LUMBER MUSEUM GRANT CONFIRMED
$5.4M earmarked for museum expansion, visitors' center

After three years of patience, followed by a week of confusion, confirmation came this week that the state will invest about $5.4 million to expand the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum in central Potter County and build a visitors' center somewhere in the county.

Specifics have yet to be decided, but the release of the money from the state's capital budget allows plans to move forward.

Gov. Ed Rendell made the initial announcement of the grant last week during a state tourism conference in Harrisburg, only to have his staffers tell the media that the governor's declaration was premature.

However, on Wednesday the final obstacles were lifted by the governor, who allowed Sen. Joe Scarnati and Rep. Martin Causer to make the formal announcement.

Scarnati, Causer, county officials and others with an interest in the Lumber Museum expansion had been lobbying for years to have the funds released.

"This could not have come at a better time," Scarnati said. "Just as the lumber industry continues to be an important contributor to our local economy, the tourism industry is increasingly generating jobs and investment."

His colleague agreed.

"This is outstanding news," Causer said. "The lumber industry is not only an important part of our history, it also has a vital role to play in our future."

Located off Rt. 6, across from Denton Hill State Park and Ski Denton, the Lumber Museum preserves and interprets the colorful heritage of the region's prosperous lumber era, when white pine and hemlock were the wealth of the nation.

The museum opens for the 2008 season this Tuesday, April 1.

Some $4.4 million will go toward the expansion of the museum's exhibits and its visitor center to supplement existing attractions, such as the 1912 Shay-geared logging locomotive, Barnhart Log Loader, Brookville locomotive and restored Civilian Conservation Corps cabin.

Another $1 million has been released by the governor for construction of a visitors center.

As of press time, state offi- cials were unclear whether the center will be located at the Lumber Museum or at another site in Potter County.