With 40 acres of space and “lots of fresh air,” the president of the Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum hopes pandemic restrictions will soon lift to allow small crowds to return.
“There’s over 50 buildings (so) there’s no reason people couldn’t socially distance to view the place,” Gord Ross said recently.
The museum board had hoped to reopen in mid-April or even early May, but then coronavirus case numbers started increasing in the area, which shut the door for the time being.
Ross didn’t think the organization could make any decisions until the provincial government changes the restrictions. He noted that the board had not heard any new information from the province recently.
The provincial government announced on April 8 that restrictions would remain in place until April 26. It then planned to review the situation and decide what to do next.
According to the Government of Saskatchewan website, museums can be open and have up to 30 people.
“As soon as they start to relax things, I anticipate that we’ll try to open anyway,” said Ross. “We won’t have any events; it’ll just be for people to come and tour the grounds, and our events would be on hold because we can’t have that many people.
“We certainly want to open up.”
While the museum site has been closed for more than a year to the public, 15 to 18 volunteers have been busy renovating and fixing many buildings and other structures.
Members are working on the foundation of one of the church buildings since one side had sunk. They are also stripping plaster from several buildings and applying new material since the structures are unheated and do not do well in the cold, said Ross. Meanwhile, the small engine shed’s roof needs to be repaired after high winds in January damaged the building.
With no events and no people coming through the gates, this has likely put a financial crimp on the organization. However, Ross says the museum is hanging in there.
“We’re gonna do OK. We went into the COVID situation financially stable,” he said. “We’ve managed our money (well). We haven’t gone overboard.”
The museum received a $7,500 grant from the government, a $3,000 donation from an individual and $6,000 in vehicle storage fees. This has made the museum financially secure for a while.
The museum board appreciates all the support people have given during the closure, Ross added. When the organization is ready to reopen, it will update its website and announce it in the Moose Jaw Express.
