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Timmins Museum turns 50

'Those houses were iconic': Hollinger House dedicated to Dianne Armstrong and Nora Lake

By Nicole Stoffman | Timmins Daily Press | July 12, 2025

When Dianne Armstrong heard on the radio in 1988 that the last Hollinger House in Timmins was to be torn down to make way for a new development, she made it her mission to save it.

“What a shame, those houses were iconic, they belong to the community, there’s so much history—how can they tear them down?” she asked her friend and fellow museum volunteer Nora Lake.

Hollinger Houses, made with red or green tar paper exteriors, were built by Hollinger Gold Mine for its workforce after the First World War.

On Thursday, July 10, the restored Hollinger House that now sits in front of the museum was dedicated to Armstrong, a writer and former columnist for this publication, and Lake. The house is furnished inside as it would have been in the 1930s, and can be visited by request to museum staff on duty.

The occasion was the Timmins Museum National Exhibition Centre’s 50th anniversary celebration. There were free hamburgers and hot dogs from noon to seven, crafts, cotton candy, face painting, and live music with The Lapointe Family.

Despite the “national” in its name, the museum is funded entirely out of the municipal budget, and does not get any federal funding, curator Kaitlyn Dubeau confirmed.

To honour the milestone event, the museum is presenting a display of rarely-seen artifacts from its collection that tell the story of Timmins. Among the items on display is a red-sequined dress worn by Shania Twain at the Canadian Country Music Awards in 1995, at which she won five awards.

Ward 5 Coun. Andrew Marks, chair of the museum advisory council, shared some fun facts with the audience gathered on the museum’s front lawn.

The Timmins Museum’s officially turned 50 on February 24, 2025. Since opening at its original location in South Porcupine, the museum has hosted over 800 temporary exhibitions since 1975, and welcomed over 650,000 visitors. It contains over 5,000 artifacts and 325 works of art.

Former Mayor Tom Laughren was in attendance.

https://www.timminspress.com/entertainment/timmins-museum-turns-50