Spring cleaning.....remember the museum

Have you ever examined a museum exhibit and found that the artefacts transported you to another time and place, stimulating your curiosity or informing you on a subject previously unknown? That level of appreciation is the goal of anyone designing and creating an exhibit. The small details, the unexpected item that contributes so much is often the bane of housekeepers, those outdated items that are taking up space. Perhaps there are items such as the diary of a long deceased relative, or a collection that no longer captures the interest of anyone in the family. Photographs of buildings (existing or former), community events, even photographs of scenery contributes to the museum and archival collection. The Ailsa Craig & District Historical Society collects the artefacts and documents created and owned by individuals, families, organizations, businesses and community groups of North Middlesex.

Featured in the photo above is a brass-finished locket, designed to hold small photographs, circa 1920-1930, costume jewelery of another era. Today it is dated, the finish is dull and the latch is worn. The locket requires cleaning and polishing to be presentable, an unlikely additional step before wearing, so it is an obvious donation to a museum. A bonus for every donation is a connection to the original owner, a photograph or other documentation that illustrates how, when, and why. What did the object mean? The past is full of interesting facts and items. Museum visitors, old and young, better comprehend history through the things that surrounded our ancestors. A visit to a museum invokes critical thinking, the consideration of evidence, forming a judgment about the object through observation, and finally an understanding the object. Museums use objects to recreate a physical environment reminiscent of another time and place.

British Home Children Descendants

This is a photo of children destined for indenture service in Canada, a country that would be foreign to them. They are part of Canada's history.
Deep in the heart of a museum collection. . . mystery, some confusion, and the history of a community is revealed in tidbits and intriguing details with the work of cataloging a museum collection. For the last eight weeks I've been converting paper records into digital records for Ailsa Craig & District Historical Society. Amidst the details of creating records I think of cross-referencing, exhibits, and metadata records according to the record at hand. Records that capture an earlier place and time are critical to understanding our history, especially when they can be connected to a large history. Museums are not immune to the changes of our society or the shifts in our culture. The ground work is in record keeping, and those records can protect and preserve an historical event such as the Home Children until there is sufficient interest to tell the story. What is to be found in archives and museums that tell that story? Their untold history will help the present generation grow in depth and feeling and understanding. The experiences of 100,000 children who were brought to Canada for an uncertain future between 1869 and the early 1930s has been ignored or hidden for most of their lives because of their circumstances. The combined stories of the home children are creating a movement, passionate people insisting on the recognition of their history. Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered an apology and by September Canada plans to commemorate Canadian Home Children. The Year of the Home Child, 2010. The British Home Child website is collecting personal accounts, published books, some are even creating a quilt to honour their memory. In London, Ontario, Lockwood Films produced a documentary using oral histories, personal accounts, and film footage. Nobody's Child: Canada's Home Children, was produced in 2005. The story of Canada's Home Children and the search by their descendants for roots. Fodder indeed for history preserving record keeping.