Richard Roy

The mission of a museum is to preserve objects pertaining to our cultural heritage. This is true whether we are talking about a former royal palace, like the Louvre in Paris, or about a small community museum housed in a stately home, like the Beaulne Museum in Coaticook.

"Our outlook is changing somewhat," says Beaulne Museum curator Mario Landry as he ushers me into the dining room on the first floor of the magnificent former home of the Norton family. "Although our mission has always been threefold -- costumes and textiles, the visual arts, and local heritage -- we now find ourselves leaning more and more towards the history of the Norton family."

"She looks like Queen Amidalla from Star Wars, doesn't she?"
says Mario Landry of one of his displays. (Photo: Richard Roy)

A young, personable man, deeply dedicated to his new vocation, Landry is a former musician and composer with a promising career in a rock band about to release their third album. He is not the stereotypical curator I had pictured in my mind before I arrived. But why would he suddenly leave the music business to become the curator of a museum, I ask him. "That's a good question," he laughs. "I have always had a passion for history, and as I worked here on a previous project and have a major in history, I was asked to take over when Pierre Jean, the previous curator, left in January 2000."

Although giving up the bass guitar was a difficult decision for Mario Landry, his new job seems to agree with him. As he happily goes about setting up the summer displays, he explains to me that the museum is currently featuring several exhibitions. "We have a permanent exhibition depicting miniature dolls in 117 costumes, and a number of temporary shows are in the works for later this year." These include fine art from both the Eastern Townships and elsewhere, and an exhibition on men's and women's hats from the last century, to name a few. "And don't forget to relax in our tearoom on the veranda and partake of our various teas and desserts available throughout the summer," Landry says. "Come and join us. We have something for everybody to enjoy."

The Beaulne Museum is located at: 96 Union, Coaticook, QC, J1A 1Y9. For more information, call: (819) 849-6560; or email them at: bonjour@museebeaulne.qc.ca.