by Cassidy Nunn –
Countless times over the years I’ve driven by it on the Pat Bay Highway. I’ve stared at the impressive trains standing proudly in the field, seen the grassy expanse fill up with polished-until-they-sparkle semi trucks for a truck show, watched the steady flow of traffic drive through the gates at Halloween for the Pumpkin Express, and yet I’d never been to visit.
Heritage Acres is “a hidden gem on the Peninsula,” according to John Yardley, President of the Saanich Historical Artifacts Society (SHAS), and I couldn’t agree more. Yardley, a retired diesel mechanic and an active member of the Vancouver Island Model Engineers (VIME) has been involved with Heritage Acres since 1993. He and other members of VIME run the popular miniature railway at the site but his involvement extends to all parts of the 29-acre property.
The site, which can be accessed off Lochside drive, is open to the public 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., seven days a week, and is run almost entirely by volunteers. According to Yardley, many people visit for the first time for the train rides that VIME offer throughout the year and then stumble upon the museum and other historical and pioneering artifacts that call the property home.
The museum is teeming with relics from carriages to sewing machines to pioneering veterinary instruments, radios, dental tools and even a 1931 Ford Model A. Most of the artifacts have been donated, but the collection was started by the Saanich pioneer Willard Michell’s personal collection of old tools, household and farming equipment. The Newman Boathouse by the pond is home to a variety of restored marine artifacts and the original Saanichton school house was moved to the property.
Heritage Acres offers many activities throughout the year, including the VIME Sprint Meet; the Old Time Summer Fair where there are hay rides, trains running and all the buildings open up for the public to view, and the popular Fall Threshing weekend where grain that has been grown on a parcel of land supplied by Michell Farms is brought to Heritage Acres for threshing. Yardley explains to me that first the oats are cut from the field with a binder (the way farmers would have done before combines were introduced) then the grain is brought to the grounds and fed into the threshing machine, which separates the grain from the stalk. These types of demonstrations allow the public to see how this type of machinery would have been used by pioneers. “Rather than being a static display, comes to life a bit,” says Yardley.
Rentals are available for weddings, family and corporate picnics, truck shows, dog agility and scent training, and memorials can also be held at the Pioneer Chapel, a non-denominational chapel.
SHAS is always looking for more volunteers and members; membership is $30 a year and offers full access to the grounds including working in the various shops – woodworking, machining and blacksmithing – or if the outdoors is what you crave, gardening and landscaping help is appreciated. There’s also a great social aspect with membership: the coffee room is a place to catch up and make new friends.
So the next time you drive past, be sure to think about popping in to visit this “great place to learn the old ways” and support this incredible turn of the century landmark.
