Big Day in Sharbot Lake

Dianne Lake worked for many years with her friend, the late Shirley Peruniak. to preserve as much of the history of Sharbot Lake as they could. She organised events celebrating the public school and high school anniversaries. And for over a year she has been gathering materials aimed at putting together an exhibit about what Sharbot Lake looked like 150 years ago, when the village was founded and the causeway was put through between the two basins of Sharbot Lake, to enable the Kingston to Pembroke (Kick and Push) Railway to come through.

It was the 8th of May in 1876 when the railway arrived in Sharbot Lake, kicking off a relatively short era where Sharbot Lake was a railway crossroads for the K&P and CP rail lines.

While Dianne was working hard to identify and catalogue each building in the village from that time, pouring through photos and newspaper clippings and other documents, the Railway Heritage Museum Committee was busy arranging for the purchase (the easy part) and transport (the expensive part) of a wooden caboose to add to the railway heritage park, that is located where the Sharbot Lake train station stood, back in that time.

And local artist Donna Larocque was busy painting a mural to mark the anniversary, to be installed on the NFTC building on Elizabeth Street that is located within sight of the causeway, which is now a part of the K&P Trail.

All of these efforts have come together. The caboose was delivered from Barries Bay last Thursday, April 30, using two transport trucks, and two cranes, and a crew of efficient workers who gently coaxed the body of the caboose back onto its wheels and put the top back in place, before packing up and moving on.

Donna completed her mural in time for it to be unveiled on May 8th.

The display will be set up at Soldiers Memorial (Oso) Hall from 10am - 5pm. The caboose will be open from 10am - 2pm at the park, and the mural unveiling is set for 2:30pm. From 5pm to 9pm, the Friday Open Mic at the Kick and Push Brewery will be devoted to celebrating the railway theme.

On Saturday, May 9, the display will be up at the hall for one more day, from 9am-5pm, and the caboose will also be open from 10am-2pm.

A second event, including the displays, is set for late August, giving seasonal residents a chance to see it.