Artifact of the Week - hog rings and pliers

This week’s featured artifact is a nice box of 100 copper hog rings and hog ring pliers donated by St. Isidore’s Madeleine Martel. For those who did not grow up on a farm, or who are unfamiliar with pigs, these animals have a very strong sense of smell which they use to find food underneath the ground. They then use their snout to dig up their find; this is called rooting. The rings are used to prevent this behaviour in the pigs as rooting can be quite destructive. A ring or sometimes two or three are clipped to the rim of the nose of the pig which makes rooting uncomfortable yet allows the pig to rummage freely for food that is located above the soil.

The set of adjustable pliers would be used to clip the rings onto the nose of the pig. Although this may seem like somewhat of a cruel way of dealing with the natural behaviour of the pig, this does very minimal damage to the pig in a very cheap manner. A drift of pigs would do a lot of damage to a field or pasture if they were not rung which is why in some cases the rings were a necessity. 

PRMA 97.23.11 and 97.23.12

Artifact of the Week - School Strap

If you recognize this artifact it is possible that you were a naughty student during your school days! This is a school strap that was donated to the museum by Pete Gardner who found the strap at Springfield Elementary during some summer cleaning. This would have been used to give bad students a slap on the back of the hand to smarten them up!

Although the strap has generally been out of use in Canada since around the 1970s, corporal punishment in schools was allowed until January 30^th, 2004 when it became outlawed under section 43 of the Criminal Code. Every province in the country had banned corporal punishment in their schools prior to the 2004 law except for one, Alberta. The Peace Wapiti School Division in Grande Prairie was the last division to allow the strap and other corporal punishment in Canada leading up to the 2004 law.

Although it is likely that this strap has been out of commission for well over 40 years, it remains a frightening artifact that may bring back some less than positive memories for a few of us. Come to the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre to see this artifact in our new school display and be sure to stroll by the mall on your way over to see our second school display. We’re showing some artifacts that are sure to bring back some more positive memories of your school days and are helping our younger visitors get excited about their return to school at the end of the month!   

M91.21.1 School Strap 

Artifact of the Week- Clovis Point

This projectile point was found, along with several others, in the Nampa area by early homesteader, Logan Sherris. The point was likely hafted or attached to a short spear called a dart, which was mid-sized: between the length of an arrow and a spear. It is crafted from Peace River Chert which is a high quality stone material with outcrops along the Peace River. The craftsman made the piece by removing small flakes of stone from a core or nucleus using another rock or a softer material such as antler or bone until the desired shape was attained. What is of particular interest is the age of the piece. Considering the shape of the dart point, we can tell that it comes from the Clovis Culture meaning that it is likely around 11,000 years old. Near the base of the point, the craftsman removed a few extra flakes to thin it out towards the middle of the piece. This is known as fluting which may have aided in hafting the point and is the most telling characteristic of a Clovis Point.

Although some argue that the Clovis Culture may be older than 11,000 years, at around 13,200 years, it is the earliest known stone tool culture to have appeared in the Americas. The fact that this early Paleo-Indian artifact was found in the Peace Region suggests that the area may have been inhabited for many thousands of years! Be sure to stop by the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre to see this ancient piece of history and the oldest man-made artifact in our collection!

Clovis Point- 89.35.4

Artifact of the Week and a Street Dance

This week's featured artifact is a record by Patti Page. This artifact is a particularly fitting choice as we come ever closer to our 100th celebration dance.

This Patti Page record was donated to the museum by CKYL. Well known for being one of the most illustrious artists of the 1950s and '60s, Page sold over 100 million records throughout her career. 

This record, entitled Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, was released in 1965 and features the hit single of the same title, released a year earlier. The song Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte was featured in a 1964 film, also of the same name, starring Betty Davis. The single was nominated for an academy award in ’64 and went on to become one of Page’s best known songs.

