Legend of Radium, B.C.'s wizard woodcarver Rolf Heer to live on as a park
The memory of a popular but eccentric former resident of Radium, B.C. will live on after officials decided to turn his former property into a park.
The park will memorialize the life of Rolf Heer, the beloved character who for years defined the cultural spirit of the Columbia Valley in southeast B.C., and was known as the Radium Woodcarver.
Heer died in July 2020 after battling cancer.
The Radium Arts and Cultural Society crafted a plan, in tandem with Bassett’s Associates Landscape Architecture Inc., to create Woodcarver Park — Home of a Thousand Faces.
The park will be created on Heer’s former property, which once featured the attraction, just off Highway 93 in B.C.
Construction is planned to begin in 2022.
The park will feature what's left of Heer's woodcarvings, as his treehouse went up in flames in November 2018. Heer assumed he was at fault for the fire as he had forgot to completely put out a camp fire the night before.
The park will also feature a pavilion — shaped as a wizard hat — to honour Heer, and keep the presence of his character in the Columbia Valley Forest.
Valerie Bracken, president of the Radium Arts and Cultural Society says, “this park will be a space is for art, for community and remembering Rolf.”
For years, Heer welcomed people into his home to show off his stunning carvings and rooftop goats.
His house was even featured on an episode of HGTV’s Weird Homes.
Heer had always wanted his property — which he called The Home of a Thousand Faces — to be used as a public park after he passed away.
The Swiss-born Heer moved to Radium in 1979 at age 25 as a forester.
For the next 40 years, he created a collection of woodcarvings that made up the walls of his wooden castle, which he built by hand, by himself, creating makeshift wooden cranes and wooden winches when needed.
The Radium Arts and Cultural Society is searching for donations to meet the $1.1 million expense to cover the cost of constructing the park.
Anyone wanting to make a contribution to the Woodcarver Park Fund, can do so online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.