BATTLEFORD — Today, the original site of the Town of Battleford is a farmer's field.
The old trestle that used to cross the Highway 4is mostly gone. The old bridge that crosses the Battle River is unused and graffitied. The seat of government sitting on top of the hill looking north towards Fort Battleford, across the river, has long since burned down.
But what did the town look like? Who lived there? What were their stories?
When you first enter the Fred Light Museum and climb the stairs that hundreds of students touched when the building was still St. Vital Public Catholic School, you’re greeted with a mural of the original site of the town of Battleford that sat south of the Battle River.
A vast, blue sky shines above the government hill. Houses dot the landscape. A dirt trail meanders up the hill and heads south. Who lived in Battleford? What did people find when they arrived? How has Battleford changed?
These are all questions Fredrick George Light answered with his voracious appetite for collecting artifacts, stories and history of the Battlefords and area. Artifacts, stories and history that he wanted to show the world.
In 1975, after copious fundraising, Light and his army of artifacts moved from their former accommodations in the restored Gardiner Presbyterian Church and into the recently closed St. Vital Public Catholic School in Battleford.
The Fred Light Museum was born.
Light never wanted history forgotten, overlooked or ignored, and the museum has served as a beacon of heritage and local history that can enlighten anyone. The story of the Battlefords and the people, and artifacts that remain from decades or centuries past, are chronicled within the museum walls.
Over the last 40 years, Bernadette Leslie, the current curator and museum manager, has carried on Light's legacy. With her passion, the Fred Light Museum continues to exist and will continue for years. But a few questions remain. How will the people of today be remembered, and what will we leave behind?
Thousands of artifacts fill every nook and cranny of the building, ranging from violins and wash basins to thunder eggs and Coca-Cola collections. Taxidermy, reclaimed Nazi memorabilia from the First world War, over 600 guns, tobacco store “Indians” and vintage vehicles are just some of the artifacts preserved and on display.
Four themed rooms across two stories —The School Room, Ye Old General Store, Battleford Room and the Veteran Room — help divide the plethora of artifacts into easily accessible areas.
One of the first stories shared with a guest of the museum when they enter the Battleford room is the story of Mary. Mary immigrated to Battleford as a child in the early 1900s, and a few years later, her parents decided to return to Hungary. At the age of 12, Mary decided she didn't want to return to Europe and instead got a job with the Bradley family as a maid and nanny.
In Jan. 1912, she woke to the smell of smoke.
Despite living on the third floor, Mary flung herself from the window and avoided any injuries due to the high volume of snow. The house was consumed by fire. Mary ran into the garage, returned with a ladder, and saved two young girls from certain death.
The father escaped with their newborn son, but the mother unfortunately perished when she was overcome by smoke.
“The people of Battleford gave this 12-year-old girl this certificate and golden medallion for bravery. Later, at 16, she married and they started the first market garden in all of Saskatchewan,” Leslie said, recounting the girl’s story.
This story is just one example of the stories preserved in the museum and the people who've made the Battlefords the Battlefords.
The museum also chronicles the lives and stories of Battleford and area Indigenous people from pre-settler times, with arrowheads, embroidery and animal bones on display.
Speaking on a misplaced bead in a display of Indigenous embroidery, Leslie said, “They always believed that you couldn’t do perfect work, so most of the time, you’re going to see a coloured bead out of place on purpose because they believe it can’t be perfect. They make a mistake.
“If you see a geometric design, it was Plains Cree; if you see flowers, it was Woods Cree.” Using the example of a Nez Peirce Beaded Bag featuring flowers and geometric designs, Leslie says it’s likely they intermarried.
Another example of local history preserved in the museum is a collection of papers from the Battleford Press and Saskatchewan Herald.
“Mr. Finch, I think it was, was the editor for the Saskatchewan Herald, and then he and his boss got into an argument, and he went off on his own and started the Battleford Press,” says Leslie.
According to her, the Battleford Press was known as the Catholic newspaper and the Sask. Herald was classified as a Protestant newspaper. Both companies went under before the 1940s, and any rivalry that remained with them.
But the oldest item in the museum is a gun from the 1600s, and it is a part of one of the largest gun collections in Canada, with just over half coming from Light’s collection. Almost every gun imaginable resides on the third floor of the building, ranging from lever actions to shotguns to revolvers and pistols.
According to the Fred Light Museum’'s website, the gun collection is known as The Fred Light Collection, as Light was an enthusiastic outdoorsman.
“As the collection’s reputation spread, people would frequently drop off guns at the garage to donate them over the years. Fred travelled far and wide to add to his collection, acquiring increasingly rare and unique items, including early matchlocks and flintlocks, muzzleloaders, multi-barrelled revolvers, rifles, swords and bayonets, some dating back to the 1600s.”
Beyond the main building, with its three stories, the gun collection, and four themed rooms, model buildings outside recreate well-known Battleford buildings and points of interest. The four buildings: The early Battleford fire hall, Eaglehills Blacksmith, which was located on 21st Street, Andersen’s woodworking shop started in the early 19th century, and a replica of the first Lighthouse service station run by Light himself fill the grounds.
A replica of the Richard family’s house sits inside Anderson’s woodworking shop.
“It (the replica) was made by hand and took about two years to build,” Leslie says.
Every brick, timber and lace window curtain was assembled individually and painstakingly. Unfortunately, when donated, it wasn’t covered with a tarp, and due to inclement weather, some pieces broke off during transport.
The farming family of seven built the house to be entirely self-sufficient with an elevator, its own power station, heating, various carports, and the facilities to host an entire staff.
Another story chronicles the oldest Andersen, Anders, and his process of starting woodworking during the war when craftsmen had to apply for specific tools or machinery.
“During the war, he applied for a wheelbarrow and a cement mixer, and he was approved for a cement mixer and not the wheelbarrow. He had to carry pails of cement for a year before he was finally approved for the wheelbarrow.”
The Battleford’s Vintage Auto Club and the museum have also collaborated to develop Light’s service station, with artifacts and memorabilia saved inside, including vintage gas pumps, pop machines, old menus, goggles for driving, vehicles with headlights that have to be hand lit and Esso's Tiger in the Tank gas memorabilia.
In a museum that has saved thousands of artifacts from across the Battlefords and around the world, and with an already extensive collection, what will be preserved next as the Battlefords continue to grow and evolve? Only time will tell.
