Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at [email protected].
The struggle was real.
Imagine Muskoka 150 years ago. Trekking into the virgin bush, cutting down trees to make a house, clearing the land to farm and pulling out a few potatoes and turnips from the ground to feed your family. We think we have it so rough today, but the pioneers of Muskoka endured a hardship we can’t even begin to fathom.
Most of the area’s earliest settlers came from poorer classes. They were, without a doubt, the working poor. Without grubstake or money behind them, they struggled to make ends meet and to create a life.
“And that’s what blew me away,” says Ray Love, author of Pioneer Muskoka, the second book he’s self-published since 2014, which sheds light on what life was like for Muskoka’s first settlers. “When they came here they had nothing. When they had to go somewhere they walked. It was not uncommon for people to walk from Huntsville to Bracebridge or from Bracebridge to Orillia. And if they weren’t walking, they were rowing, sometimes 30 miles to get whatever supplies they needed and then back to their homestead.”
Ray’s family owned a resort in Port Sandfield. He grew up listening to his aunt, a history teacher, tell some pretty amazing stories about what local folk went through building a life with not much but their bare hands. So when Ray retired in 2007 from a 31-year teaching career, it only opened a door for him to read more books and brush up on his history with frequent trips to the local libraries. In 2014, he published Elgin House, Lake Joe taking readers on an incredible journey back in time.
Ray showing one of his favourite photographs included in his new book Pioneer Muskoka. He went the extra mile and included 45 photos in all, as pictures can tell a vivid story as to how times have changed.
There are a number of things that he loves when it comes to history, particularly how economics or the success of a country’s economy affects how people live and exist. History has a lot of elements, says Ray, class elements, which means every society has different classes. Sometimes they clash, sometimes they work together, sometimes the upper class take advantage of the lower class. It’s multi-faceted.
The first free land grant recipients were given free land in Muskoka with the expectation they would establish farms. You and I and everyone else knows you can’t grow anything on a rock. They had documented their struggles in farming, first of all how they failed, and how they persisted and then how they found ways to make a living in lumbering and tourism. They were given a raw deal and they persevered and persisted and made Muskoka what it is.”
Ray knows for certain a picture’s worth a thousand words. And he also knows how people appreciate getting the opportunity to see images that portray pivotal moments in history. In both of his books he went the extra mile to include dozens of photographs of some of the earliest settlers and what life looked like in Muskoka more than 100 years ago.
Researching and compiling some of the area’s most riveting history was no easy feat. But if you have the drive and passion, anything is possible. That’s what the bubbly 63-year-old former elementary and high school teacher will tell you.
Ray continued visiting area libraries researching facts and compiling the information he had gathered and set to work on his second book.
Each book took approximately two years to write; a year researching, a year writing. Ray spent countless hours reading as many local history books he could get his hands on. He carried out his research at the various local libraries in Huntsville, Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes and read every single vertical file that pertained to the topic he was researching.
“I probably researched 200 vertical files for stories and information about these early settlers,” Ray says. He did it when he had the time and was truly driven by his passion to share all this wonderful history with people. “I’m always a bit nervous on how the books will be received. I’m not a writer. I’m not trained as a writer. But the important thing is the passion and ideas and when they’re solid, the book will come.”
The Muskoka Room at Huntsville Public Library is Ray’s favourite place to work. Here, he sifts through all the vertical files that pertain to the history of the area.
Through his personal journey as a budding writer, Ray has learned so much. It’s as simple as the obvious. Start any paragraph or chapter with something that is catchy so you grab the reader’s interest right away. He also learned that when you write about a topic that you’re truly inspired by, you can’t go wrong.
And these books that Ray has published aren’t just something people who live in town will appreciate. There are so many people not only living in Muskoka who cottage or visit and want to make a connection with history.
“At my book signings, I’ve met people who have family members who have lived here or have some connection to Muskoka and they really want to embrace that connection.”
Lucky me! I got an autographed copy of Pioneer Muskoka and Elgin House, Lake Joe and have already started brushing up on my local history. Thanks Ray!
Indeed, times have changed, drastically in fact. But the pioneers of Muskoka certainly paved the way for a brighter future.
Elgin House, Lake Joe and Pioneer Muskoka are available at various retail stores across Muskoka including the Antiques Cellar, Dean’s Home Hardware, Veranda in Bracebridge, Grace and Speed in Gravenhurst, Muskoka Lakes Museum in Port Carling and Lake Living in Port Sandfield. Books are also available online from Amazon and Barnes and Nobel and the Friesen Press Bookstore.
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The love of Muskoka and respect of the settlers rests in the hearts of many present day descendants.
There are so many stories.
Yes they were given a raw deal and burdened with a heavy tax if they cut white pine trees. Resulting in many families leaving their land grants and escaping to Canada’s west even to USA.
Later generations were also forced to leave Muskoka as there was no work to employ them. Some went to Cleveland and other USA places. When retirement time came. a generous number returned to Muskoka or more often referred to as home.
The magic of Muskoka will never cease.
Any one have Ray’s email?
How do I get a copy of the book? I worked at Elgin House and lived in Port Sandfield.
Looking forward to reading your books Ray!
A group of university classmates of Ray’s celebrated our 40th birthdays together in Bracebridge some 25 yrs ago. Although we all knew Ray for a long period of time, we had no inclination that a writer was in our midst. Bravo Ray!
Excellent historical analysis Ray & good luck with ongoing projects.