Laura Nelson is haggling with a contractor over the phone. "I can see why your quote was so high," reasons the Fernie and District Historical Society president. "But it saves us a lot of money, $1300 versus $5000. I'll get my boys to come help me."
Nelson will have to crawl into the 60-centimetre-wide crawlspace of the society's newly leased, century-old building to spray cellulose insulation. It's a dirty, intensive job.
"It's gonna be ugly," she says, hanging up the phone, then glancing at me. "It's just one day in my life. I can handle it."
Nelson is passionate about Fernie's vibrant history. In addition to her position as FDHS president, Nelson is a fourth generation Fernieite and as evidenced by the plaster dust on her down jacket, the society's labourer. She's also the project manager and grant writer.
In an effort to literally and figuratively build the society, Nelson applied to Resorts of the Canadian Rockies' Summit Fund last year and was awarded $21 000 over the next three years. In 2007, both the Fernie Alpine Resort and Kimberley Alpine Resort (under parent company Resorts of the Canadian Rockies) announced each resort would donate a total of $150 000 over the following five years to local organizations and charities. The mandate of the fund is "to enhance the community by supporting sustainable local projects that create positive opportunities and outcomes for its citizens."
For the FDHS, the Summit Fund had perfect timing. When the BC government pulled the $160 000 funding plug Nelson was counting on for operations as well as renovations to their first reliable home, the FDHS was nearly crippled. The Fernie community, however, stepped in with in-kind labour donations, cash and volunteers. But one of the major supporters was, somewhat unexpectedly, RCR.
Read the full story in Edmonton's Vue Weekly
