Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

BUFFALO FUR COAT

Date Range From

1940

Date Range To

1960

Materials

BUFFALO FUR, CLOTH

No. Pieces

1

Length

139.7

Width

64.8

Description

BUFFALO FUR COAT, WOODEN BLACK PEG BUTTONS ALONG LENGTH OF COAT, TWO OUTER WAIST POCKETS AND INNER CHEST POCKET. LABEL ABOVE INNER CHEST POCKET READS, "H. D. MERRICK." FUR IS MATTED, LINING IS WORN AND EXPOSED LEATHER PARTS ARE CRACKING.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

SAFETY SERVICES

History

DONOR'S FATHER, FRANCIS ALLAN KORTH, RECEIVED FUR COAT WHEN DONOR'S GRANDFATHER AND FORMER LETHBRIDGE POLICE OFFICER FRANCIS (FRANK) RAYMOND KORTH, PASSED AWAY NOVEMBER 27, 1998. BETWEEN 2008 AND 2009, RET. LETHBRIDGE POLICE SUPERINTENDENT GLEN MICHELSON STATED THAT THE FUR COATS WERE “A MUST WALKING THE BEATS ON COLD WINTER NIGHTS” FOR BEAT CONSTABLES. HE BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE SOMETIME “AROUND 1956” AND REPLACED WITH “GREAT COATS AND PEA JACKETS”. MANY FUNNY RET. OFFICER STORIES EXIST AND MICHELSON ADDED THAT “AROUND 1948, GRANT YOUNG CONSTABLE WAS STANDING STILL AT THE CORNER OF 4TH AVENUE AND 6TH STREET AND A DOG USED HIM AS A FIRE HYDRANT.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE P20080002001 AND PERMANENT RECORD. *UPDATE* IN 2017 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT RUTHANN LABLANCE CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF CLOTHING, INCLUDING A BUFFALO COAT DONATED BY KELLY KORTH. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION WAS COMPILED USING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. FRANCIS “FRANK” RAYMOND KORTH PASSED AWAY ON NOVEMBER 27, 1988 AT THE AGE OF 74. HE WAS BORN ON MAY 30, 1924 IN WOODHOUSE, AB. HE WAS MARRIED TO EVYON DOROTHY ROBINSON ON JUNE 18, 1947 AND JOINED THE LETHBRIDGE CITY POLICE ON AUGUST 12, 1950. HE RETIRED FROM THE POLICE ON AUGUST 27, 1981 AS A DETECTIVE SERGEANT. SEVERAL ARTICLES ABOUT BUFFALO COATS APPEARED IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD OVER THE YEARS. ON JANUARY 22, 1954 AN ARTICLE DISCUSSED THE POSSIBILITY OF THE RCMP SWITCHING FROM BUFFALO COATS TO NYLON PARKAS: “BELIEVED TO BE MUCH MORE PRACTICAL AND COMFORTABLE THAN THE MORE COLORFUL BUFFALO HID, THE PARKA HAS ZIPPERS INSTEAD OF BUTTONS AND WEIGHTS ONLY ABOUT ONE-THIRD AS MUCH AS THE BUFFALO COAT.” ANOTHER ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 11, 1956 GIVES MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE COATS: “IN SPITE OF ITS AWE-INSPIRING APPEARANCE, THE BUFFALO COAT HAS ITS DISADVANTAGES. ITS 24 POUNDS HANG HEAVILY ON ITS WEARER’S SHOULDERS. ITS WEIGHT AND BULKINESS ARE A DISTINCT HANDICAP IN A FOOT-RACE DOWN A BACK LANE. AND IN ADDITION TO RESPECTFUL GLANCES THE COAT COLLECTIONS LARGE QUANTITIES OF DIRT AND GRIT. SO THE [WINNIPEG] POLICE DEPARTMENT IS EXPERIMENTING, AS IS ITS COUNTERPART IN EDMONTON, WITH NEW TYPES OF COATS EQUALLY WARM BUT LESS AWKWARD.” *UPDATE*: ON NOVEMBER 24TH, 2016, UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE GRAD STUDENT JOSH READ, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, INTERVIEWED RETIRED LETHBRIDGE POLICE SERVICE (FORCE) MEMBER MARCEL ST. ONGE ON ACCOUNT OF HIS INTEREST IN THE FORCE’S PAST USE OF FUR CLOTHING IN POLICE PATROLS. ON DECEMBER 2ND, 2016, READ JOINTLY INTERVIEWED RETIREES BILL PLOMP AND GLEN MICHELSON ON THE SAME SUBJECT. TO READ COPIES OF THESE TWO INTERVIEWS, PLEASE SEE THIS DONATION'S PERMANENT FILE. SEE ALSO PERMANENT FILE FOR COPIES OF THE ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD.

Catalogue Number

P20080002002

Acquisition Date

2008-02

Collection

Museum

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