Teller residents expressed mixed opinions about the preservation of the buildings at Pilgrim Hot Springs during a community meeting last week.
The Bering Straits Development Corporation communicated hopes to preserve parts of the old orphanage, church, and boarding school. Next to agriculture, the whole second facet of the Pilgrim Hot Springs development project is an interest in preserving the site’s history. According to BSDC construction manager Robert Bensin, preserving the site could bring tourist interest to the area. Bensin said the pieces in the hot springs buildings are museum-quality pieces, and if the people wanted to share that with tourists, there’s a lot of history inside them.
The residents of Teller have some different feelings about the issue. Blanche Okbaok-Garnie says the Pilgrim Hot Springs buildings are not worth preserving. “I think just because of hearing the stories from my great grandmother, who was raised in the orphanage, and she didn’t particularly enjoy those buildings and the story there, and it’s a place she wouldn’t want to go back to,” Okbaok-Garnie said.
During the meeting, Bensin cited Old St. Joseph Church in Nome as an example of the good things historical preservation could bring. He thinks that if the church was fully restored to its previous condition, people would go out there to have more family picnics or have a wedding.
Teller Resident John Topkok is optimistic about BSDC’s plans to preserve but has some skepticism. John voiced that he was for the restoration of the buildings on site, but whether they’re going to put it to use was an entirely different question.
Aside from historical preservation of the existing structures, BSDC on June 28th outlined their plans for Pilgrim Hot Springs. Those plans include a 1.5-acre test plot growing grasses and certain varieties of peas, testing the water quality, developing an irrigation system, as well as attempting to locate the mass grave. In addition to basic grounds maintenance, a market study will be done in the coming months to further research the region’s consumers.
Robert Bensin said, “If we can’t protect the buildings, we can protect the stuff inside them.”
To find out more about Pilgrim’s past, present, and future, tune in to Story49 on KNOM, airing Sunday, July 17th at 6:00 p.m. and again Thursday, July 21st at 3:00 p.m.
