Jake's Building, pictured here, sits in the WDM Heritage Village. (File photo/battlefordsNOW)

By Martin Martinson

Celebrating Saskatchewan History

WDM awaiting Phase 4 re-opening with exhibit development

Jun 3, 2020 | 5:33 PM

As businesses and storefronts across the community begin to slowly re-open their doors, in accordance with the Re-open Saskatchewan Plan, one local staple still awaiting their return to business is the Western Development Museum (WDM).

The Museum is part of Phase 4 of the provincial re-open plan, which has yet to be officially given a date.

Manager of the WDM, Joyce Smith said while it’s been tough being closed down for the last two months, one possible bright spot has been the extra time the museum staff had to focus on larger projects that may have been put on the back-burner.

One of those larger-scale projects includes the refurbishment of the old North Battleford shoemaker shop, known as Jake’s building. The little brick and mortar shop was initially moved to the museum grounds back in the ‘90s.

Smith explained the project has been a work-in-progress for some time. She said the plan is to reestablish the exhibit as a cobbler shop, like it was in its heyday, adding that with the building comes a story that ties into the museum’s story on immigration.

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“We moved it here when they no longer used it downtown, as they were going to tear it down,” she said. “Unfortunately due to funds, it did sit there for a while and it wasn’t worked on. But thanks to our WDM volunteer association’s work fundraising we now can. We would have gone ahead with the plans for the brick building anyway this year, but [the circumstances] do give us a little bit more lead time to get some work done.”

Smith said while the museum has been keeping busy with projects even during this time, they are very much looking forward to opening their doors again. They want to connect with the community and share a glimpse of what makes Saskatchewan special, when they are permitted to do so.

“There’s always lots to do,” she said with a laugh. “[But] we miss our visitors, we really do. We love having people come in, and we hope people will come out and see us once the government lifts restrictions. We have a lot of room out here, we have lots of space for families to stretch their legs, and enjoy the exhibits and learn a little bit about Saskatchewan.”

In addition to their current in-house projects, Smith said the museum is also hopeful to still hold some of their pre-planned activities for the fall, which include an exhibit on the Metis Nations called ‘Hiding in Plain Sight.’ Hosted by the Library and Archives of Canada, the exhibit is scheduled to be on display from early September to early December.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1