Frank Johnston's Watercolour Depictions of Bracebridge and Muskoka; A Great Artist Who Deserves Our Respect

Late 1960's Early 1970's Depiction of Manitoba Street in Bracebridge looking south down the Queen's Hill. The brick building second on the left was the former Queen's Hotel, but in this vintage it was The Patterson Hotel, owned by Fenton Patterson.

Two close ups of the same Frank Johnston painting, this one showing the intersection of Manitoba Street and Dominion Street and the artist would have captured this image from the front of the former Uptown Esso Station owned by Ted Smith.

MUSKOKA ARTIST, FRANK JOHNSTON, CAPTURED OUR HERITAGE CHARACTER, BUT WE DIDN'T APPRECIATE HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS

WHAT HE SAW THAT WE TOOK FOR GRANTED ABOUT OUR HOME COMMUNITIES

     THE OPEN ROAD BECKONED THIS AFTERNOON. AS WE CONSIDER OURSELVES PART VAGABOND ANYWAY, IT'S HARD TO RESIST AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL AND ANTIQUE HUNT. WE SET OUT ON THIS BECKONING RIBBON OF TARMAC, AND THANK GOODNESS WE DID. ANDREW PICKED UP A BRASS BUGLE, A 1950'S MANDOLIN, AND A VINTAGE GUITAR ALTHOUGH I NEVER SAW THAT ONE, BEFORE IT WAS PUT IN THE BACK OF THE VAN. THERE WAS A SPECIAL MUSIC PRESENTATION ON CBC II THIS AFTERNOON, FEATURING ACADIAN MUSIC, SO ANDREW PROVIDED A LITTLE IN-TRANSIT MANDOLIN, TO GO WITH THE BROADCAST. WE PICKED UP SOME NEAT ADVERTISING TINS, AND VINTAGE VINYL, TO MEET SON ROBERT'S INTERESTS, AND SUZANNE FOUND A NICE RELIC OF CANADIAN COOKERY HERITAGE, WRITTEN NEATLY INTO A GOOD CONDITION BOOKLET. WE HAVEN'T DETERMINED THE VINTAGE YET, BUT WE WILL PROFILE THIS IN TOMORROW'S BLOG. THIS WILL GO INTO OUR COOKERY ARCHIVES, AT OUR SHOP, WHICH WE USE TO ASSIST FOLKS, FIND EVASIVE RECIPES FROM DECADES AND CENTURIES PAST.
     I JUST FREED-UP SUZANNE'S FAVORITE FAN RAKE, THAT I HAD BEEN USING, WITH AN EXTENDED HANDLE, TO PULL SNOW OFF THE ROOF THIS WINTER. I HAD IT DUCT TAPED TOGETHER, AND BY GOLLY, IT WAS ABOUT FOURTEEN FEET LONG. IT HAD A WICKED BOW TO IT, BUT IT CERTAINLY HELPED REDUCE THE SNOW LOAD, WITHOUT NECESSITATING ME GETTING UP ON THE ROOF. SO SUZANNE IS HAPPILY RAKING UP LAST AUTUMN'S LEAVES, AT LEAST THE ONES THAT DIDN'T BLOW OVER TO THE NEIGHBORS. I GET THEIR GARBAGE, WHEN THE CROWS TEAR OPEN THE BAGS BEFORE THEY'RE PICKED UP, AND IN RETURN, THEY GET MY LEAVES. DEPENDING ON WHICH WAY THE WIND IS BLOWING, OF COURSE, IS THE NEIGHBOR PENALIZED. SUZANNE FINDS RAKING UP THE YARD GOOD EXERCISE, AND THE KIND OF MINDLESS RECREATION, THAT EASES HER FRUSTRATIONS. YOU SEE, FOR EVERY AGGRESSIVE STROKE SHE APPLIES TO MOTHER EARTH, SHE IS EXPRESSING HER CHAGRIN ABOUT HAVING A HUSBAND, WHO WOULD RATHER PLAY ON HIS LAPTOP, THAN JOIN HER FOR YARD DETAIL. I TOLD HER THAT I DID THE DRIVING SOUTH TODAY, MADE MOST OF THE GOOD FINDS FOR OUR SHOP, AND THAT WARRANTS ME TAKING A VERANDAH BREAK NOW TO ENJOY THE REST OF THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON. SHE MOUTHS OUT THE WORDS, BECAUSE I AM LOOKING RIGHT AT HER, AND NONE OF IT CAN BE PUBLISHED. OF ALL THE CHORES AROUND HERE, I PUT RAKING WELL BELOW CLEANING THE LITTER BOXES. WE HAVE TWO, AND THESE ARE MY RESPONSIBILITY, EVEN THOUGH THE CATS THEMSELVES, BELONG TO HER. FUNNY HOW THAT WORKS.
     SOMEONE HAS A STEAK SMOKING IN ALL ITS GLORY, ON THE GRILL, AND IT'S MAKING ME WILD WITH HUNGER. WE CAN'T AFFORD MEAT ANY MORE, SO I SATISFY MYSELF WITH THE AROMA, WAFTING BY THE VERANDAH. IT'S FREE AND I DON'T INTAKE ANY CALORIES. IT'S WINDY WITH A CHILL HERE, OUT OF THE SUN, AND I CAN HEAR HEAVIER THRUSTS OF WIND RISING UP OVER THE WOODED HILLSIDE OF THE BOG, OFF MUSKOKA BAY. WE LOST QUITE A FEW TREES, AND HUNDREDS OF BRANCHES, IN THE BOG, OVER THE PAST WINTER, TO MATCH WHAT HAPPENED IN LAST SUMMER'S BIG STORM. WE HAVE QUITE A FEW POPLARS AND THEIR LIFESPAN ISN'T MUCH MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE TO THIRTY YEARS. SO IT'S NOT A HUGE LOSS TO SEE THEM TOPPLED, BECAUSE MORE ARE GROWING BESIDE. IT'S BLOODY NICE TO SEE THE SUN TODAY. IT'S NOT REALLY MAY WEATHER, BUT JUST THE FACT I CAN SIT OUTSIDE FOR A WEE BIT, IS BETTER THAN SITTING BY THE HEARTH, TRYING TO STAY WARM. AND IT'S GOOD TO HEAR THE VOICES OF CHILDREN AT PLAY AGAIN, IN NEARBY BACKYARDS; AND TEN SECONDS AGO, SEVERAL DUCKS WHEN QUACKING-BY, ON THE WAY TO OPEN WATER SOMEWHERE IN THE BOG. WE'VE HAD GEESE SETTLING IN THE LOWLAND ALL THIS WEEK. QUITE A FEW DEER POKING ABOUT AS WELL. I'VE SEEN TWO WOODPECKERS IN THE PAST TWENTY MINUTES, A VENERABLE OLD CROW WITH A RAKE. I MEAN AN OLD CROW PERCHED ON MAPLE A BOUGH. (I GET GIDDY WATCHING OTHER PEOPLE WORK).
     SHE CALLS ME A MAN OF LEISURE. I PROBABLY SHOULD BE INSULTED BUT AT THIS MOMENT, WELL, IT'S TRUE. SUZANNE HAS NEVER THOUGHT OF WRITING AS WORK. IT'S ASSUMED THAT MY AMBITION TO CREATE STORIES, IS FAR MORE RECREATIONAL THAN PROFITABLE, IN OH SO MANY WAYS. I THINK SHE TAKES MY WORK SERIOUSLY, BUT JUST NOT THE PART ABOUT IT BEING DIFFICULT TO THINK UP, AND TAP, EVER SO LIGHTLY ONTO THIS SCREEN. I PROMISE HER THAT WHEN I WIN THE PULITZER, ANY YEAR NOW, I WILL GIVE IT TO HER, AS A GIFT OF THANKS, FOR HAVING GIVEN ME ALL THIS FREE TIME, TO PLAY AT MY ART-FORM. OF COURSE, SHE MAKES NO COMMENT, ON THE DOZEN OCCASIONS EACH MONTH, I MAKE THIS HOLLOW PROMISE. SHE JUST NODS AND WINKS, AND GETS ON WITH HER WORK. "WRITERS ARE ARE ALWAYS MISUNDERSTOOD," I YELL OUT TO HER. "YOU'LL SEE, ONE DAY, WHEN MY SHIP COMES IN," (TO BORROW A LINE FROM THE BOOK, "A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN." SUZANNE SMILES, AND CONCLUDES, "MAYBE OUR SHIPS WILL COME IN TOGETHER." I'M MOVING ON TO ANOTHER SUBJECT, AFTER A STATEMENT LIKE THAT, FOR GOSH SAKES.
    
