@CHWKMuseum

Official Blog of the Chilliwack Museum and Archives

Archive for the ‘Staff’ Category

My Family Tree

Posted on: February 12th, 2020 by Tristan Evans

My Family Tree by Cari Moore – Coordinator of Volunteers

As we prepare for our Family Day event “You me and the Family Tree” I have been reflecting on what my family tree looks like. On one side of my “tree” I am a 3^rd generation born Canadian. Very proud of the fact that my mothers’ grandparents took that giant leap and moved from Europe during the turn of the century (the 20^th century). They homesteaded in 2 different areas of our beautiful province. Working to clear the land and grow food that they needed and to build community.

My Grandmothers parents were Danish and Settled in Cape Scott – the northern most tip of Vancouver Island, where my grandmother grew up close to the Pacific Ocean and would wait long hours by the shoreline for her brothers to come home from dangerous fishing trips. Until one trip – they didn’t. How this impacted the family is unimaginable! She would share stories of her brothers with me as I grew up, so their lives would not be forgotten.

Meanwhile in Bella Coola – my grandfather was one of 12 children living in a 3-bedroom home. Originally, they were blacksmiths – but when that was no longer a necessity, the family switched to commercial fishing. They were part of a Norwegian settlement that came to the valley because it reminded them so much of the fiords of Norway. My grandmother moved to the valley in her early 20’s to be a maid in my Grandfathers household where she eventually fell in love and married my grandfather and had 6 children. It sounds a lot more romantic than it was, as she had to form friendships with people who were prejudice against her because of her Danish background. My grandparents lived across the road from my parents until their original house was moved in the mid 90’s and my parents still live on part of the original settlement today. My roots run deep in the Valley.

My mother was the youngest of those six children and was related to most of the people in Bella Coola – which brings me to my fathers’ side of the family. My father was the oldest of 5 and his parents immigrated to British Columbia in the mid 60’s. On his side of my family – I am a 1^st born Canadian! My fathers’ parents were very young compared to my mothers and decided to immigrate to Canada so that my Grandfather could become a hunting guide and buy a ranch in the Chilcotin. Had they stayed in the United States my father and his brother would both most likely had to have fought in the Vietnam war! Terrifying to think how different my life would have been had this happened. My Uncle has done an ancestry deep dive on my dads’ family, and they have roots in the United States going back to the early 1700’s. We can find no documentation on when they came to America.

My parents were very young when they started a family. They had 3 children before my mother was 22. I was always very proud that I had the youngest parents of any of my friends! My sisters and I have given my parents 7 grandchildren to love and although I am not a Grandmother, sisters both are, making my mother a great Grammy 5 times over (and she is not even 70!)

I grew up in Bella Coola as well and faced the same problem my mother did, how to find a husband that wasn’t already on my family tree. Luckily my husband’s family moved to the valley when he was 5. We went to kindergarten together and were high school sweethearts. We married at 20 and had 2 children before we were 25. We will be celebrating our 30^th wedding anniversary this year and are both very proud of the people my children have chosen to add to our family tree!

Keeping track of your history, and your family trees is important. It gives your children and future generations a sense of belonging. Family Day is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the families that came before you, and the families you will belong to in the future. What does your family tree look like? “You Me and the Family Tree” is a great place to help you start thinking about what kind of tree you may belong to.

The Stockings Were Hung

Posted on: November 28th, 2019 by Tristan Evans

Written by Cari Moore – Coordinator of Volunteers and Administration

When I was a little girl – our favorite thing to do on Christmas morning was to open our stockings. They were the only things we could open before my parents were up. Getting up before them was very rare as my mother was always like a kid in a candy shop on Christmas morning. Banging about and putting the Turkey on in the kitchen with about as much noise as she could make. She came from a relatively large, but poor family that never had enough money at Christmas for stockings, so she was most excited to see how happy we would be. Our stockings always had the orange in the toe, some gold chocolate candy, and our own little individual bottles of shampoo and cream rinse. To this day Finesse Shampoo® still smells like Christmas to me. My favorite year was when my sister and I made mini stockings for my parents out of felt and filled them with skinny things like pens, nail clippers and candy canes. My mother was so excited – this was her first stocking ever!

