A pair of old downtown area postcards for today.
First up is St. Edmond School. It was located on Tuscarora Ave. just east of Marentette, behind what was then Immaculate Conception Church, in fact, you can catch a glimpse of the church on the left side fo the card.
I’m not sure when the school closed, when I first moved to Windsor in 1989, I seem to remember some new kids in school that had just come from St. Edmond. I’m not sure however if it was the same building or not.
Immaculate Conception is shown in the postcard above, the church is at Wyandotte and Marentette, and is today The Holy Family Chaldean Church. Thank god for the ethnic church groups otherwise Windsor could have lost a lot of great old churches. The Chaldeans saved this building, the Coptics saved Sacred Heart on Ottawa St., and the Maronites saved the Art Deco Gem St. Claire’s on Tecumseh & Victoria.
St. Edmund at one time was a French speaking school and was attached to Immaculate Conception School. The Front of St. Edmund faced Marentette.
Thanks Guido. The building is still there, judging from the look of the building, the St. Edmond shown above was probably demolished in the late 60s/early 70s.
Also St. Edmond is now located on Totten Street in the old St. Patrick School.
Nice postcards Andrew. If we let the Diocese of London have their way we jwouldn’t have any churches left in Windsor. The almightly dollar is what closes or keep open a parish today. Just look at some of the new churches being opened in sprawls-ville while the rest close. The interesting part is I don’t remember reading in the Bible that you had to have money in order to attend a parish and recevie the blessing of God. The acts of the London Diocese speaks otherwise.
Actually St. Edmonds on Totten is at least its 3rd location, for several years it occuppied the previously named Holy Family on 1500 Rossini, I believe it relocated to Totten about 6 or seven years ago.
ME> I’m not in a position to defend the diocese (though perhaps 13 years of Catholic school will do that) but if there are fewer people going to the churches, meaning less $ in the plate, then how does the church pay for the upkeep of these buildings? They can’t pray for a new roof.
Look at the crisis Assumption is in now. Real money is needed to repair it.
I would guess 1960’s for the demolition of that school. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there in the 1970’s.
St. Edmonds has moved a lot – you’d never know where it would turn up next!
“Thank God” indeed! lol
The Catholic church is facing the same problem that a lot of older, established Protestant and Orthodox churches with aging congregations face. The younger generation either doesn’t have the time or interest to attend church regularly and they aren’t contributing enough financially to keep the churches open. When the older church members die off there is nobody to replace them and pretty soon the church is forced to close.
Shawn, I know all about Assumption quite well. 🙂
You stated the diocese doesn’t have themoney. Well they seem to do quite well for St. Peter’s Seminary, they seemed to do well with London’s cathedral and they seem to do well at the Bishop’s dinner in Windsor that raises over $200,000 annually.
Why are they closing chruches in areas that need them the most and instead build new churches in vast sprawling areas? Again this is against the teachings of Jesus. Since the Catholic church regards tradition as so important why do they allow such heritage buildings to rot in the first place? It is their duty not only to the parishioners but to the community as well to keep these places of worship in good condition.
I also think if the diocese is crying “poor mouth” then maybe the Bishop(s) should petition the Vatican to release some funds. As to funds why does each parish have to give a portion of their money to the diocese for “future investments”?
These are questions that need to be answered as the status quo just doesn’t sit well with most anymore. The days of just accepting what is told is over. The diocese of london and Bishop Fabbro and Daniel’s are to be blamed due to their continued acts of secrecy when dealing with parishioners.
Assumption is going to close simply becasue the diocese does not care. Plain and simple.
To bad though – More Windsor history will be lost. I’m sure the University of Windsor will be happy to get the land for more parking.
While the diocese and idiot Bishop might choose to close Assumption, as they will learn (as they did in Lakeshore) that demolition isn’t as easy as they would like.
The building was designated in 1978 under the Ontario Heritage Act, which now prevents demolition outright. Until a few years ago, the old act only delayed demolition for 60 days. That’s the reason why we lost Glengarda.
Also in 1985 in excahnge for a shit load of cash from the Ontario Heritage Trust, a “heritage easement” was registered against the church. That easement lasts for 99 years, and is in force until 2084.
