By Amy Fendley The Whistler Museum and Archives Society is launching its line of historical Christmas cards for a second year, with three new additions. The scenes on the cards are reproduced from a cross-section of Whistler Archives photographs dating back to the early 1920s. The cards were Gay Cluer’s idea, and last year proved to be a big success, raising more than $2,000 for the museum. For a long time Cluer couldn’t find any Christmas cards in Whistler that reflected the community and she felt that she was not alone. Volunteering for the museum, Cluer thought the cards would be a good way to ultilize photos from the archives to create a product that would give something back to the community. "In England and Hong Kong, charity Christmas cards are a big revenue generator, and instead of wasting money on Hallmark, the money goes back into the community," says Cluer. "The money goes back to the museum and has a significance to where we live." All of the cards are black and white, and there are eight different scenes to choose from. Last year the "Bridge of Sighs" was the most popular image, and according to Cluer, it was simply because people were interested in sending a greeting card with "a nice scene." "Last year we had a good response, so we included three new ones from the archives," said Cluer. "The museum is trying to utilize the archives to fund raise. All the money raised goes back to the museum for mounting exhibits." The three new cards feature a log cabin at Rainbow Lodge, ice-skaters on Alta Lake and Jean Tapley and Myrtle Philip with their skis at Rainbow Train Station. "These cards go to show that we’ve come a long way to parabolic (skis)," says Cluer. "It’s something for the community in every respect." The cards sell for $1 each, including tax. The deadline to order cards, printed on recycled paper by Whistler Printing, is Oct. 28. Delivery is Nov. 7. Samples are on view and there are cards available at the museum. Other local Christmas cards are created by students at Myrtle Philip school and a few which are done by independent artists.
