Rev Eddy preparing to play the music box (Photo : Monique Dupuis)
Missisquoi Museum 2011 season’s opening took place on May 29th ; the museum is now opened every day until mid-October.
On this occasion the Reverend Keith and Mrs. Edwina Eddy presented a 19th century table top disc music box and a Gordon Ladd oil painting to the Missisquoi Museum in memory of their son Bryan Jarvis Eddy (1959-1976). Reverend Eddy is a Past-President of the Missisquoi Historical Society and both Reverend and Mrs. Eddy have been Life Members and supporters of the Missisquoi Historical Society for many years.
The oil painting by well-known Eastern Townships’ artist Gordon Ladd is a beautiful interpretation of the Simon Lyster log cabin located in Philipsburg, QC.
The « Stella » music box was created by Mermod Frères of Ste Croix Switzerland in 1897. It is enclosed in a mahogany case with a carved front panel and plays metal discs that contain popular tunes from the end of the 19th century. At the time, the music box was sold at the cost of $175 and the discs cost $1 each. It will be a pleasure for the Missisquoi Museum to play the music box at special occasions and to hear the lovely melodies from over 100 years ago.
This season the museum will feature two main exhibits the first at the Cornell Mill site in Stanbridge East, the second at the Wallbridge Barn site in Mystic :
- Two Sides to Every Story : The Rebellion Comes to Missisquoi On December 6th 1837 on a cold winter’ s night, a skirmish between 80 Patriotes and 300 Missisquoi volunteer militiamen occurred at Moore’s Corner (St. Armand). This was the only battle that occurred in this region during the Rebellion but it was unique because despite its majority of English speaking inhabitants at the time, a large percentage of people in Missisquoi were in favour of the Patriote cause resulting in an unusual situation among the communities in this border region. The old adage that there are ‘two sides to every story’ holds true in the history of the Rebellion in MissisquoI County.
- Food And Farming Heritage Of Quebec.
Using oral histories of farming people from the Eastern Townships and Missisquoi County along with artefacts from the collection, this exhibit will look at the evolution of farming in Quebec. This exhibit was developed as a part of the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network’s « Spoken Heritage On-Line Multimedia Initiative » and funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Aside from the main exhibits, the Art Exhibits organized by the Carrefour Culturel of Stanbridge East have taken residence in the Paige Knight Gallery situated in the Cornell Mill site of the Missisquoi Museum. All through the season, from the end of May until mid -October, several talented artists will present their work to visitors of the Museum.