Delving into Okotoks’ unique history within the walls of the town’s heritage house museum is a perk one university student is enjoying this summer.
Since the end of May, 19-year-old Megan Phelan has been spending her days cataloguing artifacts, setting up exhibits, researching historical events and answering the questions of visitors as the Okotoks Museum and Archives’ summer student.
The High River resident just completed her first year in the University of Calgary’s bachelor of history program.
“I was thinking what can I do for experience,” she said. “I applied at various jobs but this is one I thought would really help with my degree. I heard about it last year when I was about to go to the university.”
The museum’s busy environment, coupled with the intriguing history of Okotoks from the establishment of the Lineham lumberyard to the struggles people went through before the railroad came through town is the perfect summer job for Phelan.
“I enjoy hearing people’s stories about Okotoks including the time when there was only one doctor in town,” she said. “I like teaching people about the past, how people lived back then. It was very time consuming just the simplest tasks.”
Phelan, who grew up in Blackie, said she’s been interested in history from a young age, whether it was learning about the Wild West or hearing stories of her grandmother attending musicals in the 1940s.
The past several weeks spent at the Okotoks Museum and Archives has been one filled with many tasks for Phelan, including cataloguing artifacts, front-desk duties and transcribing records and interviews by museum employees and members of the Okotoks and District Historical Society on cassettes and CDs.
“It’s been a great work experience,” she said. “I would like to work at the Royal Ontario Museum or the Glenbow Museum one day.”
Among the most time-consuming aspects of Phelan’s job is planning and setting up exhibits.
“It’s a long process to come up with an exhibit,” she said. “You have to ask for opinions, which is the best way to set it up, consider physical appeal and do a lot of research. I enjoy the research because I like finding out the little details that someone might have overlooked.”
Just as interesting as learning about the history of the Okotoks region is sharing it with those who visit the museum, said Phelan.
“It gives people a stronger sense of community,” she said.
Museum manager Kathy Coutts said the museum has had summer students since it began operating in 2000.
“It allows us to expand our hours in the summertime and it also allows us to utilize extra staff,” she said. “The students provide additional manpower to do research, help with public inquiries and help plan our exhibits for the following year.”
The summer student works from mid-May until the Labour Day weekend in September, when the museum is open every day of the week. The museum is open just five days a week the rest of the year.
“It allows us to be open longer, especially through the summer tourist season when people are out on Sundays and holidays,” said Coutts.
The applications the Town receives for the museum summer job tends to be around 20 to 30, said Coutts.
“It’s a little different than some of the other summer jobs that university students can sometimes find,” she said. “It’s specialized and it’s ideal for those who are pursuing either history, education or museum studies.”
Coutts said Phelan was a strong choice considering her interest in history and museums.
“She’s been very valuable in providing research for us on future exhibits,” she said. “In small museums you wear many hats. One day you could be assisting with school programs, the next day it could be working with the artifact collection and the next day it could be researching for an upcoming exhibit.”
The amount of time required to do research and prepare the exhibits can be overwhelming, Coutts said. That’s where Phelan comes in.
“Without her we would be in a difficult position in presenting history to the community,” she said. “I don’t have the time to do all the research required for every exhibit.”
The benefit to working in a small museum is the students are exposed to all aspects of museum work that a larger museum might not provide, Coutts said.
“In a small museum we do just about everything,” she said. “The end results is they get experience in all aspects of how a museum operates.”
Coutts said the students are hired through Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations, with funding coming from the Federal government and the Canadian Museum Association.
