Bill Brownlee is feeling a little sad these days.
A club he has been associated with for decades will cease to exist by the end of the month.
The North Bay and District Canadian Club will meet for the last time on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at Emmanuel United Church to dissolve.
Brownlee, now past president, remembers that the once thriving club used to have 600 members during its heyday in the 1960s but that number has shrunk to just a handful now,
"Over the years our numbers have decreased, as they have in a number of organizations," he told BayToday. "So we've got to the point now where nobody wants to take the president's job because nobody wants that kind of responsibility. We used to have an executive of 18 people, but it got to the point that it became a life sentence for some of us as our numbers got smaller and people who were doing the tours couldn't do them anymore."
Brownlee thinks changing demographics and an aging membership are to blame.
"Young people are just not coming out to our meetings, so we have no other course of action. If you take a look at our group, nobody under 70 is turning out and most of us are in our '80s and '90s now. Nobody feels like they have the energy to do it anymore."
The club was incorporated a number of years ago and is now required to hold a vote to close up.
"None of us are happy about it but what can we do?"
Brownlee believes these days with both parents working, people don't have the time for clubs like his anymore. He knows that other clubs in the city are facing a similar crisis.
Other than that, he doesn't know why people aren't joining.
"We're all proud of our country and that was one of the purposes of the club, to look at things from a Canadian point of view."
The club had a number of memorable speakers over the years discussing a full range of current events and the club often put on tours to other cities.
The club was formed in 1893 by a small group of people in Hamilton who wanted to be better informed and stimulate discussion. The club spread to several countries.
The North Bay club dates back to 1908, initially as a women's organization. then later admitting men. It has been a unique group that concentrated on hearing outstanding speakers on a variety of topics...business, social, cultural, and political of regional, national, and international importance.
And now it's too late. The club waited all summer for someone to step forward and nobody did.
The club does have $20,000 in the bank which will be donated to Nipissing University to create a bursary
Brownlee reflects on how the club strengthened the fabric of North Bay society, and its demise makes him feel sad.
"Absolutely! It's not going to be a happy time."