Lacombe Museum showcasing local Edwardian era history

The Lacombe Museums newest feature exhibition is highlighting Lacombe’s history from the Edwardian era.  

The Edwardian Era in the West exhibit covers the major changes that occurred in Western Canada at the turn of the century. 

“This exhibit has been a long time in the making. It originally started as an Edwardian fashion exhibit and it has definitely morphed and become much broader,” said Brittany Kerik, Lacombe Museum Collections Registrar and Researcher.  

Kerik explained that the Edwardian era shaped the look of rural and urban communities across Western Canada, including Lacombe.  

“All of the buildings downtown have a very Edwardian look, and we wanted to showcase that growth in the area,” she said.   

The exhibit is curated by the Lacombe Museum, and it’s intended to be a travelling exhibit and will be available for other historical societies and museums in the future.   

“Really all of our towns and cities have a similar connection to the Edwardian era,” said Samantha Lee, Interim Executive Director at the Lacombe Museum. “If they've got a beautiful downtown left in them, chances are it's from that time period.   

Through the exhibit, Kerik is hopeful that visitors will learn how significant the Edwardian era was.  

“There were so many massive changes, and another part of the exhibit actually is shedding light on stories that haven't really been talked about before,” Kerik said.   

The exhibit focuses on individuals who weren’t historically discussed in the creation of towns, and local stories focusing on women.   

“We tried to make it a bit more diverse because I feel like a lot of people assume that the past wasn't diverse, but that's because they've been taught a very specific version of history,” Lee said.   

In the exhibit, visitors can expect local stories, portraits, and clothing from the Edwardian era.  

“We did get a lot of help from Folklore Research. We did dig up a few of the names for them to start with. It's crazy how interesting a lot of the people were that we've never even heard about before,” Kerik said. “It was just finding those stories where they were so instrumental in the beginning of Lacombe but had never been talked about.”  

Without the help from the former Executive Director, Folklore Research, and the Museums Assistance Program from the federal government, the exhibit wouldn’t have been possible.   

The exhibit opens on June 12 at 10 a.m. and will run until Oct. 31.