Bedeque Area Historical Society
Hello everyone! We are excited to be getting ready for the 2019 season here at the museum! For the first week the museum will be open from 10-5 Monday June 17th until Friday the 21st. We will begin our regular hours the following week. Tuesday through Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5 for the rest of the summer.
Bedeque Area Historical Society
Hello everyone! We are excited to be getting ready for the 2019 season here at the museum! For the first week the museum will be open from 10-5 Monday June 17th until Friday the 21st. We will begin our regular hours the following week. Tuesday through Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5 for the rest of the summer.
Winners drawn for the Bedeque Museum’s seafood raffle.
The draw for the Bedeque Museum’s seafood raffle took place on the free open day on Sunday August 25, with Ron Rayner, the Mayor of the Municipality of Bedeque and Area, drawing the tickets from a Mi’kmaq potato basket. The first prize ($250 of lobster donated in part by Arsenault’s Fish Mart in Summerside) was won by Kaye Bysouth of Calgary, Alberta. Kaye (formerly Kaye Callaghan of Summerside) had been spending August on the Island and has since returned to Calgary. She planned to take some of her winnings back with her in a frozen state and to leave the rest on the Island to be eaten by her son and daughter and their families. The winner of the second prize ($100 of premium choice oysters donated by Future Seafoods of Fernwood) was Alan MacRae of Charlottetown. The third Prize winner was Neil Logan of Chelton. In fact it was Neil’s mother Judy Logan (also of Chelton) who filled in her son’s name on the ticket. We thank all those who bought the 530 raffle tickets sold, thus contributing to a successful fund-raising event for the Museum.
Photo 1. Ron Rayner, Mayor of Bedeque and Area, draws the winning ticket from a Mi’kmaq potato basket for the Bedeque Museum’s Seafood Raffle.
Photo 2. Doug Sobey, President of the Bedeque Area Historical Society, presents Kaye Bysouth of Calgary (formerly Kaye Callaghan of Summerside) the first prize in the raffle ($250 worth of lobster). Kaye also received a Fisheries and Communities plaque (shown in the photo) given to the Museum by Jamie Fox, Minister of Fisheries and Communities.
The draw for the Bedeque Museum’s seafood raffle took place on the free open day on Sunday August 25, with Ron Rayner, the Mayor of the Municipality of Bedeque and Area, drawing the tickets from a Mi’kmaq potato basket. The first prize ($250 of lobster donated in part by Arsenault’s Fish Mart in Summerside) was won by Kaye Bysouth of Calgary, Alberta. Kaye (formerly Kaye Callaghan of Summerside) had been spending August on the Island and has since returned to Calgary. She planned to take some of her winnings back with her in a frozen state and to leave the rest on the Island to be eaten by her son and daughter and their families. The winner of the second prize ($100 of premium choice oysters donated by Future Seafoods of Fernwood) was Alan MacRae of Charlottetown. The third Prize winner was Neil Logan of Chelton. In fact it was Neil’s mother Judy Logan (also of Chelton) who filled in her son’s name on the ticket. We thank all those who bought the 530 raffle tickets sold, thus contributing to a successful fund-raising event for the Museum.
Photo 1. Ron Rayner, Mayor of Bedeque and Area, draws the winning ticket from a Mi’kmaq potato basket for the Bedeque Museum’s Seafood Raffle.
Photo 2. Doug Sobey, President of the Bedeque Area Historical Society, presents Kaye Bysouth of Calgary (formerly Kaye Callaghan of Summerside) the first prize in the raffle ($250 worth of lobster). Kaye also received a Fisheries and Communities plaque (shown in the photo) given to the Museum by Jamie Fox, Minister of Fisheries and Communities.
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This is our final full week. Come along and see the exhibits. Some, such as the display on World War 1 Nurses and Signature Quilts, will be coming down at the end of this season. After this week, the museum will be open only on Sunday afternoons up to October 13.
Just a reminder that the draw for our seafood raffle is at 4:30 PM on August 25. Three seafood vouchers (one worth $250, one worth $100 and one worth $50) are up for grabs. Tickets are $5 for 1 or $10 for 3 and can be purchased at the museum. You do not have to be in attendance to win the draw!
