Connie Tabbert
Editor
FORESTERS FALLS — A leaking roof at the Ross Museum needs the community’s help.
The cedar wood shingles on the roof of the summer kitchen and porch need to be replaced and there’s not enough money in the coffers, said Mac Coughlin, president of the Whitewater Historical Society, which operates the museum, exhibit hall, machine shed and office.
The cedar wood shingles on the rest of the building should last another 10 years, he added.
The society operates on donations and fundraising, Mr. Coughlin said. There is hope that people will purchase a $50 pack of cedar wood shingles as a donation, he suggested.
While the shingles are hard to get, Mr. Coughlin said that part has been taken care of. The other part of the solution is to get someone to put the shingles on. He said the man who is cutting the shingles will show someone how to put the shingles on.
He said he’s too old to be shingling a roof. Mr. Coughlin is the only person left who helped relocate the wood building that is Ross Museum to its current location in Foresters Falls. It was originally a church prior to becoming the museum.
Mr. Coughlin said while it’s been a successful year, he doesn’t believe as many local people are coming to the museum as in past years. Recently, a man with the last name Forester came to the museum and Mr. Coughlin just happened to be there. While there was no luck in finding ancestors, Mr. Coughlin toured the man around for about an hour.
In other museum news, Mr. Coughlin noted a cast iron cook stove was recently donated to the museum from Paul Thrasher. It was built by C W Devlin Factory in Pembroke in 1850 and back then cost about $40. It’s now on display in the summer kitchen. If it were hooked up to a chimney Mr. Coughlin said it could be used to cook on.
Historian Clare Stoppa has been working with Mr. Coughlin on writing the history of all the churches in the area.
“Clare and I spent a lot of time on this project,” he said.
As far as he knows the only church not done is St. Augustine’s in Beachburg. He’s hopeful someone with information will either write the history or provide the information so it can be written down.
The church histories, along with many other historical writings, including the wars, Queen Elizabeth, and sports teams, as well as various historical items, can be seen in the Exhibit Hall. The machine shed holds many artefacts from years gone by.
Sitting on the bench outside Ross Museum, Mr. Coughlin said the grounds are in their blooming glory right thanks to Joanne Pratt. She took over the reins of the gardens from Hazel Hawthorn, who has done it for many years. And not wanting to destroy the beauty of the gardens, Mr. Coughlin said the roof work cannot be done until fall, so the flowers won’t be damaged during construction.
However, Mr. Coughlin has a grave concern for the museum.
“I’d like to see some young people join or it may close,” he said. “We need help from the young people in our communities.”
Maintenance, not only of the buildings but the artifacts, is important, and there just aren’t enough young people to help, he said.
The museum operates Tuesday through Sunday with the help of a summer student. This year, Josh Jones, who is a fourth year history student at Queen’s University, is greeting people and ensuring the museum and buildings are available for people to tour.
If you’d like to donate $50 towards the shingles, or know of someone who can put the shingles on, please contact Mr. Coughlin through the museum, 613-646-2622
