Yellowknife Historical Society receives financial contributions in support of museum project

For immediate release

Yellowknife Historical Society receives financial contributions in support of museum project

November 14, 2022 – Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

The Yellowknife Historical Society is pleased to announce two recent monetary donations. Thank you to Alice Payne and the Eggenberger family whose combined contributions injected over $220,000 dollars into the Society’s museum project!

Alice Payne is the daughter of famous Yellowknife prospector Thomas Payne who was responsible for staking gold claims at what became the Con Mine and continued to invest in Yellowknife for many years. Ms Payne wrote an exciting biography on the life of her father entitled “Quin Kola: Tom Payne’s Search for Gold” and she continues to have an interest in the future of the city.

The Eggenberger family came to Yellowknife in 1961 on the newly built Mackenzie Highway. Albert & Gladys established a milk distribution business and with their children Garth, Ed, and Jennifer have operated many other ventures, including J.J. Hobbies, a pool hall, storage rental, and the Mon gold mine. The Eggenbergers also brought Ocktoberfest north and were active twirl dancers.

Further to these two monetary donations was Quality Furniture’s significant in-kind donation by contributing a share of the cost of ordering restaurant furniture that the museum requires. Thank you to Jeannie Rocher and family - yet another Yellowknife family with a long tradition of supporting heritage efforts.

These families as long-standing supporters of Yellowknife have time and again proven their charity to local causes, and their donation towards our museum project will go a long way towards helping celebrate and present the Yellowknife story of which they have been a major part.

The society collects a wide variety of artifacts, photographs, stories, equipment, and memorabilia representing Yellowknife’s industrial, social, and natural history. Our main project for 2023 is to continue construction and renovation of the former recreation hall building at Giant Mine into a community Museum. The Museum will feature aspects of our unique history including the rocks beneath our feet to the human history starting with the first Indigenous inhabitants followed by explorers, prospectors and early settlers who made Yellowknife and area their home. The stories we share at the museum will illuminate times from the past to the present day and reflect the people, places and events of the north.

Government and private support since the Yellowknife Historical Society’s inception has been a key factor in achieving significant progress toward our vison to open a community-based Historical Museum in Yellowknife. We have secured significant funding from various levels of government together with private donations from Yellowknife businesses and residents who all have generously provided the

capital needed to make our museum a reality. A complete list of sponsors to date can be found appended to this news release.

We expect to open the Museum to the public by April 1, 2023. The Museum project will provide essential economic diversification to supplement existing tourist offerings in the Yellowknife area.

On behalf of the Society membership and board of directors, I thank the community for their past and future support as we work to celebrate and share the Yellowknife story.

Sincerely,

Helmut Epp
President, Yellowknife Historical Society 

www.yellowknifehistory.com

info@yellowknifehistory.com
Box 1856 Yellowknife NT X1A 2P4

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