Meet the People in our Neighbourhood
Olwynn Hughes: So, what is your name?
Carolyn vanGurp: I'm Carolyn vanGurp.
OH: What year were you born?
CV: I was born in 1956.
OH: What is your current position at the museum?
CV: I'm on the board of directors and I'm also the volunteer curator.
OH: When did you first hear the museum and Avondale?
CV: I first heard of the museum and Avondale around 2016, and it was when I was working on a history project with the group of people in Scotch Village, and looking for sources of documentation on history of this area, and somebody suggested that I get in touch with the museum here.
OH: So did that spark your interest here?
CV: Absolutely. I had never heard of Avondale. I had never been here even though it was so close to where I had been in Scotch Village. When I first came I met with the board of directors at the time to talk a little bit about the history project and to see if we could collaborate, and then I started spending quite a bit of time in the archives going through
the old documents and that was the start.
OH: Are there any specific areas of interest for you?
CV: Yeah, I'm really interested in how different groups of people interacted over time because we tend to hear mostly the history in this area of the most recent people to come here, the Planters. I was really interested in learning more about the Mi’kmaq, the Acadians, and the African Nova Scotians, as well as the environmental issues and the interaction between people and the environment, and what we can learn from people's historical interaction to address current problems.
OH: Is there something quite specific that you want to investigate further here?
CV: Both of those areas. I want to keep on working and sharing information. Learn about all four groups because I find a lot of people are not really aware of the history of the four main groups of people who lived in this area. So I'm interested in exploring that and I'm really interested in looking at what this area can offer the broader community on climate change avoidance and mitigation.
OH: Do you think a lot of it ties into the current stuff that's happening?
CV: Absolutely because, yeah, because this area and the reason why people settled here throughout the thousands of years really is because of the very unique interaction between the water and the land and so I think in particular, people have dealt with that in the past, which has a lot to teach us about the future. For example in many parts of the world people are dealing with coastal flooding and coastal problems, and that's an issue here. That's something that we can share with others, hopefully.
OH: What are your hopes for the future?
CV: Yeah. They both intersect really. I really hope that we can collectively learn from the people who came before us to really learn what worked, how people work together, and then use those learnings to create a better world, really which sounds like a lofty ideal, but I think it's possible and I think that it's necessary if we want to survive on this planet. So personally I have that dream and that hope. We can work together to learn from the past to make the world a better place.
OH: What do you think your contribution to the community will be in the future?
CV: I will continue to research using the documents that are here in the museum. I've been working on connecting descendants from all four groups of people who've lived here so that we can learn from each other and learn from our collective past and I hope to continue that.
OH: Do you find that your experience as a teacher helps you as curator?
CV: Yeah, it does for sure because a big focus of museums is really playing a teaching role, and so reflecting on what worked and what didn't work as a teacher helps me develop plans for exhibits and outreach and programming here at the museum. Teaching is very much learning also as a teacher. We teach but we learn from our students and I've learned so much from the community here and also from the visitors. So for me a really important moment was being in this museum with direct descendants of early people here, for instance descendants of the Nocoot or the Knockwood people, and to hear the stories of how that family lived here, and somewhat what happened after they left was an important teaching moment for me because I hope I can take what I learned from others and somehow craft that into lessons for others.
OH: What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment here?
CV: Oh my goodness. I can't take credit for anything at all. I walk on the, you know, the shoulders of all those who have come before here in the museum and all those who are here and all in the community that have worked so hard to make this such an amazing provincially recognized Museum, so I'd say, you know being able to build on that great work and work with others especially to bring to light some of the history of the groups that have traditionally not been really dealt with in our history in the problems as a whole.
OH: What do you love about Avondale?
CV: Oh my goodness. What don't I love, it's a magical place. It is beautiful. It has such a rich history. It has the strongest sense of community and collaboration among the people who live here that I've experienced and I've lived in a lot of communities, small communities around the world. The ability to grow food and to sit on the patio of the museum and watch the tide come in and out. That's probably my favorite thing. Yeah, totally. I see the mixing of the families who've been here for hundreds of years with the newcomers and seeing how those groups of people work together seamlessly, again learning from the past, from the rich historical past of this area to address current problems, like mining, flooding, all the issues that the community faces here.
