A collection of projectile point artefacts found by Harry Christensen on the family farm near Dalum, and which are estimated to range in age from approximately 2,000 to 4,600 years old, are being donated to the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton.
Harry, now in his 90s, was born and raised on a farm near Dalum, about 10 miles south of the Town of Drumheller; while he has since moved to Calgary to be closer to family, many may still remember him from his earlier years in the Drumheller Valley.
“The first was found when trapping gophers in the schoolyard (at the Dalum School),” Harry tells the Mail. “I was setting a trap and saw what looked like a rock in the dirt the gopher had kicked out of the hole, and I picked it up…an arrowhead!”
This was around 1938 or 1939 according to Harry, and he found a second one only days later.
In total, Harry estimates he found about 30 or 40 arrowheads by about 1979 to 1980; most of his collection was found on the farm.
One in particular Harry found while he was cultivating the field with a team of horses. He spotted something on the ground in front of the cultivator and shouted for the horses to stop. Once he got them to stop, Harry says he had to dig in the soil about two feet and found what, on initial inspection, looked like a rock; on closer inspection, it was an arrowhead.
“I found quite a few over the years, but my brother, Joe, says he never found a single one,” Harry laughs, joking he must have had a special touch for finding them.
With Harry getting a little long in the tooth and now living in a care facility in Calgary, his nephew Harold Whittaker decided to reach out to the Royal Alberta Museum regarding his uncle’s collection, and attached a photo of Harry’s collection.

“I contacted Kyle Forsythe, Curator of Archaeology at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, to inquire if the museum would be interest in Harry’s projectile point collection,” says Harold.
Mr. Forsythe responded to Harold’s email, expressing interest in the donation of the collection. Based solely on the photo Harold attached, Mr. Forsythe estimated the projectile point collection contained items ranging from 2,000 to 4,600 years old from various Indigenous groups who manufactured distinctive styles of projectile points including Pelican Lake, Oxbow, and McKean.
Harry is very pleased and happy to donate his collection, which will be mailed to the Royal Alberta Museum before the end of August where it will undergo additional examination of the physical artefacts.

It looks like another busy year ahead at DVSS as teachers and administration begin preparing for the coming school year.
Principal Curtis LaPierre is looking forward to the year. While the job can be challenging, it comes with its rewards.
“I think overall it is positive, it’s optimistic, it is an opportunity to engage in a positive way and support youth and keep moving forward. To me, that is the passion,” he said.
There have been some new additions to the staff at DVSS. Principal LaPierre tells the Mail they have added Jake Stadlwiser. He will be teaching primarily Building Construction and Industrial Arts. He will also be teaching CALM.
In January, the school welcomed Robyn Yaremcio from Stettler to teach primarily Junior High Math.
Christine Burfield will be taking on a larger role at the school, filling a maternity leave, and teaching senior high school math.
He says last year was a difficult year for staffing, finding teachers as well as substitutes.
“Hopefully, this year is much smoother,” he said.
He adds enrollment continues to be strong. He said they finished out the year with about 460 students, and this year they are on track to have between 460-480 students.
They are expecting about 68 international students in the dormitory, as well as about a dozen homestays. This has rebounded and is up a little bit over last year.
Mr. Hamm will be introducing Psychology 20 and 30 at the school this year.
“Psychology has always been very popular, but it has been an online module, so we’re giving it a go with an in-class scenario,” said LaPierre. “I think it is relevant now just because of the students’ mindset and social media. With general media and social media, you have a very negative bias, and it has a huge impact in terms of students and their mental health… It gives them the opportunity to have conversations around issues associated with mental health.”
DVSS will continue with its Powerful Learning Initiative.
“That is everything from strategic instruction, authentic engagement, connecting and contributing, which ultimately leads to deep understanding,” explains LaPierre.
He is also excited to have a full-time family resource worker. Richele Horachek a former DVSS graduate will be taking on the full-time role.
“With a degree in Social Work with aspects in terms of support in terms of students and families that she can do, that as teachers we can’t,” said LaPierre. “The coordination of services in regards to outside organizations, whether that be Child and Family Services, or Mental Health Services, and the daily support in terms of LGBTQ2S scenarios, she supports as well. And the overall mental health of teenagers today.”