The Fort Frances Museum and Cultural Centre is heading into Remembrance season with a new exhibit on the Royal Canadian Legion’s centennial and two November evenings devoted to life on the home front.
The temporary exhibit “Honouring 100 Years of the Legion” opens with a reception and light refreshments today from 4 to 6 p.m., and runs until Dec. 18. Through photographs and memorabilia, it traces the history of Fort Frances Branch #29, one of the earliest branches still in existence, and its contributions to the local veteran community, as well as the town as a whole.
“It is a fascinating history,” said museum curator Lisa Hughes. “Fort Frances had those veterans associations even before the Legion was formed, and they really did support the community. Once they joined the Legion, they have continued to do that.”
The national organization marked its centennial on Jul. 17, the anniversary of its incorporation by a special Act of Parliament in 1926. The exhibit also has a fitting home: the museum’s own history notes that its 1898 Scott Street schoolhouse was in use by the Legion by 1928.
Hughes said the list of causes the Legion and its auxiliary support, from Relay for Life to visits to Rainycrest, “went on and on and on”—all of it volunteer work.
The war years are also the theme of “Taste of History: The Homefront” dinner ever, Thursday, Nov. 5 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ($35 plus HST). Every recipe comes from ration cookbooks issued by the Canadian and American governments, said Catrina Caira, Program and Events Coordinator at the Museum.
“One of the menu items is called ‘emergency steak’,” Caira said. “It’s a great name! It’s actually just a really tasty, steak-shaped meatloaf, effectively.”
Vegetable dishes will feature heavily, she said, since victory gardens were a huge part of the ration era. For dessert, Caira is baking a spice cake and a chocolate cake, both without any butter or any eggs.
“You would be absolutely floored with how moist and delicious the chocolate cake is,” she said.
She will also talk about rationing, including what was rationed here in Fort Frances during the war years. As of Thursday, 16 tickets remain available.
Guests can also tour “Echoes of Absence”, an upstairs exhibit on the home front that features ration cards and will also be open during Thursday’s reception. In accompaniment to this exhibit, a free evening of stories and reflection will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m., the eve of Remembrance Day.
Guest speaker Armand Jourdain Sr., a Canadian Special Forces veteran, suggested the exhibit’s theme: the challenges faced by parents, spouses, siblings and children while a servicemember is away on active duty.
“He wanted to talk about the struggles that are often missed, like the fact that it’s actually really challenging to be the wife of a serviceman,” Caira said.
Attendees are welcome to share their own family stories, she added, and Jordan would love to hear them. Tickets can be booked online through the link on the museum’s Facebook page.
The museum can be found at 259 Scott Street. Its off-season hours are currently in effect: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Wednesday and Friday, and noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, with admission by donation. For more information, call 807-274-7891.
