Suzanne Pasternak Legacy Room

County playwright and storyteller honoured at Mariners Museum

The ground floor room in the reconstructed lighthouse at Mariners Museum has been designated the Suzanne Pasternak Legacy Room in honour of the playwright, musician and storyteller who died last year on September 3. The dedication was part of the annual Mariners’ Memorial Service held at South Bay United Church on Sunday. Newly appointed Rev. Aaron Miechkota presided over the service, with special guests including Suzanne’s daughter, Natasha, Mayor Steve Ferguson, Councillor Dave Harrison, musicians Tom Leighton and Mark Despault, members of the OPP and Fire Department, and members from the Picton Legion. Rev. Miechkota welcomed the attendees and there was a ripple of amusement when she asked if there were any children or young people present, noting there was a table with crayons and colouring books at the back of the church to keep them entertained. The service is a reminder of the marine legacy of County life that stretches back more than two centuries, and honours the men and women who lived and died here. Mayor Ferguson read The Mariners of the County, a poem written by Monica Alyea, who was a friend of Suzanne’s. Museum curator Jessica Chase spoke about the history of the Mariners Museum, in particular the lighthouse, and the decision to name a room in honour of Suzanne. The museum was founded by Willis Metcalfe and Commodore James Plomer, along with community volunteers, in 1967. The reconstructed False Ducks Island lighthouse was also opened at the time. The original tower was built on False Ducks Island in 1829. It towered 70 feet high, with a lantern to warn sailors of the dangerous shoals nearby, known as the “Graveyard of Lake Ontario”. The lighthouse was demolished in 1965 and replaced by an automated beacon. The existing lantern, which dates back to 1885, was salvaged and placed atop a reconstructed limestone base at Mariners Museum. “At last year’s Mariners’ Memorial Service, the 100th annual, we paid special tribute to the memory of Suzanne Pasternak, a local playwright, musician, author and documentarian, whose work celebrated the County’s rich marine heritage, and specifically the people and stories of the South Shore. To commemorate Suzanne’s incredible efforts to preserve County History, we vowed to refresh the lighthouse in her honour. With the funds raised at last year’s service, we have been able to update the lighthouse’s interior and we have renamed the space the Suzanne Pasternak Legacy Room,” said Ms. Chase.

Natasha Pasternak stands at the reconstructed lighthouse at Mariners Museum in which a room has been designated to honour the memory of her mother, Suzanne.

Following the service, attendees were invited to walk over to the lighthouse for the official opening. The procession was accompanied by music from Tom Leighton on the accordion and Mark Despault on guitar. Both musicians were colleagues and collaborators with Suzanne. Natasha said that her mother was aware of the dedication project and was very moved by the honour. The lighthouse was a special part of their lives, as it was a sight that the family saw when they were returning home. Natasha thanked Ms. Chase, Ms. Alyea and Bruce Dowdell for all their work. “Growing up at Long Point in the 1980s was like living in a time capsule of a time before, and Suzanne thrived in this environment and culture. She loved spending her summer afternoons collecting and documenting the stories of the County. If she caught wind of a legend or of a song, she wouldn’t stop until she got to the bottom of it,” said Natasha.

“Our kitchen table would constantly be covered with stacks of paper with lyrics, phone numbers, beginnings of idea, of notes and reminders of who she needed to contact and why. Suzanne had a profound respect for the people of these waters and land and it was extremely important to her that these stories would not be lost and forgotten. And now it’s up to us to uphold the same responsibility to her. We are now Suzanne’s storykeepers, and as a community we will pick up where she left off.”

Natasha and Mayor Ferguson then cut the ribbon to officially open the Suzanne Pasternak Legacy Room. The room has posters about how the lighthouse was rebuilt at the Mariners Museum, as well as posters and a video installation about Suzanne’s work. Suzanne’s most well known works include the story of Minerva McCrimmon, a young ship’s cook who single-handedly saved the entire crew of a sinking vessel in the icy waters of Lake Ontario on April 13, 1880; of Robert Clarence Thompson, a 13-year-old farmboy from Hillier who enlisted in the First World War, and then later had a connection to the Halifax Explosion of 1917, and stories of the slowly dwindling families who made their living fishing from Long Point. Natasha said she was fortunate to grow up with such a creative mother. “I feel lucky to be in that hurricane of a legend,” she said. “That had a huge effect, and I like to say I went into the family business. I had a career playing music and now I run a performing arts conservatory in California. I lecture at UCLA and USC on songwriting. She inspired me, and I’m carrying the torch of what it is to mentor young artists and spark that imagination. It’s like planting seeds, and now those seeds will go out and plant more seeds, and so she will live on forever in that.”