When a former Canadian body building champion with Fire Inspector’s qualifications makes his annual visit to Haney Heritage Village looking for infractions, the entire curatorial department stands up and takes note. The former title holder has a lot of muscle. City of Salmon Arm employee Jim Nickles looks at the exit lights, fire extinguishers, and blocked exits among other things. He asks questions and usually comments on the Museum’s capacity to store artifacts. Nickles takes notes. His concern is for all publicly occupied buildings. He keeps the public safe.
This summer is no exception. Without warning to curatorial staff, Fire Prevention Officer Jim Nickles made his visit to the museum building.
For any museum collecting artifacts, space is the issue. The Salmon Arm Museum at Haney Heritage Village has close to 2000 square feet of storage in its basement. The organization has been collecting since 1965, two years before opening its first building. In recent history, museum staff takes in and processes artifacts at the rate of up to a thousand items a year.
Concerned that space was running out, the Board of Directors revisited its collections policy in 2007. The document that had guided staff was drafted in 1979 and allowed for subjective collecting. For example, staff members were instructed to collect things “of great beauty”. Almost thirty years later, the Board realized that it was in trouble. Storage was becoming expensive and finite.
Realizing it had to be careful; the Board adopted key principles when collecting. It advised staff to be discerning about taking in new collections. New acquisitions had to fit within the geographical boundary of the area and have a direct relationship to the historical development of Salmon Arm and the Shuswap.
In short, new acquisitions must be relevant. They must have a direct bearing on the general theme of the museum. Primary focus is now on the geological beginnings, pre-contact First Nations culture, and post-contact settlement history, with an emphasis placed on the social and industrial development of Salmon Arm and District from 1885 to the present.
Thank you, Jim Nickles for raising all your concerns to Museum Board and staff. Well done! Note: Jim Nickles is the winner of the 1990 BC Heavyweight and 1991 Western Canada Heavyweight and Overall titles. In 1992 he attended the Canadian Championships in Halifax, winning the Heavyweight division and almost taking the Overall. At that point Jim Nickles was considered a top Canadian contender for the Mr. Universe title.
Deborah Chapman
