The restoration of la maison Chevigny is now underway!

The first phase of the restoration is the stabilization and repairs to the logs in the exterior walls. It is anticipated that this work will take 4 to 6 weeks and we will be keeping you updated of the progress through a weekly blog posting. The work is being done by M&H Wood Specialists, a local log homebuilder http://www.mhwood.com/. The work started on March 5^th when the contractor arrived at the site to collect some logs that require sizing and broadaxe texturing to match the style of the building.

M&H arrive on site to remove logs for the restoration

For more information on la maison Chevigny go to our website http://museeheritage.ca/heritage-sites/

Love in the Archives

In honour of Valentine’s Day, this blog post features some archival material about love and Valentine’s Day. When it comes to love and archives, we often think of love letters or diary entries, but our archives does not currently have such materials in its holdings.  However, we did find some interesting material on love.

Valentine’s Cards

These Valentines cards were circulated in Saskatchewan and date to the 1930s.

I.1364

I.1364

Unwanted Love

This prayer card expresses a woman’s unhappiness in a new marriage.

Back of Prayer card - Mary Callihoo fonds, 1985.48.05

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front of Prayer card  - Mary Callihoo fonds, 

1985.48.05

Dating

In the early 1900s, dating was more frequently referred to as courting, and it seems to have involved a ride in a horse drawn carriage.

George Loiselle and Bernadette Hébert courting, 1908, 2003.01.1583

 

Wedding Fashion

The Musée Héritage Museum Archives holds numerous wedding photographs from early families in St. Albert.

Unidentified couple, 1800s, 2011.03

 

George Loiselle and Bernadette Hébert wedding, Oct. 12, 1909, 2003.01.1582

Philippe Sevigny and Lillie Morasse wedding, 1912, 2003.01.1652

 

 

William Soetaert and Florence Durocher wedding, Dec. 27, 1938, 2003.01.1450

Sommers' wedding, June 25, 1943, 2003.01.1239

Slavic Exhibit Opens February 14

Last year, the Musée Héritage Museum began doing research on Eastern European immigration into St. Albert since we had little information on the topic.  We had a researcher, Michal Mlynarz, approach various members of the St. Albert community to gather information about this aspect of our history.  From the research findings, we have created the Slavic Exhibit which opens on February 14.  The exhibit features stories from Russian, Ukrainian and Polish immigrants and covers varied topics such as hand-crafted items, religion, local businesses, political movements and war.

If you are interested in immigration, Eastern European history or Western Canadian history, you don't want to miss this exhibit! 

Here is a sneak peak into some of the items which will be on display...

The Bruin Inn sign waiting to be hung on the wall for the exhibit

Brother Antony Kowalczyk, OMI section

Update on the St. Albert Historical Society Photographs

The archives has been working at having over 1000 photographs donated by the St. Albert Historical Society available for viewing online.  We are excited that we will have these photographs up in March.

While working on the St. Albert Historical Society's photographs, we found that there are four photographs with a backdrop and the same car. Each image has different families or friends in the car.  On the back of one of the photos someone wrote "Picture taken at Exhibition".  We are curious to know at what exhibition these photographs were taken.

Below are the photographs from the St. Albert Historical Society fonds with the similar backdrop as well as information about each image. Enjoy! 

Laura, Joseph, Pete and Yvonne Delisle, ca. 1917. 2003.01Delisles

 Brenneis and Kluthes in car, 1916 - 1917.  2003.01.992

Matilda Dalton and friends, 1910s - 1920s. 2003.01.1684

Tena Perron, Alex Perron, Chick Harnois, Mrs. Harnois and others, 1910s - 1920s. 2003.01.1732

St. Albert Drive-In Theatre Company

It has been a long time since our last post.  Apologies and Happy New Year!

This post is a call-out to the community.  The archives has had a few requests for information on the drive-in theatre that existed in St. Albert.  Additionally, our next exhibit is on Eastern European immigration into St. Albert.  From recent research for the exhibit, we discovered that one of St. Albert’s Eastern European immigrant families ran the theatre.  Here is information from a recent report:

Opened in May 1953 near a slough off Grandin Road, it was called the St. Albert Drive-In Theatre Company. This was only the third drive-in business in the Edmonton region. With the strong emphasis on family after the War, the drive-in concept became more popular, and it was a popular choice for parents to take their children out without necessitating the costs of a babysitter, as the children could play in a playground built in front of the screen until darkness fell and the film began. It was considered ultra-modern for the time and boasted $100,000 of the newest projection and sound equipment and the largest screen in the Edmonton region. The Drive-In provided spots for 560 cars in addition to seating room for people without vehicles. In addition to Stan Hauptman the other directors of the Theatre were George and Nick Kozub, Frank Ball, Joseph Nimchuk and Walter Swane. The drive-inn remained a popular local attraction until it was closed in 1990.[1]

The Musée Héritage Museum has little information on the drive-in theatre and we are wondering if anyone in the community may have photographs. Leave a comment or send us an email and we would be happy to see what you have.

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[1] Michal Mlynarz, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian Immigration into St. Albert Research Project, Musée Héritage Museum, St. Albert, Alberta. Interim Draft Historical Summary Report, (unpublished, 2011).