     SEEING AS I WRITE A GREAT DEAL ABOUT MUSKOKA PAST AND PRESENT, AND PROMOTE THE RURAL LIFESTYLE CONSTANTLY (WITH NO REGRETS), IT'S TO BE EXPECTED I WILL ALSO RECEIVE QUITE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS REGARDING MY BIAS; AS TO WHY I CONSIDER THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, AS THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH TO RESIDE. SOME OF THE QUESTIONS ARE FROM THOSE WHO ARE SERIOUSLY CONTEMPLATING A FUTURE MOVE NORTH, AND WONDER WHICH OF THE MUSKOKA TOWNSHIPS WOULD BE BETTER TO CALL HOME. OTHERS, WHO LIVE IN BEAUTIFUL AREAS THEMSELVES, ACCUSE ME OF BEING A SHILL FOR THE REGIONAL TOURISM MARKETING AGENCY, OR THE LOCAL CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE. ON THAT NOTE, I HAVE NEVER SURRENDERED MY INDEPENDENCE, SINCE I LEFT EMPLOYMENT WITH THE LOCAL MEDIA, WHICH GOES BACK TO THE SUMMER OF 1990. WHILE I STILL CONTRIBUTE TO SEVERAL PUBLICATIONS, I AM NOT ON THEIR PAYROLL. SO BELIEVE ME, I AM NOT MAKING MONEY, BY PROMOTING THE GOOD GRACES OF MUSKOKA. IT JUST HAPPENS TO BE WHAT I BELIEVE IN, AND HAVE, SINCE I MOVED TO THIS REGION IN THE MID 1960'S. I OWE A TREMENDOUS DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO MUSKOKA, AND I CAN NOT FORESEE A TIME, AS LONG AS I CAN WRITE, OR SPEAK PUBLICLY, THAT I WON'T BOAST ABOUT ITS ATTRIBUTES WITH UNYIELDING EXCITEMENT; DESIRING THAT MANY MORE FOLKS WILL ACCEPT THE REGION AS I HAVE, AS A KIND HOST AND NATURAL MENTOR.
     FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE IN MUSKOKA, AND WHY I WOULD RECOMMEND IT, FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T DWELL ON THE INTRICASIES OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY. A SEASONAL ECONOMY IS SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT, BEFORE BECOMING IMMERSED IN ITS COMPLEXITIES. WHEN YOU LIVE HERE FOR A COUPLE OF DECADES, YOU FIGURE OUT THE HIGHS AND LOWS, AND INVEST ACCORDINGLY. SIMPLY STATED, YOU ADJUST EXPECTATIONS, AND DEAL WITH THE "FEAST OR FAMINE" REALITIES OF BEING IMPLANTED IN A TOURISM INDUSTRY REGION. THE ONLY CHARACTERISTIC I'M WILLING TO DISCUSS, AND DEBATE, IF NECESSARY, IS HOW THIS DISTRICT HAS CONTINUED TO INSPIRE ME, AND NURTURE OUR FAMILY, THREE WHO ARE TRUE MUSKOKANS; SUZANNE HAVING BEEN BORN IN HUNTSVILLE, AND RAISED IN WINDERMERE, AND BOTH SONS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, HAVING BEEN BORN IN BRACEBRIDGE, ONE OF TWO HOMETOWNS THEY HAVE LIVED, IN THIS MUNICIPALITY OF ONTARIO. AS WE HAVE ENJOYED MANY OPPORTUNITIES OF LIVING IN MUSKOKA, IN DIFFERENT LOCALES, INCLUDING A PERIOD IN WINDERMERE, AND FEELING THAT THE HINTERLAND HAS ENHANCED, ENRICHED AND BEEN FULFILLING IN OUR DAY TO DAY EXISTENCE, EACH OF US WOULD BE ABLE TO PITCH IN, ON ANY DISCUSSION, OF WHY THIS REGION IS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK. I'VE NEVER BEEN ASKED TO PROMOTE MUSKOKA BUT I'VE FELT COMPELLED TO RETURN THE FAVORS, IT HAS SO GENEROUSLY BESTOWED ON ME, FOR TIME AND TIME. AND SIMPLY PUT, I'VE NEVER HAD A DAY LIVING IN MUSKOKA, THAT I HAVEN'T THANKED GOD FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.    FOR THOSE MOVING FROM THE URBAN CLIMES, IT WILL TAKE MONTHS AND YEARS TO ADJUST TO A RURAL RESIDENCY. EVEN IN THE MAJOR TOWNS, AND SIGNIFICANT VILLAGES, THIS IS STILL A HINTERLAND DOMINION, AND THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT FAILURE RATE AMONGST NEW RESIDENTS. THIS HAPPENED REGULARLY IN PIONEER TIMES, BACK IN THE LATE 1850'S ONWARD, WHERE SETTLERS WOULD TRY TO FARM FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, AND THEN DECIDE TO MOVE ON TO MORE FERTILE GROUNDS. MUSKOKA WAS NOT KNOWN FOR ITS ARABLE LAND. IT HAS A NOTORIOUSLY THIN SOIL ON ROCK. THOSE WHO STAYED ON THOSE FIRST HOMESTEADS, HAVE THEIR NAMES ETCHED ONTO THE HISTORICAL CHRONICLE OF THE DISTRICT, AND MANY OF THE FAMILY NAMES ARE STILL IN EVIDENCE IN THIS NEW CENTURY. ANDREW AND ROBERT'S KIN-FOLK, ON THEIR MOTHER'S SIDE, INCLUDE THE SHEA AND VEITCH FAMILIES, WHO BEGAN SETTLEMENT IN AREA OF THREE MILE LAKE, IN THE HAMLET OF UFFORD, IN THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES. IF YOU WERE TO TAKE A STROLL THROUGH THE UFFORD CEMETERY, SITUATED ON THE DOUGHERTY ROAD, (NEAR WINDERMERE), YOU WOULD FIND MANY OF THESE NAMES, AND SO MANY OTHERS, STILL REPRESENTED IN THE LOCAL POPULATION.
     WHEN MY FAMILY MOVED TO BRACEBRIDGE, FROM BURLINGTON, ONTARIO, IN THE LATE WINTER OF 1966, THEY WERE CITY-WEARY PEOPLE. I DON'T THINK THEY KNEW THAT, AT THE TIME, BUT MY FATHER, IN PARTICULAR, HAD BEEN EXHAUSTED BY HIS JOB AT, WHAT WAS THEN KNOWN, AS CONSUMER LUMBER, WHICH MEANT HOURS OF COMMUTING TIME. THE POOR BUGGER HAD TO GET UP AT FOUR IN THE MORNING, TO TAKE ME TO MY HOCKEY GAMES, AT AN OUTDOOR KIWANIS RINK IN BURLINGTON, STAND IN THE COLD FOR OVER AN HOUR, DRIVE ME HOME, HAVE A COFFEE, AND HEAD BACK OUT THE DOOR TO HIS JOB, WHICH I BELIEVE WAS IN HAMILTON. I REMEMBER ONE NIGHT, ED GETTING A CALL THAT REALLY DISTURBED HIM. HE TOOK OFF LIKE A SHOT FROM THE APARTMENT, WITHOUT TELLING MY MOTHER MUCH ABOUT THE CIRCUMSTANCE; OTHER THAN TO YELL BACK THAT THERE HAD BEEN A TERRIBLE FIRE AT THE YARD. HE DIDN'T GET BACK HOME FOR MOST OF THE NEXT DAY, AND WHEN HE DID, HIS COMPLEXION WAS, AS MY MOTHER NOTED, "ASHEN." I OVERHEARD HIM TELLING MY MOTHER, ABOUT ARRIVING AT THE SCENE, AS THEY WERE TENDING TO THE NIGHT SECURITY GUARD, WHO HAD BEEN INJURED BY THE INITIAL EXPLOSION, AND ALTHOUGH HAVING SURVIVED, WAS BADLY BURNED, AND WOULD LATER PASS AWAY AS A DIRECT RESULT. MY DAD FELT AWFUL ABOUT THIS, AND IT WAS ONE MORE BURDEN OF A CITY LIFESTYLE, THAT WAS BREAKING HIS BACK EMOTIONALLY. SO WHEN, LATER THAT SAME YEAR, HE GOT AN OFFER FROM A FORMER LUMBER COLLEAGUE, TO MOVE TO MUSKOKA, TO WORK AT SHIER'S LUMBER, I DON'T THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF FAMILY DEBATE. MY MOTHER WAS AS TIRED OF CITY LIFE AS HE WAS, AT THAT POINT. WE HAD VISITED WITH THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY, BOB JONES, THE PREVIOUS SUMMER, AT A COTTAGE ON BRUCE LAKE, NEAR MINETT; AND WE ALL LIKED THE IDEA OF THIS LIVING IN PARADISE THING.
     ON OUR FIRST TRIP INTO BRACEBRIDGE, AS ITS NEWEST FULL-TIME RESIDENTS, THAT FEBRUARY AFTERNOON, THE FIRST OBSERVATION MY MOTHER MADE, AS WE DROVE OVER THE SILVER BRIDGE, ABOVE THE CATARACT OF BRACEBRIDGE FALLS, WAS TO CALL THAT MANITOBA STREET SCENE, "SLEEPY HOLLOW." NOW IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE SPIRITUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DESTINY, I MUST NOTE HERE, THAT WHILE MY MOTHER, GOD BLESS HER SOUL, KNEW WELL, THE WORK OF AUTHOR WASHINGTON IRVING, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN, THAT HER NEW HOMETOWN HAD INDEED BEEN NAMED AFTER A BOOK WRITTEN BY THE SAME AUTHOR, AS "THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW." (BRACEBRIDGE HALL). HOW STRANGE THEN, THAT HER SON, WOULD THEN WRITE A BOOK, THIRTY-FOUR YEARS LATER, ABOUT THIS CONNECTION TO WASHINGTON IRVING, AND SLEEPY HOLLOW. BELIEVE ME, MUSKOKA HAS HAD MANY SPIRITUAL INFLUENCES ON ME, SINCE THOSE EARLY DAYS, AND EVERY ONE OF THEM WELL-APPRECIATED. TO THIS POINT NOW, OF TODAY'S GLIMPSE AT THE WORK OF CANADIAN, AND MUSKOKA REGION ARTIST, FRANK JOHNSTON, FORMERLY OF GRAVENHURST, AND PORT HOPE, I AM BOTH DELIGHTED AND HONESTLY, A LITTLE MISTY-EYED FOR GOOD REASON. JOHNSTON WAS KNOWN AS ONE OF THE FINEST PRINT MAKERS IN CANADA, AS ONCE NOTED BY GROUP OF ELEVEN ARTIST, HAROLD TOWN, A LONG TIME COLLEAGUE AND DRINKING MATE, OF THE ARTIST PRINT-MAKER. THE MISTY-EYED PART, IS THAT I HAVE BEEN CAPTIVATED IN-HEART, BY ONE IMAGE, MORE THAN THE OTHERS, THAT HAS TAKEN ME BACK TO MY YOUTH, GAD-ABOUTING THE MAIN STREET, IN DOWNTOWN BRACEBRIDGE; WHICH ADMITTEDLY, I HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT, AND RECALLING, FOR FAR TOO LONG, ACCORDING TO SOME OF MY READERS.
     THIS PAST FRIDAY, FAMILY OF FRANK JOHNSTON, BROUGHT IN A NUMBER OF WATERCOLOR PRINTS, PAINTED BY THE WATERCOLOR ARTIST (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH GROUP OF SEVEN ARTIST, FRANZ JOHNSTON, WHO ALSO HAD A BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA CONNECTION), FOR ME TO DISPLAY AT OUR GRAVENHURST ANTIQUE SHOP. THIS WAS COURTESY OUR FRIEND BRUCE JOHNSTON, FRANK'S NEPHEW. WE HAD BEEN DISCUSSING, ONLINE, A WAY TO HONOR THE LATE ARTIST, AND CRAFT A MEANINGFUL BIOGRAPHY, INITIALLY FOR THOSE WHO REMEMBER SEEING HIS PAINTINGS ON DISPLAY IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS, BACK IN THE 1970'S, INTO THE 1990'S. IN PARTICULAR, THE MASSIVE FRAMED WATERCOLORS, THAT HUNG ON THE WALLS AT THE FORMER SLOANS RESTAURANT ON MUSKOKA ROAD, IN GRAVENHURST. THESE WERE ILLUSTRATIONS OF STEAMSHIPS, TRAINS, AND TRAVELLERS, GATHERED AT THE FORMER MUSKOKA WHARF, AND WERE ADORED BY THOSE WHO USED TO FREQUENT THE RESTAURANT; WHICH INCLUDED A MIX OF PERMANENT AND SEASONAL RESIDENTS, AND THOSE DAY TRAVELLERS WHO ALWAYS ENJOYED STOPPING FOR A SLICE OF SLOAN'S FAMOUS BLUEBERRY PIE, AND REFLECTIVE GLANCES AT THE JOHNSTON ART PANELS, WHICH HUNG PROMINENTLY ABOVE THE DINING BOOTHS. IN FACT, FRANK JOHNSTON WAS EVEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ART WORK ON THE MENU COVER, AND THE WINE LIST. THERE HAD BEEN A POWERFUL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARTIST AND RESTAURANT FAMILY, AND WE, THE CLIENTELE, GOT FULL ADVANTAGE OF BOTH; WHICH MADE SLOANS RESTAURANT ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR DINING ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE ENTIRE REGION.
     WHEN I BEGAN LOOKING THROUGH THE VARIETY OF FRANK JOHNSTON PRINTS, BRUCE JOHNSTON HAD KINDLY AFFORDED ME, I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY GOOD FORTUNE, FINDING A LATE SIXTIES DEPICTION OF "SLEEPY HOLLOW," MUCH AS MY MOTHER HAD VIEWED BRACEBRIDGE, ON THAT INITIAL MOTOR TRIP THROUGH THE HEART OF TOWN. I WAS SPEECHLESS, EXAMINING THE PROFILE OF THE MAIN STREET, LOOKING DOWN FROM THE HILLSIDE, ADJACENT TO THE BRACEBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY, ALONG WHAT WAS KNOWN IN MY DAY, AS "THE QUEEN'S HILL." THE LARGE BRICK BUILDING ON THE LEFT, ABUTTING THE CLOCK TOWER, WAS ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE QUEEN'S HOTEL, WHICH BY THIS POINT IN TOWN HISTORY, HAD BECOME THE PATTERSON HOTEL. MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND, ARTIST ROSS SMITH, WOULD GET A KICK OUT OF THIS ARTIST PERSPECTIVE, BUT WOULD POINT OUT, THAT IT WAS MISSING SOMETHING. HE WOULD POINT TO THE FRONT OF THE HOTEL, AND SUGGEST THAT IT WOULD BE A MORE COMPLETE IMAGE, IF HIS UNCLE FENTON PATTERSON'S PINK CADILLAC, WAS PARKED ON THE HILL OPPOSITE THE FRONT DOOR. I REMEMBER THAT SO CLEARLY, JUST AS ROSS WOULD, IF HE WAS SITTING ACROSS FROM IT, AS I AM THIS MOMENT. WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER, HE WORKED AT HIS FATHER'S ESSO STATION, "THE UPTOWN GARAGE," LOCATED ON THE RIGHT-SIDE TOP, OF THE IMAGE, ON THE BRINK OF THE HILLSIDE, ADJACENT TO THE LIBRARY. BOTH ARE STILL THERE, AND THE FORMER GAS STATION IS NOW KNOWN AS THE "OLD STATION." AFTER THE GAS STATION CLOSED, IT BECAME THE "GARDEN CAFE," RUN BY ANOTHER OF MY MATES, RON TOUFAR; AND IT WAS WHERE DAVE WHITESIDE, AND HIS GUITAR CLUB, HOSTED MANY WELL ATTENDED COFFEE-HOUSE MUSICALS, IN THE EARLY 1980'S. ROSS BY THE WAY, USED TO PAINT LANDSCAPES, AT THE SALES DESK, IN BETWEEN CUSTOMERS ARRIVING FOR FILL-UPS. AT THE LOWEST CORNER OF THE OLD HOTEL, WHEN IT WAS OWNED BY THE PATTERSON FAMILY, ANOTHER ARTIST FRIEND, BILL ANDERSON, USED TO HAVE HIS BARBERSHOP, WHERE HE TOO, USED TO PAINT LANDSCAPES BETWEEN CUSTOMERS; AND SOMETIMES, WHILE HE WAS CUTTING HAIR. IF BILL WAS INSPIRED TO MAKE A CHANGE TO A PAINTING ON AN EASLE IN FRONT, HE JUST STOPPED CUTTING, AND PICKED UP HIS PAINT BRUSH. HE ALSO STOPPED TO MAKE TEA. I HAVE THREE BILL ANDERSON PAINTINGS IN OUR SHOP, AND I THINK ONE OF THEM ON THE WALL NOW, WAS IN CREATION, DURING ONE OF MY SATURDAY MORNING APPOINTMENTS, TO HAVE "MY EARS LOWERED," AS MY MOTHER USED TO SAY.
     THE OLD FIRE TOWER IS THE BRICK ARCHITECTURE ON THE RIGHT, AND THE INTERSECTION ON THE SAME SIDE, IS WITH DOMINION STREET, LEADING DOWN TO THE PROVINCIAL COURT HOUSE, AND THE FORMER BRACEBRIDGE TOWN HALL. IT'S OF COURSE THE ROUTE I WALKED EVERY MORNING, TO GET TO THE HERALD-GAZETTE OFFICE, AT 27 DOMINION STREET. AND I USED TO HIKE UP THE QUEEN'S HILL, EVERY MORNING ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL. THE BUILDING ON THE TOP LEFT, WITH THE FLAGS, WAS THE FORMER A&P GROCERY STORE, WHEN WE FIRST MOVED TO TOWN, AND OF COURSE, THE SIGN PROTRUDING FROM A PORTION OF BUILDING, CLOSEST TO THE OLD HOTEL, WAS "JOE'S BILLIARDS," WHICH WAS FREQUENTED BY TWO LOCAL LADS, WHO WENT ON TO MAKE THE BIG LEAGUES; ROGER CROZIER, OF THE DETROIT RED WINGS, OF THE N.H.L., AND PAUL RIMSTEAD, A FUTURE COLUMNIST FOR THE TORONTO SUN. THE CLOCK TOWER OF THE FORMER FEDERAL BUILDING, AT THE INTERSECTION OF THOMAS STREET, AND MANITOBA STREET, WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT HERITAGE LANDMARKS, IN MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOWN. I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THE CLOCK TOWER A THOUSAND TIMES SINCE THE LATE 1970'S, WHEN I MOVED BACK TO BRACEBRIDGE, AFTER MY UNIVERSITY YEARS IN TORONTO. I REFERRED TO THE ILLUMINATED DIALS OF THE CLOCK, AS BEING MY "EYES OF ECKLEBURG," TAKEN AS REFERENCE, FROM THE F. SCOTT FITZGERALD NOVEL, "THE GREAT GATSBY." THE EYES OF THE TOWER FOLLOWED ME THROUGH ALL OF MY DAYS LIVING IN BRACEBRIDGE; THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND NOT SO GOOD. THE CHIMES, AS WELL, HAD A SENTIMENTAL RING, AND THEY REMINDED ME OF MY TIME AND PLACE, WHETHER I WAS AT THE OLD SWIMMING HOLE, AT BASS ROCK, OR SLOWLY WALKING MY GIRLFRIEND, AT THE TIME, LINDA DAWSON, HOME AFTER PUBLIC SKATING. THE RING ALWAYS INTERRUPTED ME, SUCH THAT I DID THINK ABOUT THE TIME, AND IT'S WHAT GROUNDED ME, IN THE PASSIONS OF THE PARTICULAR MOMENT. LIKE BEING REMINDED TO PRESERVE THESE MOMENTS FOR POSTERITY; AND THAT SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE, IT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT RECOLLECTION. WELL, THIS IS A CASE IN POINT. THIS WONDERFUL, REMINISCENT ART PEICE, BY FRANK JOHNSTON, HAS REMINDED ME OF THAT CLOCK TOWER BELL, THOSE EVER-WATCHING, NON-JUDGEMENTAL EYES, AND ABOUT THE PEOPLE I KNEW BACK THEN, THAT I WISH I COULD TALK TO NOW. ISN'T THAT A PINNACLE CREDIT FOR THE ARTIST, THAT I, THE VOYEUR SHOULD BE SO DELIGHTFULLY ENTICED INTO THE MAGIC OF THE SCENE. I HATE TO ADMIT BEING A LITTLE HEARTSICK AT THIS MOMENT, BUT I CAN FEEL THE SLUSH UNDER FOOT, AND THE BRISK WIND, ETCHING DOWN UPON THIS LATE WINTER SCENE, THREATENING OF SNOW OR FREEZING RAIN. IT'S AS IF I CAN SENSE THE PRECISE PLACE ON THE HILLSIDE, WHEN I WOULD HAVE GRABBED LINDA'S MITTED-HAND, AS WE SWUNG OUR SKATES CONTENTLY, IN OUR OPPOSITE HANDS, FEELING THAT THIS DAY'S JOY WOULD NEVER FAIL US. I AM A FOOL FOR DAWDLING TOO LONG, ON THE SEPIA-TONE SENTIMENTS, BEST LEFT TO THE DOG EARED, SCRAPBOOKS, AND HAUNTING SENSATIONS OF OTHER TIMES, WE EXPERIENCE WHEN SUDDENLY, WE PASS A FAMILIAR LANDMARK THAT HOLDS A SPECIAL MEMORY. TODAY, TRYING TO SUM IT ALL UP, ABOUT FRANK JOHNSTON'S DEPICTION OF BRACEBRIDGE'S MANITOBA STREET, I HAVE STROLLED EMOTIONALLY ONCE MORE, ALONG THAT FAMILIAR LENGTH OF STREET, IN WHAT I KNEW WITH AFFECTION, AS OUR SLEEPY HOLLOW.
     PLEASE JOIN ME THIS WEEK, FOR MORE FRANK JOHNSTON RETROSPECTIVES, COURTESY THE JOHNSTON FAMILY.

Ukrainian Crisis and How We Are Reacting; Andrew Currie's Sessions Concerts At St. James Anglican Church

Andrew Currie's Music will host the above performers at the first "Sessions" event at St. James Anglican Church in Gravenhurst on Friday, May 23rd. Tickets are available our shop on the main street.

