Town of Tecumseh Celebrates Its Centennial
Story by Matthew St. Amand
Photography courtesy the Town of Tecumseh
The word is getting out: Tecumseh, Ontario is the place to be.
“We are contacted on a daily basis by outside sources to see if there are any commercial buildings available here,” says Denise Pelaccia, Coordinator Town of Tecumseh Business Improvement Area (BIA). “There is construction happening everywhere. The Community Improvement Plan is in full swing. It’s as though Tecumseh is getting a facelift—so many new business owners are setting up shop here. Many of them are young, huge on social media. It’s an exciting time!”
The BIA has put together a series of videos with local business owners describing why they think Tecumseh is a great place to live and do business.
“I’ve been here in Tecumseh 19 years as a resident,” says one business owner. “Tecumseh offers its residents, its families… great recreational services. It has all the necessary amenities for shopping, and groceries. If you live in Tecumseh, you really don’t have to leave the town at all. You can find everything right here.”
One great advantage Tecumseh has is its BIA. “There are a lot of places around here that are dying for exposure,” Denise continues. “We had a business in LaSalle call us, saying they wanted to join our BIA. These places don’t have the help that a BIA can provide.”
One way Tecumseh BIA assists businesses is that it has an agreement with the town to receive a portion of business taxes, which are used to fund the BIA promotions.
“These take the form of parades, promotions, outside media,” Denise explains. “We subsidize advertising to make it affordable for our businesses to be featured in local media. During COVID-19, people really wanted our services. Social media is free, but it’s not easy. Many consumers don’t even use it, and just watch TV and read the newspaper.”
One such promotion is Tecumseh Dollars. According to the BIA website: “These Dollars are redeemable for merchandise and/or services at businesses that are within the Tecumseh BIA boundaries… The purpose of the Tecumseh Dollar program is to promote our Business Members in the Town of Tecumseh BIA and to attract visitors and residents to shop, dine and play in the Town of Tecumseh.”
“This is like monopoly money that can only be spent in Tecumseh,” Denise says. “You get $300 in Tecumseh Dollars for $240.”
There is a list of approximately 80 businesses on BIA website that accept Tecumseh Dollars. The list is continuously updated—businesses always being added or taken off.
There was a time in the not-so-distant-past when the idea of there being 80 business in Tecumseh was an incredible notion.
In 2000, this writer had occasion to spend a great amount of time in and around the Green Valley Plaza on Manning Road. Back in the day, there were a handful of shops aside from a few tent post businesses in the area, such as a pharmacy, gas station, and grocery store. Fast forward two decades and the explosion of commerce and housing in the area is just mesmerizing. The town boasts an enviable roster of restaurants, retail shops and services.
“Everything’s so handy,” says one resident. “You have everything here. We’ve got a big time medical center, a gym, all kinds of eateries. We have our pick of grocery stores and there’s even a hotel—even though it’s technically in Lakeshore. It’s extremely handy to Tecumseh.”
“There are lots of parks for kids and families,” says another resident. “There are all kinds of condos for people who are downsizing. We have a great many schools: English, French, French immersion, grade schools, secondary schools. The Tecumseh Library is a particular gem. Their online services are excellent. I make requests on their website and within days, the library gets back to me with what I’m looking for.”
Other aspects of life in Tecumseh that the town gets right are the nuts-and-bolts services that make modern life livable, such as snow removal, waste and recycling pick-up.
“Our streets are cleared right away after a snow, when other locations are still a mess,” says a resident. “Our snow removal is second to none. We have a lot of newer affordable neighbourhoods. There are the pickle ball courts—they’re putting in ten more courts at Lacasse Park. We even have a really great bike shop.”
The Town of Tecumseh is also home to a plethora of physio therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, and specialists who treat foot issues.
“There is take-out food of every variety: Chinese, Lebanese, Italian, in addition to eating-in,” says a sixteen-year resident. “We have all the fast food favourites. There are facilities for older people, residences, ranging from assisted living to full nursing care. We have every denomination of church you can imagine, too.”
More than a few people remark about the sense of community that exists in Tecumseh.
“You’ll see neighbours joining up, putting on yard and garage sales together,” another resident remarks. “And the Tecumseh Historical Society is a great resource and available to anyone who cares to drop in.”
In recent years, Tecumseh has implemented its own transit system. Now known as the Tecumseh Transit Service (TTS), it’s an on-demand system that began servicing residents on March 28 of this year, replacing the fixed-route service that previously operated. This new on-demand transit is a shared-ride public transit service without a fixed schedule or route. According to the TTS web page: “The route is optimized by computer software and it is based upon rider trip requests. On-Demand Transit operates within the existing transit service area allowing riders to travel from stop to stop more directly.”
Amid all of the recent construction, new homes and businesses entering the area, are prominent remnants of Tecumseh’s past. The old Green Giant canning factory—now Bonduelle—still stands, as does Ste Anne’s Church on the corner of Tecumseh and Lesperance Roads.
The bonds that hold the community of Tecumseh together are its residents.
“There are no neighbours like Tecumseh neighbours,” says Marilyn Prior, President of the Tecumseh Area Historical Society. “There is a great sense of pride in this area. We look at where we’ve come from and think: ‘We built this. We did this.’ The people of Tecumseh look after one another.”
For more information about the Tecumseh BIA and how it supports local business, visit them online at tecumsehbia.com. Further information about the Town of Tecumseh can be found at tecumseh.ca.
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