Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not drop by Surrey's newest heritage attraction, the B.C. Vintage Truck Museum?
Located at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds at 6022 176 Street, (access off 60 Avenue) it's open Saturdays only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and run entirely by volunteers.
Learn about B.C.'s colourful trucking heritage and see these lovingly preserved and restored vehicles up close.
The museum, which recently opened to the public after nearly a year of preparations, is home to a collection of beautifully preserved freight and work vehicles.
They represent part of B.C.'s colourful trucking heritage, according to Harold Wellenbrink, a classic car collector and restorer who lives in Cloverdale.
He and his wife Myrna are among the volunteers who have stepped forward to lend a hand at the new museum, and are urging Cloverdale residents to drop by to take a look.
The museum is run by the Surrey Heritage Society, which last year took on a collection of vintage freight vehicles and trucks from the Teamsters Freight Museum and Archives.
A number of car clubs have already visited, along with members of the public.
The reaction so far has been "great," says Wellenbrink, who is eager to spread word that the museum is now finally open.
"Everybody doesn't know we're open," he says, explaining the society is arranging to have sandwich boards advertising the museum's opening hours placed on busy 176 Street.
"They stumble on it by accident," he says. "We could use a few more guests."
The museum's main focus is to preserve the history of trucking in British Columbia, a unique story that traces the opening up of the province and continues right to today.
"Everything you see in grocery stores was hauled there by a truck," he says.
The museum's collection of vintage vehicles – from a Shell Oil pumper truck to flatbeds and trucks that were part of a fleet that was once preserved and housed in Cloverdale in the 1990s – is bound to be a hit here.
Cloverdale, he says, has always been home to plenty of people who make their living hauling freight or driving trucks.
The society is also in the midst of a volunteer drive. More people who are interested in learning more about the collection and willing to help out are needed.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission by donation.
For more information, visit www.bcvintagetruckmuseum.org. Those interested in volunteering are asked to contact Jim LaBelle at 604-372-4093, or by email: bcvintagetruckmuseum@shaw.ca.
