British Columbia·Photos

3 B.C. Interior heritage sites to be restored with provincial funding

The $20 million funding for heritage sites is part of the province's $100 million Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program in response to COVID-19.

Government spending $20 million on unique heritage infrastructure projects across B.C.

The Merriwake wooden boat in Slocan, left, the Old Kamloops Courthouse, centre, and the Kamloops Heritage Railway, right, have received provincial grants for their restoration. (Joyce Johnson, Doug Herbert/CBC)

A 92-year-old Japanese-Canadian fishing boat in Slocan, and the old courthouse and railway in Kamloops are among a dozen B.C. Interior heritage sites receiving provincial grants for restoration.

Last Monday, the B.C. government announced it is spending $20 million on 68 unique heritage infrastructure projects across the province, which is part of the province's $100 million Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program in response to COVID-19.

"Through this funding program, the province not only provided the largest one-time infusion of funds into the heritage sector, but it also recognized the importance and potential of heritage infrastructure and its place in our province's economic picture," said Heritage B.C. executive director Paul Gavett in a news release.

Shelter for Merriwake boat

The Slocan Valley Historical Society has received $500,000 to build a shelter for the Merriwake fishing boat.

The wooden vessel was built in 1929 by Prince Rupert fisherman Isamu Matsumoto but was confiscated after he and 22,000 other Japanese Canadians were forced into internment camps during the Second World War.

"This [the shelter] will be a post-and-beam open building. It will shelter the boat behind [a] glass enclosure. It will be available to people of all abilities pretty much 52 weeks out of the year," society president Joyce Johnson told Chris Walker, the host of CBC's Daybreak South

"The idea is that it will be a self-sustaining, open-air display that will tell the story [of Japanese Canadian internment] for years to come," she said.

Tap the link below to hear Joyce Johnson's interview on Daybreak South:

Old Kamloops Courthouse restoration

Barbara Berger, the recreation, social development and cultural manager of the City of Kamloops, says the old courthouse building serves the community as a cultural centre and tourism feature. (Doug Herbert/CBC)

The City of Kamloops has also received $500,000 from the province to repair the interior and exterior of the Old Kamloops Courthouse — constructed in 1911 on Seymour Street in the city's downtown — and taken over from a hostel operator by the municipality in 2007.

Barbara Berger, the city's recreation, social development and cultural manager, says the money will be spent on restoring the building's fir woodwork, roofing, granite walls and stained glass windows damaged by vandals.

Worn-out fir woodwork inside the Old Kamloops Courthouse. (Doug Herbert/CBC)

"I'm glad it [the courthouse] was recognized [for] what the role that this building plays in the community as a cultural centre, as a tourism feature, and just the mix of trades that will be involved and just creating work opportunities as well in the community," Berger said.

Stained glass windows in the Old Kamloops Courthouse damaged by vandals. (Doug Herbert/CBC)

Tap the link below to hear Barbara Berger's conversation with Doug Herbert on Daybreak Kamloops:

New classroom in Kamloops heritage rail car

Cory Clark, executive director of Kamloops Heritage Railway Society, left, and volunteer Doug Peterson, right, stand inside the railcar classroom with a scale model of Kamloops's railway in the 1940s. (Doug Herbert/CBC)

Located several blocks away from the courthouse, the Kamloops Heritage Railway has been granted $80,000 from the province to repurpose a decommissioned railcar into a classroom for local students — with a scale model of Kamloops's railway in the 1940s — and a kiosk in the back where merchandise can be sold to visitors.

"It's life-changing. It really is especially coming off a year with no revenue," said Cory Clark, executive director of Kamloops Heritage Railway Society. 

"This [provincial funding] allows us to do all those things, to pivot away from a one-dimensional operation. We're known for that on-rail experience, but we also want to be known for [being] stewards of this history.

The railcar classroom is under construction. (Doug Herbert/CBC)
Scale model of Kamloops's railway in the 1940s. (Doug Herbert/CBC)

Tap the link below to hear Cory Clark and his society colleagues on Daybreak Kamloops:

With files from Daybreak South and Doug Herbert