Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

JACKET, SHIRT AND SKIRT

Date

1965

Materials

COTTON, POLYESTER, METAL

No. Pieces

3

Length

60

Width

41.5

Description

A. CREAM WOMAN’S SUIT JACKET, 60 CM LONG X 41.5 CM WIDE. JACKET LINED WITH CREAM COTTON FABRIC; JACKET HAS THREE CREAM CLOTH-COVERED BUTTONS DOWN LEFT-WEARING SIDE AND THREE CREAM CLOTH-COVERED BUTTONS DOWN RIGHT-WEARING SIDE, WITH TWO STRAPS WITH SINGLE BUTTON HOLES EXTENDING FROM LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES AT WAIST. JACKET HAS STAIN BELOW BUTTON HOLE ON RIGHT-WEARING WAIST STRAP; OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION. B. SHIRT, 46.8 CM LONG X 39 CM WIDE. CREAM COTTON-BLEND SHIRT WITH SILVER ZIPPER RUNNING DOWN BACK; ZIPPER HAS CLOTH COVERING. SHIRT IS SLEEVELESS WITH MACHINE STITCHING ALONG HEM, NECK AND ARM HOLES. SHIRT HAS FOLDED STITCHING UP SIDES AND DIAGONALLY FROM HEM TO CENTER OF CHEST. SHIRT HAS STAINING ON FRONT AND UNDER SLEEVE HOLES; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. C. SKIRT, 58 CM LONG X 38 CM WIDE. CREAM COTTON-BLEND FABRIC WITH SILVER ZIPPER RUNNING DOWN SIDE AND TWO SILVER HOOKS INSIDE WAIST WITH TWO SILVER LOOPS ON TAB AT WAIST. SKIRT WIDENS AT HEM; SKIRT HAS CREAM INNER LINING. SEAMS ARE MACHINE STITCHED. PINK STAIN ON LEFT-WEARING SIDE; CREASES DOWN FRONT AND BACK; OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

