Courtenay & District Museum




  • Spring Fling and Easter Things
  • Photo of the Month
  • Gift Shop News
  • Your Membership and Donations Make A Difference
  • Watershed Moments
  • It's All There in Black and White
  • Nanaimo Museum Exhibit: Refuge Canada
  • 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

    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




     


    Spring Fling and Easter Things

    Excitement is building for the Spring Fling and Easter Things event held here at the museum on Saturday, April 4 from 11 am to 2 pm.

    Please join us for a petting zoo courtesy of the Shamrock Gumboots 4H Club as well as games, crafts, mascot visits and more.

    Read all about it


     


    Photo of the Month

    CDM #990.24.189
    Harrowing, c. 1905

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


     


    Gift Shop News

    Spring is in the air and it's a great time to come and check out new items in store.

    There are some fabulous cotton totes with bright and cheerful bear, hummingbird, orca and octopus designs. The totes are lightweight but strong; good for using around town or great gifts to mail friends overseas.

    Easter is just around the corner and we have some lovely items if you're looking for gifts. How about a floral china mug in a matching gift box? Take a look at our huggable stuffed bunnies or (the much less huggable) concrete rabbits for your garden decor.

    We also carry plenty of brightly coloured tins in different shapes and sizes that are perfect to use in place of wrapping paper.


     

    Your Membership and Donations Make A Difference

    Purchasing a membership to the Courtenay and District Museum, now in its 59th 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


     

    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: A dramatic family portrait by Walter Gage, ca. 1905. Photo: 990.24.13. Page vi.

    The family in this portrait have been identified by their descendants and the date revised since publication of Watershed Moments. They are the McKelvey family of Dove Creek. The patriarch, Stafford, died December 28, 1901 at the age of 42 from "acute general peritonitis."

    Left to right: William, Nancy, Stafford, Mary Hannah and Frederick Allan. Missing from the photo is the eldest son Adam Samuel McKelvey. Sorry - no names known for deer or dog.

    Click Here for a Larger Version


     


    It's All There in Black and White

    It was all hands on deck for the Comox Valley spring clean-up of 1970 as seen in this March 18 article from the Comox District Free Press.

    But, you may be asking, what the heck is SPEC? Why it is the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation of course! Founded in 1969, SPEC's website identifies itself as the "oldest environmental non-profit in Canada."

    The Comox Valley SPEC group and hundreds of volunteers made our local campaign the biggest in BC that year.

    Read More

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


     


    Passengers on board the SS Lake Huron, bringing the first group of Doukhobors to Canada, 1899. Library and Archives Canada, Doukhobors Collection, c005208.

    Nanaimo Museum Exhibit: Refuge Canada

    Now to May 9, 2020

    Refuge Canada explores Canada's place in the global refugee crisis. This is a travelling exhibition from the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    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