The Almanac Spring 2011

The

Almanac Museum: 45820 Spadina Ave Chilliwack, BC, V2P 1T3 604.795.5210

Archives: 9291 Corbould Street Chilliwack, BC V2P 4A6 604.795.9255

www.chilliwackmuseum.ca info@chilliwackmuseum.ca

UPDATE ON THE ARCHIVES EXPANSION Work is continuing on the addition to the archives building. The walls and roof are in and interior finishing is progressing. We expect that we will gain possession of the building by the end of April.

CONTENTS Update on the Archives Expansion President’s Message Community Histories Curatorial Corner Chilliwack Heritage Awards Fraser River Exhibit Chilliwack Foundation Annual General Meeting STAFF

Almost 4,000 sq. ft. will be added to our Evergreen Hall building. This means that we will consolidate the collection under the same roof rather than having the collection spread between several different locations.

Ron Denman, Director Paul Ferguson, Heritage Collections Manager Brenda Paterson, Education Coordinator Alison Adamson, Administrative AssisTo maximize the use of the space, rolling shelving units will be in- tant stalled. These units are specifically designed to house our collec- Shannon Anderson, Heritage Records tion. Shelves, storage drawers, map cabinets and pallet shelving Manager are included in the design. Carriage rails will be placed on the floor and cemented into place. Hi-Cube Storage and Gerry Enns Con- BOARD OF DIRECTORS tracting are co-ordinating this part of the installation. When the construction phase is finished, carriages and shelving will be add- Fred Feistmann, President ed. Then the work begins to move our entire object collection back Pauline Heppner, Vice President into the building. This collection is currently being stored off-site. Anna Erho, Treasurer We have applied for summer student funding and are hopeful that Tia Halstad, Director two students will be available to help with this part of the project. Bea Mazurenko, Director Esther Harder, Director The new facility will enable the Museum to store our treasures in Charlie Fortin, Director the most professional of standards, and an increased research area Jason Lum, Director will allow for improved public access to collections. We aim to be the leader in collections care and access in Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley.

SPRING 2011

This spring the Board of Directors will begin a fund raising campaign for our Archives renovation project More than 50 years ago, Oliver and Casey Wells and a called the Collections Legacy Fund. We aim to raise small group of interested citizens gathered together $250,000 in order to provide the supplies, equipment to form a society for the purpose of starting a museum and shelving needed for this long term investment - a and archives for Chilliwack. The group began mod- project imperative to the safe-keeping of Chilliwack’s estly with a collection of biographies of early settler treasures. families and a few objects. Since then, many more of you have entrusted your archives and precious fam- To date, about $90,000 has been raised through doily heirlooms to us. Thanks to this generosity, we can nations and grants. Further, we are optimistic about boast that our collection reflects the broad range of our application to the Canadian Heritage Department people and activities that have shaped Chilliwack and for shelving funds. For the rest of the project costs we the surrounding area. The collection is widely con- are turning to you: our members, our community and sulted, both in the archives and now, thanks to our neighbours, as we reach our goal together. internet presence, by people throughout the world.

For those of you who are interested, we have desigHousing and caring for this large collection comes nated funds for specific needs such as conservation with costs. A climate controlled environment, acid- materials, digital equipment for microfilm reading, free boxes, and specialized museum storage racks shelving units and public reading room renovations.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

and cabinets are required to ensure that the collection is preserved for the next generation. Our professional staff research and document each object and archives document so that this information is available to everyone. Parts of the collection are being digitized so that even more information can be shared with our users, whether they come to the museum and archives in person or visit us through our web site.

COMMUNITY HISTORIES

If you are able to give now please contact the museum. We will also keep you posted on our unique fundraising campaign events coming up in May. If you have any questions in the meantime, we encourage you to contact the museum staff.

Thank you for your continued support, Fred Feistmann

CURATORIAL CORNER

Two more books about our community will be pub- Can you guess what object this is? lished this year. Spearheaded by three retired fire (Answer is on back page) chiefs, Tom Beer, Wayne Green and Bill Chambers, The First 100 Years documents the history of the Chilliwack Fire Department from its humble beginnings with a hand-powered hose reel and a small group of volunteers to a sophisticated well-trained professional force. The history of the Chilliwack Hospital Auxiliary will also be published this year. The 100-year old organization has played a major role supporting the activities of the hospital.

