CHRISTMAS IN BRACEBRIDGE -
WASHINGTON IRVING - A FEW WORDS OF RECOGNITION - A LITERARY HERITAGE WE KNOW LITTLE ABOUT
IF, THEREFORE, I SHOULD SOMETIMES BE FOUND DWELLING WITH FONDNESS TO SUBJECTS THAT ARE TRITE AND COMMON-PLACED WITH THE READER, I BEG THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH I WRITE MAY BE KEPT IN RECOLLECTION." NOTES GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT., THE CHARACTER-TRAVELLER, WASHINGTON IRVING USED IN "THE SKETCH BOOK," AND THE LATER "BRACEBRIDGE HALL," OF WHICH BRACEBRIDGE, ONTARIO IS NAMED.
"BUT, IN FACT, TO BE EVERYTHING WAS FULL OF MATTER; THE FOOTSTEPS OF HISTORY WERE EVERY WHERE TO BE TRACED; AND POETRY HAD BREATHED OVER AND SANCTIFIED THE LAND. I EXPERIENCED THE DELIGHTFUL FRESHNESS OF FEELING OF A CHILD, TO WHO EVERY THING IS NEW. I PICTURED TO MYSELF A SET OF INHABITANTS AND A MODE OF LIFE FOR EVERY HABITATION THAT I SAW, FROM THE ARISTOCRATICAL MANSION, AMIDST THE LORDLY REPOSE OF STATELY GROVES AND SOLITARY PARKS, TO THE STRAW-THATCHED COTTAGE, WITH ITS SCANTY GARDENS AND ITS CHERISHED WOODBINE. I THOUGHT I NEVER COULD BE SATED WITH THE SWEETNESS AND FRESHNESS OF A COUNTRY SO COMPLETELY CARPETED WITH VERDUE; WHERE EVERY AIR BREATHED OF THE BALMY PASTURE, AND THE HONEYSUCKLED HEDGE. I WAS CONTINUALLY COMING UP WITH SOME DOCUMENTS OF POETRY IN THE BLOSSOMED HAWTHORN, THE DAISY, THE COWSLIP, THE PRIMROSE, OR SOME OTHER SIMPLE OBJECT THAT HAS RECEIVED A SUPERNATURAL VALUE FROM THE MUSE. THE FIRST TIME THAT I HEARD THE SONG OF THE NIGHTINGALE, I WAS INTOXICATED MORE BY THE DELICIOUS CROWD OF REMEMBERED ASSOCIATIONS THAN BY THE MELODY OF ITS NOTES; AND I SHALL NEVER FORGET THE THRILL OF ECSTASY WITH WHICH I FIRST SAW THE LARK RISE, ALMOST FROM BENEATH MY FEET, AND WING ITS MUSICAL FLIGHT UP INTO THE MORNING SKY."
CRAYON, THROUGH THE CREATIVE MEASURES OF THE GOOD MR. IRVING, WROTE, "THESE STORIES (FOLK TALES), HOWEVER, AS I BEFORE OBSERVED, ARE FAST FADING AWAY, AND IN ANOTHER GENERATION OR TWO WILL PROBABLY BE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN. THERE IS SOMETHING, HOWEVER, ABOUT THESE RURAL SUPERSTITIONS THAT IS EXTREMELY PLEASING TO THE IMAGINATION, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHICH RELATE TO THE GOOD HUMOURED RACE OF HOUSEHOLD DEMONS, AND INDEED TO THE WHOLE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY. THE ENGLISH HAVE GIVEN AN INEXPRESSIBLE CHARM TO THESE SUPERSTITIONS, BY THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY HAVE ASSOCIATED THEM WITH WHATEVER IS MOST HOME-FELT AND DELIGHTFUL IN RUSTIC LIFE, OR REFRESHING AND BEAUTIFUL IN NATURE."
I can remember, on a Christmas morning just as this, sitting in the attic of the former home and office of Dr. Peter McGibbon, on upper Manitoba Street, opposite Memorial Park, and watching out of the large window that afforded a wonderful panorama of the park and mainstreat. It was an amazing old structure, pleasantly haunted, and a comfortable place to set up my first writing studio. It was in the fall of 1977 that we arrived, as a family, to lodge at the McGibbon House, which had only recently been turned into several apartment units, with retail space below. It's where we opened Birch Hollow Antiques. I took over the huge attic, and set my desk as close to the window as I could, so that there would be as little compromise to the view as possible. I loved that attic. I had no difficulty whatsoever, finding things to write about.
