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Out with the old, in with the new

Museum is celebrating 50 years and is chronicling the changes that have taken place and the news

Another year has come and gone and I notice the older one gets, the quicker it goes!

50 years has come and gone since your Museum officially opened its doors in August ,1963.

Those 50 years have seen many changes in the Museum, interior and exterior.

And as we celebrate 50 years in the community, it brings us to the realization that our building is ageing and indeed, needs to be replaced.

I believe it was the year 2000 the people of Quesnel voted to replace the facility.

Here it is 2013, and so far, we’re still where we were then.  It is a sign of the times that important decisions are put on hold and the Museum is just such a one.

While we wait for this dream to become a reality, the Museum still requires your support.

To that end, the following has been set up.

The Friends of the Museum, along with the Quesnel Museum and Heritage Commission, have established an Agency Fund within the Quesnel Community Foundation. This fund has start-up funding of $20,000 and is under the administration of the Quesnel Community Foundation.

This new agency fund will allow community members to make periodic donations, a bequest in their will, or a donation in memory of a loved one.

The income from this perpetual fund will be paid annually to the Friends of the Museum and will be used for museum exhibits, programs and/or special projects at the Museum.

The capital donations will never be spent.

To make a donation, visit the web site www.quesnelfoundation.ca and click on Donate NOW or mail your donation to the Quesnel Community Foundation, Box 4158, Quesnel B.C. V2J 3J2 or email qcf@shaw.ca. Please make it clear that your donation is to go into the Quesnel Museum Agency Fund. Thank you.

As we celebrate 50 years, we have plenty in store for you!  For example, watch for our weekly column, pulled from the archives of the Cariboo Observer, with snippets of what happened 50 years ago to the day; in August, celebrate with us at our tea party.  There have been rumours of Quesnel’s very own Antiques Road Show, with an accredited appraiser on site to appraise your heirlooms for insurance purposes or just to find out what they are worth.  Stay tuned for updates on the exciting aspects for just such an event.

It is said that age affects people as it affects wine; it sours the bad and sweetens the good.

Hope to see you as you ‘pass time’ at the Museum.

Honey Affleck is chair of the museum commission and regular Observer contributor.