Heritage worker Elke Ibrahim wears many hats. She’s Curator of the Glace Bay Heritage Museum, Vice-Chair of the Glace Bay Heritage Museum Society, and has been one of the driving forces behind the “Restoration Glace Bay Old Town Hall” project. Elke also serves as museum tour guide and is one of two volunteers who keep the museum gift shop and second-hand bookstore open year-round.
Elke’s commitment to heritage keeps her hopping. “First and foremost, I see to it that we go forward with the restoration,” says Elke. The project started in 1999, when a few concerned citizens of the former mining community decided to save the Old Town Hall, which was slated for demolition.
First, they needed to raise seed money to prove the community’s commitment to the project. Then – with assistance from three levels of government, support from the corporate sector, and the generosity of countless community-minded individuals – the preservation project began.
In 2003, on the eve of the Old Town Hall’s centennial, the Glace Bay Heritage Museum Society re-opened the Old Town Hall and unveiled the Glace Bay Heritage Museum and Old Town Hall Gift Shop. Phase I was complete: the ground floor, including the courtroom, was restored.
“We have worked diligently over the years and succeeded in securing funding for Phase II, the restoration of the second floor, which is now almost completed,” says Elke.
Volunteer Ernst Gramatzki designed the museum’s two permanent displays, which are dedicated to the town’s founding industries of coalmining and fishing. “Schools and youth groups visit the museum frequently, as well as many cruise ship tourists,” says Elke. Except for summer students, the museum is run entirely by volunteers, and it doubles as a community centre, providing meeting space for local groups like the Historical Society.
Currently, a special exhibit commemorates the work of inventor Guglielmo Marconi. 2007 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of radio, when the first transatlantic wireless service opened between Glace Bay and Clifden, Ireland.
Elke is proud to have played a role in saving the Old Town Hall. The project represents an exciting new chapter in the long history of her community. Still, it’s the old stories that Elke loves best. “I listen to old timers and hear their stories — the hardships, the work, the joy. They lived the history, they know it best!” says Elke.