The Preeceville and District Heritage Museum reopened to the public.
"There was a delay due to the pandemic but we have now been allowed to reopen as part of the Re-opening Saskatchewan. We have spent the time thoroughly cleaning the museum and painting the ramp," said Agnes Murrin, museum chairperson.
The hours will remain the same: Tuesday to Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.
Due to COVID-19 the museum had to institute the following rules:
- Social distancing will be in place, one family group in the museum at one time.
- There will be a sanitizing station for hands at the entrance.
- Admission will remain the same: adults $5.00, $3 for children under 12, and a yearly membership is $10.00, exact change please (summer student curator will not have a float to make change). Alternately, donations are accepted.
- Pleasing no touching of the artifacts. A lot of the museum’s artifacts are old and do not take kindly to sanitizing solution.
- Showcases tops, washrooms and door knobs will be sanitized between guests.
- No large gatherings this year.
"We hope you will come and enjoy your museum. We will do our best to ensure the safety of our guests and summer student curator," said Murrin.
There have been some changes to the museum while it was forced to remain closed. The military room has been completely renovated. There have been some additional mannequins added to better display the uniforms. The wall artifacts have all been positioned for better access and readability.
The general store has some beautiful showcases new to the museum which are quite old.
“They look like you are entering a country general store of your youth,” said Murrin.
Additionally, there are a lot of other new artifacts in the store.
"We have rearranged the existing showcases to other rooms and have added additional shelving. We hope you enjoy the changes and as usual welcome your comments. Our summer student curator, Hannah Kidder has agreed to return this year. We are pleased she waited for our delayed reopening," stated Murrin.
“We are working on our outdoor landscaping and will be doing some additional outdoor painting over the summer. Some additional perennials have been added and our flowers are flourishing.”
If anyone has any artifacts to donate or has any questions or concerns they may contact the museum at 306-547-2774 or anyone on its volunteer board: Agnes Murrin, Sharon Draper, Joan Peel, Darlene Medlang, Shirley Lowe, Donna Chalupiak, Carol Gawrelitza, Sharon Prystay and Marion Smale.
“Have a healthy and safe summer,” concluded Murrin.
