THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!- Day Fifteen

THANK YOU  SOHO!

THANK YOU RONCESVALLES!

THANK YOU CANADA POST !

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

XOXOXO WENDY

P.S. WILL POST A SUMMARY IN A FEW DAYS. STAY TUNED!

Day Fourteen - Flourishing Under The Circumstances



One of Aunt Fan's letters



"Really I am flourishing as well as can be expected under the circumstances, I give this lump every chance to go away..." reports Aunt Fanny from Rye, Sussex in the 1890's. 

What a character! Aunt Fanny supports her nephews, the five Collyer brothers, as they try to make new lives for themselves in the colonies. She encourages them and is proud of them, but not too much, after all it's the Victorian era. 

"As you know they both said such pretty things about you and Alf — of course we take their words very much, while as I know you wish—we of course remember their kindness must warn us not to be too proud of you both, but make a little allowance. This is very private, but I did not want to make you conceited."   

I've come to know Fanny and her nephews in the body of fifteen original letters, written between 1989 and 1895, that were donated last weekend. ORIGINALS!!! And in fine condition, flourishing under the circumstances even.

All fifteen are written to Gerald Collyer so we don't learn much about him, other than that he lives in a boarding house in London, Ontario. It's a pity really, I grew up in London and should have liked to have learned  a bit of life back then.

There are a few letters from  brothers Frank and Herbert who both raise  cattle in Missomin, Assa, NWT. Wondering where that might be, I did a quick google search and narrowed it to either present day Saskatchewan or Manitoba. (Anyone reading this knowing a more exact location please advise.) Herbert mentions getting his feet wet in the stables and laments having to travel so very far to Winnipeg to buy rubbers, but that is as close as we come to pinpointing his location.

 Life is harsh and not much fun in the "territories" as another brother Harold, also living in Assa, reports:

"The times are very quiet up here now nothing going on at all just the same old thing from one year's end to another, now and then the commons dance and that is all."

And you can see by their letters, particularly Herbert's, that mod cons like paper were scarce. Although challenging to decipher, I find his letters exquisite!

 

Another brother, Alfred, in Montreal writes the newsiest and warmest letters —consistently closing with  "I Remain Your Affectionate Brother, Alfred Collyer", or a less formal version "I Remain Your Affec. Bros." The contrast of this to "Skype me, Susie",  from a  recent submission, delights me.

Aunt Fan is a constant, sending words of encouragement and lots of news from home including flyers advertising the latest inventions. In one letter she says:

 "I do hope that the darkest days  for all you "dear old chaps" are over. I don't mean that all is smooth sailing as you know, but with steady steering you do seem each to be making his way"

Another is to introduce the Magic Lantern Lamp. Light seems a big concern for Fanny:

"We have got back in our sitting room, it is much more comfortable, but it seems very dark after the other side of the house for a whole month. I much enjoyed having breakfast in the kitchen..."  

All that moving around sounds like a home reno to me and perhaps with it came a desire to upgrade the  Victorian lighting? Perhaps Fanny was ready for "a very bright steady white light such as the Magic Lantern Lamp projected"? It's a cumbersome looking thing , a bit like a photographers enlarger. I wonder if it ever took off? (Anyone out there know?)


Alfred, seems the best-off of the Collyer boys. He leads an active social life, finds lodging in a private home rather than a boarding house and starts attending lectures at McGill. He even has time for team sports and swims regularly at a pool, albeit for a bath ,which he reports, makes him feel rather privileged. Aunt Fanny and Gerald certainly help him along his way. There is a lot of talk about the exchange of money and seizing opportunities and with Alfred it really seems to pay off.

In 1890 he speaks of securing a gown for his studies.

"I could not get a old gown from the janitors so have had to get a new one and give five dollars for it. I shall try to do without a mortar board as that means two and a half more."

A year later he tells Gerald about a place in the Edison Electric Company "that if  I could get it through , I think I could take lectures at McGill ...and go into management." but  cautions "I don't think there is much chance for me so please do not say anything about it unless something comes of it."

Something does. By the final letter of this series when Alfred writes to Gerald debating the relative merits of water and wind power, he has his name on the letterhead of "Collyer and Brock Electrical Engineers and Contractors"  The year is 1895.

 How times have changed and how they haven't!











 

.

Day Thirteen- Taking a Stand

This category is pretty self-explanatory, but what a range of letters it contains! Political rants, a note to the tooth fairy requesting more than a dollar per tooth and a letter from the Chief Justice of Canada to the Editor in Chief of the Globe and Mail imploring him to update his  25 year old stock profile photo—you'll find them all in Taking a Stand. 














