WHAT HAD HURT ME, DIDN'T ALL OF A SUDDEN DISAPPEAR……I DID FIND IT EASIER TO APPRECIATE, JUST WHAT POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER DID TO MY OWN FATHER……..SUCH THAT HE SOLD HIS NAVAL PORTRAIT TO AN ANTIQUE DEALER. WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE, AND MY SONS' CONNECTION TO EDWARD JOHN CURRIE'S LEGACY, ABOARD THE SHIP "COATICOOK," NOW BELONGS TO A PRIVATE COLLECTOR, WHO KNOWS NOTHING AT ALL ABOUT THE CANADIAN SAILOR FROM CABBAGETOWN…..WHO SHOT DOWN GERMAN PLANES AND PULLED HALF DEAD SAILORS FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. MY MOTHER ONCE SAID TO ME, IN REGARDS TO THE MISSING PICTURE, THAT "HE GAVE YOU HIS NAME…..THAT IS THE LEGACY YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF." OF COURSE IT'S TRUE. I AM ALSO EDWARD JOHN CURRIE. I MAY NOT HAVE HIS PORTRAIT, BUT HIS NAME LIVES ON.

     THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A CHANGE OF HEART. MY FATHER'S AND MINE. 

     One of the last clear images I have of my father, was seeing him standing at the cenotaph, in Bracebridge's Memorial Park, against the intense brightness of the newly fallen snow, in the close embrace of so many colorful wreaths, flags and uniforms, and the broad shoulders of the honor guard surrounding the memorial.

    Ed had decided it was time to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony in his home town. After living in Bracebridge for over 35 years, he had, for whatever reason, decided not to participate in these annual memorials, to those who lost their lives during periods of war. It was his choice and he never qualified his absence with a reason, at least to me. I was sure my mother knew.

     As a kid, I always remember the portrait of my father, taken by a photographer shortly after he arrived home, after serving with the North Atlantic Squadron, during the Second World War. He crewman on the naval vessel "Coaticook," named after a community in Quebec. The portrait of Ed in his sailor's uniform, always reminded me of Popeye, and I assumed that he had some exceptional physical powers. He didn't like spinach, so it must have been the pickled eggs he loved, and of course the buttermilk he downed like it was pop.

     I remember coming home from school, one afternoon, and noticing the portrait of my father was missing off the livingroom wall. It was in an obvious part of the apartment, and after only ten or so steps inside, you were greeted by the oval framed sailor, and the face of a young Canadian who had just served his country on the high seas. As my parents were chain smokers, at that time, you could even see the white oval on the wall where the portrait had once been positioned. I pondered for awhile what could have happened to it, and I did look in some obvious nooks and crannies, where Merle might have placed it for cleaning, or for any number of reasons it needed to be re-located. Then I just sat down and watched some of my favorite after-school programs, on the old wonky television, that at best, provided a ghost image and a garbled commentary.

     When my mother arrived home, after work, I confronted her about my dad's portrait, which I had always assumed would be mine one day. She looked at me, sensing I wasn't going to like the answer. But she gave it a whirl, and she was right to think my reaction would be one of shock and sadness. My father had sold the navy portrait to an antique dealer for twenty bucks. Merle changed her story before she passed away, that Ed had given it away instead. What made it worse, by far, was that he had sold, or given it away, to two of our family friends, who had retired to the antique trade, and obviously liked war memorabilia. This was long before I became an antique dealer myself, and knew there was a brisk trade in military collectibles.

     Seeing my father standing there, in the park that day, with the gentle flurries making it appear as if an image, from an agitated snow-globe, I couldn't help but think about that sailor's portrait, and why he had decided to sell what today, would have meant so much to his grandchildren, who used to hang off his every word, when talking about life as a naval gunner. If he would stand out here in the snow and cold, to be with his fellow veterans, to remember the sacrifices of war, what possessed him to sell-off a family heirloom, just because an antique dealer offered a few bucks in return?

     One day, alone with my mother, and this memory of my father in the park, still so clear and poignant in my mind, I asked if she could please tell me why Ed had decided to rid himself of the portrait. And why he had all of a sudden decided to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony, when he had bypassed the opportunity, for all the years of my life to that point. What was it that had changed his mind? Did he ever wish to have the portrait back? Merle seemed a little cornered by the questioning, but decided I deserved an explanation after all these years.

