Thank you to our speakers!

The Museum has been very fortunate to have two fantastic speakers over the last week. Both talented, informative, and fun speakers!

Eric Moller and Stephanie Capyk of Cardinal Creek Honey graced us with their sweet presence last Saturday, August 10th. They regaled us with stories of beekeeping and the various practices used in beekeeping.

Last night, August 15th, Teresa Griffith joined us to tell tales from her new book "York Boat Captain: 18 Life-Changing Days on the Peace River". Through laughter, stories, and fun, Captain Overboard (as she is sometimes known) shared some of her time on the Peace River with her audience, just enough to entice us to buy the book and read it for ourselves.  

Teresa Griffith signing her book for a fan. 

"York Boat Captain" Book Launch with Teresa Griffith

Have you ever met an author who was also a York boat captain? No? Well, after you meet Captain Teresa Griffith, you will no longer be able to say that.

Teresa had the audacity to become the first woman captain of a York boat – a position reserved for men in the heyday of fur trading and York boats in the 1800s. In fact, the crew of the fur-bearing boat was all men. Leap ahead to 2011. We  have not only a female captain, but also a female crew member – not token females, but hardworking, skilful participants carrying their weight literally and figuratively – Teresa as captain (sweep) and Cheryll Ferguson-Welke as oarsman along with her male counterparts.

Teresa Griffith’s book – York Boat Captain, 18 Life-changing Days on the Peace River is not a women’s story, as such, but rather a people story – a  documentation of the human spirit – merging skill with emulating the activities of days gone by – business and survival.

In Teresa’s compelling, spellbinding and informative book, she makes what might be considered mundane – the prep work – fascinating – a good lead up to the adventure of the 18 days on the Peace River for whom all involved was a life-changing experience.

Teresa’s well-written, attention-getting work is a darn good read.

York Boat landing at Riverfront Park, Peace River, June 2011.
Photo by Beth Wilkins, Researcher, Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre.  

Please see for yourself, at the launching of the book York Boat Captain, 18 Life-changing Days on the Peace River – Thursday, August 15, 7:30 p.m. at the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre. Captain Teresa Griffith looks forward to chatting with you about her adventure and signing her book, which will be for sale. Cash or cheque is acceptable.

Veteran Paddler Teresa Griffith to speak at Peace River Museum

In conjunction with our current exhibit, Paddling Through Time: 220 Years of Canoeing on the Peace, and the upcoming, Paddle the Peace, Teresa Griffith, owner/operator of Flow North Paddling Company, will be visiting the Museum. She will be speaking on August 16th at 7 pm about her trips on the Peace River as a solo kayaker and on the York Boat through GeoTourism Canada.

We are excited to host Teresa and invite anyone interested in our beautiful Peace River to join us on Thursday, August 16th at 7 pm at the Museum.

 

The Second Annual York Boat Voyage comes to Riverfront Park

This Sunday, June 3rd, the second annual York Boat Voyage will be docking at Riverfront Park in Peace River. This ten metre long, historic replica York boat was built in 2011 by GeoTourism Canada for the inaugural expedition along the Peace River. It is back in the water this year with some veteran paddlers and some new crew members to do the voyage all over again.
The crew plans to have the York boat docked at the Park around 4:30 pm. They invite everyone down to Riverfront Park to see the boat and talk to the crew.
http://www.geotourismcanada.com/yorkboat2012/default.aspx

Paddling Through Time Exhibit Opening

      Paddling Through Time is the Peace River Museum’s new exhibit and it features the stories of several impressive canoe trips along the Mighty Peace River. From explorers Alexander Mackenzie and David Thompson to a unique 1967 Centennial trip to Montreal. The exhibit opening June 2^nd from 6:30 to 8pm  will be an opportunity to meet some of the crew from the second annual York Boat Voyage which will be launching  from Dunvegan May 31^st.

Paddling Through Time: 220 Years of Canoeing on the Peace

We are embarking on a new exhibit at the Peace River Museum: "Paddling Through Time: 220 Years of Canoeing on the Peace"
The exhibit follows the early explorers, Sir Alexander Mackenzie and David Thompson on their early travels on the Peace River. It meanders on in time to early settlers finding a new home and politicians and boosters promoting to those searching settlers.
Flowing forwards, we come to the Canada's Centennial in 1967 and a brave group of voyageurs who retrace Sir Alexander Mackenzie's historic voyage across Canada (minus the detour to the Arctic Ocean!).
We will bring it forward in time to current uses of the river with kayaks and canoes and supply some fun games for children while exploring our Peace River!
The exhibit begins on May 21st with an official opening on Saturday, June 2nd (stay tuned for more details) and will run until September of this year.

