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What Are The Friends Doing? We thought it would be of interest to review a few of the projects that the Board of Directors of the Friends is focusing on at present. The expansion plans for the fort set out in Adding New Buildings clearly are our primary concern. The reconstruction of the Splinterproof Barracks and the Guard house will only be possible if we can determine the historical construction design and materials. This requires a substantial research project and time is of the essence. As well, planning for the process to determine a design of the proposed visitor centre is underway. Funding for the future development of the fort is a major concern. We plan to have the Fort York Foundation in place by early summer. This will be a vehicle for the receipt of bequests and endowments. At the same time we are in the process of building a fund raising team to support a campaign
to fund our share of the Adding New Buildings project. Geordie Beal has been leading a very active committee on this project. Board members are starting to focus on planning for the War of 1812. The bicentennial will be a Bicentennial of the major tourist event for the country if properly planned and certainly will draw attention (and hopefully funding) to our plans for Fort York. Lastly, our History and Archaeology Committee chaired by Andrew Stewart is working hard to establish a Research Centre at Fort York – combining the library and a computer research centre. All of these projects are succeeding because of very positive work between Culture Division staff and the volunteers team in the Friends and on the Fort York Management Board.
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