If you enjoyed the Bay Day sidewalk sale on May 24 Weekend, you may have rested your weary self by sitting on one of the remarkable log benches that have re-appeared along the Opeongo Line. Above: Claudia Van Wijk (Madawaska Kanu Centre/OWL Rafting) and Sigrid Geddes (Sigrid Naturals) try out the new Church Street Flowers bench. About 12 years ago and well before the Covid era, a residents’ group calling itself Greening Main Street Project set out to make our community more welcoming. They worked to enhance the character of the Madawaska Valley for both residents and visitors by introducing authentic features that recall both our environment and our logging heritage. Led by Claudia Van Wijk of Madawaska Kanu Centre and OWL Rafting, that group organized a series of well-attended public meetings and lively work parties throughout the Township where they obtained input from residents and local associations. One of the numerous enhancements that resulted were handcrafted log benches.
Explaining the installation of new benches this spring, Van Wijk said: “Using the funds remaining in our Greening Main Street account, plus an influx from an original sponsor, we were able to re-engage Dan Albert from Coyote Log Homes. Over the winter he rebuilt the Log Benches out of cedar, so they could stay in place year-round. And on Wednesday [before Bay Day] they were returned to Main Street. The businesses have agreed to do the yearly maintenance – applying fresh stain each spring.”
Origins of Greening Main Street Project
Van Wijk told The Current that it began back in 2012 when she approached Jim Mountain, a Carleton University professor who had worked on Main Street Canada with Pierre Berton. His Heritage Architecture class chose Barry’s Bay as their fall Case Study in 2012 and MV Township as their 2013 Case Study. They put forward the theme of Stone Fences/Big Timber/Greens to bring a unique and unified look into the Main Street of Barry’s Bay. Change was immediately noticeable with stone fence planters built by Yantha Backhoe, perennials planted by the Madawaska Valley Gardening Club, and log benches made by Coyote Log homes. These Memorial Benches created sitting spots on Main Street, at Wadsworth Lake, and in Crooked Slide Park.
The community has utilized and benefitted from the Carleton students’ suggestions and reports. To learn more about the work of the students and the Greening Main Street Project, you will find links to the Carleton reports and more at the Greening Main Street website. LINK: https://greeningmainstreet-mv.org/
On that website you can read this comment about how the municipality engaged and participated in the Greening Main Street Project during the 2015 Opeongo Line revitalization: “We could have just repaved Main Street and put in the turning lane near Sandhill Drive and Tim Hortons. Instead, we are using the Greening Committee’s work and Carleton’s plans to enhance our town,”said Craig Kelley, then MV Township Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) / Clerk.
Why replace the benches now?
Van Wijk recalled, “It was with sadness that I heard the Township had never stored the benches indoors. When picked up in the fall, the Log Benches had been placed in the Township’s gravel pit, rained and snowed on, resulting in them falling apart and exhibiting advanced decay. In the fall of 2024, MV Township chose to discontinue supporting the Greening Main Street benches and chose low maintenance infrastructure, instead.”
“A lot of effort, enthusiasm and hope would be wasted if these pieces of ART were left to rot and the sitting areas dismantled,” she continued. “So, we used the remaining funds in our Greening Main Street account, with an influx from an original sponsor, to re-engage Dan from Coyote Log Homes. Over the winter he rebuilt the Log Benches out of cedar, to be left in place year-round. And on Wednesday they were returned to Main Street. Each business has agreed to do the yearly maintenance – applying fresh stain each spring.”
Above: Delivery of the benches; Main Street bench installed outside Afelskie’s; close-up of bench plaque dedicated to the memory of Christa and Hermann Kerckhoff, founders of Madawaska Kanu Centre; Dan Albert with his Coyote Log Homes team try out a newly installed bench. (Photos submitted.)
The municipality and a number of local merchants continue to utilize and install low maintenance infrastructure. However, if readers are interested in sponsoring a locally hand-made Log Bench, or if you are a business that would like to have a sponsored handcrafted Log Bench in your location, please email Claudia Van Wijk at claudiavw613@gmail.com and/or the Barry’s Bay BIA at info.barrysbaybia@gmail.com
Greening Main St gardens planted by MV Gardening Club, now maintained by local businesses.