The Victoria Day long weekend marks the opening of both museums in Westlock.
The Westlock Pioneer Museum kicks off the 2016 season with its annual pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Monday, May 23. Admission is by donation.
Because the Town of Westlock is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, visitors to the museum will be able to view a collection of two dozen photos of historical Westlock on loan from descendants of William Westgate, one of the town’s founders.
The Pioneer Museum also features a number of interesting displays donated by private collectors, including the Bernard Wiese gramophone collection, which consists of nearly 200 music machines.
It also houses the Mildred Hay doll collection and the Trueblood gun collection, which consists of more than 140 rifles, artillery shells and other weapons.
The Aladdin lamp collection, which has been at the museum for many years, is receiving an additional 16 electric lamps donated by Max and Mary Wiese. However, it will not be ready by the Victoria Day weekend.
Max and Mary started buying lamps in the 80s and recently decided the collection would be more at home at the Pioneer Museum.
“It’s just time to unload that stuff so that other people can enjoy them,” Max said.
The Canadian Tractor Museum, which is operated by the Westlock and District Museum Foundation Board, also opens on the Victoria Day long weekend.
On Friday, May 20, there will be a special ribbon-cutting ceremony for the museum’s new gift shop. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and the public is welcome to attend.
Annette Schwab, secretary-treasurer for the board says the museum secured a grant from the Town of Westlock to set up the gift shop.
LD Cabinets owner Levi Dueck was contracted to do the work and donated 25 per cent of his labour for the project, Schwab said.
Schwab said the gift shop is all stocked with museum souvenirs and other unique gift items, plus snacks and drink refreshments for museum visitors.
The museum features approximately 80 tractors and 45 static engines donated by or on loan from various private collectors.
There are also other machine displays outside, including a Bell City threshing machine and a Sawyer-Massey steam engine (no longer operable, but all nicely cleaned up and painted) at the entrance to the museum grounds.
Visitors to the museum come from far and wide, including other countries, and it is a great place for locals to bring friends and relatives when they are visiting.
“We expect to have more than 2,000 visitors this summer,” Schwab said.
