On August 20, the Tumbler Ridge Museum celebrated its twentieth birthday. Well over 300 people attended the festivities, which included free admission, tours of the Dinosaur Discovery Gallery, ‘backstage’ tours of the Collections, access to the travelling exhibit of the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark, talks by Dr Victoria Arbour (Curator of Palaeontology at the Royal BC Museum), face painting, a barbeque, cake-cutting ceremony, and much more. It was the biggest single-day visitor attendance in the museum’s history, and the weather was perfect, all of which seemed to be reason for celebration in an air of festivity.
As one of the citizens who came together in August 2002 to form a fledgling museum, it also caused me to reflect: how did this come about, and how did we succeed, against what seemed very long odds at the time? Not only that, but how did we also help turn the tide and prevent Tumbler Ridge from becoming the ghost-town that many in the media predicted? How did we help prevent our community from going the way of the dinosaurs that had recently been discovered close to town?
In 2002 the situation was dire. Both coal mines had closed. The District was the town’s biggest employer. People were moving out in droves, and the population reached an all-time-low. But dinosaur tracks had been discovered by two young boys in Flatbed Creek. BC’s first dinosaur bones had been identified close to town, and we knew we had a unique history.
Besides, we lived in a most spectacular setting in the foothills of the Rockies, and already volunteers of the Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society had created and were promoting the first hiking trails. And so we decided to form a museum, lead the digging of those dinosaur bones (in the absence of support from higher authorities) and interpret what we had found for the benefit of anyone who would listen.
Janet and George Hartford, pioneers of so much of what was good and true about Tumbler Ridge in its early days, were leaders in this venture. Loraine Funk, Publisher of the Tumbler Ridge News, was elected the first President of the newly formed society, which became known as the Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation.
We had no funding initially, no idea of how to achieve what seemed our absurdly lofty goals, no idea whether we would last weeks or months. However, we had determination and drive, and we wanted to see our community survive and thrive. We could not control the price of coal, but we could help to promote our dinosaurs, find their tracks, and dig out their bones, and work with First Nations to interpret our history.
And we found a remarkable partner in Mayor Clay Iles and the District of Tumbler Ridge. The biggest housing sale in BC’s history followed, at rock-bottom prices, using dinosaurs and hiking trails as a marketing tool. To cut a long story short, the mood rapidly went from doom to heady optimism. We felt we were unstoppable, and, as it turned out, we were correct.
Over the ensuing two decades the museum has had its share of ups and downs and challenges, but the clear trend has been towards improvement and expansion. For almost all this time the District of Tumbler Ridge provided support in numerous ways, seeing the potential of what a unique centre of excellence in Tumbler Ridge could do for the community. Before long the Regional District came on board, with further support from industry, either in dollars or in-kind. The Dalglish Foundation saw what was being achieved and contributed precious funding. And a groundswell of community support culminated in a strongly positive referendum vote for continued municipal funding.
Being able to serve for a couple of years as president of the museum board is one of the great privileges of my time in Tumbler Ridge. In so doing I joined a bunch of people I greatly admire: Loraine Funk, Carolyn Golightly, Dave Price, Jim Kincaid, Charissa Tonnesen, Rose Snyder. These presidents have been supported by a tribe of board members, volunteers and employees who have kept the flag flying.
Along the road the museum, supported by the Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society, spawned the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark, yielding benefits to Tumbler Ridge that would have seemed unimaginable back in 2002. The museum and geopark have a wonderful, collaborative relationship that bodes well for the future. The decision to employ an Executive Director was timely and essential, and Zena Conlin has stepped into that role with remarkable dedication and commitment.
More than 80 dinosaur trackways have now been found in the Tumbler Ridge area, the collection of fish and marine reptile fossils hauled out of the mountains is probably the biggest of its kind in the world, and the research papers keep getting published—tyrannosaurid trackways in 2014 and giant crocodiles in 2021 being two notable examples. The previously-bare walls of the Community Centre are graced with exhibits depicting the region’s history, from maps to First Nations history, from pioneer history to mining history to the Sports Hall of Fame. And thanks to the tireless efforts of Crys White and her team, we now have the Tumbler Ridge Archives.
The list of sponsors and partners that made the twentieth birthday celebrations so special shows that the broad support of the past decades is alive and well. Nonetheless, while a twentieth birthday party provides cause to celebrate and reflect on achievements, it also encourages a look at the future. Entering its third decade, the museum faces new challenges. But the same spirit of determination that was present in 2002 is abundantly present today. I am grateful to everyone that has contributed to this success story, and I hope to be present to celebrate the thirtieth birthday, and the fortieth.
