1897 Home Advisor Bringing The Lowly Homesteader Back To God

Driving along the Uffington Road -  An early Muskoka Barn along the Uffington Road has stood the test of time and still retains it’s original roof lines.    The variety of wooden plywood patches and sheet tin repairs add greatly to the wonderful character of the building. (Photo by Fred Schulz)

WHAT WERE THE PIONEERS OF MUSKOKA READING AT HEARTHSIDE TO COMBAT THE RIGORS OF CABIN FEVER?

MORE THAN JUST THE BIBLE KEPT UP THE FAITH - BUT CHRISTIAN VALUES, AND GOOD LIVING, WOULD CEASE ALL TEMPTATIONS

     WHENEVER I HAVE ATTENDED AN AUCTION, OR ESTATE SALE, WHERE I KNOW PIONEER ERA MATERIALS MIGHT BE FOUND, I KEEP A SHARP EYE FOR THE BOOKS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN READ BY THE CABIN STOVE….OR AT HEARTHSIDE. AND YES, IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING, I'VE HAD MANY BOOKS THAT SMELLED LIKE WOODSMOKE, MANY DECADES AFTER INITIALLY BEING EXPOSED. I ONCE OWNED AN EARLY 1600'S GERMAN BIBLE, THAT HAD, AT SOME POINT IN ITS SHELF LIFE, BEEN TOSSED INTO A FIRE…OR AT LEAST, DAMAGED IN A HOUSEHOLD EVENT THAT DESTROYED ITS COVER. A BOOKBINDER I KNEW, IN BRACEBRIDGE, ORIGINALLY FROM IRELAND, TOLD ME THAT A GOAT SKIN COVER HAD BEEN FASHIONED INSTEAD, SOMETIME IN THE 1700'S, TO REPLACE THE DAMAGED ORIGINAL, AND IT HAD BEEN HER JOB FOR A CLIENT, TO SECURE SOME PARTS THAT WERE SEPARATING FROM THE SPINE. THE PERSON NEVER CAME BACK FOR THE BOOK, NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD THE HUNDRED DOLLARS IT HAD COST FOR REPAIRS, SO IT WAS OFFERED TO ME, IF I WOULD PAY THE OUTSTANDING BILL. I DID VERY MUCH WANT THAT BOOK, AND I OWNED IT FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS BEFORE SELLING IT TO A GERMAN BIBLE COLLECTOR FOR A CONSIDERABLE PROFIT. THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT BOOK, I CAN'T EXPLAIN, EXCEPT TO SAY I ENJOYED ITS HISTORY…..THINKING ABOUT ALL THE CHRONICLE OF CIVILIZATION THAT HAD OCCURRED AFTER ITS PRINTING….SUCH AS IN CANADA, THE COMING AND LEAVING OF THE JESUITS, UNDER FIRE, AT STE, MARIE AMONGST THE HURONS, IN MIDLAND, LATE IN THE 1600'S. IMAGINE THAT. THIS BOOK WAS PRINTED BEFORE THE ATTACK ON HURONIA BY THE IROQUOIS.

    I HAVE A RAVENOUS APPETITE FOR THE BOOKS OWNED AND PRESUMABLY READ BY OUR REGIONAL PIONEERS. OUR FIRST FARMERS. IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME AS AN HISTORIAN, BECAUSE IT HELPS ME UNDERSTAND THEIR VALUES AND MORAL STANDARDS, IN THESE VICTORIAN TIMES. MANY HOMESTEADS WERE VOID OF BOOKS, EVEN BIBLES. OTHER FARMSTEADS HAD CONSIDERABLE LITERATURE. ONE IN PARTICULAR, THE EWING FARM, BETWEEN BRACEBRIDGE AND MILFORD BAY, HAD AN OUTSTANDING LIBRARY OF JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING, AND THE ONLY THING THAT STOPPED ME BUYING THE WHOLE LOT, WAS THAT I WAS DAMN-NEAR BROKE AT THE TIME. I DID MANAGE TO GET AN 1850'S SECOND EDITION OF "THE FARMER'S EVERY DAY BOOK," WHICH CONTAINED A WIDE RANGING TEXT, ON EVERYTHING FROM THE DISEASES OF ANIMALS, TO THE SOCIAL AND MORAL EVILS OF DEMON RUM. IT HANDLED MATTERS OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, INTIMATE RELATIONS BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS, AND HOME COOKING; RELIGIOUS OBEDIENCE, TO HOW TO GET A STAIN OUT OF A SATIN DRESS, OR LACE TRIM. BUT IT WAS THE KIND OF BOOK THAT YOU COULD WIND UP CONSULTING EVERY DAY, TO HELP DEAL WITH A FARMSTEAD CONUNDRUM, OF WHICH I'M SURE THERE WERE MANY. AND IF YOU FELT YOUR FAITH SLIPPING, IT WAS ALSO A HANDY CHRISTIAN GUIDEBOOK BACK TO AN APPRECIATION OF DIVINE INSPIRATION.

     I WAS LUCKY TODAY TO UNCOVER, FROM MY ARCHIVES, AN 1897 COPY OF ANOTHER OF THESE (LATE) VICTORIAN ERA SELF-HELP, MORAL GUIDANCE TEXT BOOKS, ENTITLED "STEPPING STONES TO HAPPINESS," ALSO COVERING A WIDE ARRAY OF HOME SITUATIONS, INCLUDING THE DILEMMA OF HAVING THE MISFORTUNE OF A WIFE AND MOTHER, WHO WAS VOID OF COOKERY SKILLS. THUS, THERE IS SOME SELF HELP CONTAINED WITHIN. THERE IS THE CHRISTIAN OVERTONE, AND MORAL GUIDANCE INCLUDED, ALONGSIDE TIPS FOR ENHANCING HOME ECONOMY, COOKING WITH LIMITED RESOURCES, AND STAVING OFF ILLNESSES SUCH AS SCARLET FEVER. BUT IT WAS ALSO A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION, TO MANY OF ITS HOMESTEAD READERS, WHO ADMITTEDLY, STARING OUT THE CABIN WINDOW, ONTO THE DARKER DAYS OF AUTUMN, WOULD GET A LITTLE ANXIOUS ABOUT THE IMMINENT APPROACH OF WINTER. THESE WERE CORNY BOOKS FOR THE MOST PART, YET THEY PLAYED A ROLE IN KEEPING THE HOMEMAKERS UP TO SPEED, SO TO SPEAK, ON THE LATEST ADVISORIES FOR HAVING A HAPPY AND HEALTHY FAMILY UNDER THAT FARMSTEAD ROOF.

     I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED TO READ SOME OF THE EDITORIAL MATERIAL, OFFERED FOR THE MUSKOKA SETTLER, AT AROUND THE TIME, 1897 OR SLIGHTLY LATER. THE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN AND PUBLISHED FOR PROFIT, SO A LOT OF FAMILIES WEREN'T ABLE TO JUSTIFY ITS PURCHASE. THIS TEXT DID COME FROM A PIONEER HOMESTEAD IN CENTRAL MUSKOKA, AND IN FACT, IT IS NOW MY SECOND COPY. I USE THESE BOOKS A LOT, IN RESEARCH, BECAUSE THEY WERE VERY INFLUENTIAL WHEN IT CAME TO HOUSE-KEEPING….AND BOTH MY BOOKS HAVE BEEN WELL USED AND HOPEFULLY ENJOYED. THE IDEA WAS TO SPREAD CHRISTIAN VALUES INTO THE PIONEER CABINS OF THE HINTERLAND ALL OVER NORTH AMERICA. THESE COPIES ARE FROM OUR REGION OF ONTARIO, AND WERE ACTUALLY KEPT VERY WELL, CONSIDERING THE TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS AND DAMPNESS, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPOSED, OVER THE CENTURIES. FORMERLY, MY "FARMER'S EVERY DAY BOOK," CRUMBLED IN MY HANDS, BECAUSE IT WAS KEPT IN MUCH POORER CONDITIONS, THAN THESE NOW. I HATED TO LOSE THAT BOOK WHEN IT LITERALLY BECAME DUST IN THE WIND.

     HERE ARE SOME EDITORIAL INSIGHTS ABOUT THE AUTUMN SEASON, HEADED SIMPLY, "LIGHT-HEARTED OCTOBER." "AND WHILE THE FARM FAMILY READS ON, THEY MIGHT ALSO FEEL THAT THEY ARE BREATHING-IN AN EXCITING NEW LIFE; ONE WITH ASSURANCES, THAT ALL IS RIGHT IN THE HOME AND GARDEN; ENJOYING HEARTFULLY, THE INVIGORATION OF EARLY AUTUMN WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE. "IT SEEMS STRANGE THAT WE ASSOCIATE WITH THIS SEASON THE IDEA OF CHEERFULNESS AND MIRTH AND LIGHT-HEARTED LABOR."

     "ONE MIGHT SUPPOSE THAT EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE EFFECT WOULD BE PRODUCED UPON US BY ALL THE THREATENING TOKENS. THE DREARY TIME OF SHORT DARK DAYS, GRAY WEATHER, AND STORMS APPROACHING; THE IMPRISONMENT OF THE SNOW, THE BLEAK WINTER COLD. THE FLOWERS ARE GONE, THE LEAVES ARE GOING; FROST IS ALREADY UPON US; THE SUMMER'S SAUNTERING IS OVER, THE MOON-LIT STROLL, THE SUNSET SAIL; THE WINDS ARE KEEN AND NIPPING, THE GROUND IS DAMP AND SODDEN, AND ONE MIGHT SUPPOSE IT DEBATABLE WHETHER IT WERE BEST TO KEEP ALIVE OR NOT, INSTEAD OF REJOICING OURSELVES OVER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE, UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS; IT WERE A BOON WORTH HAVING.

     "AND YET SUCH IS THE PERVERSITY OF HUMAN NATURE, THAT NOT WHEN SPRING RUSTLES ALL HER PROMISE OF PERFUME AND BLOSSOM, OF WARMTH AND EASE AND BEAUTY, WHEN THE SAP MOUNTS AND THE BLOOD BUBBLES AND THE YEAR OPENS WITH RENEWAL OF YOUTH'S FRESHNESS, ARE WE HALF SO CHEERFUL AS WHEN THIS RED AUTUMN HANGS OUT HIS BANNER. WE TAKE NO HEED THEN OF THE FUTURE, AND WE FORGET THAT ALL THE SPLENDOR OF HIS ARRAY CHANGES PRESENTLY, LIKE FAIRY MONEY, TO ASHES; GHOSTS WHOSE APPARITION DOES NOT GIVE US APPREHENSION. THE DAZZLING COLOR IS ENOUGH FOR US NOW; AND WITH THE GOLDEN SUNSHINE OF THE ELMS AND BEECHES, THE ROYAL PURPLE OF THE ASH, THE DULL CRIMSON AND BROWN OF THE OAK, THE SUPERB AND SCARLET FLAMING OF MAPLE AND TUPELO AND SUMAC, THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERE IS FULL OF SPLENDOR, AND WE CATCH THE SPIRIT OF JUBILEE - PERHAPS BATTALIONS AND TRIUMPHANT JUBILEE - AW WE MARCH OUT TO CONQUER THE COMING HOSTS OF WINTER." THIS, BY THE WAY, WAS WRITTEN BY HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD, AND PUBLISHED BY THE CHRISTIAN HERALD.

     HARRIET SPOFFORD WRITES OF "AUTUMN CHEER," AS FOLLOWS: "HOW MUCH OF THIS CHEERFULNESS IS DUE TO THE BRACING INFLUENCES OF THE AIR, WHICH IS APT TO WORK LIKE IRON IN THE VEINS, AND HOW MUCH TO THE EFFECT OF LIGHT AND COLOR UPON THE NERVES, IT IS NOT QUITE EASY TO DETERMINE. BY THE BRACING ATMOSPHERE OF THE SEA-SIDE OR OF THE MOUNTAINS, HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT ALWAYS MADE PERFECTLY CHEERFUL, BUT BY THAT OF THE SUNNY FALL DAYS, OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL, THE HAPPY CHANGE SELDOM FAILS TO BE WROUGHT, AND WE MAY PROUDLY IMAGINE IN OURSELVES, AN UNGUESSED AND UNCONSCIOUS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO BEAUTY THAT IS ABLE TO WORK MIRACLES AND TURN EVEN DEAD LEAVES INTO THE BRILLIANT JEWELS OF THE TREES OF THE ARABIAN'S GARDEN.

     "THERE IS SUCH AN ILLUMINATION PRESENT EVERYWHERE, SUCH AN AIRY SPLENDOR LIFTING THE WOODS THEMSELVES, SUCH A FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD SET AMONG ALL DEAD FERNS AND BRAKES AND STUBBLE; THERE IS SUCH A LOFTY SOARING OF THE LIGHTED SKY ABOVE US AND AROUND, THAT THE WILL OF BEAUTY MUST BE WROUGH UNAWARE UPON THE VERIEST DOLT AND CLOWN AMONGST US. FAR OFF, TOO, ON THE HORIZON SUCFH HAZES BROOD, WITH THEIR SOFT DEEP VIOLET TINTS, NOW AND THEN LETTING A SHEET OF SUNLIGHT THROUGH TO SIFT UPON THE SCENE, LEADING INTO THE UNKNOWN, AND BORROWING FROM THE INFINITE, AND GIVING A CERTAIN SATISFACTION IN THE VIEW; FOR WHEREVER ANY SUGGESTION OF THE INFINITE IS GIVEN, COMFORT IS TO BE FOUND BY THOSE MORTALS TO WHOM THE IDEA OF MORTALITY IS HEAVY WITH GLOOM.

     "THUS IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT OUT OF THE MERE AFFAIRS OF THE FANCY, THE HUES OF LEAF AND SKY AND LANDSCAPE, A POSITIVE HAPPINESS IS WROUGHT QUITE EQUAL TO THE HAPPINESS USUALLY GIVEN BY WHAT ARE RECKONED MORE SUBSTANTIAL THINGS. IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT AMONG THE MOST CHEERFUL SENSATIONS PRODUCED BY EXTERNALS ARE THOSE PRODUCED BY VARIOUS DEGREES OF RED, ESPECIALLY THE SHADES OF CHERRY, CARNATION AND DEEP CRIMSON. THE COQUETTE UNDERSTANDS THIS AS SHE KNOTS A RED RIBBON IN HER HAIR, AND THE BEAUTY, TOO, WHOSE DEMASK BLUSH IS HER CHIEF ORNAMENT; THE CRIMSON CARPETED ROOM IS THE ONE WHICH INSTANTLY REMINDS US OF WARMTH AND PLEASURE, AND IN WHICH ANY GREAT FALL OF SPIRITS FROM A HIGH TEMPERATURE SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE; IT IS THE GRAY SEA PICTURE INTO WHICH TURNER THRUSTS THE VERMILLION-COLORED BUOY, AND TRANSFORMS IT; IT IS THE RUSSET-COLORED AUTUMN THAT NATURE ENLIVENS WITH THE SCARLET LEAF.

     "AND YET THESE REDS ARE THE COLOR OF BLOOG, THE SIGNAL OF BATTLE, THE EXPONENT OF SLAUGHTER AND OF FIRE; AND WHY A COLOR THAT IS THE VERY FLAG OF WAR, AND THE REPRESENTATION OF CRUEL WOUNDS OF DEATH, SHOULD GIVE US PLEASANT AND COMFORTABLE SENSATIONS, IS ONLY EXPLICABLE BY THE SUPPOSITION THAT IN ITSELF THE ROSY RAY ACTS AS A STIMULANT UPON THE NERVES, EXCITING THESE COMFORTABLE SENSATIONS. THERE IS, INDEED, SOMETHING RATHER FLATTERING TO OUR VANITY IN THE BELIEF THAT WE ARE THUS STRONGLY AFFECTED BY SUCH AESTHETIC FORCES; BUT IF IT IS SUPPOSABLE THAT THE MOST OF US HAVE SOULS, THE IDEA IS NEITHER VERY EXTRAORDINARY NOR FANTASTIC."

    THE MOST ILLUMINATING PARAGRAPH FOR THIS WRITER, AUTUMN ENTHUSIAST, READS AS FOLLOWS: "BUT QUITE APART FROM THIS MERELY INTELLECTUAL OR NERVOUS ACTION UPON OUR BATTERIES IN THIS MATTER OF THE AUTUMN CHEER, IS THE MUCH MORE EARTHLY AND SOLID CONTENT OCCASIONED BY THE COMPLETION OF THE HARVEST AND HARVESTING, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THE ROUND WORLD OVER THE LABORER IS REAPING HIS REWARD, THAT THE EARTH HAS AGAIN PAID HER DIVIDEND TO THE RACE, THAT NATURE HAS DONE HER DUTY AND KEPT HER PROMISE, THAT THE GREAT GUARDIAN STILL SEES THAT NEITHER SEED-TIME NOR HARVEST FAILS IN ITS SEASON. INDEED, IF THE BURSTING OF THE LEAF AND FLOWER MAKES ONE FEEL THAT GOD IS ALIVE, IN HIS WORLD, THEN THE RIPENING OF THE BROAD FIELDS FROM EAST TO WEST OF THE PLANET, FILLING OF THE VAST GRANARIES, THE GIFT OF THE YEAR'S FOOD TO MAN AND BEAST, GIVE ONE EVEN FIRMER ASSURANCE  THAT THE GRET PULSE IS BEATING THROUGH THE DAYS AND NIGHTS, AND THAT THE ETERNAL LIFE AND THE ETERNAL LOVE GO HAND IN HAND. WHAT WONDER, THEN, THAT, ALTHOUGH WE DO NOT PAUSE TO CONSIDER IT, THE CONSCIOUSNESS THAT WE ARE SO SURROUNDED BY THE DIVINE CARE THAT NO MALICE OF THE FIERCE ELEMENTS CAN REACH US SHOULD MAKE US LIGHT-HEARTED ENOUGH TO GO FORWARD GAYLY, TO MEET THE LEY DARTS THAT WINTER SLINGS, SECURE IN OUR POWER OF PROTECTION, AND DELIGHTING TO TURN OLD JANUARIES FROM AN ENEMY TO A FRIEND."

     "THUS WE SEE THAT, AFTER ALL, THERE IS NOTHING SO SINGULAR IN THIS AUTUMN CHEERFULNESS, AND THAT, INDEED, A CONTRARY SPIRIT WOULD BE A SINGULAR THING, WHILE FEW FOLLIES COULD BE GREATER, HAVING THIS CHARMING PRESENT, THAN TO IGNORE IT THROUGH FEAR OF TOMORROW, AND THAT IT IS WISDOM AS WELL AS PLEASURE TO ENJOY THIS BRIGHT DAY WHILE IT LASTS."

     I DON'T KNOW IF THE FARMSTEAD READER, MIGHT WELL HAVE CLOSED UP THE BOOK, SET IT ON HIS OR HER OWN LAP, AND UTTERED, "NONSENSE, SIMPLY NONSENSE," OR ON THE OTHER HAND, WHISPERED TO A LOVED-ONE,  "OUR FAILED HARVEST WAS GOD'S WILL." THE OPTIMISM FROM THESE PASSAGES, OOZES FROM THE PAGES RATHER GENEROUSLY, BUT I'M NOT AT ALL SURE HOW IT WAS ALL JUSTIFIED AND PLACED IN THE REALM OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, WHEN GOING INTO THE WINTER SEASON, A LESSER HARVEST AND SMALL INCOME MEANT, A NEAR STARVATION DIET UNTIL THE VERY NEXT HARVEST. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, IF EVER ONCE, THIS CHEERFUL, INSPIRING BOOK, WAS SLAMMED DOWN ON A TABLE, AND LEFT UNREAD FOR YEARS AFTER, BECAUSE OF ITS SUGGESTION THAT THERE ARE NO FAILED HARVESTS IN THE GOOD OLD WORLD. IT IS A WHIMSICAL BOOK, AT THE SAME TIME AS BEING PRACTICAL IN MANY WAYS, BUT ALWAYS A REMINDER OF CHRISTIAN VALUES AND A DIVINE SPARK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE, OF HAVING UNFETTERED FAITH IN GOD. BOOKS LIKE THESE DID HAVE A PLACE IN THE FARMSTEADS OF MUSKOKA AS MUCH AS IN THE PARLORS AND KITCHENS OF FARMS AND HOMES IN NORTH DAKOTA, OR MINNESOTA, KENTUCKY OR ALBERTA. IT WAS THE SENSIBILITY OF THE PUBLISHERS AND THE AUTHOR, TO MAKE A BOOK APPEAL TO THE SENSES….AND ONE THAT COULD INFLUENCE A FAILING FARMER TO FEEL PROSPEROUS FOR A TIME…..DESPITE A POOR HARVEST. THERE WAS GOODNESS WITHIN THE MOST ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES, AND EVEN WINTER SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHERISHED FOR ITS POSITIVE INFLUENCES TOWARD HOME ECONOMICS AND FAMILY CLOSENESS. THE FACT THAT CABIN FEVER AND ENDLESS SNOW NEARLY DROVE THEM NUTS, IN THOSE COUNTRYSIDE SHELTERS, DOESN'T ENTER THE EQUATION IN THIS BOOK, AND OTHERS WRITTEN WITH THE SAME DETERMINATION, TO DRAW CHEERFULNESS FROM OTHERWISE BLEAK SITUATIONS.

