Pragnell, Herb: Video interview

Archive

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Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

Herb Pragnell: Origformat: Print-Photographic
Herb Pragnell

Origformat: Print-Photographic

Name/Title

Pragnell, Herb: Video interview

Entry/Object ID

2021.08.20

Scope and Content

VIDEO INTERVIEW Interviewer: Marilyn Snedden Interview Date: June 11, 2013 Herb Pragnell was born in Portage le Prairie, Manitoba. His parents were bakers and he worked in the bakery firing the ovens. He studied engineering at McGill University after World War Two. He graduated in 1951 and married in 1952. He worked in the construction industry and they had to move often for different projects. When they had four kids they decied to settle down in Ottawa. They couldnt afford a big enough house in Ottawa so they bought a six bedroom house in Almonte. When they came to Almonte they decided to contribute as much as they could to the community. They got involved in church organizations and Herb became a member of the town council. Being a council member made Herb more interested in local history and motivated him to encourage the council to explore the possibility of creating a museum for the textile industry. Herb also worked on a project at the Kintail Mill which got him interested in the area's industrial heritage. Herb did a lot of work to secure funding for the museum. He helped secure a $5000 grant from a textile association in Ottawa which was used to set up a visitor centre in the old post office as well as a $100,000 grant from the province, matched by the town, which was used to buy the building which now houses the museum. In his interview Herb talks about renovating his house and cleaning up the property which he says was home to hundreds or thousands of squirrels. Herb was the president of the Almonte town council and was on the board for the centennial anniversary of the town in 1980. He was instrumental in developing the Rosamond mill into a museum. He spoke about grants that were used, building maintenance, and Fibrefest.

Collection

Mill Workers Memory Project

Cataloged By

Natalia Pochtaruk

Lexicon

Search Terms

town council, museum history, grants, building maintenance, fibrefest, mill history, Portage le Prairie, manitoba, 1950s, montreal, local government, ncc, textile association, funding, fund raising, visitors centre, post office, burkhart, Des Houston, repairs, Algonquin, Lions Club, Alex Hughes, artifacts, aquisition, kenwood, arnprior, marilyn snedden

Legacy Lexicon

Object Name

Pragnell, Herb: Video interview

Archive Details

Creator

MVTM

Location

Location

Building

Library

Category

Permanent

Date

November 7, 2023

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Pragnell, Herb

Person or Organization

Houston, Des

Person or Organization

Hughes, Alex

Person or Organization

Snedden, Marilyn

Created By

[email protected]

Create Date

August 5, 2021

Updated By

[email protected]

Update Date

November 11, 2023