CBC Radio Heritage Series
Recently, Gerry Lunn shared stories about some of Nova Scotia's interesting artifacts with CBC Radio Information Morning. Here's an overview and a link to the museum where the artifact he described currently resides.
October 10, 2006: A glass-fronted case, housing a display of 12 water birds of Nova Scotia, on display at the McCulloch House Museum in Pictou, is a small example of a much larger collection of work by one of Nova Scotia's most significant historical figures.
September 5, 2006: Two very small chairs will be on display at the O’Dell House Museum in Annapolis Royal beginning September 5, 2006. They look as though they were made for dolls but were actually used by dwarf sisters Catherine and Victoria Foster of Hampton, NS when they were toured in the United States as “The Fairy Sisters” during the early 1870s.
August 1, 2006: A small piece of cloth made in Sierra Leone is a modest but tangible reminder of the connection between Nova Scotia and the slave revolt aboard the Spanish schooner La Amistad in 1839. The cloth is on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
July 4, 2006: A sword, more than 200 years old, is on display at the Kings County Museum in Kentville. The sword made its way home to Nova Scotia from the United States thanks to a curious Nova Scotian who decided to track the sword's long journey through her family tree.
June 6, 2006: Relatively small in length, sections of transatlantic telegraph cable are on display at the Whitman House Museum in Canso. The display is a modest reminder of the crucial role the town of Canso played in international communications for almost 8 decades from 1884 through 1962.
May 2, 2006: The McKay car on display at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton represents a valiant attempt to establish car manufacturing as a viable industry in early 20th century Nova Scotia. This seven passenger luxury automobile built in 1913 is one of the few surviving McKay cars and hearkens back to a time when such 'devil wagons' competed with horses for space on the roads and in the towns of the province.
April 4, 2006: A small, tan-coloured suitcase on display in an exhibit in Truro tells the story of thousands of transplanted lives. Called "They Followed Their Hearts", the exhibit on war brides is at the Colchester Historical Museum in Truro until the end of the year.
March 7, 2006: Evidence of the richness of Mi'kmaq traditional artworks can be found in museums around the province. But one of the finest examples of decorative porcupine quillwork, the Morris Cradle made in 1868 by renowned Mi'kmaq artist Christianne Morris, is on display at the DesBrisay Museum in Bridgewater.
February 7, 2006: Fossilized bones from some
of the oldest dinosaurs are being revealed in the public eye at a unique museum on the Fundy shore. If you're a fossil fan, Parrsboro is the place to be.
You can see more at Fundy Geological Museum.
January 10, 2006: Sterling Silver Teapot - A sterling silver teapot is all that is left to remind us of the heroism of a sea captain from Antiongish who rescused the captain and his wife and the 17 crew of the full-rigged ship Coronet in 1881. You can see the Teapot on display at the Antigonish Heritage Museum.
December 6, 2005: Fire Pumper - Even with modern technology, firefighters have a difficult and dangerous job. Imagine what it would have been like to fight fires way back when. This fire pumper on display at the Shelburne County Museum, dates back to 1740, making it one of the oldest in North America.
November 1, 2005: Stagecoach - A stagecoach from the mid-1800s is currently on display at the Yarmouth County Museum in Yarmouth. Last used on the Tusket to Yarmouth route in 1897, it depicts the story of overland travel in Nova Scotia just before the arrival of the railroad. Learn more about this and other interesting artifacts at the Yarmouth County Museum.
Access more than 250 archives, museums and heritage resources in the Nova Scotia Heritage Directory.