Dock permit clarity, water quality issues and the lake partner program, electricity pricing and the seasonal resident designation, invasive species, engaging younger people in lake associations and quantifying the economic impacts of cottagers in rural Ontario were just a few of the items on the agenda as the Sharbot Lake Property Association held its annual general meeting at St. James Major Saturday. Since this meeting was at the end of a two-year cycle, there were elections for the entire executive. However, despite there being 222 paid members, all of the executive positions were filled by acclamation and one, secretary-treasurer, remains open.

The new executive includes, Ken Waller, president; Guy MacLeod, vice-president; Barbara Fradkin, environmental issues coordinator; Robert Patten, Barb McIssac, members-at-large.
New president Waller said that the organization’s constitution allows for the executive to appoint a member for any executive vacancies.

Fradkin, who remains as environmental issues coordinator, said there have been 16 adult and 10 baby loons in the East Basin; 10 adults and three babies in the West Basin and two adults with two babies in Elbow Lake.
There were anecdotal reports of an increase of algae in the East Basin. Fradkin responded that “I have not seen any algae in the West Basin and there are reports of zebra mussels thinning as well.

By 1963 the parishioners of St. James Major Catholic Church were well aware that the small church they attended every week in Sharbot Lake was not big enough for their needs.

With a capacity of 60, there were often over 100 people in attendance and in the summer time there were many more.

As some of the parishioners from back then recall, services were often held in less sacred spaces in the summer time.

“We held services in the high school auditorium, the township hall and even the beer store parking lot on the highway,” recalled long-time parishioners, Marg DesRoche and Theresa Ferguson, when they were interviewed for a video that was recently made about St. James Major.

When services were held in the church there were often people on the outside looking in. The church was also unheated, so it was cold in winter and hot in the summer. It also had no fire exit.

All of these flaws were well recognized by the early 1960s, and that was when the congregation spent around $2,500 to purchase a 2.5 acre lot on Highway 38 just north of the village for a new church. The lot where the small church was located was too small to even put in a septic system, never mind build a larger church.

Purchasing the lot was a first step, but unfortunately there was no mechanism available to the local parish to start the second step.

As Marcel Giroux, another long-time parish member, said in the video, the bishop and the church administration had to be convinced about the kind of church that would fit for Sharbot Lake

“There were complications dealing with the diocese and their expectations that took a long time to overcome,” Giroux said.

In 1988 all that changed, thanks to a bit of inside information. Archbishop Spence, who was originally from Perth, did not like crowded spaces. Knowing that, the Sharbot Lake parish invited him to a service, and with 100 people crammed into the 60-person church, “He realized in a more direct way that we needed a new church. So they let us come up with our own design to build a church that we would be able to afford,” said Giroux.

One of the members of the building committee that was struck was Doreen Onfrichuk. She knew of a family who were in the midst of building a cottage on Sharbot Lake when a family member died, and they were no longer interested in finishing the cottage. The family was willing to sell the property for $50,000 and the church community was willing to pitch in and finish it.

The parish went to the archbishop's office, which had said it would support the project, asking for a loan of $50,000 to buy the property, which was agreed to.

They then began selling tickets for $100 each for a draw with the cottage as the prize, which would have been worth about $100,000 in those days. They sold 2,400 tickets, and once the loan from the archbishop’s office was paid off and the cottage was paid for, the building project had the seed money it needed to get underway.

“We kept on fundraising while were starting to build, and we were getting a lot of support from the people who came to our church, but also from people who attended other churches as well. Everyone thought it was a worthwhile project,” said Giroux.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the new church took place in 1990 and the church was built by 1991. The total cost of the new St. James Major, with a capacity of over 300 in the sanctuary and a large hall with kitchen facilities on the lower level, was over $600,000.

The parish ended up with a mortgage for $169,000, which was set up for 25 years, but just through normal church operations and without any specific fund raising campaign, it was paid off within nine years.

Twenty-five years later, St. James Major has become a fixture in the region, not only as a center for Catholic worship for permanent and seasonal residents, but also as an education center, thanks to St. James School, which is located on the property.

It has also been the site of musical events, including a summer concert series in the 1990s, and concerts by Tafelmusik and the Barra McNeils, to name a few. The hall has been the location for weddings, fundraisers, and family gatherings - just about every kind of community event. It also serves as a gym for the St. James Major School and is the location for the annual Strawberry Moon Festival.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the church, a celebration is scheduled for Sunday, August 20, starting at 2 pm.

Archbishop Brendan O'Brien will be joining the celebration for the dedication of a new baptismal font that parishioners have paid for through fundraising in honour of the 25th. The ceremony will include hymns, songs and readings.

After the ceremony, the church hall will be open, and memorabilia and photo albums will be on display. A 25th anniversary video, which has been prepared to mark the anniversary and is available for purchase, will be playing.

The three surviving building committee members, Marcel Giroux, Theresa Ferguson, and Marg DesRoche, along with Father John Brennan, the priest who was at the church back then, will be the guests of honor. There will be refreshments served as well, including cake.

In an effort to inspire local students with the message that they too can realize their dreams while helping others, former Sharbot Lake resident Dorothy Buchanan Quattrocchi has been visiting area schools to speak about her son, Mark Quattrocchi, who for the last 18 months has been cycling solo across the globe in support of the international charity and educational partner, Free the Children.

The charity aims to empower communities to lift themselves out of poverty by developing collaborative and sustainable programs both at home and abroad.

Dorothy, who was a former teacher, principal and vice-principal for 30 years with the Catholic District School board of Eastern Ontario, was invited to both Granite Ridge Education Centre and St. Major Catholic School in Sharbot Lake on February 1 to tell students about her son's incredible story.

Mark Quattrocchi grew up in Rideau Ferry and has taught English in both South Korea and China. On July 7, 2014, he set out from Sanya, China on a bicycle he purchased there, and armed with a tent and other supplies began a two-year journey across four continents.

Inspired by a wish to explore the world and to bring education and literacy to children along the way where schools do not exist, he is hoping to raise $50,000 to support the building of five different schools in five separate locations. To date Quattrocchi has biked over 26,000 kilometres and raised over $33,000 in support of Free the Children. He traveled from China westward along the old Silk Road through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and India before flying to Turkey and then continuing his trip through Eastern Europe. He entered North Africa and cycled across the continent. He then flew from Cape Town to Argentina where he continued his journey.

Currently he is in Peru, working his way towards Ecuador. From there he will head north through the United States and Canada and is hoping to arrive home in Rideau Ferry in time to celebrate his 28th birthday in June of this year.

On his website, www.oneadventureplease.com he blogs about his experiences and keeps interested followers up to date about his whereabouts. He writes, “Through my experiences, thoughts and ambitions about adventure, I strive to give motivation to people to follow their dreams. It is not just about travel, but showing people the tools available to succeed in life and find their true calling. To find what we are all looking for. To make life happen for yourself, to live your dreams and open yourself to new surroundings. I love this world. It is an amazing place and I hope you are able to find power through my experiences.”

In Dorothy’s presentation to the students, which included a number of Go Pro videos that Mark filmed from a camera mounted on his bike, the students were able to get a glimpse of many of the exotic places that he has visited.

Dorothy explained to the students that Mark is surviving on $5/day and also relies on the hospitality and support of people he meets along the way. She spoke of the challenges he faces riding on average 130 km a day; challenges not only from the extreme heat and cold in certain places, but also from having to be 100% self-reliant and prepared for whatever comes his way.

For Dorothy, Mark’s trip has opened up new worlds for both her and her husband. They have met up with him three times so far on his journey, in China, India and South Africa.

Mark’s trip is a great way to show students how to realize their dreams. Lori Bryden, vice-principal of St. James Major, said that the students at the school were looking to do some fundraising this year on a global level, and Mark’s trip has given them the perfect opportunity. “In the past the students have done a lot of local fundraising and the oldest students this year have expressed an interest in fundraising globally. When I learned of Mark's trip through Facebook I thought that it would be the perfect thing for them to support.”

The students are planning to do just that and others who may want to support Mark's efforts can visit his website at www.oneadventureplease.com

In an effort to give local area moms a chance both to give and receive new and gently used clothing and toys for their children, a first time “Mom 2 Mom” sale was held at St. James Major Catholic Church in Sharbot Lake on October 17. Organized by Jennifer Ross, chair of the parent council at St. James Major Catholic School in Sharbot Lake, the sale was initiated as a way for local moms and their kids to get connected, network, and support each other as well as to exchange, sell or purchase items they are in need of. Organizers offered up an inexpensive not for profit lunch for moms and their kids as well as coffee and tea. A few youngsters had a chance to demonstrate their entrepreneurial spirit and sold lemonade at one the tables in the hall. Ross said that Sharbot Lake was chosen as the location since it is central. “Those moms who would normally have to travel to Perth or Kingston or even further afield to find the items they are looking for may indeed find exactly what they are looking for right here”.

