Courtenay & District Museum




  • Our Favourite Cretaceous Candidate
  • AGM Coming Up
  • Book Launch: Dancing in Gumboots
  • Watershed Moments
  • "Winter" Hours
  • It's All There in Black and White
  • Lecture: Mudflat Dreaming
  • Your Membership and Donations Make A Difference
  • School Days
  • Photo of the Month
  • Periodical Wisdom
  • Museum Funding






  • Phone:
    250-334-0686

    Email:
    museum@island.net

    Website:
    www.courtenaymuseum.ca

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





    Tuesday through Saturday
    10am to 5pm

    Sunday & Monday
    Closed





    President
    John Wilson

    Vice President
    Daryl Wright

    Past President
    April Shopland

    Rick Ross
    Jim Haggart
    Ross Dingwall
    Mary Everson
    Julie Fortin

    Secretary/Treasurer
    Elizabeth Braithwaite

    Member of...

    British Columbia Museums Association

    Canadian Museums
    Association

    Archives Association of
    British Columbia

    British Columbia Historical Federation





    Comox Museum

    Cumberland Museum

    Comox Air Force Museum

    Filberg Heritage Lodge

    I-Hos Gallery

    HMCS ALBERNI Museum and Memorial

    Nim Nim Interpretive Centre




     


    Our Favourite Cretaceous Candidate

    Exciting news! The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development has announced a final competition for a Provincial Fossil to be added to the official Provincial Symbols of British Columbia. Courtenay's elasmosaur is on the shortlist and could become an official provincial symbol with your vote.

    The Ministry stated, "Seven fossil candidates have been shortlisted through a public process in partnership with the British Columbia Paleontological Alliance (BCPA). The following criteria were used to select the fossil candidates:

    • Be well known and easily recognizable;
    • be more or less unique to British Columbia;
    • reflect the unique geography of British Columbia;
    • have wide appeal to a general audience;
    • serve as an educational vehicle through which the biology, ecology, and geology of the time it represents can be made clear; and
    • be amenable to designs for posters, displays and logos.

    The online voting process uses a web-based questionnaire tool, SurveyMonkey, allows one vote per computer profile and includes a simple verification step to avoid development of computer scripts for automatic votes.

    Here's the link where you can see all seven candidates and make your choice. The voting period will close November 23, 2018.


     

    AGM Coming Up

    The Annual General Meeting of the Courtenay and District Historical Society will take place at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 in the museum Rotary Gallery. New members welcome!


     


    Book Launch: Dancing in Gumboots

    Time and Date: 1-4 pm, Saturday, September 29, 2018

    Location: Rotary Gallery of the Courtenay and District Museum

    Free event; suitable for all ages.

    Join us to celebrate the launch of Dancing in Gumboots: the sequel anthology to the extraordinarily successful Gumboot Girls.

    Fascinated by the stories of women who travelled to the Comox Valley in the 1970s, Lou Allison and Jane Wilde return to their dynamic partnership to bring us an anthology that shines a light on these trailblazing women and their unique stories.

    Expect a drop-in, casual event with refreshments, music and a chance to mingle with many of the contributing authors. This launch is co-sponsored by Laughing Oyster Bookshop and the Courtenay and District Museum.

    Read More


     

    Watershed Moments

    Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image and quote from the museum's award-winning book Watershed Moments - A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District.


    Photo credit: Threshing on the Duncan farm at Sandwick, ca. 1895. Photo: CDM Stubbs Collection. Page 57.

    Photo caption: "...Farmers settling on both the lower and upper prairies were eager to bring their produce and manufactured goods to market. The most efficient way to handle Courtenay's freight was to barge milled lumber, agricultural products, grains and household goods to and from the head of navigation on the Courtenay River, immediately downstream from the Courtenay River Bridge..." Page 56.

    Click Here for a Larger Version


     


    "Winter" Hours

    The museum is now operating on our winter hours schedule. Please note that we are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.


     


    It's All There in Black and White

    September marks the 80th birthday of the building known today as the Old Church Theatre on Harmston Avenue in Courtenay.

    It was originally the Roman Catholic Church of the Canadian Martyrs and its official dedication made front page news in the Comox District Free Press of September 29, 1938.

    Read More

    Bonus! Click here for a photograph of the original dedication gathering September 25, 1938.

    With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.


     


    Lecture: Mudflat Dreaming

    Time and Date: 7 pm, Thursday, October 11, 2018

    Location: Rotary Gallery of the Courtenay and District Museum

    Speaker: Jean Walton

    Tickets: $5 for Historical Society members; $6 for general public (plus GST). Advance tickets recommended. Tickets can be purchased over the phone by calling 250-334-0686 ext 5.

    Jean Walton's newly released Mudflat Dreaming tells the story of two communities on Vancouver's waterfront fringes in the 1970s - Bridgeview and Maplewood.

    Read More


     

    Your Membership and Donations Make A Difference

    Purchasing a membership to the Courtenay and District Museum, now in its 57th year, supports heritage preservation in the Comox Valley through special events, lectures, education programmes, research and exhibitions. Your membership benefits these award winning programmes on a year round basis and we appreciate it!

    Becoming a member provides you with discounts in the gift shop and on lectures and an opportunity to support one of the most active regional museums in British Columbia. Thank you for your support.

    Click here to Join

    Click Here to Make a Donation


     


    School Days

    Did you know that the Courtenay Museum offers a range of education programmes for groups of children? Check out the possibilities.


     


    Photo of the Month

    CDM #985.89.12
    Oyster River boating, 1918

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


     


    Periodical Wisdom

    We've scoured the archives for women's magazines and periodicals to share some advice from the good old days.

    So now that you've completed your back to school shopping you might want to arrange a children's tea party. This write-up from The Lady of December 8, 1938 gives some wonderful foodie tips for a Downton Abbey style bash perfect for the little ones.

    Read More


     

    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, British Columbia Gaming Branch, and from museum generated revenues and donations.

    Proud sponsors of the Courtenay & District Museum:

    The City of Courtenay

    BC Arts Councils

    Regional District Comox-Strathcona

    British Columbia Gaming Commision