By: Friends of the Dionne Quintuplets Home Museum
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A lot has been said about the passion of our group – The Friends of the Dionne Quintuplets Home Museum. We are about much more than passion, however, and we have much more than pure sentiment on our minds and in our words and our hearts when we speak about the Dionne Quints’ home.
The Quintuplets story has been deemed as a singular event; but this singular event gave North Bay a paved road to the South, financing for new buildings, the development of neighbourhoods, and the opportunity for tourists to discover our natural beauty, laying the foundation for future tourism in this city. Is that not worth remembering and saving – hence, keeping in our city?
Something that has not been mentioned often is the crucial fact that this is a Women’s Rights issue. These women sacrificed their lives and their identities so that North Bay could be built on their backs. Is that not worthwhile to commemorate and remember? This issue needs to be addressed, as a council of primarily men are making such a crucial decision. What message are we sending to the little girls of North Bay? That it’s important to memorialize Pete Palangio, John Ferguson, and Jack Garland, but protecting the legacy of the Dionne Quintuplets is worthless?
Some of our council members are seeing dollar signs only, but, respectfully, they are not seeing the sacrifice and the importance of this property. Sometimes, there is no price tag on what matters most in life; and just because this story isn’t pretty and tied up in a neat little package doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from it – that North Bay’s future citizens can’t learn from it.
We have the opportunity to use this property and this story to educate North Bay’s present and future citizens as well as citizens from around the world.
Much can be learned from the struggle of the Dionne family, and we can tell you first hand, students and people of every age and all walks of life are interested in this story. We have the opportunity in North Bay to create an interpretive museum that can give area students an authentic learning experience through full immersion in the Quints’ story and the time in which they lived. There is potential to create relationships with local elementary schools and high schools. We also have opportunities to attract university students to create exhibits, and also college conservation and museum studies programs that offer internship opportunities for their students. There is a master’s program in history at Nipissing University whose students and faculty, we are sure, would be more than happy to delve into this interesting story and to make the Dionne home and history of the Quints a part of their university teaching and learning experience.
You may recall Audrey Dionne’s (wife of Dan Dionne who was a sibling of the Quints) impassioned plea to keep the Dionne Home Museum in North Bay during her presentation to North Bay’s city council on November 28. The two remaining Quintuplets want the home to stay in North Bay.
At the June 23 council meeting, Shirley Scalise read an emotional letter from Yvon Dionne (a nephew of the Quints), who pleaded in absentia, to keep the home in North Bay. So we do have some backing from the family here. Surely, we should be respecting this family’s wishes! Haven’t they been through enough?
To thousands of North Bay citizens, past citizens, tourists and many others, they cannot recall a time when the Dionne Home Museum wasn’t a part of North Bay. It has been here for over 50 years. It is a part of our social fabric; our heritage; and indeed our culture and even, our collective identities.
The birth of the 5 miracle babies is the greatest single event that ever happened in Northern Ontario.
The Friends are working diligently to keep the home in North Bay. We would like the city, our Mayor, our councillors and our citizens, to help us to do this. You can help too, by expressing your interest in volunteering in some capacity at the home or at events related to the home once we are assured that it will indeed stay here.
And you can help by educating yourself about the Quints; by visiting our Facebook page, “Save the Dionne Home - birthplace of the Quints!” and reading the many interesting posts and comments about the struggle that we have embarked on here.
You might also consider emailing North Bay Mayor, Al McDonald ([email protected]) and Councillor Mark King ([email protected]), as well as our MP Anthony Rota ([email protected] ) and MPP Vic Fedeli ([email protected]), and telling them that you want them to help keep this national treasure, in North Bay.
North Bay citizens need to stand together on this. Unite and keep our precious Dionne home here for present and future generations to enjoy.
The Friends of the Dionne Home Museum are offering to help make this precious artifact/museum be financially viable and sustainable so that it can for now and ever more highlight the importance of the Dionne Quintuplets to the history of North Bay, to the province of Ontario and to the entire country.
Jeff Fournier
Chairman, Friends of the Dionne Quintuplets Home Museum
Joshua Pride
Vice Chairman, Friends of the Dionne Quintuplets Home Museum