Whoopie Cushions
Photo Credit: Cari Moore

When I got married and moved away from home, our first Christmas we were broke, so we decided to just “do stockings”. I went out and purchased the largest stockings I could find! (kind of defeating the purpose.) We also started a tradition of wrapping the items in our stockings so that we would have things to unwrap on Christmas morning. When we eventually had children, I lovingly hand made them both stockings, an Angel for my daughter and a Santa for my son. Some years their stockings would be filled with dollar store items and other years more expensive things, but always socks and underwear, somehow that became a rule. Our family tradition of stockings has now been passed down to my daughter and her husband as this year they will be opening their stockings together, for the first time as a married couple.

With my new job at the museum, I was very curious about the origins of stockings, so I investigated it. Wikipedia states stockings are a tradition that began in a European country, in which children simply used one of their everyday socks, but eventually special Christmas stockings were created for this purpose. These stockings were traditionally used on Saint Nicholas Day but in the early 1800s, they also came to be used on Christmas Eve. Wherever they started, in my family, stockings are here to stay. I look forward to filling all our stockings every year and I am often on the lookout for fun quirky things to wrap up and put in. This year I will be doing some of my shopping at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives gift shop, we have a great assortment of very cute, traditional old-fashioned toys that will be perfect!

Reflecting on my Summer

Posted on: August 31st, 2019 by Anna Irwin

By Jordan Sheffield, Archives Summer Student

Working in the Chilliwack Museum and Archives this summer has been a fantastic experience, full of interesting challenges, and learning opportunities. This cannot be truer than in my experiences in working on the two exhibits that took up an enormous amount of my work at the archives, the first being the Five Faces, Five Corners: The Social Experience of Chilliwack’s Downtown, and the second being my own mini exhibit, A Day with the Doctor. These two displays were different for all manner of reasons (scope, involvement, budget, time and even more that I cannot hope to list), so reflecting on the means and ends of both displays over the past couple days has been interesting and something I thought I might share. The whole experience in both exhibits has been fantastic and has certainly given me a greater appreciation for the odd complexities and issues that curators have to face when putting together a display they can feel pride in.

For some context, I joined the museum and archives staff at just about the most chaotic time possible, exhibit changeover. Entering into my first few days the changeover of the temporary gallery was already well under way. Anna, our curator, had already been working on the exhibit preparations for months before any actual work on the gallery itself began. I took part in detail painting, putting up the vinyl text segments and photographs (basically giant stickers), cleaning, aligning lighting (being 6’7” certainly helped with that), mount-making, as well as working with artifacts that were being put on display. The work was often very detail-oriented and forced me to take into account problems that I wouldn’t have considered prior; paint for example, needs to sit and off-gas once applied to plinths before they can be used. With all this said the exhibit came together wonderfully and made for an amazing introduction to the job.

Having come from helping out in the Five Corners exhibit, I had a small inkling of what I was in for when designing my own exhibit. The first step was deciding on the topic I would be working on. I started looking into advertising as a possible exhibit topic, but I ended up going with my second idea: medicine. Once the idea was given the go-ahead, I needed to learn just how much could go into the case and which artifacts best highlighted what I wanted to discuss.

Greek Tear Vases; 1957.019.052a-b; [photo by Jordan Sheffield]

The first significant cut came to a small section on one of the most unusual aspects about the doctor: his collecting. Dr. McCaffrey regularly collected objects from around the world, including a pair of Greek tear vases from ~500 BCE. During the early phase of research, I had been worried about not having enough text or objects. Suddenly, I had too much and needed to reduce and refine the content! Once I had an idea of the space I was working with, things finally started to fall into place.

Finalizing drafted labels was another challenge in the exhibition development process! For the most part, this involved formatting and reducing the size of my labels to make sure that the labels and text were easy to read and the text was able to be read by visitors of all ages. This had brought me nearly to the end of my exhibit now as most of the major thinking had already been completed and what I had left to do was to put all the final pieces together into one cohesive whole. After all the build up to reach this point, the final stages almost felt underwhelming – it’s amazing how quickly an exhibit comes together once all the pieces have been pre-crafted. While the previous steps had taken weeks of work, the final step (the actual mounting of the exhibit) was done in a day. It was an odd feeling when the case was locked, with artifacts beyond my reach, because it had matured from a simple draft on the back table to fully finished. Once it had settled in that the project was fully done, I felt an enormous relief and pride that it was all complete!