We are ready to roll on our Historical Resource Adventure

Owned by our friend Chris Thompson. This a presentation silver tray given to Mary Elizabeth Aitken former proprietor  of Windermere House, by The Canadian Albacore Association, 1961-62. We thank all our friends who allow us to display Muskoka Heritage items in our Gravenhurst Antique Shop.

THE UKRAINE, RUSSIA, NATO, AND HERE WE STILL ARE - SAFE AND SOUND

AS THE CRISIS DEEPENS, AND RHETORIC HEIGHTENS, WHAT COMES NEXT?

     IT HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT START-UP TO MAY, IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE, HERE IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH MUSKOKA. EVEN IN THE BOY'S VINTAGE MUSIC COMPONENT, IT HAS BEEN CRAZY, AND THE ONLY NAGGING ISSUE, IS WHERE TO GET MORE REPLACEMENT INVENTORY. IT'S A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE, IN ONE WAY, BUT UNFORTUNATE IN THE OTHER. AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HITTING THE RAFTERS WITH INCOMING INVENTORY, IN PREPARATION FOR THE SUMMER SEASON. WHILE WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL, IN PART, GETTING HALFWAY TO THE RAFTERS, WE'VE BEEN SELLING AT A FASTER RATE, THAN WHAT HAS BEEN COMING ACROSS THE COUNTER. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY OLD OR USED GUITARS AND EQUIPMENT, YOU WANT RID OF, OR AREN'T USING ANYMORE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO RUN THEM BY ANDREW AND ROBERT. IT'S KIND OF NICE TO REPORT POSITIVE SALES, WHEN MOSTLY, AROUND SOUTH MUSKOKA, YOU HEAR ABOUT POOR RETAIL SALES AND BUSINESS CLOSURES. THE ONLY REASON WE'D HAVE TO CLOSE NOW, IS IF WE SOLD OUT OF INVENTORY ENTIRELY. WE'RE OKAY FOR AWHILE, BUT IT'S LOOKING LIKE A GOOD SUMMER IF YOU BASE IT ON THE EARLY SEASON SIGNS. IF OF COURSE, OUR WORLD LEADERS, CAN CONVINCE THE RUSSIANS TO BACK OFF. IT'S STILL A WEE THORN FOR US IN THE "HISTORY-SELLING" AND "HISTORY RELIVING" BUSINESS, BECAUSE WORLD WAR IS A GAME CHANGER FOR ALL OF US. MANY OF US SELL MILITARY ITEMS, BOOKS AND EPHEMERA FROM THE PERIOD OF WORLD WARS, AND WE TALK ABOUT OUR COLLECTIONS AND INVENTORIES FREQUENTLY, WITH HOBBY HISTORIANS AND EVEN AUTHORS OF THESE RETROSPECTIVE BOOKS. SO EXCUSE US FOR BEING A LITTLE ON EDGE, ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN EUROPE, BECAUSE WE CAN CITE A LONG LIST OF PRECEDENTS, THAT SHOULD MAKE US WARY OF WORLD POWER STANDOFFS. TO SELL MILITARY HISTORIES, AND ACCURATELY REPRESENT OUR COLLECTIONS, WE HAVE TO KNOW THE BASICS OF PAST WARS. SO FORGIVE US FOR BEING A LITTLE PESSIMISTIC THESE DAYS. IT'S NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE, THAT'S FOR SURE. MOST DEALERS AND COLLECTORS, I'VE TALKED TO THIS SPRING, ARE UP IN BUSINESS AND PURCHASES, AND FEELING GOOD ABOUT THE COMING MONTHS FOR MORE OF THE SAME. I WON'T SAY WE ARE BEACONS OF HOPE, BUT EVEN WITH DEEP SUSPICIONS OF BAD STUFF TO COME, THERE'S A STALWART FEELING AMONGST PROFESSIONALS, THAT SOMETHING GOOD WILL COME OF ALL THIS POSTURING ON THE WORLD STAGE. IT'S JUST THIS "ON THE BRINK" STUFF, THAT MAKES US A LITTLE MORE CAUTIOUS ABOUT INCREASING DEBT LOADS, ON LONG TERM SPECULATION, NOTHING WILL BREAK OUT THIS YEAR. WE DO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE DO BUY, IS WHAT WE CAN LIVE WITH, IF THE MARKET EVER RETRACTED SUDDENLY, BASED ON GLOBAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
     THE GOOD NEWS, OF COURSE, WAS THAT THE "OBSERVER" HOSTAGES, IMPRISONED LAST WEEK, BY PRO-RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS, ON SUSPICION THEY WERE SPYING FOR NATO FORCES, WERE FREED TODAY. IT'S NOT MUCH TO FEEL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT, BUT IT'S A START. WE ALL APPRECIATE THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE AND TRAGIC.
     WELL, FOR STARTERS, THE ESCALATION OF TENSIONS IN THE UKRAINE, AND THE RECENT DEATH OF INNOCENTS CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF WHAT APPEARS TO BE A BUDDING CIVIL WAR, HASN'T CHANGED MUCH OF NORMAL LIFE AND TIMES, HERE IN SMALL TOWN ONTARIO. MAKE THAT SMALL TOWN CANADA. I'M SURE THAT IN THE CITIES OF NORTH AMERICA, THERE ARE UKRANIAN COMMUNITIES, PROTESTING THE RUSSIAN INTRUSION IN THE CRIMEA, AND THE PRO-RUSSIAN AGITATION, GOING ON THR0UGHOUT THE COUNTRY IN CRISIS. BUT IN THIS COMMUNITY, DESPITE THERE BEING THOSE OF UKRANIAN ANCESTRY, THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY OUTRIGHT, VISIBLE, PUBLIC PROTEST. IT ISN'T TO SUGGEST, THAT THERE AREN'T FRIGHTENED PEOPLE AMONGST US, WHO ARE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION, THESE DAYS, TO THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF THIS RUSSIAN INSPIRED CIVIL WAR. THERE ARE CITIZENS HERE IN MUSKOKA, WHO STILL HAVE FAMILY IN THE UKRAINE, OR IN THE BALTIC REGION OF EUROPE. SO IT'S LIKELY THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING IN SILENCE, WHILE THEIR HOMELAND IS BEING TORN APART BY RUSSIAN AGITATORS, AND PRO-RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS, WHO ARE COUNTING ON AN INVASION TO OCCUR, TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS. WE KNOW THESE PEOPLE FROM SOCIAL AND BUSINESS INTERACTION, BUT WE DON'T APPRECIATE FULLY, HOW WORRIED THEY MUST BE, ABOUT THE WELFARE OF FAMILY CAUGHT IN A DIRE SITUATION.
     A WEEK AGO, SATURDAY, I WROTE A BLOG (OR SKETCH) ABOUT OUR TOWN, AND ITS DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES, DURING THE MODERN DAY RENEWAL, OF THE FORMER "COLD WAR;" PLUS A RETROSPECTIVE, ABOUT THE TENSIONS OF NORTH AMERICANS GENERALLY, IN THE ERA OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, OF THE EARLY 1960'S. OF COURSE, A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR POPULATION TODAY, WASN'T BORN YET, AND EVEN THE REFERENCE TO "THE COLD WAR," IS KNOWN MOSTLY FROM HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASS; BUT HAS LITTLE ACTUAL RELEVANCE TO OUR MODERN LIVES. THERE ARE A LOT OF US HOWEVER, OF THE BABY BOOMER RANK AND FILE, WHO DO APPRECIATE HOW DELICATE RELATIONS WERE WITH RUSSIA, FOR MANY DECADES, FOLLOWING THE STAND-OFF OVER CUBA. WE APPRECIATE WHAT IT MEANS NOW, AT THIS MOMENT, TO HAVE SUPER POWERS SQUARING OFF, OVER THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA, SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, AND POTENTIALLY, THE EASTERN AREA OF UKRAINE ANY DAY NOW, WHERE THOUSANDS OF RUSSIAN TROOPS HAVE BEEN POSITIONED, FOR THE PAST THREE WEEKS. WE GET A NERVOUS TWINGE, WHEN WE HEAR ON THE NEWS, THAT NATO FORCES ARE BEING STRENGTHENED IN NEIGHBOR COUNTRIES, LIKE POLAND AND ROMANIA, WITH BATTLESHIPS POSITIONING IN THE BLACK SEA. WE HAVEN'T SEEN A BREWING CRISIS LIKE THIS IN MANY DECADES, AND I'M AFRAID MOST CANADIANS ARE UNAWARE, JUST HOW PRECARIOUS IT ALL COULD BE, SITTING BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES. THE POINT IS, EVEN THE HIGHLY REGARDED MILITARY STRATEGISTS ARE WORRIED ABOUT THIS ONE, AND IT SHOWS ON THEIR FACES, WHEN DISCUSSING THE "WHAT IFS" THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.....JUST IN CASE RUSSIA DECIDES TO SEND TROOPS INTO THE UKRAINE; WHICH SEEMS AN INEVITABILITY, DESPITE WARNINGS FROM THE UNITED STATES AND GERMANY, REPRESENTING NATO FORCES ON STAND-BY.
     WELL, THERE HASN'T BEEN ANYTHING RELEASED BY THE FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL, (NOW READYING FOR A SPRING ELECTION), OR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS, THAT ADVISE US TO DIG FALL-OUT SHELTERS, AND ORGANIZE CIVIL DEFENSE ASSOCIATIONS, SHOULD A WAR IN EUROPE BREAK OUT. MAYBE I'M JUMPING THE GUN, SUGGESTING SUCH A THING; WHAT WOULD A CIVIL DEFENSE GROUP DO IF A WAR DIDN'T OCCUR? MIGHT THEY BE TURNED INTO A SERVICE CLUB FOR POSTERITY, OR GIVEN NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT ASSIGNMENTS, AROUND SOUTH MUSKOKA? I UNDERSTAND THE RELUCTANCE TO GET PEOPLE RILED UP, AND FEARFUL, BUT IF WE HEAR ONE DAY, THAT SHOTS ACROSS THE BORDER HAVE BEEN FIRED, WITH CASUALTIES, IT MAY NOT BE TOO EARLY AT ALL, TO THINK OF THIS EVENTUALITY. NO ONE WANTS TO THINK NEGATIVELY, OR SUBSCRIBE TO END OF THE WORLD SCENARIOS, OR TO DWELL ON SUCH HORRIBLE REALITIES, HERE NOW, IN THIS BUDDING, BUT RAINY, SPRING SEASON IN BEAUTIFUL MUSKOKA. TALK ABOUT SURREAL. IT JUST SEEMS TOO FAR AWAY, AND NOTHING MORE THAN STRANGE FICTION. WE'RE JUST TOO FAR REMOVED FROM THE DEVASTATION OF WORLD WAR, AS OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS HAD TO COPE, AT HOME AND ABROAD. WE KNOW ABOUT WAR, JUST NOT A ALL-CONSUMING EVENT THAT WOULD FORCE EACH OF US TO CONFORM TO A NEW, LESS BOUNTIFUL LIFESTYLE. IMAGINE RATIONING FOOD AND GAS, TO ASSIST WITH THE WAR EFFORT. IF WAR DOES ERUPT, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN, AND IT COULD BE A LONG AND GHASTLY EVENT. THE HARDSHIPS WILL BE SPREAD AROUND.
    IF YOU WATCH THE NEWS, AND SEE THE CARNAGE IN THE UKRAINE AT PRESENT, IT'S NOT HARD AT ALL, TO FORESEE A COUNTRY-WIDE CIVIL WAR. THIS WOULD JUSTIFY A RUSSIAN MILITARY INVASION, (WHAT THE PRESIDENT OF RUSSIAN HAS BEEN WAITING FOR) AND THE QUESTION MOST ASKED THESE DAYS, IS HOW NATO FORCES WILL RESPOND. ANY RESPONSE COULD IGNITE A HONKING-BIG POWDER KEG, AND A FIRESTORM, OF SCIENCE FICTION PROPORTION. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR US; OR SONS AND DAUGHTERS? IT IS THE BIG TURN OF EVENTS, THAT HAS THE WEIGHT TO CHANGE HOW WE LIVE FOREVER AFTER. IT'S JUST A LITTLE CONFUSING, TRYING TO TIME THIS OUT, BECAUSE SO MUCH IS HANGING BY A THREAD, AND THERE ARE HOLES IN THE SAFETY NET. AT TIMES I THINK I SHOULD BE HOARDING SUPPLIES JUST IN CASE, OR THINKING ABOUT WHERE WE COULD GO TO FIND A SAFE HAVEN. THERE IS NO REAL SAFE HAVEN IN A NUCLEAR WAR, IS THERE?
     IN GRAVENHURST, BRACEBRIDGE, HUNTSVILLE, AND MUSKOKA GENERALLY, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED WHATSOEVER, BY THE POTENTIAL OF WAR. THERE ARE NO PARADES PROTESTING THE RUSSIAN INTERVENTION, AND I HAVEN'T SEEN A SINGLE BANNER, MAKING ANY REFERENCE TO THE PRESENT CRISIS. THERE IS CERTAINLY NO OUTRIGHT INITIATIVE TO FORM A CIVIL DEFENSE CORP, OR APPOINT LIGHT WARDENS, AND SET UP RED CROSS KNITTING GROUPS. THERE IS NOTHING ANXIOUS ABOUT THE MAINSTREET SCENE, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, AND IF THERE IS WORRY ABOUT WORLD SECURITY, IT ISN'T SHOWING UP IN ANY CITIZEN AMALGAMATION. OUTSIDE OF REPORTING THE NEWS AT REGULAR INTERVALS, THERE IS NO ADVISORY ABOUT EMERGENCY BROADCASTING, THAT MIGHT TRANSPIRE, IF WAR WAS TO BREAK OUT. THE LOCAL MEDIA? I'VE GIVEN UP EXPECTING ANYTHING FROM THEM. EVEN BUSINESS AT THE SHOP HASN'T SHOWN ANY REACTION TO ANYTHING GEO-POLITICAL, AND THERE HASN'T EVEN BEEN A WORD VOLUNTEERED IN CONVERSATION, DEVOTED TO WHAT IS GOING ON, THIS HOUR, OR THIS PAST WEEK, IN THE UKRAINE. POSSIBLY IT'S MORE A CASE OF PUBLIC RESIGNATION, TO THE REALITY, WE HAVE NO POWER TO HALT THE CONFLICT, OR EVEN SET ABOUT AS NEGOTIATORS, TO BRING PEACE TO THE REGION. I THINK MANY ARE PURPOSELY OBLIVIOUS, SELDOM LISTENING TO, OR WATCHING THE HOURLY NEWS REPORTS. THEY GLANCE AT THE NEWSPAPER HEADLINES, BUT REFUSE TO PAY A DIME, TO ACTUALLY BUY ONE OFF THE NEWSTAND. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT THEY DON'T CARE, BUT MORE SO, BECAUSE THEY FEEL HELPLESS TO DO ANYTHING TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY, THAT WILL COME IN THE WAKE OF CONFLICT. ASKING THESE FOLKS IF THEY ARE AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL COLLATERAL DAMAGE, HERE IN CANADA, THEY PROBABLY ARE AWARE OF THE FALL-OUT ISSUES, BUT ARE LIVING FOR THE MOMENT, THE DAY, THE WEEK, THE MONTH, AND HOPING FOR THE BEST. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WHAT'S THE POINT OF WORRYING TO THE POINT OF GETTING ULCERS, AND THEN HAVING THE WHOLE ISSUE RESOLVE A FEW WEEKS DOWN THE ROAD. I'M NOT WILLING TO SURRENDER MYSELF TO IGNORANCE, BUT I DO KNOW WHEN TO DIVERT MY ATTENTION, FOR THE SAME OF GOOD HEALTH.
     I CAN'T CLAIM IN THIS BLOG, THAT WE HAVE LOST ONE CENT OF RETAIL SALES, HERE AT OUR SOUTH MUSKOKA SHOP, PROPORTIONAL TO ANY SENSE OF FEAR, THE OUTBREAK OF WAR WILL KILL THE WORLD ECONOMY. AND FACING REALITY, IT COULD! IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL. ACTUALLY, THIS ISN'T QUITE TRUE. WE ARE WELL ABOVE LAST YEAR, IN SALES, ACCORDING TO OUR ACCOUNTANT, AND THE HOLES ON THE SHELVES, AND WHERE ANTIQUE FURNITURE USED TO BE, VALIDATES THIS AS WELL. I'VE TRIED TO BRING UP THE CRISIS IN THE UKRAINE, WITH SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS, WHO STOP TO VISIT THE WRITER IN RESIDENCE, BUT LARGELY THEY ARE TOO DARN CHEERFUL AND LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST, TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING A HALF WORLD AWAY. I'M NOT REALLY SURE, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO IT, WHAT I EXPECT FROM THESE FOLKS, OR FROM ANYONE IN THIS REGION, REGARDING THE NEW CENTURY "COLD WAR." THERE CERTAINLY ISN'T ANY EVIDENCE OF TREPIDATION ABOUT CARRYING ON WITH LOCAL RECREATIONS, INCLUDING THE HUNT AND GATHER OF ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES. BUT THEN, RESPECTFULLY, I BEGAN THIS SERIES OF OBSERVATIONAL PIECES, IN A SMALL WAY, TO DOCUMENT THE PREVAILING SENTIMENTS OF RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO THE ONTARIO HINTERLAND. OUTSIDE OF COMMON COMPLAINTS, IN PASSIVE CONVERSATION, ABOUT THE PRICE OF GAS, HOME HEATING, AND FOOD, NONE OF WHICH CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO PROBLEMS IN EUROPE, THERE REALLY ISN'T ANYTHING TO STIR THE POT, EVEN WHEN IT COMES TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A JUNE PROVINCIAL ELECTION. BORING!
     CUSTOMERS TALK ABOUT THEIR COLLECTIONS, THEIR HOME DECORATING PLANS, GARDENING, THE COTTAGE, FAMILY MEMBERS, AND PROFESSIONS, PLUS WEATHER OVERVIEWS, BUT NOTHING THAT WOULD SUGGEST, THEY BELIEVE WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF NUCLEAR WAR. OR ANY WAR, FOR THAT MATTER. OF COURSE, I HAVE BECOME CLEARLY AWARE, THAT MANY ARE APATHETIC TO WHAT MIGHT EXIST OUT THERE, THAT COULD HURT THEM IF THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES WERE TO PREVAIL. WHAT DOESN'T HURT THEM PRESENTLY, DOESN'T STIMULATE THE IMAGINATION. LAST WEEK, I BELIEVE, I NOTED, THAT IF CANADIANS WERE ASKED TO LIST THEIR TOP TEN CONCERNS, FOR THE BALANCE OF THIS YEAR, ROB FORD'S WELFARE IN RE-HAB, WOULD RANK HIGHER ON THE SCALE, THAN WORRIES ABOUT THE EVENTUALITY OF WORLD WAR III. I DON'T THINK IT WOULD MAKE THE TOP TEN, OR EVEN TWENTY IMMEDIATE CONCERNS, AND THE SAME WOULD HAVE HELD, IF THIS QUESTION WAS ASKED PRIOR TO THE EVENTS OF 9-11; EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE WARNINGS THEN, SOME MAJOR TERRORISM EVENT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. I SUPPOSE WE ARE JUST CONSUMED THESE DAYS, BY WISHFUL THINKING, BELIEVING WE CAN WARD OFF BAD THINGS BY POSSESSING A POSITIVE OUTLOOK. IT'S OUR SHEILD AGAINST BAD STUFF FLUNG OUR WAY. I WORRY ABOUT THE HIGH LEVEL OF APATHY, BECAUSE IT MEANS WE WOULD TAKE MUCH LONGER TO ORGANIZE, TO ASSIST A WAR EFFORT, FROM THE HOMEFRONT PERSPECTIVE, SHOULD IT EVER BE NECESSARY.
     IGNORANCE IS BLISS. FOR A MOMENT HOWEVER, THINK ABOUT THESE LOOMING POTENTIALS, IF YOU HAPPENED TO BE LIVING IN COUNTRIES CLOSE TO RUSSIA, AND BORDERING THE BLACK SEA; WHERE A NAVAL BATTLE COULD TAKE PLACE AT ANY MOMENT. WHEN YOU SEE THOSE CITIZENS OF THE UKRAINE, LAYING IN POOLS OF BLOOD, AND JUMPING TO THEIR DEATHS FROM BURNING BUILDINGS, PURPOSELY SET ON FIRE, CAN YOU PUT YOURSELF IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE WORLD, WHERE NOTHING IS SAFE, AND NO ONE IS GUARANTEED THEY WON'T BE THE NEXT CASUALTY OF INDISCRIMINATE KILLING. WHEN IT IS IN SOME OTHER COUNTRY OF THE WORLD, WE FEEL SAFE AND PROTECTED. THE PREVAILING CONFUSION HOWEVER, IS ONE OF PERSPECTIVE; ACCEPTANCE THAT WE HAVE A RARE SITUATION UNFOLDING THAT INVOLVES WORLD SUPER POWERS. WITH THIS COMES ENOUGH EXPLOSIVE POTENTIAL, TO REDUCE THE WORLD POPULATION BY MANY MILLIONS. IT'S DIFFERENT THAN THE BAY OF PIGS CRISIS, BUT NO ONE, NOWHERE, SHOULD UNDERESTIMATE JUST HOW DANGEROUS IT IS, AND HOW CLOSE, IN MINUTES OF MISSILE-THRUST, WE ARE FROM A CATASTROPHE OF UNIMAGINABLE CARNAGE.
     THIS IS THE 3RD OF JUNE, 2014. AT THIS MOMENT, THERE IS NO INDICATION A WORLD WAR IS GOING TO BREAK OUT TODAY, TOMORROW, OR NEXT WEEK. I DON'T KNOW HOW WAR WAS PREDICTED, PRIOR TO THE FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WARS, AND I'M NOT SURE WHICH OF THE MILITARY EXPERTS, AND POLITICAL CRITICS TO BELIEVE NOW, ABOUT JUST HOW CLOSE, OR FAR AWAY, WE ARE FROM SUPER POWER WARFARE. SUZANNE FEELS COMFORTABLE BUYING GREEN BANANAS, AND I'VE ONLY GOT A SHORT-HANDLED SPADE, SO IT WILL BE BACK BREAKING TO DIG A SHELTER DEEP ENOUGH, TO SAVE OUR FAMILY FROM A NUCLEAR WARHEAD. WE HAVE A PANTRY, BUT THE SHELVES ARE BARE AFTER THE LONG WINTER. WE'VE GONE THROUGH MOST OF THE COAL OIL FOR OUR OLD FARM LAMPS, AND I'VE ONLY GOT A TWO LITRES OF KEROSENE LEFT, FOR OUR PORTABLE HEATER. I THINK WE HAVE A COUPLE OF TINS OF TUNA, AND ONE OF SALMON, A COUPLE OF DOZEN EGGS, BECAUSE SOMEONE JUST GAVE THEM TO US; AND A LOT OF CONDIMENTS THAT WE COULD ALWAYS SPREAD ON SLICES OF BREAD, IF WE WERE EVER STARVING. OBVIOUSLY THEN, I'M MORE HOPEFUL ABOUT A RESOLUTION THAN I AM A DOOMSAYER, FEARING CEASELESSLY THAT THE END OF THE WORLD IS A FLASH AND BOOM AWAY. I'M RESIGNED, INSTEAD, TO REACT WHEN THE TIME COMES, AND IF THAT MEANS KISSING MY ASS GOODBYE, THEN SO BE IT. BUT IF THEY REQUIRE A CIVIL DEFENSE CONTRIBUTION, DOWN THE ROAD, WE CURRIES WILL BE QUICK TO SIGN-ON, TO HELP THE COMMUNITY AND THE WAR EFFORT. THEY PROBABLY WON'T WANT A GUY WITH A WONKY HIP, TO JOIN THE INFANTRY, BUT MAYBE I CAN HOBBLE AROUND AS THE LIGHT WARDEN, OR WATCHER FOR AIR RAIDS, SITTING IN A HIGH TOWER WATCHING FOR THE ENEMY'S APPROACH BY LAND OR AIR. OF COURSE, I'M NOT SURE THAT A MODERN WAR WILL REQUIRE ANY OF THE ABOVE. I IMAGINE IT WILL BE AN AERIAL DEMON WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT. DRONES WITH A PAYLOAD.
      YET NO MATTER WHAT, IT'S NOT UP TO US; BUT WE WILL BE INTIMATELY INVOLVED, IF AND WHEN TENSIONS REACH THAT CRITICAL TIPPING POINT. WHERE SOME CRITICS, AND THE UKRANIAN INTERIM PRESIDENT, FEEL WE ARE POSITIONED, AT THIS VERY MOMENT OF WORLD HISTORY. WHAT ARE THE SOOTHSAYERS, THE MEDIUMS, CLAREVOYENTS, AND SPIRITUALISTS THINKING ABOUT, THESE DAYS, REGARDING MANKIND'S FUTURE ENTERPRISE. WHAT DO THEY FEAR THE MOST FOR HUMANITY? THE BIG BANG. OR WILL OUR POLLUTED LAND AND AIR KILL US FIRST.
      I'M NOT A GLOOMY FELLOW AS A RULE. BUT I KNOW THAT LIVES ARE BEING LOST RIGHT NOW, AND THERE IS A STRONG POTENTIAL, OF THOUSANDS MORE FATALITIES IN THE UKRAINE IN THE COMING WEEKS, BASED ON NEWS OF THE DAY. OF THIS, WE CAN'T AVOID LOOMING REALITY, IT WILL SPREAD IN OUR DIRECTION.