THE LAST OF THE SUMMER TALKS HELD
On Monday August 12 Katherine Dewar of Charlottetown, retired nurse and historian, gave an illustrated talk on ‘Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’. The talk was well-attended and brings to an end our summer talks series.
Katherine Dewar (left), after her talk on Nurse Helen Whidden, chatting to Mary McDonald-Rissanen of Finland, who has recently joined the Bedeque Area Historical Society.
On Monday August 12 Katherine Dewar of Charlottetown, retired nurse and historian, gave an illustrated talk on ‘Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’. The talk was well-attended and brings to an end our summer talks series.
Katherine Dewar (left), after her talk on Nurse Helen Whidden, chatting to Mary McDonald-Rissanen of Finland, who has recently joined the Bedeque Area Historical Society.
END-OF-SUMMER FREE DAY AT THE BEDEQUE AREA MUSEUM: SUNDAY AUGUST 25, 1 – 5 PM.
A week before its closing for the season in September, the Museum is marking a successful summer by having a free open day on Sunday August 25 (1 to 5 pm). The normal admission fee of $5 ($4 for seniors) will be waived, with visitors being able to make a donation if they wish.
This will be a last chance to see two temporary exhibitions which close at the end of the summer. One, ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’, tells the story of two First World War nurses with Bedeque connections: Georgina Pope of Charlottetown whose father William Henry Pope (the Father of Confederation) was born in Bedeque, and Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque. Both of these highly decorated nurses served in France and Belgium.
Also coming down at the end of the summer is the ‘Five Signature Quilts’ exhibit. The quilts were made in Bedeque, North Bedeque, Freetown and Chelton in the 1920s and 1930s by local church and other groups to raise money for good causes. They are embroidered with the names of almost a thousand persons from the general area. Everyone who donated a set amount (sometimes only ten cents) had their name sewn into the quilt. Come and look for the names of your ancestors and their neighbours.
Another of the new exhibits tells the story of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s time in Bedeque. Montgomery taught school at Lower Bedeque for six months in 1897-1898 and recorded the story of her romance with Herman Leard in her journals, published in 1985.
There is also a display of three longcase clocks in full running order, and on the open day the owner and restorer of these clocks, Wendell Feener of Summerside, will be on hand to explain the background to these clocks and to talk about clock-making in general.
Our permanent exhibit on the Loyalist settlement of the Bedeque Bay area in 1784 continues, as does our exhibit on the history of the Borden ferry service (from 1917 to 1997), and another on the culture of the Island Mi’kmaq up to 1900. The Museum also displays many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum and tells the story of Callbecks Store, in whose building the Museum is housed.
A week before its closing for the season in September, the Museum is marking a successful summer by having a free open day on Sunday August 25 (1 to 5 pm). The normal admission fee of $5 ($4 for seniors) will be waived, with visitors being able to make a donation if they wish.
This will be a last chance to see two temporary exhibitions which close at the end of the summer. One, ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’, tells the story of two First World War nurses with Bedeque connections: Georgina Pope of Charlottetown whose father William Henry Pope (the Father of Confederation) was born in Bedeque, and Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque. Both of these highly decorated nurses served in France and Belgium.
Also coming down at the end of the summer is the ‘Five Signature Quilts’ exhibit. The quilts were made in Bedeque, North Bedeque, Freetown and Chelton in the 1920s and 1930s by local church and other groups to raise money for good causes. They are embroidered with the names of almost a thousand persons from the general area. Everyone who donated a set amount (sometimes only ten cents) had their name sewn into the quilt. Come and look for the names of your ancestors and their neighbours.
Another of the new exhibits tells the story of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s time in Bedeque. Montgomery taught school at Lower Bedeque for six months in 1897-1898 and recorded the story of her romance with Herman Leard in her journals, published in 1985.
There is also a display of three longcase clocks in full running order, and on the open day the owner and restorer of these clocks, Wendell Feener of Summerside, will be on hand to explain the background to these clocks and to talk about clock-making in general.
Our permanent exhibit on the Loyalist settlement of the Bedeque Bay area in 1784 continues, as does our exhibit on the history of the Borden ferry service (from 1917 to 1997), and another on the culture of the Island Mi’kmaq up to 1900. The Museum also displays many objects from the late Howard Clark’s Red Barn Museum and tells the story of Callbecks Store, in whose building the Museum is housed.
