Gros Morne celebrates 50 years of bringing the world to Newfoundland's west coast

Gros Morne celebrated 50 years as a national park this weekend, playing host to music, art, culture and guests as Parks Canada held special events to mark the occasion.

Today the park is a world-class destination, attracting thousands of visitors from around the globeto Newfoundland and forming the cornerstone of the tourism industry in the region.

But five decades ago, it was a collection of fishing communities scattered around the Bonne Bay region with not even a paved road connecting them.

A lot of uncertainty

Don Peckham, provincial co-ordinator responsible for researching and implementing policy for developing the park,was there from the earliest stages. He remembers the work that went into making Gros Morne the park it is today.

"I think it was a lot of uncertainty then, because people didn't realize what was really going to happen or how it would impact on their lives and their businesses," Peckham told CBC News.

Part of the success of the park was in engaging the local communities, he said creating citizens' groupsand keeping the people who would most be affected by the park up to date on each new development and giving them a say in how it went.

"People understood what was happening to some extent, how it could impact on their future and how it could develop the tourism sector for that area," says Peckham.

'Best thing in my life'

One of the more difficult aspects of the park's creation was the moving of people living within the future park boundaries. Relocation was voluntary, but Peckham recalls it was a sticky issue, as having people living in a national park was against Parks Canada policy.

Peckham says the relocation worked because of the compensation offered. Residents were offered the full value of a new home sized to their families, rather than just the value of their property. In most cases, he said, they ended up receiving much more than their previous home was worth.

That didn't mean it was an easy process, and not everyone was happy about it. Peckham recalls one resident, known locally as "Uncle Jimmy," who was particularly salty about moving.

"We're having a chat and after a little while he said to me 'just a minute now young fella, got to do something.' So off he went out to the kitchen and he came back with a 303 rifle," said Peckham.

"And he said, 'I'm a member of the Newfoundland Rangers. Our job is to defend the coast of Newfoundland and if you come and try to move me out of here, I might have to use that rifle.'"

Years later, having changed his mind, Uncle Jimmy would show up at Peckham's office with a flask of rum.

"He said, 'The best thing in my life was when I made that move, and I want you to have a drink with me.' And even though it was during working hours, I said, 'Yes sir, I'll have a little drink with you.'"

Pride in what's right here

Today, the park is still home to residents of several communities includingRocky Harbour, St. Paul's and Cow Head who work in partnership with park officials.

Colleen Kennedy of the Gros Morne Co-operating Association says the whole region has benefited from working together to make the park what it is today.

The association works with community groups to make sure they have the support they need to run events within the park.

Kennedy says she was 12 when the park was created, andshe remembers there was a lot of fear about what might happen to the local communities. But that quickly changed.

"What they've done and protected, that space created this sense of pride that I don't think that I always had prior to '73. I think we all go away and look for fame somewhere else. But we have a lot of fame to offer people if they come here."

On Sunday, the park's Discovery Centre hosted a celebration that included former prime minister Jean Chrtien, who attended the opening of the park in 1973 as cabinet minister under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Don Peckham also remembers that day and is proud of the work that brought the park to the world stage over the last five decades.

"When I look back today, and see how it was all developed, and now tourism is the bread and butter in that area. Now, how people developed up there is just so great to see."

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