KREW KUTS: Shadows of History
By Bernie Krewski
Several more deeply rooted connections to the past drew my interest while surveying news items in 1965. One was about establishing the Alberta Provincial Museum and Archives. The other was Peter Lougheed’s entry into public life. Both are intricately linked. Each of them, pragmatically and symbolically, have wide ranging significance in the history of this province.
MUSEUMS & ARCHIVES
Museums and archives inevitably have stories to tell. What are the important stories represented by the exhibits and collections at the Crossroads Museum and Archives (CMA)? Agriculture and farming? Rural life? Changing necessities for daily living? How might residents of Oyen and district answer that question if they were asked?
For those who are unaware, there is a functional difference between museums and archives even though, as in Oyen, they may be housed in the same facility. A museum is dedicated to displaying and preserving culturally and scientifically significant objects. Items are customarily unique – the raw material of study and research. They are removed in time, place, and circumstances from their original context. Exhibits are usually organized around specific themes in the arts, science and technology, natural history or local history.
An archive, by contrast, is an accumulation of historical records deposited by individuals, organizations, and especially various levels of government. The CMA, I might note, seems to have few records about local governance. One void that could be filled is a list of reeves and mayors that have served this community since 1913.
Alberta was a dawdler, historically, in developing a provincial archive. Regina was the seat of government in the former North-West Territories as early as 1883. This gave Saskatchewan a head start in developing a publicly accessible archive.
That also provided other advantages. “The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan” (2005) is a wonderful, user-friendly, source of history, 1071 pages, also available online. British Columbia and Manitoba have similar encyclopedias published in 2000 and 2007. Alberta has no equivalent.
Public pressure to establish an archive in Alberta began as early as 1944. In the meantime, the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, an art and history regional museum, was established as a private non-profit foundation in 1955. Another small step took place in 1958 when the Alberta government included the construction of a museum and archive in its five-year plan, selecting Edmonton as the site for its eventual location.
Preparations in 1965 for Canada’s Centennial in 1967 was a major turning point. In February, Ambrose Holowach, Provincial Secretary and Chair of the Alberta Centennial Committee, announced that construction of the Provincial Museum and Archives would be one of the capital projects celebrating Canada’s Centennial. The $5 million cost of the project would be jointly shared by the Federal Centennial Commission and the Alberta Government. This matching grant arrangement was restricted to capital works of an historical, educational, cultural, or recreational nature.
The construction site chosen for the future museum and archives consisted of 13 acres overlooking the river valley near Edmonton’s city centre. Quite mysteriously, news reports innocuously mentioned an existing building on this site, referred to as the “old mansion,” at that time serving as a veterans’ hospital.
While these developments were happening provincially, comparable activity was occurring in Hanna. The Pioneers’ Association was again discussing the establishment of a museum, having moved the former “cottage school” to the exhibition grounds the summer before. Plans proceeded quickly with the incorporation of The Hanna and District Historical Society in May 1965.
Oyen took similar steps beginning in 1971 as described in MTCH, v. 1 pp., and Nellie Eaton’s excellent summary in MTCH, v. 2, 101-110.
The relevance of museums and archives had arrived!
SHADOWS
These events left historical trails that offer a few rays of light.
The Provincial Museum and Archives served its purpose until 2015 and was then vacated. The provincial archives moved to a new building in 2003, as did the museum in 2018.
Now the current UCP government plans to demolish this 57-year-old centennial building and turn the site into some type of “green space.” That decision is now the subject of considerable debate.
In a Letter to the Editor of the Edmonton Journal on August 24, 2024, Dr. W.J. Byrne, a retired senior government official, points out that the museum and archives was “Alberta’s official project to commemorate Canada’s centennial,” and was built with federal government financial contributions. He adds: “the original building incorporated stone from every province and territory in the country in its construction.”
The references to the “old mansion” in 1965 are now viewed in a much different light. That stately, legendary building was the former residence of the Alberta’s Lieutenant-Governor, built in 1913. On May 9, 1937, John Bowen, the incumbent Lieutenant- Governor, was locked out by Social Credit premier William Aberhart. He was forced to live in the Macdonald Hotel. This was a consequence of his refusal to approve several pieces of legislation.
In the years following, it had a series of tenants that included American airmen and soldiers during WWII, and later served as a veterans’ convalescent home. Renovated in 1975-1976, it became a government reception centre and a meeting place for governing MLA’s.
Its visitors have included Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Pope John-Paul II, among others. All of this is captured in “Alberta Government House: A Vice-Regal Residence” (2013), a fine book written by Jane Ross.
Two personal experiences offering glimpses of light, brightening the shadows of history, will be described next week. One is about a discovery in the archives, the other is meeting former minister Ambrose Holowach by chance.