St. Margarets Pioneer Cemetery Restoration

St Margaret of Scotland Pioneer Cemetery Restoration Committee

Meeting in Church Vestry

April 23, 2009

Present: Anne Kells, Helen MacDonald, Pat Malone, Fr Doug MacDonald, Anne MacKinnon, Mike MacIntosh, Guy MacIntosh, Ronnie MacIntosh, Anne Lutz, Earl MacDonald, Elaine Macdonald, Jacinta MacIsaac, Bertha MacPhee, Carol Lesperance, Peggy MacDonald, John MacDonald, Charles Feehan, Shirley MacKinnon, John MacKinnon, Gail Avery, Bob Lyons, Donald MacPhee, Charlie MacDonald John Gillis, Gerry MacDonald, Ray Malone, Helene MacKinnon, Barb   , Sharon Foulks,  Fulton Underhay

1.    Welcome - Anne Kells, Chair, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. She gave an overview of the progress make by the Committee executive since the last meeting on September 18, 2008.

2.    Update on activities:

• Some clearing has been done in the cemetery by the Department of Transportation and Public Works as an in-kind donation to the project. A letter of request had been sent to Minister MacKinley to approve the work.
• John MacKinnon donated shale for the entrance road.
• Estimates were obtained from two stone masons for restoration of the headstones. Both estimates came in at around $12,000. A third estimate is to be done soon.
• Letters and applications were submitted to government and private agencies in a search for funding sources. However these initial applications were unsuccessful.
• Several articles in the Voice for Island Seniors, the Guardian and Eastern Graphic raised awareness about the project.
• A proposal to Service Canada was successful and we were able to hire Waldron Leard from January to May to gather information, pictures and stories of people buried in the cemetery. Approximately 100 people who do not have markers were identified. The Executive has met by weekly to supervise, complets monthly reports, consult with …….. at  Service Canada and Chris Blasedate, Community Resource Worker.
• A website has been developed www.ekpei.ca
• An application to the Heritage Division of Community and Cultural Affairs was successful in the Pioneer Cemetery getting the highest designation – a Designated Heritage Place. This will be officially announced the Guardian shortly.
• As the Executive became aware of opportunities for funding, two more applications to Community and Cultural Affairs were favorable received. Two projects were approved for a grant of $2000 each:

1. “Celebrating our Scottish Heritage”, a  fundraiser on Aug 9th;
2. “Publishing a History of the Pioneer Cemetery”

The first installment of $1,200 for each project has been received. Another $800 will be received after submission of a final report of the successful completion of each project. 

• An application to Tourism PEI for assistance with our Aug 9th summer fundraiser and an application to Jobs for Youth for a summer student are pending approval.
• A Celtic Cross is being donated to the Cemetery by Theresa Babineau and will be built and erected by her nephews, Guy and Mike MacIntosh. A design of the celtic cross was circulated. The cross will be 12 feet high and 6 feet wide and made of cedar.
• The funding received to publish the history is not enough to complete this project, so an application will be made to New Horizons for Seniors to access sufficient funding to gather the information, write, edit, arrange for publishing and producing a professional history. This project will be put on hold until the fall.

3.    Clean Up Day – We are hoping to organize a day to clean up the cemetery and need help from the community. The task is to clean around the headstones and begin to restore the stone wall or dyke. It was decided that:

• the event will be on Saturday, May 2nd
• Parishioners are asked to bring rakes, shovels, whipper snippers, wheel barrows and appropriate gardening tools
• Someone will be in charge to assign tasks so that no damage is done to the fragile headstones
• Someone with a metal detector would be able to detect artifacts
• It would be wonderful to clear an Ancestors walk to the shore. Fr Doug will put a notice in the Bulletin
• It was suggested that notices should be place in church Bulletins in nearby parishes for the Clean Up

4.    Celebrating our Scottish Heritage fundraiser on Aug 9th  - A fundraiser event is planned for August 9th, starting with a Mass at 11 am in the Pioneer Cemetery followed by a lunch in the upstairs part of the church hall, possibly a Speaker and a Ceilidh (bagpipes, fiddle, skits, etc).  The hall is booked and the CWL have agreed to organize the lunch. The Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs will announce the Heritage designation. Suggestions included:

• Pre-sell tickets so that there would be an estimate of the attendance
• Have a buffet lunch with sandwiches, fruit, tea and coffee and dessert
• The charge for lunch should be around $6 per person
• Organize a ghost walk in the cemetery
• Soft drinks and water could be available for the afternoon
• Have a cake auction, 50/50 draw
• Find the Altar that was taken from house to house by the early settlers so that  Mass could be celebrated

Dr Doug suggested:

• the collection on Aug 9th be donated to the Pioneer Cemetery. Approval for this can be obtained from the parish Property and Finance Committee. The Chair of this committee is Margaret Anne Anderson.
• Organize a story telling night to uncover the rich oral history of the area.