      AS FAR AS ITS REPRESENTATION OF THE AUTUMN SEASON, AND THE COLORS OF NATURE, I WISH I COULD WRITE AS WELL AS HARRIET SPOFFORD.

     IT IS BEAUTIFUL OUT THERE, EVEN IN THE RAIN, AS I'M SURE YOU WILL AGREE, IF YOU'VE BEEN TOURING THE BACKROADS OF OUR DISTRICT, AS FRED SCHULZ AND I HAVE, PUTTING TOGETHER THIS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, TO REPRESENT THE SEASONS OF MUSKOKA. PLEASE JOIN ME TOMORROW FOR ANOTHER VISIT WITH MISS SPOFFORD, AS SHE WRITES ABOUT "THE HEARTH," OF OUR VICTORIAN HOMES AND HOMESTEADS. HOPE YOU CAN SPARE SOME TIME TO VISIT AGAIN. IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE.

MY FIRST BARN JAM, ON AN HISTORIC MUSKOKA FARMSTEAD

An Abandon Asparagus Field off  the Merkley Road near Barkway -  Once a flourishing field of Asparagus yielding a bountiful spring crop with daily pickings of the young shoots of Asparagus, now creates a beautiful shade of green

in contacts to the fall colours on a rainy October afternoon.   The colours in the photograph are natural as seen through the camera lens without any manipulation by photo-shop or any computer programs. 

I’m an old-fashioned photographer who wants to capture the real thing........!(Photo by Fred Schulz)

PLAYING MUSIC IN THE BARN - MY MOST MEMORABLE FARM EXPERIENCE IN MUISKOKA


"THE FARM IN GOOD ORDER"

     "GRADUALLY BUT SURELY THE WORK OF IMPROVING A NEW FARM GOES FORWARD, UNTIL IT IS ASTONISHING WHAT A CHANGE IS BROUGHT ABOUT IN A FEW SHORT YEARS. THE WILDERNESS IS TRANSFORMED INTO A FRUITFUL FIELD. ONE BY ONE THE STUMPS HAVE ROTTED OUT, AND GIVEN THE PLOUGH FREE SCOPE TO WORK. INEQUALITIES IN THE SURFACE OF THE LAND HAVE BECOME SMOOTHED DOWN, AND ALMOST THE ONLY EVIDENCE THAT THE COUNTRY IS NEW, IS FURNISHED BY THE RAIL FENCES. THE LOG BUILDINGS HAVE GIVEN PLACE TO STRUCTURES OF FRAME OR STONE. A GARDEN ON THE FARM WHICH WE ARE SUPPOSING TO HAVE REACHED A STATE OF COMPLETENESS. THE FRONT FENCES HAVE CEASED TO BE THAT OF RAILS. A NEAT, ORNAMENTAL PALING OR HEDGE, SKIRTS THE PUBLIC ROAD, AND A TASTEFUL BIT OF SHRUBBERY ENVIRONS THE HOUSE AND OUT-BUILDINGS. ALTOGETHER THERE IS AN AIR OF BEAUTY AND ATTRACTIVENESS ABOUT THE SCENE, BUT RECENTLY SO WILD." THUS THE APPEARANCE OF THE WELL LAID-OUT, AND NEATLY KEPT CANADIAN FARM.  THE PASSAGE ABOVE WAS FROM AN EARLY SETTLERS' GUIDE BOOK, THAT WAS, WITHOUT SHAME, OR REGRET, PUTTING A GENEROUS SPIN ON HOW WONDERFUL HOMESTEAD LIFE COULD BE....JUST AS THOMAS MCMURRAY DID MUCH LATER, IN HIS GUIDE, "MUSKOKA AND PARRY SOUND," RELEASED IN THE EARLY 1870'S. THERE'S NO DOUBT THE DESCRIPTION, AND THE ACCOMPANYING WOOD CUT ILLUSTRATION, OF AN APPARENTLY SUCCESSFUL FARM NESTLED INTO THE PICTURESQUE COUNTRYSIDE, INFLUENCED MANY IMMIGRANTS TO HEAD TO THE ONTARIO FRONTIER....WHERE THERE WERE FORESTS TO FELL, WETLANDS TO BRIDGE, THE FILL, ROCKS TO CLEAR, AND A LANDSCAPE TO TAME. AND THEN CAME WINTER. ONCE AGAIN, YOU CAN READ JUST HOW ADVENTUROUS AND ROMANTIC THIS HOMESTEADING THING COULD BE.....AND WHAT A FEW YEARS (BACK-BREAKING) LABOR COULD GET AN AMBITIOUS FAMILY. THEY DON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME TELLING THE TRUTH, BUT WE'VE ALREADY EXAMINED THE MISINFORMATION AND LIES THAT MADE UP THE CAMPAIGN TO POPULATE THE RURAL AREAS OF OUR PROVINCE AND COUNTRY. NOW LET'S MOVE AHEAD A CENTURY PLUS, TO A NEW ERA, AN OLD FARMSTEAD, AND AN HISTORIC BARN THAT WAS BEGGING TO BE RESTORED.

     I USED TO REFER TO MYSELF AS A CITY KID. THAT WAS BACK IN THE LATE 1960'S, WHEN I TRIED TO IMPRESS MY NEW TOWN FRIENDS, IN BRACEBRIDGE. ONE DAY ANOTHER KID, WHO HAD ALSO MOVED NORTH FROM THE BANANA BELT, TO BECOME MUSKOKAN, CORRECTED ME WHEN I SAID THIS TO IMPROVE MY STATUS AMONGST THE LOCALS. "WHERE ARE YOU FROM AGAIN?" THE KID ASKED, AS WE STOOD IN A SMALL GROUP AT THE BASEBALL DIAMOND AT JUBILEE PARK. "BURLINGTON," I BLURTED BOLDLY, AS IF TO SAY...."I'M SO MUCH MORE SOPHISTICATED THAT YOU HICKS." THE KID ANSWERED, "I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE FROM THE CITY." "BURLINGTON IS A CITY," I ANSWERED, A LITTLE FLUSTERED AT BEING CHALLENGED ON THIS BIT OF PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY. BURLINGTON ISN'T A CITY-CITY," HE LAUGHED. "IT'S JUST A BIG TOWN." WELL IT WAS MORE LIKE A SMALL CITY WHEN WE MOVED NORTH IN 1966, BUT IT JUST DIDN'T SOUND LIKE A DECENT BOAST, TO SAY I WAS FROM A "SMALL CITY." IT WAS "CITY" STRAIGHT UP OR NOTHING. YOU KNOW, FROM THAT DAY, I STOPPED SAYING THAT I WAS FROM THE CITY, OPTING INSTEAD TO REFER TO MY PLACE OF ORIGIN AS "SOUTHERN ONTARIO," INSTEAD. IT COVERED ALL THE BASES.
     IN THE FIRST TEN YEARS, LIVING IN MUSKOKA, I DID POSSESS A STRANGE RELUCTANCE TO LET GO OF MY URBAN PAST. MY CHUMS, MANY WHO WERE MUSKOKA-BILLIES, (AND PROUD OF IT) BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION, WOULD GET ANGRY, WHEN I'D SLAP THEM WITH THE "CITY-RAISED" THING, AND EVENTUALLY, IT JUST WASN'T A STATUS-BUILDER, IF IT EVER HAD BEEN. I'D JUST GET STRANGE STARES, WHEN I'D MENTION IT, AND MOST OF THE KIDS HAD NO IDEA WHERE BURLINGTON WAS ANYWAY. SO OFFERING IT UP, AS A STATUS MARKER, WAS A LITTLE INSULTING TO THESE MATES, WHO WERE PROUD OF THEIR OWN HOME REGION. SEVERAL OF MY BUDDIES WOULD SUGGEST I SHOULD RETURN THERE, SEEING AS I MISSED IT SO MUCH. THIS WASN'T THE CASE AT ALL, BECAUSE FROM THE MOMENT WE ARRIVED HERE, SHORT OF A BRIEF HIATUS PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT, I FELT HONESTLY, THAT THE BENEVOLENT GOD HAD GIVEN ME A SLICE OF HEAVEN, AS A SPECIAL GIFT BEFORE MY ULTIMATE DEMISE. HERE I WAS SEEING FIELDS OF CATTLE, CLOSE TO WHERE WE LIVED, DEER AND MOOSE IN OUR WOODLAND, VERSUS WITNESSING, AS I HAD DAILY, THE URBAN THRUST OF PROGRESS, WITH ITS VAST ACREAGES OF SPRAWLING INDUSTRY AND COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS. WHERE I'D COME FROM, WAS NOT WHERE I WANTED TO BE. MY SOUL WAS CONTENT TO BE MUSKOKAN.
      OF COURSE I LOVED MUSKOKA, BUT IT WAS JUST A JUVENILE REACTION OF SILLY BANTER, TO CALL MY SELF A CITY SLICKER, THAT MEANT NOTHING. I CAN REMEMBER MY FAMILY CONSIDERING A MOVE BACK TO THE CITY, AFTER SEVERAL EMPLOYMENT DEBACLES, EARLY ON IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND MY VEHEMENT OBECTIONS TO LEAVING WHAT I CONSIDERED A PARADISE ON EARTH.
     BUT I STILL HAD SOME URBAN RESIDUE ON MY SOUL THAT WAS SLOW TO FADE AWAY. WHEN MY GIRLFRIEND GAIL, WANTED TO TAKE ME TO A NEWLY MOVED, AND REFURBISHED CENTURY-OLD BARN, WHERE HER FATHER AND SOME OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS WERE GOING TO JAM, THAT NIGHT, I TRIED EVERY EXCUSE SHORT OF FAKING "NEAR-DEATH," TO REMOVE MYSELF FROM THE BARN-FEST. IT WASN'T THAT I DIDN'T LIKE MUSIC OR BARNS, BUT AS A SPECTATOR, I WOULD HAVE RATHER WATCHED A ROLLER DERBY, OR GONE TO THE MOVIES INSTEAD. I HAD BEEN IN THE HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAMS WITH GAIL, HAVING LINKED UP, WHEN THE BAND, UNDER JOHN RUTHERFORD, TRAVELLED TO ENGLAND BACK IN THE SPRING OF 1974. BUT I WASN'T BEING ASKED TO BRING MY BARITONE (SMALL TUBA LIKE INSTRUMENT) TO THE BARN JAM, BECAUSE IT WAS AN ALL-GUITAR EVENT. GAIL AND I WERE TO BE SPECTATORS WHILE HER DAD, GORD, AND RELATIVES, ROD FORTH, AND KEN PEARCEY MADE UP THE JAM PART OF THE BARN SOIREE. I'D LISTENED TO THESE FINE MUSICIANS MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, AT THE SMITH FAMILY HOME, BUT THIS WAS SOMETHING MUCH DIFFERENT; MUCH MORE EXCITING. THIS WAS ABOUT TO BE MY FIRST TRULY RURAL, FARMSTEAD EXPERIENCE, SINCE ARRIVING IN MUSKOKA.
     THE HISTORIC "JACKSON" BARN HAD BEEN MOVED BOARD BY BOARD, BEAM BY BEAM, ACROSS A FEW MILES OF MUSKOKA COUNTRYSIDE, FROM A PROPERTY ON HIGHWAY 118 IN THE AREA OF THE PIONEER COMMUNITY OF ZISKA, TO ACREAGE ON THE BEATRICE TOWN LINE, BELONGING TO MODERN DAY FARMER, KEN PEARCEY. HIS GRANDPARENTS HAD OWNED AN OLD FARM LESS THAN A MILE WEST, FROM THE FORMER JACKSON PROPERTY, ACROSS FROM THE ENTRANCE TO WHAT WAS CALLED, BACK THEN, PIER 100 MARINA. KEN HAD BOUGHT QUITE A LARGE ACREAGE AND WANTED AN OLD BARN TO GO WITH IT! HE WAS A FORMER CITY KID HIMSELF, WHO DECIDED TO RETURN TO THE RURAL AREA THAT HAD BEEN FARMED BY HIS KIN LONG BEFORE HIM....A REAL CITY TO HINTERLAND SUCCESS STORY. SO THE JAM SESSION WAS TO CELEBRATE THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE BARN RELOCATION. A SORT OF REDEDICATION OF THE LANDMARK BARN THAT WAS SO RECOGNIZABLE ON THE CORNER OF ZISKA ROAD FOR SO MANY DECADES. I THINK IT HAD BELONGED TO HARRY JACKSON ALTHOUGH I STAND TO BE CORRECTED.
     KEN INVITED GORD SMITH, HIS DAUGHTERS GAIL, GLENNA AND JUNE, AND ROD FORTH, PLUS SOME SIGNIFICANT OTHERS, TO THE LOW-KEY JAM SESSION, TO PLAY SOME OF THEIR FAVORITES. I REALIZE NOW, IN RETROSPECT, ESPECIALLY HAVING TWO LADS DEEP IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, SPECIALZING IN GUITARS, JUST HOW REMARKABLE AND STRANGELY PROVIDENTIAL THAT NIGHT WAS, FOR ME.....AND BY GOLLY, HOW MUCH ANDREW AND ROBERT WOULD HAVE ENJOYED PLAYING ALONG WITH THESE GUITAR VETERANS. WHILE I HAD BEEN RELUCTANT TO GO THIS FARM "COUNTRY" JAMBOREE, AND GET INVOLVED IN SOMETHING AS INTIMATE AS A JAM SESSION WITH REAL MUSICIANS, I WAS SO PLEASED GAIL HAD DRAGGED ME ALONG.....DESPITE SOME WHINING AND PROTESTATION.  IT MADE A LIFE-LONG IMPRESSION, THAT'S FOR SURE. IT DIDN'T MATTER, YOU SEE, WHETHER I PLAYED A GUITAR OR NOT. I WAS INVITED INTO THE INNER CIRCLE TO EXPERIENCE AN AUTUMN EVENING IN MUSKOKA, WITH THE BARN DOORS OPEN, AND THE MOON SHINING BRIGHT; THE MUSIC WAS SPIRITUALLY INTOXICATING, AND WE DIDN'T NEED A DROP OF BOOZE TO GET THIS WAY.
     I WAS USED TO THIS MUSICAL FAMILY HAVING REGULAR JAMS, WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY, PLAYING IN THE SMITH FAMILY'S LIVINGROOM, SEATED AROUND THE ROCK HEARTH, ON NIGHTS JUST LIKE THIS. BUT THE SENSATION OF BEING IN THIS MASTERFULLY RECONSTRUCTED MUSKOKA BARN, ON THIS AMAZING PIECE OF DISTRICT LANDSCAPE, IN THE AUTUMN OF THE YEAR, WITH THE SENTIMENTAL BATHING OF MILKY MOONLIGHT ON THE EVERGREEN FRINGE, WAS A TREAT FOR THE SENSES. LISTENING TO THE COUNTRY SONGS BEING PLAYED BY THESE THREE LADS, PUT ME BACK IN HISTORY LET ME TELL YOU.....SUCH THAT IF EVER THERE WAS A PIONEER FEELING IN THIS URBAN PHYSCHE, IT WAS ON THAT NIGHT THAT I OFFICIALLY, IN MY MIND, BECAME A COUNTRY BOY. GORD, ROD AND KEN, AS I REMEMBER THEM, WERE FABULOUS MUSICIANS, AND LOVED ANY OPPORTUNITY TO WHIP OUT THE GUITARS, AND MAKE MUSIC. THEY DIDN'T NEED ANY MORE URGING THAN A WINK OF AN EYE, AND A PLACE TO SIT AND PLAY. I ENJOYED MANY OF THESE CASUAL JAM SESSIONS, INDOORS AND OUT, AND EVERY TIME, IT MADE ME MORE MUSKOKAN THAN I WAS THE HOUR BEFORE. I THINK HONESTLY, MY EXPOSURE TO THESE COUNTRY MUSICIANS, DID MORE TO IMMERSE ME IN MUSKOKA CULTURE THAN ANYTHING ELSE I'D EVER DONE, IN THOSE YEARS OF ADJUSTMENT, FROM SMALL CITY LIFE TO SMALL TOWN CELEBRATION.
     GAIL HAD A HARD TIME GETTING ME OUT THE BARN THAT NIGHT. I WANTED TO STAY ALL NIGHT. YUP, I WAS CONTENT TO SLEEP IN THAT BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE BUILDING, WITH THOSE HUGE HAND HEWN BEAMS, MADE FROM THE BOUNTY OF HALE AND HARDY TREES, HARVESTED FROM A PRIMAL MUSKOKA FOREST. I LAPPED UP THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE; THE AROMA OF THAT SEASONED WOOD, THE SMELL OF HISTORY INGRAINED, THE CRACKLE OF WOOD IN THE STOVE, THE MOONLIGHT SPARKLING THROUGH SOME OF THE CRACKS BETWEEN THE BOARDS; THE COOL NIGHT AIR AND THE AROMA OF A SMALL POT OF  COFFEE, STEAMING ON THE STOVE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT OF HEAVEN, WHEN I FINALLY GET THERE, BUT I REALLY THOUGHT, ON THAT NIGHT, THAT I WAS CLOSE TO THE PERFECTION THAT WOULD SERVE ME WELL IN ANOTHER EXISTENCE. IT WAS A NIGHT THAT INSPIRED A THOUSAND POEMS AND JUST AS MANY SHORT STORIES, WRITTEN IN OLD JOURNAL BOOKS, I'VE KEPT IN MY ARCHIVES SINCE THE LATE 1970'S. IT WAS THE NIGHT I FELT I'D HONESTLY ARRIVED, AT AN UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT IT TRULY MEANT TO BE, AND WHAT JOHN DENVER NOTED IN THE SONG, "A COUNTRY BOY." I WAS HOME. AND I WAS BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE JOYS AND BENEFITS OF BEING A COUNTRY HUMAN BEING. MY SPIRITS WERE LIFTED PRETTY HIGH, AND I FOUND THAT YOU COULD HAVE A GREAT TEENAGE-PARTY WITHOUT THE BOOZE. NOT A DROP. NOT EVEN A WINE GUM. THIS WAS A PURE, HONEST, UNCOMPROMISED, UNFETTERED RELEASE INTO A WORLD I WAS NOT FAMILIAR....EVEN THOUGH I HAD BEGUN TELLING PEOPLE I WAS FROM BRACEBRIDGE, BY THIS POINT......FEELING BURLINGTON WAS THUSLY A DISTANT MEMORY, AND NO LONGER A BRAGGING POINT. THERE WAS A ZEN-LIKE QUALITY TO THIS NIGHT IN THE BOSOM OF MUSKOKA FARMLAND, AND IT WAS EVEN A LITTLE TRANSCENDENTAL AT THE SAME TIME. I'D BEEN OFFERED AN ILLUMINATION, TO SEE MORE CLEARLY, WHAT MY LIFE COULD BECOME.....IF I WAS TO CHOOSE TO LIVE HERE, AFTER GRADUATING UNIVERSITY. WELL, I'M STILL HERE, AND I NO LONGER CALL MYSELF A CONVERTED CITY KID. I AM A CONTENTED MUSKOKAN, WHO HAS NEVER, SINCE THAT JAM SESSION, EVER DOUBTED THAT MY PARENTS HAD MADE THE RIGHT CALL, TO STICK IT OUT IN THE RURAL CLIME OF ONTARIO, DESPITE SOME RESIDENT HARDSHIPS THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS. ACTUALLY, MY MOTHER HAD GROWN UP ON A FARM NEAR TRENTON, ONTARIO, SO SHE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED THE PULL OF THE HINTERLAND ON THE HEART STRINGS. IT WAS HER SON'S TURN TO RESTORE A FAMILY TRADITION, AND LIVE RURALLY. I JUST WOULD HAVE MADE A HORRIBLE FARMER. I CAN'T EVEN GROW DECENT GRASS IN MY FRONT YARD, TO EVEN THINK ABOUT GROWING A CROP OF ANYTHING. CURRENTLY I AM BEST KNOWN IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD FOR DANDELION CULTIVATION AND HARVEST.
     RECENTLY, MY PHOTOGRAPHER COLLEAGUE, FRED SCHULZ, OF GRAVENHURST, HAS BEEN CAPTURING SOME INTERESTING IMAGES OF MUSKOKA BARNS,  MOST OF THEM NOW IN RATHER POOR CONDITION. I THINK WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE INITIATED THIS MUSKOKA HERITAGE PROJECT TWENTY YEARS AGO, AS MANY OF THESE FARM BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN LOST TO DECAY OR TORN-DOWN FOR SAFETY CONCERNS; THE FORMER FARMS RETIRED FROM ACTIVE SERVICE, LIKE SO MANY THOUSANDS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO HAVE PROTECTED MORE OF THESE BARNS, LIKE THE ONE KEN PEARCEY SAVED FROM ROTTING INTO THE GROUND....GIVING AN EXTENDED LIFE FOR THE BEGINNING OF A NEW FARM VENTURE. THERE'S IS A LOT OF SOCIAL / CULTURAL HERITAGE CONNECTED TO THESE FARM PROPERTIES IN MUSKOKA, NOW MOSTLY JUST RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES. FRED WILL BE OFFERING OTHER IMAGES OF MUSKOKA BARNS, AND INTERESTING OUTBUILDINGS, THAT HE ENCOUNTERS ON HIS JAUNTS AROUND THE DISTRICT THIS AUTUMN, TRYING TO CAPTURE THE ESSSENCE OF THIS BEAUTIFUL REGION ON FILM. I WISH HE COULD HAVE BEEN IN KEN PEARCEY'S BARN THAT NIGHT, BACK IN THE 1970'S, WHEN I WAS CONVERTED.....FROM A SMALL CITY OFFSPRING, TO THE REAL COUNTRY THING; COURTESY AN AMAZING COUNTRYSIDE, AN ENCHANTED AUTUMN NIGHT, AN HISTORIC BARN, AND SOME MUSICAL FRIENDS, WHO TO ME, REPRESENTED THE OLD PIONEER LIFESTYLE, OF BEING MUSKOKAN.....WHICH FROM THAT NIGHT ON, I CONSIDERED A GREAT HONOR. "I'M FROM MUSKOKA," I BEGAN TO BLURT, WITH THE STANCE OF SOMEONE RIGHT AT HOME SAYING SO! I'M SO DARN PROUD OF OUR HISTORIC FAMILY ROOTS, DATING BACK TO THE 1860'S,  MY MUSKOKA BORN WIFE, SUZANNE (BORN IN HUNTSVILLE, AND RAISED IN WINDERMERE), AND OUR LADS, ROBERT AND ANDREW, BOTH BORN IN BRACEBRIDGE. LIVING RURALLY? IT'S BEEN A CHARM WE'RE STILL BENEFITTING FROM AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. THOSE COURAGEOUS PIONEERS, ARE THE ONES WHO REALLY DESERVE THE CREDIT FOR WHAT WE HAVE TODAY.
     THANKS SO MUCH FOR VISITING WITH FRED AND I TODAY, AND WE'RE PLANNING A GREAT WEEK OF THANKSGIVING RELATED BLOGS, AND COMPANION PHOTOGRAPHS, COMING YOUR WAY......SO PLEASE PLAN TO VISIT DAILY, FOR A TRULY MUSKOKA CELEBRATION. MAYBE IT WON'T BE QUITE AS ENTHRALLING AS MY NIGHT JAMMING AT THE PEARCEY BARN, BUT WE'LL DO THE BEST WE CAN TO REPLICATE THAT SENSORY BONANZA THAT FINALLY PUT ME IN MY PLACE. THANK GOD!

