Elizabeth Corser’s heritage career has come full circle. More than 30 years ago, Elizabeth started as a volunteer with the Cole Harbour Rural Heritage Society (CHRHS), which operates the Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum. By 1988, Elizabeth had become Executive Director of CHRHS, a position she held until she retired last year. While she’s now retired from her position, she hasn’t retired her passion. She’s once again volunteering at the museum, this time helping out with the gardens.
Elizabeth’s interest in agriculture and farming first motivated her to get involved in CHRHS back in the 1970s. “Our heritage is inextricably tied to agriculture, as it is to the land and the natural environment,” Elizabeth says. “The story of Cole Harbour, and of most places, is the story of how humans interacted with the land; how our natural surroundings shaped us; and conversely, the affect we had on our surroundings,” she says.
“The Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum is about making the connections and interpreting the development of farming over two centuries as well as its rapid decline,” Elizabeth says.
Throughout her years with the society, Elizabeth has enjoyed seeing generations of young Nova Scotians discover their heritage. “I particularly enjoy hearing children who have brought their parents back to see the museum after they have been on a school trip, telling them some of the things they remember being told on their visit – especially when they get them right!” says Elizabeth.
Elizabeth also savours moments with the museum’s more senior guests, for whom the old farm holds many precious memories. “We get lots of ‘I remember using this,’ or, ‘My dad had one of those,’” she says. The farm brings back memories of days many thought had been forgotten.
“For these older visitors, seeing someone appreciate these tools and interpret how and why they were used validates a life that few today can understand,” she says.
At the farm, genealogy comes to life. “It’s rewarding to be able to talk to people about their forebears, show them artifacts that they used, as well as family photos, and original documents signed with their ‘X‘, or share family anecdotes,“ says Elizabeth. “What I enjoy most is when people come to see where their ancestors hailed from. I help them make connections to their past.”