Museum opening.
Arnprior and District Museum curator Janet Carlile and David Forsyth, senior curator of Scottish Social History and Diaspora at the National Museum of Scotland, show off the emigrant’s kist at the museum’s opening event June 9.
Sherry Haaima
It promises to be a banner summer at the Arnprior and District Museum.
With recently completed renovations, windows being replaced and the Prince and the Prior re-enactment just around the corner, the museum celebrated its opening June 9 with a full house.
David Forsyth, senior curator of Scottish Social History and Diaspora at the National Museum of Scotland, was the guest speaker for the event.
“I’m delighted to have David Forsyth here from Edinburgh,” said Arnprior Museum curator Janet Carlile.
She credited supporters for their help.
“I’d like to thank the council and the Town of Arnprior for their continued support of this museum,” said Carlile.
“Without your support we really don’t know what we’d do,” said Carlile.
In terms of an update, Carlile explained the windows have been taken out and should be replaced by the end of the month. “They are being rebuilt using as many of the original materials as they possibly can,” said Carlile.
A Trillium grant allowed for the refurbishing of the top floor, which is now complete. This floor is where the Prince and the Prior exhibit will be housed in conjunction with the upcoming re-enactment of the prince’s 1860 visit to Arnprior.
A new washroom has also increased the building’s capacity, said Carlile.
Algonquin College students will once again be involved in several museum projects, including construction of the Prince and the Prior exhibit.
Board members and other volunteers logged in excess of 3,000 hours last year.
“It’s an amazing figure and I’m very grateful,” said Carlile.
Arnprior Mayor Terry Gibeau thanked Carlile, board members and volunteers for all their hard work..
“This really is the achievement of Arnprior and it continues to grow and it continues to thrive,” said Gibeau.
THE EMIGRANT’S KIST
Special guest Forsyth said by some estimates there are 50 million people across the world who can claim Scottish ancestry.
“The history of the Scots in relation to Canada is long and deep,” said Forsyth.
An emigrants’ kist, the chest that Scots traditionally brought with them on their journey to the new country, was on display, along with samples of the kind of personal items and other things people would have brought.
Forsyth spoke about the Scottish emigrants who came to Canada, some with no choice, he said, but some who welcomed the new opportunity in a vast land.
“You could lose Scotland in the middle of Ontario,” he said of the geographic comparison.
Among the slides Forsyth shared were examples of advertisements and newspaper articles about the journey to Canada.
Those who came were often educated and looking to improve their lives, he said, but are often portrayed as down-and-outs. “These were people who read newspapers, people who knew what was going on in the world,” he said.
Chain migration, or word of mouth that life in Canada was good, ensured a steady stream of Scots emigrating here.
The introduction of the 10-pound ticket after the Second World War further increased the flow.