*A Day with the Doctor* display at the Chilliwack Archives; [Photo by Anna Irwin]

Conferences Make a Difference

Posted on: March 22nd, 2019 by Tristan Evans

We all know the conference stereotype. You sit through a boring lecture pretending to listen while you patiently wait to cash in those conference drinks at the hotel bar. To be fair, most of us have been to such a conference wondering if this was really the best use of our time. We forgive these occasional sleepy conferences for the ones that stand out. As a relatively new professional working for a small institution, conferences are a powerful tool.

Captain John Swalis of Soowahlie First Nation, unknown date [AM 362, File 263(D)]

Conferences allow me to connect with other regional archivists and confirm that I’m keeping up with up-to-date standards. This is when I have the opportunity to bounce ideas around, learn from bigger and smaller (yes, there are smaller institutions) archives, and learn about new resources and recommendations. Occasionally, I’m lucky enough to attend a conference that really stands out above the rest. Like my favourite podcast, The Secret Life of Canada, sometimes you have to give an occasional shout-out to something or someone extra special. I’ll use this platform today to shout-out to the 2019 Canadian-American Archives Conference hosted by the Western Washington University Archives and Records Management Program.

This year’s conference theme was Indigenous Issues in the Archives: Representation and Reconciliation. The conference began with Juanita Jefferson, a Lummi elder. Juanita began by discussing the challenges she faced gathering information from other archives about her community. Then we learned about how her and her community have worked to create their own archives. It was a very inspiring presentation and left me with some wonderful ideas on how to improve relations with our institution and the communities that we serve around Chilliwack.

A portrait of two First Nations girls holding a Salish Woolly dog. Photograph was taken by James O. Booen, Chilliwack, BC’s first professional photographer (c. 1895-1897). [P. Coll 120, P25]

Before we broke for lunch, I learned the different perspectives and challenges with indigenous records from the Canadian side and American side. Camille Callison, a member of the Tahltan Nation in Northern BC, examined her experience with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Importantly, she went on to show examples of specific recommendations that archives and libraries can act on in response to the TRC’s Final Report and Calls to Action. Her presentation was followed by Jennifer O’ Neal, an archivist and historian with the University of Oregon and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, discussing the development of the Society of American Archivists’ adoption of the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials. Importantly, both Camille Callison and Jennifer O’Neal explained various traditional indigenous knowledge systems and possible ways to incorporate these systems into archival descriptions and learning for indigenous researchers. The experience was incredibly eye opening and left me with pages of notes and ideas to take back to this institution.

The conference concluded with two non-indigenous archivists, Richard Pearce-Moses and Randall C. Jimerson, and their experience working with indigenous records and researchers. I learned the challenges they faced from other archivists trying to implement simple steps in an attempt to decolonize how we keep and classify indigenous records in a system that was created out of Western European ideology.

In short, some conferences really do make a difference. I’m very thankful that I work for a board and director that sees the advantages of professional development and continues to support our staff in this capacity. I hope to continue to broaden my perspective and implement changes on how we approach indigenous archival material here at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives. Some steps are simple, some will require years of consultation and challenging changes. This conference was a great learning opportunity and I’ll use this platform to give a final shout-out to the Western Washington Archives and Records Management program for hosting an incredible event.

A Message From Your Interim Executive Director – Ron Denman

Posted on: January 26th, 2019 by Tristan Evans

In late July, I received a phone call from past president Fred Feistmann informing me that Executive Director Matthew Francis had resigned for personal reasons. An interim director was needed. I agreed to fill the role until a permanent Executive Director was found. I had thought I was firmly ensconced in retirement though. This past spring, I sold my Cultus Lake home and moved to Hope. Fred’s call came before I even had a chance to unpack everything.

Well now more than six months have passed and I have found many changes. Most notably, there’s an entirely new staff. And I couldn’t be more impressed. Yvonne Contreras fully embraces her role as the administrative and volunteer coordinator. She has an easy rapport with our volunteers, great decision-making skills and the ability to see what needs to be done or changed to improve procedures. Anna Irwin, who was only appointed as Curator in May, jumped into a partially-completed project and grasped all the tentacles to make it a success. The project, funded by the Canadian Museum of History, was to produce a web site centred on the history of Chilliwack’s Chinese community. As of January 15, the site was live, complete with French translations.

