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Susan Mackie
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Susan Mackie
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Susan Mackie
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Susan Mackie
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Susan Mackie
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Susan Mackie
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Susan Mackie
By Susan Mackie
Discover this beautiful park set on 40 acres of pioneer Shuswap farmland, R.J. Haney Heritage Village and Museum is the Shuswap’s largest heritage attraction. Take a guided tour through Haney House, a 103-year-old farmhouse restored to a more genteel time. Explore the Heritage Village of relocated and replicated buildings. View the Queest Mountain Forestry Tower, Broadview School, Mt Ida Church, Salmon Arm’s first filling station, Fire Hall, Newnes Blacksmith Shop, Lester and Thomson Garage, and more. Not to be missed is Sam Beemish’s “Home Studio” with the largest public collection of cylinders and records in Western Canada.
This season the museum has a new exhibit in the newly renovated gallery. In 2013 the fire that swept Mt. Ida is but a fifteen year old memory. When the army moved in and the people left, Salmon Arm became a ghost town. The story of the threat that evacuated the community is explored, many of those affected interviewed, and startling newspaper coverage and photographs reproduced. Working in partnership with Black Press and the Salmon Arm Observer, the Salmon Arm Museum’s exhibit chronicles the catastrophic event. The 1998 images by award winning photographer James Murray have been reshot. The community has survived and it is time to celebrate!
Also in the museum gallery enjoy the exhibit “Billie Louie, the last of the Shuswap Riverboat Captains” When the CR Lamb had reached the end of its life as a sternwheeler serving Shuswap communities, Louie reinvented her. Constructed prior to road travel, the vessel plied the Shuswap between Savona and Enderby. Built in 1907 for the Arrow Lakes Lumber Company, it was fuelled by cordwood cut by early settlers and brought supplies to the far reaches of the Shuswap. Louie purchased the boat from the Shuswap Transportation Company and worked the waterways for the next twenty-five years.
While touring the Haney House you will discover “The Story of Ruth: the Water Colour Journals of Arthur Adair Brooke”, a beautiful selection of digitized images illustrating a father’s love for his daughter. Beginning in 1921, Brooke recorded the babe’s development in watercolour paintings like modern parents snap digital images. Follow the story in Marjorie’s Tea Room and see Ruth growing up in “the Valley” at the Mt. Ida District.
R.J. Haney Heritage Village is family and dog friendly. Stop a few minutes and let the kids pan for “Haney Gold” or enjoy a homemade daily lunch specials served in Marjorie’s Tea Room.
Need to stretch your legs? Take a walk on our 2.34 km nature-walking trails. The easy stroll takes you through four climatic zones. With our field guide in hand, identify the plants used by the First Nations and pioneer families for food and medicine. If you like treasure hunting and have a GPS unit, try looking for hidden geocaches; it’s a great way to find new areas to explore.
Surrounding Haney House enjoy the heritage gardens designed by landscape architect Patricia Reith. Get ideas for heritage plantings and feel free to ask our gardener for advice.
Always popular, Dinner Theatre begins July 3rd with shows Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays during July and August. An old-fashioned meal and interactive play promises to delight audiences; reservations are a must.
The Village is located just minutes east of Salmon Arm; find R.J. Haney Heritage Village and Museum near the junction of Highway 97B and the Trans Canada Highway. The Village opens May 15th and closes Sept. 22nd. Days and hours of operation are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - July and August open 7 days a week. Admission is by donation. The Archives are open year-round, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more info or reservations contact them by telephone at 250-832-5243, email info@salmonarmmuseum.org, like them at facebook.com/Haneyheritage or visit www.salmonarmmuseum.org.