Bellrockers celebrate 150 years

Sep 22, 2011

Photo: Bellrockers as they might have been 150 years ago

On September 17 the village of Bellrock was transformed and appeared closer to what it resembled 150 years ago as residents dressed in petticoated frocks, pocket watch-bearing vests and top hats mingled amongst horse drawn carriages and wagons to celebrate and share the village’s rich 150-year history.

Local dignitaries gathered for the opening ceremony, which began with Central Frontenac town crier Paddy O'Connor followed by addresses by various representatives from the township of South Frontenac including Deputy Mayor Mark Tinlin and Councillors Alan McPhail and John McDougall, as well as Central Frontenac mayor Janet Gutowski.

Event coordinator and longtime Bellrock resident Virginia Lavin organized the plethora of events, which included local artisans and vendors, and tractor wagon tours highlighting many of Bellrock’s historic sights.

Tour-goers learned about the old Bellrock Mill, built in the mid 1800s (the present building dates back to the 1920s), which is one of the few mills in Eastern Ontario that included a saw, plane, veneer, flour and grist mill, all under a single roof. Among the more famous items produced at the mill were Red River cereal and round veneer cheeses boxes; the latter were made until 1965 when cheese factories declined. Bellrock’s cheese factory burned down in 1943. The planing and saw mill were in operation until the 1970s. Visitors were also shown the old Gonu house, where an old Victorian woman’s leather boot and an oval charcoal portrait of an unknown young female were recently unearthed from within a wall.

Dolphine Dowker’s barn was pointed out as a rare example of the old log structures originally built in the village long ago. Tourists were also offered a 1 km drive down the road to one of Canada's first ever organic farms, Blue Roof Farm, where owner, award-winning artist Kim Ondaatje and Verona resident Louise Day held a photography show.

On an outdoor stage the Fred Brown Band played old time favorites, and later on excerpts of well-known literary works by one time Bellrock resident authors Michael Ondaatje, Karen Holmes, Stan Dragland and John Moss were read by local area wordsmiths.

Winners of the Bellrock story prize, chosen from over 50 entries by students at St. Charles Public School in Verona were also announced. First place was John McIlroy; 2nd Cailey Cotnam; and 3rd Destiny Ritchie; Honorable mentions were Jack Revell and an unknown author.

Not surprisingly local history buffs bee-lined to the Bellrock community hall where a rich display of village history was laid out, much of it by well known collector and private museum owner Lois Grant, who has been collecting village artifacts and lore since she moved to the area 41 years ago. Also on display was a written history of Bellrock edited by Lois and written by May Meeks who at 90 is one of, if not the oldest living historian in Bellrock. May spoke about her early years as a student at the old school and she recalled some of her fondest memories, which included swimming and skating the mill pond, and one particular snowless winter freeze that allowed her and friends to skate all the way from Moscow to Enterprise.

I later found out that event organizer Virginia Lavin was a long-time friend of famed author Matt Cohen and quite possibly the woman who inspired the main character of his famed 1999 Governor General award-winning novel “Elizabeth and After”.

For Lavin, Saturday was indeed a day to celebrate: “The opportunity comes around not very often and you can trust that we won’t be around to celebrate the next 150 years, so yes, today is a very special day and a great opportunity to celebrate the beauty and history of this very special place."

The event was part of an ongoing effort to raise funds to renovate the community hall. Residents and non-residents who are interested in assisting with fundraising events, making a donation and/or helping reach the final goal of establishing the Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre can contact Virginia Lavin at 613-374-2344.

The next meeting at the hall will take place Tuesday October 4 at 7:30 PM and everyone is welcome to attend. Thanks to all of the students who entered their stories in the competition and below is a list of the winners: