Island club turns 100 with gala, book Island leases still hot topic

Harrison Lowman –

This month, residents of the closely-knit Ward’s Island are encouraging their city-side neighbours to examine and take part in the stitch work that forms their history.

The Ward’s Island Association (WIA) is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2013 and from Aug. 2 to 5 it will be holding its annual Gala Day festivities to mark the occasion. In addition to a beer garden, bingo and a masquerade, the event will be coupled by the release of a book entitled Sandbar Across the Bay: A Century of Life on Ward’s Island.

The work of association volunteers, the book details the community’s evolution from a cluster of summer tents in the late 1890s into the permanent houses that stand along the same grid pattern today. Pages are awash with glossy photographs taken from the organization’s archives, interviews with islanders who can recall when running water was merely a pipe dream, and clippings taken from the still-active Ward’s Island Weekly.

According to WIA president and book editor Kathleen McDonnell, her research proved that even today some of her neighbors demonstrate characteristics of their islander ancestors.

“I think it drew a certain kind of person who was interested in roughing it a bit,” says McDonnell. “And maybe that’s still our legacy today. Because we still kind of rough it a bit in the winter and getting back and forth to the boat.”

In the early 1900s, island days were consumed by leisure activities, including baseball, marathons and sailing. Today, the association promotes similar activities through its clubhouse.

McDonnell describes the residents of her neighbourhood as a sort of family. According to her, this family was brought closer together by their collective effort to keep their homes—a fight that culminated in their ability to purchase 99-year land leases from the Island Land Trust.

“I think when you’ve fought for your homes and your community it does bind you together in a whole different way,” she says.

Nevertheless, McDonnell emphasizes that the purpose of the book was to educate, rather than rehash disputes. While the book contains a chapter on disagreements between the city and residents, the editor explains that it is merely one element of their history. McDonnell says Ward’s Island’s next chapter will be one of open arms.

“Now we have security and we want to just build on what we have,” she says. “Part of the reason we did the book was we thought, ‘Well, we want to introduce people to the history here, which is so interesting.’ We’re at a point where we want to make our part of the island as welcoming as possible.”

That sentiment extends to this month’s island celebrations as the WIA hopes for a spike in visitors from across the lake for Gala Day. McDonnell is confident the effort will break down assumptions that islanders are wary of visitors.

“A lot of people come from the city,” says McDonnell. “We don’t publicize [the Gala]. It’s kind of just part of our schedule. But over the years people have been hearing about it. We welcome anybody.”

During the final day of this month’s celebrations, the association plans to raise a special centennial flag and ring a restored clubhouse bell that has not been heard by islanders in years. This year, they hope more visitors will have a chance to hear it as well.

“We’re going to have a bell ringing and flag raising to ring in the next century of life out here.”

Visit www.wardsislandclubhouse.com for gala information. E-mail wiacentennial@gmail.com to reserve a copy of Sandbar Across the Bay: A Century of Life on Ward’s Island.