It’s the time to take a step back in history.
The Bonnyville and District Historical Society will be opening the local museum for the season on Tuesday, May 22, following the long weekend. The hours of operation are Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The museum is bringing new excitement to their exhibits, something they believe locals and tourists will enjoy.
“Last year, we did the Canada 150 exhibit in our main exhibit room in the museum. This year, we’re probably going to open it up for the students that come in and see what type of ideas they can bring, because a lot of them visited our museum when they were younger. We’re kind of looking at what they can bring to light,” said Stephen Medford, president of the Bonnyville and District Historical Society.
They’re also hoping that new faces on the historical society board’s will mean fresh suggestions.
“We’re happy that we have new members on the board and we’re hoping to get some new ideas on things that we can do,” said town Coun. Lorna Storoschuk, who sits on the board.
Artifacts connected to the development and settlement of the Bonnyville region are on display, attracting over 1,500 visitors every year.
“We have a shed that’s full of old farm equipment, and we have our model train in the background that stays with us. We will try to get some ‘train engineers’ to go through that. We also have several buildings on the property, and an old hospital exhibit,” Medford detailed.
The museum hosts numerous events and community and educational programming throughout the season, including the Canada Day celebration and seniors’ day activities.
Medford said for this year, they have a lot of school groups coming through. They plan on revamping the tour to make it more interesting and educational.
Storoschuk added, “We’re also planning to do some maintenance to the buildings that haven’t been painted for a while.”
By adding new exhibits to the museum, Medford believes they’re giving residents a fresh look at the area’s history.
“They’re new, but they’re old exhibits,” he noted.
As the new president of the Bonnyville and District Historical Society, Medford is quite open to new ideas.
“I have a very good staff this year. I think we’re going to look forward to a very quality group coming through,” expressed Medford.
