GART Day 2 - A Museum Stop in Armstrong, ND

We stopped at Armstrong to visit the Lewis and Clark Museum. It was something of a misnomer, to the point that Lewis and Clark had uncredited cameos. The museum was more of a cultural legacy of the town, providing a place to store old clothing, vehicles, and local artifacts. It's in an old schoolhouse so jam-packed with memorobilia it looks like your grandmother's attic.

And this isn't necessarily a bad thing. We're lucky in Saskatchewan that we have the Western Development Museums to preserve the cultural heritage of the prairies, but this little museum doesn't get any state or federal funding. And we both found it a little surprising and a little horrifying that the preservation of the region's cultural heritage isn't more of a priority. Not surprisingly, Armstrong is facing some of the same issues as rural Saskatchewan, with population loss and school closures. We were told that there's oil money in the area sustaining things, but the state is pushing toward closures and bussing.

The tour started with an introduction to some old-tymey farm machinery, which was no big deal to us. And was apparently no big deal to the guide, as she would say things like, "And this is the thresher, or whatever it is, and this over here is a tractor, or something." But my favourite part, which I'm only taking partially out of context, was, "On Labour Day we have a parade, and some of the local indians come and dress up in their full gear, and it's pretty funny." But to be fair to this women, she kind of evened out a little as things went on, and by the end she was concerned with our well-being and suggesting other places for us to go. Hell not being one of them.

Which is also surprising.

Because there was a huge billboard with the Ten Commandments at the side of the road as we were leaving town. And I mean big. It blotted out the sun. So I guess we found out why this museum doesn't get any funding -- they're too busy trying to educate the heathens.

Overall, I think this stop was kind of a Williston Friday.