If you build it … they will come.
The local Lions Club took W. P. Kinsella’s words to heart by bringing a waterfall to downtown Palmerston.
It’s probably also one of the few times a “Bridge” has opened a river … in this case Minto Mayor George Bridge.
On Aug. 27, the club and the community celebrated the dedication and official opening of the Palmerston Lions Heritage Park’s new water feature.
Palmerston Lions president Ed Podniewicz, joined by his granddaughter Anna, welcomed the crowd gathered for the event.
Podniewicz hoped residents would enjoy the new water feature for many years to come.
Mayor Bridge said “this is a great honour to be here today.” He commented he’s not certain how many times he’s said this to members of the Lions Club regarding the park.
“This new feature is totally amazing and it’s dear to my heart because I had a chance to talk with Gary Gray this morning and we talked about old times,” Bridge said with a laugh.
“We were up at the river there and I said, there were no trout.”
He explained both their fathers were great fishermen … and used to go on a big fishing trip with local teachers at the end of the school year.
“I heard many stories about that … which I cannot tell today,” he added.
Bridge said the Gray family has been a great contributor throughout the history of Palmerston.
“We need to leverage this park, which is such a gem. With this new feature its going to be amazing,” said Bridge.
Gray spoke of his family and its connection with the Lions club.
“It’s good to see the Lions spirit still very much alive here,” he said. “This water feature is a great tribute to the town, the Lions Club and to the Gray family.”
Lion Dave Wilson described the challenges to make this happen in essentially four months.
He noted without the numerous partners, “we couldn’t have got this done.”
Wilson said that aside from material donations “… they lent us their tractors, their wagons, hauled stone in by the ton. Lion Bob (Emmerson) estimates there is over 80 tons of stone in this feature … which was about four times more than we were told were needed.”
Emmerson said, “In my 45 years as a member of the Palmerston Lions Club, I’ve had many proud moments. This is certainly one of them.”
He extended thanks to those involved in the project.
“Today’s dedication indicates Gary Gray’s love of family and his pride in his family’s Lions tradition in his hometown,” Emmerson said. He thanked Gray “for not only your financial contribution, but your inspiration.”
In 2015, Gray’s brother Eric, was palliative.
“In the midst of all that, Gary and I continued discussions … with Lion Eric on the possibility of a water feature in the heritage park.”
On May 25, 2016, Gary presented the Lions with a $25,000 cheque – up from his original commitment of $15,000.
“Now you know the significance of today’s ceremony. That date was the first anniversary of Lion Eric’s passing,” Emmerson said.
He noted Ray MacKinnon was a former Lions member, a pond builder and landscaper by profession. “On this project, he was a volunteer … albeit of the expert variety. He worked tirelessly …”
Construction of the water feature is composed of over 40 tons of hand-placed river rock, 45 tons of huge fieldstone, 1,500 gallons of water, 30 large trees, perennials, mulch, topsoil, sand, sandstone and brick.
“But most impressively – over 1,500 hours of volunteer Lions members’ labour,” said Emmerson.
He added that without community partnerships “we could have neither afforded, nor completed this project.
“Palmerston didn’t have a river … so we built one.”
His comment was followed by a round of applause from those in the audience.