The countdown is on: we're only 18 days away from the dance! On Saturday, July 26th, 2014, join us on the street in front of the Museum, from 4 - 10 pm, for an historic street dance. Enjoy the musical talents of local musicians as well as the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels of Edmonton as we dance our way through the decades. 

Come dressed in attire from your favourite decade of the last hundred years to celebrate the centenaries of the Village of Peace River Crossing, the Fire Department and the Record-Gazette. 

PRMA 98.1.8

Artifact of the Week - Bone Flesher

This week's featured artifact is a flesher, donated by Tom Rumball in 1973. This artifact
would have been used to de-flesh animal skins when preparing hides.

As people who utilized and lived with the environment around them, First Nations Peoples fashioned their tools out of bones and rocks.  In this case, a leg bone from a deer was fashioned into a tool used to scrape flesh from hides. The First Nations people would also eat deer meat, tan and use the hide for clothing and shelter, and use deer sinew for sewing. The First Nations people used every part of an animal, wasting nothing.

While bone tools were used for working meat and hide, rocks were fashioned into arrowheads and spear points to hunt animals.

Our featured artifact this week coincides with next week's presentation by Dr. David Welch. Dr. Welch will be speaking about his collection of stone and bone tools and the fascinating stories associated with them.

Dr. Welch will be speaking at the Museum on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 7 pm. Everyone is invited to this free presentation.

PRMA 73.540 Bone Flesher. 

Stone tools presentation by Dr. David Welch - June 4th at 7 pm

On Wednesday, June 4, 2014, at 7 pm, Dr. David Welch will be joining us at the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre, to talk about his pre-historic stone and bone tools. After a lifetime's worth of collecting, researching and examining stone tools, he is a great source of information and stories.

This presentation complements our current exhibit "A Sense of the Land and its People: A Personal Collection" which showcases a variety of Northwest Coast and Plains First Nations Artifacts from Dr. Welch's collection.

The artifacts in the exhibit are representative of the environments that the Northwest Coast and Plains First Nations lived within and how those environments influenced their food, clothing, lodgings, hunting practices, artistic expression and ceremonies.

Please join us for this free event as we learn more about stone and bone tools, as well as hear Dr. Welch's stories and experiences collecting them.

For more information, please contact the Museum.

Artifact of the Week - Dr. Sutherland's coffee pot

This coffeepot belonged to Dr. Frederick Henry Sutherland who worked as a physician in Peace River for many years. He was also mayor of the town for 16 years and served with the Canadian Medical Corps in World War I. Dr. Sutherland is the namesake of Sutherland Nursing Home/Continuing Care Centre and most recently Sutherland Place. He was considered by many to be a great man.

This aluminum coffeepot was donated by his daughter Alma Richardson. According to Alma, Dr. Sutherland enjoyed his coffee immensely and this pot was his pride and joy. At the time, the 1950s-1960s, aluminum was thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease, an idea that Dr. Sutherland rejected, so much so that he used this aluminum coffeepot every morning for many years.

PRMA 2013.009.002 - The coffee pot that Dr. Sutherland used every day. 

Artifact of the Week - HBC Fur Press

Our featured artifact this week is the Hudson's Bay Company fur press, used in Peace River until 1955. After that, Leonard McArthur, a former fur buyer for the Hudson's Bay Company, kept it on his farm. When Bruce McPhail bought the McArthur farm, he decided to donate the press to the Peace River Museum and Archives.

This fur press was made in the 1880s in England and sent to Canada for use in the Peace River Hudson's Bay Company Store. It was used to press fur from various animals into bundles (sometimes called 'packs') that were sent out of the Peace Country and all the way to England. Someone would have to climb up on top of the press and turn the top bar of the screw mechanism. Turning that top bar pushed a plate down on top of the furs, compressing them into 90 pound bails. 

In the 80 years that the furs were transported out of this area, 47 million pelts made their way from the Peace Country to England. Beaver was the most desirable of the pelts, though fox and marten were also trapped. Beaver pelts were made into fashionable hats in England, while fox and marten furs were made into fashion accessories. 