ACID RAIN AND THE CHALLENGE OF A MAYOR TO HIS COUNCIL

IT ENDED IN RESIGNATION IN THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES

     I REMEMBER THIS PERIOD WELL. I WAS A ROOKIE REPORTER, FOR THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, COVERING THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES. THERE WERE MEETINGS HELD EVERY SECOND MONDAY, AT THE TOWNSHIP HALL IN PORT CARLING.

     MAYOR BOB BENNETT WAS NEVER ONCE, IMPATIENT WITH ME, AS I LEARNED THE PROTOCOL OF MUNICIPAL REPORTING. HE COULD APPEAR STERN AND UNAPPROACHABLE, BUT MANY TIMES, HE WOULD TAKE ME INTO HIS OFFICE, FOR AN INTERVIEW……THAT HE WOULD ONLY GIVE TO ME. I GOT QUITE A FEW EXCLUSIVES BACK THEN, AND TIPS ON OTHER MUNICIPAL NEWS OF THE WEEK. MAYBE HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS, BUT HE DID ANYWAY. I FOUND HIM A KINDLY CHAP, WHO WAS SINCERE AND UP-FRONT WHEN OTHER LOCAL POLITICIANS WERE EVASIVE AND RELUCTANT TO GO ON THE RECORD, DURING INTERVIEWS. I KNOW WHY BOB GOT FRUSTRATED WITH THE COUNCIL, DURING THIS PERIOD. I UNDERSTOOD WHY HE FOUND HIMSELF OUTDATED AND REDUNDANT, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD JUST WON RE-ELECTION. HE HAD A COMPANY (COUNCIL) OF FENCE-SITTERS, AND THEY HAD NO WILL TO PUT THEMSELVES IN DANGER, BY STEPPING BEYOND THE SAFETY OF THEIR OWN STATUS QUO. THIS WOULD EVENTUALLY BE THEIR UNDOING, WHEN THE ROSENEATH CONTROVERSY ERUPTED, AND THEY FOUND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO STAY NEUTRAL AND KEEP THEIR JOBS. WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS A SAFE DECISION, ON A RE-ZONING, NEARLY COLLAPSED THEIR COUNCIL WITH RIGOROUS PROTEST FROM THE MUSKOKA LAKES ASSOCIATION.

     "THE MAYOR , IN THE PAST, HAD ALWAYS BEEN ACCUSTOMED TO HEADING COUNCILS WHICH HAD PUT THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE FOREFRONT AND HE WAS BITTERLY OPPOSED TO HIS PRESENT COUNCIL'S ATTITUDE. HE EVEN MENTIONED TO THE PRESS THAT COUNCIL HAD AN ATTITUDE OF SELF-HELP, AND THE PUBLIC BE DAMNED."

     THE QUOTATION ABOVE WAS WRITTEN BY FORMER MAYOR, BOB BENNETT, OF THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, IN HIS BIOGRAPHICAL WORK, ENTITLED "BINDLE STIFF." I REMEMBER BEING PART OF THE PRESS GANG BACK THEN, WITH LOU SPECHT, BILL COLE AND GAR LEWIS, FROM CKCO NEWS, AND WE KNEW BOB WAS GETTING RESTLESS, AND HIGHLY AGITATED ABOUT THE LACK OF CO-OPERATION REGARDING THE PRESSING ISSUE OF ACID RAID.

     "IN AN IDLE MOMENT THE MAYOR HAD WRITTEN UP A FORM OF RESIGNATION. IN HIS LETTER OF RESIGNATION, HE HAD OUTLINED MOST OF HIS COUNCIL'S FAULTS AND HE WAS NOW CONTEMPLATING SERVING THE RESIGNATION ON HIS COUNCIL. HE HAD HELD OFF BECAUSE OF HIS RECENT INVOLVEMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, WHICH HE WAS HOPEFUL IN CHANGING," WROTE BOB BENNETT, REFERRING TO HIMSELF AS "THE MAYOR."

     "HE WANTED TO ESPECIALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE ACID RAIN FALLOUT PROBLEM. HE HAD A SENSE OF THE TERRIBLE DISASTER SUCH ACID FALLOUT WAS HAVING ON HIS AREA. HE COULD SEE THAT THE LAKES WERE DYING, THE CRAYFISH WERE ALMOST NON-EXISTENT IN THE LAKES. HE HAD USED THEM FOR BAIT TO CATCH THE LOVELY LAKE TROUT FOR WHICH HIS AREA HAD ONCE BEEN FAMOUS. NOW THERE WERE VERY FEW LAKE TROUT AND THE GOVERNMENT HAD POSTED WARNINGS ABOUT EATING THOSE FEW PEOPLE MIGHT NOW CATCH. THEY WERE BEING REPLACED BY OTHER COARSER AND MORE RESISTANT FISH, SUCH AS PIKE AND OTHERS NOT NEARLY AS EDIBLE."

