Article by J. Patrick Boyer

In 1951 Charlotte Whitton became mayor of Ottawa, a first. In 1954, as evening fell in Gravenhurst, the ballot boxes from the north and south ends of town were brought to the Opera House and opened together with the third box there all day. When all ballot papers were counted, trailblazing 44-year old Wanda Miller was declared Muskoka’s first woman mayor, one of the few in Canada. Three years later, in 1957, Ellen Fairclough became Canada’s first female cabinet minister. In 1958, Agnes Wing won election as Parry Sound’s first woman mayor. In 1959, Flora Tabobondung became chief of Wasauksing First Nation in Parry Sound District. Remarkable women were writing a new chapter in Canadian public life.

Wanda Miller’s no-nonsense presence, accompanied by an easy smile, accounted for her strong appearance and wide appeal. So did being an ardent promoter of civic causes and sparking with good ideas. Stamina is important in elected roles, and her good supply of that also powered constant activity with the United Church Women, the local Liberal Party Association, Gravenhurst Council, and other community organizations. Miller outflanked candidates who only campaigned on the main street when elections rolled around. She was in constant circulation in the community.

For St. Patrick’s Day in March 1953, Miller directed a colourful display of green gal power on stage at the Opera House. The Irish Ladies Minstrel Show, a chorus 52 voices strong, worked their charm with the Irish songbook, each woman’s face painted green and her lips white. The spectacle was so popular Miller ensured they also performed in Port Carling and at the tuberculosis sanitarium.

In October that year, she backed the board of trade’s decision to participate in the district’s first “Cavalcade of Colour” to promote tourist sightseeing of Muskoka’s glorious autumn leaves. By December 1953, with the town’s Business and Professional Women’s Club, she launched Gravenhurst’s first Santa Claus Parade, drawing more than 3,000 to see the 20-float procession through the central streets, climaxing with Santa on the Opera House stage handing out sweets to children.

Being successful and well-liked, and now mayor of Muskoka’s senior town, Wanda decided to contest Muskoka constituency in 1955’s provincial election, though her party was not strong. Ontario Liberal leader Farquhar Oliver was ineffectual against astute incumbent Premier Leslie Frost. When that election’s ballots were tallied on June 9, she had lost to Bracebridge newspaper editor Robert Boyer of the PCs as the Tories swept the province, 83 seats to 11.

 Miller carried on, enjoying repeated re-election as mayor. That was an era of civility in politics. Mayor Wanda Miller and MPP Bob Boyer worked cooperatively on many projects, most impactfully landing the new Ontario Fire College in Gravenhurst in 1958.

“My grandma was in Toast Mistresses,” recalls granddaughter Kim Brown. “Her delivery was always fantastic.”

As a human dynamo, Miller continued to juggle many roles. She was on-air morning host at CFOR radio in Orillia, broadcasting into Muskoka as part of the station’s coverage area but also keeping her in touch with Orillians. In the mix, she also ran her highly popular annual “Wanda Miller Talent Show,” discovering amateur musicians to play the Opera House to packed audiences of enthusiastic supporters and news reporters. In Orillia, hearing about a couple high school students performing as a duo who were quite good, she booked the guitar-playing Two-Timers who presented themselves as polished and upbeat nattily dressed young men with brush-cuts, epitomizing the stage-glitz image of the prosperous late 1950s. When their gig ended, Terry Whelan of Washago and Gord Lightfoot of Orillia got a standing ovation from the full hall, intensifying Lightfoot’s resolve to be a performing musician.

One of her greatest ideas was holding Sunday evening summer concerts in Gull Lake Park with the musicians performing just offshore on a barge. With support of the town, the board of trade, and the Lions and Rotary clubs, the fiberglass “barge” – a fixed stage with a runway to the land – was completed in July 1959. Miller ran the Music on the Barge program, as an unpaid volunteer, from 1959 to the early 1980s.

Mayor Miller did not set the monarch’s agenda, but when she learned that another female office holder, Queen Elizabeth II, might come to town on her 1959 royal tour of Canada, she outperformed herself to ensure the visit happened and was memorable in every good way. A viewing stage was constructed in the park for performances on The Barge. Flags adorned the streets of town and special displays appeared in store windows. Top talent was booked, messages of greeting written and revised, special invitations dispatched, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides ironed their uniforms, and the best reason for buying new dresses was exercised to the full.

On the afternoon of July 4, 1959, the mayor and monarch officiated at the dedication of the “barge.” It was an exceptionally happy Saturday in Muskoka yet somehow seemed normal because Miller was central to it all.

In 1960, Miller stepped down as mayor, the same year Flora Tobabandung retired as chief of Wasauksing First Nation. However, Miller continued to remain active in civic matters. A keen curler, in 1962 she opened the town’s inaugural Muskoka International Mixed Bonspiel. In 1967 she enjoyed wearing period costume for Canada’s Centennial at the many public functions. In 1972, Miller opened Gravenhurst’s first Winter Carnival, an action-packed 10-day event. Wanda Miller’s 75-year life ended July 17, 1985, but her leadership and examples remain an enduring legacy.