The Dyer Memorial Nature Reserve is an important part of the Huntsville community. That was made clear at the Open House held by Muskoka Conservancy at Partners Hall on Tuesday evening.
“We’re walking away with a pile of input from a really good group,” said Scott Young, Executive Director of Muskoka Conservancy, the not-for-profit organization that owns and operates the Dyer Memorial.
Young, who noted that the turnout was “amazing,” said the Conservancy has not held public discussions about the memorial since roughly 2016 and felt it was time to hear from people. “We understand people want it to be better, right? But when you have x number of resources to do that, you have to look for different ways to make it better.” He welcomed and hoped for community partnerships.
About $680,000 is currently invested in the trust. Interest from the investment, which fluctuates around $20,000 annually, is used to maintain the memorial, those in attendance heard.
“We’ve protected the capital in the Dyer fund and so we continue to spend the earnings on the management of the property.” Young described the approach as “slow and steady” to ensure the funds remain in perpetuity.
The Dyer Memorial is a stone monument on about 155 acres of forested land. It was erected by Clifton Dyer, a Detroit lawyer, in memory of his wife Betsy, who died in 1956. He died three years later, and his ashes rest beside hers at the top of the monument.
For many years, the site’s upkeep was in the care of a memorial trust set up by Dyer. The intent was to ensure that the memorial stood in perpetuity as a testament to his love for his wife. But as time passed, the funds in the trust started to dwindle, and the estate executors offered to sell the land to the Town of Huntsville. The council at the time gave it some serious consideration, said former Councillor George Young who was part of that council. Young [no relation to Scott Young], was at Tuesday’s meeting. In 2006, the council of the day gave him the green light to see if he could negotiate an agreement for the lands. Trying to secure the lands had become particularly urgent given that the trust had already sold some of the property. “They could see that the money that the Dyer fund had allocated was quickly becoming depleted, and the easy way was for them as the executors of the estate to sell it to the Town if the Town was interested,” recalled Young.
Young had been communicating with the trust’s lawyer, who at the time had indicated that the trust would be interested in selling the property for park purposes to the municipality with the understanding that should those lands be used for something other than a park, they would revert back to the trust, but in late 2008, council decided it was not a good investment. “Looking back at it in hindsight, was it? It probably was, I think so,” said Young, adding that it would have given the Town control of the property, which could have been added to its portfolio and used as a marketing attraction for the municipality.
In 2010, Muskoka Conservacy took over the site, which it has been maintaining in a more natural state since. Gone are the meticulous English gardens that once existed on the property, which the Conservancy’s Executive Director explained was resource-intensive and not necessarily part of its ecological mandate. He also explained that attempts to raise more funds through the placement of benches and memorial trees were discontinued because the initiative barely broke even.
The state of the road to the memorial was also mentioned at the meeting. Scott Young noted that the road belongs to the municipality, but he was encouraged by the fact that municipal staff, particularly public works and parks staff, were present.
The placement of the memorial trees was also discussed, with one attendee expressing concern that some of those trees were planted too close to the monument, which would be obscured in time. Another resident, who had a memorial tree and bench placed in the area in memory of his late wife, said he did not want anything moved without proper consultation.
“I think most people here tonight agree that it needs to be kept in perpetuity the way the Dyers envisioned. They just have to figure out how to do it,” said George Young. “It’s now 2024, and what’s going to happen in the next ten years,” he questioned. “I think they [the Conservancy] are interested in talking to anybody who wants to help, and that can come from a marketing point of view. It can come from a group who might be interested in maintaining physically the property,” he noted. “It’s one of the best-kept secrets… if this was in Europe, it certainly wouldn’t have this treatment…it’s a folklore story, it’s a love story, and it’s interesting whether you’re a tourist or whether you’re a local, so it should be preserved.”
Scott Young said he was appreciative of the respectful dialogue. “We get to go away and digest it all and, think about it, and hopefully come back with some ways that we can do better.”
If you have ideas, are interested in forming a group and volunteering, or would like more information, you can reach Scott Young via email at [email protected].
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Agree with Ruby Traux about the Dyer Memorial. Keep bringing the facts forward and gather support. The world is spinning too fast and errors are being made.
Thank you.
Sorry we missed the meeting.
If they are getting less than 3% return of the $680,000, I suggest they get a better investment vehicle. 5% should be the absolute minimum (highly secure), and 7% to 11% if they are prepared to take a little bit of long-term risk.
Also, the road up to the Dyer Memorial is all but impassable. If you are don’t have a 4×4, it’s a long walk in.
We were there last weekend and it is still amazingly beautiful.
To me the bottom line will always be what Clifton Dyer directed in his Will. That’s where the money that Muskoka Conservancy now controls came from. That’s where the land that Muskoka Conservancy is protecting came from.
The sole purpose of the money and the land that the Conservancy now controls was to maintain the monument and the elaboratly landscaped garden Clifton Dyer created for his wife. That is clearly stated in the Will, which also directed that if the Trust fund became depleted, the adjoining 400 acres could be used to raise income for the Trust ~ by being made into a recreation area, or logged, or even sold ~ all in order to maintain the monument and English garden. This was obviously very important to Mr. Dyer and was the sole purpose of the Trust.
Muskoka Conservancy does good work protecting land as wilderness. It’s an admirable mission, but it doesn’t fit with the terms of the Will. I believe that in accepting the money and the land from the Dyer Memorial Trust, the Conservancy has an obligation to honour the terms of the Will. Those terms are simple and straightforward: maintain the monument and the surrounding garden as it was designed by the landscape architect in 1958.
The Conservancy says this isn’t compatible with their mission and their capabilities. In that case, I believe they should turn the money and the land over to someone who can and will abide by the terms of Clifton Dyer’s Will.