"You're not really going to know where you are going if you don't know partly where you've come from. Having old architecture and artifacts are going to help the next generation know where they've come from, so they can build on it and know the mistakes of the last generations." - Manitou's Local Heritage Advocate Al Thorliefson
Thanks to an "Arts, Culture and Sport in Community" Small Capital Project provincial grant, the La Riviere CPR Station restoration in Manitou will put the $25, 000 to good use.
Manitou's Local Heritage Advocate, Al Thorliefson, explained how it will be used.
"It is going to be specifically spent on putting in a totally new electrical system in the building, because of course, the remnants of knob and tube and 1950s wiring just isn't up to code. So, we are basically having to rewire the entire building all over again. Part of the grant is going toward the repair of the interior gallery spaces, but then there was also a $6,000 one, and that's specifically for display cabinetry and cases for the exhibit area."
The $6,000 grant fell under the Special Initiatives category.
In November 2021, the heritage building was moved to Manitou.
Thorliefson described the project.
"What we're trying to do is restore a provincially designated building. The architecture of the La Riviere CPR Station is unusual. It's the only mansard roof station still in existence in Manitoba. It has fallen somewhat in disrepair, partly because it's spent almost 100 years sitting in soil."
As a result, repairs to the joists and foundation of the building were done this Spring, as well as installing sewer and water, hooking up the hydro, putting in fiber. Now, the platform of the station will be done in the next two weeks, and the electrical can be done. Painting the exterior of the building will be done later this fall, in addition to major work in the gallery/museum spaces.
"The thing is, we've got a number of photographs from CPR and CPR stations and routes from... well, some of them are as old as 80-90 years old. We want to display them, and we're thinking a bit of a gallery, as well as a museum space. Our goal is to have those gallery spaces finished, and to have a final display just before close up this fall."
When asked what it feels like to bring life back into an old building that could've been demolished, Thorliefson chuckled.
"It feels really good. It's an awful lot of work, but then we did it with the Opera House, we did it with the McClung houses, we did it with the CPR log house. This is just another one, and we don't want to lose our architectural heritage. We have a thought in the Prairies that something 50 years is old, but if we don't start thinking about preserving some of these things, then there won't be any of this architecture, let's say 300 years from now."
Thorliefson said he has dedicated his life to preserving architecture, because he loves history, and he loves knowing where we come from.
And as a retired teacher, he added, "You're not really going to know where you are going if you don't know partly where you've come from. Having old architecture and artifacts is going to help the next generation know where they've come from, so they can build on it, and know the mistakes of the last generations."
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