One of my earliest memories at Kemptville College was
climbing up into the branches of a thick maple tree that stood between my
mother’s building and the cafeteria. I climbed up with one hand because in my
other hand I held a small, hard-covered Nancy Drew novel. I was working my way
through all 99 in the series.
A few minutes after my arrival, class let out for the day. From
my perch in the tree, I could see a long stream of college kids filtering down
the sidewalk and into the dining room. The leaves sheltered me from their view.
Occasionally I would catch some of their conversation. I remember the boys in
their boots and corduroy jackets, the girls with their long hair and ponchos
and wide-legged Howick 4-star jeans. Maybe I imagined I might marry one of
those long-legged cowboys one day. I would, actually, but it would take me to
nearly age 40 and it would be a professor; not a student.
In those days, students showed their prize cattle on the
sawdust-covered floor of the Purvis building. Over the years the building has
had many different purposes, including a library and event venue. The floor is
now covered and more than one young couple has taken advantage of the natural
light flooding through the high windows to exchange vows there. My sister got
married on the college campus.
Cathy and I knew the administration building well, with its
echoing halls and massive staircases. Our mother was the executive assistant to
half a dozen different college directors during her nearly forty-year career.
We would walk to the college after school to wait for her to finish
transcribing her notes of mysterious shorthand onto her state-of-the-art
electric typewriter. She dressed neatly, a scarf tied at her neck, her
trademark Beaujolais lipstick on her lips. While directors came and went, Mom
was the constant in the main office. She knew where everything was.
We went to the College Royal, staff barbecues and parties,
and we trekked to the new Agroforestry Station when it was built, to eat
pancakes with college maple syrup and taffy on the snow. My sister and I did
not attend the college as students, because neither of us had particularly
agricultural aspirations. Still, it was a very familiar place to us. It was an
important part of Kemptville, and its biggest employer.
In the late ‘90s, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food
passed the college over to the University of Guelph. The college brand changed
a bit, and the university took over marketing and recruiting students. For a
variety of reasons enrolment began to dwindle over the next two decades. In
2014, the University made a business decision. It would not be accepting new
students for the coming term. It was closing Kemptville College, just a few
years before its 100th birthday.
The Eastern Ontario agricultural community rallied support
as the Municipality of North Grenville fought to keep its college open. The
provincial government assigned someone to conduct research into the school, its
assets and potential for the future. A task force was developed and a public
town hall was held to hear from members of the community. I attended as a media
representative, and I was live on social media throughout the session. I posted
quotes and photos of speakers so that interested parties across Eastern Ontario
who were unable to attend the meeting could still follow along with the
discussion. Overnight I gained 300 new followers on Twitter, most of them
farmers.
Over the next year and a half, the Municipality entered into
discussions with a number of different educational and agricultural entities,
in an attempt to strike up a business partnership with the college.
No knight in shining armour appeared to save the school, but
lease agreements were made with two different French schools. The tenants are
making themselves comfortable for the long term, investing in the facilities.
And now the Municipality has acquired “a significant
portion” of Kemptville Campus. Four years after the announcement that the
college would close, the doors remain open. A new election year is upon us.
Residents of North Grenville wait to hear what the new Kemptville Campus will
look like.
The Municipality is planning to establish a non-profit
organization, much like the one that began the Ferguson Forestry Centre. This
body will work to bring tenants into a new educational,
environmental and low-carbon
community hub on campus. Those leaseholders will pay the bills to keep the
college buildings maintained and operational.
That is the plan for the future. Hopefully it will grow
organically to include connections with innovative partners in sustainable
farming, energy-saving greenhouses, local food and more. It’s a bit of a
question mark for many, but I for one am excited about the possibilities.
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Email: dianafisher1@gmail.com
www.theaccidentalfarmwife.blogspot.com
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