Qu'Appelle Valley Museums

2014 Calendar of Events : Look for posters in your community for these events
and those not yet scheduled.

May 24  –Bell Barn Indian Head – Lobster Supper

May 25  –Sunday Open House –Abernethy Museum

May 28  Cupar Museum Archaeocaravan Students 9am-3pm, Public 3-5pm

May 31 10am Wolseley Museum Auction

June 11  7pm –Dysart - Opening of new Sports Arena

June 21  Saturday, –Cupar Museum – Strawberry Social

July 1  –Motherwell Homestead –Free Admission

July 11  1:30pm –Dysart Museum High Tea

July 19  –Simple Fun Festival, Kronau

July 19  Saturday –Motherwell –Field to Fork Festival

August 9  Saturday, 1:30 –Dysart Museum Day

August 10  Sunday, –Indian Head Museum Open House

August 16 Saturday –Motherwell – Binding Festival

August 17 Sunday - Bell Barn Indian Head –Horse Fair

August 30 Saturday –Motherwell -Threshing Festival

September 28, Culture Days - Kronau

October 4 –Cupar - Harvest Lunch / Culture Day Expo

October 18 –Fall Fundraiser –Kronau

December 6 –Santa Store –Kronau

December 14 –Christmas Program - Kronau

Grant Sask Culture

On behalf of the Museum Board I would like to thank Sask Culture for awarding us a Sask Culture Museum Grant for 2014. Our Board and our many volunteers have spent countless hours in meetings, assisting with programming, fundraising, communication, research, social events, and up keep of our building and grounds. These monies are greatly appreciated and will be well used.

We also realize that Sask Culture support is also assisted by Saskatchewan Lotteries. Thank you.

Arthur Whiskin Photo

I would like to thank the Saskatchewan Military Museum in Regina for providing us with a digital copy of a photo of Arthur Whiskin from WWI. I was not aware that such elaborate photos existed.
It is hard to believe it was found at a garage sale.

 Unfortunately there is only one letter in the Cupar Herald from Arthur dated 14 Dec 1916. You can find it on my post entry for 16 Nov 2013. From what I have found it appears his brother Frank was the real letter writer.

Christmastide

The Cupar Cracker was a booklet published during WWII and intended to be sent to the soldiers overseas.  I thought at this time of year some of you may be interested in a sampling of what the clergy had to say. Christmastide Dec. 24 to Jan. 6

Christmas 1942

 Christmas 1943

Christmas Shopping

Here are a couple of samples of ads for Christmas shopping in Cupar.  Certainly there are fewer stores in comparison to the early years but you can still do Christmas shopping in Cupar.  Since the beginnings of Cupar the newspaper and editorials promoted the need to shop locally, the same is true today.

 Cupar Herald Dec 15 1910                                                                Cupar Herald Dec 2 1915

One of the innovative shopping ideas for today is the Cupar Library's Kid's Christmas shopping day. It is in it's third year.  People donate gifts and the children come and shop, many items are under $5.

Remembering Meade

Success is not measured by ambition, by achieving fame or money, being written about or recorded or even published in literature, rather success is measured in how we touch the lives of those around us.

I only knew Meade for the last 18 years.  He lived on the outskirts of Cupar.  He walked to the restaurant everyday for coffee with " the boys ".  He was a humble, quiet, unassuming man with kind eyes.  I knew he was a RCAF WWII Vet.
Although he was reluctant to discuss the war, he did let my husband, Darryl Miller, interview him for the video:
"I Remember"

What I did not know until his funeral was how active he was in the community, as a mayor, in the United Church, with the Legion, and with the curling rink.

It also became obvious at his funeral that he had a large and loving family.

 "Meade" Hugh McSweeney Feb. 1, 1922 - Nov. 16, 2013

I would like to thank Meade's daughter  for giving the Cupar museum a photo of Meade in his WWII uniform.  If there are any other Cupar families out there who have photos of family members from either WWI or WWII we would be happy to add them to our collection.

The Fighting Fifth

2014 is the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI.  I have been going through old Cupar Herald's looking for information and found a letter from the front by Arthur Whiskin and a poem
submitted by Albert Newkirk about the fighting 5th .

Harvest Lunch & Sports Expo

Another successful Harvest Lunch was held October 5th at the Cupar Legion Hall.

Approximately 120 people attended. 

The raffle of a limited signed edition print of a Canada Goose by

Saskatchewan wildlife artist Joan Pain was won by Kelly Findling.

