SPOOM CANADIAN CHAPTER Society For the Preservation Of Old Mills

CANADIAN CHAPTER OF SPOOM
Society for the Preservation Of Old Mills

The Canadian Chapter of the Society for the Preservation Of Old Mills, also known as "SPOOM", promotes interest in old Canadian mills, their history, function and preservation.

The Canadian Chapter is a branch of the American international organization of SPOOM, chartered in the State of Maine in 1972. The parent SPOOM national society is dedicated by its Constitution & By-laws to "promote interest in old mills and their related cultural features now quickly passing from the present scene".

The Canadian Chapter was initiated in 1999 and membership in our group facilitates opportunities for Canadians to meet and share interests specifically in old Canadian mills. This is done twice yearly when Canadian mills are selected for tours and seminars in a friendly get together in Canada that we call a “MILLERS' DAY”.

If you have an interest in the history, function and future of old Canadian Mills, please click JOIN US. Only $20.00 per year which includes your personal copy of the "Millstone News" mailed to you twice yearly. Members of the Canadian Chapter are encouraged, but not required, to also become members of the parent international organization in the United States.

Canadian Chapter Fall Millers' Day 2011
Backus Mill, National Historic Site

Annual Meeting at Canada's First Forestry Station
St. Williams Interpretive Centre, Norfolk County, Ontario

Harvey Powell, President's message

As the year’s extension in office of the Board of Directors came to an end at the Fall Millers’ Day Annual Meeting on September 10th 2011 at Backus Mill, I am happy to report that the nomination process has succeeded in establishing a new management team. Since the exercise did not generate an overwhelming list of candidates, acclamation of these volunteers did not require a membership ballot. Your new Board of Directors of The Canadian Chapter of SPOOM, who organized the successful transitional Annual Meeting at the St. Williams Interpretive Centre / Backus Mill, are as follows:

President:                   Robert Miller
Vice President:          Paul Smith
Secretary:                   David Sweeney
Treasurer:                   Maryanne Szuck
Members At Large:   Don Morton & Harvey Powell

Our summer mail out effort to seek the renewal of previous SPOOM members was not very successful. The current attempt to expand our membership by contacting mill interests beyond Ontario will hopefully be more productive. David Sweeney has produced a rack card intended to better promote our organization; but that can only be effective if members take the time to circulate them to their local mills. At the same time, members could promote the exchange of individual rack cards between mills located in the same local area.

The Spring Millers’ Day gathering at the Spencerville Heritage Fair on June 4th 2011 was intentionally a rather small affair due to a late postponement of their planned Bicentennial Celebrations until 2012. Nevertheless it brought home to me the significance of our little organization in its ambition to save these old water powered mills. An energetic group of volunteers has taken on the responsibility of restoring this once basically abandoned Spencerville Mill to once again make it the heart of the village that grew around it. Now the doors are open to the public, the turbine is turning, milling machinery moving, and community events are happening there.

A similar rebirth has taken place at The Old Stone Mill in Delta, another small eastern Ontario village located off the beaten track. Likewise, Watson’s Mill, closed by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority until reopened by the formation of a community volunteer corporation. More fortunate by being taken over virtually intact, though long neglected, ownership has now been transferred outright to this community group in recognition of their restoration work and the operational achievement shown by these volunteers. Again, the mandate was to highlight the historical significance of the mill to the village that grew around it, particularly in the face of the suburban growth of the City of Ottawa that threatened to engulf it. More than just another local museum, it has become a focal point for many ongoing community events that give the Village of Manotick a special identity.

In all three cases, the Canadian Chapter of SPOOM has been constructively involved through the expert assistance of Bill Trick & Roland Tetrault. The final point I wish to make is that this organization and its membership do play an important role in the preservation of these mills. We need to continue to make the public aware of the historic impact mills have had in the development of our communities, and what better time than now with the current focus on ‘green power’
Speakers on for David Sweeney's video of Backus Mill. Click the bottom right for full screen mode. .