Farewell Megan!

Museum blogs usually feature artifacts and their story or events and the reason behind them. This time, we’ll change it somewhat. We’ll delve, briefly, into the story of the person responsible for many of the blogs over the past five years – Museum Collections Technician Megan Purcell.

Megan came to the Museum well-equipped educationally and with the experience necessary to meet the challenge of managing the Museum’s extensive and growing artifact collection, including one of her favourite subjects – rocks and fossils. In addition, she designed and assembled the Museum’s displays and featured exhibits. As well, she made presentations to groups as part of the Museum’s outreach program.

Megan has done so much more. She is renowned for culinary talents on display at Museum gatherings and for staff special occasions. Alas, as of the beginning of May, Campbell River, BC, and its Museum will reap the benefits of Megan’s skills as she moves on professionally and personally.

She will be missed, not only by those of you she has assisted during her tenure, but also by Town and Museum staff – her colleagues.

Farewell Megan. Take care.

 

It's a Mad Hatters Party!

It's a Mad Hatters Party when the Museum and the Toy Library join together for a morning of fun and play! Next Friday, March 27th, 2015, the Museum and the Toy Library (now Peace Playland) are hosting a Mad Hatters Party for children ages 1 - 5, where everyone is invited to wear their favourite hat.

From 10 - 11:30 am, children and their parents or grandparents will be able to play with toys that the Toy Library will bring with them as well as the toys that the Museum has out in our Toy Stories exhibit.

We even have a dress-up station in this exhibit! Of course, once you're wearing your finest dress-up attire, you'll want to strike a pose at the picture station!

We invite you to join us that morning, wearing your favourite hat, for only $2 per child, with $1 each going to the Toy Library and the Museum.

Family and great communities!

Family Day in Alberta is weekend filled with cultural, historical and recreational opportunities. The Museum offers something to add to this compliment of activities.


SS DA Thomas Steamboat was built in the
West Peace River Shipyards in 1916

The Historic Places Committee is holding a second Jane Jacobs Walk on February 16th, 2015 in Lower West Peace River.  This area was once a community in its own right, distinct from Peace River Crossing. It boasted banks, stores, blacksmiths and a hotel until the railway bridge was completed in 1918. That precipitated a relocation of its business community to the Crossing where greater traffic developed. Now a residential neighborhood, it is a unique place to live. Our walk will look at the special places found here and talk about the historical profile of this location.
Meet us at the Lower West Peace Playground on 91st Street at 1pm. Be prepared to walk for about 1.5 hours and we urge everyone to dress for the weather.

Beaded moccasin tongues or vamps

Staying with families and the value of creating memories together, we are pleased to host FNMI Coordinator Tanys Oxman on February 21st and 28th, 2015 for Aboriginal Art and the Child. This two part series is open to youth ages 7 to 12 years. They will create modern day wampum belts and par fleche bags while learning the cultural and historical significance associated with each object.  The sessions are free with the price of admission $2  and we ask you to pre-register as only 12 places are available.


For more information about either of these events, please call us at 780-624-4261 or email at lgloor@peaceriver.ca   Our public hours are 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday.

Toy Stories Exhibit Opening

While we were sorry to see our last exhibit, "A Sense of the Land and It's People" come down, we were certainly excited to see our new exhibit, "Toy Stories: You've Got a Playdate with the Peace River Museum" go up.

This new exhibit shows you a selection of toys and games from various eras and how they influenced children's roles in family life and in society. When you stroll through this gallery and play with all of the interactive components (a whole third of the gallery is dedicated to these interactive components), you get a sense of the toys and games popular throughout the decades.

Join us this Friday evening, December 5th, 2014, from 4:30 - 6:30 pm as we officially open this exhibit. Drop by to discover these toys, have a cookie, and play with us to celebrate the opening of this fun-filled exhibit.

If you choose, there will be a hamper for the Toys for Tots Drive accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys for local children.

Thank you to our speakers!

Inspiring Aboriginal Women

Our inspiring speakers panel shared their personal insights and memories as women who have and continue to contribute to their communities as mentors, leaders, mothers and grandmothers with an appreciative audience on the evening of November 20th, 2014. It was also an intimate salutation to the historical women who's artistry and work has been on exhibit these past months in A Sense of the Land and its People: an exhibition featuring the loaned artifacts from Dr. David Welch.

