Local heritage turns hi tech TOURIST NUMBERS were down this summer at the Heritage Park Museum. But that left students with more time to work on an ambitious cataloguing pro- ject, meaning that all the Mmuseum’s artifacts are now on a data base, By the end of the summer museum director Mamie Kerby expects tourist num- bers to be down 500-600 from last year, She’s partic- ularly noticed a decrease in American tourists, and wonders if that could be due to the cancellation of the Prince Rupert Alaska ferry stop. Beeause numbers have been low Kerby plans to keep the museum open till mid-September. That means the season total should be the same as last year — about 4,000 visitors, Kerby thinks Heritage Park should be able to draw 7,000 visitors a year, if it were properly promoted, with highway signs, But at- tempts to get those signs up haven't been successful, she says. - However, the slow sum- mer allowed three students the museum hired lo devote more time to a calaloguing project. Kerby estimates the muse- um has 3-4,000 artifacts, and now they’re om a data base. “T think this is just mar- velous,’’ she says. But there’s still a lot of work that necds to be done. Stories and family histories, as well as people who've dated the artifacts have to be included in the data base, It’s project that has to be done quickly, since often SOUP'S ON as Don Hull ladles out an offering during family entertainment day at Heritage Park over the Fliverboat Days weekend. The soup was made on a wood cookstove by Barbara LeRoss and was just one of many items of interest that day. Heritage Park's reputation as a source of local history is grow- ing across the northwest and its government society wants to do more promotion of the location. ber the significance of an artifact are quite old. - ‘Stories are what make the artifacts come alive, Otherwise a donation might be listed as just a bench of tools.’” Heritage Park grew out of a commitment in the 1980s by the local museum society as a way of saving the log century settlers. The buildings were dis- mantled and taken to the grounds where they were carefully restored. They artifacts. Heritage Park’s showpiece is the Kalum Lake Hotel. Recent additions to the park include wagons and the only people who remem- buildings of early 20th vehicles. | Box 22, 7 SEED gat LiaB setem adden B | MRPROVING'' Terrace, Bi C.i