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Fisher_Panel Lenah Field Fisher "Saviour of Victoria Hall" When Lenah Field was born in 1900, it was into a prominent family and a storied home. No wonder she is still celebrated. Lenah's family were longtime residents of Cobourg beginning with her great-grandfather who emigrated to Canada in 1839 and opened a very successful dry goods store, Fields. His two sons both became active in politics, one an MP in Ottawa and the other an MPP in Toronto. Lenah's grandfather owned the house at 212 King Street West which he had rented to the Koerber family. The Koerber's daughter, Leila Marie, became Academy Award winning actress, Marie Dressler. When Lenah's parents married, Mr. Field Sr. gave them the house as a wedding gift, and that's where Lenah was born - in the same home as Marie Dressler. As a young 'lady', Lenah attended the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph where she studied to become a dietitian. Known as a 'harum-scarum' girl, Lenah possessed a rebellious nature not inclined to follow college residence rules. After ignoring the 9 o'clock curfew, her small stature meant she needed a boost to get through the window. Help arrived from a then little known Leslie Frost who was destined to become Premier of Ontario. Lenah did not enter the political scene until the death of her husband in 1956. Distressed about the impending razing of Victoria Hall, she was determined to save the beloved symbol of Cobourg. You see Victoria Hall was a mess and many people, most people in fact, wanted to tear it down, but I just wouldn't hear of it and I'll tell you, once I get my head and heart on something, I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen. Lenah Field Fisher She was duly elected to town council, but the council men gave her the garbage committee instead of her preferred posting. Lenah fooled everyone and became the best garbage councilor the town ever had. She would ride the garbage trucks and on Clean Up Cobourg Week she donned a pair of overalls and boots to help hose down the streets! She won the next election by a landslide and had her pick of committees. The Public Building Committee was her first choice and she got to work on her pet project, Victoria Hall. She's little, but she's wise She's a terror for her size! Guelph Yearbook 1922 Upon graduation, Lenah studied in Cleveland and was chief dietitian at a Philadelphia hospital before accepting a position at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Montreal. While there, she met and married Donald Fisher, a rubber company executive. When Lenah and her husband returned to Cobourg in the early 1930s, they found the little house on King Street besieged by curious tourists anxious to see the home of 'Tugboat Annie', a character created by Miss Dressler. This gave Lenah the idea to open a restaurant. The Marie Dressler Eating House or Marie Dressler's Tavern was one of Cobourg's finest dining establishments. Lenah successfully operated the restaurant for 17 years. NCA 1980.001 NCA 1980.001