Ron Denman is ready for retirement

Tristan, our Archivist, is now the senior member of the staff. Recently, Don Luxton who prepared a detailed conservation plan for the second floor former council chambers in the fall, asked us to do a deep search of our archives in search of pre-1950 and preferably pre-1920 photos of the interior of the room. Tristan found additional photos that add to the documented evidence already found. He has an amazing grasp of the extent and richness of our archives collection, which is a huge positive for researchers. You can also see interpretation signs at the Elk Creek Trail and on the Rotary Vedder Trail, the result of Tristan’s work.

Sarah Belley was hired in early September to become the Education and Community Engagement Coordinator. This meant immersing herself in the content of our school offerings while editing and printing school programs, and attending events. In December alone she saw 24 classes participate in our school programs.

And of course, there’s our dedicated care of volunteers and part-timers that keep the place running. What a refreshing group of talented minds.

But all good things come to an end. My retirement looms again. Shawna Maurice, formerly the Manager of the Lloydminster Saskatchewan Cultural and Science Centre, is the new Executive Director. Please see below for a profile on Shawna Maurice.

A new energetic young staff, an active and enthused Board of Directors and a champion at Chilliwack’s City Hall, Ryan Mulligan, Director of Recreation and Culture are all the ingredients needed to see the Museum and Archives into the next decades. I feel good retiring again. Thank you everyone for making this latest work stint so enriching.

Welcome to our new Executive Director

In early January, Shawna Maurice, her husband Eric and their two children left Lloydminster Saskatchewan in bitterly cold -42 degree weather, arriving a couple of days later to the usually balmy (it’s all relative) Fraser Valley. Shawna was interviewed in October and was offered the position of Executive Director of the Chilliwack Museum and Archives.

New Executive Director Shawna Maurice

Shawna, who grew up in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, traveled a long road to get here. Since 2010, she worked at the Lloydminster Cultural and Science Centre where she rose to become Manager of the facility. She holds a BA in Anthropology and History as well as a graduate diploma in Heritage Management, degrees from the University of Alberta and Athabasca University respectively.

For Shawna, history is about change and tying the past into the present and future. Making museums relevant for today’s audiences is a focus for her approach to museum work. And it’s an approach that the Board of Director endorses. The next generation is here and along with Shawna and the rest of the staff you can expect great things.

My Summer at the Museum

Posted on: July 31st, 2018 by Kelsey Ablitt

Guest Blog by Education Assistant Abbie Murphy

Mountaineers Bear Hunt craft taught at the July guided family craft sessions.

This past summer I had the pleasure of working the Education and Engagement Assistant position through Young Canada Works. Some of the things I learnt include different events in Chilliwack’s vast history, how a museum operates, and many instructional techniques that will benefit my future career in teaching.

When I first started at the museum, the Mountaineers exhibit was being prepared to open. During the preparation for the exhibit opening, I learnt not only of Chilliwack’s historical relationship with the mountain ranges in the area, but also, the techniques and mechanics that are required to produce an exhibit. For example, for the exhibit to open, the lights must be rearranged to highlight the texts and artifacts. Along with the other summer student, Alec, I worked to reposition current lights and add light fixtures to ensure the exhibit features were clearly visible and shown at their best. After adjusting the lights, I had a new understanding of the meticulous work that had to be completed before opening an exhibit. Thus, my appreciation for the staff at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives increased.

One of the projects I worked independently on this summer were the family craft drop-ins that I led each Wednesday in July. Although the craft dates took place in July, I spent the majority of June researching Chilliwack’s history and finding a craft to associate with the topics I discovered. Once I had selected four major themes, Mountaineers, Chilliwack Flying Club and Airport, British Columbia Electric Railway, and Chilliwack Fair and Agriculture, I started planning related crafts. In addition to preparing interesting crafts for elementary aged children, I created matching and true or false games using historical photos from the archival collection at the museum. Although I would not consider myself a crafty person, I enjoyed creating and teaching crafts that reflected Chilliwack’s history.

