History of the Rotary Hall in Lion’s Head
Prepared by Jim Dilamarter, Honourary Rotarian
Several Rotarians have asked about the Hall we have helped maintain over the years which is referred to as the ‘Rotary Hall’. With more Rotarians joining our ranks and with the public becoming more actively involved in the events at the Hall, it is timely to just look back at how we, our community, came about having such a unique building.
I have found most of the information I share with you in a book I recommend you all read called, “Benchmarks A History of Eastnor Township and Lion’s Head” written by Glenn Hepburn. It is full of excellent information on so many topics.
The Rotary Hall was, originally, the Eastnor Township Hall. It was constructed after a referendum was put before the voters in 1898. Approved by the vote, the search for a site began.
They chose Lot 14 in Lion’s Head and purchased the piece of land from Mr. R.E. Moore for $35. Tenders were let and W.H. Laugheed’s tender of $1,275.00 was accepted. They added a furnace at a cost of $45.00 and managed to add a piano with the Township paying $50.00 and the rest, as far as I can see, coming from donations as the cost of the instrument was $185.00.
Council started meeting in the Hall in November of 1898. A concert was held at the grand opening and as recorded by a participant, ‘music was coming out of every corner of the building’.
Eastnor Township Council meetings were held there for many years until they moved to the Ferndale Community Hall for a number of years and then returned to the Hall where they used the upstairs balcony area for offices until the new Municipal Building on Lindsay Road was completed in 1974.
Over the years the Hall was used for weddings with lunches being served from the cramped quarters in the basement at the time. The women from the Anglican Church served meals at Fall Fair time out of the Hall. Court Sessions were held in the Hall and, during World War 1 the 160th Battalion received much of its training in the Hall. Dances were held every Friday night and many women came and did knitting for the boys while the dance was on.
The Eastnor Agricultural Society held their annual meetings there, as did many other groups. There were concerts at the Hall put on by the Church Sunday Schools and, I remember the Christmas Concerts held at the Hall by the Bruce Peninsula School. Antique shows were held. Blood donor clinics and mass inoculation clinics all used the Hall as their site of operations.
Bruce County Council, 1965, Courtesy of Bruce County Museum.The Hall, after the Township moved out, however, was not used as much as was hoped. Sometime in the late 70’s or early 80’s the Rotary Club of Lion’s Head (now the Rotary Club of Northern Bruce Peninsula) approached the Lion’s Head Municipal Council which had purchased the Hall from Eastnor Township Council, asking to rent the balcony area of the building for a club room. The club was growing and, it was thought, this was an excellent spot to serve the community. Council was very receptive, and it was not long before the Rotary Club received a lease for the entire building.
Rotary and the Village of Lion’s Head, that very spring applied for and received a grant of $25,000.00 from Canada Works. Electrical heated washrooms were installed and dressing rooms for the performers. The interior of the Main Hall upstairs was painted, and the hardwood floors were refinished. Municipal water service was installed, and a new cement floor was finished in the basement of the Hall (part of the floor had been dirt).
For many years, thereafter, the Rotary Club’s focus was to maintain the Hall. At times, the Municipality was able to help but, for the most part, Rotarians and their friends poured money and volunteer work into the hall. Rotary handled the booking of the Hall at that time and always provided supervision at events requiring such resources.
Rotary renovated the kitchen putting in new sinks, stoves, soft drink and beer coolers upstairs and down, a new fridge and a freezer for the kitchen plus a state-of-the-art dishwasher/sanitizer. One of the Rotarians made the cupboards that are there now. The washrooms downstairs were created, and Rotary was given use of the downstairs as their supply, work, meeting and event area. A television was purchased for the basement and Rotary purchased a pool table and a shuffleboard table to provide game activities at some of their meetings and fund-raising events.
Rotary purchased chairs for the Main Hall upstairs and downstairs club room. We purchased tables for events. We found it necessary to replace curtains and the occasional door. Being ‘custodial protectors’ of an old building was and is a challenge but one that brings many joys.
Rotary continued to serve the community out of that building for many years. They encouraged people to plan family events, weddings, showers, and special training sessions in the Main Hall. The Peninsula Players found the Rotary Hall as their place of choice for their plays every year.
All Rotarians became trained in bartending and earned a ‘Smart Serve’ certificate allowing them to serve liquor responsibly. Rotary obtained a license for the building upstairs and down, which also allowed the Club to take the license ‘on the road’ for special events in the community or nearby.
Rotary ran dinners, pancake breakfasts, dances, and other community events raising money for their numerous causes. Rotary helped with hospital fundraising, doctor centre fundraising, and community children’s parks in Lion’s Head and in Ferndale using the Rotary Hall as their base and as the community’s hub.
One of the things that happened out of that Hall was the creation of a new Rotary Club in Tobermory which worked for many years providing service to the Northern Section of our community. The Tobermory Rotary Club was certified in 1956 and provided almost half a century of service to Tobermory and area. Several years ago, that Club decided to ‘fold’ and some of the members joined our Club here. At that time, we changed the name from Rotary Club of Lion’s Head to the Rotary Club of Northern Bruce Peninsula. For over four of our seven decades as a Rotary Club, we have been based out of the Rotary Hall here in Lion’s Head.
In recent years, with the aging of the building and the challenges of raising funds and meeting the needs in our community and beyond, the Rotary Club renegotiated their relationship with the Municipality of the Northern Bruce Peninsula. We negotiated a three-year renewable lease, and now hold a five-year lease. We are solely responsible for providing bars for events in the Hall, and we provide insurance for our events and bar activities.
The Municipality of the Northern Bruce Peninsula provides the booking service and looks after any capital improvements in and around the building. They have been and continue to be great partners with Rotary.
Rotary, not many years ago, considered looking into renovating the Hall to make it more accessible to the handicapped and to the community. We wanted to have a kitchen upstairs and new washroom and entrance areas. We have the best acoustics one could imagine, and we did not want to lose either that or the ambiance of the upstairs Hall itself. Unfortunately, our efforts to find funds were not successful. Grants were not available for the capital improvements we wanted. We hope that in the years ahead we can find the ways and the means to keep this wonderful gem of a building available for this community. You can rest assured that Rotary will be supporting and working to help any efforts that are proposed by Municipal Council.
It is nice to see the increased use of the Hall over the last few years for musical events, receptions and anniversaries, concerts, games nights, dances and even a few funeral receptions. For several years from its inception, the Northern Peninsula Cowork group used the upstairs Main Hall for their work activities. While this is not a Rotary project, our Club supported its inclusion in the Hall and compliment what they do to inspire others to get together as entrepreneurs and small business to discuss common needs. This kind of use for our hall during the day is encouraging. We, as a club, remain willing to serve your needs in this beautiful place.
The Rotary Hall remains one of the most unique buildings in the Northern Bruce Peninsula and has one of the most exciting stories to tell.