Featured left to right are Dianne Arcand Lavoie, Margaret Cardinal, Dianne Ireland and Tanys Oxman.

It's the last week to see the current exhibit "A Sense of the Land and its People" ...

We've been honoured to feature a personal collection of artifacts for the last year in our main gallery, those of Dr. Dave Welch. He began collecting First Nations artifacts and stone tools when he was 7 years old and it has been a lifetime passion for him ever since.

"A Sense of the Land and its People: A Personal Collection" features Northwest Coast and Plains First Nations artifacts, the majority of which feature the work and artistry of women. As a conclusion to this exhibit, we have invited a panel of women from the local region to speak about the influences their Aboriginal culture and heritage has on their work, community and family lives. Dianne Lavoie, Maxine Elter, Tanys Oxam, Dianne Ireland and Margaret Cardinal are mentors, leaders and artists in  unique ways.

Please join us on Thursday, November 20th, 2014 at 7 pm for the "Inspiring Women" panel discussion. This will also be the last chance to view the objects from Dr. Welch's collection. Check back on our blog next week for information on our upcoming exhibit, "Toy Stories: You've got a playdate with the Peace River Museum"

This weekend at the Museum!

This weekend, the Museum brings you two events to take part in. We will start off on Saturday at 1:30 pm with the Jane's Walk. Following the walk, at 3:00 pm, the Museum is hosting a coffee session to gather information and stories about Heritage Buildings and Places in the Town of Peace River.


According to the Jane's Walk website, "Jane's Walk is a movement of free, locally led walking tours inspired by Jane Jacobs. The walks get people to explore their cities and connect with neighbours." Unlike traditional walking tours, the Jane's Walk is build on a premise of discovery and conversation, with participants being encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas. It isn't just about listening to the leaders talk!


Our Jane's Walk will be led by Laura Gloor, Museum Coordinator, Kate Churchill, Planner with Mackenzie Municipal Planning Service, Robin Barnes, Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, and Kate Morrison, Community Development Enthusiast. Join us at the Museum at 1;30 pm to take a stroll down 99th Street and share your thoughts about planning, environment and history in our community.


After the walk, join us at the Museum to have some coffee or hot chocolate, and bring your knowledge about heritage buildings and places in our town. The Heritage Places Committee is currently working on an interactive map of the Town of Peace River, circa 1924. Once finished, this map will be accessible for all on the Town's website.


This Saturday, we hope to add to the information we have the 1924 map but we are also looking to collect information, stories and photographs from other decades as well, in particular the 1960s and 1970s. Join us from 3 - 4:30 pm.

Creepy Alberta! at the Peace River Museum

Every year, Archives Week takes place the first week of October, always with a different theme.

This year's chosen theme: Creepy Alberta! In the ‘spirit’ of Archives Week (no pun intended), we are inviting local residents to loan us their favourite ‘creepy’ artwork for inclusion in a temporary display. We want to see your wickedest homemade Halloween costumes, a ghostly landscape photo, or your very best paper mache cat. Both child and adult creations are welcome. During the month of October our visitors will vote for their favourites and the winner will receive a prize.
Artwork can be dropped off in person at the museum anytime before October 11.

A creepy photograph of unknown events at Vermilion Chutes
87.1492.48, gift of Jack O'Sullivan

Dance Through the Decades in photographs!

Well, it's been just over three weeks since we danced through the decades and we, at the Museum, are still talking about it!

It was a wonderfully successful and fun for all event, and we were so happy that so many of you came out to celebrate the centennial year of the Village of Peace River Crossing with us.

We must extend a massive thank-you to everyone who helped out, including

Ivan Schell	Ronda Cann	Beverly and Dale Shewchuk Family
Judi McMartin	Emmilee Miller	Peace Players
Jill Cairns	Jeremiah Gloor	Audrey Dewit
Anna Aleksov	Freson Bros.	Randy Hodgkinson
Marty O'Byrne	Bill Ruston	Dave Allan
Walter Mycek	No Limitz	Jeff McCann
GN Carriers	Pond Hockey	Peacefest
Rentco	Peace River Broadcasting	Record-Gazette
Peace Valley Inns	Peace country Coop	Holy Family Catholic Conference Centre
Mighty Peace Tourism	Alberta Culture, Community Initiative Program	Travel Alberta

Here are some photographs of the dance.

