Archives can be an interesting topic, and the Prince Albert Historical Museum brought together several archivists for their Coffee and Conversation on Sunday focused on the city’s archives.
The Museum hosted archivists from the Bill Smiley Archives, the Anglican Diocese of Saskatchewan, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince Albert to discuss the inner workings of archives.
The event was part of Archives Month and aimed to introduce the public to the range of archival resources available in Prince Albert and how they can be used for historical research.
Connie Gerwing of the Prince Albert Historical Society explained that it was ahead of Archives Month in February.
“It’s basically to give people an idea of what’s in the archives in the city. So we’ve got our archives people, but we’ve got the Anglican Church Archives, Marlene Payton, and Janice Trudel from the Roman Catholic Diocese,” Gerwing explained.
She explained that in February they will be hosting four free historical research workshops in both the museum and the Prince Albert Public Library. These will be on Feb. 5 at the Museum from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m., Feb. 12 at the Library, Feb. 19 at the Museum, and Feb. 26 at the Library. All the workshops will be from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.
She said that these will be for Archives Week and Month.
“This is kind of like an introduction. This is to the start. So that was our purpose in doing it now, was this is Archives Month is coming, and here’s all the archives,”
Archivists from the Bill Smiley Archives were Fred Payton and Ken Guedo.
Gerwing said that archives are sort of an unknown and unappreciated commodity.
“That’s a lot of what we’re trying to do is get it out in the public that this exists. And we have this tremendous photograph archive, really,” she said.
Gerwing explained that she had recently read a book by University of Alberta researcher Sandra Rollings-Magnusson about women homesteaders.
“She credits the Prince Albert Historical Society. Somewhere she got pictures from us or material from us. I don’t know exactly what, because I haven’t gone in detail through the book, but I mean, that’s our archives. You know, people are using them. Merle Massie used them in her thesis. And people come from a long way away sometimes to use them,” she said.
Fred Payton of the Prince Albert Historical Society spoke during the Archives Coffee and Conversation at the Prince Albert Historical Museum on Sunday.
Gerwing said that there are many reasons why and purposes for which people want to access archives.
“The Salvation Army just asked us to provide Historical documentation because they lost all of it,” Fred Payton said.
There was a great crowd for the Coffee and Conversation, which was the first one after the Historical Museum took December off from them.
Payton talked about documents that people can use to help to get themselves started.
“I have got a copy of a month of the Daily Herald from the 1940s. I’ve got the little pamphlet that we put together with the pioneers remembering, reminiscing. I’ve got a telephone directory from 1952. I’ve got a Henderson’s directory from 1952. And so, and I’ve got a yearbook from Riverside Collegiate because it’s an amazing thing how when people come in, and they often don’t know anything,” Payton said.
Payton explained that the reason most people come searching for information is that they do not know everything in relation to what they are looking for.
“Except that makes it more difficult for us. But we had a woman come in this summer, and (Curator) Michelle (Taylor) brought her downstairs, said she’s looking for a picture from the Herald from the 1950s of her dad playing football from Riverside,” Payton said.
He explained that he figured out the date of the photo by looking through Riverside yearbooks and locating the year the man played football. He then went to September and October issues of the Herald which he theorized would give him the photo.
“And it did. And that’s the way that we got that one worked out. So you have to have a starting point. And these documents are the documents that really help with you to get started.
Payton said that other archivists at the Historical Museum and other locations would have similar stories including his wife Marlene Payton. Marlene also provides historical information used in Facebook posts by St. Albans Anglican Church.
Fred also provides some historical pieces for the St. Albans Facebook as well.
“I share that with her and then she shares it with the congregation,” Fred said.
During her discussion, Trudel was able to tell the story of a headstone that was eventually created when she was doing historical family research.
The next Coffee and Conversation will feature Neil Headrick.