Canadian Goose Marionette Puppet

Another important part of my position at the museum were outreach events. Outreach involved working at different community events throughout the summer, such as Canada Day and Party in the Park. At Canada Day, I had created and prepared Canada Goose parts out of construction paper for children to build and turn into a marionette puppet. During the outreach events, I learnt about the community’s different interests in Chilliwack’s history and was able to teach, using the games and crafts I had created, about some of the captivating topics in Chilliwack’s past such as the flood of 1894.

Although my time at the museum is about to end, I will continue to use the historical knowledge and experiences that I have received while working at the museum throughout my education, career, and personal life. I have gained a new appreciation for Chilliwack after leading walking tours, assisting in educational programs, and teaching crafts. Sharing the details of Chilliwack’s past, the architecture, the environment, and the people, has truly allowed for both my education and appreciation for the area to flourish.

New Curator at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives!

Posted on: July 5th, 2018 by Matthew Francis

In late June 2018, we welcomed a new Curator to the staff of the Chilliwack Museum and Archives.

Curator Anna Irwin with a woven Salish blanket from approximately 1830.

I am delighted that Anna Irwin, who takes on this key role, has long called Chilliwack home. Anna takes over from Jane Lemke, who accepted a new position with another great B.C. Museum, and from Adrienne Rempel, who served as Curator this past year. An award-winning graduate of the University of the Fraser Valley’s History Program, Anna has also completed the University of Victoria’s highly regarded Professional Specialization Certificate in Collections Management, with a focus in Curatorial work. She is no stranger to the Museum and Archives, as she has worked part-time with us for the past few years. Until recently, Anna served as Program Manager at the Trethewey House Historic Site in Abbotsford. Anna brings creativity, knowledge, and energy to the curatorial role. Executive Director Matthew Francis recently had the opportunity to speak with Anna about her new work.

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Q: Anna – thanks for taking the time to speak with me, and to share about yourself and your work. What are some of the things you appreciate about Chilliwack?

There are so many things to love about Chilliwack but one of my favourite things about Chilliwack are the local mountains. While I have lived in Chilliwack (almost) my whole life, I did not realize how much I took our local mountains that surround us in the Fraser Valley for granted until I left to briefly study French at l’Université de Sherbrooke during my undergraduate degree. While the experience was fantastic (and the food and people were absolutely delightful), one of the things I noticed was that I became nostalgic over our local mountains.

The mountains in the Fraser Valley, such as Mount Cheam, are much larger and are found much more frequently than mountains in the Eastern Townships. When I looked out onto the Sherbrooke horizon one day from the window, it felt empty and incomplete. At the time, I couldn’t quite place why I felt the way that I did, but upon returning home a few weeks after looking out the window, the answer became quickly apparent. The mountains are a source of familiarity and comfort that define “home”. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to live and work in a place where they are so readily seen from almost any place in the City. We truly live in one of the most beautiful spots in the world.

Q: What initially interested you in working in Museums?

My interest in museums originally spurred from two things: a sharp interest in learning about the local community and a love of working with people. In museums, these two things often work well in tandem – one of my absolute favourite things to do is to either talk to visitors about what they remember about Chilliwack from decades past or to delve into the local history literature and archival material at the museum to learn about obscure or quirky stories from our past.

Stories are the lifeblood of any museum and object collection. Without the story about why an object is significant and related to a community (otherwise known as provenance), an object is just that: an object. The stories and people that are associated with artifacts can be just as – if not more, in certain instances – important than the artefact itself. They provide context where needed and allow us a window into the past.

For example, a cardboard checkerboard with tidemarks without additional context remains a cardboard checkerboard with tidemarks. While it may, in certain instances, be possible to learn about the year the board was made and where it was produced, the stories pertaining to the checkerboard do not exist and, in some instances, have been lost. Stories allow us to know who used the checkerboard, to learn what caused the tidemarks, to learn where the checkerboard was used and from all of that, allow us to see how the checkerboard fits into the larger swath of Chilliwack’s history. Research, interviewing and having discussions with visitors and donors are all crucial in helping learn more about both the museum’s collection and Chilliwack’s history as a whole.

Q: Some people may wonder. What is it exactly that curators do? Sometimes it may feel a bit mysterious. Can you help to explain what it is that curators do?

