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Introduction - Chronicles of Bentley

The Bentley Museum Society in cooperation with Community Memories (Virtual Museums of Canada) is pleased to present an exhibit, "Chronicles of Bentley".
The Bentley Museum volunteers played a vital part in this production as we conducted interviews and researched data and stories. This exhibit would not have been possible without the help of our Bentley community members who provided us with images, stories, memories, and data.
Our exhibit will include the past to present history of the town of Bentley situated in the beautiful Blindman Valley. It will show why these early homesteaders, entrepreneurs, merchants, labors and promoters saw the marvelous potential in this famous valley and selected the site for the town of Bentley. We will feature a story on the McPherson families who built the first store, and with this start, our community began to grow. We will share with you the hardships, the joys and the difficulties these early folk faced in the early years and the following years and how they coped with the elements and ways of life. It will also show how a ravaging fire changed the infrastructure of Main Street.
Through this time frame we will feature: the people, homes, churches, schools, stores, hotels and other businesses. It will also feature the arrival of the railroad, medical services, transportation, the stopping houses and grain elevators; the introduction of power and gas; and the development of organizations, clubs, recreation and sports organizations and activities. We will submit stories, photographs and anecdotes that will tell how Bentley's citizens shaped our town.
As we take you through the years we will show you how different eras,such as the Great War, the Roaring Twenties, the Depression, World War 2, the coming of technology and communication affected our citizens and the growth of our town
Some of our community stories will be done by local people by way of a video clip with audio and associated text. We will also include audio with text to enhance our production and bring our images to life.
In creating our exhibit we will work with individuals and community groups to present an authentic glimpse into the history of Bentley, our model village, in the beautiful Blindman Valley.

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Drawing of Bentley Museum
2005
Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society
Norva Landry