Hwy 21 motorists stop by to visit the Fossil Fuels Mini Show & Shine
By Joan Janzen
If you’re heading south on Highway 21 on your way to the Great Sandhills or Cypress Hills, you may have noticed the Dusty Compass Museum at Liebenthal, Sask. Visitors stopped in at the museum on Saturday afternoon, August 2nd, to check out the Fossil Fuels Mini Show & Shine, where 10-year-old Reese McCallum and her parents, Kyla and Kent, were on hand to greet their guests.
Highway 21 campers headed to the Great Sandhills or Cypress Hills stopped at the Fossil Fuels Mini Show & Shine held at the Dusty Compass Museum at Liebenthal, SK, on Saturday afternoon, August 2nd. There were cars, vendors, a silent auction, plus plenty of entertainment inside the museum.
PHOTOS BY JOAN JANZEN, click for larger images
“Car show fans love any reason to take their hot rods out for a weekend drive,” Reese explained. She sees plenty of campers and cars driving by during the summer months. “It’s a hot spot for tourism and a very busy road,” she said, which is why she and her parents decided to host a mini show & shine.
Hostesses Reece and her mom wore matching red coveralls and 1950s hairstyles for the occasion, while Kent was in charge of barbecuing hot dogs. Over a dozen antique vehicles from the area were parked on their property, along with vendors from Medicine Hat, Leader, Mendham and Fox Valley selling their wares under the shelter of gazebos while customers checked out a table of silent auction items.
As usual, there were plenty of fossils, rocks and artifacts to see inside the museum. At the back of the shop, a drum circle brought by Ray of Sun Drum Circles in Medicine Hat invited participants of all ages to experience the rhythmic nature of drumming.
Meanwhile, upstairs, youngsters enjoyed the latest addition to the museum. “It makes me so happy that kids are having so much fun in the upstairs learning zone, which includes a historical projected mining video, a prehistoric imagination area and a mine shaft art installation with Saskatchewan’s top 30 minerals,” Reese said. “The funds to build it were supported by many of my rock customers through a fundraiser I hosted. Mom and Dad built it in their snow suits in temperatures from -20 to -39.”
The ten-year-old business owner said, “Without my amazing customers my business may look very different than it does today. I’m excited to do the car show again next year!”
Reese is doing her very best to make Dusty Compass Museum another hot spot for tourism along Highway 21 on the way to the Great Sandhills and Cypress Hills.