Editor:
A bit of history before the village goes ahead and re names the Tom Forsyth arena I would like to put a bit of history behind the naming of the addition and the reason behind the building of this building I admit there was a lot of volunteers in the village and area that did a lot of work this started off as a centennial project.
The chair I believe was Fred Stearns Don Campbell Larry Paynton and several other. But the real work came when the money and the organization of the work load started the needed someone to do the foot work.
So the Kinsmen stepped in to do a lot of the organizing of the volunteers I forget who was chair if the kinsmen I believe it was Dr. Doug Mann in any case it doesn’t matter construction foreman was George Hamp and his crew now.
That’s how things got started the beams were to be ordered the kinsmen had no money but agreed to buy the beams and raise the money to buy them so the club was on the hook for the beams I forget the dollar value but it was a lot of money for a small club but we felt we could do it.
So we started cutting firewood dine and dances having casino nights all run but volunteers that was the start if the project anyway then we needed lumber the put this together so we had to go to the forest service at that time there was only one district manager that was Bill Waldron we needed enough trees to do all of the lumber that was required for this building.
Bill gave the Kinsmen a permit to cut that permit was to give us enough lumber to do the job but is was only trees the kinsmen had to get these trees cut fell and hauled to the mill all of this was done by again volunteers falling hauling and milling when it came time to mill it.
Larry hope owned Decker Lake Forest Products he had the logs sawed and hauled to Burns Lake on time for when the prelims or beams were put up all this being done with free labour.
Next week I will have part 2.
Sincerely,
Paul H. Jean