We raised $400.

The door prize, a print by E. Bereti, of the Cupar School Board,

was won by Joe Benko.

  This year for Culture Days we celebrated Sports in our community.

The exhibit included photos, uniforms, equipment,

and articles from the Cupar Herald in 1906, 07 and 11.

Although the main areas were hockey, ball and curling.

Ringette, tennis and skating were present.

          It seemed to have inspired people to search for  memorabilia from other sports.

Add to your winter to do list folks.

Can you find the hockey helmet?

These 2 photos are from 1911.

 Did you know the Cupar Herald in 1911 talks about the formation of a football club?

We have no artifacts.

Flag Day

 Local Legions across Canada designate a day to honour veterans who have passed away and are buried in Local Cemeteries.  This year on September 29th Royal Canadian Legion Cupar Branch # 217, dressed in uniform, placed flags and poppies, and then saluted the graves of war veterans.

2014 marks the 100^th anniversary of WWI.

 

There are number of WWI headstones to be found in the Cupar Cemetery. The Cupar and District Heritage Museum is presently planning to commemorate the anniversary through a variety of displays including photos, attestation papers, photographs, uniforms and other memorabilia. 

Stay tuned for details.

Smart Phone or Any Phone

I found this editorial in the Cupar Herald dated April 27, 1911.  How things change in 100 years.

The Sensation and Joy of Paper

In our digital age there are those who no longer value paper. I was told I should garbage the copies of our Cupar Herald, because they were on micro film at the Saskatchewan Archives, and the paper itself was disintegrating. The early copies are over one hundred years old. Even under climate control conditions their time is limited. Certainly I am happy they are preserved on microfilm but is that the end? 

The other day a couple from British Columbia came to our museum searching for family information. They had visited our cemetery and found a headstone. We brought out a handwritten Masonic registration book and found their relative. Then I pulled down a 1914 copy of our paper and found their ancestors: the exact date of the marriage, the church and minister. I pulled down a 1923 paper and found the report of the tragic death of their ancestors young son. The couple ran their hand across the page and moved a hundred years back, reading for the first time as did the family about the tragedy. 

There is not only a tactial quality to this gesture but a kind of warm sensation to know you are looking at the original within the context of the entire newspaper on that exact date. Certainly the couple could have eventually found the information on a vital statistics website, the dry facts only, but is that enough?

Post Office Donation

 

The Museum has just received a donation of items from the early post office including desk, weigh scale, brass letter slot and brass general delivery sign. The items were donated by Tim Bonish

through his father Peter Bonish. Prior to that they came from R.J. Gibson, grandfather on Tim's mother's side. Originally the items were used by Eustace E. Wallis postmaster from 1918 -1936.

We are fortunate to have such precious artifacts from our business community saved and passed down.

We are presently arranging the most appropriate way to display these and other post office items, that we have received over the years.

Sports in Cupar

This year our Culture Days will be held October 5th in conjunction with our annual Harvest Lunch.
This year we are featuring Sports over the history of Cupar from 1906 to the present.
Watch for posters.  Meanwhile here are the first references to hockey in the Cupar Herald for your
enjoyment.

Tour Shalom Residents

On August 30^th eleven residents from Shalom, Cupar's nursing home, came for a tour of the museum. 

It was a mixed group of long term citizens and new arrivals, some who had never been to the museum.

As a result the tour provided an opportunity to search for donated family items and give us background information on them, or to view exhibits they had never seen. I always find the visits educational as I learn more stories behind our artifacts and the connection to our community.

Another part of the tour involved identifying what some items were used for. This always  sparks conversation and memories.

Refreshments and cookies were served as conversations continued. 

It was a pleasant 2 hour visit out of the heat of the day.

 Tour guides: Wes Elaine and Judy

Strawberry Social

The Museum's Strawberry Social was held this year on the afternoon of August 24^th at the same time as the Roughrider Eskimo game in Edmonton. The Social included strawberry shortcake, refreshments, music from a group from Semans, treasure hunt and face painting.

Thank you  to the volunteers who baked all the cakes and to the volunteers

who brought the residents over from Shalom.

Several people took the opportunity to have appropriate Rider Pride face paint.

 

Whenever a break was possible

from serving our guests

our volunteers gathered around

a radio

to keep up on the score.

  If any of you live in a bubble we won 30 to 27. Go Riders Go.