Fredericton Region Museum Opens New History Exhibit

The Tonsillectomy Fair panel is one of the many informative panels in the From Black Bag to High Science exhibit.

Press Release
Fredericton Region Museum
571 Queen Street, Fredericton, N.B.

Fredericton Region Museum to open new exhibit on the history
of medicine in central New Brunswick

The Victoria Public Hospital and Fraser Memorial, Fredericton, NB. From the York Sunbury Historical Society Walter Calkin Smith Collection.

August 1, 2011 Fredericton N.B.
The Fredericton Region Museum prepares to open its newest exhibit which explores the history of medicine in central New Brunswick. The exhibit opening will take place at the Fredericton Region Museum on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 from 5 to 8pm. The museum would like to extend an open invitation to members of the media.

View of the From Black Bag to High Science exhibit at the Fredericton Region Museum.

Appropriately entitled From Black Bag To High Science, the exhibit explores the rich past of central New Brunswick’s medical community. From the days of the country doctor and house calls to the modern public healthcare system the exhibit highlights the work and dedication of local healthcare practitioners.

The story of New Brunswick’s medical history is told through photos and text. A variety of medical instruments are also on display, from the mundane and everyday to the spine-tingling and grotesque. Many of the artefacts and photos were donated by notable area medical professionals including Drs: Chalmers, Likely, Torrie, and Stickles, among others.

Curator, Dr. T. W. Acheson, speaking at the From Black Bag to High Science exhibit opening at the Fredericton Region Museum.

This exciting new exhibit is the work of renowned Canadian historian and former history professor, Dr. T.W. Acheson, and current University of New Brunswick professor of history, Dr. Sasha Mullaly.  A complementary exhibit on the history of nursing in New Brunswick, currently on loan from the New Brunswick Museum, can now be visited at the Fredericton Region Museum.

The Fredericton Region Museum is a registered charity operated by the York Sunbury Historical Society. The museum seeks to preserve the rich history of central New Brunswick and to educate the public. The museum is open to the public daily from 10am to 5pm until the end of August with off season hours beginning in September.

 

Somewhere Over the Rainbow…Bloomers Fly?

Somewhere Over the Rainbow…Bloomers Fly? By Queens County Heritage

Currently on exhibit at the Fredericton Region Museum!!

571 Queen Street, Fredericton

Somewhere Over the Rainbow…Bloomers Fly? Get your knickers in a knot with an exhibition of heritage underwear and undergarments!  The items on display, selected from Queens County Heritage’s permanent collection, show the broad range of materials, techniques, styles and patterns used from the 1850s to the 1930s. Explore how our ancestors dressed and undressed and discover exactly what all those layers were under great-grandmother’s dress! Approximately 30 pieces of underwear ranging from 19th century petticoats, split-drawers and stockings, to c. 1910 wedding trousseau camisoles, children’s drawers and a 1930s corset will be on display.  Produced by Queens County Heritage.

Au-delà de l’arc-en-ciel… Est-ce que les culottes bouffantes savent voler? Une exposition de sous-vêtements patrimoniaux qui vous mettra dans tous vos états! Les objets exposés, choisis dans la collection permanente de Queens County Heritage, montrent le vaste éventail de matériaux, techniques, styles et caractéristiques des sous-vêtements des années 1850 aux années 1930. Vous découvrirez comment nos ancêtres s’habillaient et se déshabillaient, et ce qu’étaient toutes ces couches de vêtements sous la robe de votre arrière-grand-mère! Une trente de sous-vêtements seront exposés, dont des jupons, des caleçons fendus et des bas du 19e siècle, des cache-corsets de trousseau de mariée, des caleçons d’enfant et un corset des années 1930.  L’exposition a été réalisée par Queens County Heritage.

Placing the Finishing Touches on our Medical Exhibit

We are preparing to open our latest permanent exhibit based on the New Brunswick’s medical history and are looking for donations to help us create a child component for the exhibit. We are a not-for-profit registered charity with a mandate to collect, preserve and interpret the history relating to central New Brunswick, and in particular the city of Fredericton. We publish a history journal twice a year, hold several educational programs and operate a significant history museum with a dozen galleries and exhibit spaces.

The theme of our new exhibit, From Black Bag to High Science, is health care in central New Brunswick in the twentieth century. A central issue in the life of the post war period, health care reflected the growth of the service economy and the emergence of the federal presence in the community. It also reflected the growing expectations of the people of the region and the demand for these services helped shape the nature of community after 1950.

This is similar to what we would like to add to our new medical history exhibit. This image is from a blog called "A View from the Edge".

