Speech - Niagara Falls Sat. February 22nd-14 Good Afternoon...... Thank you for inviting me today ..... and thank you all for attending. It is good to be back in Niagara Falls - and I say that because in years gone by, I spent a lot of time here when we had a Regional heritage group — I was here when you had a tree designated, and I remember how the Mayor complained about how much it cost ! and when you were attempting to save the Bright’s Wines building where a grocery store was to be built - and we had a heritage house tour here one year and they had me stationed in a B&B which I was later told by the owner, was haunted...... and, of course, I have known Kym Cody for years - she is one of the most talented and gifted people I know-- and she has always had a great commitment to heritage preservation.

A little known fact is ....this is Heritage Week in - although you would never know it — Heritage Day has been completely eradicated from the calendar and replaced with Family Day by the province, without notification or consultation. Of course, I have nothing against families, but why did the government steal the one day a year when we actually celebrated heritage. It just illustrates the importance the province places on their heritage !

Your theme for today is “Preserving the Past for the Future” - and that is a very big subject – so I am mainly going to focus on “what steps we have to take” to ensure this preservation, and there are a lot of them.

I am starting to feel a bit like Hazel McCallion - I started doing this“heritage thing” about 30 years ago, and it has not become easier ---- it is much more difficult. My dream was always to join Greenpeace - where I could climb high buildings and hang protest banners - and go to jail. This is not a success story - it is about the manner in which our heritage is treated not only in Ontario, but in Canada.

How did all of this start for me ? I am a great fan of quotes - all my friends know that .... Yogi Berra had some wonderful and quirky sayings, but there was always an element of truth in all of them. He said “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” — and I think that is what a defining moment in your life is all about - you can look back and see it clearly...... and that defining moment can and does change your life. When I look back over many years, the fork in the road which I took was the road to heritage preservation. It completely changed my life and the way I think about everything. I have to tell this story which I have told so many times .... for those of you who have heard it, please bear with me .... it is the only way I can describe what I do so that it is understood; —I have to draw this mental picture for you---- When I got involved in trying to save our heritage so many years ago, personal computers were just becoming popular, and, I made up my mind that a computer was not going to rule my life ..... well guess what !

But aside from some of the jokes I receive there is some good “stuff” too. One day I got something called “how to succeed in life” - it was illustrated and had different headings - like “commitment” “hard work” “knowledge” -- the one called “persistence” took my eye ..... the illustration was a mouse trap which was baited with an inviting piece of cheese, and beside the trap ...... looking longingly at the cheese...... was a mouse ---- wearing a crash helmet ! I have never found anything in these 30 years that described what I do any better than that illustration ! People who work in heritage will understand this.

Heritage hangs like a delicate thread and, at best is a fragile situation — everybody loves it – it is like mother and apple pie – except if it costs money and interferes with what we call “progress”.

What is heritage anyway – it is the sum total of our inheritance - built, cultural and natural, and that’s just about everything. and Why should we preserve it ?

I have been impressed with a man called Richard Moe, who has written books, he is head of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the U.S., former Chief of Staff for VP Walter Mondale, member of the Carter Sr. Staff - a pretty important guy, and his philosophy on livable cities is the best I have ever read, and I quote :

It has been asked - what makes a city livable; well, it has to be safe of course, and attractive. It must provide the services we need, and it should be planned and built in a way that makes it easy to use and move around in. But there is something else - something very important and that is..... a truly livable city is one that makes us feel personally connected to it in a meaningful way. It is hard to feel that kind of connection to a place that has no distinctive character. We have all visited cities like that I am sure. Our built environment is becoming “homogenized”...it has been called “Generica” - a place where you can’t even tell what city you are in. Everyplace looks more and more like Anyplace and eventually they all wind up looking like Noplace. It is hard to feel connected to Noplace, and that is one reason preservation is so important. It is a means of saving and celebrating the history and traditions — the character, in other words, that makes every community unique, appealing and livable, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that community livability is the key to community survival...it is an economic imperative !” End of quote I love this guy ! That says it in a nutshell. No one could say it any better !

