The large white door facing 47 Ave. opens revealing a warehouse full of artifacts from Lloydminster.
At the free Heritage Day event at Weaver Heritage Park in Lloydminster these artifacts were on full display for all residents to take in.
The Lloydminster Museum and Archives opened the doors letting residents browse the various artifacts. The museum has also been hosting tours of the warehouse which began last year. Staff continued bringing residents in this year to see the various relics of the past.
“We started it last year, we saw some success so we were hoping to get the ball moving on more people coming in this year, with the museums relocation we downsized significantly, so we don’t have the amount of display space that we used to have. We’re trying to cycle out display, make sure that artifacts and items aren’t on display indefinitely,” said Natalie Clysdale manager, Lloydminster Museum and Archives.
Clysdale says the museum cycles out the display so the various pieces aren’t always out all the time which could lead to them being damaged.
“What we do is, most of the items are in storage and in the Lloydminster Museum and Archives we circulate the collection anywhere from four months to a couple of years. Our permanent heritage gallery will have items for a few years, whereas our temporary gallery will cycle out every four to six months,” she explained.
The warehouse, is home to a variety of different items and Clysdale says there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
“We have print machines, wagons, cars, typewriters all the way down to teacups, carpentry supplies, cobbler equipment we have an iron lung in the very corner that was donated by the hospital,” she said. “We have a lot of items that were donated by the family of the original bar colonists.”
When asked if she has a favourite piece that is in the warehouse she says it has to be the iron lung, which is pictured below.
Clysdale says this is only one of the storages the museum uses.
“This is one of three storage spaces for our museum collection, this is by far the largest and houses most of the heritage collection.”
Within the warehouse there are a variety of different items that go back to the founding of Lloydminster including family heirlooms from the Barr colonists. The museum has also collected items from businesses that have shut their doors from over the years.
According to Clysdale, the warehouse has something for everyone.
“There’s typically something for everyone, we have old oil rigs out in the yard, original homesteads for a lot of the founding families of Lloydminster,” she said. “If you like medical history or medical equipment there’s something here for you, people sometimes just like to go through and look at the antiques”
Residents that weren’t able to attend on Heritage Day can still enjoy a guided tour. The museum has two more dates in August, Aug. 10 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and Aug. 21 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Museum staff guide you through the warehouse telling stories of highlighted objects and give people a chance to learn about the museum’s collecting practices. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
People can register online at recreation.lloydminster.ca/COL/public/category/browse/WHP_WAREHOUSE. Those attending the tours are reminded that closed-toed shoes are required inside of the warehouse.
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