Page 7 - July 2023 News On 7

A PIECE OF COOPER HISTORY PRESERVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

“Do I have to ring it 103 times?”
Ruth Holmes got a good laugh from the crowd of about 60 people gathered at the Cooper Cemetery with that line. Mrs.
Holmes – a Cooper resident for almost all of her amazing 103 years – was the obvious candidate to perform the ceremonial
ringing of the hamlet’s former school bell at a dedication ceremony held on Sunday, June 4.
For a large part of the 20th century, the bell at Cooper’s one-room schoolhouse, S.S. #6, called children to class each day –
as is noted on the plaque that has been installed with the preserved and newly mounted bell. The installation was created
by Jos Pronk of the Pronk Canada Machine Shop in Queensborough.
The site of the installation, the Cooper Cemetery, is where the hamlet’s very first log schoolhouse was erected in the 1840s.
That building also served as Cooper’s church until a separate building was erected on the other side of what is now Cooper
Road in 1860.
SS #6, still standing at the corner of Cooper Road and Limerick Lake Road but now a private residence, was the hamlet’s
third school. Mrs. Holmes’s four children went to school there, and many other current and former Cooper residents have
fond memories of their school days in that building.
In later years, the building was also the home of the Cooper-Remington Women’s Institute. It was the W.I. that donated the
bell and spearheaded the project to have it preserved and mounted as a permanent reminder of Cooper’s history. At the
brief dedication event, master of ceremonies Don Bailey of Cooper and Madoc Township Mayor Loyde Blackburn paid
tribute to the work of the W.I., and in particular Mrs. Holmes, an Institute member for many decades until the group’s
dissolution a few years ago.
Also taking part in the dedication ceremony was the Rev. Jeff deJonge, a minister of the Queensborough-Eldorado Pastoral
Charge of the United Church of Canada from 1985 to 1991. Earlier in the day, Mr. deJonge led a worship service in
Queensborough celebrating the 133rd anniversary of St. Andrew’s United Church. Ruth Holmes, who now lives in Oshawa
with her daughter and son-in-law, Bonnie and Bruce Askey, was among the many former Queensborough-area residents
who filled the church for the anniversary celebration. In recognition of her 103rd birthday on June 8, a large bouquet of
flowers was presented to Mr. Holmes during the service.

Photo 1: Ruth Holmes performs the
ceremonial first ringing of the
historic Cooper School bell at a Photo 3: A plaque that is part of the school-bell
dedication ceremony Sunday, June Photo 2: The bell that installation explains its history and significance to
4. Giving her a hand is Don Bailey, called many generations the Cooper community.
master of ceremonies for the of Cooper children to
eventheld at the Cooper Cemetery, school each morning is
site of the hamlet’s first now installed at the
schoolhouse. Also in the photo are Cooper Cemetery, the Article submitted by: Katherine Sedgwick
(clockwise from left) Noreen Bailey, site of the hamlet’s first
the Rev. Jeff deJonge, and Ruth’s schoolhouse. The
daughter, Bonnie Askey. installation was done by
Jos Pronk of the Pronk
Canada Machine Shop in
Queensborough.