     My father entered the service of his country, in the first place, because he was hungry. He had been out of work, having to find ways to help his brothers and single mother, in Cabbagetown, survive in a tough economy. He was living hard and fighting regularly. With mates who were suffering from the same conditions, at the time, the prospect of security as enlisted men, for however long the war lasted, was a big improvement over the vicious cycle they found themselves in, holed-up in the city. There were four buddies who signed up at the same time, all for the Navy, but one of the lads he'd known all his life. The first time they had been separated, other than when the doors closed at night in their Cabbagetown abodes, was when they were assigned different ships. They were sad to part company, and didn't have much contact throughout their years of service.

     Merle explained to me how difficult it had been for a kid, because Ed wasn't the adult he thought he was, to have to pull sailors out of the water, from ships destroyed by German U-Boats, and have them arrive on deck alive, but then have them die in his arms of hypothermia. Each of them thinking they had survived and would see their loved ones again. It happened over and over, as the U-boat captains were good at their mission to disrupt the convoys. The real horror, she told me, was when the ship couldn't stop, because of the U-boat proximity, forcing them to pass sailors waving from the oil-covered ocean, hoping for rescue, but knowing it was unlikely the convoy could be exposed, for the time it would take to mount a rescue. Merle explained that Ed had endured many nightmares, about seeing these floundering sailors, who actually acknowledged their own imminent deaths, by waving and cheering-on the passing battleships. "He wanted to save them all," she said. "Falling back, you see, to help those men, would have been exactly what the U-Boats preyed on. Leaving the cargo ships unprotected was against the whole purpose of the convoy, to get to England with supplies."

     Is that why he sold his portrait? Merle, I think, still wanted to dodge the questioning, but knew it was time to unload some of the family secrets. Reluctantly, she explained, how when the war was over, and the ships had returned to harbor, his ship had arrived ahead of his childhood mate's vessel, so he waited on the platform to meet him disembarking. It wasn't to be. His chum, waving out to the audience on the wharf, had accidentally come in contact with a depth charge device, that disengaged, and hit him on the side of the head. A sailor who had survived the attacks of U-Boats and aircraft bombing, had perished within site of his own mother, when hit by the discharged launcher. In the midst of celebration, he was killed while waving and cheering the victory of the free world.

     Thinking that this must be one of the reasons, for Ed's dislike for his own portrait, I relaxed the barrage of questions. It was at that point, Merle qualified it a little further, by pointing out, the photographic image, was taken shortly after he had heard the news about his best friend, and the tragedy on his ship just prior to docking. He was basically told, that having this photograph taken was a requirement, at a time when all he wanted to do was grieve. He tried to give it to his own mother, who knowing the circumstances, and how Ed suffered with it at the time, refused to accept it, as if it was an omen of war tragedy that would long prevail over peace-time. "He never liked that portrait," Merle explained. When the antique dealer friends had come over to the apartment, for a social event, Merle believes they were talking about the war years, and the tragedy connected. She believed that was when he turned to the portrait, and suggested he hated it, and would sell it if someone was interested. Well, they were definitely interested, and so my "Popeye The Sailor Man" portrait, of my father, was sold, instead of being handed down to me as a family heirloom. So what made my father go to the cenotaph then, I asked my mother, who was looking out the window at the chickadees clustered at the balcony feeder?

     "I think he finally forgave the war for taking his friend," she said. "He forgave himself for feeling this way, for so long, and started to think about those sailors he helped pull from the ocean, and the ones who he waved at, who knew they were about to perish." "Ed definitely had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, like thousands upon thousands of others, but for those kids, they didn't have a clue why they felt like they did. They lived with it, some better than others."

     I have always been proud of my father, and I would be enthralled when, on occasion, he would tell me a few of the stories of friendships on-board, and the life of a sailor. But the truth is, he told my two lads, much more about his naval service, than he ever relayed to me……and it was the sign, according to my mother, that he was softening his point of view on those years. But the portrait was never coming back

Expropriation! I've Seen It Before, and Feared It Always

YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT - UNTIL THEY HAND YOU AN EXPROPRIATION NOTICE

IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY ON THE JOB FOR GOVERNMENT

     IT'S NOT ABOUT DERAILING THE LONG RANGE HIGHWAY II REALIGNMENT PROJECT. I'M DOUBTFUL THERE'S MUCH THAT CAN BE DONE NOW, TO CHANGE MTO'S PLAN FOR THE NORTH-SOUTH CORRIDOR. OF COURSE, STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED, LIKE GAS-FIRED POWER PLANTS THAT SEEM TO BE MOVABLE AROUND ELECTION SEASON. WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT, IS TO GET A CONSENSUS ON HOW CONSTITUENTS ARE FARING OUT THERE…..IN THE LONELY, BLEAK BATTLE AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT BEHEMOTH….MTO.

