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Alberta Connections Magazine
Spring 2000
It isn't every year the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation confers
its prestigious award of honour. So the occasion was that much more
special when the Foundation chose to honour David Jamieson last fall for
outstanding achievement in the heritage field for his work at the
helm of the Medalta Potters projects in Medicine Hat. It was the
first such award the Foundation has given in five years.
Jamieson founded and chairs the Friends of Medalta Society, which has worked
for over a decade to transform the Medalta potteries complex and the
Hycroft China factory next door into a living, working museum of southeastern
Alberta's historic clay products industry.
"It's terrific that people recognize the time and effort spent on these
two projects," Jamieson told the Medicine Hat News when he won the
award. He says the sites are becoming known across Canada and around
the world. Both sites are Provincial Historic Resources and Medalta
is also a National Historic Site. Besides housing an unrivaled
collection of pottery and china produced in the area, the sites
contain the largest collection of early 20th century pottery
manufacturing equipment in North America.
The society recently acquired stands and storyboards from a major
Glenbow Museum display of Medalta pottery, which will be used to
upgrade the exhibits on the sites. In another new development the
University of Alberta Faculty of Extension has agreed to gift or
loan the society the majority of the equipment from its ceramics
program, which was discontinued last year.
Visitors will be able to
take a self-guided tour of the Hycroft china site with the help of
16 touch-screen computers donated by Canadian Fertilizers.
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