Nothing but good news for Sierra Silver
Photo courtesy of SUSAN HALLEY The Sierra Silver Mine Tour moving crew transport everything from their old location on Bank Street to their new home on Cedar Street with the help of “Ollie,” one of the tour buses used to transport tourists during the open season.
WALLACE — Ever since an unplanned maintenance project set the grand opening date back a bit earlier this year, things have certainly been looking up for Sierra Silver Mine Tours in Wallace.
Another record breaking year for mine tour admissions, on top of a new location for their offices, has Susan Halley, executive director of Sierra Silver Mine Tours, in a great mood.
“We’re just really thrilled because we are expanding and so now we have the space to do it!”
Their old location at 420 Fifth St. has served them well for the 35 years they have been in operation, but sometimes you just have to expand.
“We desperately needed more square footage,” Halley said. “We were growing and we couldn’t grow anymore in that space.”
Because of this need to grow, Sierra Silver staff and volunteers rolled their sleeves up on Nov. 13 and 14 to box up and ship everything to a new larger location down the street.
The crew enlisted the help of “Ollie the Trolley” to shuttle exhibits and merchandise from point A to point B.
“We used Ollie the Trolley as a moving van,” Halley said with a laugh. “He did a good job!”
Sierra Silver’s new space just down the block at 509 Cedar St. gives them the opportunity to not only better display their current exhibits, but it also opens the door to add new ones as well.
Although she did not want to reveal any details at this time, Halley said the new space will allow Silver Sierra to “offer more” to those who visit.
“There are exciting new things to come — one taking place when we open in May, another taking place when we open in 2019,” she added.
Moving into the space that used to be the Nite Rock in the historic Eagles building was important to Sierra Silver because of the space it offered and its historic background.
“It’s a rustic thing and we fit very well in it,” Halley said. “It has twice the square footage we had (before).”
On the mine side of the operation, things are looking positive since the improvements made in April and May.
On March 31, heavy ground saturation from snow and rain caused a cave-in at the lower portal of the mine and forced maintenance crews to get creative.
“The cave-in necessitated a relocation of the compressor and shed, and complete rebuilding of the lower portal,” Halley explained in an earlier interview.
Although the improvements were not optional and opening day was delayed, Halley says the mine is now good-to-go for another 30 years.
Even with the late start, Sierra Silver managed to have another record-breaking year with 12,585 guests purchasing tours from May 15 to Oct. 15.
Sierra Silver Mine Tours will reopen in May 2018 and can be reached at 208-752-5151 or email info@silverminetour.org.