Heritage Week

This is Heritage Week (February 16 - 21) and the theme this year is "Legacy of Learning," looking at the history of education. The Brown Bag History talk this week will be on that theme, and one of my favourite stories relating to this topic is a little bit of a scandal. In the 1920s, Mr. Bassett, the elementary school principal was called in front of the board to address allegations that he was interacting in an inappropriate way with one of the female teachers. He denied the accusations and claimed that she was a family friend, with his wife welcoming the teacher to their home for visits. Before long, though, Mr. Bassett emptied the projector fund of the $100 plus dollars that the students had raised, and fled to San Francisco with the young schoolteacher. They were arrested there, which led to an article in the local newspaper with my all-time favourite headline: "Bassett Nabbed in 'Frisco." The schoolteacher was handed over to her father, and Mr. Bassett was tried and sent to prison for a short time.

And then there's the story of the schoolteacher who went to talk to the School Board about her raise. She was asked to wait outside the meeting room in the top floor of the High School (now Mountain View School.) She waited for over an hour, when she realized it was awfully quiet. She opened the door to the room, only to discover that the whole School Board had left out of the fire exit.

We are also in the process of collecting recipes for our next edition of the Revelstoke Heritage Cook Book. Get your recipes in before April 1st. Call or email the museum: 250-837-3067 or revelstokemuseum@telus.net for more information.