RICK BLACKLAWS: JOURNEY -FRASER 2011School SchoolRIVER Brochure is now Visit www.chilliwackmuseum.com 20102010 -A2011 Brochure is online. now online.

Visit www.chilliwackmuseum.com Coming up in March, this stunning collection of photographs that show the Fraser River in all its beauty and complexity. Opening Reception is Saturday March 19, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm. The show runs until May 12.

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the 2011 recipients for Chilliwack Heritage Awards.

this spirituality was a strong motivating factor for the Todd’s in starting the collection in the first place and continues to define the Todd family’s relationship to the masks.

Staff at the Stò:lō Research and Resource Management Centre will receive an award for the work carried out by centre staff at the recently opened new resource centre on the Coqualeetza grounds.

Representing the Ryder Lake Women’s Institute and a group of community volunteers, Daylen and Hugh Sexsmith will receive an award for the work done on preserving the 100 year old Bill Voight log cabin.

Mrs. Pat Todd will receive an award for the generous donation of 19 Sxwó:yxwey masks carved by west coast aboriginal artist Simon Charlie. Pat and her husband Dr. Norman Todd placed a great deal of importance in understanding the spirituality behind the masks. This desire to understand and connect to

Norm Williams will receive an award for his life’s work as a Chilliwack photographer and for donating his collection, including cameras, to the museum and archives. For more than 50 years, Norm photographed people and events that help us understand our community.

FRASER RIVER EXHIBIT

occurred both in and beside the river. We are now collecting objects to help illustrate the story line.

CHILLIWACK HERITAGE AWARDS

For the past year, staff have worked on a new exhibit about the Fraser River. The exhibit will look at the history of the river and the people who have lived along the river. Some contemporary issues are also brought to the exhibit as we examine the changes that have

One of the sections details the loss of wetlands along the gravel reach section, the part that flows past Chilliwack. In particular, the diversity and numbers of bird species has dropped dramatically over the last 150 years because of the loss of these important wetlands. We had hoped to display some of the birds that live here year round or travel through the area as they head north or south. We are having a great deal of difficulty locating bird specimens though. We would like to have a variety so that we can show the types and numbers that once existed in the Chilliwack area.

If any readers are aware of individuals who have collections, or even a single species, please give us a call 5-5210. at 604-795-5210.

Rick Blacklaws: Photograph of the Fraser River and Mt Cheam.

COLLECTIONS LEGACY FUND Stay tuned for information about our new fundraising campaign.

CHAMPION THE CAUSE!

CHILLIWACK FOUNDATION In January the museum received a grant from the Chilliwack Foundation for $8,087.50. The grant will be used to offset some of the costs associated with buying shelving for the new archives building. We are grateful for the support that the Chilliwack Foundation has provided for the museum over the years. The Chilliwack Foundation is a community foundation that provides support for a number of organizations in Chilliwack.

lationship to the land. He has produced a number of books including The Fraser River (text by Alan HaigThe annual general meeting of the Chilliwack Muse- Brown) which won the 1997 Roderick Haig-Brown Reum and Historical Society will take place on Saturday, gional Book Prize.

March 26 beginning at 1:00 p.m. in the Chambers Gallery in the museum building. Directors reports and We hope that you can join us to hear about Rick’s fantastic journey through parts of our province that the 2010 audited statement will be presented. most of us will never see.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The annual 2011 Chilliwack Heritage Awards will also be presented.

Our guest speaker at the meeting will be Rick Blacklaws. Rick teaches at Langara College in the Anthropology Department. He is also a traveller and trained landscape photographer who has photographed British Columbia in all its regions and seasons. Rick creates images that document people and their re-

CURATORIAL CORNER ANSWER: Its a fire fighter’s helmet once worn by Wayne Green of the Chilliwack Fire Department. A few years ago when we held an exhibit about the fire department, and a history of their department was being compiled, we were fortunate to receive several original pieces of equipment from former members. We were very grateful to receive three helmets, each illustrating a new safety development. Black helmets were replaced by yellow ones so that fire fighters could be better seen during an incident.

Published by the Chilliwack Museum and Archives

AGM NOTICE Saturday, March 26, 2011 1:00 pm Chilliwack Museum