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Heritage in peril
As tempting as it is to talk about the federal election this week, we’ll leave that to our columnists, reporters and letter-writers (many of whom, by the way, wrote on the same theme as Mr. Buckles on this page, so we’ll let him speak for them). No doubt we’ll have a few comments next week when the results are in.
This week, however, there’s a more pressing local issue to discuss. We ask you to read the article by long-time Historical Society president Carol Johnson on page 7, then think for a few minutes about what she’s saying.
The bottom line is that the Historical Society is almost single-handedly responsible for whatever success the Uxbridge-Scott Museum (now the Historical Centre) has enjoyed over its 39 years. Its first president, Allan McGillivray, soon became the museum curator, a position from which he retired only a couple of years ago. Ms. Johnson has steered the Society for most of this century, and she’s tired. As she reports, many of her fellow board members are ready to step down. But who will take their place?
Many of the people who might normally be expected to step into their shoes have been very busy with some of Uxbridge’s other cultural institutions: the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society, which has achieved amazing results in restoring the manse and the old church; the Foster Memorial Committee, whose programming at the Foster has steadily gained audience and reputation over the last few years (this year’s concert series begins next week); the York-Durham Heritage Railway, also steadily gaining a reputation among train fanciers everywhere; and the committee which runs the oldest building in the township, the Quaker Meeting House, who last year staged a phenomenal bi-centennial celebration.
These successful organizations are facing their own volunteer crises. The principal leaders of the LMMSO, for example, must be exhausted; when they finish the renovations on the manse and celebrate the centennial of Maud’s Leaskdale arrival this October, it would be surprising if most of them don’t take an extended break for their own health and sanity. But again: who will step in to follow up their success?
We challenge our readers who have enjoyed the events and exhibits at the museum, who took part in the “Hundred Years of Anne” festivities in 2008, who have drunk in the marvellous acoustics of the Foster while listening to virtuoso guitarists, harpists or vocalists, who have taken their kids (and their kids’ teddy bears) on the YDHR, to consider volunteering a few hours to make sure that all these wonderful things keep happening.
In the case of the Historical Society, a first step would be to attend the talk by Mr. McGillivray this coming Wednesday, May 4, in the museum schoolhouse, as he recounts some of the highlights of the Society’s four decades. Whatever your skills or interests, the Society can use your help, so stick around to chat with Allan or Carol afterward.
Uxbridge has a fascinating history, and we know there hundreds of you out there who are history buffs of one sort or another. So take a step and get involved. You won’t regret it. And without you, our heritage community may just be in very big trouble.
