Until today, I had not heard of the “Victoria Hall Heritage Maintenance Trust Fund”. That’s not the Architectural Conservancy group nor the Victoria Hall Volunteers. It’s a trust fund dedicated to preserving Victoria Hall and today they donated $10,000 to the Town to “aid in the restoration and refurbishment of the parapet and front pillars at the King St. entrance”. If you have ventured Downtown recently, you might have seen work being done at the front entrance of Victoria Hall. In 2017 they paid $5000 towards the work done to spell out what needed to be done – see Links below for Restoration requirements drawings. In June this year, Council approved a tender for the work from Colonial Building Restoration Ltd in the amount of $275,000 (plus HST) – the $10K will help defray this cost.
What is the Victoria Hall Heritage Maintenance Trust Fund?
See the Links below to download a copy of their information sheet describing what they do but in summary, they are a committee that manages money left over from the original Society for the Restoration of Victoria Hall. President of the committee is Edward Cunnington and there are seven others – some of them also in the Victoria Hall Volunteers group. Since their establishment in 1988, the initial $60,000 has grown to a balance in December 2019 of $112,000. In addition, during those 30 years, $110,042 has been donated to the Town of Cobourg towards a variety of heritage maintenance projects including major repairs to the clock tower in 2013 and 2014 as well as chimney repairs.
The cheque presentation was not pretentious – Edward gave Mayor John Henderson an envelope containing the cheque and there were no speeches! The only other politician present was Councillor Nicole Beatty. Although not required outside, most people involved in the cheque presentation wore masks.
Update – June 2022
On Monday, June 13, Edward Cunnington, President of The Victoria Hall Heritage Maintenance Trust Fund, presented Major John Henderson with a cheque for $5,000 from the Trust Fund. This donation was in addition to $10,000 donated in July 2020 to support the restoration of the parapet and front pillars of Victoria Hall, a major project undertaken in 2020-2021.
With this donation, the Trust Fund, established in 1988, has donated a total of over $125,000 to the Town of Cobourg for a variety of heritage maintenance projects. [End update]
Today was also the first day of an experiment to try to get some life back into Downtown. King Street was closed to cars but open to pedestrians – and will be all weekend. At around 11:00 am, the street was mostly empty but several restaurants had patios set up – see photos. Some stores were also expanding onto the street. To my knowledge, no entertainment was planned.
Links
- The Victoria Hall Heritage Maintenance Trust Fund Handout
- Restoration requirements drawings
- Downtown Facebook page with info on “Welcome Back to Downtown Cobourg”
- Victoria Hall Volunteers
Update – 18 July 2020
Most restaurants were busy on Saturday around lunchtime and some peaceful, quiet demonstrators congregated outside Victoria Hall protesting about masks to provide a distraction if not entertainment. Their signs included:
- Masks Useless and Dangerous
- Freedom over Fear
- Mandatory Masking, Tracking & Vaccinations is based on incomplete Science that serves Political interests and violates individual liberty
Democracy and free speech at work.
Print Article:
In regards to yesterday’s protest, ironically, I think they’re actually doing a lot to promote mask use. I’ve made no secret of my reservations about the mandatory mask by-law and how it was implemented, (I’m abiding by it by the way, if for no other reason than my not wanting to be the guy who makes the minimum wage earner who has to ask me to put it on’s day worse), but if by saying so, it even appears that I’m aligning myself with THAT, I think I’ll just shut up about it.
That was not a collection of our brightest and best. It was however, a collection of people with a lot of free time to sit around and read QAnon nonsense.
Matt – I realized a long time ago that the one thing that can’t be fixed is stupid. There are those who will ignore reality because they believe they are superior to everybody and can never get COVID or spread it to others.
So they had their little protest, waved their crudely made cardboard signs and stomped their feet in protest. In the end, nobody paid any attention to the rag tag crowd and they will continue to be ignored by all who value community health and the wellbeing of others.
In a video displayed on “todaysnorthumberland.ca” one of the repetitive protesters discussed the hypocrisy of closing King Street for tourists. It was not such an event; there was no advertising. It was a proposal by the DBIA to bring local people downtown and to be out in their community again-with safety precautions. The protesters denounced masks and vaccines as the options of non-elected people, yet they, too, as non-elected people hypocritically claim to be the experts.
