Briercrest and District Museum

05/27/2026

05/01/2026

Mark your calendars it's our annual Heritage Day on Saturday, June 13th!

04/28/2026

The weather is starting to warm up, its time to get the museum ready for opening in June. We are looking for any volunteers to help with the cleaning, any day, any time. All help very much appreciated!

04/08/2026

We are hiring! Want to join our Museum Team for the Summer Season? Application deadline April 30th,

01/12/2026

It's time for our Annual Meeting, everyone welcome to attend!

11/11/2025

These medals belonged to Clarence Elwood Gibson who served from July 17, 1941 to April 17, 1945 in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Each medal given to a soldier has a specific significance, allowing you to look at their chest and identify where and when they served. Many of these medals are familiar to Saskatchewan veterans.

From left to right they are:

1939-1945 Star - this medal was awarded for six months service on active operations for Army and Navy, and two months for active air-crew. In this case, meaning Clarence Gibson served two months in active air-crew.

Atlantic Star - this medal was awarded for six months of service afloat or two months for air-crew service. This is in addition to the 1939-1945 star, making the total requirement twelve months of service afloat or four months of airborne service.

Defence Medal - this medal was usually awarded to Canadians for six months service in Britain between 1939-1945, the exact terms were: Service for three or more years in non-operational areas subjected to air attack or closely threatened, service overseas or outside the country of residence for at least one year, or service in territories threatened by the enemy or subject to bomb attacks for six months.

Canadian Volunteer Service Medal - this medal is granted to a soldier of any rank in the Navy, Military or Air Force of Canada who voluntarily served on Active Service and honourably completed eighteen months from 1939 to 1947. The bar with the maple leaf was awarded for 60 days service outside Canada.

War Medal 1939-1945 - This medal was awarded to all full-time personnel of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines for serving for 28 days between 1939 and 1945. In the Merchant Navy, the 28 days must have been served at sea.

Medals are an important way to share information about a person’s military service. These medals are often passed down through family, proudly keeping the record of veterans service alive. Lest We Forget.

09/03/2025

Ever noticed this little pamphlet in the kitchen? It’s easy to look past, but it has many interesting tidbits, including recipes, household tips and, of course, advertisements.

This pamphlet was a marketing strategy for businesses from the Briercrest and Avonlea area. In exchange for getting their phone number, address, and business name out to all the locals, each business pitched in to print and distribute this pamphlet. It was published in the late 1920s, likely in 1928. The 1920s were a time of great economic prosperity, especially in newly built farming communities of Western Canada. Of course, this would all change in 1929 with the start of the Great Depression, which deeply affected the farmers and businessmen who served them.

This pamphlet features various advertisements for businesses, including Anderson’s, known for their confections such as soda and ice cream. Whittaker’s is also advertising their store in Briercrest, as well as their other “branches” in Hearne, Bayard, and Rouleau. Whittaker’s became partners in five stores throughout their time in business, later adding Tilney and Mossbank to the list. At the time of printing, they had just bought the Bayard Store in 1928, and it was being run by Bill and Mae Weir. You may also notice an ad for Grant Hall Hotel in Moose Jaw, which was completed in 1927, making it a truly modern hotel of its time.
Do you recognize any of these businesses?

09/01/2025

Winner of our 2025 Briercrest Museum Raffle, congratulations winning both prizes, Shol Ayach from Hearne!! Thank you everyone who supported our raffle!!!

08/30/2025

This photo, taken in late May of 1907, shows the construction of Spicer School No. 1687. The school was built by John Clement on SE 1-15-25 W2nd. Spicer School was built to accommodate 30 students in the 31-foot by 23-foot building. At the time, the building cost $1550 to erect. The school served the area until it was closed in December 1959.
The building took on a new life in 1971 when it was purchased for $385 and relocated to the Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village & Museum. It can still be seen there today, 118 years later.

This post is the first from our new Instagram account . We will be posting more old photos, interesting history, and fun artifacts over there, so be sure to check us out. If you have any old photos of Briercrest and the surrounding area that you would be willing to share or let us scan, please send us an email or DM us! We love to preserve our visual history.