An Artifact of the Week to Dance in!

During the jive days of the 1950s, when cultural icons Elvis and James Dean influenced the fashion of the youth, saddle shoes like these donated by Alice Reed, were all the craze. These shoes could be worn with a lady’s poodle skirt and bobby-socks or a man’s trouser and looked good with nearly everything in between which might be why they became so popular. The versatility and comfort of the shoes led to them being worn for nearly every occasion, especially dances!

The museum invites you to a family-friendly, free event this Saturday, the 26^th of July from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. In celebration of the centenaries of the Village of Peace River Crossing, the Fire Department and the Record Gazette, the Town of Peace River is hosting a historic street dance in front of the museum with food donated by Freson Bros. and live music by local talent as well as The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, joining us from Edmonton. We invite you to dress in dance attire from the decade of your choice within the last 100 years. So get out your poodle skirts, shine up your saddle shoes, and come dance with us to celebrate!

PRMA 99.58.1 A-B: Saddle shoes

This weekend with the Museum!

Join the Peace River Museum staff this weekend for two fun events. On Saturday, we will be at the 12' Davis Gravesite for Parks Day, along with Alberta Parks and Northern Sunrise County. Bear Smart, Park Awareness and Fire Smart will all be featured, along with on site interpretation about 12 Foot Davis, family crafts, musicians and of course, cake! 

Celebrating Alberta Parks Day at this historic landscape will create greater awareness about our environment and our social history. 

On Sunday July 20th, our Heritage Interpreter Christina will be on site at the St. Augustine Mission Church, along Shaftesbury Trail, from 1 - 4 pm. Tour the church and the cemetery to learn more about the Roman Catholic Mission from 1888 to 1952.

All of these events are free and we hope to see you there!

PRMA 75.657.060  St. Augustine Mission Church 

Artifact of the Week and a Street Dance

This week's featured artifact is a record by Patti Page. This artifact is a particularly fitting choice as we come ever closer to our 100th celebration dance.

This Patti Page record was donated to the museum by CKYL. Well known for being one of the most illustrious artists of the 1950s and '60s, Page sold over 100 million records throughout her career. 

This record, entitled Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, was released in 1965 and features the hit single of the same title, released a year earlier. The song Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte was featured in a 1964 film, also of the same name, starring Betty Davis. The single was nominated for an academy award in ’64 and went on to become one of Page’s best known songs.

The countdown is on: we're only 18 days away from the dance! On Saturday, July 26th, 2014, join us on the street in front of the Museum, from 4 - 10 pm, for an historic street dance. Enjoy the musical talents of local musicians as well as the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels of Edmonton as we dance our way through the decades. 

Come dressed in attire from your favourite decade of the last hundred years to celebrate the centenaries of the Village of Peace River Crossing, the Fire Department and the Record-Gazette. 

PRMA 98.1.8

Historic Tours start tonight!

Hi, my name is Christina Sasseville. I am a heritage interpreter here at the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre. As a summer student employed through Young Canada Works, so far I have been involved with school programming, tours, and the museum gift shop. In July and August I will be offering heritage interpretation at three heritage sites: St. Augustine, Mackenzie Cairn, and Twelve Foot Davis. Tours begin on July 4, continuing until August 24. These tours will be a great opportunity for teachers, locals, or visitors to learn more about the Peace Country and the significance of each heritage site.

In total, there will be six St. Augustine tours, four Twelve Foot Davis tours, and two Mackenzie Cairn tour opportunities. I hope you to see you at one of the sites. Have a great summer!

Drop by at any time during the scheduled times below. 

St. Augustine: Provincial Historic Site, Shaftesbury Trail, River Lot 22, Highway 684. 

• Friday, July 4, 6:30 - 8 pm
• Sunday, July 13, 2:30 - 4:30 pm 
• Sunday, July 20, 1 - 4 pm 
• Sunday, August 3, 1 - 4 pm 
• Sunday, August 10, 2:30 - 4:30 pm 
• Sunday, August 24, 1 - 4 pm 

 Twelve Foot Davis: Fairgrounds Road off Highway #2 South.

