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.

The Drum is the thing as Sullivan makes his mark as Artistic Director

Scheduling a family-based Drum from Peterborough to open the Blue Skies Festival on Friday night, and the Big Smoke Drum along with Chilean-based hip hop artist Akawui to close the festival on Sunday night, was a precedent-setting decision from Danny Sullivan in his first year as artistic director.

It was the first time a drum has graced the main stage in many years, even as the festival has explored music from around the world. The experiment worked, as the first performance culminated in a round dance with hundreds of participants, and the finale on Sunday night brought the entire crowd back their feet.

In between, the musical highlights included performances by the 14-member Lemon Bucket Orchestra from Toronto; Jonathan Byrd and the Urban Cowboys from Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Irish Mythen from PEI; and Swamperella from Toronto, among others.

The hot, sunny weather, along with a push by festival organizers (who are all volunteers) to increase the sale of single day passes to the event, helped set an attendance record on Saturday. In the past, the festival has been notoriously reluctant to promote itself for fear of overcrowding the festival site.

Overcrowding did not prove to be an issue, however, as the crew of site and parking volunteers was able to handle the crowds. Aside from some sunburns and an ambulance call for a broken leg, the festival went off without a hitch in its 43rd rendition.

At first glance it looked like most of the music fans attending the Flinton Jamboree were taking the opportunity to spend time in their trailers during the induction ceremony and performances for the first annual Land O'Lakes Traditional Music Hall of Fame, but looks can be deceiving, especially on a hot summer's afternoon.

While the chairs in the hot sunshine were almost empty, save for the one Dave Deacon was sitting in as he recorded the event for posterity in still and video format, out by the fences the seats under the large canopies were all full and there were a number of people standing as well.

On stage, Hall of Fame Chair Bob Taylor introduced his co-conspirator, the musician and band leader Bill White, who conducted the ceremony.

The first award was the lifetime achievement award, which was shared by two winners. Charlie Pringle, 89, performed first, playing “Worn Out” and the “Love Bug” before being presented with his award by Warren Anderson.

Harold Perry, 87, received the other lifetime achievement award for his playing and mentoring over the years. His award was presented by Roger Hermer.

The First Hall of Fame inductee was Reg Weber, who played “Duelling Guitars” with Murray White and then received the award from Murray Northey, who recalled how much Weber has done as a musician and a music store owner to encourage players young and old in the Northbrook area.

George York, from Marlbank, was up next. He played “Turkey in the Straw”, and was celebrated for all the music he has performed and brought to the local community as a promoter, and for his fundraising efforts over the years. His award was presented by Cathy Whalen.

Three children of the late Floyd Lloyd, including his daughter Sandra Lloyd Dunham, were in attendance to receive his award from Oddie Snider. “Robin and Nell”, Lloyd's signature song, was performed in his honour.

The final award went to Cathy Whalen, who had been on stage throughout the other awards, playing drums, guitar and providing vocals in the songs for the other inductees.

Mary Cassidy sang “Yellow Roses” in Cathy's honour.

In addition to the Hall of Fame plaques, each of the recipients received certificates from the Province of Ontario, presented by former MPP Daryl Kramp, who was standing in for MPP Randy Hillier, and the Government of Canada as represented by Hastings, Lennox and Addington MP Mike Bossio.

A special award from the City of Tweed was also presented to George York in recognition of his support for events in that community.

All in all, organisers were pleased with the turnout and the audience was able to hear some excellent music.

The 21st Annual Art Exhibition & Sale, which took place July 22-24, generated over $30,000 in art sales. The Friends of Bon Echo Park receive 15% to assist with the funding of programs operated in the Park. Over the three day event, 2,251 people viewed the work of 44 artists.

Every year a group of about 10 people, who are Friends of Bon Echo Park, start in September to plan and prepare for the show. During the show there are about 90 volunteers helping over the three days, many doing double shifts. This includes long-time members, who often have to sit, and now grandkids who can run, who all come to help out.   

