SKINNERS POND, P.E.I. — This P.E.I. hamlet has begun work on a gamble: That Canada still loves Stompin' Tom Connors as much as the country-folk legend loved it.
Construction is under way on the Stompin’ Tom Centre and Schoolhouse, which will commemorate the life of Connors — known for such Canadiana-celebrating songs as "Bud the Spud" and "The Hockey Song."
"He learned his love of Canada here and that is likely where he got his desire to find out more about the country," said Anne Arsenault, general manager of the economic development group Tignish Initiatives, as she stood next to the tiny one-room school house that Connors attended.
It is the oldest known school in Prince Edward Island, still standing where it was originally built in the early 19th century.
Work has begun to repair and restore the building in Skinners Pond — a coastal community green with farmland, dotted with quaint homes and cottages, and bordered with scenic sandy beaches.
Connors, who became known for his stories of Canada and the everyman, was born in Saint John, N.B. in 1936 to an unwed teenaged mother, but was adopted by the Aylward family in Skinners Pond when he was eight.
It was here that he learned to sing and got his early education about Canada. He ran away from home at the age of 12 to hitchhike across the country, but always considered Skinners Pond to be his home.
Connors went on to become a household name across his cherished country, earn (and refuse) Juno Awards, get his own postage stamp and an appointment to the Order of Canada.
He became a fixture on Canadian television, wearing a black cowboy hat and performing his songs — his left foot keeping the beat as it pounded the floor.
In the 1970s, Connors purchased the Skinners Pond schoolhouse, which was opened to the public to display some of his memorabilia, but the site eventually closed and his keepsakes were shipped to his home in Ontario.
Before he died in 2013, at the age of 77, Connors supported plans to revive the museum and build a cultural centre.
"He thoroughly enjoyed this area. He loved it and talked very highly about it," Arsenault said.
In July 2015, Ottawa and the province announced nearly $1.7-million in funding for a $1.9-million project. However, the plans had to be scaled back when $350,000 from the Department of Canadian Heritage was denied because Tignish Initiatives wasn't considered a heritage organization.
"Now we're here today and we're in the midst of renovations, and the construction will begin this fall of the new centre. Our opening is slated for July 1, 2017," Arsenault said.
The schoolhouse will house the interpretation and artifacts. The Connors family has agreed to provide all the artifacts and memorabilia required.
The original Aylward homestead — located about 100 metres away — will also be renovated and opened. The overgrown field in between the school and the house will become the location of the new memorial centre.
The initiative doesn't entirely rely on the appeal of Stompin' Tom alone.
"The new centre will have an entertainment space. It will seat up to 120 for dinner theatres and that sort of thing. It will also have a gift shop space and food service. That will be open the first year just in July but then we plan to be open from June to October from then on," Arsenault said.
The plan is to have local and national entertainers perform at the centre.
Skinners Pond is near the northwestern tip of Prince Edward Island — a two hour drive from Charlottetown — and quite a distance from other more "touristy" areas of the province.
But Arsenault said her group also manages the nearby North Cape centre and she hopes the two attractions will help draw people to the area.
"We get 50,000-plus people up to North Cape in the run of a year so that gives us a good advantage to get people moving around the region and encouraging them to check out the high points in the region. We think people will come to see this site, learn about Stompin' Tom Connors and take in the entertainment experiences here," she said
Arsenault said members of the Connors' family have already booked hotel rooms and plan to be on hand when the new centre opens next summer.
"I think Tom would be happy. He'd be happy this is finally happening," said Arsenault.
