On the Go with 150

Bill Bowick | Oct 19, 2016

Embrace the Present; Reconnect with the Past; Look to the Future

Some readers might remember Centennial year in 1967. Those who don’t remember can Google it. Regardless of what memory bank you search, your own or the web’s, you’ll learn that 1967 launched one of the greatest periods of national unity Canada had ever known – and it lasted a long time. Not to suggest that we have a unity problem today but a little more togetherness never hurt anyone. And togetherness is something Canada 150 can deliver.

Central Frontenac is a community of communities. Its population is spread across four former townships and ten to twelve villages and hamlets – each of which has, to some degree, maintained its own identity. The year-round population has older families, many with First Nations ties, plus newer people, many retired, who have chosen to build a life here. The summer population is spread across five or six larger lakes and many smaller ones. Again, each has its own identity and character.

Bridging these cultures is a community development exercise. It will be achieved through the programs that are planned for Canada 150 and the partnerships that are built in the process of hosting them. The bridge between old families and new will be built through activities with heritage education elements. The bridge to our First Nations community will be built through education programs in the schools and Shabot Obaadjiwan events open to the wider community. The Parham Fair will, as it has in the past, do much to bridge the urban-rural gap. Festive events will build bridges between local and cottage populations and the young-old gap will be bridged by music. The partnerships established are reflected in letters of support for a Canada 150 provincial grant. They came from service clubs, heritage groups, First Nations leaders, schools and agricultural societies.

Canada 150 projects proposed so far come in a range of sizes, shapes, weights and colours. A very large, public project is completion of the K&P trail. A very small private one is Mr. Virgil Garrett’s open house displaying his collection of grandfather clocks. Virgil has already had more than 70 visitors. The year’s social calendar is book-ended by Legion events – a New Year’s Day levee in Arden to see the year in and a New Year’s Eve ball in Sharbot Lake to see it out. Our spiritual needs will be addressed through a sacred fire and sharing circle, through an open service sponsored by the area churches and by an “old-fashioned hymn sing” in Parham United Church. Heritage elements include the Kennebec Heritage Garden in Arden and several proposed exercises to capture our history in print.

A number of things which have become a standard part of our social year will take on a special Canada 150 flavor. It will be a focal point for this year’s Frontenac Heritage Festival including the display of 150 quilts. It will be the theme of the 2017 Christmas Festival of Trees. The Parham Fair committee is planning special activities this year as it is also their 125th anniversary. And the Canada Day celebrations will be bigger and better than ever. Even the lake activities will be special with fireworks on the lakes and some lakes, Crotch and Horseshoe for one, planning a celebratory flotilla.

Our expectation is that 2017 will be a fun-filled year but that means a very busy one for our traditional army of volunteers - the recreation committees, the fire fighters, the Lions, Legions and fraternal organizations to name but a few. The challenge for the township’s Canada 150 committee is to help these groups publicize their own Canada 150 projects while they organize to support each other. The focus right now is to fix dates in time to have things included in the 2017 event calendar and to publicize through the media we’ve established – link through the Central Frontenac web site or visit our Facebook page at Canada 150 in Central Frontenac. If you want to be actively involved, call Bill Bowick at 613 279-3341 (e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). We’ll value your assistance on either the Canada 150 committee or with one of the groups organizing a project.

Watch for events as they’re posted and enjoy them as they occur. It should be a great year for everyone.