The friends and family of a Grande Prairie historian are paying tribute to her in the best way they know how; through education and theatre.
Mary Nutting, one of the founding members of the South Peace Regional Archives, who passed away in April 2020, was the author of the book, A Grande Education: One Hundred Schools in the County of Grande Prairie from 1910-1960, and now members of the Grande Prairie Seniors Reading Theatre are making sure her legacy lasts in a digital form, as they are recording performance from the stories in the book.
Member Bethe Goldie says she and several others are hoping to bring the book to life as part of a new weekly youtube series aimed at keeping Mary’s love of history alive for future generations.
“She was one of the founding or the founding member of the South Peace Regional Archives, and she really appreciated the history of our community,” she says.
“She recorded so much of it, and I think it’s a wonderful thing to have someone recording the history of the area before it’s gone.”
Goldie adds she has known Mary for a number of years, and as a former teacher herself, she is honoured to be able to bring the words of a friend off the page for everyone.
“When I saw her book… I thought this would be the perfect project for us to do as online presentation…and to pay tribute to Mary who deserves to be honoured in every way possible.”
The videos, which will be released every Saturday, can be found here.