William Crooks
Workers install the new monument outside the Lennoxville Borough Office in February 2025. The granite structure, designed and fabricated by Rock of Ages in Stanstead, honours generations of volunteer firefighters who served the community from 1883 to 2019.

By William Crooks

Local Journalism Initiative

A long-awaited tribute to Lennoxville’s former volunteer firefighters will be officially unveiled on Sat., May 3 at 10 a.m. during a public ceremony outside the Lennoxville Borough Office on Queen Street. The monument commemorates more than a century of service by residents who dedicated their time and lives to the community’s safety.

“The volunteer firemen in Lennoxville played such an important role,” said Councillor Jennifer Garfat in a recent interview. “It wasn’t just fighting fires. They gave up time to train, fundraised to buy specialized equipment, and often did all this while holding down other jobs and raising families”.

The project, a collaboration between the City of Sherbrooke and the Lennoxville Volunteer Firefighters Association, has been years in the making. Conversations began in 2018, anticipating the closure of the old Lennoxville fire hall in 2019. Progress was slowed by the pandemic and budgetary constraints, but work continued behind the scenes to bring the vision to life. According to Garfat, former borough director André Blais played a key role in managing the budget, and Paul Chapdelaine, the borough’s former coordinator, also contributed extensively.

Scott Passmore, who began his career as a volunteer firefighter in Lennoxville nearly 30 years ago, was closely involved with the project. “This has been going on since 2018,” he said. “It got through budgeting, through the design phase, and was fabricated by Rock of Ages in Stanstead.” The granite monument, featuring detailed sandblasting and etching, was designed by Lennoxville resident Brian Wilson, who worked closely with the association to ensure the artwork and inscriptions met the wishes of the firefighter community.

The history of Lennoxville’s volunteer fire department dates back to 1883. At the time, townspeople responded to fires with improvised equipment. “There was a big fire in Lennoxville in 1874,” Garfat noted. “Back then, people did the best they could. There was even a fire bell, and Amédée Beaudoin, who lived there, would tell the firefighters where the fire was when they arrived”.

Over the years, Lennoxville’s firefighters were deeply woven into the town’s fabric, not just as emergency responders but as active community members. Passmore recalled that the firefighters’ association built sets for Lennoxville Players, ushered at Centennial Theatre, and ran canteens for local events. They also fundraised for essential equipment, including the town’s first Jaws of Life and parts of the rescue truck, when municipal budgets fell short.

The upcoming ceremony will include speeches from Sherbrooke Mayor Évelyne Beaudin, Borough President Claude Charron, and Passmore. Firefighters will organize coffee and donuts after the event. Families and loved ones of former Lennoxville firefighters are especially encouraged to attend. Those with connections to the individuals commemorated are invited to contact the organizing committee at LennoxvilleFD@gmail.com. “If anybody’s got any sort of connection—grandfather, great-uncle, anything like that—we want them to be part of a VIP group up front when we unveil it,” Passmore explained.

Organizers also stressed that the list of names on the monument is not exhaustive. Due to a lack of archival records from 1874 through the mid-20th century, some firefighters may have been unintentionally left out. Garfat said that former firefighter George Beaulieu and Gerry McNab spent significant time gathering names beginning in 2018, but acknowledged that some were likely missed. “If someone can say, ‘Yes, my relative was a firefighter,’ we can still add names later,” she said. Rock of Ages has agreed to return to sandblast any additions after the unveiling.

“This monument is about collective memory,” said Garfat. “It’s about recognizing the selflessness of those who protected this town for generations.”

The ceremony is open to all, and community members are invited to share in what organizers hope will be a moving tribute to Lennoxville’s firefighting legacy.