Fund raising dinner gala boosts caboose coffers

Jun 30, 2010

Members of the Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Society attend a gala dinner fundraiser-l-r: Sally Angle, Ann Walsh, Barb Driscoll, Wayne Moase and Shirley Peruniak

The first formal fund raising event put on by the Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Society (CFRHS) was a gala dinner held at the Sharbot Lake Family Health Centre on June 26 to help cover the costs of moving and refurbishing the heritage caboose that made its way from VanKleek Hill on May 11 to the site across from the township office in Sharbot Lake.

Forty diners paid $75 each to attend the event, which all told raised $3,000 for the cause bringing the total amount in the caboose coffers to just over $10,000 - halfway to its $20,000 goal.

Wayne Robinson of the Robinson Group prepared a multi-course gourmet meal for 40 that included hors d’oeuvres, salad, onion soup, beef medallions, double baked potatoes, green beans. and for dessert - tiramisu. Local flautist Ann Archer entertained the diners, and appropriately the beer served for the event was Steam Whistle, a micro-brewed pilsner brewed in the historic John Street Roundhouse in downtown Toronto.

Chair of the society Sally Angle says there are plans for other upcoming fundraisers including a concert at Oso Hall in August with the Olde Tyme Fiddlers and a Walkathon that is slated to take place in the fall.

Work has already begun to refurbish the caboose and a number of local enthusiasts have begun to generously donate their time and skills to begin the caboose’s restoration to its former glory.