PRMA 68.11 - The fur press set up with furs in the Mackenzie Gallery.  

The fur press is on display in the Mackenzie Gallery at the Peace River Museum and Archives. Near the fur press lurk several animals that trappers would have been keen to capture during the days of the fur trade.

Artifact of the Week - Umbrella Hat

This week's featured artifact is an umbrella hat donated by Joan Wahl. In the 1950s, this hat belonged to Joan's mother, Florentine Bochenko. Joan remembers her mother, a hairdresser, always having a rain hat with her. She had very fine hair and as soon as it would get wet, it would go flat. To guard against such fashion horror, Florentine always carried her rain hat with her, just in case.

The umbrella hat was first patented by William H. Patten in 1880. He developed the umbrella hat while he was a prospector in Mexico. His original design also featured netting which protected wearers from mosquitoes.

In the 1890s, William moved to Seattle, where he became known as the "Umbrella Man". He was quite the handyman when it came to umbrellas of all sorts. His eccentric demeanor, bushy white beard, cane, suit and of course, the umbrella hat, would soon make him famous: when John Ross "Dok" Hager created a new cartoon feature in the Seattle Times, William was featured in all his umbrella hat glory.

PRMA 2012.006.001 A-B

Artifact of the Week - Nazi ceremonial dagger

This week's artifact of the week is a Kriegsmarine officer's dagger from World War II. It was donated by Marsha Tanasichuk and is from her father Stanley Lawrence's estate.

This ceremonial officer's dagger, circa 1940-44 is a war trophy, brought back to Canada after the war. It features an eagle and a swastika on the pommel and is accompanied by its original scabbard.

War trophies have been claimed by soldiers for thousands of years, either to ensure weapons remain out of enemy hands or to commemorate battles fought. Small objects like daggers, guns, flags or helmets as well as large items like machine guns and canons have all been taken by soldiers as war trophies in the past. More extreme examples of war trophies include cultural memorabilia and body parts of defeated enemies.

Stanley Lawrence served in the Canadian Forestry Corps of the Canadian Army during the Second World War. This corps cut and prepared lumber in Canada's abundant forests, until space needed on cargo ships to transport the lumber overseas for the Allied war effort became sparse. From then on, the Canadian Forestry Corps cut and prepared the necessary lumber for barracks, roads surfaces, ammunition crates and trench construction while stationed overseas in the United Kingdom and Europe.

This dagger is currently on exhibit in the Peace River Gallery but it will be coming down soon to make way for an exhibit about the beginning of World War I. The Museum will be featuring a number of small exhibits this year, detailing the centenaries of four big events that all happened in 1914. These events include the beginning of World War I, Peace River Crossing becoming a village, the beginning of the Peace River Fire Department and the beginning of the Record-Gazette newspaper.

Come by the Museum to see all of these great exhibits.

PRMA 2008.050.032 A-B

Artifact of the Week - Glitzy necklace

This week’s featured artifact is a necklace with rhinestones or red glass pieces. This lovely, sparkly necklace was donated to the Museum by Diane Gayton.

Diane worked at the Museum as the curator from 1998 to 2004. Diane was a hobby seamstress who maintained a craft business while also working at the Museum. Diane and her husband Gerald had a farm adjoining the homestead that Gerald’s parents worked.

This glitzy and glamourous necklace showcases the style of the 1960s. It also brings to mind the gift giving associated with the most romantic holiday of the year: Valentine's Day. Giving jewelry to your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day became popular in the 1980s, when the diamond industry got involved in gift giving traditions.

This necklace is on display for the month of February, as part of our Valentine’s exhibit. 

PRMA 03.04.19

Artifact of the Week - Black Magic Chocolate Box

We are less than a month away from the heart-filled and romantic holiday known as Valentine’s Day. As we approach this lover’s day, the Museum thought it would be nice to showcase a series of objects related to Valentine’s Day, starting with a Black Magic chocolate box. I am sorry to say, there are no chocolates left, but the box is still beautiful.

