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Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Dunstan Ramsay Day was a great idea with great potential
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
One of Chatham-Kent's best kept secrets is that one of the greatest Canadian novels of all time ( it places in the Top Ten in every survey done) was written by an author from Thamesville who used Thamesville as his model in this novel.FIFTH BUSINESS, written by Robertson Davies in the 1960s, takes place in the fictional town of Deptford but is of course only a, very thinly, disguised Thamesville. The house where Davies was born and grew up is in the novel plus other notable sites such as the train station, the five churches, the gravel pit, the Tecumseh Hotel , the Town Hall, the Westover building etc. all play major or minor roles in the novel.
Both of us have had, over the years, numerous students research the novel, the town and the author as part of their English studies. In fact, a group of Jim's students made a presentation to the then Town of Thamesville Council in the 1980s and convinced the town fathers to place a sign at all four entrances to the village stating that this indeed was the "Home of Canadian Author Robertson Davies"
However, the best attempt at bringing to life this novel, and its relationship to Chatham-Kent, took place on this past Saturday when Kara Smith and a number of other volunteers (including the IODE) decided to stage a very creative and innovative walking tour, that Kara entitled – "DUNSTAN RAMSAY DAY". Dunstan Ramsay was the main character in the novel FIFTH BUSINESS and is, in many ways, an embodiment of Robertson Davies himself and, in the novel, he returns to Deptford (Thamesville), after fighting in WW I, on May 1, 1919. Upon his return to Deptford, Dunstan is greeted by a large number of the town and it is, at this stage in the novel, that Kara Smith's Dunstan Ramsay Day begins.
We all met at Thamesville's train station (defunct but still standing) and we are immediately swept up in the spirit of the day and ,as if by magic, transported back in time and into the fantasy fictional world of Robertson Davies' FIFTH BUSINESS. We become the townspeople of Deptford and are guided around town to visit the places that figured into the noel.
Not only did this ingenious literary tour bring the novel to life but, just as importantly, it brought Thamesville to life and manifested upon it almost , one might say, mythic proportions. Seemingly unimportant brick buildings became important edifices, silent streets came alive with the voice of Davies, and a rather dismal looking, old gravel pit was transformed into a magical, mystical place of revelation and reverence.
At the conclusion of the literary walk we were taken to St. James Church (an important spot in Davies' Deptford) and fed the exact same meal that Dunstan Ramsay and the townsfolk of Deptford supped on in the novel on May 10, 1919. In a very real fashion we became the literary creations in the novel as we voraciously dug in and....."consumed cold chicken and ham, potato salad and pickles in bewildering variety and quantities of pie and cakes."
The entire day was a splendid adventure that combined literature, history, a bit of exercise and good camaraderie. It also made us stop and consider the potential of such an unique venture. A tour such as this would be an excellent addition to the kind of arts and culture off-shoots that the people at the Capitol Theatre envision for the future.
Chatham's Capitol Theatre will only be a success if ALL of Chatham-Kent shares the visitors and business that it hopes to attract. After attending theatre the night before, many people who have read FIFTH BUSINESS (and it is a very well read novel in the U.S. as well) would be absolutely thrilled to go on a literary tour, such as we did this past Saturday, and then stay for awhile to shop at the stores in Thamesville.
Other small towns could of course use their own unique personalities, in a variety of other ways, to attract those same ětheatre peopleî to their communities within the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. The possibilities are only limited by the creative imaginations of those involved. The potential is limitless and extremely exciting to say the least!
Although you may have missed Dunstan Ramsay Day, Kara Smith and her group have another "literary tour" planned for Saturday, June 14th that will allow you to enter the fictional world of another local but much more recent novel. Laurie Lanssen's recently released novel ( 2002) – RUSH HOME ROAD will be the focus of the next tour and it will encompass sites in Chatham as well as Buxton.
For more information on this upcoming literary tour go to HYPERLINK http://www.chathamkentliterarytours.com www.chathamkentliterarytours.com. We strongly urge you to get tickets for this upcoming tour as it will be a literary experience like no other you have experienced. It may also very well give you an idea of what an exciting, dynamic and prosperous place Chatham-Kent can be once the nay-sayers, the unimaginative and , dare we say, "stupid" people get the hell out of the way of revitalization that awaits Chatham-Kent through the embracing of arts, culture and heritage!
Can we state our position and feelings any clearer!!??
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
