MANITOUWADGE -- Friday, Sept. 2, was the last day of the regular season for the local museum, operated by the Manitouwadge Archival and Historical Society.
It was a busy final week, with a butterfly release on Tuesday, and the showing of two movies.
Before the presentation of ‘Hitler’s Canadians’, a film about the experiences of the more than 40,000 German POWs and their life in Canada, John Lavoie gave a speech on his own explorations of the Angler POW camp near Marathon. Although there is little left of the camp, John’s descriptions of the area, its location and some of the more modern history brought colour and familiarity to the images on the screen. You can view John’s pre-film speech on YouTube.
The 2022 season at the museum was eventful, from the grand opening in July, with its cupcakes and scavenger hunt, to talks on the butterflies and milkweed and several movie screenings. John Lavoie hosted two separate Monarch butterfly releases, along with a demonstration of how the colourful insects get tagged for educational and tracking purposes.
Attendance at the museum was up from last year, with many residents and visitors dropping in to see the various exhibitions of mining and logging equipment, wildlife displays and the many elements of ordinary, day-to-day life in Northern Ontario. Many of the visitors were folks who used to live in Manitouwadge and have come back for a visit, and others have come to spend time with their family members who still reside here.
Verité and Josh, the summer student museum attendants, answered a lot of questions about the museum, the town and its history, but the most common were about were the mannequin, dressed in miner’s rescue gear, and advice on where to eat in town. They agreed, that, “Oh! I had one of those!” or “I remember that!” were the most frequently heard remarks from visitors examining the exhibits. The Eatons and Northern store catalogues also had people sighing nostalgically at the long-ago prices.
Verité and Josh were employed for the summer through grants and incentives, including sponsorship by Superior Country, best known for their promotion of the Lake Superior Circle Tour. They both enjoyed their tenure at the museum, but are ready to return to school. Verité will be returning to finish high school and Josh is working on his degree in social services. They both hope the experience will help them in their future career plans.
Access to the museum and its archives is still available to anyone during the off season by contacting John Lavoie at (807) 826-3549 or johnlavoie@live.ca. You can also read all about the Manitouwadge Museum in this SNnewsWatch article from July 13, 2022.
The museum’s staff and volunteers all wish you well for the seasons to come, and they hope to see you in the spring of 2023.