Image: A selection of film stills from the Archives’ film collections
We are excited to introduce to you our new project, Movie Monday. This project has been made possible with generous funding support from the Swan City Rotary Club of Grande Prairie and will dramatically increase public access to the Archives’ film collection.
The project will result in fifty-two previously-digitized films being made accessible on the Archives’ YouTube channel. These amateur films document the daily lives of individuals and special events from our community, dating back to the mid-twentieth century. Each film will be featured in a weekly educational blog post and shared on our Facebook page, beginning September 7.
Some of the collections that will be featured during the project include the Foster family fonds, the Griff James fonds, and the Jerry Stojan family fonds. The Foster videos provide an excellent look into the family’s everyday life as their children were growing up, as well as highlighting their family vacations. Griff James’ films feature a wide variety of subjects such as the Wapiti ski hill, an air show, and an adorable litter of puppies, while Jerry Stojan’s focus largely on fishing trips and scenic shots of the area.
Most of these films are originally preserved on video cassette, 16mm film, or 8mm film. Utmost care has been taken to protect the content and integrity of these films; in most cases, the only editing that has taken place in the digitization process is the removal of blank film reel, so that you may experience this footage in as original and authentic form as possible.
The South Peace Regional Archives would like to sincerely thank Swan City Rotary Club for their financial support on this project. With their assistance, we hope to educate, inspire, and inform our community regarding local history by making our videos available on a familiar platform.
We hope you will enjoy these glimpses into the South Peace region’s past. Follow along with Movie Monday here on our blog, on our Facebook page, or on our YouTube channel beginning next Monday!
Introducing Kaylee Dyck
The Movie Monday project is being completed by the Archives newest contract staff member, Kaylee Dyck. Kaylee brings years of experience working with various non-profit organizations to this multimedia project. In her past positions, she has created educational content ranging from personalized elementary school lessons to blog posts and biographical videos. If Kaylee seems familiar, it’s because she has served as a volunteer for the South Peace Regional Archives for the last four years. During that time, Kaylee has contributed over one thousand volunteer hours to the WWI Soldiers Memorial and other projects. We are delighted to introduce her in her new capacity as Archives Technician. Welcome, Kaylee!
