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THE PAST IS NEVER FAR AWAY

ByLee Ann

On a stretch of the Old Muskoka Road just north of Utterson, a few pieces of corduroy have heaved their way to the surface. “Corduroy” refers to the logs set cross-ways on a pioneer road, usually in the more boggy sections. Certainly the area between Utterson and Allensville is particularly low, so it makes sense there would have been a need for corduroy here.

I’m always thrilled to step on an actual piece of the road trod by many of the people I wrote about: Harriet King, Florence Kinton and others travelled this section of the road.

Last weekend, I listened with a smile as the people who live on the road today warned visitors that the road is twisty, full of potholes and dangerous cracks and needs to be travelled carefully. In fact, some helpful neighbours have drawn squiggly yellow lines on top of the worst humps and written CAUTION with arrows in several spots to warn drivers. I’m sure if the stagecoach drivers of the 1800s could have scrawled something in the dirt path to warn others of the perils of the road, they would have. As I’ve said many times when summing up the story of this road: “the road was awful; it was always awful; the end.” And so history continues in a modern form!

In Torrence, the Muskoka Conservancy owns a protected tract of land where an old growth pine tree stands. Botanists estimate it’s about 150 years old. So when the Muskoka Road was just being hacked out at its starting point a few kilometers to the southeast in Washago, this tree was the mere sprout of an acorn. It somehow survived the 19th century logging as well as a widespread fire in the 1930s to grow to a girth of 1.2 metres (almost four feet) at its base and a height of easily 15 metres (50 feet.) I gazed up into the canopy and tried to imagine a tree twice that girth and 25 metres – 82 feet – tall. That’s what Muskoka’s original old growth forests held when the first pioneers arrived… with their hand axes for tree chopping.

I love when the past shows glimpses of itself! These log pieces and this massive pine remind me that we are never far from our pasts… as individuals or as districts.

NEW DATES FOR MUSKOKA ROAD TOUR!

ByLee Ann

Back by popular demand and thanks to the promotional efforts of the Muskoka Boat and Heritage Museum, I will be conducting two more guided bus tours of the Muskoka Road!

Saturday, August 27

Saturday, September 7

Once again, we will leave from the docks in Gravenhurst and travel through the entire district, following the road that opened up Muskoka and changed it from “wild lands” to the thriving home and vacation mecca it is today.

We meet at 9am at the Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre, and will be back by about 4:30 for a book signing and draw for a free copy of Muskoka’s Main Street: 150 Years of Courage and Adventure Along the Muskoka Colonization Road.

Tickets are still available at a cost of $20.00 per person and can be purchased by calling Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre at (705) 687-2115.

Be sure to reserve your seat and join me for a day of history and adventure!

SECOND TOUR OF MUSKOKA ROAD

ByLee Ann

I’ve just received news that the June 9 guided tour of the Muskoka Colonization Road is sold out! But don’t despair! The organizers at the Muskoka Boat and Heritage Centre are collecting names for a second tour. Just call 705-687-2115 to add yourself to the list.

And be sure to check back here for highlights from June 9.

Hope to see you soon on Muskoka’s Main Street!

CHRISTMAS WITH MUSKOKA’S MAIN STREET

ByLee Ann

Please join me on Sunday November 25 at Brantim Country Garden Centre Christmas Open House. Brantim is Ottawa’s premier grower of superior outdoor plants, and their seasonal hanging baskets are renouned throughout the region.

I’m thrilled to bring Muskoka’s Main Street to this annual event! Local vendors of fresh quality baking, Christmas crafts, candles, jewelry… and of course you can find a stunning outdoor winter arrangement or wreath, swag, or table arrangement!

So plan to take a drive in the country, just minutes from Scotia Bank Place. The greenhouses are truly gorgeous; you can browse from 9am to 4pm with a cup of coffee or apple cider. There’s even a draw for a $200 Brantim gift certificate.

I’m sure you will find something for everyone on your list. Hope to see you there!

Connecting With Readers

ByLee Ann

There is nothing more gratifying to a writer than to talk directly to readers! Getting the chance to learn what different people think of the book, which sections they found most interesting, or what struck them when reading the story. In the past couple of weeks, a number of readers have contacted me by email and phone to let me know they’ve read the book and to tell me what they like about it.

Of course, this doesn’t always happen. Often as a writer, you do the work and then put it “out there”; the only indication that the book is being read is sales numbers – which are fine, but sterile compared to a lively discussion with a reader who didn’t know that Ontario was largely settled via colonization roads… or a descendant of one of the Muskoka Road surveyors who related some memories of his father, also a surveyor… or an archivist who wrote with great praise for the depth and accuracy of the research.

I’ve also enjoyed looking at the daily stats on the number of “hits” on the website, and what parts of it are being read. (Lots of clicks on ‘where to buy the book’ and also the dynamic map, very exciting!)

As time goes by, I’ll have opportunities through planned events to meet with more readers. Meanwhile, as a reader myself, I’ve resolved to contact more authors and let them know their books have not gone out into a void!

A “MAIN STREET” EVENT FOR MUSKOKA’S MAIN STREET

ByLee Ann

This Saturday, September 15, is the Shades of Autumn Antique, Classic and Custom Car Show in Huntsville. Main Street downtown – which is of course the Muskoka Colonization Road – will be closed off for the event. And Muskoka’s Main Street will be available for sale at the elegant Veranda Home and Garden Collection, 72 Main Street East, thanks to Elise Bélanger, the store’s owner.

What a great opportunity to wander along part of the Muskoka Road and see the kinds of verhicles used by earlier travellers!

And what a great example of a creative way Muskoka Books publisher Patrick Boyer is bringing the book to another set of readers. The very first “vintage” car to putter along Main Street is featured on the front cover: a 1905 two-cylinder, sixteen horse-power Rambler. According to the driver, Jack Milne, the car “created quite a show in Huntsville.”