What You May Not Know About The Wild Woods

Traveling along the Uffington Road -  The Barns throughout Muskoka are becoming fewer and fewer and need to be preserved in photographs.   This one along the Uffington Road continues to stand, however time will take it’s toll and another historic barn will disappear into the landscape of Muskoka.
(Photo By Fred Schulz)

     "THERE IS SOMETHING NOBLY SIMPLE AND PURE IN SUCH A TASTE;  IT ARGUES, I THINK, A SWEET AND GENEROUS NATURE, TO HAVE THIS STRONG RELISH FOR THE BEAUTIES OF VEGETATION, AND THIS FRIENDSHIP FOR THE HARDY AND GLORIOUS SONS OF THE FOREST. THERE IS A GRANDEUR OF THOUGHT CONNECTED WITH THIS PART OF NATURAL ECONOMY." WASHINGTON IRVING, "BRACEBRIDGE HALL."


WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT APPRECIATION OF THE WILD WOODS

THE MENTAL TEST OF SURVIVAL, AS DIFFICULT AS THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS

     EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, I WILL TAKE ON AN EDITORIAL ASSIGNMENT, TO ASSIST LOCAL WRITERS ON THEIR BOOK PROJECTS. I WOULD RATHER NOT, BUT USUALLY, THE REQUEST WILL COME FROM A FRIEND, LIKE MY WILDERNESS BUDDY, VAN NEWEL, WHO WRITES ABOUT BEING "OFF THE GRID," AND LIVING AS A MODERN DAY HOMESTEADER. I COULDN'T RESIST WORKING WITH BOB PETRY, ON HIS TWO LOCAL HISTORIES; ONE ON BALA AND THE OTHER ON BRACEBRIDGE. THEY WERE FUN AND A GOOD SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR ME, WHILE PULLING IN A PAY CHEQUE. I DID AN EDITORIAL OVERVIEW FOR SYLVIA RICHARDSHON, WHEN SHE WROTE A BOOK ON THE HISTORY OF BRACEBRIDGE'S HOLIDAY HOUSE, PARTICULARLY HER FAMILY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HISTORIC INN. I LIKED THAT ONE TOO, CONSIDERING I FELT LIKE AN INSIDER, CONSIDERING HER ESTABLISHMENT WAS WHERE US WRITER-KIND USED TO SPEND MUCH OF OUR PAY, DRINKING IN THE DOWNSTAIR'S PUB. SHE CLAIMS WE OFTEN STUCK HER WITH OUR TABS. IT WAS OUR PRESS CLUB AND SHE WAS A GREAT HOSTESS.
     I DON'T LIKE EDITING THE WORK OF NOVELISTS. I'VE DONE THREE AND AFTER MY CRITIQUES, I CAN HONESTLY SAY, WE (THE AUTHORS AND I) WERE NO LONGER FRIENDS. ONE YOUNG LADY WAS SO ENRAGED, SHE WANTED TO HIT ME, BUT THERE WERE WITNESSES, SO SHE JUST CUSSED A LITTLE, THREW THE MANUSCRIPT AT MY HEAD, AND LEFT THE SHOP. ONE CHAP WROTE A SEXUALLY EXPLICIT SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL, THAT HONESTLY COULD HAVE BEEN MADE INTO A "B" MOVIE, BUT THE AUTHOR WAS SO RIGID, THERE WAS REALLY NO WAY OF IMPLEMENTING ANY CHANGES, I THOUGHT WOULD IMPROVE THE STORY-LINE. HISTORIANS GENERALLY, ARE ALL ABOUT ACCURACY....THESE DAYS. IN THE OLD DAYS, WELL, FOLK HISTORIANS, DIDN'T LET FACT GET IN THE WAY OF A GOOD STORY. IN HISTORY, I FEEL I CAN OFFER A PRETTY FAIR CRITIQUE WITHOUT INSULTING THE AUTHOR. THEY WANT MY INPUT BECAUSE OF MY EXPERIENCE. NOVELISTS WANT ME TO STROKE THEIR EGOS AND I WON'T DO THAT.....ESPECIALLY WHEN I KNOW BEAUTIFUL TREES ARE GOING TO BE SACRIFICED TO PUBLISH THEIR TOMES.
     I WORKED WITH ONE AUTHOR, QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO, WHO, WHILE DEEPLY OFFENDED BY MY MEDDLING IN HIS NOVEL, BEYOND THE PROBLEMS WITH SENTENCE STRUCTURE, ACTUALLY OFFFERED ME SOMETHING AS AN HISTORIAN, I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN. HE PAID ME FOR THE WORK BUT I GOT THIS INSIGHT FOR FREE. THE STORY-LINE WAS A LITTLE AWKWARD AND A TAD JUVENILE, BUT IT ADDRESSED, IN A CONTEMPORARY SENSE, THE AGE-OLD DILEMMA OF MAN AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH WILD PLACES. IT LOOKED AT A COTTAGE AND HOME SITUATION ON A MUSKOKA LAKE, AND THE PERMANENT AND SEASONAL RESIDENTS WHO DWELLED THERE OVER THE FOUR SEASONS. LONELY TIMES AND BUSY TIMES; AN INSPIRING RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE, ON ONE HAND, AND A FEARFUL RELATIONSHIP ON THE OTHER. WHAT NATURE INSPIRED OF PARADISE, RECREATION AND RELAXATION FOR SOME, WAS AN EMOTIONAL BARRIER AND INTRUSIVE ENTITY TO OTHER VOYEURS, ACTUALLY FRIGHTENED BY THE OMINOUS, LOOMING REALITIES OF UNPREDICTABLE NATURE.
     THE WAY THE HOMESTEAD PERIOD IS PORTRAYED IN THE SCHOOL HISTORY TEXTS, DEPICTS A MUCH DIFFERENT REALITY THAN WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN OUR PIONEER ENCAMPMENTS. THE STUDENT, READING MANY OF THESE GENERALIZATIONS, WILL UNDERSTAND HOW RIGOROUS IT WAS TO BE A FARMER, IN A REGION OF HEAVY FORESTS, ROCK AND SWAMP, BUT IT WILL BE CRAFTED IN SUCH A WAY, AS TO PRESENT MUSKOKA, AND OTHER PARTS OF CANADA, IN THEIR RESPECTIVE PIONEER PERIODS,..... IN THE MOST GLOWING, NATIONALISTIC AND ROMANTIC WAY. A HYPED-UP REVIEW OF RESOURCEFULNESS AND RESOLVE TO MAKE A GO OF IT! I GREW UP WITH THIS ROMANTIC, SENTIMENTAL OVERVIEW OF THIS PERIOD, AND REALLY, IT HOOKED ME TO STUDY THE PERIOD MORE THOROUGHLY. I SUPPOSE IT WAS UNDER FALSE PRETENCES, BUT WHAT THE HELL. I GOT TO HERE FROM THERE. THE POINT I WANT TO MAKE, IS THAT THERE IS NO PLACE FOR THIS ROMANTICISM IN THE STUDY OF PIONEER HISTORY....UNLESS YOU'RE DECORATING YOUR NEW LOG CABIN IN PRIMITIVE PINE, COPPER, TIN AND POTTERY, WITH A MARTHA STEWART TOUCH. IF YOU ARE TRULY INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE ABOUT THE PIONEER PERIOD, EVEN AS A FAMILY HISTORIAN, WONDERING WHAT YOUR KIN-FOLK THOUGHT ABOUT THOSE DECADES OF INTENSE HARDSHIP AND SUFFERING, THEN YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT SUCH SITUATIONS, AS THE FUNDAMENTAL FEAR OF THE ENVIRONMENT. WHILE THERE ARE MANY GLOWING EDITORIALS ABOUT THE MAJESTY OF THE PRIMAL WOODLANDS, AND THE ENCHANTED, SPIRITED CATARACTS (THE GREAT FALLS COMES TO MIND), AS WRITTEN ABOUT, BY THOMAS MCMURRAY, THE MOST ADVERSE THOUGHTS ABOUT THE REGION SIMPLY DIDN'T MAKE IT TO PRINT. EXCEPT POSSIBLY IN THE HANDWRITTEN JOURNALS KEPT MY THESE FOLKS, HUDDLED CLOSE TO THE HEARTH, IN DRAFTY LOG CABINS, AT THIS TIMEOF THE ROLLING YEAR. AND WHEN HARDSHIPS WERE WRITTEN ABOUT, BY QUITE A HOST OF ENTERPRISING PIONEERS, IT WAS DONE FOR PROFIT, TO HELP MAKE ENDS MEET. THERE WERE QUITE A FEW PUBLICATIONS ABROAD, LOOKING TO REPORT ON WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE ON THE FRONTIER. SEEING AS THEY WEREN'T WRITING TO PROMOTE SETTLEMENT, OR WORKING FOR ANY OF THE STEAMSHIP LINES, RAILWAYS LINKS, OR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THEY DIDN'T FEEL COMPELLED TO PRESENT GLOWING REVIEWS THAT WOULD DRUM UP BUSINESS. SO THEY WERE HONEST ABOUT THE HARDSHIPS, BUT THEY WERE WRITING SEMI-FICTIONS AS IT TURNS OUT, FOR AN AUDIENCE THAT WANTED TO LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH THE WRITTEN WORD....WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO DO A LICK OF FARMSTEAD LABOUR, BREAK THE ICE ON THE WASH BASIN, JUST TO WASH THEIR FACES EACH MORNING, OR EAT DINNER WHILE GETTING DUSTED WITH SNOW, BLOWING THROUGH THE CRACKS BETWEEN THE LOGS.....ON AN AVERAGE WINTER DAY. THEY COULD JUST READ THESE ACCOUNTS AND THEN RETIRE TO BEDLAM, FEELING FORTUNATE, THEY WOULDN'T BE STIRRED OUT OF SLUMBER, BY THE HOWLS OF WOLVES IN THE YARD, OR A BEAR CLAWING AT THE DOOR TO GET AT THE LARDER.
     ALTHOUGH I'M NOT PARTICULARLY FOND OF THOMAS MCMURRAY'S SETTLER'S GUIDE, OF THE 1870'S, FOR THE WAY HE SHAMELESSLY SOLD LIFE IN MUSKOKA, IN THAT ERA, AS A GLORIOUS OPPORTUNITY TO FLOURISH AS FARMERS, HE DOES, OFFER SEVERAL INCLUSIONS, WHICH PROFILE A BLEAKER PICTURE OF LIFE IN THE WILDS.....WHICH OF COURSE, HE USES AS A PLATFORM AT THE SAME TIME. HE POINTS OUT HOW BAD IT CAN BE, ONLY TO USE IT LATER, AS SAGE ADVICE, ON HOW TO AVOID THE PITFALLS OF RURAL LIVING. HE PAYS A LOT OF ATTENTION TO KEEPING BOOZE OUT OF MUSKOKA, PAINTING IT AS A IMMORAL CURSE THAT LIMITED THE PROSPERITY OF MANY HOMESTEADERS. OF COURSE MCMURRAY WAS A SWORN ENEMY OF ALCOHOL ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME. BUT HE PUBLISHED A STORY ENTITLED "LOST IN THE WOODS," WHICH DETAILS THE FOLLY OF TWO HOMESTEADERS, WHO MISTAKENLY LEFT THEIR SAFE DOMAIN, THEIR COMFORTABLE CABIN, AND BEGAN SEARCHING THROUGH THE BUSH FOR LOST LIVESTOCK THAT HAD WANDERED AWAY. THE STORY, WHICH I HAVE USED MANY TIMES IN THE PAST, IS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF NATURE.....WHICH IN THIS CASE, COULD HAVE PROVEN DEADLY. HOW BAD WAS IT? MCMURRAY HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT THE GREAT PERIL OF STARVATION FACING THE PIONEERS, HUDDLED IN THE BUSH, TO KEEP EACH OTHER WARM.
     "HERE, MANY MILES FROM ANY HUMAN HABITATION, PRAYER FOR THE FIRST TIME IS OFFERED BY 'WHITE MEN,'TO 'THE GREAT SPIRIT;' THE MISSING ONES ARE NOT FORGOTTEN, AND EARNEST SUPLICATION IS MADE THAT GOD WOULD DIRECT THEIR STEPS. BUT WHAT OF THE POOR WANDERERS? THEY ARE WEAK AND FAINT; HUNGER DRIVES THEM TO DESPAIR AND DEATH; DEATH FROM STARVATION STARES THEM IN THE FACE; THE HUSBAND, AS THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE, URGES HIS WIFE TO CUT A SLICE FROM THE CALF OF HIS LEG IN ORDER TO SATIATE HER CRAVING FOR FOOD; BUT THE FAITHFUL WIFE REPUDIATED THE THOUGHT, AND REPLIED THAT SHE WOULD RATHER WILLINGLY DIE WITH HER HUSBAND."
    A DEEPLY RELIGIOUS MAN, MCMURRAY BELIEVES THERE WAS A DIVINE INTERVENTION ON THAT OCCASION, WHEN THE SEARCH PARTY SUDDENLY SOUNDED THOSE PIERCING GUN SHOTS IN THE AIR, TO INFORM THE OTHER HOMESTEADERS, WHO HAD JOINED THE MISSION, THAT THE COUPLE HAD BEEN FOUND. MCMURAY PUTS CHRISTIAN FAITH INTO A LOT OF HIS EDITORIAL WORK, AND IN HIS OWN WAY, DOES THE SAME THING WITH HIS DESCRIPTIONS OF MUSKOKA....AS BEING A LITTLE CLOSER TO HEAVEN THAN A LOT OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS ON THE CONTINENT. OF COURSE, HE WAS ALSO CONFLICTED, AS A BUSINESSMAN, WHO STOOD TO PROFIT FROM A LARGE HOMESTEAD POPULATION. HIS BOOK IS FAR MORE ENCOURAGING TO SETTLERS, CONSIDERING A MOVE TO THE WILDS, THAN IT IS, AS IT SHOULD BE, A SOURCE OF DISCOURAGEMENT. HE ASSUMED CORRECTLY, THAT HIS MARKET FOR THE BOOK WAS THE "HOPEFUL" IMMIGRANT, MORE SO THAN A HOMESTEADER WHO WANTED TO BE THWARTED, ONCE IN CANADA, FROM SETTLING IN THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA. MCMURRAY JUST WANTED TO HAVE IT NOTED OF HIS EFFORTS, I SUPPOSE BY FUTURE CRITICS LIKE ME, THAT HE OFFERED COUNTER-POINT, SUCH AS IN THE CASE OF A LETTER ENTITLED "THE BLACK PICTURE," SO THAT THE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF LIFE IN THE WILDS, WOULD AT LEAST BE OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION.
     THERE ARE NO STATISTICS OBVIOUSLY, TO KNOW JUST HOW MANY SETTLERS HAD SERIOUS ISSUES WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH. THERE IS NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW MANY SUICIDES OCCURRED, OR JUST HOW MANY HAD TO BE INSTITUTIONALIZED AS A RESULT OF MENTAL DISORDERS OR, AS THEY WOULD HAVE PUT IT, "MADNESS." THERE IS NO RECKONING, AS TO HOW MANY SETTLERS ARRIVED SANE, ONLY TO WIND-UP WITH SERIOUS MENTAL DISORDERS, AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THEIR STRESSFUL LIFESTYLES, AND THE ASSORTED RANGE OF DEPRIVATIONS, INSPIRED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCE OF LIVING IN ISOLATION. HOW MANY SETTLERS CAME TO LIVE IN FEAR OF THE OPPRESSIVE REALITIES, OF AN ISOLATED EXISTENCE, IN THE BOSOM OF WILDERNESS QUALITIES AND QUANTITIES. WHAT FEAR WAS INSPIRED BY LISTENING TO WOLVES HOWLING OUTSIDE THE CABIN DOOR, ON MOONLIT AUTUMN NIGHTS LIKE THIS? HOW EASY WAS IT TO SUCCUMB TO FEARS LIKE THIS, OF IMMINENT DEATH BY SIMPLY OPENING THE DOOR? FEAR OF STARVATION? THIS WAS REAL AND IT IS KNOWN THAT HOMESTEADERS DID PERISH AS A RESULT OF BEING MALNOURISHED. WAS IT A COMMON THING, TO LET A SPOUSE OR KIN FOLK DINE ON YOUR LEG, IF NOTHING ELSE WAS AVAILABLE AT THE TIME, AS IDENTIFIED IN MCMURRAY'S STORY, ABOUT THE LOST COUPLE?
     AS THE TOURISM INDUSTRY BEGAN TOUTING THE HEALTHFUL ADVANTAGES OF VACATIONING IN THIS NEWLY DISCOVERED AND OPENED SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE, THE NATURE OF MUSKOKA WAS GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION FROM THE WEALTHY, ADVENTURE SEEKING VICTORIANS. IT COMMENCED THE SERIOUS DIVIDE IN OPINIONS, ABOUT LIFE AND RECREATION IN MUSKOKA; THE COMMENCEMENT OF A CLASH IN VALUES, OF THE VACATIONING CLASS, OR TOURIST, AND THE HARDSHIP-BURDENED HOMESTEADER, TRYING TO SURVIVE. THEN THERE WAS THE INDUSTRIAL AND MERCHANT CLASS BEGINNING TO THRIVE, IN BETWEEN THE ACTIVITIES OF PERMANENT AND SEASONAL RESIDENTS, AND THE INDUSTRY OF ACCOMMODATION, WHICH HELPED THE HOMESTEADERS IN A THOUSAND DIFFERENT WAYS, MAINTAIN THEIR RURAL FARMS. IF THEY COULD PRODUCE THE FOOD, THE RESORTS COULD FEED THEIR PATRONS WELL. IF THE FARM STEAD COMMUNITY COULD PRODUCE THE LOGS, FROM ACRES CLEARED, THEN THE RESORT BUILDERS COULD GET THEIR SUPPLIES CLOSER TO THEIR BUSINESSES. RURAL RESIDENTS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TOURISM SECTOR, WHICH HAD ITS START FROM THE FIRST CABIN DWELLERS, WHO OFFERED MODEST SHELTER TO SPORTSMEN, LIKE TIMOTHY EATON; LODGING AT THOMAS AITKEN'S HOMESTEAD IN WINDERMERE WHILE ON A FISHING / HUNTING EXPEDITION WITH ASSOCIATES. IT WAS EATON WHO URGED AITKEN TO BUILD A BIGGER HOUSE TO ACCOMODATE MORE SPORTSMEN IN THE FUTURE, AND IT LED TO THE CREATION OF WINDERMERE HOUSE, ON THE HILLSIDE OVERLOOKING  LAKE ROSSEAU. IT WORKED THE SAME FOR MANY OTHERS, WHO FOUND FINANCIAL ADVANTAGE BEING IN COMPANY OF A THRIVING NEW INDUSTRY, THAT HINGED ON THE WILDS BEING WILD.
     THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE HERE, AND SOMETIMES I LOSE MY WAY, IS THAT THE INTERPRETATION OF MUSKOKA WAS IMMENSELY DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE TOURIST POPULATION, IN THE EARLY YEARS OF SETTLEMENT, AS COMPARED TO THE HOMESTEADER, WHO AT TIMES, WAS NEARLY DESTROYED BY THE EXCESSES OF CLIMATE IN GOD'S COUNTRY. MUSKOKA "THE ENCHANTED" WAS ALSO MUSKOKA "THE DEADLY MISTRESS," DEPENDING ON WHETHER IT WAS GOING TO BE A GOOD HARVEST THAT YEAR, OR A SUNNY SUMMER FOR RECREATIONAL ROWBOATING ON LAKE ROSSEAU. THESE ATTITUDES ABOUT MUSKOKA WERE CO-EXISTING SIDE BY SIDE, JUST AS THEY CONTINUED TO CONFLICT, UP TO AND INCLUDING THE PRESENT IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AND LISTEN CAREFULLY. THERE ARE STILL WIDELY VARIED VIEWPOINTS OF NATURE, AS BOTH A BLESSING AND A CURSE. I KNOW PEOPLE WHO LIVE CLOSE TO THE BOG,  WHO HATE TREES, AND WOULD LOVE TO CUT THEM DOWN.....WHEREVER THEY BLOCK THE VIEW OF SOMETHING ELSE. SOME FOLKS LOVE THE HINTERLAND EXPERIENCE. OTHERS DESPISE IT, AND CAN'T WAIT TO MOVE TO THE CITY. I DATED A COUNTRY GIRL FOR FIVE YEARS, AND HER ONLY REAL AMBITION, OTHER THAN TO GET A HIGH PAYING JOB, WAS TO LIVE IN AN URBAN SETTING. OUR RELATIONSHIP WAS DESTROYED, BECAUSE ALL I WANTED, AS A FORMER CITY DWELLER, WAS TO LIVE FOREVER IN THIS RURAL REGION OF CANADA. ONE CAN IMAGINE THEN HOW ACUTE THESE FEELINGS WERE, IN THE 1860'S, WHEN THOMAS MCMURRAY SET ABOUT TO WRITE HIS BOOK. HOW WAS HE GOING TO PORTRAY THIS ALMOST INHOSPITABLE REGION TO A CLASS OF SETTLERS, READY TO SACRIFICE EVERYTHING, ON THE NEAR IMPOSSIBLE MISSION TO TURN FORESTS INTO ARABLE FARM LAND? HIS WORK AND OTHERS, WHO COMPOSED A VARIETY OF SETTLER GUIDES, THAT OOZED PROPAGANDA, ABOUT HOW GREAT IT WAS GOING TO BE, DID HELP POPULATE THE WILD AREAS OF THIS DISTRICT AND THIS PROVINCE. AS FOR THE SUFFERING ASSOCIATED WITH LIVING THIS KIND OF LIFE, THERE ARE FEW STATISTICS TO DEMONSTRATE FACTUALLY, JUST HOW ADVERSE IT WAS.....OR HOW MANY WERE AFFECTED BY THE MOST SEVERE STRAIN OF CABIN FEVER.
     WHEN WE LOOK AT THE MANY PHOTOGRAPHS OF AUTUMN SCENES, AS OFFERED TO US NOW, BY FRED SCHULZ, IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO BELIEVE THAT ANY ONE WOULD VIEW THESE AS THREATENING IMAGES.....OR SEE THEM AS NEGATIVE HARBINGERS; THE SPREADING INFECTION OF FEAR AND LOATHING. YET IT IS PART OF OUR HISTORY AND CULTURE AS A RURAL POPULATION, TO HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY THESE FEARS OF ISOLATION AMIDST AN UNFORGIVING NATURE, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, BEING REGALED INTERNATIONALLY, AS A RESTORATIVE PLACE ON EARTH....EVEN SURPASSING THOREAU'S WALDEN POND. IT IS AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THESE OPINIONS, WHEN THE SEASONAL RESIDENT DECIDES TO LIVE PERMANENTLY IN PARADISE, THAT OUR NEW CHAPTER GETS ITS UNDERTOW OF VARYING EXPERIENCES. HOW MANY FOLKS HAVE YOU KNOWN, WHO HAVE MOVED TO MUSKOKA ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT PARADISE IS A LIMITLESS ADVENTURE.....WITHOUT HAVING HAD ANY SERIOUS EXPERIENCE DEALING WITH THE WINTER SEASON? HOW MANY URBANITES HAVE HAD TO LEAVE PARADISE PREMATURELY, BECAUSE THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE PRIVATIONS CAN BE, LIVING IN A STILL SPARSELY POPULATED REGION? IT'S THE STUFF WE MUSKOKANS CRAFT INTO OUR OWN URBAN LEGENDS.....ABOUT THE FOLLY OF CITY-DWELLERS, TRYING THEIR HAND AT MODERN DAY HOMESTEADING. THERE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSES. VAN NEWELL, A WELL KNOWN MUSKOKA WRITER, WHO I HAVE PARTNERED WITH PREVIOUSLY, ON WRITING PROJECTS, WAS ABLE TO LEAVE THE CITY FOR THE OUT-BACK VERY SUCCESSFULLY, AS A CONTEMPORARY HOMESTEADER; WHERE HE STILL DWELLS AFTER A QUARTER CENTURY, AS THEY SAY, "ROUGHING IT!" BUT FOR EVERY SUCCESSFUL HOMESTEADER, THERE ARE A HUNDRED THAT FAIL. THE AVERAGES WERE A LITTLE BETTER IN THE 1860'S THAN TODAY, BECAUSE THE FIRST SETTLERS HAD FEW ALTERNATIVES AFTER ARRIVING HERE, WITH THEIR MODEST MEANS. TODAY THE FAILED SETTLER HEADS BACK TO THE CITY AND SEEKS OUT STEADY EMPLOYMENT.
     HOW DO YOU VIEW NATURE? A PRETTY PICTURE? OR COULD YOU BE ISOLATED IN THE BUSH, AND BE CONTENTED WITH THE COMPANY OF WILD CRITTERS, TREES, CREEKS, AND LOTS OF SKY? LIVING OFF-GRID? NATURE CAN BE A BEST FRIEND OR WORST ENEMY.
      I HAVE LIVED BOTH AS A LOVER OF NATURE, AND ONE WHO IS FEARFUL OF ISOLATION. I WOULD NOT HAVE MADE A SUCCESSFUL PIONEER. I FEEL BAD ABOUT THIS FACT. IT'S THE REASON I TAKE MY HAT OFF TO VAN NEWELL FOR STICKING IT OUT FOR ALL THESE YEARS.
     THANKS FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. IT IS BEAUTIFUL OUT THERE NONE THE LESS, AND I THANK FRED SCHULZ HEARTILY FOR HIS OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPHS.

