A ‘HISTORY CIRCLE’ ON ‘HOWARD CLARK AND THE RED BARN MUSEUM’
Monday July 2 at 7 pm – Local-history enthusiast George Dalton of Summerside will lead a history circle on ‘Howard Clark and the Red Barn Museum’. The evening will be informal – with chairs arranged in a circle, and people can contribute as much or as little as they wish. We will also be showing clips from video interviews of Howard talking about his life and his collection, which the Museum recorded in 2010 at the time of the donation of his collection to the Bedeque Area Historical Society. All are welcome, including those who never met Howard or visited the Red Barn Museum, but we particularly welcome friends and relatives who knew Howard and who can tell us stories about him.

A TALK on: ‘The Bedeque Harbour Loyalists : where they settled and why’.
Monday July 9 at 7 pm – Doug Sobey will give an illustrated talk examining the settlement of Loyalists around Bedeque Bay in 1784 and the years following. He will also examine the various lists and records of the Loyalist families, show where they settled around the harbour and why they settled in the areas they did. As well he will consider what is known of the background in the Thirteen Colonies of the families who settled at Bedeque, including families with names of Anderson, Darby, Green, Lefurgey, Linkletter, MacFarlane, Murray, Silliker, Small, Strang, Waugh and Wright. He will also present new insights into the reasons why the Loyalists settled around what was then known as Bedeque Harbour.  

A TALK and HISTORY CIRCLE on: ‘The Valley Farm, a Schurman family farm since 1839’.
Monday July 16 at 7 pm – Doug Sobey, with David Schurman and others, will lead a history circle and talk on the ‘Valley Farm’, which has been in the Schurman family since 1839, when it was purchased by Isaac Schurman (a son of William the Loyalist) for his son Solomon. A rich family archives of photographs and written records has survived in the family and some of these will be shown in this illustrated talk.

The AGM, with a TALK on: ‘William Schurman the Loyalist’.
Monday July 23 at 7 pm – The AGM of the BAHS – Doug Sobey will give an illustrated talk on ‘William Schurman of New Rochelle, New York and Bedeque, Prince Edward Island’ (see above for further information).

A TALK on: ‘Immigration to Prince Edward Island and Canada from the British Isles in the 19th Century’.
Monday August 6 at 7 pm – Lisa Chilton of the History Department of the University of Prince Edward Island will give a talk on immigration to Canada and Prince Edward Island from the British Isles in the nineteenth century.

A TALK on: Georgina Pope – Canadian Military Nursing Heroine
Monday August 13 at 7 pm – Katherine Dewar of Charlottetown will talk about the subject of her recent book, Georgina Pope, an Island woman who became a Canadian military nursing heroine in World War I. Georgina’s father William Henry Pope, the Father of Confederation, was born in Bedeque. Katherine will have copies of her book, Called to Serve, Georgina Pope, on sale at the talk.

​Our eighth AGM will be held on Monday 17 July at 7 pm in the Bedeque Baptist Church. Historian and archivist Sharon Leighton, one of the founders of the Bedeque Museum, is the guest speaker and will give a talk on the history of the early Baptist Church in Bedeque.
Museum memberships for the current year are due from the beginning of July and may be renewed at the meeting (for individuals it is $20, for families or households, $25).  Bring your friends to the meeting and encourage them to support the Museum by becoming members.
The AGM will take place in the adjacent church hall after Sharon’s talk and includes the election of members of the Board.  The Board is always seeking new members. If you interested in local history and in the Bedeque Museum consider serving on the Board, and having your name put forward, you can have a word about it in advance with any of the present Board members whose names are listed below and whose telephone numbers are in the phonebook.
The present Board members are Lloyd MacCallum (President), Bill Callbeck (Vice-President), Don Jardine (Secretary), Susan Leard (Treasurer), Percy Affleck, Greg Corbett, Valerie Curtis, Tom Sherry, George Read, Earle Smith, Doug Sobey and Peter Vaniderstine.

​The Bedeque Museum is taking part in another activity funded by Canada 150, one that has been organized by the Community Museums Association of PEI.  As soon as you enter the Museum you will see a special display consisting of five objects from the Museum’s collection which have selected by us to tell an aspect of the history of Canada.  Our collection being Island-based means that most of the items chosen are specific to Island history, but then the Island has been part of Canada for 144 years, and so they qualify!  On your visit we want you to think about the contribution that each of these five objects has made to the history of the Island and so, of Canada.  We would also like you to think about the objects in today’s world that we should be collecting in order to preserve  our history to Canadians 100 years from now. We encourage you to come to the Museum to see the five items and to write down your thoughts.

This summer we are presenting a new exhibition to  commemorate the centenary of the first ferry crossing between ‘Port Borden’, Prince Edward Island and Cape Tormentine in New Brunswick.  Thereafter, for eighty years (from 1917 to 1997) ‘the Borden ferry’ was the principal means of transport to and from the mainland for Islanders and their goods.  The establishment of the service also led to the creation of ‘Port Borden’, which, because workers on the ferry wanted to be near their workplace, evolved into the town of Borden, which is today known as Borden-Carleton.  During the past winter, several Board members have been interviewing some of the many people who worked on the ferries and at the terminal.  One of these, Lorne Cousins, began work as far back as 1934, and was actually a tiny baby when the SS Prince Edward Island made that first crossing on 16 October 1917!  We will be displaying items from the collections of several past ferry workers and descendants of workers, as well as some items from the P.E.I. Museum.  We have also created ten posterboards telling the stories of the various vessels that served in the crossing and also of some of the people who worked on the service. 

​The exhibit will be officially opened on Saturday July 8 at 10.30 am and all members and friends, as well as the general public, are invited to this free event.  This exhibit is being funded in part by the government of Canada through the Canada 150 fund. 

In the wake of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) many subjects who decided to remain loyal to Britain were left with very few choices. Forced by “Patriots” to surrender duality and swear off their allegiance to the crown, approximately 65-70 000 British subjects, later given the honorary status of the “United Empire Loyalists”, fled to various British colonies such as Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec), Florida, and even the Atlantic Canada. Following the Treaty of Paris which ended the war in 1783, the remaining Loyalists were evacuated from America and were provided with land grants and basic supplies, usually ranging from 100-200 acres. Roughly 2000 loyalists settled in Prince Edward Island and specifically, many resided in the Bedeque Area, leaving a strong presence in the community. The large copper pot (left) was used by the Anderson family for a variety of tasks from preparing pot ash for further production in Europe, to making lye soap, and even producing maple syrup as can be seen in the painting depicting the process. Many families who live in Bedeque can still claim ancestry to the many loyalists which populated the area. Given that Loyalist artefacts are often difficult to discover, any information, photos, or records are often welcomed at the museum, not only to expand the exhibit but to preserve and often forgotten part of Canadian history. Any information regarding the Loyalists can be sent to the museum at bahsmuseum@outlook.com, and we're happy to answer any questions. 

Well, it has finally arrived! the museum officially opened for business on June 3rd after a long winter of completing renovations on the second floor and attic space. The new display areas on the second floor each feature a detailed view into the history of Bedeque and the people who resided in the area during the early 20th century. Using artefacts which mainly came from the Howard Clark collection, the displays are also a testament to the great task undertaken by Howard to preserve the many thousands of artefacts which now fill the museum. The 2nd floor now features a wide array of scenes including everything from a chapel, to the "back-porch" which is depicted in the picture below. While items are still being catalogued and properly organized, the new displays are a must see and a perfect way to spend an afternoon! 

January - The picture shows part of the second floor refurbishment. The sanded and stained floor looks great, and the carpentry work is well underway. The first of the new exhibits is starting to take shape.
We will be adding posts to the website much more often this year. A new feature will be weekly story pieces on interesting artifacts and elements from the collections. These will be trailed on our Facebook page, so go there to be advised of what's new!

As the Museum's official opening on August the third approaches, it is time to reflect on everything that has happened the past most here at Bedeque Area Historical Museum. Our opening day on first of July was quite successful with over 100 visitors including one very special visitor, Howard Clark. As we walked with Howard throughout the museum, it was incredible to think that this man had collected all these items in such a short period of time. We are certainly very grateful for that. Ultimately, we believe that Howard enjoyed the way that his items were presented and will continue to be presented for some time. The picture to the left  shows Howard on the opening day.

While our Grand opening, which took place on the First of July, was the HUGE success, the museum's official opening is actually happening this Saturday, August the third.

While it has not been long since the initial opening, the museum has changed in various aspects. Since the last post on the Museum website, each display offered here at the museum has been modified. Not only is there a wide array of new artifacts presented on the museum shelves, but there is also more information, knowledge, and stories presented with each tour. There are also a wide array of important persons invited to the museum this coming Saturday including the Honorable Catherine Callbeck, Prince Edward Island's 28th Premier. If this isn't enough to entice you to come, it is free for all age to come out and enjoy everything the museum has to offer!

As July the first quickly approaches the staff here at the museum are digging deep to make opening day the best it can be. There are artifacts to be cleaned and cataloged, signs to be made, and displays to be perfected, not to mention floors to be scrubbed. We'd like to take a moment in this post to recognize and introduce our wonderful employees.

Our current staff consists of Noel Waite, Laura Neily, and June Dawson.

Noel is the most recent addition to the team. He will be the museum's interpreter and guide for the summer. He will be here at the museum five days a week (Tuesday through Saturday from 10am til 6pm, July 1st until August 30th). Noel is very knowledgeable and passionate about history, and will be very happy to show you around and even demonstrate some of the artifacts he helped restore to working order for you.

Behind the scenes is Laura Neily, our resident assistant curator. Laura has been with us since February and has put a lot of much appreciated energy into making our museum what it is through cataloging and exhibit design.

June Dawson is our supervisor trainee. June has been with the museum since December; she and Sharon Leighton (the volunteer head supervisor) laid the groundwork of cataloging our artifacts and designating exhibit areas. Under Sharon's watchful eye and helpful advice, June drives the team diligently in a multitude of ways to bring the entire project to fruition; be it digging up old advertisements to pair with artifacts or sewing a straw mattress to use in the child's bed, you can count on her to find a creative and swift solution to any museum conundrum!

                             Good exhibits don't just happen!
There is a lot of behind the scenes work taking place right now as our staff prepares for opening day (July 1st). The fact that it is only five working days away never leaves our minds for long!
We are continuing to catalogue items, but a lot of our focus this week has shifted to finishing touches and having everything ready to go.

Our official brochure is in circulation as we speak, and we would love to hear  where you see one for the first time.

This picture was taken just this morning, Laura is working hard to make the military display the best it can possibly be.