Blog

When the horrific news of the confirmation of 215 children’s graves on the grounds of the former Residential School in Kamloops broke last June, the board and staff at R.J. Haney Heritage Village and Museum were heartsick. We offered condolences, but that did not seem enough. Please join us as we #DrumForTheChildren.

Hjalmar Peterson wanted to donate his diaries to the museum at R.J. Haney Heritage Village. He was a board member and knew how much they would be appreciated by the archivist. They were his personal record of community and family life. Hjalmar's neice Janet Hanna accepted the job of reading and transcribing the diaries. She started in January. When the pandemic hit Janet found herself with a little more time to dedicate tot he project. . .

Hector Wilson's name is etched in stone on the Salmon Arm Centotaph. Why? He wasn't a long term resident. Archives researcher Don Paterson helped solve the local mystery by connecting to Cindy Kilpatrick, Hector's Great Niece. Isn't the internet a wonderful thing? Hector's story begins in Port of Spain, Trinidad and ends in France. . .

When Nina Mecuri contacted the archives about a piece she was working on, it was more than timely. She was interested in the Herald family and the history of the Provincial Park named for them on Shuswap Lake. By happpenstance a collection of letters to the Herald family had made their way to the archives room the year before. This spring I was able to address the backlog. . .

Retired M.D. Don Paterson likes to help the archives out by doing research remotely. He recently looked into the life and times of Salmon Arm resident Henry Arthur Harper who also went by Arthur Henry Harper when it suited him. Ancestry.ca provided some of the answers. . .

Most summers we have a student. He or she learns about what goes on behind the scenes of the museum. They all receive a well rounded introduction - working in the archives, managing the artefact collection, and helping to install displays. Some years we even move the collection! This summer was no exception. Our student Bethany also learned all about our new safety protocols and kept her bathroom spotless!

Dr. Don Paterson is a friend to the Museum. He has access to resources like Ancestry.ca and loves a good mystery. When I asked him to research an incident at the Lee Creek School, he took the project on with enthusiasm.

Driving School? What were these young people doing? Image courtesy the Observer collection, Salmon Arm Museum at R.J. Haney Heritage Village.

Maia Reynard spent her summer working with the Salmon Arm Museum's collection. She called her experience "outstanding!"

For three months I had the privilege of basically working my dream job. I know sometimes when people get this opportunity, they discover that what they thought was their dream job is the furthest thing from it. Thankfully, that is not how my experience ended. Everything that I got to do, see, touch, and experience, not to mention the people that I met, solidified my dream job as something that I could definitely see myself enjoying as a lifetime career. While I did have some idea of what I...