     I WAS ASKED, QUITE A FEW YEARS BACK, TO SIT ON A SPECIAL PROJECT COMMITTEE, IN THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE. IT MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE LATE 1980'S BUT I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER PRECISELY. IT ALSO INVOLVED AN EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY SERVICES, AND THE MAYOR THOUGHT I'D BE A GOOD PERSON TO HAVE ON BOARD. AT THAT TIME, I WAS OUT OF THE DAY TO DAY NEWSPAPER BUSINESS, SO THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY WORRY I'D START REVEALING INSIDE PROCEEDINGS. I WENT TO THE FIRST MEETING, AND EVERYTHING SEEMED EXCITING, AND I WAS GLAD TO BE A PART OF SUCH PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY-BUILDING PLANS. UNTIL THE DISCUSSION GOT AROUND TO PROPERTY ACQUISITION, OF COURSE, TO MAKE WAY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL. I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS FIRST, OR ASKED QUESTIONS AHEAD OF AGREEING TO JOIN THE COMMITTEE. I WAS REALLY CAUGHT OFF GUARD.

    AS AN EDITOR, HAVING COVERED MANY SUCH MUNICIPAL AND PROVINCIAL SITUATIONS, INVOLVING EXPROPRIATION LAND-GRABS, I GASPED OUT LOUD, HEARING THE WORD, AS THE MEETING HIT THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE EVENING.  BEING BUSY WITH A YOUNG FAMILY AND EXPERIENCING A FREELANCE WRITING BOOM, I SIMPLY HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THE WIDE RANGING SCOPE OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN ADVANCE. SUZANNE IS MY PERSONAL AND BUSINESS MANAGER IN THESE MATTERS, AND SHE HAD A SUSPICION I WASN'T GOING TO LIKE WHAT THE PROJECT INVOLVED, BEFORE ANY GROUND TURNING.  BUT THAT WAS NO EXCUSE.

    I SHOULD HAVE STUDIED THE PREAMBLE INFORMATION ON THE RE-DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL, BECAUSE I KNEW IT WAS ONE OF TWO SCENARIOS TO BE DISCUSSED. WHAT I HADN'T REALLY CONTEMPLATED, WAS THAT AFTER WORKING WITH THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, FOR A FEW MONTHS, MEMBERS WOULD THEN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION BACK TO COUNCIL, REGARDING OUR FIRST CHOICE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION SITE. IN PARTICULAR, IF WE CHOSE ONE LOCATION OVER THE OTHER, THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE WOULD HAVE HERALDED COSTLY PROPERTY ACQUISITION. EITHER BY REQUEST TO BUY NEIGHBOR PROPERTIES, OR BY LEGAL NOTICE THAT THE MUNICIPALITY REALLY, REALLY WANTED THE ADDITIONAL LAND. I KNEW THE OWNERS OF THESE PROPERTIES. SEVERAL WERE ELDERLY FOLKS WHO HAD LIVED IN THEIR HOME FOR MANY DECADES, AND WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR KINDNESSES THROUGHOUT THE TOWN. AND HERE I WAS, SITTING ON A COMMITTEE, THAT COULD HAVE MADE A DECISION, ULTIMATELY LEADING TO THE LEGAL ACQUISITION OF THEIR HOMESTEAD. FORCED TO MOVE BY A PROPERTY-LOVING GUY LIKE ME. I WAS IN THE WRONG CHAIR, FOR THE WRONG PROJECT, AND THE MERE MENTION OF EXPROPRIATION AS A PLAN B, PUSHED ME OUT THE DOOR, NEVER TO COME BACK.

     I DON'T KNOW IF THE COMMITTEE CONTINUED OR NOT. I NEVER LOOKED BACK, ONCE OUTSIDE THE DOOR. I COULDN'T LIVE WITH MY CONSCIENCE, DEALING WITH SOMETHING LIKE EXPROPRIATION. IF THE TOWN OFFERED A PRICE FOR THE PROPERTY, THAT WAS ONE THING. INSISTING ON THE SALE, NOT SO NICE. THE PROJECT WAS SHELVED BUT PROPERTY ACQUISITION DID OCCUR BUT NOT EXPROPRIATION TO THE BEST OF MY REPORTER'S KNOWLEDGE. I CAN REMEMBER OTHER HUGE EXPROPRIATION ISSUES, SUCH AS DURING A ROAD WIDENING CONTRACT IN PORT SYDNEY, AND THE FIGHT BY AN ELDERLY WOMAN TO SAVE HER OLD HOME, LOOKING OUT OVER PICTURESQUE MARY LAKE. I REMEMBER WEEKS OF FRONT PAGE STORIES, AND EDITORIALS, TRYING TO CONVINCE THE MUNICIPALITY AGAINST THIS EXPROPRIATION ORDER. I'M PRETTY SURE A COMPROMISE WAS MADE IN THIS CASE, AND IT MAY HAVE INVOLVED SHIFTING THE HOUSE BACK ON THE LOT TO SPARE IT FROM BEING DEMOLISHED.

