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COUNCIL OKAYS MUSEUM SALARY
After hard work and careful record-keeping, Museum Society members will receive funding for a paid administrator/curator. Museum Society President Nick Mills attended the October 17 meeting of Town Council to finish his reporting to Council and lobbying for $20,000 for the part-time position.
In August, Mills presented a ³Past, Present and Future² report to Council outlining the problems the Museum Society faces for the future. At the Council meeting, he outlined the value of the museum to the community.
First, as a tourist attraction, the more than 5,000 visitors this year represent a $50,000 income to the community, as economic development officer Michael McLaughlin claims every visitor is worth $10 tourist spending in Princeton.
The archival records preserve family history as well as community history. There is a copy of every newspaper published in the Similkameen Valley for the past 100 years.
There are more than 5,000 historic photos (most of which still need to be catalogued), updated cemetery records, as well as historic documents and artifacts. In addition to caring for, cataloguing and updating all of these records and artifacts, there is a website to update and visitors to tour around the museum.
The Joe Pollard collection of fossils and mineral rocks, along with the Dave Taylor collection of fossils and the museum's own collection of fossils, has proven to be a major attraction for people from around the world.
Mills told Council of two Germans who had toured Canada and visited Princeton's museum on October 11. They left a comment, "This is the best museum we've seen in B.C."
The museum is a learning resource for schools. The number of student tours is increasing. This year, in addition to local students, the museum has had students from Vancouver who were researching gold and mineral resources. Next year, local students have ancient Egypt in their curriculum, and Princeton's Egyptian collection has been returned. Students will want to see the collection on display.
The museum will be 50 years old in 2008. It has operated primarily by volunteers, with student employees during the summer months. Katimavik participants have been a godsend during the past four years, but as Mills explained, it is impossible to do the work in the storage area and create new displays while showing visitors around the museum and helping people do research.
To make matters more difficult, new computer equipment and new methods of recording information are beyond the scope of Museum Society members, who tend to be older people with limited computer skills and little knowledge of what to do to accession and catalogue. There are training courses available, but these take time and money.
Without some paid help, Museum Society members see longer periods of museum closure and a subsequent loss of visitor dollars to the museum and to the community.
Council agreed unanimously to provide funds for a part-time administrator/curator position up to $20,000 per year. This does not mean there will be no work for volunteers, but it will create support for volunteers who can continue to take visitors on tour, answer phones and do the legwork required while paid staff takes care of the backlog of cataloguing and accessioning.
VERMILION #24 SAYS GOODBYE
Princeton lost a 95-year-old association this past Thursday.
The Noble Grand of Vermilion Rebekah Lodge # 24, Sister Germaine Blanchette, surrendered the lodge charter to Sister Marion Knisely of Comox, this year's President of the Rebekah Assembly of BC, who was accompanied by her Marshall Mary Mayes and Assembly Secretary Burga Black of Penticton, and the Junior Past President Pamela Ottas of Princeton.
Other members present were Marion Marsel, Dorothy Stenvold, Michele Moore, Betty Golovin, Adelle MacDonald, Nancy Holt and Freda Schroeder.
It was a sad day for the members, although some obviously believed it was time.
One or two will be joining another lodge in the area.
Vermilion # 24 was instituted on May 31, 1910, and it has had many ups and downs regarding membership over the years, but was able to participate in many local events as part of its fraternal mandate; presenting local and provincial school bursaries for Education, planting trees and flowers for Living Legacy, volunteering when asked and entering parades for Community.
Donations were made each year to Visual Research at the Vancouver General and UBC Hospitals, and to Arthritis, as these were two of the IOOF/Rebekah main programs. Some of the members felt that "the lodge" was a constant in their lives through good times and bad, and that the friendships made in these twice-monthly meetings would last forever.
For some, it was their only source of social contact; for others, it was one more group they belonged to, but with different interests.
The lodge had a few members with almost 40 or more years of continuous membership, and one member with 60 years of non-continuous. It has had several 'homes' over its 95 years; from the Odd Fellows Hall on Bridge Street to the OAPO Hall on Billiter.
Members are getting older and the young people of today have more commitments and less time for themselves, so fraternal organizations are losing ground in all communities.
