It seems that whenever this curator leaves the museum for a short vacation, an interesting item, or items is brought in for the collection.
This past September was no different, with Mr. and Mrs. White arriving with a portable Fleetwood phonograph in almost perfect working order.
With little provenance attached, this wonderful object will be added to our teaching collection to go out to events and outreach programs.
It replaces a larger, more ornate model that has been used for the same purpose over the last number of years and will now get a well deserved rest.
As well, a stack of 78s came with the phonograph and include titles such as Beer Barrel Polka, Waltzing Matilda, Cold, Cold Heart, and Mares Eat Oats and Does Eat Oats.
This phonograph caps off a season of donations that speak to the history of the community, including Hal Menzies corporate seal, a Frontiersman hat worn by Edward Richardson, a stoneware jug from the W.M. Struthers Store (now the home of the Pitt Meadows Museum), and scanned images from the Hutchison family albums.
Collections are the backbone of a museum. They are what record and tell the story of your community, and, when telling this story, historical does not necessarily mean old. If you have images or documents that relate to the past and recent past of the community, please think about allowing the museum to have a look at them and take scans. This ensures we are documenting the history of the community for the generations of residents to come.
At the museum, programming is almost as important to us as are the collections. Our 21st season of Heritage Thursdays for Children was a resounding success this past summer, with participants investigating the heritage of “Mythical and Imaginary Places.”
After summer, we rolled into the pre-fall season with five outreach school tours at Highland Park elementary, where students learned the short history of Pitt Meadows and then investigated some of our pioneer gadgets.
We have just finished our first October event, “Culture Days – Activities from Yesteryear,” and are now preparing for our biggest programme of the fall season – Museum After Dark.
This Halloween activity, traditionally held on the last Sunday before Halloween, is now in its 12th year and still going strong. This October, it falls on Sunday the 30th and runs from 1 to 7 p.m. with a scavenger hunt, ghost tours, eye ball lights and other crafts and activities.
Museum Sundays also continue to run 2 to 4 p.m. and are packed with activities and crafts for children and families.