    I HAVE SEEN DOZENS OF THESE SITUATIONS CREST OVER THE YEARS, AND IT ALWAYS SERVES AS A REMINDER JUST HOW PRECARIOUS DEMOCRACY CAN BE, WHEN USED BY GOVERNMENT TO GET WHAT IT WANTS. EMOTIONS BE DAMNED. PROGRESS WAITS FOR NO MAN….OR NO BUILDING IN THE WAY. ON THE SIDE OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TOLD THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ACQUIRING THEIR PROPERTY……WHAT OTHER REACTION CAN YOU HAVE BESIDE THAT OF DISGUST AND DISBELIEF. AND THEN THERE'S THE APPEAL PROCESS. ARBITRATION. ALL VERY UNPLEASANT SITUATIONS, THAT SCUFFS DEMOCRACY PRETTY BADLY, FOR THOSE WHO THOUGHT GOVERNMENT WAS FOR THE PEOPLE…..BUT ONLY PART OF THE TIME.

     IN SOME COUNTRIES, THE GOVERNMENT TAKES WHAT IT WANTS. END OF STORY. WE READ ABOUT THESE LAND GRABS IN CHINA AND OFFER A LITTLE SILENT THANKS, WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY LIKE CANADA, WHERE STUFF LIKE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN. THIS IS THE PROBLEM OF COURSE. MANY CANADIANS ARE UNDER INFORMED ABOUT THE KIND OF GOVERNMENT ACTIONS, THAT TO US POLITICAL WATCHERS, ARE UNDEMOCRATIC DOWN TO THE LAST DOT OF A ROGUE "i." IN FACT, THERE IS SELDOM A WEEK THAT GOES BY, THAT I DON'T GET HUNG UP ON SOME NEWS ARTICLE IN THE MEDIA, REMINDING ME OF THE DANGEROUS SIDE EFFECTS ON OUR CITIZEN DEMOCRACY, OF GOVERNMENT'S INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT IS FAIR GAME, AND RIPE FOR CHANGE. THE PROPERTY OWNERS, BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS GENERALLY, OF THE HIGHWAY II CORRIDOR, SOUTH OF THE URBAN AREA OF GRAVENHURST, ARE EXPERIENCING THIS GOVERNMENT INTERPRETATION OF FAIR PLAY RIGHT NOW. I DON'T KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THOSE FACING EVENTUAL EXPROPRIATION WILL AGREE THEY HAVE BEEN OFFERED A FAIR SETTLEMENT, VERSUS THE NUMBER WHO ARE OUTRAGED BY THE LOW-BALL PURCHASE PRICE. I DON'T KNOW ALL THE RULES OF ARBITRATION AND APPEAL FOR THESE EXPROPRIATION NOTICES, AND TO DATE, THE MEDIA HASN'T REALLY DONE MUCH INVESTIGATION IN THIS REGARD. THE TOWN HASN'T BEEN TOO EAGER TO RUFFLE FEATHERS ANYWHERE, AND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF AN ANGRY OUTBURST, RECENTLY, BY GRAVENHURST COUNCILLOR, LOLA BRATTY, IN DEFENSE OF THOSE CONSTITUENTS SUFFERING WITH THESE IMPENDING ORDERS, THE MATTER HASN'T RECEIVED THE ATTENTION IT OBVIOUSLY DESERVES. WE CAN THANK COUNCILLOR BRATTY FOR HER COURAGEOUS STAND, DESPITE THOSE ON COUNCIL WHO TOOK EXCEPTION TO SOME OF HER CUTTING POINTS OF VIEW ON THE MATTER.

