Imagine stepping back through time and witnessing the evolution of a town in rural Alberta. The Westlock Pioneer Museum showcases Westlock's history from its inception in 1913 to modern day. The museum offers first-hand glimpses of Westlock's heritage with displays of vintage farm equipment, period clothing, and even a restored 1920 Buick McLaughlin. All items donated over the years by locals.
The museum is broken down into four main collections:
The Gun Collection - Besides having the best name ever for a firearms display (Trueblood), the collection is expansive with over 95 types of vintage guns and various ammunitions. If you're a gun nut, you'll be right at home here.
Aladdin Lamps - There's close to 150 vintage kerosene mantle lamps. (I rubbed 'em all, there's no genie, but still worth checking out.)
Doll Collection - They have many types of dolls to peruse. If you're into that sort of thing.
The Gramophone and Phonograph Collection - I'm an audiophile/record collector-type so this is my favourite part of the museum. It has almost 200 music machines here. Apparently it one of the largest collections in Western Canada. There are hundreds of old 78 and 33 rpm records on display, all in perfect shape. That is my biggest gripe with this museum. As a collector it bothered me to see all these vintage records lying horizontally and stacked on top of each other. This will only cause the records to become scratched and covered in dust. Once dust settles in the grooves of records it is difficult to remove. These records were donated to the museum by a private collector who obviously went to great pains to keep them in pristine shape but they will only degrade if they continue to display them in this manner.
Westlock Trivia: The rural community that Westlock sprung up from was called Edison--named after Thomas Edison, the inventor of the gramophone. That's not why the museum houses this collection though. It's just a coincidence...I think.
Most of the museum is "touch friendly" which means that you are free to browse the collections without being kept at arm's length from the exhibits by a wire rope or a security guard. (Okay, the Gun Collection is not "touch friendly". I just thought I'd put that out there.)
The one staff member that we talked to was super-friendly and knowledgeable about the town, the museum, and its contents. I told her my concerns about the record collection and how they were going to end up with a collection of 12 and 10-inch coasters in a few years if they weren't better cared for. She seemed to empathize but showed no intent to change anything.
It was a great way to spend an afternoon and worth the five dollar admission. The museum operates from Victoria Day to Labour Day every year, but they said that off-season tours can be arranged. read more