The Township of Thessalon’s Heritage Association is hosting a full slate of activities in Little Rapids on Monday
The Thessalon Township Heritage Association is inviting the public to its Country Fair and Silent Auction in Little Rapids on Monday.
President Laura Miller says there’s usually a good turnout for the event, which takes place at the Heritage Park Museum each year to raise funds for the rural museum north of Thessalon.
“We do have a lot of help from the community,” Miller said. “For something like this, we call in all our friends — and their friends.”
A steering committee that was formed to purchase the former Little Rapids School eventually evolved into the Thessalon Township Heritage Association during the late 1970s.
Upon its incorporation in 1978, the heritage association acquired a triangular parcel of land on Little Rapids Road — for a dollar — with the goal of preserving the area’s history by collecting various artifacts for the cultural and social benefit of the public.
Miller says the idea of establishing a museum was the vision of local historian and writer J.E. MacDonald.
“We had one building on it — it was a chapel that was built by inmates at the prisoner camp in McCreight just north of Little Rapids,” Miller said.
The present-day Heritage Park Museum property now features replicas of a blacksmith shop, general store and schoolhouse, as well as a drive shed containing historical artifacts that harken back to the area’s roots in the logging industry.
Miller knows about the history of the area firsthand: She has been a member of the heritage association right from the beginning, serving as its first-ever secretary treasurer 49 years ago.
Three generations of the Miller family also attended the Little Rapids School, which led to Miller and her father being a part of the steering committee that acquired the former one-room schoolhouse.
Dating back to the late 1800s, the historical building is now a community centre that’s operated by the Municipality of Huron Shores.
Miller says her primary focus these days is leading the heritage association as its president, with the day-to-day operations of the Heritage Park Museum being handled by its curator, Mary Anne MacDonald, who is also the niece of museum founder J.E. MacDonald through marriage.
“I’m more into organizing. I like to organize — maybe that’s why I’m still doing it,” Miller said.
But the president of the Thessalon Township Heritage Association concedes that she would like to see “somebody younger” assume some of her responsibilities in the future.
“We just want to keep the museum going as long as we can,” said Miller.
“We do have a few younger people interested now — but we’re happy for that, because one day somebody’s got to do it.”
The heritage association has been busy preparing for its Country Fair and Silent Auction, which takes place tomorrow on the Civic Holiday.
The one-day event features a number of activities for the public, including:
live music
children’s activities
food
arts and crafts marketplace
50/50 raffle
This year’s edition of the Country Fair and Silent Auction takes place Monday, Aug. 3 at the Heritage Park Museum from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.