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April 20, 2016
| Les Jardins de Métis Opens Fishing Stories A new Virtual Exhibition on the Story of Salmon Fishing on the Metis River Grand-Metis, April 20, 2016. Les Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens is proud to announce the opening of Fishing Stories, a new virtual exhibition for the Virtual Museum of Canada. The exhibition offers a glimpse into the unique history of the Metis River and the fishing stories associated with it. Many never before seen photographs and objects are presented with texts that tell more than a few fishing stories. Les Amis des Jardins de Métis has opened its collection. Sixty photographs of unique objects, maps, photographs and material are on view. The Metis River has attracted fishermen for centuries, even millennia. Indigenous peoples were among the first to catch Atlantic salmon on the river. George Stephen was attracted by the river’s potential and invested in the first conservation measures to restore the salmon habitat, removing the dams and weirs built for the forestry industry. He built his fishing lodge, Estevan Lodge, in 1887. Ever since that year, the river has attracted fishermen to its pools. They included the rich and the famous. But none was more enthusiastic than his niece, Elsie Reford, who spent many summers fishing on the river. Over several decades she waged her battle to catch salmon and then to protect the river. Recent efforts to re-open the river to the salmon and the extraordinary measures taken to assure their safe passage up river and down again are just one of the many parts of this exhibition. “Fishing Stories is the first ever exhibition dedicated to the history of salmon fishing on the Mitis River. We are thrilled to be able to share our unique collection of objects and stories with all Canadians,” commented Alexander Reford, director of Les Jardins de Métis, and one of the authors of the project. “We are fortunate to have such a unique archive of photographs, documents and objects. What better way to share them than through the Virtual Museum of Canada platform which allows our story to be told across the country”. Fishing Stories was made possible with the support of the Virtual Museum of Canada’s Community Memories Program, an investment program that enables small community museums to develop online local history exhibits to share with all Canadians through the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) website. The VMC is managed by the Canadian Museum of History. The exhibition was prepared by Julie Corriveau, Sylvain Legris, Alexander Reford and Marjelaine Sylvestre. Click here to consult the virtual exhibit Fishing Stories.
About The Virtual Museum of Canada – 30 – Further information
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