Seniors society takes action to re-open workshop
Glen Vienneau
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jan 05/01) - After almost five years of neglect, interest is once again brewing to bring back a Yellowknife workshop for seniors.
Located in the basement of Northern United Place, the shop was started in the 1970s and once thrived as a cottage industry for several local seniors.
D'Arcy Arden said seniors started to lose interest in the workshop over the past years after equipment started getting stolen.
"Stuff went missing and people didn't want to go back in there. They (members) didn't want to get blamed, so they stayed away," said Arden.
Although the shop was set up to be used by members of the society, the abundance of keys soon ended up in the hands of non-members over the past five years, said Wayne Sampson, board chairman of the Yellowknife Senior's Society.
"That's been the biggest problem, keys have been gone," said Sampson.
The shop was founded by Chet Wilkinson, Mel Brown and the late Ed Baker.
In the early 1970s, Chet Wilkinson was head electrician at Giant mine and used the shop for repairing telephones under contract for NorthwesTel, said Mel Brown.
Ed Baker used the shop to make furniture for apartment buildings, also under contract work.
"During the course of 10 to 15 years, they made enough money to pay for the rent on the workshop for 30 years," said Brown.
Now with a $3,000 boost from the Yellowknife Lions Club, the society plans to upgrade the equipment and tighten security so the shop can once again benefit the community.
"The tools they used to have in there were old, heavy, clanky tools," said Sampson.
"Those funds will be used to maintain it so that it won't get into a state of disrepair the way it was before."
Aside from a new lock on the door and better monitoring, users will now have to pay a small membership fee.
These annual, monthly, weekly or daily membership fees will allow the shop to continue the tradition of being self-supportive with the funds going towards the purchase of the materials needed in the shop, said Sampson.
Sampson hopes these changes will attract more members of the society to the shop. The shop is ideal for those living in apartments who otherwise would not have a place to do woodwork.
At the shop, seniors will be able to build items such as cupboards, office chairs or workshop staples like bird cages.
In the future, the society hopes to offer courses and possibly include painting in the program, said Sampson.
"The bottom line is that it's a place that seniors could go and enjoy the interaction with other seniors," said Sampson.
The society is planning to hold an open house at the end of January.