     HE WRITES, "THE MAYOR HAD GIVEN A SPEECH ONCE TO A SMALL GATHERING OF LOCAL BUSINESSMEN, AND WHEN HE FINISHED THERE HAD BEEN A STONY SILENCE. HE HAD BEEN OUTLINING SOME OF HIS VIEWS ON ACID RAID PROBLEMS IN THAT AREA (TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES). SOME OF THEM HAD COME UP TO HIM LATER AND CHIDED HIM FOR TRYING TO SCARE AWAY THE TOURISTS SO BADLY NEEDED IN THEIR AREA. THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE MAYOR HAD BEEN TAKING RAIN SAMPLES, AND HE HAD A CONFLICTING OPINION WITH THE HIGHER LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT, WHICH CLAIMED MOST OF THE ACID RAIN, FALLING IN HIS AREA, CAME FROM THE CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL ARE TO THE SOUTH (UNITED STATES - OHIO VALLEY). HIS OWN SAMPLE INDICATED A MORE LOCAL SOURCE TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF HIS AREA, WHERE A HUGE SMELTER WAS LOCATED. AGAIN THE BUREAUCRATS HAD POINTED UP HIS LACK OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, AND SAID HE WAS MISTAKEN. HOWEVER, THERE WERE SOME OUTSIDE OF THE GOVERNMENT, WHO HAD VERY GOOD ACADEMIC TRAINING IN RELATED SUBJECTS AND AGREED WITH HIM. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT MOST OF THESE PEOPLE WERE EITHER EMPLOYED BY THE GOVERNMENT OR FIRMS WHICH DEPENDED ON THE GOVERNMENT FOR CONTRACTS. THE MAYOR HAD SPENT A CONSIDERABLE SUM OF HIS OWN MONEY ON TESTS OF THE ACID AND THE RELATED PROBLEM OF MERCURY WHICH WAS NOW FOUND TO BE LEACHING OUT OF THE ROCKS AND KILLING THE FISH AND OTHER LIVING ORGANISMS IN THE LAEKS AND RIVER."

     "PROBABLY THE MAYOR BELONGED TO A GENERATION WHO TOOK THEIR PROMISES MORE SERIOUSLY, ALTHOUGH HE DID THINK THAT SOME OF THE OTHER COUNCILS IN THE SURROUNDING MUNICIPALITIES DID HAVE MORE CONSCIENTIOUS MEMBERS THAN THOSE ON HIS COUNCIL." BOB BENNETT FROM HIS BOOK, "BINDLE STIFF." (PUBLISHED IN 1985)

     THE BOOK IS ACTUALLY ABOUT MR. BENNETT'S YEARS AS A YOUNG ADULT, SPENT LIVING AS A HOBO, AND TRAVELLING ALL OVER NORTH AMERICA ON BOX CARS. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST FASCINATING BOOKS ON HOBOS I'VE EVER READ, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME, BECAUSE I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH BOB, AS A REPORTER, AND LATER AS A FRIEND, WHEN WE'D MEET-UP AROUND THE DISTRICT. THE LAST TIME I TALKED TO HIM WAS AT AN ART CAMPBELL AUCTION SALE, IN THE EARLY 1990'S, ON BEAUMONT DRIVE IN BRACEBRIDGE. HE WAS STILL BITTER ABOUT HIS FIGHT WITH INCO, OVER THE MATTER OF ACID RAIN, AND ABOUT THE COUNCIL HE FELT LET HIM DOWN, AS MAYOR, WHEN THE FIGHT GOT UNDERWAY. WHAT HE IMAGINED AS THE TOWNSHIP FIGHTING INCO, TURNED OUT INSTEAD, TO BEING A CITIZEN ACTION, AND IT DID NOT GO IN HIS FAVOR. BUT WHAT BOB BENNETT DID, REGARDLESS, WAS SET DOWN THE PLATFORM, FOR RECOGNITION OF THE ACIDIFICATION OF OUR LAKES, WHICH SO MANY OTHERS CLIMBED ATOP, TO MAKE THEIR RIGHTEOUS CLAIMS ABOUT PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT. MP, FOR MUSKOKA-PARRY SOUND, STAN DARLING, WAS A POLITICAL DYNAMO WHEN IT CAME TO REPRESENTING THE ISSUE ON PARLIAMENT HILL, AND WHETHER OR NOT HE EVER REFERENCED THE DOGGED WORK OF BOB BENNETT OR NOT, HAVING KNOWN BOTH MEN AT THE SAME TIME, I KNOW FOR FACT, THAT THE SABRE RATTLING OF THE MUSKOKA LAKES MAYOR HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT IN MUSKOKA GENERALLY, AND ON MR. DARLING, AS OUR REPRESENTATIVE IN OTTAWA.

     BOB WAS AN INTELLIGENT, AMBITIOUS, COMPETENT MAYOR, WHO FOUND HIMSELF MERGING INTO AN ERA THAT WAS BRINGING ABOUT TOO MUCH CHANGE, TOO QUICKLY, MOVING A SMALL REGION INTO SOMETHING MUCH LARGER IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT. IT'S TRUE WHAT HE FELT, ABOUT BEING OUT OF PLACE…..AN OLD TIME POLITICIAN IN A MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE PERIOD OF CHANGEOVER……PARTICULARLY IN ATTITUDE. BUT BOB KNEW WHAT WAS COMING DOWN THE PIKE, AND IT WASN'T LONG, BEFORE, AND FROM THE SIDELINES, HE WATCHED THE TERRIBLE YEARS OF POLITICAL TURMOIL, WHICH BEGAN IN EARNEST WHEN THE PROPOSAL WAS MADE, TO RE-ESTABLISH A MAJOR RESORT ON THE FORMER ROSENEATH PROPERTY ON LAKE MUSKOKA, WHICH PITTED LOCAL COUNCIL, AND TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS, AGAINST COTTAGER ASSOCIATIONS……SOMETHING THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY LEAD TO THE INVOLVEMENT OF SEASONAL RESIDENTS RUNNING FOR MUNICIPAL COUNCIL SEATS BACK IN THE 1980'S…..TO ENFORCE THEIR PRIVILEGE OF INPUT, IN REGIONAL GOVERNANCE. I THINK BOB MAY HAVE FELT OKAY ABOUT HAVING RESIGNED JUST PRIOR TO THIS DIVISIVE PERIOD IN TOWNSHIP HISTORY.

     I HAVE OFFERED THIS LITTLE EDITORIAL RETROSPECTIVE, NOT BECAUSE IT MIRRORS THE PRESENT DEBACLE IN THE VILLAGE OF BALA, REGARDING THE NEW HYDRO-ELECTRIC INSTALLATION, APPROVED FOR THE FALLS…..BUT BECAUSE IT CLEARLY ILLUSTRATES WHAT PASSION FOR THE MUNICIPALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT CAN DO TO A POLITICAL CAREER. IT'S ROUGH OUT THERE, BEING DEDICATED TO THE WELL-BEING OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS, BUT FACING THE REALITY, THAT THE ODDS CAN BE STAGGERING TO THE CONTRARY…….AND IN THE CASE OF THE DIVIDE IN THIS CHARMING LITTLE WATERSIDE COMMUNITY, IT IS MILDLY REMINISCENT OF WHAT PERSONAL SACRIFICES HAPPENED IN THE EARLY 1980'S. BOB KNEW HE HAD RUN OUT OF THE WILL TO BATTLE COUNCILLORS ON THE ISSUE OF ACID RAIN, AND STANDING AS A COMMITTED COUNCIL, TO CHALLENGE INCO. I HOPE IT DOESN'T END THE SAME WAY, AS IT DID BACK THEN, BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE IT WOULD SERVE ANYONE'S BEST INTEREST. I DO SEE A LOT OF SIMILARITIES TO THE DAYS I WAS SITTING IN THAT COUNCIL CHAMBER WITH MY COLLEAGUES, WATCHING HISTORY IMPRINT IN THE MOST PROFOUND WAY. I WAS THERE ON ELECTION NIGHT, THAT FIRST YEAR COTTAGERS TOOK THEIR PLACE IN MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE, AND THERE WAS AN UNMISTAKABLE PALL. YET IT TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TOWNSHIP, AND ACTUALLY CREATED BETTER RELATIONS BETWEEN PERMANENT AND SEASONAL RESIDENTS, AND MUNICIPAL COUNCIL. WHAT HAD SEEMED LIKE A RIFT THAT WOULD LAST FOREVER, AN ORDEAL BY FIRE, ACTUALLY FOSTERED A NEW AND IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALL THE STAKE-HOLDERS.

     I WOULD STILL RATHER LIVE AMONGST PASSIONATE FOLKS, THAN BE MIRED IN THE COMPLACENCY OF THOSE CELEBRANTS OF STATUS QUO, AS THEIR MANTRA; ESPECIALLY DURING THOSE PERIODS OF UPHEAVAL, WHEN THERE IS A GREAT NECESSITY TO CHALLENGE WHAT APPEARS, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, TO BE BEYOND CHALLENGE. I HAVE BEEN IN THESE POSITIONS MANY TIMES IN MY LIFE, AS BOTH A REPORTER AND PROTESTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, AND I SHALL NEVER FORGET THOSE WHO STEPPED BACK, WHEN THE GOING GOT TOUGH……BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T FEEL SAFE AND SECURE, STANDING UP FOR THEIR PRINCIPLES…..STANDING BY THEIR NEIGHBORS, WHEN THE SHOW OF SOLIDARITY WAS NEEDED THE MOST.

     IN BALA, I HOPE THERE IS AN EVENTUAL RESOLVE, THAT WORKS TO HEAL THE FEELINGS OF THOSE FIGHTING WHOLE-HEARTEDLY, ON EITHER SIDE OF THE DAM ISSUE. IT WILL TAKE MANY DECADES, I'M SURE.

     THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY.

Civil War Sword Part 2; Napoleon From An 1822 Retrospective; and Frank Johnston Prints Of Muskoka and Region To Share

Civil War Surgeon's Presentation Sword circa 1862 for the Federal Army

SOME ANECDOTES ABOUT NAPOLEON FROM 1822-23 BOOKLETS - FRESH AFTER HIS DEATH IN EXILE

HISTORIANS AND ANTIQUARIANS LIKE THEIR SOURCE MATERIAL TO BE AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO ORIGINAL EVENT


     PHOTOGRAPHED ABOVE, ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER IMAGES OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR "DRESS" SWORD, I PRESENTED TO YOU, IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG. THE IMAGES INCLUDE THE FEDERAL ARMY SURGEON'S ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH, AND A COLLECTION OF HIS BUTTONS, REMOVED FROM HIS UNIFORM AND GREAT COAT, AND ARRANGED IN A SHADOW BOX FOR DISPLAY. ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS, OFFERED US A RARE OPPORTUNITY, TO CARRY OUT SOME RESEARCH ON THE ILLINOIS DOCTOR'S SWORD, WITH SCABORD, THAT WAS PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS OF HIS FAMILY. IT WAS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO HOLD THIS AMAZING PIECE OF AMERICANA, AND LEARN ABOUT WHERE THE SURGEON HAD BEEN STATIONED, FOR MAJOR CIVIL WAR BATTLES, IN THE SOUTH. WITH THE SWORD WAS A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY, WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO ADD TO, OVER A COUPLE OF WEEKS, RESEARCHING HIS REGIMENT ONLINE. THE SWORD AND BUTTONS WILL REMAIN IN THE OWNERSHIP OF THE LOCAL FAMILY. WHAT A GREAT HEIRLOOM COLLECTION FOR A FUTURE GENERATION TO INHERIT.
     WHAT INCREDIBLE GENEROSITY WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING, MOST RECENTLY, FROM THE CITIZENS OF THIS COMMUNITY. IN THE PAST WEEK, OVER AND ABOVE THE SUPPLY OF COFFEE AND TEA, BROUGHT IN REGULARLY FOR US, BY KINDLY CUSTOMERS, WE HAVE RECEIVED A FORMER CHURCH ORGAN, BOXES OF VINTAGE VINYL, TWO AND A HALF DOZEN FARM FRESH EGGS, A GOURMET DINNER AT A LOCAL RESTAURANT (FARMER'S PLATE), BOOKS, MAGAZINES, A BRIEFCASE FULL OF VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OUR FRIENDS JUDY AND HUTCH, OF KILWORTHY, BROUGHT IN TWO UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL, WELL CRAFTED WESTERN SHIRTS, THAT HAD BEEN MADE FOR HUTCH, WHEN HE WAS TWELVE YEARS OF AGE; BY A TALENTED LADY THE FAMILY KNEW IN ORILLIA. I'LL SHOW YOU IMAGES OF THE TWO SHIRTS IN TOMORROW'S BLOG. THEY WILL BE PUT ON DISPLAY IN THE SHOP, BECAUSE THEY ARE MAGNIFICENT, AND NEED TO BE CELEBRATED; AND THEY WERE MADE REGIONALLY. THANKS JUDY AND HUTCH FOR THINKING OF US, FOR THESE AMAZING SHIRTS. WE WILL LOOK AFTER THEM WELL. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE RECEIVED NUMEROUS MUSKOKA ITEMS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS TO DISPLAY, IN OUR NEW HISTORICAL RESOURCES COLLECTION, WHICH WE LAUNCHED INFORMALLY LAST WEEK. WE WILL BE ADDING TO THE EXHIBITION OF LOCAL COLLECTABLES, AND NOSTALGIA, IN THE COMING MONTH; AND SHARING MUSKOKA'S HERITAGE WITH OUR VISITORS FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. IT'S TRUE, THAT A MAJORITY OF THE COLLECTION WON'T BE FOR SALE, BUT VIEWING IS FREE OF CHARGE. SUZANNE HAS A LOT OF FAMILY PHOTOS OF WINDERMERE AND LAKE ROSSEAU, THAT SHE IS HAVING ENLARGED FOR THESE DISPLAYS. IN A FUTURE BLOG, WE'LL HIGHLIGHT A REAL TREASURE BROUGHT IN, ON LOAN, ALSO IMPORTANT TO THE HERITAGE OF WINDERMERE. STAY TUNED.
     NOW, TALKING ABOUT BOOKS! FIRST EDITIONS ARE A BIG DEAL BECAUSE THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY THE "STARTING POINT". IN THE CASE OF NON-FICTION HISTORIES, THEY ARE USUALLY CLOSE TO THE WORLD, NATIONAL, OR REGIONAL EVENTS, THAT ARE BEING REPORTED AND HIGHLIGHTED IN THE SUBJECT FIRST EDITIONS. THEY ARE USUALLY PRINTED IN LOW NUMBER, TO TEST THE MARKET, AND MANY OF US PREFER WHEN HISTORIES, ESPECIALLY, AREN'T REVISED OR EVEN OVER EDITTED. WE MIGHT CHO0SE TO OWN REVISED COPIES, BECAUSE OF THE NEW INFORMATION ADDED TO THE TEXT, BUT WE WANT THE FIRST EDITION AS WELL. IT HAS HAPPENED, WHEN A PUBLISHER IS FORCED TO REMOVE SOME INFORMATION FROM A TEXT, FOR A REVISED ISSUE. POSSIBLY FOR LEGAL REASONS. IT MIGHT ANGER THE AUTHOR, BUT OCCASIONALLY, OFFENSIVE MATERIAL OR NAMES ARE ORDERED REMOVED, ON ALL FUTURE RE-ISSUES OF A BOOK. SO JUST IN CASE, A FEW OF US IN THE HISTORY PROFESSION, WANT THE UNCENSORED VERSION, AS A MAINSTAY, BUT WON'T SAY NO TO A REVISED ISSUE, IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT; JUST SO THAT WE KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN OUR AREA OF EXPERTISE, WHAT WAS CHANGED IN REPRINTED COPIES, FROM THE ORIGINAL, AND WHY IT WAS ALTERED IN THE FIRST PLACE. WE DON'T BUY ABRIDGED VERSIONS OF ANYTHING. THERE IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT, ABOUT HOLDING A FIRST AND LIMITED EDITION, OF A MAJOR WORK; ESPECIALLY IF IT WENT ON FROM THAT FIRST RELEASE, TO HAVING TWENTY OR THIRTY EDITIONS THAT FOLLOWED.
     FOR EXAMPLE, THE ORIGINAL BOOK, WRITTEN BY WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, ENTITLED "GRAVENHURST, OR THOUGHTS ON GOOD AND EVIL," WAS PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND, IN THE LATE 1850'S; RELEASED ABROAD IN THE EARLY 1860'S. (AND YES, THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO, WAS NAMED AFTER THE TITLE OF THIS BOOK). WHEN SUZANNE AND I DECIDED TO BUY A COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, TO DONATE BACK TO THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST, AND THE ARCHIVES COMMITTEE, IT WAS RECOMMENDED, BY AN AMERICAN RARE BOOK DEALER, THAT FOR ARCHIVE'S USE, THE FIRST EDITION WASN'T NECESSARILY THE BEST CHOICE. A LATER, REVISED EDITION, OF THE SAME BOOK, SOME TIME LATER, CONTAINED A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE WRITTEN BY THE AUTHOR'S WIFE, THAT CONTAINED A SUBSTANTIAL QUANTITY OF PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION. THIS IS WHAT WE WANTED FOR THE ARCHIVE'S COMMITTEE, SO THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO FAMILIARIZE THEMSELVES WITH THE BRITISH POET / PHILOSOPHER; WHO UP TO THE TURN OF THIS NEW CENTURY, HAD BEEN KNOWN BUT NOT THOROUGHLY UNDERSTOOD. (SMITH'S BOOK IS STILL BEING REPRINTED TODAY, AND YOU CAN READ IT ONLINE, VIA GOOGLEBOOKS). POINT IS, SOMETIMES A SECOND AND REVISED ISSUE, CAN BE MORE RELEVANT AND USEFUL THAN THE FIRST EDITION.

