A big event at the Quesnel and District Museum last week was the official transfer of the Centennial quilt. This quilt has been hanging in the Quesnel Museum since 1976 but officially belonged to the provincial archives. It is a work of art, as well as a labour of love.
Quilters in the Cariboo will appreciate all the time and effort put into such a masterpiece. Apparently it has seven stitches to the inch and appears to be all hand-sewn.
I’m certain our quilters will be able to determine that. Was there such a thing as quilting with a machine in 1967?
The interview with Professor Jack Lohman on CBC resulted in a couple of calls from locals regarding items that are in the provincial archives that probably should be here in our own museum.
Betsy Van Haldren called to say when she and her husband, Jerry, purchased Wingdam they sent off photos and artifacts from Wingdam that should really be here, not Victoria.
I spoke to Professor Lohman (Jack) the Curator of Royal BC Museum and mentioned that we would like them back. As he is a proponent of all things local, I’m sure we can expect to eventually see the return of these items.
If you or any of your family donated items, whether photos or artifacts, to the provincial archives and feel they should be in their ‘real’ home, contact the museum. As always, it is a matter of space but we need to look after our history.
Hope to see you as you “pass time” at the Museum.
The smallest actual good is better than the most magnificent promises of impossibilities.
–Thomas Macaulay
Honey Affleck is chair of the museum commission and regular Observer contributor.
