By Rosalind Russell – President Maria Murphy-Foran says the AGM for the Elliot Lake Historical Society focused on successes and challenges with the society governed under both the Ontario Non-Profit Corporation Act and the Ontario Historical Society Act.
The society was incorporated in November 2022 and started operations in January 2023.
She says they received start-up funding of $7,000 from the Solutions Group, a project of Economic Development when that organization shut down and other funding from Elliot Lake Retirement Living, with a donation of $3,500 for equipment in 2023, and another $4,000 this year.
Murphy-Foran also thanked several organizations for their support.
The Elliot Lake Public Library offers use of the library on one Saturday afternoon every month for the Ancestry Program, where members of the public may go and get help on searching their ancestry.
The historical society’s board of directors include Marie Murphy-Foran, president, Laurie Blake, vice-president, Margaret Dean, secretary, Doug Souliere, Sharon MacMillan, and two new directors elected October 9, Marjory Smith and Ed Pearce.
The position of treasurer will be decided at a future meeting.
Murphy-Foran also thanked Sharon MacMillan for her work as a researcher who went through all the books the society has on Elliot Lake and catalogued them.
She says they are now in the process of creating a website at a cost of $3,000, are setting up speakers’ forums and pop-ups to share their knowledge and are planning to host a Remembrance Day event at the Legion.
Following the AGM, there was a presentation on the history of Mississagi Provincial Park.
The park is situated 22 km north of Elliot Lake on High 639.
It includes over 80 campsites, seven backcountry sites, 75 km of hiking trails, five canoe routes, four beaches and two boat launches.
The present governing body, the Mississagi Park Foundation, is unique because it is the first time a provincial park has been managed by a partnership with First Nations.
The park is operated by The City of Elliot Lake, Mississagi First Nation and Serpent River First Nation.
Sarah Daigle, operational manager of the park, and Ed Pearce, project leader of the negotiating party mandated by the Elliot Lake Economic Development Advisory Committee to take over the park, used slides to show the history of the park, which included photos of rock formations, historic scenes of lumbering and early buildings, and the steps taken for the new partnership to be created.
Upcoming presentations include “The History of Radon in Elliot Lake – Then and Now,” on October 30th, with speaker Luc Lance, a Canadian-National Radon Proficiency Professional followed on November 13th by “War Time Memories by Linda Finn,” presented by Murray Finn and Jacque Grummett and on November 27th, an evening with historian Bill Garneau, “a moderator of people who lived in Elliot Lake”.
The presentations begin at 7 p.m.
The society is open to new members for an annual fee of $10 and members will meet at the Elliot Lake Secondary School cafeteria monthly.
For more information contact them by email at elliotlakehistoricalsociety@gmail.com.
Photo: ELHS meeting notice provided
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