OH: Why did you personally feel drawn and moved out here?
CV: I'd say for all the same reasons that I love Avondale, the outstanding beauty, the water, and the land. There's a strong sense of community here. The very rich history and the ability to contribute in some ways through the museum.
OH: Have you learned anything that surprised you from working here?
CV: Well, my whole notion of what a museum is has changed. I always thought the purpose of the museum was to store old things and to have them on display, and by working here in the museum and also with the museum community at large, I realized the role of a museum is so much more. It's really about community and addressing current issues, certainly. Preserving the history but preserving it for a purpose.
OH: Did you come to what was it? Jam night at the museum?
CV: Yes, when Rob was doing music here on Fridays.
OH: I noticed you kind of just wandered back to the back deck, what brought you?
CV: The fact that I heard there was food! It was also just wanting to see what the community was like. So I came for the music and I stayed for the sense of community.
OH: What do you hope that people in doing these interviews will get from them?
CV: I hope that people get a sense of what an amazing, rich, and vibrant community Avondale is. I'm sure people who live here know that already, but it's good to have that validated sometimes by people who don't live here full-time or don't have a long family history here. And I hope it sparks an interest in people in the broader community in getting involved in the museum and realizing that it is open to everybody and that you can follow any interest you have at the museum really, and find ways to find your own Niche and find a way that you can contribute.
OH: Do you think that there needs to be more interest in history and learning about your past?
CV: I think there are always those who don't learn their history. So they say those who don't learn their history are destined to repeat it and there is a lot that we have to learn from history. So to make our own lives easier in the future, I think it's really important that we do learn our history and in this time, especially as issues around colonization and race are becoming just generally more broadly discussed. There's so much to learn here to contribute to that learning in that conversation and that change. These conversations are happening around the world and in all institutions. I think it will be changing in some ways as any institution that's responsive will change for the better.
Carolyn VanGurp currently sits on the board for the Avon River Heritage Society and is the volunteer curator for their museum. She splits her time between Halifax and Avondale, partially moving to Avondale in 2018. She plays an active role in unearthing information about the Acadians, Mi’kmaq and the African Nova Scotians that have occupied the area.
Carolyn vanGurp: I'm Carolyn vanGurp.
OH: What year were you born?
CV: I was born in 1956.
OH: What is your current position at the museum?
CV: I'm on the board of directors and I'm also the volunteer curator.
OH: When did you first hear the museum and Avondale?
CV: I first heard of the museum and Avondale around 2016, and it was when I was working on a history project with the group of people in Scotch Village, and looking for sources of documentation on history of this area, and somebody suggested that I get in touch with the museum here.
OH: So did that spark your interest here?
CV: Absolutely. I had never heard of Avondale. I had never been here even though it was so close to where I had been in Scotch Village. When I first came I met with the board of directors at the time to talk a little bit about the history project and to see if we could collaborate, and then I started spending quite a bit of time in the archives going through
the old documents and that was the start.
OH: Are there any specific areas of interest for you?
CV: Yeah, I'm really interested in how different groups of people interacted over time because we tend to hear mostly the history in this area of the most recent people to come here, the Planters. I was really interested in learning more about the Mi’kmaq, the Acadians, and the African Nova Scotians, as well as the environmental issues and the interaction between people and the environment, and what we can learn from people's historical interaction to address current problems.
OH: Is there something quite specific that you want to investigate further here?
CV: Both of those areas. I want to keep on working and sharing information. Learn about all four groups because I find a lot of people are not really aware of the history of the four main groups of people who lived in this area. So I'm interested in exploring that and I'm really interested in looking at what this area can offer the broader community on climate change avoidance and mitigation.
OH: Do you think a lot of it ties into the current stuff that's happening?
CV: Absolutely because, yeah, because this area and the reason why people settled here throughout the thousands of years really is because of the very unique interaction between the water and the land and so I think in particular, people have dealt with that in the past, which has a lot to teach us about the future. For example in many parts of the world people are dealing with coastal flooding and coastal problems, and that's an issue here. That's something that we can share with others, hopefully.
OH: What are your hopes for the future?
