PRINCE COUNTY
Cape Traverse ice boat monument could be renovated
Saving the past
The ice boat monument in Cape Traverse could be in line for some tender loving care. Borden-Kinkora MLA Jamie Fox and a number of other local stakeholders recently met with Parks Canada regarding the future of the monument, which is located on Route 10, just outside Borden-Carleton. Fox said it was a productive meeting and a good step towards preserving this piece of local history.
The ice boat monument in Cape Traverse could be in line for some tender loving care. Borden-Kinkora MLA Jamie Fox and a number of other local stakeholders recently met with Parks Canada regarding the future of the monument, which is located on Route 10, just outside Borden-Carleton. Fox said it was a productive meeting and a good step towards preserving this piece of local history.
“I think it’s important for the history of P.E.I. and I think we need to preserve our history and showcase it. Cape Traverse played a very important role in the transportation aspect of the province in that era,” said Fox. Built in 1970, the monument commemorates the small ice boats that, for many years, were the province’s only winter lifeline to the mainland. Fox said he and a few other community members originally approached Parks Canada last year, hoping to get the monument cleaned up a bit. That summer an excavator and crew were brought in to shore up the large concrete wall that depicts ice boat sailors and to right the slight lean it had developed. Once that work was done, the two groups started talking about the site’s future and a meeting of Parks Canada and several community stakeholders was arranged. At that meeting, held earlier this month, the stakeholders made their case that the site is an important historical landmark and should not only be protected, but also landscaped into a small park with interpretive signage. Parks Canada committed to examining the community’s request and said it would get back to them in 2017 with an update. “If that money is approved we’ll go to design stage with more community involvement and consultation on what it would look like,” said Fox.
One aspect in particular of the project that the stakeholders thought was important was the return of a replica ice boat to the monument.
When it was originally constructed, the structure included a replica ice boat, but it was eventually removed due to deterioration. Parks Canada still has it in storage, though it is in need of significant repair.
Fox said he’d like to see another, more weather resistant, replica be added back to the monument. Charlie MacKenzie, chairman of the Borden-Carleton Regional Development Corporation, said he often has people inquiring about where the monument is and what it stands for. However, due to its current condition, he’s almost hesitant to direct people to it.
But with a little investment it could be a nice little park and interpretive pavillion, said MacKenzie, befitting the ice boat’s place in P.E.I. history.
“It’s part of the history of transportation here on the Island really, that was the start of it all.”