Museum of the Highwood celebrating 60-year anniversary
In 1961, it was decided that the Town of High River needed a museum to celebrate its history and the idea was hatched on Sept. 9 of that year.
"One of our former curators here worked at the Glenbow (Museum), so he arranged for them to loan some artifacts and some members from the community brought stuff in," said Irene Kerr, Museum of the Highwood curator and director.
"But the craziest thing of all is they actually opened the museum to the public on Oct. 12 (1961), so in just over a month they managed to get the space ready, set up some displays and open their doors."
The town just south of Calgary has a long history that dates back thousands of years to when Indigenous people camped in the area.
"The Blackfoot people, this was a major area where on their seasonal rounds they, stopped and camped here," said Kerr. "There was a good crossing called The Crossing because it's a good place, only at certain times of year, to get across the Highwood River."
By the mid 1800s High River was part of an important trade route between Fort Benton, in Montana, and Fort Calgary. As the town grew, so did its history.
In 1971, the town purchased the vacant railway station and it became the permanent home for the museum. It's one of the oldest in Alberta and has had its challenges over the years. In 2010 a fire started behind the building in some old patio chairs and spread into the attic where artifacts where stored, and water from fire hoses flooded the basement, where more artifacts where kept.
"They had to remediate the building so we had to move out for 22 months and we moved stuff all over the place and did a lot of work on it," said Kerr. "We had volunteers that spent hundreds of hours restoring things, we didn't lose a lot of things at that point."
But the museum wasn't so lucky in June 2013 when the entire town of High River was flooded and had to be evacuated. The basement of the museum was also flooded, but even worse, much of its collection was being stored in the basement of the Highwood Memorial Centre. Volunteers and professional restoration specialists were able to save some valuable items like saddles, textiles and the founder of the Calgary Stampede, Guy Weadick's famous cowboy hat. But they couldn't save everything.
"We did lose 70 percent of our collection in the flood so that was pretty hard," said Kerr. "Because we weren't allowed back into town for 11 days, so anything that was wood or paper suffered the most damage."
And now the museum is dealing with a pandemic and has endured a cycle of closures and openings all while trying to record its collection digitally.
Kerr says in the future the museum is revamping its film exhibit that will soon feature Superman's cape from the third instalment of the movie series that was shot in High River, and create other exhibits for people to enjoy. She says she and her staff are just caretakers of the community's history.
"As everyone always says, if you know about the past you can certainly deal with the present and the future better," said Kerr. "I think that's part of the job of a museum is to make sure people are aware of what happened."
Learn more about the museum online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor qualifies Canada for Paralympics in rowing event
Former Humboldt Broncos goaltender and bus crash survivor Jacob Wassermann has qualified Canada for a rowing event for the 2024 Paralympic games in Paris.
Baby boom amongst nurses leads to maternity ward closure in Listowel, Ont.
The emergency room at Listowel’s hospital is open today, but come summer, their obstetrics unit will be temporarily closing its delivery rooms.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Krispy Kreme doughnuts coming to McDonald's in U.S., but not Canada
Canadians will be missing out on a sweet new partnership between McDonald's and Krispy Kreme, which will see doughnuts available at McDonald's locations across the U.S. by the end of 2026.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Quebec judge orders bus driver to stand trial for 2023 daycare crash deaths
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.