By: Elizabeth King
National
Volunteer Week 2015 is running from April 12th to April 18th. This is a time to recognize, celebrate and
thank the thousands of Canadians who dedicate their time to volunteering. In honour of this celebration, Lang Pioneer
Village Museum would like to recognize some of its Volunteer Superstars in a
special daily blog post during this week, called the Volunteer Superstar Series.
Friday’s Volunteer Superstar is: The Sturgeon
Family.
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| Emily & Meg at the Milburn |
Emily was
the first member of the family to start volunteering at the Museum, back in the
summer of 2012. By the Spring of 2013 –
Rob was on board too. Now, the whole
family volunteers – Emily, Rob and their three children: James, Claire and Meg.
We love
having whole families volunteer. Not
only does it provide awesome opportunities for togetherness and mentoring for
the family, but it also provides us with the occasion for an authentic
interpretation of a REAL family working together in a historic building to
demonstrate what life was like for the families of the early settlers of this
County.
Emily can
usually be found interpreting in either the Milburn or Fitzpatrick house, along
with the girls to help her out. We know
that when they’re here – there is always something yummy on the woodstove. Meg, the youngest, is a baker
extraordinaire! Her ginger sparkles are
lauded as the best in the Village! J The girls also help out behind the scenes a
great deal, creating the beautiful samples that are given out at special events
in the hundreds. Christmas cake and brandy
sauce, are another of their specialties.
Emily is
also a very skilled seamstress, and has created the period clothing worn by her
family. She often comes to help out at
Costume Department Bees – making dresses, bonnets, under garments and assisting
with the tracing and sizing of patterns.
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| Rob in the Carpenter Shop |
Rob has
become one of our resident carpenters, and spends most of his time interpreting
in the Carpenter Shop. However, he and
his son James are always open to changing it up, and last year were in the
Blacksmith shop telling the story of Stingy Jack – and the history of
Jack-O-Lanterns. Rob has also acted in
our Historic Walks of Lang – in the roles of drunken reveler, and Samuel W.
Lowry working at the loom.
We are so
lucky to have fabulous volunteers like the Sturgeon family. They are always willing to help out, and
often have filled spots for us when we’ve been in a jam. Their generous and caring hearts, their
passion for history and sharing their knowledge, make them « Genuine LPVM Volunteer Superstars! «
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| Emily & Meg |
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| Rob as Stingy Jack for Historic All Hallows' Eve |
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| Emily tracing a costume pattern |
Elizabeth King is currently filling the role of Interim Assistant Manager at Lang Pioneer Village Museum. She has been working at the Village since May of 2009. Elizabeth is passionate about history, costuming, reading, vegan culinary crusades and environmental pursuits. When she isn’t in the middle of a project at Lang, she is often found with her head in the clouds.