The Santa Claus and snowman at the Flin Flon Station Museum have been put away for another summer.
Volunteers, members of the Flin Flon Fire Department and Flin Flon Kinsmen helped remove the statues from their perch at the front of the museum, dismantle them and store them elsewhere at the site, six months after Christmas.
Attempts to get the statues down earlier were stymied due to differing schedules for volunteers and equipment use.
“We had so many people helping us and we had equipment we normally don’t have, it made it a little easier,” said station museum vice-chair Joe Buie, who supervised the project.
“Normally they load it onto a trailer and move it to the back. The equipment was able to pick it up and take it right to the back. There’s a lot less handling then.”
The future of the display is currently unknown. Last year, Ron Dodds, the longtime organizer of the move and a board member for the museum, decided that 2017-18 would be the last winter he would oversee the creation of the display.
“It’s kind of up in the air. I was hoping they would do it because I wouldn’t be doing it anymore,” said Dodds.
Both Dodds and Buie hope the board can find a replacement.
“It’ll be up to the museum board to determine whether they’re going to do it or not,” said Dodds.
“I’m hoping it continues.”
Buie said the job isn’t easy, but that work must continue to keep the display up every winter.
“I’m sure it’s going to come up at one of our future board meetings, figuring out what we’re going to do. It takes many hands to put it back up, just as it takes to take it down. I know there’s been years where just a couple of guys showed up – I don’t know how they did it. They must have struggled a little bit,” said Buie.
“I think we just have to get together and come up with a better plan, maybe pick a date before it’s -40.