HE POPE FAMILY REUNION VISITS THE BEDEQUE MUSEUM
The Pope Family of Prince Edward Island, the descendants of Joseph Pope, visited the Bedeque Museum on August 13 as part of their family reunion marking the bicentennial of the arrival of Joseph and his brothers in Bedeque in 1819. They visited the monument to James C. Pope at the site of the Pope shipyard in Lower Bedeque, where Doug Sobey told them about the history of Joseph Pope’s shipbuilding in the 1820s, including the story of the “Great Riot” at Bedeque (as gleaned from court records), when the Pope shipyard workers staged a protest and were arrested by William Pope, Joseph’s brother, for riot and assault. (William happened to the sheriff for Prince County at the time.) He also told them about the launch on 12 September 1840 of Joseph Pope’s “Great Ship, as it is called at Bedeque”, the Dahlia, 644 tons, as recorded in the travel journal of Horatio Mann, a visiting proprietor who owned half of Lot 27. The family then headed for the Museum where they viewed the exhibit on Georgina Pope, the First World War nurse, and then heard a talk on Georgina from Katherine Dewar, the author of Called to Serve – Georgina Pope, Canadian Military Nursing Heroine.
Photo 01. The Pope Family Reunion Logo
Photo 02. Some of the Pope Family at the site of the Pope shipyard in Lower Bedeque.
Photo 03. Some of the Pope Family pose in front of the Museum.
Photo 04. Pope family members chatting at the Georgina Pope exhibit in the Museum.
Photo 05. In the foreground are David Pope and Jim Pope, sons of the late Peter and Georgie Pope of Summerside, with other members of the family.
Photo 06. Katherine Dewar tells the family about Georgina Pope’s life and career.
The Pope Family of Prince Edward Island, the descendants of Joseph Pope, visited the Bedeque Museum on August 13 as part of their family reunion marking the bicentennial of the arrival of Joseph and his brothers in Bedeque in 1819. They visited the monument to James C. Pope at the site of the Pope shipyard in Lower Bedeque, where Doug Sobey told them about the history of Joseph Pope’s shipbuilding in the 1820s, including the story of the “Great Riot” at Bedeque (as gleaned from court records), when the Pope shipyard workers staged a protest and were arrested by William Pope, Joseph’s brother, for riot and assault. (William happened to the sheriff for Prince County at the time.) He also told them about the launch on 12 September 1840 of Joseph Pope’s “Great Ship, as it is called at Bedeque”, the Dahlia, 644 tons, as recorded in the travel journal of Horatio Mann, a visiting proprietor who owned half of Lot 27. The family then headed for the Museum where they viewed the exhibit on Georgina Pope, the First World War nurse, and then heard a talk on Georgina from Katherine Dewar, the author of Called to Serve – Georgina Pope, Canadian Military Nursing Heroine.
Photo 01. The Pope Family Reunion Logo
Photo 02. Some of the Pope Family at the site of the Pope shipyard in Lower Bedeque.
Photo 03. Some of the Pope Family pose in front of the Museum.
Photo 04. Pope family members chatting at the Georgina Pope exhibit in the Museum.
Photo 05. In the foreground are David Pope and Jim Pope, sons of the late Peter and Georgie Pope of Summerside, with other members of the family.
Photo 06. Katherine Dewar tells the family about Georgina Pope’s life and career.
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Myrna Babineau (on left) with John Lecky and Amy Baker, after delivering her talk titled ‘Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque, the Most Decorated Nurse of the Great War’. John and Amy are a grand-nephew and grand-niece of Nurse MacDonald. (1881-1969) who is one of the nurses featured in our exhibit ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’. While serving with an American medical unit Beatrice was the first serious American casualty of the First World War. She was also the most decorated nurse serving in any army nursing corps, from any country.
Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’
The final talk in our weekly summer series is on Monday August 12 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome. Refreshments are served.
Katherine Dewar, retired nurse and author of two books on First World War Island nurses: Those Splendid Girls and Called to Serve - Georgina Pope, Canadian Nursing Heroine, will give an illustrated talk titled ‘Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’.
