Efforts are underway to help keep Jasper’s past a part of its future.
The town’s museum and archives building is dealing with deteriorating conditions and a leaky roof.
A fundraising campaign has been launched to raise money to repair the roof and preserve the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum & Archives’ collection.
“This museum houses Jasper’s history… we have warden history, railroad history, stores that are not in existence anymore, the records from businesses that no longer exist, everything is here and not only is it stored here but it’s interpreted,” said Karen Byers, museum manager.
The collection includes exhibits on the fur trade, the railway, early exploration and tourism in Jasper National Park, along with thousands of photographs, historical books, periodicals and manuscripts about humans and the natural history of the region.
But some of those artifacts that tell Jasper’s history is located underneath the leaking roof, threatening to damage a piece of history.
“The last little while, we’ve had several people come up and inspect the roof and tell us it needs to be replaced,” Byers said.
“We did the shingles which is more the cosmetic part of the roof a few years ago but the flat roof has to be done… so our fundraising committee swung into action.”
'Pennies for the Past' and 'One Square Foot at a Time'
The museum is collecting ‘Pennies for the Past,’ and has also launched a campaign called ‘One Square Foot at a Time,’ where one square foot of the roof is being sold for $25 each.
“Our fundraising committee had a door-to-door blitz and members, volunteers went throughout Jasper and asked for people to donate. How we worded it was we sold one square tile of the roof for $25 but we’d accept any donation towards the roof fund,” Byers said.
The hope is to sell 2,800 square-feet and raise $70,000 to fix the roof as well as other areas of the building that are in need of repair.
The building is run by the Jasper Historical Society, which first formed in 1963.
In 1978 the society began fundraising to develop a museum and archives and the building where the current museum sits was purchased in 1985.
Lori Klett says the museum is important to her and important to the town – that’s why she’s donated money to help repair the roof.
“I don’t think you can say it’s just a museum,” Klett said.
“It’s just the collection of photographs and archives to stories of people and story of humans and why we’re here and how we connect.”
Sonja de Vries is a first-time visitor and says she noticed the deteriorating conditions of the building.
“The roof was leaking. It’s really necessary to replace it,” de Vries said.
Fundraising efforts have raised about $35,000 so far but Byers says that’s only half of what’s needed.
The museum could also be getting a big boost this summer with the help of a government grant.
“We’ve applied for funding for the community facilities enhancement grant. We were turned down last summer for that grant but we are hopeful we’ll get it on the next grant run,” Byers said.
The museum hopes to have money in place by June to begin working on the new roof.
The goal is to complete repairs by winter and preserve Jasper’s history for years to come.
With files from Veronica Jubinville
