Interim CEO Taylor Henderson represents the new face of Country Heritage Park.
Her predecessor, Jamie Reaume, handpicked her to take over – feeling she’s ideal to carry on the forward-thinking vision he’s created for the community hub. In other words, a progressive view that embraces science and, most of all, fosters an inclusive environment for other new faces.
Henderson is at the forefront of a new chapter for CHP, which continues to reshape its goals and explore new opportunities.
“Different groups see CHP in very different ways – some see it as a museum, others as a volunteer-run space, a venue rental business, or a hub for community giving,” Henderson told MiltonToday. “These perspectives, while all valid, have created a bit of a disconnect and we’re working hard to bring everyone together under a shared vision.”
The park has always been an educational space over its 50-year history, beginning as the Ontario Agricultural Museum (OAM). But since then, it has shed its skin as a place to solely look at tractors and steam engines and is now a much broader community hub.
When Reaume took over in 2014, he found a park trying to cling to its origins as a traditional museum. But CHP, he felt, had so much more potential – and years of hard work followed to chase that vision.
Mansoor Tanweer/MiltonToday
The park now has a level of cultural inclusivity not thought possible just a decade ago – with, among many other endeavours, the park’s first Sikh and gay weddings taking place under his reign.
For her part, Henderson was instrumental in bringing Pride Fest to the park. Overall, the institution is now, in Reaume’s words, “a centre for food and farming, past present and future.”
CHP is also now home to:
- Food For Life’s Wednesday Tremaine Market.
- The Toronto Black Farmers and Growers Collective and their local farming lands.
- An Indigenous healing garden and educational space, a collaboration between the Halton District School Board and Grandmothers’ Voice.
- The Dream Kitchen, a culinary teaching space for those with neurological disabilities started by a former Milton Optimist Club president.
- An aquaponics farm that grows food for a number of organizations, including Food for Life.
“The lack of knowledge for farming and for food is tremendous. I saw this as an opportunity to be able to get to the ones that really needed to be educated, which was the kids,” said Reaume.
The Ontario Agricultural Museum was established by the Province in the late ‘60s. The 80-acre institution would celebrate its official opening on Aug. 31, 1975. By the ‘80s, the grounds boasted 30 or so buildings.
Park historians and visitors Bev Hughes and his wife Beverly remember the OAM focusing on educating the public about the history of farming and how it helped shape Ontario.
“Starting in 1989, the OAM hosted an annual ‘Great Canadian Antique Tractor Field Days’. In addition to the large display of Canadian-made tractors owned by the museum, collectors were invited to bring any Canadian-brand tractors to display for the weekend,” recalled Bev.
The Hughes remembered looking forward to bringing their own tractor to this event.
Volunteer and former CHP board member Russ Kidd was also a visitor to the OAM and remembers thinking that the park was “a pretty neat place” for its collection of tractors and steam engines that were found there.
“I came from a farm, so I was interested in farm and mechanical stuff and they have a lot of everything there.”
But the good times didn’t last. In 1996, rumours began spreading that the Province would be closing the museum. A group of concerned citizens called Ontario’s Rural Heritage Preservation Committee joined forces with several groups to keep things going.
The board was incorporated into the Country Heritage Park Experience Inc. in 2002. Thus, CHP was born in the same year.
But the CHP of today was a long way from reality. The park’s leaders, Jamie Reaume says, still “believed it was the 1950s.” In his mind, “the museum had its day.”
Naturally, there was some push back.
Volunteer Sue Powell, who in her capacity as a provincial government official, was part of the park's strategic planning before Reaume was brought on. She remembers a culture of keeping CHP as a “best-kept secret in Milton” and not letting “anyone in, they didn’t want it to grow, they didn’t want change.”
Reaume went along with the board’s wishes at first, but CHP lost a lot of money. Once day-to-day operations were left to him, things turned around.
“I drew lines in the sand and I refused to move,” Reaume added. “Within the last seven or eight years, we’ve always made money. Which is not bad for a not-for-profit charity.”
While the future looks bright for CHP, Henderson still has challenges ahead – needing to continually explore new revenue streams to maintain financial viability.
“CHP has a long history of being a hub of community activities and events. We are proud of that legacy and hope to continue to do so in a more financially stable manner,” Henderson said. “We’re working on ensuring the park remains a community hub, but one that is also financially sustainable for the long term.”
More information about CHP can be found on its website.