A News Brief by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper
There are all too few citizens who stand up – often against Goliath odds – for preserving what is left of our historic landscape and heritage in this greater Niagara Region.
Heritage crusader Pamela Minns
One of them – most certainly – is Pamela Minns, a residents of the Niagara, Ontario community of Thorold, who will be receiving, this coming November 8th, an award for her volunteer work in this area from the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.
In a year in which this region lost long-time heritage preservation activists like Peter Stokes, an architect who lived many of his years in Niagara-on-the-Lake and became nationally renown for his work on Upper Canada Village and other history-rich sites, and lost others the year before like Jane Truckenbrodt, a Crystal Beach resident who fought to keep the now-gone and iconic Crystal Beach amusement park and to keep the classic Point Abino Lighthouse from being left to crumble, thank goodness we still have fellow travelers like Pamela Minns around.
Pamela Minns has long been a volunteer member of Heritage Thorold, and through her continued work with that not-for-profit organization, she has assisted in the designation of numerous buildings and other landscape features in the community as heritage sites for future protection.
She and other volunteers in Thorold have also worked, for many years, to enhance the streetscape on Thorold’s Front Street, the community’s main downtown road where, along with dedicated downtown merchants like John Henderson of Henderson’s Pharmacy, local politicians are too often there to take the credit, even while cutting what little municipal funding Heritage Thorold has left to do its work.
Pamela Minns has given of her time to these heritage causes selflessly and has always been generous when it comes to giving fellow volunteers equal credit.
“Thorold is very proud of Pam and her many achievements,” says Thorold Councillor and Heritage LACAC council representative, Rebecca Lott. “She is a special lady and it is a well deserved award. Without Pam’s contribution over the years our heritage properties would not be where they are today. It is because of her efforts people appreciate our heritage and she is the reason many buildings have been restored and designated. We are grateful for her and pleased the ACO is recognizing her involvement.”
In a statement on its website, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario had the following to say about this dedicated fighter for preserving our region’s heritage; “For more than 25 years, Pamela Minns has been a tireless advocate for conservation and renewal of downtown heritage streetscapes throughout the Niagara Region. The restoration of her beloved Thorold downtown is a direct result of Pamela’s years of research, coordination, and advocacy.
The Architectural Conservation of Ontario is the principal non-government volunteer organization for heritage conservation in Ontario honouring preservation leaders and projects that are valuable on a provincial scale to the architectural conservation movement in Ontario. The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario has been involved in preserving Ontario’s architectural and environmental heritage since 1933.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 