by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — The Cobden Farmers Market will open next spring as scheduled.
But, before that can happen, clean-up and renovations will have to be completed.
Ernie Wilson remembers the evening of Monday, Nov. 30 very well. He walked into the Farmers Market building on the fairgrounds and thought words that cannot be printed.
“There was water pouring from nine light bulbs,” he said. “We figure about four hours’ worth of water was pumped into the building.”
Couplings to some ceiling pipes had let go, he said.
The kitchen area looked like it had been sitting for 100 years without being used, he said.
They can figure out how long the water had been running, because Nel Rooney had been in earlier in the day bringing corn for the furnace, he said.
“There’s about $30,000 in damage,” Mr. Wilson said.
He is also the only market vendor to suffer a loss during this disaster as his wooden creations were right below where the pipe let go. The positive side of that is he still had creations to sell at the Christmas market, because his truck and van were still full from the Germania Club’s fundraiser a week ago, he added.
“As soon as the stuff is dried out, it will be firewood,” he said.
But, first things first. There were 26 vendors scheduled to be in the building for the upcoming weekend’s Christmas Market, he said.
“We had to think about where to put them,” he said.
Helferty’s Disaster Restoration in Cobden were quick to respond, and there could have been a quick fix by putting a vapour barrier on the ceiling, but that wasn’t acceptable, Mr. Wilson said.
Thinking about the various halls that were available in Cobden, since the market had already booked the upstairs of the Cobden Legion and the Cobden Ag Hall, it was going to be difficult, Mr. Wilson recalled. However, Pastor Lawrence Graham and his crew at the neighbouring Cobden Pentecostal Church came through, he said.
“We could only think of the church,” he said. “School was in on Friday, so we couldn’t use the gym. The community hall in the township hall was too small.”
Mr. Wilson said it worked out well. The market was a success with 125 tables, he said.
“The three halls were full and we have a waiting list,” Mr. Wilson said.
He said the only added expense for the Christmas Market will be the donation to the church and cleaning its carpets, which was the agreement made for use of the church, he said.
Mr. Wilson said he was impressed with how the community came through for the Cobden Food Bank, with $850 in donations along with the food brought in.
He’s not sure how long the Christmas Market has been going, but he does know it’s been an event for more than 20 years.
“We started off in the church hall and then it was in the Memorial Hall,” he said “Then it was at the Ag Hall, and then the Ag Hall and the Memorial Hall, and then it was in the Ag Hall and the Farmers Market hall and now it’s the Farmers Market hall, the Ag Hall and the Legion.”
He said the market building, which the Cobden Farmers Market rents from the Cobden Agriculture Society, was built in 1967. Much of the copper lines that were originally put in were replaced, along with a few other renovations, except for a section in the front of the building, he said. Those upgrades cost $65,000.
They had been advised the couplings could get let go, but it was decided not to replace them yet, he added.
That was a bad decision.
The rental agreement is that any repairs and upgrades to the building must be done by the Farmers Market, Mr. Wilson said. And, the value of the building is about $55,000, so it’s not worth it to put it through the insurance, he added.
While there has been no official meeting with the Farmers Market vendors, Mr. Wilson said the building will most likely be fixed.
The discussions he has had with a few of the vendors about the possibility of tearing down the building and putting up a similar structure like Pembroke wasn’t acceptable. It’s a building with a roof and no walls.
“The vendors I spoke to want four walls and two doors,” he said.
However, there had been talk of extending the building, so that might happen, he added.
And even though the damage happened on a Monday, the vendors were quick to respond, Mr. Wilson said.
When vendor James Martin heard about what happened, he was quick to gather up some men and begin clean-up.
Other vendors sent in donations, he said.
Mr. Wilson said it’s unfortunate because the market was just coming to a point where it could give back financially to the community.
Last year, it provided two bursaries for students in high school, he said.
“Now, we’re back at square one,” he said.
Mr. Wilson said the market vendors will meet after Christmas and decide where to go from here.
There will be some sort of fundraising happening, because the market just doesn’t have that kind of money, he said.
On a sad note, Mr. Wilson said he will be resigning as president of the market.
“It’s too stressful for me,” he said. “There’s been a lot of stress over the years.
“I’ll still be a part of the market.”
The unfortunate part is he’s not sure who will take over.
“No one wants to be the president,” Mr. Wilson said. “It’s a volunteer position.”
He said many of the market vendors are older and don’t want the added responsibility.
However, on a positive note, Mr. Wilson said he received four requests for people who would like to join the market in the spring.
He said even though it’s called the Cobden Farmers Market, it’s really the Whitewater Region market because there is no other market in the municipality. Vendors come from throughout the township, some from outside it, he said.
And, with the 75 house subdivision proposal for property right beside the fairgrounds, the market can only grow, he said.
As Mr. Wilson kept thinking positive thoughts about the market, he said, “You never know, I might change my mind.
“I was just so discouraged when I walked in and saw the water.”
The market will open next spring, as it has done each spring for the past 25 years, Mr. Wilson said.
