Honouring our Past

Story appeared in the 2015 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.

BY LEANNE SCHULTZ, OPERATIONS & HR MANAGER
ALUMNI TRUDY BYERS (’56), SHELAGH BOGGS (’56)

“What is an archives?” That is a question that was posed to our young students this year in a video prepared for our annual Gala. Here are a sample of answers: “It’s a whole bunch of art.” “Umm…a cave?” “Where they put the records away.” “An Archives is where all the things from the school and people from the school in the past are kept.”

There is no question that Queen Margaret’s School honours its traditions and history. However, like many bequests from previous generations, the caring and storing of the symbols of that legacy have been inconsistent at best. For the Old Overseas Margaretian Association (OOMA), a repository for the collection of memorabilia, photographs and records that illustrate the rich history of Queen Margaret’s School is a vital and missing piece of the school’s infrastructure. Since 1988, the OOMA has been advocating and raising money for a dedicated archives that would properly house 129 years of history, not only of Queen Margaret’s School, but of the pioneering efforts of the Cowichan Valley since the 1800s.

In 1983, Miss Denny and Miss Geoghegan took the initiative to store 12 boxes of documents and materials in the BC Provincial Archives. They range from before the birth of Miss Denny in 1886, with some family his-tory to 1901 through the First World War, years of attendance registers, financial reports, inspirational talks and addresses, and records and correspondence of the Old Girls up until 1963. Records and memorabilia from 1964 forward are still at the school, and the need for temperature and light-controlled storage is essential for maintaining the integrity of these materials.

More important than the care-taking of these historical objects, however, is the sharing of legacy. The OOMA envision a space where photographs and old documents would be catalogued and easily accessed by current students, where old uniforms and mementoes would be on display, and where Old Girls could meet with each other and current students to provide the rich oral his-tory that accompanies these objects.

Thanks to the generous donation of this year’s Gala attendees, the QMS Archives project has received a jumpstart. During the 2015-16 school year, work will begin on a dedicated space behind Glide Hall that will house the School’s Archives collection. Close attention will be paid to repurposing the old Maintenance building to ensure moisture levels, light levels and temperature is regulated for the safekeeping of this invaluable collection. Once the building is refurbished, the original documents housed in the BC Archives will be brought back to the campus, and the reunited collection will represent the entire history of Queen Margaret’s School for all to enjoy.