Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

OXFORDS

Date

1945

Materials

LEATHER, WOOD, RUBBER, COTTON

No. Pieces

2

Height

10.7

Length

26.1

Width

9.2

Description

1. LEFT SHOE: BLACK LEATHER SHOE HAS 3.9CM HEEL WITH RUBBER BOTTOM THAT HAS EIGHT HECTAGON OPENINGS WITH NAILS IN THEM. HAS SYMBOL WITH "TRIUMPH" IN CENTRE AND READS ON SIDE "11 JO". REST OF HEEL IS WOOD. SOLE IS BROWN LEATHER OVER WOOD. HAS FIVE EYELETS WITH BLACK COTTON LACES THROUGH THEM. EYELET TAB IS SQUARE ON TOP AND THEN CURVES DOWN TO THE SOLE. INSIDE HAS TAN COLOURED LINING WHICH IS STAMPED ON THE INSIDE "W6 6681". ALONG FRONT OF FOOT IS COTTON LINIG AND ON BOTTOM READS "WD N2". TONGUE IS LEATHER AND HAS COTTON LINING. ON OUTSIDE SOLE OF SHOE IS STAMPED IN VARIOUS ORDERS "6W 4 ND42 AND AN ARROW WITH A "C" AROUND IT. LEATHER IS WEAK ON TOP OF TOES. SOME WEAR ALONG EDGES. 2. RIGHT SHOE: IDENTICAL TO LEFT SHOE EXCEPT BOTTOM OF SOLE ONLY READS "6W 4". ALSO HAS "12265 1945" ON BOTTOM INSIDE OF HEEL. LEATHER IS BUCKLING BADY ON TOP OF TOE. IS ALSO QUITE DRY IN THAT AREA.

