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Multi-faceted job keeps museum manager busy

It wasn’t that long ago, while I was telling someone about the history of river boating on our section of the Columbia River, that my grandson Mike, who has probably heard parts of the story several times, said “Nan, you’re such a geek.”
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The Big Bend Hotel bar was a popular place for locals and travellers alike. Photo Submitted

It wasn’t that long ago, while I was telling someone about the history of river boating on our section of the Columbia River, that my grandson Mike, who has probably heard parts of the story several times, said “Nan, you’re such a geek.”

Well, having spent the last five years almost totally in the company of teenage boys, I knew better than to take what he said as an insult but I did dwell on it a bit.

I got out my computer and looked up “geek” online. It said, “a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, such as biting off the head of a live chicken or a peculiar or offensive person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.” And then I felt a little bit insulted.

I’m pretty sure that’s not what he meant, so I asked him if he knew what geek meant, he said “yeah, it’s somebody who’s really smart, that dresses funny, and wears big glasses.” Nope, he didn’t.

Feeling a bit better, I went back on my computer and looked up the word on Wikipedia, which is an online encyclopedia. It said “a geek is an individual who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of knowledge and imagination, usually electronic or virtual in nature.”

Okay, that sounds more like me. As I started to think about what it said, I started to think about my feelings of the work I do. I’ve had many people say, “you really love your work don’t you? It shows.”

Well, if I go by what Wikipedia says, then I guess I would have to admit that I am a geek.

I’m reasonably sure that most of the people in the Town of Golden respect the fact that we have a museum, and most probably believe that I do a good job. But really, I don’t think that most of you know what that job entails or what makes me good at it. That said, I’m not sure how to proceed. I’ll try to muddle my way through it.

Although I’ve always loved old things, I’m not sure that I’ve always appreciated them. As a little girl, I spent a great deal of time at my grandma Allen’s house, a place where I was surrounded by old things. If we were careful, she let us play in the old house that the family had left abandoned when they moved into the new house.

I loved the smell of the old building. I loved the way the staircase creaked when we went upstairs. Maybe it was because grandma would remind us that she had lived through hard times and felt fortunate to have had enough to eat and a warm home that I came to respect what they had worked so hard for.

I guess I brought that same passion with me to the museum. I love to gather the bits and pieces of people’s lives and arrange them in a manner that will either remind people of something they once had or to educate others on how people once lived. And, once in a while, I have to remind myself and perhaps you too, that this is your museum, not mine. I have just been the one fortunate enough to be caring for your family’s often fragile, physical past.

I’m always looking for new ideas on what to exhibit and how it should look and I love to showcase the best and sometimes the worst items that we have hidden away from the public. I treat each item as if it was a precious treasure, because it is. It’s proof that your family lived here, in Golden, B.C., and that they were important to the development of our unique mountain community.

When I have a free moment from the complexities of the real part of my job, I cut the grass, clean the toilets, mop the floors, and dust. At another time, I’ll try to explain why my palms sweat when I reach for an old book.

Alright, I’m a geek. But, keep in mind that without geeks like me, the world will never know how important the time you lived in was.