Communities need to seriously consider their everyday decision-making. As we are creating a vision for the future, we need to leave room for the preservation of the past. I am going to talk mainly about built heritage .... natural heritage is another long, sad story!

Smarter Niagara has named four pillars for a complete Niagara and they are - environment, economic, social and culture - and culture means arts, culture and heritage. And, there is where part of our trouble begins ...... who in our communities will relate heritage to culture — they immediately think of the arts !....it is the unspoken word.

We have a Minister in Ontario-Michael Chan, who is in charge of Tourism, Culture and Sports...... where is heritage ? He doesn’t know where it is either because we never hear from him and we are all, as volunteers, out there in the field making him look good. It is a real accomplishment if we can coax a letter of congratulations out of him for a property owner who has designated his property.

At the federal level, we have a new Minister of Heritage and Official Languages called Shelly Glover, a former policewoman, who has absolutely no experience in heritage, and her Parliamentary Assistant is now Rick Dykstra (St.Catharines) who has never supported heritage. This illustrates what little thought is given to the appointment of some of our Ministers; they are merely political appointments....and heritage is always at the bottom of the list.

This is the type of step the Feds. take to make it look as though they are doing something .... I just got a notice from Heritage Canada National Trust.

“Canada’s renewed commitment of National Historic Sites cost-sharing program -“ total funding available under this program will be $1 million which will cover up to 50% of eligible costs to a maximum of $100,000. Per project. That means 10 applications for the maximum will use up the funding. This is a disgrace - a drop in the bucket - do you know how many National Historic Sites there are across Canada....over 950 - out of that 167 are administered by Parks Canada. These places shape our identity, create jobs and attract tourist dollars. The Feds. should be ashamed of themselves ! Now everybody will be scrambling to get some of this money. It degrades the meaning of “heritage preservation” and the volunteers who work so hard !

Although I know Britain is an older country they have a thing called “English Heritage” with 400 heritage properties (including sites like Stonehenge) - they have 11 million visitors each year, they have 750 members and give out 24 million pounds (not dollars) in grant monies each year. That is heritage the way it should be managed.

Once the Government set the Ontario Heritage Act in place in 1974 and put its contents into action, they pulled back on all financial incentives, they deserted the volunteer workers in the field and left them to fend for themselves. In 2006 they put out what they call a “Tool Kit” and we haven’t heard from them since.

This Tool Kit, by the way, lists all the duties of a heritage volunteer - it is overwhelming — sounds like a full-time job to me - check it out !

I have a list of 50 items entitled “The weakening of heritage preservation in Ontario” - and I add to it regularly. It’s a sad state of affairs.

Anthony M.Tung, an Urbanist and Author of “Preserving the World’s Great Cities”, researched his book by travelling to 20 of the most architecturally-beautiful cities in the world, and this is one of his conclusions .... “There has been widespread demolition of numerous irreplaceable structures and the fracturing of the traditional environment by out of scale, unsympathetic modern development. Much of the human-made cloak that covers the planet surface is abysmal in quality”. End of quote

As well, this is a quote from Heritage Canada Foundation : (now The National Trust) “Over the last 30 years, 20% of our pre-1920 heritage buildings have been demolished - an attrition rate which would normally be associated with war or natural disaster and one that most other countries would consider unimaginable. This loss has occurred not simply because we have passively allowed it to happen, but because we have actively encouraged it to happen. The tax and regulatory frameworks of the various orders of government have traditionally favoured demolition of older buildings and their replacement with new construction rather than retention, restoration and adaptive reuse of our heritage building stock. The demolition of our heritage buildings has a significant negative impact on the natural environment and is contrary to the fundamental elements of sustainable development and is, therefore, not in the interests of healthy, integrated and sustainable communities”. End of quote

The preservation of the built heritage of Ontario is basically in the hands of volunteers...... without their commitment and passion, the whole thing would fall apart, and some of them are tired and some have given up ! And, it isn’t rocket science .....it is simple - all we need is a new use for an old building!

