‘Their childhood playground’: Mississippi Mills pushes to keep historic R. Tait McKenzie, James Naismith collections at Mill of Kintail

Priceless collections pertaining to important Canadian historical figures R. Tait McKenzie and James Naismith, currently housed on McKenzie’s former property at the Mill of Kintail Museum (situated on the conservation area of the same name), are in danger of being removed from the site.

But the Municipality of Mississippi Mills intends to do all it can to keep them in what many community members believe is their rightful home.

McKenzie and Naismith grew up as good friends in and around Almonte and went to school just around the corner from today’s Mill of Kintail.

“That was their childhood playground,” Mississippi Mills Mayor Christa Lowry told Lanarkist, noting that the two would have swum in the Indian river during the summer time.

“The two of them went off and had enormous success. Both became doctors, went to McGill, and ventured on to different things, McKenzie as a remarkable surgeon and a very, very talented artist.”

McKenzie did a lot of work following the First World War rehabilitating injured soldiers.

“You could call him the father of modern physiotherapy,” Lowry explained. “It’s incredible what this man did.”

Naismith, of course, went on to invent the sport of basketball, now played by an estimated 450 million people world wide.

“He was also a physician, a pastor, and he worked in physical education,” Lowry noted.

Moving forward to the 1930s, McKenzie and his wife purchased the current the Mill of Kintail land, renovated it, and turned it into a summer home and studio.

“It’s a very special place because of a lot of his creating happened literally on those lands,” Lowry said.

After McKenzie passed away, his widow sold the land to Major James Leys, an admirerer of the doctor’s work, in the early 1950s.

“He was about creating displays of McKenzie’s work,” Lowry explained. “And part of that was to make Canadians aware of his talents and the three professions he had in medicine, art, and physical education.”

Leys went on to be awarded the Order of Canada for his role as founder of the R. Tait McKenzie memorial and establishing the collection that is currently in place.

When Major Leys and his wife were ready to pass on the land and the collection it houses, there was an agreement with the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) to have the pieces conveyed to them; they have remained there through the cooperation and the generous support of the National Capital Commission, the Ontario Heritage Foundation and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Changes to funding model

Scott Lawyrk, board member at the MVCA, on which the museum sits, explained to Lanarkist that the museum’s funding model has been disrupted since 2019, when provincial legislation mandated that only certain programs and services are funded by the municipal levy, excluding the museum.

He said the conservation authority’s main mandate is education and outreach related to natural hazards and natural heritage preservation. The museum and its collections are unrelated to this mandate, prompting the authority to propose the space be re-imagined as a water museum.

“The provincial government basically said, ‘here’s what falls under Category One, which can be funded by [the municipal levy], and here’s what can’t.’ And unfortunately, the museum fell into here’s what can’t.”

In recent years, the museum has been operating on a transitional funding model that lasted until January 2024, with an uncertain future beyond that. The museum has faced financial losses in the last two years due to unsuccessful grant applications from the federal government that helped keep it afloat for the five years prior.

“So there’s no stable financial model for the museum. If the municipalities say we no longer want to support the museum, then we’re in big trouble,” Lawyrk said.

From the perspective of Mississippi Mills Council, the loss of these artifacts is unacceptable. Council voted unanimously at their Tuesday, Aug. 12 meeting to allow Lowry to give a delegation to the MVCA, and converse with other potential stakeholders, advocating for the artifacts to remain where they are. The motion also directed staff to request any information around plans, studies or documents hat led to the creation of the updated Mill of Kintail strategy.

“If you’re looking for a solution you usually find one,” Lowry said during the meeting. “There may be some solutions that aren’t being considered at this time.”

“I think that the board at the [MVCA] are failing to realize the significance of the building for one,” said Deputy Mayor Rickey Minnille. “And two, when this first came up at the last term of council, we were told that they were changing their mandate and they were getting out of the museum business.

“Now they’re putting in a water museum. Like, come on! Who’s going to be lined up for that? I think they should stay together and stay where it is.”

Council members are also unclear as to whether the decision to divest the collections is a decision from the province, or the MVCA.

Photos from the Tuesday, Aug. 12 council meeting via Mayor Lowry’s Facebook page

Lowry remarked that many of the representatives from the 11 municipalities that make up the MVCA might not be as aware of the importance of the two historical figures as those in the Almonte area, where each man has a school named after him, and even a prestigious award named after McKenzie at the local high school honouring physical education, community mindedness and academics.

“In fairness, the board is making up the entire Misssissippi Valley watershed, which goes all the way up to Frontenac, and all the way down into the City of Ottawa,” Lowry told Lanarkist.

She noted that this issue is particularly pertinent in relation to the recent rise in Canadian pride that’s come out of the last six months due to the current U.S. administration.

“As Canadians, we’re so quiet to celebrate our history, our successes. And perhaps over the last little while, with everything that’s going on with the United States, we’ve become a little louder and a little prouder of celebrating our history and celebrating our culture. And I think that if the 18 members of this board know a little more of this history, and realize how important it is, especially to this local community, they’ll be open to having proper dialogue [about the collection.]”

Looking ahead

Lowry said her goal when speaking to the MVCA board is to communicate “what absolute treasures Dr. McKenzie and Dr. Naismith are..and if there is a need to change the stewardship model, then lets do it and have everybody bring their best solutions forward so that the best possible next chapter will be in place.”

The board has its next monthly meeting on Sept. 8; a confirmation for the delegation had yet to be set at the time of publication.

“I think this is an example of how it’s time for Canadians to really fiercely champion and protect our historic and cultural icons. There’s a real risk here of losing these collections. What a travesty that would be if these collections went down to the states, for example, and we lost that connection.”

Lawyrk said that divesting the collection is not a firm yes or no at this point, as far as the MVCA is concerned, but sending some of the pieces down to the U.S. is definitely on the table.

“In some cases, a lot of the artifacts that we have on the R. Tate Mackenzie side, which is the more impressive side of the collection, are actually on loan [from Pennsylvania State University].

Others belong to McGill University.

“We would make our best efforts to divest in the collection to somewhere where it would either be displayed or go back to the rightful owners,” Lawyrk said. “In no way are we just going to give it to anybody who walks through the door.”

He added that “it’d be irresponsible of us not to look further into the future and, as stewards of the collection, not try and preserve it if we can’t find a sustainable financial model.”

On its website, the MVCA says would like to work with members of the community to make this transition a success, and to gauge the potential impact on the property. A survey on this matter is currently up on their website until Sept. 19, and residents are encouraged to fill it out.

Lanarkist will continue to follow this story as it develops.