Pioneer Church Yards and those Who Came Before Us

"The Cooper's Falls Road is actually on the dividing point of two Municipalities.   On the south side is Ramara Township and on the North Side is the Town of Gravenhurst.    The historic St. George's Anglican Church sites on the most southern boundary of The Town of Gravenhurst.    Many folks childhood memories attending church where my Grandmother Susan Cooper was the Organist from 1911 - 1981, dedicated to playing the old pump organ until well into her 90's. Historic Cemetery were many of the pioneers and early settlers are buried." - Photos and quote by Fred Schulz

THE PIONEER CHURCH YARDS AND THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US

EARLY DAYS OF MUSKOKA

     I HAD AN ADVANTAGE, AS A YOUNG WRITER / HISTORIAN, TO HAVE BEEN IMBEDDED, AT THE RIGHT TIME IN MY CAREER, INTO A COLLECTIVE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO KNEW MUSKOKA BETTER THAN MOST. THEY WERE HISTORIANS LIKE ROBERT J. BOYER AND GARY DENNISS, BOTH OF BRACEBRIDGE, WHO OFFERED INFORMED GLIMPSES OF OUR EARLIEST YEARS OF SETTLEMENT. THEY PROVIDED ME WITH MANY RESOURCES, AND THE TOOLS FOR ONGOING RESEARCH, THAT GAVE ME A HEAD START AS A FLEDGLING HISTORIAN……TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF WHAT MADE MUSKOKA SO INTERESTING TO SO MANY.

     WHEN I BEGAN AS A ROOKIE REPORTER, IN WEST MUSKOKA, WORKING FOR THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, IT WAS MY ASSIGNMENT, ON MANY WEEKENDS THROUGH THE YEAR, TO ACCOMPANY M.P. STAN DARLING AND M.P.P. FRANK MILLER, AROUND MY HALF OF MUSKOKA, AS THEY ATTENDED SPECIAL EVENTS, SUCH AS COMMUNITY MEETINGS, MILESTONE WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES, BIRTHDAYS, SERVICE CLUB DINNERS, AND EVEN BUSINESS OPENINGS. I WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHER FOR HUNDREDS OF THESE EVENTS OVER MY YEARS IN THE COMMUNITY PRESS, WHICH BY THE EARLY 1980'S, BECAME A MUCH WIDER ZONE OF COVERAGE, WHEN I TOOK OVER DUTIES AS THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE IN BRACEBRIDGE.

     WHAT MY TRAVELS WITH OUR ELECTED MEMBERS OF RESPECTIVE PARLIAMENTS, TAUGHT ME, WAS THAT I DIDN'T KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT MUSKOKA AS I HAD ASSUMED. JUST WHEN I'D GET COCKY, AND FEEL AS IF I WAS FULLY AWARE OF MY HOME DISTRICT, I'D LEARN DIFFERENTLY, WHEN VISITING THE HOMES, RESORTS, AND BUSINESSES BELONGING TO MUSKOKANS…….WITH MANY STORIES TO TELL, ABOUT THEIR OWN RELATIONSHIP AND FAMILY HISTORY WITH THE HINTERLAND DISTRICT. I LISTENED ATTENTIVELY TO CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN MR. DARLING, MR. MILLER AND THE CONSTITUENTS THEY WOULD MEET AT THESE EVENTS, AND EVEN THE "SMALL TALK" PROVIDED HUGE INSIGHTS TO WHO THESE PEOPLE WERE……AND WHY THEY ALSO LOVED OUR DISTRICT. WITH THESE TWO DISTINGUISHED REPRESENTATIVES, I HAD A CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE MUSKOKA FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE THAN I HAD BEEN USED TO, AND I CONSIDER IT MY BASE OF KNOWLEDGE EVEN TODAY. I WOULDN'T HAVE GOT THIS KIND OF RAW BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION FROM THE BOOKS PUBLISHED ON LOCAL HISTORY. THIS HAD BEEN A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE HOSPITALITY OF MUSKOKANS, FROM ONE END OF THE DISTRICT TO THE OTHER, AND IT WAS AT THE END OF MY YEARS ON THE BEAT, THAT I COULD TRULY BUILD RESEARCH ONTO WHAT I KNEW WAS A SECURE FOUNDATION, OF FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE, OF FAMILY HISTORIES CONNECTED TO MUSKOKA. I SAW THESE FOLKS IN MANY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. SOME IN HOSPITAL BEDS, NEARING DEATH, WHO WERE BEING RECOGNIZED WITH THEIR SPOUSES, FOR WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES AND BIRTHDAYS; AND I WITNESSED THE VERY KIND NATURES OF STAN DARLING AND FRANK MILLER, WHO MADE THESE RECIPIENTS FEEL UPLIFTED, BY EACH OF THE HONORS BESTOWED UPON THEM…..OFTEN UNDER ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES. BUT IT WAS WHEN THEY ENGAGED THESE RECIPIENTS AND FAMILIES IN CONVERSATION, THAT HISTORY GAINED ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE, AND I WAS THERE, LIKE A SPONGE, TO SOAK IT ALL UP. ACCOMPANYING THESE TWO GENTLEMAN AROUND MUSKOKA, IN THE LATE 1970's, AND 1980's, WAS A VERY REAL HONOR FOR ME, AND THE KIND OF LESS IN REGIONAL CANADIAN HISTORY THEY DON'T TEACH IN UNIVERSITY. I HAD A CERTIFICATE THAT INFORMED ME, THAT I HAD A DEGREE IN CANADIAN HISTORY, FROM YORK UNIVERSITY, BUT IT DIDN'T ENTITLE ME TO BE AN HISTORIAN. I HAD TO EARN THAT BY IMMERSING IN LOCAL HERITAGE, IN ALL WAYS, ALL OF THE TIME. MY EARLY ADVENTURES IN REPORTING, ALLOWED ME THIS RARE AND INTIMATE PRIVILEGE, OF SEEING FROM THE INSIDE OUT INSTEAD OF THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

