Ian Macdonald reports on St. John's Chapleau as project draws international attention at 2019 National Trust Conference as Jason Rioux wins award for transformation of church into vibrant, socially useful and profitable facility

JASON RIOUX

Note from MJM: I am delighted that Ian Macdonald, retired head of the department of architecture and professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba agreed to write a column on the award that Jason Rioux won for his efforts in transforming St. John's Church into the "Chapleau Hub" bringing international attention to the project and to Chapleau. Most readers know that Ian is a Chapleau boy having attended Chapleau Public and High Schools as well as working on the Canadian Pacific Railway before becoming a distinguished professor of architecture and architect. He took the time to attend the National Trust Conference where Jason accepted the award.


Ian's continuing interest in Chapleau reminds me of the maxim that you can take the boy (or girl) out of Chapleau, but you can't take Chapleau out of them!!!! Thank you so much Ian.  MJM






BY IAN MACDONALD




Chapleau, Ontario was recently the centre of international attention at the 2019 National Trust Conference held in Winnipeg from October 17 to 19. One of the main conference events was recognition of a selected number of significant heritage projects in Canada including the remarkable efforts of Jason Rioux in transforming St. John’s Church in Chapleau into a vibrant, socially useful and profitable facility.


The National Trust for Canada in association with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals function as major advocates for promoting Canadian heritage including historic architecture, artifacts, landscapes and a multitude of specialized areas including railway heritage. Planning and community development across the country now includes heritage as a major factor in developing healthy and sustainable communities. Major international meetings such as the Winnipeg conference provide an opportunity for a wide range of successful project case studies to be presented, discussed and honoured.


 Conferences of this type remain an important part of keeping abreast of the times for planners and designers. Despite to-day’s ease of access to information, there is still no substitute for sharing experience on a personal basis. Jason Rioux, in addition to the formalities of receiving his award also had the opportunity to present the Chapleau St. John’s project in two working sessions where lessons and problem-solving strategies were shared.


Transformation from St. John’s Anglican Church to “The Hub”


The important historic cultural role of St. John’s Anglican church cannot be understated. Thanks to Michael Morris’ articles and publications, the history of the church is generally well known. The Anglicans established themselves in Chapleau even prior to the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 with services being conducted in such unlikely places as an empty boxcar and a partially completed railway depot. The first permanent church structure which was opened and consecrated on July 1 1886 was located on the south west corner of Pine and Young St. The rapidly growing community, however, would soon generate a demand for a much larger church to be built opposite the original. Plans for the building were thus developed in 1905 and construction was completed on March 29, 1908 at a cost of $18,000.00. St. John’s, in addition to serving the spiritual needs of the community, functioned in a broader role as the pro-cathedral of the Diocese of Moosonee until 1913. It would gradually play a significant and integral part of the cultural life of the community for the next century.

The church is a classic heritage building originally built in the traditional gothic revival style which was consistent with Anglican churches of the day constructed of masonry bearing walls on a rubble stone foundation. The roof structure is a vaulted timber joist roof assembly supported by distinctive specially fabricated timber hammer trusses. Interiors of the church were elegantly finished and carefully restored in the 1950’s. The basement area which was known then as Renison Hall functioned as a church hall and was used for a variety of community social activities. The church itself could accommodate congregations of over 250 parishioners.


Changing economic conditions coupled with unfortunate ideological division within the broader national Anglican community led to a steady decline in church membership beginning in the 1960s. The dwindling congregation thus found it increasingly difficult to generate funds necessary to
to maintain a building of this size properly.


Specialized work would be required to replace mechanical, heating and ventilation equipment and rehabilitate the building to allow it to accommodate new uses and meet more stringent building code requirements. Unfortunately, neither the Anglican Church of Canada nor the Township of Chapleau was prepared to step up and take responsibility and demolition seemed to be the only option. The challenge for Jason Rioux upon acquiring the building was to retain the original spirit of the building while adapting it to new purposes. The financial risk in addition to the business acumen necessary to develop a strategy for creative and innovative rehabilitation were all factors in selecting the project as an award winner.


Heritage can be a complex factor in the planning and development of communities and not always completely understood and appreciated. We are too easily prone to defaulting to demolition as an easy fix rather than face up to the more complicated task of rehabilitation. Architecture, since the earliest human settlements, has provided commodity and shelter but has at the same time been an enduring expression of cultural beliefs and values.


It is an expression of who we are. Buildings like St. John’s, in this sense, are important historical markers in this case expressing a particular set of Christian values and beliefs of the era. St. John’s along with the other Chapleau churches have co-existed beside one another reflecting a community of diverse cultural backgrounds and values. The fact that beliefs and values change over time does not automatically render something obsolete that has to be destroyed. Buildings, like all of us, can be transformed and adapt to modified values and conditions. Jason Rioux was cited nationally for his personal courage in absorbing financial risk and for mustering the imagination and innovation required to make the Hub project a reality.



