ARTHUR – Cheques presented to recipients at a June 15 Wellington North Cultural Roundtable meeting may not have been jumbo-sized, but the dollar amounts were significant.
Kate Rowley of the Lynes Blacksmith Shop, and Sharon Wenger and Stacey Stevenson of the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival, were formally presented with cheques totalling $11,000 this month.
Wellington North Senior of the Year Bonny McDougall, who was presented with the honour on April 21 in the same gymnasium where the roundtable meeting happened, returned before a much smaller group to receive the official certificate on behalf of the province.
Part of the provincial Honours and Awards Program, the Senior of the Year award provides municipalities the opportunity to nominate a community member over the age of 65 for official recognition.
Sporting a big smile, McDougall was presented with the certificate by Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae before cheque presentations.
Wellington North’s Senior of the Year Bonny McDougall, centre, shakes hands with Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae as Wellington North Mayor Andy Lennox, left, looks on during a presentation at the Arthur and Area Community Centre on June 15. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
Rowley, who chairs the Lynes Blacksmith Shop Committee, provided roundtable members and guests with an update on the progress toward getting the 1860s stone shop ready to reopen.
“There was the challenge of unearthing and rebuilding a blacksmith’s world that had been silent for 65 years,” Rowley remarked.
In 2021, an engineering assessment revealed work had to be done to reclassify the shop as a public heritage building — not to be confused with a heritage designation — that could safely accommodate 35 people per modern building code.
New hardware was required on doors, emergency lighting needs to be installed, and the entire roof will have to be replaced, according to the engineering assessment.
“We are underway with those improvements,” Rowley told the room.
Electrical work should be completed in July, with replacement of the doors by early fall, when the building will open for Culture Days.
The roof replacement, however, won’t be completed until next spring or summer, Rowley said, noting the job will likely cost around $150,000.
Fundraising, she said, “is inevitable.”
“We hope to drum up support from large and small contractors to work together on raising the roof,” Rowley said.
Lynes Blacksmith Shop Committee chair Kate Rowley provides an update on improvements needed to the shop during a Wellington North Cultural Roundtable meeting on June 15. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
The shop committee and township are also working together to obtain a Rural Economic Development grant that could provide up to $60,000 to assist in the restoration work.
The $10,000 cheque presented to Rowley on June 15 comes from the Wellington County Business Retention and Expansion program and was a request from the roundtable.
According to Wellington North economic developer officer Dale Small, the county program provides municipalities with $25,000 each year to support community improvement and economic development initiatives.
The roundtable asked council this year to earmark the funding for improvements to the shop, Small explained.
“Anything we can do to support it and keep it open for the community to enjoy is something the cultural roundtable will continue to do,” Small said.
The new cash infusion adds to a previous $1,000 township grant, through its Grants and Donations Community Development Program, $2,000 from Wellington County, and another $17,000 already in the bank.
“We’re going to get there,” Rowley said, “and we’re even closer now.”
Small said it’s exciting to hear about the plans and to know things are moving forward.
He referenced a part of the township’s mission statement – to preserve, promote and develop its cultural assets – saying, “there’s nothing more unique than the Lynes Blacksmith Shop.”
Wenger and Stevenson of the fireworks festival were presented with a cheque cut from the roundtable’s cultural events and sponsorship grant.
Bonny McDougall presents Sharon Wenger and Stacey Stevenson of the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival with a $1,000 cheque to support local musicians. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
Wenger told the room there will be plenty of live music to provide a soundtrack throughout the festival, which runs July 13 to 16.
The $1,000 township grant will help pay local musicians to perform, she said.
“Every year I’m blown away by the amount of talent we have locally.”
Small said the roundtable wants to see its events grant used for promoting local artists and musicians, making for a perfect match.
The cheque adds to a $2,500 grant from the township’s community development program fund, previously approved by township council at an April meeting.
Rounding out the presentations was Centre Wellington Community Foundation executive director Raymond Soucy, who presented Aletha McArthur of the New Growth Family Centre with a cheque for $1,500.
Aletha McArthur of the New Growth Family Centre glances toward Centre Wellington Community Foundation executive director Raymond Soucy at a Wellington North Cultural Roundtable meeting on June 15. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
Wellington North partnered with the Elora-based foundation in 2020 because the township doesn’t have its own.
The foundation reinvests locally raised dollars from the Wellington North Community Fund back into Wellington North.
McArthur said the family centre’s goal is to meet the needs of families with children experiencing behavioural and mental health challenges, as well as violent and aggressive behaviour and addictions.
The Wellington North fund’s youth portion also granted $1,000 this year to assist Wellington Heights Secondary School student Joey Townsend with establishing a scholarship fund for students at the Mount Forest high school.
