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05 15 1995 History Minutes 8 TEE TO'rmSliIF ORO-I.Jî:DOl\'T'E HISTORY CO~~ITTEE kEETING !-,LAY 15, 1995 Tte Townshif of Oro-~edonte History Committee met ttis eveni~g at ...1-, rp h'.^d"t '. "R'ld' . J.-h C 't+.,..., , "de _owns .J..r .h, mJ..nJ..s ratJ..on ....UJ.. J..ng J..D "ie ornmJ.. \.lee .f.oOm, J..n accordance with the motion of adjournment at the last meeting. The following memùers were present: Loreen (Rice) Lucas Tim Crawford Eenry Neufeld Bernice Hickling Jadeen Henderson Walter Hutchinson Earl Robertson 1:ary Garbutt absent: Carl Camretelli Orening: The Chairman opened the meeting et 7:40 r.m. kinutes; The binutes of the last regular meeting held April 10,1995 were en motion of Walter Hutchinson and Jadeen Eenderson adopted as rrinted and received. Corresrondence and CoIT~unicatiDns (a) 8 (b) (c) 8 The 6ecret~ry presented lettEr from the Deputy Clerk, also the Secretary of the Canada Committee - an invitation to the History Committee to particip~te in the Township Canada Day~estivities. To display Photos acc~ulated over the years, and Township Publications. It was moved by Earl Robertson and seconded by Jadeen Henderson that the Canada Day Committee be advised that Township History Committee will particiapate in the Canada Day Festivities on July l, 1995. Presented from Ontario Historical Society - notices of forthcoming events and Seminars. The Chairman presented copies of letters received from - - The Rev. J. Burke Markham, appointed Chairman o~ the Steering Committee as set up at a meetingon April 29,1995. Also a ~initter at the British Methodist Episcopal Church (BME) (and states that the The African Church in Oro was formerl~ the African Methodist Episcopal Church and now ~uld be under the British Methoãist Episcopal Church (BMR)(not AME) Kame letter was also addressed to Walter Hutchinson. Letter suggests a meeting with the Township of Dro History Committee and the Steering Committee at the African ~hurch on Thursday June l,l995 at or around ll:am. Requesting confirmation. Chairman also advised of a telephone call from The Rev. J.Burke Markham requesting certain information and making suggestions reg~røing the Church. Chairman also presented a copy of letter to The Rev. J. Burke Markham from Gary E. French, Barrister and Sòlicitor, Elmvale, who had been present at a meeting at the African Church and at the meeting of The Huronia Tourist Association (HTA) held at the Simcoe County Building, which was attended by several of the History Committee members. Letter appears to be full of critisism of the care of the Church and History CoIDffiittee members. Then further lists a number of proposals. (copies of the above are attached to the kinutes of this meeting. Also attached copy of telephone c~nvers ion rclyn Wi on. ,~, - 2 - Correspondence (cont'd) 8 The Chåirman also presented a proposed draft copy of a letter to the Rev. J. Burke Markham in response to her letter. After consideration of all cor~es~ondence and communic~tions with respect to the African Church, it~was left that the Chairman arrange with the Township Clerk for the Committee to meet with Council on this matter and if a response is forwarded it should be from'the Township Clerk as directed by Council. Old and Unfinished Business (a) (b) (c) Mary Garbutt advised that she along with Loreen (Rice) Lucas and Jadeen Henderson had attended the Lucille Oille Wood Cut Exhibit at Huronia Museum on April l5, 1995. On dis;lay 'Here her wood carvings, tools and many other prints. For anyone that attended she signed books thst were written by her husband, Kenneth Wells wrote books all about life in Medonte, living at the Owl Fen on the lOth line. The books are: - The ~ll Fen (1947) By Moonstone Creek (1949) In Green Pastures (1948) Up Medonte Way (1951) By Jumping Cat Bridge (1956) Loreen (Rice) Lucas and Jadeen Henderson both reported that they had each spoken to interested person to become members to the History Committee and that they had good knowledge of former Medonte Township. It was left that they each invite their respective candidates to the next regular meeting. 