Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

GRADUATE LEADER PATCH

Date

1954

Materials

FELT, THREAD

No. Pieces

1

Height

0.6

Length

15.5

Width

12.3

Description

WHITE PATCH WITH RED STITCHING AND OVERLAY. READS, "GRADUATE LEADER 1954". UPSIDE DOWN TRIANGLE EMBROIDERED WITH RED THREAD. RED FELT LEAVES AT THE BOTTOM WITH TEXT AND DATE APPLIQUÉD IN WHITE. MAPLE LEAF EMBROIDERED IN CENTER OF TRIANGLE WITH COLOURED THREADS. BACK HAS SNAPS TO ATTACH TO A GARMENT.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

SPORTS

LEISURE

History

DONOR JACK LEE WAS BORN IN VANCOUVER IN 1924. HE RELOCATED WITH HIS PARENTS TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1928. IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED LEE’S DISCHARGE FROM OVERSEAS SERVICE DURING WORLD WAR TWO, HE DECIDED AT AGE 23/24 TO JOIN THE LETHBRIDGE YMCA BECAUSE, ACCORDING TO LEE IN 2010, “I NEEDED EXERCISE, I HAD NO HOBBY, NO OUTLET”. “IT WAS THE ONLY OUTLET THAT HAD PHYSICAL ACTIVITY” HE SAID, ADDING THAT THE Y’S WEIGHT TRAINING PROGRAM WAS WHAT ORIGINALLY ATTRACTED HIM TO BECOMING INVOLVED AT THE ‘Y’. THE DONATED PATCH WAS WORN DURING LEE'S LATER YEARS WITH THE 'Y'. LEE MAINTAINED HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE ‘Y’ “OFF AND ON FOR TWENTY YEARS”, PARTICIPATING IN CALISTHENICS, SWIMMING, BASKETBALL AND SCUBA DIVING LESSONS. INCREASING DEMANDS OF HIS TIME MADE BY THE LOCAL MILITIA ULTIMATELY LED TO HIS WITHDRAWAL FROM THE ‘Y’. TO BE CONSIDERED ELIGIBLE TO BECOME A GRADUATE LEADER, LEE WAS REQUIRED TO SERVE AS A SENIOR LEADER FOR FOUR. THEREAFTER, HE QUALIFIED PER SET CRITERIA IN BASKETBALL – HIS SPORT OF CHOICE AND ONE OF MANY ACTIVITIES OFFERED AT THE ‘Y’. THE CRITERIA INCLUDED: PLAY IN AN ORGANIZED LEAGUE, REFEREE IN AN ORGANIZED LEAGUE, COACH A TEAM IN AN ORGANIZED LEAGUE, AND DEVELOP AN ORGANIZED LEAGUE. LEE STATED THAT HE COACHED A ‘Y’ WOMEN’S BASKETBALL LEAGUE, ORGANIZED A JUNIOR BASKETBALL LEAGUE INCLUDING TEAMS FROM THE ‘Y’ AND LOCAL CHURCHES AND PLAYED ON A SENIOR ‘Y’ MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM. THE DONATED, OFFICIAL GRADUATE LEADER CREST WAS WORN DAY-TO-DAY ON ATHLETIC SHIRTS BY MEANS OF SNAPS ON CREST’S REVERSE. THE CREST, LEE THINKS, WAS SENT DOWN EAST TO AN APPAREL COMPANY IN ORDER THAT AN UNOFFICIAL, BLAZER-APPROPRIATE FACSIMILE COULD BE MOUNTED ON HIS JACKET. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20100047002

Acquisition Date

2010-11

Collection

Museum

Less detail