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Heritage partners renewing ties

The first meeting of the Lakeland Heritage Partners in almost two years was held at Fort George and Buckingham House interpretive centre last week, in hopes of revitalizing the group and getting back to work on making its goals a reality.

The first meeting of the Lakeland Heritage Partners in almost two years was held at Fort George and Buckingham House interpretive centre last week, in hopes of revitalizing the group and getting back to work on making its goals a reality.

More than 25 museums, historic sites and history-related groups were invited to the meeting, with seven of those sending representation, including the host site.

Heritage Partners president Marvin Bjornstad said the group “grew out of the Iron Horse Trail. We spent three years trying to start it, and did some communicating. We met here in 2008, and while we didn’t have a formal structure, we have had some ongoing projects.”

At those earlier meetings, the group set out goals and objectives, established a connection with Alberta’s Lakeland DMO, set membership fees, made up a contact list, took a familiarization tour of some of the museums and held meetings in them, did some advertising together, and became aware of each other’s projects, he said.

The group’s vision is to actively coordinate the promotion of regional history by encouraging the continued development of the members and their heritage product, while their mission is as “a regional, cooperative group that promotes awareness of history by fostering active development, communication and sharing among member heritage groups.”

The goals and objectives were reviewed briefly, and each participant had the opportunity to report on new developments at their location. Cold Lake Museum, for example, recently received provincial historic sites designation as a Cold War era installation. The four-part museum, covering air force, pioneer, Aboriginal and oil industry history, has entered a new partnership with the local high school, with students interviewing seniors from the area’s original families and retired oil workers and creating podcasts that will be featured in museum displays.

Bjornstad outlined Elk Point Historical Society’s plans to frame a collection of maps, while Marjorie Scott spoke about the Heinsburg Community Development Society’s progress on restoring the community’s original train station.

Numerous ideas for cross-promotion were brought forward, from sharing displays and holding joint events to production of a newsletter that would communicate new developments and upcoming events among the members and the establishment of a website where the public could find out more about the sites.

The group hopes to meet again early in 2011 to work on projects the coming season.


About the Author: Vicki Brooker

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