This tag was created by Tyler Hodgkinson. 

Carleton Place Heritage Project - Part 2

The Final Days of The Mississippi and Conclusion

The bikers sort of took over the hotel and numbers began to drop once again but the bikers stayed for some time after [32]. Brian Carter tried to do something about the bikers presence in the hotel but was unsuccessful for unknown reasons.[33] The hotel had lost all credibility at this point and “No one cared about the hotel anymore.”[34] Carter Trying to turn a profit closed shop and began looking for buyers to take the hotel off of his hands[35]. After this the hotel sat vacant for some years before being saved from demolition by a group of local activists, notably Lyle Dillabough who had successfully requested assistance from previous performer Stompin’ Tom Connors [36]. Successfully revived, the hotel once again serves proudly as elegant lodging offering chic dining, classy bar, and dignified venue space. 
The elegant hotel suffered greatly after the fire, causing the shift of ownership to Lorraine Lemay, the hotel cma eback strong through the '60s and '70s but soon after faced difficult financial circumstances. The efficacy of the decisions made by Lemay to feature new performers is up for debate, however, the “hotel … needed deep pockets and the only way to make money was through that sort of crowd”[37] almost forcing Lemay into that decision. The temporary success that came from the major change did much more harm than good and sent the hotel into a downward spiral as a result, eventually ending in The Mississippi’s closure under carters ownership. Expressed wonderfully by Linda Herself,  “it seems to be always like that in a small town…They don't support it during its time of need and once it's gone they lament about the past. The past is gone and you need to continually support things or you lose them.”[38]

notes:
32. Wayne Drummond (Retired Chief Of Police) in discussion with the author, April 10, 2022.
33. Wayne Drummond in discussion with author
34. Linda Seccaspina (Spouse of previous hotel owner) in discussion with the author, April 8, 2022. 
35.  Linda Seccaspina,  “Romancing the Mississippi Hotel.” Lindaseccaspina Remembers the Invention of The Wheel. April 24 2017 
36. Charlie Rhindress, Stompin' Tom Connors: The myth and the man — an unauthorized biography. (Halifax: Formac Publishing Company Limited, 2019),228-229
37. Linda Secaspinna in discussion with the author
38. Linda Secaspinna in discussion with the author

This page has paths:

Contents of this tag:

This page references: