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Humourous play featured at Dickson’s log cabin opening
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by Steve Dills
Sylvan Lake News
A humourous one-act play performed by Fred Pedersen and Sharon Lightbown was one of the highlights of the official opening of the log cabin at Dickson Store Museum, Sunday.
The play “Letters to Grandma and Grandpa” featured letters written by a young man to his grandparents about life in the Dickson area and some of the trouble he got into. The script was written by Lightbown and the letters were written by Victor Jensen.
About 60 people were at the opening for the cabin which was four years in the making, according to Dickson Store Museum Society president Antonia Nissen. They built the base of four logs for a “home on the range” project four years ago. “That sparked the idea we should complete this cabin,” she said.
After securing funding through a provincial community initiatives grant and raising the matching dollars, they were fortunate to find a skilled craftsman, Gus Jackson, in the community who could finish the cabin.
Nissen said there was lots of volunteer support for the project. She added that all levels of government have also supported the museum’s projects.
The museum has been recognized for its contributions to the community by the support of numerous volunteers. It was recognized earlier this year by Red Deer County with a Heritage Recognition Award for its 100th anniversary celebration last year. And, she added, recently the museums community has recognized Dickson Store Museum with a 2010 outreach award for the historic play put on last year.
“This encourages us to plan new and unique programs of interest to you and our visitors,” Nissen said.
During the ceremony, MP Earl Dreeshen announced the society was successful in receiving $11,474, through the Museums Assistance Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, towards its policy development project. Activities will include creating, updating, and revising the museum’s collections and interpretations policies and procedures. These updated policies and procedures will ensure that the community is well informed of the organization’s purpose and long-term goals.
Congratulating the society on a job well done, Dreeshen said, “Your commitment to preservation of our history has not gone unnoticed.”
He added the society “enriches the lives of people who visit or live in this region. Thanks to the museum, Albertans can become aware of their rich history.”
Red Deer County councillor Jim Lougheed noted when he first got on council the county didn’t do a lot of funding for community groups. That’s changed in the past four years.
“It’s amazing what a little bit of seed money will do,” he said. That spurs volunteers to pursue projects worthwhile to the community and to future generations.
Nissen said the cabin was part of a bigger project of five site improvements. Besides the cabin, the society installed a new alarm system in the museum, installed picnic tables, repaired the garage which had been hit by a vehicle, and is in he process of replacing their tents with something more sturdy. “We need to raise some more money and do some more research” on the tent replacement, she said. It’s in the plans for next year.
The society is holding a harvest festival Sept. 12 and the Julestue (Scandinavian Bazaar) Nov. 6.
Over the winter, she said, they’ll be working on their policies as well as writing new education programs which could be held in the cabin and creating a new exhibit for the front part of the store where temporary exhibits are displayed.
Dickson Store was built in 1909 by Carl Christiansen and operated until 1980. The family lived on the second floor above the store. Restored to a typical 1930s general store that sold groceries, hardware and dry goods, it was officially opened as a museum in 1991. The second floor has been restored to the 1930s era as well. |
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