Having the sale in the early fall before winter arrives also gives moms a chance to purchase or exchange the items they need for the colder weather as well as to do a bit of early shopping for the upcoming holiday season. Ross said that based on the turnout, she may consider making the event an annual or bi-annual one. Proceeds from the event will support the parent council at St. James Major School and will help to fund various school activities and programs.

The mural is available for viewing during business hours at the Child Centre.

A trio of local artists have worked with students from St. James Major Catholic School, and Sharbot Lake, Hinchinbrooke and Land O'Lakes public schools to complete “The Living Mural Project”, which was installed last week in the board room at the Child Centre in Sharbot Lake.

Potter Joanne Pickett and printmaker Martina Field ran an art school for area children, called the Northern School of Fine Arts, at the Child Centre for several years, and when they stopped running the school they wanted to put together a project that would have a permanent impact on the local community.

“Joanne and I helped out with a mural project at Sharbot Lake Public School one time, and we thought it would be a good idea to work with children to build a mural that was all about the local geography and history,” Martina Field said about the beginning of the project.

With some funding from the Northern School of Fine Arts and a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston, there was enough money available to kick-start the project.

Field and Pickett brought another artist, Carol Pepper, into the fold and the three of them began to go into the schools to talk to the local children about the history of the area in order to motivate the children to put that history into a visual form. They enlisted Danka Brewer from the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation to talk to the students who were working on the panel depicting the Aboriginal heritage of the region, and Shirley Peruniak of the Oso Historical Society talked about life after the arrival of European settlers. The largest panel, which ended up being the centrepiece, was devoted to the landscape itself, in late winter, with no reference to human activity.

The clay tiles that serve as the mural's border were created in a two or three-hour session in each of six class visits. 

“To decorate the tiles I gave the students sheets of paper and paper and had them do a large drawing based on one of the three topics we were working with. We then took chunks of the drawings and the students traced them onto soft clay tiles that I had prepared for them. Students then cut out the bas-relief images using the thin clay slabs,” said Joanne Pickett.

The tiles were then fired at Joanne’s studio in Arden and coated with red iron oxide.

The painted collages required more time in the classroom as students first painted a background onto the plywood panel and then cut the objects (buildings, trees, animals, etc.) out of cardboard and "gessoed" them to add thickness. After the gesso dried the pieces were glued on to the background and painted.

A few days before the mural was installed, children from the homework club at the Child Centre were enlisted to finish off the work on the centre panel.

It was only then that the panels and the tiles were assembled and the three artists who had overseen the project could see how the muted tones and texture of the tiles worked with the brighter colours of the panels.

“It really exceeded my expectations,” said Joanne Pickett.  

When the project was completed photos and a letter was sent to each of the schools that participated, and an article about it found its way onto the Limestone School Board website courtesy of Sharbot Lake Public School Principal David Allison.

The project was a collaborative effort that included the Child Centre, the local schools, and the three artists.

The funding support from the Community Foundation of Greater Kingston covered a portion of the costs of the project, but there was a shortfall, and in the coming weeks the artists will be conducting a fundraising campaign to try to cover it.

The mural is available for viewing during business hours at the Child Centre. For information call 613-279-2244. 

The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board recognizes students who are the Beacons of Hope of their school and community. Each school selects one student whose contributions reflect our Catholic virtues and contribute to the betterment of the community with dedication, integrity and gentle spirit.

On Thursday, March 21, Director of Education, Mr. Jody DiRocco, along with Trustee Wendy Proctor presented Rawlin Millar with the Beacon of Hope award for his exemplary leadership at St. James Major Catholic School. Rawlin’s opinions and advice are sought by his friends and school-mates and everyone follows his gentle guidance and encouragement. In the classroom, at recess and in extra-curricular activities, Rawlin is a positive role model for behaviour and his leadership at St. James Major Catholic School is a blessing to all of us.