LABRADOR CITY, N.L. — A miniature village started as a special Christmas effort many years ago by Labrador City employees continues to grow and preserve community history.
Bridget Baker was an employee of the town of Labrador City several decades ago and so was Hedley Tucker.
Baker, now a town councillor, remembers how Christmas was an extra special time in the town, with workers spending a lot of time constructing floats for the annual Christmas parade.
Baker and Tucker said many employees wanted to do something a little extra special at that time so a group of them came up with an idea to build a miniature village that would grow over the years.
Tucker says everybody was keen to join. Some of the early contributors include Norm Dumaresque, Marcie Brown, and Barry Chaulk.
In the beginning, the village included types of houses that could be seen in Labrador City. Then it was decided to add a church. After a while, there was a school, a fire hall, and an inn. Last year the Royal Theatre was recreated, and this year, the Labrador West Heritage Society building.
The intent of the village isn't to make exact building duplicates, but if anyone went to a movie at the Royal Theatre they will be amazed at how real the replica looks.
The same applies to the Labrador West Heritage Society building. Worker Rick Delany and others did lots of research to make the building as authentic as possible.
For Labrador West MHA Jordan Brown, the heritage society building is an added bonus.
The building once served as a bank, the post office and library before it became home to the heritage society.
Brown is a former president, and he says the building played a big part in the history of the region. Brown says people can learn about the town by visiting the site and he hopes more buildings can be recreated like they were originally constructed.
"Many of our people who are under 30 may not even the history of the buildings,” he says, adding it's great to see how much interest there is in the village.
The village also teaches people about some of the pioneers of the town.
Molloy's Fire Hall is a tribute to Kevin Molloy who was a longstanding fire chief in the town. Peckham High is a tribute to Norm and Pauline Peckham, one of the pioneer families of the town. They settled here with one of the area's biggest families and some of the children and grandchildren still reside in Labrador City. The Peckhams loved Christmas, according to Baker, and one of the town's Christmas decorations, which was her favourite, somehow managed to be placed on the light pole just outside Pauline’s home.
Baker recalls when the Peckhams were invited to a ceremony that dedicated Peckham High, they were overjoyed and highly honored.
Many people have flocked to see and take pictures of the miniature village.
“It’s great to see how many people stop by and love to have their pictures at the village and especially their children and grandchildren,” said Town of Labrador City employee Donna Hicks.
Another worker, Byron Rogers, says people like seeing something the community used to have in the past.
The Christmas the village is located at the corner of Hudson and Booth.
