If it’s April, then there must be a Museum AGM and Tea in Pitt Meadows.
April is here, spring flowers are blooming, and, on Saturday, April 21, the Pitt Meadows Museum Society’s annual Heritage Reunion Tea takes place.
Talk about heritage standing the test of time, this tea has been going on almost as long as the society has existed – more than 35 years.
The tea was originally an event to honour the last of the children of the colonial pioneering residents of Pitt Meadows and the contributions they made to bring a museum and society together.
By the early 2000s, most of these children were gone, but their grandchildren were still attending and bringing the society objects, archival material, other information, and the ability to identify old images.
As the years go by, we are seeing more people who relate to this community as it was in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of them are the great grandchildren of the pioneers, and others who were new here at that time, but are keen on the preservation of information from those decades.
Working the tea are the staff and volunteers of the museum and society. Most are members of the society and many have little connection to the community before the 1980s. The connection they do have is the same interest in preserving the history of this community and surrounding area.
This year, the tea’s theme is “All About Us” and celebrates 40 years of the museum society’s existence and all the No. 8s that relate. We are also featuring the museum’s new moderated, interactive Community History Map, which allows you to view and add to information about the history (old and new) of the community.
• The tea is held from 1-3:30 p.m. at the Old Heritage Hall on Harris Road and is open to long-time residents and past residents of Pitt Meadows and to Pitt Meadows Museum Society members and volunteers. If you have an interest in our area’s local history, think about taking a museum membership and joining us tea, treats and talk.
Leslie Norman is curator at the Pitt Meadows Museum.