People come to Frontenac County for many reasons.

In Debbie Reeve's case it was to have a home base, and a refuge for her and her husband to come back to at least once a year. So 13 years ago they purchased a property at Georgia Lake in North Frontenac.

Debbie’s husband Warren, the founder of Missional Church International Network, ran a church in Indonesia for 11 years and has been doing the same in Kuwait for the past six years. Debbie is a painter and art educator and she ran her business in Kuwait for the past six years.

The couple took up full-time residence at their cottage near Myers Cave last December in order to be able to work locally and provide support for family members. After spending the winter settling in, Reeve is gearing up her business this summer.

She has been showing her work in local shows, such as the Bon Echo Art Show & Sale and Napanee's Art in the Park. She will also be at this weekend's Cloyne Showcase at North Addington Education Centre.

Reeve is a realistic painter. Her paintings show a love for light and transparency. Her subject matter is diverse, as the need to be constantly creating is what drives Debbie to explore different painting challenges. She has paintings hanging in private collections in Indonesia, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, France, England, and Korea, as well as in Canada.

She trained at St. Lawrence College when she was younger, and over the years has studied at the Haliburton School of the Arts. She has also taken courses at the Ontario College of Art and Design.

“I've been painting a lot in the last few months, so I have more and more paintings of the local landscape, local flowers and things like Bon Echo Rock,” she said when interviewed from her studio early this week.

Reeve is also finally getting back some of her work from Kuwait, which took a long time to be shipped back. That work features a very different landscape, to be sure, as well as animals such as zebras and elephants.

In addition to painting landscapes, animals and flora in watercolour, she paints more abstract work in acrylic and mixed media as well.

The other part of her art business is as an art educator, and over the past few months she has been working hard to convert their garage into an art studio that is capable of hosting workshops.

With the work now completed she is offering her first workshops to the public this month.

“I'm starting with the kind of workshop I would never offer in Kuwait. It's a Paint your Paddle workshop on August 16, 23 and 30” she said.

There will also be more traditional watercolour workshops on August 24 and September 10.

“Most of my students have had little to no experience painting with watercolour or acrylic. I take great delight in teaching the secrets and techniques of painting and drawing while watching my students create works of art they never thought they could,” she said of the joys of teaching fine art.

Reeve also offers piano and vocal lessons from her studio. A schedule of workshops and lessons, with pricing and directions to her studio, are available on her website, Debbiereeve.com

The Verona Car Show has a much higher profile this year than it has ever had before because, for the first time, it is being held as a stand-alone event.

For its first 20 years the show was one of the events in the weekend-long Verona Festival, but since the festival was closed down this winter because too many of its core volunteers were stepping down, the car show is stepping up to become larger and better than ever before.

The car show is also under new management this year, as its founding organizer, Ed Asselstine, has passed the baton after 20 years to co-managers John and Julie Nizman and Adam Asselstine.

When the car show started in 1995 there were about 50 cars on display, and this year organizers are expecting at least 250 cars to attend.

Judges will be giving out awards in 16 categories, including production year-based categories; foreign cars; modified cars in two categories; modified trucks in two categories, and the ultimate award, the Ed Asselstine Best in Show award.

“One of the appeals of this year's show is the fact that for the low entry fee of $10 per entry, owners of vehicles on display will be eligible for a prize draw of a trip to the Mandalay Bay resort and casino in Las Vegas,” said Adam Vandervelde, when interviewed early this week.

The timing of the trip is important for vintage car enthusiasts, because it coincides with the annual Barrett Jackson car auction in Vegas, the largest consignment car auction in the world. The prize package includes tickets to the auction.

“We've been receiving a lot of enquiries from people who are coming to the show because of that grand prize, and we have other prizes as well,” said Vandervelde.

Registering a vehicle for the show can be done online at Veronacarshow.com and can also be done on site between 7 am and 12 noon on show day.

