The Fort Frances Museum will open its doors for an afternoon of reminiscing and refreshments tomorrow from 1-4 p.m. in conjunction with Ontario Heritage Week.
To commemorate the week-long event, the museum also has honoured six recipients for their dedication in the preservation and promotion of local heritage.
In the Individual category, these year’s recipients include Katie Pentney of Morson, Ont. (for her relentless desire to preserve the heritage of the Tomahawk Lighthouse on Lake of the Woods); and Joy Luoma, Asta Westberg, and Shirley Larsen (for their efforts in conducting an inventory of Ontario Land registry records in the Fort Frances Land Titles Office.
Both local Business Improvement Association (Organization) and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Business) were honoured for their involvement in the first Fort Frances Heritage Mural project.
Museum curator Pam Hawley also has decided to promote family history during Heritage Month 2001 in an effort to encourage local families to compile their history and stories for submission to the Fort Frances Centennial History Book project.
“This year we want to promote bringing history home,” said Hawley. “I have some material on documenting family history that I will be distributing to the schools.
“We are hoping this will help encourage people to record their stories and submit them to us for the history book,” she added.
So far the museum has been able to compile a detailed history of the Down, Lloyd, Gledhill, Armit, Mathieu, Backus, Wall, Lessard, and McKenzie families.
“Right now in the museum, we have a number of exhibits set up showcasing local families,” Hawley noted. “These are an example of just a few of the families in our district that have helped to shape the community and make it what it is.”
To help collect information on local families, Hawley has decided to have a video camera and tape recorder available tomorrow afternoon to record the stories of individuals who may want to share them.
“If someone has a story they want to tell but don’t want to write it down, then they can record it,” she explained. “Later, when it comes time to compile the stories, it will be easier on us because we will be able to listen to it.”
For more information on how to be involved in the Centennial History Book, call Hawley at 274-7891.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
