The Build – Construction of the MacNutt Community Center in 1965, Upgrades Due in 2020

It takes a village to raise a child. Thanks to seemingly the entire village, MacNutt built a community center that would play a role in raising many children throughout its years.
“In lots of cases this is the first place kids put on skates” says Kelly Fatteicher, President of the MacNutt Recreation Board.
November 20th, 1965 marked the date the MacNutt Community Center construction officially began.
A little over two years later, the Grand Opening took place on December 28th, 1967.
There was more to do after the grand opening but it was usable by the public at that point.
“We had the sewer put in [the village] at the same time, and my mom and dad had moved stores on the same date as well.” Judy Becker, MacNutt resident says, “CJGX was out covering the event and there were people. There was a family living on every half-section in the [MacNutt] area. The school kids at that time [attended] grade 1-12 in MacNutt. There was a creamery in MacNutt. In 1967 there would have been two general stores, a butcher shop, a cafe, four garages, even more… and everyone had employees.”
The community center was a need for the municipality back in 1965 and it remains a need still today.
In 1965 the hall was deteriorating to the point where it was about to be unusable.
There was an outdoor skating rink and a two-sheet curling rink that were built in the 1940s, but improvements were needed for both.
Initially, the skating rink and curling arena were partnered together in the newly constructed facility.
When the hall was condemned years later, the new facility moved in to form the current set up of the community center.
A building of such magnitude involved a bit of elbow grease and a ton a will-power.
At the time of original build a cement mixer (small by today’s standards) was brought in by a contractor to do all the cement work.
The mixer batch included a bag of concrete mix with the appropriate amount of gravel and water to create the final product.
A testament to the back breaking work involved was that all concrete for building the foundation and basement walls was hauled by hand with wheelbarrows.
Frank Becker, who was involved with the construction of the community center, said “The rafters all had to be put together before the crane could put them up. On the rafters, we had to nail little boards across the top of them so that the guys crawling up to put the hurlings in could have something to stand on. These guys were crawling up on the raised rafters without a hardness, no safety equipment, the only guy who had a helmet on was the foreman for the crane. As far as I know, nobody got hurt or fell off the top”
Frank showed a photo of the workers present during one day’s work constructing the center.
Over 30 workers were present during the day, with more showing up after they finished working at their regular jobs.
Judy Becker stated there were many more workers not present in the photo, as well more “background workers” who cooked during the day, and brought soup, sandwiches and coffee to the workers whenever a break was taken.
The tremendous effort turned construction materials into a hub of activity for MacNutt.
Kevin Popp, member of the present-day committee tasked with upgrading the roof, told a story about a trusted construction contractor who came in to look at the roof.
The contractor could not believe how old the facility was compared to its condition; he said it was well-built.
Kevin mentioned feedback like this is what motivates their group to get the roof done so the building can last well into the future.
Currently, patchwork is being done until a long-term solution can be identified.
The group has been fortunate enough to have a member of the community help patch the roof with urethane but it is the time to take the next step.
The roof upgrade committee has a lot of confidence in the building itself.
“When you look at it now [the foundation], it’s still in perfect condition,” says Frank Becker.
Kelly Fatteicher said “At times it’s easy to wonder what the heck are we doing this for, after hearing the stories and a lot of the challenges, they were bigger when [they] were building the place than just replacing the roof.”
Kevin Popp reminisced, “At one time this was a hub of activity on a Saturday. We had figure skating from 8am to 1pm. I’m still very hopeful that can return one day.”
Whether it’s one young skater practicing late at night, as well as first thing the next morning, or a large group of young school kids playing hockey all afternoon, the rink is often being used by youth and all community members alike.
Currently, the roof for the community center is leaking and patch-work cannot keep up to the level of deterioration.
The building has a solid foundation, but as the leak increases the overall impact on the building gets worse.
If the deterioration continues, the effort put in by so many MacNutt and area residents will have gone to waste as a proud community fixture diminishes.
Strictly from an affordability standpoint, the group feels the MacNutt facility will get used, as well as from the availability of ice time compared to other rinks.
In terms of fundraising, the committee is taking a multiple prong approach to fundraising. The group stated they can’t expect businesses to contribute funds for the entire project so they are reaching out to partners, suppliers, local governance and community groups for investment.
Popp invites everyone to attend the fundraising events for the roof upgrade.
A dance will be held on February 15th.
“We’re looking forward to shaking the roof a little bit before we put the new one on top…MacNutt has always been a good place to party.”
The “Acres for Cover” is a program allowing our agricultural food producers to contribute to the MacNutt Community Center Roof Project; the program allows producers to contribute using something they grow with their hard work and effort.
The concept is simple for this program.
Grow pledged acres (consider even 1%) and contribute funds from your production results.
The MacNutt Community Center Roof Fund appreciates any and all level of support.
Private donations, business donations, civic support, grants received and volunteer efforts will all combine to allow the group to successfully raise funds required.
For contributions over $200, the donor will qualify for a 42% federal tax deduction.
Please make cheques payable to the Village of MacNutt to receive the charitable donation receipt.
All funds will be managed through the MacNutt Community Center Roof Fund account by members of the MacNutt Recreation Board.
Need more information or have questions about the project?
Contact one of the MacNutt Community Center Roof Fundraising Committee Members.
Kevin Popp 306-742-7795
Kelly Fatteicher 306-742-7820
Kathy Furtney 306-229-7884
Sherry Popp 306-742-4624