Thursdays 7:00 pm unless otherwise noted | admission includes lecture and exhibit access

Lethbridge – From 45 years of University history to a quilting trunk show, and archaeology topics from the fur trade to Fincastle and more, the Galt Museum & Archives adult lecture series Café Galt is back in full swing starting Thursday, October 11 at 7:00 pm. Admission fees for Café Galt includes exhibit access prior to and following the lectures.

Thu OCT 11 University of Lethbridge 45th Anniversary with U of L Archivist Michael Perry

            NOTE: Admission for the October 11 lecture is sponsored by the University of Lethbridge and is a prelude to the U of L Homecoming Week October 12-14.

            A forward-thinking group of citizens believed that southern Alberta merited its own university. No one involved in its inception could have predicted what the future University of Lethbridge would become. Forty-five years later it is respected and recognized globally as a research-intensive, comprehensive university with a focus on both undergraduate and graduate education.

            Since its founding in 1967, the University of Lethbridge Archives has collected and preserved the official and unofficial history of the U of L in a wide range of formats. This presentation provides an opportunity to share the many stories captured in videos and photographs, newsletters and newspapers, calendars and yearbooks, pamphlets and posters. The hope is to inform some and remind others, bringing everyone together to celebrate shared achievements over the past 45 years.

Thu OCT 25 Fur Trade Archaeology with Heinz Pyszczyk The first 100 years of Euro-Canadian history in western Canada is dominated by one major economic industry - the fur trade throughout most regions of Alberta. This talk will explore sources of information of the historic past and some of the major trends left in those records primarily from an archaeological/materialistic perspective, and focuses mainly on central and northern Alberta and other parts of western Canada.

Heinz. W. Pyszczyk holds a B.A. from the University of Alberta; an M.A. from the University of Manitoba; and a Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University. He has worked for the Archaeological Survey of Alberta for the past 29 years, and sSpecializes in Historical Archaeology, primarily western Canadian fur trade archaeology and the contact period between Indigenous peoples of the area and whites.

Thu NOV 01 Fincastle Bison Kill Site with Shawn Bubel The Fincastle bison kill site, located 4 km south of the Oldman River in southern Alberta, was being devastated by looting activities and wind erosion. In order to get an understanding of the site before it was destroyed, excavation campaigns were carried out in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2012. More than 200,000 bison bones, 150 projectile points and other stone tools, 3500 pieces of debitage (waste material from the production of stone tools), and 1200 fragments of fire-broken rock were found, along with 10 ideological features. Indications are that a single event occurred around 2500 years ago, which together with the cultural remains, make Fincasle a significant archaeololgical site in Alberta.

            Dr. Shawn Bubel is a professor of archaeology at the University of Lehtbridge. She has been directing excavation projects since 1999 and has worked on sites across the globe. Her current research projects include the Fincastle site, as well at Tel Beth-Shemesh in Israel. She recently co- authored the 4th edition of Record in Stone: Familiar Projectile Points from Alberta.

Details for the November and January programs are being finalized but mark your calendars for:

Fri NOV 02 Quilting Trunk Show with Roger Kerr Find out how a former dairy farmer became a quilter!

Thu JAN 10 Glenbow Quarry and Townsite with Brian Vivian

Admission fees apply for each program; registration is not required. Adults pay $6, seniors and students $4. Admission is free for Annual Pass Holders.  Admission for the October 11 lecture is free, thanks to a sponsorship from the University of Lethbridge. There is no Café Galt lecture in December.

The Discovery Hall and Museum Store are open Thursdays from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. For details on other Galt programs, exhibits and events, visit www.galtmuseum.com, call 403.320-3954, or email info@galtmuseum.com.