8 The Chairman advised th~t various activities had taken place since the last meeting and th~t he had taken many Videos in the Community. Also that he had followed up some items for pictures of Rama Indians and permission to use same. i.e. Fish weirs. Following the discussion on the foregoing items Mary Garbutt said that she wanted to invite the Committee to hold a meeting at her Log Cabin in the former Medonte Township in July. At that time Video tape could be taken after the meeting. New Business (a) The Chairman advised that on June 2, 1995 he and Jadeen will be participating in a all day Session at the Oro-Medonte Fair grounŒs for School Children (about 200 children) Tim to talk and display farm tools and equipment and Jadeen on household tools and equipment. Mary Garbutt advised that a Memorial Service would be held at the Coulson United Church on Sunday July 30,1995. at 2:00 p.m. 8 There being no further business at Hutchinson that meeting adjourn at Monday, June l2, 1995 at 7:30 p.m. Henry Neufe Secretary hand it was moved by Walter 8:45 p.m. to meet again on Tim Crawford Chairman m~e raritiß~ Æet~uòißt tEpiß,upal Ql~ur'l1 CONFERENCE OF CANADA 8 GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel D. Rupwate 8. A. (Hans.), 8. D, M. Th. Ph. D. 66 Golfwood Drive, Hamillon, Ontario, L9C 6W3 (416) 383-6656 ASST. GEN. SUPERINTENDENT Rev, üvingston Yearwood 16 Lynvalley Crescent, Scarborough, Ontano, M1R 2V3 (416) 445-2646 GENERAL SECRETARY Rev. Maurice M. Hicks 3 Boxdene Avenue. Scarborough, On'ario, .~9 ( 8-5115 GENERAL TREASURER Mrs. Odessa Armstrong 509-30 8umhlll Road. Scarborough, Ontario, M1L 4R8 (416) 694-1081 8 FOUNDED: 1856 INCORPORATED: 1913 HEAD OFFICE: 460 SHAW STREET, TORONTO, ONT, M6G 3L3 Suite 1413 145 Hillcrest Avenue Mississauga, Ontario L5B 3Z1 (905) 272-8207 May 8, 1995 Mr. Tim Crawford Chairman, Oro History Committee. Dear Mr. Crawford: Re: The BME Church at Oro Township (formerly AME Church) Further to our recent communication, our tendent, the Rt. Rev. Dr. D. D. Rupwate, Session on Saturday, April 29, 1995, set tee to visit and report on the status of General Superin- during a Ministerial up a Steering Commit- our church there. To this end, a Committee of three, including myself as the Chairman, would be pleased if arrangements could be made for us to meet with you and the other interested parties there to see the church and burial ground(s), and perhaps discuss any relevant matters at the same time. I have set as a possible date, Thursday, June 1, at or around 11:00 a.m. I hope this is convenient for you to attend. Please confirm. We appreciate your continuing interest and cooperation in this matter, and look forward to meeting with you soon. With every good wish, I am Yours Vn~ The Rð'.J. Burke Markham Chairman, steering Committee. c.c. The Rt. Rev. Dr. D.D. Rupwate General Superintendent. PS.Regret did not have your address . . h... Record of a Phone Conversation with Rev Markham 8 Sometime during the first few days of May I received a phone call from Rev. Markham. Initially she wanted to have an anniversary seÍvice in the Oro Church this summer and asked us to look after getting it cleaned, and the local publicity. I offered to have the church unlocked, but declined to offer any other service, stating that our committee has found a once~in~five~years anniversary service sufficient, and that we just had one last year. Rev. Markham abandoned the idea of an anniversary service this year. She ask general questions about the deed, whether there was a separate one for the church and the cemetery, and could she receive a copy of the deed that we have. I suggested the property had only one deed but it was almost illegible. She made a suggestion that perhaps the property should be fenced. I suggested that fencing was no longer needed, in that we no longer drive cattle down concession lines, etc. I suggested that if her congregation wanted to do something about the cemetery they could hire a fig round radar technicianfl to locate each grave for about $500. She immediately changed the subject. (In retrospect I certainly will not in the future make any offer to her of any kind. ) She expressed concern about its maintenance. I responded that I thought it was being well~maintained. She brought up the issue of making the church a heritage site. I told her that before such an application would be successful, it must be clear as to who owns the property. She very quickly said: "that will certainly not be a problem, my church has excellent records." 8 She said she wanted the steering committee which her congregation had established regarding the Oro Church to meet with our history committee. I thought that was possible but question as to what the agenda would be, what was the point of the meeting. She did not give a clear response. She did state that she would like the steering committee to see the church and again 1 said we would open the church for them, implying that there need not be a "meeting" as such. She responded that it would be nice to meet with our whole committee "and the other people in the area who have shown an interest in the church" (1 assume, Mrs. Cole, Ken Sitter, and Gary French.) 