With Alberta’s history deeply entrenched in agriculture, it is no surprise that many immigrants settled in the province in the hopes of owning farmland. Though many Swedish immigrants first settled in the United States with the same intention, they would eventually travel north in the 1870s to engage with Canadian policies which made prairie farmland…

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Built circa 1908, this hand-cranked washing machine is a significant feature of the Heritage Museum’s Chinese immigration exhibit, as it highlights a history of Chinese laundries prior to a modern era of automatic washing machines. Following an influx of Chinese immigrants who sought employment as laborers for the Canadian Pacific Railway, the establishment of hand-laundries…

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An outcome of 18th century agricultural innovation, the barrel churn, such as the one pictured here, was used extensively by farmers in the process of butter-making. A crank attached to the side of the barrel would have turned a paddle device within the churn or the barrel itself to separate fat from buttermilk, eventually resulting…

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Next Tuesday, February 12th, is Canada’s Agriculture Day and we wanted to share an example of one of the many agricultural tools that has stood the test of time. We are happy to say that many of the items in our collection have aged very well and considering this hand-powered centrifugal seeder could date back…

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Courage was the order of the day for many newcomers arriving in Canada throughout the past 200 years. The challenge of parting with objects that held a sentimental value was and continues to be a reality for many immigrants. In the case of this mahogany hand carved trunk, Fay Yee could not bear to part…

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In admiration of a museum family member who recently passed, we would like to commemorate our dear friend Cecil Hugh Colwell, who donated this 1955 Electrolux Floor Polisher to our collection. The Electrolux company was founded in 1901 at AB Lux, Stockholm with the launch of their lighthouse Lux Lamp. On an international scale, the…

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This week we’d like to take a moment to celebrate our largest artifact. It is one of our oldest, definitely the neediest, and the only one that we have ever purchased. It protects all of our other objects and provides a friendly gathering place for the local community. It is our historic building! In 1903,…

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The task of moving is hectic, time-consuming, and sometimes even backbreaking, but luckily our ancestors were up to the challenge when they decided to pack their bags and immigrate to Canada. This large rectangular trunk, now featured in the museum’s Swedish exhibit, belonged to Copenhagen-born Paul Sorenson of the Usona area. The trunk is covered…

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In an effort to fend off the bitter winter winds and harsh climate, trappers, ranchers, and traders would have worn a coat made of buffalo fur much like the one found in the Heritage Museum’s trading post exhibit. An earlier version of the buffalo coat, the buffalo robe, would have been used by Early First…

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