Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

“GALT NURSES”

Date Range From

1942

Date Range To

1946

Materials

WOOD

No. Pieces

9

Height

103.5

Length

60.25

Width

44.5

Description

WOOD WRITING DESK WITH EIGHT DRAWERS AND FOUR LEGS. EDWARDIAN STYLE. LEGS ARE CROSS BRACED. DESK IS INLAID WITH GEOMETRIC PATTERNS MADE OF WOOD IN A VARIETY OF HUES. DRAWERS .2 - .8 HAVE CENTRAL SQUARE PULL KNOB AND TWO DIAMOND-SHAPED INLAID DESIGNS. DRAWER .9 HAS TWO SQUARE PULL KNOBS AND FOUR DIAMOND-SHAPED INLAID DESIGNS. DESK TOP IS INLAID WITH TWO SYLIZED MAPLE LEAVES AND HEART SHAPES, AND TEXT READING “GALT NURSES”. MAPLE LEAF AND HEART DESIGN IS REPEATED ON LARGER SCALE ON LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES OF DESK BODY. TWO ROUND WOODEN WALL STOPPERS ATTACHED TO BACK OF DESK BODY. MINOR WEAR AND SCRATCHES ALONG FRONT EDGES OF DESK AND INSIDE DRAWER BEDS. SPLASH OF GREEN PAINT ON DESK FRONT EDGE, LEFT OF CENTRE. OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION. INDIVIDUAL DRAWER DIMENSIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS: .2 – 6 X 16 X 20.75 .3 – 6 X 16 X 20.75 .4 – 6 X 16 X 20.75 .5 – 5.75 X 20.2 X 16.75 .6 – 6 X 16 X 20.75 .7 – 6 X 16 X 20.75 .8 – 6 X 16 X 20.75 .9 – 6 X 49 X 36

