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Showing Off Their Winnings
August, 2003
Whitney Pier, Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

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Deciding there was a need to collect and preserve the history of Whitney Pier, Harry Muldoon and friend, Leo Evans, founded "Friends of the Pier" in 1985. Harry remembers:

“It was a typical Cape Breton winter around January or February in 1985... we were just talking. It would be great to get people together to form a club. "Friends of the Pier" was organized that night. We got the message out through the churches... we had no funds and we couldn't buy an ad in the paper...".

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Friends of the Pier
1985
Whitney Pier, Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

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The first meeting was held on February 5, 1985 at the old portables (temporary schools) on James Street in the Pier.

Harry recalls: "That night we formed an executive and I was appointed the first chairman and we had a secretary, her name, was Francis MacDonald."

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Minutes of the Initial 'Friends Of The Pier' Meeting
23 February 1985
Whitney Pier, Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

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The earliest minutes of “Friends of the Pier", shown here, cites the first executive positions. Harry Muldoon acted as the first Chairperson, Frances MacDonald was the Acting Secretary and the Public Relations Representative was Hilda Hillier.

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'Friends of the Pier' Attendees
February, 1985
Whitney Pier, Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

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Included with the minutes was a list of all those who attended the February 5th and 19th 1985 meetings of Friends of the Pier.

9

Christmas Pot Luck at the Museum
December, 1990
Whitney Pier, Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

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On February 21,1985 the group announced:

“Meetings are to be held fortnightly, on Tuesdays, 7 p.m. at the Portables. Anyone wishing to join will be welcome. Residents of the Pier or former residents who have pictures or items of yesteryear they would like to donate or lend, would be appreciated. The group plans a facility for displaying such things and look forward to hearing from anyone who wants to take part in this way."

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'Friends of Pier' Storefront
1985
Whitney Pier, Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

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By the spring of 1985, members of "Friends of the Pier" had organized a display in a storefront next to the Gaum Clinic on Victoria Road, Whitney Pier.

In this late 1985 photo, veteran Danny Alleyne stops for a moment to take a look at the exhibit.

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Visiting the Museum
2000
Whitney Pier, Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

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“Friends of the Pier" operated out of the storefront until they moved into their permanent location at the former Adath Israel Congregation Synagogue on Mt. Pleasant Street in June, 1988.

When interviewed by the Cape Breton Post that year, co-founder Leo Evans was quoted as saying, “What we’re doing is concentrating on the people who built Whitney Pier. This will be a people Museum- something that people can identify with".

Here we see museum employee, Gary Gallivan and Llew Ivany. Both men were raised and spent their working lives in Whitney Pier.