This iconic black and red box was donated to the Museum in 2009 by Colleen Hay (nee Pratt). Colleen’s parents, George and Vivian, owned and operated the Orange Crush bottling plant in Peace River until 1963 when they sold the business.

Chocolate, from its first documented instances through to modern times, has always been popular. The Mesoamerican peoples are the first to have enjoyed this food and made it into a bitter beverage, often with froth. When it reached the Europeans, they added sweeteners and turned it into the familiar bars and candies that we still enjoy today.

In the 1860s, chocolate became popularized and affordable for the masses. Previously it had only been available to those of nobility or rank due to its high cost. Very soon after it became affordable to all, it also became a traditional Valentine’s Day gift, perhaps because of its reported aphrodisiac qualities.

The Museum currently has a Valentine’s Day display in our Peace River Gallery. We invite you to visit us and experience the historic aspects of this most wonderful day.    

Artifact of the Week - Partial bison skull with horn sheaths

This week’s featured artifact is a partial bison skull with its horn sheaths still present. Bison, like other true horned animals, have two bone horn cores growing out of their skulls that are not shed yearly, instead their horns continue to grow every year, as does the keratinous sheath covering them. Keratin is a very tough fibrous substance found in many places. A short list includes the outer layer of human skin, hair and nails, as well as cat claws, bird beaks, tortoise shells, and porcupine quills.

This partial skull and others were donated by Dr. Frederick Henry Sutherland (1891-1963) who was an avid collector of fossils, arrowheads, coins and stamps. Dr. Sutherland first came to the Peace region in 1913 when he filed on a homestead, along with two of his brothers. He then returned to Ontario, where he was born and raised, to finish his medical training. After serving at a field hospital near the war front during the First World War, he returned to Peace River, in 1919, to establish a medical practice.

Dr. Sutherland and his wife, Clara Richards, made their life in Peace River, along with their 3 children. As a civic minded individual, Dr. Sutherland also served on the St. James’ Cathedral vestry and was mayor of Peace River for 16 years.  

This skull is on display in our rocks and fossils section of the Museum exhibits. Stop by to see this and many others palaeontology, geology and archaeology specimens.

PRMA 68.240 - Partial bison skull with horn sheaths 

 

Celebrations and Masks!

Ceremonial life of the West Coast Nations is vibrantly on exhibit at the Peace River Museum! Thanks to a generous loan of artifacts from Dr. David Welch, the Museum is featuring, amongst West Coast and Plains First Nations objects, a colourful collection of West Coast masks.

Northwest Coast First Nations artists are renowned for their carvings, especially of totem poles. Totem poles are carved for many reasons. They can represent clans or families or serve mortuary, memorial, shaming or welcoming purposes. Similarly, dances performed with masks can serve specific purposes and have different meanings.

In wintertime, Coastal First Nations villages were visited by supernatural beings or spirits. This was the time of year when villagers would feast, dance, sing and for some, be initiated into secret societies. Dances performed with masks during these times were representative of the supernatural entities that were visiting the village from their caves, forests, waters and skies.

Animal and human figures appear on both carved totems and masks. Many animals, supernatural beings and spirits are carved with human features; similarly, humans are sometimes carved with non-human features. This blending of animal, spiritual and human characteristics is known as anthropomorphism. Features on anthropomorphized carvings can be enlarged, shrunk or distorted in order to fit the distinct shape of the material being carved.

The Portrait Mask is carved to represent a personal experience and here is painted in the principal colours red and black. The Bumble Bee Mask is black, red and yellow. Colours traditionally used on masks were primarily blue, green, black and red from natural pigments. Black was created using lignite, charcoal and graphite. Red came from pulverized ochre or hematite and the blues and green were derived from copper minerals.

The Sense of the Land And Its People : A Private Collection is on exhibit until September 2014.

