Upcoming Events at the Museum
Kids’ Night at the Museum: BIRDS!
Friday, February 2, 2018 at 7 p.m. at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum
Snowy owls, northern flickers, and snow buntings… the birds of the North Peace come in a variety of sizes and colours. Learn interesting facts about these fliers, spot taxidermy bird specimens around the museum, hear a story about birds, and make bird-related crafts. REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY AND LIMITED. Event tickets (available as of Jan. 8) are $5/child or $10/family and must be purchased at the museum in advance. Children must be accompanied by an adult (free). Call 250-787-0430 for more information.
Heritage Day
Saturday, February 17 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Museum
The theme for this year’s Heritage Week is Heritage Stands the Test of Time. Find our what’s going on behind the scenes at the museum by taking a guided tour of our collections storage area and seeing several artefacts that are not currently on display. See a photo exhibit on local heritage buildings with past and present photographs juxtaposed. Make a paper bag building.
North Peace Historical Society Annual General Meeting & Dinner
Wednesday, February 28th at 6 p.m. (Dinner at 6:30) at the Museum
The North Peace Historical Society’s Annual General Meeting will take place at the museum this year. We’ll be eating a Chinese food dinner followed by dessert. After dinner, we’ll have a short meeting to look back at what we accomplished this last year. Our guest speaker this year is Ron Yipp who will be telling stories of growing up in Fort St. John. Tickets are $25 and are available at the museum. Everyone is welcome! You don’t need to be a member to attend; you only need a membership to vote.
Current Temporary Exhibits
“Those Were the Good Days” Constable Lawrence Clay Recalls his Service in the North Peace, 1938-1942
Now through May at the North Peace Regional Airport
Constable Lawrence Clay served as a British Columbia Provincial Police Officer in Fort St. John from just before the construction of the Alaska Highway through the eight-month construction in 1942. Learn about the challenges he faced from American generals ignoring his position to locals bootlegging whiskey. Life in the North Peace was difficult with his salary not always coming through on time and a huge district to cover by car and horseback. This free exhibit is up at the airport until this spring.
Say Yes to the Dress: A Journey through the History of Infant’s Clothing in Western Culture
Now until May 31, 2018 at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum
Say Yes to the Dress looks at infant clothing from antiquity to the present. Discover what swaddling clothes are. Learn about the differences in colours for boys and girls over the years. See never before displayed dresses and other items from our museum collection as well as special items loaned for this display. Realize why dresses were popular for both boys and girls to wear from medieval times to the early 1900s. Our textile volunteer, Marjo Wheat, curated this special exhibit.
“Never Just a Job” – Vi (Garrish) Woodward Remembers the Cecil Lake Outpost Hospital
Now until April 2018 at the FSJ Hospital
Imagine arriving in Cecil Lake to a poorly equipped hospital with frost on the walls to start your job as a nurse. Would you have second thoughts? Nurse Vi Garrish was determined to persevere. Her memories take you inside the life of a nurse at a remote outpost hospital in the 1930s and 1940s. Experience Vi’s life through her photographs, memories, and equipment from the Cecil Lake Outpost Hospital. This free exhibit is on display in the Fort St. John Hospital lobby.
Museum Gift Shop News
We have DVDs of the Swedish Trapper for sale now – only $19.95. This documentary focuses on the life of Gus (Gustaf) Hedin, most notably his heroics in the Charlie Lake Disaster seventy-five years ago. During the construction of the Alaska Highway, seventeen men set out with supplies on a boat to cross Charlie Lake. Strong winds swamped their boat and trapper Gus Hedin saw the disaster and set out to help…. but he was unable to save them all. Learn more about this man’s remarkable life.
If you purchased a copy of this DVD in December and it didn’t work in your DVD player, please come and exchange it for a copy that is formatted to work in all players. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Archives & Collections
Did you know that the museum collects obituaries? If you have a recently deceased relative who lived in this area and have not posted his/her obituary through Hamre’s or in the Alaska Highway News, please feel free to email it to the museum archives at fsjmarchives@fsjmail.com or drop it off at the museum (we can scan and return it to you or keep it if you no longer want it) so that we can improve our records.