Village Squire, 1979-07, Page 12Lambton county's museum is housed in an impressi.e new building giving plenty of scope for pleasing displays.
History
in a nwdern
setting
10 Village Squire, July 1979
Since its opening on May 13, 1978, more than 15.000 people
have visited the Lambton Heritage Museum, paying tribute in
many ways. to the efforts of two men.
The building situated off Highway 21. five miles south of
Grand Bend, is an impressive modern structure but the heart of
the museum is based on the collections of two local men who saw
the value in saving the relics of the past long before others
thought these things were worth saving.
Peter Eisenbach and Fred Walden were friends with similar
interests in preserving the past. Eisenbach in Grand Bend and
Walden in Thedford spent many years collecting things others
thought were useless junk. Eisenbach collected everything from
small tools to whole buildings and before his death operated a
museum in Grand Bend with more than 6000 pieces.
The two men were concerned that their collections. made up
primarily of artifacts bought or donated from local sources,
should remain in the local area. Eisenbach wrote into his will that
the collection was to be offered to the County of Lambton, the
township of Bosanquet or the province of Ontario.
At the opening of the museum last year Mr. Walden recalled
visiting Mr. Eisenbach in October of 1970. "At that time he
agreed with me that the Pinery Provincial Park would be a good
place for our museum collections. The same year 1 was in touch
with Lambton MPP Lorne Henderson in regard to a permanent
spot for our collections."
Peter Eisenbach died in 1975. Fred Walden was one of those
appointed to a committee to manage the Eisenbach museum
after his death. The group agreed that it didn't want to continue
the museum and the county of Lambton was approached.
The amazing thing to those used to the long delays necessary
to get action on such projects is how fast things moved from that
point on. In October of 1976, Lambton county council decided to
go ahead with the project of building a musuem to house the
Eisenbach and Walden collections. The building cost $636,562