THE SYMBOL OF PEACE IN A STEEPLE

Published on March 2017

To All Newsletter Readers

Since Ronald Mizon, who was sent here from Britain with his sister Bessie during the war, contacted our Newsletter via e-mail several years ago offering to write about their “visit” to our community and surrounding communities, it has tweaked the interest of a lot of our newer residents as to the history of our community. Ronald’s stories will continue but we thought it would be nice to resurrect some of the stories of the history of our community as seen/experienced through the eyes of one of our late, older residents.
We know there are many, many people out there who could share their knowledge and experiences of our community’s history with all our new community residents, and we urge you to do so.
Beginning in 1979, one of our older residents, the late Sadie Siroy, wrote many, many articles on the history of Mount Uniacke/Lakelands for the Uniacke Newsletter and since we have been requested for historical stories relating to our community, we have decided to re-write Sadie’s stories in this issue and coming issues to relive the history of the building of Mount Uniacke/Lakelands and what it means to the older residents and their families.
We hope you enjoy them.
The Symbol of Peace in a Steeple
The first few decades of the Church were of change, then change again. The Rector from Rawdon held the Service here.
Then the Church was a separate Mission with the Rev J Breading in charge. After this is was back to the Parish of Rawdon. In 1914, the students from Kings College in Windsor were sent to service the Anglican Chapels in the area. A small cottage was built for them near the
Lakelands Church. Among those who served were Gerald White, A.E. Gabriel, and K.B. Wainright. This was also a summertime arrangement and it ended in 1931. By this time the Parish or Rawdon must have been used to having the little Chapel come back into its keeping, for once again it was destined to join that Parish. Today it is part of the Parish of Newport and Walton. (remember, this article was originally written for the May 1979 Uniacke Newsletter)
Through these years another change was taking place. Mount Uniacke was now becoming populated by folk from Ardoise, Hillsvale and the Rawdons. Some of the names today in Mount Uniacke sound like an echo of the names on those generation farms. To the little Church, who knew no boundaries, it was just her neighbours moving down the road a little farther. Names such as McLearn, Blois, Madill, Withrow, McClare, Creed, Dunbar, Rockwell, Davis, Glassey, Parker, Canavan, Cole, Dimock, Mumford, Fletcher and Simm.
History does repeat itself, as the new of today reaches down the hill to meet the old of yesterday, the Lakelands Church stands in their midst, remembering when she could call as her neighbours’ three mansions – Uniacke’s, Jeffery’s, and up the road, Ellershouse. Two of them are gone forever and the third Uniacke, has passed from private hands to public Museum. Two sawmills were operating at Stillwater. There was the Small Inn just up around the corner and Percy McClare’s house was at the corner of the Hillsvale Road. The Parker farm is gone, but the fields are still rolling up the hills. A little school stood near where the Church now stands. Its teacher in 1835 was William Canavan. The Church said goodbye to an old friend in 1858 when the stage coach stopped coming by. In its place she listened for the faint call of the train whistle as it echoed over the lakes and hills on its way to Windsor.
The Churchyard does not contain any members of the Uniacke or Jeffery families. The oldest marker is the Crypt. John Cleverden was buried here in 1860. Is it a coincidence that his surname and the name of the house in which Martha Jeffery’s son went to live, are the same?
Another marker, though not as impressive, is more expressive. That of Jemina Kenty who died in 1890 age 32. She advises her friends – “You’ll miss me when I’m gone, gone no more to return. Oh, speak of my kindness alone, not the faults of my life seek to learn.”
A headstone that tells us that Henry and Jane Collins lost two little sons only eight days apart, ages 3 and 4 years, in April 1878. Across all the years their sorrow must reach us, even now. The moment you enter the door of this Church you will be passing through an arch, for that is the design of the interior. The stained glass window over the altar honours those who died in the 1914-1918 war – Frederick M. Canavan, Ralph Robertson, Charles Gale, Avard L. Dimock, Ernest McClare and Walter McQuarrie. The altar cross is in memory of Dudley Gabriel, and Prayer Books to the memory of George and Harry Davis. The Altar Book is from the congregation to the Rev. J.D. Townsend. The heating system was given by Geraldine, daughter of Mary Alma Uniacke. The plain Baptismal Front is a marble one and speaks of a history of its own. In this age when man can look forward to accomplishing almost anything, it’s the very ordinary things of life that grave us. The little old pump organ in this church is the past, but just glance down at the foot pedals and you will read that they were patented in 1887, and that they are mouse-proof.
This Church itself is a gift. History will value its presence as a man needs to honour his Maker.