Barrhead Centennial Museum
5629 49 Street T7N 1A1 Barrhead, AB, Canada

"We Serve That Men May Fight": This Remembrance Day, the Barrhead & District Historical Society celebrates the inclusion of women in the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II--local women like the Bennett sisters, Vera (left) & Ruth (right). Many Canadian women wanted to play a more active role in the war, and lobbied the government to form military organisations for women. In 1941-42, the military finally did so, and women were now able, for the first time in our history..., to serve Canada in uniform. More than 50,000 women proudly served in many essential non-combat roles in order to release men for combat duty overseas. They did so despite the pay inequality, the unfortunate "whispering campaign" (that called into question the sexual respectability of servicewomen), and bitter denunciations of women in the armed forces penned by servicemen overseas #remembranceday #womeninarmedforces #militarywomen #worldwar2 #lestweforget #barrheadcentennialmuseum #barrheadalberta See more

Our local history is replete with tales of abandoned homesteads, but one remains a mystery--the Charles Westaway homestead. It was September, 1906, when Peter Birnie, a sea captain from Glasgow, met Charles Westaway in Edmonton. Westaway was a back-slapping man of good cheer, and Birnie immediately took a shine to him. Westaway was just heading out with a land guide, and when he returned a week later, he was very pleased to have selected a quarter section of land west of the ...fifth, in Township 60, Range 3. He informed Birnie that Section 10 looked very promising as well. The idea of having a ready neighbour and friend was appealing, so Birnie, with his family in tow, settled on their quarter section, not far from Westaway who had settled the northeast corner of Section 4. A few years passed, and Westaway had not been heard from; he had become a bit reclusive lately. Nevertheless, some neighbours went to his cabin to check on him. What they found was a curious sight. Everything was in its place, neat and orderly: every piece of furniture, all the bedding, the clothes. Odder still, a meal had been prepared and placed on the table but not touched. It was as if Westaway had just vanished. The German language has the perfect word for this state of affairs--'unheimlich' or 'uncanny.' The mysterious disappearance of Charles Westaway remained a goose-bump-inducing thrum as new settlers arrived. By 1912, the southeast corner of Section 4 was becoming a community hub, complete with a store and a post office named "Barrhead." Yet the Westaway homestead remained abandoned. In 1915, an unsuspecting Richard Houghton moved his family onto the northeast corner of Section 4. They did not stay long. A couple of years after trying to settle the Westaway place, Dick Houghton was dead. We all know documenting history is a rational discipline, a traffic in generally accepted facts. It is generally accepted that the hamlet of Barrhead picked up and moved from its original site, on the high dry ground of Section 4, to its current location in a swamp, to get closer to the railroad. We suspect the hamlet was really trying to get farther away from...something #barrheadalberta #scarystory #happyhalloween See more

Virtual Folk Art Exhibit Week 4: This beautiful "Birch bark Berry Basket" was one of the very first items donated to #barrheadcentennialmuseum in 1967. The basket was gifted by Mr. & Mrs. Thadde ("Teddy") Gagne, but made in 1921 by their neighbour, a widow named Mrs. Joseph Brewster, who lived north of Lac La Nonne. We wish we knew more about this incredibly skilled craftswoman; note the precision stitching. And the decoration on the lid is made of dyed porcupine quills. There was a time when wild fruits & berries (strawberries, raspberries, chokecherries, Saskatoon berries, blueberries, cranberries) grew in abundance in the areas around Barrhead. We can just imagine Mrs. Brewster filling this basket to the brim with her wild harvest #abculturedays #folkart #wildharvest #barrheadcounty #barrheadalberta

Folk Art Virtual Exhibit Week 3: Acoustic Folk Art 2 ("Bull Fiddle" c1920) Alvin & Anna Hughs, along with their 6 sons, came from Kansas in 1912 to homestead in the Lunnford area. They were famous for their rhubarb (5 acrea of it) which they sold in the community and in Edmonton for a penny per pound. They were even more famous for their musical talent; they visited neighbours not to be entertained, but to do the entertaining. Mrs. Hughs played a harp, the boys played various... string instruments, and Mr. Hughs played his homemade bass (or "bull") fiddle. According to Minnie Loitz, it was carved from a large spruce log pulled from the Pembina river. When the Hughs family returned to the US in about 1930, the bull fiddle remained in the Barrhead area and was even played by Egart Wirch in the Manola church from 1936-1937. Of all the musical instruments in the #barrheadcentennialmuseum, this banged-up and battered piece of folk music history is the most valuable #abculturedays #folkart #music #barrheadalberta #barrheadcounty See more