THE NEW NAPOLEON?

     AS THE MILITARY ACTIONS AND RE-ACTIONS ALONG THE BORDER OF UKRAINE, BECOME MORE AGGRESSIVE AND DEADLY EVERY DAY, AS A RESULT OF PRO-RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS, AND RUSSIAN AGITATORS, THE EYES OF THE WORLD ARE KEENLY FOCUSED ON THE BUILD-UP, OF, WHAT CAN ONLY BE SEEN NOW, AS ENEMY FORCES PREPARING TO INVADE. THIS ISN'T A REGIONAL CONFLICT ANY MORE. IT IS A GLOBAL EVENT. NATO FORCES IN THE AREA, AND ALLIED SHIPS IN THE BLACK SEA, ARE PREPARED TO REACT TO TROOP MOVEMENTS AND AIR ATTACKS IN THE UKRAINE. THE RUSSIANS, DESPITE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS, AND THE BUILDING MILITARY ASSETS OF NATO FORCES, IN ROMANIA AND POLAND, HAVEN'T DAMPENED THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENCY'S INTEREST IN EASTERN UKRAINE; ALTHOUGH AS OF YET, THERE HAS BEEN NOTHING TO PARALLEL THIS SPRING'S INVASION AND ANNEXATION, OF THE CRIMEA. ALL PRETTY UPSETTING, TO MOST OF US FREEDOM-LOVERS, WHO HAVE ALREADY HAD SOME EXPERIENCE IN THE CLIMATE OF POLITICAL "COLD WAR." AT ANY MOMENT, SHOTS COULD BE TRADED BETWEEN WORLD SUPER-POWERS. WHAT IS RUSSIA UP TO? DO THEY REALLY BELIEVE, THEY CAN INVADE ANOTHER COUNTRY, IN THIS NEW AGE, AND NOT FACE MILITARY OPPOSITION? DOES THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT WISH TO START WORLD WAR III? REMINDS ME OF A COLORFUL FELLOW BY THE NAME OF NAPOLEON. JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE THE BOOKS WITH ME TODAY, TO PULL A FEW ANECDOTES FROM THE NOTES OF THE 1820'S, TO ILLUSTRATE A FEW POINTS ABOUT WAR AND CONQUEST. AND, WELL, BAD, BAD JUDGEMENT!
     "THE FOLLOWING ANECDOTES WERE PRINCIPALLY SELECTED FROM THE PORTFOLIO OF A GENTLEMAN WHO RESIDED IN FRANCE FOR SEVERAL YEARS PREVIOUS TO THE SECOND RETURN OF LOUIS XVIII, TO THE LAND OF HIS BIRTH. HAVING BEEN NOTED DOWN IMMEDIATELY AS RELATED, OR AS THE OCCURRENCES TOOK PLACE, THEY MAY BE RELIED ON FOR ORIGINALITY, CORRECTNESS, AND IMPARTIALITY; AND AS THE FIRST NARRATORS WERE PERSONS WHO, GENERALLY, HELD HIGH AND RESPONSIBLE SITUATIONS, BOTH CIVIL AND MILITARY, UNDER THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON, THE READER WILL BE ABLE TO FORM A MORE JUST ESTIMATE, OF THE MIND AND POLICY, OF THAT GREAT AND EXTRAORDINARY MAN, THAN HE HAS HITHERTO BEEN ABLE TO DO FROM THE MANY CONTRADICTORY REPORTS AND FALSEHOODS, WHICH, DURING HIS LIFE, WERE CIRCULATED THROUGHOUT ENGLAND, AND OTHER COUNTRIES, RESPECTING HIM.
     "IN ORDER TO RENDER THIS COLLECTION AS COMPLETE AS POSSIBLE, THE EDITOR HAS LIKEWISE SELECTED, FROM RARE AND POPULAR WORKS, THOSE INTERESTING ANECDOTES AND PASSAGES WHICH TEND TO DEVELOP THE INTRIGUES, AND ILLUSTRATE THE INTENTIONS OF THE VARIOUS COURTS OF EUROPE, TOWARDS FRANCE AND HER RULERS, FOR THE LAST THIRTY YEARS; SO THAT THE NAPOLEON ANECDOTES WILL FORM A COMPLETE CABINET OF WHAT IS INTERESTING IN THE LIFE OF THE LATE EMPEROR OF FRANCE, AND IN THE POLITICS OF EUROPE, FROM THE PERIOD WHEN HE FIRST DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF IN THE ARMS OF MILITARY GLORY, TO THE TERMINATION OF HIS MORTAL CAREER AT ST. HELENS."
     THE ABOVE PASSAGES WERE COMPOSED, IN LONDON, ENGLAND, ON OCTOBER, 8TH, 1822, IN THE TEXT OF "THE NAPOLEON ANECDOTES, ILLUSTRATING THE MENTAL ENERGIES OF THE LATE EMPEROR OF FRANCE, AND THE CHARACTERS AND ACTIONS OR HIS CONTEMPORARY STATESMEN AND WARRIORS," BY W.H. IRELAND. I HAVE VOLUMES ONE AND TWO, FROM 1822 AND 1823. I PURCHASED BOTH BOOKS A THRIFT SHOP AUCTION HERE IN GRAVENHURST. I HAVE TO TELL YOU, IT'S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE HOLDING THESE TWO TINY BOOKS, RELEASED SHORTLY AFTER NAPOLEON'S DEATH IN EXILE (MAY 5TH, 1821). IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE HISTORICALLY INCLINED (I SUPPOSE YOU MUST BE, TO READ THESE BLOGS), IMAGINE THE CHARACTER OF OUR WORLD IN 1822. WASHINGTON IRVING, HAD JUST PUBLISHED HIS SECOND BOOK OF SHORT STORIES, WHICH WOULD BECOME LEGENDARY; "THE SKETCH BOOK, " AND "BRACEBRIDGE HALL," (AND YES, THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO, WAS NAMED AFTER IRVING'S SECOND BOOK).
     IN BOOK ONE, RELEASED A YEAR AND A HALF AFTER NAPOLEON'S DEATH, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS RELATED TO THE PUBLIC, STILL FASCINATED BY THE FORMER EMPEROR AND HIS EXPLOITS: (IF YOU ARCHIVE BACK IN THESE BLOGS, TWO DAYS, YOU CAN SEE THREE EXAMPLES OF THE GRAPHICS USED IN THESE ORIGINAL, FIRST EDITIONS.
     "IN DEDICATING THE FOLLOWING ANECDOTES OF THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON TO HIS BELOVED AND ONLY SON, THE EDITOR FEELS HIMSELF ACTUATED BY THE MOST DISINTERESTED MOTIVES. IT WAS THE ARDENT WISH OF YOUR LAMENTED SIRE TO SUPERINTEND THE EDUCATION OF THE HEIR APPARENT TO HIS GLORIES AND HIS THRONE. THIS SENTIMENT HE, MORE THAN ONCE, EXPRESSED TO HIS ASSEMBLED SENATE. BUT ALL GOOD MEN HAVE SINCE HAD TO DEPLORE THAT THE POLICY OF THE CONTINENTAL SOVEREIGNS HAS FRUSTRATED THIS NOBLE MINDED DESIGN. HAD NAPOLEON BEEN THE TUTOR OF HIS SON, HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, WOULD, DOUBTLESS HAVE POINTED OUT, FOR HIS EARLIEST IMITATION, THOSE ILLUSTRIOUS CHARACTERS OF ANTIQUITY, WHOSE TALENTS AND VIRTUES, AND EVEN WHOSE GRANDEST DESIGNS AND MOST MAGNIFICENT ACHIEVEMENTS, BOTH CIVIL AND MILITARY, HE, HIMSELF, HAD EIVDENTLY SURPASSED. HE WOULD THEN HAVE CLOSED THE PAGE OF HISTORY, AND, DIRECTING THE EXPANDED UNDERSTANDING OF HIS BELOVED PUPIL, TO THE SCENES OF MODERN TIMES, WOULD HAVE OPENED TO HIM HIS OWN VIEWS AND SENTIMENTS, AND TAUGHT HIM HOW TO PROFIT BY EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST. HE WOULD HAVE INSTILLED INTO HIS YOUTHFUL MIND, THE PROPRIETY OF SELECTING WORTHY COUNSELLORS, AND INCLUDED THE NECESSITY OF DEDICATING HIS FUTURE EXISTENCE, TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF FRANCE, AND TO THE PROMOTION OF THE INTERESTS OF HER PEOPLE. SUCH WOULD HAVE BEEN THE VIEWS AND PLAN OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON, IN THE EDUCATION OF HIS DARLING SON; BUT HIS HOPES HAVE BEEN BLASTED BY INGRATITUDE, BY TREASON, AND BY NARROW MINDED POLICY.
     "TO SUPPLY, IN A SMALL DEGREE, THE WANT OF OPPORTUNITY, ON THE PART OF THE EMPRESS OF EXHIBITING TO THE MIND OF OUR HIGHNESS, THE PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF HIS OWN LIFE AND POLICY, THE FOLLOWING ANECDOTES WERE COMPILED. HAVING BEEN SELECTED WITH A STRICT REGARD TO TRUTH AND IMPARTIALITY, IT IS CONFIDENTLY HOPED THAT A PERUSAL OF THEM WILL SERVE TO DISPEL THE MISTS OF SUPERSTITION WHICH ARE SAID TO BECLOUD THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH YOU ARE, BY DESTINY, COMPELLED TO MOVE; THAT THEY WILL ENABLE YOU TO BURST THE FETTERS OF LEGITIMATE POLICY; AND THAT, BY BEHOLDING, AS IN A MIRROR, THE GRAND BUT INTERESTING FEATURES OF THE MAGNANIMOUS NAPOLEON, YOUR HIGHNESS MAY START FROM THE DAY-DREAM OF JUVENILE APATHY, AND PROVE YOURSELF TO THE WORLD A WORTHY SCION OF THE IMMORTAL STOCK FROM WHICH YOU HAVE SPRUNG."
     THE OPENING OF THE MAIN TEXT OF THE BOOK, BEGINS AS FOLLOWS: DURING THE PERIOD WHEN THIS EXTRAORDINARY CHARACTER WAS A STUDENT AT THE ROYAL MILITARY SEMINARY, AT PARIS, AS HE WAS ONE DAY UNDERGOING AN EXAMINATION, BY A GENERAL OFFICER, WHO WENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF INSPECTING THAT ESTABLISHMENT, NAPOLEON REPLIED TO ALL THE QUESTIONS PROPOSED, WITH SO MUCH PRECISION, ACCOMPANIED BY SUCH A DEPTH OF PENETRATION, THAT THE GENERAL, THE PROFESSORS, AND THE STUDENTS WERE COMPLETELY ASTONISHED. AT LENGTH, IN ORDER TO BRING HIS INTERROGATORIES TO A CLOSE, THE FOLLOWING QUESTION WAS PROPOSED TO THE YOUTH. 'WHAT LINE OF CONDUCT SHOULD YOU BE LED TO ADOPT, IN CASE YOU WERE BESIEGED IN A FORTIFIED PLACE, AND WAS DESTITUTE OF PROVISION?' 'SO LONG AS THERE WERE ANY IN THE CAMP OF THE ENEMY, I SHOULD NEVER BE AT GREAT LOSS FOR A SUPPLY,' WAS THE ANSWER OF THE YOUNG STUDENT, WITHOUT THE SMALLEST HESITATION. THESE EMPHATIC WORDS SEEMED THE PROGNOSTIC OF HIS FUTURE FORTUNES."
     THE AUTHOR / HISTORIAN WRITES, "UPON BONAPART'S ADVANCE, TO THE DISTINGUISHED RANK OF GENERAL IN CHIEF OF THE ARMY OF ITALY, HE CONTEMPLATED WITH PAIN THE DESTITUTE SITUATION OF HIS SOLDIERS, WHO WERE IN WANT OF EVERY COMFORT THAT IS ESSENTIAL TO THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ANY ARMY; AND IT WAS WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY THAT HE WAS ENABLED TO RESTORE ORDER THROUGHOUT THE RANKS; ADDED TO WHICH THE BAD POSITIONS, OCCUPIED BY HIS FORCES, CAUSED A FREQUENT SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS, SO THAT THE GENERAL PLAINLY PERCEIVED THAT THE ONLY MEANS LEFT OF VICTUALLING HIS DISCOURAGED BATTALIONS WERE, NOT ONLY TO RISK A GENERAL ENGAGEMENT, BUT TO SECURE THE VICTORY. UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, NAPOLEON BEGAN BY INSPIRING HIS WARRIORS WITH THAT CONFIDENCE IN THEIR COMMANDER WHICH AN ARMY SHOULD FEEL THAT IS BEST UPON REQUEST. TO EFFECT THIS DESIRABLE OBJECT, BOUNAPARTE EMPLOYED ALL THAT ENERGY OF CHARACTER AND DECISION FOR WHICH HE WAS SO JUSTLY FAMED, AND MARSHALLED HIS LEGIONS WITH SUCH CONSUMMATE GENERALSHIP THAT ALTHOUGH THE ENEMY NUMBERED DOUBLE HIS FORCE, HE OBLIGED HIM TO ACCEPT THE BOTTLE. NAPOLEON, FULL AWARE THAT THE WHOLE RESULT OF THE CAMPAIGN DEPENDED UPON THE FATE OF THIS ACTION, AS BY DEFEATING THE AUSTRIANS, HE SHOULD BECOME MASTER OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY, AND THAT THE ENORMOUS MAGAZINES OF HIS OPPONENTS WOULD THEREBY FALL INTO THE CONQUEROR'S HANDS, HAD RECOURSE IN THE ENSUING VIGOROUS, BUT LACONIC ADDRESS TO HIS TROOPS A FEW MINUTES PRIOR TO THE GENERAL ONSET.
     "FRENCHMAN, HERE IS STARVATION; THERE IS THE ENEMY, AND BEYOND HIM, PLENTY! MARCH!' THE SAME NIGHT THESE DEFENDERS OF THE THEN FRENCH REPUBLIC, WERE IN POSSESSION OF EVERY COMFORT, AND THIS WAS OBLITERATED FROM THEIR MINDS THE RECOLLECTION OF ALL FORMER PRIVATIONS."
     ALTHOUGH THE SMALL FORMAT BOOKS ARE NOT IN GOOD CONDITION, AND ARE, IN FACT, MISSING PORTIONS OF THEIR COVERS, THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN, IS PRECIOUS TO HISTORIANS LIKE ME; WHO SALIVATE IN THE THRILL OF OPENING HISTORIC FIRST EDITIONS, FOR WHAT THEY POSSESS, OF EVENTS, THAT AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION, WERE STILL CLEAR IN THE MINDS OF THE CITIZENRY MOST SERIOUSLY IMPACTED. IN THIS CASE, A EUROPEAN WAR, OF EPIC PROPORTION. WHAT POWERFUL EDITORIAL MATERIAL IS CONTAINED WITHIN, THESE BROKEN COVERS OF ONCE!

