- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

Twenty-three years ago – October 1996 – the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was in Owen Sound to attend the opening ceremonies of the Owen Sound Boys and Girls Club. Does anyone remember it?

Just one of the many reasons I am grateful to Warren Elder for the loan of his collection of every issue of the Owen Sound Tribune is that it gives me perspective on the community I have called home for twenty-five years. I was too new when the Trtibune was first delivered to rmy door to really understand the history or significance of many of the issues of the day, let alone know the players involved.

I definitely remember Hal Jackman, long before he was Lieutenant Governor, but I do not recall the Club itself, nor the building. It is clearly the site of either Service Ontario or the Family Health Team, (1st Ave West near 14th)  and the story says it was “on loan” from the City until 2000.

Some of the funders of this Boys and Girls Club are familiar and still doing great work in our community – Kiwanis Club and the Community Foundation.

The Captain Wm. F. Owen Chapter of the I.O.D.E., (originally Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire) disbanded in 2002. Reading about their post-war work on the Grey County Archives page, it sounds like they might have had a valuable role with newcomer families these days.

“The Captain Wm. F. Owen Chapter, I.O.D.E. has had a very successful year in Canadianization work.  With the arrival of new Canadians to Canada every day, there has been an increased interest in the Chapter to welcome these new citizens and to assist them in every way possible.”  Further reports outline the classes, greeting cards, and social events that the Captain Owen I.O.D.E. used to welcome new citizens.”

Although I know Tim Horton's has been a very generous community partner over the years, I did not know they supported this kind of project in Owen Sound. Prudential Life's insurance business was bought by RBC back in 2000, and I assume the local office closed and their support ended.

Owen Sound Community and Social Services, as we understand, was a department that ceased to exist when Owen Sound became part of Grey County and the county took over responsibility for that work.

Some of these details may be wrong, and I stand by to be corrected, as our readers are sure to do when required. The most interesting part for me is that this was 1996, when the youngest of the baby boomers were already 32 years old, and the demographics of Owen Sound were changing. In less than a year, The Grey and Bruce public school boards would amalgamate and schools start to close. 

Yet public, private and charitable interests saw the value of this Boys and Girls Club to the community, and it was significant enough for the Lieutenant Governor to attend. Today the nearest Boys and Girls Club is 85 km. away in Midland, and it still seems to be attracting community participation and investment.

This particular project might have been destined to be short-lived, but it raises some questions about how Owen Sound in 1996 saw its responsibility to its children, and the value of investing in them. We have a dynamic and creative Children and Youth librarian, community-supported El Sistema  and any number of sports programs. Whether anyone today would be as courageous as to “let the children design their own programming”, it is worth asking whether we are making sufficient investments in our community's children to make possible the future they deserve.