Some other recent favorites are: a hilarious account of a woman standing up to her step-daughter, complete with the family complications that ensue; and a fourteen page letter from 1945 where an artist recounts the reception of his work by art critics.

He begins:

"What I had in mind was to try to get to my pictures reproduced in volume, without much previous reference to anybody; and when I realized I was to be practically barred from this by the price for plates which strongly indicates a cartel in the business, to keep small-fry out of it, I went about some of the Art People, to see what I could learn to help me. For, one can learn even from crazy people, and as already intimated, I have rather expected that is what I would be meeting at Art Exhibits."

What follows is a side-splitting description of the critique of the artist's work and his rebuttal. If you are the neighbourhood, drop in SOHO to hear the rest of the saga— there are only two more days to ask for a reading!

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda!

I can't take credit for coming up with Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda. It's an expression a friend coined years ago to describe opportunities that slip by or the things we never manage to accomplish.  The inspired idea to have a group of aspiring actors write a letter never sent wasn't mine either—I feel privledged to have been part of it though.

 On Saturday nineteen young women, participating in Leading Ladies with Soul Pepper Theatre visited Voices at Hand.  It was a large group for SOHO, so we  took advantage of the warmish weather and gathered outside. Over forty-five minutes, I  invited smaller groups of four or five into my tight quarters to tell them about the project and give them each a letter from the category of their choice to read to one another. In return, all nineteen of them, left me a note they should have or could have or would have written and sent but never had.


I can understand the value of this exercise for young thespians—if one can clearly express their own humour, joy and sorrow, they have a better chance of convincingly articulating another's on stage. 


For me it has been an emotional few days, spending time with  these letters. Some are warm and loving, others lonely, withdrawn and raw—all of them beautiful in their honesty. I admire the courage and maturity of these young women. Who knows whether they will become leading ladies in the world of theatre, but from where I sit they all seem well on their way.  

Bravo Ladies!!!

Uncommon Grounds

Cardboard Box

I'm borrowing from my artists' lexicon with the title of this category. Ground is a term painters use to describe the surface they work on, be it canvas, birch panel, coloured, textured or otherwise.  I really like painting on slate. Not such a good ground for letters though!   I've posted several types of creative stationary in the window until later this afternoon. Here is a random sampling:

                                              

            

Modified 3D Postcard

Muffin Cups

.

Photographs, Muffin Cups, Blotting Paper, Stove Manual

More of the same.

Primary School Assignment

Rubber Glove,(note it's badly decomposed condition)

More Kid's Art!

Craft Paper

Away

Postcards dashed off in haste, long detailed descriptions of life abroad and letters that read like itineraries—Away has it all.

This category has been going through a growth spurt lately. Yesterday, I read letters from an American running a laundromat with his new bride in Russia, a Canadian law student studying in Leeds and a young woman stationed in Rawanda with Medcins Sans Frontiers. I recall some  of my older favorites  including one beautifully crafted letter describing an expat Christmas celebration in Uganda in the '70s. You can travel anywhere in Away, including back in time.      


Earlier this week, I came across a series of letters written in the summer of 1952—a five-way correspondence between two young women on a grand tour of Europe, the parents of one of the young women also on "the continent" for the summer, and a sister back home in Canada tending to her siblings as well as her own young family.

Some passages that really transported me are:

"How lovely of Bobby's mother to make you a crinoline."

"I hope you have a good crossing... Trying to get the laundry done between showers."

"Sitting around a wonderful fire having a sing-song".

"Bought a skirt yesterday, which is a very nice grey flannel for only $7."

"Bought a long-sleeved dark green cashmere pullover for only $18, which isn't much cheaper than Canada."

"I was terrified to hear of you two roaming the streets of Naples.  Don't you remember I told you it has the worst reputation of any city in the world... Oh well you are safe now, but don't wander off in Paris on your own." 

"We have a nice room here at the Savoy Firenze and hardly time for more than a good night's rest and to wash our undies and shirts. Nylon is wonderful in thtat it dries quickly,  but we have discovered it is also very hot."

"Daddy wanted to surprise you, but I'm sure you got a thrill when you heard anyway. You will be flying on one of the new Elizabethan Planes as we did. The wings are placed that everyone gets a good view. However step lively and get a seat  by the window—there are no reserved seats and you will be surprised how soon you are in London."  

 Others are :

Letters from Away were posted in the window all day today and replaced by The Juicy News at day's end.  If you are in the hood check out the window or drop in for a reading from one of the other categories. 

Week One - Update

In a city as busy as Toronto I’m amazed at the number of people who have taken the time to check out what has been happening in the window of SOHO Art & Custom Framing this past week.