NOTE: THIS WAS A BLOG FROM DECEMBER 2011 THAT FITS THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE PROJECT ACTUALLY BEING APPROVED:

AS OF THIS AFTERNOON, MAY 2, 2014, I RECEIVED SOME WONDERFUL PRINTS CREATED BY FRANK JOHNSTON FORMERLY OF GRAVENHURST FOR USE IN THIS BLOG. I HOPE TO GET SOME MORE COMMENTS FROM THE COMMUNITY REGARDING SOME OF THESE FAMILIAR IMAGES. NEXT WEEK I WILL BEGIN REPUBLISHING THE IMAGES DAILY. THANKS TO FRANK'S NEPHEW BRUCE JOHNSTON FOR MAKING THESE AVAILABLE TO ME, AND OF COURSE, TO YOU.

IT WAS JUST OVER TWO WEEKS AGO TODAY, THAT I ASKED SUZANNE (MY RESEARCH PARTNER) IF SHE COULD DO AN ONLINE SEARCH FOR A FORMER GRAVENHURST ARTIST, WHO HAD ONCE DONE MY PORTRAIT. FOR THE PURPOSES OF SOME INTERESTING HISTORICAL BLOGS, FOR THIS WINTER, I WANTED TO DO SOME BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL WORK ON CANADIAN PRINT-MAKING LEGEND, AND AMAZING WATERCOLORIST, FRANK JOHNSTON. IF YOU'VE BEEN IN MUSKOKA FOR THIRTY OR SO YEARS, YOU'VE PROBABLY COME UPON HIS NAME OR ART IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER….FROM LARGE PRINT DEPICTIONS OF OUR HISTORIC BUILDINGS OR TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY SCENES ON GREETING CARDS. I FIRST GOT TO KNOW FRANK'S WORK, WHEN WE'D GO, AS A YOUNG FAMILY, TO GRAVENHURST'S SLOAN'S RESTAURANT, ON MUSKOKA ROAD, WHERE NUMEROUS LARGE FORMAT WATERCOLORS HUNG, PROFILING MANY OF THE FAMED MUSKOKA LAKES STEAMSHIPS. THEY WERE MAGNIFICENT AND COMPELLING, AND ONE OF THE REASONS ANDREW, IN HIS EARLY YEARS, BECAME A STEAMSHIP FANATIC. HE COPIED FRANK'S WORK BUT IN LEGO INSTEAD OF PAINTS. BUT THE PRESENCE OF THOSE PAINTINGS, GAVE SLOANS AN AMAZING AMBIENCE TO LOCALS AND VISITORS. IT WAS A PLEASANT PLACE TO SIP A COFFEE AND HAVE SOME OF THEIR FAMOUS BLUEBERRY PIE…..AND GLANCE LONGINGLY AT THOSE COLORFUL PAINTINGS BY AN ARTIST FEW KNEW MUCH ABOUT.

MY FIRST INTRODUCTION TO FRANK JOHNSTON, WAS WHEN HE SKETCHED MY PORTRAIT, FOR A NEW COLUMN I WAS WRITING FOR THE FLEDGLING LOCAL PUBLICATION, "MUSKOKA TODAY," RUN BY THE CLAIRMONT BOYS, HUGH AND MARK. THE COLUMN WAS HEADED "HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE," AND HOW PLEASED I WAS THAT FRANK REPRESENTED ME SO HANDSOMELY. A TOUGH TASK. I LOVED THAT SKETCH. FRANK HAD DONE IT FOR ALL THE WRITERS THEN, AS A FAVOR TO HIS OLD FRIEND HUGH, ONE OF GRAVENHURST'S MOST POPULAR TRUMPET PLAYING COLUMNISTS.

I STILL DIDN'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT FRANK AT THIS POINT, OTHER THAN I WANTED TO OWN EVERY ORIGINAL WORK HE EVER PAINTED.

In fact, it wasn't until long after his demise that I quite accidentally picked up a biography of Canadian artist Harold Town, one of the Group of Eleven painters of the 1950's, that had been written by a close friend, author Iris Nowell. The book is titled "Hot Breakfast for Sparrows," referring to what Town's father used to say, when the horsedrawn delivery cart passed their family home……suggesting the birds would soon be benefitting from what had been left behind. I've long been a follower of Harold Town's work, and as a kid, I used to watch him as a frequent guest of Lunchtime with Elwood Glover, and it was always interesting when columnist Paul Rimstead was booked as a guest at the same time. (Rimstead had gone to Bracebridge High School.) Both were practical jokers and Elwood had his hands full……if I remember correctly, pies in the face were a regular occurrence. Back to point, while reading the book, I kept coming across the name of print maker, Frank Johnston, without really putting our artist, and Harold Town together, until I saw a black and white image showing the both of them, and I knew it was the same chap who had so capably made my face look human. It was referenced in the book, that Town considered Frank Johnston one of the finest print makers in Canada. When you read about Town, you'll appreciate just what kind of man Johnston had to be…..on two levels, not to strangle him. One as a persnickety, attention to detail print maker, and the other as a patient, level-headed, compassionate partner in the process. Town was, by all accounts, almost inhumane about those who dealt with his art work……whether on the printing press, or hanging it for an exhibit. For Johnston, it nearly drove him nuts, because Town seemed to be able to find the most minute flaw…..and force another round of adjustments before a full run of copies could be made. There were plenty of arguments, and although some observers might have felt a fisticuff was about to occur, the professionals worked it out, to make exceptional products.

And it was common to find both Johnston and Town, and other celebrity guests, like art historian David Silcox, out on the printmakers sailboat, the "Cara Mia," that he stored at the side of his Hughson Street house for years. There are a few references to these party-outings on the Cara Mia, in Iris Nowell's book. By the way, Silcox and Town were co-authors of the landmark biography, "Tom Thomson; Silence and The Storm," published in the early 1970's.

As for the online search for information on Frank Johnston, it is dominated by information on Group of Seven, founding artist, Franz (Frank) Johnston, who also had a family connection in Muskoka. I began looking through boxes of archives material, trying to find one of about twenty print images I own, made but not signed by the artist. In two weeks I tore into about thirty boxes, with no result. I won't say I'd given up, but certainly decided to give myself a little wiggle-room to do the blog on his work. What was possibly the strangest aspect of the past several weeks, was that something told me my luck was about to turn. Seeing as I'm always working on paranormal stories, and research, it's not uncommon to get this feeling of impending discovery. It does happen, that if I seek something hard enough, eventually the log-jam breaks, and there's a flood of connected materials to satisfy my needs. But it's how these finds are made that's quite unusual. I'll have books fall off a shelf by themselves, that are the ones I'm looking for. I don't argue with the ghost librarian. I get what I need. End of story.

Yesterday afternoon, Suzanne and I were antique hunting in Muskoka, as we have done every weekend since we got married in the mid 1980's. In a Bracebridge antique shop, (second hand items as well), I had exhausted my search, and was just about to ask Suzanne if she'd found anything we couldn't live without…..and that if not, I was ready to move on to the next shop down the line. I made one last turn of an aisle, looked down, and sitting on a little dresser was my holy grail for the year. My Christmas present. It was a small, handsomely framed Frank Johnston print, featuring a train pulled into the Gravenhurst Train Station, circa 1987, in the midst of a winter snowfall. Best of all, it was titled and signed by Johnston himself…..with a bonus biography adhered to the back. I would have paid quadruple the asking price for that important piece of Frank Johnston art. Now here's the coincidence…..whether any Christmas spirits were involved….well, that depends on whether you believe in stuff like this. Not only was I actively searching for some biographical material, as well as a print to use in this blog, in one purchase I got both. Even before I got into that shop, I was still trying to think where I might have stashed some of this greeting cards in the house. And add to this, the fact that on at least three occasions this week, I wrote about trains in my respective hometowns (in the winter)……Bracebridge, while growing up, Gravenhurst ever since. Now considering the deep immersion in the quest for Johnston, and the huge whacks of copy written about my life with trains here in South Muskoka (blog entries this week), it's more than a little unusual that I would find it all in one shop, on one dresser-top, and all inclusive on one piece of art. In a second blog, tomorrow, I would like to re-print Frank's own biography, on the back of the small art piece, for future reference.

The story of the steamship art from Sloans is a long story, and I only know a small portion of it…….disallowing me any kind of expertise to provide appropriate, factual enlightenment. I do know that the artist was not a happy camper, when he learned the paintings had been sold to a Huntsville institution…..as it was understood by him, that if the paintings were ever removed from the restaurant, for any number of reasons, the Town of Gravenhurst would become stewards of the small collection. This didn't happen, and to the best of my knowledge, feelings between the town and artist never healed…..and may have never even been addressed, as a matter of protocol, to a well known artist who had served the cause of history and culture so well, for so many years. He moved away, and spent the final years of his life in Picton, Ontario to be closer to family. I stand to be corrected, and would appreciate hearing from anyone who knows more about the life and times of Frank Johnston…..that I could use to provide a clearer biography of a truly fascinating man.

Civil War Sword From A Federal Officer; History In Hand Is Always An Honour

The transitions of The Bog. Photos by Rob Currie

United States Medical Staff Sword from the American Civil War, owned by Federal Army Surgeon from Illinois. Was worn during battles in the deep south.