PERSONAL CARE

History

ON APRIL 24, 2018, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED BARB CLARKE REGARDING HER DONATION OF A WEDDING DRESS AND GOING-AWAY ENSEMBLE. THE WEDDING GOWN AND GOING-AWAY ENSEMBLE WERE WORN BY CLARKE FOR HER WEDDING IN 1965. ON HER WEDDING AND HER SELECTION OF THE GOING-AWAY ENSEMBLE, CLARKE RECALLED, “IT’S BEEN WORN A FEW TIMES…THE WEDDING WAS AUGUST 21, 1965. IT HAPPENED HERE IN SOUTHMINSTER CHURCH, AND REVEREND JOHN O’NEAL WAS THE MINISTER.” “MY SISTER-IN-LAW [JOAN HUGHSON] AND I HAD GONE TO UNIVERSITY TOGETHER. HER BABY WAS BORN IN JULY, AND DAVE [CLARKE] AND I WERE GETTING MARRIED IN AUGUST. SHE WAS AN EXTREMELY GOOD SEAMSTRESS, SO SHE MADE MY GOING-AWAY OUTFIT FOR ME. I BOUGHT A VOGUE PATTERN, FOUND THE FABRIC, AND SHE MADE THE DRESS, OR THE GOING-AWAY OUTFIT.” ON HER WEDDING, CLARKE ELABORATED, “[I MARRIED] DAVE CLARKE. HE GREW UP AT CASTOR, ALBERTA, WHICH IS 200 MILES NORTH OF TABER, ON HIGHWAY 36. WE MET WHEN WE WERE BOTH TEACHERS. WE MET AT CARSTAIRS. HE WAS TEACHING, AND I STARTED AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM THERE. WE MET IN THE SPRING, AND THEN I GOT A JOB THERE THAT FALL. WE DATED THROUGHOUT THAT YEAR, AND GOT MARRIED THE FOLLOWING YEAR.” “I GREW UP EAST OF MILK RIVER, IN THE COMMUNITY OF MASINASIN BY WRITING-ON-STONE PARK. I HAD COMPLETED MY HIGH SCHOOL IN MILK RIVER, AND THEN I WENT OFF TO CALGARY TO UNIVERSITY. TWO YEARS OF UNIVERSITY…WAS ALL THAT WAS REQUIRED AT THAT TIME. THERE WAS A TEACHER SHORTAGE, SO YOU COULD GET A JOB AFTER TWO YEARS, WITHOUT YOUR DEGREE, AND THAT’S WHAT I DID. THEN I MET DAVE. WE DECIDED TO GET MARRIED. DAVE WAS HELPING OUT HIS PARENTS AT THEIR FARM IN CASTOR BECAUSE THEY WERE MOVING A HOUSE DURING THAT SUMMER, AND HE WAS HELPING GET THAT HOUSE MOVED FOR HIS PARENTS. I WAS PICKING UP SOME COURSES AT EDMONTON UNIVERSITY. IT JUST HAPPENED THAT I HAD NOT FELT THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A WEDDING. I JUST THOUGHT WE WOULD JUST GET MARRIED, AND HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS THERE, AND THAT WOULD BE IT. OF COURSE, MY MOM AND DAD SAID, 'NO, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A WEDDING.' SO, I SAID, 'WELL, I’M GOING.' AFTER MY YEAR OF SCHOOL TEACHING IN CARSTAIRS THAT FINISHED THE END OF JUNE, I WAS DUE IN EDMONTON FOR MY SUMMER SCHOOL CLASSES. SO, I SAID TO MOM AND DAD, 'I GUESS IF YOU WANT A WEDDING, WE’LL TALK BY PHONE, BUT YOU’LL HAVE TO MAKE ALL THE ARRANGEMENTS, AND THE PLANS FOR IT.' SO, THEY DID. WE HAD THE WEDDING.” “[THE WEDDING] WAS ALL THE SAME DAY. THE WEDDING WAS AT ONE O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON [AT SOUTHMINSTER CHURCH]. THEN THE RECEPTION WAS A BIT EARLIER [AT EL RANCHO, WHICH IS NOW THE COAST HOTEL]. THEN WE DROVE DOWN TO THE FARM, AND WE HAD A BIT OF AN ‘OPEN HOUSE’ THERE. THE DANCE WAS AT NINE O’CLOCK [AT THE MASINASIN SCHOOL]. I WAS IN THE [WEDDING] DRESS UNTIL TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEDDING DANCE BECAUSE AT THE WEDDING DANCE YOU HAD TO HAVE YOUR FIRST DANCE WITH YOUR DAD. THEN I WENT BACK TO THE FARM, WHICH WAS ONLY THREE MILES AWAY, AND CHANGED INTO THE GOING AWAY OUTFIT. WE CAME BACK TO THE DANCE, AND SAID GOODBYE TO EVERYBODY THERE, AND THEN WE LEFT FROM THERE.” “IT WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN A COMMUNITY EVENT. I WAS THE YOUNGEST IN MY FAMILY, AND THE ONLY GIRL. MOM AND DAD HAD BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY, AND CERTAINLY HOSTING A WEDDING FOR YOUR DAUGHTER WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM. I GREW UP THINKING, 'HUH, IT DOESN’T MATTER TO ME IF I HAVE A WEDDING OR NOT.' BUT IT CERTAINLY WAS TO THEM, AND TO THE EXTENDED FAMILY IT WAS IMPORTANT. I WAS AMAZED – EVEN WHEN I LOOK THROUGH MY WEDDING BOOK NOW – ALL OF THE AUNTS AND UNCLES THAT CAME. SOME CAME FROM THE UNITED STATES, AND DAVE’S UNCLE, WHO WAS MASTER OF CEREMONIES AT THE RECEPTION, WAS THERE FROM EDMONTON. I WAS AMAZED THAT PEOPLE WOULD COME. I DIDN’T THINK THAT I WAS THAT IMPORTANT THAT ANYBODY WOULD COME, BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE A VERY, VERY NICE OCCASION, EVERYBODY HAD A VERY GOOD TIME. IT WAS CERTAINLY THE INTRODUCTION OF THE TWO FAMILIES TOGETHER. I RECOGNIZED AFTER-–SOME YEARS LATER-–THAT WEDDINGS ARE HAPPY OCCASIONS, AND THAT IF EXTENDED FAMILIES DON’T GET TOGETHER FOR HAPPY OCCASIONS, THEY OFTEN GET TOGETHER JUST FOR FUNERALS AND MORE SAD OCCASIONS. I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND NOW HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO MY PARENTS, AND THAT IT WAS A GOOD OCCASION FOR THE WHOLE EXTENDED FAMILY.” “THE WAY THE SUMMER PROGRESSED, DAVE WAS VERY BUSY WITH HIS PARENTS…AND I WAS BUSY AT SUMMER SCHOOL. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SUMMER SCHOOL, YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE CRAMMING, AND TAKING CLASSES, AND YOU’RE DOING EXAMS. EVERYTHING IS FAST BECAUSE YOU ARE TRYING TO GET IT ALL DONE IN 6 WEEKS, AND YOU’RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE GETTING A FULL CREDIT FOR YOUR COURSE. MY FINAL EXAM WAS ON A TUESDAY, AND I PACKED UP MY THINGS, AND WENT TO CASTOR ON THE WEDNESDAY. [I] PICKED UP DAVE, AND WE CAME TO LETHBRIDGE ON THE THURSDAY. WE MET WITH THE MINISTER ON THE THURSDAY, AND HE SAID THAT HE WAS BEGINNING TO WONDER IF THERE WAS A BRIDE AND GROOM BECAUSE HE HADN’T MET US…WE HAD THE REHEARSAL ON FRIDAY; THE WEDDING ON SATURDAY. FOR OUR HONEYMOON, WE WENT DOWN TO SANDPOINT AND COEUR D’ ALENE ON A LITTLE TRIP DOWN THERE. ONE WEEK LATER WE WERE IN A SMALL TOWN, NEIGHBOURING TO CASTOR, WHERE WE HAD TEACHING JOBS BECAUSE THE SCHOOL YEAR WAS TO START. WE HAD NO TIME TO SET UP A LITTLE TEACHERAGE. THE SCHOOL BOARD THERE RENTED US A HOUSE…THAT WAS HOW WE STARTED. IT WASN’T A VERY GRAND BEGINNING.” “[LETHBRIDGE WAS THE MID-POINT] TO ACCOMMODATE THE FAMILIES. MOM HAD MADE THE ARRANGEMENTS, SO I THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOMETHING TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT THEY COULD HAVE THE RECEPTION CLOSE [TO SOUTHMINSTER CHURCH]. BECAUSE I WENT TO SUNDAY SCHOOL AND BELONGED TO THE CHURCH IN MILK RIVER – SO DID MY PARENTS –WE WERE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNITED CHURCH. SOUTHMINSTER WAS DEFINITELY NOT OUR HOME CHURCH AT THAT TIME.” CLARKE SPOKE TO HER MOTIVES FOR KEEPING AND DONATING THE WEDDING GOWN AND GOING-AWAY ENSEMBLE, STATING, “IT’S ALWAYS [BEEN] EASY TO KEEP IT. I DON’T THINK I’M A HOARDER, BUT I DO LOVE SENTIMENTAL THINGS, AND I HAVE MY MOTHER’S WEDDING DRESS AND GOING-AWAY OUTFIT. THEY ARE VALUABLE PIECES. THIS DRESS AND THIS OUTFIT, I HAD IT OUT AT OUR 25TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. I COULDN’T WEAR IT MYSELF BECAUSE MY ARMS CHANGED, BUT MY NIECE WORE IT, AND WE HAD A BIG PARTY-–FAMILY PARTY–-FOR OUR 25TH. THEN A FEW YEARS AGO SOUTHMINSTER CHURCH HAD A 100TH ANNIVERSARY, SO WE WERE ALL INVITED TO TAKE WHATEVER WE WANTED FROM OUR OWN HISTORY, AND SO [MY WEDDING] DRESS WAS WORN AT THAT OCCASION AS WELL.” “I’VE HUNG ONTO THESE MATERIALS FOR 52 YEARS, AND NOW I’M DOWNSIZING MY HOME SO THAT I CAN LIVE IN A CONDO. MY HUSBAND DIED LAST YEAR, AND, AS I’M DOWNSIZING, I LOOK THROUGH ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE ACQUIRED AND PACKED AROUND WITH US FOR ALL OF OUR MARRIED YEARS. I DECIDED THAT THIS DRESS AND THIS OUTFIT WERE NOT GOING ANYWHERE AS LONG AS IT WAS IN MY STUFF, AND THAT PERHAPS THERE WAS SOME VALUE IN IT HAVING IT AS PROPERTY OF THE MUSEUM.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND PHOTOGRAPHS, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20180008001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20180008001

Acquisition Date

2018-04

Collection

Museum

Less detail