A historic day at Madoc Township Public School

The history-making Madoc Township Public School Grade 8 graduation class of 2018: from left, Riley Gunter, Lauren Harvey, Grace Madill, Bailey Perry and Autumn Stevenson. Behind them are their proud teachers; at far left is their proud principal, Leanne Pond. Good job, everyone!

Five bright, smiling young people made history today at Madoc Township Public School. And I am delighted to say that Raymond and I were there for the occasion.

The event: Grade 8 graduation. Which in and of itself doesn’t sound all that historic. I mean, there are Grade 8 graduations happening at schools all over North America, even at the moment that I type this.

But this Grade 8 graduation was special.

The beautiful cake that was served to grads, families, friends and community members, along with other yummy refreshments, in the school library following the ceremony.

It was the first time there had been a Grade 8 graduation at Madoc Township Public school in – wait for it – half a century!

And it happened because, and only because, a year and a half ago the community of Madoc Township and surrounding rural areas (including Queensborough) took a stand against the planned closure of MTPS. The community joined forces, organized, spoke up, made its case – and, in a move that came as a huge but very happy surprise, won. The trustees who make up the public school board voted unanimously not only to keep our only school open, but to bring back, after 50 years, Grades 7 and 8. (You can read that whole saga, from beginning to end, if you click on “Madoc Township Public School” in the Categories section on the right-hand side of the home page of Meanwhile, at the Manse. But the story of the thrilling and surprising happy ending is here.)

Before and after this afternoon’s ceremony, Raymond and I spent some time looking at photos and displays about the history of Madoc Township Public School that are on the walls outside the school gym. This panel explains why the students in Grades 7 and 8 were moved from the school in the first place:

I remember that change very well; as a “Queensboro” student who began Grade 1 at MTPS in September 1966… Oh, wait. Let me interrupt that sentence to show you the evidence, also from the historic display:

Now then – where was I? Okay, right: as a student at MTPS who started in 1966, I remember it being a Grade 1 to Grade 8 school initially, but then the changeover being made when the kids from the Millbridge area in Tudor and Cashel Township to the north of us joined our classes, and kindergarten was added, and “the big kids” in Grades 7 and 8 began to be bused to Madoc Public School a few miles south of us. The fact that this allowed us (because I was one of those bused to MPS once I too became a “big kid”) to take classes in home ec (strictly for the girls) and shop (strictly for the boys; this is unthinkable 50 years later, and that’s a good thing) at the local high school, which is right beside Madoc Public School, was considered a big deal in those days. Today? Not so much. I suspect home ec is long dead, and students who want to learn auto mechanics and woodworking can do that once they get to high school. (Back then a lot of kids left school at ago 16 to work, because that was something you could actually do at the time. And so they probably wanted to get their shop skills as early in life as possible.)

But I digress. Let’s go back to today’s happy occasion!

Because it was such a historic event, the school very kindly invited the community to come and take part. Here is the invitation that went out on its Facebook page:

When I read in the invitation that the students had chosen the theme “Fairy Tale Land” for the event – we learned this afternoon that the full name was “Fairy Tale Land/Happily Ever After” – I just thought, “Well. How perfect is that?” Because the story of our school not only still being open in June 2018, a year after it was slated to close, and graduating its first Grade 8s in half a century – well, if you can think of a more perfect storybook ending, you’ve got more imagination than I do.

As we entered the gym, we were immediately struck by how the students had decorated the stage in keeping with the fairy tale/storybook theme:

And then the simple but delightful ceremony began, with the grads proceeding in, to much applause from their proud parents, community members and fellow students; speeches from principal Leanne Pond, teachers, and school-board superintendent Cathy Portt, who hit the nail on the head when she called Madoc Township Public School “an enchanted place”; the presentation of the graduation certificates and an impressive array of awards to the students; a performance by the MTPS choir; and a truly inspiring speech by two of the grads, Lauren Harvey and Grace Madill.

In keeping with the storybook theme, I liked this artwork posted on the rear wall of the gym, featuring the handprints of each of the grads. Just as MTPS received a “happily ever after” vote of confidence a year ago, these five young people were today sent out into the world of high school and beyond with a gymful of pride, overflowing hearts, and confident hopes that they too will have happily ever afters.

Now, you may be wondering: why were there only five graduates? The answer is simple. When the school trustees made their surprise but fantastic decision almost exactly a year ago to keep MTPS open and add Grades 7 and 8, students from our area who were slated to be in Grade 8 in the 2017-18 academic year were finishing up their Grade 7 year at Madoc Public School – just like Grade 7s had been doing for the past half-century. Not at all suprisingly, many of those students, having already made the move and the adjustment to the “town” school – having made new friends, been on teams, and been fully involved in school life there – chose to carry on into Grade 8 at MPS. Only a small number opted to return to Madoc Township Public School for Grade 8. Both decisions were completely understandable, but I can’t help saying “Bravo!” to those who came back. The place those five young people cemented in the history of MTPS this afternoon is their excellent reward.

