Village Squire, 1979-10, Page 16Dr. Robinson or some other intruder, he or she seems to have
moved from the house over to the restaurant when it was built.
Even without its resident spook The Doctor's House is a
pleasure to visit. The rooms have all been decorated in keeping
with the original period, and the gifts have been chosen and
displayed with care. There is a plentiful selection of kitchen
items including pewter dishes, place mats, tea cozies. and
cannisters illustrated with Kate Greenaway drawings. Upstairs
are bath products and hand stitched quilts and pillows arranged
prettily on antique beds. There are toys and puzzles for children.
and a pleasing variety of stationery and scented candles. If you
visit the shop on a weekend you may meet Mrs. June Perry, who
is well-informed on many interesting faces concerning the
history of Kleinburg.
Next door to the Doctor's House is a truly unique and
delightful shop called The Mouse House. As you walk up the
lane of the old white cottage in which it is housed, you will see
Mrs. Anna Klinemaus, a human -sized cloth mouse rocking her
baby in a chair on the porch. She is the wife of "Johnny
Klinemaus", called after John Kline, who gave his name to the
town. "Kline" means "little" in German, a fitting appellation
both for the town and for a family of mice. Mrs. Anna is in full
period costume. and her baby wears an antique christening gown
and holds an old silver rattle. Perched rakishly on the porch
gable is a life-sized ceramic cat, peering down at visitors as they
enter the rounded door.
The choice of the mouse as a common motif is closely
connected with the town's history. In 1891 Charlie Shaw, the
local hardware merchant, instigated the first Binder Twine
Delivery Night. Charlie had had problems the year before with
mice gnawing on the supply of twine he kept on hand for farmers
to bind their wheat. The Delivery Night became an annual social
event at which the practical purpose of buying up the twine was
combined with a night of feasting and dancing. By 1931 the
custom had disappeared, but in 1967 The Binder Twine Festival
was revived as a Centennial project and has been going strong
ever since. The Festival, which always takes place the weekend
after Labour Day, has become the largest outdoor craft show in
Canada. with an attendance this year of 35,000 people.
The residents wear old fashioned costumes, and the food
served is reminiscent of the past. Coca Cola makes up special
batches of birch beer and sarsaparilla for the Festival,
commemorating the years when Kleinburg had its own
sarsaparilla factory. Among the many competitions is one for the
best craft made from binder twine, and the Festival Queen must
make her own period costume, call hogs, milk a cow and display
many other talents in order to be elected. All the proceeds from
the Festival go directly back into the town as funding for parks,
sport and recreational facilities, building restoration and service
projects. The mouse in the ball of twine is now the logo on
Festival stationery and t -shirts. It is no wonder that this little
creature is now being honoured with its very own store in
Kleinburg, since it created the situation which resulted in all the
good times that followed.
Mouse House owners Gail McKormack and Susan Grafi have
stocked a charming variety of gifts using the mouse as a common
motif. There are mice made from binder twine, pottery, cloth,
stained glass and quality crystal. There are hand stitched
samplers reading "A House Is Not A House Without A Mouse",
pottery lamp bases with a mouse peeking round the corner, and
felt wall hangings with finger puppet mice in little
compartments. The rooms are furnished with antiques which
may be purchased, and the gifts are appropriate to certain areas
of the house, so that the kitchen contains cheese boards and
mouse shaped tea cozies, and the bathroom has towels and other
bath accessories.
Most of the items in the store are made within a 20 mile
radius. Two of the finest contributors are J. and L. Herman, a
husband and wife who are two of twenty master potters in
Canada. Mr. Herman, who has worked professionally at his
craft for 25 years, fashion objects in pottery, while his wife,
14 Village Squire, October 1979
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