Hello-Pjila’si-Bonjour Province House National Historic Site
is undergoing its biggest conservation work in its more than 175-year history.
The Government of Canada is proudly investing in the long-term preservation of Province House
so it can be enjoyed by future generations. As part of a partnering arrangement with Parks
Canada, students in Holland College’s Heritage Retrofit Carpentry program have finished some
very unique conservation work on two of the original windows for this landmark site.
“I was really excited to find out this was going to be a project that we
were going to be focusing on this year…” “I think to continue to walk by this building
and say ‘hey, I was part of that restoration process’ I think is going to be pretty meaningful
to me for many years to come.” Students began this unique
conservation work in the fall of 2019. The conservation work involved disassembling
the windows and examining their condition before identifying what needed to be replaced,
manufacturing that piece and installing it. They also rebuilt and painted the window frames.
“When we first received the windows, they were in a box, we pulled them out,
we had to completely clean them off, separate all of the wood pieces, so it was kind of
a massive, very complicated jigsaw puzzle.” “With the pieces that I’ve seen, there is not too
much that is rotted or damaged. I’m actually quite impressed with how they are and it’s probably due
to them being in Province House and being taken care of every year rather than being neglected.”
“In true fashion of a historic building, we’ve used all of the appropriate material,
so when it comes to finishes, we are using boiled linseed oil paint, very period appropriate,
and very waterproof, an excellent product to use. It’s very different than most finishes,
so there is a bit of a learning curve for students and I to put that on.”
This project did not come without its challenges. One challenge the students
faced was adding weather stripping to the windows.
“Originally, the windows never had weather stripping, so for energy efficiency purposes,
we are putting weather stripping in, but that adds about an eighth of an inch on each side of
the window so they are not quite fitting back into the frame so we had to do some
tinkering here and there to make them fit so that took a little bit of work to do.”
The final step for students was reinstalling the windows at the site, which took place in May 2022.
“The whole idea was that this project was going to leave jobs in our community, which I think it
will do in droves, the other thing is to boost the educational purposes of our students. There
is a great deal of pride, so much so, that as a teacher, I couldn’t ask for anything better. This
is the best project that I could be involved in.” As a result of this invaluable partnership, four
graduating students from the Heritage Retrofit Carpentry program were
hired to assist with reinstalling the remaining windows at Province House National Historic Site.
“I always say that a student goes from being a tradesperson,
to a craftsperson, to an artisan and there is no substitute for time that can get you
between those three stages and this has been a significant linchpin in offering that transitional
stage to go from a craftsperson to an artisan.” “My students have gotten the best education I can
possibly think of. I fully anticipate that this experience will be on the resume of my graduates
for the rest of their lives, it’s that important.” Now that this work is complete, Parks Canada and
Holland College are looking at other ways for students in the Heritage Retrofit Carpentry
Program to assist in the next phase of the conservation project- preserving
the historic features while bringing the building into the 21st century.
Thank you- Wela’lioq-Merci for taking the time to watch this video about Holland
College students conserving windows for Province House National Historic Site.
Stay tuned for future videos highlighting other elements of the conservation project.
For more information, or for up-to-date conservation information, visit our website.