Elliot Lake will soon have a historical society

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On May 10, a group of approximately 25 residents took the first step toward forming a historical society in Elliot Lake.

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The group met at the chalet of the Mont-Dufour ski resort to discuss the steps to follow for the creation of a historical society.

Edo Ten Broek and Marie Murphy Foran are the two co-founders who started exploring the possibility of creating a historical society for the region at the end of 2021.

The group that attended the meeting ranged from residents who came to Elliot Lake in the 1950s to those who arrived in the community in recent years. They were between 20 and 70 years old.

Ten Broek, who came to Elliot Lake in 2004, said he was pleased with the number of people present at the first public meeting to see if there was interest in establishing a local historical society.

Ten Broek said the creation of a local historical society is a community-led project, not the municipality.

Murphy-Foran, who arrived in Elliot Lake in 1082, said she had believed for many years that there should be a local historical society aimed at preserving the area’s history.

It becomes more urgent to start writing the history of the community. Although there are still some of the early pioneers living in the community, many are now deceased.

Guest speaker

The guest speaker at the event was Rob Leverty, Executive Director of the Ontario Historical Society.

Leverty first came to Elliot Lake in 2005 and this was his second time here.

He liked going to the Fire Tower Lookout.

“It’s one of the best views in Canada,” Leverty said.

He also revisited Woodlands Cemetery, which he visited on his last trip here.

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“I’m just struck that it’s so multicultural. All the cultures of the world are here, it’s a magnificent cemetery. When I say cemeteries, I mean your cemetery.

History of the Ontario Historical Society

Leverty, who has worked at the OHS since 2003, explained the history of the Ontario Historical Society and the process of creating a historical society.

The Ontario Historical Society was founded in September 1888 and was originally called the Pioneer Association of Ontario. The OHS was created by eight small historical societies in communities across southern Ontario.

Leverty said there are currently 570 community historical societies in Ontario.

“We are a non-profit group and we are non-partisan. Our goal is to preserve and promote Ontario’s history. And we take a very broad perspective, it could be: the history of the First Nations, the history of the pioneers, the cemeteries, the buildings, a beautiful forest or wetlands or a natural heritage. »

Leverty added that in 1899 the Ontario Historical Society received $500 from the Province of Ontario to publish the story. However, they also received another gift from the province that was unique among organizations. The act to incorporate the Ontario Historical Society passed by the Ontario Legislative Assembly gave them a tool that is still very relevant today.

“This law says that if a group of citizens like you are interested in any aspect of Ontario history and you approach us, we can incorporate you as a not-for-profit organization, with all the rights and privileges of the Ontario Historical Society.

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“We are the only non-profit organization in North America that has this unique power to incorporate other historical organizations.

That same year, the OHS incorporated the eight groups that founded the OHS.

Historical societies across the province have begun to spring up, especially in recent years. Since 2008, the OHS has onboarded an average of one historical society per month, Leverty explained.

Although the preservation of history is her goal, she uses modern tools.

Leverty said three years ago they went digital, giving the Ontario Historical Society an international following.

“Now we have subscribers in 65 countries.”

He says that three years ago 11,000 articles were downloaded, the following year 60,000, “and last year alone we received over 85,000 articles which were downloaded worldwide.

“The bottom line is that people around the world are interested in Ontario’s history.

Create a local historical society

Leverty said the historical societies are not owned or controlled by any level of government.

“You (historical societies) are a democratic voice for history. You don’t work for the government. Sometimes you work with a government, but sometimes you will be opposed to the government.

Sometimes funds may be available from various governments, in other cases the local historical society will need to fundraise for projects.

Incorporating an entity can cost thousands of dollars. However, incorporation as a nonprofit through the OHS costs $400, plus the $65 OHS membership fee for the local historical society.

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Although the OHS does not interfere with local historical societies, it can guide the organization. It can also help create a constitution and bylaws.

Once a local historical society sends all of its documentation to the OHA, it goes to the OHS Board of Trustees, who vote on it. The day the application is approved is the date of incorporation of the organization.

At the end of the May 10 meeting, the group put together a five-member founding council to begin work on creating an incorporated historical society. The five are: Ten Broek, Murphy-Foran, Doug Souliere, Ed Pearce and Geraldine Robinson.

Follow-up meeting

On May 18, they met to begin work on creating a provisional board of directors and starting the incorporation process.

They got their interim positions on the board: Edo Ten Broek as president, Marie Murphy-Foran as vice-president, Geraldine Robinson as secretary/treasurer, and Doug Souliere and Ed Pearce as general directors.

The board also decided to name the organization the Elliot Lake Historical Society. However, it would cover the surrounding region, including First Nations, Ten Broek said.

While the Elliot Lake Historical Society will incorporate through the Ontario Historical Society, it is receiving assistance from Cambridge LLP, an Elliot Lake law firm, with the incorporation document .

Ten Broek suspects they could be incorporated by August. They would convene a public meeting to outline next steps leading up to an annual general meeting, which will select the governance board and member resource support. The local organization would then have a nominal fee for memberships.

The public can follow the progress on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/ELHistoricalSociety.