Examples -Most Beautiful McDonald’s in America! This is it .... a Georgian mansion in N.Y. state in a prime location, called the Denton House dating back to 1795; by 1986 it was abandoned and on the verge of falling down. McDonalds purchased the property with the intention of tearing it down and replacing it with the cookie-cutter McDonalds. Thank you to the citizens of the New Hyde Park who had it given landmark status in 1987 and McDonald’s had no choice but to restore the property and work within the parameters of the landmark commission. Now it is their most beautiful and famous restaurant in America. It was restored to its 1926 appearance, opened in the early 1990's and remains in fantastic shape to this day. So, that means customers are doing more than eating one of their hamburgers ! Check it out on the internet ! Ship on Lake Erie, a 90-year-old cargo ship is serving as a holiday home, hanging over a cliff on Lake Erie - and it is fabulous ! I could move into it tomorrow! In Canada a 200-year old cottage in St.John’s has been converted to a restaurant which has made national news for its rustic, local approach to food as well as restoration and preservation of the building, which has earned an award.

The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) celebrated its 80th year in 2013; their recent newsletter states: “We are surrounded by challenges to our survival and relevance, as shocking threats to heritage are multiplying across Canada. The Harper government has cut funding to Parks Canada so that many heritage sites and artifacts across the country are left shuttered and unprotected. The B.C. government has severely cut funding to heritage groups across the province. In , David Mirvish feels free to demolish several designated heritage properties to build his super condos. Demands for more density in many downtowns threaten their heritage fabric”. We could add Port Dalhousie to that !

It is interesting to note that in the U.S. when space is required for government offices, heritage buildings are required to be considered first before building new and we have that ugly MTO building in our downtown St.Catharines which was supposed to revitalize their downtown. It is the worst building I have ever been in !

The good thing ...... our Niagara Region, through their Smart Growth program, has some incentives in place for heritage, but our municipalities must adopt them since they share in the cost - and not all municipalities in Niagara are part of the program.

So, what does all this mean ? All these negatives made me want to make some changes. Everything today is about money ...... the bottom line ...... economics ...... not everything can be measured in dollars and cents. Heritage preservation has to start from the top - that is, our various levels of government - volunteers can not do it alone. This is what we are working with ...... So how do we get anything done — thank you, passionate volunteers.

At one time or another, I have worked all around the Region and beyond; I remember touring the Point Abino Lighthouse when the group there was trying to save it - it has since been designated a National Historic Site. I worked in Cambridge when work was underway to name the Grand River a Canadian Heritage River Our family cottage is on the French R. where the voyageurs travelled - also a Canadian Heritage River. Heritage work is never easy and I believe it is getting more difficult every year.

In spite of all the negatives I have mentioned, we have still made some gains locally - again, thanks to our committed volunteers. I have attempted in the last few years to concentrate efforts on my own community since there is so much to do.

The year 2012 was a banner year for heritage; we had : 1) The recognition of the War of 1812 2) The launching of the Regional Culture Plan 3) Niagara as the Culture Capital of Canada

All of these celebrations gave all of us across the Region an opportunity to showcase heritage in Niagara. We in took every advantage to bring heritage to the forefront with displays, artwork, new brochure, post cards, publicity...... we kept heritage on the front burner all year long.

In Thorold we have 50+ designations with another one slated for the Spring of 2014, and we are looking at one heritage conservation district and three cultural heritage landscapes - (including - DeCew House Heritage Park, Beaverdams Church & Burial Ground, and Lake Gibson Corridor) ....these are all extremely ambitious projects.

We are still working on our downtown and incentives planned for the coming year. I am so proud of what has been accomplished in our business area, and it isn’t over yet. And, most importantly and best of all, there is a growing pride in community !

