28 July 2009
Lord Revelstoke Opens New Exhibits at Revelstoke Museum
James Baring, the 6th Baron Revelstoke, joins Revelstoke
Museum & Archives curator Cathy English to open three
new displays on 25 Jul 2009. Pictured is the display entitled
From "Farwell to Revelstoke", which chronicles Revelstoke's
early history and its connection to the Baring family.
Revelstoke British Columbia - James Baring, 6th
Baron Revelstoke, attended the opening ceremony for three new displays at the Revelstoke Museum & Archives as part of Revelstoke
Homecoming 2009.
Baring joined museum curator Cathy English to open the new displays, delivering a short and emotional speech to the roughly 50 people
in attendance.
English gave a brief introduction to the new displays and Lord Revelstoke's connection to one of the new displays entitled, "From
Farwell to Revelstoke".
"The exhibit talks about the dispute between Farwell and the CPR and we hope that you'll take a little time to read that in a
little bit more depth, and find out exactly how that happened," said English.
Baring delivered a speech in which he emphasized the importance of studying history, and recalled some interesting things he learned
recently while studying his family's history. "It came as a huge shock to me, to know that on my mother's side I had these people
working to get the United States together - they had to buy half of it off Napoleon, gave them the money, quite English. Fortunately
he lost. Otherwise I think Barings Bank wouldn't have been too popular," he said.
"Then, later on, descendants of the same people get involved in... the unity of Canada, making it a state. And the extraordinary
thing was yesterday, I went to see where the last spike was driven. Having a little photograph taken in front of this monument and I
turn around and I see the name of a friend of mine written on it. Euan Strathcona. And I thought, what the hell has Euan been doing
here? Because he was an early founding member of the Air Squadron, of which I was the first secretary."
Strathcona had been there commemorating his great grandfather's involvement in the CPR project. "I never discussed this with
Euan," said Baring. "I thought we would have somehow known what our great grandfathers were doing. I'd never, never knew
that they even knew each other. So, the coincidences and the things that come together are quite extraordinary. That's enough from me.
I want to declare this lovely exhibit open."
Lord Revelstoke also donated three books to be added to the museum's collection.
They are "I Remember", by Daphne Pollen, which chronicles some of his family's history. Baring is mentioned several times,
including a quote in "Please, Please Me: Sixties British Pop Inside Out", by Gordon Thompson. Baring operated a
recording studio in London during the 1960s. The third book is "Far Horizons: A History of the Air Squadron", by Alex
Martin, with a foreword by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Baring was the founding secretary of the flying club which performs
charitable works.
The new display is located on the first floor.
From Farwell to Revelstoke
This display chronicles a number of events that saw the early settlement of Farwell have its name changed to Revelstoke.
In 1885, the CPR Company President travelled to Europe to find financial backing for the financially challenged railway. Edward
Charles Baring, 1st Lord Revelstoke, helped raise funds to help finance the company.
CPR vice-president William Van Horne asked the Post Office Department of Canada to change the name from Farwell to
Revelstoke, and the change was made on 1 Jun 1886.
The display features photos, early town plans, as well as documents related to the era in Revelstoke's history, as well as the Baring
family history.
Aaron Orlando.
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