• Saturday, July 5, 2 - 4 pm
• Saturday, July 19, 2 - 4 pm
• Friday, August 17, 2 - 4 pm
• Sunday, August 22, 6:30 - 8 pm 

Mackenzie Cairn: National Historic Site, Shaftesbury Trail, River Lot 19, Highway 684.

• Sunday, July 13, 11 - 1:30 pm
• Sunday, August 10, 11 - 1:30 pm

Tonight's tour takes place at St. Augustine Mission site from 6:30 - 8 pm. 

Heritage on the Run – perpetuation of the past into the future

The year 2014 is significant in the annals of Peace River history. It is the 100^th anniversary of Peace River Crossing becoming a village; the 47^th year for the Museum; and the 18^th year of the Heritage Run, organized by the Peace River Running Club and proudly hosted by the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre.

What a Heritage Run year it was. People from the region and beyond – runners, walkers, teams of adults and students combined to burgeon the numbers to 180. Add to that, the number of children, who showed their unbridled enthusiasm in the Kids Race and the large number of spectators that swarmed the Museum grounds and along the heritage-laden dike race route – the turnout was huge.

Participants said it was an excellent day to run/walk. Spectators managed to find their place in the sun. All was well.

There were, as always, many beneficiaries of this annual event – the Museum the monetary one, as proceeds from the Run are donated to the Museum.

The Peace River Running Club Committee and Museum staff thank all participants, spectators, as well as Tim Horton’s and the many other sponsors for their support without whom the event would not continue to be a success.

Anticipation
Runners, walkers and spectators gather 'round in anticipation to listen to route instructions prior to 2014 Heritage Run. 

The Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre staff thank the Peace River Running Club Organizing Committee for its generosity over the years.

Heritage Run - this Sunday, June 8, 2014

This Sunday, June 8, 2014, the Museum is proud to be the start and end point for the annual Peace River Heritage Run.

Throughout the years, this has been a popular event. It is fun for all who get involved, whether by running, walking, or volunteering.

The Heritage Run features three events, the 5K run/walk, the 10K run team and the half marathon. All events will start and end at the Museum. For more information on start times, please check the Running Room event site. Registration forms can be dropped off at the Museum or filled out online.

All race proceeds are donated to the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre, a donation that we are very grateful for each year. In the past, these funds have been used towards exhibit cases, furniture for our Archives reading room, the Built Heritage Project, and so much more.

Heritage Run 2013: So many expressions of achievement - whatever the age! 

The Museum wishes all of our runners, walkers and volunteers a great day this Sunday. Have Fun!

Dr. David Welch speaking at the Museum on Wednesday, June 4th

This Wednesday, June 4, 2014, Dr. David Welch will be joining us in the Museum to speak about his stone and bone tool collection. Since finding his first arrowhead at the age of seven, Dr. Welch has spent a lifetime collecting worked stones and bones.

A large part of Dr. Welch's collection of Plains and Northwest Coast First Nations objects are currently on display in the exhibit "A Sense of the Land and its People: A Personal Collection". This exhibit includes a selection of stone and bone tools, including the first arrowhead Dr. Welch ever found.

For this Wednesday's presentation, Dr. Welch will be bringing in even more of his stone and bone tools. These items will be going on exhibit in July along with those already on display.

Join us tomorrow, June 4th, at 7 pm to hear Dr. Welch's stories and see a large selection of his stone and bone tool collection.

This event is free. All are welcome.

Label R (bottom middle) corresponds to the first arrowhead collected by Dr. Welch. 

 

Artifact of the Week - Bone Flesher

This week's featured artifact is a flesher, donated by Tom Rumball in 1973. This artifact
would have been used to de-flesh animal skins when preparing hides.

As people who utilized and lived with the environment around them, First Nations Peoples fashioned their tools out of bones and rocks.  In this case, a leg bone from a deer was fashioned into a tool used to scrape flesh from hides. The First Nations people would also eat deer meat, tan and use the hide for clothing and shelter, and use deer sinew for sewing. The First Nations people used every part of an animal, wasting nothing.

