Museum Happenings
South Rawdon Artifacts
When the South Rawdon museum closed some years ago many of their artifacts made their way to the West Hants Historical Society. Due to space issues a majority of this material had stayed in storage. We are happy to share that this material will once again be made available as it is moving to the East Hants Historical Society which is better capable to care for these items.
October Society Meeting
On October 7th, Society President John Wilson gave a brief update on Society affairs which was followed by a presentation by firefighter Richard Smith. Through photos Richard told stories of some of the area’s most memorable fires some battles were won while others were lost.
Commemorating The Great War
The museum may be getting ready to slow down for the winter but we are still busy at work. We are excited to share with everyone the details on various projects we have been asked to participate in that will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great War.
On June 10-11, 2016, there will be a symposium sponsored by the Nova Scotia Museum and hosted by the Town of Windsor with the theme of Nova Scotia Communities in the First World War. The West Hants Historical Society is happy to be involved. Our first priority is to develop a biographical sketch, accompanied by good quality pictures, of five local soldiers. The plan is to have these sketches mounted on interpretative panels to be exhibited at the symposium.
There will also be opportunities to present biographies of other WWI soldiers during the symposium. We have a great deal of material on WWI in our museum archives so we are using our creativity to develop a pop-up museum of photographs, documents and artifacts that share various aspects of the war. These include: life in Windsor at the time; the Jewish Legion; the soldiers from this area; the 112th regiment; etc. We are also compiling a slide show of photographs of the soldiers who came from Hants County to show The Faces of War.
We are asking descendants of WWI soldiers, and the public in general, to share any material they may have so we can ensure as many soldiers and their story’s are included in this project.
Please note that if you have material you do not need to donate them to the museum for it to appear in this project as we can easily make a copy of your documents. For more information please contact us at firstwar@westhantshistoricalsociety.ca.
The second and third projects are a little further down the road but we would still like to share them with you. Sponsored by Parks Canada, there will be a celebration of the formation of the Jewish Legion at Fort Edward. Also, in conjunction with the Windsor Legion we will be commemorating those soldiers from Hants County who fell during World War One. There will be more details on these projects in the future.
We should also note that there are thirty- five students from Avon View High School who are preparing for a trip next spring to the WWI battlefields of Europe. We have offered our material and information to these students to be used in the planning of their trip. We will also be offering them an opportunity to present their experiences at a breakout session during the symposium next spring. Should you wish to participate in this project, please contact John Wilson at firstwar@westhantshistoricalsociety.ca.
Historical Puzzles
We have several jigsaw puzzles for sale perfect as Christmas gifts. These puzzles feature images of this area and its past. The 48 piece puzzles cost $10,and the 308 piece puzzles cost $15. For more information contact WHHS at whhs@ns.aliantzinc.ca.
Heritage Banquet
Planning is under way for our annual Heritage Banquet. It is scheduled for March 19, 2016 at the Windsor Legion. Jonathan Fowler, an archaeologist who has uncovered a great deal of history at Grand Pre, Fort Lawrence and Annapolis Royal will talk about an archaeological survey done at Fort Edward. What’s down there?
Design a Sign Contest
We need a larger sign for the front of the museum and are offering a contest to design one. A fabulous prize will be offered to the winner of the contest. The sign can be up to 4 feet square. Wording should include WEST HANTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM with a space to show open dates and times and contact information. The lettering should be large enough to be read from a car passing on the street. We are not asking you to build a sign, unless you wish to, but to do the design which will be passed along to a sign maker.