Video Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY-pbRvLr6k&feature=youtu.be

Chapleau Hub project wins National Trust Ecclesiastical Insurance Cornerstone Award

The 2019 National Heritage Awards will be presented on October 18, 2019 at the Millennium Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba during a ceremony held as part of the National Trust’s Annual Conference (in association with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals).

Jason Rioux will travel to Winnipeg to accept The National Trust's Ecclesiastical Insurance Cornerstone Award which celebrates exemplary projects, places and people that contribute to the quality of life and sense of place, and illustrate the viability of heritage buildings and sites for traditional or new uses.

Back in the summer of 2016, Jason and his wife Victoria started the journey of taking on the St. John’s Anglican church building with an unknown destination.  It is Jason’s home town and he wanted to work on something that was good for Chapleau.  So they did a deal with Anglican diocese of Moosonee to buy the church building, which was one of the last historic buildings left standing in Chapleau but in serious disrepair.  The congregation had shrunk to very small numbers such that heating the building and keeping up with the necessary repairs was no longer financially viable.

"It seemed like every year another building was getting knocked down in Chapleau and people weren't trying to repurpose what was there, and some of the character that was in town was getting lost," Jason said.

The building has been transformed into the Chapleau Hub, a community hub to spur and support local entrepreneurs, that now hosts a licensed restaurant in the lower level with a wood fired pizza oven, and shared use on the main floor with yoga lessons, fitness programs, children and youth programming, women’s shelter meetings, weekly movie nights, and most importantly we have kept the church congregation full use on Sundays and special events, so the place of worship has been retained even though now privatized with multiple shared uses. 

The building has also been converted to a modern wood pellet boiler system, getting the building off of diesel and now a proud carbon free building, which sources its wood pellets from northern Ontario supporting the local economy. 

This has been a journey with lots of stories and lessons learned to share, which Jason will share with the rest of Canada at the conference in Winnipeg this month. 

Jason and his wife Victoria are honoured to receive national recognition for the Hub’s successes and would like to thank all the tenants, contractors, volunteers, and people that have touched or had a role to play in the success of the Chapleau Hub coming to be. However, since Jason and Victoria live so far away, they need more help to grow the activities and uses at the Chapleau Hub and manage the building, for the benefit of Chapleau, and encourage anyone interested in getting involved to reach out to Jason.rioux@gmail.com.  They also thank Jason's parents Heather and Robert Rioux.

The 2019 National Heritage Awards will be presented on October 18, 2019 at the Millennium Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba during a ceremony held as part of the National Trust’s Annual Conference (in association with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals).

I extend my most sincere congratulations to Victoria and Jason on winning this national award, as well as their efforts to "save" St. John's Anglican Church which was consecrated in 1907. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Creative Kids Club being launched at Chapleau Hub (St John's) in January 2019

Cynthia Barlow used with permission

A Creative Kids Club is being launched at the Chapleau Hub (St John's Anglican Church) on January 3, 2019 -- what an awesome way to start a new year.

When I saw the post about the club on Facebook, I immediately contacted Cynthia Barlow, who is behind the project, for information, and she kindly got back to me very quickly. Thanks Cynthia.

She said, "I feel today that kids need to socialize more and have the opportunity to plan events and create with crafts. So many kids can be creative".

At the club the kids will be able to do creative art, plan events like putting on shows -- fashion show. puppet show -- put together a dance or a band - a place where they can socialize and be creative.

"Our slogan is CARE. We want the children to Create, Accept everyone for who they are, Respect each other and Express themselves." Great slogan!

Cynthia is a child development practitioner with " a lot of knowledge about children and their milestones and development."

She added that she has "a very creative daughter. She loves doing crafts and loves music. She inspired me to start this club." The other person involved is Hannah Barlow who had a similar idea in mind.

Let me flash back to my own growing up years in Chapleau, where there was no official creative kids club, but there were teachers and others in the community who played a role in developing our creative side.

For example when I was in Grades 3 and 4 at Chapleau Public School we had a Junior Red Cross Society which presented plays to the class. I directed and acted in a swashbuckler play with Alison McMillan, Brian and Teddy Demers which we created ourselves. We rehearsed at the Demers home and Mrs. Demers who owned a clothing store made our costumes. Mrs. Madeleine Pellow was our teacher who fully supported our production.

This single  creative activity in the late 1940s led me into a lifetime interest in drama and many years later when I was teaching at Chapleau High School, I directed plays in student productions.I also taught drama there.

 I even studied drama at the University of Toronto, and it all led to a faculty position at College of the Rockies where I taught a course in Children's Theatre in my early years there.

I was also fortunate that my mother, Muriel E (Hunt) Morris, taught at Chapleau Public School for 32 years and directed many plays and concerts including 'HMS Pinafore' by Gilbert and Sullivan. My only regret was that Mom would not let me use the costumes for plays with my friends! She would let me attend rehearsals in the old Town Hall in the evening.