Thank you to our BIA and business owners for all that they have done to improve our historic downtown to make it a positive destination. We now have such interesting shops and restaurants to offer visitors and residents....it is something to be proud of. We have several developers who see the potential and beauty in our downtown and are investing there - the whole street is transforming !

Through our downtown facade incentive program 20 facade applications have been processed, approved and completed to this date. Over the past several years, for a small investment of the city and region, there have been huge paybacks. I think this proves that incentives work.

The City of Thorold is now doing a Downtown Streetscape Master Plan — this is a good move and through consultation, has brought citizens out to make suggestions about our business area. Our committee has suggested a heritage conservation district in our downtown, involvement in Communities in Bloom and consultation with our Horticulture Society, but many good and innovative suggestions have come forward from our residents.

We all need to take a lesson from Buffalo - which has some great architecture - much of it by the famous Frank Lloyd Wright; utilizing the help of State incentives, they have worked very hard on the revitalization of neighbourhoods, attitude of their citizens..... and bringing back pride in the community. Pride can solve all of our problems ! - and we can’t forget that preservation is one of the best economic tools around ! - consider the trades, architects, planners, developers, designers who are involved in any restoration project. “Building Stories” is the inter-active web site initiated by the University of Waterloo, Heritage Resources Centre, which takes us beyond the borders of our city. Recently Thorold had all of their 50 designated properties listed on this site, along with pictures and maps. Of course, we also have our own web site at: heritagethorold.com, which has received many compliments.

We are still challenged in Thorold by the lack of care for city-owned designated heritage buildings - and they own several, including Beaverdams Methodist Church; fortunately, again volunteers came to the rescue and we have a very active and effective Board raising funds for its restoration.

There have been no achievements when it comes to the support of the federal and provincial governments – as a matter of fact, we have lost ground...... case in point .....the 50 items I mentioned earlier which indicate we are definitely losing ground.

Again, hurrah to our volunteers who keep heritage on the table ! Our committed group in Port Dalhousie is an example of volunteers who will not let a heritage issue die ! And there are battles going on all over the place...... sometimes success stories are hard to find !

One of the buildings I am asked about quite often is our Keefer Mansion Inn (former Maplehurst) built 1885-86 (brochure) A friend of mine and her two sisters owned it for a number of years when it was a chronic care hospital; they lived on the top floor and did all the cooking and gardening themselves! They gave me the giant iron fireplace poker from the building, which I returned to its home when the building was restored. At one time it was a maternity hospital and many babies were born here....a book has been written about this time in its history...... but, of course, it has changed much since then.

It is now our beautiful Keefer Mansion Inn which, we in Thorold, are all very proud of. We nearly lost it — when a demolition permit was taken out on it in 1999 and it was privately owned; there was a huge out-cry from the community to save it - and we did - it is owned by the City of Thorold on lease to Phil Ritchie of Keefer Developments. It was designated under Part IV of the OHA in 2002.

This building is located in a dramatic setting with a high elevation and commanding view. It is a 3-storey, 26 room, 14,144 square foot mansion, built of rough-faced red Grimsby stone with cut white stone trim from Queenston. It is Queen Anne Revival, influenced by the Richardsonian-Romanesque style.

There is a secret staircase behind a book case upstairs which leads to the widow’s walk, and “Creepy Canada” did a show from this building while it was under restoration. I am sure there must be in here ! It took a long 3-1/2 years of intensive work to restore to its present beauty.

The house has retained the majority of its original features and fittings, including its elegant staircase, tiled fireplaces and extensive woodwork. It is a handsome illustration of late 19th, early 20th century residential building style. The restoration has been meticulously undertaken with constant consideration given to the original building and its historical value. All the brass hardware on the windows and doors is beautifully designed – it all had to be stripped of paint, cleaned and polished - an enormous undertaking. The whole building is furnished to period and elegantly done.

