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ROMA at THREE RIVERS PEI Volunteers |
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Volunteers Priceless Asset of Three Rivers Roma Inc.
For years the Three Rivers community thought “something should be done to protect and develop the historic site at Brudenell Point”. Now it is happening thanks to the efforts of very dedicated volunteers. The year 2004 saw a dramatic change as 1700s style buildings were erected, 9 km of trails cut, and the first Fête Roma celebrated. Such an easy list to write, that represents untold months of work by project committee members Edgar Dewar, Hugh MacDonald, Lou Ann Thomson and Jock Beck. This year 2005 has brought great progress too if not so obvious to the public as last year’s building project. A major initiative has been made to publicize Roma at Three Rivers, to teach its history as well as make the community aware of the potential benefits this development can offer. Lively summer programs at the site will do much to lure tourists and encourage them to linger longer in our locality.
Outreach to the community has kept volunteers busy doing presentations to service clubs, church groups and in community lecture series. Jean Jans and Brenda Dewar visited Georgetown during Library Week and surprised the grade eights with tales of Roma’s time. Brenda and Edgar developed and adapted several PowerPoint shows for service clubs and church groups. Louise Bourgeois and Jean Jans presented lively bilingual shows to the Acadian Forum in Miscouche as well as at Greenwich as part of Parks Canada’s summer lecture series. Visits into the elementary schools began in September of 2004 as Lou Ann Thomson and Hugh MacDonald taught about boats of the 1700s. A similar program coordinated by Elizabeth LeLacheur is being done this year on the theme of 1700s clothing. |
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Summer program on site began with our first formal tours. Again this depended on volunteers who trained and supervised the student staff and managed the payroll, time-consuming tasks cheerfully taken on by Lou Ann, Hugh, Brenda and treasurer Andrea White. A basic tour manual was developed which we’ll expand as the site develops. Parks Canada has been most helpful in suggesting ways we may create more interactive and ‘authentic” role-playing historic presentations. Part of the satisfaction of these beginning stages is dreaming possibilities, fulfilling some of them, and developing tools others can follow and build on in the future.
Untold hours of dedicated work already have gone into planning the next stage of development: the creation of an interpretive centre, the sign-posting and improvement of the trails, and building a wharf. These building projects and new programs to attract visitors hinge on volunteers soon finding sponsors for basic funding. Sponsors too are priceless and necessary volunteers.
Fête Roma 2005 is our most public example of volunteers building on success. Where three volunteers (Joan Perrin, Jean Jans and Brenda Dewar) master-minded an amazing two-day festival last year, they are now joined by organizers Neil Macdonald (traffic & parking), Rita Donahoe (site manager), Joan Saunders (secretary), Elizabeth LeLacheur (schools program), Greer Coe (children’s activities), Louise Bourgeois and Darlene Peters (food), Gwen Beck (artifacts) plus others too numerous to name to assure a bigger and better party on the weekend of September 24th and 25th, 2005.
THANK YOU to all who help! You truly are WONDERFUL priceless treasures!
Published Sept. 7, 2005 by the Eastern Graphic on behalf of Roma at Three Rivers President Edgar Dewar |
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Any who have created text for brochures, books, websites, or formal signage for publication will appreciate Brenda’s and Jean’s months of work last winter that resulted in our five brochures, our website www.romapei.com and a new edition of Jill MacLean’s history of Jean Pierre Roma. You will see the results of Scott Buchanan and Brenda’s work when the interpretive trail signs appear, hopefully in 2006. We thank our patron Lieutenant Governor Leonce Bernard for hosting a memorable, celebratory book launch in June. |
