The dream of a museum in 100 Mile House isn’t history yet.
The District of 100 Mile House has renewed its partnership with the 100 Mile House & District Museum Society to renovate and restore The Lodge building into the town’s official museum. Mayor Maureen Pinkney said that with Donna Barnett now on council she’s been a leading voice in making this long-held dream a reality.
“I was a big advocate for the museum because my mum grew up near the Lodge and was an emissary. It’s very near and dear to our hearts and we’ve been wanting this for quite a while,” Pinkney said. “We have very few old historic buildings in our community and this is one beautiful jewel, I think.”
On Saturday, Feb. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the district is holding a yard sale to raise funds for the project and to clear out items in the Lodge they no longer need. Pinkney said they found several items stored in the old Valley Room that are still perfectly usable but don’t have historic value.
“People can come out and get a little bit of history. We have so many canning jars, it’s beyond belief,” Pinkney remarked. “Whatever we make if it’s $500 or $3,000, it’s all money for the museum.”
Pinkney said they’ll be selling the items by donation with all proceeds going to the museum society. They have hundreds of canning jars, various pieces of kitchenware, paintings, chairs, couches and various other miscellaneous items for sale.
Separately Pinkney remarked they’re also hoping to sell off some commercial coolers and stainless steel counters to a company that needs them to raise a little more money. This will go towards the restoration of the Lodge, including the removal of asbestos and mold and reinforcing the building’s foundations.
“We have to do some asbestos and mold mitigation in the back part of the Lodge. Most people probably don’t have any idea what the Lodge is like underneath. Half of the basement floor is still dirt with cubbies into the ground where the food used to be preserved,” Pinkney explained. “When it flooded (in 2020) mud and mold went everywhere.”
The cost to remove all the asbestos and mold will be at least $200,000. Pinkney acknowledged it’s a lot of money but noted the provincial government requires the work to be done and that they have access to some grants to help cover the cost. After that’s done the district and society will have to spend another $250,000 to fix the floor, which will be covered using historical grants the society will apply for.
Barnett, the chair of the newly reformed museum society, said she is delighted the project is finally moving forward. Members of the community have wanted to turn the Lodge, originally constructed by Lord Martin Cecil in 1932 and later used by the Emissaries of Divine Light as a hotel and dining hall from 1948 on, into a museum since it was first donated to the district in 2006.
“Every community has a museum but 100 Mile House. We’re losing our history and once your history is gone, you’re gone,” Barnett said. “Another year from now we’ll hopefully have everything ready to be open.”
Due to fluctuating repair costs, changes in local government and the dissolution of the first museum society the project has been stalled for years. With Pinkney now sitting in the mayor’s seat, the society reformed and a donation from the Emissaries to fund the museum, Barnett said everything should be in place for success.
Pinkney said their current plan is just to restore the ground level and foundation of the Lodge so they can create the museum and populate it with artifacts. The upstairs won’t be accessible to the general public and will be instead used as an archives space.
Over the years dozens of people have collected and catalogued artifacts and information for the museum. Even when the project ran aground a decade ago, Pinkney said their work was stored and preserved.
“We have a pretty good collection to start with but of course, as we get going we’ll be looking for people to donate articles and different things,” Pinkney said.
In the coming months, Barnett is going to be actively recruiting new volunteers for the museum society. She’s especially eager to bring in some young people who have a passion for history that matches her own.
“We do have a small board now but they’re all grey-haired. There are a lot of young people who are very interested in history,” Barnett said, adding that she encourages any interested in getting involved to reach out to her.
“Let’s all get on board and create some new interesting activity around here.”
