AUDIO VISUAL COLLECTION

A trove of local treasures

In 2023, Nelson Museum embarked on an ongoing project to document and make accessible its collection of audio and visual archive resources. This project was supported with grants from the Museum Assistance Program and the Columbia Basin Trust. It has also been made possible due to the work of dedicated volunteers. 

From 1979 through the early 2000’s, Shaw Cable produced local community television programming from a studio in Nelson. The programming featured community events, people of interest, and snippets of everyday Nelson life. The tapes, totaling over 800 in mostly S-VHS and Umatic formats, have been stored away for decades, slowly degrading and with them, the memories they contain. 

Much of the footage includes some very recognizable faces and prominent figures from the community and has brought back some great memories – a young Judy Wapp performing at the David Thompson Student Society SubPub; various festival events; sporting contests, and many Capitol Theatre musical and theatrical performances. 

We have also made accessible our collection of vintage format films that include 8mm, super 8 and 16mm films that shine a light on Nelson’s earlier history mostly featuring views and events from the 1940s-70s. The collection includes a film on the construction of Nelson Bridge, the operations of the Kootenay Forest Products lumber business and footage of many parades in Nelson and further afield. 

We have also worked to make our vast audio archives available. This project has been assisted through funding from the Fleming Family Foundation. The collection includes historian Ross Fleming’s collection of over 100 recordings of 1950s and 1960s local theatre and music events, and Nelson radio programs. Dozens of oral history recordings by Kootenay old-timers allow us to hear directly from community members with memories stretching back many decades. 

Many hundreds of individual programs have been uploaded to the Museum’s YouTube channel, to be accessed free of charge by the community. If you have any questions about this collection, please contact the Archivist at collections@nelsonmuseum.ca