The Olde Shoppe Museum

The Olde Shoppe Museum

Hosts: Pete Porter

Address:
The Olde Shoppe Museum
P.O. Box 34
Seal Harbour Road
Change Islands, NL
CANADA A0G 1R0


Reservations & Information:
Tel: (709) 621-4541
E-mail: ps.porter@nf.sympatico.ca

he "Olde Shoppe Museum" has been a project in the making now for about 5 years according to it's owner Peter Porter, though he has been collecting items for nearly 35. All the hard work and scrounging for items has nearly come to offer up the final product.

The Olde Shoppe & Museum is located on Seal Harbour Road, next to Pete's house and the Bark Pot Camping Site, opened the summer of 2005.

The building may be new and have little history of its own from first appearance; but in fact the outer doors are actually 100+ year-old doors from the United Church, and in sound shape, as well the door leading into the artifacts room is from Reg Hynes' place, and is according to Pete, 128 years old. Some may say that the wagon wheels built into the rail on the front deck seem to fit better with a western setting than our little outport; but in fact, they are the original wheels from John Leyte's horse-drawn hearse, used in the days long before hired vehicles could be brought from away, and before they could have even traveled the rocky roads.

Inside the building you will find items ranging from old oil lamps, to WWI guns, from old tins of tobacco (still full) to telegrams from Prime Minister Diefenbaker, and even old cream bottles, and flour-barrel chairs.

There is a wide range of things to be found, stories to be told, and questions to linger in your mind – to which the answers may never be told – like "what happened to the young German soldier who used that gun, and who was he?" Or "who made that?"

Much of the history of these items is lingering in Pete's head for the time being, but little by little, all the items are slowly being catalogued into his computer, and hopefully as much information as possible will be recorded about each part of our past.

If you're interested in taking a tour when the Olde Shoppe & Museum gets going, get ready to see a fine collection. Some of the items you may have never seen, while other things you may use every day, out of habit instead of using modern things. Keep up the good work Pete! Excellent display!