New floor in Musuem

It started in May 2017, when the Atchelitz Threshermens Association received a $50000 grant from BC – Canada 150 Program!  We had applied earlier in the year for funds to do some improvement’s, including a new cement floor for the pioneer Museum. The main purpose was to improve accessibility for wheelchair and walkers.  Once we got the grant and were ready to start work on the project everything on the floor in the back of our large pioneer building had to be removed. Members really got into it and with a lot of dedication managed to get it done quickly.

We were able to proceed faster then anticipated because  the contractors were not busy.  We brought in material for fill and special equipment to  level and pack the ground for preparation for the new floor.

Two cement trucks were lined up pouring concrete all day on the 16th of May

Bill and Jerry checking out the new floor

The new floor after it dried out, showing the orderly row of small engines and a couple of our trucks temporarily in place.

Putting all of our collections back into the museum gave us a great opportunity to reorganize and rationalize our use of the space. It took a lot of planning and organization to move all the tractors, vehicles and tools back into the new space. The photos give some idea of the actual size of the space when it was empty

Display reorganized

Three days after the concrete was poured, it was possible to bring the  buggies and horse-drawn equipment  back in first to get them in out of the element’s.  Then the enlarged engine shop at the front of the building was set up.

Laying straight lines of tape on the floor as a means of putting vehicles in orderly rows worked very well.  Spacing made them much more visible and helped to make the machines along the wall more easily seen. Great for taking picture!

Tractors were all set up in two rows back-to-back. The tape on the floor enabled us to put them in neat rows , creating much nicer display. It also made it possible to have a real walkway/wheelchair  space between the tractors and the wall, dramatically improving visibility of both tractors and  (below) larger engines.

The relocation of the shelves at the back and along the walls, and placing the larger engines on the sides have made them more accessible and more visible.  Again, the space left in front of the engines made it possible for people and those in wheelchairs to see the engines close-up.

One of our real treasures. our international-Harvester Titan 10-20 became much more visible with the new layout.