With residents spending more time at home to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, the Beaches Museum is asking the community to be on the lookout for items with historical significance to the Beaches. Anything from name tags to old menus, and ticket stubs from Einstein-A-Go-Go to '70s surf gear, items that merge from one’s personal narrative could help expand the collective history of the Beaches.
“We are encouraging people who are cleaning out closets and attics to keep the museum in mind for items that may be added to the history collection,” Executive Director Chris Hoffman said. “It’s a great opportunity to expand our collection separately from COVID. I always keep my name tags from jobs, so if someone has a name tag from a restaurant that no longer exists or maybe it was the '80s version of the menu, old photographs, news clippings, things like that. Obviously, we’d love to have the original, but we can scan a photo or an item and return it to the donor so that’s no problem.”
Archivist Karen Lamoree said museum founders were diligent in cataloguing memorabilia from their past, but there is a definite gap when it comes to the exhibits featuring more modern equipment from surf boards to sporting equipment that reflect the popular activities of the era and “document how people really lived,” she said.
“Golf is so important to our community and we don’t have a set of golf clubs in our collection,” said Hoffman. “[Karen] is really focused on some recreational items that are important to our collection. They don’t necessarily have to be historic. I’ve seen posts from people that say I just found this picture of my grandmother on the beach. There are all sorts of different things that people are finding.
"It’s not necessarily just photos. It could be physical items that would be a pertinent addition to our collection. We’re asking people to email her directly so she can evaluate whether that’s something we would want to add. If people even think it might be something that we’d be interested in, if they reach out us, if it is, they will feel good about helping us increase our collection.”
For now, no donations can be accepted, but Hoffman encourages residents to be mindful and share the parts of their history that may have shared significance for beaches history.
Said Hoffman, “You just kind of tuck stuff away until you have a chance to go back. We might not necessarily put it on display but it would be here as part of the fabric of what makes up the history of our community.”
June 15, 2026
