New exhibits at the Quesnel Museum share more of the town’s living history

A set of new exhibits that tell more of Quesnel’s still living history was unveiled on June 24 at the Quesnel Museum.

The Museum held an intimate unveiling of family items of some of the pivotal people in Quesnel’s Rodeo and Rodeo Club.

Coralee Oakes donated her grandfather, Harold Hartley’s saddle, spurs, and chaps that he wore and used during his time performing in rodeo, as well as his time as the first president of the Quesnel Rodeo Club.

“My grandfather used to share stories of his time in rodeo with us, and before school, he’d go and break in the horses. When he moved here, he and many like-minded people thought and knew it was incredibly important that the community have a rodeo,” says Oakes. “There have been so many people over the years, like Gus Cameron and Peter Caldwell, to name just two of the many notable figures in our community who helped build the rodeo, and this community. It has been fantastic working with the Quesnel Rodeo Club to put together this museum exhibit.”

Joining Harold Hartley’s items is Gus Cameron’s ‘Big Gus’ cowboy hat. Cameron was the longest acting president of the Quesnel Rodeo Club, and was also instrumental in getting the grandstand in Alex Fraser Park built. Also joining the new exhibit is Peter Caldwell’s “well-known” handheld blackboard. Caldwell would carry the blackboard with him to write announcements and the performers’ scores. He would go to each judge to get their score and tally it up, holding the final score on his blackboard.

“People grew to trust that when they saw a score or set of numbers on his blackboard, that was official, that was final,” says Oakes. “It’s only right that it comes to this exhibit as part of the Rodeo Club’s family of items.”

To Oakes, the Rodeo Club’s exhibit not only shows the importance the rodeo has had in Quesnel’s identity, but it also signifies the importance agriculture has had in the foundation of the community and the town’s economy.

The exhibit features a slideshow that shows the Rodeo’s history. It shows the past presidents, the volunteers, the families, and the women who have supported and contributed to the rodeo as well.

These first few items are only the beginning. Oakes and the Quesnel Museum hope that more items, photos, and stories can be brought forward and shared in this exhibit.

“What we see here tonight is only a small feature of the items and stories that are out there from my knowledge,” says Elizabeth Hunter, the curator of the Quesnel Museum. “This only shows really a small part of the Rodeo Club’s beginning with the pioneer families. We’re hoping over time to collect more stories, interview more families, and collect more rodeo items to really show the depth it has played in our community.”

The museum unveiled three more exhibits on the night of June 24. It celebrated the 100th anniversary of the St. John the Divine Anglican Church in Quesnel. The church has been at its current location on Kinchant Street since 1925, after the original church burned down. What started as a mission church from England has been one of the pivotal community pieces and centres of Quesnel, with a still active congregation, as well as holding many community events.

The Anglican Church’s exhibit has a few items that have been donated and borrowed by the church’s congregation, which will be on display for this season.

Hunter showed the two other new exhibit additions. There were two photo-crayotypes of the Hoy Family that were found in an old log building on Carons Avenue, which were donated to the museum. Photo-crayotype is the enlargement of photographic images, redoing them using hand-art tools, often charcoal, chalk, and some paints during the early 1900s time period.

The final additions to the exhibits that showcase Quesnel’s still living history were two musical instruments.

The first was a performance accordion that once belonged to one of the Owen Brothers, which was donated by one of the Brothers’ grandchildren.

The second piece is the drumset of Bob Hendry, whose orchestra played at community halls from the 1940s through to the 1960s. This visually stunning piece was donated by Hendry’s family, and a group of volunteer firemen built the platform that the drumset now rests on.

“It’s a very special piece,” says Hunter. “The family was passing through Quesnel, and they stopped to see the display before the unveiling. It was quite emotional to see, as that’s their father’s history, not just the town’s history, their family’s as well, that gets to be shared with the community, and it’s preserved in their hometown museum.”

That was something special to Hunter, to Oakes, and to everyone who stopped in to see the new exhibits. To Hunter, while the museum has limited space, each of the items shares a real community story. Hunter hopes that each new piece the museum hopes to acquire will continue to share the real living stories of the Quesnel community.