Museum honouring basketball inventor, physiotherapy pioneer at risk, says mayor

CBC

2 days ago

A deflated ancestor to the modern basketball sits on a cluttered shelf of artifacts at the Mill of Kintail Museum, a short drive outside Almonte, Ont., where the sport's inventor was born.
Both major collections currently housed in the museum — one recognizing the father of basketball, Dr. James Naismith, and another dedicated to a pioneer in the field of physiotherapy, R. Tait McKenzie — could soon be in search of a new home.
"We're at risk of losing those collections," said Mayor of Mississippi Mills Christa Lowry.
"There's been a lot of talk about elbows up and time to be championing Canadian stories and Canadian icons — and I can't think of two more important icons."
Naismith invented basketball while he was working with the YMCA in Massachusetts in 1891. He was also a lifelong friend to McKenzie, a sculptor, surgeon and trailblazer in the field of physiotherapy.
McKenzie's life partner and poet Ethel McKenzie is also honoured in the museum.
Funding model 'unsustainable'
The museum is located on a river outside Almonte in a grist mill that dates to 1830. McKenzie purchased the property in 1931, converting it to a summer home and naming it the Mill of Kintail.
Since 1972, the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) has owned the mill and the McKenzie collection. It permanently acquired the Naismith collection in 2017.
Just two years later, the Ontario government passed the More Homes, More Choice Act, which clarified the mandate of conservation authorities in the province.
As part of the change, the authority lost its ability to raise funding through a municipal levy, according to MVCA property manager Scott Lawryk.
"The reality of the situation is nobody has been able to find a concrete solution to the funding model," Lawryk said.
"It would be irresponsible for us to just assume that the funding is going to fix itself."
Municipalities in the Mississippi Valley watershed are currently supporting the museum on a five-year agreement set to last for another three-and-a-half years.
But Lawryk said that deadline is an obstacle to long-term financial planning.
"It makes it real difficult to establish a firm plan when that cloud is kind of hanging over our heads," Lawryk said.
Mayor blindsided
Early last month, the MVCA released an updated strategic plan for the museum that would see the authority divest itself of the Naismith and McKenzie collections and transition the focus of the museum to "the beauty, power and importance of water and watersheds" in an effort to unlock more provincial funding.
Lowry said she was caught off guard by the proposal.
"Part of what feels like the blindsidedness of this — and where did this come from — is there hasn't been engagement," she said.
"There haven't been discussions with ourselves as the municipality as the host of the Mill of Kintail, there haven't been discussions with the broader community."
On Tuesday, Mississippi Mills town council voted to request an opportunity for the mayor to appear as a delegate at the next available MVCA board meeting. It also authorized her to seek out potential funding partners "to advocate for the proper care and preservation" of the mill and the collections.
"The goal is really to have some conversations, to make sure that the folks around the table at the MVCA board are aware of all the things that we're aware of, because we are so proud of both of these iconic, historical figures," Lowry said.
Problem across province
Michael Rikley-Lancaster, executive director and curator of the nearby Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, said financial challenges aren't unique to the Mill of Kintail.
"We're certainly seeing more and more of that happening throughout the province," said Rikley-Lancaster, who is also president of the Ontario Museum Association.
"There's other regions where you're starting to see collections or heritage sectors in their region shutting down, and museums shutting down."
When that happens, Rikley-Lancaster said communities lose both an economic driver and access to important local history.