IF YOU WERE IN THOSE SHOES……EITHER AS A COUNCILLOR REPRESENTING THOSE IN PERIL…..OR BEING IN PERIL YOURSELF

     If I was a Gravenhurst Councillor, at this time, facing this particular issue of MTO expropriations, for the Highway II realignment, I'd have no choice but to side with those property owners in crisis. It wouldn't matter if the MTO project was the best darn thing to come along, and a boon to the future of Gravenhurst. I couldn't remain an elected official, without following my conscience, and my respect for democracy, to find out everything relevant about property owner chagrin, along this zone. And of course, where the old Highway will remain, as nothing but a service artery once construction is complete, more than a decade and a half from now. There is still an imbedded responsibility here, despite personal opinion, to do the right thing for the constituents you represent. I do know for fact, and by personal experience…..of which there is a lot of corroborating evidence, I'd be just as much a rogue, as I am presently, and despite what council may decide as a whole……I would follow my conscience and nothing less. Having had the experience close to home, of a municipal government's intention to sell off a small but significant urban wetland, "The Bog," I know how daunting it is, to look at the uphill climb, and all the inherent risks of the mission……knowing full well that money is in short supply to pay for legal defense. I watched it happen in Bracebridge, at Jubilee Park, and while it didn't involve expropriation, it did involve stepping on constituent rights, to get what the town wanted. I walked the protest line with residents in that neighborhood, and I saw and heard the way they were being portrayed and abused by the democracy they thought was supposed to be fair and equal. I saw very little of that, and I felt horrible that we couldn't have fought better and harder, to keep Jubilee Park……an historic and important urban open space. We were lucky with The Bog, because we were far more organized than the town was, and even before they could mount an offense, we had enough opposition, and promise of money for legal representation, to get the upper hand early in the fight. Of course, we weren't battling the Province either, and expropriation proceedings. Now that is daunting.

     Sitting having an after dinner coffee, or cup of tea, and opening the day's mail, imagine getting a government notice……and finding out, even before you've had a chance to relax from the day's toil, that your home, business, industry, or residency generally, is being expropriated for a new stretch of urban friendly highway. Or finding out that the busy road you counted on, for business, (with attached property value investment) was going to become an eventual utility road…..decreasing the investment value of all the fronting property. For miles and miles. It's impossible for those unaffected, to appreciate how devastating this has been, for the majority of these constituents. And while there will be those who suggest, that many knew this was a possibility, even before buying property along the stretch, the way it has come down the pike has been startling, unsettling, and to some, completely unexpected at this time……fifteen to twenty years before the work will commence. The problem of course, that with this news and action taken by MTO, well in advance of the project's commencement, property values are being affected, and with so many unknowns, and a diminishing economy, I think these folks have every right to feel they're being screwed by the pillar of democracy……using a double edged sword to slice and dice.

     In the mid to late 1980's, as an editor with Muskoka Publications, I got a story tip about highway easements in our region, that may one day provide huge changes to our transportation network. I had heard of a cross region proposal that would basically cut across from the Highway 400 extension (which was not yet developed), in the Coldwater vicinity, and direct traffic through to just south of Gravenhurst. One recent connection incorporated the existing Highway 69, and brought with it huge repairs to this important and heavily travelled link to the north…..traveling many miles through the Township of Georgian Bay. The other concept was to route it north to Gravenhurst, through a lot of bogland. When I contacted the Ministry office, and spoke with a representative in their planning department, he was quite surprised I was aware of such futuristic plans, and didn't confirm or deny that it might have been a consideration……at some point. What I found out however, was that as far as easements and future plans, there are a lot of them out there, that should be known to everyone purchasing neighborhood property. Property owners, who may one day, be affected by new government protocols…..and nasty expropriations. I knew a local chap, who accidentally found out he had such an easement across his land, and he hadn't known the serious consequence when he made the purchase. Government, at least at the provincial level, doesn't really care about your emotional well being, when they present the documentation, that indicates how serious they are about developing what you thought you owned…… without encumbrance. Some property owners, in our area, knew this was a distinct possibility years ago. Some didn't want to think about it. A few made purchases without appreciating the full extent of the law, when it comes to government initiatives. Many were just caught off-guard, ill prepared, and vulnerable. Having a pretty fair knowledge of what this process can feel like, and how bleak the upward climb for justice, I heartily concur with those who believe the process is undemocratic. But it's done all the time. They've had a lot of practice, and I don't imagine the property acquisition on this small length of highway corridor, ranks as a big project.

     It's now fallen on the shoulders of our town council. Council is seen as the protector of local democracy. The guardian of constituent rights and fair representation. I don't expect them to be able to stop this runaway freight train, but they do need to stand up for constituents who are in peril, and find themselves having to fight the province to ensure their rights. They need to know our council is prepared to help them out, of what must seem like a desperate situation.

     We're sorry it's happening. But it's the way the system works. But democracy allows us the privilege of protest, and of this, we should make sure our voices of objection are heard.

     Thank you so much for joining me today. There's always room for more, to crowd around my little hearth, here at Birch Hollow. See you again soon.