Mackin House Museum is called a museum but it is much more than that. It is first and foremost a heritage house.
A heritage house serves some of the functions of a museum in that it collects and displays artifacts and, like a museum, it helps us interpret our history. But more than that, the actual building structure is part of our history.
As a heritage house, the building is of significant historical value and most of the artifacts are selected and dedicated to interpreting the role and significance of the structure. Mackin House is staged to depict life in Maillardville from the early part of the 20th century (it was built in 1909 as a residence for the Fraser Mills sales manager) and the collection creates a view of life in Maillardville from that period.
History breathes in this building. The artifacts and how they are displayed serve to tell us a story.
Mackin House is filled with many special historical gems but as we approach Remembrance Day, there is one particular artifact that has a special and poignant significance. An unassuming beehive trunk sits at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom. It was built around 1910 and its proud owner was Alexander Windram.
Mr. Windram was born in 1882 in Scotland. He was a fisherman and he moved to Canada in 1910. With his wife and young son, he journeyed by train from the East to settle in Maillardville. What attracted him to this location was the possibility of land and employment.
His trunk would have travelled with him and would have brought the treasured family possessions. The trunk is stamped with the initials "A.W." - a tribute to heritage craftsmanship. Brass fittings and leather make it both strong and beautiful.
Mr. Windram was employed as a millwright's helper at Fraser Mills. On Feb. 2, 1916, he enlisted with the 131st New Westminster Battalion to fight in what then-U.S. president Woodrow Wilson called "the war to end all wars."
The trunk can't tell us what motivated a young father with a good job at the mill to do this; we can only assume it was pride, love of country and a sense of duty. Certainly, he wasn't the only mill worker to answer the call. We can only be grateful that he was among those who did.
He trained in Vernon and, during that time, he wrote to his daughter, Elsie: "We are passing through cold places now and always further away from you all. Now little girl, it will be a long time before I see you again but I hope you'll be a good girl and don't forget your daddie."
He arrived in England on Nov. 11, 1916. On April 9, 1917, he died fighting at Vimy Ridge. He left to mourn him his wife and three children. He was 35.
His trunk provides us with a tangible way to remember. It reminds us that war is not an abstraction. It invites us to think about family loss and sacrifice in a very personal way.
Mackin House is privileged to have this small piece of local history that tells its story year after year. You are invited to visit Mackin House and discover how personal history can be.
Your History is a column in which, once a month, representatives of the Tri-Cities' three heritage groups writes about local history. Jill Cook is executive director of the Coquitlam Heritage Society.
