After years of looking for a place to showcase Lac La Biche’s history, the Lakeland Interpretive Society finally has a home. On Jan. 3, council voted unanimously to allow the group to move into the former Stuart MacPherson Library space in the McArthur Place basement.
“Let’s finally put this to rest,” said councillor Aurel Langevin, who made the motion for the society to move into the vacant basement. “This is a good fit for the long term in this community – let’s give them a home.”
Interpretive Society president Roger Monahan said he is pleased the group can now display the 200-year plus years of history of the area in a permanent space. Currently, the community archives are sitting in a neglected storage area in McArthur Place, Monahan said. While it’s too soon to say exactly how they’ll use the area, he said he’s glad the community’s history will now be preserved and showcased for visitors and locals to see.
“We’re quite happy that council made the decision,” Monahan said. “It means now we have an area for a museum – now we can house our artefacts and present the history of Lac La Biche.”
In April, the group applied for 5,000-plus square feet of the 7,673 square foot space when they heard the library would move to the Bold Center in the summer. There is currently a display at McArthur Place’s Visitor Information Centre, but it’s not large enough to fully showcase the area’s full range of history and artefacts, Monahan said.
“It was our vision to preserve our archive material, which has been and still is stored in a manner that is causing them to deteriorate at an alarming rate,” he wrote in the letter of application for the basement space.
The Interpretive Society has been working since 1997 to create a museum space to showcase local history, and had secured a $1.6-million grant from the government to build a 5,000-square-foot facility on the shores of Lac La Biche Lake. However, that plan fizzled and the funds were donated to the new library at the Bold Center and the Lac La Biche Mission Historical Preservation Society.
There were four other applicants for the McArthur Place basement: the antique and dance societies, as well as Program for Adult Learning and Lac La Biche Disability Services. However, besides wondering if any potential tenants would be asked for maintenance and utility compensation, council was all for giving the basement to the Interpretive group.
“The Interpretive Society is a good choice,” said councillor MJ Siebold. “That way the history isn’t just sitting and getting moldy.”
And councillor Tim Thompson reminded council that the $1.1 million donated to the county should settle any issues with compensation.
“In essence, they’ve payed good money already,” Thompson said.
Exactly when the group will move into their new home and the terms of their stay will be decided at a later date, said county spokesperson Shadia Amblie.
