The Church HELP US SAVE THIS CHURCH ! The Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario has acquired the original St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Leaskdale at a cost of $200,000. Now, we must pay off the mortgage and refurbish the building. St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Leaskdale was the church that brought L.M. Montgomery to our community in 1911. She came as the bride of Reverend Ewan Macdonald from Prince Edward Island. She lived in Leaskdale as the minister's wife, and at the same time, wrote 11 bestselling novels. In 2006, St. Paul's is 100 years old. It is very fitting that in the year the congregation get their beautiful new church just up the road, the original church will be used for a new and meaningful purpose and will continue to be cherished for its long and important history in the community. The church will be used as an interpretive centre to complete the L.M. Montgomery National Historic Site. It will also be used as a venue for entertainment and local events. There are plans for a tea room and gift shop. Recognition of Donors Sculptors Lynda & Ron Baird have created a donor recognition wall to be installed in the church, to bear the names of donors. The Bairds are renowned for their creativity and artistic sensibility when creating donor recognition pieces. They have been collaborating on large scale, site specific sculptures for 20 years, and have completed over 150 public commissions, with an imaginative variety of concepts. These include fountains, towers and murals. Donations of $5,000. or more will receive commemoration within the church. Plaques with donor names will be attached to pews or windows. A "Donation Book" will contain the name of every donor, no matter how large the donation. All donations of $1,000. and over (which can be pledged over five years) will be recognized on the Bairds' sculpture in the church. Did You Know... The manse in Leaskdale, where Lucy Maud Montgomery lived from 1911 to 1926, is now a National Historic Site. Worldwide, Lucy Maud Montgomery commands a higher level of interest than Glenn Gould. L.M. Montgomery wrote half of her 22 novels when she lived in Leaskdale. Tourism, largely centered on L.M. Montgomery, brings in about $350,000,000 each year to Prince Edward Island, a province with a population equivalent to Oshawa or Kingston. Heritage experts, who are aware of the significance of L.M. Montgomery have described the Leaskdale manse as a "gem". The L.M. Montgomery Society of Ontario has, as its mandate, to restore the interior of the Leaskdale manse to the way it was around 1920, when L.M.M. and her husband lived there.

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