The Winkler Heritage Archives cut the ribbon on its new home in the Winkler Arts and Culture Centre last week.
The Winkler Heritage Society’s treasure trove of historical documents relocated to a room in the rear of the Park St. gallery this fall.
From left: Archivist Ed Falk, Councillor Marvin Plett, Morden-Winkler MLA Carrie Hiebert, and the Winkler Heritage Society’s Dora Hildebrand cut the ribbon on the new WInkler Archives, now located in the art gallery on Park St.
The documents—thousands of items charting the community’s history going back over a century—had been in storage since the archives moved out of its longtime home in Winkler Centennial Library in 2023.
Earlier this year, it was announced the society would be moving both the archives and, eventually, the Winkler Heritage Museum (currently located in the Southland Mall) into undeveloped space at the arts centre.
Fundraising for that project is ongoing, but reopening the archives is a big first step in transforming the space into the community’s historical hub, says archivist Ed Falk.
“This archive has temperature, humidity, and light controls, which are needed for long-time material preservation,” he shared. “At present, the space is tight, but the development of the museum space next door … will enable us to move the administrative part into that space so that the archive itself will be basically a storage place.”
They envision the entire complex as being the go-to place for people to come to learn about Winkler’s history and explore the wealth of artifacts the society has in its possession.
Joining Falk in the archivist role is John Epp, who is putting his computer skills to use in a project that will see many of the archival documents digitized so people can more easily access them while researching family and community history.
“People will eventually be able to research materials online rather than actually having to visit our space, although the space and the materials will still be available,” Falk said.
“Once the museum gets finished, the services will be much more integrated,” noted Epp. “I’m hoping that they’ll set up a computer station in the museum that they can search our records from there.”
It’s a lot of work, but very much a labour of love for volunteers like Falk and Epp.
“I feel that it’s important that we understand those people that came here, no matter what their background was,” Epp said. “How they were able to establish a life, a community life, a church life, how they were able to develop their educational system and change from an agricultural group into a commercial business community that is flourishing.”
The pair welcome other history buffs willing to get involved.
“We can always use more volunteers,” Epp said, noting that includes not just the archives but the heritage society as a whole.
And if you’ve never explored the archives before, Falk hopes you’ll stop by.
“We want them to know, one, that we’re accessible, that we have information for them, that we’re willing to work with them to find the information that they want or that they would like to have,” he said of all the amateur genealogists out there.
The Winkler Archives is open Wednesday afternoons or by appointment by calling +1-204-325-8929.