1 did not comment further on this. Within two days 1 received her letter dated'May 8 requesting a meeting on June 1, and in which were the following phrases: "Re: The BME Church at Oro Township (formerly AME Church)" "...and report on the status of our church there." 8 8 8 8 ~f.~ Suite 1413 145 Hillcrest Avenue Mississauga, Ontario L5B 3Zl. (905) 272-8207 March 24, 1995 Mr. Walter Hutchinson R.R.# 1 Oro, Ontario LoL 2EO Dear Mr. Hutchinson: Re: British Methodist Episcopal Church at ORO (formerly African Methodist Episcopal Church) Christian greetings. This is just a short note to express my personal appreciation and thanks for the continuing interest you are showing in the above property and its preservation. It was also a delight to meet with you and the others yesterday; for me, it was a beautiful experience to walk into the church. I look forward to working closely with you in the near future, and wish you every good in your work for the Lord. Yours in His service / (The.Rev.) Jean Burke Markham Historian, BME Church. 8 ~ ~. 6. g-~ $2?!!t. q¡~ d'/Jtd .~({~ (70S) 322-3000 .AX (705) 322-0771 10 QUEEN STREET EAST F'.Q, BOX 549 ELMVALE. ONTARIO LOL1F'O April 19, 1995 8 Reverend Mrs. Jean Markham Site 1413 145 Hillcres t MISSrSSAUGA, Ontario L5B 3Z1 Dear Mrs. Markham: 8 It was a pleasure to meet with you last week at the Oro BME Church. It seems to me that we all agree on the important points: the significance of the building as an architectural artifact, its importance to the church and to the community, and the impor- tance of its careful preservation, and the significant opportuni- ties and benefits of making the building better known to the pre- sent church members and to the public at large. I regret that Mr. Craig felt it necessary to insist that your church owed his council in some way for maintaining the building. Regrettably this type of territorial claim has been heard several times from Mr. Craig and Mr. Crawford. It serves no purpose and I know you are quite well aware that considerable efforts were made, by two or three individuals, to maintain the building. I don't think Mr. Craig's and Mr. Crawford's attitude La representative. I ask you to note that Mr. Hutchinson was too courteous to make any such demand, I think I knew the late Mr. Howard Campbell well enough to assure you that he never would have made such a statement. I hope the Oro-Medonte Council and their historical committee can put such unworthy matters behind them, and make positive suggestions. I also hope that your Church, and in particular the Toronto congregation can be persuaded to take an active interest in this building, and to "adopt" it as the symbol of their history. This would benefit your church, I believe, and if your churchreas- sumed responsibility, the historical committee would be freed to care for other threatened buildings in Township, of which there are many. It seems to me that consideration should be given to a num- ber of proposals: - 2 - 1. Designation of the building as an Historical building the Ontario Heritage Act. No building in Oro has yet been designated, and it seems appropriate that this build,ing, a built by the earliest significant settlement group, should first. Such a request should come from the church to the Township Council. We would be glad to draft the by-law, if asked to do so, for your approval. You might meet some initial resis- tance, as Mr. craig, when he was formerly on Flos Township Coun- cil, took a strong anti-heritage stance. under 8 church be the 2. Reinstatement of BME services in the church. This might be- gin as an annual service. perhaps an Emanupation Day. 3. Some programme or display to better explain the history and significance of the building to visitors. Until it is possible to have the building opened to visitors. perhaps some fuller ex- planatory display might be placed outside the church, to allow visitors to appreciate its importance. The building as you have seen. has ~urvived in remarkable condition. it is regrettable that someone recently painted the pulpit and desk, which has previously been in perfect original condition. The maintenance by Mr. Campbell. Mr. Hutchinson. and others has been effective, but although the building is small and simple and therefore rather economical to care for, there are some matters which will need attention: 1. Exterior sheeting: this "California Siding" was apparently put on 45 years ago and never painted. Its useful life is almost over and it now allows birds and other pests to enter. This should be replaced, and the opportunity would allow for the more. proper and correct bevelled siding to be restored, as well as th trim and moldings discarded when the present siding was done. 2. Roof: this seems to be effective but it is indeed 45 years old, it must be watched carefully and will surely need to be re- newed before too many years. 