Meditation and the Practice of Photography
Apr 5, 2016 | Fernie Museum
Meditation and the Practice of Photography Norman Riley created the Peace Park Perspectives exhibit after completing his artist in residence program at Glacier National Park last summer. He reflects here on his experience and how the experience was about more than...
Saving Community Memory
Mar 21, 2016 | Fernie Museum
In a race against time, the Fernie Museum's Community Memory Project seeks to document the memories of the current generation of community elders to help create a greater understanding of our history. This project will build on the research of past museum staff and...
A 13 year old miner: The tragic tale of Stephen Balayti
Mar 14, 2016 | Archives, Fernie History, Fernie Museum, Museum Exhibits
This is the story of one of Fernie's ghosts - the tragic tale of a young man lost in the 1902 Coal Creek Mine Explosion; the largest mine disaster in BC's history in which 130 men and boys perished. Stephen wasn’t more than a lick of a kid at 13 when he started...
Fernie’s Italian Community Cultural Memory Project
Feb 16, 2016 | Fernie History, Fernie Museum
The Rise and Fall of Emilio Picariello travelling exhibit that opened at the Fernie Museum on September 19, 2015 revealed a deep-seated desire to understand Fernie’s past. This was particularly true for members of the Italian community. At museum visits and the...
A 1900s Cold Case Examined
Feb 9, 2016 | Fernie History, Museum Exhibits, Museum Programs and Events
Emilio Picariello is a character who captures the imagination. His entrepreneurial spirit garnered him many successful legal businesses. The rising tide of Prohibition, meant that bootlegging was a natural progression of “Emperor Pick’s” acumen. However bootlegging...
The Roots of Brewing in Fernie
Jan 20, 2016 | Fernie History, Museum Programs and Events
In celebration of the Fernie Brewing Company's Cheers to Charity Program here's a quick look at the origins of brewing in Fernie. The Fernie Museum is the recipient of the proceeds of the Cheers program until February 13. Go have a paddle in the FBC tasting room,...
Guilty or Innocent? A Curator’s Perspective
Sep 13, 2015 | Fernie History, Museum Exhibits
Finding the smoking gun ... A historian (and curator) wants lots and lots of archival material – documents, correspondence, newspaper accounts, diaries, journals, photographs, etc. – to consult so as to be able to tell a compelling story. The icing on the cake is if...
What is a Chautauqua?
Aug 31, 2015 | Fernie History, Fernie Museum, Museum Programs and Events
Chautauquas were held annually in Fernie from 1918 to the late 1920s. Chautauqua was a travelling institution begun at Chautauqua Lake, NY with roots in Canadian Methodist Temperance rallies. Chautauquas carried education, inspiration and entertainment across North...