The Lafleche and District Museum celebrated the 25th anniversary of its grand opening at an event on the evening of June 15. Over 150 members of the community had a barbecue supper in the yard on the south side of the museum.Â
A special anniversary cake made by Cookie Jacques marked the occasion. Honoured guests who were able to attend included one of the original founding members of the board, Ruth Fauser and other past board members Lorne Harron, Jean Briere, Joyce Engel and Verlyn Crooks. Also present was the chair of the South Central Network of Saskatchewan Museums, Ted Nagel, and the museum’s 2017 summer student employee, Darcy Dumont. Door prizes donated by Gloria McIvor and Delores Fauser were won by Vic Fiset and Hudson Tallon.
The museum is mainly financed through the R.M. of Wood River and the Town of Lafleche. They originally appointed all of the board members. Today the R.M. and Town each has a representative on the board. The former School District of Wood River office building was to be the site of the museum. The first meeting of interested persons was held in the Lafleche Library in 1991 and was chaired by the Reeve, Maurice Filson.
At that time, a new board consisting of Theresa Packet, Ruth Fauser, Raymond Kirkpatrick, Stan Curry, Marie Collins, Elnora Fogal, Karl Klein, Shirley Filson, Ernest Arams and Glenda Crooks and many dedicated volunteers got to work.Â
The process involved a lot of talent, vision, and countless hours of learning, physical hard work and co-operation to create a quality museum. Its theme is the history of the area prior to and during the 1900s. The grand opening took place on June 26, 1992.
