Luseland’s Finley receives 2020 Museums Association of Saskatchewan Award
Valerie Finley of Luseland was recognized earlier this year by the Museums Association of Saskatchewan with an individual Award of Merit – which recognizes lasting and significant contributions by an individual or group of individuals at the local level.
Valerie moved to Luseland in 1935, where she completed her schooling, married and raised a family of five. During that time Valerie was very involved in community work, including Girl Guides, various choirs and musical events, the Eastern Star and other community organizations. Always interested in learning, Valerie completed her education degree after her children were grown. She was a teacher at the elementary school in Luseland and taught there for many years.
In 1983 she was one of the core group who began the huge project of creating the Luseland Hub and Spokes – a history of the community and surrounding area. As one of the editors of the history book, Valerie played an integral part in the success of the project.
During the ensuing years talks began about establishing a museum in Luseland. In 1992, the Luseland Museum was opened with Valerie Finley as President.
She continued in this position for many years and today, at the age of 92 she is still an active and dedicated member of the Luseland Museum Board.
Upon the opening of the museum, Valerie immersed herself in learning the ropes of a museum and took the lead in the collecting, cataloguing and organizing of the museum artifacts. She followed the museum protocol in managing the collections and kept careful, exacting information on each item donated. Over the years she has catalogued thousands of items, each one carefully labeled.
One of her proudest accomplishments at the Luseland Museum was the completion of the nature display which includes Guinevere, the whooping crane. As the whooping cranes were common in the area in the early years, this is a wonderful and rare addition to a rural museum which Valerie is very proud of.
Valerie has become the keeper of local history and is the first contact for anyone returning to Luseland or researching family history. She always has time to meet and gladly shares any information she has available. She has documented detailed information on Main Street businesses, and knows the history of many of the original buildings in the town. She completed a complete history of the local vets.
We are thrilled to recognize Valerie’s commitment to the Luseland Museum and the history of the area with the Individual Award of Merit.