Asam Mill
Posted by: Kathie Brosemer (kathie) on August 06, 2002 at 22:24:14
from the history lesson dept.
Earl Cuerrier writes: "Two old timers, Paul Asam and his brother Shannon were still logging with horses and running their old fashioned steam powered sawmill back of Poplar Dale untill 1986. This was one of only a handful of mills of this type remaining in Ontario." Story, below.
"At the time Farmer Bob's lease was negotiated with the Conservation Authority in 1984 this mill was available for acquisition. Therefore a provision was included to accommodate an intended cooperative effort for the running of the mill as an interpretive historical site. What an attraction this would have been! Why didn't it happen?
Well, the CA was was left with the task of acquiring the mill, dismantling it, and moving it to the farm. They destroyed it in the process. Go and have a look but I warn you, if you have any sense of history or civic pride at all, what you will see will leave you outraged and disgusted.
This mill was not taken apart with any sort of methodology conducive to reconstruction that anybody can see. The remains lie scattered in tangled, battered, rusting heaps in the bushes surrounding the present CA sawmill. It is not pretty and is unsafe as the CA has been using this area as a dump. The site is a civic disgrace.
The CA is publicly funded and should be accountable to the community for their actions. As taxpayers we all have a right to ask questions. Some of us might like an explanation as to how and why the Asam mill was destroyed. What was the cost to taxpayers for this misguided venture? What is the loss in potential tourist dollars to S.S.M., not to mention the cost to our collective cultural heritage the wasting of this mill represents? What kind of conservation is that?? It seems to me an obscene disregard for and crime against history has occurred."
Asam Mill
I can't believe that no one has commented, I just found this story, we had been contacted about the site last summer. I have heard that there may be other locations that would like the mill but the soo won't give it up. Something should be tried soon to salvage it otherwise there may not be the right people around who can help. Even if it is not operational it could be fixed enough for people to look at and not just see a pile of junk, as for those those who know what the parts are it is a pile of memories.by Sean Asam on 2003-11-01 20:52:31