Chatham-Kent is rich in heritage. Unfortunately, not everyone here seems to be aware of just how rich.
The municipal heritage committee is set on opening eyes and gaining support for preserving C-K heritage where possible.
Organizers are putting together a municipal heritage day, followed on its heels by the Mayor’s Heritage Preservation Awards.
Both events take place Feb. 21 at Retro Suites in downtown Chatham.
Heritage committee member Jim Griffin said the planning has been underway for nearly a year.
“We started planning last March,” he said of the awards, which take place at 6 p.m.
There are four categories, with three finalists in each, and there is also a people’s choice award.
Griffin said 34 properties were nominated for the awards. Judging took place in November.
The awards have been on hiatus for about a decade, Griffin said. The committee had begun work to revive them just before the pandemic hit. Covid put the awards back on the shelf.
But now they have returned, along with a day-time event that is open to all ages.
“If we’re going to do the heritage awards, why don’t we do something different and have a heritage day,” Griffin said. “We approached all of the historical and heritage groups in Chatham-Kent. Everyone is on board. It will be quite a mix and a really good event for the day.”
Bring the kids, he said.
“We want to encourage families to bring their kids. We have some activities for them,” Griffin said.
Included is colouring, where a computer program had taken some of the heritage properties in C-K and turned them into line drawings.
“The children can colour in heritage homes,” he said.
There will also be family tree charts that will allow kids to start building their family tree.
The day’s festivities are free, thanks to the support of sponsors Waste Connections Canada, Adana Law and the Thamesvlle Sertoma Club.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For adults, the day offers nearly two dozen displays from the Municipal Heritage committee and other historical and heritage groups.
Learn how to join a local heritage organization in your community.
Examine photos, hear stories, check out interactive displays.
Find out how to designate a property under the Ontario Heritage Act and if your property could be a candidate for designation
Meet local authors, hear their stories, and purchase copies of their books about Chatham-Kent.
And for heritage-designated property owners, chat with heritage contractors.
That evening, the awards dinner costs $25 per ticket and it is a 19-plus age-restricted event. The meet and greet begins at 6 p.m. with dinner served at 6:30 p.m.
Griffin said people often don’t realize how rich C-K’s history is, and how so much of it remains. A survey conducted in 2016 looked at heritage properties that were more than 100 years old. Griffin said the results showed Chatham-Kent ranked fifth in all of Canada for the number of buildings more than a century old – 5,814 of them.
“That’s double the provincial average. There is a lot of built heritage here,” Griffin said. “The goal is to get as many (properties as possible) designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.”
He said that act is a boon, not a burden, and wants to dispel the wild rumours that circulate over heritage designations. He’s heard of cases where people think their taxes will go up just because of such a designation, or that an owner is severely restricted in how they can renovate.
“We help dispel some of the myths. We had one lady from Toronto. She told us friends had told her to not buy a heritage-designated building (in Tupperville) because you’d have to get permission from council to put a nail in the wall to hang a picture,” Griffin said. “They bought it anyway and looked into the history of the property and were quite surprised.”
And they put up pictures wherever they wanted.
The committee has taken their message on the road, to events such as the Dresden Night Market, Tilbury’s Art in the Park, Hot Rods for Hospice in Ridgetown, and elsewhere.
“We’re just trying to educate the public. Heritage designation – the benefits outweigh the bad stuff,” Griffin said. “Word’s getting around. You’ve got to appreciate your heritage.”
