It has been three weeks and two days since I began my role as Manager/Curator of the Albert County Museum. I fully intended on blogging sooner but time and tasks ran away with me. Over the course of this, my first year, my goal is to give you, dear reader, a look into my daily life, activities, and reflections as you would find in the journal or diary of any ship's captain. There will continue to be educational articles but, in the Captain's Log, I invite you to share with me in the ups and downs, ins and outs, successes and mistakes (!!!) of my first voyage.
If we haven't met yet, let me introduce myself. My name is Melody Land. I have a husband, a child, and a dog.
Some of my earliest memories are shaped by the land in Albert County. In my oldest memory, I am sitting on someone’s knee (my Great Grandfather Guy, a farmer) and there is well-worn brown work-pants and a hand, lined and leathery with age and hard work in the elements. He pinches the skin and it stands up! Then he wiggles his fingers and it is erased, like some form of magic.
My family history is rooted in Albert County. Originally, my Mother’s family lived in West River where they farmed. Eventually, they moved to Hillsborough where work in the mill awaited the men and indoor plumbing awaited the women. My Father’s family hailed from Hopewell Cape. On Valentine’s Day in World War II my Great Grandfather Albert immigrated here from England – literally a person brought here by the tides. To make the long story short, a house boy fell in love, married, and ended up working for the post. Since then, the Lands have always resided in Hopewell Cape. Now I do as well, nestled in the web of generations of people whose stories and lore are as much a part of our county as our county is a part of us.
When I was young, there were a few things I could do well. I could talk the ears off anyone I met. I could tell imaginative stories. I could learn. I was intuitive. Those things, and an appreciation of local history led me into summer employment within the tourism industry, finishing at the Steeves House Museum in Hillsborough as acting Administrator. Academically, I pursued education in the Social Sciences (because “people” were my “thing”) and completed my last foray into academia when I graduated with a Master’s of Arts in Counselling Psychology. My employment history has been diverse, and my heart has been in working within non-profit agencies like Oxfam Canada, the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA) and the John Howard Society developing programming, teaching/facilitating, and working within my community to effect positive change.
As soon as I saw the advertisement for the position of Curator/Administrator of the Albert County Museum, I immediately began working on my application. With my background in employment training and management, program development, and administration combined with my love of our home, our environment, our history, and our future, I look forward to effecting positive change here in my own backyard.
Welcome on the journey, here's to the beginning!
~ Melody