Can’t fix stupid and you can’t have stupid people fixed.
Can’t quarantine it either. https://youtu.be/PBSq8BtX_y8
The one thing you never do if you’re a politician, or aspiring to be a provincial or federal party candidate, is run from the media. Nicole made a huge blunder in how she dealt with the reporter’s questions. You don’t try to deflect the questions to your PR Department and you don’t refuse to provide even a basic answer. I felt bad for her been ambushed by Rebel News. She looked scared when the fake news cameras were rolling.
At least our MPPs and MPs are given talking points on how to answer topical questions. I’d suggest Ashley Purdy hold a Media101 class for our Council members and assist them further with talking points.
“I’m at liberty not to say.”
Is the protestor who is fighting her recent charges/violations in the locality of what she labels “Chinada” still a Marketing Employee for Stalwood Homes?
please explain why this matters and why you need to broadcast it
It is an odd juxtaposition to be marketing homes in Cobourg when the marketer is labelling the area “Chinada.”
Why name the business?
Why not name the business, or name names?
The business was part of the question that was asked for the purpose of clarification. Since then, I was told that the information is widespread on the web.
Nope, you have a different agenda, you want her to lose her job because she has different views than yourself
I doubt that there are two Cobourg residents named “Tamara Ugolini” so the fact that she is employed by Stalwood Homes is not a secret.
See https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Tamara-Ugolini/-1140603947
How absurd! How do you know what is my agenda or what are my views?! The facts are necessary when someone asks me to support their challenge and to sign their petition.
You seem to be on a witch hunt. Or maybe, have connections to a competing business? And, I wonder, would you have posted similar notes if your target was a man and not a woman? I do not necessarily support all the group’s views but listening to a different opinion can sometimes lead to better solutions. And, we all have the right to choose not to sign a petition. I recall meeting a young activist at a conference. His reputation went from being one of outsider to champion. His project, now known as: Rouge National Urban Park.
No witch hunt.
No competing business.
Yes I would have asked the same question if the protester was a male.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions.
My Project: Ten Thousand Trees for the Rouge.
When did “Rebel News” and like earn their way under, the “The Media” umbrella? That cred used to cost more than a YouTube account and a gullible audience with a lot of free time.
Her mistake was in speaking to them at all. Just because they’re doing everything they can to lower the bar for legitimate journalism it doesn’t mean we have to.
Nature abhors a vacuum, so it is not surprising, with the collapse and dumbing-down of news media locally and across Canada generally, that something would try to fill the void.
Rebel News (https://www.rebelnews.com/journalists ) has better credentials than many of the online “citizen” journalists. I think your statement about “lowering the bar” is a bit too broad brush and dismissive to be applied fully to Rebel News..
There is very little “legitimate journalism” left locally and perhaps in Canada. For proof, read any of the local papers (if you can find one) or most of the online stuff. Event reporting covers the basic facts and little else. Gone is the investigation, analysis and intelligent commentary on why this is important and meaningful.
Rebel News’ “tabloid” style certainly doesn’t convey “serious journalism”. It’s not my preference, but at least they are making the effort.
I think it’s time to get this topic back on track. The original article (above) does not mention journalism, or reporting. It’s about Victoria hall and secondarily about a demonstration against masks happening in front of the work being done on Victoria hall.
Congratulations to many “UNPAID VOLUNTERS” not like Trudeau’s paid volunteers.
Re the downtown event, it was dead at 4pm. One store owner told me it was a disaster for him compared to a normal Saturday even now.
It’s only 11:40 a.m.! How can it be dead at 4:00 p.m.?
I was downtown at 10:30 a.m. and it was very busy. There was a constant flow of customers into the Black Cat.
But it’s not even 2pm????
I think King St. was closed off about 11:00 am Friday. I wonder if Tom meant “Friday” instead of “Saturday”?
Hope everyone does a roaring business.
I suppose the Certo building is just going to be left to fall apart.
Other than the facade, what was ever worth saving?
Ditto Vic Hall. What a wasted effort ( not ) that was.
As well as producing Certo in the distant past, artillery shells were also produced there during WWI. It’s part of Cobourg’s history and should be preserved. It would be nice if we had been a bit more concerned about our history in the past decades. Btw, preserving the facade and re-purposing the interior is not a bad idea. It’s done quite often in Europe, where preserving historical architecture has a greater importance.
