Logger�s Life Provincial Museum receives funding for exhibit upgrade

Gerry Byrne, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and Julie Bettney, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, have announced $35,000 for the Logger's Life Provincial Museum in Grand Falls-Windsor. Work on the Logger's Life Provincial Museum has already begun.

"Newfoundland and Labrador�s cultural and heritage industries make an essential contribution to both our lives and to our economy," said Minister Byrne. "This museum recognizes the significance of one of our most important industries, and the people who built that industry. These upgrades will position the site as a key attraction in Central Newfoundland for visitors, and for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians."

"This funding provided through the Comprehensive Economic Development Agreement or CEDA will help us more fully develop the interpretative context for the logging camp," said Minister Bettney. "We intend to present the regional, provincial and national significance of the logging industry and to tell the story of what it was like to live and work within the industry."

The Logger's Life Provincial Museum is located adjacent to Beothuk Park and attracts campers, tourists and area residents. The museum is a re-creation of a logging camp from the 1920s consisting of four log buildings, the main camp, filing shack, barn and forge. Each building houses reconstructed furnishings and displays relevant artifacts. There is also an outdoor presentation of related logging equipment and features including a uniquely designed, flat-bottom boat called a "bateau" which was used on the river drive. The site is enhanced with a small walking trail through the woods.

The funding will be used to strengthen the level of interpretation at the site and to restructure the presentation of artifacts so that the site reflects an historic site format, rather than a museum format. The funding will also extend the current scope of interpretation to include the associated walking trail and to develop the natural history themes related to the experience of loggers; upgrades will be made to the supporting graphic and text interpretation, enhancing the staff's current first-person interpretation. Penny Wells, the project curator, has begun work on the project, which is expected to take six months to complete.

The Cultural and Heritage Industries program of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Comprehensive Economic Agreement is a three-year, $3.4 million fund administered federally by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Canadian Heritage, and provincially by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. The fund is overseen by advisory committees comprised of leaders in the cultural and heritage industries in this province.

Media contact:

     Olivia Letemplier
     Office of Gerry Byrne
     Minister of State for ACOA
     (613) 954-2487

     Doug Burgess
     Director, Public Affairs
     Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
     (709) 772-2935

     Melony O�Neill
     Communications
     Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation
     (709) 729-0928

2003 01 08                                        2:50 p.m.