Courtenay & District Museum




  • Lecture: Brilliant and Quirky: Pioneer Stories You've Not Heard Before
  • It's All There in Black and White
  • Photo of the Month
  • Merville - 100 Years and Counting
  • Book Launch: San Josef
  • Watershed Moments
  • Your Membership and Donations Make A Difference
  • 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




     


    Lecture:
    Brilliant and Quirky: Pioneer Stories You've Not Heard Before

    Time and Date: 7 pm, Tuesday, October 22, 2019
    Location: Rotary Gallery of the Courtenay and District Museum
    Speaker: May Q. Wong
    Tickets: $5 for Historical Society members; $6 for general public. Advance tickets recommended. Tickets can be purchased over the phone by calling 250-334-0686 ext 2.

    The dynamic May Wong presents fascinating stories on unsung people of early Victoria from various cultural communities.

    Click for More Info


     


    It's All There in Black and White

    A reminder to readers that October 6-12 is fire prevention week.

    The Duncan family lost a landmark as noted in this October 3, 1935 Comox District Free Press article. Firefighter Cliff Laver sustained an injury and a strange loss that confirmed the intensity of the fire.

    Read More

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


     


    Photo of the Month

    CDM #989.183.170
    Ascent to Mt. Albert Edward, 1947

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


     


    Merville - 100 Years and Counting

    Merville's rural nature attracted "back-to-the-landers" in the 1970s. The free spirited ethos of the time allowed for unique styles in architecture; one example was the driftwood house built by Jim Egan and Jack Nesbit.

    The Comox District Free Press of September 14, 1977 featured an article about the unusual construction.

    Read more

    Bonus
    Jim Egan was a writer, politician and gay activist who was honoured with a Heritage Minute in 2018. The Heritage Minute can be viewed here.


     


    Book Launch: San Josef

    Time and Date: 2 pm, Saturday, October 26, 2019
    Location: Rotary Gallery of the Courtenay and District Museum
    Speaker: Harold Macy
    Free admission

    Join author Harold Macy and Tidewater Press for the launch of Harold's novel "San Josef."

    Harold is well known to many in this community - living in Merville where he is surrounded by "old hippies, fundamentalist Christians, faded cowgirls, broken old loggers, gimpy rednecks and urban refugees" who are all great sources of character and story.

    But this story goes back further - to the Danish settlement of San Josef at the end of the 19th century. Into this struggling community - founded on a dream - comes Clayton Monroe, seeking a final refuge from real and imagined enemies from the Civil War battlefields of Virginia across the plains of Kansas to the gold rush gateway of Seattle.

    All are welcome. Harold will read from his book and discuss the history that inspired his novel.


     

    Watershed Moments

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


    Photo credit: The award-winning Comox District Men's Musical choir, June 1930. Charles Sillence photograph. CDM 984.13.1. Page 169.

    Click Here for a Larger Version


     

    Your Membership and Donations Make A Difference

    Purchasing a membership to the Courtenay and District Museum, now in its 58th 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


     


    Periodical Wisdom

    All kinds of helpful hints, advertisements and practical "how-to" advice can all be found in periodicals from our archival collection.

    For example, if you ever wondered "Where's the beef?" we've got the answer! Learn more about the cuts of meat you may have been missing with this chart from the Farm & Home magazine of November 15, 1930.

    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