Mat Hassen (left) and Kara Burton (right) presented Frances Sologuk with an honorary lifetime membership in the Osoyoos Museum. Hassen is president of the museum’s board of directors and Burton is the executive director/curator. (Richard McGuire photo)
“I feel like an artifact now,” joked Frances Sologuk when she was recently presented with an honorary membership to the Osoyoos and District Museum and Archives last week.
Making the presentation on behalf of the board of directors of the Osoyoos Museum Society were board president Mat Hassen and Kara Burton, the executive director and curator of the museum.
The award, said Hassen, recognizes Sologuk’s many years of support for the museum through sponsorship of events and donations.
“There’s no one with more heart and support for our project and we genuinely appreciate it,” said Hassen.
Sologuk, whose family owns and operates Osoyoos Home Hardware, has long taken an interest in the history of Osoyoos, and from the murals on the side of the building to the old cash register at the back, the store is a reminder of years gone by.
“Obviously, as you can tell from my store, I treasure the past,” she said. “I’m in total agreement that our future depends on our past and that’s why I have always been a strong supporter of the Osoyoos Museum.”
The wall of the store facing 85th Street is decorated with large photographic murals showing Osoyoos in decades past. The photos are in the museum’s collection.
Sologuk said they were originally put up about 10 years ago, but they made the mistake of putting the first ones on wood.
“Of course our good Okanagan sun kind of killed it,” she said. “These ones are actually on aluminum, so we hope they’re going to last longer, but we fully intend on replacing them if something should go wrong with them.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
