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Drive-by celebration honours 100th birthday of Orillia trailblazer (6 photos)

'(Sue Mulcahy is) so passionate about the town, the history of this area and helping keep the stories vibrant and alive,' says OMAH executive director

Friends and fans of Orillia trailblazer and businesswoman Sue Mulcahy celebrated her 100th birthday with a drive-by event on Sunday afternoon.

Well wishers passed by Mulcahy’s Brant Street home from both directions, honking horns at the centenarian who waved at the paraders from her living room window.

A crowd of masked neighbours, family and friends spaced out along the sidewalk and driveway as bagpipers played Happy Birthday outside the house.

Mayor Steve Clarke, Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop and Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton each stopped their vehicles to present Mulcahy with hundredth birthday scrolls.

Mulcahy told the OrilliaMatters the celebration was “incredible and unbelievable.”

Deborah Nicholas, Mulcahy’s niece who lives in Rochester, New York, contacted Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH) executive director Ninette Gyorody with the idea for a drive-by celebration. With the help of Lakehead University and the mayor’s office, the two coordinated the event.

Family on both sides of the border are thankful to the community for their help in celebrating the landmark birthday, says Nicholas.

Mulcahy was born and raised in Orillia. She attended secretarial school in Toronto before joining her father’s Orillia real estate and insurance business in 1954 according to the OMAH.

The business world was heavily dominated by men at the time, though Mulcahy says she and her male colleagues got along well. In 1968, she became the first female president of Orillia’s Real Estate Board.

Mulcahy and her sisters spent their holidays travelling. The trio tackled one country per trip so they could see all it had to offer, and Mulcahy says Australia and New Zealand stick out to her as favourite destinations.

Mulcahy ran for Orillia City Council for the first time in 1963, and was the only woman to do so that year. She served two terms on council with the primary goal of bringing a university to the area.

Mulcahy told The Packet & Times in 2010 that many young people in Simcoe County were not getting post-secondary education because moving away to attend school was too expensive; she sought to make education more accessible.

The Simcoe College Foundation was established in 1965 with Mulcahy as its president. Donations began flooding, in according to The Packet & Times, and the foundation bought the 228-acre plot of land known today as Scout’s Valley as grounds for a university.

The Ontario government’s decision to no longer fund private universities put a significant strain on their efforts, though the group maintained the property and continued to work to bring a university to town until the foundation dissolved in 1990.

It took a lot longer than expected, but the dream was finally realized when Lakehead came to town.

Lakehead University presented Mulcahy with its first ever Civitas Award in 2008 to honour her work in advocating for a university in the area. The Civitas Award honours individuals who made outstanding contributions to the community.

Today, Mulcahy combines her passions of travel and education by funding study abroad trips for Lakehead students.

“She aspired to great things and didn’t give up hope on that aspiration (for a university). This passion and curiosity is part of her legacy,” says Lakehead University principal Dean Jobin-Bevans.

Organizations like OMAH and Streets Alive! are some of the local organizations Mulcahy has supported over the years.

Mulcahy has donated both funds and items such as letters and historical family photographs to OMAH. She was granted the first OMAH Legacy Award in August 2019.

“She’s so passionate about the town, the history of this area and helping keep the stories vibrant and alive,” says Gyorody.

Though the parade was initially supposed to be a surprise, Mulcahy caught wind of the celebration within two days.

“You cannot pull one over on Sue Mulcahy. She’s got too many friends and contacts,” laughs Nicholas.

Abby Hughes, a lifelong Orillia resident and Orillia Secondary School graduate, is a second-year Ryerson University journalism student interning with OrilliaMatters.

 


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