Directors of the McDougall Church said they have been “flooded ” with support following the 4 a.m. fire that destroyed the historic 142-year-old building on May 22.
Directors of the McDougall Church said they have been “flooded ” with support following the 4 a.m. fire that destroyed the historic 142-year-old building on May 22.
“Hundreds of people have offered their support - my phone hasn't stopped ringing, ” said Sarah Harvey, event planner who has been involved with the church for the last decade.
“I'm just floored by the amount of support that has come in … no matter what we will continue one way or another. ”
Built in 1875 by Rev. George McDougall, the church was known as the second oldest building on its original location in Alberta. The historic site was a popular spot for events including summer weddings, which was one of the reasons a local realtor was inspired to start a GoFundMe page to help with the rebuild.
“My son and daughter-in-law were married there two years ago and it was the day before their anniversary when the church burnt down, ” Iris Sikina explained.
“It's just such a shame to lose a piece of history. ”
Sikina started the fundraising page the day after the fire. Coincidentally, the start of the fundraising page also marks her son and daughter-in-law's two-year wedding anniversary.
“I told my son and daughter-in-law that they would rebuild (and) there was nothing that could take away their memories, ” she said.
Harvey was certain the church could not be rebuilt.
“I was telling everyone, ‘No way, there wasn't a place not made of wood and this place is unsalvageable,' ” Harvey said.
“But if we don't end up rebuilding, we will still do something with the site. We will not close down the site permanently. ”
Residents of Morley visited the burned out site on Monday and one elder said the community has mixed emotions.
“My daughter asked me the same thing, how I felt when I saw the church … it's kind of sad to see a historic building go down like that but our community didn't have much to do with it, ” said elder Tina Fox from the Stoney Nation.
Fox explained that for some elders and community members, the church reminded them of the “harm and injuries ” that happened during residential school.
“I respect the church but I don't attend, ” Fox explained.
“It would be nice to have the United Church of Canada come here and do some healing work to reconcile with our people - so we can coexist without hatred. ”
Four fire trucks, two from Exshaw and two from Jamieson Road, responded to the call on May 22 at 4 a.m.
“The church was completely engulfed … there were four walls left sort of standing, ” said Al Hogarth, Exshaw firefighter who was one of the first to respond to the scene. “It's pretty sad - it was a (historic) structure and now it's gone. ”
Firefighters said the blaze took five hours to put out - but not before it destroyed the church and everything inside, including two antique pianos from the McDougall family that were just taken out of storage and placed in the church a couple weeks prior to Monday.
“It's too bad things like this happen - it was really a part of history, ” said Angus MacKenzie, a Cochrane artist who had two murals showcased on both sides of the alter in the McDougall Church.
Restored in 1952, the McDougall Church was designated as a historic site by the United Church of Canada and the Alberta Government in 1979 when MacKenzie was asked to paint the murals.
The 85-year-old researched all he could about the history of the McDougall family and First Nations people who lived two kilometres west of the church for the project, calling the task “quite an undertaking. ”
“It's too bad because it is a part of history of Cochrane and the west … it's really sad, ” MacKenzie said.
The fire investigation concluded on Tuesday with investigators determining the fire was “likely accidental, and not set intentionally. ” There was no evidence at the scene to suggest the fire was deliberately set, according to Cochrane RCMP and the fire investigator.
“I would love to think it was an accident - I mean who wants to think someone would do something like that, to think that is (was) arson would make the whole thing so much worse, ” Harvey said.
Located two km from the Morley town site, the church was originally built to serve as a mission to Morley while also creating an opportunity to establish more of a permanent relationship with the Blackfoot Nation.
At press time the board of directors were still working with the insurance company.
