The Great Canadian Flag Debate: 2014

  What started on Canada Day and ran until July 13th at the Little White School in St. Albert?  Our annual Great Canadian Flag Debate Contest of course!
  Visitors were invited to design their own Canadian flag at the Little White School using symbols they felt represented “Canada”. 
  Our annual contest hearkens back to 1964, when the Canadian government, and indeed the Canadian people, were deciding what flag should represent all of Canada.  From 1867, when Canada became a country, until 1965, when the red maple leaf flag was adopted, Canada had no official flag of its own.  

  While the Canadian Red Ensign was often used, it was never an official flag.  The Union Jack was the official national flag of the Dominion of Canada for nearly 100 years after Confederation! (For more information about the Union Jack check out:  http://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/british-flags/the-union-jack-or-the-union-flag/
  In 1964, thousands of flag designs were sent to the Canadian government by citizens across the country.  The most common symbols presented on those flag designs were the Union Jack, the beaver, the fleur-de-lis, and most common of all, the maple leaf.
   In the end, after months of debate, the government agreed upon George Stanley’s design, which flies as our beloved Canadian Flag today.

   At the Little White School, for our Flag Debate Contest, we had many different entries in four age categories: 5 & under, 6 to 8, 9 to 11, and 12 & up.
   Choosing a winner in each category was a difficult decision, but in the end, the programming staff chose the following flags as prize winners, as well as a runner-up in each category, worthy of honourable mention.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the Great Canadian Flag debate again this year, and we look forward to seeing everyone’s designs again in 2015!

Staff Profile: Lead Interpreter at the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park

My name is Curtis and I am the lead interpreter at the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park this summer. 

Previously I have worked at heritage sites in Britannia Beach, BC and Banff, Alberta and enjoy learning about and sharing my passion for history.  This fall I am beginning my Master of Information and Master of Museum Studies at the University of Toronto, so the grain elevators were a natural fit for me. 

Being "St. Albert born and raised" I am really enjoying the opportunity to rediscover the rich and unique history of the community.  I have also had the chance to learn about, and grow, our own vegetable garden, something I have little experience in and did not think would be something my History degree would lead me too!  

My most memorable moment so far has been the opportunity to interact with, and learn from, so many visitors who have worked at our site and other grain elevator locations.  When you have the chance to visit our site, don’t forget to look up the grain elevator ladder to truly appreciate the height and complexity of the building.  Also don’t forget to try one of our homemade cookies!

Staff Profile: Interpreter at St. Albert Grain Elevator Park

Hi everybody! I’m Gwen, one of the friendly and oh-so-informative guides up at the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park and I must say its been awfully fun so far working at the heritage site!  Having spent much of my childhood exploring the various museums and heritage sites my father worked on, or at, this gig seemed a natural coda to my ongoing love of the past. 

I adore being able to share the stories of our sentinels, some of which is literally scrawled on the walls: in both the ’29 and ’06 elevators.  The sharp-eyed can spot various calculations, signatures, weights and measurements written right onto the wood!  

While I love meeting all our guests and swapping stories with them, I have to admit the programs we run with the local schools and daycares may be my favourite part of the job [although baking fresh cookies with my co-workers from scratch is a near second]. Whether it’s being featured in post-card art, designing a super-beaver plant pot, a rousing game of tag in which the rules change constantly, or having a group of first-graders [no doubt destined to be union reps] express outrage over the working conditions of Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel Mary Ann, children are an inspiration to us all and I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to interact with them constantly. And I get paid for the privilege! 

I admit, it’s not all sunshine and roses: we do occasionally have to turn a garden or move planters so heavy they require an application of Archimedean leverage work and four desperate humans, or attempt to haul shut elevator doors amidst gale force winds but I’ve found a certain pride in surveying the results: our park is so fetching you could get married in it [yep, we do weddings too!]. If you don’t believe me, come and see for yourselves and remember: we have cookies!

Staff Profile: Interpreter at St Albert Grain Elevator Park

Hello, everyone! I’m Janel, and I’m one of the cookie-baking, blog-writing, garden-tending interpreters at the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park! My interest in history comes from my origins in Atlantic Canada – I was surrounded by old buildings, ships and graves, and I was able to use the historical resources there to trace my own ancestry back to the landing of the Acadians in the early 17th century. 

 

 

When I applied to work at the Elevators, for me it was a chance to delve into a new, unique sort of history that I’d had no exposure to; you just don’t come across too many grain elevators in rural New Brunswick!

My favourite part of the job has to be the tours, because visitors from both local areas and far-off places all seem to have such reverence for these places as symbols of the prairies, though few of them know how the elevators actually work. It’s so great to be able to see them looking around and getting a better understanding of this city’s past. 

The thing that most surprised me about working here has to be the gardens. When I thought ‘tour guide job’, wrestling with a persnickety wheelbarrow was not the first thing that came to mind! I’ll be glad to see these plants coming up at the end of the summer to show us our hard work paying off. 

My most memorable moments always happen when someone with a personal connection to the elevators – whether a farmer, a former employee or even a pilot who once used them to navigate the prairie skies – comes by. They have so many stories about the places that I can pass on to future visitors, and there’s no other way to uncover those stories otherwise. If – or, I should say, when – you drop by, be sure to look up the manlift or ladder shaft in the elevator. There’s no better way to appreciate just how huge these things are. And be sure to try a cookie!

