Publications

Sharing of stories and information has always been the museum's top priority and we look for new and exciting ways to do that!

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First Annual Artifacts Untold: A Creative Writing Contest

In July, we challenged members of the public to fabricate the history of one of four different artifacts we had on display.  This year the artifacts included a green dress from the c. 1940-50s, a radio from c. 1940s, a walking stick refurbished from a shillelagh and a commissioned painting Kate Sanders. Either through the writing of short stories or drawing of a picture, people were challenged to submit their work for publication!

A winner has been chosen! Congratulations to Sabryn McLennan for their work "Cam" published below.

                                                        Cam
                                         By: Sabryn McLennan     

     There is always a sort of melancholy in retiring something for the final time.
Whether it be a teapot passed down to you by your great aunt, books you no longer
have any space for, or clothes you no longer wear. Today was Ms. Taylor’s day for the
melancholic retirement of keepsakes and it was my job to help it go smoothly.
     “Ms. Taylor, this is gorgeous. I’m sure someone would take this instead of
throwing it away.” I showed the rich emerald green dress to the elderly woman sitting
next to me. Ms. Taylor inhaled softly and reached out to touch the fabric in a gentle
caress while a shy smile crept onto her face.
     “Cam bought me this dress. For our prom”, she spoke softly with the deep
reverence that only comes with decades of time.
     I tilted my head, puzzled, as this was the first time in the two years I had known
her that she had ever mentioned someone named Cam.
     “Who’s Cam?”
     “My first love. My soulmate, and the only person I think I ever truly loved.”
I passed her the box and watched as she brushed her weathered fingertips over
the satin, emerald dress and gazed at it with such adoration that I was momentarily
taken aback.
     I leaned over and placed my hand on her arm, stealing her attention away from
the dress, “Will you tell me about him?”
     Ms. Taylor’s smile shifted slightly, taking on a more knowing yet pained look as
she settled deeper into her sagging chair.
     “Your first love is different. In a way that no other love you have ever could be”,
her face relaxed in thought and for a brief moment, I could see that fresh-faced young
girl. “I had just turned eighteen when I knew, irrevocably, that Cam would be the only
one for me.”
     I, too, settled deeper into the drooping armchair, awaiting the story into Ms.
Taylor's unknown past love life.
     “We had been friends throughout high school but it wasn’t until our last year that
Cam truly noticed me. I, however, had noticed Cam. How could anyone not notice the
kindest eyes, or always perfectly styled hair, or the happiest and most infectious laugh
anyone had ever heard.”
     Ms. Taylor glanced over at me fondly, “When Cam laughed, I finally understood
what people meant when they said someone’s laugh could brighten a room. And Cam
had the softest hands that fit perfectly in mine,” she clicked her tongue and shook her
head softly, “I remember how my stomach felt like it would drop right onto my feet every
time we kissed.”
     She looked down at the green dress once more but seemed to stare through it,
wistfully.
     “One of Cam’s favourite pastimes was complimenting me just to see how
flustered I could get. I would glow as red as a tomato and Cam just thought that was the
funniest thing,” she chuckled to herself. “I thought that the time between then and now
would wear down the feeling but I still get flustered at the memory.”
     Ms. Taylor went quiet for a few moments, lost in thought.
     “It sounded like you loved him deeply. Why weren’t you together?” I asked her
tentatively in the heavy, yearning silence. She looked at me again.
     “We actually lived together for a while, but the world wasn’t moving fast enough
for us and we couldn’t stay together.” she sighed. I could truly tell that this Cam had held
Ms. Taylor's heart and soul, and still did to this day.
     “I have a picture of us - at prom I believe - in one of those photo albums. Would
you like to see?” She asked me. I nodded in response, already reaching for the box of
photo albums.
     I was flipping through the second photo album when Ms. Taylor made a noise of
delight, a dewy-eyed, sentimental grin already present on her face. She gently handed
me a worn black and white photo of two people with their arms wrapped around each
other. The girl in the dark dress whom I recognized as a youthful Ms. Taylor was
grinning widely at the other. I let out a soft noise in realization and surprise as I fully
grasped the picture in my hands.
     “Ms. Taylor? Was ‘Cam’ a nickname?”
     She gave me a little knowing smile.
     “Her name was Camilla.”

 Special thanks to Ingrid and Emmett who won our Jr. contest, where they had to draw a picture of one of the artifacts on display.

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As always, the museum is currently looking for more opportunities and partnerships.