Feature Article June 17, 2004
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Great things are happening at the Pioneer Museum in Cloyne.
By Karyl Waldie Steinpatz
During the winter months, while the museum lay quietly inaccessible under its layer of snow, members of the Cloyne and District Historical Society busily planned how to best bring out of storage and display all the newly donated artifacts. Members have been working since early spring, and several work crews, smashed thumbs and broken fingernails later, everything is beautifully arranged and the museum is set to open on June 26 for the summer season.
By far the most outstanding display to greet museum-goers eyes this season is a schoolhouse from the 1840s, set up inside the museum. This display has been a dream of the design committee for the past two years, and finally there it is. Complete with desks, books and schoolmarm inside, it stands proudly in place. Lloyd Schneider, from whose land the heritage building was rescued, was instrumental in re-constructing it (sans roof) within the museum. Every piece was labeled as it was taken down and laboriously re-fitted on site.
Detailed work inside of the museums new extension was necessary before construction of the schoolhouse could begin. Parts of the floor still had to be put down, caulking between logs finished up and trim fitted in place, to say nothing of odds and sods of the electrical system to be attended to. But this is all done now, and the interior of the museum looks great. While these finishing touches were being taken care of by the contractor, the numbered logs from the schoolhouse were cooking in the kiln at Gaylords (who provided this service free-of-charge for which the Historical Society is very grateful), in order to kill any fungus or termites that might have survived the many decades the building lay a-mouldering in Lloyds back forty.
On May 31 (see photo) members of the C&DHS gathered with picks and shovels and flowers and plants indigenous to the region and made great strides in surrounding the museum with greenery and flowers. The lilac bushes donated last year by Glenn and Nancy Tolls from their farm in Elginburg are blooming profusely in this their first year, and give the museum a settled air, which was needed since the big addition is still so raw and new. The members of the Historical Society have done an incredible amount of work in order to beautify the grounds of the museum by erecting a cedar snake-fence, building an elegant new necessary building (frame actually built by students at North Addington Education Centre), clearing brush, and the above-noted planting of flowers - to say nothing of their work with various other groups in putting a gazebo in place and starting the reconstruction and re-planting of the park, decimated two years ago by what scientists called a microburst but the rest of us called a hurricane.
The Cloyne and District Historical Society, to which the Pioneer Museum is integral, has many enjoyable events coming up this summer. For instance: Plan to attend a Blueberry Brunch on July 25; an antique-identifying day called Know Your Antiques on August 7; the 2nd annual Roast Pork Dinner on September 18; another fantastic Heritage Bus Tour on October 2; andwhy bake when you can stock up on delicious desserts for Thanksgiving at the annual Thanksgiving Bake Sale on October 9. Watch for details.
Beginning this year the museum will be open all seven days of the week, 10am-4pm through the summer months, and the season is just beginning! And so. The Cloyne and District Historical Society invites the public to the seasons opening celebrations of its Pioneer Museum on Saturday, June 26, 10am-2pm. Enjoy a tour of the museum which will include the old schoolhouse, all the new artifacts and a private antique doll collection. The 2005 edition of the popular Heritage Calendar will be available for sale, as will framed prints of an original work-of-art by artist Carol Brown. Refreshments will be available from 11am-2pm so plan to nosh down on barbecued pork riblets, hamburgers, hotdogs and cold drinks.
Absolutely everyone is welcome. Plan to join in and have a rollicking good time. Just follow the stream of cars to Cloyne.
