John Grieve Lind (1867-1947) - Contributions to St. Marys

John Grieve Lind (1867-1947) - Contributions to St. Marys. . No one had a greater impact on the Town of St. Marys in the 20th century than John Grieve Lind. Most closely associated locally with the St. Marys Cement Company, he was the main spokesman during negotiations with the town prior to the start-up of this industry in 1912. While other investors and directors were mostly based in Toronto, Lind was on site throughout the construction period and stayed on as plant manager. He moved his family to St. Marys and they were soon vital supporters of the community and its institutions., Early Years , An aura of adventure accompanied Lind to St. Marys. Born in 1867 on a farm in nearby Pond Mills, he left Ontario to seek his fortune when he was a very young man. He crossed the continent, working at a variety of jobs including bridge and railway construction until he reached Seattle. From there in the early 1890s, he went north to look for gold in Yukon Territory. That made him a genuine sourdough, already an experienced prospector by the famous Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. The challenges of surviving in the north, let alone striking it rich, meant success only for the strongest, the smartest, the most disciplined and the luckiest. Lind left the north in 1903 a wealthy man. He returned to Ontario and when he decided to go into the cement business, he put all his experience, energy and creative drive into this endeavour., St. Marys Cement Company , Lind began by investing in a cement plant in Owen Sound. As this company's fortunes were in decline, he decided to take an active role in its management. He purchased and closed several smaller, unprofitable cement companies in the area and then decided to find to a new location that would work well for the production of Portland cement. He and his partners chose St. Marys, a place that had abundant limestone, clay and water, was on two national railway lines and would have access to hydro-electric power from Niagara Falls. The original plan had been to disassemble the old Owen Sound plant and move it to St. Marys. This proved impractical and construction of an entirely new plant began in 1911. After months of construction and test runs, the contractors, Hunt Engineering of Kansas City, Missouri, turned the St. Marys Cement Plant over to its directors in an official ceremony in November 12, 1912., The Father of St. Marys Parks , Once his cement business was up and running, Lind found ways to contribute to his adopted community, St. Marys. His generosity was often behind-the-scenes but one strong interest - a commitment to public parks and recreation - was in full view. He enjoyed watching competitive sports and when the Town of St. Marys was able to acquire full ownership of the Flats (now Milt Dunnell Field) Lind bought property to the north to enlarge the existing field and contributed to improvements of the grounds - home field for the community’s famous champion lacrosse team, the Alerts, and for many other sports events. He purchased the seven-acre Cadzow Park on Church Street South and built historic Cadzow Pool. The stone house belonging to this property is now the St. Marys Museum., Lind created a parks committee and was the first chairman of this group. He envisioned municipal parkland all along the Thames River and Trout Creek. Although this did not happen in his lifetime, he would have approved of today's system of connecting walkways and parks along the waterfront., Lind Park , The lots on this corner of Church and Jones Streets were derelict when John Lind purchased them in the early 1930s. The property was close to his family home - just to the south at 51 Church Street - and he set out to rehabilitate it. He hired a professional landscape architect to plan the grounds and used labourers from the cement plant to do the heavy work that included building the stone walls on the south and west sides with pillared entrances into the park. It was the height of the Great Depression and this project gave additional hours of paid work to some of his employees. Lind transferred the park to the municipality in 1942. Although the town could not maintain the original sophisticated landscape design, Lind Park is an important site, especially after the statue of the Right Honourable Arthur Meighen, Canada's ninth prime minister, was installed in 1988., John G. Lind's descendants continued to support parks and recreation in St. Marys with generous donations to the development of the Quarry, the tennis courts, the Sportsplex and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame., Final Years , John G. Lind remained manager at the St. Marys Cement Plant until ill health forced his retirement in 1943. He was admired and respected by his employees; many of them were fiercely loyal. His son, John S. Lind, became the new manager of the cement plant when he returned to St. Marys in 1945 following distinguished service during World War II. Three generations of the Lind family managed the St. Marys Cement Company before it was sold to Blue Circle in 1992., Lind Park, close to downtown and easily accessible, is a memorial to John G. Lind's vision for a beautiful St. Marys.