"Dollars for one project while there are no dollars to save the other. What is real?"

as published in the Eastern Graphic - March 28, 2007
by Catherine Hennessey

Letter to the Editor
I believe if people in authority or in the development fields understood our Island history better, the distinctiveness of our communities would shine through and we would not be building and destroying the very special nature of this fair isle. Almost fifty years Dr. Francis Bolger came back to PEl with his doctorate in History to teach, for the first time, PEl history at the university level. Over the years he taught thousands of Islanders in his own special way. Some of those former students are even in government today. It was difficult to leave his class without caring deeply for our island. The visitors that I have met over the years and have had the privilege of introducing to so many aspects of this island, love what is real and I always leave those ,touring experiences feeling we're blessed here. The recently released TIAPEI study on Cultural Tourism might have a handle on that. I hope so.

Rural PEl like rural areas all over Canada is suffering today. They have huge problems to face in the 21st C, but if we jump to addressing those problems by snapping on urban to rural and building out of scales , without appreciation for what is special of rural we will soon have no there, there. We need a serious time of contemplation on this subject.

I am so very sorry that the PEl Museum and Heritage Foundation artifactory issue is pitting rural against urban, particularly in these days when both have such serious matters to discuss maturely. We have so many natural and historic strengths to build on, why are we wasting energy. Take for example the situation that could present itself this summer if this out of scale, snap-on-age building gets built on one side of the street in Murray River while they are tearing down a 1880's church across the street. Four million, what ever, dollars for one project while there are no dollars to save the other. What is real?

A serious plan as to how we should focus on saving the spectacular statements on our landscape that our ancestors built would be a far more productive exercise while building pride in Islanders. We must begin working on preserving our distinctiveness. Please stop before we spend anymore taxpayers dollars on building more Gateways Villages or Founders Hall that simple to do not speak to Islanders and not very clearly to our visitor.