Helen Whidden (1884-1986) was educated at North Bedeque, Prince of Wales College and the Newport Rhode Island School for Nurses. In 1915 Nurse Whidden was sent to France by the Rockefeller Foundation of New York City as part of a five nurse research team led by Doctors Alexis Carrel and Henry Dakin. The result of their research was a chemical solution known as Dakins (named after Dr. Dakin), which revolutionized the treatment of wound care and saved thousands of lives during the First World War.
After a brief visit home in 1918, Nurse Whidden returned to France, where she spent the next nine years in charge of a children's clinic in Brittany. Here, once again, she became a medical pioneer, this time in the treatment of tuberculosis.
For her pioneering efforts Nurse Whidden was decorated by the French Government with the Médaille de la reconnaissance française, given to persons who for over a period of at least a year performed acts of exceptional dedication in the presence of the enemy.
Katherine Dewar has recently come across some previously unknown documentary sources on this forgotten heroine, and she will have on display Helen's French medal as well as her photograph album and documents related to her pioneering work in France.
On Left: Helen Whidden, shown in a later photo.
On Right: Author Katherine Dewar.
The final talk in our weekly summer series is on Monday August 12 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome. Refreshments are served.
Katherine Dewar, retired nurse and author of two books on First World War Island nurses: Those Splendid Girls and Called to Serve - Georgina Pope, Canadian Nursing Heroine, will give an illustrated talk titled ‘Nurse Helen Whidden, Daughter of the Manse – North Bedeque’s Forgotten Heroine’.
Helen Whidden (1884-1986) was educated at North Bedeque, Prince of Wales College and the Newport Rhode Island School for Nurses. In 1915 Nurse Whidden was sent to France by the Rockefeller Foundation of New York City as part of a five nurse research team led by Doctors Alexis Carrel and Henry Dakin. The result of their research was a chemical solution known as Dakins (named after Dr. Dakin), which revolutionized the treatment of wound care and saved thousands of lives during the First World War.
After a brief visit home in 1918, Nurse Whidden returned to France, where she spent the next nine years in charge of a children's clinic in Brittany. Here, once again, she became a medical pioneer, this time in the treatment of tuberculosis.
For her pioneering efforts Nurse Whidden was decorated by the French Government with the Médaille de la reconnaissance française, given to persons who for over a period of at least a year performed acts of exceptional dedication in the presence of the enemy.
Katherine Dewar has recently come across some previously unknown documentary sources on this forgotten heroine, and she will have on display Helen's French medal as well as her photograph album and documents related to her pioneering work in France.
On Left: Helen Whidden, shown in a later photo.
On Right: Author Katherine Dewar.
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Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque, the Most Decorated Nurse of the Great War’
The weekly series of talks at the Bedeque Museum continues next Monday August 5 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
Myrna Babineau of Charlottetown will give an illustrated talk on her cousin, Beatrice Mary MacDonald of North Bedeque (1881-1969), one of the nurses featured in our exhibit ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’. While serving with an American medical unit Beatrice was the first serious American casualty of the First World War. She was also the most decorated nurse serving in any army nursing corps, from any country.
Picture 1: Myrna Babineau stands beside the poster outlining the life and career of her cousin, Beatrice MacDonald, at the opening of the exhibit in the Bedeque Museum, Two Island Nurses of the Great War.
Picture 2: Happier times in North Bedeque: On left: Beatrice MacDonald with her brother Ronald. On right: her mother Mary, brother Jim and sister Clara. Ronald also had a distinguished military career in the First World War, serving as a medical officer in the Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Picture 3: Chief Nurse MacDonald sits amidst the ruins of war in the fall of 1918.
The weekly series of talks at the Bedeque Museum continues next Monday August 5 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
Myrna Babineau of Charlottetown will give an illustrated talk on her cousin, Beatrice Mary MacDonald of North Bedeque (1881-1969), one of the nurses featured in our exhibit ‘Two Island Nurses of the Great War’. While serving with an American medical unit Beatrice was the first serious American casualty of the First World War. She was also the most decorated nurse serving in any army nursing corps, from any country.
Picture 1: Myrna Babineau stands beside the poster outlining the life and career of her cousin, Beatrice MacDonald, at the opening of the exhibit in the Bedeque Museum, Two Island Nurses of the Great War.