The property on which Maplehurst now stands was the site of the first Keefer homestead, built c.1790 and was part of a Crown grant to United Empire Loyalist George Keefer, one of Thorold’s first settlers. He married Catherine Lampman. George was a leading citizen in the community; he served in the Lincoln Militia in the War of 1812. The original log house which stood on the site was commandeered as a hospital by the American occupation forces in 1813. Catherine died of typhoid fever after nursing American soldiers wounded in the Battle of Beaverdams. In 1815 George married Jane McBride who had 5 children from her previous marriage

George was a surveyor, a cabinet-maker, the local magistrate; he operated a general store, built and operated a grist mill and two saw mills, creating the nucleus of a settlement in Thorold. Keefer, along with Wm. Hamilton Merritt, was a promoter of the first and first President of the Welland Canal Company. The Keefers were considered Thorold’s Founding Family and the community of Thorold has great affection for this building and for the Keefer family; it is the finest and most loved building in the City. (Historic Sites & Monuments Board of Canada)

George had a family of entrepreneurs ; two of the children - Thomas Coltrin Keefer and Samuel Keefer became prominent engineers; Thomas Keefer was designated a person of National Historic Significance by the HSMBC in 1934 and was known as one of the best hydraulic engineers in all North America. He wrote Philosophy of Railroads and The Canals of Canada; both greatly influenced engineering development in Canada. As well, he helped found the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers and was made President.

Samuel designed Canada’s first suspension bridge at and suspension bridge over the Niagara Gorge - the largest of its kind in the world, which won him a gold medal for design. He supervised the construction of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.

Augustus was a leading lawyer and railway financier. George’s 4th son was a miller and farmer. His youngest son, Hugh was involved in local politics and it is believed that he built Maplehurst. His adventures during his travels in the United States secured for him a colourful reputation and these adventures made him a wildly romantic figure in Thorold. It is said that his gambling partner was the outlaw Jesse James. The story goes that Hugh married Jesse James’ sister - our City Historian says “no” to this, but it is a good piece of folklore ! Hugh operated as a contractor in the West, built Vancouver’s first sewer system, and helped push the railway from the Eagle Pass to Kamloops and through the Fraser River Canyon to the ocean.

Jacob Keefer, uncle of Hugh, built the Welland Mills in Thorold 1846-7 (where I live) - a stone building of great stature which was the largest flour mill of its time in Canada and connected to the Maple Leaf Milling Co. All the rooms at the Keefer are now named after members of the family. Maplehurst remained in the Keefer family until 1894.

Phil has put out a very good brochure on the Keefer Family History - it is wonderful and interesting reading. Maplehurst is featured in our recently-published brochure, on our web site, as well as “Building Stories” through the U. of Waterloo.

This exquisite Maplehurst building has re-opened as the Keefer Mansion Inn; the fine, detailed restoration has given a new use to this important and elegant building and has saved part of Canada’s history for future generations.

So how do we get more success stories, and what steps need to be taken to ensure preservation.

First and foremost, we need the support of all of our levels of government - if they really are sincere and want to preserve the heritage of this country. This movement in Ontario was all started by the provincial government in 1974 when our own Robert Welch was Minister and the Ontario Heritage Act was enacted ..... we need a proper Ontario Heritage Minister - not one who is more concerned about tourism and sport and who ignores the issues of heritage - we need provincial and federal governments that care ...... and after that...... we need the following----

1) consider the use of heritage buildings first when space is needed for government use, before building new...... or as a suggestion for a new business - look what has been done to our Bank and Old Fire Hall in Thorold- both gorgeous buildings now housing interesting businesses. The Quebec Bank won a regional design award last year. I gave you examples of historical buildings being reused, like McDonalds; those buildings have a uniqueness and feel that a new building could never have ! - customers experience the ambiance and come back for more !