Bumble bee mask 

Portrait mask 

Artifact of the Week - St. Augustine Mission nativity scene

This week's featured artifact is a crèche (also known as a nativity scene) that originates from the St. Augustine Roman Catholic Mission. It was used yearly at the Mission as one of their Christmas decorations. 

A nativity scene is the depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Nativity scenes are created worldwide at Christmas and are shown in such places as churches, schools, museums and shopping malls. This tradition dates back to 1223 when St. Francis of Assisi allegedly created the first nativity scene in a cave near Greccio, Italy. He created a live depiction of the Biblical story using humans and animals. 

St. Francis' scene was so popular that his idea was copied by many throughout the Catholic world. In fact, a mere 100 years later, all churches in Italy were expected to display a nativity scene at Christmas. By this time, statues and figurines had replaced live humans and animals and the scenes were far more intricate. 

By the 1800s, the tradition of depicting the birth of Jesus had spread past the Catholic world and was gaining popularity in the wider Christian community. The scenes were beginning to be marketed in various forms for public sale, and were made of wood, terracotta, paper, wax and ivory. 

In celebration of the Christmas season, the Museum has created a Christmas exhibit. We've put the nativity scene on display along with a decorated tree and a roaring fireplace complete with stockings and toys. 

Come by and visit us over the holidays. We are open until December 24th, and reopen again on December 27th. We will be closed on January 1st, 2014.  

Several figures from PRMA 77.822. 

Artifact of the Week - Toy hobby horse

It’s December! For those that celebrate Christmas, this means stockings, baking, twinkling lights, a decorated tree, and presents! In honour of the Christmas season, the Museum has once again put together a Christmas display. This year, we’ve gone bigger and better. When you come and visit the display you will find a fireplace with stockings, wrapped packages, old time candy, toys, Christmas cards, a decorated tree with multi-coloured lights and a nativity scene.

One Christmassy aspect that we’ve examined in this display is gift giving and the types of gifts people gave and received across the 20^th century. So, this week, our featured artifact is a toy hobby horse that was donated to the museum by Jocelyne Forget. This hobby horse is from the 1950s. Nowadays, children might have toy cars they can ride around in, just like their parents. In earlier days, before there were cars, children would have hobby horses to imitate their parent’s modes of transportation.

The term “hobby” goes back to the Middle Ages and refers to a small pony-like horse. Cart horses were primarily called hobby horses. As toys, hobby horses were also known as stick horses or cock horses. The term “cock horse” relates back to the nursery rhyme “Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross.”

Come by and visit the Museum to see this hobby horse as well as the larger Christmas display. 

Artifact of the Week - Woven hat and Child's moccasins

This week’s featured artifacts are a woven hat and moccasins. These artifacts are a part of a larger donation from the Anglican Church of Canada, Diocese of Athabasca. The objects come from St. Peter’s Residential School in Hay River, N.W.T., ca. 1895-98. Some of the other artifacts in this donation include birchbark rogans, a powder horn, dolls clothing made of deer hide, moccasins and a beaded tobacco bag.

The hat is woven of spruce or tamarack roots and decorated with a band of dyed porcupine quills. This hat was created by the Mackenzie River First Nations people in 1898.

The child’s moccasins are made of hide and decorated with fur and beading. They were made by the residents of St. Peter’s Residential School in 1898.

The Museum is featuring a new exhibit filled with Plains and West Coast First Nations objects, all from the personal collection of local Peace River doctor, David Welch. As an addition to all of Dr. Welch's pieces, the Museum has added some of those found in our First Nations collection. All of these wonderful pieces can be found in the Main and Fur Traders galleries at the Museum.  