THOSE VILLAGES AND HAMLETS AT THE CROSSROADS MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTEN

Steam and Pulleys – History comes alive at a number of the fall fairs within the area bringing back childhood memories of early methods of farming the small family farm.   Here, a Waterloo Steam Engine powers a 1920 Birdsell Clover / Alfalfa Huller Threshing Machine manufactured in South Bend Indiana – Circa 1920 and sold by the Allis Chalmers Farm Equipment Company in Toronto.  The demonstration took place at the Coldwater Fair on Saturday afternoon. (Photo By Fred Schulz)

THAT WONDERFUL SENSE OF BELONGING TO A HOME REGION - THE HAMLETS OF ONCE, SOME LOST EXCEPT IN NAME

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT WAS NECESSARY BUT THE LEGISLATION HAD AN UNDERTOW WITH IT



     "WITH THE COMING OF WINTER I THOUGHT THE LIFE OF A FARMER MIGHT LOSE SOMETHING OF ITS CHARM. SO MUCH INTEREST LIES IN THE GROWTH NOT ONLY OF THE CROPS, BUT OF TREES, VINES, FLOWERS, SENTIMENTS AND EMOTIONS. IN THE SUMMER THE WORLD IS BUSY, CONCERNED WITH MANY THINGS AND FULL OF GOSSIP; IN THE WINTER I ANTICIPATED A CESSATION OF MANY ACTIVE INTERESTS AND ENTHUSIASMS. I LOOKED FORWARD TO HAVING TIME FOR MY BOOKS AND FOR QUIET CONTEMPLATION OF LIFE AROUND ME. SUMMER INDEED IS FOR ACTIVITY. BUT WHEN WINTER REALLY CAME, EVERY DAY I DISCOVERED SOME NEW WORK TO DO, OR SOME NEW ADVENTURE TO ENJOY. IT IS SURPRISING HOW MANY THINGS HAPPEN ON A SMALL FARM." (DAVID GRAYSON, "ADVENTURES IN CONTENTMENT")
     FROM THE EARLIEST SETTLERS, COURAGEOUS ENOUGH TO BREAK TRAIL INTO THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND, THERE WAS AN INTEREST IN NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT. EVEN THEN, A CLOSE NEIGHBOR COULD BE A COUPLE OF MILES OFF. EVENTUAL INHABITATION CLUSTERS WARRANTED CONSIDERATION FOR HAMLET POST OFFICES. TRANSPORTATION AROUND THE REGION WAS BY EITHER FOOT, SNOWSHOES, CART OR SLEIGH, PULLED BY OXEN OR HORSES. LENGTHY TRIPS WERE CONSIDERED NOT ONLY PRECARIOUSLY DIFFICULT, BUT POTENTIALLY DEADLY, DUE TO NATURAL OBSTACLES AND THE CREATURES OF THE FOREST FROM RATTLESNAKES TO A LARGE BEAR AND WOLF POPULATION. POINT IS, AS WE THINK NOTHING OF DRIVING FROM MUSKOKA TO TORONTO TO ATTEND A HOCKEY OR BASEBALL GAME, OR JUST A NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN, FOR THE HOMESTEADER, A TEN MILE TRIP TO A MAJOR SETTLEMENT, REQUIRED A LOT OF RESOURCES AND SAVVY TO PULL OFF, WITHOUT CASUALTY. SO NEIGHBORHOODS ESTABLISHED AT SIGNIFICANT CROSSROADS, DEVELOPED FAIRLY QUICKLY IN THE OUT-BACK, AWAY FROM THE LARGER SETTLEMENTS IN MUSKOKA, SUCH AS GRAVENHURST, BRACEBRIDGE AND HUNTSVILLE. THEY WEREN'T NECESSARILY SELF-SUPPORTING HAMLETS BUT THEY GOT THE JOB DOWN FOR BASIC NECESSITIES, UNTIL TRIPS TO THE LARGER CENTRES COULD BE UNDERTAKEN.
     THEY WERE CONSIDERED HAMLETS ACCORDING TO GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS, AND GUIDELINES, BUT THEY WERE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO THOSE WHO DWELLED IN THE VICINITY. THERE MOST LIKELY WAS A SMALL GENERAL STORE, A LIVERY, BLACKSMITH SHOP, AND POSSIBLY EVEN A WOODWORKERS SHOP, WHERE SHINGLES MIGHT BE CRAFTED ALONGSIDE HOUSEHOLD FURNISHINGS AND EVEN ROUGH BOXES IN CASE OF A DEATH IN THE SETTLEMENT. IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY TO FIND A LOCAL "SCHOOLED" UNDERTAKER, A PHARMACY OR DOCTOR'S OFFICE IN THESE TINY ENCAMPMENTS, BUT THERE WOULD SOON SPRING UP PLACES OF WORSHIP, A ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE, AND FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION BUILDINGS. IT WAS VERY LIKELY, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ORANGE LODGE HALL ERECTED SOMEWHERE IN THIS CLUSTER OF PIONEER BUILDINGS.
     SO IT WAS THE CASE, THAT SETTLERS TOOK THEIR MONTHLY TRIPS TO THE LARGER CENTRES IN THE REGION, TO ACQUIRE ITEMS THEY COULDN'T PURCHASE, TO THEIR LIKING, LOCALLY; AND FOR THE LITTLE MONEY THEY HAD FOR PURCHASING ANYTHING AT ALL, IN THESE HAMLETS AND VILLAGES. ONE HAD TO BE FRUGAL. OF COURSE YOU KNOW THIS STUFF WITHOUT ME STICKING MY OAR IN, BUT IT'S FORCE OF HABIT. BUT GRADUALLY, THE LARGE CENTRES AND THE IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION, AND RELATED LINKS, DECREASED THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE TINY CROSS-ROADS SETTLEMENTS. WHEN THE LOCAL ECONOMY FALTERED, THERE WAS STILL A STALWART LOYALTY TO THE HOME NEIGHBORHOOD, WHERE GENERATIONS OF MUSKOKANS WERE RAISED; IN EVIDENCE ON THE DEEPLY INSCRIBED, MOSS-LADEN  FAMILY TOMBSTONES, TUCKED ALONG PICTURESQUE ROWS, IN SHADED CHURCH-YARDS. SOME OF THOSE PIONEER NAMES ARE STILL CONNECTED TO THESE COMMUNITIES. I AM THINKING ABOUT THE FOLKS AT THE RYDE COMMUNITY CENTRE, (THE FORMER PUBLIC SCHOOL, IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF GRAVENHURST) WHO ARE DOING SO MUCH TO KEEP THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD VIBRANT AND FORWARD THINKING, AND THE HALL, A REVITALIZED, CENTRAL MEETING PLACE FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS AND FRIENDS. THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL HERITAGE EVENT IN THE SPRING OF 2014 IN RYDE, TO RECOGNIZE THOSE AMAZING PIONEER ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND ALL THE AREA TOGETHERNESS, ENJOYED EVER SINCE. FRED SCHULZ AND I HOPE TO BE A PART OF THIS IMPORTANT AREA MILESTONE. WE'LL LET YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THE EVENT IN THE COMING MONTHS.
      BY TIME THE PROVINCE INTERVENED WITH THE SWELL IDEA OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, IN THE LATE 1960'S, IT WAS ALREADY AN HISTORICAL REALITY, THAT THESE HAMLETS AND VILLAGES WERE FAST BECOMING "NAME-ONLY" PLACES ON OLD MAPS, AND AS MANY OF THE ORIGINAL FAMILIES PASSED AWAY, AND OTHERWISE LEFT THE NEIGHBORHOODS, MOST RESIDENTS CAME TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES AS BEING FROM A RURAL ROUTE IN BRACEBRIDGE, GRAVENHURST, OR HUNTSVILLE INSTEAD. THAT'S WHAT THE POST OFFICE OPTED FOR IN THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OVERHAUL.  OBVIOUSLY, THE RURAL INTEGRITY HAS BEEN MAINTAINED LONGER IN THE TOWNSHIPS OF GEORGIAN BAY, MUSKOKA LAKES AND LAKE OF BAYS, DUE TO THE VILLAGE STATUS OF THEIR MAIN BUSINESS CENTRES; DWIGHT AND BAYSVILLE IN LAKE OF BAYS; PORT CARLING AND BALA IN MUSKOKA LAKES; AND PORT SEVERN AND MACTIER IN TOWNSHIP OF GEORGIAN BAY. THE ADVENT OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, OPPOSED VEHEMENTLY BY MANY OF THESE RURAL DWELLERS, CREATED SIX LARGE MEMBER MUNICIPALITIES, TAKING AWAY WARD, VILLAGE AND HAMLET COUNCILS. THE 1970'S PROFOUNDLY CHANGED THE CHRONICLE OF THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA, AS IT HAD BEGUN IN THE LATE 1850'S. REGIONAL GOVERNANCE REALLY ONLY ACCELERATED WHAT WAS HAPPENING ANY WAY, YEAR BY YEAR, AS MORE PEOPLE WERE MOVING TO THE MAJOR TOWNS, FOR ECONOMIC REASONS.
    WHEN OUR FAMILY ARRIVED IN MUSKOKA, IN THE WINTER OF 1966, A NEW TREND WAS COMMENCING IN THE REGION, DUE TO THE ANTICIPATION OF NEW GOVERNANCE RULES AND TAXATION COMING. MY FATHER ED, WAS IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY, AS A LUMBER SALESMAN, AND HE KNEW HUNDREDS OF CUSTOMERS WELL INTO THE 1970'S, WHO WERE LEAVING THE URBAN BOUNDARIES OF THE MAJOR TOWNS, IN A BID TO ESCAPE THE INCREASING TOLL OF PROPERTY TAXES. THERE ARE AREAS OF THESE TOWNS, THAT SHOW THIS MIGRATION, BACK TO RURAL LIVING, TO AVOID BEING FORCED TO PAY A LEVY FOR SEWER AND WATER HOOKUPS. IT IS STILL AN ISSUE TO THIS DAY, AND WHENEVER THE MATTER OF EXTENDING TAXATION FOR THESE SERVICES MUSKOKA WIDE, TO BE INCLUSIVE WHETHER YOU ARE USING A WELL OR A SEPTIC BED, THE EMBERS OF REBELLION GLOW RED ONCE AGAIN. THE MOVEMENT AWAY FROM URBAN AREA SERVICES AND TAXATION, IS STILL AN INCENTIVE FOR RURAL LIVING, ALTHOUGH TRANSPORTATION COSTS THESE DAYS, HAVE SOMEWHAT INHIBITED MORE MIGRATION TO THE HINTERLAND.
    AS I WROTE ABOUT IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, THE HINTERLAND IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN FOR FLEDGLING MUSKOKANS, TAKING UP THE HOMESTEAD CHALLENGE, FROM THE 1850'S, AND TO AN ACCELERATED LEVEL, WHEN THE FREE LAND GRANT AND HOMESTEAD ACT WAS INITIATED IN THE LATE 1860'S, BASED ON A FEDERAL PLAN TO FILL UP A COUNTRY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.......FIRSTLY TO JUSTIFY HAVING SO MUCH LAND UNDER BRITISH CONTROL, (AS THE AMERICANS BEGAN LOOKING NORTHWARD), AND SECONDLY, TO JUSTIFY THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY. THE FEDERAL GOVERMENT WITH THE PROVINCE'S APPROVAL, BEGAN A RECRUITMENT PROGRAM, TO ATTRACT THOUSANDS OF IMMIGRANTS, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS GARDEN OF EDEN. OF COURSE, THE PROMISES MADE TO THESE FOLKS DIDN'T QUITE MEASURE UP, AND THIS WAS ONLY DISCOVERED, WHEN THE ILL PREPARED SETTLERS, FROM THE POOREST NEIGHBORHOODS OF EUROPEAN CITIES, ARRIVED IN A HARSH ENVIRONS, SHORT OF SUPPLIES AND GENERALLY BROKE. SO IT WAS THE GOOD GRACES OF THESE SHARING PLACES, THE CROSSROADS HAMLETS, THAT SAVED THE LIVES OF THESE BEATEN-DOWN HOMESTEADERS, WHO DID, OF COURSE, FIND STRENGTH IN NUMBERS. WHILE THESE HAMLET AND VILLAGE NAMES TODAY HAVE BEEN PRESERVED BY THE MUNICIPALITIES, ON THE FAMILIAR BLUE AND WHITE HIGHWAY SIGNS, THEY CERTAINLY AREN'T AFFORDED THE SAME RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF ONCE. POSTAL CANCELLATION COLLECTORS, LIKE TO POSSESS THESE MARKERS OF TIMES' PAST, WHEN THE STAMP AT THE LOCAL POST OUTLET, IN A GENERAL STORE, PROUDLY DISPLAYED THAT PARTICULAR DOT ON THE MAP; A STAMP AND CANCELLATION THAT MIGHT TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD, REPRESENTING THAT PLACE IN ONTARIO, AND CANADA. DID YOU KNOW HEKKLA WAS REGISTERED BY ITS SETTLERS AFTER THE TITLE OF A VOLCANO IN ICELAND? I'M NOT SURE IF THEY WERE RELATING LIFE IN NORTH MUSKOKA AS BEING A PARALLEL TO LIVING IN CONSTANT FEAR OF A VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN ICELAND. MAYBE SO!
     GRADUALLY THESE SMALL COMMUNITIES LOST THEIR LUSTER, AND FAMILY TRADITION WAS NOT ENOUGH TO COMPEL OFFSPRING TO REMAIN WHERE THERE WERE NO AVAILABLE JOBS, AND THUS NO FUTURE, EXCEPT THE CEASELESS TRAVEL TO BIGGER CENTRES FOR BASIC NEEDS. SOON THE POST OFFICE OUTLETS WERE CLOSED, AND THE POSTAL CANCELLATION STAMPS SHELVED, OR RETURNED TO THE FEDERAL AUTHORITY, AND THE STORES THEMSELVES WERE CLOSED FOREVER, THAT ONCE WERE GATHERING PLACES. THE KILWORTHY STORE COMES TO MIND, AS I'M SURE FRED SCHULZ IS THINKING ABOUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, AS HE READS TODAY'S BLOG. I'M PRETTY SURE HE'D BE INTERESTED IN RE-OPENING THE OLD STORE THAT HIS FAMILY USED TO OPERATE, EXCEPT FOR ONE STINGING REALITY. IT WOULD MOST LIKELY MEET THE SAME FATE, AS THERE ARE  NOT ENOUGH CUSTOMERS TO MAKE IT A GOING CONCERN. IT WOULDN'T BE FINANCIALLY VIABLE TO COMPETE AGAINST THE MEGA GROCERY STORES ONLY A SHORT DRIVE NORTH, OR SOUTH, AND SENTIMENTALITY IS A WEAK FOUNDATION ON WHICH TO BUILD A BUSINESS. NONE THE LESS, IT IS KIND OF SAD, THAT OUR CHILDREN TODAY, WON'T EXPERIENCE WHAT OUR RURAL TRADITIONS WERE, FROM THE LATE 1850'S. THERE WAS A LOT OF SOCIAL/CULTURAL HERITAGE GENERATING FROM THOSE OLD HAMLET GENERAL STORES.....THAT IS HARD TO EXPLAIN REALLY, BECAUSE IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT HAD TO BE EXPERIENCED. LIKE THE SIGHT OF A MASSIVE  WHEEL OF CHEDDAR CHEESE BEING SLICED IN FRONT OF YOU, TO FILL A CUSTOMER'S ORDER. CHRISTMAS TIME. I WANT FRED TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR US ALL, ABOUT HIS CHRISTMAS MEMORIES AT THE KILWORTHY STORE, BACK IN HIS GROWING-UP ERA. I'VE GOT LOTS OF WHITE SPACE TO FILL, AND WE WANT OLD PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE BUILDING. WE'LL TAKE UP A PETITION TO GET HIM WORKING ON THIS, IN TIME FOR OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BLOG-SPECIAL, WHERE WE ALL GATHER AT HEARTHSIDE,  TO EXCHANGE STORIES ABOUT OUR MEMORIES OF MUSKOKA WINTERS OF THE PAST.
     VERY FEW CUSTOMERS WERE IN A HURRY TO LEAVE THE GENERAL STORE, IN THOSE HALCYON DAYS OF SIMPLE MERCHANDIZING. I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE MYSELF TO CATCH THE FINAL DAYS OF THOSE MOM AND POP INDUSTRIES, THAT MADE THOSE HAMLETS SO ENDEARING, WITH THEIR UNIQUE SOCIAL TRADITIONS, IN THE RURAL CHARACTER. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE MACTIER RED AND WHITE STORE, AND THE DORSET GENERAL STORE.
   SUZANNE GREW UP IN THE VILLAGE OF WINDERMERE, ON LAKE MUSKOKA, AND KNOWS ALL ABOUT THE TRUE COMFORTS OF BOTH RURAL LIVING, AND THE NEIGHBORLINESS OF VILLAGE LIFE. WE TALK ABOUT IT FREQUENTLY, AND WE OFTEN THINK HOW NEAT IT WOULD BE TO RETURN, AND SET UP OUR OWN RETIREMENT NEST. YET THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER, IS THAT WHEN, ALMOST A DECADE AGO, WE HAD A CHANCE TO BUY HER FAMILY'S HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE, AFTER HER FATHER DIED, WE BOTH DECIDED RATHER QUICKLY, THAT WITH EMPLOYMENT CIRCUMSTANCES, AND A YOUNG FAMILY, THAT IT WOULD HAVE PUT TOO MUCH STRAIN ON US.....TAKING AWAY ANY ENJOYMENT WE MIGHT GAIN FROM LIVING IN PARADISE. THE SAME HOLDS TODAY. WE CAN FANTASIZE ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES, BUT HONESTLY, RURAL LIVING DOESN'T SUIT US ANY MORE. WE FEEL KIND OF BAD ABOUT THIS, BUT IT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING EITHER. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS LIVING JUST LIKE US.....WHO WOULD LIKE A LESS URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD TO RAISE THEIR FAMILIES, BUT SIMPLY CAN'T AFFORD THE LUXURY FOR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS.
     THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, WAS AN ADMINISTRATIVE BLOW TO THE LAST BREATHS FOR MANY OF THESE HAMLETS, TO EVER GROW INTO MORE IMPORTANT COMMUNITIES. IT CENTRALIZED REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, AND PULLED MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE TO EITHER A MAJOR TOWN OR VILLAGE. IN MUSKOKA LAKES, PORT CARLING BECAME THE LOCATION FOR THE MUNICIPAL OFFICES; PORT SEVERN WAS THE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE FOR GEORGIAN BAY, AND DWIGHT BECAME THE MUNICIPAL HEADQUARTERS IN LAKE OF BAYS.
     AS HISTORIANS, AND MUSKOKANS GENERALLY, WE OWE A LOT OF RESPECT TO THESE PIONEER SETTLEMENTS, AND THE ROLE THEY PLAYED GETTING US FROM PIONEER STATUS, TO THE MODERN ERA. WHILE MOST TRAVELLERS OF OUR ROADWAYS TODAY, ARE AWARE OF THESE COMMUNITY NAMES, FROM HAVING SEEN THEM THOUSANDS OF TIMES, THROUGH ALL KINDS OF WEATHER AND THE FOUR SEASONS, VERY FEW PAUSE LONG ENOUGH, TO GIVE THEM MORE THAN A PASSING GLANCE AND MODEST CONSIDERATION, MORE SO AS A MARKER OF MILES TRAVELLED, AND MILES YET TO COMMUTE. WHEN SUZANNE AND I, ARE OUT FOR A DRIVE, AS I'M SURE IS THE CASE FOR PHOTOGRAPHER FRED SCHULZ, WE ALWAYS MAKE COMMENT ABOUT THE HAMLETS OF ONCE, WE USED TO KNOW, AND STOP TO VISIT. HOW MANY TODAY REMEMBER HAMLETS SUCH AS GERMANIA, COOPER'S FALLS, BARKWAY, UFFORD, ULLSWATER, DEE BANK, FOOTE'S BAY, UFFINGTON, KILWORTHY, ROSSEAU FALLS, PURBROOK, FRASERBURG, FALKENBURG, BEATRICE, LEWISHAM OR MONSELL? THE FOLKS WHO STILL LIVE THERE KNOW ITS HERITAGE VALUE, BUT DO YOU? I AM ADAMENT THAT REGIONAL HISTORY SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS, SO THAT THESE IMPORTANT CROSSROADS FROM OUR PAST AREN'T FORGOTTEN, OR SWALLOWED BY THE PROGRESSIVE AND URBANIZING TRENDS HEADED OUR WAY IN THE NEXT QUARTER CENTURY.
     MY FRIEND FRED SCHULZ, IS AN AUTUMN-SEASON CELEBRANT, AND HAS BEEN CRUISING THE BACKROADS OF OUR REGION, AND BEYOND, LOOKING TO CAPTURE SCENES OF OUR RURAL PAST.....STILL OPERATING HALE AND HARDY INTO THIS NEW CENTURY. I HAVE ENCOURAGED HIM TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF WHAT APPEALS TO HIM, WHEREVER AND WHENEVER HE COMES UPON SOMETHING MEMORABLE, TRADITIONAL, SENTIMENTAL, NATURALLY SPECTACULAR, OR REMINISCENT OF WHAT HE VALUES AS A COUNTRY INSTITUTION.....A REGIONAL TREASURE, A MOMENT FROM THE PAST, CAPTURED IN THE PRESENT TENSE. ALTHOUGH THIS IS PRIMARILY A MUSKOKA THEMED BLOG, WITH A HERITAGE BANNER, MUSKOKA DIDN'T FUNCTION ECONOMICALLY, SOCIALLY OR CULTURALLY, WITHOUT INFLUENCES FROM OUR NEIGHBOR REGIONS, IN THIS PART OF THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. WE WERE OF COURSE, GREATLY INFLUENCED BY WHAT WAS HAPPENING SOUTH OF THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, AND WE WERE VERY DEPENDENT ON THE SERVICES AVAILABLE IN ORILLIA AND BARRIE, EVEN FROM THE 1850'S. SO I'M DELIGHTED BY THE INCLUSION OF COUNTRYSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS, FROM OUR BORDER AREAS, OF THIS DISTRICT, BECAUSE IN ESSENCE, WE WERE ALL IN THE SAME PROVERBIAL BOAT BACK THEN, TRYING TO SURVIVE AGAINST GREAT ODDS. IN MANY WAYS, THE HISTORIC LINKS BETWEEN REGIONS, IN TERMS OF SHARING ECONOMICS, IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TODAY, AS WE WILL FIND OUT INCREASINGLY, AS THE HUGE GROWTH SPURTS BEING EXPERIENCED BY BOTH BARRIE AND ORILLIA AFFECT OUR OWN DISTRICT. IT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING STATISTIC TO KNOW TODAY, JUST HOW MANY MUSKOKANS TRAVEL SOUTH DAILY, TO BOTH THESE URBAN AREAS, TO ATTEND THEIR PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT.
     AS WE CARRY-ON THIS BLOG PROFILE OF MUSKOKA, OVER THE FOUR SEASONS, EXPECT TO FIND FRED SCHULZ PHOTO-STUDIES THAT REACH OUT OF THE DISTRICT, COVERING SUCH EVENTS AS THE FARM HARVEST, ALONG WITH SEASONAL FLICKS OF PASSING TRAINS, PARADES, FESTIVALS, CULTURAL EVENTS, LANDSCAPES IN SUNNY WEATHER, STORMSCAPES AS THEY PASS OVER OUR PINE WOODLANDS. WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT, IS THAT FRED WILL CHALLENGE HIMSELF TO REPRESENT THE REGION OF ONTARIO HE KNOWS BEST, AND HAS TRAVELLED THROUGH FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE, NOW FOCUSING FROM EXPERIENCE AND INSTINCT, THROUGH A CAMERA LENS. SO GET READY FOR SOME SURPRISES. WE'VE MADE A GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT, NOT TO TELL THE OTHER ONE, WHAT'S UP......TO MAKE THIS A SPONTANEOUS OFFERING TO OUR READERS, AS A SORT OF LATE CHALLENGE IN BOTH OUR PROFESSIONAL LIVES; AND OF COURSE, FOR ONCE, TO UNFETTER OURSELVES FROM ANY STRICT PROTOCOLS, OTHER THAN TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING INTERESTING TO SEE AND READ EVERY DAY OF THE ROLLING YEAR.
     THANKS SO MUCH FOR VISITING WITH US TWO WILD AND CRAZY CHAPS TODAY. LOTS MORE COMING.

URBAN VERSUS RURAL, AND THE PRESSURES COMING DOWN THE PIKE TO CHANGE FOREVER

Ramona United Church – 1908   Union Cemetery – 1892

 

Historic Church & Cemetery near Macarthur Side Road and Fair Grounds Road on the northern boundary of Ramara Township and The Town of Gravenhurst was perfectly framed with maples in brilliant fall colours on Sunday afternoon.   The winds  and rain on Monday will have rapidly changed the landscape and beautiful fall colours we’ve enjoyed over the past few days. (Photo By Fred Schulz)

