The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Stepping into Creighton's rich past has been a popular pastime this summer for visitors from around the world. Some 400 people have made the Royal Northwest Mounted Police Post Museum a destination, eager to scout out the hundreds of historical items preserved for all to see. "It's a place where people can donate or lend us items that can be shared with other people," said Leslie Wood, manager of Creighton Regional Development Corp. (RDC), which oversees the museum. "We have quite a variety of different items. It's amazing, it really is." Located on Creighton Ave. beside the Creighton RDC headquarters, the log building was modeled after the Northwest Mounted Police Post that sat at the south end of Amisk Lake in the early 1900s. Opened in 2002, the building is by no means large, but the extent of the history contained within its walls is. One of the more significant artifacts is the wooden stake believed to be used by Tom Creighton to claim the first ore body in this area. Above the crooked stake hangs a painted portrait of the prospector for whom the community is named. Weathered newspaper clippings tell stories such as that of Johnny Johnson, a man who may or may not have discovered diamonds in the Amisk Lake area more than five decades ago. See 'Beaded' P.# Con't from P.# Another article offers a glimpse into the history of Beaver City, Saskatchewan's first gold rush mining town, located about 18 miles south of where Denare Beach now stands. Suspended from one wall is an aboriginal beaded jacket from the 1930s with the words "Flin Flon" embroidered on the front. It's one of a number of artifacts paying tribute to the role aboriginals have played in the history of the Creighton area. On the opposite wall hangs the Second World War uniform worn by longtime Creighton resident Doug Gibson. The uniform is a reminder of Creighton's roots, as many of the first residential lots were bought up by young men returning from the service. Some exhibits don't have much local significance but are fascinating nevertheless. Such is the case with the oldest item, an 1861 whale harpoon gun recovered from Baffin Island, one of Canada's Arctic isles. Another intriguing piece is a framed 1800s map depicting how the provinces were originally going to be carved into the vast Canadian landscape. "It's quite unique, how the provinces were going to be," noted Wood. "They were going to have them going sideways instead of up and down." The historical collection has been enjoyed by tourists from far-off lands like Germany, Switzerland, China, New Zealand and Ireland, and Wood said they're impressed with what they see. "We take everything for granted because we're used to living here," she said. "It takes someone from a different country to show us what we really have." The Royal Northwest Mounted Police Post Museum is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wood asks anyone interested in donating or lending an item to phone 688-3538.