Meanwhile, I learned today that the Grade 7 class at MTPS this year is an extremely respectable size: 17 students! So next year’s Grade 8 graduation (which I hope I can attend as well, because some of my young Queensborough friends will be graduating) will be a much bigger affair.

But I kind of think the small size of today’s graduating class is perfect. It was an intimate affair, and it means there’s a lot of pride and history for each of those five young people to share and remember for their whole lives.

So here’s to you, Riley…

and Lauren…

and Grace…

and Bailey…

and Autumn…

You made history today!

The congratulations and good wishes of our whole rural community surround you and go with you as you move on to the next stage of your life and education. We are so proud of you – and of our wonderful community school.

We wined, cheesed and Black Fly Shuffled – and we’re not done yet

Old-time square dancing at the Orange Hall in Queensborough! After half a century, it came back. The Black Fly Shuffle, a couple of Saturdays ago, was truly a historic night in our little hamlet. (Photo by Jamie Grant)

Hello, everyone, from almost the far side of all the social activities that have been happening in Queensborough this spring. If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from me in a while, the answer is simple: I’m pooped!

The kayakers doing their thing over the dam on the Black River in Queensborough in April. Freshly barbecued hamburgers and homemade pie awaited when they got out of the water. (Photo by Lloyd Holmes)

Way back in early April, I gave you a rundown of everything that was lined up for our tiny hamlet in the coming weeks. (Man, early April now seems like centuries ago.) First there was the annual visit of the intrepid kayakers ending their spring-runoff run down the Black River with hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade pie and a very warm welcome in Queensborough. I’d told you in that early-April post that the event probably wouldn’t happen because of low water conditions; but it did come off in the end, and was a great weekend, as you can read here. In that same post, I also told you about the successful Ham Supper that we held for approximately the 4,728th time (okay, I exaggerate a bit, but it’s probably been close to a century) at Queensborough’s St. Andrew’s United Church. And I telegraphed the annual Pancake Breakfast at the Queensborough Community Centre, which once again packed them in. (Sadly, I had to be in Toronto that weekend so don’t have photos of it.)

So what happened next?

Well, first it was the Wine, Cheese and Chat About Queensborough event at the Queensborough Community Centre on Saturday, May 12. It was the first time the Queensborough Community Centre Committee had tried anything like this, and it went even better than we’d hoped. Everyone circulated through the tables labelled for the four themes established for Queensborough by community members at a similar event five or six years ago: Develop, Beautify, Heritage and Enjoy. As we enjoyed a glass (or two) of wine (or a cup of coffee), the ideas flowed. All was helped along immensely by Karen Fischer of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, who has worked closely with Queensborough in recent years to develop a vision for our community and to try to make it a reality – and who took these photos of us at work:

The Heritage table at the Wine, Cheese and Chat, with Elaine Kapusta as facilitator. (Photo by Karen Fischer)

The Enjoy table (the fun one!) at the Wine, Cheese and Chat, with Raymond Brassard as facilitator. (Photo by Karen Fischer)

The Beautify table at the Wine, Cheese and Chat, with Shane Cox as facilitator. (Photo by Karen Fischer)

The Develop table at Wine, Cheese and Chat, with me as facilitator. (Photo by Karen Fischer)

The community members who gathered came up with some fantastic ideas for our hamlet, including (but certainly not limited to):

• Special Christmas activities, including seasonal lighting of the falls on the Black River.
• A co-op neighbourhood store.
• A farmers’ market featuring locally grown and raised foods.
• A bandshell for community entertainment events.
• A Queensborough archives.
• Historical street signs for DeClair and Rockies roads.
• More plaques for historic buildings.
• A street dance.
• More play areas for kids.
• Bread-making classes. (Along the lines of our recent master class in pie-making, a monster hit.)
• Restoration of Queensborough’s baseball diamond so that we could host softball tournaments featuring teams from all the local hamlets.

Is that not a great list? Next week the QCC Committee will be following up and talking about next steps, which ideas to proceed with, and so on. If you’re interesting in joining the committee and taking part in those discussions and plans for the future, you are welcome! We’re meeting at the community centre (the village’s former one-room schoolhouse), 1853 Queensborough Rd., at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 11.

* * *

So there was all that. And then there was – drum roll, please – the Black Fly Shuffle!

Half a century – it was worth the wait! This is the sign put up at the Orange Hall – the former Loyal Orange Lodge Branch 437 – by Jamie Grant (a talented graphic designer) to welcome Queensborough back inside one of its most important buildings for the Black Fly Shuffle.