It was from that attic, overlooking the good old town, that I began organizing for the creation of the Bracebridge Historical Society, which would become a reality a year later; Bracebridge's first public museum in less than three years. It was when I first began reading about Washington Irving, as a biography, knowing the provenance then, of how Bracebridge received its name……an event that dated back to the year 1864.
While it wasn't until the late 1990's that I got around to doing a lengthy text on the subject, which was published in book form in the year 2000, I was enthralled by the author's work even then……and read many times "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." When we first arrived in Bracebridge, as a family, back in the winter of 1966, the moment we drove over the famous silver bridge, and the historic main street became visible, my mother said, quite innocently, we've moved to "Sleepy Hollow." It wasn't a derogatory statement…..as she adored the work of Mr. Irving, as I did……having grown up with this stories as a child. I realized that William Dawson LeSueur, in 1864, not long after the death of Irving and the release of a new collection of his stories, decided as a postal authority, responsible for naming new Canadian post offices, to pay tribute to the late author, his work, and a fledgling town in the District of Muskoka. LeSueur was also a noted historian, literary critic, and philosopher himself, and he would not have granted this name, if he hadn't respected the work of the American author. He did roughly the same in Gravenhurst, but instead named the town after a book by William Henry Smith, a poet philosopher, after the title of his book, "Gravenhurst, or Thoughts on Good and Evil." In this case, it was also an honor and provenance awarded to author and town, but it wasn't embraced as such……and still isn't. Actually, the same can be said for both towns.
I have hopes that one day, some decade in the future, the citizens of Bracebridge, will come to fully appreciate their connection to the historical legend of Washington Irving, as the town has a perfect right to boast this connection from the highest roof-top. It is significant. Being part of the literary heritage of an international author, of his accomplishment, is of particular honor…..that has never fully been explored. The connections to the literary heritage of the Irving name, could fan-out across North America, as there are many other regions, towns and cities, that have such a connection.
If ever there was an under-utilized resource, in this community, it is the link created by Dr. LeSueur in the year 1864, to a literary giant. Some day, this may become significant……but it won't be politically driven. It must come from those who appreciate the provenance, and the stewardship of the namesake, and be prepared to develop it to a full potential……and of course, that can include a boost to the tourism sector……of folks who wouldn't mind visiting a community named after the author of Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
"I AM DWELLING TOO LONG, PERHAPS, UPON A THREADBARE SUBJECT, YET IT BRINGS UP WITH IT A THOUSAND DELICIOUS RECOLLECTIONS OF THOSE HAPPY DAYS OF CHILDHOOD, WHEN THE IMPERFECT KNOWLEDGE I HAVE SINCE OBTAINED HAD NOT YET DAWNED UPON MY MIND, AND WHEN A FAIRY TALE WAS TRUE HISTORY TO ME. I HAVE OFTEN BEEN SO TRANSPORTED BY THE PLEASURE OF THESE RECOLLECTIONS, AS ALMOST TO WISH THAT I HAD BEEN BORN IN THE DAYS WHEN THE FICTIONS OF POETRY WERE BELIEVED. EVEN NOW I CANNOT LOOK UPON THOSE FANCIFUL CREATIONS OF IGNORANCE AND CREDULITY WITHOUT A LURKING REGRET THAT THEY HAVE ALL PASSED AWAY. THE EXPERIENCE OF MY EARLY DAYS TELLS ME, THAT THEY WERE SOURCES OF EXQUISITE DELIGHT; AND I SOMETIMES QUESTION WHETHER THE NATURALIST WHO CAN DISSECT THE FLOWERS OF THE FIELD, RECEIVES HALF THE PLEASURE FROM CONTEMPLATING THEM, THAT HE DID WHO CONSIDERED THEM THE ABODE OF ELVES AND FAIRIES." MR. CRAYON. (WASHINGTON IRVING)
I had a copy of The Sketch Book on my shelf, up in that first office, above Memorial Park, and I consulted it frequently. I concur with what Irving writes, and can parallel my own beliefs, with his life-long fascination by the unknowns of the world……left to flourish in their own mysterious circumstance. How interesting it is, to think then, that famous author Charles Dickens, once confessed, that he always retired "to bedlam" with a copy of Irving's stories tucked under his arm. This is a special literary link, that Bracebridge will one day, more fully appreciate; the international connectedness, that can be cultivated into a truly prosperous future harvest.
Merry Christmas.
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