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Ghost Towns of Muskoka explores the tragic history of a collection of communities from across Muskoka whose stars have long since faded. Today, these ghost towns are merely a shadow -- or spectre -- of what they once were. Some have disappeared entirely, having been swallowed by regenerating forests, while others have been reduced to foundations, forlorn buildings, and silent ruins. A few support a handful of inhabitants, but even these towns are wrapped in a ghostly shroud.
But this book isnt only about communities that have died. Rather it is about communities that lived, vibrantly at that, if only for a brief time. Its about the people whose dreams for a better life these villages represented; the people who lived, loved, laboured, and ultimately died in these small wilderness settlements. And its about an era in history, those early heady days of Muskoka settlement when the forests were flooded with loggers and land-hungry settlers.
List of contents
Prologue: A Road Trip, A Road Trip!: Manhattan, 2007; Go For Broke: Bracknell, England 2005; Put Up Your Dukes & Write!: New York City, 1940s; Ragged & Ecstatic Joy: Denver, 1940s; A Plank Where All the Angels Dove Off: San Francisco, 1940s-1960s; Rough and Hard and Extreme: Mexico, 1950s-1960s; Not Akin to Lustful Thoughts: Europe and Africa, 1950s-1960s; The Perfect Ecstasy: Lowell, 1920s to Present; Golden Ash, Blissful Emptiness: New England, 1890s-1960s; It Was Pure, in My Heart: New Jersey and New York, 1920s-1990s; Canada Was My Bosom of God: Quebec, 1950s-1960s and Early Years; Down into the Darks: Southern United States, 1940s-1960s; Everything is Ecstasy: Central United States, 1940s-1990s; Epilogue -- Five Million of Stars: Quebec and Toronto; Index.
About the author
Co-authors Andrew Hind and Maria Da Silva are both from Bradford, Ontario, and have vacationed in the Muskoka District for many years. They share a passion for the area's rich history. Andrew Hind contributes regularly to the Muskokan, Musksoka-Almaguin Sideroads, and Muskoka View. Maria Da Silva writes for The Muskoka Sun and, with Hind, has written often for Muskoka Magazine. They are the authors of Strange Events of Ontario.
Summary
The authors explore the tragic history of communities whose stars have long since faded, and the people who once lived, loved, and laboured in them.
