Raymond Pioneer Museum & Historical Society
#10 Broadway N T0K 2S0 Raymond, AB, Canada

The wind and rain this morning reminds me of a story from the early days of our Raymond. Elizabeth King told this story in a February 1948 edition of the Raymond Recorder. The story is from 1902. March 1902 was a very wet cold rainy month. A cold wind was blowing across the prairie while a caravan of over 60 people were wending their way toward Raymond in covered wagons. It was so wet and stormy these good people couldn’t even pitch their tents. Some of the families in this... caravan were Wildes, Bullocks, Petersons, Stringhams, Witbecks, Wasdens, Stevens, Proberts, Frazers, Sam Lubin, Tollestrups, and others. Bishop Knight invited these people to the little church where it was warm and dry. Christian Tollestrup of Raymond reports: Along with 65 other emigrants I arrived in Raymond the 12th day of March, 1902. There was very little hotel room here at the time so we were quartered in the church using benches to partition off rooms for different families, spreading our blankets over them, we went to bed thankful for shelter from the pouring rain. These new comers were temporarily housed in the church for about ten days. It is reported during that this time the kind people of Raymond took steaming kettles of hot soup, vegetables and meat to these new comers and tried in every way to be helpful and friendly. ~ Elizabeth King The story doesn’t quite end there. It so happened that as these folks were camped in the church, the local Latter-day Saint ward was preparing for a party to commemorate the founding of the churches women’s organization, the Relief Society. Normally Charles McCarthy played the organ for the church, but he wasn’t available. Someone had noticed that Christian Tollestrup, one of those camped in the church, had been looking over the organ during their time there. Someone asked if he could play, and he jokingly responded I can play, ‘Sing We Now at Parting’. The Chorister, George Court, replied, That will hardly do as an opening song. Could you play ‘We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet’? Christian made his way to the organ and played it with ease. Everyone was so astonished and relieved that the Town had discovered a real musician in their midst. Christian Tollestrup spent many years blessing the town with his musical talents.

We have decided to close the Museum from now through to the end of December. We expect to re-open in January, 2021. Keep an eye here for updates. #staysafe

Thank you Raymond for supporting our veterans!

UPDATE NOV. 9 - 9:45 am: We need about 15 more. Thanks everyone who has bought one already! HELP US BUY A LUNCH FOR OUR VETERANS Every Remembrance Day several community groups do little things to say thanks to our veterans. The Historical Society typically hosts a luncheon directly following the cenotaph ceremony. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, most of those events can’t happen this year. We don’t want the veterans to miss out on some good food provided by the community. Thi...s year we needed to be a little creative. We’re asking anyone who can, to buy a lunch for a veteran. We have partnered with the Brimstone Grill to make that possible. Here is how it works: You can email $15 to the Brimstone Grill anytime between now and Tuesday at [email protected] OR visit them in person during their Tuesday business hours (11 am - 2:30 pm) and hand (or tap) them $15. They’ll put that money toward a gift card from their restaurant. The Museum will distribute those, along with a few other items, to the veterans following the ceremony at the Cenotaph. We love our veterans and hope that you’ll take part in showing them some love this November 11th by buying them a lunch.

Remembrance Day Service will be at the Cenotaph at 10:45 am. Lest We Forget

It was a privilege to host this group as they toured Southern Alberta and visited sites connected to the Japanese experience in Alberta. The documentary chronicling their tour is beautifully done (link below) Remember, Museum volunteers are at the Merc this week selling coupon books. Proceeds help us operate the Museum and we hope you'll support us. $10 gets you $50 in savings. Thanks so much to the Merc for supporting us with this fundraiser and for those who have already purchased a book.

At our AGM on Friday we held our annual elections. We're pleased to welcome the following new members to our board: - Katee Kowalchuk - Jack Stone - Ron McMullin... Fayes Geddes and Stewart Foss we also reappointed for another two year term. We'd also like to acknowledge and thank Andy Foss for his work as the Society's Secretary. Though Andy will continue to volunteer with the Society, he has opted not to return to a position on the board or executive. You can see a full list of our officers on our website: https://raymondhistory.ca/about/ AND, we still have a handful of coupon books. Stop by the Merc with a $10 bill and we'll trade you for $50 in savings. The proceeds support the work we do to preserve the history of our community. Thanks to everyone who has already purchased coupon books!

Annual General Meeting October 23, 2020. Door opens at 6:30 PM. Meeting at 7 PM. Everyone welcome. Memberships are $5/individual or $10/family. You can buy them at the door. ... Ps. Don't forget to stop by the Merc and buy a coupon book to help support the Museum.