Approximately fifty people attended the 50th anniversary for the Evergreen Club on October 12th. These included our M.P. Ms. Cathay Wagantal, the mayor of Churchbridge Mr. Bill Johnson, representatives from the Co-op and the Credit Union, and a number of non members as well as most of the clubs own membership. Merv Kell read out a brief timeline of the club’s history, Mayor Johnson offered a number of kind words of recognition and support, and there were a few words from the representative of the Co-op and Credit Union. While enjoying a light lunch attendees were joined by Cathay Wagantall who offered a few words and presented the club with a certificate of recognition of the club’s fifty years. The celebration was an enjoyable gathering of a few more of the area seniors than normally get together and some good memories were recalled.Pictured left is Bruce Krantz from the Co-op, Pamela Marfleet from the Credit Union, Cathay Wagantall Member of Parliament, and Bill the mayor of Churchbridge.
A Brief History of the Evergreen Club
Speech read by Merv Kell at the Evergreen Club’s 50th Anniversary.
In the fall of 1973 a group of the senior citizens of Churchbridge and it’s surrounding district held a meeting to discuss the formation of a club to be a forum for the community’s retired folks. Over the next few months there was a whirlwind of activity with meetings almost every week in the unused offices of the old Co-op lumber yard. The new club secured a grant from the original New Horizons for Seniors Program and fitted out their rented space with plumbing upgrades and decorations and furniture. They held card parties and other games and acquired a shuffleboard. They had pot luck suppers and sightseeing trips and held meetings, meetings, meetings while always seeking a better venue.
By March of 1974 they had moved into a new location rented in the skating rink and went through another round of adapting their space to their needs. This too was not to their liking and by the fall they moved again into the former Co-op store, that this building had replaced, for a monthly rent of $60.00. By the end of that year the membership was 35.
One of the long running projects that they took on was the collection of history that eventually went into the Churchbridge history book in 1980 . A great deal of work went into that book which continues to be a very popular source of answers around our Monday coffee tables. If anyone here knows of someone who would take an interest there are still plenty of copies available.
Through 1975 and into ‘76 as the club’s social activities, meeting and renovating and upgrading continued, the search went on for a better space. After several false trails a building was found in Melville that promised to fill the wishes.
A deal was eventually struck with the town to provide a lot and buy the building and have it moved. The town rented the building to the club for $50.00 per month. The club, with the help of another NHSP grant and mountains of volunteered labour and donations, prepared a foundation with a basement and waited for the building to be put in place.
After some delays the building arrived in the late summer and before the end of the year the club was moved onto the site on Prothero Avenue. The remodelling and finishing and decorating began again. The membership at the end of the year had passed 100.
Over the next year, amid all the club’s social activities the improvement work went on along with attempts to get a lawn to bowl on and horseshoe pits developed. It wasn’t until the summer of ’78 that they were able to have an official opening ceremony. The club was affiliated with a number of regional and provincial organizations by this time and there were quite a few trips for club officers to attend meetings and conferences as a result. The membership had peaked in 1976 however and by the end of 1978 it was down to 80.
Having found a home that seemed to fit their needs the Evergreen club was fairly stable for a number of years. The work continued to maintain and improve the facility and the games and activities and outings continued unabated. By 1985 there began to be a wish for more room and a better location. Membership continued to dwindle and by the club’s twentieth year there were only 28 members.
Things improved over the next couple of years and in 1997 the club was able to acquire this building for one dollar thru the great generosity of the Co-op which had moved to their present location 2 years earlier. Now, finally in a property of their own they were once again in the remodelling business and another mountain of work was undertaken.
This location provided more room and easier access and as a result the number of requests by other organizations and non-members to use the space increased. While in the early years not many of these requests were accommodated, circumstances now made the rental of the facility more and more common. Rental rates and rules had to be made more consistent including an agreement with the town regarding rentals that might be at odds with the community hall’s rental opportunities. After one or two temporary tries a long standing arrangement was reached with the Lion’s and Lioness’s clubs who now make their home here with us.
In the years since moving to this location an enormous amount of work has been done. This includes at least two new floor coverings, a new steel roof, insulation and finishing of both this front room and the back rooms as well, replacing the lighting, renovating the kitchens and rest rooms, replacing the heating system and adding air conditioning. For all these things and more, there has been financial help from an array of sources including the New Horizons
program, the town of Churchbridge and it’s Rec association, the Co-op, the Credit Union, the Lion’s and Lioness’s clubs and the provincial lottery fund just to name a few.
This year we applied for and received a grant from the NHSP for $15582.00 which went toward a new furnace and air conditioner, new lights in the kitchen and office and the repainting of this room. We also applied for a grant from the Credit Union Community funding for $2850.00 with which we purchased a new refrigerator to give our renters plenty of room when they are setting up for a feast. The balance of this grant was used to modify one of the rest rooms to make it better for handicapped visitors.
We owe a huge thank you to all those supporters over all these years and to the members who labored long and hard, usually as volunteers, through their retirement years to create and carry on this club. We hope to be able to continue with the activities and to be an asset to the community for years to come.
Thank you.