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magazine / so05 / indepth
Protector
Esmonde, Ontario
St. Joseph-the-worker, with sleeves rolled up and wearing a careworn
expression, appears to be standing guard over Esmonde’s Catholic
Church. In fact, after much debate, it faces westward down the Opeongo
Road. During the statue’s commission — thought to be in
the 1980s — it was debated as to the direction it would face
since St. Joseph’s parish includes people from both Dacre, to
the southeast, and Griffith, to the southwest. To split the difference,
St. Joseph would have to face south. In the end, the community did
not want the sainted statue to face southward into the bush where,
in the words of a local, there was nothing.
Esmonde is just one of several communities built along the historic
line. It boasted a school and Catholic Church, and for awhile, a post
office. But, once the land was farmed out the settlers moved on. St.
Joseph’s Catholic Church continues to offer mass to this day.
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