An organization aimed at promoting the history of the Stephenville area has officially been incorporated and is now hoping to find a place to call home.
Debbie Brake-Patten, interim president of the Stephenville Historical Society Inc., said the group’s immediate goal is to work towards opening a museum.
The group has 14 members of whom half are executive directors, including Ms. Brake-Patten, Alan Chislett, Mary O’Quinn, Linda Collier, Clayton Billard, Corinne Tulk and Heather Downey.
Members have already sorted and categorized artifacts collected by Gilbert E. Higgins during his lifetime, which are currently in storage at a Stephenville airport building.
The society is looking at a number of different themes to highlight in their museum, including Aboriginal and French heritage, the history of Stephenville Airport and the Ernest Harmon American Air Force Base, local industries, and such notable figures as Mosey Murrin and Emile Benoit.
“What we really need now is a location and we’d love to piggy back off an existing building in the town, even if it has a business currently operating in it,” Ms. Brake-Patten said.
Once they have space, the plan is to appoint team leaders from within their committee to enlist community volunteers who have like interests to serving on those sub-committees.
The goal is to collect artifacts, prepare them for presentation and have a museum up and running as soon as possible. The plan is to fundraise and apply for financing for summer staffing.
