Page 6 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_Neat

CE0'S MESSAGE

The making of

a community

A little over 50 years ago, the
communities of Galt, Preston and
Hespeler were, as the saying goes,
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE ARCHIVES
three peas in a pod. Tremendous
The inaugural Cambridge City Council in 1973.
sports rivals to the very core of Today, I live in West Galt. OK, so
community pride. maybe the experiment wasn’t all bad,
Sorry, for those living in Hespeler and Galt, after all, my wife (a Galt girl), got me
but I was a Preston kid. I grew up playing pool to move from Preston to Galt, and
at Rusty’s, bought penny candy at Gravelle’s that was a good start. But let’s not
Variety, went swimming at ‘Eddie’s Pool (Ed underscore the collective challenges
Newland Pool), and sat on the wall by the we all had in adapting, and ultimately
Dairy Queen with a Dilly Bar. embracing our new name and our
But behind the scenes of this young man’s new community.
life, there was some interesting politics The Chamber, however, had a much
playing out. William Davis was the Premier of easier time adapting to this new
Ontario at the time and Darcy McKeough was reality and kind of bought into the
his Minister of Municipal Affairs. I guess for whole concept in the early stage
some unknown reason, to me at least, they of amalgamation when the Galt
figured that we’d be better off together than Chamber, Preston Chamber and "The Chamber will create
apart and as of January 1st, 1973, the Premier Hespeler Village Association merged the necessary momentum
declared, “thou shalt be conjoined into one to become the Cambridge Chamber
harmonious community.” of Commerce. to nurture and champion
Well, frankly, at that point in my life I was Looking back, I would have loved to success by bringing together
more interested in who was meeting at have been a fly on the wall during
Rusty’s after school rather than what anyone those meetings, but I was too busy the elements – on all sides
at Queen’s Park was doing for, or with, my sitting on the wall by the Dairy Queen of an issue – to successfully
hometown of Preston. I can vaguely recall the catcalling the hot rods driving down
community vote during the 1972 municipal King Street. I know now, however, cultivate all that is good,
election on what this ‘new city’ should be that there was likely some kicking and can be good, in our
called, and it was narrowed to Cambridge and screaming but with the universal
or Blair. In the end, 11,728 residents voted in understanding that bringing business community."
favour of the name Cambridge compared to together was going to build a better
9,888 – most of those residing in Galt - who community with opportunities for This was the case when the Grand River
selected Blair. While the name Blair is not everyone. overflowed its banks on that fateful May
offensive in any way, it is hard for me to wrap The Chamber throughout the last 17th hitting downtown Galt very hard.
my head around what might have been had 50 years has been the mainstay for You may have read or heard the official
the vote gone the other way. community development and creating stories about the inadequacies of the
We all know the end of that tale: Cambridge opportunities, filling gaps, and moving emergency response departments that
unforgettable day. But did you know that
we shall be, and we shall be united, we shall the agenda of positivity. It has also before the water arrived the Chamber
be one. Sounds good in theory, but perhaps been here when the community was President, the late Don Faichney, called
that ‘experiment’ didn’t exactly work out the in need. Take the Grand River flood in the Grand River Conservation Authority
way it was planned. My children, all born 1974 as an example. to ask if there was an issue after hearing
‘post amalgamation’, still refer to the former Although we are blessed to have two there was a dam incident at Conestogo?
municipal names, for the most part. of Canada’s Heritage Rivers (Grand
However, isn’t that what community is all and Speed) running through our The GRCA confirmed to him that they
had let officials know. But hours later, as
about? When someone asks us today where community, they can create issues - the river began to rise, Faichney called
we live, we identify, again for the most part, not just traffic trouble if one of the the City and of course the newly minted
with the “old” community names. bridges is closed - that overshadow Regional Municipality of Waterloo,
their beauty.

6 Summer 2023 www.cambridgechamber.com