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(The following three articles are part of a series printed originally in the Powell River Peak between March 19-26, 1998. The series investigated Powell River's potential for heritage tourism, and is reprinted here with permission from the Peak.)
POWELL RIVER - Build it and they will come.
"Build the community as a museum," says archival consultant Trevor May, in reference to the Townsite. "There's something about the depth of time that people find universally appealing."
A museum is much more than a building stuffed with old things.
"The whole concept is that a museum is no longer within four walls." A community like the Townsite can itself be an extension of a central building where archival records are kept. "You can walk down old streetscapes there. There's a stability in that scene in an unstable world.
People are constantly trying to escape the turmoil of the modern cities."
Some of the appeal, says May, is the small-town feel in the Townsite. "Part of the package is the people themselves who take time to greet each other and talk to people."
The designs of the homes also contribute to the town's character. "There's a lot of variety of architecture and textures. The homes are built on a human scale. The open verandas are closer to the street." Many Townsite homes are being restored by their dedicated owners.
"You already have some people in this community who see the potential and recognize the gems that have got tarnished and are neglected."
Historic resources are one aspect of heritage tourism that can be developed to attract tourists to an area. One approach is to translate a community's archival materials into displays or programs for visitors to experience and learn from.
"Our role (at the museum archives) is as a resource for those people who need to look back to how things were to make restorations...to write the history."
With the development that is happening in the Townsite, the area will eventually stand as a restored example of BC's earliest single-industry communities. With a historic district designation from the federal government in place, Townsite's value for heritage tourism has been established.
As well, the visual appeal of a replanted, relandscaped Townsite would attract tourists who are avid gardeners involved in the most popular hobby in North America.
"Townsite was built on the garden-city concept which was in vogue at the time," says May. Trees and gardens were included in the Powell River Company's plans for the community's development. "That's why the tree-lined streets."
May thinks the Townsite Heritage Society is on the right track with the walking tour, redevelopment of the Triangle Gardens and tree-planting program. "The interpretive signs are a good idea. They alert the community that there is a history to these buildings and that they have value."
Taking the walking-tour idea further, May adds that he is intrigued by the houses in the Townsite. "It would be neat to know who lived (in them)."
According to May, all of Powell River's old buildings are valuable resources. "The mill represents 60 years of industrial history yet they are tearing the roofs off those buildings to save taxes...Cranberry School is a time capsule of schools in the 1930s. It may be torn down. Stillwater school is irrevocably changed. It's not a school any more."
One possible way to save Powell River's heritage buildings is to adapt them "in a sensitive way for a new function."
May gives the example of Bowen Island, which has been rejuvenated to attract visitors. "They started with one building-the Union Steamship Company building-and a restoration grant." The GVRD offices are housed upstairs, says May. The post office and other tenants also moved in. "The rest was given for public exhibition space."
The project became a focal point of the community and led to further restorations. "There has to be that beginning point-the inspiration. Guest cottages from the 1920s-instead of tearing them down, they have tenants in each one." One cottage is the tourist information centre; one will be a satellite museum exhibit. Restaurants, a seafood shop, organic produce shop-all attract visitors.
"It's so much more vibrant there. It's such a nice place to be. It feels good walking around and there's a sense of the past." New buildings constructed in the area are designed to complement the old. "There is an increased sense of pride."
POWELL RIVER - A town is the sum total of its citizens.
Each resident's private pursuits and business dealings contribute to a community's character.
To understand a time and place in history, historians look at the people who lived it.
In preserving the records that reveal an individual's activities, an archivist considers the person's entire collection of belongings rather than the polished accomplishments. "I look for the by-products of people's activities. Not the book, but the notes," says archival consultant Trevor May, who spent two weeks at the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives recently. "You get insights because (a person) has notes in the margins."
On the job, May's task is to arrange and describe historical records and develop a record management system. He spent his time in Powell River focussed on the materials of early resident Golden Stanley.
May says very few people understand what constitutes a valuable archival record. "They tend to lump books and magazines in...news clippings and commemorative materials-but those aren't."
Letters, diaries, rough drafts, lists-all are valuable. With such a medley of materials, archival researchers rely on context for meaning, says May. "The way the creator of the records kept them is really important to retain its meaning and value as evidence."
The whole of the records is called a fonds (pronounced like the word phone, with emphasis on the f-sound, light on the n).
Another part of May's job is to discard valueless materials from a collection, which he did with Stanley's. "Three boxes I've pitched; there are nine left."
Archival materials become useful when they are easily accessible to individuals doing research. "Even if none of it is displayed, I've created a location guide and codes that take you right into the file or item or photograph. I also do a description of each series of records within the fonds so people understand the context of the records and their physical and chronological extent (the date range)."
May wants Powell River residents to understand the value of historical records. "I would urge people to think very hard before they throw things away, especially records of businesses, clubs and long-time residents. (And, it's important) to keep the records in the order they were maintained."
Business and club records document the development of a community, providing valuable information for residents in the future, says May. Old photographs can be used during the restoration of historic buildings. "Going back through the ledgers you can see when they spent money on paint." Or the present owners of a building can pinpoint when a major renovation or addition was done.
In developing the Townsite, for example, business or personal records can help owners restore a building back to a certain period in the district's development.
A community's collection of fonds are all interlinked. "The rule is you really should keep them together. Unfortunately, Powell River Company records are kept at UBC (University of BC). They've been taken out of the community."
May hopes than an informed public will realize the value of intact records and ensure that they are preserved. Thanks to former residents like Stanley-who was a diligent historian and record keeper-a good perspective of Powell River's development exists today.
POWELL RIVER - Teedie Gentile loves how the archival materials she oversees take her back to "a much gentler time."
Reading through old community records reveals the attitudes of Powell River's past citizens. "What really gets me is the fact that in the early days people didn't have any money but they were very willing to go that extra mile to better the community-the schools and the community halls got built."
As coordinator of the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives, one of her favourite fonds is that of the Cranberry Ratepayers' and Community Association which was established in 1931. The association held the first fall fair in the Powell River area in 1932. "Everything was so meticulous. (In) the financial records-they wrote how much they paid for the blue ribbons."
Minutes of the meetings encapsulate the discussions that took place so long ago. "(I admire) the integrity of who they were and what the organization (stood for). Their motives were based on the most sincerest of intentions. Their genuine wish was to start a horticultural fair in Cranberry. They strived to encourage others to improve their lives."
Because the earliest fall fairs began during an economic depression, Gentile postulates, "Maybe they wanted to lift community spirit. They may have thought, 'Hey, times are tough but we can still grow prize cabbages.'"
Snapshots of early days provide grist for novelists, playwrights, students and historians. Local researchers, working on a spectrum of projects, regularly delve into the archives. School programs involve students in their own and Powell River's history.
In her job, Gentile also meets her share of visitors to Powell River. "Tourists, who are also researchers, come in for genealogical information. If someone comes in and says, 'My grandfather worked at the mill in such and such a year, we have some of the records. We have telephone books back to 1937."
In many cases, Gentile can tell the curious relative which house their ancestor lived in. "It sends shivers up my spine-it's such a connection to the past."
Kate Spanks is a reporter for the Powell River Peak.
Reprinted from the AABC Newsletter, Spring 1998, Vol. 8, No. 2.
Originally published in the Powell River Peak (© 1998 Powell River Peak).