Rossland's Museum and the community -- the next phase
By Rossland Telegraph
A new feature is in the works to replace the old mine tunnel tour at the Rossland Museum and Discovery Centre. Fundraising has begun with a major donation.
Teck, the company that forms the basis of much of the economic life in our area, has donated a large portion of the amount needed to build Phase II of the Rossland Museum’s renewal project. This next phase will feature a replica “mine experience” – to replace the tours formerly held in an old mine tunnel, until it was closed in 2012 for safety reasons. Closure of the mine-tunnel tour dealt a blow not only to the Museum, but also to Rossland as a whole.
Teck’s $700,000 donation launches the fundraising effort to raise a total of 1.2 million dollars for Phase II, which in addition to the new “mine experience” will also integrate the existing geology collection, and add a new atrium space to house a visitor centre, programming space and a gift shop.
Since 2012, the Museum board and staff have made concerted efforts to attract visitors in the absence of the mine tour, and have been successful in making the Museum and its grounds a centre for events and community celebrations. The bright, attractive results of Phase I of the renewal project – including the new entrance – have been an excellent beginning. This year, the Canada Day festivities held at the Museum, following the traditional community hike up Mount Roberts, were well-attended by happy hordes.
This year’s hike up Mount Roberts was completed by approximately 150 people, based on an estimate by one hiker. Among the many who reached the summit were a three-year old girl who insisted on making the entire hike without assistance, a few women sporting advanced baby bumps, and a number of seniors, including one who has been given a new lease on life by two hip replacements. (The climb and descent were challenging for him, and he claims that next Canada Day, he plans to “unpack the hammock.”)
Successful community efforts like our Museum’s renewal project and the annual Canada Day celebrations always involve generous donations of time, energy and funding by many community members. Among the many who assisted in some way with Canada Day 2018:
Daniel D’Amour of the Flying Steamshovel sponsored most of the band costs;
Rossland Beer Company, Headphone Entertainment & Cahoots Kitchen co-sponsored bands and equipment;
Bombshack, cabine, Dan Wehrle, One Tree Adventures, Wild By Nature, Jazzy Jo, The Nadi Tree, Gold Fever Follies, and Golden City Fiddlers — provided arts, crafts & entertainment for children and families for the afternoon;
All the food vendors who came out — Alpine Grind, Cahoots Kitchen, Happy Ice Pops, Low Key Catering, and The Purist Pantry – helped everyone keep their energy levels up;
Fireworks funding came from Jodie Ouimet of Mountain Town Properties, Thomas Leuvekamp of Powder Highway Plumbing, Jim & Janet Jewitt, and Chris Bowman; and Paul Wagner of Wagner Props oversaw the fireworks schedule;
Rossland Rotary provided volunteers for parking and Kootenay Gateway Mountain Shuttle provided free transportation for the evening;
Teck Metals Trail, Columbia Basin Trust and Columbia Power helped with financial contributions for Canada Day;
Mayor Moore and Member of Parliament Richard Cannings spoke, and cut the Canada Day cake, baked by Sweet Dreams Cakery;
City of Rossland provided many hours of work to groom the museum grounds, and allowed the use of their trucks;
And of course the Museum staff, summer students, and board members Mike Sloan and Maureen Brown, among others, worked tirelessly to make Rossland’s 2018 Canada Day fantastic. They continue to work tirelessly to achieve completion of Phase II of the renewal project and that new, improved “mine experience” that so many people want to explore.
For more information on that, look through the Rossland Museum’s website: http://www.rosslandmuseum.ca/general-information/
