Dionne quints’ home to stay in North Bay
NORTH BAY, ONT. The birth home of the Dionne quintuplets will be staying in North Bay, Ont.
Concerted public pressure, debate, widespread media coverage and letters to the editor came to an end point Tuesday as city politicians voted 7-3 in favour of hanging on to the tiny cabin in which the five sisters were born 83 years ago.
The home is now expected to be relocated near the Discovery North Bay Museum by the waterfront, and work to establish a new board to oversee its operation is expected to get underway soon.
The total cost of the relocation, which will be financed from the sale of the former regional tourist information centre property, could be as much as $150,000, including a foundation and landscaping.
It was only about two months ago that a majority of council members were poised to send the home and many of its artifacts to Strong township, located 75 kilometres away. But in the end, only three councillors voted against keeping the building.
Mark King was the most vocal of the three dissenters, grilling members of a special review committee of council on their recommendations for keeping the home and raising concerns about the associated costs and viability of the proposal. Coun. Chris Mayne stressed how nothing else in the community carries the same worldwide recognition as the Dionne home and its artifacts.
And he reminded dissenting councillors the city has owned the building and its artifacts for the past three decades.
“I think ... to some degree this community has a responsibility to continue that ownership and share it with the world,” he said.
As part of the decision to keep the home, the city will continue to cover the ongoing costs of maintaining the building — estimated at about $5,000 annually over the next 10 years, although government funding opportunities will be pursued. Tuesday’s decision, however, did not address ongoing operating costs.
The council move to keep the home received a standing ovation from residents at the council meeting, including members of the Friends of the Dionne Home Museum group, which led the campaign to keep the home in North Bay.
“This has been a communitywide effort,” said Jeff Fournier, the group’s chairman, who thanked a long list of people during a presentation just ahead of the vote.
His acknowledgment included Annette and Cécile Dionne, the two surviving sisters.