Fort St. John museum celebrating 40 years since current building opened

February marks a significant anniversary for the North Peace Historical Society, after celebrating 60 years in 2023. Feb. 16, 1984 was when our current museum building was officially opened to the public. We’ve been here for 40 years now and have changed a lot during that time.   

 

 

North Peace Historical Society AGM

 

Feb. 28 at 7 pm at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum. Our guest speaker will be Richard Neufeld. He formerly served as our MLA, Minister of Energy and Mines, and Senator. Tickets are $10. The AGM will be followed by tea, coffee, and delicious homemade goodies.

 

Traditional Métis Beadworking Class

 

Mar. 7 from 6 to 9pm at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum. Join Métis Elder Linda van Wieringen to make a 3-inch round Métis floral brooch at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum. Class is $45 per person and all materials are included. Payment in person at the museum is required to register (apart from wait-list). This class is limited to ten participants. We have one spot (and a waitlist) left in this course so don’t delay!

 

Winter in the North Peace Presentations

 

Friday, March 22 at 7pm at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum. Come and learn about the challenges and joys of winter in the North Peace through early photographs, memories, and stories. From Monica Storrs’ memories of food freezing in the kitchen at night to photographs of snow golf at the Mukluk Rendezvous, there are lots of great stories to discover. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.

 

April Fools’ Day Search and Find

 

Mar. 30 from 11am to 4pm and Apr. 1 from 9am to 5pm at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum. Help! Someone has put present-day items in the Fort St. John North Peace Museum’s historic exhibits as some kind of April Fools’ Day joke! Can you find items that don’t belong in each of our displays? The North Peace Historical Society is offering free admission to the museum these days. Donations or gift shop sales to help our non-profit preserve and present the history of Fort St. John and the North Peace are always appreciated. This is a great activity for kids out of school on Easter Monday!

 

 

Ancient Tool Technologies: Discovering the Lifeways of the Early Peoples of the North

 

A new permanent exhibit at the museum. Discover ancient tool technologies through this new archaeology exhibit at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum. Developed by Jennie Glennie, an archaeology student and volunteer, this exhibit looks at hide-working tools, projectile points, and the manufacturing of stone tools. Interpretive signs explain the use of over 60 artifacts on display. Use our iPad to discover additional information on each artifact or pick up our hands-on obsidian and learn more about this material.

 

 

We have two new books on our gift shop shelves! We now carry Clearview School’s 50th anniversary book. This book includes history of early schools and a timeline. The book includes information on staff, athletics, awards, etc. There are messages from past principals as well as information and stories on secretarial staff, custodial staff, bus drivers, teachers, and students. The second part of the book includes staff and student photos, student registers, etc. This book is a treasure trove for anyone who worked or attended Clearview school or who has an interest in the history of local schools.

 

Here's a book for those of you already busy planning your gardens for this summer. The Northern Gardener: Perennials That Survive and Thrive is by Prince George gardener Barbara Rayment.  Rather than fighting nature by trying to raise plants unsuited for a northern climate, master gardener Barbara Rayment, who has grown--and in some cases killed--nearly all of the plants in this book, helps readers get maximum results with minimum effort by selecting the right plants for their conditions. There are literally thousands of beautiful, interesting and garden-worthy perennials perfectly suited to northern conditions. 

 

 

Our newspaper scanners are now both scanning the Alaska Highway News (2006) and uploading PDF pages from disc (2011) to our OCR (optical character recognition) program. We’ve responded to 30 inquiries in our archives this year. Volunteers continue to scan and catalogue our large collection of Rudy Schubert’s negatives. We’re working on cataloguing some journals, receipts, papers, and photographs from the Westergaard family who have been in this area since the 1920s.  

 

 

All of February, COBS Bread in Fort St. John has been raising money for the museum. Purchase some bread or baked goods and help us preserve history! We have raised over $5,000 from our bottle fundraiser in the last two and a half years. You can help us raise some money by bringing your empty bottles, juice boxes, beer cans, or pop cans to the museum and we’ll take them to the recycle depot for you. Please don’t flatten them. When you recycle metal at ABC Recycling, please donate your ticket to the museum.