Prince Edward Island historian Hughie Graham, who has helped preserve some of the Island’s harness racing history, has received a PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation Heritage Award.
As an article by peicanada.com explains, Janice MacBeth, a former board member of the Gulf Museum in Montague, had nominated Graham.
“Hughie puts a tremendous effort into recording the oral history,” MacBeth said. “He has that human touch, the ability to make people feel comfortable talking to him.”
Graham has said that many of the stories that he has come across have really stood out. The tale of a lady that survived the Halifax Explosion when she was a baby is one. Another is the story of a man that sailed the rum-running schooner the ‘Nelly Banks.’ But it was Graham’s delving into the history of the Island’s Standardbred racing heritage that really got his passion going.
“I always had it in the back of my mind that a lot of the history in the area wasn’t being preserved,” he said.
Graham started studying Island harness racing in 2009, and two years later that work culminated with a harness racing exhibit and presentation at a museum fundraiser which led to new documents, exhibits and items for the Garden of the Gulf Museum in Montague.
In terms of unearthing and preserving important Island history, Graham said, “If you don’t ask the questions, you don’t get the answers.”
Graham has said that he is honoured that he has received the Heritage Award, and that it “shows me people are looking at their heritage and continue to see how important it is.”
(With files from peicanada.com)