A TURN AWAY FROM RURAL LIVING
 - WHERE IT ALL BEGAN BEING DISMISSED AS AN IRRITATING, NEEDY INLAW


     "HERE HOARY ROCKS THAT COUNTLESS AGES PAST,  HAVE BRAV'D THE FORCE OF WINTER'S WILDEST BLAST, AND  SCORCHING HEAT OF SUMMER'S FIERCEST RAY; THESE RUGGED,  BEETLING CRAGS OF GRANITE GRAY, WITH AWFUL MAJESTY, SUBLIMELY GRAND, IN ALL THEIR NATIVE MOSS-CLAD GLORY STAND. BEHOLD THE MAPLE GROVES IN BRIGHT ARRAY, THEIR GORGEOUS TINTS AND BRILLIANT HUES DISPLAY, AMONG THEIR SHORT LIV'D FADING GLORIES SEE;  EMBLEM OF CONSISTENCY, THE HEMLOCK TREE, THAT EVER GREEN ITS SPREADING BRANCHES SHOW, ALIKE IN SUMMER'S SULTRY HEAT AND WINTER'S DRIFTING SNOW." THOMAS MCMURRAY, FROM HIS 1870'S BOOK, "MUSKOKA AND PARRY SOUND." I WANTED TO SEE THIS POEM IN REAL TERMS, AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID THIS AFTERNOON, ON SUCH A BRIGHT AND CHEERFUL AUTUMN WEDNESDAY.
     THERE ARE SOME FOOLISH POLITICIANS LOCALLY, ME THINKS, WHO HAVE TAKEN IT ENTIRELY UPON THEMSELVES, QUITE PREMATURELY I MIGHT ADD, TO IMPOSE AN URBANIZING FUTURE-AGENDA, UPON A CHARMING RURAL DISTRICT IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. I HAVE RUN INTO LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS WHO ARE OF THE URBAN ILK, BELIEVING THAT FOR MUSKOKA TO HAVE A PROSPEROUS FUTURE, IT MUST HAVE MUCH MORE URBAN INVESTMENT AND THE KIND OF PROGRESS COMMON OF ANY CITYDOM. SPRAWL IS THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND. MEASURED AND COMPATIBLE EXPANSION ALONE, IS QUITE TOLERABLE, EVEN  FOR A RURAL-LOVER LIKE ME. WE REALLY DON'T HAVE MUCH CHOICE, AS TORONTO'S SPRAWL AND POPULATION GROWS, AND THE URBAN BOUNDARY EXPANDS NORTHWARD EVERMORE, MEASURABLY EACH YEAR. LOOK AT THE NEW GROWTH SPURT IN BARRIE AND ORILLIA. YET I SENSE WITH MORE AND MORE LOCAL OFFICIALS THESE DAYS, A GROWING IMPATIENCE TO "BRING IT ON," AND "WE'LL ACCOMMODATE YOUR EVERY NEED!" I'M SCARED OF THE ECONOMIC BOOM THAT IS COMING, THAT WILL TEST THE RESOLVE OF THE POPULATION TO STAY RURAL IN CHARACTER. IF THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT.
     I THINK THERE IS ALSO IMPATIENCE GROWING, THESE DAYS, WITH THE WANTS AND NEEDS OF THOSE WARDS OUTSIDE THE URBAN BOUNDARY. TREATED IN RESPONSE,  AS IF THEY ARE JUST THE ANNOYING IN-LAWS, THE TOWNS INHERITED, UNDER THE TERMS OF REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, BACK IN THE EARLY 70'S. THEY KEEP ASKING FOR STUFF. IMAGINE THAT? THERE WAS A DAY, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE RURAL NEIGHBORHOODS HAD A LOT OF SWAY WITH DECISION MAKING. NOW IT'S THE URBAN AREAS CALLING THE SHOTS.
     OBVIOUSLY THE MAJOR TOWNS AND SIGNIFICANT VILLAGES, ARE MORE "NEEDY" FOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES, THAN THE MODERN DAY HOMESTEADERS STILL OCCUPYING THE OUT-BACK; IN FACT, STILL GETTING THEIR WATER FROM DUG OR DRILLED WELLS, AND HAVING SEPTIC BEDS TO HANDLE WASTE-WATER. THE FINANCIAL STRESSES OF SEWER AND WATER INSTALLATIONS HAVE, AT THE SAME TIME OF THIS PROGRESS, MADE THE URBAN ZONES TAX GUZZLERS, AND THESE SERVICES ARE BEING UPGRADED IN THE SMALLER COMMUNITIES AS WELL, TO HELP CURB POLLUTION ISSUES, AND THE ENVIRONMENT GENERALLY. BUT MORE AND MORE THESE DAYS, THE HINTERLAND IS ONLY THE SPARKLE IN THE EYES OF POLITICIANS, AND INVESTORS, SPECULATING THAT ONE DAY SOON, DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES WILL COMPROMISE MORE ACREAGE BEYOND THE PRESENT URBAN BOUNDARIES; GRADUALLY CHANGING THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF OUR REGION. MORE COMMERCIAL NODES, MORE RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS, MORE INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS ABROAD. LESS UNOBSTRUCTED COUNTRYSIDE, WOODLANDS, LAKESHORE, AND LOWLANDS.
     I LIVE IN AN URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD, THAT FORTUNATELY HAS A LOWLAND BUFFER, ACROSS THE ROAD, KNOWN AT "THE BOG." WHEN THE ORIGINAL SUBDIVISION PLAN WAS PRESENTED AND APPROVED, THE IMPORTANT LOWLAND, FILTERING WATER THAT DRAINS FROM THE URBAN AREA TARMAC, INTO MUSKOKA BAY (OF LAKE MUSKOKA) WAS INCLUDED AS OPEN SPACE. SEVERAL YEARS AGO THIS WAS CHALLENGED, BY A TOWN COUNCIL NEEDING QUICK MONEY, AND IT SHOCKED MANY OF US, JUST HOW FAST ENVIRONMENTAL WELL-BEING COULD BE DISMISSED, FOR A CASH DIVIDEND. THE IDEA WAS TO CREATE URBAN LOTS SO THAT MORE BUNGALOWS COULD BE BUILT, AT THE EXPENSE OF AN IMPORTANT TWENTY ACRES OF OPEN SPACE. IT WAS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE URBANIZING BULLDOZER MENTALITY, OF BRUTISHLY OVER-RIDING ENVIRONMENTAL COMMON SENSE, BECAUSE OF THIS CITY-BUILDING PLAN OF ATTACK. WHILE EVEN THE MOST ARDENT ENVIRONMENTALIST, APPRECIATES THE GROWTH RIGHTS OF ANY URBAN AREA, IT WAS HARD TO SWALLOW, THAT MANY OF THE COUNCILLORS VOTING ON THE PROPERTY SELL OFF, HADN'T EVEN SET FOOT ON THE PROPERTY THEY WERE ABOUT TO DESTROY FOR MORE HOUSING.....WHEN THERE WERE MANY OTHER PROPERTY OPTIONS TO CONSIDER.
     THE REAL FEAR MANY OF US HAD, WHO FOUGHT THE TOWN ON THIS ISSUE, WAS NOT ONLY THE PERCEIVED WEAKNESSES OF THAT PARTICULAR COUNCIL, BUT THE FACT THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS, OF GRAVENHURST, WHO HONESTLY, COULDN'T HAVE CARED LESS.....AND IF THERE HAD BEEN A REFERENDUM ON THE PROPOSED SELL-OFF, I'M POSITIVE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AT BEST, A FIFTY-FIFTY SPLIT. AMONGST THOSE IN FAVOR OF BULLDOZING OVER THE LOWLAND, WERE A LARGE NUMBER OF FOLKS LIVING IN GRAVENHURST, TEMPORARILY, WORKING LOCALLY BUT KNOWING THEY WOULD BE TRANSFERRED OUT OF THE AREA WITHIN A FEW YEARS. IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T DENY THEM THE RIGHT TO AN OPINION, ON THE MATTER, BUT IT'S MUCH LESS SIGNIFICANT TO ME, THAN IF THEY PLAN TO STAY FOR THE LONG HAUL. OTHER DANGEROUS VOTES IN FAVOR, OF A NEW SUBDIVISION ON THE BOG PROPERTY, MIGHT HAVE COME FROM A YOUNGER GENERATION, NOT WORRIED ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, OR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE, AND HAVING LITTLE INTEREST IN THIS RURAL-LIKE OPEN SPACE IN AN URBAN AREA. I FIRMLY BELIEVE IN RETROSPECT, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE LIKELY TO VOTE FOR URBANIZING DEVELOPMENT OUT OF APATHY. WHO CARES ABOUT WETLANDS? FRANKLY, SOME OF US, CLOSE TO THE FIGHT, RECOGNIZED EARLY-ON THAT WE COULD NOT COUNT ON OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, AND MUNICIPAL COMMITTEES, BECAUSE OUR ZONE WASN'T ON THEIR "MUST FIGHT FOR" LIST. WE WERE ON OUR OWN, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT, WE GOT SUPPORT FROM THE GRAVENHURST RATEPAYERS GROUP AND THE MUSKOKA BAY ASSOCIATION, WHICH SCARED THE BEEJEEBERS OUT OF COUNCILLORS WHO MISTAKENLY THOUGHT IT WAS A DONE DEAL.
     THE POINT OF TODAY'S BLOG, ABOUT MUSKOKA, IS THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH URBANIZING GOES ON HERE, AND HOW OUR POLITICIANS FAVOR THE MAJOR TOWNS, WHICH IS PRETTY HARD TO DENY THESE DAYS, OUR REGION IS STILL BY DEFINITION, A RURAL AREA.....A HINTERLAND.....COTTAGE COUNTRY. WHAT HAS HAPPENED OVER THE DECADES HOWEVER, IS THAT THIS LACK OF RESPECT FOR OUR ROOTS, WHICH WAS SEEDED BY THE FREE LAND GRANT AND HOMESTEADS ACT, OF THE LATE 1860'S, HAS I THINK, CORRUPTED HOW THE CITIZENRY GENERALLY, THINKS ABOUT THE RURAL ZONES....EVEN HOW THOSE WHO LIVE RURALLY LOOK AT THEIR OWN SITUATIONS, AND THE RESPECT THEY GET FROM THE PARENT MUNICIPALITY. DO THEY CONSIDER THEMSELVES SECOND CLASS CITIZENS BECAUSE THEY DON'T LIVE IN THE URBAN-DEFINED NEIGHBORHOODS, OF OUR TOWNS ON THE WAY TO CITYDOM? THIS ISN'T A TREND THAT BEGAN RECENTLY. IT HAS BEEN GROWING IN ATTITUDE OVER MANY DECADES.....MORE THAN A CENTURY IN FACT, AND RURAL POLITICIANS HAVE HAD TO FIGHT LONG AND HARD FOR RECOGNITION OF LOCAL NEEDS. I READ ABOUT IT FREQUENTLY IN THE LOCAL MEDIA, AND FROM MY DAY AS EDITOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE HERALD-GAZETTE, SO MUCH HAS CHANGED IN THIS REGARD; THE RURAL AREAS SEEM NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN ACREAGE-IN-HOLDING, UNTIL THE URBAN LIMITS EXPAND IN THAT PARTICULAR DIRECTION.
     FOR EXAMPLE, IN 1979, WHEN I JOINED THE COMMUNITY PRESS, WITH MUSKOKA PUBLICATIONS, WORKING FIRST WITH THE GEORGIAN BAY-MUSKOKA LAKES BEACON, AND THEN THE HERALD-GAZETTE, IT WAS IMPRESSED ON ME WHOLE-HEARTEDLY, THAT OUR JOB WAS TO MAINTAIN OUR COUNTRY CORRESPONDENTS. IT REPRESENTED THE MOST SIGNIFICANT REPETITIVE ACT OF OUR NEWSPAPER, TO SEEK OUT AND PUBLISH THESE WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWS CONTRIBUTORS, BECAUSE IT WAS WHAT MAINTAINED OUR CIRCULATION AS A NEWSPAPER. THESE LITTLE HAMLETS COULDN'T AFFORD THEIR OWN NEWSPAPERS OR EVEN NEWSLETTERS, SO WE GAVE THEM COLUMN SPACE EACH WEEK, TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS AND FORMER NEIGHBORS BY SUBSCRIPTION TO OUR NEWSPAPER. THE FUNNY THING ABOUT THIS, WHICH I'M SURE WOULD SEEM RIDICULOUS TO THE THIRTY-SOMETHINGS, SEEMINGLY MAKING CORPORATE MEDIA POLICY THESE DAYS, IS THAT A MAJORITY OF OUR READERS WERE CONSUMING THESE COUNTRY COLUMNS AS PART OF THEIR WEEKLY READING PLEASURE. NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY LIVED IN THOSE COMMUNITIES, OR HAD KIN-FOLK THERE. THEY MAY HAVE KNOWN THE PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THESE COLUMNS, OR MOST LIKELY, THEY TOOK A GENUINE INTEREST IN WHAT WAS GOING ON IN, FOR EXAMPLE, BENT RIVER, UTTERSON WEST ROAD, PORT CARLING, MILFORD BAY, PORT SYDNEY, BARKWAY AND WINDERMERE. THERE WERE MANY MORE.
    I FOUND OUT, AS A ROOKIE EDITOR, THAT KILLING THESE COLUMNS SO THAT WE COULD GET BETTER EDITORIAL MATERIAL PUBLISHED, FROM OUR OWN NEWS STAFF, WAS ALSO A SORT OF PREAMBLE DEATH KNELL....AS WE STARTED TO LOSE OUR SUBSCRIBERS, LIKE A BALDING MAN CHECKING OUT THE COMB EVERY MORNING. I HAD A CHANCE TO RESEARCH THIS "COUNTRY CORRESPONDENT" MANIFESTATION, WHILE IN THE MIDST OF THE MODERNIST REVOLUTION TURMOIL. UPDATING AND BECOMING A CONTEMPORARY PUBLICATION, WITHOUT GOING BROKE AT THE SAME TIME. I LEARNED ABOUT THE SOCIAL / CULTURAL RELEVANCE OF HAVING THESE RURAL AREAS REPRESENTED, IN PRINT EACH AND EVERY EDITION. I UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORANCE OF PUBLISHING THE WOMENS' INSTITUTE REPORTS, 4-H OVERVIEWS, UPDATES FROM THE CHURCHES, AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEES, HORTICULTURAL MEETINGS, AND OH SO MANY MORE. THESE INCLUSIONS WERE THE MEAT ON THE NEWSPAPER'S BONES. I JUST HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BECOME CONTEMPORARY AND RESPONSIVE TO THE MODERN DEMANDS OF A RURAL NEWSPAPER, WITHOUT LOSING THE TRUE "RURAL" CHARACTER. I DID IT FOR TEN YEARS AND I'M PROUD TO SAY, I KEPT UP MOST OF MY COUNTRY WRITERS, AND WAS ABLE TO BRIDGE THE DEMANDS OF URBAN AND RURAL READERS WITH NEWS AND FEATURE COPY.
     TODAY, WELL, THE MEDIA DOESN'T IMPRESS ME WHATSOEVER, HAVING LOST THIS UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT MUSKOKA NEEDS IN A "LOCAL" PUBLICATION. THE RURAL NATURE OF OUR REGION JUST ISN'T REFLECTED IN THE SAME WAY, AND IT LOOKS VERY MUCH AS IF URBAN TRENDS AND COTTAGERS ARE FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FOLKS WHO MAKE UP THE POPULATION OF OUR BEAUTIFUL HINTERLAND. THE MEDIA WITH A LOT OF URBAN INFLUENCES, ISN'T TOO INTERESTED IN WHAT MANY OF US LONG-TIME RESIDENTS THINK ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF MUSKOKA, AND HAVE PRETTY MUCH DECIDED TO TELL US WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.....NUFF SAID. WHICH EXPLAINS TO ME, WHY SO MANY FOLKS JUST DON'T CARE ABOUT THESE PUBLICATIONS, AND HAVE TURNED TO SOCIAL MEDIA INSTEAD.
     I HAVE TRIED TO REACH THESE MEDIA FOLKS, WITH ALTERNATE PLANS, TO RE-INTRODUCE A MORE "COUNTRIFIED" AND RESPONSIVE APPROACH TO WINNING BACK READERS. THE BOTTOM LINE, IS THAT WITH TODAY'S FREE DISTRIBUTION, THEY CAN POINT TO THE CIRCULATION NUMBERS AND CLAIM EVERYTHING IS COOL, AND THE READERSHIP SATISFIED. I KNOW DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE I KNOW MUSKOKA. I'VE MADE IT A LIFE-LONG PROJECT. TO PUBLISHERS AND EDITORS, AN HISTORIAN LIKE ME, IS NOTHING MORE THAN A REMINDER OF THE PAST THEY'VE ALREADY SCRAPED OFF THEIR CORPORATE SHOE.....HAVING NO INTEREST IN REVISITING THE SO CALLED OLD-WAYS. YET, WHAT I FIND HUMOUROUS, IS THAT SOME OF THOSE SAME PEOPLE, I WAS ONCE SO INTIMATELY ASSOCIATED, ARE STILL IN POSITIONS OF PUBLISHING AUTHORITY......ONES WHO ACTUALLY TAUGHT ME THE VALUE OF KEEPING THE COUNTRY CORRESPONDENTS PART OF OUR PUBLICATION. A LITTLE HYPOCRITICAL? THERE IS STILL THE SAME NEED, IF NOT MORE, TO BE INCLUSIVE OF THESE COUNTRY VALUES, AND IT IS AN ERROR TO BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE LESS IMPORTANT TODAY THAN THEY WERE THIRTY YEARS AGO. BUT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE SOME SURVEY OR OTHER, THAT REPORTS THE OPPOSITE. YET IF THEY FOLLOWED THEIR HEARTS AS MUSKOKANS FIRST, THEY WOULD KNOW FULL WELL, THAT MEDIA SERVICES ARE NOT MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE RURAL POPULATION, THAT STILL ABSOLUTELY NEED THOSE NEIGHBOR CORRESPONDENTS, TO TRULY PUT THEIR HAMLETS, THEIR CROSSROADS, ON THE MAP. ONE DAY HOWEVER, THIS WILL DON ON SOME PUBLISHER, WILLING TO RE-INVEST IN OLD-TIME VALUES, THAT ARE REFLECTIVE OF OUR GOOD NEIGHBORS, STILL LIVING ON THE HOMESTEAD ACREAGES OF OUR REGION'S FOUNDERS.....WHO UNFORTUNATELY, LIKE OUR FOLK HISTORY, HAVE BEEN CONVENIENTLY BYPASSED BY SO CALLED PROGRESS EVERYWHERE ELSE. THIS IS A SHAME AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. BUT WILL IT? THEY SAY HISTORY REPEATS, AND IN MY PROFESSION, IT IS QUITE PROPHETIC AND PROPORTIONAL, TO BELIEVE THIS TO BE TRUE. MAYBE THE RURAL POPULATION WILL RISE UP AND DEMAND BETTER TREATMENT, FROM THEIR GOVERNING MUNICIPALITY....OR ELSE, WELL, MAYBE EVEN SUCCESSION FROM THE UNION, AS WE ARE HEARING FROM SOME OF THE LARGER MUNICIPALITIES, UNHAPPY WITH REGIONAL REPRESENTATION. I THINK IT'S COMING. I AM ONE WHO BELIEVES THAT WHERE THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA BEGAN IN EARNEST, IT WILL RISE AGAIN AS A SORT OF CHARACTER PHOENIX, AND BEGIN, ONCE MORE, TO HEW INFLUENCE ON LOCAL POLICY.....TO INSIST ON A MORE EQUITABLE RETURN FOR THEIR TAX INVESTMENT.


