It has survived the test of time, and even a fire or two, and now this community fixture is up and running once again.
After the community came together and invested countless hours volunteering and fundraising, the doors to the Chase museum are once again open to the public.
While there is currently no exhibit in place, the archives are open for the public to see.
There are also a few new features for the museum this time around, one of them is the brand spanking new gift shop. The gift shop will showcase a number of consignments including books that reflect the area as well as jewelry.
Damon Colgan, curator and archivist for the museum, hopes to have a line of children’s toys in by January. These toys will be mostly heritage-based with things such as pop guns as well as science toys.
The museum has also installed a new research area for those who would like to come in and look through the archives or do some genealogy. There is now a table and chair set up as well as an easy-to-use filing system. You can now look things up by subject, or for those researching family lines, there are files indexed under family names.
The service is free to use, with the only cost being if you wish to make copies.
“The museum received a $500 grant from the Kamloops Foundation for the equipment for the gift shop and research area,” says Colgan.
While the doors are open, Colgan says there is still a very big need for volunteers.
“One of the biggest volunteer things going on right now is cleaning the artifacts,” says Colgan, explaining that they can always use extra hands in this area.
No prior experience is needed and Colgan will be there to help out as well.
“People think it is hard, but really it is not difficult at all, anyone can do it.”