Shannon Prince (Photo courtesy of the Buxton Museum via. Facebook)
Chatham

Shannon Prince retiring after 25 years at Buxton Museum

Things will look a little different at the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum in 2024.

Long-time curator Shannon Prince recently retired after 25 years.

Shannon is turning things over to former assistant curator Michelle Robbins but added that she will still be around.

"I'll still be on the board, and still projects that I'm involved in for the next year. So I will still be around, but now it's time to give the reins to Michelle and let her take the lead now, and I think she will do an amazing job."

Shannon started at the museum in Buxton in 1999, and when asked for a favourite memory, she said there are to many to choose from.

"Visiting the Smithsonian, and when LeVar Burton was at the museum, and doing an interview with Kamau Bell from CNN. I don't know, there are so many. And hosting ambassadors and senators, I think every day has been very memorable."

Visitors come to the museum from all over the world, and Shannon contributes that to more people reading books and looking into their ancestry.

"We've had like eight buses from California last year, and next year there are several buses from Kentucky that are coming. High school students that are coming because a teacher has read a book. So it's really wonderful to see people making that connection."

Shannon is also going out on top, as it was announced on Thursday that she and her husband, author Bryan Prince, will receive the Order of Canada.

However, Shannon said a date for that ceremony has not been set yet.

"They weren't quite sure because there's a new Governor-General that has just been announced, so we're not quite sure, but they're going to keep us posted. So we're looking forward to that, it's just all so surreal."

Shannon and Bryan are being recognized for documenting, preserving, and celebrating Black Canadian history.

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