A DRIVE THROUGH MUSKOKA - GOOD FOR THE SOUL

    TODAY I DECIDED TO LEAVE THE BOOKS AND THE HISTORICAL JOTTINGS, RENDERED BY THE FIRST HISTORIANS, OF OUR REGION, SAFELY PLACED IN MY OFFICE ARCHIVES, TO INSTEAD VENTURE FORTH, ON THE OPEN, BECKONING ROAD, WITHOUT ANY FETTERS WHATSOEVER..... EXCEPT HAVING ENOUGH GAS MONEY TO GET HOME AGAIN AFTER; RETURNING, OF COURSE, THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINED BY THE SITES OF THIS AUTUMN LAKELAND. I LOVE THESE COUNTRYSIDE JUNKETS, AS MUCH AS MY PHOTOGRAPHER CHUM, FRED SCHULZ, WHO HAS BEEN COMBING HIS WAY THROUGH THE HINTERLAND, FOR INTERESTING "MUSKOKA" IMAGES, REFLECTIVE OF THE CULTURE AND HISTORY OF OUR REGION. I SUPPOSE BOTH OF US HAVE QUESTIONED, IN RECENT YEARS, HOW BEST TO REPRESENT MUSKOKA BY CAMERA AND PEN, AND IT HAS JUST DAWNED ON US, THIS PAST YEAR, THAT THE ONLY REAL REQUIREMENT IS THE PASSION TO EXPLORE.....AND NOT TO PRE-JUDGE ANYTHING ON THE MERIT OF SOMEONE ELSE'S OPINION, OR HEARSAY AS THE END-ALL. IT'S LED US BOTH TO BE MORE OPEN MINDED TO EXCEPTIONS FOUND ALONG THE WAY.
    I TRULY BELIEVE THAT OUR APPRECIATION FOR MUSKOKA AND ITS SEASONS, WILL CHANGE BOTH OF OUR OPINIONS FOREVER, WHEN WE ARRIVE AT A POINT OF EXHAUSTION IN OUR WORK.....WHICH HOPEFULLY IS STILL A LONG WAY OFF.
     I WANTED TO OFFER A BRIEF RETROSPECTIVE, AS WELL, ABOUT WHAT I HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT, OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, IN THIS DAY TO DAY BLOG, THAT ADMITTEDLY, HAS MORPHED ON ABOUT TWELVE, OR SO, DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, BASED ON MY ANGER OR PLEASURE AT THAT PRECISE MOMENT, OF ANY DAY, WINTER, SUMMER, SPRING, OR FALL; WHEN I SIT LIKE A DUFUS STARING HOPEFULLY, AT THIS KEYBOARD, AND IMPOSING WHITE SCREEN.....TRYING TO FILL IT WITH THE BLACK STRIKES OF SENSIBLE OVERVIEWS. SOMETIMES I HAVE SAT HERE FOR HOURS AND CREATED WHAT AMOUNTS TO AN ABSTRACT PORTRAIT OF ALL THE THINGS I DISLIKE; ON OTHER OCCASIONS, IT SEEMS AS IF I'M CHANNELLING ANOTHER MUCH BETTER WRITER, WHO MAKES A SENSIBLE POINT, IN HALF THE NUMBER OF WORDS I ROUTINELY EXPEND, TO SAY THE SAME THING.
     THE CHANGES I MAKE THROUGH THE YEAR, ARE DUE TO A WRITER'S MOOD SWINGS, OF WHICH I HAVE MANY. SUZANNE COULD WRITE HER OWN TELL-ALL BOOK ABOUT LIFE WITH A WORDSMITH. THE WOMAN IS SAINT. I WANT YOU TO KNOW, AS FAITHFUL READERS, THAT FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS DAILY EFFORT, IN EARLY NOVEMBER 2011, I HAVE BEEN LIKE MOST AUTHORS, AND BEEN HEARTFULLY DISTRESSED OR IMPRESSED, OR JUBILANTLY PLEASED HAVING ONLY ACHIEVED STATUS QUO, WHEN I CLICK ON MY "STATS" FOR THE DAY, TO GET MY READERSHIP NUMBERS. NO AUTHOR OR ARTIST WANTS TO THINK THEY CAN'T DRAW A CROWD BY UNVEILING THEIR LATEST CREATION FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. IN THEORY, IT SHOULD LEAD ONE TO PERFORM BETTER AND MORE AGGRESSIVELY, TO GAIN A FOLLOWING. WHAT IN MY FIRST YEAR WAS A DRUDGERY OF LOW NUMBERS, ESCALATED BY YEAR TWO, BEYOND WHAT I HAD WISHED FOR ONCE UPON A TIME. IN FACT, AT TIMES OVER THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS, I WAS AT A POINT OF HAVING AN OVERALL AUDIENCE, INCLUDING THE PUBLICATIONS I WRITE FOR MONTHLY, HIGHER THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME IN MY WRITING CAREER, WHICH BEGAN IN THE LATE 1970'S; WITH MY FIRST PUBLISHED COLUMN ON ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, INCLUDED IN THE BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER.
     THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES OF GREAT EXPECTATION WHEN THESE NUMBERS HAVE MORE THAN TRIPLED, AND IN REGARDS TO MY POLITICAL CRITIQUES, I FELT VERY JUSTIFIED LETTING LOCAL COUNCILLORS KNOW, I WAS REACHING THEIR CONSTITUENTS, MORE EACH WEEK,.....AND SHOULD THEY WISH TO EVER RUN AGAIN, WELL, IT WOULD BE WISE TO PAY SOME ATTENTION TO OVERVIEWS LIKE MINE. I WAS GETTING POWER HUNGRY BASED ON EVER INCREASING READERSHIP.      WHEN I ANNOUNCED MY INTEREST IN RUNNING FOR MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, IN THE 2014 ELECTION, I MADE THE SINCERE DECLARATION, THAT I WOULD NOT USE THIS BLOG TO FURTHER MY CAMPAIGN. THAT WOULD BE PLAYING FAIR. IT'S NOT WHY I BEGAN THIS COLUMN, TO ADVANCE POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS, AND IN FACT, THE ONLY REASON I WILL EVEN CONSIDER RUNNING IN THIS ELECTION, IS IF I CAN'T FIND A LIKE-MINDED CANDIDAT(S) I CAN SUPPORT FROM THE SIDELINES INSTEAD. I HAVE GOT TO A POINT WITH OUR LOCAL COUNCIL, OF HAVING SO MUCH TO COMPLAIN ABOUT, THAT I COULDN'T CARRY-ON THE SAME AS BEFORE, WITHOUT PUTTING MYSELF IN THE FIRING-LINE; NOW, BY STEPPING FORWARD AS A POTENTIAL CANDIDATE. I JUST WASN'T GOING TO PLATFORM-IT USING THIS BLOG-SITE, WHICH HAS BEEN LIKE A COUNTRY JOURNAL FOR ME, SINCE THE BEGINNING.
     THE MOST READERSHIP DURING THE PAST TWO YEARS, HAS BEEN ACHIEVED BY MY POLITICAL CRITIQUES, FOLLOWED BY TOWN AND REGIONAL RAMBLINGS ABOUT CURRENT EVENTS; WITH MY WORK ON ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES CLOSE BEHIND. WRITING ABOUT GHOSTS AND THE PARANORMAL HAS BEEN OF LESSER INTEREST AS HAS THIS MOST RECENT WORK EXAMINING THE FOLK AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF MUSKOKA. I UNDERSTAND THIS, BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS, IT'S ONE OF THOSE BUCKET-LIST DEALS, THAT I SIMPLY HAVE TO FULFILL, AS A REGIONAL HISTORIAN. I'VE BEEN WORKING MY WAY UP TO THIS FOR SEVERAL DECADES, HAVING SERVED MY APPRENTICESHIP WITH MUSKOKA'S BEST KNOWN HISTORIAN, ROBERT BOYER. I'VE DONE MY DUTY AS A MUSEUM CURATOR, AND AN HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTOR. I'VE HELPED LAUNCH MUSEUMS AND HALL OF FAME EXHIBITS, AND LIKE TO THINK I'VE HELPED SAVE A COUPLE OF MUSEUMS THAT WERE ON SHAKY GROUND. MUSKOKA HISTORY, ESPECIALLY ITS PIONEER PERIOD, HAS BEEN A PRIORITY PROJECT FOR ME, AS HAVE SEVERAL IMPORTANT BIOGRAPHIES OF LOCAL ARTISTS, I FELT NEEDED FULFILLMENT.
     IF YOU THINK I'M A GLORY-HOUND, OR AN HISTORICAL EGO-MANIAC, I GUARANTEE YOU, IN THIS REGARD, THAT I HAVE NEVER HAD MY THIRST QUENCHED WITH RESULTS. THUS, BY THE FACT I'M STILL WORKING IN THIS REGARD, THERE MUST BE MORE TO THE PERCEIVED AND ACTUAL GAINS, THAN JUST EARNING A HONKING BIG READERSHIP, AND MAKING LOTS OF FOLDING MONEY. SOME MAY BELIEVE MY MOTIVES ARE ENTIRELY SELF-SERVING WHICH IS TRUE ENOUGH, BUT ARE MISTAKEN TO THINK I'M IN IT FOR THE MONEY....OR THE FUTURE PUBLISHING BENEFITS. I CAN ATTEST TO YOU, THERE'S NO FINANCIAL PROFIT TO BE GAINED, DOING THIS REGIONAL HISTORY-THING, ONLINE OR IN BOOK FORM. I AM HOWEVER, DOGGED IN DETERMINATION, TO RIGHT THE WRONGS, AND CORRECT THE OVER-SIGHTS THAT HAVE COMPOUNDED IN THIS REGION, OVER WELL MORE THAN A CENTURY....PERPETUATED BY SOME WRITERS WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE HISTORIANS, BUT AT BEST, WERE GRANDSTANDERS WITH A VESTED INTEREST IN WHAT THEY WERE WRITING ABOUT. I AM A LONG WAY FROM AN HISTORICAL PURIST, AND BY NO MEANS QUALIFY MYSELF AS AN EXPERT, IN ALL MATTERS OF LOCAL HISTORY. BUT I DO VERY MUCH TAKE OFFENCE, WITH THE HAPHAZARD WAY WRITERS AND PUBLISHER TODAY, MISREPRESENT AND CERTAINLY MISINTERPRET WHAT I BELIEVE RESTS AT THE CORE OF MUSKOKA'S HERITAGE. SELF INTEREST DOES THIS UNFORTUNATELY, AND THERE IS PROFIT ATTACHED TO THE SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME, OF PAINTING MUSKOKA TO SUIT A PREVAILING NEED. I CAN'T DO THAT. I WON'T DO THAT. IT'S WHY I TAKE SO MUCH TIME, HERE IN MY ARCHIVES OF MUSKOKA HISTORIES, TO SELECT THOSE HISTORICAL INSIGHTS, THAT PRESENT MUSKOKA UNPLUGGED, TO USE A CONTEMPORARY REFERENCE. I DON'T CARE WHAT A PUBLICIST COMES UP WITH, TO SELL OUR REGION......UNLESS IT IS HISTORICALLY AND BLATANTLY IN ERROR, OR SO RIDICULOUSLY ARROGANT THAT I CAN'T RESIST A WEE JAB HERE AND THERE, FOR SELF GRATIFICATION. I'VE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO BEING FOBBED-OFF FOR MY EFFORTS.
     I HAVE NEVER IN MY INVOLVEMENT IN LOCAL HISTORY, TURNED AWAY AN ASSOCIATE RESEARCHER, HISTORIAN, OR AUTHOR, LOOKING TO SHARE SOME OPINIONS ABOUT OUR REGION. I HAVE NEVER ONCE, TURNED MY BACK ON AN HISTORICAL PROJECT OF MERIT, THAT NEEDED ADVISE, AND MANY TIMES, THAT HAS BEEN A MATTER OF WASTED EFFORT, EVEN OFFERING.....EXCEPT THAT IT MADE ME FEEL BETTER FOR DOING SO. SUCH A CASE RECENTLY, IS WOODCHESTER VILLA IN BRACEBRIDGE, A MUSEUM I HELPED FOUND. POLITICS GETS IN THE WAY A LOT THESE DAYS; BECAUSE THE RULE APPARENTLY, IS THAT HISTORIANS MUST STICK TO THEIR LANES, AND BE VOID OF ANY OPINION ABOUT MUNICIPAL CONDUCT IN THESE MATTERS. THEY WILL HAVE TO CHANGE THAT OPINION TO GET MY FUTURE SUPPORT. I HAVE NO PLANS OF CHANGING MY PERSPECTIVE, JUST TO GAIN THEIR APPROVAL. THERE'S NO REASON THOSE OF OPPOSITE OPINIONS CAN'T ACHIEVE A SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP. WORKING WITH CONTRARY POINTS OF VIEW, AS CRITICAL INPUT, IS A FUNDAMENTAL EXERCISE IN DEMOCRACY, BUT MOST GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS THESE DAYS, PREFER THE COMPANY OF THOSE WHO KEEP OPINIONS TO THEMSELVES....OR WHO NOD APPROVAL WITH NARY A WORD OF OPPOSITION. I WILL NEVER BE ONE OF THESE ACCOMPLICES, BECAUSE IT IS CONTRARY TO EVERYTHING I BELIEVE IS HISTORICALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RECORD. AND IT'S TRUE I'VE PISSED OFF MORE THAN A FEW HISTORIANS BY DEBUNKING SOME LONG HELD OPINIONS AND FACTS, BUT I WON'T BE OFFERING ANY APOLOGIES FOR DOING SO. I SUBSCRIBE TO STATUS QUO AS FAR AS MY FAVORITE CHAIR IS CONCERNED AND THE STATE OF MY ARCHIVES BUT IT CERTAINLY ISN'T A PHILOSOPHICAL MAINSTAY FOR ME, AS IT IS WITH SOME I KNOW. I'D LOVE TO BE INVITED BACK TO HELP WITH THE WOODCHESTER VILLA RESTORATION, BUT AS LONG AS I'M A BIG MOUTH, IT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.
     IN THE EARLY GOING, AND AT SELECT TIMES IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, I HAVE FELT BLESSED TO HAVE HAD SO MANY READERS JOINING WHAT I BELIEVE IS A UNIQUE BLOG AMONGST MY CONTEMPORARIES. TODAY I AM MUCH LESS CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING BIG GAINS IN THE NUMBERS GAME, AND MORE ABOUT HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND A GENUINE INTEREST IN FINISHING-UP WHAT I HAVE BEEN WORKING-ON FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY.....AND THAT IS THE PROPER, AND RESPONSIBLE REPRESENTATION OF MUSKOKA, AND ITS PIONEER PERIOD. FOR THIS LATEST BLOG PROJECT, I HAVE THE SUPPORT OF WELL KNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER FRED SCHULZ, WHO HAS SPENT HIS LIFE WORKING AND RESIDING IN THIS MAGNIFICENT HINTERLAND, AND HAS, YEAR AFTER YEAR, REPRESENTED IT SO WELL, ON FILM, FOR JUST AS MANY DECADES AS I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DO THE SAME IN PRINT. NOW WE ARE DOING THE SAME THING TOGETHER, AND SO FAR THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN GENEROUSLY POSITIVE, ACCORDING TO YOU, THE READERSHIP. WE MAY NOT HAVE A HUGE AUDIENCE, BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO STOP THIS HISTORY-MAKING PROJECT, TO PROFILE THE PAST AND PRESENT OF OUR REGION.....HOPEFULLY FOR THE LONG TERM BENEFIT OF STUDENTS, RESEARCHERS AND HISTORICAL ENTHUSIASTS, LONG AFTER FRED AND I ARE PUSHING UP DAISIES. BUT ONE THING'S FOR SURE. IT WILL NEVER BE CONSIDERED A PROJECT THAT WAS DONE FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY.....OR ITS ACCUMMULATION, BECAUSE WE ARE BOTH VOLUNTEERS, WHO HAVE SOME UNFINISHED BUSINESS, SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT......AT LEAST IN OUR OPINION OF WHAT IS ASKEW IN THE WAY OUR REGION IS CURRENTLY VIEWED AND INTERPRETTED BY OTHERS.....INCLUDING MUCH OF THE LOCAL POPULATION WHO HAVE MINIMAL KNOWLEDGE OF HOW IT ALL BEGAN IN THIS DISTRICT. THANKS SO MUCH FOR HANGING IN THERE, THROUGH MUCH TRIAL AND ERROR, AND AN UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT OF SELF DISCOVERY UNCOVERED ALONG THE WAY.
        FRED AND I ARE HAVING THE TIME OF OUR LIVES, ROAMING ABOUT THIS GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL DISTRICT......THAT WE ALL SHOULD CELEBRATE WHILE WE STILL HAVE IT AS HINTERLAND.......AND NOT STRIP-MALLS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE. PLEASE VISIT AGAIN TOMORROW, AND WE POST OUR OBSERVATIONS.

THE DEATH OF FRIENDS SEEDED MY OWN STRANGE SUPERSTITION OF DEATH

The Joy of Small Rural Fall Fairs

 

There is a charm associated with small rural fall fairs around the region.   Despite major changes in our towns and hamlets, small communities still hold on to the charm of a rural fair fall.  Dedicated volunteers make sure that all the details are in place and fair day will be an enjoyable event for the whole family.    Memories of fair falls will remain with me for a lifetime.

 

Here – George and Kathy Cooper of Cooper’s Falls proudly pose with their rand Champion Rooster at the Sunderland Fall Fair. (Photo By Fred Schulz)

