Lost opportunities

Grandpa and Grandma Shaw (standing) with Ross and Jean Shaw (seated), 2008.

No matter how many questions I have asked, I am haunted by those that I wasn’t brave enough to voice. Or worse yet, the questions I didn’t make the time to ask.

And all of a sudden I am too late.  My opportunity lost, forever.

I recently learned about the passing of my grandfather’s second cousin, Ross Shaw.  I had spoken with Ross and his wife Jean on a couple of occasions, but, silly me, I always thought I would have the chance to ask the most important questions at a later date.  

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Outliving the past

As you may have suspected, my attempt at time travel was ultimately unsuccessful. I’m still here in 2013, and feeling a bit badly about raising your hopes that an English major would be the one to break the bonds of space and time. When I drove up Blue Mountain last weekend and approached the intersection of Banks – yes there is only one – I fully expected to be greeted by a scene from Collingwood Township’s past. I would have settled for anything.  Instead, the same “For Rent” sign confronted me at the stop sign, unnaturally stationed in front of the old brick building that once served as Banks’ post office, bakery, and general store.

Weekend “homes” are becoming increasingly common on top of Blue Mountain and the sad and unfortunate reality is that the fields and old farmsteads are being consumed in the spirit of “progress”.  I understand that things must change, but the Banks that exists today is a far cry from the active, farming community it once was.  Perhaps this is why objects once owned and used by members of the Shaw family have taken on such importance in the preservation of our collective history.  Despite their age,  these objects have remained, and will continue to remain for generations to come, having captured the fingerprints of generations of Shaws whose histories have been layered one on top of the other.  Seeing a photograph of an ancestor is a powerful experience; however it can only ever be a two dimensional experience.   Handling an object that is known to have been used by an ancestor forges a connection that spans generations.  Thomas’s kettle is a perfect example of this.

As I suspected, the story of Thomas and the kettle triggered a series of questions from interested readers wishing to know if Thomas’s kettle still exists.  And if so, where it resides.  A kettle has been passed down to Lorne’s descendants, and despite my original reservations I believe the kettle that is cherished today is the same kettle pictured below with Lorne.  What do you think?  I realize that the perspectives of the photographs are quite different, but please have a look and consider what you see.

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