The Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives Society received 57 new donations this year including old dance invitations from the early 1900s and war records from when the American army was camped out in Prince Rupert.
“We got a lot of neat donations,” said archivist Jean Eiers-Page as she excitedly began to sort through the newest additions to their collection.
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Most notable was the World War II records labelled “Prince Rupert Sub-Port of Embarkation.” The records listed the coordinates of every American hospital, chapel, storage unit, and other facilities of the army’s camp during the war. Accompanied with it was an old book labelled “secrets” containing transcripts of telephone calls and pictures of veteran Joseph Carew. The collection was donated by his son Shane Carew.
“That’s how most our donations come in. When someone’s family member passes away,” Page said.
READ MORE: U.S. century-old photo sent to archives
Family of the late local photographer, Peter Finnigan, left his photography collection to the archives, which captures wildlife and photos of Prince Rupert. A photo album inscribed “Mrs. Morrison Aug. 9, 1922” was donated with a lot of historical photos, such as the 1908 Presbyterian Church hall where service was held up until 1925. Chris Green donated scouting records going back to the 1950s which Page said is one of their more notable donations this year.
| Photo of old Presbyterian Church Hall, on Fourth Avenue East, built in 1908. From an old photo album transcribed "Mrs. Morrison Aug. 9, 1922," donated to the archives. (Photo courtesy of The Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives) |
The archives also formed a committee this year to begin work on a new history book about the city, which has no set publication date yet. In 2010 they published their first book, Prince Rupert: An Illustrated History.
The archives also held their Annual General Meeting Tuesday night to nominate and elect the Board of Directors for the new fiscal year. Some of the many appointments were Rob Basso re-elected as president for a third term, Kathleen Larkin who will serve as vice-president for a second term, John McNish, who was formerly a director of the archives will now serve as secretary, and last year’s secretary, Marg Lorette, who will serve as treasurer for the first time.
The Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives Society are open to the public from Monday-Friday from 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Jenna Cocullo | Journalist
Jenna Cocullo
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