Last Friday, Sandra Beaudoin, President of the Hanna Roundhouse Society, received official notification from the Minister of Culture & Tourism, David Eggen, of the designation of the 1913 Canadian Northern Railway Roundhouse in Hanna, Alberta as a Provincial Historic Resource!  As of June 1, 2015, “the site (1913 Canadian Northern Railway Roundhouse) is subject to the provisions of the Historical Resources Act”.
    A Provincial Historic Resource Designation empowers the Minister of Culture to designate and protect Provincial Historic Resources. To qualify for this level of designation, historic places must normally:
•    Be associated with an important aspect of Alberta’s natural or human history
•    Be of outstanding provincial significance
•    Be situated in their original location
•    Retain the physical site features necessary to convey their significance
    Now that the Hanna Roundhouse is a Provincial Historical Resource, it is protected by the Provincial Government.  The Hanna Roundhouse Society will be restoring this historical building under the guidance of Alberta Culture & Tourism & will be stewards of this site.
    The designation confers legal protection” indicated by Stefan Cieslik, Heritage Conservation Adviser, Historic Resources Management Branch, Alberta Culture and Tourism and any person deliberately damaging or altering a Provincial Historic Resource without Ministerial approval may be held accountable. Penalties include jail time (up to one year), or fines (up to $50,000), or both.
    “Owners of Provincial Historic Resources are obligated under the Act to be good stewards of their heritage properties. No person can destroy, disturb, alter, restore, repair or remove any historic objects from a Provincial Historic Resource without approval in writing from the Minister of Culture. However, Provincial Historic Resources can be and often are altered for a number of valid reasons if such actions do not disturb or destroy the significant heritage fabric of the site.”
    “In order to protect and promote Provincial Historic Resources, the owners of these sites are offered a number of incentives, including Eligibility for matching funds from the Alberta Historic Resource Fund,  based on the size/scale of the historic resource and scope of the proposed conservation work
    They can also have access to the technical expertise of Heritage Conservation Advisors, who can ensure that conservation work is carried out in a manner that considers both owners’ needs and resource sensitivity.
    The Hanna Roundhouse Society also announced they are hosting the  CN Retiree Railroader Reunion August 7-9, 2015.  The event honours the railroad Steam Era and aims to bring railroaders or families of railroaders, to Hanna’s 1913 Canadian Northern Railroad Roundhouse.  “We hope people will come together to share their memories, experiences & rekindle/make new friendships in the atmosphere of the 1913 Canadian Northern Railway Roundhouse!  The Hanna Roundhouse Society, a non-profit society, was established January 2010 & we have been working very hard to prepare this site for such an event since we purchased this property September 20, 2013,” said Sandra Beaudoin.  
    The “CN Retiree Railroader Reunion” will be the first event to be held at the Provincial Historic Resource, the 1913 Canadian Northern Railroad.  Registration is required for this weekend & is available to print from www.aroundhanna.com Questions regarding the event can be forwarded to Sandra.beaudoin1@gmail.com.  Deadline for registration, July 1, 2015.