Subjects

ART

FURNITURE

Historical Association

FURNISHINGS

HEALTH SERVICES

MILITARY

History

AT THE TIME OF DONATION, GALT SCHOOL OF NURSING ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION PAST ARCHIVIST ELAINE HAMILTON SAID OF THIS DESK: “THERE WERE OLD RESIDENCES [AT THE GALT HOSPITAL], AND THE DESK WAS IN ONE OF THE OLD RESIDENCES… ALWAYS IN THE SITTING ROOM… WE KNEW THAT THE PRISONERS OF WAR [FROM CAMP 133] HAD MADE IT FOR THE STUDENT NURSES. THAT’S ALL WE KNEW… WE PUT AN AD IN THE PAPER, TRYING TO FIND OUT IF ANYBODY KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, BUT WE NEVER DID GET ANY RESULTS FROM THAT.” FORMER ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVIST SUE KYLLO ADDED: “EVEN DURING TRAINING, I WOULD SNEAK IN AND LOOK AT THAT DESK… [IT] REALLY HIT HOME ABOUT WHAT THEY LIVED THROUGH, THESE GIRLS AT THE GALT AND WHAT THE PRISONERS OF WAR DID.” THE IDENTITY OF THE DESK’S CARPENTER(S) WAS STILL UNKNOWN AT THE TIME OF DONATION, BUT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ABOUT GALT NURSES INTERACTING WITH GERMAN POWS WAS FOUND IN THE BOOK ‘WHITE CAPS AND RED ROSES’ BY LEAH POELMAN: “A CAMP FOR PRISONERS OF WAR WAS BUILT IN NORTH LETHBRIDGE TO ACCOMMODATE 14,000 GERMAN PRISONERS. EVERY MORNING SICK-PARADE WAS HELD AT THE CAMP. THOSE REQUIRING HOSPITALIZATION WERE TAKEN TO THE GALT HOSPITAL, WARD B. THESE PATIENTS WERE CARED FOR BY MEDICAL ATTENDANTS FROM THE CAMP. SURGERY WAS PERFORMED IN THE AFTERNOON AND OFTEN THE NURSES STAFFING THE OPERATING THEATRE WORKED LATE INTO THE NIGHT CLEANING UP FOLLOWING OPERATIONS… WARD B WAS [ALSO] USED BY THE NATIONAL GUARD AS A TEMPORARY HOSPITAL UNIT FOR THE PRISONERS OF WAR WHILE A HOSPITAL WAS BEING BUILT… AT THE PRISON CAMP. THIS ADDED MUCH EXCITEMENT TO HOSPITAL ROUTINE AND BROUGHT THE WAR CLOSER IN REALITY TO THE NURSES.” AT THE TIME OF DONATION, A SHEET OF PAPER WAS FOUND INSIDE THE BOTTOM DRAWER OF THIS DESK. THE PAPER IS A MIMEOGRAPH OF A TYPED PAGE, WITH TEXT TITLED “GALT SCHOOL OF NURSING SONG (TUNE – WITCHRAFT)” AND 10 LINES OF LYRICS TO A SONG DESCRIBING GALT NURSES’ TRAINING AND SCHOOL LIFE. ELAINE HAMILTON MENTIONED THAT THE GSN “HAD A GLEE CLUB… A GROUP THAT SINGS [AND PERFORMED] AT GRADUATION [AND] FOR OUR OWN THINGS, [LIKE] CHRISTMAS.” THOUGH THE DESK WOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT BETWEEN 1942 AND 1946 (THE DURATION OF CAMP 133’S EXISTENCE), THE SONG ‘WITCHCRAFT’, AS REFERENCED ON THE LYRICS SHEET, WAS NOT RELEASED BY FRANK SINATRA UNTIL 1957. THE LYRICS SHEET WAS TRANSFERRED TO GALT ARCHIVES, AND ACCESSIONED AS PART OF THE GSN ALUMNAE FONDS, 20141073. IN SUMMER 2014, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED THE PAST ARCHIVISTS OF THE GALT SCHOOL OF NURSING COLLECTION, SHIRLEY HIGA, ELAINE HAMILTON, AND SUE KYLLO, ABOUT THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE GSN ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION AND THE HISTORY OF THE COLLECTED ARTIFACTS. HIGA, THE EARLIEST GSN COLLECTION ARCHIVIST, SAID: “I TRAINED MOSTLY AT THE GALT. THE STUDENTS, WE ALL KNEW EACH OTHER, HELPED EACH OTHER BECAUSE THERE WERE MOSTLY STUDENTS THERE: ONE REGISTERED NURSE FROM 7AM TO 7PM. THE REST WERE ALL US STUDENTS THAT RAN THE HOSPITAL SO, BUT WE WERE REALLY GOOD FRIENDS AND WE HELPED EACH OTHER… WE HAD SUCH GOOD RAPPORT BETWEEN THE STUDENTS IN MY CLASS… I JOINED [THE ALUMNAE] WHEN I GRADUATED IN 1955… I WAS INTERESTED IN HOW EVERYBODY TURNED OUT, AND THE ALUMNAE SORT OF KEPT IN CONTACT WITH THEM, AND IT WAS QUITE IMPORTANT TO ME. I FELT QUITE HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT ALL THE OTHER [NURSES]… IT’S NICE WHEN THEY CAME FOR THE REUNIONS. YOU SEE ALL THESE GIRLS YOU WORKED WITH, MAYBE ONLY FOR A LITTLE WHILE, BUT YOU REMEMBER THEM… I REALLY DIDN’T WANT TO BE THE ARCHIVIST, BUT WE DON’T HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE THAT OFFER TO DO THINGS… I WAS INTERESTED IN ALL THE HISTORY AND ALL THE THINGS THAT THE GIRLS THOUGHT ABOUT IT… [THE ARCHIVIST WAS TO] KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE HISTORY AND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE INVOLVED, AND KEEP TRACK OF THE STUFF WE COLLECT[ED]… [THE COLLECTION IS IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE] I LIKE EVERYBODY TO KNOW ABOUT THE GALT AND HOW WE TRAINED AND HOW IT PROGRESSED… AS YOU GET OLDER YOU KIND OF HAVE MEMORIES THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP, AND YOU KNOW YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE THINGS… [WHEN] YOU LOOK