Picture 2: Happier times in North Bedeque: On left: Beatrice MacDonald with her brother Ronald. On right: her mother Mary, brother Jim and sister Clara. Ronald also had a distinguished military career in the First World War, serving as a medical officer in the Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Picture 3: Chief Nurse MacDonald sits amidst the ruins of war in the fall of 1918.
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IT WAS ‘FREETOWN NIGHT’ AT THE BEDEQUE AREA MUSEUM
Freetown came to Bedeque on Monday night July 29 when 73 persons filled the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre to watch home movies made in Freetown in the 1940s and ’50s by Mrs. Lillian Scales using an 8-mm home-movie camera. Don Jardine, a Freetown native, provided the voice-over, explaining the activities shown and naming many of the people captured by Mrs. Scales’ camera.
There was a considerable follow-up commentary as people reminisced about Freetown in the 1940s and '50s. Some commented on the great changes that have occurred since then: boys no longer play hockey on the Freetown road, at least not in the way they did 70 years ago, nor do people have to contend with the mud in the spring. The working horse has long departed from the Island farm scene, as have almost all of the family farms that stretched from one end of Freetown to the other.
After the event, over refreshments people chatted and many bought lottery tickets in support of the Museum’s work. Next year a special ‘Freetown Reunion’ is planned and the Museum is hoping to put on a display in connection with it.
Top Picture: The room is packed and attentive, in this composite photo of the audience in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre.
Bottom Picture: As the film rolls on, Don Jardine, a Freetown native and Secretary of the Bedeque Area Historical Society, provides the narration.
Freetown came to Bedeque on Monday night July 29 when 73 persons filled the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre to watch home movies made in Freetown in the 1940s and ’50s by Mrs. Lillian Scales using an 8-mm home-movie camera. Don Jardine, a Freetown native, provided the voice-over, explaining the activities shown and naming many of the people captured by Mrs. Scales’ camera.
There was a considerable follow-up commentary as people reminisced about Freetown in the 1940s and '50s. Some commented on the great changes that have occurred since then: boys no longer play hockey on the Freetown road, at least not in the way they did 70 years ago, nor do people have to contend with the mud in the spring. The working horse has long departed from the Island farm scene, as have almost all of the family farms that stretched from one end of Freetown to the other.
After the event, over refreshments people chatted and many bought lottery tickets in support of the Museum’s work. Next year a special ‘Freetown Reunion’ is planned and the Museum is hoping to put on a display in connection with it.
Top Picture: The room is packed and attentive, in this composite photo of the audience in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre.
Bottom Picture: As the film rolls on, Don Jardine, a Freetown native and Secretary of the Bedeque Area Historical Society, provides the narration.
Downtown Freetown in the 1940s and 1950s: An evening of old home-movies at the Bedeque Area Museum.
The weekly program of historical talks and events at the Bedeque Museum continues next Monday July 29 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
On Monday July 29 at 7 pm under the title of ‘Downtown Freetown in the 1940s and 1950s’, we are repeating the very successful film night held in the Freetown United Church last March.
The films, which are mostly in colour, were taken by Mrs. Lillian Scales with an 8-mm home-movie camera and range in date from 1946 to 1957.
They are centered about the Scales home in Freetown village and taken around the Freetown area. They show many Freetown inhabitants of the time including children attending the old Freetown School. The film features farming on the Scales farm, children skating and playing in the snow, fishing in the river, the first pavement at Freetown in 1955, a tour of the inside and outside of the Scales home and many other activities.
Some narration will be provided by Nora Scales and other Freetowners of that era. Bring along any of your photos of Freetown from the 1940s and 1950s (or before or after) for viewing by those present.
The weekly program of historical talks and events at the Bedeque Museum continues next Monday July 29 in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre in Central Bedeque (entry is through the Museum). There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
On Monday July 29 at 7 pm under the title of ‘Downtown Freetown in the 1940s and 1950s’, we are repeating the very successful film night held in the Freetown United Church last March.
The films, which are mostly in colour, were taken by Mrs. Lillian Scales with an 8-mm home-movie camera and range in date from 1946 to 1957.
They are centered about the Scales home in Freetown village and taken around the Freetown area. They show many Freetown inhabitants of the time including children attending the old Freetown School. The film features farming on the Scales farm, children skating and playing in the snow, fishing in the river, the first pavement at Freetown in 1955, a tour of the inside and outside of the Scales home and many other activities.