Coming to The Gravenhurst Seniors Club

THOSE OLD TIME SAYINGS AND SUPERSTITIONS BORROWED FROM HISTORY

THE WISDOM OF HOMESTEADERS, WATCHING THE CHANGING SEASONS


     FIRST THING THIS MORNING, JUST BEFORE SUNRISE, THERE WAS A COLD, HEAVY FOG, DRIFTING FROM OVER THE MOOR, OR AS IT IS BETTER KNOWN, THE CALYDOR BOG. IT WAS MYSTERIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL, AT THE SAME TIME, AND IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE MUSKOKA MOMENTS, OF HINTERLAND ENCHANTMENT, THAT KEPT ME OUT LONGER, EXPLORING FULLY, ITS DELIGHTFUL, AUTUMN ATTIRE; BEFORE THE SUNRISE BURNED IT OFF THE LOWLAND. INSIDE THE WOODLAND, IT WAS SO AMAZINGLY SILENT, AND EVEN THE FALLING LEAVES WERE ON HIATUS, IT SEEMED; AND THE ONLY SOUND, THE CLOSER I GOT, WAS THE GENTLE TRICKLE, LIKE THE CLINKING OF CRYSTAL GLASSES, FROM THE NEARLY INVISIBLE, TINY CATARACT, TUMBLING LIKE LIQUID SILK OVER THE MATTED GRASSES.
     IT WAS HAUNTINGLY AMAZING, AND IT'S TOO BAD IT WAS JUST ABOUT GONE, WHEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS WALKED UP THE LANE, TO CATCH THE SCHOOL BUS. I AM PARTICULARLY FOND OF FOG, AS IT WAS FAMILIAR TO THE LAKESHORE, IN BURLINGTON, WHERE I SPENT THE FIRST YEARS OF MY LIFE. I'D HEAR FOGHORNS FROM THE LAKE FREIGHTERS, WHILE WALKING TO SCHOOL IN THE MORNING. AS WELL, I'M A BIT OF A SHERLOCK HOLMES FAN, SO ANYTHING THAT REMINDS ME OF "THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES" TAKES ME ON A JOURNEY OF GREAT FICTION. MUSKOKA IS A STORIED PLACE. THE FIRST CHAPTER BELONGS TO THE COURAGEOUS HOMESTEADERS, WHO BUILT THEIR LOG CABINS IN A MOST INHOSPITABLE ENVIRONS. IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME.
     THE MUSKOKA PIONEERS HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO LEARN FAST, ABOUT THE RELEVANCE OF WEATHER-STUDY, AND THE SIGNS OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGES, SUCH AS THE DEVASTATING DAMAGE TO CROPS, OF EITHER AN EARLY OR LATE FROST; AN APPROACHING STORM-FRONT, HAIL, RAIN AT HAYING TIME, OR KNOWING WHEN THE PERFECT ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN ORDER TO PLANT; AND TO THEN HARVEST THE CROPS TO AVOID SEVERE WEATHER. SO WHAT THEY DIDN'T POSSESS OF WEATHER-APPRECIATION, WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN THE HINTERLAND, FROM THE CITIES OF EUROPE ESPECIALLY, THEY LEARNED FROM TRIAL AND ERROR, BUT MOSTLY FROM THE CO-OPERATION OF NEIGHBORS IN THE REGION. SO WHAT WASN'T CONTAINED IN SETTLERS' GUIDEBOOKS, CAME BY EXPERIENCE, AND PASSED-DOWN ADVISORIES, GARNERED OVER TIME, FROM FELLOW HOMESTEADERS. WHO HAD LEARNED, FOR EXAMPLE, JUST HOW LONG A MUSKOKA WINTER COULD BE; HOW SEVERE, AND THEN, HOW ADVERSE THE SPRING MIGHT BE, WITH LATE FROSTS; AND HOW SHORT THE SUMMER COULD BE, LIMITING A SUCCESSFUL HARVEST.
     SO IT WAS BLOODY WELL IMPERATIVE TO KNOW NATURE'S SIGNS. THINKING OF WHAT THIS MEANT, IN TERMS OF LEARNING BY TRIAL AND ERROR, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE "GREEN" SETTLERS, WHO ONLY HAD A BACKGROUND IN URBAN LIVING, IN BRITAIN, IS BEFUDDLING, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TRY TO UNDERSTAND THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES AT THE TIME.  WHY OH WHY DID THEY COME HERE?  THE FACT A MAJORITY OF SETTLERS WERE "GREEN" TO AN AGRICULTURAL LIFESTYLE, IS STILL MIND BOGGLING FOR THIS HISTORIAN, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO BREAK, NO SOCIAL ASSISTANCE, OR "DO-OVERS," FOR THE INEXPERIENCED IMMIGRANT. IT WAS NATURE'S TOUGH LOVE FROM THE BEGINNING, AND IT WAS A LIFE OR DEATH STRUGGLE TO KNOW WHAT WAS COMING NEXT. SO IT IS TO BE EXPECTED, AFTER SOME DISASTERS, NEW FARMERS BEGAN SEEKING OUT THE SAGE ADVICE OF THE MORE PROFICIENT AGRICULTURALISTS IN THEIR AREA. THERE IS EVIDENCE OF SUBSTANTIAL CO-OPERATION, IN THIS REGARD, THROUGH FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS AND CHURCH CONGRETATIONS, WHERE FOLKS SHARED VOLUNTARILY WITH OTHERS, ABOUT THE OPERATION OF THEIR HOMESTEAD ENTERPRISES.
     CONTAINED IN THE 1950 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CANADA HISTORICAL BOOKLET, ENTITLED "FOLK-LORE OF WATERLOO COUNTY, ONTARIO," RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN BY W.J. WINTEMBERG, (BULLETIN NUMBER 116, ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES NUMBER 28), THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF FOLK-TALE ADVISORIES, SAYINGS, WARNINGS, AND GENERAL WISDOMS, LISTED IN THE TEXT. ALTHOUGH THE TEXT WAS GARNERED MOSTLY FROM RESEARCH OF THE GERMAN-CANADIAN POPULATION OF SETTLERS, IN WATERLOO, MANY OF THESE HAD JUST AS MUCH RELEVANCE IN OUR REGION OF THE PROVINCE. YOU WILL ALSO PROBABLY RECOGNIZE THESE SAYINGS FROM HEARING A PARENT OR GRANDPARENT MENTION THEM, SUCH AS IN THE CASE OF A RING AROUND THE MOON, FOR EXAMPLE, OR THE APPEARANCE OF A RED SKY IN THE MORNING. HERE NOW ARE A FEW OF THESE FOLK-LORE ADVISORIES. TO REALLY APPRECIATE THEIR OVER-RIDING SIGNIFICANCE, ONE HAS TO IMAGINE BEING HOUSED IN ONE OF THESE PIONEER SHELTERS, AND WATCHING THE WEATHER CHANGE HOUR BY HOUR.....AND PONDERING IF THE CROP WILL SURVIVE THE SUDDEN AND PROFOUND CHANGES NATURE INDICATES IS ON THE WAY.....OR OCCURING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
     IN REGARDS TO WEATHER, HERE ARE SOME OF THE SIGNS THE FARM COMMUNITY WATCHED FOR, CROSSING OVER THE LAKELAND: THE SIGNS OF RAIN WERE - "IF A HEN CROWS; IF A COCK CROWS REPEATEDLY; IF A COCK CROWS AFTER SUNDOWN; WHEN THE WALLS ARE DAMP; WHEN THE PEACOCKS CRY; IF YOU DREAM OF A DEAD PERSON OR FRIENDS; IF A COCK CROWS IN THE RAIN IT WILL STOP RAINING; IF YOU SEE MANY SNAKES DURING THE DAY YOU MAY EXPECT RAIN; WHEN A PERSON'S HAIR CURLS IT IS A SIGN OF APPROACHING RAIN; WHEN SWALLOWS FLY LOW DURING A SHOWER IT INDICATES A STEADY DOWNPOUR; WHEN GUINEA FOWL ARE CRYING CONTINUALLY IT IS A SIGN OF RAIN; WHEN CROWS ARE UNUSUALLY NOISY IT IS A SIGN OF RAIN; IF IT RAINS ON WHIT-SUNDAY IT WILL RAIN FOR SEVEN SUNDAYS IN SUCCESSION; WHEN A GLASS TUMBLER ON THE IRON WORK OF A PUMP SWEATS, IT IS A SIGN OF RAIN; IF THE SOOT THAT COATS THE INSIDE OF THE STOVE BURNS, YOU MAY EXPECT RAIN; IF THE SUN SHINES WHILE IT RAINS, IT WILL RAIN AGAIN AT THE SAME TIME THE NEXT DAY; WHEN THE HENS OIL THEIR FEATHERS YOU MAY LOOK FOR RAIN VERY SOON; IF THERE ARE BUBBLES ON THE SURFACE OF PUDDLES FORMED BY RAIN IT WILL CONTINUE TO RAIN; A GERMAN IN BADEN WAS HEARD TO REMARK, 'WE ARE GOING TO GET RAIN,' AND WHEN HE WAS ASKED WHAT MADE HIM THINK SO, HE ANSWERED, 'BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY WOMEN OUT TODAY; WHEN A FOWL SEEKS SHELTER ON THE APPROACH OF A SHOWER, THE RAIN WILL NOT LAST LONG, BUT WHEN IT STAYS OUT IN THE RAIN, YOU MAY EXPECT A CONTINUAL DOWNPOUR; IF YOU HEAR TRAINS AT GREAT DISTANCES, IT IS A SIGN OF RAIN."
     AS FOR STORM FRONTS MOVING IN, THE BOOK REPORTS THAT, THE SIGNS ARE: "WHEN GEESE FLY HIGH; WHEN THE TEA-KETTLE HUMS; WHEN THE CAT LIES ON ITS BACK WHILE SLEEPING; WHEN A CAT EATS GRASS IT IS A SIGN OF A STORM; IF A DOG ROLLS HIMSELF IT IS ALSO A COMMON SIGN; IF THE FIRE SPLUTTERS IT IS A SIGN OF A STORM; ANOTHER COMMONLY ACCEPTED SIGN IS A RING AROUND THE MOON; WHEN THE MILKY WAY IS UNUSUALLY BRIGHT IT HERALDS THE COMING OF A STORM."
     AS FOR THE SIGNS OF COLD WEATHER APPROACHING; WHEN THE STOVE BECOMES RED HOT; IF IT THUNDERS WHILE THE GROUND IS STILL COVERED WITH SNOW, YOU MAY EXPECT REAL COLD WEATHER IMMEDIATELY AFTER." MILD WEATHER? "WHEN LARGE NUMBERS OF CROWS FLY ABOUT IN THE WINTER, IT IS A SIGN THERE WILL SOON BE MILDER WEATHER." AS FOR MISCELLANEOUS SIGNS, HERE ARE A FEW TO WATCH FOR: "IF THE SUMMER IS VERY WARM IT WILL BE A VERY COLD WINTER; WINTER THUNDER IS A SURE INDICATION OF A LATE SPRING; AN EARLY EASTER IS CONSIDERED A SIGN OF EARLY SPRING; HOLY OR PASSION WEEK, THEY SAY IS ALWAYS RAW AND COLD; IF THERE SHOULD BE NICE WEATHER DURING PASSION WEEK THE FOLLOWING WEEK WILL BE DISAGREEABLE. (WEEK BETWEEN PASSION SUNDAY AND PALM SUNDAY); IF YOU HEAR THE FROGS TWO WEEKS BEFORE ST. GREGORY'S DAY, THEY WILL REMAIN QUIET FOR TWO WEEKS AFTER, OR, AS SOME SAY, THEY WILL BE FROZEN-IN THREE TIMES AFTER; IF THE SPLEEN OF A HOG IS SHORT AND THICK, THE WINTER WILL BE SHORT, - IF LONG AND THIN, A LONG WINTER; IF SQUIRRELS GATHER LARGE QUANTITIES OF NUTS IN THE AUTUMN WE MAY EXPECT A LONG AND COLD WINTER; IF MAY IS A WET MONTH JUNE WILL BE A DRY MONTH; FOR EVERY FOG IN MARCH, THERE WILL BE A FROST IN MAY; WHATEVER NUMBER OF WHITE FROSTS OCCURN IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY SO MANY WILL OCCUR IN MAY; WHEN THE SNOW DISAPPEARS WITH THE SUN'S AID ALONE (WITHOUT RAIN) THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE FREQUENT DURING THE SUMMER; THE LAST FRIDAY IN THE MONTH USUALLY RULES THE WEATHER DURING THE SUCCEEDING MONTH."
    UNDER THE HEADING, "NATURAL PHENOMENA," ARE THE FOLLOWING NOTATIONS; "IF IT THUNDERS BEFORE BREAKFAST, IT WILL THUNDER AGAIN BEFORE SUPPER TIME; DURING A THUNDER STORM ONE SHOULD KEEP AWAY FROM THE MIRROR AND THE STOVE; IF THERE IS MUCH LIGHTNING DURING THE TIME, A BROODING HEN IS SETTING, NONE OF THE EGGS WILL HATCH; WHEN IT THUNDERED, CHILDREN WERE FORMERLY TOLD THAT THE LORD WAS ANGRY BECAUSE THEY WERE MISBEHAVING; IT IS BELIEVED THAT LIGHTNING WILL NEVER STRIKE A BEECH TREE; SOME BELIEVE THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EXTINGUISH WITH WATER, A FIRE CAUSED BY LIGHTNING, MILK BEING THE ONLY LIQUID THAT WILL DO SO EFFECTIVELY. I HEARD OF A BARN NEAR NEW DUNDEE THAT WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, BUT INSTEAD OF WATER, THE FARMER CARRIED MILK OUT OF THE CELLAR AND POURED IT ON THE FLAMES; A SURVIVAL OF THE MEDIAEVAL BELIEF THAT STONE AXES AND CELTS WERE THUNDERBOLTS IS STILL CURRENT AMONG GERMANS IN SOME PARTS OF ONTARIO. THEY ARE CALLED G'WITTER-SCHTEE, AND SOMETIMES G'WITTER, OR DUNNER-KEIDEL, LITERALLY MEANING 'LIGHTNING STONE,' AND 'LIGHTNING,' OR 'THUNDER WEDGE;' THE LATTER NAME REFERS TO THE GENERAL FORM OF THESE IMPLEMENTS. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE CAUSE OF THE SPLINTERED CONDITION OF A TREE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. SEVERAL YEARS AGO A COW BELONGING TO A MAN IN WATERLOO COUNTY WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, AND THE MAN DUG A HOLE IN THE GROUND WHERE THE ANIMAL WAS KILLED TO SEE WHETHER HE COULD FIND THE THUNDERBOLT. ANOTHER BELIEF THESE PEOPLE HAVE IS THAT IF ONE OF THESE STONES HAS A STRING TIED AROUND IT AND IT IS THEN PUT INTO THE GRATE OF A STOVE, IT WILL PREVENT LIGHTNING FROM STRIKING THE HOUSE. IT IS ALSO CLAIMED THAT ONE OF THESE STONES MAY BE TIED TO A STRING AND THE STRING SET ON FIRE, AND THE STONE, WILL NOT FALL TO THE GROUND, ALTHOUGH THE CORD MAY BE CHARRED AND EASILY BROKEN. IF YOU DO ANY WORK ON ASCENSION DAY, LIGHTNING WILL ALWAYS SURROUND YOUR HOME. AN ALSATIAN WOMAN ONCE MADE AN APRON ON THAT DAY, AFTER WHICH LIGHTNING ALWAYS SEEMED TO HOVER AROUND HER HOUSE. SHE MENTIONED THIS TO A FRIEND, WHO TOLD HER THAT ON THE APPROACH OF A THUNDER SHOWER, SHE WAS TO HANG THIS APRON ON A STAKE IN THE GARDEN. SHE DID SO AND THE LIGHTNING STRUCK IT AND BURNED IT TO A CRISP."
