[BCMA] New exhibit opening at Creston Museum

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

"History is written by the conquerors." That, or something like it, is what
we often hear, no matter what kind of history we're looking at.

 

In the Creston valley, we can't talk too much about "conquest'" but we can
certainly say that local history has been, to a very large extent, written
by the dominant cultural group: that is to say, by those of British
extraction.

 

But there have been many other nationalities represented in Creston Valley's
history. These people have played just as important a role in the
community's evolution as did the British folks, but their contribution has
been considerably less recognised.

 

It's time to celebrate the "other" Europeans who have helped build this
Valley. That is why the Creston Museum is preparing to open its brand-new
exhibit, "Born to the Soil" on April 30.

 

" 'Born to the soil' is a phrase from the Canadian government's immigration
policy of the early 1900s," says Museum manager Tammy Hardwick. "The slogans
and recruitment processes changed over the decades, but the basic goal of
immigration was pretty constant: Canada wanted strong, sturdy people who
would come here to farm the land."

 

The new exhibit looks at the community of Wynndel prior to the First World
War, where two brothers from Norway and their children (21 in all) not only
established farms in that town, but also triggered a major population boom.

 

The second settlement of Lister, in 1929, saw numerous families from
Germany, Poland, Russia, the Ukraine, and other countries coming in to take
over land vacated by returned Great War soldiers a few years earlier. Many
of those families are still actively farming in the community today.

 

The Doukhobors, displaced several times since arriving in Canada in 1899,
began arriving in the Creston Valley in 1938. Although a number of these
families came here to farm, many individuals also contributed to other local
businesses and industries.

 

"We also have a few individual stories: a close look at a single family that
represents an important part of Canadian immigration policy, or a
significant reason why people chose to leave Europe," says Hardwick.

 

These family stories reflect interwar immigration, when people wanted to
leave Europe to escape economic devastation, as well as post-war immigration
where people struggling under social, political, or economic upheaval sought
safety and security in a new country.

 

The exhibit opens on Saturday, April 30. The event begins at 3:00 with a
tour of the Creston Museum through the eyes of an immigrant. The exhibit
will be officially opened at 3:45, and an international food sampler (and
the Museum's Annual General Meeting) will follow at 4:00.

 

Admission is by donation for members of the Museum and $15 per person for
non-members. For more information, or for tickets, please contact the Museum
at 250-428-9262 or crestonmuseum at telus.net.

 

 

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Tammy Hardwick, Manager

Creston & District Museum & Archives

219 Devon Street, Creston, BC V0B 1G3

Phone 250-428-9262

www.crestonmuseum.ca

 <https://www.facebook.com/CrestonMuseum> Find us on Facebook!

 

 

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