R. J. Haney Heritage Park ~ Newsletter

~ Progress: the Cobweb Corners Exhibit and Beemish Project ~ Spring 2005
What is new with the Beemish construction project? Thanks to two grants from the Vancouver Foundation and the Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union, progress was marked this past winter. Ted McTaggart, construction manager of the project, recruited contractors and volunteers to wire, insulate and gyproc the interior of the Beemish building. In time for winter, a furnace was purchased to keep the facility warm. In January, interior walls were constructed. February and March saw the interior mudded and sanded. Painting followed shortly. Dave Myers has agreed to build the interior cabinets for the exhibit. A master carpenter, Myers brings a love of fine woodworking and a personal interest to the project. He just happens to love the old recordings of Sam Beemish' radio show Cobweb Corners. This spring the exhibit will be installed. In the mean time 10,000 records, nine hundred and forty cylinders and many record players need to be catalogued and readied for installation. Air conditioning, essential in this type of climate-controlled exhibit, will also be installed. Thanks to the Shuswap Community Foundation, a thermohygrometer and calibrator now monitor the space.	"This project will be completed this year," Ted McTaggart announced recently at a Museum board meeting with a pleased smile. Museum Chair, Doug Adams, followed up with, "Members of the public still wishing to contribute financially to the Beemish Project can mail their contributions to the Salmon Arm Museum at Haney Heritage Park, Box 1642, Salmon Arm, V1E 4P7. Receipts for the charitable donation will be issued." Who isn't excited about the grand opening? "When the exhibit officially opens in the summer of 2005, will you come to the party?" Watch for further announcements.
~ Progress: the Beemish Project ~ Spring 2004
What's happening with the Beemish Building construction project at the Salmon Arm Museum? A lot has been accomplished in the past year. Jean Macdonald, museum exhibit designer, was contracted to plan the interior of the Beemish Building that will house the collection of radio show host and producer Sam Beemish. The collection was bequeathed to the Salmon Arm Museum with several conditions. Jean had to accommodate the wishes of Sam and his family, balance standard museum display, security and preservation practices, and come to terms with very real issues of a limited budget. The design is now a three dimensional model that will be displayed at Heritage Week at Piccaddilly Place Mall. The constructed building will accommodate Sam's collection of cylinder and record players, along with the recordings they played. It also recreates Sam's home recording studio where "Cobweb Comers" was taped before being broadcast throughout the central interior of British Columbia. This summer, museum crews finished the shell of the building, sided the structure, and installed windows and doors. The building models the shash and door business that was located on Front Street, found in one of Rex Lingford's photographs.	The standard white front, black trim and Edwardian green accent is typical of the era. The combination is both historically accurate and sharp, according to museum sources. Who has been active in the project so far? The Shuswap Community Foundation contributed towards the building's plan. Windowland Windows and Doors made a significant gift of the custom made windows and doors. The Broadcasters Association of BC donated a sizable gift in cash. The Real Canadian Superstore gave a generous dona- fion. Standard Radio, owners of the local E Z Rock Radio Station, CKXR, donated radio time to advertise the project. Sam's business associates, friends and relatives gave money. Notably, much of the Tabour was provided by the Federal Government through HRDC participants. What is required next? Money is needed to insulate the walls, wire for electricity, install a heating and cooling system, and finish the interior. The Salmon Arm Museum is a registered charity and donations to this project will be issued an income tax receipt. Donors will know they are helping to tell a unique BC Interior story and assisting Sam to fulfill a dream.
~ Cobweb Corners Update ~ Winter 2002
The Salmon Arm Museum has undertaken a new project this winter, to accommodate a significant donation of records, cylinders, gramophones, and liner notes belonging to Sam Beemish. A Kamloops resident, Sam used the collection in his weekly radio show, Cobweb Corners, which ran for over twenty years. An exit space is currently under construction to house the collection. It is an independent building, on site at Haney Heritage Park. Located between the school and blacksmith shop, the new structure will complete one side of the streetscape at Haney Heritage Park The building is 18'x30', with a ten foot ceiling. The walls are up and trusses in place. The next year will be spent planning and building the interior and exhibit space, with a grand opening targeted at 2004. The Board of Directors has agreed to contract a museum exhibit designer to create a plan for Cobweb Corners. Doug Adams, President of the Salmon Arm Museum says, "I am very excited about the opportunity that lies ahead. We will create a space to tell a first class, regional story."	click image to enlarge At this point staff, board, and committee members are exploring funding avenues. In order to succeed, additional capital must be raised. Labour, one of the most expensive considerations in any building project, will be provided courtesy of the Federal Government's Job Creation Program. The remaining task, raising funds for research design, boards, and nails, should not be daunting. Funds donated to this project should be marked "Beemish Exhibit" and mailed to: Salmon Arm Museum Box 1642 Salmon Arm, BC V1E 4P7 Donations will be issued a Registered Charity receipt.
~ Cobweb Corners ~ Winter 2000
A promise of a new, significant collection. Every curator dreams about them. Something to make a heart flutter. Late in 2000 such a collection was offered to the Salmon Arm Museum. It turns out that collector Sam Beemish was also dreaming at the same time. He was looking for a home for his collection of sound recording and players gathered over several decades reported to be the best in western Canada. Sam Beemish had a regional radio show that ran for twenty years. Called Cobweb Comers, the program was taped at Beemish's home in Kamloops and featured Thomas Edison's early players and records and cylinders dating from the 1980's to World War 11. The show gained wide appeal and was rebroadcast in One Hundred Mile House, Williams Lake, Prince George, Smithers and Terrace. When Salmon Arm Museum Vice President Dave Harper and I visited the Beemish home, we were astounded at the size of the gift. Ten thousand records, over nine hundred wax cylinders, half a dozen different players. Liner notes, program notes, audio copies of the broadcasts, replacement parts. The list seemed endless. Why is the Salmon Arm Museum an appropriate home for this collection? Haney Heritage Park, the property managed by the Salmon Arm Museum, has the space. Unfortunately, when the Kamloops Museum was offered the collection, it had to turn it down.	Sam & Helen Beemish at the Beemish Museum sod turning ceremony The Board of Directors of the museum is thrilled with this opportunity. The legal body that operates the museum is hopeful a building will be completed within the next two years. That building will house Beemish's collection. What happens next? The two parties, the Salmon Arm Museum and Sam Beemish, have exchanged promises. A sod turning ceremony happened this winter. The hard part is yet to come. Money has to be raised. Artifacts have to be catalogued. A space has to be designed to house them. Ideally, an interactive display is envisioned: sound recordings copied onto tapes and demonstrations of the working machines. Professionals have to be enlisted. A museum designer will work closely with the museum's curator to create something very special. A display of quality. A regional player. Something to dream about.