Not just who we are, who they can be.

When I stood in front of the Frontenac city council in 2015 and outlined why bringing back Frontenac Homecoming was important to our town, I did so out of love for the community. I did so while pulling on memories from my own childhood, but I only had a ghost of an idea of what it would mean for my children. For the kids of our community.

Frontenac Homecoming, now called Mining Days, used to just be a town party. A lot of booze and a lot of music. It is still a party of course, but it's grown into something much more.

Something akin to a celebration of identity, and a moment to remind each other why we care. It's when we set everything else aside and just be Frontenac.

A lot of that is because of Heritage Hall. As our children stare into the faces of people who stood where they stand a hundred years ago, it links them in a way nothing else can.

It's not about blood or last names. It never was. Only the arrogant, insecure, or foolish believe it is. We're linked to those people from the past by love, and that is far more powerful than any genetics.

As our babies grow they know that their path has likely been walked by a Frontenac Friend before. A compass handed down from a prior generation, and a safety net built by decades and decades of love.

Heritage Hall does more than remind our children where they come from. It reminds them who they can be, and that no matter how much they grow, Frontenac will ALWAYS be there for them. - Keesh

(*Photos are my "little" Grace at one of the first Mining Days and now at Heritage Hall.)