Some narration will be provided by Nora Scales and other Freetowners of that era. Bring along any of your photos of Freetown from the 1940s and 1950s (or before or after) for viewing by those present.
The AGM of the Bedeque Area Historical Society will take place on Monday July 22 in the Community Room, William Callbeck Centre. Before the AGM Doug Sobey, President of the Bedeque Area Museum will give a talk on ‘The Natural World of Lucy Maud Montgomery’. The talk will start at 7 pm.
Based on a detailed examination of the many references to trees and woods in Montgomery’s non-fictional writings, Doug Sobey of the Bedeque Area Museum will assess the well-known Island author as an ‘historical recorder’ of the Island’s landscape. He will describe the places and natural habitats important to Montgomery and will assess what her writings tell us about her, and especially about her relationships with trees and plants. He will also talk briefly about Maud Montgomery’s time teaching at Lower Bedeque. The AGM of the BAHS will follow the talk.
Based on a detailed examination of the many references to trees and woods in Montgomery’s non-fictional writings, Doug Sobey of the Bedeque Area Museum will assess the well-known Island author as an ‘historical recorder’ of the Island’s landscape. He will describe the places and natural habitats important to Montgomery and will assess what her writings tell us about her, and especially about her relationships with trees and plants. He will also talk briefly about Maud Montgomery’s time teaching at Lower Bedeque. The AGM of the BAHS will follow the talk.
On Monday July 15 Dr. Lisa Chilton of the History Department of UPEI gave a talk titled "Loyalists, Immigration and British North America" to an interested audience. In her talk, she presented an overview of the Loyalist movement into what is now Canada after the American Revolution and their important influence on the culture and politics of Canada.
In the picture Dr. Lisa Chilton (on left) speaks with a member of the audience.
In the picture Dr. Lisa Chilton (on left) speaks with a member of the audience.
THE STRAWBERRY and ICE-CREAM SOCIAL – SUNDAY JULY 14, 2 - 4 pm
On Sunday afternoon July 14 the thunderstorms that were threatening held off and we were able to hold the strawberry social outdoors in the Central Bedeque Park. Over 100 people came out to enjoy the strawberries and ice-cream. The event was sponsored by numerous local businesses and individuals with donations of $100 or more (see the photo for the list of sponsors). Musical entertainment was provided by Tim Menez. Visitors who came into the museum to see the exhibits were able to observe a demonstration of quilting by Norma Hanlyn. See the photographs of the event.
On Sunday afternoon July 14 the thunderstorms that were threatening held off and we were able to hold the strawberry social outdoors in the Central Bedeque Park. Over 100 people came out to enjoy the strawberries and ice-cream. The event was sponsored by numerous local businesses and individuals with donations of $100 or more (see the photo for the list of sponsors). Musical entertainment was provided by Tim Menez. Visitors who came into the museum to see the exhibits were able to observe a demonstration of quilting by Norma Hanlyn. See the photographs of the event.
A TALK on: Loyalists, Immigration, and the Formation of British North America’
Monday July 15 at 7 pm, at the Museum – Dr. Lisa Chilton, an associate professor in the History Department at the University of Prince Edward Island will give a talk related to the Museum’s remit on the Loyalist settlement of Prince Edward Island. Under the title ‘Loyalists, Immigration, and the Formation of British North America’, she will describe how the Loyalists who came north as refugees to the remaining loyal colonies after the American Revolution played an unusually important role in how subsequent immigration would be managed by the British and colonial governments. She will also explore the ways in which Loyalists put their stamp on immigration policies and practices in the decades after their own settlement. |
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FOUR NEW EXHIBITS ARE OFFICIALLY OPENED AT THE BEDEQUE MUSEUM
The official opening of this summer’s new exhibits at the Bedeque Area Historical Museum, took place on Saturday July 6 at 10.30 a.m.
The four new exhibits are:
Two Island Nurses of the Great War: A major exhibition tells the stories of two First World War nurses, both with Bedeque connections: Georgina Pope whose father William Henry Pope (the Father of Confederation) was born in Bedeque, and Beatrice MacDonald of North Bedeque. There are extensive poster displays, with additional items relating to the Great War from the P.E.I. Military Museum.
Five early-twentieth-century Signature Quilts from the Bedeque, Chelton, and Freetown Areas: From the 1890s onward, ‘signature’ quilts were made by local church and other groups to raise money for good causes. Every person who donated a fixed amount (sometimes only ten cents) had their name sewn into the quilt. The Museum is showing five signature quilts from the 1920s and ’30s from Bedeque, North Bedeque, Chelton, and Freetown. The quilts serve as a roll call of the area's past residents, with almost a thousand names on them. Visitors can search for the names of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and past neighbours from an alphabetical listing.
Lucy Maud Montgomery and Bedeque: Two posters tell the story of Montgomery’s six-months of teaching in the Lower Bedeque School in 1897-98 and her passion for a young local farmer named Herman Leard.
Three long-case clocks: Loaned by a local collector, Wendell Feener, the clocks are on display in running order. One is a ‘grandfather’ clock, another is a ‘grandmother’ clock, and the third is a ‘granddaughter’ clock.
THE OPENING OF THE EXHIBIT ON 'THE BEDEQUE HARBOUR LOYALISTS'.
Saturday July 7, 10:30 am - Bedeque Area Museum, Callbeck Center, Centaral Bedeque.
The official opening of the exhibit will take place with invited dignitaries present. Three will be free admission to the Museum and it's exhibits , and refreshments will be provided. All are welcome to attend.
A STRAWBERRY and ICE-CREAM SOCIAL – SUNDAY JULY 15, 2 - 4 pm
As a major fund-raising event the Bedeque Area Historical Historical Society will be holding a Strawberry and Ice-cream Social on Sunday July 15 from 2 to 4 pm in the Central Bedeque Park, opposite the Museum. Strawberries, cake and ice-cream will be served. In the event of rain, the event will be held in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre.
Tickets are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children aged twelve and under (this includes free access to the Museum). There will be a chance to make and taste home-made ice-cream made in the traditional way from cream by hand-cranking an ice-cream maker. Entertainment will be provided and there will be raffles and draws for prizes. All proceeds are in support of the Museum’s work.
Talk : “They Came on Ships – Ancestral Migrations to Prince Edward Island”
Lisa Chilton of the History Department of UPEI who was to give a talk on 19th century emigration from the British Isles to Canada on Monday August 6 at 7 pm at the Bedeque Area Museum is not available. We are thus grateful for David Walker, an historian and genealogist, and a member of the Bedeque Museum, who lives in Ontario but spends his summers on the Island, for stepping into the breach by offering to reprise a talk on the subject of emigration in his own family which he gave at the Malpeque Museum earlier this summer.
The title of his presentation is “They Came on Ships – Ancestral Migrations to Prince Edward Island”. His presentation will begin with a description of a project to create a wall hanging quilt that depicts migration of 25 of his ancestors, from the British Isles to New England and Prince Edward Island, and from New England to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The talk will then describe ten of those ancestors, the common element being that they all migrated to various parts of Prince Edward Island.
The talk will take place on Monday August 6 at 7 pm in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre, Central Bedeque. Refreshments will be served. There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
Lisa Chilton of the History Department of UPEI who was to give a talk on 19th century emigration from the British Isles to Canada on Monday August 6 at 7 pm at the Bedeque Area Museum is not available. We are thus grateful for David Walker, an historian and genealogist, and a member of the Bedeque Museum, who lives in Ontario but spends his summers on the Island, for stepping into the breach by offering to reprise a talk on the subject of emigration in his own family which he gave at the Malpeque Museum earlier this summer.
The title of his presentation is “They Came on Ships – Ancestral Migrations to Prince Edward Island”. His presentation will begin with a description of a project to create a wall hanging quilt that depicts migration of 25 of his ancestors, from the British Isles to New England and Prince Edward Island, and from New England to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The talk will then describe ten of those ancestors, the common element being that they all migrated to various parts of Prince Edward Island.
The talk will take place on Monday August 6 at 7 pm in the Community Room of the William Callbeck Centre, Central Bedeque. Refreshments will be served. There is no admission charge but donations are welcome.
The Friends of Seacow Lighthouse Inc.: http://seacowheadlighthouse.com/
L.M Montgomery Lower Bedeque School: https://www.tourismpei.com/search/OperatorDetails/op_id/5145/
Catch up with our new updated blog posts which feature our events this Summer
