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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday May 26, 2007 - 3 Knoll tends the past, present and future By Karen Alton SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER M ichelle Knoll leads a busy life as a community worker with a finger in many pies. The 45-year-old mother of five is a driving force at The Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre, a volunteer local historian, and the wife of a politician. She is also active in her church and Groundbreakers, a grassroots tree-planting group. It wasn't easy to find time for an interview! When we did meet it was a cool, overcast Saturday spring afternoon and her Oak Park neighbourhood was unusually quiet. Inside her home, however, there was the buzz of human activity and a washing machine humming in the background. Youngest son David said hello as he edged down the stairs to check out the reporter in the living room. Hubby Jeff (Ward 5 Town and Regional Councillor) poked his head around the corner to announce that he and David were going to EB Games to pick up a game. "Oh, I need some cream of tartar," Michelle called out, "to make play dough!" Jeff grinned and signaled a snappy: "If they have it at the games store, sweetheart, you're in!" Ah, marital bliss! The play dough may or may not get made this day. Michelle Knoll seemed relaxed, sipping on a mug of tea. "I enjoy what I do," she said of her work with the Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre, newly christened from Oak Park Moms & Tots. What began as a volunteer job almost seven years ago has evolved into a part-time, paid position as Program Director. The Knolls have lived in Oakville since 1999. Their youngest child was born here in January of 2000. It was then that Michelle, who studied Community Work at Humber College and recently completed her Diploma in Early Childhood Education, hooked up with her neighbour across the street, Grainne Galati, to begin the stimulating, though sometimes frustrating work of establishing a family help organization in her neighbourhood. "It started with six moms meeting in their homes. I was not one of the originals but I came on board shortly after," Knoll explained. The numbers mushroomed quickly so that living rooms were not big enough to contain the bedlam. They found a bigger space in the Tribute Homes Sales office, which the developer gladly offered for one afternoon a week. Knoll says there was an obvious need in this area with its high concentration of knee and ankle huggers, about 3,500 children from newborns to age five, in the quadrant bounded by Upper Middle, Dundas, Sixteen Mile Creek and Eighth Line. It helps to understand that Oak Park was designed as a community for families; where residents are encouraged to know their neighbours, to really connect; and where services, parks, schools and stores are within walking distance. A sense of isolation is a frequent fact of life for young parents if they do not connect immediately. "There were nay-sayers," Knoll recalled. "People who said we were duplicating services. It was a struggle. Grainne and I very nearly threw in the towel. Our own kids were getting older. We could meet informally. Why did we bother?" Knoll and Galati got the answer to that question almost the next day when a 17-year-old, single mom showed up at their weekly meeting. Shortly thereafter a mom who didn't speak a word of English came to join the circle. These two iconic, young women were irrevocable proof that a resource centre for moms and tots had value. "Okay, we said, we are doing this. Whatever," Knoll said. The culmination of their vision was opened officially in the fall of last year in a new space on Sixth Line at Glenashton Drive. The Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre has 310 families on the roster with programming for parents and pre-schoolers, Monday through Friday. (www.oakparkmoms&tots.ca). Michelle was born in Oakville and LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER See History page 5 RIGHT AT HOME: Michelle Knoll is the mother of five, a community builder and is helping preserve Trafalgar Township's past and still finds time to plant a tree or more for the future. · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service Authorized Vinylbilt Dealer www.shuttersetc.ca Shop at Home Service FREE