'IT'S BEEN THERE ALL MY LIFE': CHURCH TO BE DEMOLISHED

A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HAS BEEN ON THE NOTTAWASAGA 33/34 SIDEROAD FOR NEARLY 170 YEARS

For nearly 170 years, there has been a church on the Church Sideroad West.

In August, the West Nottawasaga Presbyterian Church on the 33/34 Nottawasaga Sideroad, south of Nottawa will be torn down, closing out a chapter of community life that began with the first church on the property built by settlers in what was then Nottawasaga Township in the mid-1850s.

At one time the building was alive with Sunday services, strawberry suppers, turkey dinners and community and family celebrations, such as weddings and funerals.

"They used to serve 300 or 400 people," said Lorna Hockley, who was married in the church to her husband Rae about 60 years ago. "(This place) was really central to the life of the valley. "It's my life." Today, the existing church, built in 1948, is showing its age, with the wallpaper peeling away from water infiltration through the roof. The basement walls have also started to crack and fall away. Rae, who is a member of the 'demolition' committee that determined the fate of the building, said what had saved the church for so long is the active cemetery that surrounds it.

The cemetery carries names of those settlers, many of whom came from the Isle of Islay in Scotland and brought their Presbyterian faith to the area.

"I have great, great grandparents, and grandparents buried here," said Lorna.

The first church was destroyed by a fire in 1865, a fate suffered by the second building that was struck by lightning in 1946.

The cornerstone for the present building was laid in 1948.

"A lot of people put their heart and soul and everything into the building," Rae said.

The last regular service in the church was in July 1989, after which the Presbyterian congregations

from West Church, Duntroon and Nottawa moved into Emmanuel Presbyterian on Hwy. 124.

Up until 2019, the old church was still used once a year.

Inside, only a few pews are left; most have been pushed up against the west wall. The pulpit is still there, as are the chairs at the end of the church where the minister would sit.

On a bench at the back are piles of old hymnbooks and Bibles.

Most of the furniture is spoken for, said Rae.

An open house was held on June 5 to give members of the congregation one last look prior to the demolition. Rae said a marker will be erected on the site after the church is taken down to acknowledge the history.

"It's not practical to fix (it) up anymore and it takes a lot of funds to maintain it," Rae said. "It's got to the stage where the repairs were worth more than what the demolition would cost.

"And, we're not using it, so why are we keeping it? I know it's sentimental and a lot of people are saying, 'it's been there all my life.'"