When Joy Stusek, curator of the CN Museum and Visitor Information Centre in Canora, examined the guestbook after the end of the summer season, she was surprised to find signatures from visitors across not only Canada, but the rest of the world.
A total of 398 people signed the guest registry from when the museum opened on June 13 to its closure at the end of August, though Stusek mentioned that the number is only a vague representation of how many people visited.
“Many more people just stop in for directions or information and don’t actually go further into the museum,” she said.
Despite the low representation in numbers, the vast area of places people visited from is quite apparent in the guestbook, with visitors coming from Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ontario and the Northwest Territories in Canada; Illinois, Idaho, Alaska, Kansas, California, Colorado and Florida in the United States; Bermuda, Switzerland and Australia.
Comments on the museum were very positive. Many commended the community, the outgoing and friendly staff, the interesting and factual tours, and the preservation of the local history. Many who toured the museum showed interest in artifacts such as the typewriter and the old switchboard telephone system. Those from the CN station which is attached to the museum often stopped for a tour while waiting for a train, and Stusek fielded many questions about the route to Churchill, stating that it is still operational at the moment.
Stusek worked with her granddaughter Jenna to run the visitors’ centre and museum with about 15 volunteers throughout the summer who did cleaning and office work and conducted tours.
The visitors’ centre held a few events throughout the summer, including a hot dog barbecue during Canora in Bloom, which had 300 attendants, and the farmers’ market, which was held every Thursday from July until the end of September and featured baking, jewelry, wind chimes, fruit, vegetables, crepes, sausage, jam and pickles.
New acquisitions t the museum included two large plaques depicting Grade 12 proficiency award winners from 1920-1942 and from 1943-1965. The plaques were retrieved from Canora Composite School and the Canora branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. Two photo albums featuring Canora area residents, including soldiers and teachers, were found at a garage sale in Moose Jaw, while an old postcard featuring Canora’s main street was found at an estate sale in Seattle, Washington. A resident also found a collection of posters for showings at the Roxy Theatre from 1960 to 1961.
“That’s usually how we receive new artifacts, from old homes that people clean out,” Stusek said.
Souvenirs were also sold at the centre, with the most popular item being DVDs showing footage of Canora in the 1940s.
Stusek said that she hoped people would take advantage of the museum’s wealth of information once it opens again next summer.
“There’s lots of information here if people took the time to read it,” she said.
The CN Museum and Visitor Information Centre will take part in the Winter Festival in December and will offer hot chocolate and apple cider while providing sleigh rides.
