Morinville Museum seeking photos of church and rectory

Above: Paulette Houle and Jeannette Bachand conduct research on St. Jean Baptiste Church at the museum on July 22nd. – Stephen Dafoe Photo

by Stephen Dafoe

Following the destruction of historic St. Jean Baptiste Church by fire on June 30th, the Musée Morinville Museum is seeking photo submissions of the interior and exterior of St. Jean Baptiste Church and the rectory to be preserved as part of the museum’s archives and also to form a display at the museum.

Research on the project is currently underway.

“We’re trying to find as much information as we can about our church-St. Jean Baptiste and to bring people up to date about what was in the church,” said Morinville Historical and Cultural Society president Paulette Houle.

The Historical Society hopes area residents will help by providing photos they have, which will be scanned and returned.

“We’re looking for just about anything people have that can preserve the memories about the church itself,” said Historical Society member Jeannette Bachand. “We’re trying to build a history of the church – how it started, and how it progressed.”

Musee Morinville Museum attendant Donna Garrett said one often sees the same or similar shots of the church, and while they are welcomed, the museum is hoping to acquire some shots that are a little different, particularly photos from inside the church and rectory.

“We’re looking for all sorts of information, including documents,” Garrett said.

Historical Society President Houle said she hopes the photos will help preserve the historical record of the church.

“I think there were a lot of memories created in that church and maybe with these pictures and [other items], it’ll just kind of bring back things,” Houle said. “It’s been a shock for a lot of people and it’s hard to take.”

Submissions can be made in person at the museum Wednesday to Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. or by email to morinvillemuseum@shaw.ca.

As of this writing, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Publisher’s Note: Morinville Online – MorinvilleNews.com is closed this week for the first of two weeks’ summer vacation. This article and others published this week were pre-scheduled prior to our close down. We will resume news coverage on Aug. 3.

 

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