Virtual Exhibits - R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum

NEW! Thirty Years of Fun

In 1988, a group of four Salmon Arm mothers decided that Fletcher Park needed a playground. Three Jans - Naylor, Wilkins, and Derpark - along with Linda Tanaka held a barbecue on Canada Day to raise awareness for Fletcher Park's needs - thus was born the first Salmon Arm Children's Festival.

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This online gallery of photographs was curated by Ryon Ready. Next year is the 30th anniversary of the Canada Day Children's Festival and when Ryon discovered a collection of archival images documenting the festival's early years, he was quick to take on this task. The featured photographer, Don Grabowecki, studied at the Vancouver School of Art and Design but was known to Salmon Arm residents as the expert in the Camera Department at Ready's Rexall Pharmacy.

Ryon's job was made easy thanks to volunteer Doreen Paterson. Doreen scanned more than 800 Grabowecki images.

A Family of Elders

This online exhibit was created by Tanita Sampson as part of her summer work in the archives room at R.J. Haney Heritage Village.

Tanita used her research skills and recent college experience to create an online exhibit about her family.

Well done Tanita!

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This site is a gathering and sharing of information about the Allen, Pierrish, and Thomas families who are members of the Neskonlith Indian Band. The families are interrelated, belong to the Secwepemc nation, and are the ancestors of Tanita Sampson, Curatorial Research Assistant at the Salmon Arm Museum. The online exhibit is a result of the discoveries made by one young woman exploring her family history using museum and archival resources.

Cemetery Tour

The old section of Mt. Ida Cemetery -where pioneers' stories come to life

Thanks to the City of Salmon Arm and Laura Noakes, see the online exhibit of 21 family plots that are featured on Curator's walk through Mt. Ida Cemetery each fall without leaving the comfort of your home!

Click here for access.

Interested in more? Deborah Chapman saves the best stories for her live tours.

Book 250-832-5243

Flight from the Flames

Traveling Exhibit

Salmon Arm Museum exhibit Flight from the Flames will be installed at the Okanagan Regional Public Library at the Mall at Piccadilly for the month of August. The exhibit celebrates how the community pulled together twenty years ago when the Silver Creek Fire jumped the Salmon Valley Road and sped up Mt. Ida within minutes.

The Library will host speakers Observer Photojournalist James Murray and Fire Warden Jake Jacobson on August 11 at 1:00 pm

Event is free to the public.

Virtual Exhibit

In 1998 the Silver Creek Fire, a runaway forest fire, caused the largest civil evacuation in BC. Seven thousand people were forced from their homes while the Princess Patricia Light Infantry, along with other community firefighters, RCMP, Search and Rescue, and BC Ambulance Services were enlisted to help.

This exhibit features the work of Salmon Arm Observer photojournalist James Murray and the memories of many who were profoundly affected by the fire.

Created in partnership with Virtual Museum Canada, we are pleased to offer this virtual exhibit in both official languages.

Flight from the flames...

Fuir loin des flames...

Documenting CPR Train Art

Clive Bryson, photographer

Clive Bryson lives in Salmon Arm, a small community on Shuswap Lake located on the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline 468 kms from Vancouver, Clive Bryson.jpgBritish Columbia.

Clive Bryson.jpg Bryson has been photographing Shuswap flora, fauna, scenery, and cultural life for decades. He is also keenly interested in the graffiti sprayed on train cars.

Acknowledging that the images are considered vandalism, Bryson says they also have artistic merit. He points out that photographing the art is often complicated because the trains are typically in motion.

Bryson is interested in creating a series that documents the creation of train art, but says that the artists operate in secret and he has not yet figured out where it happens.

Most of the images in this slide show were taken in Salmon Arm, just above the Salmon Arm Bay Nature Enhancement Society (SABNES) foreshore trail. To see more of Bryson's work, click here to visit his other work online.

All images on this website are copyright by Clive Bryson (© Clive Bryson) and should not be copied, reproduced or reused in any form without the express written permission of the artist. Sale of images can be arranged by contacting the photographer directly at cbryson@telus.net

The Story of Ruth

the Water Colour Journals of A.A. Brooke

Time stood still when Arthur Adair Brooke's water colours were offered to a small community museum in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. The Salmon Arm Museum was being offered a priceless gift.

The collection span a period of time, documenting rural life in the Mt. Ida District of "the Valley" near Salmon Arm, and show baby Ruth - daughter of Annie Florence and Arthur Adair Brooke - growing up in a farming community. Described by artists and archivists as a remarkable treasure, the collection is a significant record of time and place, a commentary on social history, and a virtual window into the early settlement history of western Canada.