The more I learn about people from previous generations and the hardships and experiences they had, the more I respect and admire them. I think this is a large reason for the inherent interest we all find in visiting our local museums and viewing and learning about our history. Nothing can put you directly in touch with our forefathers than spending time with the items they once owned and used.
Today’s post finds us back at the Metchosin Pioneer Museum looking at a few artifacts. We had the pleasure and honor of spending an entire afternoon exploring the museum due to our best friends (The Mudpuppies) Dad who curates this awesome place. This post is a continuation of our long running series “The Antiques Toad Show“, which features the items we photographed that day and discusses their history.
Lantern - Metchosin Pioneer Museum, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
It may be tempting to break into a rendition of “You Light Up My Life” here, but I am quite sure that no one wants to hear an out-of-key Toad wailing, so we’ll save you that torture. With that being the case, I have to admit that this item really captivated my imagination. There’s just something about an antique lantern that takes us all right back to “Little House on the Prairie”. This particular item is still in rather wonderful condition, and displays all of it’s character with a lot of gusto. Who owned this? What was their story? You can easily picture a pioneer woman standing on her stoop with lantern in hand, signalling home to her husband who is coming in late from the fields. Today, we flick a switch and the entire house lights up, but 100 years ago no such luxuries existed.
Candy Tin - Metchosin Pioneer Museum, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
The Metchosin Pioneer Museum is perfectly setup to exemplify the tastes, decorations and setup of homes from this period. I am sure this old candy tin looks familiar to a lot of people. When I was a tadpole growing up, my mom used to buy me this toffee as a treat sometimes, but for me it was in a small, square cardboard container. The container may have changed over the years, but the familiarity of the brand remains, that’s for sure.
Butter Churn - Metchosin Pioneer Museum, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
I believe this is an old-fashioned butter churn. Please, do correct me if I am wrong. Maybe it’s an old whiskey barrel, but there was nary a pirate to be found in the vicinity so we went with our butter churn idea instead. Today to get butter, we all just head to the supermarket and open the fridge door to grab a pound. Not so much 100 years ago; butter was hand-churned. It was a huge labor, but I imagine the taste of fresh, pure farm butter must have truly been quite the thing.
Old Fashioned Display - Metchosin Pioneer Museum, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
This little shelf was on display in the little girls bedroom of the museum. Faithfully setup to reproduce a room from this era, items like this add so much authenticity to the display.
Storage Trunk - Metchosin Pioneer Museum, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Storage Trunk - Metchosin Pioneer Museum, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
With our recent work with TLC The Land Conservancy of BC, we have become acutely aware of the perils, dangers and challenges that our earliest settlers went through to bring themselves and their family to the “new world” to settle and find a better life. Many trunks like these were used to carry their valuables and items across vast oceans as they traveled to the new land. Each wear mark, each sticker or notation, is a personal mark much like the energy the people left behind in these objects.
It’s truly important not to ever forget this indelible imprint that has been left behind. These folks toiled with their very blood and sweat to create this place we all now call home. The world they created is truly a marvel, and we really believe in the importance of preserving these memories for all future generations to enjoy as well.
Thanks so much for your kind visit today, it really means a lot to us. Please, as always we encourage all our visitors to leave us any comments you may have as we really love to hear from everyone.
The post Treasures Left Behind appeared first on Toad Hollow Photography.