THE FEELING OF HISTORY - HOLDING A CIVIL WAR SWORD IS PRETTY NEAT

THE PERKS OF THE ANTIQUE PROFESSION

      A FRIEND OF OURS, AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATE, JUST THIS MOMENT, BROUGHT US IN, BRAND SPANKING NEW, TWO AND A HALF DOZEN, FARM FRESH EGGS. MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES OF THE "EATING-KIND." HE WOULDN'T TAKE ANY MONEY. IT'S CRAZY AROUND HERE. GADS, WE GET ALL KINDS OF FREE STUFF. WE TRY TO OFFER RE-PAYMENT, BUT WE'RE SELDOM EVER SUCCESSFUL. SO WE DO THE ONLY OTHER THING POSSIBLE. SUZANNE OFFERS THEM OUR FRESH BAKED COOKIES AS A MINOR RE-PAYMENT. SINCE WE HAVE BEEN ON THIS MAIN STREET, AS PART OF THE RETAIL COMMUNITY, I CAN'T ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN, THE INCREDIBLE NUMBER OF KIND GESTURES, AND DONATIONS OF ARTICLES, WE'VE RECEIVED. THERE ARE A LOT OF BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND TOWN SITUATIONS WE'RE NOT FUSSY ABOUT, BUT HONESTLY, THE GENEROSITY OF OUR FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS, IS SOMETHING FANTASTIC, AND THE REASON WE LOVE BEING A HOMETOWN BUSINESS HERE. AND WE DO LIKE TO THINK WE ARE REPRESENTING THIS COMMUNITY, TO THE BEST OF OUR CAPABILiTIES. THE OTHER DAY, WE WERE GIVEN A PUMP ORGAN, FOR GOSH SAKES, BY ANOTHER GENEROUS CITIZEN, WHO HAD GIVEN THE FORMER CHURCH PIECE, TO HIS WIFE, AS A PRE-WEDDING GIFT, MANY YEARS AGO. AS IT WAS IN STORAGE, YET A BEAUTIFUL PIECE TO SHARE WITH OTHER, HE THOUGHT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT FOR OUR STUDIO. IT'S NOW HERE AND READY TO PLAY. COME HAVE A LOOK. ASK US ABOUT GIVING IT A WHIRL. WHAT NICE PEOPLE WE HAVE IN THIS TOWN AND REGION, WHO ARE ALWAYS WILLING TO SHARE WITH OTHERS.
     IT IS ANOTHER RAINY SPRING DAY. WE DON'T NEED FOR THE WELFARE OF THE WATERSHED. MY LAWN AT BIRCH HOLLOW, FEELS PRETTY MARSHY UNDER-FOOT, AND THE INTERSECTING CREEKS THROUGH THE BOG, ARE SHOWING SOME WHITE-WATER, AS THE VOLUME OF RUN-OFF IS STILL HEAVY FROM THE SPRING MELT OF A MOUNTAIN OF SNOW. IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE THE SUN FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, BACK TO BACK, BUT AT LEAST WE DIDN'T SUFFER FROM THE HUNDREDS OF TORNADOES THAT TOUCHED-DOWN IN THE UNITED STATES, THIS WEEK; CAUSING SEVERE DAMAGE AND LOSS OF LIFE. SO WE ARE FORTUNATE AND WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THIS, WHEN WE START GRUMBLING ABOUT THE GLOOMY DAYS OF SPRING.
      IT DOESN'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. SELDOM ACTUALLY. BUT THERE ARE A FEW OCCASIONS, WHEN WE GET LUCKY. SOMETHING IS WALKED INTO OUR DOMAIN, THAT REALLY APPEALS TO OUR INNER HISTORIAN. WHEN IT DOES, WELL, YOU HAVE TO PAUSE FOR A LITTLE HISTORIC RECREATION. TRUE, WE GET OUR JOLLIES FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES THAN MOST OTHERS. WHEN, FOR EXAMPLE, A FRIEND ASKS YOU TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH ON AN ARTIFACT THEY OWN. NOT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO SELL THE ITEM. RATHER, THEY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ANTIQUE OR COLLECTABLE, AND OFTEN, VALUE HAS VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH THE EXERCISE. THEY JUST WANT TO KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE MAKER, THE DATE IT WAS CRAFTED, WHERE IT WAS MADE, WHERE IT WAS USED, AND ANY OTHER RELATED PROVENANCE WE CAN FIND. YOU PROBABLY HAVE HEIRLOOM PIECES THAT YOU KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS YOU WOULD LIKE. WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF CURIOUS COLLECTABLES LIKE THIS, THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING ON. SO, TO SOME DEGREE, WE'VE FAILED OURSELVES, BY NOT BEING ABLE TO NAVIGATE CERTAIN OBSTACLES OF INFORMATION GATHERING. WE CAN'T GUARANTEE, WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE SPOT-ON WITH OUR INVESTIGATIONS. BUT IT SURE IS NICE WHEN YOU CAN RETRIEVE AND RE-ASSEMBLE, THE MAJOR PIECES OF THE PUZZLE. EACH PRESENTS SPECIAL CHALLENGES AND WE LIKE THAT, BECAUSE SUZANNE AND I WERE BORN TO COMPETE. JUST GO AHEAD AND TELL US THERE'S SOMETHING WE CAN'T DO! WE MIGHT FAIL AT IT, BUT WE'VE FALLEN OFF THE PROVERBIAL HORSE MANY TIMES.
     JUST TO BE CLEAR, WE AREN'T RUNNING ANTIQUE APPRAISAL CLINICS, OR CHARGING A FEE FOR OUR SERVICES. IT'S SIMPLY BECAUSE WE'RE NOT EXPERTS OR QUALIFIED APRAISORS, SUCH THAT WE COULD PROVIDE VALUATIONS FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES. AS WE ARE ALWAYS LEARNING, MOSTLY BY IMMERSION, WE, ALMOST DAILY, COME FACE TO FACE WITH OUR LIMITATIONS. WE ADMIT TO OURSELVES OPENLY, AND WITHOUT RESERVATION, THAT WE HAVE SHORTFALLS. ADMITTING WE NEED TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SOMETHING, WE'RE HANDLING AT THE TIME, ISN'T A SIGN OF WEAKNESS. EVEN WHEN WE DO PURCHASE ARTICLES OVER THE COUNTER, WE ALWAYS INSIST ON TIME TO RESEARCH THE ITEM(S), BEFORE WE MAKE A DEAL. I'M CERTAINLY NOT A MIRROR OF PATIENCE, AS A CIVILIAN, YET IN THE ANTIQUE BUY AND SELL, IT'S AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE JOB, TO BE PATIENT AND OBSESSIVE ABOUT PROVENANCE, QUALITY, AND CONDITION. BUT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A GOOD DEAL, YOU HAVE TO POSSESS ALL THE PERTINENT INFORMATION. AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, THIS IS NOT A PROFESSION THAT HAS A LIMIT TO WHAT YOU CAN LEARN, TO BE A TRUE SCHOLAR OF ANTIQUITIES ETC.
    WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE INFORMATION TO INFILL THE STORY, BUT ALAS, POSSIBLY NOT THE CONCLUDING CHAPTER. WE GIVE IT OUR BEST TRY. WE DO KNOW MUSKOKA COLLECTABLES BETTER THAN MOST, BUT LESS THAN SOME OF MY COLLECTOR FRIENDS, LIKE BOB BOOTH, WHO I CONSIDER A SORT OF PROFESSOR OF ALL THINGS MUSKOKA. FOR BOB, WHO IS AS MUCH AN HISTORIAN AS SOMEONE WITH A FRAMED DIPLOMA, AND UNIVERSITY CREDITS, HAS SUCH A DEEP AND PROFOUND LOVE AND RESPECT FOR REGIONAL AND CANADIAN HISTORY, THAT I CAN'T RESIST ENGAGING HIM IN HERITAGE DISCUSSIONS EVERY TIME WE MEET. SUZANNE SAID YESTERDAY, WHEN HE VISITED, THAT WE SHOULD REALLY TAPE RECORD OUR TALKS FOR THE POSTERITY OF FUTURE GENERATIONS OF HISTORICAL-TYPES. I'VE BEEN MARRIED TO THE WOMAN THIRTY-ONE YEARS, AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHEN SHE'S MAKING FUN OF ME. I THINK SHE WAS SINCERE ABOUT THIS PART.
    ACTUALLY, I WORKED ON A PROJECT, FOR THE MUSKOKA BOARD OF EDUCATION, BACK IN 1978, WITH THE MANDATE OF RECORDING HERITAGE TALKS, WITH MUSKOKA'S SENIOR CITIZENS; THE IDEA WAS TO CREATE A HERITAGE RESOURCE KIT, FOR LOCAL STUDIES, AND I THINK IT'S STILL BEING USED BY THE TRILLIUM LAKELAND DISTRICT SHCOOL BOARD. SO I KIND OF AGREE, THAT ONE DAY, WE SHOULD JUST PLOP DOWN A MICROPHONE, AND START TRADING SOME COLLECTOR STORIES, LIKE WE DID FOR THREE HOURS YESTERDAY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT? NOT ONCE IN THE MARATHON CONVERSATION, DID WE BRING UP MONEY, OR APPRAISED VALUES. WE DISCUSSED THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SOME OF OUR MOST MEMORABLE FINDS, NOT HOW MUCH WE COULD, OR HAD PROFITED FROM THEM, AT THE TIME OF SALE. MOST OF OUR CHERISHED PIECES, TRUTH BE KNOWN, ARE STILL IN OUR RESPECTIVE COLLECTIONS.
    I ALWAYS ATTACH MYSELF TO PEOPLE, LIKE BOB, WHO HAVE A SIMILAR AFFECTIONS FOR ARTIFACTS, OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS, AND THEIR PLACE IN OUR CHRONICLE. I HAD THESE SAME NO-HOLDS BARRED DISCUSSIONS WITH HISTORIANS LIKE DAVE BROWN, HUGH MACMILLAN, ED PHELPS AND WAYLAND DREW IN THE PAST, AND ALWAYS CAME OUT OF THEM, A LITTLE EXHAUSTED, BUT THOROUGHLY DELIGHTED WITH WHAT NEW INFORMATION I HAD ACQUIRED. TALKING ABOUT THE LEGACY OF BIRCH BARK CANOES, WITH EXPERT, RICK NASH, WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CASUAL TUTORIALS. WHAT A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE THIS MAN POSSESSES OF THOSE LEGENDARY WATERCRAFT, BUILT BY THE FIRST NATION PEOPLE, OF NORTH AMERICA. THERE'S A LOT TO BE SAID ABOUT LEARNING BY IMMERSION, AND EXPOSURE, TO WHAT WE WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT.
    I MAY NOT HAVE LIKED HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY, BUT EVERYTHING SINCE HAS BEEN A BLAST. I TELL THIS TO STARTING-OUT COLLECTORS, AND SOON-TO-BE DEALERS, WHENEVER I'M AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY. THIS KIND OF LEARNING IS OUTRAGEOUS FUN. SOMETIMES SO MUCH, THAT IT SEEMS FRIVOLOUS. NOT SO! AS A HALLMARK, IT IS HOWEVER, AS MUCH A MEANS OF STABILITY, IN A PROFESSION THAT CAN GO WONKY FAST, THRUSTING ONE DOWN INTO A DEEP PIT OF REGRET. WHEN MISTAKES, SOME MORE CAREER THREATENING THAN OTHERS, ARE MADE, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE, CAN HELP FOSTER A SPEEDY, AND EFFECTIVE RECOVERY. AND BECAUSE KNOWLEDGE IS A LOAD-BEARING PILLAR OF ALL LEVELS OF COLLECTING, THROUGH WHAT COULD BE A LONG CAREER, ONGOING EDUCATION, IN ALL ITS FORMS, PROVIDES A RELIABLE PLATFORM ON WHICH TO BUILD. IT'S JUST PART OF THE OLD BALL GAME. ASK VETERAN DEALERS AND COLLECTORS IF THIS IS THE CASE. ASK THEM ABOUT THEIR MOST SERIOUS ERROR IN JUDGEMENT, AS COLLECTORS, AND THE TIMES THEY MISTAKENLY IDENTIFIED A PIECE, AND SOLD IT OFF FOR A FRACTION OF THE VALUE. WE'VE ALL DONE IT. SPENT TOO MUCH ON ACQUISITIONS, AND GOT TOO LITTLE RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENTS. IN EACH CASE, IT WAS THE RESULT OF NOT KNOWING AS MUCH AS WE SHOULD HAVE, TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS. I STILL WATCH DEALER ASSOCIATES TAKING BIG RISKS, ON CERTAIN ANTIQUE PIECES, THAT I WOULDN'T TOUCH, AS THEY SAY, "WITH A BARGE POLE." SOMETIMES I'M WRONG, AND THEY SELL THE ITEMS FOR A LARGE PROFIT. SOMETIMES, I FEEL VALIDATED, WHEN THEY COME TO ME, TO SEE IF I'LL BUY IT FROM THEM, FOR SALE IN MY SHOP. IT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.
    WITH OUR HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, AND RESEARCH SKILLS, WE CAN, IN MOST CASES, IDENTIFY ARTIFACTS AND ANTIQUES, TO A CERTAIN POINT OF CLARIFICATION. WHICH MEANS, SOME INFORMATION WILL NEVER BE KNOWN, BECAUSE A PREVIOUS OWNER TOOK THE STORY TO HIS OR HER GRAVE. IN SOME CASES, THIS MIGHT MEAN "MANY GRAVES" OVER THE GENERATIONS OF PAST OWNERS. WE DO WHAT WE CAN, AND FOR SOME OF THE MORE INTERESTING PIECES, WE ASK, AS PAYMENT, TO BE ABLE TO DO A STORY ON THE ARTICLE FOR THIS BLOG, OR PUBLICATIONS OF WHICH I AM AFFILIATED. CHANCES ARE, WHAT INTERESTS US, WILL BE OF GENERAL INTEREST TO OTHERS. WE LIKE SHARING THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING AROUND THESE HEIRLOOM PIECES. AND BY THE WAY, THE "HEIRLOOM" ASPECT IS USUALLY WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT, SUCH AS IN THE CASE OF THE CIVIL WAR ERA CEREMONIAL SWORD, PHOTOGRAPHED ABOVE. IT'S NOT FOR SALE BUT WE'RE SO GLAD WE HAD THE CHANCE TO EXPLORE ITS RICH LEGACY, WHICH GOES BACK TO THE PRESENTATION YEAR, 1862, AND THE MEDICAL CORP OF THE FEDERAL ARMY.
     IRONIC, THAT I HAVE JUST BEEN WRITING ABOUT A CIVIL WAR BOOK, I OWN, SIGNED BY A CONFEDERATE ARMY SOLDIER, AND WATCHING THE MOVIE "GETTYSBURG," STARRING (IN A MINOR CAPACITY OF SOLDIERING), OUR OLD FRIEND, TOM BROOKS, OF GRAVENHURST, RE-ENACTING THE EPIC BATTLE. KARMA? COINCIDENCE? WHEN OUR FAMILY FRIEND CAME INTO THE SHOP, WITH THE CIVIL WAR SWORD, TUCKED UNDER HIS ARM, AND THE BUTTONS OF THE DOCTOR'S FEDERAL UNIFORM, IN A NICE FRAME, GADS, WE WERE SPEECHLESS. FOR HOURS, THAT FIRST DAY, WE HANDED THE SWORD BACK AND FORTH AMONGST OUR FAMILY MEMBERS, AND HAD OUR RESPECTIVE POINTY NOSES, GLUED TO THE GLASS OF THE SHADOW BOX, TO EXAMINE WHAT A CIVIL WAR COAT BUTTON LOOKED LIKE. WHILE YOU CAN GET A LOT OF INFORMATION FROM MUSEUMS, BOOKS AND ONLINE SEARCHES, SOMETIMES, THE REAL TREAT FOR THE HISTORIAN, IS TO ACTUALLY HOLD THE ARTIFACT; IMAGINING ALL THE IMPORTANT PLACES, BATTLEFIELDS, AND HISTORIC MEETINGS, WITH SOME OF THE LEGENDARY LEADERS OF THE ARMY. WONDERING ALOUD, WHEE THIS SWORD, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS WORN, FOR THE DURATION OF THE CIVIL WAR, FROM THE DATE OF ITS PRESENTATION. YES, WE THINK THIS KIND OF ANTIQUE IS PRETTY NEAT. BUT LET ME TELL YOU, THERE'S AN UNMISTAKABLE VIBE ATTACHED TO THIS SMALL COLLECTION, AND FOR HISTORY LOVERS LIKE US, IT'S LIKE A DOOR OPENING TO THE PAST, JUST TO HOLD IT FOR A FEW MOMENTS. THE SADDEST PART IS GIVING IT BACK. ONE THING WE ALL AGREE, IS THAT WE'RE UNLIKELY TO EVER HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HOLD A CIVIL WAR SWORD, IN OUR OUTSTRETCHED HANDS, EVER AGAIN. SO YES, "THE ONCE IN A LIFETIME" SITUATION IS ENTIRELY RELEVANT, AND WILL HELP US DEAL WITH AUTHENTICITY ISSUES, AND EVALUATIONS, LONG INTO THE FUTURE. ONE THING ABOUT IT, WE'D KNOW IF ANOTHER SWORD WAS THE REAL MCCOY OR A COPY, AFTER THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY, OF HOLDING, WHAT IS A TRUE AND GENUINE SURVIVOR OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.
     WE HAVE BEEN KINDLY AFFORDED THIS OPPORTUNITY, TO SHOW THE MILITARY RELIC TO YOU KIND FOLKS.

SPRING RAIN, ALONE IN THE MIST

One moment, I swear that a canoe is passing somewhere close, as I can so clearly hear the thrust and then ease of the paddle against the current. It’s impossible, of course, because the creeks that dissect the Bog are tiny, and the ponds are shallow, dotted with the hazards of fallen trees and large clumps of earth, matted grasses from some previous flood and erosion.

If you stand here long enough today, in this dimly lit environs, you will swear to have heard footsteps coming toward you along the trail, and thought someone, somewhere close, had whispered your name. In the mist and low light in the thickets, you might see a ghost....a shadowy image wavering between the trees and crossed branches. At other times you will only sense a soft, regular heartbeat within, and the touch of damp cold against your skin. There will be an unsettling silence. Not a trace of wind or sound of even a single raindrop falling onto a leaf, or exploding into the stillness of the tiny black pool of water to your left or right. As the mist becomes heavier, as it blows off the expanse of Muskoka Bay, it will become very haunted in this Bog, as if an English moor, where one might expect, at any moment, to see the silhouette of Sherlock Holmes himself, in hunt of the elusive Hound of the Baskervilles. The mood will change many times today as the rainfall becomes heavier, and this fog moves further inland by late morning. Now it is a feast for the imagination, to be standing here pondering what other mysteries and supernatural events might be revealed.

Even after a half hour of wandering this Bogland, I can still hear the sound of that phantom canoe, its hull trickling the water along its invisible traverse......the water droplets falling from the tip of the paddle blade. I don’t know what has been making these familiar sounds yet I know it can not be what I imagine. It is probably a blocked-up cataract, and a diversion of water down a narrow artery, making this pushing, tinkling sound. With the high ridges of matted grasses, and mounds in the landscape created by old stumps, it’s impossible to see all the little creeks and waterfalls that exist throughout this wetland acreage. It is a haven for anyone with a vivid imagination.

There have been occasions in the last few minutes, when the wind has picked up and sent a spray of icy rain over this ridge, causing the voyeur to button up his coat and pull down the hat that was almost raised in flight. A stronger curl of wind tightens across the lake, and soon it will push up over the rock shoreline, and rush across these pine ridges and unthawing bogland. It will push away the rest of the fog and reveal the brown, barren ground of early spring.

Even in the most adverse weather, there is a splendor to these woods, this lowland, that I cherish with every mortal fibre. Even amidst its dull colorations, and matted grasses and fallen over trees, there is a beauty of life that overpowers shallow observation, and narrow, unimaginative contemplation. It is the rebirth of a season, and it is our own time for resurgence and discovery, and this path will take me from here to there in adventure, around the year, till once more, a winter snow will capture my footprints in its icy mantle.

I feel a tug at my coat sleeve and look to see who beckons. I turn quickly to witness who it is that whispers my name. I will swear to having seen some other watcher in the woods, waft as a mist down a distant path into the basin, and I will tremble a wee bit, about my lonely, vulnerable vigil in this grandly haunted place. I trust that some artist will stumble upon this place one day soon, a poet wandering aimlessly along life’s path, a musician plucking at some stringed instrument, and find this tiny parcel of nature a perfectly enchanted place in which to muse....., to create and be delighted by the convergence of all natural and supernatural qualities and quantities.....as if at the very invitation of C.S. Lewis to explore and taste the fruit not forbidden.