Curators work primarily to preserve and share tangible history.

While this may sound fairly succinct and straightforward, the position has many broad tasks, including cataloguing and housing new donations to the museum’s artefact collection, assessing integrated pest management strategies and environmental conditions of both the museum and the archives facilities, assisting visitors at the archives, researching upcoming exhibit themes, connecting with community groups for exhibit research and consultation, designing graphics and exhibit labels, and more!

While most of these tasks relate to collections management or exhibition development and the extent to which each are pursued on a day-to-day basis, all play an important role in ensuring Chilliwack’s history can be passed on to and enjoyed by the public and future generations.

Q: Anna – what is your favourite part about being a curator?

While I truly love the “Jack of all trades” nature of being a curator (to quote one of my predecessors, Jane Lemke), my favourite part of being a curator is working with the community to develop exhibitions. As one of my mentors used to tell me “it takes a village to raise an exhibit” and this is a concept that I wholly live by – exhibitions are concepts built with the help of the community and offer a forum for local voices, both historic and contemporary, to come alive, come together and be heard through archival and object collections, interviews, and active consultation and discussions with local groups and community members.

While a significant amount of research and preparation for upcoming exhibits is conducted “behind the scenes” by staff members, these local voices truly make the exhibit a reflection of its community and allow visitors – particularly those from Chilliwack – to feel an increased sense of ownership and participation in the exhibition development process. Continuing to develop this relationship while bridging the past and present in the museum’s public spaces is something I am very much looking forward to, as we gear up for our new exhibit centered on music, set to open in early 2019.

Q: So what are you looking forward to the most in your new job as Curator at the Chilliwack Museum?

I may have accidentally answered this question in the previous question, but in addition to working with the public during the exhibit development process, I am very much looking forward to working with the collection. While I studied collections management at the University of Victoria and have worked with artefact collections in the past, most recently I have been working in programming as the Programs Officer at Trethewey House Heritage Site, leading educational programs and running the volunteer and membership programs (amongst other things!). Having the opportunity to shift gears and actively work to preserve Chilliwack’s extensive and rich artefact collection (especially in my hometown!) is a true honour.

Q: What’s one fun fact about you that people may not know?

For the past few years, I have been working on watching or collecting as many covers of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as I can find. It’s a slightly obscure and very specific hobby.

Anna Irwin, new Curator at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives

That’s amazing! I’m even more excited for our upcoming music exhibition now! Thank you so much, Anna, for taking the time to talk. We wish you all the best in your work as Curator at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives.

If community members are interested in speaking further with Anna about Chilliwack’s history or about historic objects, you can contact her at 604-795-5210 ext. 105 or by email at [email protected]

What’s Behind the Locked Doors?

Posted on: May 16th, 2018 by Tristan Evans

Today I would like to use this opportunity to promote a new event here at the Archives. Starting this year we have been having free behind-the-scenes tours of the Chilliwack Archives. The free tours are open to everyone and take place on the last Friday of the month. Hint, May 25^th for this month. Each tour runs between 45 minutes to an hour.

Archivist Tristan Evans is pleased with the new sandwich board sign. Photo credit: Adrienne Rempel [February 6, 2018]

Are you curious what we are hiding behind those secret archive doors? Ever wondered where I disappear to when you request to view a fonds or photograph? Are you a long-time history nerd with serious questions and you want to know more about our local collections? Come to the tour. Are you brand new to the history field and just looking to see what all the hype is about at the Archives? Come to the tour. The tour is open to everyone, no previous research experience required. Seriously, it is a really great opportunity.

Below is all the information you need:

Price: FREE!!!

Where: Evergreen Hall, Chilliwack Archives, 9291 Corbould Street, Chilliwack, BC V2P 4A6

When: Last Friday of every month at 3:00 PM

Reservation: Not required! All you need to do is stop by the Archives at 3:00 PM

“I don’t always go on free tours, but when I do, it’s to visit the Chilliwack Archives”

-World’s Most Interesting Man

Archive Door protecting the secrets of the archive stacks. Photo credit: Tristan Evans [May 16, 2018]

I know that I’m not alone when I say I love visiting archives. Sure museums are fun, but how often do you get to see behind the scenes? You will be rewarded with the opportunity to explore how we catalogue and preserve archival records and cultural objects. At most institutions you are lucky to peak behind an archive door and glimpse a view at the secrets of the archival world. These glimpses into the mysterious world of an archivist are usually reserved for special occasions such as “archives week” or “culture week.” Not here at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives. We are very fortunate here in Chilliwack to have a large and diverse collection of archival records, artifacts, and cultural objects for a community of our size. My job is to preserve these archival records; but also, to make them available to the community. So please, stop by on the last Friday of every month, 3:00 PM, no RSVP!

