A Happy Ending for Museum and Golf Cart

Article by Bill Atwood of the Stratford Beacon Herald

Stratford Perth Museum replaces stolen vehicle

The Stratford Perth Museum is getting back on its feet after replacing its golf cart that was stolen earlier this year and upgrading its security system following the discovery that it was malfunctioning.

The not-for-profit association had its golf cart stolen either May 21 or May 22 when General Manager Kelly McIntosh discovered it was missing. McIntosh, police and community members searched for the cart.

It was never found, although they did find two trailers that were also taken.

“Some of the things that they’d taken from the shed were in the middle of the cornfield,” McIntosh said. “They just dropped things, but we can see that it looked as though the tracks headed out onto highway 8 and that was the last we know of the golf cart.”

“They just dropped things, but we can see that it looked as though the tracks headed out onto Highway 8, and that was the last we know of the golf cart.”

The stolen cart previously belonged to the former bookkeeper who would lend it to the museum.

A theatre group often used the vehicle, which also helped transport visitors around the property as an accessibility aide.

The museum purchased the golf cart for just shy of $3,000. When McIntosh posted on social media about the theft, she got a large response saying it “touched a nerve.”

“There’s been lots of theft in the county, people are feeling less safe, and at the same time we’re seeing our social infrastructure fail, which is part of the cause, some of the desperation. Let me just put it that way, or it could have been some people who just aren’t very caring and wanted to go for a joyride that night.”

While community members encouraged Mcintosh to start a fundraising campaign to find a replacement, she was initially hesitant to do so as she was worried they might not be able to raise enough.

“This was one of my problems of doing a campaign to raise money for a golf cart, and people start giving, and you’re nowhere near your tar-get, and I’m thinking, ‘what if people give us money and then we can’t afford to get a golf cart?'” she said.

The Optimist Club of Stratford stepped forward with a $2,500 donation, and Jamie Fitzgerald, owner of Canadian Cart Sales in St. Marys, topped up the donations they received. The new cart, valued at $6,500, comes with seatbelts and handlebars for people sitting on the back.

The museum is now looking at developing a program to go along with the new accessibility vehicle.

“We have history on the trails,” McIntosh said. “We’ve got story-boards and we’re going to create some audio pieces as well, so we can take people out on the trails and talk about heritage and history as a tour.

So, really, being stolen opens up this whole great new potential for the museum.”

Having just started in her role last November, the experience has helped McIntosh realize how much the community cares about the museum. On top of the new golf cart, the museum now has an upgraded security system that was sponsored by Bax Audio.

“This museum has served the community for so long and so well, so beautifully, that they care about their neighbour being harmed, they care about their museum being harmed, and right away, wanted to help in whatever way they could,” McIntosh said. “I have a great admiration for this institution and feel very, very lucky to be part of it, and I want to do my best to continue to serve the community.”