Duane Hicks
The Sister Kennedy Centre is starting a new “memory board” to acknowledge those who have made a mark on its history, with the first three honourees being Sister Betty Kennedy, Deane Cunningham, and Dave Bourgeault.
Centre director Nick Wihnan presented Cunningham and Bourgeault with their framed photo portraits following a potluck supper last Wednesday which drew a full house.
Wihnan said Cunningham and Bourgeault, along with Sister Kennedy, comprised the team which “made this building a reality.”
“As a token of appreciation, we have decided to create a memory board which will acknowledge what you have done, and what you have accomplished for Fort Frances and district seniors and the handicapped,” Wihnan added.
“Let this picture that I have presented to you tonight be allowed to hold a prominent place of dignity within the Sister Kennedy Centre and remain in the memory of the board as long as Sister Kennedy Centre exists,” he later noted.
“Thank all of you for having done all of this for us. Give those two guys a great big hand.”
Wihnan also personally presented Cunningham and Bourgeault with certificates of appreciation as director of the seniors’ centre.
Also Wednesday, Wihnan presented certificates of appreciation to many of the volunteers who help out in the kitchen there.
They included Bill Krukoski, Joan Krukoski, Marge Benjamin, Ann Wihnan, Ethel Lowey, Mildred Bedard, Ella Desserre, Bonnie Watson, Mavis Dick, Donna Law, Mary Clinker, John Albanese, and Gord “Chips” Calder.
Also recognized were Alvin “Buzz” Wickstrom, Lawrence Desserre, Diane Martin, Jerry Martin, Ralph Benjamin, Ralph Longmuir, Anne Longmuir, and Metro (Svet) Wowchuk.
As well, Wihnan took a moment to recognize 105-year-old Hubert Medhurst as Fort Frances’ first Senior Citizen of the Year.
Unfortunately, Medhurst could not attend the supper as he currently is in hospital but Wihnan had given him the award the previous Sunday.
Earlier in the evening, Bourgeault recounted the journey which started in 1981 to get the new seniors’ drop-in centre built.
Bourgeault, the local Northern Development officer at the time and chosen by Sister Kennedy to chair the fundraising campaign, noted that council of the day donated the old St. Mary’s School ground, valued at $125,000, to be the site of the future facility.
After that, service clubs, organizations, businesses, and individuals stepped to the plate, making donations and holding raffles.
“It wasn’t difficult to raise that money,” Bourgeault noted.
By Oct. 1, 1981, the fundraising committee has surpassed $100,000 in donations and pledges. One month later, they were at $145,000.
“The Fort Frances Times ensured that the project stayed at the forefront locally by printing pictures of someone from the fundraising committee getting a cheque, whether it was Sister Kennedy or myself,” said Bourgeault.
“And because of our efforts, the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture at the time provided $187,500 in the form of a Wintario grant because we had done so well raising money, and the town was putting up $125,000,” he recalled.
“We had done our share and showed our commitment.”
The project’s estimated capital budget at the time was $700,000, which included the value of the land, the cost of construction, furnishings, and fixtures, the architect and consulting fees, and landscaping.
Tenders were called in March, 1983, with Tom Jones Construction Company of Thunder Bay being the successful bidder.
The new building opened in September of that year, with the official opening held Oct. 22 at 10:15 a.m.
“At that point, the board, and I was on the board, made the decision to name the building in honour of Sister Betty Kennedy,” said Bourgeault.
Since opening in 1983, a fix-it shop was added in 1987 while an addition was built in 1994.
Bourgeault said there are some seniors who come to the Sister Kennedy Centre regularly—and have been for the past 30 years.
“It’s people like that who made all the efforts at building, maintaining, and keeping this facility up and running all worthwhile for people like me,” he remarked.
“It wasn’t an onerous task to get this building put up,” Bourgeault added.
“As it turns out, we did raise the money, we did put the building up, and I’m very pleased with the way everything’s evolved with it.”
