November 29, 2024 Stratford Times ‘OH, THE PLACES WE’LL GO: Museum a labour of love in New Denmark PAUL KNOWLES Times Contributor Let’s be honest, here; you are unlikely to travel to New Bruns- wick solely for the purpose of visiting the small, quaint New Denmark Memorial Museum. But if you are in New Bruns- wick — and I can give you doz- ens of reasons why this wonder- ful province should be included in your travel plans — you really should schedule a stop at this small-town museum, a labour of love by local folks determined to preserve and honour their legacy. Our hosts at the museum were Shelley Partanan and Ron Han- sen, both volunteers and both de- scendants of the original Danish settlers who came to this partof New Brunswick in the 19th and th centuries. The newly refurbished museum is a product of the energy and commitment of the local community, a group of people determined to honour their heritage as proud Canadi- ans, but also as proud offspring. of some pioneering Danish im- migrants. Partanan told us that the first shipload of Danes to come to the area arrived in Saint John in 1872 and took a smaller boat up the Saint John River to found what is now New Denmark. They were lured to Canada by prom- The replica of ea pobre communal building that housed the first 29 Danes to ants in New Denmark in (PAUL KNOWLES New Denmark Memorial Museum volunteers Shelley Partanan and Ron Hansen. ises of land ready to be farmed, a road system and places to live. These promises were exaggera- tions at the least, outright lies at the worst. That first ship brought 29 Danes to New Brunswick. They were given 100 acres of land each but found they had to clear the land, build the roads and live to- eee in one common building. hey persevered and” over’ oe ag five decades or so joined by friends and fcletves from Denmark until eventually, the community numbered 119 families. This history — and subsequent events in the community — ar commemorated in the museum. The exhibits include a_build- ing a few metres away from the main museum, a small-scale replica of the original communal house shared by the first Danes to arrive. That building was con- structed several decades ago by a much younger Hansen, who was just 17 years old at the time the reproduction house was built. ‘he museum itself reopened in the summer of 2024 after exten- sive reconstruction of the build- ing and reconfiguration and rede- sign of the exhibits. The reconstruction was a chal- lenging project. Partanan notes “every single thing in the build- ing had to be packed up and removed”, because they had to temediate” mould and astiestod issues. But that also presented the volunteers with an unprece- dented opportunity; they cleaned and labelled every artefact before they were returned to the muse- um. The museum acknowledges the agricultural heritage of the area; ‘New Denmark was home to dairy farms, a cheese factory and pota- to farming. Partanan says that in the earliest days, “I have heard stories that they were planting potatoes among the trees,” for food for the pioneer families. To- day, almost all the local agricul- ture is about potatoes. There are exhibits about al- most every aspect of life in New Denmark. The Women’s. Insti- tute — once a vital organization in New Demark, as it was in many smaller Canadian communities — has a section dedicated to its work. So does the school — which is appropriate, since the building that now houses the museum was once the local primary school, which Hansen attended in 1968 for one year. The school was closed in 1969. It may not be a surprise consid- ering the community’s Scandina- vian roots that New Demark was once home to ski-jumping com- petitions and this and other local sports history is on display in the museum. One baseball team hon- oured bore the entirely appropri- ate name, The Spu Hansen’s grandfather was the first postmaster in the commu- nity, operating the post office out of his convenience store. eg ren ahs are examples unique Danish traditions td on proudly in the newcomers’ new homeland such as brightly es Danish dancing cos- tum One “of the most moving exhib- its in the museum is the wall of photos honouring the men and women of New Denmark who were in the armed forces during the world wars. I noted that the relatively small community had contributed a surprisingly large number of young people to the war efforts, and Partanan and Hansen said this was a reflection of the love the people of New Denmark had both for their ad- opted country of Canada and for their original homeland in Eu- rope. The New Denmark Memorial Museum is a moving tribute to the Danish pioneers who came to:New Brunswick to start new lives, and to their descendants who continued that commitment. But it is also a tribute to the resi- dents of today who have devoted so much volunteer time and ef- fort to keep that history alive. The museum is open to visitors, June through August, staffed by students thanks to government grants, but the local volunteers would be happy to give tours in the off-season to interested peo- ple as well. In a true reflection of tural hospitality, Partanan point- ed out there is a sign with contact information and, if visitors call, “Somebody will run up.” Admis- sion is by donation. Paul Knowles is an author and travel writer, and President of the Travel Media Association of Canada. To contact Paul about desk, chair and other Jai travel, his books, or speaking nail p les@ golden.net. ia form one small exhibit at i i.) Artifacts from the earliest days of farming and pioneer life.