A few years ago, Carol Boan from the Pioneer Walkway volunteer group noticed the less than ideal conditions of the beloved Osoyoos gazebo.
As her and her team of volunteers do work around the area on a regular basis, she saw the floor boards rotting and the structure falling apart in many ways.
It’s not a surprise, considering the gazebo was first installed in 1993.
Boan reached out to many community members including the Osoyoos Museum, the Rotary Club, and Frances Sologuk who owns Home Hardware and was the one who brought the gazebo originally almost 30 years ago.
Sologuk came forward again to sponsor all of the costs for the new gazebo, while a team of dedicated volunteers worked to put it all together.
The work began in summer 2019, with a team of volunteers first diminishing the structure, tearing off old floors, old handrails and the roof.
From left to right, Mayor Sue McKortoff, Frances Sologuk, Carol Boan, and Brock Jackson admire the newly renovated gazebo by the Osoyoos Pioneer Walkway.
Neha Chollangi photo
Then they started to install new parts. But soon after, winter hit, and then COVID, pushing plans back further.
The final renovation of the gazebo, the roof, was only finished about a month ago. After much debating around what kind of material should be at the top, the team decided to go with a fake copper which would gleam in the sun, yet dodge the many chemical reactions of real copper.
Larry Stone, who has been volunteering for the Osoyoos Museum for quite some time, has been working on the gazebo project since it began in 2019.
He explained that the enthusiasm and team effort from the folks in town is really what made this project come together.
“We were here from day one to the end. And we had a bunch of guys in the Rotary Club come out for the day to do all the demolition. We had the thing ripped apart in a day,” said Stone.
Though there wasn’t a big cloth drapped over the gazebo for the unveiling, the team did unveil the new plaque last week.
It features a quote by Winston Churchill that reads: “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
The plaque signs off stating that the structure is “a tribute to the spirit of volunteerism.”
The gazebo was finally officially unveiled on Friday, May 14 with the ecstatic group of folks who made it happen.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said that the spirit of volunteerism is what keeps this town thriving.
