The Lacombe and District Historical Society is currently working to make many of its' exhibitions more easily accessible and enhanced online. 

Currently, the society has posted two exhibitions online, including ‘Reflections at Vimy,’ and ‘Through the Years: The Kanngiesser Building’ which just became available on January 1st, 2020. 

The new exhibitions are the result of an update in technology for the Historical Society who have a new website available.

The memorial sculpture located at 'Lest We Forget Park'.

“The ‘Reflections of Vimy,’ that [was an] exhibit was put out in 2017, and actually when we transitioned it over just in December here. I put a lot of extra work into it just to try and add those maps and virtual tours that I found,” explained Melissa Blunden, Lacombe and District Historical Society Executive Director.

By creating a virtual exhibition, more digital sources are able to be utilized including panoramic tours of Vimy Ridge, video, and audio experiences. 

“The Kanngiesser Building was designated as a municipal historic resource quite a while ago now, and we’ve been struggling on how to have their designation party,” Blunden continued, “With the Kanngiesser building being occupied by Elite Bridal, it was a bit of a concern as to how we would have an open house without risking any damage to their belongings. Not that anyone would steal anything, but even in the winter if you have muddy boots and you’re going through a bridal store you can damage a few of their dresses.”

Near the end of November, the Fraser McDonald building celebrated its' recent designation but the celebration would prove to be tricky to host at the Kanngiesser Building. Rather than a designation party for the Kanngiesser Building, the Historical Society and the City decided on doing a virtual exhibition to recognize the building’s designation. 

The Kanngiesser Building, now home to Elite Bridal, is located in downtown Lacombe.

Some locals were able to get involved with the exhibitions providing valuable information including Jack Kanngiesser, one of the previous owners of the Kanngiesser building, as well as the staff of Elite Bridal. The virtual exhibition uses resources from the Kanngiesser family, provincial archives, University of Alberta’s online newspaper, the City of Lacombe, and the Lacombe Globe records.

Putting the exhibitions online also gives the Historical Society the opportunity to call out for more information that was missing in certain areas. 

“There were a few names that we had a hard time actually finding much information on at all. So, that’s something that we didn’t want to just gloss over and make it seem like we hadn’t tried. So, we made certain to put little sentences inside the exhibit saying ‘If you have more information on this, please reach out to us,’” explained Blunden. 

Blunden says that the ‘Through the Years,’ series will cover a few historical buildings in Lacombe. The society is hoping to put out four exhibitions each year and already a few are listed as ‘coming soon’ on their website. 

Financial Difficulties 

Like many local groups and organizations at this time, the Historical Society is managing their affairs with less money than usual this year and there are definitely some benefits to providing an online exhibition versus a physical panel exhibition. 

“It’s more cost-effective because we’re not paying for panels to be designed and printed. We’re not trying to rent a hall to hang up all the panels and it’s not a limited time only,” said Blunden who added, “Doing an exhibit, for example, the ‘Reflections of Vimy Ridge’ exhibit, we paid over 3,000 dollars just in printing costs let alone the wages of everyone doing all the research and putting it all together.”

Taking the time to read panels and information at a museum is not always what the average museum-goer wants to do. The virtual exhibitions not only give a bit of reading material for history buffs but means people can take the information home with them and read up on it later. 

“There have been many studies on the different types of museum visitors and I think the latest I had read was that there are eight different types of museum visitors and of them, only one out of all of them likes to actually walk through and read everything.”

The material is also way more accessible to people and students or can accompany people who are doing walking tours via smartphone. Prior to this, exhibitions simply were stored away and the information might have become inaccessible afterward.

As the museum does a bit of technological renovation, Blunden says it’s possible we may see a few changes in our city’s local museums to better suit the story of Lacombe. Although nothing is set in stone, Blunden confirmed the Lacombe and District Historical Society is applying for grants to update and reimagine Lacombe’s history. 

To access the virtual exhibitions and the Lacombe and District Historical Society’s new website, click here.