The Killarney museum has seen numerous changes over the years, but one thing remains and that's the capturing of what life was like in the earliest years of this prairie town located east of the Turtle Mountains by showcasing local artifacts unique to the area.
The J.A.V. David Museum started in one of the most historic buildings in Killarney back in 1960, the original post office on William Ave. In 1889 the post office was built for Charles Bates, the postmaster, for the dual purpose of a post office and a home. The large front room served as the post office. The room above it was used for a variety of purposes, including council meetings, a music studio, the literary society and a Sunday school. The rest of the building was used for the Bates family living quarters.
In the 1950's Charles Bates' daughter wished the building to be used for community purposes and the two councils at the time, Town of Killarney and the RM of Turtle-Mountain, purchased the building. At that time, J.A. Victor David was the Mayor of Killarney, and an avid reader, and in 1959 a community library was opened in the lower floor, the Lakeland Regional Library.
Victor David was Mayor of Killarney till 1959 but continued to advocate for the literary and historical collections of the area.
In 1960, the natural history collection of Charles Havelock in the Killarney School needed a new home. The collection was moved to the upper level of the Bates building with the help of J.A. Victor David, Alex Cochrane and Stanley Rigby. The Lakeland Museum was born. One year later, former Killarney resident and now well-known Vancouver artist, Harold H Elliott, donated a large number of his art pieces to the museum, giving the museum an instant art gallery.
In 1967, Canada's Centennial year, the museum's name was changed to the J.A.V. David Museum in honour of its founder who had advocated for numerous initiatives in the community including the local hospital, the golf course (1921) and the curling rink (1929).
By 1974 the library had outgrown the lower level and was relocated one block south, giving the museum the entire building to showcase their collection of pioneer relics and artifacts, period clothing and furniture, wartime pictures and mementos, aboriginal artifacts found in surrounding fields and meadows, and personal collections of local residents (such as Helen Perry's button books).
In the mid-1980's a new building was built beside the Bates building so the museum was spread out between the two buildings. However, the old post office building, and now the museum, had served its community well, but by 2011 the building needed to be demolished, and all the artifacts were moved into the new building. Space became an issue, and that challenge has continued to this very day.
Museum Board member, Randy Hodge, says they've been able to revamp the displays in order to show more of what they have in their collection of artifacts. "We've changed the displays earlier this year. So, there are new things to look at. And we're always very interested in any artifacts that are pertinent to the Killarney area and the Turtle Mountains."
"We often get people bringing things that maybe their grandparents lived here and they're unique to the area. We've got some things from north of here, like the Flintlock Trade Musket found in a creek near the old Sanitorium at Ninette back in 1920," he adds.
"We've also got a good collection of artifacts from World War I and WWII, as well as the Korean War," shares museum curator, Joyce Dietrich. "Swords from bayonets, even a German army helmet. Lots of different things that are very interesting, including many family collections that have been donated to the museum."
"We like those kinds of things that are pertinent to the Killarney area from families that want to preserve them," explains Dietrich. "And a lot of those family's children do not want those items, or they don't have the space to store them or display them. So that's how they end up coming here. If the family wants to keep them, then they don't come here. But we have some very interesting collections!" she adds.
Those very interesting collections include Helen Perry's Button Book. Helen Perry lived in the Waskada area and collected buttons from all over the world, and from as many local folks as she could! Her collection spans decades of searching for unique buttons that would catch her attention.
"We have four of her button books," says Dietrich. "She did it for the 1967 Centennial. Adeline Nickel redid them because they were falling apart. But there's four Button Books. The buttons were sent to her from all over the world for these button books."
In the years of 1888-1890, Dagg brothers James, Richard and Frank moved to Killarney from Lucan, Ontario. What they brought with them was a floral wreath their mother made with thread, circa 1860. The wreath is encased in a wooden frame to protect it. But this precious heirloom is about 165 years old!
A furniture piece unique to Killarney's commerce is from the Kent's Store on the main street. Fred Kent came to Killarney at the age of 3 with his mother and grandparents from Newcastle, Ont. His mother, Annie Kent, taught at Rowland School. Fred had many interests and skills, including working a fret saw, the art of making candy, as well as a keen interest in aviation.
During WWI he attended flying school in Chicago primarily to learn how to build an aeroplane. He obtained the plans for a Partridge aircraft design and with help from a few Killarney locals was able to construct the craft in 1915 and flew it 200-300 feet in the air. In 1910 Fred Kent would purchase Angus McQueen's grocery store. Mr. Kent's cash register is on display at the Killarney museum and has some very unique features on it.
The cash register sits on top of a cabinet that has multiple drawers. Each of the different cashiers who worked their shift had their own drawer that was orchestrated to pop open once they punched their own personal button on the cash register upon collecting money from a sale. As well, each drawer had its own bell at the back and would ring every time the drawer opened.
Joyce Dietrich says they welcome local artifacts, and they see new ones come into the museum everyday, but they do need the story that goes with the item. They have a number of items that still remain a mystery, one being the Million Dollar Club.
We have some paper artifacts from the Million Dollar Club, but we can find no information on it," she says. "But there was a Million Dollar Club in Killarney but we can't find anything on it. We've got the tickets for one of their events, like a dance."
The wealth of artifacts is amazing, but it takes dedicated members who are passionate about local history to join the Board and the list of volunteers to make the museum run smoothly, and to be able to be open more often. At one time, the museum was open year-round. Whereas now it is only open during summer months, and upon special scheduled tours.
Dietrich says the museum really needs more volunteers, people who are interested in history and creating exhibits and looking after artifacts.
"It's a lot of work, but it's well worth it when you see young kids come in and you ask them to find the first phone in Killarney, and they have no idea what it looks like. None at all," she laughs. "But we have to preserve our history," she adds. "If we don't, we're in trouble. And that history needs to be shared with the young people."
With that, the invite is always open for school groups to spend a few hours getting a taste of what town life, and farming, was like back in those early settlement years. But not only students, says Randy Hodge. "We really encourage people to come for tours. We do tours for senior homes, for schools, organizations, for any and every age. It's great for us to see the different ones learn more about the history of the town, of the area."
"There's a lot of history here that we'd love to share with more residents and visitors to Killarney!" adds Hodge.
The museum is located at 414 Williams Ave, Killarney. It is open June to August, Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Other times by appointment. Admission charged. Call 204-523-7369 to schedule a tour.
For more information visit the J.A.V. David Museum website HERE and their Facebook page HERE!
