If you live anywhere in the Dunvegan region (doesn’t have to be just in the hamlet) you’re invited to an informal community get-together this coming Sunday, May 28th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. The Dunvegan Recreation Association is hosting a “Meet Your Neighbours” event in the Clark-MacIntosh Park, just north of the church parking lot. This will be the first ‘Meet & Greet’ the DRA has held since Covid raised its ugly head, but the aims are still the same as the earlier ones: to salute the coming of spring by catching up with old friends and meetingnew neighbours.
If it’s anything like its predecessors, the event will include a slice of delicious Caterpillar Cake and other refreshments, games and activities for the kids (while the grown-ups mix and mingle), and even live music. The DRA really hopes you’ll join them for this low-keycelebration of community, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Remember, being ‘neighbourly’ can be one of the joys of country life.
Preserve, not restore
Unfortunately for the volunteers and participant’s, last weekend’s “Open Doors” event at the museum in Dunvegan was a bit of a muted affair. Which is unfortunate. The staff, executive board members and volunteers had put a great deal of work into an afternoon that offered much to see and do. There were fascinating “Behind the Scenes” demonstration stations; a Duncan Donovan photographic retrospective originally curated by Brenda Kennedy and the late Dane Lanken; and a ‘welcome to the museum’ area under the big wooden tent organized by Barb Newman. It featured musical performances from local musicians aged eight to eighty, including the Quigley Highlanders Pipes and Drums; representatives from many of this season’s GPM events; and a long, long table awash with a tempting assortment of complimentary treats prepared by museum volunteers.
I have no official report on attendance figures, but I can’t imagine the number was large. Nevertheless, everyone who did show up appeared to have a good time and left with more knowledge than they had arrived with.
This cohort even included Matt Williams, chair of the museum’s Executive Committee. Matt, a woodworking expert, had volunteered to staff the ‘artifact conservation’ station. However, when he showed up with the wherewithal (sandpaper and the like) to restore a recently acquired pair of skis to their former glory, Jennifer Black, the museum’s curator, explained that the goal was to ensure the item could be appreciated by future generations, without destroying the item’s patina. “Remember, it’s preservation, not restoration,’ she told Matt.
Painting class full
I ran into Mona Andre at the museum’s “Open Doors” event. She and fellow volunteer Carmella Ranellucci have organized an entirely different type of fundraiser. This Thursday, May 25th, the pair is a holding a “Paint Party” at the DRA hall. The way it works is that an experienced artist guides the group as they each paint a version of the featured artwork. No experience is necessary, and everything is included. If this sounds like fun, more than 35 people agree with you. Mona tells me the course filled up lickety-split, and they’ve had to turn budding artists away. They even managed to find sponsors to help cover the night’s expenses. I’m not sure of their names, but when I am, I’ll announce them here. This sort of community support deserves recognition.
Dust bowl in the Glen
Nine years ago, I commented here that permanent Emergency Detour Route (EDR) signage should be installed along County Road 24 from Highland Road to Highway 34. An accident had closed the 417 in both directions between mile markers 27 and 51 and, as a result, west- and east-bound traffic was redirected to Dunvegan Road. Most motorists and truckers made the detour unscathed. But some took the wrong turn and did not.
This month it happened again. An early-morning, single-vehicle crash closed the eastbound lanes between the Highland Road and MacCrimmon interchanges for twelve hours. And, like the last time, some unfortunate rerouted drivers got lost… including enough to spark Facebook reports of a dust storm from residents along Stewart’s Glen Road.
Given the nearly decade-long interval between closures, I can understand the argument that it may not be worth the investment for such an infrequent occurrence. Yet, I remember Prescott-Russell making a big to-do when the back road between St. Isidore and Casselman was officially designated a detour route and EDR signs were installed. I guess the lesson here is that, if you do encounter a 417 detour, cross your fingers it doesn’t happen in the SD&G portion.
Keeping cows healthy
It’s strange how items for this column arise. When I mentioned to long-time reader Ken McEwen that Terry and I had raised goats, he countered with a goat story of his own. During the 1930s, his dog (“the smartest that ever lived”) used to pal around with a black nanny goat on their family farm in the 7th of Kenyon. Ken mentioned in an email, “I clearly recall the two of them following my Dad as he was regullying a newly ploughed field west of the house.” I’d never heard the term ‘regullying’, so I pressed Ken for more details. He explained that a ‘regully’ is a mini-ditch used to drain surface water off a field.
He also sent me a simple drawing of the machine his father used. I don’t have space today to describe it, so we’ll have to wait until next week. However, we do have room to ask why the McEwens kept goats nearly 100 years ago. Ken explained there was an Old Spouse’s tale that having a goat with a herd of cattle kept them healthy. “I don’t follow the logic,” Ken commented in an email, “but we always had one, sometimes two, goats with our herd.” Must be true; Ken didn’t mention any sick cattle.
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