Are you sold yet? If not, here are a couple comments I’ve heard after our first three tours:

Newspapers… Boxes and boxes of newspapers. Photo credit: Tristan Evans [May 16, 2018]

“Good Tour”

“Great Tour”

“I really enjoyed that, thank you”

“Oh wow! That was the greatest tour I have ever had in my entire life. It totally changed my life. Nothing can ever top this”

Okay… Maybe I slightly misquoted that last one and perhaps exaggerated a little bit. In all seriousness though, these tours are great. I really hope to keep them going and they are something that very few institutions offer. Generally speaking, the public is forbidden to go behind-the-scenes of an archive. These tours tear down those restrictions. They make my job less of a mystery to you, the public, and they are a perfect opportunity for you to ask questions you may have about our collections or general Chilliwack community history. I really hope to see you on May 25^th or any other last Friday of the month.

Wrapping up the Classroom in Residence pilot project

Posted on: March 28th, 2018 by Stephanie Clinton

Guest blog by Lena Yacyshen, Classroom-in-Residence Coordinator

In December we posted a blog about a new education project we would be launching in the spring. Now that the Classroom in Residence pilot project has wrapped up, we can share a little more about our experience and the activities students participated in during their museum residency.

Students learning about Chilliwack’s historic downtown and making comparisons between the old and new architecture.

The Classroom in Residence Project is different from other museum education programs in that it is week-long and immerses students in the museum, Chilliwack’s history and community. We hosted two elementary school classes during the pilot project. The students learned a lot and made strong connections throughout the week, and we also learned a lot from them too. These two pilot classes have helped lay the foundation for the project moving forward and have also demonstrated the value of the project to School District #33.

Each day students participated in different activities in the community and at the museum. In the afternoon students were given time to slow down and reflect on the mornings events in personal journals. This kind of open ended assignment not only helps build students’ critical thinking, writing and drawing skills but also allows them to document their learning in a personal way. This balance of learning new things, (and having new experiences) making connections with what has been learned in the classroom while taking time to slow down, reflect and consolidate learning is an essential aspect of the project.

What did the week look like?

Day One: Students were given an extensive museum tour and shown around Chilliwack’s Historic Downtown.

Day Two: Students spent the morning at the archives learning about how material culture informs us about time, place and culture and the importance of preserving and having access to local documents. Students also used primary sources to examine land settlement over time in Chilliwack and learned how to conduct basic local research.

Students using primary sources to look at land settlement and development over time in Chilliwack.

Day Three: Guest speakers from Stó:lō Nation and Sq’éwlets Fist Nation discussed the current exhibit and other aspects of Stó:lō culture and history such as transformation/ origin stories and the impact of residential schools. In the afternoon students visited the library for a tour and an introduction to all the activities and learning resources available at no cost.

Day Four: Students were given a behind the scenes tour of The Chilliwack Progress’ newsroom and learned about local news from their award-winning journalists. Later, students created their own group newspaper, basing production on what the Progress’ team taught them.

Day Five: Museum staff gave a lesson on exhibit creation/design and students mocked up their own exhibits for the museum. Students finalize their best journal entry from the week and installed their own exhibit out of their entries (come by the museum before June to see it!). That afternoon, students hosted an open house for their parents and School District staff where they gave museum tours and showcased what they had been learning throughout the week.

Lessons Learned

Students captivated by (Albert) Sonny McHalsie’s story telling.

