The Strathclair Museum Association was established in 1974 by a group of citizens who felt it was important to preserve items related to the history of Strathclair and surrounding communities.
Five years ago the museum board started a project to upgrade the records to a computerized system specifically designed for small museums and archives.
“The historical value of an artifact is often directly linked to its ‘story,’ said David Gamey, who along with Grace Kang, are among the people working on this project. “The information about where the item came from, who owned it, when and how it was used and its place in the pioneer history of the community is sometimes as important to the collection as the object itself.”
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The database is designed to ensure that as much information is collected and recorded as can be determined about the objects in the museum’s collection.
“As one may surmise, the job of inputting all the relevant information related to a collection which has been growing for 40 years was daunting to say the least,” said Gamey, who is the current secretary treasurer but also acts as the technical adviser for the Archive and Museum records program. “However, with the help of volunteers, summer student employees, and other grant support, the backlog of data entry will be nearly 100 per cent complete by the end of 2015.”
The Seniors Consultation group has contributed hundreds of hours identifying people and places in photographs. “This summer Grace (Kang) has been working on a special project called ‘School Memories,’ involving audio and video recording of various seniors reminiscing about their early school years in this area,” said Gamey.
The primary focus of the Museum Association is the Strathclair area, however, the organization’s mandate stipulates “Strathclair and Surrounding Districts,” so it accepts and currently holds material from Elphinstone, RM of Park, Newdale, Blanshard, Shoal Lake and Oakburn.
A version of the Museum and Archives collection records is available on the museum’s website.
Anyone in Strathclair or surrounding districts who has material or items appropriate for the museum or archive can contact Gamey at: phone 204-365-5350, text 204-720-0704 or email [email protected].
Darrell Nesbitt writes from Shoal Lake, Manitoba