2) a new class at a reduced rate be created in the municipal taxation system for buildings designated under the OHA. The system which is in place right now is not working that is, - 10 - 40% reduction in municipal taxes for owners of designated heritage buildings with inspections and an easement on the property. Only 39 out of our 414 municipalities in Ontario have bought into this program....that is less than 10% (actually 9.4%) No property owner that I know of is going to sign an easement on his property. This method of rewarding designated heritage property owners is not working.

3)It can be very expensive for a home owner to restore his home and designate it for present and future generations to appreciate. This is not elitist - these property owners have made a commitment to preserve our history. Therefore, we need historic tax credits for development and restoration of heritage buildings for a new use, thereby avoiding these buildings sitting empty, deteriorating and facing a possible future of demolition by neglect...... and then on to the garbage dump !

4) Our communities in Niagara all need to take advantage of some of the incentives offered by Regional Niagara for heritage properties. Incentives DO work ..... I am witnessing a complete change in our downtown business area due to incentives under the Facade Improvement Grant....the whole street is changing before our eyes. It is surprising what can be accomplished with some new windows, doors and suitable paint colours. We need to understand the impact incentives can make - even small ones. For a small $25,000. per year investment - that is 5 applications of $5,000. each, the City of Thorold is receiving huge paybacks.

5) Produce a list of suppliers who would offer discounts to designated heritage property owners who are doing approved restoration work on their buildings.

6) In ACO’s latest newsletter it is noted that in Toronto, owners of empty buildings get a significant property tax break;(actually under the Ontario Municipal Act, province-wide, rebates for vacancy are 30% for commercial properties and 35% for industrial properties... property must be unused for at least 90 consecutive days.)

ACO has suggested that before a tax break is given, the City should insist that the owner must :

a) prepare a fire safety and protection plan approved by the City;

b) show that they have sufficient insurance to restore the building to its former state

c) install a full fire alarm and security system and provide proof of a “monitoring and supervision” contract.

ACO also suggests that the tax system be reformed to recognize the contribution heritage property owners make to the environment. I love that one !

7) Something needs to be done about the OMB so that it operates fairly with all applicants on a level playing field; those sitting on what they call The Board (which has been reduced from 3 people to one) have no experience in heritage matters and constantly decide in favour of development. We need to either make some changes or do away with it entirely. It has been “in power” since 1897...... too long, it seems to me. Look what has happened to Port Dalhousie !

8) More consideration and screening be applied when interviewing applicants to serve on Municipal Heritage Committees to make sure they have no personal agendas. When we are voting, especially in our own municipalities, we need to give a lot of thought to the candidates.... they are now serving 4-year terms....we need to question them on their views about heritage preservation.

9) Government Ministries need to talk to each other. With the reviews taking place on our schools, there is no consideration given to the possible heritage value of the building; if the Ontario government is interested in saving built heritage, we need a stipulation in the school’s review as to its possible historical value; right now this is not even considered. The same thing happened when Harris was combining municipalities and we had many City and Town Halls abandoned! Is this going to happen again when Canada Post starts closing post offices ! There are 56 post office buildings for sale in the U.S.; located on prime land, it is estimated they will fetch about $19 billion dollars. These buildings were built with tax payers’ dollars.

10) Our municipalities need to enact legislation called “Heritage Property Standards” so that historical buildings do not sit and rot, where owners are required to keep a certain standard alive — we need the term “demolition by neglect” removed from our vocabulary...... and - finally ....

11) We need more local history taught in our schools and we need “Heritage Day” back on our calendar - the third Monday in February.

The way we deal with heritage has to change ------right now it is “the mouse in the crash helmet waiting to get the cheese” !

We did not inherit this space from our forefathers..... we are borrowing it from our descendants. We are here today as stewards, which means that we need to leave this place in better condition than we found it ...... and, we cannot do this alone ..... we need help from the top down.

Margaret Meade said : “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”. Thank you.

******

Pamela J.Minns Thorold Email: [email protected] Phone: 905 227-5899