Last week a grade 7 student asked to interview me for a project she was working on. She needed to write a speech and chose weird history of Lethbridge as her topic. Her Mom said, well, then, I guess we’ll have to go and talk to Belinda at the Galt. Now, what could possibly have made her Mom think of me in connection with that subject? Certainly it couldn’t be my interest in cemetery research or the ghost stories of Lethbridge or that I love to collect and share weird, off-beat stories? Well, yes of course it is.

And if you, too, enjoy hearing such stories you have a chance next week. I have been invited to speak at The View on Thursday, March 25 at noon. My presentation is titled “So, you think you know Lethbridge?” and it’s a collection of my favourite fun tidbits of Lethbridge history. Everything from the “barley child” born here in Lethbridge in 1886 to the details of the 1st appendectomy in western Canada will be shared. I’ll even share why I’ve chosen to put a picture of limburger cheese as the photo for this blog. Let’s just say, that no one really thinks how history would have smelled….

If you’re interested, you need to RSVP to The View by 23 March at 403-320-1395. Seating is at 11:45 am and my presentation starts right at noon.

And I’m certainly not the only person who enjoys the quirky and idiosyncratic. The Museum 2.0 blog this week spoke eloquently on why museums need to keep and embrace their idiosyncratic elements. I think, though, that not only should museums do this but so, too, should communities. While Lethbridge (and southern Alberta) is similar in a lot of ways to other areas of Canada, don’t forget what makes her special and different – we have always had a distinctive way of doing things – and our history certainly bears that out… Speaking of bears, remind me to tell you one day about the Lethbridge zoo (yes, we did actually have a zoo)…