Unique opportunity to ply the Peace River!

We hope you were able to come out last year and see the arrival of GeoTourism Canada's York Boat! This year the historic York Boat will again be travelling up the Peace River in June. GeoTourism is looking for some adventurous individuals to join their crew.

From GeoTourism:
"The tour is schedule for June 1-14, 2012. The adventures starts at historic Dunvegan and descends the river to Fort Vermilion, some 540 km (338 miles). Crew members may take the option to the top half (Dunvegan to Notikewin) or the bottom half (Notikewin to Fort Vermilion), although crew members wishing to do the entire trip will be given priority.

Overnight camping at various river landings will be done with a historical view but also lend itself to some modern conveniences. Because this is a promotional tour crew members should be aware that the tour will possibly coincide with various public events and meetings with school groups.

Individuals should possess good teamwork skills and good health plus be able to commit to a 7-14 day tour to promote the history of the Peace."

If you have any questions or would like to register for the crew, please contact Jason Penner at peacevw@telus.net or 780-624-1347.

York Boat arrives on the Peace Once Again!

It is an historic event! For the first time in over a century, a York boat will be navigating the Peace River!

Our river was a major route for Canada’s fur trade from the late 1700s to the late 1800s. Trade goods, furs and people plied the water of the Peace in canoes and flat bottomed scows until the arrival of the York boat. The design was commonly associated with the fur trade empire of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). It came with the rugged Scottish men of the Orkney Islands who brought their seafaring hardiness, along with the boat design, to the HBC. At 3000 pounds and 33 feet long, the freighting capacity of the Hudson’s Bay Company was greatly improved, thus providing a competitive edge to their intense rivalry with the North West Company.

GeoTourism comissioned this historic watercraft to be rebuilt and with Flow North Paddling is recreating a trip from Ft. Dunvegan to Ft. Vermilion. To see photographs of the building of the boat, please visit the GeoTourism website. The York boat was blessed by Dave Cummings of Fairview and given a grand send off from Fort Dunvegan Park on June 1st. To follow its progress, visit the GeoTourism facebook page.
The boat is scheduled to overnight at Strong Creek Campground June 3rd and to arrive at Riverfront Park at midday June 4th.

There will be a pancake breakfast at Strong Creek Campground at 9 am, June 4th. Everyone is welcome to enjoy some delicious pancakes by Grimshaw High School and witness the launch of the York boat.

At around 1 pm, the Town of Peace River will give a hearty welcome to the boat and the crew at Riverfront Park. Enjoy the performances that will highlight the cultures of the First Nations, Métis Scottish and Francophone people who inhabited the land along the river one hundred years ago. Dress in your best Twelve Foot Davis outfit or your best trapper gear for prizes to summer events like Peacefest and the North Peace Stampede!

Following the departure of the York boat, the band C.Alice will take to the stage to launch the first of the summer Concert in the Park Series, sponsored by the Town of Peace River and Northern Sunrise County.

We would also like to let our community know that it is a weekend full of events and we hope you will be out taking in as much as you can. Along with the York boat's arrival, the Peace River Art Club and The Social are hosting the "Arts in the Hall" event all weekend with art, concert and workshops.

NEW Virtual Exhibit: Transporting Northern Dreams

Thanks to support from the Canadian Heritage Information Network, Dallas Wood has written a new virtual exhibit entitled, "Transporting Northern Dreams: Steamboats on the Peace River, 1903-1930" which is available on virtualmuseum.ca or you can use this link.

The story of the steamboats is one that is essential to the development of the Peace Region. The rivers were the highways of the early days before the railway reached our area. Boats and scows were even used up until 1950 for freighting.

There are different ways to view the exhibit. Under the "Stories" category, you can read through the exhibit with all the text in order. If you are interested in browsing the photographs with only their captions, choose the "Gallery" option and if you are looking for a specific photograph, use the "Thumbnail Gallery" option.

Enjoy!