It’s that time of year when we are all finally rolling in the green – the green of our gardens that is! For thousands of years, people have been practicing the methodology of crop rotation and companion plating to prevent disease and pests, improve soil quality, and reap a bountiful harvest. Within Central Alberta, the…

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April showers bring May flowers! Have you gotten out into your garden to do some planting this year? A tool like this would make planting your greenery a walk in the park. This clever invention sought to replace hand seed spreading in the mid 1800s. The hand-operated centrifugal seeder, also known as the fiddle bow…

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May is a month to celebrate the brilliant mothers and maternal figures in our lives! Have you shown your appreciation this Mother’s Day? This balance scale, once housed in Wetaskiwin’s former hospital and now a fixture in the Heritage Museum’s hospital exhibit, was used to weigh babies. A creation of Continental Scale Works, this scale…

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May is Asian Heritage Month and the Heritage Museum invites you to learn more about and celebrate the many achievements and contributions that Asian-Canadians have made in our history! The zheng pictured here, commonly referred to as the guzheng, is a plucked string instrument under the zither family. According to documents found from the Qin…

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Cooking technology has come a long way since humans first began cooking with fire hundreds of thousands of years ago. This Britannia cook stove, donated by Harold Blanch and located on the second floor of the Heritage Museum, was often the center of the pioneer household. Unlike most modern kitchen appliances, cook stoves are heated…

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Horace Roderick “Frenchie” French came to Wetaskiwin in 1909 from Scotstown, Quebec without a penny to his name, but possessing experience in both optometry and watch making. His legacy would live on in his sons, Charles Roderick “Rod” French and Malcolm Angus “Mac” French, who respectively entered the professions of optometrist and watch-maker in the…

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There’s nothing quite like a day at the salon to leave you feeling refreshed and confident! This Helene Curtis dryer chair was one of many in the Over the Waves Beauty Parlour owned and operated by Jessie Bryholt until the mid-1960s. The seat and back cushions are pink and white vinyl, adorned with black vinyl…

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March is the month of fixer uppers and the dawn of restoring what the winter had deprived us of for so long, new life. Thematically speaking, March is Red Cross Month in Canada where we honour its foundation as a humanitarian organization dedicated to the healing of people in times of peril. In 1885, Dr.…

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As winter still looms over our weary Wetaskiwin heads, we remain optimistic as we longingly gaze at our beachwear and garden supplies. This beach/garden chair artifact from 1934 serves as a reminder that ‘Wetaskiwinter’ does end and locals have long embraced a beach culture at many of our scenic lake locations. Pigeon Lake was originally…

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