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Pages WEST VANCOUVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY April 1996 fIRCHIVES CORNER By: Anne Maclean, Community Records Archivist The Value of Community Collections This past January I gave a workshop on “Caring for Your Family Treasures - Photographs, Albums and Clippings” here at Gertrude Lawson House. A week earlier Susan Sirovyak, Museum Collections Assistant, gave a similar workshop on textiles and three-dimensional artifacts. Both workshops were held on Wednesday evenings and were well-received (six people attended mine, and about nine or ten came to Susan’s). At my workshop people brought in framed photographs, albums, scrapbooks and clippings and were very enthusiastic, asking questions about how to look after these treasures. This small but lively group certainly kept me on my toes! They seemed grateful for the on-the-spot advice I gave them, and the evening flew by all too fast. We hope to offer more workshops like these in future - in fact, many of those who attended asked when the next one would be. Although we may not be able to offer any more this spring, we would like to make these workshops a regular part of the Museum & Archives outreach programme, and to have the necessary staff time to provide them. The interest in workshops like these is an indication of the very keen and well-educated conununity in West Vancouver. Most people who live here do so out of choice; it is a desirable place to live because of its natural beauty, closeness to the city, and friendly atmosphere. People in West Vancouver care passionately about their history and who take great pride in where they live. The current museum exhibit, “West Vancouver Collects!” pays tribute to the many local citizens who collect just about anything. The exclamation mark in the title is very apt, and reflects the enthusiasm ^ so evident in our community. Still, many people may not fully realize the value of the things they not only collect but create naturally over their lifetimes. For example, everyone has family photographs which they take partly for posterity but mostly to celebrate a moment in the present, such as the birth of a baby, a birthday, Christmas, picnics, other special occasions, and more casual (namely women and people of colour) were encouraged to think that we weren’t that important. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone has a story to tell, be they rich or poor, famous or obscure, or somewhere in-between. Our current exhibit reflects these changing attitudes, as I mentioned earlier. Also, the teaching of history has improved so that the lives of women, ethnic groups, and “just plain folks” are being included in history and folklore courses in schools, colleges, and universities. (Unfortunately, these other groups of people often left few written records behind, which makes learning about them frustrating if not impossible - but that’s a subject for another day). What We Have at Gertrude Lawson House The records we have at the West Vancouver Museum & Archives at Gertrude Lawson House reflect our mandate to preserve as much of West Vancouver’s history as possible. Our written records include the correspondence of Reeves such as Joseph Leyland with ordinary citizens. The Lawson papers are a good example of how rich and varied people’s lives can be. Gertrude Lawson’s records reflect, among other things, her work as a schoolteacher, her life-long study of art and painting, and her love of music. More specific activities, such as the purchase of her house, are documented in the mortgage records, contracts of sale, tax records and rental information that are preserved here. Her birth certificate and her will also form an extremely vital record of her existence. Granted, the Lawsons were a prominent West Vancouver family, but we have other ^ records of West Vancouver residents who may be less well known, yet whose records document important aspects of West Van.’s social history. For example, we have photographs of early “tent homes” on Ambleside Beach where people lived in the early 19(X)’s while having their permanent houses built. The people in the photographs are not all identified, but they gafte^gs. These photographs^and West Van, 1917 or 1918. Mrs Miller with her children. Other treasures accumulate over time, but are all too often packed in boxes and stored away in basements or attics, in conditions that may not be good for them, often forgotten for years by family members. The **Great Man** Theory of History There are many reasons why people tend to undervalue their records and personal papers. I think a lot of it has to do with the so-called “Great Man” (ot should I say “Great White Man”) theory of history, where only the deeds of GREAT WHITE MEN (mostly western Europeans) were taught in school, and the rest of us Vancouver life just the same. (We welcome any information that anyone may have on people and places in our photos). What You Have in Your Home ‘ Routine records, such as old cancelled cheques, have little archival or historical value and can usually be safely disposed of after about seven years. (Financial records are usually required to be kept for about seven years for tax purposes. If you’re like my late father, you keep all your financial records forever, but this Continued on Page 7 - See *What You Have in Your Home*