Le Musée Acadien, West Pubnico
Fort Point Lighthouse Museum, Liverpool
Museums are a way of keeping alive our history and our heritage. In Nova Scotia, where much of Canada's history began over 400 years ago, they form an important link to our past for both residents and visitors alike.
Hundreds of museums of all shapes and sizes dot the landscape of the province. Some are small, local or community museums, while others are large and offer broader insights into the history of Nova Scotia and its people.
But scattered among them are what I call niche museums . . . or museums featuring collections of artifacts related to one particular subject rather than to a broad range of topics of an historical nature.
I recently visited and photographed a number of these museums in Southwestern Nova Scotia . . . museums with collections of clocks, quilts, cameras, fire trucks, carved birds, airplanes and railroads.
As a photographer, the opportunity to see a collection of cameras dating back almost a hundred years was a definite draw. I saw many of the makes and models of cameras that I used over the years, including a Speed Graphic that I first used as a news photographer in the mid 1950s. I'm also a model train enthusiast and finding two museums related to Nova Scotia railroads was another plus.
I can't image a youngster who wouldn't want to see a museum devoted to trains or one with a collection of fire trucks dating back to the early 1800s, not to mention seeing and touching a World War II Lancaster bomber.
Mom would be thrilled to see a collection of quilts and Dad to see walls filled with clocks of all shapes and sizes.
Let's take a look at what I found during a three-day trip around the southwestern end of Nova Scotia and see if your don't agree that these are places for the whole family . . .
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The Greenwood Military Aviation Museum houses permanent and temporary exhibits reflecting the history of aviation squadrons that have been based at the Annapolis Valley airfield.
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The Macdonald Museum in Middleton is located in a former consolidated school building, the first of its kind in Canada. It operated as a school between 1901 and 1979. Among its featured exhibits is a collection of over 150 antique clocks. It also houses a recreated country story, a period school classroom and various rotating exhibits.
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The Memory Lane Railway Museum in Middleton is housed in the former Dominion Atlantic Railway station and features extensive displays related to railroading in the Annapolis Valley. Outside the museum is an operating garden railroad.
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The Firefighters Museum of Nova Scotia is located the the main street of Yarmouth houses an extensive collection of fire trucks and other firefighting appartus dating back to the early 1800s. All but one of the firetrucks on display served in a Nova Scotia fire department and all are in excellent condition.
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The Wedgeport Sport Tuna Museum and Interpretive Centre is located the in the Acadian fishing village of Wedgeport. The museum keeps alove the history of the International Tuna matches that brought teams from all over the world to Wedgeport to fish for giant bluefin tuna. During its day, Wedgeport hosted such dignitaries as U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, singer Kate Smith, boer Gene Tunney, aviator Amelia Earhart and author Ernest Hemingway, among others.
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Le Musée Acadien in West Pubnico houses extensive records related to early Acadian settlement in Nova Scotia, but it also features a collection of over 300 cameras dating back to 1895. Also on display are stunning examples of carved wooden birds, the work of a Richard d'Entremont, a local artisan who never considered himself an artist. He died in an unfortunate drowing accident while lobster fishing alone.
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The Hank Snow Country Music Centre is housed in the former Liverpool railway station and chronicles the life of Country and Western music star Hank Williams who was born in nearby Brooklyn. The music centre also features information and displays on other Nova Scotia country and western musicians, including Wilf Carter who was born in the Annapolis Valley.
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The Halifax & Southwestern Railway Museum in Lunenburg preserve the rich railroading history along the Nova Scotia South Shore between Halifax and Yarmouth. It is the brainchild of Duane Porter (above right) who is creating an detailed, S-guage model of the former 300-kilometer long railway.
Check the links for each of the above museums, or have a look at these websites:
www.exploreourshores.com
www.destinstionsouthwestnova.com
www.novascotia.com
www.museum.gov.ns.ca
www.novascotiaheritage.ca
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