Lakes District Museum Society is in the process of publishing a book on local history.
History Matters: Stories and Photographs from the Lakes District Museum is the working title of the book that the museum society is currently working on.
Michael Riis-Christianson, the museum director told Lakes District News that the idea to publish such a book came from the public who had been urging the museum to put something together.
”For the past four years, we have been posting stories and photographs relating to the history of the Lakes District on our Facebook page, and (to a lesser extent) in traditional media like the Lakes District News. These posts have been tremendously popular; hundreds of thousands of people around the world have viewed them. Of course, not everyone utilizes social media, so this book will be a vehicle through which we can reach a wider audience, foster community pride, and encourage people of diverse backgrounds and cultures to take a more active role in preserving our history,” he said.
The book is being made possible through the submissions of residents, research of the staff and support from Burns Lake Community Forest Ltd. and the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako’s arts and culture fund.
Riis-Christianson is hoping that the sales of this book will help finance the museum society’s next book, an update on the Burns Lake & District: A History, which was published in 1973 and is now out of date by a good 40 plus years.
Over the past four years, the museum has posted 107 short stories and more than 250 photographs through social media. The staff is still compiling all the information and new unpublished material.
Riis-Christianson said that closer to the publication date the museum will start taking orders for advance copies and is urging residents to contact the museum to let them know if they want a copy in order to estimate the number of books to be published.
“We anticipate having completed the content for the book from the archives of the Lakes District Museum no later than June 2022. We anticipate the book will be available for purchase late in 2022 or early in 2023,” said Riis-Christianson.
The book is being published in part to stay true with the museum’s motto to “gather and preserve information, records, and objects of educational, historical, and cultural value” but also to celebrate Burns Lake’s centennial in 2023 when Barney Mulvaney tent town will turn 100 years old.
Priyanka Ketkar
Multimedia journalist
@PriyankaKetkar
priyanka.ketkar@ldnews.net
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