Manitouwadge Museum Officially Opens
Ribbon cutting at Manitouwadge Museum
by Karina Hunter
The Manitouwadge Archival & Historical Society continued their month long celebration of Ontario Museum Month Saturday with the official opening of the Manitouwadge Museum. Past and present residents as well as special guests Tamby Fair, curator of the Marathon Museum; Al Cresswell, CFNO radio and members of Manitouwadge Town Council, gathered outside what was once the Anglican Church to watch as Mayor John MacEachern and MA&HS president, Tyler Baran cut the ribbon. Baran thanked the countless volunteers and organizations, such as Newmont Canada Ltd., Manrock Developments Inc and the Township of Manitouwadge who continue to be vital in the success of the museum. “The township is proud to have been a part of bringing this project (museum) to fruition and will continue to support the endeavor in any way we can.” said Mayor John MacEachern
For nearly a decade, the Manitouwadge Archival & Historical Society has worked diligently, collecting artifacts and photos, cataloguing important documents, and recording stories from early residents. In 2006, the Anglican Church building, having remained unused for several years, was given to the group and the task of classifying, cleaning and organizing the collections into this new home began.
Today, the museum includes an impressive number of exhibits including Mining; Forestry; Local Fauna; Religion; Early Enterprise and Technology. The majority of these exhibits have ‘hands-on’ elements, proven to be especially attractive to young historians. During the week prior to the museum’s opening, each of the community’s elementary schools participated in Laundry Days workshops they learned first hand of how time consuming and physically demanding laundry was when scrub boards and wash basins were the norm.
Everyone in attendance seemed pleased with the incredible amount of historical artifacts and information currently exhibited at the museum. One piece which people were particularly interested in was the pic used by prospector William Davindowich (Dawd) in 1953 in the discovery of the Wilroy & Geco mines, Although many items in the museum are on loan, the pic is a permanent part of the mining exhibit having been given to the museum by Davindowich’s family. The Manitouwadge Archival & Historical Society welcomes you to visit; the museum is open to the public, Monday through Friday from 1pm to 3pm.
Photo by Donna Jaunzarins Emeraude Charron takes a closer look at a display of local butterfly & moth species.
Bob Isaacs, former Wilroy & Williams mine employee, explains some of the mining artifacts.
Manitouwadge Archival & Historical Society executive member, Marlene Turner, helps Emeraude Charron hypothesize about the uses of an artifact from the mining exhibit.