Basically while the Designation protects the heritage elements on the exterior, the easement also contains interior elements.
http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_8906_1.html
That would prevent the diocese from removing these elements from the building even if they closed it. That way they couldn’t remove the interior elements like they usually do when they close churches.
ME> If you can figure out how sprawl is against the teaching’s of Jesus, it may be one of the more powerful weapons against it.
The rumor is that they will close the church, place a fence around the building, and the Diocese will rent the parking lots to the U of W, that way they will still make some profit as Assumption crumbles to the ground.
its sad – But very much could be a reality…Anything is possible with this Bishop at the helm of the Diocese……..
The bishop probably doesn’t have $10 million under his bishop hat. Nor did he ask to be put in charge of a diocese with a 150 year old church in Windsor falling apart – partly owing to neglect and poor renovation methods going decades back. I’m sure he doesn’t lie awake at night wringing his hands together in glee at the thought this church may be at the end of its rope. Most of the comments directed at him are unfair and based on hangups with the Catholic church, not the realities facing the church – and all churches – these days. George hit the nail on that one. And Shawn took care of the rest excellently so I’ll leave it at that.
John – True, but Fabbro’s still an asshat.
Keep in mind that the funds spent in 1985 fixed the church up. Most of the current problems that are now going to cost 9 million dollars are a result of the lack of general maintence over the last 22 years, not because the building is 150+ years old.
Unfortunately the ’80s reparations weren’t done correctly though, Andrew. They bought a little time but that’s all. The parking lot didn’t start slanting toward the church 22 years ago either. Water is cruel.
This has nothing to do with the parking lot and everything to do with the PRIORITIES OF THE DIOCESE. The diocese has mismanaged the relatively small renovations from the get-go. That is a fact that they have admitted to. Case in point the prototype work done on the west side was originally estimated at $75,000 but balloned to over $250,000! This was NEVER communicated to the parish yet the work was allowed to continue.
Interesting that the diocese doesn’t have topay for it so might as well either ignore it or allow the budget to balloon so that they can close the parish.
Lets face it, Fabbro and “friends” do most of their work as decisions have been made well before any reports are do back. That too is a fact.
Windsor has lost almost 40% of the RC church structures in this area regardless of those who attend. Yet London keeps most of theirs with the same amount of attendance.
As for sprawl being against Jesus’ teachings. One word sums it up nicely. Greed. Greed from individuals, greed from developers and greed from the city that only looks at what it has in it’s wallet today. What abot intensification of neighbourhods? What about rehabing existing buildings instead of building newer ones further and further out of the city when we can’t afford what infrastructure we have already?
Can someone explain to me why these repairs would cost $9 million? The price tag sounds a little excessive for a building that size. How much are these handymen billing at? $1,000 an hour??
Isn’t there another option. A couple years ago, my brother used his vacation time and his own savings to fly down to the Ukraine to help build an Anglican church with a bunch of other volunteers and they completed it and they never got paid a cent like Habit for Humanity projects. They just did it out of a sense of volunteerism. Why can’t volunteer craftsman donate their time to do these repairs? I’m just not understanding what’s going on here?!
David – This is info i copied from the Save Assumption Facebook group.
COSTS:
-For east and west walls of the church …$3.6 million
-For the bell tower and the sanctuary (altar area)…$1.8 million
Other projects that have to be done – but not urgent in nature – include…
-A new roof on the church.
-The complete demolition and rebuilding of the Sacristy building.
-New heating pipes installed under the church.
-Removal of parking lights off the side of the church, as the rust from them causes damage to the building. They need to be on free standing poles.
-New fire system.
-Repairs to the plaster and paintings inside where water has leaked in.
-Other smaller repairs needed to church, chapel and hall.
…These costs bring the total amount of the restoration to $9.8 million dollars.
I will add that the limestone is from the Amherstburg quarry which was very poor limestone. To match anything close to the colour it has to come from the Wiarton area and trucked down here. Also, the inside bricks of the wall are in very poor shape and need replacing as well (not to be confused with the our brick skin). The builiding timbers that hold the roof to the walls may also be rotten as found on the prototype work already done.
