Courtenay & District Museum




  • Ghost Ships Lecture
  • 50 Years Ago...
  • Members Only Sale
  • Bingo Windfall
  • Elasmosaur Birthday Party
  • Capes Escape Takes Off
  • Sponsoring the Museum
  • 2008-2009 Sponsors
  • Photo of the Month
  • Museum Funding




  • Phone:
    250-334-0686

    Email:
    museum@island.net

    Website:
    www.courtenaymuseum.ca

    Mailing Address:
    207 Fourth Street,
    Courtenay BC,
    V9N 1G7





    Tuesday to Saturday
    10 am - 5 pm

    Monday and Sunday
    Closed





    President
    John Wilson

    Vice President
    Daryl Wright

    Past President
    April Shopland

    Secretary/Treasurer
    Elizabeth Braithwaite

    Directors
    Ruth Masters
    Rick Ross
    Jim Haggart
    Ross Dingwall

    Member of...

    British Columbia Museums Association

    Canadian Museums
    Association

    Archives Association of
    British Columbia

    Heritage Society of British Columbia




     

    Lecture Series
    Under Sail and Steam: the Royston Wrecks
    7:00 pm on Wednesday, November 18th


    The HMS Express - one of the six warships that form part of the Royston Wrecks. Photo courtesy of the George Schober collection.

    Rick James, maritime historian and author of the Ghost Ships of Royston, will present a talk and slide show on the Royston Wrecks as they appeared in their heyday 7pm on Wednesday, November 18th at the Courtenay Museum.

    The Royston Wrecks are the remains of 14 ships scuttled from the late 1930s to the early 1960s by the Comox Logging and Railway Company to form a breakwater.

    The ships include Cape Horn windjammers, Pacific lumber schooners, steam tugs and Royal Canadian Navy warships - creating an intriguing cross-section of maritime history.

    James will be sharing slides from his extensive collection including a number of images that did not appear in his popular Ghost Ships publication.

    Tickets are $6 non-members; $5 for museum members. Advance tickets are recommended.


     

    50 Years Ago... on Halloween


    From the front page of the November 4, 1959
    Comox District Free Press

    Hallowe'en was orderly in Courtenay District

    "A quiet and orderly hallowe'en was reported by police here.

    There were few problems and no charges arising from Hallowe'en activities were laid, but logs were placed across roads in some places, police said.

    Fireworks were set off in the city centre despite the ban but there were no injuries.

    City officials placed watchmen at the city yards and the reservoir and removed the street garbage containers and no damage was reported.

    There was the usual soap scribbling by the usual people with rather rude but very limited vocabularies."


     

    Members Only Gift Shop Sale Week


    To show appreciation for their continuing support, the gift shop will be offering a special discount for members only from Tuesday, December 1st to Saturday, December 5th.

    Instead of the regular 15% discount on non-consignment items, museum members will enjoy an additional 5% discount on their purchases.

    New inventory is arriving regularly. All sorts of items are available, with a wide variety of stocking stuffers, dinosaur toys, First Nations art, giftware, blankets, books and art prints.

    You'll be delighted when you see what the gift shop has to offer!


     

    Bingo Windfall

    Thanks to the fortitude of our Past President, April Shopland, the museum coffers are $500 richer.

    The Comox Valley Charitable Bingo Society offered organization representatives a chance to win the money if they stayed to the end of their extraordinary meeting held in October.

    April stuck to her guns and the museum is the lucky winner.

    Much gratitude to April and the CV Charitable Bingo Society for all of their continuing efforts.


     

    Elasmosaur Birthday Party


    Courtenay’s own Puntledge River Elasmosaur is turning 80,000,021!

    On Saturday, November 14th from 11am to 4pm, the Courtenay Museum with be hosting a celebration of over 20 years of fossil discoveries. The public is encouraged to come to the museum and meet and mingle with other local fossil enthusiasts. Palaeontology interpreters will be on site to examine any fossils people wish to have identified. Visitors will be treated to snacks, refreshments and an interpretive, family-oriented lecture given by Pat Trask. Balloons, crafts and a dinosaur reading area will be available for the kids. There may even be a guest appearance from the elasmosaur mascot!


     

    Capes Escape Takes Off

    The Capes Escape vacation rental property will soon have its own website.

    Museum technology gurus, Director Deb Griffiths and Web Designer Nathan Wallace, will be working on the new website to get the word out and increase internet traffic about this charming home.

    The new page will link directly to VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) as well as feature a Flickr photo stream.   


     

    Sponsoring the Museum

    It is with great pleasure that we continue our sponsorship initiative to support museum programming and extension. The Courtenay & District Museum is an exciting destination that interprets cultural and natural heritage of the Comox Valley through exhibitions, lectures, special events and programmes. The CDM hosts over 35,000 local, national and international visitors a year.

    Many of the museum's programmes would not be possible without strong sponsorship from our donors and funders. We respectfully request your one-year sponsorship in order to continue to carry out these worthwhile programmes.  

    The levels of sponsorship are:

    • $1,500 Dogwood
    • $1,000 Garry Oak
    • $750 Arbutus
    • $500 Fir
    • Up to $500 Seedling

    Sponsors at the Dogwood level will have their logo or name featured on the museum's newsletter, website and on any publications the museum produces. Additionally, the Courtenay & District Museum is a charitable organization, so contributions are tax deductible.

    Your contributions can also be made on a monthly basis. All sponsors above the $500 level will receive a CDM membership and a complimentary copy of the coffee table book The Comox Valley by Paula Wild.

    We hope you will consider being a part of this worthwhile initiative as we promote and interpret the exciting natural and cultural heritage of the Comox Valley. Please feel free to contact us at 250-334-0686 if you have any questions or desire further information.


     

    2008-2009 Sponsors

    Dogwood
    Judy and Stan Hagen                 
    Daryl and Evelyn Wright-Francis Jeweller's Ltd.  
    The Rotary Club of Courtenay Foundation
    The Robert Hunt Family

    Arbutus
    Comox Valley Echo
    Marjorie Thorpe
    The Bickle Family
    Lorna Gunn
    John Wilson and Family

    Fir
    Elizabeth Braithwaite

    Seedling
    Dove and Mike Hendren 
    Ruth Masters
    John and Joan Wilson
    Ed LaFleur
    George E. Sprogis


     

    Photo of the Month


    CDM #983.41.1
    Meal break, Comox farm, c. 1900

    You can view more photos like this on our website. Click here to visit our holdings.


     

    Museum Funding

    The Courtenay and District Historical Society was registered as a nonprofit society in 1961 to preserve and interpret cultural and natural heritage of the Comox Valley. It has functioned as an independent society since that time. Funds are derived from the generous support of the City of Courtenay, British Columbia Arts Council, Comox Valley Regional District, Comox Valley Charitable Bingo Foundation, and from museum generated revenues and donations.

    Proud sponsors of the Courtenay & District Museum:


     

    The City of Courtenay

    NSERC

    BC Arts Councils

    BC Hydro

    Regional District Comox-Strathcona