Orillia’s YMCA, with deep roots in the community that date back to the late 1800s, has been permanently closed by the YMCA of Simcoe Muskoka. The organization announced the move in a press release last night.
“It is a sad day,” said David Town, whose family history is entwined with the local institution.
Several years ago, Town wrote a history of the YMCA and its local namesake, Skid Watson. And while Town used the YMCA pool - at its original downtown location - as a springboard for success as an internationally-ranked swimmer, he says the YMCA is about much more than a pool and fitness.
“From its beginning in 1889, the Y in Orillia has been a leader in social welfare programs,” said Town. “Most people only know it as a fitness centre, but that is just one of the original four components of its mission, and for most of its life, and even today, athletics has not been the major focus of the Y.”
Town said the YMCA “has always emphasized just as much the social, mental and religious development programs (though religion left the Y in 1968).”
These programs, he noted, included “youth leadership classes, volunteerism, job training, service clubs, international work, child care, education classes, music groups, war work, youth at risk programs, summer camp, single mother classes, extensive social work during the Great Depression, life-saving classes, the list goes on and on.”
For Town, and many others, the “Y is an attitude: a commitment to service, personal growth and community well-being” that transcends its four walls.
“For some, that means physical fitness, and that is the high profile service the Y offered,” Town explained. “But for others, the Y is the only safe place they know, the only place where they are invited to help out as a volunteer, to build self-esteem.
“(It’s) the place they learn what is really important in life. For generations the subsidized members (who paid what they could) found the only place where they were accepted and encouraged,” said Town.
“Skid Watson (who the local YMCA was named after) was the personification of this attitude,” said Town. “He taught the YMCA way of life: that you have a duty to improve yourself and a duty to serve others.”
Town is “sad” to see the death of the local institution, but he said its legacy remains strong.
“During the 1930s, it was the dominant social agency in Orillia,” explained Town. “Skid Watson did heroic work with not only the suddenly impoverished locals but also the steady stream of transients riding the rails looking for work.
“Likewise, during the two world wars, the Y in Orillia was a stalwart supporter of the men in uniform, a long forgotten service of the Y.
“The Y here provided the first, and for decades only, adult education classes for people who wanted to improve their prospects. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that community colleges appeared,” he said.
It has a deeper, more personal connection for Town.
“The Y has meant a lot to me in my life,” said Town, crediting the institution for introducing him to what has become a lifelong passion for history and research.
“The Y paid for the publishing of my first research effort – Building Character – the history of the Orillia Y,” said Town.
“I discovered, through the Y’s support, I had an aptitude for story-telling and writing which I was completely surprised by. I now have 15 published books of local history along with over 20 stories in the Mariposa Exposed books,” said Town.
“For me, as a professional with lots of athletic accomplishments, the Y provided me with a new avenue to develop what talents I have, and local history now absorbs me,” said Town.
“That’s what the Y does: It provides opportunity and guidance. I think we will miss it more than we know,” said Town, lamenting its benefits to the community are varied.
Town is hoping history repeats itself - in a way.
“We have to remember the Orillia Y had to close its doors in 1880 and again in 1896, but both times sprang back to life in a different form,” said Town. “The world today is volatile and rapidly changing and I expect the Y to be back again, but in a new form. Time will tell.”
YMCA officals are expected to shed more light on the reasons behind the closure of the Orillia, Barrie and Parry Sound facilities later today. Watch for more on this story later today.
HISTORY
The original YMCA building at 18 Peter St. N. was built in 1906.
In 1911, an indoor pool was opened as a part of an ambitious plan that doubled the size of the building. It was the first indoor pool north of Toronto. It became known as 'the finest small-town YMCA in North America.'
In 1939, the Orillia YMCA was used as a recreation centre for soldiers stationed in Orillia.
In 1957, major renovations were completed.
In 1983, a devastating fire destroyed the building.
In 1985, the new YMCA was constructed six blocks away at 300 Peter St. N. - its current location.
The former YMCA building was repurposed as St. James Court, home to 37 subsidized apartments. The old Y pool is still in operation in the building's basement; it is privately run and used for swim lessons.