My grandfather George Hunt also played a very important  role. When I was playing with toys in the living room, Grandpa would join me, and through him I learned much of the history of England. 

In a Facebook post on the Chapleau Community Bulletin Board, Cynthia asks that those interested send an email to creative_kids_club@outlook.com to obtain a regsitration form. There is no cost to register.

"We would like to have most of the children registered so that we have an idea of how many so we can prepare everything and make sure we have enough of everything for them," the post says. It also outlines the January project in detail.

Leighton Stultz used with permision

To sum it all up, I turned to my friend Leighton Stultz, the American model and actor to share his comments on the importance of "creative kids" in a message for the kids and parents too.

Leighton wrote: "Being creative is something all kids share equally. It's the one thing you can never run out of and can never be taken from you. It's a way to display your personality, smartness, kindness and every emotion all without needing the use of words. It's what sets you apart from the crowd but just as easily brings you together. Your creativity is yours and just like your fingerprint, no two are alike so don't ever be afraid to express yourself because the world needs you and your creativity."  Thanks Leighton.

FACEBOOK: Creative Kids Club

I wish everyone involved in the Chapleau Creative Kids Club every success. I will certainly follow your progress with great interest. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Chapleau Hub located in St. John's Anglican Church introducing wide variety of projects with goal of preserving historical building

Victoria Rioux photo

The Chapleau Hub, located in the upstairs of historic St. John's Anglican Church, is in the process of becoming home for a wide variety of activities and projects, but the Anglican community also holds its services there.

Victoria Rioux provided an update on some of the activities pointing out that "Our main goal remains preserving this historical building and provide an affordable option for the Anglican congregation to remain in the building. The beautiful space upstairs is currently under-utilized. The building needs to be humming to keep the lights on".

As a matter of historical interest St. John's was established in Chapleau in 1885 with the first church building located on the site of the old tennis court beside the rectory. The first service in the present St, John's was held on March 29, 1908 when it was dedicated by Bishop George Holmes. For a time Bishop Holmes lived in Chapleau and St. John's was the Pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Moosonee.

Bev Hamilton photo

Stonewalls restaurant is located downstairs which is now "humming along" according to Victoria.

Victoria advised that the Chapleau that the Chapleau Hub was started with support from "MSDSB (Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board) in the form of two summer students. After Canada Day, we trialed a few community activities just to see what appetite Chapleau has. One summer student Hannah Barlow has returned on her coop term so we have been able to maintain some consistency. She is absolutely integral to our mission."

Victoria Rioux photo

Her team is running weekly movie nights, and  hosted a Community Yard Sale in September which raised $400 for the Anglican church on the day, as well as stocking the second hand store with unsold items which they can sell in the store.

Right now the major event being planned is a Children's Halloween Event scheduled for October 27 and 28. It will include pumpkin decorating, candy toss, scavenger hunt and more. Sounds like fun. The Hub is planning a major activity each month.

There are other tenants including Yoga by Kathleen Bouchard and Boot Camp by Margo Beaudoin, while the EarlyON program was scheduled to join the Hub as I was working on this column. 

Victoria noted that the "BIGGEST" news is that they are installing the first wood heating system in Chapleau. It may now be completed.

She explained  this will make the building Carbon Free!: It is a wood pellet boiler that is high efficiency and fully automatic. It is completely hands off, no handling of pellets by hand, just like an oil or propane furnace. 

Victoria Rioux photp

She added: "Why? Reason #1: Unlike propane and oil, wood pellets are environmentally friendly because it's not a fossil fuel, it's carbon neutral (bc you regrow the trees).  Reason #2: Wood pellets are half the price of oil and propane, and 1/4 the price of heating with electricity.  Reason #3:  It supports Northern Ontario's economy.  Wood pellets are made in Northern Ontario, and all the money stays in Northern Ontario with the pellet facility owners and the forestry industry that supplies the wood.  Our wood pellets will initially be coming from the Thunder Bay and Atikokan region, delivered by a special delivery truck.

"Also, Jason(Rioux) believes there's a "sustainable future" here, one that is best for the environment and saving our plant from climate change, one that creates new economic growth and jobs for Northern Ontario, and one that is more affordable to homes and businesses. 

"Nordic countries have been doing this for over 30 years. But going first has proven to be tough, we need to install a large pellet storage bin at our site before the wood pellet delivery truck can come from Thunder Bay to fill us up.  Once we have the system fully installed, we will be inviting the community to come take a look and learn about the future.  Parts of Europe decided decades ago that wood pellet heating was the long term sustainable way to go, and Europe purchases almost all of the pellets we make in Canada!  It has proven to be economically viable for them to import all our pellets, it surely makes sense for us to be using them for our own heating needs."

My thanks to Victoria for providing an update on progress at the Chapleau Hub. Other projects and activities are in the works. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

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