Curator cut at Walker House
By Liz Dadson

Heritage

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In October, Bert deGraaf will not have a job.

The curator at the Paddy Walker Heritage Centre, located in Kincardine's Walker House, will be let go and the centre will switch to winter hours as the board of directors tries to keep things afloat financially.

President Graham Mahood said the facility has just completed its first year as a fully-operational heritage centre and the past year was a learning experience.

"We are delighted to discover that, over the past 12 months, the support from the local community and from out-of-town visitors for our exhibits, programs and events, exceeded our expectations," says Mahood. "However, we also learned that the Walker House experiences the same decline in activity through the winter season as do many other enterprises in Kincardine, and our board of directors has concluded that our walk-in traffic during the winter months does not warrant being open on a full-time basis. As a result, we also realized that we did not require a full-time, year-round staff person."

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21/08/2009 11:06 PM

Mahood says the Walker House will continue to host new exhibits, special events, guest speakers and facility rentals, winter and summer. "The only difference will be that during the winter months tours of the Walker House will be by appointment rather than on a walk-in basis," he says. "Our goal is to accommodate everyone who wants to see the Walker House - at any time of the year."

Administrative duties at the heritage centre will be handled by the part-time office administrator, says Mahood. "The mounting of exhibits has always been a team effort led by the chairperson of the exhibits committee and Bert deGraaf, and ably assisted by the dedicated volunteers who serve on that committee. We have no intention of breaking up a winning team. We plan to continue to utilize Bert's exhibit-building skills on a contract basis, and we will continue to mount displays of historical interest to the community. This is not the end of our association with Bert, but rather an exciting and challenging new phase in our relationship with him."

Mahood says that other facets of the operation will continue to be conducted through volunteer committees - which include programming and events, fund-raising, property, collections and the gift shop - as is the case now.

For information on guided tours or facility rentals as well as special events, contact the Walker House at 519-396-1850 and/or paddywalker.rick@bmts.com  Regular updates and information on special events are also available on the website at http://www.walkerhousekincardine.com .