Let’s give a shout-out to Lenah Fisher and my father, Ed Haynes. Both contributed thousands of hours (and lots of printing freebies from Haynes Printing) on the restoration in the late 70s and early 80s. Somewhere in a box in the basement I have all kinds of materials about that and the Port Hope flood in 1980.
Nice to see that you, John, are continuing that early work.
I want to thank your dad for his printing of the covers of the teen magazine that locals put out during the hippie era, 1969, Phoenix. This is one of the treats I love about being an original Cobourger, knowing you, your dad and so many others from the age; a fact that a few imports to Cobourg resent.
Hmm interesting that such a laudatory comment would receive thumbs down! I guess some people prefer to be anonymous comment writer dislikers. A typical ‘shoot the messenger’ attitude.
I have noticed this method of mute discussion and procedure as well.
Hmmm yes. I had many conversations with Lenah Fisher back in the day, an original suffragette. She was charming with on-point wit. During the years long starling crisis, and as a Town councilor, she offered a free dinner at Marie Dressler Place for the person who killed the most starlings on shoot-em-up days in Town. She also ensured that the Cobourg Police Force had an increase in the buidget to pay for more ammo to shoot the starlings on Cobourg’s placid streets. She was also the marvelous supporter of all things Victoria Hall. One of the things that charmed the local hippies of the day was her excursion to Mosport where she climbed over the fence to enjoy the Strawberry Fields rock festival. And Deb’s father who was so generous towards the youth of Cobourg and so many other things. But of course, none of this is known to the few migrants to Cobourg, who have often expressed their resentment of the experience and opinions of original Cobourgers, like Deb, you and myself. I would like to add that Foster Russell and Peter Kolisnyk were my mentors in my youth, both not original from Cobourg. You, Ben, and Deb and myself have more often than not been the target of too many pseudonyms on this blog. I will certainly defend the use of pseudonyms, but it comes with the collateral damage of cowards insulting and demeaning others behind their pseudoburqa.
To add, Dr. Jim Johnston kept several local newspapers alive and well during the time he owned them and as publisher. A man with a global perspective and a keen understanding of politics it was not unusual to find him walking along the harbour or downtown, ready to engage in conversation. Not sure what brought his family to Cobourg but both he and his wife Miriam became very active supporters and volunteers in the community for many years. As I think you point out Wally, citizens of Cobourg have not been typically a quiet sort but action oriented sort of folk, and, Cobourg not a dull quiet town but rather an ambitious one.
It was my pleasure to have worked free lance for Dr Johnston. He provided a wonderful contrast to the previous publisher.editor, Foster Russell. When the Security Service of the RCMP intercepted and withheld my mail without warrant. he went to bat for me. Whereas Foster shit disturbed every week. Dr Johnston was more selective and in a manner more effective in changes.
Maybe if Wally had just left it as a laudatory comment to Mr. Haynes we would see more green than red.
But no, he had to finish it off with a trolling comment about “imports”. He should have used a period instead of a semi-colon and dropped the last nine words, n’est pas?
You’re a case in point Frenchy. Whether you like it or not, I love that I am a born-Cobourger and all of the common town experiences I have shared with my born peers. I love that it sticks in your craw.
The most important element of that comment was “few” as in “few imports“. Get it? Your petty mischaracterization reveals how much it sticks in your craw. I regard you as one of the “few“, the very “few imports” who have expressed displeasure over original Cobourgers commenting.
Thank you John for covering this event, the donation by the VHHMTF to the Town. It is good to know about the ongoing partnership with the Town and community stewardship of Victoria Hall, a national heritage landmark. Having municipal offices located in the building along with community meeting rooms, and cultural spaces like the Concert Hall and the Art Gallery of Northumberland, Victoria Hall continues to be a living and vital part of the community. And, I believe that the members of the VHHMTF committee lending their skills to the cause are all volunteers.
The Committee members are to be congratulated for 30 years of wise and prudent investment to help offset costs with preserving Victoria Hall. I also had never heard of the group who have quietly been working away in the background contributing to the good of our community.
It is volunteers like this that make Cobourg so special to those of us who chose it as home.
Thank you. Your efforts are appreciated.