A plaque to commemorate a dedicated volunteer and one of the founding members of the Sarnia Heritage Committee, Patricia (Pat) McLean, has officially been unveiled at city hall.
The Centennial Cairn plaque is located on the southwest corner of Sarnia City Hall, in a recently installed parkette.
A brief dedication ceremony involving members of the McLean family, heritage committee members, and city council representatives was held on Wednesday.
The Centennial Cairn at city hall is a replica of the original monument which marked Sarnia's 100th anniversary in 1936. The replica was constructed at city hall in 2004 and McLean paid $5,300 for a custom-built thermometer to be added to the top - something McLean's son, Ted McLean, said was "a must" to her.
Ted said his mother always talked about Sarnia's history so Wednesday's dedication would have been special to her.
"It's amazing, I think it's really touching," said Ted. "She'd be ecstatic. She wouldn't say much, she'd just have a nice smile."
McLean died in 2019.
Mayor Mike Bradley spoke about his personal friend and said he admired McLean's dedication to the history of Sarnia.
"She kept our history alive and this was recognition of that tremendous drive and sense of purpose about why we should remember our history because it defines us," Bradley said. "It also helps us shape our future. When you look to the past, you can think about where you want to be in 25, or 50, or 100 years."
One word Bradley used to describe McLean was "relentless."
"There were times we disagreed, for example, I believed that this particular monument should have stayed in Veteran's Park where it was originally. Pat won that debate and convinced us that city hall was a better place and now when you see this beautiful parkette, which is being frequented constantly by people around downtown and people walking the waterfront, it shows that she was correct."
Wednesday's dedication was a few years in the making. City of Sarnia Planner and Secretary of the Sarnia Heritage Committee Max Williams said the project started in 2018, however, there were some disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The cairn was here but there was no landscaping around it so we had the landscaping designed by DeGroot's, John DeGroot, and after that, then our Parks and Recreation people decided to put the landscaping in but to get the concrete done at the time, it took a bit of time because of workers not being available," said Williams. "While that was happening, there were some structural issues with the structure itself - with the cairn - and that had to be repaired. Those kinds of repairs need to be done through budgetary issues through council, so it takes a bit of time."
The cairn was refurbished in 2022. Williams said they also wanted to wait for a nice summer day to officially unveil the plaque.
McLean joined the heritage committee in 1987 when it was formerly known as the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee.
"She not only promoted the local history here but she also promoted it provincially and federally at every cause that she had," Williams said.
McLean was also responsible for the restoration of the Boer War Memorial Fountain, read a media release from the City of Sarnia. She also oversaw the restoration of the Alexander Mackenzie monument at Lakeview Cemetery.