Dancing to the country tunes of the Country Travellers in the freshly painted and gussied-up Orange Hall. (Photo by Jamie Grant)

It was the first community event held in Queensborough’s historic former Orange Hall for close on half a century. And what an evening it was!

The hall, looking terrific (and funky), even in its mid-renovation state, was filled with people of all ages enjoying old-time square dancing and also “round dancing” (by which I mean regular dancing; I’d never heard that term prior to the Shuffle, and perhaps you haven’t either, but now you know. You’re welcome) to two bands, Doug Pack and the Country Travellers and John Sedgwick (my brother!) and the ToneKats.

The Country Travellers perform traditional country music, much to the delight of the crowd and the dancers at the Black Fly Shuffle. (Photo by Jamie Grant)

The Kingston-based ToneKats, featuring my brother John (at right on stage, playing bass), livened things up with songs by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Buddy Holly, Elvis, and Bryan Adams among many others. (Photo by Jamie Grant)

It was just fantastic to watch the square dancers – both the veterans, who were amazing, and the rookies, who did their best to learn the moves – in action. And I don’t think it’s just sisterly pride when I say that my little brother’s band was terrific. Also, this being Queensborough, of course there was great food involved: halfway through the evening, at 10 p.m., there was the traditional (for old-time Queensborough dances) break of 15 or 20 minutes when everyone was able to load up their plates with sandwiches, cheese, cookies and other goodies that had been brought by all who came to the dance. It was delicious, and it was just the fuel we all needed for another round of energetic dancing, putting to the test the floor joists in the 146-year-old hall.

Stephanie Sims, one of the volunteers with the Queensborough Community Centre Committee, was on ticket-selling duty in the old ticket booth at the Orange Hall. (Photo by Jamie Grant)

“We Stand for King and Constitution”: this is the Loyal Orange Lodge flag that was in the Orange Hall when Jamie and Tory bought it. (I believe the king in question is a young Edward VII, after whom the Edwardian Age is named.) It was on display at the Black Fly Shuffle, and lots of visitors found it fascinating. (Photo by Jamie Grant)

Perhaps the best part of the evening was the stories.

“We had our wedding dance here,” one person told me.

“I met my husband at a dance in this hall,” said another; she and her husband recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

A third told me that a community bridal shower had been held for her in the hall prior to her wedding, which was 60 years ago this past fall.

Others spoke fondly about attending – or performing at – dances in the old Orange Hall back in the day, and reminisced about some of the shenanigans that were known to take place outside, in the darkness of a spring or summer evening. Hot times in little midcentury Queensborough!

Jamie Grant and Tory Byers, who have brought Queensborough’s Orange Hall back to life. (Photo by Gary Pattison)

I cannot say enough about the husband-and-wife team of Jamie Grant and Tory Byers, who took a huge chance in buying the Orange Hall a year or so ago, have done an immense amount of work on cleaning it out and cleaning it up, have built a full stage and added a ton of whimsical touches, have lots more plans ahead – and basically threw open the doors and welcomed a whole community inside their building at the Black Fly Shuffle.

It was a lovely, lovely night. A night to remember.

Here are some words that kind of say it all, posted by Tory on the Queensborough Community Centre’s Facebook page the day after the Shuffle:

And here’s a terrific video that Jamie made of the big night. The woman who gives the camera (with Jamie behind it) a huge smile at about 1:47 is, of course, Tory:

* * *

Okay, well – have you caught your breath yet from all that activity? (And I haven’t even mentioned the 128th anniversary celebration at St. Andrew’s United Church, which happened this past Sunday, and was absolutely wonderful.) Now: guess what’s next!

It’s happening this coming Sunday, June 10, and it’s the second annual Music Night at St. Andrew’s, an evening when you get to sit back and enjoy great music by local performers for an hour and a half, followed by a social time over coffee, tea and lemonade with friends and neighbours – and all in aid (thanks to a freewill offering) of sending two Queensborough kids to camp. Yesterday I did the camp registration for those kids, brothers aged 9 and 11 who are fairly new arrivals in our hamlet and have already made friends with pretty much everyone in town. They are smart, friendly, polite and full of beans. I’m certain they will love their week at Camp Quin-Mo-Lac in early July – and I thank you in advance for helping make it happen by coming out to Music Night! (And if you can’t come but would still like to support the cause, let me know.)

I think I can safely say, as I have many times before, that Queensborough is a happening place. To see all those people come together a couple of weekends ago for an old-fashioned community dance – that was really something. As is seeing all the people who come and enjoy events like our Pancake Breakfast, church suppers, the kayakers’ weekend, and so on. And then to know in advance (thanks to the success of last year) that so many people will come out and support Music Night to send two local kids to camp this summer…

Really, you know, Queensborough is not just a happening community; it’s a caring community.

And we know how to kick up our heels and have a good time.

I cannot imagine a better place in all the world to be.