 |
 |
|
|
|
The board and staff of the Courtenay and District Museum wish you all the very best for the Holiday Season!
Native Sons Hall Video
Please join us in watching this video about the historic Native Sons Hall, researched and produced by GNG Communications and the Courtenay Museum team, working with Fox and Bee Media. This is one of eight videos the museum has produced with Fox and Bee Media in 2012 with funds from the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI). It will be a feature of the museum's ongoing education programming. We hope you enjoy it!
It's All There in Black and White
Oh, to find that perfect gift! This December 15, 1931 Comox District Free Press ad for the Courtenay Tarbell's Store has some suggestions - check out how many still hold true 81 years later.
Read this newspaper article from our archives
With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.
Your Membership Makes A Difference
Purchasing a membership to the Courtenay and District Museum, now in its 51st 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
So Long...
The museum bids a fond farewell to longtime employee Cynthia Lane.
Regulars will know Cynthia from her positions as tour programmer, visitor services and home school instructor.
She first came to the museum for a work experience placement from G.P. Vanier Senior Secondary School 15 ½ years ago and has worked with the museum in a number of capacities.
Continue Reading
Photo of the Month
CDM 983.63.2
You can view more photos like this on our website. Click here to visit our holdings.
St. Joseph's Hospital Centennial 2013
The summer of 2013 will mark the 100 year anniversary of St. Joseph’s General Hospital. It was on July 5th 1913 that the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto arrived in Comox to establish a hospital on an appeal from the Comox Logging Company. The Sisters opened its doors to patients with a four-bed hospital in a small farmhouse on August 10th of that year. In just a century, the hospital has evolved significantly, growing in size and capability to meet the health care needs of the Comox Valley and surrounding regions.
Continue Reading
Raffle 1934-style
And speaking of St. Joseph's Hospital, here's a fun little tidbit from the archives.
The following Card of Thanks appeared in the December 20, 1934 edition of the Comox Argus announcements:
"The Ladies Auxiliary of St. Joseph's Hospital take this opportunity of extending their sincere thanks to Mr. F. Leyland for the beautiful cake he made and decorated for the Christmas raffle, also to Mr. Robertson and all those who helped make the raffle so successful."
Sadly, follow-up research did not reveal a winner.
But it would have been a very nice prize to win at holiday time. The Master Bakery in Courtenay was selling decorated 5 lbs Christmas cakes for a whopping $2.25 each and they would special deliver it on Christmas eve.
Member's Discount Extended
In the spirit of Christmas we are extending the special 25% discount on all non-consignment items in the gift shop. This will end on December 22nd! So come in and pick up some Christmas gifts. We have many items perfect for children and grandchildren.
Before Television
Behold an early form of artificial Christmas tree made from goose feathers - that's right...green-dyed goose feathers!
These trees were popular in North America from about the 1920s to the 1950s.
The little number pictured above belonged to Kay Williams who lived in both Cumberland and Royston. No doubt the tree is a later model as descriptions of early forms mention candle attachments and this one comes with its own electric lights.
With the additional embellishment and personal touch of ornaments and tinsel this tree would have been quite a festive knock out!
Museum Holiday Hours
Christmas: December 23, 24, 25, 26 - Closed
New Years: Closed December 30, 31
Donations
Please consider supporting the Courtenay and District Museum through a charitable donation. Your donation helps support programming, museum activities and long term operating of the Courtenay and District Museum. This is a great time of year to donate and receive a tax receipt.
You can donate online or by mail, details for both are available through the link below. Either way, we'll send acknowledgment and a receipt as soon as your donation is received.
Click here to Donate Now
RBCM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibit
The wildly popular Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition from the Natural History Museum, London and BBC Worldwide returns to the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria with 100 winning images from the 2012 global competition in huge, backlit displays.
Photographers from Estonia to Taiwan are among the winning entrants, but the overall winner this year - Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012- is Paul Nicklen from Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island. His "Bubble-jetting emperors" underwater image of a sunlit mass of Emperor penguins was voted the most striking and memorable of all 48,000 international entries.
Continue Reading
Museum Sponsors
Dogwood
Arbutus
Fir
Seedling
Lawrence Burns
D. Mobley
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:
|
|
CDM 974.63.13 / c. 1909 French postcard.
CDM 2005.46.1
