{"id":16,"date":"2016-06-06T21:06:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T04:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/?p=16"},"modified":"2016-06-06T21:08:00","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T04:08:00","slug":"16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/2016\/06\/06\/16\/","title":{"rendered":"2:2 — The Hermit Mural"},"content":{"rendered":"

Write a short story (600 \u2013 1000 words max) that describes your sense of home and the values\u00a0and stories that you use to connect yourself to your home\u00a0and respond to\u00a0all\u00a0comments on your blog.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I grew up in a small area outside of a small town<\/a>. \u00a0There are many things and stories that are typical of a small town, but I like to think mine has a unique feature: murals. \u00a0We tell our town’s history and our community on the walls of our buildings with paintings. \u00a0Like anyone surrounded by stories growing up, I have a favorite, the mural displaying part of Charlie Abbott’s story, and the legacy he left behind for his community.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe image to the left is the mural in my town called “The Hermit,” \u00a0and it was true that not many referred to Charlie by name then, or now. \u00a0When I was younger, I liked this mural most for the feelings of peace and serenity every time I looked at it…and also for the powerful story behind it.<\/p>\n

For a little background, Charlie Abbott came to my home town in his later years of life. \u00a0He was a homeless alcoholic, so the story goes, and my town was strange territory to him. He settled into a nearby forest by himself and generally shied away from human contact. \u00a0No one knows why he chose my hometown to settle his wanderings, but all residents know of the gift he gave us: The Hermit Trails.<\/p>\n

In the 1970s, bent with age and content with solitude, Charlie worked hard and silently to devote the rest of his life to creating, maintaining and preserving his trails. \u00a0He made simple benches, cut pathways and lined his trails with painstakingly chosen stones. \u00a0Everyday he swept the paths, and when others eventually asked if they could walk the peaceful paths, Charlie was quick to point out that the land wasn’t his, he just considered himself to be a caretaker. \u00a0True to his words, Charlie cared for the trails until his death in the late 80s, and now the town has taken up the preservation of his final days’ work, going so far as to buy up the land to save it from development.<\/p>\n

When I was younger, I didn’t appreciate the devotion it took for an elderly man to create and care for 3.5 acres of trails. \u00a0I didn’t appreciate the sense of community knowing my town stepped up to preserve the man’s work, though none of them knew him and it wasn’t his land to carve into. \u00a0I now work in a museum<\/a> during the summers, where we strive to preserve the history of logging in British Columbia. \u00a0My town started as a logging community, and my job has helped me to become interested in and connect with my own history and town. \u00a0This is how I came to appreciate the effort and love that “The Hermit” of Chemainus gave to the place he called home. \u00a0He gave to the community he was a part of without seeking acknowledgement, and created a beautiful place for families and children to fell safe and admire his hard work and perseverance. \u00a0In my town, “The Hermit Trails” are not just a place of beauty and peace, but connection. \u00a0Walking the paths or viewing the murals tells not only residents, but any visitors, our proud history, and how we stand with each other and work together to create what we have.<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n

BC Forest Discovery Centre. \u00a0BC Forest Discovery Centre<\/em>, n.d. Web. 6 June 2016.<\/p>\n

MuralTown. \u00a0Chemainus Festival of Murals Society,\u00a0<\/em>n.d. Web. \u00a06 June 2016.<\/p>\n

Ygartua, Paul. \u00a0“The Hermit.” Image of painting. \u00a02004. \u00a0Web. \u00a06 June 2016.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Write a short story (600 \u2013 1000 words max) that describes your sense of home and the values\u00a0and stories that you use to connect yourself to your home\u00a0and respond to\u00a0all\u00a0comments on your blog.\u00a0 I grew up in a small area outside of a small town. \u00a0There are many things and stories that are typical of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40969,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/summer2016canadianstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}