Written By Dylan Grubb
APPIN - You would be very surprised to learn of the long and storied history that has taken place over the years in the little town of Appin, and you could have done just that two weeks ago.
On May 2nd, the Ekfrid Museum board hosted the Janes walk, an event designed to share community and history with people, and to hopefully get some exercise as well.
The Jane’s Walk was named after the Canadian-American urban planner Jane Jacobs, who was born in 1916 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She entered into this field in a time when urban planning was mostly male dominated, and was known for her opposition to urban renewal and slum clearance. These strategies in urban planning involve the clearing of lower income areas of cities, often displacing the communities who live there. She moved to Toronto in 1968, where she lived until she passed away in 2006.
The Jane’s Walks are named after Jane Jacobs because of her work to preserve communities and their histories. The walks are designed to continue her work in small towns and cities.
The events of the Appin Jane’s Walk began at the Ekfrid Museum. At first, there were very few people attending, but they slowly started trickling in, and there were eventually 20 people in attendance.
The walk was led by Pat Carruthers and Heather Jacobs, residents of Appin. Pat started the walk by telling stories about how the museum and post office were moved to the park, and about past community events that had taken place there, like the baseball games and fireworks for Canada day.
As we walked around Appin, landmarks were pointed out, places where important and interesting buildings had once stood, including the McIntyre stockyards, 3 churches, and a hotel owned by the Donnelly family.
Eventually, we made our way back to the park, where we finished the Walk with some snacks and refreshments. Overall, I think that Jane’s Walk was an interesting way to share some of the history of this area and to help people share some of their stories.
