Courtenay & District Museum




  • Precious Pysanky
  • Live Lecture: Adventures with A Juvenile Elasmosaur
  • Online Lecture: Travel Journal 101 – Proof of Life
  • Online Lecture: “Lest We Forget”
  • Taking Eggs to Forbidden Plateau: June 1929
  • Photo of the Month
  • Your Membership and Donations Make A Difference
  • Sowing Seeds Near Oyster River: 1930s
  • It's All There in Black and White
  • Gift Shop News
  • Museum Funding






  • Phone:
    250-334-0686

    Email:
    info@courtenaymuseum.ca

    Website:
    www.courtenaymuseum.ca

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





    Tuesday – Saturday
    10:00 am to 4:00 pm





    President
    John Wilson

    Vice President
    Daryl Wright

    Past President
    April Shopland

    Rick Ross
    Jim Haggart
    Ross Dingwall
    Mary Everson
    Julie Fortin
    Christine Dickinson

    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

    Strathcona Wilderness Institute

    Project Watershed

    Sid Williams Theatre

    Comox Valley Art Gallery

    Comox Valley Arts




    We respectfully acknowledge that the museum provides services within the traditional territory of K'ómoks First Nation.

    We respect the diversity of cultures, stories and experiences that form the richness of our regional heritage.





     

    Precious Pysanky


    Pysanky, also known as Ukrainian Easter eggs, are an ancient art tradition. Pysanky is the plural form of “pysanka” which stems from the Ukrainian verb “pvsatv” meaning “to write”.

    Artists use a stylus to create wax-resist designs that began thousands of years ago with pagan tribute to seasonal elements and the cycle of life. In later centuries, Christian symbolism melded into the designs.

    Continue Reading


     

    Live Lecture: Adventures with A Juvenile Elasmosaur


    Date: Tuesday May 10, 7PM
    Speaker: Pat Trask, Curator, Natural History
    Location: Courtenay Museum Rotary Gallery
    Admission: $5.00 members $6.00 non members

    Pat will share the experience of excavation and preparation of a juvenile elasmosaur from the Trent River discovered in summer 2020.


     

    Online Lecture: Travel Journal 101 – Proof of Life


    Date: Tuesday, May 17, 7 pm
    Speaker: Wayne Wilson
    Location: Online
    Admission: Free admission
    Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83743820107 (Click Here)

    Join artist and travel journaler, Wayne Wilson, for an inspiring Zoom presentation, where he will show you how to create your own travel journal. Drawing from his museum career and from outdoor expeditions, Wayne will share his tips and tricks for keeping a lasting memory of your experiences.


     

    Online Lecture: “Lest We Forget”



    Conserving an Unforgettable Scrapbook

    Date: 7 pm, Tuesday, May 31, 2022
    Speaker: Tanya Richards
    Location: Online
    Admission: Free admission
    Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81831226200 (Click Here)

    Join art conservator, Tanya Richards, for a special Zoom presentation in which she will detail the various challenges of conserving and replicating the one-of-a-kind leather-bound book, “Lest We Forget,” created by Ruth Masters in the 1970s to commemorate those lost in World War I and II.


     

    Taking Eggs to Forbidden Plateau: June 1929


    A horse team loaded with supplies and boxes of trout eggs, 1930. Photo: 2004.42.28

    In the late 1920s, as Forbidden Plateau became a more popular destination, Clinton Wood, who would later become the president of the Tourist Trade Development Bureau, contacted Major J.A. Motherwell, Dominion chief supervisor of fisheries, and suggested stocking some of the lakes. The fisheries department approved the suggestion, and in June 1929, one hundred thousand Kamloops trout eggs arrived on the E&N Railway from the Cowichan Lake hatchery.

    Continue Reading


     

    Photo of the Month


    CDM #990.24.231 Maruya farm, Courtenay, c. 1905

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


     

    Your Membership and Donations Make A Difference

    Purchasing a membership to the Courtenay and District Museum, now in its 61st 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


     

    Sowing Seeds Near Oyster River: 1930s

    See more historical images and stories like this in the museum’s 2020 book Stepping Into Wilderness published with Harbour Publishing.


    Photo credit: In the early 1930s, brothers Guy and Darrell Smith began developing a show garden and seed farm in the Oyster River area. The Oyster River Seed Farm, as it became known, would eventually cultivate lobelia, Canterbury bells and Iceland poppies as well as twenty acres of pansies, whose seed was shipped across Canada and to California. The Smiths sold their property, located just north of Oyster River to Barret Montford in 1949. For decades, the property was the location of the UBC Oyster River Research Farm. CDM Sillence Collection.

    Click for Larger Image


     

    It's All There in Black and White


    To commemorate the holiday, the Senior NCO Wives’ Club threw an Easter bonnet contest featuring some imaginative designs as seen in this April 20, 1960 Comox District Free Press article.

    Read More

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


     

    Gift Shop News

    New items are arriving in the gift shop. The latest Dinosaur Alphabet Posters and Growth Charts we have received are by Dera Design and made in Canada.


    If you know any children who love dinosaurs, these are the perfect addition for their room. There are a variety of options including two sizes of posters and a growth chart. Each print is made of high quality canvas and fitted with brass grommets for hanging. The dinosaurs are featured in a beautiful watercolour style, and the lettering is large and pleasing to read.

    • Large poster - 24” X 32” - $56.75
    • Small poster - 18” X $24” - $43.75
    • Growth chart - 13” X 42” - $49.75


     

    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