New Display Case

A new display case for some of our First Nations artifacts was made and delivered today. As you can see it took five strong men to carry it inside. Thanks guys!

Thanks to Danny for the great carpenter work!

It looks great!

The cabinet will be complete and ready for display when we have an acrylic cover made for the top.

North West Archeological Society Visits

Saturday, June 23, the NW Archeological Society stopped for a visit to CMMM after a day of visiting various sites in the area.
Among the stops were a possible site of one of the last buffalo kills in the area and the diggings of a 1909 Gold Rush that saw about 250 men come to try and make their fortune.
The story goes that Mrs. Julia Ford, a widow pioneer, was having a well dug and picked up the rock from the diggings. She thought it was gold and sent it to an assayer in the U.S. It was determined to be worth $32/ton and this sparked the "Gold Rush" to the Formby-Wembly area. No one else found any gold. Gold companies who came out to check out the area decided that the rock was part of glacial till and a fluke.
Those who profited were Mrs. Ford, with her initial rock, the Paynton livery stable and the women who washed the clothes and cooked for the gold seekers. And at 1909 prices for doing such work, no one became rich!
Check out the story in, Time Marches On (1975), a history book of the area.

Perfect Day for a Book Launch Party!

On June 22nd, a book launch party was held on the museum grounds. Twenty-two of the authors of stories in Prairie Christmas were first to view and purchase copies of our new publication. A special cake with a picture of the cover and iced tea were served to the guest authors.

National Aboriginal Day, June 21st

Our museum helped the Cut Knife Elementary School celebrate National Aboriginal Day on June 21st. Four of our artifacts were displayed and then researched on the internet by groups of students. A hide scaper, miniature teepee, stone hammer, example of beadwork, and arrowheads helped the students learn about the Cree and other tribes' cultures. After the research was completed, the students then played a game that tested their knowledge of Aboriginal facts. Everyone seemed to be enthusiastic and enjoyed the time!