But who knows, maybe like everything else, their time will come again.
COUNCIL HEARS ARTS SURVEY REPORT
The Princeton area arts survey shows residents want performing arts available in the community. Dawn Johnson, President of the Arts Council and chair of the ArtsNow committee gave the report at the October 17 Council meeting. Town of Princeton is a sponsoring partner, along with Area H, and the report has gone to Gerri Logan, Area H Director. (See survey results in full at the end of this article.)
Johnson told Council there is a similar survey of what Princeton Secondary School students want, and it shows the same desire for performing arts.
Johnson said to Council, "Most people think of theatre as actors, but much more expertise is required. Theatre arts include writers, sound system management, lighting management, set design and set management, prop management, budget management, promotion, direction, costume making and make-up, and finally, music for some productions."
She said the ArtsNow committee had done an inventory of talented people in the arts residing in Princeton, and found a wealth of talent. The next step in the process is to help the community launch a performing arts group. The committee will be looking for people interested in the performing arts to create the group, and will be applying for a government grant to pay professionals to train local people so the group will be sustainable for many years to come.
Johnson warned Council the ArtsNow committee will be going back to Council to ask for funding for the project. Grants must be matched dollar for dollar by local sponsors and supporters. The committee is hoping to attract other funding partners in addition to Council. At this time, the committee does not have a budget, but when the project plan is completed, the search for funds will commence. Funding partners must have made a commitment in writing by the third week of January, as the grant application must be in Victoria by January 31, 2006.
As part of the submission, the ArtsNow committee will look for a historic component to the project to tie it to Princeton's 150th anniversary in 2010.
Arts Survey Results
One hundred survey forms were completed, and the data compiled was analyzed by Dawn Johnson and Mary Bedford.
Of the 100 people who completed the survey, there were three youths, 11 young adults age 20-40, 44 mature adults age 40 plus, and 42 retired.
The majority, 89 percent, were well aware of what constituted the arts. However, only 36 percent were aware of arts available locally. This clearly shows a lack of public awareness of arts groups and arts resources available in our area. There is a need to make existing resources more visible.
Fifty-five percent of those interviewed are involved in artistic activities, primarily as a leisure activity. Only 12 received money for their art activity. This would reflect paintings, pottery or other art works sold. Only one indicated a livelihood from art work.
An overwhelming majority expressed a desire to do some kind of activity in the arts that is not available locally. Although some were not aware of this activity already available, most were most clearly aware it is not available.
A breakdown of what people would like goes as follows:
music performances - 12
sculpture - 1
dance, including ballroom dancing - 8
drama, theatre arts - 28
landscaping - 3
painting for teens - 1
pottery - 6
crafts - 3
photography - 4
First Nations art - 1
singing group - 1
film making - 3
woodworking - 1
flower arranging - 1
When asked what they would like to see in Princeton to improve the arts and cultural environment, there were many who had no ideas. Of those who made a choice, the breakdown is as follows:
Community arts centre - 23
Art destination - 2
Street market of the arts - 1
Alpine theme downtown - 1
River walk - 1
Band shelter at Cenotaph Park - 1
When asked if they would be supportive of the Town or Area H giving grants for the arts, only one person responded with a "No".
The survey gave a choice of amounts of money in the grants. The results were as follows:
$2,000 - 11
$5,000 - 12
$10,000 - 13
more than $10,000 - 26
Yes, but no specific amount - 24 (this group answered with "whatever we can get' or "whatever is available" or similar responses.)
A summary of arts activity in the community indicates not only a high awareness of the arts but involvement by 50 percent of local people in some kind of arts activity in their leisure time. This held true regardless of age group.
The survey was designed to discover what people feel is lacking in arts and culture in the community. Among our adult population, it is clear there is a demand for the dramatic arts and music performances. A full 39% of responses fell into those two categories.
Surprisingly, 86% of respondents are in favour of grants to the arts.
*** Not all of the figures will add up to 100%, as some respondents did not answer some of the questions. However, all of the respondents answered most of the questions. Many put considerable thought into the open-ended questions about what is missing in arts in the local scene.
