Manitouwadge Community Television Organization no more…

Written by admin on 19 September 2009

Dissolution of Manitouwadge Community Television Organization

Tony Gaspar and Ed Hedderson always smiling in spite of the immense job at hand.

by Karina Hunter

Saturday, September 19^th, 2009, Ed Hedderson & Tony Gaspar met at the Township of Manitouwadge office to begin the long and tedious job of dismantling and packing years of tapes, paper work, equipment and furniture of which the once vibrant Manitouwadge Community Television Organization (MCTO) was comprised. Gaspar had been involved in the organization since its conception in 1987, Hedderson’s involvement covered the organization’s latter decade and this was a day, neither had expected to witness and certainly did not relish.

For 17 years MCTO was a significant part of residents’ lives in Manitouwadge broadcasting bi-monthly council meetings, Lion’s Club TV Bingos, special events from the schools and non-profit organizations, and covering historical milestones such as the breaking of ground at the site for the Manitouwadge General Hospital by then Premier of Ontario Bob Rae all of these moments in time still held on VHS tapes that it is hoped the new owners of the memorabilia, possibly the Manitouwadge Historical Society will find funds to transfer to digital media such as DVDs in the near future.

Much of the equipment owned by the syndicate was purchased with assistance from the Trillium Foundation and other similar government organizations and their constitution states that “Upon dissolution of the corporation…remaining property shall be distributed or disposed of to charitable organizations which carry on their work solely in Ontario” and so the Manitouwadge Historical Society which keeps it’s archives and artifacts in the Manitouwadge Museum seems the most likely candidate to receive the bulk of materials to be distributed by the MCTO in its dissolution. Members also hope that some equipment which may still be of use such as tripods, cables, microphones or cameras could be useful to the High School though much of it has, since MCTO’s last activities during the communities 50^th Anniversary celebrations, become outdated.

Hedderson and Gaspar were nostalgic speaking of the changes in technology that they had witnessed during their time as volunteers with MCTO. Analog equipment which was cutting edge in its early years gradually became outdated and obsolete as digital media became more common place. They credited past Mayor, Sylvio Cortolezzis with facilitating their efforts to hold council accountable and make council’s meetings more accessible to all by televising them and became somber when speaking of videographer and host Jason Kett who had been such an integral part of MCTO’s productions that when he left, taking his knowledge of the equipment and processes with him, it was impossible to find a replacement.

Scanning the shelves full of tapes labeled with names such as “Youth Bowling”, “Newmont Gold Pour Footage”, and “Rememberance Day Interviews” gave an idea of the wealth of memories contained there and the importance of finding adequate storage for these where they might be kept not only safe but transferred to more adequate media that future generations might be able to access their contents. The men hope to finalize
dissolution in a timely fashion and are expecting that by late November they
will have distributed or disposed of the contents of MCTO’s small office completely.

The physical elements of the Manitouwadge Community Television Organization will soon be passed on to become yet another precious artifact at the Manitouwadge Museum, and with this transaction another era in Manitouwadge’s history comes to an end. Thank you to all the staff and volunteers who worked with MCTO for nearly 20 years, to bring the happenings of our community into our living rooms and record the special moments in our lives for posterity.