
The Hot Chocolates bunny's visit in 2019
Missing You!
While we're all staying safe during this time, Courtenay Museum staff are missing the spring visitors who come from near and far and school groups who arrive on packed buses and bring tons of energy and fun into the building.
We especially miss one visitor this year who always makes our spring days a little sweeter. Who? The Hot Chocolates Easter Bunny! But we look forward to seeing the bunny and all the bustling activity in downtown Courtenay and in the Comox Valley when the time is right.


Our Online Learning
Even though our doors are temporarily closed, we're creating online resources like Learn With Finley - explorations in the natural history galleries for kids. We've also upgraded the website to make it more nimble and we're ready for Zoom presentations for K-6 students! Let's go!
Watch on Facebook
Watch on YouTube


Easter Offering
This lovely image is from a scrapbook donated to the archives over 45 years ago. Inscribed inside the front cover are the words "Minnie Berkeley" and "from Mamma, Xmas 1894." Minnie filled the pages with pressed flowers, calling cards and inspirational messages.
Minnie Rose Berkeley was born in Sandwick April 28, 1880. She was the daughter of John and Agnes Berkeley. John was one of the first loggers in the district and provincial road superintendent. Minnie married George Swan in 1904. Together they had a family of six children: Madeline, Lloyd, Reggie, Billy, Murray and Norman. Minnie died in December of 1936. Her obituary in the Comox Argus spoke of her in glowing terms. "Mrs. Swan was a very active member of the Ladies' Aid of the United Church, and was prominent in social and community effort...She was an indefatigable correspondent for the Argus at Grantham, and took a keen interest in the work...Her loss will be...felt all through the district..".
Click for a Larger Image


BC Culture Online
Remember, even when our doors close, culture doesn't stop! The British Columbia Museums Association and Culture BC have created BC Culture Online where you can stay busy this spring visiting BC galleries and science centres, watch performing arts, listen to podcasts and more!
Visit BC Culture Online


Thank You for Helping Us to Think Fast!
Thank you to funders and a special thanks to the Ngan Page Family Fund for a generous donation of ten thousand dollars in March. A portion of these funds has been critical to the museum's ability to quickly upgrade web capabilities and to begin to create online natural history programming for young people learning from home. The museum will improve and expand this programming over the coming weeks. This fund will continue to bolster natural history education and awareness. We cannot thank the Ngan Page Family Fund enough!


From Our Library
We hope you enjoy this page of food substitutions from Edith Adam's Wartime Cook Book published in 1943 by The Vancouver Sun.
The preface states that the "recipes in this book were chosen because they call for only materials available on our markets."
It might be fun to try some of the dishes just to see how they turn out!
Continue Reading


Photo of the Month
CDM #p80-198
Comox Avenue, c. 1900
You can view more photos like this on our website. Click here to visit our holdings.

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 hand-coloured postcard featuring Moat Lake on Forbidden Plateau, 1930s. Preston L. Tait photograph. Photo: 975.36.10. Page 7.
Photo caption: "Strathcona Park, designated in 1911, is the oldest park in British Columbia and includes 250,000 hectares in the Forbidden Plateau and Buttle Lake areas." Page 125.
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 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

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: