Grace has been an “influencer” in Millbrook for more than 40 years.
By Celia Hunter
“I can’t possibly have lived here for 50 years,” Glass muses, “because I’m pretty sure I just turned 40!!”
With a joyous laugh, Grace shares this spirited assurance with friends gathered to celebrate her 90thbirthday at the end of June. These friends represent the many passions, causes and interests that have motivated Grace these many years. Her advocacy and activism have helped to shape the community and enrich both the landscape and the people she has touched along the way.
From Wisconsin, by way of Kensington Market in Toronto, Grace discovered Millbrook and the surrounding rolling hills in 1975, and with husband Harald, bought a sliver of land on what is now the Zion Line. There they set about building their own house and Grace allowed her passions to direct her focus. First up: night school to learn horsemanship so that she could realize her dream of owning and riding her own horse. Deb Stanton recalls an improvised fence of stacked straw bales with the new garage serving as a barn. It was the start that meant Grace could make it happen. Her positive energy bursts through barriers.
Evidence of her advocacy includes the continuing vitality of the Old Millbrook School that, in the mid 1980s was slated for demolition after being deemed unsafe by the school board. Community volunteers banded together to raise funds to purchase the building, effect necessary upgrades, and then re-purpose the school as a community hub. An artist herself, Grace was active in filling the empty classrooms with fine arts programs. For the Give-a-Hoot Café that supported the advocacy of Millbrook People for Peace with fund-raising concerts in the 1990s, Grace’s divine lemon curd tarts rarely even made it to the serving table.
Needler’s Mill was also on the chopping block in the early 1980s, and again a decade ago, and both times Grace contributed her infectious energy and creativity to the team. Grace inspires.
Jane Wilson, a fellow member of the Millbrook Gallery, a cooperative of local artists and artisans, recounts that Grace assembled the photos that Harald always took of the gallery shows, readings and concerts into beautifully annotated books that have become a wonderful record. Similarly, she has compiled a photographic record of the Community Garden, which she also co-founded.
Acting on her reverence for the majesty of old growth forests, her passion for this earth, her respect for all peoples, and her love for this community, Grace has marched, petitioned, and stood up for all she holds dear. Jane Wilson adds, “Grace has always had a great capacity for joy and a deep love of beauty. These qualities have sustained her through ups and downs.”
As she celebrates 90 years, her enthusiasm and gentle humour continue to infect all those around her. In Jane’s words, “she has always been the best of friends.” This is true both for those who know her and for the community she has served so well.