St. Albert Grain Elevator Park News!

New this year at the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park is the Grain Elevator Discovery Centre!

SAGE Discovery Room

In the office of the 1929 Alberta Wheat Pool elevator you will find activities, crafts and displays about  grain elevators and farm machines.  

The hands-on activities are all designed for our younger visitors.

Try your hand at using our model gerber spout to direct different grains into their own bins.

Discovery Room activities

Make your own farm scene, complete with farm animals and different crops. Additionally, take on one of the activities such as learning about train lanterns or our farm equipment scavenger hunt.

The Discovery Centre also has numerous puzzles, including one showing the early river lot system in St. Albert.

Discovery Centre

Drop in at the grain elevator heritage site this summer and have a look around!

And remember our "Craft Thursdays" held weekly from 10am - 4pm each Thursday all summer long!

Summer Programs at the Museum and Heritage Sites

Looking for some fun things to do in St. Albert this summer? 

Come on down to the museum and heritage sites for drop-in family programs for all ages on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout July and August.

We started celebrating “Tuesdays Together” at the museum on Tuesday, July 8 and will continue weekly through August.   

This coming week we will learn all about things that live along the Sturgeon River, making our own nature bags to collect specimens on the way. Programs run at 10-11 AM and 1-2 PM; no pre-registration required.  Program admission is a suggested donation of $2 per participant.

Each Thursday head up to the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park for "Craft Thursdays" and on July 17 you can learn to make your own paper!  

If you happen to be at the museum program on Tuesday then you will need to remember to bring along the specimens you collected on the museum nature walk so that you can use them in your paper making project. Admission by donation.

Program themes at both sites change each week; check MuseeHeritage.ca for more information.

St. Albert Heritage Sites July 1, 2014

   Once again Canada Day (Dominion Day at some of our sites) has come and gone at the St. Albert Grain Elevators (SAGE), Father Lacombe Chapel, and the Little White School (LWS).  This year  visitors were able enjoy the lots of sunshine, celebrate Canada and learn about St. Albert’s heritage!

  

   We were excited to welcome more than 1000 visitors on July 1 to the heritage sites.  Our valiant staff and volunteers helped children craft glittery crowns to commemorate Canada’s monarchical heritage, learn to fold paper into little boats for water races in the "little pool" and concocted clues to help children find scavenger hunt stations set up around the park.  

A huge thank-you once again from all of us here to our volunteers; we simply couldn’t have pulled off such a successful event without the support our local community steps up to provide and this most definitely includes DAIRY QUEEN who drops off freezers filled with Dilly Bars as a reward to all of those who complete the scavenger hunt!

The annual "Great Canadian Flag Debate" happened once again at the Little White School where the Art Gallery of St. Albert was also set up and leading an art project activity.  Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who helped us out this year--we appreciate your enthusiasm!

Mayor Crouse with our volunteers

Suffice to say, Canada Day was a busy day for us and we thoroughly enjoyed every second. We hope you did too, St. Albert!

Recipe Exchange at the St. Albert Grain Elevators

Do you have a favourite recipe of your grandmother’s you would like to share?  Or, are you looking for an old fashioned recipe for apple crisp, pemmican or sourdough bread?  Perhaps you are looking to try something completely new, such as Bishop’s Pudding, fried blueberries or raspberry butter?  

New at the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park this year is our recipe exchange.  Located in the kitchen of our replica 1909 St. Albert Train Station, the recipe exchange is a great place to find that long lost recipe you remember from childhood or a brand new recipe sure to become a family favourite!

While at the park, don’t miss a tour of our provincially designated 1906 Brackman Ker and 1929 Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevators.  Also be sure to sample our lemonade and homemade cookies.  You can even pick up the recipe we use to make our Molasses or Oatmeal cookies so you can enjoy them at home too!

If you have a recipe you want to contribute to the exchange, drop it by the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park at 4A Meadowview Drive in St. Albert between 10am and 5pm, Wednesdays through Sundays. 

You can also email recipes to sagetrain@gmail.com.

The Great Waldo Hunt

The Great Waldo Hunt:

Summer Program with the Library, Museum and Heritage Sites, Art Gallery, and other Downtown Locations

Where’s Waldo? Why, in St. Albert, of course! Help us hunt for Waldo in 12 locations in downtown St. Albert July 4-11, 2014. Join us July 4 for a special kick-off party, in Waldo’s honour, in the lobby of St. Albert Place from 10:30-11:30 AM. Here, you can participate in our Waldo costume contest (there’s a prize for best costume!), pick up your passport, have a special treat, and practice searching for Waldo in a dazzling Lego Waldo display.

You will have one week to complete the Hunt, going to each place listed in your passport, finding Waldo, and getting a stamp. When you are finished, hand your passport in to the last place you found Waldo, and come down to the St. Albert Place lobby on July 11 for our Great Waldo Wrap-up Party!

The wrap-up will take place from 11 AM-2 PM, where we will have our Grand Prize draw. We will also have fun activities, cake, a mini scavenger hunt (in case you couldn’t participate in The Great Hunt), and more.