There are a lot of people that make the Magrath Museum's world spin round.  A small part of that is the summer students. We had two summer students and if you read the blog post below you will have heard from Tandy who was one of them. Isn't she awesome? The answer is yes.  I was lucky enough to fill the second postion and it was an inspiring experience. I agree full hearted with her thoughts and just wanted to add a few of my own.
Magrath is an amazing place to call home, to come visit, and to be a part of forever. I had the opportunity to read many citizens histories. These histories varied, male, female, different ethnicities, backgrounds and stories, but they all had something in common. They were all apart of Magrath from the very begining. The dirt roads ( which still exist in some places) the potholes (once again that still exist)...the beggining of Main Street, Sports, Schools, friends, socializing, dancing, building growing, everything. The memories are precious and my hat goes off to the museum, doing a wonderful job preserving those memories.
When I first started working here I was asked to introduce myself. I reflected on the fact I did not grow up here, but I always felt like I did. I would spend a few months every year here. It was where my parents were raised and have recently moved back. The magic of Magrath is that it always feel like home. I am glad that after studying it through adn through for the last 4 months I still feel that way. I am grateful for the citizens past and present that make it the magical place that is.
Thank you for everything Magrath and keep making history!
-Cori-Jo Cook Frogley-

We have had such an excellent summer here at the Museum, and it is sad to think that is will soon be coming to and end! We would like to thank everyone who made this summer such a success! We have had a constant stream of artefacts, family history books, stories, and documents flowing into the Museum these past few months. It makes our job so much easier when we have such a wonderful community full of citizens who are willing to share their history with us. We value everyone's history because it is the foundation of the marvellous town we live in today! We have accomplished far more than we could ever imagine this summer, and it is all thanks to you! We, the staff at the Museum, want you to know how much we truly appreciate your support! Please do not hesitate to share any information or history you have with us, we love to learn new things about our community! Thanks for your support, and we wish you the best   this Summer season! 

We are so thrilled to tell you about our Good News!! The Magrath Museum's summer hours have been extended for one more week!! It has been a wonderful summer here at the Museum, so let's go out with a BANG and see how many visitors we can get to the Museum this week! Don't wait until it is too late to get a fabulous tour--We even have treats for those who complete our Scavenger Hunt! Come in today and experience all we have to offer!

*Monday August 22 - Friday August 26*
9:00am - 6:00 pm

Hope to see you soon! :)

We have been working hard here at the Museum to get all the Pioneer Newspapers into our computer system, and we are SO proud to announce we have successfully completed this task!!! Just to give you an idea, there are about 400 Newspapers total (some dating back to as for as 1906), each containing an average of 8 pages-- Which means there are roughly 3200 pages of Magrath's history waiting for you to read! Come into the Museum today to see for yourself the wonder and adventure these papers contain. They capture all the news and exciting things that happened  in Magrath, tips on how to keep a clean household, pages containing photographs of what was going on around the world that particular week in history, and so much more! Reading through these papers gives you an idea of what life was really like in Magrath before our generation! Don't hesitate to come in and take a look for yourself!!

As promised, here are a few close up pictures from our Magrath Days float! Once again, we would like to thank Cynthia & Wayne Harris  for all their hard work, and everyone else who was involved in making our float a success! 

The museum has been working hard to bring you more interviews, more newspapers, more tours, and more information! We have almost finished scanning in The Pioneer Newspapers dating back from the 1900's.  Along with that we have had several interviews coming soon for you to read and enjoy. Families represented include the Alstons, Ponomars, Cook's, Nykyforuk's, Minor's, Stevenson's and many more! 

If you have any family history or stories...the museum wants them! After all we only have as much information that we can find and that is given to us. Help us represent everyone properly. Thank you for your time and effort and making Magrath the wonderful place that it is!

This is what we are hoping for. There is only two full weeks left of tour giving time.  Come one come all and come soon!

As we prepare for school to start and summer to end ( at least for the College students of Magrath) it made me ponder what school was like 60 years ago. Luckily for me the answers were right in front of me. We have stories from the Lehi School, Bradshaw School, Farmhill School, St Mary School and of course La Prairie. 

While reading through the teacher's memories of some of her students, one thought stuck out in my mind. The teacher could recall all of the girls working very hard to make houses by the trees. They had rocks bordering the rooms and they made brooms out of weeds and would sweep the floors and play pretend all recess long. The boys apparently took great joy in pretending to be tornadoes/dinosaurs really anything that would be destructive and take down the houses the girls had worked so hard to make. 

I can also recall doing part of my student teaching in a Grade 1 classroom. A young girl had made a beautiful house out of blocks and a young boy decided that he was a storm coming in to test the strength of the house. It makes me smile to know that not a lot has to change over the years.

What has changed that I am most grateful for is heating that I personally do not have to worry about. Back in the day it was the responsibility of the teacher to come in early and start a fire in the stove to warm up the classroom before the students arrived. It was quite the task to keep coal and wood in stock. Teachers and students would often arrive in the classroom freezing from walking or driving to school in harsh winds and snowy conditions. 

It was not easy, but the dedication to learn and teach from these students and teachers is inspiring. Come in today and see what other stories and pictures we have for viewing. Don't forget we also have years and years of year books to see!

Hello Ladies and Gents,
Here at the museum we are becoming you tub savy. As you can tell on our blast to the past link.....we have directed you to this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIk50c5Q7uE. It is our newest you tube video that shows a short clip of Threshing from the 1940's. It is a small taste of what the museum is going to be showing from now on. Come on in and see what else we have to offer!

Better pictures of our float will be coming soon however we just wanted to give a big thank you to Cynthia Harris and her wonderful husband Wayne Harris  for being the masterminds behind this amazing float. They hand built the concession stand and projector board. They put countless hours into planning a movie theatre on wheels. With vintage seating, a movie theatre  popcorn machine, a Harker Head Store cash register, an antique projector and 1,000 bags of popcorn...there really wasn't a chance that this float wasn't going to be amazing. 

The projector screen  boasted " Now Showing The Past. Come to the Magrath Museum Near You."

Here at the museum we are working hard to bring you the past with the technology we have today. ( Facebook, Twitter and of course this website.) 

Keep your eyes out for more photos and don't be afraid to pop on in!