MY PLEASANT WALKS THROUGH CEMETERIES

     I remember, one sunny spring afternoon, being accosted by a neighbor of the United Church Cemetery, adjacent to Annie Williams Memorial Park, in Bracebridge, demanding to know my intentions wandering through the property? Was I planning on stealing the brass letters of some tombstones? Was I thinking about toppling some of the grave markers, or spray painting graffiti on the large memorial stones? She had been watching me for about a half hour, she claimed, and "I didn't know whether to call the police or not!"  As she got closer, with a wagging finger about this not being a place for such nonsense, she all of a sudden stopped in her tracks, dropped her accusatory finger, and blurted as an apology, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Mr. Currie…..I didn't know it was you in here." "If I'd known it was you I would have brought over some cookies," she said, blushing about her oversight. "Are you doing a history of the cemetery Mr. Currie," she asked. "You see, we get a lot of vandalism here, being so close to the park, and some of it happens in the broad daylight, when kids start running around in here. It's not right, you know, them playing games in here." I understood her concern, and congratulated her on being a good and caring neighbor of this community memorial. I answered her, that I was doing some research, making note of some of the tombstone inscriptions, to go with a particular project I was working on, at the time. She knew me from the newspaper uptown, and as a founding member of the local historical society. She went on to explain, that all the neighbors surrounding the cemetery, watched the comings and goings of visitors, to make sure their attendance on the property, was respectful……as it had been the case, even recently, that stones had been knocked over by teens after a nearby party. I saw some of the stones that hadn't been repaired yet, and a few of the beer cans, strewn near the fence on the back side. I certainly didn't mind being questioned, under the circumstances, and I enjoyed a nice visit with the neighbor lady in the meantime.

     I have visited many of the Muskoka region's cemeteries, for research purposes, and I'm always in awe of the earliest grave markers, belonging to those first stalwart settlers, who braved some of the most daunting natural obstacles in the province, to stick it out in the wilds. I've spent most of my research time, in the past forty years, trying to learn more about the pioneer period, from the late 1850's to the 1890's, and how these citizens opened up the region for the future we  enjoy today. Life was hard, and there are settlers buried in these hallowed grounds, who died as a direct result, of hardship living the frontier life. There are those who perished in the logging industry, working in the winter months to earn enough money to save their homestead farms. There are those who succumbed to the illnesses that spread amongst those who were under-nourished and exhausted by life's toil. We don't like to dwell on the fact, many of our pioneer families died as a direct result of malnutrition, and over-work. These settlers were particularly vulnerable, when hit with a bout of the influenza, or diphtheria, which made its deadly rounds in our region. There are those who succeeded and those who failed. buried here. The young and the old. The business proprietors, and the pioneer mothers and daughters. There is so much history beneath the ambling reporter, in awe of the roots of community…..the essence of today's neighborhoods, in the town's they founded with their foresight, and back breaking labour. I am always humbled in their presence, and I do find these special memorials, calming, peaceful and restorative places to visit…..especially, at times, when I am frustrated by research, or in a quest for inspiration. I find their amalgamated lives and spirits, an unfaltering source of inspiration, and it's why many other kindly neighbors, have confronted me on my regular ambles through church yards and cemeteries, across this beautiful district of Muskoka. Some of the people I visited, on those special occasions, with Stan Darling and Frank Miller, are now buried in these cemeteries, as are my companion, former politicians……who were both terrific friends during those apprentice years for the young historian…….and ever-learning reporter for the community press. Frank and Stan never treated me like a rookie. They may have instead, made me a project. They would often help me get the names of people in the photographs, even to the point of grabbing up my reporter's notebook, and pencilling them onto a blank page. I was glad to have their company.

     Thanks for visiting today. Please come again.