Wetaskiwin District Heritage Museum Centre & City of Wetaskiwin Archives
an inclusive gathering place for the local community to engage in the history, heritage and culture of Wetaskiwin City, County, and the Maskwacis Cree Four Nations
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Category: Heritage Moments
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Charles and Tomas Groves: A Legacy of Valor in Two World Wars
This week the heritage museum would like to share a badge from the royal air force. The Royal Flying Corps Canada was established in late January 1917 to recruit and train Canadians for service during the First World War. This training program influenced an establishment of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. This would prove…
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Celebrating Women’s History: The Falun Women’s Institute Legacy
The Heritage Museum is sharing this banner from the Falun Women’s Institute Chapter in honor of Women’s History Month. Mrs. Albert Rodell of Wetaskiwin was instrumental in setting up the Falun institution. The first meeting for this branch was on February 8, 1930, with the required eight-member minimum of over 16 present as laid out…
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Fort Ethier and the North-West Resistance: A Historical Insight
The Heritage Museum would like to share this drawing of Fort Ethier. The artist is a one B Odell. This image was a part of Bob Vickerson’s collection of art. He believes it belongs to a series of drawings from the 1970s. Fort Ethier was constructed in 1885 by Major General Thomas Bland Strange, who…
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Historic Carding Bench: A 1930s Craftsmanship Legacy
The Heritage Museum would like to share this carding bench we received recently. Emanuel Nelson made it in the 1930s for his mother, Ingeborg Nelson. It was then passed down to the donor’s mother, Bertha Blakely. A handful of wool was placed on the carder; the handle would then be pushed back and forth to…
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Wipe Away Winter Blues: The Tradition of Christmas Gift-Giving
Wipe away the winter blues with this handkerchief artifact. This handkerchief was partnered with a Christmas card, a traditional gift that donor Barbara Dorosh’s grandmother would give for Christmas and New Year at their family’s annual New Year’s Day donner. Her grandma would arrive and set up the card and handkerchief before anyone else. The…
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The Legacy of Asp Bros & Co: A Look at Local Artifacts
Barreling through the holidays with this wooden artifact. This is a lid to a barrel that belonged to the Asp Bros & Co store here in Wetaskiwin. Stamped on the side is “Roasted Victoria Blend 96 15 Asp Bros & Co, Wetaskiwin, Alt twice.” Harding Asp and his brother John had a grocery store in…
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Historical Toys: A Tribute for National Child Day
November has many essential and commemorative days, such as Remembrance Day on the 11th, Indigenous Veterans Day on the 8th, and National Child Day on the 20th. The federal government recognizes National Childs day to celebrate the rights of children. The 20th of November was chosen as the day because the United Nations Convention on…
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Celebrate Halloween: A Look at 1940s Pumpkin Crafts
Happy Halloween! We wanted to share a Halloween artifact to share in the festivities. Pictured is a paper cut out of a pumpkin that June Hughes displayed in her classroom during the 1940s. Hughes attended Camrose Normal School for her training as a teacher. Her first post was in a one-room school at Ascot, Alberta…
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Exploring the Order of the Bath: Dr. Johnson’s WWII Artifact
This week the Heritage Museum is proud to share with you a military artifact. This pin belonged to Dr. Johnson while serving in World War II where he served as a Capitan. The pin represents the Order of the Bath, which dates to 1725 and would be worn by British Army Officers. Only twenty-four of…
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Vivian Stansberry’s Historic Collection at Wetaskiwin Museum
This week at the heritage museum we accessioned into our collection items from the Royal Purple lodge and the Order of the Eastern Star that used to be here in Wetaskiwin. The items belonged to Vivian Stansberry who lived in Wetaskiwin throughout the 40s while married to William Stansberry. The items accessioned includes a Royal…