The gallery, originally an archival storage room, has been completely renovated and the exhibit is almost installed. We would like to add an interactive component to the exhibit that will interest and entertain our younger museum visitors. Plans are in the works for two interactive stations that children (and adults) can enjoy while they visit the exhibit. The first is a large tabletop version of the game Operation and the second is an x-ray photo-op board.

 

A photo-op board found at Jelly Stone Park Campground in Woodstock, New Brunswick. We would like to create one that is an x-ray machine.

Building community partnerships is important to the York Sunbury Historical Society and the Museum will be happy to acknowledge your donation in our Annual General Report, on our website, on our 2011 donor appreciation panel and in our speeches during the exhibit opening. Donations can be made on line through Canada Helps and tax receipts can be provided. We have had a few donations already (thank you, thank you, thank you) so please follow the blue Canada Helps (CanaDon) link on the right side bar of our blog if you would like to contribute!

Based on a contractor estimate that specializes in constructing museum interactive components, the projected cost of the project is $6,500. If you can be of assistance to our exhibit, we would greatly appreciate your support. I’ll be tracking our fundraising progress on our blogs using the fundraising widget in the sidebar, so please check back often. 

Thank you and kindest regards, Ruth.

Alexander Gibson (aka Boss Gibson)

Question:  “I am researching the fifth Lord Lansdowne.  On 23 October 1884 he made a visit to a collection of factories 2 1/2 miles from Fredericton. These, a village and a church were established by a self made man from the province of New Brunswick. He owned 200,000 acres of woodland.  I would be grateful if you could let me know what was his name.”

Answer:  “That would be Alexander Gibson (aka Boss Gibson) and he had his mill(s) and railway in Marysville.  He not only constructed a mill and railway but he constructed a church and several houses for his mill workers.  Many of his buildings are still standing.  There are several duplexes and the provincial government converted his large cotton mill into offices.  It’s worth a visit to go see if you’re into history.  I believe the museum exhibits committee is considering an exhibit on Boss Gibson in the near future.  A quick search on the web produced a link to a u-tube video by History Lands. ”

Follow Up:  Since this enquiry the Fredericton Region Museum (formerly the York Sunbury Museum) installed two exhibits pertaining to Boss Gibson.  The first was our Devon Trail House Exhibit located in Devon and the second is the Boss’s World located in our largest permanent gallery.  The Museum also created a travelling exhibit that can be exhibited at public and community events.  Please contact the Marysville Heritage Committee for information about the travelling exhibit.

City Hall Gallery Exhibition Explores the Historic Garrison District

Press Release
For Immediate Release

The Redcoats in the Square panel lists the military regiments that were posted in Fredericton between 1784 and 1869.

Fredericton, New Brunswick (18 February 2011) – The Fredericton Region Museum (formerly the York Sunbury Museum) is pleased to be collaborating with the City of Fredericton in the launch of their new exhibit, In Close Quarters.  This exhibit explores vignettes of the history surrounding the historic Garrison District in downtown Fredericton.  

Fredericton’s rich history has been shaped by the collision of lively characters and discrepant events.  The historic Garrison District  provided the impact site, the scenes often unfurling with entertaining and thrilling results.  The Garrison District, entrenched in the Officers’ Quarters, served as Fredericton’s social centre, and during periods of regimental occupation, it episodically became a theatre of war between the military and civilian population.  The textured complexion of the Garrison District has been chronicled in a series of vignettes, entitled In Close Quarters. 

The Criminal Minds panel is part 1 of 2 panels that explores an assassination attempt in 1882.

The Fredericton Region Museum has created the In Close Quarters series over the course of 2010 calendar year, producing 10 vignette panels.  Curated by a team of volunteers, each vignette, while connected to the theme of the exhibit, has its own separate identity.  The vignette format permitted a detailed exploration of isolated incidents and events and are entertaining and engaging.  The In Close Quarters exhibit draws particular attention to the significance of the Garrison District, viewing Fredericton’s history through a scarlet coloured lens, highlighting the often tumultuous relationships of a 19th Century military-civilian community.  This exhibit explores the social dimension of a garrison, an often neglected aspect of military history.    

This project was supported by the City of Fredericton through the 2010 Arts, Culture & Heritage Funding Program project grant and the exhibit will be on display in the City Hall Gallery until mid-March.  Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.  Afterwards, it will be exhibited in the Fredericton Region Museum at 571 Queen Street.

Thank you to everyone who has assisted with the exhibit.  It was the result of the efforts of volunteers and summer students from the York Sunbury Historical Society.