Page 3 - News On 7 March 2022 Edition

IN THE NEWS

THE QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY CENTRE RESTORATION/REHABILITATION PROJECT

It’s seen generations of Queensborough kids learn their reading, writing and ’rithmetic;
dozens, if not hundreds, of bridal and baby showers; friendly – though competitive! –
community card parties on cold winter nights; meetings of the Women’s Institute and
4-H clubs; pancake breakfasts, community potlucks, chili cookoffs and pie-making
classes; events celebrating Queensborough’s history; and almost 20 years of summer
drop-in day camps for kids. For more than a century, the Queensborough Community
Centre has been the heart and soul of the busy hamlet of Queensborough.

Right now, however, the QCC is closed to the public and unavailable for anyone in the
community to use. In mid-2021, it was discovered that groundwater infiltration had
caused major damage to the foundation of the building’s kitchen addition (built about
2000) and, to a lesser extent, to the historic main building (built in 1901 to serve as the
hamlet’s one-room schoolhouse). Engineering experts said that until major repairs,
including replacement of the kitchen addition, were carried out – estimated cost
upwards of $300,000 – the building was unsafe for use.
The volunteers on the QCC Committee have taken up the challenge to get the centre up
and running again as soon as possible. Working with council members and staff at the
Municipality of Tweed (which owns and is responsible for the building), the volunteers
have been involved in grant applications, information and lobbying sessions to keep the
reopening of the building high on council’s agenda, and projects to raise funds from
within the community.

Council has now committed to putting the project in its budget plans for 2022, but it has also made clear that it expects
fundraising from within the community. As a result, the QCC Committee has set a community fundraising target of
$25,000. Thanks to the generosity of people who live in the Queensborough area, and others father afield who have
Queensborough connections or are simply supportive of the QCC’s work, we are making good progress toward that
target. For instance, a family-themed, Covid-safe outdoor Halloween event organized by the volunteers on very short
notice last October drew a huge crowd of enthusiastic families and raised close to $1,500 in a single night!

The committee has decided that money raised from the community
will go toward:
·Outfitting the new kitchen – important in a community that’s
known for its great food (church suppers, pancake breakfasts, etc.)
·Restoring the original wooden floor in the main schoolhouse
building.
·Creating a temperature- and humidity-controlled archives room,
where documents, photos, clippings and artifacts from
Queensborough history can be collected and preserved for future
generations.

The QCC Committee could use your help! Support from readers of News on 7 would be deeply appreciated, and income-
tax receipts will be issued to donors. For more information or to make a donation, please contact QCC members Elaine
Kapusta (613-473-1458, elainekapusta@hotmail.com), Ann Brooks (613-473-4550, annfrank.brooks@gmail.com), or
Katherine Sedgwick (613-473-2110, sedgwick.katherine@gmail.com). Please note that cheques should be made out to
“Municipality of Tweed,” with “Queensborough Community Centre” specified on the cheque’s memo line.

The QCC Committee looks forward to welcoming you to our newly restored and refurbished community centre this year!