Artifact of the Week – The Home Cook Book, First Edition, 1877


This first edition copy of the Home Cook Book from 1877 is a true piece of Canadian history. Devised by a group of ladies, the publication and sale of the book was highly successful in raising money for the benefit of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Over one hundred and twenty-five thousand copies were sold in its first eight years on the market: a remarkable feat for the Victorian age. As the first Canadian fundraising cookbook and the first Canadian cookbook to be published in foreign countries, the Home Cook Book helped spark a global tradition of compiling and publishing cookbooks to raise money for a good cause.



2009.019.002, gift of Len Hills

In accordance with the practices of its day, recipes within the book often lack instructions as it was assumed any well-raised woman would know what to do when it came to mixing cake batter or preserving pickles. Measurements are also not precise, with phrases such as add enough flour or spice to your taste appearing frequently. A slow, moderate or quick oven is requested -this being the only indication of how hot to build the woodstove fire to achieve the correct temperature. Instructions for making cleaning products, beauty products and medications grace the back of the book, while a section in the front provides advice on etiquette, housekeeping and essential kitchen utensils.

This first edition copy of the Home Cook Book was obviously well-loved and belonged to Len Hill’s mother. Mr. Hill remarked that some of his favourite meals were made from recipes found in this book. For more information on Len Hill, see last week's Record-Gazette (Nov. 7, 2013).

A reprint of the Home Cook Book (with an introduction by Elizabeth Driver) is currently published by White Cap Books and is available for purchase from most major book retailers.

Artifact of the Week - Ruby MacKinnon's Marlin Rifle

This week’s featured artifact is a 1893 Marlin .38/55 rifle. This was Ruby MacKinnon’s last remaining rifle. It was eventually gifted to Verne MacRoberts, a good friend of hers, who donated it to the Museum, along with the following story.

Ruby, a housewife and hunter, used this rifle while hunting with her husband Harry MacKinnon, a tower man, around the Moose Portage area, near Smith, Alberta. Ruby recorded the game she took with stock notches. In total there are 52 notches. The 19 on top represent moose with the remaining 33 on the bottom representing deer.  

On one side of the stock, there are 3 coins set into the wood, from 1957 – 1959. These denote the years that Ruby and Harry spent at Fort Vermilion. On the reverse side of the stock is a photograph of Ruby and Harry and a plaque that reads the following: 

“Ruby MacKinnon’s Rifle 

1893 – Marlin - .38/55 

Moose Portage (Smith) Alta. 

Housewife – Towerwoman – Friend 

Donated by Vern MacRoberts – Peace River”

PRMA 86.1468.1

Artifact of the Week and Monthly Art Exhibit - works by Sonia Rosychuk

This week, I’m bringing you the Artifact of the Week and the Monthly Art Exhibit all in one post. Each of these subjects features the creativity and innovation of local artist Sonia Rosychuk. 

Sonia installing her Art Wall exhibit

Our Art Wall rotates monthly, always showcasing the works of a local or regional artist. This month Sonia has lent us her talent in the form of metal works, paintings, and sculptures. Sonia’s work can be viewed at the Museum until the end of October.

Sonia (back) and fellow artist Val Palmer (front) installing the October Art Wall exhibit 

We may only have the Art Wall works displayed here for a month, but we are fortunate enough to have one piece by Sonia here full time. The metal teepee sitting on Museum grounds, in front of the building, was designed and created by Sonia.

Sonia began creating her piece “Smoke Signals” with the flat metal letters for “MUSEUM” that the Peace River Correctional Centre had fabricated. From there, the idea for a teepee came to her in a dream. She incorporated the letters onto the internal fire pit, which was surrounded by a metal teepee constructed of reclaimed rebar, found metal pieces and early farm tools from community members. The whole structure sits on a bed of river rocks, symbolizing the Peace River and its importance to the town’s history.

Smoke Signals sculpture created by Sonia Rosychuk

To the Museum, the “Smoke Signals” sculpture is more than our outdoor sign: it embodies the history of the Town of Peace River and the surrounding areas. This sculpture has been a recognized Peace River Museum symbol since 2008 and we look forward to many more years with this innovative and symbolic piece of art.