The Antigonish Heritage Museum is marking February 19, Heritage Day, with an open house and the launch of The Casket database.
Museum curator Barry MacKenzie said when the Casket was moving its offices from College Street to Main Street, he was made aware that original bound editions of the Casket newspaper were going to end up in the landfill. He said they were able to salvage those original bound papers, which span an almost complete collections from 1890-2006.
Mackenzie said people wanting to look up information in the Casket either has to go through microfilm at the STFX library or the Nova Scotia archives in Halifax. After looking at ways of digitizing the papers, MacKenzie said they received a federal grant in 2023 that allowed them to digitize a large chunk of the collection and made it available online.
They have been able to digitize about 50 years worth of Casket editions so far, noting the database right now includes the first few years. MacKenzie said they are hoping to have everything digitized over the next year, and then loaded online.
The open house is set for 2 p.m. on February 19, at the Antigonish Heritage Museum.