Today marks a milestone for us at the Pitt Meadows Museum and Archives. We are saying goodbye to our longtime Curator. Leslie Norman has been our Curator since October 1995, and her legacy is felt all around this building. Through the hard work of many people, the Museum has thrived over the years, but Leslie has been such an important backbone of this place during her time here. We will miss her more than words can ever do justice. We know this isn't the last time we'll see her around here, and we hope we can carry the torch that she has so lovingly passed on to us. 

Thank you, Leslie, for choosing to be our Curator. For all your guidance with every staff member that has ever passed through those doors, for all your support with the Board, and even as you're getting ready to leave, you're still trying to get the fence painted. 

We will remember your acts of kindness, your knowledge, and your love of the Museum. We hope that you remember us during your next chapter in retirement as well. 

A Message from the Outgoing Curator

After 29 years as the Curator/Manager at this Museum, it is time to retire, but I leave knowing the Museum is in good hands with the new Curator, Keagan Nagy, and the Assistant, Rebekah Abebe, who these past weeks have stepped up to the plate to make the transition so much easier. Thank you both. And thank you too, Petra, who is here a few Sundays a month and produces remarkable artwork for our programs.

The first four months of this year have been an intense flurry of activity to prepare for the retirement and many more items will need to be addressed for the remainder of the year. I have confidence that the Board and Staff can do this.

Of course there are all the thank yous that need to be said — to all staff, thank you for the lovely retirement gifts and the amazing card; to the City of Pitt Meadows Mayor and council, thank you for the retirement gift, both the bag and the artwork by Patricia Gordon, and for your support over the decades; thank you to City staff for putting up with my constant emails and requests and for being right there to help when needed; to Laurence Anderson and the Meadow Ridge Rotary, thank you for the grant funds to purchase new computers for the Museum (even though I won’t be there to use one); to donors Sandra Caddo and Jean Abbott, thank you for the donations to help bring new lighting to the Museum and for making the April Heritage Tea a success; thank you to all our volunteers past and present; and, most of all, thak you to Gerri, Cathy, John and Klamer, our volunteers who look after the General Store site grounds and gardens and believe in the beauty of this old building as much as I do — I will cherish your retirement gift most of all, and forgive me Klamer for not knowing how gifter an artist you are.

To anyone I have left off this list, thank you as well.

Leslie Norman, now retired Curator/Manager of the Pitt Meadows Museum and Archives