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Our emerald
Promoters of the Foster Memorial call it the “Diamond of Durham”. With that in mind, it’s tempting to apply mineralogical nicknames to some of the other attractions in the Township. The Leaskdale Historic Site, considering its tourism potential, is probably a gold nugget. The Roxy, of course, is a silver screen. The Heritage Railway is a ribbon of steel. The Music Hall perhaps a sapphire under the warm blue spotlights.
But take a stroll through Elgin Park around 7:30 p.m. these days, as the late summer sun starts to sink over Wooden Sticks, and you immediately know it to be Uxbridge’s glowing emerald. A few weeks back it was looking a little brown up on the hill, but thanks to all the blessed precipitation of late, it’s a rich, luxurious green once again. And in the quiet of a weekday evening, it’s a refreshing place to linger.
Since it was created early in Uxbridge’s lifetime (about 140 years ago according to historian Allan McGillivray), Elgin Park has been cherished as a place for family fun, as well as individual retreat. The oval was once a racetrack, and the park has been the site of everything from weddings to political rallies.
Nowadays it’s only booked for seven big weekend events, beginning with the Everything Equine show in June, moving through Canada Day, Ribfest, the Highland Games, this weekend’s Art in the Park, the Fall Fair and the wonderful new Fantasy of Lights at Christmas. For those major efforts, the park has shown itself to be incredibly versatile. If you were a newcomer and found yourself at the Highland Games, then came back a few weeks later to the Fair, you’d hardly recognize it as the same place.
For the rest of the year, Elgin Park is a much mellower place. Somewhere to ponder the day ahead as you walk your schnauzer at sunrise on a February morning. Somewhere to gather your far-flung family under the picnic shelter among all the breathtaking fallen leaves on an October Saturday. Somewhere to build glorious youthful memories at one of the Township’s popular day camps throughout July and August.
Somewhere to gather your confidence as a performer as you perform for your friends at the Rotary Club’s beautiful bandshell. Or somewhere to just sit and watch the squirrels play around you as you drink in the peace and quiet.
Although some might cast a vote for the Kennedy Fields or the library or the arena, we strongly believe that Elgin Park is far and away the Township’s most valuable asset, and the most valuable thing about it is its versatility. Council should continue to strongly resist the temptation to clutter it with more permanent structures (the Kennedy property has plenty of room for those), and should similarly avoid the temptation to apply any hard-and-fast rules to its use. The proposal to ban dogs from Canada Day, as reported on page 9, is a small example. As Ted Barris notes on page 5, dogs are part of the family, and we shouldn’t over-react to one incident (sparked by who knows what) by excluding any family members from such a great family event. Councillor Ballinger is right to point out that most dogs won’t be keen on the fireworks anyway, but there’s a whole lot to Canada Day before that.
Elgin Park has always been a jewel for everyone. Let it continue so.
July 14, 2011