While bone tools were used for working meat and hide, rocks were fashioned into arrowheads and spear points to hunt animals.

Our featured artifact this week coincides with next week's presentation by Dr. David Welch. Dr. Welch will be speaking about his collection of stone and bone tools and the fascinating stories associated with them.

Dr. Welch will be speaking at the Museum on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 7 pm. Everyone is invited to this free presentation.

PRMA 73.540 Bone Flesher. 

Stone tools presentation by Dr. David Welch - June 4th at 7 pm

On Wednesday, June 4, 2014, at 7 pm, Dr. David Welch will be joining us at the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre, to talk about his pre-historic stone and bone tools. After a lifetime's worth of collecting, researching and examining stone tools, he is a great source of information and stories.

This presentation complements our current exhibit "A Sense of the Land and its People: A Personal Collection" which showcases a variety of Northwest Coast and Plains First Nations Artifacts from Dr. Welch's collection.

The artifacts in the exhibit are representative of the environments that the Northwest Coast and Plains First Nations lived within and how those environments influenced their food, clothing, lodgings, hunting practices, artistic expression and ceremonies.

Please join us for this free event as we learn more about stone and bone tools, as well as hear Dr. Welch's stories and experiences collecting them.

For more information, please contact the Museum.

Thank you to our speakers!

The Museum hosted three stimulating local speakers in March, who presented on topics relevant to our current exhibit, "A Sense of the Land and its People: A Personal Collection".

Archbishop John Clarke spoke of growing up in Moose Factory, James Bay, Ontario and the 18 years he spent as a clergyman in the diocese of Moosonee. He worked with the community to develop education and training  opportunities for residents in this northern region. He brought cultural objects from these early years and fondly spoke of the people who created them. Some were given as gifts or, like the pair of Inuit dolls, gifted to his father in much earlier times.

Archbishop Clarke shows the audience some of the First Nations artifacts he has from his years in Ontario. 

Lyle Fullerton, of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, began with an historical overview of the buffalo in northern Alberta. He then described the current status of the population in and around Wood Buffalo National Park. His work monitoring the health and the habitat of these herds over the past 22 years makes him a most informative and engaging speaker. He even brought a leg bone from a buffalo recently killed by a wolf to demonstrate the shear size of these animals. Lyle has been asked to return for an update presentation this fall.

Lyle Fullerton speaks about buffalo herds with YL, the Museum's buffalo head, in the background. 

Roger spoke to an appreciative crowd, mainly artists themselves, about how his Cree culture influences the imagery he uses in his paintings. His years of work includes designing the current Northern Lakes College logo, 12 murals in the town of McLennan and works regularly featured in Alberta Native News. You can still see a selection of Roger's paintings at the Museum until April 17th, 2014. He calls the exhibit "My Cree People - the Sacred Circle". These works are for sale.

Roger Noskiye speaking about his art. Photo courtesy of Sharon Krushel. 

The Museum extends a very big thank you to all of our speakers and all those who attended the presentations.

Please stay tuned to our blog for information about our upcoming Speakers Series in May. We are in the process of firming up plans now and will bring that information to you soon!

March Speaker Series - Roger Noskiye speaks this Saturday about his art

Roger Noskiye makes his home on the Whitefish Lake first Nation 459 at Atikameg in northern Alberta. He started drawing and whittling as a child and his interest in art was supported at the Northland Elementary School in Atikameg.  He says he ‘drew his way through middle school’ and carried on with his schooling at Grande Prairie Regional College where he finished a visual arts program and from there transferred to New Mexico where he received a scholarship of $75,000 through his art in 1992. Unfortunately, in those days the Band was unable to help him stay and study further so he returned home and today continues to work with his art and his culture.  The Town of McLennan commissioned Roger to paint 12 murals on town buildings and he created a mural for the Lakeland Eagles Hockey club too.

The Alberta Native News featured Roger’s art on the cover in December, 2011 and included a story about his work and his journey as an artist.

Roger will be at the Museum, Saturday, March 22, 2014 between 2 and 4pm painting and talking about his work and how his culture inspires the images he uses.  He will have some works on exhibit and for sale.

This painting, by Roger Noskiye, is titled "Tea Dance".