LANDMARK REPAIRS
It survived two tornadoes, but after standing 114 years, St. Clement Church in McGregor needs restoration work. Dennis Meloche, chair of the parish’s building committee, says the mortar in the church’s foundation needs to be replaced.
In 1902, ancestors of St. Clement parishioners hauled limestone blocks from two quarries in Amherstburg using horse-drawn wagons to build the Catholic church in the heart of McGregor.
The stones helped St. Clement Church survive two tornadoes, the first in 1946, which toppled the bell tower and the parish hall, and a second in 1971, which ripped off much of the roof.
Now the landmark church on County Road 11 faces a different danger. Over time, water has damaged the mortar that holds the stones together and it is crumbling in spots.
An estimate two years ago put the masonry restoration cost at $346,850 and more than $220,000 of that work still needs to be done.
It could be daunting but the 150 to 175 weekly attendees, including descendants of the early farmers and village folk who helped haul the limestone, are really what holds the church together.
“Somehow no matter what needs to be done, somehow the parish family seems to come through,” said choir leader Annette Barron, who is related to some of the likely limestone-hauling members from 115 years ago.
CHRISTMAS SONGS
The church is holding a fundraising concert Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The choir has been practising since May for the From the Heart concert, which will include some Christmas songs and uplifting hymns. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Barron said she doesn’t know how those early French Canadian Catholics managed to help build a church 115 years ago while working on farms or in the lumber mill.
“I think they’d be so happy that the church is still here. Their legacy is still here,” she said.
It was built to last and last it will if the community can keep raising money and chipping away at repairs. Even non-Catholics in the community support the church.
Dennis Meloche, who serves on the building committee, said he was told by the historical masonry expert who did the work at the front of the church, including the bell tower, that people don’t realize what St. Clement Parish has in McGregor. “You have the gem of the diocese here. It’s like the European churches.”
At a time when other parishes with old buildings can’t afford to keep up with repairs, the St. Clement Parish seems to find the money and not fall behind on maintenance.
In 2007, the parish sold land and raised money to redo the inside of the church to maintain its original look, including repainting all the stencil work on the walls and vaulted ceilings. That work and a new copper roof cost more than $1 million, Meloche said. Volunteers have done as much work as possible. A parishioner refinished all the pews in 2007 at no charge.
“It’s our house,” Meloche explained.
The first church, a wood frame structure, was built in 1880 and called St. Clement after an early bishop of Rome. The limestone church was finished in 1903 at a cost of $20,300. Its insurance value today is more than $9 million, Meloche said.
The $10 concert tickets will be available Sunday at the door before the 2:30 p.m. performance that will include intermission with baked goods. Anyone interested in donating can contact the office at stclements@dol.ca.