A young man works away in the blacksmith shop during Those Were the Days activities at the Western Development Museum in North Battleford. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Tyler Marr

HEADING HERITAGE

‘Know where we come from’: Those Were The Days celebrates half-century of preserving heritage

Aug 17, 2019 | 3:35 PM

Chugging from threshing machines echoes in the background as dust is kicked up from an emerald green Chevrolet Bel Air.

For a second, one could forget it is 2019 at the Western Development Museum as Those Were The Days takes over the 120-acre site.

An emerald green Chevrolet Bel Air cruises down dirt roads during Those Were The Days. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Inside the village drugstore, volunteer Patricia Gotto, who is dressed as a nurse from the mid-1900s, greets patrons as they walk through the door. For years, Gotto has attended the event to help keep history alive.

“We all need to know our heritage and we need to know where we come from,” she said. “Unless those people who have lived through it or learned about many of these things, unless you pass it on, there is no way of people finding out where they come from and what went before them.”

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Dozens make their way into the pharmacy and Gotto said many are amazed at the simplicity of practicing medicine just a few decades ago.

A small petting zoo with goats, pigs, chickens and a donkey are on offer during Those Were The Days. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Children look on as a young man works in a blacksmith shop during Those Were The Days events at the Western Development Museum. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Down the street, which is dotted with wooden sidewalks, a blacksmith’s workshop, fire hall and a church, sits a row of typical prairie homes from the 1960s.

Inside one is Alice Grove, who is spinning sheep and alpaca wool into yarn to make mittens and socks. She’s done this for 32 years and is one of the last people she knowns who continue to the craft.

“I would give anything to teach kids and even adults because when you are the last one doing it, that is it,” she said. “It has to be kept going because this is what our parents and ground parents did to keep us going in the past.”

A volunteer bakes chocolate chip cookies in a wood oven inside one home at the Western Development Museum during Those Were The Days. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

As 2019 serves as the 50th year for the event, the museum made it a goal to have 50 activities for the public over the two-day heritage celebration and achieved this with 53.

Patrons can smell the aroma of freshly baked goods at the baking competition, hear the roar of the engine on a 1920s McLaughlin or Buick, and marvel at the wonder of Doctor Von Houligan’s Carnival of Calamities as they provide an old-school circus show.

Among the activities unique to the event is the Parade of Power. The spectacle showcases several vintage farm machines and vehicles from yesteryear.

The event runs Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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cjnbnews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr