The Chase & District
Museum & Archives
The stock in the Museum's gift shop is always changing so if something catches your eye don't wait long, it might not be here next time!
Gail Anderson-Dargatz is a bestselling author who grew up in Salmon Arm, B.C. and now lives in the Shuswap area. She's written six novels, two of which were Giller Prize finalists and she was nominated for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. Her debut novel, A Cure for Death by Lightning, won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.
We carry four of her novels in the gift shop in both paperback and hardcover, all of which are signed!
To get in touch with Gail visit her website: www.gailanderson-dargatz.ca
Nicholas Bruce is a Cree/Scottish artist who splits his time between the Shuswap Region and the Coast of British Columbia. He previously worked as a stonemason but has since transitioned to woodworking.
His specialty are carved feathers, some of which he paints and some he stains. While not quite as thin as a real feather, they are certainly almost as light as one!
Jim Cooperman is an author, conservationist, and historian living in the Shuswap area. He worked as a teacher, log-cabin builder, editor, and consultant before focusing on the documentation of local history, geography, and biology. His book, Everything Shuswap, is what he's most well known for.
His latest work is The Shuswap Country, a transcription of Erskine Burnett's travel diary/album, recorded between 1937 and 1950. It contains over 200 photographs from his travels around Kamloops, Sicamous, Revelstoke, Enderby, Lumby, Mabel Lake, Trinity Valley, Sugar Lake, Salmon Arm, Westwold, Falkland, Pritchard, Pinantan, Paul Lake, Squilax, Sorrento, Adams Lake, the North Shore, Armstrong, Vernon, Aberdeen Lake, Cherryville, and Monashee Summit.
We carry paperback copies in the gift shop.
Joyce Dunn was a well-known and long-time resident of Chase. Born in 1925 in the French Riviera, she received most of her schooling in France and moved to England just before WWII started. After finishing off school in England, she joined the Women's Royal English Naval service. She married Daniel Dunn, a Canadian fighter pilot, after the war and the couple moved to the Chase area. She then became a free-lance regional correspondent and columnist for several newspapers in this area.
In addition to this, she wrote short stories and later some plays. In 1986 she published A Town Called Chase, an all-encompassing history of the Village of Chase starting with the local indigenous people and the first settlers, up to the modern day (1985). Joyce passed in the late 1990s but her research is still appreciated and referenced today.
Her daughter, also a resident of Chase, provides the Museum with paperback copies to sell in the gift shop.
Judy Elliott lives in Falkland, B.C. and creates a variety of beaded items including earrings, bracelets, barrettes and other hair accessories, and lighter covers.
Ron Fox was born in Smithers, B.C., at the end of the Depression. He was raised in the small town of Telkwa. Leaving home early, he worked in logging camps in the northwest until his early twenties. He then settled in Quesnel where he worked as a logger, in sawmills, and on construction until he bought his own business. After their four children left home, he and his wife moved to the Kootenays. Now the couple lives in Chase.
His three books are mainly fictional, but based on the adventures of his own life. We carry all three in paperback.
Happy Little Maple (aka Jacqui Hanson) is an embroidery artist from Kamloops, B.C.. Her pieces are mostly quarter-sized and have such fine detail. The perfect miniature piece of art to display! That's not to say her larger pieces are any less fantastic!
Heritage House Publishing provides us with a large and varied selection of Canadian non-fiction, mainly concerning British Columbia and western Canada. We have guidebooks on the local geology, flowers, and wildlife, humourous tales and stories, books on ghost towns and other haunted areas, hiking and trail guides, and a few children's books!
John Howat lives in Salmon Arm, B.C. and in his retirement has found a hobby in leatherworking. He enjoys the creative outlet and joined the gift shop in 2021.
We have a selection of his work, from personal accessories to decor pieces and he'll do custom work as well!
Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski was born in Salmon Arm, B.C. and after spending some time away, returned to the Shuswap area in 1992. She is the author of nine books, four of which we carry here in paperback.
Steven Kothlow & Bryce Raffle are co-authors of a children's series, The Littlest Dinosaur, which was first published in 2021. They split their time between Chase and the coast of British Columbia.
There are currently nine books in the series (one of which is an activity book) and we carry six of them.
LittleFolkForge (aka Johanna Dansereau) is a clay artist who lives in Salmon Arm, B.C.. The 2010 film How To Train Your Dragon inspired her to start creating her own miniature dragons out of polymer clay. Each dragon is unique and takes about 4 to 5 hours to complete. They're perfectly palm-sized and full of personality! Johanna will also do commissions if you have a particular colour or theme in mind!
Kay McCracken moved to Salmon Arm, B.C. in 1993 to open a bookstore she called Reflections. Since the store's closing in 1998, she's written two memoirs and numerous poems and short stories, one of which was about her time at the store, called A Raven in My Heart.
We carry A Raven in My Heart in paperback.
Angie Roth McIntosh was born in Kelowna, B.C., but has travelled the world. She started off studying medicine but quit in 1987 to pursue painting, studying in Beijing, China with renowned artists.
She works with watercolours, acrylics, and oils, painting impressionistic realism. She opened the Chasing Art Studio & Gallery in 2024, located at 637 Shuswap Avenue in Chase.
James E. Mintz moved to Chase around 2016 but has only recently discovered lathe woodworking. He enjoys finding local wood and turning the pieces into beautiful vases, bowls, and candlesticks.
Brianna Narcisse is a young, local Secwépemc and Blackfoot artist who has just gotten into beadwork. We are proud to be the first physical location selling her work!
Joey Nash is a self-taught professional artist who was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1953. She has lived many places, but she now called the beautiful Village of Chase, B.C. home and is delighted to put down roots, at last. She began painting in 1979 and was exhibiting in galleries in Vancouver, B.C. within the year. She became an active member of The Federation of Canadian Artists.
She returned to Kamloops in 2002, but her passion for art still had to be honoured and shared with others, so she focused on teaching. Joey loved to share her passion for art and quickly became a favourite teacher for the Kamloops Art Gallery, Kamloops Recreation & Culture, and taught privately as well. She explored various mediums and techniques while helping her students find their voices as artists. When time off allowed for it, she produced over forty paintings in one year.
With the encouragement of her beloved students, 2006 marked a rededication to her career. She celebrated her first solo show and received wide acclaim for her painting Maggie, which won Juror's Choice, People's Choice, and the prestigious Patterson Award.
Carolyn Parks-Mintz is an author.
Jude Prevost is a ceramics artist living in Lee Creek, B.C.. She creates "functional, sculptural, low fire earthenware, terra sigillata, whimsical and fun" ceramic items.
Some of her items include imagery of local wildlife including salmon, bears, and moose.
Judith Elaine Reglin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Langley, B.C.. In 1967 she moved to Salmon Arm, B.C. and was a member of the Salmon Arm Art Club in the 1970s.
From 1967 to 1980 Judith worked in flower shops, then in 1980 she became a florist for Safeway until she retired in 2004. It was at this time that she took up art again as a self-taught artist.
Her mediums include; pen & ink, acrylic, pastels, and watervolour. Judith also does photography and creates unique artwork, combining photographs with her own paintings.
Starting in 2024, Judith agreed to collaborate with the Museum to create pen & ink drawings from photographs in our archival collection. She has since created twenty-eight different drawings for us. These are only available for purchase in our gift shop.
Marjorie M. Selody is an author.
Michael Sutherland is a fly fishing enthusiast and Chase resident who makes he own fishing flies.
Third Avenue North (aka Steve Doucette) was a jeweler who specialized in recycled materials. His favourite medium was cutlery, turning forks and knives into bracelets and rings.
Dale Trottier is an author.
Shirley Jean Roll Tucker is an author.
Anne Wowchuk recently moved to Alberta to the interior of B.C.. She has found an interest in making unique pens.