It helps that SOHO draws a vibrant client base.  It also doesn't hurt that the store is nestled between two Roncey hotspots—a video rental shop that serves ice cream and a café with in-house baking, all within steps of a bus stop. Their customers are my built-in audience. I read on request from the categories they select and talk about the project while lattes are made or artwork is wrapped. Some even return to sit with me in the window after they have taken their packages to the car.

It’s the passersby that really get me though. The other morning, a man confessed he jaywalked through construction after movement in the window caught his eye. Another day, a commuter stuck her head in the door to ask if I was really reading. Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of that—people giving over to their curiousity. Voices at Hand hasn’t exactly gone viral yet, but it sure is resonating with people.

Since starting at SOHO I’ve read and processed 521 new letters. Add this to the Peterborough total and the sum is well over 2000. Visually this translates into wooden boxes, bookshelves and mason jars full of an incredible variety of colour and textures. I’m especially fond of the jars full of x’s & o’s and a box of homes (addresses). If you haven’t already, scroll down to get more complete feel for the project.

I’ve added four new categories to the existing 33.The Best Laid Plans, Code For and Text Messaging round things out nicely and today in anticipation of a series of letters to arrive on Saturday I’ve added Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda. 

As to my favorite letters from the past week, there are several. A letter written in Petawawa in 1854 by a son asking his father to send snowshoes and a lead pencil is filed in the category Please. In Taking a Stand, is a note to a shop-keeper c.1925 complaining that corn syrup purchased at his store had “done his (the writer’s) corns no good.” In History is a nephew’s postcard from camp where the young lad reports on the weather, his canoe trip and the camp’s exciting decision to rent TV’s for the moonwalk. The list goes on an on. College students in ‘80s, young mother’s living abroad in the ‘60s’, a teenage girl on a grand tour of Europe in the 50’s are all personalities I’ve come to know.  

I’m immensely grateful to Tamar and David Kratter for hosting the Toronto chapter of this project and for embracing the idea of turning their storefront into a stage set, studio and laboratory. Everyone at SOHO Art & Custom Framing has made me feel most welcome!

And a big, big thanks to Canada Post for their sponsorship of Voices at Hand.

My residency in the window of SOHO continues until end of day October 27^th. Hope you’ll drop by and bring me some letters.

All the best,

Wendy

p.s The silver lining of construction on Roncesvalles Av. is free parking!

Voices at Hand

SOHO Art & Custom Framing

77 Roncesvalles Av

Toronto

Monday – Saturday: Noon - 6:00

Sunday: Noon - 4:00

Day Eight - Text Messaging

Day Seven - Wayfinding

                                                                                                                     

 The letter of the day for Tuesday hails from "Wayfinding." I'm not sure of the exact date it was written, but a  reference to the AIDS epidemic as "the AIDS scare"  makes me think it must have been the mid to late '80s. Written by a young man working in the UK after finishing his formal education, it's a hilarious account of his antics. After house-sitting in "numerous palaces around London" posing as the owner, he lives in "something that reminds him of a large meat freezer" and works at Harrod's, amongst "desirous women", that keep "his hormones balanced." He reports he is so scared of STD's he takes his safe off only to relieve himself.   

Also in the window until end of day today are more "Wayfinding" letters. This one from 1983 is a favorite of mine.  It reads:

:

"Here is a line from Tolstoy's Anna Karenina that hit me like a hammer. Needless to say I think he is a brilliant writer. 

He felt that this independent attitude of a man who might have done anything, but cared to do nothing was already beginning to pall, that many people were beginning to think he was not really capable of anything , but being a straight forward good natured fellow

Jesus is that you? It certainly is me. God last year it was so nice travelling around the world confident in the fact that I would go to school study architecture be brilliant etc."

Another young man toughing it out in London in 1952 laments he is "homesick and scared—scared of myself, scared stiff of life and perhaps afraid to look at it squarely." He continues,  "I want to prove ...that I have a few guts. I want to grow up and to be something."  

       

 At day's end, one of the guys at SOHO brought me a note I had to include!

"When I was five years old my mom told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy." They told me I didn't understand the assignment and I told them they didn't understand life." 

Day Six -What is Firm Ground You Ask?

Today in the window I posted a cross-section of letters from Firm Ground. A recent submission sums up one aspect of this category nicely. A letter of recommendation for a school application ends:

" His stubborn loyalty to his friends coupled with a lively sense of humour and a sense of fair play make him very socially acceptable amongst his peer group.  

Cameron properly challenged has the potential of becoming a very worthy man"

Letters of congratulations or support— you might call them cheerleading letters for they all assure us we are understood, known or  appreciated. They place us on firm ground. 

Read on...