3. Foundations: I understand from Mr. Hutchinson that they are good. but it must be remembered that this type of building is ex- tremely susceptible to damage at ground level. This must be watched very carefully, and the deterioration of the siding at ground level makes me uneasy. Obviously the church would need a local representative andcusto- dian, and it seems clear that, if he would agree to continue, you would do very well to ask Mr. Hutchinson if he would accept the responsibility. - 3 - I hope your church will be led to see what a privilege and a r7sponsibility they have, as a result of the providential sur- v1val of this building. Yours truly, 8 GARY E. FRENCH GEF/vg c. Mary Cole ~ 8 D RAFT Tim Crawford, Chairperson Oro- Medonte History Committee 425 Lakeshore Rd E ORa, ON LOL 2EO The Rev. J. Burke Markham The British Methodist Episcopal Church 460 Shaw Street TORONTO, ON M6G3L3 Dear Rev. Markham Your recent phone call and your letter of May 8, 1995 were discussed at the regular monthly meeting of our History Committee. 8 Words and phrases in your letter imply to us that about 60 years after the church was abandoned the BME Church now claims mynership (and we assume the significant debt which has accumulated in restoration, maintenance and grounds-keeping costs). Descendants of some of the last congregation in the church, who now live in Collingwood, and who advise us and have supported us since we salvaged and restored the church in 1947, indicate that perpetual care of the church under the jurisdiction of the Township of Oro-Medonte is the most suitable longterm approach. The Township has always taken an "open" policy regarding its stewardship of the church (formalized by Bylaw 99, 1977). The once-in-five years anniversary seIVÍce it has sponsored involves inviting all people with an interest in the church to come to worship. The Ontario Black History Society (especially Daniel G. Hill) in Toronto has been continually involved in each seIVÍce, and has been very helpful in publicizing the seIVÍces to its members. The Collingwood descendants assist in and give final approval of plans for these seIVÍces as well as participate in the seIVÍce. (In fact, after the introductory comments by local people, the religious part of the seIVÍce is turned over to the Collingwood people.) 8 In addition, the Township, along with the co-operation of The Ontario Black History Society, has at least twice in the past attempted to have the church acknowledged as a historical site. The attempts were unsucce~ful. It is the opinion of our committee that the church is well-maintained and will continue to be so under the perpetual care of the Township, that it remains accessible to those who value its significant heritage, that we receive excellent advice from descendants who now live in Collingwood on how to provide the site with the respect and sensitivity it deseIVes--in other words, we have taken the position on our overall policy regarding the church, that "if it isn't broken, don't fix it". Sincerely Record of a Phone Conversation with Carolyn Wilson, Fri May 12 Carolyn Wilson is the choir leader of the Collingwood Choir which assists us with the anniversary services. Her uncle, Wilfred Sheffield was the minister at the last anniversary service. She phoned me to inform me that Rev. Sheffield was in the hospital, but seemed to be recovering nicely. I told her I was so glad she had called, for I wanted her advice on what was going on about the Church. She suggested that we resist any action of Rev. Markham and her congregation, for they (Rev Markham's group) have been attempting to take under their wing numerous churches including the one(s) in Collingwood. The Collingwood people have successfully fended off the attempt up to this time, using a Wasaga Beach lawyer Don McKay. I said that I valued her advice and suggested that descendants of the Oro congregation now living in Collingwood should have a say in what happens to the church. She said that her whole congregation and Rev. Sheffield, when he recovers, would support us in any way possible. . 8 8 8