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The ladies of Lucy Maud
They’re known as the “Maud Squad”, and they possess an inexhaustable supply of energy and ideas. For the last decade or so, the women who lead the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario (there are a few men involved as well, but they seem content to leave the spotlight, and most of the organizational work, to the ladies) have heaped a huge amount of work on their plates. They have had the Leaskdale Manse recognized as a national historic site, and using that designation as leverage, have persuaded Parks Canada to fully restore the manse in time for the centennial of Maud’s arrival in Leaskdale (she lived and wrote here from 1911 to 1926).
They organized a myriad of events in the summer of 2008 to commemorate the centennial of Anne of Green Gables, the only one of the “Anne books” which wasn’t completed in the Leaskdale manse. And they’re doing so again this year for the “Maud in Leaskdale” centennial, culminating in a major conference in October, to which Maud lovers and academics will be coming from all over the world.
When the congregation of the rapidly growing St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church decided to build a new building north of the village, and to sell the building of which Maud’s husband Ewan Macdonald was the first pastor, the LMMSO saw an opportunity to acquire an adjunct to the historic site in which they could hold interpretive or fundraising events. They persuaded the Township to take out a mortgage on their behalf, a mortgage which they’ve been paying down at a dizzyingly rapid rate. In fact, in addition to everything else that’s culminating in October - the conference, the restoration of the manse - they’ve set a goal to “burn” the mortgage by then as well. And they’ve been holding even more events and fundraisers over the last few months in an attempot to achieve that goal.
As all of this work to honour Uxbridge’s most celebrated resident has occured over the last several years, we could only shake our heads in awe at what they’ve achieved. But now, as they enter the home stretch, we need to move past being marvelling spectators and actively assist the “Maud Squad”. We can do that in two major ways. One is to help them reach their financial goals, by supporting fundraisers like the production of Emily (see page 12) and convincing local businesses and individuals to help them indeed “burn the mortgage” by mid-October. It would be a shame if that obligation lingered on.
The second way, far more important, is to take up the torch as the Manse moves forward. For many of the Squad, 2011 and all its goals - restoration of the manse, holding the conference, finalizing the acquisition of the church - have been the culmination of many years of dedication, and now it’s time to get on with their non-Maud lives. The LMMSO is a provincial body, and there are people in other places - Norval, Guelph, Toronto, even Bala - who might be eager to take up the reins, and focus the Society’s future efforts on their towns. But we in Uxbridge have always been in the vanguard of the Society’s undertakings. It would be a shame if that changed now, just as Leaskdale has acquired all the tools to become a major international tourist attraction.