At the end of the week students were excited about all the new discoveries and connections they made in their hometown, and they wished the residency could have lasted longer. Students came away with a strong sense of place and a deeper understanding of many topics because of their unique experiences. Learning first hand from important Stó:lō community members and Elders allowed students to truly understand the hardships this community has faced, but has also given them a sense of the beauty and strength of Stó:lō culture. Learning behind the scenes at the library and newspaper gave students insight into how these institutions meet the needs of our community and contribute to our sense of place. Learning about Chilliwack’s past and present helped participants feel connected and more invested in our community. Program participants could see the museum (and all museums) as a place for living culture where there are links between the past and our contemporary environment. These collective experiences instill curiosity and a love of learning and we feel strongly that the students we have worked with will become life-long learners who are invested in their community.

A word from the Coordinator

My time at the museum as Classroom in Residence Coordinator has whizzed past me because of the fun, challenging and dynamic nature of the position. Everyday I learned multiple new things about myself, Chilliwack’s history and community, education, museum practices and more. I have been interested in pursuing a career in education outside of the traditional classroom, being unsure of what form that would take this type of local and collaborative approach to education has been eye opening for me. I can’t wait to see how the Classroom in Residence Project evolves over time- the possibilities are endless and the students that get to participate are truly lucky.

Pilot Project to take place in the New Year

Posted on: December 20th, 2017 by Stephanie Clinton

If you’ve been to the museum in the last month or so you may have noticed a new face around the office. Lena Yacyshen has joined us as our Classroom in Residence Project Coordinator to help us launch a new education program this spring. Lena is joining us through the Building Careers in Heritage grant which helps to provide new graduates with work experience in heritage. She’ll be helping to coordinate this new project over the next few months.

Lena Yacyshen is our new Classroom in Residence Project Coordinator.

The Classroom in Residence Program

This new pilot project aims to offer local students and teachers a chance to move their classroom to the museum for a full week of school. The program is designed following the concept of the Campus Calgary/Open Minds programs in Calgary which have been using local locations as learning spaces for students for over a decade.

The program brings a classroom into the museum for a full week of place-based and hands-on learning. Students will be interacting with the Museum and Archives collection, visiting community members and establishments, and putting what they have learned in the classroom to practical use. The program will aim to foster strong critical thinking and writing skills through careful observation of our local surroundings, while helping students to build a deeper understanding of their community. With our historic downtown and many community and cultural spaces close by, we will be able to learn, explore and reflect at these important spaces.

During their week here, students will be focusing on slowing down and taking time to observe and reflect on their surroundings. Using journals to record their observations, they will have a record of their experiences at the museum and archives to use for further learning back at their schools. By the end of their residency, they will have a strong understanding of Chilliwack’s rich history and of the variety of places they can explore within their own community.

Getting Ready

Students will be using journals to record their observations.

Over the next few months, myself and Lena will be getting ready to launch the pilot program. We are working with two SD33 classes alongside the classroom teachers to develop an engaging program for the residency. We’ll be pursuing funding opportunities to bring the classes here for little to no cost and we’ll be looking to connect with the community to expand the reach of the pilot.

Learning from other successful projects such as the museum school program at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives, the Beyond Classrooms network in Kingston, ON and the Museum School network in London, ON, we’re hoping to be able to open the Classroom in Residence program to more classes in future years.

What are we looking forward to?

“Often when I have classes visit the museum for a 1-1.5 hour program I don’t have the time to answer fully students’ questions about what they see here at the museum and about the work of the museum itself. I’m looking forward to helping the Classroom in Residence take a deeper dive into the resources we have here and gain a meaningful understanding of our community and its history.” – Stephanie

“I am excited to show our Classroom in Residence students that the classroom is not just confined by their school’s physical walls and that learning opportunities are all around us. I am thrilled that Chilliwack and our community’s history will be used as a platform for learning and investigation for students. I believe it is valuable for students to experience education styles that put emphasis on slowing down and carefully observing, while relying on critical thinking and problem solving to complete a task. I also strongly believe this model will get students more excited about education both inside and outside of the traditional classroom, because of the sense of pride students get in applied learning.” – Lena

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Find out more about the educational theory behind the Classroom in Residence program by checking out this post by long time educator David Barnum for the University of British Columbia: http://teljournal.educ.ubc.ca/2017/05/open-minds-constructing-learning-in-the-community/ .

Are you a teacher in Chilliwack interested in taking part in the Classroom in Residence program? Feel free to get in touch with me at [email protected]