Is this building haunted? Let’s just say unexplainable activities do occur here.
and we are privileged and humbled by their sharing of personal recollections. With all this data and knowledge, we
can determine the use of a specific space for certain periods of time, but what dominates the story of this building seems to be a constant stream of change and adaptation – an indication of high levels of activity and vitality. Te museum of today
Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Muse- um has been housed here at 494 Taché Avenue in Winnipeg’s French Quar- ter, where the old Grey Nuns’ Convent still stands, since 1967. Set back from the avenue and sheltered by a canopy of large elm trees, it contains thousands of lovingly restored and artfully curated artifacts that highlight the contribution of the French-Canadian and Métis peo- ples to the development of present-day Manitoba. Stand amongst Louis Riel’s belong-
26 • Fall 2015
ings or the religious items that were damaged by the infamous 1968 St. Bon- iface Cathedral fire. Look at beautiful, hand-made wares of carefully beaded leather. Te stories of many people are here for safe-keeping and for every- body’s discovery.
Is this building haunted? Tere is no doubt that this building
speaks. It shudders with the wind, and snaps with the cold. It drips of conden- sation and squeaks from old weight. Its doors can sway open freely on their own at times, or refuse to clinch shut de- spite our best efforts. Tere are slopes of a subtlety that only time creates. And noises are heard of a clarity that com- mon sense easily explains, at least most of the time.
Te building is approaching its 50-
year anniversary as Le Musée. Many of our staff have spent five, 10, 20 or even more than 30 years of that time working
here. Each will describe a certain unease when remembering times where we had to be alone in the building at night. One has seen an old rocking chair rocking by itself at a pace that showed undeni- able use – with no one in sight. Another could not explain the baby cradle sway- ing in an empty room, on an empty floor. One was once inexplicably locked inside a washroom (with the locking mecha- nism on her side of the door). Another once felt a paralyzing draft of cold that prevented her from coming back up the stairs from the basement. Some refuse to enter one particular storage room in the basement, as it is both part of, and adja- cent to, the long-ago abandoned crypt. We expect glitches, malfunctions and
some troubleshooting when it comes to our various security systems or modern amenities. However, sometimes video footage from certain areas will show overactive light triggering overnight.
The Hub
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