There was a moving church service in Bracebridge.
But not the kind of moving one would expect from a house of worship. The 86-year-old St. Peter’s Roxborough Anglican Church was hoisted on a flat-bed trailer from its Fraserburg Road and Roxborough Road location and trucked to the Bracebridge Fairgrounds where it will be part of the historic buildings on display.
Jim Jackson was the driver in charge of getting the log building to its final home in one piece three kilometres away. He had one basic rule during the move.
“Don’t shake it. It’s pretty fragile,” he said with a chuckle. “No jerking and no sudden bumps or anything like that.”
He says the toughest part of the day was the first turn.
“We had a real sharp corner at the beginning and that was kind of a challenge there,” Jackson confirmed.
Hydro workers were shuttling ahead of the building, that moved at four or five kilometres an hour. They were using poles and cherry picker buckets to lift any low hanging wires so the peak of the building could go by without snagging.
The church saw its first service in October of 1933, with 24 people confirmed as Anglicans that day and another 86 on hand looking on.
A new foundation is being poured for it at the fairgrounds and should be on display in time for the 35th Annual Muskoka Pioneer Power Show July 12th to 14th.
