History books, CDs make great gifts

I hope what I’m about to suggest doesn’t sound like a sales pitch to help the Kings Historical society with book and CD sales. But if anyone in your circle of family and friends is a history buff, take a moment to drop into the Kings County Museum and look over the super selection of historical books and statistical CDs on sale there.

Take, for example, my favourite collection of Kings County history books. I like to think of the 10-volume collection of Kings County Vignettes as history in a nutshell and that’s what it is. Each volume in the pocketbook size volumes runs to 50 pages each and contains condensed articles on various aspects of Kings County history. The price is right too - $7 per book.

Also priced right is Historic Kings County, some 66 pages of Kings County history in stories and pictures. With about 100 photographs and profiles on 35 county communities, and a pricetag of $3, this is a great stocking stuffer.

Staying with the stuff that’s reasonably priced, the Cemetery Map locator book at $5 is worth considering. The A. F. Church Map at $15 – the township map of Kings County photocopied and presented in book format – would make a great gift along with the cemetery map for anyone searching for his or her ancestors. Brent Fox’s history of Camp Aldershot, covering the period from 1904 to the 1980s, is also a great stocking stuffer at $4 and I recommend it for military buffs.

Ron Illsley’s history of Berwick ($25) and Marie Bishop’s Coldbrook history ($30) are also available at the Museum. If the person you’re shopping for has Acadian ancestors you might want to consider the Acadian Census, 1753–1763 at $15. They Farmed Well by G. H Gerrits ($15) makes a great gift book for anyone researching their Dutch ancestry.

In the genealogical line as well there are several statistical CDs. Among them are the Kings County Church Records; Annapolis Valley Births and Deaths, 1864–1877; and Kings County Marriages, 1864–1909.

These are only a sample of the historical books and CDs available at the museum. Keep in mind that the museum closes for the season at noon Dec. 19.