Sixty years after Orillians brought it back from the brink of oblivion, Stephen Leacock’s summer home has stood the test of time.
It was the late Pete McGarvey who led the effort to preserve the house on Old Brewery Bay after the property was sold to a developer. McGarvey managed to convince the town to buy a portion of the site in 1957, and the Leacock Museum opened the next year.
Museum staff are preparing to mark the diamond jubilee with a celebration Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m.
“We spend a lot of time talking about Leacock and talking about the property, as we should, but we spend a lot less time talking about the people who made this happen,” said Tom Rose, the museum’s collections and program supervisor. “It’s been 60 years since people took something that was going to be bulldozed into obscurity and made this happen.”
Running a museum, particularly one with a focus on one person, who died 74 years ago, isn’t without its challenges.
“The questions we’ve been asking ourselves are how to make Leacock more relevant and the museum more relevant,” Rose said. “This museum, without people coming to look at it, is just a house filled with stuff.”
Staff rely on feedback from visitors to help shape the future of the home. That feedback has not fallen on deaf ears.
“A big thing they say is they want more interpretive material,” Rose said.
So, there is now more information posted around the house to explain the history, including what certain rooms were used for and the subjects of some of the pictures on the walls.
While the July 5 event will be a celebration of those who saved the house from destruction, it will also mark the official opening of some new exhibits, including “Laundry Day,” which looks at domestic work in Canada, including information about Leacock’s own staff.
The Leacock Medal Room will also be unveiled, containing books from those who have won the national humour award since its inception in 1947. Original medal imprints will also be among the displays.
Admission will be by donation. The event will include wine (cash bar) and cheese.
For more information, call the museum at 705-329-1908.