The Verona Car Show is free to the public. There is a Kids' Zone, which includes the Verona Lions' Club mini-put golf course; rides on the express train; balloon animals; face painting and more. The Kids' Zone has a flat fee of $5. There will also be a vendors' village, as well as a canteen available.

In addition to prizes and draws for participating exhibitors, there are draws for the public on tap as well, in addition to a 50/50 draw.

All proceeds from the Verona Car Show will go to the Verona Community Association, which puts all the money it raises back into the community through: Christmas in the Village; Christmas for Kids; the annual Flower Barrel contest; Music in the Park; the Verona information kiosk; and road signage at both ends of the village.

For further information, go to Veronacarshow.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Organizers of the 1st Annual Northern Classic Car Show were pleased with the turn out on July 24 at Harrowsmith Centennial Park. With over 65 vehicles registered, plus silent auction items donated from local businesses, the organizers were hoping to raise enough money to help a few kids with the cost of registering and playing hockey with the Frontenac Flyers Minor Hockey Association.

Rick Law of the Godfrey Social Club was in attendance and had motorcycles on display for the kids to get their picture taken on. Law played classic 50s and 60s music throughout the day, which added to the relaxed feel at such a great location. With most of the cars in the shaded, treed area of the park, car enthusiasts were able to get a really good look at all the vehicles and have a bite to eat at picnic tables and benches. Organizer Larry Teal felt it was a great first year and is optimistic it will grow next year.  

(Tickets for the gala will be on sale at the door. It is $30 for the dinner and dance and $20 for just the dance. Come on out - Door open at 6 - dance starts at 9)

There's going to be a big bash to kick off the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Frontenac Community Arena on Saturday August 6.

Doors open at 6pm, and the cash bar will be open, followed by a sit-down dinner catered by Linda Bates. There will be some informal speeches and presentations after the dinner, and a commemorative book about the history of the arena will be launched.

In the meantime, the silent auction will be going on, featuring, among other items, gift certificates and gift baskets, a signed hockey stick courtesy of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the featured item, an autographed Mike Smith jersey that was donated by the Smith family. As well, more items are coming in every day in the run up to the event.

At 9 p.m. or so, Tamworth's own Texas Tuxedo will take the stage, performing highly danceable country rock until around 1 a.m. There will be shuttle buses heading north and south at the end of the evening.

Tickets are $30 for the dinner and show. They are available at Gray's Grocery, the Central Frontenac Township Office, Asselstine Hardware, Leonard Fuels, Sydenham One Stop, Verona Hardware, Godfrey General Store and at the Arena.

For further information, call 613-374-3177 or visit Frontenacarena.com

A comic delight is on stage until August 14 at Perth's Classic Theatre Festival, the uproarious Shaw comedy, Arms and the Man (with, left to right, Lindsay Robinson, Lana Sugarman and Scott Clarkson). The colourful, fast-moving show brought standing ovations on opening night. It runs at 54 Beckwith Street East, Wednesday to Sunday at 2 pm, with 8 pm shows every Wed., Thurs. & Fri. Tickets at www.classictheatre.ca or 1-877-283-1283.

The Ompah Community Library has been operating for three years now, and while well patronized by summer visitors and its faithful Ompah readers, it would love to have more visitors. Operated completely by volunteers, it provides a little bit of a different experience than the public library that it has replaced. No membership is required; no overdue notices will ever be sent out. Everyone is simply invited to choose whatever books, DVDs or audiobooks they might fancy, and bring them back whenever they are done with them. Although the space is small, anyone wishing for a comfortable place to sit and explore some of the collection will find what they are looking for. There is a comprehensive collection, with Mystery, Fiction, Science Fiction, and Non-Fiction sections all well stocked, and all from donated materials. Continuing donations ensure that new materials are constantly available. Only new-ish (not more than 5 years old) and excellent condition donated materials are accepted. There is a computer available if you need one, and wifi connection is being improved so that this link will also be possible. So come on in and enjoy! It’s Local, it’s Free and it’s Easy! Summer hours are Fri, 10–12, Sat 12-2 and Wed 10-12.