Summer 2011

Hello! Summer Students 2011 reporting for the first (of hopefully many) blog posts. You may be asking, who are these new summer students and what do they do? Well, here we are to introduce ourselves to you, wonderful blog viewer!

My name is Sarah, and I am one of the three (very lucky) students who were chosen to work for the MSA Society over the summer of 2011. I am going in to my second year at Simon Fraser University in the fall and study in the School of International Studies. I’ve always been a self-professed history nerd (which will become apparent in future posts) so working here, even just over the summer, is such a cool experience for me and I’m already loving it! Today marks my third day here, and I must say, I have looked forward to each day, and go home happy in the evening! The past three days have taught me so much (already!!) about the history of Abbotsford and the Tretheweys, but I’ve also been working on some research. Me and Harpreet were researching Christmas decorations in the 1920s and the things we found were very… interesting, we’ll say. Like, did you know it’s traditional for Scandinavian Yule or Christmas to have a goat made of hay? They’re so cute, but who would have known?! Anyways, all together, my time here has started out fantastically and I look forward to spending my summer at the MSA Society!

Hello world! So here is my first post on this blog, on my second day at work for the MSA Museum Society. And already, it’s shaping up to be quite an experience. A little bit about me first: I am Harpreet and I’ve just completed my third year at UBC in the Biology program. I love history and research and have lived my whole life in Abbotsford and am eager to learn more about my hometown during the coming summer months.


So far I have learned a surprising amount about Abbotsford’s history, and especially the contribution of the Trethewey family in shaping our city. But of course, there is so much more to learn! I will soon start on the research for my kit and will bombard you with the cool bits of information I pick up along the way. I am tremendously excited to be working here for the coming summer and for all the events and experiences my time here will encompass.