One of the oldest businesses in Orillia has been recognized by the Simcoe County Historical Association.
Ted Duncan, president of the association, recently visited Sanderson Monument in downtown Orillia to present the owners with the Heritage Business Award.
"It's for a business that has been in business for more than 100 years," Duncan explained. "As a family business, Sanderson Monument has been in business for 151 years."
Sanderson Monument has grown over the years to serve all of Simcoe County and beyond.
"We want to honour the foresight of the early businesspeople who started this and their family who has kept it up over the years. That's what makes them so special," Duncan said.
"They serve the community for families, which is special. They have also done war and remembrance monuments, which you can find all around the county."
Scott Sanderson, co-owner of Sanderson Monument, says it is "special" for the family business to receive the award.
"This business is in a bit of a unique industry," he said. "We make monuments for families, and they are not just stones with names on them; they have much more meaning that has been passed down through generations."
Sanderson Monument was started in 1872 by Sanderson's great-great-grandfather, R.J., who came to Canada from England. He was one of the headstone masons for the restoration of St. James Cathedral in Toronto.
"The heads of the departments were given a perk if they could get that project done by a certain time," Sanderson explained. "R.J.'s perk was he could go on a trip, and he chose to go to where the limestone was being quarried, which was over at Longford Mills."
During his weeklong trip to the quarry, R.J. fell in love with Orillia.
"He went back home to get his wife and kids, brought them back over, and started this business," Sanderson said.
He says the secret to Sanderson Monument's success has been treating every monument with care.
"We make sure that all families are looked after the way they should be," he said. "We do the best job that we can on the monuments because we want them to last forever."
The biggest hurdle for the company over the past century has been the increase in cremation rather than burial, which Sanderson admits has hurt the business.
"Cremation started becoming significant in the early '90s," he said. "I think people’s perception of monuments has changed a little bit, too."
Still, having a place of remembrance is important to enough families to keep the business thriving.
Among the work Sanderson is most proud of are the war monuments installed throughout the province. At Canadian Forces Base Borden is a monument the company created for electrical and mechanical engineers. The business also had a hand in the Terry Fox National Historic Person plaque in Thunder Bay.
"We weren't the sole company that made that," Sanderson said, noting businesses that were part of the Ontario Monument Builders Association came together to build it. "It was designed at our kitchen table, and my dad was instrumental in installing the monument."
Sanderson hopes his family business will still be going strong 151 years from now.
"It's a pretty long tradition that our family has been looking after for the families in the 10 different communities where we have our offices," he said. "We may be soon expanding in more markets as well."
