The 100 Mile & District Historical Society (OMDHS) has received $20,000 in the latest round of provincial gaming grants, as well as a $10,000 grant from the Heritage Legacy Fund of British Columbia (HLFBC).
OMDHS volunteer MaryAnn Rutledge explains the gaming grant is the final installation of a three-year program for the 108 Heritage Site.
Those funds are used to help maintain or replace items as needed from wear and tear, such as the lawn mowers, tools and fencing, she says.
It also funds some repairs in the museum area, including the main house, the heritage school and the church, Rutledge adds.
"There are always repairs at this site, on the weed whackers, the push mowers - the list goes on and on."
The gaming funds help pay for student workers, and allow for an outdoor worker who isn't covered by any other grant, she says, adding she will reapply for next year in hopes the society will receive the funding again.
"If we didn't get that gaming grant, we couldn't open because our tourism has been hurt so much with the price of gasoline. The Canadian dollar is also high, so we aren't getting the Americans."
The $10,000 grant from the HLFBC means a much needed new roof for the museum house is closer to fruition, and will be combined with $4,000 already provided for that in previous funding from the Cariboo Regional District.
"Now, we have $14,000, and we still have $26,000 to go."
The 108 Heritage Site opened on the Victoria Day long weekend and will welcome visitors until Labour Day in September. Prior to the end of each school year, it is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, and then by the end of June, it is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.
