Recent high-school grad rallies Midhurst residents to preserve small hall

A small hall has had a big impact on a local municipality and now nearly 100 years of history will be preserved.

Hale Mahon, 18, just graduated from Eastview Secondary School in Barrie, but is already using his voice to effect change in his hometown.

The Springwater Township resident recently petitioned local councillors and community members through letters, a deputation and an online petition with 197 signatures to have the Midhurst Community Centre designated as a heritage property, saving it from an uncertain future.

On Wednesday, Mahon secured a win when Springwater Township council voted to have municipal staff start the process of designating the Doran Road hall as a heritage property.

“I was really excited. It was a really close vote. It was really about contacting each councillor and trying to change their minds individually. It was incredibly exciting for me and for the hall board as well,” Mahon told BarrieToday.

Mahon has served on the Midhurst Community Centre board since 2018 as secretary. The board plans numerous community events every year, including the Soapbox Derby, Classic Car Show and Midhurst Autumnfest, as well as oversees bookings for the hall.

The board was sent an email by Coun. Jack Hanna to let them know the issue would be up for discussion at Springwater Township council earlier this summer, as the heritage committee had recommended not to designate the hall as a heritage property.

“I took issue with that. It’s a really nice building and it has a lot of cultural heritage,” Mahon said. “I thought it would be nice if it were to be formally recognized through a heritage designation.”

The hall was built in 1927 and has since served as a community hub in Midhurst. It was built primarily by residents and has a long history of supporting the community. The hall hosted Vespra Township council meetings from 1927 until 1967.

“In 1968, it was sold for $1 to the township and the hall board was founded at that time,” Mahon said.

Heritage advisory committee members provided their reasoning behind their recommendation in their report to council.

“The Midhurst Community Centre, from a community context, is significant and an important landmark to residents,” wrote the committee in their report. “However, community context is only one element to an evaluation. Site analysis of the Midhurst Community Centre by the committee showed that, although the shell of the structure itself has relatively remained the same, the heritage attributes are not significant.”

While Mahon says he can understand why the heritage committee recommended not designating the property, he thinks the cultural component should take priority.

“It’s not that different from a lot of other era buildings. But, I do think the cultural connection is more important because it shows that, over the past 100 years, it's really been a community hub for everyone in Midhurst,” he said. “Most of the Midhurst churches, before they had their own buildings, had their meetings here. There have been lots of family events like reunions, wedding receptions and other events that have strong sentimental connections for people.”

At their Aug. 5 meeting, council voted 4-3 for staff to begin the formal designation process for the Midhurst Community Centre as a heritage property. Mayor Don Allen, Deputy Mayor Jennifer Coughlin and Coun. Wanda Maw-Chapman voted against the motion.

Based on the township’s proposed recreation master plan, which was presented to council in May 2018, one of the recommendations was to retire the Midhurst hall once a new multi-purpose recreation centre is constructed.

Now that council has voted to designate the property, the township will be serving a notice of intention to designate through local media. Anyone in opposition will have 30 days to submit a notice to the township.