Throughout this past year, we have witnessed communities coming together in solidarity despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. We have seen many people engage with our collective history through comments on our #ThrowbackThursday posts. We have traveled through time with Movie Monday. Parallels to past pandemics have been explored. We’ve paid homage to our veterans who served during the World Wars. Volunteers have touched the lives of many future researchers by transcribing hundreds of pages of documents. We’re working towards Reconciliation by contextualizing records with Indigenous content. We shared stories with Seniors Reading Theatre. Our backlog has decreased, and our online content has grown. Research requests have come from all corners of the Peace Country and beyond. We’ve cemented our future home at Centre 2000. Despite setbacks and frustrations, we have risen to the challenges together.
Much has changed in the last hundred years of South Peace history and much will change in the next hundred years. The present inhabitants will be gone, and the region will have a completely different appearance and community. Memories of COVID-19 and the ongoing pandemic, will be as much part of our history then as the pandemics of the past are now. At the South Peace Regional Archives, our goal is to ensure that our community’s history will be documented for not only our generation, but generations to come.
As a non-profit organization with charitable status, the success of the South Peace Regional Archives depends on the support of our community. We are immensely grateful for the continued financial assistance provided by our four municipal funding partners: the City of Grande Prairie, County of Grande Prairie, Municipal District of Greenview, and Municipal District of Spirit River. We are also thankful to the Archives Society of Alberta, for their ongoing professional support and essential advocacy on behalf of the archival sector. This exhibition is made possible by an Access to Holdings Grant provided by the Archives Society of Alberta. Finally, we are indebted to the numerous community partners, service organizations, corporations and individuals who have contributed to our organization during the ongoing pandemic. It’s your history; thank you for your support.
