The Austin Threshermen's Reunion and Stampede saw thousands of people join them in their celebratory weekend showcasing what pioneer life was like over a hundred years ago on the Prairies in Manitoba, through demonstrations, displays and tours at this year's Manitoba Threshermen's Reunion & Stampede.
It was the 69th year for this 4-day event that started in the 1940s when concern was raised about the slow disappearance of farming equipment and machinery used in the earliest years of pioneering.
The Threshermen's Reunion & Stampede is held every year at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum. But throughout the summer the museum shares both Manitoba Ag and local history over their 100 acres of land near Austin.
No doubt, it takes thousands of volunteer hours from hundreds of volunteers to host a show as big as the Threshermen's Reunion. However, the museum also relies on summer students to help with a multitude of tasks, including setting up displays.
For example, summer student and curatorial assistant, Sara Thiessen, took the lead in setting up this summer's exhibition, 'Aquaculture: Farming the Waters' which shares about an area of agriculture that most don't really realize, such as fish farms and kelp farming.
Collections and Programming Manager, Tricia Dyck, says having a summer student like Thiessen, who is in an educational program to pursue her career in the .... sciences work at the museum gives her invaluable lessons on multiple levels.
"As she has learned how to install this exhibit on aquaculture, just this skill development that we've been working on with our students here at the museum," shares Dyck. The museum hired about half a dozen students through the provincial government's student grant programs where they help to cover the wages for these students."
Thiessen grew up not far from the Austin museum on an acreage with her family. She spent one year in college in Winnipeg, but is gearing up to attend Lakeland College in Vermillion, Alberta to pursue her education on environmental sciences.
"What I'm really going for is conservation biology and I'm about to pursue a diploma in wildlife and fisheries conservation in this next school year," she explains. "And I've really been able to get a head start on that here at the museum. I'm working on a wetlands exhibit to showcase the marsh that we have here on the museum grounds. It's been really interesting, and it's really tied my interests and passions into the work that I'm doing here. It's been really exciting," she adds.
Thiessen says once she has completed the 2-year diploma course in Vermillion she wishes to further her education in this same field.
Tricia Dyck says Sara has been working on cataloguing collection items, learning how to exhibit and display various collection pieces, as well as learning some of the basics of conservation, in conserving the pieces that are very important.
"And this applies to beyond the Aquaculture exhibit," says Dyck. "This applies to tractors, domestic items, putting things back into heritage buildings. So, Sara is going to have an amazing skill set when she leaves from here to be able to add to her resume and any future employment."
The Manitoba Agricultural Museum exhibition, Aquaculture: Farming the Waters will be on display until August 24. The museum is open from 10am - 4pm, 7 days a week through the summer months.
The exhibition features farmers in aquaculture all across Canada.