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Letter to the Editor

Letter writer says took much talk, not enough action on museum issue in Timmins.

Dear Editor:

Where is The Timmins Museum? As a former regular user of the facility I really miss it. Now it's almost impossible to find but once you take the rutty, unpaved road around behind the beautifully paved parking lot at the Shania Twain Centre, go past the abandoned derelict trailer with the door ripped off, turn left, you will find tiny signs indicating that the equally tiny rooms in the green building with the peeling paint on the window frames is the site of The Timmins Museum. You have arrived.

We have attended public meetings regarding the location of a proposed new building. What has happened in the interim? While I'd like to see the museum return to South Porcupine, I'd just like to see a proper building for the display of and access to our heritage - somewhere, ANYWHERE! And sooner than later. After all, this is our 100th Anniversary and what can we show our visitors with any degree of pride?

We recently visited a community that has just completed a NEW 124' pedestrian bridge that joins two River Walks through the town. They got $1million in government funding for the bridge alone. The municipality came up with $500,000.

They have just opened a NEW 5,000-square foot Library. They have a NEW Cultural Centre which houses a Museum, the Symphony, an Art Gallery and 2 Drama Groups.

They converted a large vacant lot into a Village Green - a cobblestoned centre with a gazebo/bandshell surrounded by benches and limestone blocks. Local minstrels, actors and artists use the NEW Village Green for displays and concerts. The funds were raised with assistance from service clubs, private individuals AND government grants.

The Lions Club raised $900,000 for local projects; $200,000 of which went for their NEW hospital and $50,000 for a NEW Helipad at the hospital. The Rotary Club, with 17 members raised $300,000 for the NEW Hospital and $200,000 for the NEW Cultural Centre. The Kin Club with only 13 members raised enough money to purchase a NEW Ambulance and donated a further $22,000 to the Medical Centre.

The people of this community showed that by working together and with the proper and timely applications for government grants, these huge building projects can be completed. Count them: Pedestrian Bridge, two River Walks, Library, Museum, Cultural Centre, Village Green, Hospital, Helipad, and an Ambulance. They wanted all of these projects completed by their 150th Anniversary and they did it.

Where was this huge metropolitan community? It was Minden, Ontario nestled in the Haliburton Highlands with a population of just 5,312 people - or 1/10 the size of Timmins.

Thirty years ago, a core group in our city had a dream to build a Museum. At the time, the dream was not shared by local government but the group went ahead anyway. Many volunteers helped that dream become a reality. If John Campsall, Minnie Gram, Stan Belanger, Georgina Hunter, Mac Cochrane, Edna and Chester Jury were alive today, they'd cry to see what our City now calls The Timmins Museum. It's a disgrace! For those who are unaware why the original was built in South Porcupine, it was because the land was donated by the Dome Mine. It flourished as a Museum and a National Exhibition Centre until water damage threatened the contents. Today, all our artifacts are stored out of sight and inaccessible at the Whitney Arena and our "Museum"(and I used that word advisedly) is hidden in behind the Shania Twain Centre.

In this, the first year of our four-year anniversary, don't you think it's time for our elected members of City Council to stop talking and start taking action to build a Museum worthy of our rich heritage? If Minden can do it, why can't we?

Respectfully,

Diane Armstrong.

http://www.timminstimes.com/Article....aspx?e=1696675