New heritage society needed to preserve history
In order to preserve a vital part of Lamaline’s past, the community needs new custodians.
The Lamaline Heritage Museum is a piece of history itself. Built by Thomas Bonnell around the turn of the 20th century, the house had a front-row seat for the 1929 tsunami that pummeled Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula.
In 1957, it was re-located in the community, towed with rope and logs to a new location further inland, and renovated.
The house was acquired by the fledgling Lamaline Heritage Society in 1998, moved again and turned into a museum that now contains a wealth of historical and genealogical information about the town and its people.
“You see a lot of tourists who have connections or some roots to Lamaline that come looking for information about their family tree,” says Ella King, an active member of the committee alongside longtime chair Noella King.
STEPPING BACK
Noella was instrumental in forming the heritage society in 1995, establishing the museum and keeping it going for the past 20-plus years.
To do so, she found herself holding down a number of roles, a reality of the times in many of Newfoundland and Labrador’s smaller communities, given the shrinking, aging population in many rural areas of the province.
“There are other members on paper, and we’ll leave it at that, like a lot of volunteer committees,” she said with a laugh.
Given her age and the amount of responsibility involved, the time has come to pass the torch, she says.
Noella is appealing to the community to form a new heritage society to oversee the museum and preserve the area’s history. The first step is a public meeting on May 4, said Noella, who acknowledged she doesn’t plan to just walk away entirely.
“I’m going to be a supporting person,” she said.
“Now it’s time for me to step back — backbencher more or less, help out in any way I can, while I can.”
IMPORTANT ATTRACTION
Hundreds of tourists stopped by the Lamaline Heritage Museum each season, coming from all over the world, Noella King says.
“I enjoy looking through our guestbook to see where people come from and the comments that they leave,” she says.
The museum, closed for a second straight summer due to COVID-19, has been an important youth employer in the town.
It’s more than just a building, Ella King says.
“You know, you’ve got to keep your history so it’s there for the next generation to come,” she said.
“Hopefully, people will step forward and realize that your heritage is very important, and to keep the heritage house open in summertime for tourists.”
She says she can also appreciate Noella’s decision.
“She’s been very much to the forefront all these years and the time comes, I guess, you know, when you have to step back a bit and let somebody else take over.”