"There are so many elders that were here when I first came up that are gone now," said Boudreau. "I hate to see these things lost, their memories and their stories."

Boudreau approached Mayor George Roach last week, who suggested the town might be able to purchase the old adult education building beside the new library, and transform the facility into an archival museum to store historical artifacts. Roach still has to clear the idea with council, which meets Aug. 11. If council approves of the idea, the town would still have to approach the GNWT about purchasing the facility. For now, the idea is just a germ, but Boudreau said it's encouraging to know the Mayor is as excited about the idea as she is.

Roach told the Drum he'd like to see a historical society form that would operate as a committee under town council, perhaps linked with the Centennial Library board to share resources.

Boudreau said the society still needs to form a working board and apply for incorporation as a legal entity. Other steps would include chasing funding and beginning the collection of materials.

High-technology could be used to store the photos. Scanning materials onto computer disk would allow a permanent copy for the society, one that would no longer fade with time, she said.

In the meantime, Boudreau is asking people with historic photos and stories to contact her, to help build the first of what promises to be a rich collection of history. "The key thing here is just to get things started," said Boudreau.