HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1970-08-13, Page 20xO ttorowSIONAL.STAR, TRURSDAY, A1J(UST1 a. 1970
BLUI TItYMB •
Sentimental
journey_
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BY G. MacLEOD ROSS
June is one of the' months
when we make a sentimental
journey to the Bruce Peninsula
in search of some of the beauty
which nature has hidden there
but reveals to those who have
eyes trained to see. And if the
• Bruce beckons to anyone and
everyone, as undoubtedly, it
does, how much more does it
attract those whose privilegeit
was to sit at the feet of Dr.
Sherwood Fox. For here was a
• man whose interpretation of the
* verb "to teach" remains a
pattern for all time nand for all
those aspirants in the relay race
familiarly called "life."
During the 30 years he spent
nurturing the infant University
of Western Ontario his summers
to be. Then there it stood, .all 30
inches and more, gleaming white
against a dark background.
The. beaches ,produce some
lovely grass -pink a orchids in
moist bog margins where the
sand is strongly acid. Then there
is the Downy Rattlesnake orchid
with gray/green °leaves with
conspicuous white netted veins
suggesting theskin of the snake.
There are blue lobelias to be
found and of course the vivid
Cardinal lobelia, said to be
nature's brightest red. Add the
heavenly blue of the Fringed
Gentian and the Bottle -Gentian
as well, and we have touched on
buta few of the aristocrats of
the Bruce flora.
Any amateur who wishes to
try to pick up the spoor of these
lovely plants and flowers cannot
do better than to arm himself •
were spent exploring the with Wherry's "Wild Flower
wonders of *the Bruce, so that Guide" (*1.) and Dr. Fox's "The
• •5 euentual.ly•;.,he •,kpe-w..not must •-ice Beckons" . (*2.). With
.'=every ivt g.:sa f
there; but:.1 d T -these 1 oxo <1nan '°. t
--anather� ectal t'Sr- of 4tiie Uruee X - '
collected tales of many who had" 'sP Y"
lived; every tree and 'plant was and at the same time check the
known every configuration; nay . --exactness of Dr. Fox's
every fold in the ground. In the directions. The last paragraph on
20 years of retirement which page 162.•. of "The Bruce
followed he. fostered in' us 'Beckons" will lead you to "The
something of his own love affair Monument'"-- a -great limestone
with Nature in general, and ' column standing on the face of
Botany • in particular. Such the cliff in Dyer's Bay. It is in
association did much more than fact a "flowerpot" in the making
reveal the physical beauty of this and in just a few decades it may
or that wild flower; of this or well find itself out in Georgian
, that abnormal ,tree; qr of this `Bay.
plant, so far removed, ° a tQf the flowers which bloomed
thousand miles in fact, frdm its last June colour shots were
nearest fellow of the same taken because the cardinal law
species. To explore with Dr. Fox . ' of the naturalist is that no roots
was the nearest thing to being • or flowers may be disturbed. Yet
present- at the creation. He gave it - is amazing how the tyro
one teat great gift of eyes 'salivates when he finds 'his first
trained to reveal, so that the - minute Lake iris for example;
very topography took on a how seldom. he' can stifle the
meaningful image. The nature of desire to uproot .it and bring it
the soil, whether acid, neutral or home to die. It is one of the
alkaline, became apparent from , severest tests of integrity and it.
the very plants it supported, -so explains why the pro will never
that if you' wished to locate the tell his,dearest friend where to
Alaska orchid, or the Hart's look, - Well almost never. I am
Tongue' fern, you did not search reminded that Dr. Fox told me,
in inhospitable terrain. as we searched for the Alaska
But vision 'took in .far more Orchid, how he once brought a
than detail. The whole distinguished Russian botanist to
countryside appeared as it once see the wonders of the Bruce.
