People and places of the past, visitors from the present at the Vankleek Hill Museum

The combination of sharing Vankleek Hill’s history and welcoming visitors to town continues this summer at the Vankleek Hill Museum and Tourist Information Centre.

Sophie Lauzon supervises the operation of the museum, which is owned by the Vankleek Hill and District Historical Society. She said more people have been visiting the museum this summer.

“We’re seeing more people than we have since COVID,” Lauzon said.

The finishing touches were recently put on a new exhibit at the museum which gives special attention to residents of Vankleek Hill and the surrounding area who served in the military. The exhibit includes a traditional, white Royal Canadian Navy uniform worn by Ian Oswald who served aboard HMCS Magnificent, which was an aircraft carrier. The cap which belonged to Oswald is also on display and is from his time training at HMCS Cornwallis, a former naval training base in Nova Scotia.

“We’re also sprucing up other exhibits as we do every year,” Lauzon said.

The museum not only displays Vankleek Hill’s history, but it also conjures up memories for visitors, no matter where they are from.

“They see things that spark memories from their childhood or visiting grandparents,” Lauzon commented.

The speaker’s series being presented by the museum this summer has also been extremely popular. Lauzon said the most recent talk where Jean-Luc Pilon discussed the former Pilon Bakery was well-attended. Pilon made some of the bakery’s well-remembered nut bars using the old recipe and shared them with appreciative attendees.

The museum is also home to the Vankleek Hill Business and Merchant Association’s (BMA) seasonal Tourist Information Centre. Jade Robitaille is overseeing the centre this summer and said more visitors from around the world have been stopping by this summer, including Argentina, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Visitors from other Canadian provinces have been from Manitoba and Alberta. Robitaille said most visitors are, however, from the surrounding region.

Robitaille said the most common inquiries from visitors are about places to eat and if there are interesting parks to discover nearby.

The Vankleek Hill Museum and Tourist Information Centre is located at 95 Main Street East. It is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm until the end of August.