Guest Post by Joe Barkovich – fromareportersnotebook

Welland Museum has named a gallery after the late board member and former chair Wayne Campbell. About 75 family members and friends Saturday evening attended a dedication ceremony rich in reminiscence and tinged with emotion.

“I can’t think of any better legacy for Dad,” said Jamie Campbell, one of Mr. Campbell’s sons, about the gallery dedication. He said the museum and the community were Mr. Campbell’s “passion”.

Mr. Campbell passed May 15, 2024, aged 75. He was a long-time member of the museum board of directors and more recently, the Central Station Education Initiative which he joined in 2017 as a founding member, serving five years as a director. A journalist for more than 30 years, he worked for newspapers in Ontario and then British Columbia before returning to his hometown where he was a reporter and editor for The Tribune and Pelham News.

Lisa Mooney, the museum’s executive director, said “We’ll miss Wayne.” She commented about how influential to decision making he could be and how he relished sharing stories about Welland and local history.

“He was a Wellander through and through,” she said, as some in the audience could be seen nodding their heads in agreement.

The gallery space where the ceremony was held displayed artifacts connected to Mr. Campbell’s career. One that attracted considerable attention was a black, manual typewriter. “This typewriter was used by the late Welland reporter, Wayne Campbell,” said a nearby note. A yellow Tribune newspaper box was decorated with a ‘Special Edition’ clipping of the ‘Wayne Campbell Daily’. It had a large photo of Mr. Campbell and content excerpted from his obituary notice. Copies of the “Daily” containing a selection of stories by Mr. Campbell and produced by museum staff, were gifted to attendees at the gallery dedication. More people than anticipated attended, so an extra ‘press run’ was needed to provide additional keepsake copies for guests.

A highlight of the ceremony was the unveiling of a wall plaque by Mr. Campbell’s wife, Blair and daughter, Colleen.

Colleen struggled with emotion during her remarks. She was appreciative of “how much my dad touched everyone and inspired a lot of people.”  She was also grateful “to know everyone loved my dad. You could tell what an amazing person he was.”

Blair was thrilled when she learned of the museum’s plan about the gallery dedication. She said Mr. Campbell “just loved” everything about the museum but also talking with everybody he could to find out what stories they had to share. He also held dear the Central Station Initiative with whom they both volunteered.

The Campbell involvement with the Welland Museum Board did not end with Mr. Campbell’s passing. Blair now has a seat at the board table.

Says a note about her, posted on the museum’s website: “Honoured to serve on the Museum’s Board in her late husband Wayne’s memory. Blair is eager to contribute her passion and perspective to preserving local heritage. She looks forward to making a meaningful impact during her time on the board. Committees: Acquisitions and Hospitality”.