| The President's Notebook |
| ~ Links to more articles at left ~ |
| Happy 100th Birthday Salmon Arm!
This is an exciting year for our fair city and we should all celebrate the Centennial.
We extend a cordial invitation for the residents of Salmon Arm and visitors from outside our community to the R. J. Haney Heritage Park.
Our Heritage Village is beautiful setting for a visit with your out of town guests who are coming in for the Centennial festivities.
Construction Manager Ted McTaggart has been working hard with his crew to complete the Sam Beemish "Cobweb Corners" facility for 2005. This new addition to the Heritage Village boasts a collection of antique gramophones, players, records, cylinders from years gone by. Make a point to come out to the Park this summer to view this most interesting display.
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Our curator, Deborah Chapman, has been very busy this year as the general public becomes more interested in accessing photographs and archives that tie in with the Centennial. We have a tremendous museum facility with great people that will make your visit memorable.
We have been fortunate to have some new additions in recent years as the Vintage Car Club completes their Lester and Thomson Garage which will house vintage cars for display.
Also the Ministry of Forest's employees have left a legacy in reconstructing the Quest Mountain Lookout tower on the upper level of Haney Heritage Park. Many new and different events are planned for this summer so keep us in mind. We are always thankful for our many volunteers and we are always looking for more.
Give us a call at 832-5243 if you wish to lend a hand.
Doug Adams President
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| Queest Mountain Look Out Tower at
Haney Heritage Park |
No one can argue
that local Ministry of Forests staff members were not personally affected when the Salmon
Arm Forest District Office closed its doors last spring. Many employees expressed an
interest in giving something back to the community where they had made their homes. Their
desire was to create a positive legacy for future generations. Telling the story of
forestry protection in an educational setting became their goal. The plan was simple.
Relocate and refurbish the lookout station from Queest Mountain, overlooking Anstey Ann, a
forestry tower that was also slated for elimination.
Staff members at the Ministry of Forests disassembled the two-storey prefabricated
structure and transported it to Salmon Ann in 2002 before they moved on to new jobs in new
communities. The Salmon Arm Museum provided a location at Haney Heritage Park, an engineer
created drawings, and permits were issued.
After a winter of refurbishing components, a new, timber-frame base was constructed Spring
2003. There were a few staff that managed to keep their houses in Salmon Ann and could
still work on the project. The lookout was placed on the highest point of land at the
Park. The jigsaw pieces of the tower were reassembled and sit tall on new supports, with a
magnificent view of Bastion Mountain, Fly Hills and surrounding agricultural lands. |
This spring there are plans to install a hand railing. The next task is to finish the
interior walls and ceiling. Finally the artifacts, a collection of forestry memorabilia
that has been gathered from throughout the province, will be installed.
Ted McTaggart, Construction Manager at Haney Heritage Park, says " it has been a
pleasure to work with this enthusiastic, energetic group. The public is more aware of the
protection role our forest service plays."
Salmon Ann Museum Board Members also see the project in a positive light. "It is a
partnership that benefits both the Salmon Arm Museum and the visitors to Haney Heritage
Park," says Norma Harisch, Past President of the Association. "It is a legacy. A
gift lovingly given." Deborah Chapman
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| Editor's Comments: |
The year 2005 is
the centenary of the founding of the municipality of Salmon Arm. The year 1905 signified
the start of a boom era in the growth of the community. Orchards were just starting to
deliver significant harvests of apples. Every square foot that could grow an apple tree
was planted with a seedling. The community was bustling with new faces and new businesses.
Optimism was in the air.
"The Land of the Heart's Desire" was how one early newspaper editor described
Salmon Arm and the Shuswap Lakes region. |
Our
apples were preferred the world over, grown "without irrigation" as the
promotional rhetoric of the day proudly proclaimed. Through world wars and depressions the
community persevered and thrived. We see the results in front of us and around us.
We have much to be proud of and thankful for in our 100th year. The community has a strong
economic base. People live here because "they like it here!" But we should
always be mindful of the ones that came before us, who built this community with all the
skills they possessed.
- Dave Harper |
This newsletter is distributed to all members of the
Salmon Arm Museum and Heritage Assocation & other interested parties.
Articles and opinions may be submitted to: |
Editor
Heritage Update
Box 1642
Salmon Arm, BC. V1N 4P7
voice: 250-832-5243 ~ fax:
250-832-5291 |