Subjects

CLOTHING-FOOTWEAR

Historical Association

HEALTH SERVICES

MILITARY

History

DONATED IN MEMORY OF MRS. AGNES SHORT, WHO WAS A NURSE IN LETHBRIDGE UNTIL C. 1970. HELPED WITH FIRST POLIO VACCINATION HERE, AND WAS PART OF THE HEALTH CLINIC FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS. FATHER WAS WILLIAM D. SHORT, WHO WAS THE LAST FIRE CHIEF OF THE OLD NO.1 FIREHALL IN LETHBRIDGE. THE "C" AROUND THE ARROW INDICATES THAT THESE WERE MILITARY ISSUED BY THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. NUMBERED STAMP IN RIGHT SHOE INDICATES THAT THEY WERE ISSUED IN 1945. FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING SERVICE RECORDS, PLEASE SEE P19950037013. *UPDATE* IN 2016 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT RUTHANN LABLANCE CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF CLOTHING, INCLUDING A BELT DONATED BY SHARON DEREK. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION WAS COMPILED USING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. THE DONOR, SHARON DERRICK, IS THE NIECE OF AGNES SHORT. AGNES CHRISTINA SHORT WAS BORN ON APRIL 20, 1916 TO WILLIAM H. AND BERTHA SHORT (MAIDEN NAME UNKNOWN). SHE GRADUATED FROM LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE AND THEN ATTDNED THE CALGARY GENERAL HOSPITAL FOR NURSING TRAINING, WHICH SHE GRADUATED FROM IN 1939. AGNES WAS THE SUPERVISOR AT THE GALT HOSPITAL FROM 1939-1945. SHE WAS IN CHARGE OF THE NURSING STAFF OF LETHBRIDGE SCHOOL DISTRICT #51 FROM 1947 UNTIL 1958. SHE WAS ALSO THE DIRECTOR OF NURSING AT THE LETHBRIDGE HEALTH UNIT FROM 1964 UNTIL HER RETIREMENT. SHE RETIRED IN 1980 AFTER 42 YEARS OF NURSING. AGNES PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 78 ON OCTOBER 20, 1994. WILLIAM HENRY SHORT WAS AGNES’S FATHER. HE WAS BORN IN LONDON, ENGLAND IN 1889 AND MOVED TO CANADA IN 1909. HE INITIALLY WORKED FOR THE CITY WATERWORKS DEPARTMENT IN LETHBRIDGE FOR TWO YEARS, BEFORE SPENDING 51 YEARS IN SERVICE OF THE LETHBRIDGE FIRE DEPARTMENT. HE OVERSAW THE INTRODUCTION OF MOTORIZED FIRE ENGINES, SWITCHING FROM HORSE POWERED WAGONS, IN 1913. HE ALSO SAW THE DEPARTMENT GROW IN SIZE FROM ONLY 13 TO 49 MEN. HE PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 84 ON NOVEMBER 18, 1974. WILLIAM’S WIFE BERTHA L. SHORT PASSED AWAY ON JULY 28, 1989. ACCORDING TO AN ARTICLE ABOUT AGNES’S LIFE, THE SHORT FAMILY LIVED IN NUMBER 1 FIRE HALL, WHERE WILLIAM WAS FIRE CHIEF. WILLIAM H. AND BERTHA ALSO HAD ANOTHER CHILD, WILLIAM D. SHORT. HE WAS BORN ON AUGUST 16, 1916 AND PASSED AWAY ON AUGUST 5, 1990. HE WAS MARRIED TO MYRTLE (NEE NELSON) SHORT AND THEIR CHILDREN INCLUDE THE DONOR, SHARON DERRICK. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR COPIES OF THE ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. *UPDATE* IN 2018 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT ELISE PUNDYK CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF BOXED TEXTILES AND ACCESSORIES INCLUDING A NUMBER OF ARTIFACTS DONATED BY SHARON DERRICK. ON 1 MARCH 2018, PUNDYK INTERVIEWED DERRICK REGARDING HER DONATION. THE INFORMATION BELOW HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THAT INTERVIEW: AS THESE NURSE’S OXFORDS HAD BEEN INITIALLY RECORDED AS BEING MILITARY-ISSUED, THE DONOR WAS ASKED IF HER AUNT, AGNES SHORT, HAD ANY MILITARY BACKGROUND. IT WAS CONFIRMED SHE DID NOT. DERRICK EXPLAINED, “I WOULD SAY THAT THEY WERE NURSE’S OXFORDS FROM WHEN SHE WAS WITH THE HEALTH UNIT, BECAUSE THEY HAD A UNIFORM. THEY WORE BLACK STOCKINGS, ALMOST LIKE THE VICTORIAN ORDER OF NURSES DID.” IT IS POSSIBLE THESE WERE MILITARY SURPLUS OXFORDS USED AT THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE HEALTH UNIT. IN THE 2018 INTERVIEW DERRICK STATED, “[MY FAMILY WAS] INVOLVED IN MANY THINGS [THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY]. MY AUNT WAS ON THE HOUSING BOARD FOR MANY YEARS. MY GRANDFATHER WAS ON DUTY 24 HOURS A DAY, SO YOU JUST WENT WHEN YOU WERE CALLED. SO, I DON’T THINK HE HAD MUCH TIME FOR ANYTHING ELSE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, OTHER THAN SPEAKING AT SCHOOLS. THEY USED TO SEND AROUND A CONTINGENT OF FIREMEN AND THE FIRE CHIEF TO TALK TO STUDENTS ABOUT SAFETY IN HOMES.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE REASON FOR THE DONATION OF HER FAMILY’S ARTIFACTS, DERRICK EXPLAINED, “I WAS THE EXECUTOR FOR MY AUNT’S WILL AND WHEN SHE PASSED AWAY SHE [WAS LIVING IN] MY GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDFATHER’S HOME. ALL THIS STUFF HAD BEEN LEFT IN THE HOUSE, SO WHEN WE WERE CLEANING IT OUT FOLLOWING HER DEATH, WE CAME ACROSS ALL THESE THINGS. WHILE I KEPT SOME AS MEMENTOS, MY SISTER AND I [DECIDED TO DONATE OTHER ITEMS TO THE MUSEUM].” PLEASE PERMANENT FILE P19950037001, FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND COPIES OF ARTICLES REGARDING THE FAMILY HISTORY.

Catalogue Number

P19950038030

Acquisition Date

1995-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail