"bringing our story back to life..."
November/December 2019 eNews |
|
|
After all the hubbub of Black Friday, here we are at Giving Tuesday!
The Heritage Centre looks pretty quiet now,
but below the surface there's lots going on.
Please consider us on Giving Tuesday - today!
Year's End
It is always a bittersweet time when we come to the end of a season at the Sifton-Cook Heritage Centre. A lot of work has gone into the year’s displays, into programming and welcoming visitors. Now everything is dismantled and the stone building has become just an old, cold, deserted storage place again. But most of us volunteers needed the break, time to be recharged and look for new stories and new ways to tell them.
But don’t imagine that everything stopped. The Exhibit Team was soon hard at work again (see below), the grounds needed to be tidied up, grant applications prepared, the buildings worked on (see below), membership renewals organized, railway buildings restored and more. We’re looking forward to a great 2020 and trust that you will be a part of it.
Upgrades to the Property
 In 2017 ArtsBuild Ontario prepared for the Museum Foundation an Asset Planner program laying out by years the work necessary to keep the property in proper condition. The major project recommended for the first few years is eaves troughing along the north and south sides of the stone Exhibit Hall (photo taken in 2010). As part of its Community Grant program last year the Town of Cobourg contributed $2,500 towards the cost, initially estimated at $7,000.
We are currently in the process of getting quotes and have again requested financial help from the Town. We do know that the project will be considerably more than expected and will stretch our resources. As your President notes below, your support in this matter will be very much appreciated.
Exhibit Team 2020
Your Exhibit Team is already meeting, preparing for May 16, 2020. All members of the team are back, happy to be joined by Jane McCaig who made a well-attended presentation at the Centre this summer. Al Seymour will be taking over leadership as Stanley Isherwood is trying to take on a little less each year!
The 2020 theme is not yet titled, but will feature a number of fascinating personalities from Cobourg and vicinity. Some of the names are sure to be familiar to locals, others less so, but all will be special enough that both locals and out-of-towners will be entertained as well as educated. Villains and heroes and people with secrets are all on the list. It’s going to be another busy winter for the Exhibit Team!
It is hoped that there will be events building on the lives of our personalities, but for that to happen an immediate need is a volunteer team just for programming. If that might interest you, please contact Al Seymour at this email address: al.seymour1798@gmail.comReminders
Just in case you missed it in an earlier eNewsletter, there have been a couple of important recent additions to our online presence.
 1) A page has been added to our website giving details of the Fern Blodgett Sunde Statue Project being undertaken by a Citizens Committee in partnership with the Cobourg Museum Foundation. The page can be linked from our Home Page or directly by going to: www.fernblodgettsunde.ca. It includes a thermometer showing the progress of fundraising to date.
The recent dedication of the LAVIII was an impressive ceremony honouring those Canadians who fought and died in Afghanistan. The Fern Blodgett Sunde statue will honour not only Fern and those women who followed her lead, but also all Canadian naval members and merchant mariners who served at sea during the Battle of the Atlantic. We are proud to be part of this endeavour.
 2) During the summer a web site cataloguing our eight years of story panels and many of our artifacts was populated by our summer students. It is completely searchable so provides a remarkable record of what has been produced since the Heritage Centre’s first year of operation. As time allows, artifacts are being added and it is hoped that pictures and newspaper articles will be next. The site can be accessed by clicking HERE.
A Message from our Chairperson
Congratulations and a big thank you to all volunteers and Board members who took responsibility for the 2019 summer program at the Sifton-Cook Heritage Centre. While our site was somewhat more difficult to find due to the heavy construction going on for the new Legion site, some 2,000 visitors enjoyed their visits and we received many compliments on our exhibits. We were told that having the flags flying overhead drew a number of our visitors who were curious enough to find the Heritage Centre while touring the town.
I want to draw special attention to the fact that we will be needing extra financial support at this time. Funding the work on the drainage, including the soffits, fascia, gutters and downspouts, is a major undertaking. I am asking for your help in meeting the challenge. Please consider making an additional donation as you renew your membership, or donating through our Canada Helps page (choose Fund #6).
I do want to thank you all for your continuous support over the years as we continue telling the stories of our past that would otherwise be lost to future generations.
And I wish you all the very best over the next few months. Know that we will be hard at work preparing for another fine season, the ninth of the Sifton-Cook Heritage Centre.
Joan Chalovich.
|
