St. Anne's Poplar Point is one of the, if not the only, heritage buildings and churches of its era still operating as a church. Member Monica Griffiths says they just finished major renovations this past week, and for a short time, you could see the original timbers used for the walls as they were exposed during the renovation. The church was built around 1850.
"It's just right west of actual Poplar Point. We 'put quite the bee on' because it was getting into September. We got a grant from the provincial government’s Historic branch. It's a designated historic building, so it qualifies for help from the government just for maintenance. That's got to be wrapped up by September 15th. So, it's done. They really put in hard work, got two extra guys in there, got the scaffolds up, boards off, boards on, and paint on."
She notes the original timber was exposed out of necessity, and she couldn't wait to see it covered again.
"They're just raw timber. We were really blessed, even though they put tarping to cover the logs, they had to stay open and exposed for a day. Then we suggested the next time, maybe let's not take out an entire wall's length first. If it rains, there's nothing on the other side of that log. There's no Tyvek, plastic, or even a board. It's just straight to the mud wall. The inside is from the 1860s, and it's just mud plaster on laths. The lath was willows cut right from the bush right there."
The church was constructed when Archdeacon Cochrane had put in Saint Mary's la Prairie church, and not many years later, he decided that he would like to have a few satellite churches. Griffiths explains it was in the days of the horse and buggy, and the minister ensured the faith was cared for.
"People just gathered in their houses, or they would have a little town hall, a log place, or whatever back then. They would worship together, and the minister would travel around. He might show up once a month or once a year. That's the way it was. St. Anne's as a parish existed earlier than the building. Then they got the building started, and it was a long process. I've got the actual start date, but let's give it a good five years. The families donated the oak logs, so they had to be felled by hand and floated down the river."
She notes the river was closer to the church at that time.
"The Town of Poplar Point was around the church. There was a school and a trading post. I won't say Hudson's Bay, because I can't be sure, but I remember those stories. Most of the culture was Métis, and then you would have settlers as well. Very devout people, and they slowly put their building together. Now we've been given a big historic sign, which is authorized by the federal government in accordance with the diocese. They gave us the date 1859."
She notes it was under construction earlier and deeded later. Griffiths adds that a large sign was authorized by the federal government. An online search might give you the date 1864, but they stand by 1859, making the church 165 years old this year.
"It's called Red River log construction, and it's a little different than log buildings, which are made out of round posts. Ours are squared 10 inches by 12 inches. They're not uniform timbers, but they're squared. Then they pound a couple of great big timbers into the earth side by side with a space. If you hold your two fingers up like a V for victory, there are two here, and two there. These big logs are just dropped down in between - plunk! Then they put the roof on."
She says they hold a service each month, but not in the winter. During winter, they gather in a small parish hall in Poplar Point.
Harvest Sunday took place yesterday, Sunday, September 8.
"It's at 9:00 in the morning, which is farmer time. That way, we get to go and do our chores and whatnot in the daylight, and our minister serves. He comes to us first; Norman Collier. He's from Portage la Prairie and was with St. Mary's, and he is a Deacon now."
"We decorate it with a bunch of wheat and whatnot. Back in the day, they just flooded the place. When I had more helpers, we would take it to the soup kitchen; everything that was donated from the gardens. Lately, I decorated courtesy of Walmart. I buy the stuff and decorate the windows with potatoes and carrots."
Griffiths says the service highlighted singing, a sermon giving thanks for the harvest, a time to share communion, more singing, and then lunch.
The congregation can be as small as two or as large as 18, and they've even had up to 64 attendees once.
The cost for renovations was $11,000.
"This is the second half of the project. The first half was $13,000, and that was last year. It started off when I asked a carpenter to come and fix one of the main windows. The framing had rotted outside. So, he came and did that. He said that we should get the church inspected. The siding revealed rot. The wood was put in there in the '40s. There was a renovation in 2000 where some siding was replaced. We've got old siding, new siding, and medium siding. A general contractor came last year, and we got repairs at the bell tower, and we could see it was like all shreddy rot—when the bottoms start crumbling off."
After discovering more rotting boards—over 100—repairs for those began soon after.
Griffiths adds COVID-19 affected their attendance, noting that people became comfortable staying home and not making the effort to dress up and congregate.
"We lost a lot of people. Some people just stopped going to churches. Some went into care homes, and some passed away. So, we're running out of volunteers, but we're going to keep her going, hopefully."
Griffiths adds only small tweaks remain to be done next year, making the project practically finished at this point.
"We have lots to celebrate!"