As Beiseker acknowledged its 100th birthday on Feb. 23, the local Mountain View Financial branch has found a month-long way to celebrate the village’s history while keeping patrons safe and socially distanced.
Until the end of March, the credit union is displaying a variety of artifacts from the village’s history. According to Kelly Hagel, the office supervisor at Mountain View Financial, about 15 items are currently on display at the credit union, including old photos, utensils and other artifacts from the village’s past.
Hagel said the display was put in place to create some excitement around Beiseker’s centennial. Furthermore, a contest has been created for people who correctly guess what some of the obscure artifacts displayed are.
“Since the town can’t have its 100-year celebration the way it wanted to, we wanted to display some items from the local museum celebrating the history,” Hagel said.
The Village of Beiseker originally planned a large community-wide celebration this June to mark its centennial. However, the party has been postponed until June 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hagel said creating some excitement in the village is important, considering all of the constraints the pandemic has placed on everyone.
“We are urging people to come in and put their names in for the draw,” she said.
“We’ll also have some coffee and snacks out for the month. We want to remind everybody about this important milestone.”
Because gatherings have not been allowed due to ongoing restrictions, Hagel said the displays have been great for the community, as checking them out gives people something to do, while also teaching them some local history.
For people who have just moved to Beiseker, Hagel added the artifacts give them some background and awareness about where they are living.
As residents from surrounding communities like Irricana and Acme also patronize the credit union, the displays feature old photos and other items celebrating those communities’ histories, as well.
According to Hagel, there is a senior in Beiseker who will soon turn 94 years old. As the oldest resident of the village, she was delighted to see so much history displayed in the credit union.
“She was in here the other day looking at the displays, she said she was pleased that we did this because it brings back so many memories,” Hagel said.
The displays have also been a welcome addition for Hagel's family, as her husband is a descendent of one of the founding families of Beiseker.
“We’ve got a great big portrait of his grandfather and all of the brothers that first settled in this area,” she said. “For me, it’s important to recognize that we are still surviving here after 100 years. It can be hard for a small town to survive – especially when we are this close to a city like Airdrie.”
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
