Gift Shop – Page 3 – Clayton McLain Memorial Museum

Mid-Summer Update

August 5, 2023August 5, 2023 Clayton McLain Memorial Museum

GIFT ITEMS | FLOWERS | UNIQUE VISITS

In 2021, Ovenstown was demolished.

Ovenstown, the museum’s Registration and Tourist Information Centre, fell victim to the elements in 2020, when its foundation was compromised by record-setting rains. The artifacts within the building were relocated to the Duvall House and the Exhibit Building. The former school and church was leveled, except for the cupola housing the old bell. That was saved and will find a second home on site.
Ovenstown

What isn’t mentioned above, is that the Gift Shop items were also rescued, packed up, and put aside until a space could be arranged for them. Well, that day has come, and a mini-gift shop has been set up in the Duvall House. Local history books, commemorative plates, pottery and woodworking items, Tomahawk Park souvenirs, and more, are once again available for purchase at the museum.

If you’ve been anywhere near the the museum grounds and Tomahawk Park this summer, you must have noticed the colourful pots of flowers decorating the exterior of the heritage buildings. We sincerely thank Marion Blaine for selecting and planting such a beautiful array, and for faithfully watering and caring for them through these hot summer days.

(Some of our flower pots are showing their age. If you have any extra large pots, you’re no longer using, please consider donating them to the museum. They would be very much appreciated. Thank you.)

Many campers and travelers stop at the park overnight, or for a picnic lunch, and often tour the museum while they’re here. The area is also frequented by residents as part of their (and their dogs) daily walks, and by local youth visiting the bike park nearby. So, it’s not unusual for people to come-and-go all day long for various reasons.

However, staff have reported 2 unique visits so far this year:

Firstly, an individual was spotted flying a drone from his vehicle. If anyone sees video footage of the museum or the World’s Largest Tomahawk online, please tag us on Facebook.
Secondly, two young men respectfully asked if it would be alright to walk around the grounds without touring the museum. The reason: they were playing Pokémon Go! Any idea if they captured any?

~ Debbie M.

Fundraiser, Museum

What are Local Histories?

August 23, 2022August 24, 2022 Clayton McLain Memorial Museum

In 1980, the East Cut Knife and Districts Historical Society published a local history book titled, “Where the Cut Knife Waters Flow”. It was a collection of submissions researched and compiled for Celebrate Saskatchewan 1980 and dedicated “to the memory of the pioneers who settled in the area.” Written by ordinary people who lived locally, the book gives us the stories of the area’s settlers in their own voices.

The value of Saskatchewan local histories, and local histories in general, is well recognized. The Saskatchewan Legislative Library tries to obtain a copy of each new Saskatchewan local history book when it’s published. The Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan has more than 400 local histories in their collection. One historian sees the role of local history writers as the “gatekeepers and custodians of rich historical resources“. Most genealogists consider these books to be a goldmine for, among other reasons, family trees.

On July 17th, the Museum hosted a Quilt Walk, and for a few weeks afterwards, I posted photos / descriptions of the quilts on our blog. One post in particular caught the eye of someone born in Cut Knife, now living in B.C. Lorraine Martin brought it to our attention that The First Day of School Dress was not created by Mary Duvall, but by Mary (MacMillan) Rutley for her daughter Jessie Rutley Vance. Her proof was the family tree in her own book, Notes and Clippings, It All Started in Saskatchewan. We’re thankful the record has been corrected.

LOCAL HISTORIES IN THE GIFT SHOP

Notes and Clippings, It All Started in Saskatchewan by Lorraine Martin

My story starts with my early life in the Gallivan / Cut Knife area in the early 1940s and 1950s. It continues through my training as a Psychiatric Nurse at the North Battleford Provincial Hospital then after graduation my working years in England and Switzerland…
Lorraine Martin

Odds and Ends: Autobiography by Orval Ens

Contents include the following chapters: My Forebears; From 0 – 80; School Daze; My Teaching Career; From Horse and Buggy to Automobile; The Terrible Blizzard of December 1955; Breath of French Air…
Orval Ens

Prairie Christmas: A Collection of Stories and Recollections, A Clayton McLain Memorial Museum Project Cut Knife, Saskatchewan 2006 – 2007

This delightful compilation of Christmas stories was compiled by a group of volunteers to not only document history, but to be a fundraiser for the Clayton McLain Memorial Museum… We invited people to write stories about their Christmas memories…
The Prairie Christmas Committee

Where the Cut Knife Waters Flow Volume II

100 Years Celebrating Saskatchewan’s Centennial 1905 – 2005
Where the Cut Knife Waters Flow Volume II

Click for more info about these in-stock local history books, and how to make a purchase from the Gift Shop.

~ Debbie M.

Fundraiser, Museum

New Arrivals

August 15, 2022 Clayton McLain Memorial Museum

Sending out many thanks to Lorraine Martin, author of Notes and Clippings – It All Started in Saskatchewan. Twelve copies of her book have just arrived in the mail, and will soon be for sale at the Museum.

ABOUT THE BOOK

My story starts with my early life in the Gallivan/Cut Knife area in the early 1940 and 1950’s. It continues through my training as a Psychiatric Nurse at the North Battleford Provincial Hospital then after graduation my working years in England and Switzerland followed by travelling throughout Europe. Returning to Canada I worked in Nova Scotia and Regina where I married and became a volunteer.
Lorraine Martin

“Notes and Clippings” arrive in the mail

~ Debbie M.