The Prince Albert Historical Society posed the question on their Facebook page, when will the North Saskatchewan River break? (Prince Albert Historical Society/ Facebook)

By Ronald Quaroni

Spring Break

Museum eyes river breakup on many fronts

Apr 24, 2020 | 12:03 PM

Despite news headlines being dominated by other, important issues, a popular question is being posed by the Prince Albert Historical Society.

When will the river ice break?

“It’s a fun thing to watch for and to get people engaged and of course when it breaks people will come out and watch the ice flow out,” Manager/ Curator of the Prince Albert Historical Society Michelle Taylor told paNOW.

For herself, Taylor predicts that by Friday or Saturday there will be movement.

“There’s open water underneath the bridges and because it’s shallow right behind the museum there’s open water there too… also the darkening of the ice,” she observed.

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According to Taylor this year’s ice break is later than normal, with residents usually beginning to watch for movement around the beginning of April.

Local interest in the breakup is prompting Taylor to look ahead to next winter and think about revisiting some past fundraising ideas as a way to help fund projects in 2021.

Decades ago the Prince Albert Wildlife Federation and the Prince Albert Fire Department ran a fundraiser that included a device positioned on the ice and connected with a string to a clock that would stop as soon as there was movement on the ice.

“We have thought in the last few years that, that would be a really excellent for the Historical Society probably in the form of a 50/50 raffle. It would engage the Prince Albert public and really get an excitement around springtime as well as the opening of the museum,” Taylor noted.

Idea’s for extra fundraisers may be needed as COVID-19 has kept the museum shuttered and have cancelled numerous fundraisers planned for the spring.

“We’ve been hurt a little bit financially in the fundraising department, but we have been able to do a lot of background work (LED light changes, planning, administration and grant writing) that would have been more difficult to do if we would have had the museums open,” she said.

Taylor noted they are looking forward to a date when they can open, which for now is unclear.

“Thank-you everyone who continues to support the Historical Society. We look forward to seeing you when we re-open,” Taylor added.

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Ron.Quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @Ronaldquaroni