A walk through time

Free day at the Bedeque Area Museum

The Bedeque Area Museum is marking its successful summer (four new exhibitions and a record numbers of visitors) by hosting a free open day on Aug. 27 from 1-5 p.m.

This open day will be one of the last chances to see some of the museum’s special exhibits of 2017.

These exhibits include The Borden Ferry-100, Rally Round the Flag – Prince Edward Island and the Great War and Five Objects Telling the Story of Canada.

The Borden Ferry – 100 is an exhibit, marking the centenary of the crossing of the first ferry, the SS Prince Edward Island, from Borden to Cape Tormentine in October 1917.

Using poster displays, the exhibition tells the story of the Northumberland Strait crossings, from the first iceboats at Cape Traverse in 1827 to the closing of the Borden ferry service in 1997.

On display are many important items from private collections and from the P.E.I. Museum, including large models of three of the ferries, and original artifacts from the Prince Edward Island, the first Abegweit, the ill-fated Charlottetown (which sank in 1942), the Lucy Maud Montgomery, and the Holiday Island.

Visitors can also watch video interviews recording the reminiscences of ferry workers.

The Rally Round the Flag – Prince Edward Island and the Great War, is a comprehensive poster display, prepared by the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation, outlining the contribution of Islanders, including those on the home front, to the Great War.

As part of a Canada-150 project, organized by the P.E.I. Community Museums Association, the Bedeque Museum selected five objects on aspects of Island history for the Five Objects Telling the Story of Canada exhibit.

This includes the Island’s first game laws in 1780, the beginning of lobster canning in the 1850’s, and the development of the silver fox industry in the early 20th century.

Also new this summer (though it will continue at the museum in future years), is a poster display on ‘The Mi’kmaq Way of Life on the Island, from before European contact up to the End of the 19th century’. It presents visual representations of the Mi’kmaq as recorded in early paintings and drawings.

The normal admission fee will be waived Aug. 27, but donations are welcome.

The museum’s final day of the season is Sept. 3.