A new in-house exhibit at the Alberni Valley Museum shows scenes from the pioneer town of New Alberni.
"Best love, Bob: 1908 Postcards from New Alberni" opens at the Alberni Valley Museum on Feb. 11, 2025 and runs until March 8, 2025. The exhibit is made up of postcards sent from Robert Blandy to his family in Ontario. Blandy had come west on his own, searching for a job, and ended up in the town formerly known as "New Alberni" in 1907. He would eventually become Port Alberni's first city clerk.
"But at this point he was newly arrived, just kind of making his way in the world," explained Kirsten Smith, collections curator at the Alberni Valley Museum.
The Alberni Valley Museum recently received the set of postcards from the B.C. Archives. It's an interesting collection, said Smith, because it offers a "snapshot" of the town when it was a newly-emerging settlement. The postcards were all sent in the year of 1908.
"This is the history of our town," said Smith. "This tells a story from 1908."
Museum staff have blown up the postcards and transcribed them so that visitors can fully enjoy their content. The photographs on the postcards, taken by local Port Alberni photographers, depict a number of moments in Port Alberni history. For example, one of them shows the Dominion Day race of 1908 (which Robert Blandy took part in). In other photographs, you can see old Port Alberni landmarks like the original Somass Hotel.
"Lots of the landscape has changed since then, but some things will be familiar," said Smith.
The exhibit is a relatively short one, running only for one month. But it will be up in time for Family Day (Monday, Feb. 17) and Heritage Week (Feb. 17-23). It will be accompanied by an activity where visitors can make their own postcards.
The Alberni Valley Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