     AS FOR RAIN, "IT IS BELIEVED THAT IF ONE PRESSES HIS THUMB WITH THE INDEX FINGER OR WITH THE FINGERS OF THE SAME HAND IT WILL DISPEL RAIN OR RAINSTORM. A RAINBOW? LOOK FOR LOST ARTICLES WHERE THE RAINBOW APPEARS TO END. CLOUDS? MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, AN ALSATIAN, CALLED WHITE, FLEECY CIRRUS CLOUDS 'SHEEP'."
     IN REGARDS TO DEATH AND BURIAL, THE AUTHOR COLLECTED A FEW INTERESTING WARNING SIGNS, AS TOLD IN FOLK-STORIES; "IF A CAT LOOKS INTO A WINDOW AT NIGHT; TWO FORKS ON A TABLE BETOKEN A DEATH; WHEN A WHITE SPIDER CRAWLS TOWARD YOU OR YOUR HOUSE; THREE SPIDERS CRAWLING ON A WALL IS A DEATH SIGN; THE HOOTING OF AN OWL NEAR A HOUSE IS A DEATH SIGN; WHEN THE CORN SHOOTS ARE OF A WHITISH COLOUR; IF THE CABBAGE HEADS ARE COVERED WITH WHITE SPOTS; A WHITE BEAN PLANT IS ALSO CONSIDERED A SURE DEATH SIGN; WHEN A BUNCH OF APPLE BLOSSOMS APPEARS LATE IN THE SEASON, A DEATH IN THE FAMILY IS SURE TO FOLLOW; WHEN A WILD BIRD ENTERS AN OCCUPIED HOUSE, ONE OF THE OCCUPANTS WILL SOON DIE; THE HOWLING OF A DOG IS ALSO REGARDED AS A DEATH SIGN; IF THE CLOCK STRIKES SIX OR TWELVE WHILE THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE ASKS THE BLESSING, IT IS A SIGN OF A DEATH; IF A COCK CROWS BEFORE TEN O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING, IT A SING OF A DEATH; IF ROOSTERS CROW BETWEEN SUNDOWN AND MIDNIGHT THERE WILL BE A DEATH IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD SOON; IN WHATEVER DIRECTION A STAR FALLS, THERE WILL BE A DEATH; PRESUMABLY OF SOME RELATIVE OR FRIEND OF THE PERSON WHO SEES IT FALL; A PERSON PASSING OVER A MOLE WORKING UNDERGROUND, WILL DIE WITHIN A YEAR. A DYING PERSON WILL ALWAYS GIVE A SIGN OF HIS DEATH TO AN ABSENT FRIEND WHOM HE WISHES TO SEE; THE LAST CHILD OR PERSON MENTIONED BY A DYING PERSON WILL BE THE NEXT ONE TO DIE; A FAMILY LIVING NEAR WASHINGTON BELIEVES THAT THEY WERE WARNED OF THEIR GRANDMOTHER'S DEATH BY THE STRIKING OF HER CLOCK, WHICH WAS NOT GOING AT THE TIME (PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN); IT IS BELIEVED THAT WHENEVER A FAMILY BUILDS A NEW HOUSE OR BARN OR EVEN AN ADDITION TO THE HOUSE, THERE WILL BE AN ADDITION TO THE FAMILY (A BIRTH) OR ELSE A DEATH; WHICHEVER LEAVES THE ROOM FIRST, THE BRIDE OR THE GROOM, DIES FIRST; THE ONE WHO HAS THE MOST LETTERS IN HIS OR HER CHRISTIAN NAME AND SURNAME WILL DIE FIRST. THIS MIGHT BE CALLED A KIND OF ONOMANCY; THE ONE (WIFE OF HUSBAND), HAVING A DEEP HOLLOW BETWEEN THE EYEBROWS WILL DIE FIRST; SIMILARLY, THE ONE WHO HAS MOLES ON THE CHEEKS."
     "BURIAL CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS; GERMANS STILL KEEP UP THE LYKE-WAKE OR WACHTER CUSTOM OVER THE DEAD; A FUNERAL HELD ON A SATURDAY WILL BE FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER THE NEXT WEEK; IF A FUNERAL STOPS ON THE WAY TO THE CEMETERY THERE WILL BE ANOTHER BURIAL SOON; IT IS BELIEVED THAT IF ONE IS BURIED ON A RAINY DAY HE WILL BE SAVED." AS FOR OMENS AND SIGNS; "IF YOUR NOSE ITCHES YOU WILL HEAR NEWS; WHOEVER CHOKES WHILE SPEAKING IS TELLING A LIE; IF A GIRL CANNOT START A BRISK FIRE SHE WILL GET A LAZY HUSBAND; IF A GIRL, WHEN CUTTING BREAD, MAKES THE SLICES VERY THICK, SHE WILL BECOME A GOOD STEPMOTHER; SOMEONE WILL GO HUNGRY IF A PERSON TAKES BREAD AT THE TABLE WHEN HE ALREADY HAS SOME; IF YOU DROP A FORM AND THE TINES HOLD IT TO THE FLOOR YOU WILL HAVE VISITORS; TO SNEEZE THREE TIMES IN SUCCESSION IS A SIGN YOUR COLD IS BREAKING-UP; IF A CHILD IS BORN IN A LARGE HOUSE, HE WILL BECOME VERY RICH; TEA FROTH FLOATING ON THE SURFACE IN A CUP IF QUICKLY SWALLOWED WILL BRING RICHES; PERSONS WITH VERY HAIRY ARMS WILL BECOME RICH; A PERSON HAVING A LARGE NUMBER OF MOLES ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK WILL BECOME RICH; COUNT SEVEN STARS FOR SEVEN SUCCESSIVE EVENINGS AND THE FIRST GIRL YOU SHAKE HANDS WITH WILL BE YOUR FUTURE WIFE; WHEN THE LEFT EAR BURNS, SOMEONE IS SPEAKING ILL OF YOU, AND IF IT IS THE RIGHT EAR, SOMEONE IS PRAISING YOU; WHEN THE LEFT EAR BURNS, PINCH THE EAR AND THE ONE SPEAKING ILL OF YOU WILL BITE HIS TONGUE; THE BELIEF EXISTS THAT IF ONE LAUGHS TILL THE TEARS COME SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN SHORTLY THAT WILL MAKE HIM CRY; IF A BROOMSTICK FALLS ACROSS THE DOORWAY, A WITCH WILL COME; IF YOU PICK IT UP THE WITCH WON'T COME."
    IN MORE RECENT TIMES, I FOUND OUT HOW SUPERSTITIONS COME ABOUT, IN ACTUALITY, AND THE HAND EACH OF US PLAYS IN ITS TRANSMISSION, AND EMBELLISHMENT.
    WHEN I WAS IN GRADE SIX, (LATE 1960'S) I BELIEVE, HAVING RECENTLY RE-LOCATED TO MY NEW SCHOOL IN BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO, (FROM BURLINGTON) I MET SOME NEAT NEW FRIENDS, CHARLES PEACOCK AND KEN CHISOLM, AND I WAS INVITED, ON THE COMING SATURDAY, TO JOIN THEM DIGGING AN ARMY BUNKER, TO PLAY WITH OUR MILITARY-THEMED TOYS. WHEN I TOLD MY MOTHER WHAT WAS HAPPENING, AND BEGGED TO PARTICIPATE, SHE BECAME HIGHLY AGITATED, AS SHE WAS VERY SUPERSTITIOUS, AND TOLD ME THAT, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WAS I TO ATTEND. SHE CLAIMED TO HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT IT. IN FACT, ON THAT RAINY AUTUMN DAY, MERLE MADE ME STAY INSIDE OUR ALICE STREET APARTMENT,  UNTIL THE EARLY AFTERNOON. I WAS ANGRY ABOUT HER INTERVENTION BUT IT WAS OBVIOUS SHE HAD SOME DEEP MOTHERLY FEELING, I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN MORTAL DANGER IF I'D GONE OUT THAT MORNING. "AN INSTINCT," SHE USED TO CALL IT, WHENEVER SHE WAS INCONVENIENCING ME....TO SAVE MY LIFE. SHE HAD A LOT OF WARNINGS ABOUT ALL KINDS OF THINGS; MOST I DIDN'T RESPECT, BUT THIS ONE, I BOWED TO HER INSISTENCE.
     SHE ASKED IF I WANTED TO WALK UPTOWN WITH HER, AFTER LUNCH, AND THAT MEANT A CHANCE TO GET SOME CENT CANDY, AND MAYBE A SMALL PACKAGE OF ARMY MEN; AND POSSIBLY A DINKY TOY TO ADD TO MY COLLECTION. WHEN WE GOT TO WHAT WE CALL THE HUNT'S HILL BRIDGE, ACROSS THE MUSKOKA RIVER, A STONE'S THROW TO THE MAIN STREET, WE HEARD ALL THE SIRENS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES AND THE TOWN SIREN AT THE FIRE HALL. AMBULANCES AND POLICE CARS PASSED US WITH A ROAR. WE SAW DRIVERS ACCELERATING THEIR CARS AND PASSING OTHERS, IN WHAT GAVE EVERY APPEARANCE OF A WIDESPREAD DISASTER, GOING ON SOMEWHERE CLOSE. WHEN WE WERE PASSING THE FORMER MUSKOKA TRADING COMPANY, WE SAW MY FATHER ROUNDING THE TURN BY THE DOWNTOWN GARAGE, AND HE CAME TO A SUDDEN STOP WHEN HE SAW US WALKING ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE. "THANK GOD," WAS ALL HE COULD SAY, OVER AND OVER. "THERE'S BEEN A CAVE IN, AND THEY DON'T KNOW HOW MANY KIDS ARE BURIED IN THE TUNNEL," HE YELLED AT US. WELL SIR, IT WAS THE DAY I UNDERSTOOD, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, THE VALUE OF A MOTHER'S INTUITION. MY TWO MATES FROM BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOL HAD BEEN KILLED IN THAT TUNNEL CAVE-IN, AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE THAT MORNING TO HELP OUT. IT WAS MY FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO DEAL WITH TRAGEDY RESULTING IN DEATH. SEEING PEOPLE RUNNING WITH SHOVELS, TOWARD WHERE THE CAVE-IN OCCURRED, HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON A LOT OF US KIDS, WATCHING AS OUR PARENTS GOT INVOLVED TO SAVE LIVES. THERE WAS A SUSPICION, THAT MANY MORE KIDS WERE IN THAT CAVE-IN, SO PARENTS ALL OVER TOWN, DID AN INVENTORY OF SONS AND DAUGHTERS. I HATED IT WHEN I WAS DENIED THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY WITH MY MATES, BUT I WAS ALIVE BECAUSE OF MY MOTHER'S SENSE OF IMPENDING DISASTER.
     AS MY OWN ISSUE WITH SUPERSTITION, I ABANDONED TWO SONGS, FROM OUR SINGING CLASS AT PUBLIC SCHOOL, THAT I HAD BEEN SINGING OVER AND OVER FOR THOSE TWO WEEKS, LEADING UP TO THE DEATHS OF THESE FINE YOUNG CHAPS. I BELIEVED THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY, THAT THESE TWO WONDERFUL, WELL KNOWN, TRADITIONAL SONGS, BOTH DEALING WITH DEATH, AND ITS AFTERMATH, CURSED THOSE TWO BOYS TO DEATH.....AND THAT IF I EVEN HUMMED THE TUNE THERE-AFTER, I WOULD BE DESTINING SOMEONE ELSE I KNEW, TO A TERRIBLE DEMISE. TO THIS DAY, I WILL START HUMMING ONE OF THEM, FROM MEMORY, AND IMMEDIATELY CEASE WHEN I RECOGNIZE THEIR SIGNIFICANCE TO THAT FATEFUL AUTUMN DAY. I WILL NOT EVEN NAME THE SONGS OUT OF MY OWN SUPERSTITION, THAT I MIGHT AGAIN BECKON THE GRIM REAPER.....IF NOT FOR SOMEONE CLOSE TO ME, THEN FOR YOU, THE READER. I HAVE NEVER ONCE OFFERED THE TITLES OF THE SONGS, FOR SUZANNE'S BENEFIT, ALTHOUGH, I HAVE IN FACT, ASKED HER, FOR PERSONAL REASONS, TO STOP SINGING ONE OF THE TWO SONGS, ON AN OCCASION WHEN SHE WAS PLAYING OUR PUMP ORGAN. CRAZY? IRRATIONAL? POST TRAUMATIC STRESS ISSUES? I DON'T KNOW BUT I WILL CARRY THIS TO MY GRAVE, THAT'S FOR CERTAIN. I AVOIDED THE GRAVE BY LISTENING TO MY MOTHER, SO I AM ALWAYS LISTENING AND LEARNING FROM SAGE ADVICE.....EVEN FROM THE OLD-OLD TIMERS.
     I WILL HAVE MORE STORIES ON FOLK LORE AND REGIONAL SUPERSTITIONS, IN THE NEXT BLOG. THANKS SO MUCH FOR VISITING TODAY. AND SHOULD YOU KNOCK OVER A SALT SHAKER, REMEMBER TO PICK IT UP, WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND, AND TOSS A FEW SPRINKLES OVER YOUR LEFT SHOULDER. OR ELSE!