Kermiss Fundraising Event

This 'Stories From The Vault' looks at one of the Kermiss events that helped raise money for Sarnia General Hospital (Bluewater Health) in 1898.

From May 23rd to 27th, 1898, a Kermiss fundraising event sponsored by the Ladies' Hospital Aid Society was was held in St. Andrew's Rink (which later became Kenwick Terrace). There were refreshments and international cuisine booths plus entertainment each evening.

Evidently, the ladies of the Hospital Aid Society did not hesitate to draft their children for performances as little Bo-Peeps or dancing bees in the Butterfly Ball. Miss Grace Johnston, when asked what the Butterflies did, replied, "We didn't do anything. At the age of five, you're lucky if you don't fall off the stage, let alone do anything". Miss Johnston remembers that their costumes were yellow tarlatan and thinks that they were made at home or by a local seamstress. It seems likely however, that some costumes were hired, such as those worn in the Antique Gavotte, or the two groups from the English Booth.

The Kermiss of 1898 was a wonderous event to those who remember it. One Sarnian said, "I can't figure out who went to this affair, everybody in town seems to have been in it," to which another added, "Even I was in it. I sold peanuts at the door".

One cannot help but be impressed by the energy of the ladies of the Hospital Aid Society. They raised $2,561.09 to build a hospital laundry.

These images from the Holland-Paisley Collection and show the Ladies' Hospital Aid Society, Bo-Peep costumes, and the Interior of St. Andrew's Rink where the refreshment and food booths were.