Latest News
November 2020 Watershed Moments
Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image from the museum’s award-winning book Watershed Moments – A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District. Photo credit: Sandwick War Memorial Cairn, ca. 1922. After the Great War, the community needed a symbol to mark the loss of their sons and a loss of innocence. In 1921, the newly formed Great War Veterans Association (GWVA) suggested a Celtic Cairn of rocks from the farms that each man had left behind. The work united the whole community in the common homage to all who had served. Photo: P90-99. Page 138.
October 2020 Watershed Moments
Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image from the museum’s award-winning book Watershed Moments – A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District. Photo credit: On October 17, 1929 delegates from the North Island Women’s Institutes met at the Native Sons Hall for a District Conference. Photo: CDM Sillence Collection. Page 142-143.
October 2020 Just For Fun
The Fanny Dunkers Ski Club kept their 1954 Halloween party planning short and sweet. Seventy-five copies of the invitation (see below) were made and distributed. The only tasks left were decorating the hall (assigned to the “older girls”) and ordering six pounds of butter from the Creamery. Done! Source: CDM 2003.3.1 Fanny Dunkers Ski Club Ledger Sept. 23, 1948 to Dec. 3 1959.
It’s All There in Black and White: A Profile of Joy “Babe” Woodrow
October is Women’s History Month so it is the perfect time to share this article about the life and dance of Joy “Babe” Woodrow from the April 1, 1977 edition of the Comox District Free Press. Joy Woodrow (1915-1977) was descended from early Comox Valley settlers. Her parents were Hughie and Birdie McKenzie and her grandfather was Johnny McKenzie, early Courtenay mayor and blacksmith. Click for Larger Image Click for Larger Image With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.
September 2020 Just For Fun
Mrs. C.E. Humphry’s 1897 book Manners for Men generates some smiles as it details accepted behaviour in Victorian-era England in a variety of settings. The following excerpt about how to eat dessert at dinner-parties shows how times have changed. “With regard to the dessert fruits, &c., there are a few puzzles to be found among them for the inexperienced. Grapes present one of these. They are taken up singly, and afterwards the skin and seeds have to be expelled as unobtrusively as possible. It is a matter of great difficulty to accomplish this by any other method than using the hand, therefore this is [...]
September 2020 Watershed Moments
Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image from the museum’s award-winning book Watershed Moments – A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District. Photo credit: View of the river from the Courtenay Bridge, 1909. Lewis Park is on the right and the building in the back is identified as the "old slaughter house." Photo CDM Stubbs Collection. Page 63.
It’s All There in Black and White: A Personal Challenge for Ben Harder
Fitness through long distance running isn’t for everyone but 40 years ago Bent Harder was taking it all in stride. In this article from the September 26, 1980 Comox District Free Press, Debra Martin profiles Harder’s journey from short jogs to marathon training. Click for Larger Image Click for Larger Image With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.
August 2020 Just For Fun
Some silly flirtations you might want to try from the 1916 Fun Magic and Mystery book No. 43 published by I. & M. Ottenheimer. Eye Flirtation Winking the right - I love you Winking the left - I hate you Winking both eyes - Yes Winking both eyes at once - We are watched Winking right eye twice - I am engaged Winking left eye twice - I am married Dropping the eyelids - May I kiss you? Raising the eyebrows - Kiss me Closing left eye slowly - Try and love me? Closing the right eye slowly - You are beautiful. Hat Flirtation [...]
August 2020 Gift Shop News
Drop by the museum gift shop and check out the fresh new look! The underwater theme has been retired to make way for a shabby chic vibe with lots of open space that is great for social distancing. Shelves are full of innovative gifts with an emphasis on locally made items. Lots of great gifts for yourself or your friends at fabulously good prices. The gift shop is open the same hours as the museum: Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. You can also see some of our merchandise on the museum Facebook page.
Step Into Wilderness Pre-Sale Opportunity
The Courtenay and District Museum staff and volunteers are happy to announce that Harbour Publishing will release Step Into Wilderness - A Pictorial History of Outdoor Exploration in and around the Comox Valley in early October. This is a full colour hardcopy book with narrative built around 150 images from family albums, professional photography and journals, diaries, news accounts, maps and ephemera. From shores to peaks, Step Into Wilderness recounts moments of ingenuity and hardship as well as fun and enjoyment in and around the Comox Valley. The book will retail for $39.95 plus GST. From now until September 30, the museum is offering [...]
It’s All There in Black and White: The Comox Valley’s Famous Feline
A multi-talented feline made good south of the border. The Comox District Free Press of September 9, 1937 carried the story of his lucky break on the front page. With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.
August 2020 Watershed Moments
Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image from the museum’s award-winning book Watershed Moments – A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District. Photo credit: Postcard showing the view over the Dyke Flats towards Courtenay, after 1926. The photo was likely hand-tinted by Spalding’s wife, Ida Merle Spalding. Joseph Frederick Spalding photograph. Photo: 999.154.2.
A Sincere Thank You
Courtenay and District Museum Board and staff extend a deep and sincere thank you to the late Allan Duncan Pritchard for his gift of a significant portion of his estate to the Courtenay and District Museum. At his bequest, this gift will support research and education related to local social history. Before he passed away, Dr. Allan Pritchard's research and provision of records played an important role in forming part of the narrative for the museum's 2015 publication Watershed Moments—A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District published by Harbour Publishing. He then provided funds for the museum’s second publication Step Into Wilderness — A [...]