Since this is the oldest (or second oldest) parish west of Montreal couldn’t we tap funds from the Feds and Province? The history alone of this parish is incredible as it originally started as a mission on Bois Blanc Island (Bob-Lo Island).
Hi Andrew:
A little late to the party but better than never.
I attended L’Ecole St Edmond as a kid- it was located on Tuscarora and was run by the Ursulines. Immaculate Conception was the parish church and we went to special mass at 10:30 that was given by the French parish priest. My old neighbourhood had a very deep French community founded by original settlers- my family came to town from Pointe-Aux-Roches and traces its roots back the the 17th century in Canada.
The school closed in in 1964 when we moved across the street to Marentette where St Edmond moved into the new digs in 1964- it was a very modern school at the time but eventually closed with changing demographics- it housed the Hospice of Windsor for a time while it was being rebuilt.
Of course you can learn all about this and more in our book “Postcards from the Past- Windsor and the Border Cities” (shameless plug).
I was the first kindergarten class (1964) when it moved to the “new site” (it is still there, attached to Immaculate Conception School). It was a brand new school. D’Arcy’s Confectionnary used to be accross the street. I remember teachers sending us there “pour acheter un pop et un chip” for 25 cents! I used to be “une brigadière” just so I could go to Bob-Lo in June. Oh the good times we had there. We had the most wonderful teachers; Mme Bénéteau, Mère Imelda, Mlle Renaud, Mme Desrosiers, M. Vallée ( he was our homeroom teacher for grades 4,5,6,7,8). Mme Gauthier, Mlle Pinsonneault, Mme Cadotte, Mme Vallée….wonderful wonderful teachers, Soeur Julie, Mme Girard, M. Levesque, M. Doucet……can you all think of any others?
Student at l’école St-Edmond from 1964 -1973. Also in the first kindergarten class in the new school. Teacher at the same school since 1979 (31 years. Lots of memories! Just to let the readers know that the school is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The festivities will be numerous. The public will be invited to register for a weekend of reminiscing (Apr 30th and May 1st). Check out the school website for registration information @ http://www.csdecso.on.ca/Ecoles/St-Edmond/accueil.htm. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Student at l’ecole St-Edmond from 1966-1971. And yes Sylvie I can name a few more M. Brule, M. Deschenes, Mme Simard, M Coriveau, Mme Gelinas, Mme Ghacham, Mme Lalonde, Mme Chehab and yes I agree wonderful, wonderful teachers. I am also a parent of children that graduated from St-Edmond and volunteer at the school for many years. Lots of fun & Lots of memories! Can’t wait for the reunion.
Holy Family school was on Droullard wasnt it? Or was that Holy Rosary schol?
just found this website,interesting reading.I too attented ecole St Edmond.I’ve been trying to locate class pictures.Would anyone be willing to share them with me?I’m on facebook.My maiden name is Caron.I attended St Edmond from 1961-69.I had a Chris Edwards in my class.Wayne Mayer,Jimmy Malette,Gary Lance,Virginie Bechard,Carol Marier,Janis Jacob,Ildiko Kovacs and Gary Pinsonneault to name just a few.Mme Beneteau was my Kindergarden teacher.Mere Francois Xavier was our principle at the time.Later in years,Mere Ursule-Marie was our principle then Mr.Brulee.Mme Marier and her husband were both teachers at the school.My grade two teacher was Mlle.Renaud,gr.3 was Mme.Papineau and grade 6 was Mlle.Pinsonneault.Also if I have the correct person,Sylvie was in my sisters class.Would your last name be Duguay.I hope to hear from somebody soon about the class photos.Thank you in advance.Jacqueline Caron
St. Edmunds was originally on Tuscarora. I went there in Grade 2 in 1959-60. They tore the school down and rebuilt the school as an attachment to Immaculate Conception a block away. At some point, they closed that location and rebuilt the school on Totten. I don’t know when that happened.
I went to school there too. Back in 1958 to 1962. I remember mlle Renaud great teacher, M. Benoit Marier. M. Guoin. Les Ursulines Mere Marie Louise, Mere Leonard, Mere Xavier,et Mere Marie Leonard.J ai connu Mary Margaret Edward Is she Chris Edward s sister Bye Thank you