About 50 people gathered on Saturday to witness the grand opening of a new cabin in Canatara Park.
The Seaway Kiwanis Club of Sarnia-Lambton project aided by a couple-dozen volunteers and almost as many community groups was mostly finished last fall, said project co-chairperson Ken Stothers.
Building started last August, after years of planning and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to replace the cabin’s nearly 200-year-old predecessor, since disassembled and moved to the Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend to be rebuilt as part of a historical display.
Time was given to finish electrical and a stone fireplace – completed in February, mason Marc Gagnier said – before the ceremonial ribbon-cutting that came Saturday.
“It’s a real feeling of accomplishment, that’s for sure,” Stothers said shortly after a speech thanking the many groups and individuals who aided the project.
“There’s no way we could have done this without them,” he said.
Inside, the fireplace – not functioning but with an insert so the cabin isn’t inadvertently burned down, Stothers said – on the north wall rises to near the base of the hemlock rafter beams where a time capsule with photos of the project, letters from the community, and a mask, signifying the pandemic in which the cabin was built, will be tucked away for 50 years.
Hopes are the cabin will be used for weddings and community gatherings, Stothers said.
“We made it open enough … so the cabin can be something that’s actually used and useful,” he said.
The structure was also moved further from the carriage house, and an overhang was added to the design to protect from weather-induced rot.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, who with Point Edward Mayor Bev Hand cut the ceremonial ribbon, read an excerpt from his October-written letter bound for the time capsule, in which he said he hopes sometime in the next five decades there will be flying cars and that the Toronto Maple Leafs will have won a Stanley Cup.
A plaque outside the eastern entrance lists project donors.
“This truly was a collaboration,” said Hand, noting a difficult and long process at this moment that included disagreements about whether to restore the original cabin or build its replacement.
“I thank the Kiwanis for persevering,” she said.
Adam Alix, with the Judith and Norman Alix Foundation that gave $35,000 to the project, said it’s emblematic of the community collaboration and passion the foundation looks for when its deciding grant recipients.
“You guys are great partners and we hope to do another project again,” he told Kiwanis club members.
A little free library and commemorative benches to project crew leader Dan Abraham, and AlumaSafway, which helped with the floors, sidewalks and other project aspects, were also installed as part of the build, he said.
The club that replaced the nearby carriage house about five years ago and funds upkeep at the Seaway Kiwanis Children’s Animal Farm via the Children’s Animal Farm Foundation hasn’t decided on its next initiative yet, Stothers said.
“We’ll be looking for projects,” he said.
