​Readers weigh in on public engagement process for decision about Secord Monument

RE: “Secord Monument public engagement process begins”

To the Editor:

History is history, regardless. Like it or not, it happened.

Dr. Solomon Secord did good and, apparently, bad. He is not here to defend his position, so that is that.

We have much more to worry about in our community than this monument. The homeless and hungry, the high cost of living, the increasing drug addiction and mental health situation, and lack of good health care for all but mostly seniors. No help for people who have gone through rehab for whatever reason. This seems so petty as our communities struggle for basic shelter and care.

What irks most of us is that our tax dollars are being spent on such nonsense. People are living in cars, parks, and under bridges. People who are desperate do desperate things, which puts the entire community at risk. I honestly do not believe that the issue with this monument measures to this level.

Please stop the insanity and listen to what people really want to be dealt with in our community. My two grandchildren are part black, so I get your issue. History is there to learn from and not to hide from.

Please stop this craziness.

Gail MacKay
Resident of Kincardine since 1969
 

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To the Editor:

The people who complained should read the whole story. Dr. Solomon Secord lived in the south and served as a doctor in the city he lived in.

As I said, he was a doctor sworn by oath to tend to the sick and dying. You might say that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn’t volunteer to join the Southern Army but was forced to go or face imprisonment.

Those who complained didn’t know or didn’t care to know.

After the war, Dr. Secord returned home to Kincardine where again he could practise freely. He never approved of slavery.

Marcel Dorey
Kincardine
 

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To the Editor:

With all the things going on in our world, and more pressing issues to be dealt with, my only comment on the subject of the Dr. Solomon Secord Monument is this:

History is not there for us to like or dislike. It is there for us to learn from. And if it offends you, even better, because then you are less likely to repeat it. It is not anyone's to erase - it belongs to all of us.

Marlene Chornie
London (formerly Kincardine)
 

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To the Editor:

History tells me that two Black gentleman settled around the Village of Millarton on the Durham Road, now Highway 9. That was in the 1800s.

When they returned in the spring after a winter absence, they found someone had squatted on their land. Perhaps the Municipality of Kincardine, at the least, owes the descendants of these people an apology.

Glenn Hedley
Kincardine