CV: Yeah. They both intersect really. I really hope that we can collectively learn from the people who came before us to really learn what worked, how people work together, and then use those learnings to create a better world, really which sounds like a lofty ideal, but I think it's possible and I think that it's necessary if we want to survive on this planet. So personally I have that dream and that hope. We can work together to learn from the past to make the world a better place.
OH: What do you think your contribution to the community will be in the future?
CV: I will continue to research using the documents that are here in the museum. I've been working on connecting descendants from all four groups of people who've lived here so that we can learn from each other and learn from our collective past and I hope to continue that.
OH: Do you find that your experience as a teacher helps you as curator?
CV: Yeah, it does for sure because a big focus of museums is really playing a teaching role, and so reflecting on what worked and what didn't work as a teacher helps me develop plans for exhibits and outreach and programming here at the museum. Teaching is very much learning also as a teacher. We teach but we learn from our students and I've learned so much from the community here and also from the visitors. So for me a really important moment was being in this museum with direct descendants of early people here, for instance descendants of the Nocoot or the Knockwood people, and to hear the stories of how that family lived here, and somewhat what happened after they left was an important teaching moment for me because I hope I can take what I learned from others and somehow craft that into lessons for others.
OH: What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment here?
CV: Oh my goodness. I can't take credit for anything at all. I walk on the, you know, the shoulders of all those who have come before here in the museum and all those who are here and all in the community that have worked so hard to make this such an amazing provincially recognized Museum, so I'd say, you know being able to build on that great work and work with others especially to bring to light some of the history of the groups that have traditionally not been really dealt with in our history in the problems as a whole.
OH: What do you love about Avondale?
CV: Oh my goodness. What don't I love, it's a magical place. It is beautiful. It has such a rich history. It has the strongest sense of community and collaboration among the people who live here that I've experienced and I've lived in a lot of communities, small communities around the world. The ability to grow food and to sit on the patio of the museum and watch the tide come in and out. That's probably my favorite thing. Yeah, totally. I see the mixing of the families who've been here for hundreds of years with the newcomers and seeing how those groups of people work together seamlessly, again learning from the past, from the rich historical past of this area to address current problems, like mining, flooding, all the issues that the community faces here.
OH: Why did you personally feel drawn and moved out here?
CV: I'd say for all the same reasons that I love Avondale, the outstanding beauty, the water, and the land. There's a strong sense of community here. The very rich history and the ability to contribute in some ways through the museum.
OH: Have you learned anything that surprised you from working here?
CV: Well, my whole notion of what a museum is has changed. I always thought the purpose of the museum was to store old things and to have them on display, and by working here in the museum and also with the museum community at large, I realized the role of a museum is so much more. It's really about community and addressing current issues, certainly. Preserving the history but preserving it for a purpose.
OH: Did you come to what was it? Jam night at the museum?
CV: Yes, when Rob was doing music here on Fridays.
OH: I noticed you kind of just wandered back to the back deck, what brought you?
CV: The fact that I heard there was food! It was also just wanting to see what the community was like. So I came for the music and I stayed for the sense of community.
OH: What do you hope that people in doing these interviews will get from them?
CV: I hope that people get a sense of what an amazing, rich, and vibrant community Avondale is. I'm sure people who live here know that already, but it's good to have that validated sometimes by people who don't live here full-time or don't have a long family history here. And I hope it sparks an interest in people in the broader community in getting involved in the museum and realizing that it is open to everybody and that you can follow any interest you have at the museum really, and find ways to find your own Niche and find a way that you can contribute.
OH: Do you think that there needs to be more interest in history and learning about your past?
CV: I think there are always those who don't learn their history. So they say those who don't learn their history are destined to repeat it and there is a lot that we have to learn from history. So to make our own lives easier in the future, I think it's really important that we do learn our history and in this time, especially as issues around colonization and race are becoming just generally more broadly discussed. There's so much to learn here to contribute to that learning in that conversation and that change. These conversations are happening around the world and in all institutions. I think it will be changing in some ways as any institution that's responsive will change for the better.
Carolyn VanGurp currently sits on the board for the Avon River Heritage Society and is the volunteer curator for their museum. She splits her time between Halifax and Avondale, partially moving to Avondale in 2018. She plays an active role in unearthing information about the Acadians, Mi’kmaq and the African Nova Scotians that have occupied the area.