Fonds 0039 - Bert and Miriam Tieman fonds

Bernard John Tieman was born in Delfts, Holland in 1898. At the age of 21 he immigrated to High River, Alberta. The year was 1920, and the trip was made by ship. On board he met Miriam Hutchinson, who had been born in England in 1898, and was also immigrating to Canada. The couple were married in Calgary in 1926. In 1927, the Tiemans came to the Peace Country. They filed on NE 31-74-7, north of Buffalo Lake and farmed there until 1946, when they moved to Grande Prairie. Miriam Tieman was a long-time member of the Alberta Women's Institute and became involved with the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire soon after her arrival in Buffalo Lake. In Grande Prairie, she assisted the first teacher at the Peace School of Hope when it opened in 1955. Bert worked as a carpenter. The Tiemans were very active in the community. They attended Christ Church Anglican, where Bert handcrafted the pews, the tables and the bishop's chair in the old church. They served as volunteers for the Peace School of Hope, where Bert taught woodworking and served on the board, while Miriam's group of the Women's Institute sewed all the curtains and quilts. Barrydale House, the dorm for handicapped children which opened in 1960, was named after Barry Ferguson and Dale McQuaig, two handicapped boys from outside of Grande Prairie who had lived with the Tiemans for a number of years. Swan Industries, a woodworking shop for the handicapped, which Bert also supported, opened in 1973. Bert and Miriam were also involved with the Drama Festival, Bert as actor and stage manager and Miriam in the cast or designing and sewing costumes. Later, Bert served as president of the Museum Board for some years. It was due to his persistence that Tieman Road was opened as an access to the museum. In 1952, Bert was elected to the Town Council, a position he maintained for 11 years. He was a councilman when Grande Prairie became a city in 1958. Bert's many interests included woodworking crafts, theatre and art. He was also an amateur paleontologist, with a self-taught knowledge of fossils. His greatest discovery was a fossilized pike fish which, after examination by University of Alberta professor Dr. Mark Wilson, was given the name, 'Esox tiemani'. Bert and Miriam's only child died as an infant. Miriam passed away in Nov. 21, 1979. Bert passed away on September 20, 1984. Because they had no family in Canada, the Tieman estate was willed to the Grande Prairie Museum.