Jacob Baggott had a rough day on Tuesday.
The four-year-old train enthusiast and budding philanthropist heard about a fire at one of his favourite places on the planet, Heritage Acres, where he has made it his mission in life to ride and enjoy the model trains as much as possible.
“He was really sad about it,” said Jacob’s mom, Ali Baggott.
Baggott said her son immediately asked if his favourite conductor, Claude Jolivet, was OK, and if any of the trains were hurt.
His concerns were unfounded. No one was hurt in the fire, which was contained in a small annex building that housed a workshop.
And none of the historical artifacts, old vehicles, buggies, horse-drawn equipment and — most importantly — the trains were damaged.
Jacob, who politely declined an interview on Thursday, referring all questions to mom, is by all accounts a man of action.
After hearing about the fire, he suggested his upcoming birthday might provide the ideal catalyst for a fundraiser to help out the Saanich Historical Artifacts Society, which runs Heritage Acres.
And while insurance is expected to cover the cost of replacing the roof of the annex and rebuilding, the attraction does run on donations.
So Jacob, who turns five on March 22, thought he might be able to help out with his birthday money. On Wednesday evening, Jacob and his family launched a fundraising campaign with a goal of $1,500.
Ali Baggott said they thought they might be able to raise a few toonies from the kids who would normally come to Jacob’s birthday — he had hoped to celebrate his fifth birthday at Heritage Acres in the same fashion he had his third.
His fourth birthday celebration at the site was cancelled due to the pandemic.
“It all kind of took off,” she said. “It turned out to be a bit more.”
Within 24 hours, the campaign had reached $1,200.
It’s a small gesture from a young man who is just following his heart.
“He is obsessed with trains,” Baggott said. “The last season when it was open we went almost every single time they were open. He can’t wait for them to open.”
The site has been closed since the pandemic hit last spring, but still does small bookings for weddings and other special events.
According to the Saanich Historical Artifacts Society there is a lot of clean-up to do at the site after the fire, but they expect to rebuild this year.