stood when Lake Huron covered Dr. Fox and I were at the very
a much larger area; whendry spot -at which he had shown the
Takes still gave ' comfort to Russian a specimen..Nothing was'
migrating birds as they followefi said, but days later the botanist
the coastline south. Most of all, ' returned, so that today you will
the marks of the receding ice -cap look in vain , for the Alaska
• which overshot so many, nooks orchid in that place. Perhaps'
and hollows wherein the seeds of after he had known and tested
-a-pre-glacial -era lay dormant, -to • you for _ 15 years the ..good
flourish and astonish a later age. Doctor -would _break. down and
For .here are seeds far older than lead you to a striped coral root,
those left by the Pharaohs in the or _to' the tiny brilliantly
pyramids. • coloured sepal base of the Lake
Thus today we no longer iris underfoot. '
search. We know where to look. ' ' These are bout a few of the
delights - the relaxations of the
Bruce Peninsula. There - are
cranes and blue herons; prairie
orchids and the Royal fern; The
Grass Pink and the fringed
Gentian and there are the eyes
that 'stare down at you from the
crutch of the Big Elm, the girth
of which is the largest in
Ontario. Once you feel the bite,
it is hard to resist, more
especially when the Master is by
your "side to open your eyes to
lit now that
e to direct
will have to
It is sufficient to set out at the
right time of year. The locations
have been handed down in
confidence' because you can
never tell, a' plant snatcher until
you have tested him again and •
again. Here then, three yellow
slipper orchids surprise us as we
peer into their cool shelter under
%the cedars. Later we come upon
two Queen' ladyslippers: Last
year, as this, the lake level is feet
higher, so that all those plants
which like a moist bed have
multiplied, the Northern Pitcher
Plant especially, has taken on a
new lease of life: But there have
been casualties as.well, for some
plants thrive in water, while
others can be drowned by a high
water table which never recedes
, in -tideless waters.
As all his many friends know,
Dr. Fox lost his sight in, the last
few years of his life, to an extent
which enabled him barely t9
recognise silhouettes. But so
exactly engraved were early,
impressions that his 'retri''eval
mechanism had been developed
to the point that he no longer
relied on visual recognition
alone, but could . gauge his
position by elapsed time and
• distance travelled. This unique
gift which was practically a sixth
sense, was never better
exemplified than on the
occasion when we sought the
White Rein -orchid; a -leafy stalk
18 to 30 inches tall with Flowers
in a long slender inflorescence,.
about half an inch long and
fragrant. We were- driving slowly
ever new wonderge
he is no longer 11
you personally, yo
be content with' : i;'fi'e several
books he left as his legacy 'to
everyone, the greatest of which
is "The Bruce Beckons."'
It is 10 years since the Bruce
Trail ceased to be just an idea
and became a reality, possessed
of so, much magic, that now it is
used winter and summer by
thousands. In a sense it parallels
another Trail which in days gone
by led pilgrims to the shrine at*
Canterbut"y. While the ,Bruce
does flog . aspire ' to w any
ecclesiastical pretenssions,it"does
offer therapy" and health for
mind and body, perhaps the best
to be found in this part of
Ontario. Thus it is, that some use
it for physical fitness; others for
mental fitness; some for nature
study; -some for photography;
some to get away from their
wives; others do find wives.
Some are taken there by
psychiatrists, so that it continues
to surprise that • it is still noa
included under Medicare,* for it
i- r 'ray Ri44. '^'�- }'l*If41A414 M5:�,4i Tr rTW n ��.M.Y�, i'
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This aid
AUGUST 16
• Q P.M. �y Popularlteque%#
The Bcettiflger 20- pc'Accordion Band Brom Kitchener
AND
The Goderich District Collegiate- .Stage Band
•
TWO CONCERTS
2:30 P.M. & 7:30 P.M.
The Paris Citizens
U'U'ST 3
J
• A
Band ,TI -IIS OUTSTANDING •BAND
PLAYED 'A CONCERT TOUR
IN SCOTLAND LAST YEAR
7:30 P.M.
Milverton Legion Band
Please note the above changes in time from previous advertising.
In case of rain concerts will be held in the Goderich h_istrict
m (?
is sponsored in the public interest by the following:
BLACKSTONE FURNITURE
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- 34 West St.
524- 7741
:JSJ i1, , ... ,.+ : _�1 .. .M.. _ , . •� Lila* C+. I VF hriti .Y.`. ifa a �r Y en4 d`'
the Ike- on the left, when the l;
Doctor said: "Stop. You should the long suffering taxpayer.
find it within ten yards of this *L Wild Flower Guide N.F.
spot," Afirfirst reaetion
was that arid Midland U.S. by Edgar T.
tliis was magic. Mawr on earth , . W erry
f7 Ph. D., Doubleday.
his ibe4tio0 It couldsnot 'bei ;so
*2. "The Bruce lie6koriii.13
that tO 1 searehed'the hedgerow 1 William S,harwood Fort.
w� abut to de�t�
�; Lde that. Urniversit. of Toronto Press.
discovery fof soon pri a was hot ° 1652,
CAMPBELL'S OF GODERICH
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Collegiate Auditorium:
BRICKER'S JEWELLERY
•148 Square
•
524- • 7932
—oceoatovolF,ASCOMetio. •-.�. -
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'GERRARD'S, CLOTHING
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