CUTTER, NOODLE

Description: NOODLE CUTTER IS BLUE CAST IRON MACHINE WITH CRANK HANDLE MOUNTED ON RECTANGULAR WOODEN BASE. MACHINE HAS BROAD STEEL FUNNEL AT TOP WITH STEEL ROLLERS AND BRASS CUTTERS BELOW. SMALL BLACK PLATE IS RIVETED TO SIDE OF FRAME WHICH READS "MASAKI INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD." AND "ASAKUSA TOKYO". WOOD BASE HAS NUMEROUS SCRATCHES AND CUT MARKS.

History: DONOR RELATES THAT THIS NOODLE CUTTER WAS BROUGHT TO ALBERTA FROM VANCOUVER (VIA SLOCAN CITY) AND WAS USED BY HER FAMILY TO MAKE CHOW MEIN. THE NAKAYAMA FAMILY WAS ORIGINALLY FROM VANCOUVER BUT MOVED TO COALDALE FOLLOWING THE SECOND WORLD WAR WHEN THEY WERE INTERNED AT SLOCAN CITY IN THE INTERIOR OF BRITISH COLUMBIA BY THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT. THE DONOR'S FATHER, REV. CANON G.G. NAKAYAMA, WAS AN ANGLICAN MINISTER IN VANCOUVER, AND THEN ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION IN COALDALE IN 1945 WHERE HE SERVED UNTIL 1970. FROM AUGUST 29 TO 31, 2011 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED THE DONOR, JOY KOGAWA, ABOUT HER MEMORIES ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC OBJECTS THAT SHE DONATED IN 1997. OF THIS ARTIFACT, KOGAWA SAID: “[THIS MACHINE] WAS USED FOR MAKING CHOW MEIN NOODLES… IT WAS FOR OCCASIONS [LIKE] CHOW MEIN SUPPERS… WE DID SO MANY OF THOSE FUNDRAISERS AND MEALS FOR TONS OF PEOPLE, AND I REMEMBER SERVING THEM… IT WOULD BE ADVERTISED AND HELD AND IT WASN’T ALWAYS AT THE CHURCH. I REMEMBER ONE TIME IT WAS HELD IN SOME HALL, IN COALDALE… BUT I REMEMBER THE CHOW MEIN SUPPERS AS BEING PRIMARILY CHURCH CENTERED [AND] MY DAD WAS SO ACTIVE IN CREATING EVENTS… I WISH I COULD MAKE [THE NOODLES NOW], BECAUSE I LOVED THAT CHOW MEIN.” SEE RECORD P19970041001 FOR EXPANDED BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION AND PERMANENT FILE FOR FURTHER HISTORY.