EXHIBITS

The Walker House Exhibit Committee plans and creates many permanent and changing displays for visitors to enjoy throughout the building, featuring the history of Walker House and the development of Kincardine area. There are 15 rooms with heritage displays including a room with a photographic display mounted by Heritage Kincardine. Our current exhibit....

"Gone to the Beach; Vacationing in and around Kincardine" - May - October, 2010

We take a look back in time to the emergence of our beaches as vacation destinations, from Point Clark through Kincardine and onto Inverhuron. From the Indian encampments hundreds of years ago to the growth of cottage subdivisions and eventual lakeside residential developments. Many photographs, artifacts and memorabilia help us tell our story.

Kincardine in Flight, July - September, 2009

This is an exciting exhibit that traces the contributions of many local individuals and businesses to Canadian aviation, a fitting tribute as we celebrate the centennial of Canadian aviation.

Some of the informative panels highlight the stories of the men from Kincardine who represented Canada ’s Royal Canadian Air Force in WW11. The participation of the local Malcolm Furniture factory to supply the RCAF with wooden components for the famous Mosquito bombers and the operations at the Port Albert Airbase 31 A.N.I. will also be of interest to visitors. 

Of special interest to those visiting the exhibit will be the many paintings of local artist Glen Urquhart. Mr. Urquhart has loaned Walker House his series of portraits of the WW1 Flying Aces including those of Charles Nungesser, Raoul Lufbery, Eddie Rickenbacker, Ernest Udet, Canadian aces Billy Bishop, Roy Brown and Billy Barker and of course, Germany ’s “Red Baron”, Manfred von Richthofen.

The exhibit will be open to the public daily through to Labour Day weekend.

Two Artists- Two Mysteries, May-June, 2009

Walker House is profiling the personal stories and paintings of two important 19th century artists, George Agnew Reid and Jeanette Scott. Reid was born in the Wingham area and spent much of his early adult life in Kincardine painting portraits of the important men and women of the area. Scott was born on the second concession of Bruce Township and though she subsequently moved and was raised in the United States, she appreciated her recollections of this area and visited often. Both individuals were important artists and gained international reputations from their talent.

Our exhibit poses two mysteries from what we know of Reid and Scott. Are the Baird and Gumaer portraits in our dining room examples of Reid's early work? And, did Scott bring her art to this area as gifts when she visited her relatives later in her life. Might there still be Scott decedents in the area and even more important, are there examples of her art somewhere here?

It's Hockey Time, March 2 - April 30, 2009

Throughout the month of March and April, Walker House will fill two of our main floor exhibit exhibit rooms with hockey memorabilia from Kincardine's past. Our North Room will feature the pictures, trophies, equipment and stories belonging to Kincardine Minor Girls and Boys teams, the Kincardine Oldtimers and the Kincardine Junior "C" Bulldogs.

In our Dining Room we will have memorabilia on loan to us from Kincardine residents who have either played or officiated the game at the college, university, semi-pro and professional level.

Also during these two months we have planned and organized many special events and activities around the It's Hockey Time exhibit including Celebrity Day, Kid's Day, the Murdoch Hockey Sweater Collection and the KMHA Road Hockey Tournament. See the Events page for our detailed poster.

Our Fall Exhibits

This fall our Exhibits Committee have mounted an variety of interesting displays. If you visited Walker House this summer, there are entirely new displays for you to see so don't hesitate to visit us again!

"Fun with Collections"

In a time before television, computers, video games, etc. people enjoyed the hobby of collecting things. Stamps were certainly popular and continue to be so for many today but years back, collecting various items was a very eclectic pastime. Our Exhibits Committee have brought together some really interesting (and maybe unusual) collections to share with our visitors. There is, for example a collection of toothpicks! Yes and did you know that toothpicks have been around longer than our species?. The skulls of Neanderthals, as well as homo sapiens, have shown clear evidence of the use of  some tool to clean the teeth.

And fans. Not the electrical ones but the handheld and very decorative fans that have been used in fashionable society since the 16th century. Did you know that fans were used in fashionable society as a means of communication? the original "Fanology or Ladies Conversation Fan" created by Charles Francis Badini contained the details on how to correctly hold the fan to communicate to others, especially the men in the room. We have many examples as part of our fan collection on display.

Other collections we are exhibiting include Hats, Masks, Knitted Dolls, Shoes, Bow Ties, Tea Cups, Cereal Bowls and French Ivory for the Boudoir.

"Harvest Time"

What better reason than the time of this season to share some items from our collection related to harvest time in this area. Included in our display is the history of the Apple Evaporator which was located on the southeast corner of Harbour Street and Huron Terrace, across from Walker House.

Many of the other exhibit rooms have been added to or changed so that your return visit will be just as rewarding as your last!