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Maud returns home
As reported by Roger Varley on page 13, it is grand news indeed that the old Presbyterian manse in Leaskdale, the home for 15 turbulent and triumphant years of Canada’s most beloved author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, is finally being turned over to those who will care for it best - the LMM Society of Ontario (LMMSO).
As has been recounted many times in these pages, Maud first arrived at the manse in the fall of 1911, shortly after her honeymoon with the pastor of St. Paul’s in Leaskdale, Rev. Ewan Macdonald. She left in 1926, having experienced the First World War, the birth of two sons (and the still birth of another), and the creation of eleven novels, including most of the “Anne” series and the entire “Emily of New Moon” series.
After her departure, the manse ultimately fell on hard times, being renovated beyond recognition and occupied by people who weren’t particularly interested in its history. Finally, about 25 years ago, it was acquired by the Township and, thanks to the leadership of Wilda Clark (a former neighbour of Maud’s) and several of her associates in the newly-formed LMMSO, it achieved recognition as a national historic site.
About six years ago, the Society embarked on an ambitious plan - to acquire Ewan and Maud’s church (recently vacated by the St. Paul’s congregation) as an interpretive centre for the historic site, and to fully restore the manse, with the assistance of Parks Canada and Maud’s own photographs, to the period in which she lived there, specifically the World War I period. Those objectives were largely met by the fall of 2011 when, in conjunction with an international conference to mark the centennial of Maud’s arrival in Leaskdale, the LMMSO not only burned the mortgage on the church, but opened the lovingly-restored manse to a an admiring public.
Through these years, the Township has retained ownership of the manse, and considering the huge numbers of other responsibilities being borne by the seemingly tireless members of the LMMSO, that has probably been a very good thing. But now that the centennial year is well behind them, and the Society has moved on to other projects, such as improving the church grounds and launching professional theatre as a key element of its interpretive program, the time has undoubtedly come for the church and manse to be owned by the same entity. The LMMSO has amply demonstrated its competence, creativity and loving care as a steward of the manse property; it is only fitting that it now take the title as well. We heartily applaud the mayor and council for recognizing that reality. We only hope that they will also recognize two other realities.
The first hope is that in these tight-budget times, the Township will acknowledge that the LMMSO is actually doing it a fiscal favour by taking the manse off its hands, and essentially make the Society a gift of the property. A selling price of a dollar sounds about right. The second is that having done all it’s accomplished over the last few years, the LMMSO is a tad weary of fundraising at present. So until all its current efforts ultimately translate into the manse becoming a major tourist destination, perhaps the Township could give the Society a break on the taxes. Like maybe tax-free until 2020? Maud, and all her hard-working daughters, would gratefully approve.
July 14, 2011