Folk Art: Art of the Everyday Week 3--Acoustic Folk Art 1 Folk Artists often turn something now useless into an object of pleasure. The object itself is an expression of a unique, if sometimes eccentric personality. Take, for example, this homemade radio, most likely crafted by Frank D, Thompson of Mellowdale sometime after 1922. When CJCA first went on the air, Frank's enthusiasm for this new medium was so excessive he resolved to build a radio for himself. His first radio, ...built completely from scrap material (i.e. brass tacks) was soon followed by 14 more, considerably improved, radio sets he made for his neighbours. This particular radio is housed in the box of a once popular bit of medical quackery, "Tyrrell's J.B.L. Cascade", an enema appliance that could supposedly cure practically all diseases. It was especially beneficial if used in conjunction with the "Rectal Soap". Frank managed to transform a pretty useless item (and the "butt" of jokes) into an object of acoustic delight #abculturedays #folkart #homemaderadio #barrheadcentennialmuseum #barrheadalberta #barrheadcounty #townofbarrhead See more

Virtual Folk Art Exhibit: The Art of Making-do II "Painted Saw Blade" (c.2006. By Elsie Poirier). Those who love a country- house aesthetic are familiar with the elaborately painted cream cans and other items that are a staple of the decor. Elsie Poirie's paintings are as beautifully rendered on canvas as they are on discarded saw blades. In fact, in Elsie's mind, fine art and folk art are so similar that should you ask her for a painting, you may end up with a cream can #abculturedays #folkart #barrheadcentennialmuseum #barrheadalberta #barrheadcounty

Folk Art: Art of the Everyday "The Art of Making-do" 1--Week 2 of the Barrhead & District Historical Society's virtual exhibit for AB Culture Days. This beautiful "Painted Tree Fungus" (unknown artist, unknown date) is a real treasure in the museum's collection. The settlers in the Barrhead district had an appreciation for the natural world, and in this instance the appreciation has been taken to a new level. No stretched canvas for a winter landscape painting? No problem. Nature tends to provide. Folk artists can see so much potential in a fungus plucked from a tree #abculturedays #folkart #barrheadcentennialmuseum #barrheadcounty #barrheadalberta

Virtual Folk Art Exhibit: Birds of a Carved Feather 2--Carved Wood Chicadee by Lloyd Lee, 1990. No doubt Lloyd Lee (formerly of Mellowdale & Camp Creek) will best be remembered as the 1998 Alberta Agricultural Hall of Fame-er. His gardens and orchard were remarkable. But at 70 years of age, and being a real folk artist, he became a self-taught wood carver. Apparently he needed something to do when he couldn't work in his orchard. Lloyd's many carvings (and there were many) became gifts for family and friends. Not bad for a gentleman with only one hand #abculturedays #barrheadcounty #barrheadcentennialmuseum #townofbarrhead #folkart #carvedwood #chicadee

Folk Art: Art of the Everyday "Birds of a Carved Feather" 1--We begin our virtual folk art exhibit with a Duck-adorned Spool Rack with Pin Cushion (artist unknown, date unknown) as the very embodiment of "folk art"; a perfect fusion of utility and decor. Like most folk art, this carved bird sprang from a desire to make more meaningful the daily round of work and home life. Did a spool rack function better when adorned by a duck? Probably not, but the sewing and mending was given a touch of whimsy #abculturedays #folkart #sewing #barrheadcentennialmuseum #barrheadcounty #townofbarrhead

For Alberta Culture Days (2020) The Barrhead & District Historical Society will be featuring examples of folk art housed in the museum's collection. For the month of September, we will be running a virtual exhibit which you can enjoy while staying safe. Follow the exhibit via Instagram, Facebook and at our website (https://barrheadcentennial.wixsite.com/museum) #barrheadcentennialmuseum #barrheadcounty #townofbarrhead #abculturedays #abhistory #folkart #staysafe

After many days of washing, stain removal, and restoration, the #barrheadcentennialmuseum is pleased to present the 1905 Wedding Dress which was custom made by Eatons for the bride. We love that this dress is as old as the province of Alberta and yet still looks on trend #localhistory #abhistory #weddingdress #pioneerwedding #pioneerfashion #barrheadcounty #townofbarrhead

In the late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century, the Pembina River was known as the "Pembina Dead Line" -- no hard liquor was allowed to cross to the north side. The Barrhead area thus developed a distinguished history of brewing 'shine. West of the 5th Distillery carries on this local tradition (legally of course). Pictured here, shots of strawberry-rhubarb, peach, and "White Lightening" moonshine, all of which gave us that belly-warming giddiness our forefathers (and mothers) knew so well #westofthefifth #moonshine #localhistory #townofbarrhead #barrheadcounty #barrheadcentennialmuseum