The Telkwa Museum, just south of Smithers, B.C., has re-opened for the summer with the help of volunteers and a university student.
This is the first summer the museum has opened without the museum society’s past-president, Doug Boersema, who died in December after battling cancer.
The former 1920s school house, which was converted into a museum in the 1980s, has familiar favourites, as well as some new displays.
Alex Chaplin, a second-year university student, who works at the museum every summer, has helped create a new military display.
The display case has artifacts from the Boer War, as well as a scroll that lists all the veterans from Telkwa who fought in the First and Second World Wars.
“We put, ‘curated by Alex Chaplin’ in the case and he is so proud,” says Linda Hanson, museum manager and treasurer. “Juno Beach has just celebrated their (80th anniversary) and we managed to incorporate maps of the beaches over there into our military display.”
READ MORE: B.C. sisters explore province’s haunted history
The museum also offers interactive activities for people of all ages to enjoy.
“We often find kids will drag their parents in to do tours through the museum and have a great time,” Hanson says.
Visitors can also touch and handle most of the artifacts, which helps kids step back in time.
“There are lots of artifacts (kids) can touch and see, like rotary phones, typewriters (and objects) they would never have experienced,” Chaplin says.
Hanson noted the importance of the past.
“It is important to learn about our history and realize how we got to where we are today. It was on the backs of people who did a lot of hard work,” she says.
Although many locals and tourists visit the museum, finding volunteers to run it can be a challenge.
“We not only have the museum, but we also look after St. Stephen’s historical church across the highway and we are carrying on the history of our area,” she says.
“We need to know our past before we can know where we are going in the future,” she said.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday with free entry for all ages. Learn more at telkwa.ca/museum-and-library
Plan your adventures throughout the West Coast at westcoasttraveller.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @thewestcoasttraveller. And for the top West Coast Travel stories of the week delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our weekly Armchair Traveller newsletter!