AT [THE OBJECTS] YOU REMEMBER.” ELAINE HAMILTON BECAME THE GSN COLLECTION ARCHIVIST IN THE LATE 1980S AFTER SHIRLEY HIGA STEPPED DOWN. OF THE ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION, HAMILTON SAID: “I THINK THE RETIRED NURSES DECIDED THAT THEY SHOULD FORM A GROUP TO HELP THE STUDENTS… I WASN’T THERE BUT IT WAS ’45 WHEN THEY FORMED, AND THEY DID THINGS FOR THE NURSES STUDENTS LIKE, THEY BOUGHT FURNITURE [FOR STUDENT RESIDENCES]… THEY DID A WHOLE BUNCH OF BAKE SALES AND CRAFT SALES; THEY WORKED AT THE BULL SALE OUT AT THE EXHIBITION GROUNDS. THEY DID A LOT OF THINGS LIKE THAT TO RAISE MONEY FOR LITTLE THINGS THAT COULDN’T BE BOUGHT OTHERWISE, LIKE THE PATIENT COMFORT, LIKE PATIENTS WOULD COME IN WITHOUT TOOTHBRUSHES AND COMBS… THEY HAD A BANQUET [FOR NURSING STUDENTS], AND THEY HAD A TEA WITH OUR PARENTS TOO, FOR US IN THE RESIDENCE… FOR ME, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS THE BANQUETS, AND HAVING MY CLASSMATES COME EVERY FIVE YEARS, BECAUSE THEY ARE LIKE SISTERS TO ME… OF COURSE I LIKE HISTORY AND ARCHIVES TOO SO [THE COLLECTION] IS KIND OF IMPORTANT TO ME TOO… WE LIVED TOGETHER, AND ATE TOGETHER, AND CRIED TOGETHER AND DID EVERYTHING TOGETHER FOR THREE YEARS, BECAUSE WE LIVED RIGHT IN A RESIDENCE. SO, WE BECAME VERY CLOSE… AND IF YOU WORK IN THE ALUMNI, YOU BECOME KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE FAMILY TOO BECAUSE THERE’S NOT THAT MANY OF US THAT GO TO OUR MEETINGS, SO WHEN WE GET TOGETHER, IT’S KIND OF NICE TO SHARE WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON… IT’S A FELLOWSHIP.” OF THE GSN COLLECTION, HAMILTON SAID: “IT’S AN ACCUMULATION OF ARTIFACTS FROM THE HOSPITALS AND FROM OUR TRAINING DAYS. AND, IT’S PART OF THE HISTORY OF LETHBRIDGE IN A WAY, BECAUSE THE SCHOOL WAS HERE FOR QUITE A WHILE… I’M A CARE GIVER AND I LIKE TO LOOK AFTER STUFF. SO, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT IT GOT CARED FOR… I THINK WITH THE CLOSING [OF THE GALT SCHOOL OF NURSING, IN 1979] WE GOT ALL THE CHARTS, AND WE ALREADY HAD THINGS FROM THE GALT HOSPITAL IN OUR STUFF THAT PROBABLY SOMEBODY [BEFORE HIGA] ACCEPTED… WHEN WE WENT INTO THE MUNICIPAL HOSPITAL [IN 1955] IT WAS ALL BRAND NEW, STAINLESS STEEL, SO THERE WAS NONE OF THE ENAMEL STUFF, AND THEN WHEN THE MUNICIPAL CLOSED [IN 1988], THE OPERATING ROOM GAVE US A LOT OF THINGS. THERE WERE A LOT OF DONATIONS THEN FROM DIFFERENT SPOTS BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T WANT TO MOVE STUFF SINCE IT WAS OLD… WE GOT A PLACE [FOR STORING THE COLLECTION IN THE REGIONAL HOSPITAL], ACTUALLY ABOVE THE WASHERS IN THE LAUNDRY FIRST. BUT IT WAS PRETTY MOIST UP THERE. AND THEN THEY GAVE US A ROOM IN THE SEWING ROOM, WHICH WAS VERY NICE, OUR OWN SEPARATE LITTLE ROOM THERE FOR OUR STORAGE… WE HAD THINGS UP ON A SHELF AND WE HAD A TRUNK IN THERE, AND… WE HAD ALL THE LETTERS FROM THE RESIDENCE… WE HAD A DISPLAY CASE THAT THEY BUILT AT THE REGIONAL [IN THE HOSPITAL ATRIUM] AND WE HAD STUFF IN THERE, AND WE’D MOVE IT AROUND… HAVING THE DISPLAY CASE WAS IMPORTANT TO ME, AND CHANGING THE UNIFORM ON [THE DISPLAY MANNEQUIN] EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, AND HAVING HER IN DIFFERENT OUTFITS… I ALWAYS HAD IT ALL TIDY FOR A REUNION… I WOULD CHANGE THE UNIFORM FOR THEM, DEPENDING ON WHAT CLASS WAS HAVING THEIR REUNION.” SUE KYLLO BECAME THE GSN COLLECTION ARCHIVIST IN 2010 AFTER ELAINE HAMILTON STEPPED DOWN. OF THE ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION, KYLLO SAID: “[I ATTENDED THE GALT SCHOOL OF NURSING] FROM ’66 TO ’69, AND I JOINED IN 1976 AFTER I CAME BACK TO LETHBRIDGE. I HAD TWO LITTLE KIDS AND I WANTED TO GET OUT AND MEET PEOPLE AND THE ALUMNI GAVE ME THAT… I WANTED TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH MY NURSING FRIENDS AND SEE IF I CAN HELP OUT IN SOME WAY… THE ALUMNI IS THE WAY TO GO TO KEEP OUR NURSING MEMORIES ALIVE AND I WANT TO DO THAT. SO NOW IT’S IMPORTANT TO ME WAY MORE THAN WHEN I WAS A YOUNG MOTHER THAT WANTED TO GET OUT… IT MEANS COMPANIONSHIP [AND] TO HELP EACH OTHER.” OF THE GSN COLLECTION, KYLLO SAID: “I DON’T KNOW HOW IT GOT STARTED. I WOULD THINK THAT MRS. BOYCHUCK WOULD HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH IT BECAUSE [SHE] WAS VERY ACTIVE IN THE ALUMNI AT THE BEGINNING, AND I WOULD THINK THAT IF ANYBODY, IT WOULD BE HER THAT STARTED COLLECTING THE ODD LITTLE THING, AND THEN IT WENT TO SHIRLEY. I DON’T KNOW THAT THERE WAS ANYBODY BEFORE SHIRLEY… OUR ALUMNI ONLY STARTED IN [1945], SO THERE WERE THOSE PERIODS WHERE I DON’T THINK ANYBODY CARED ABOUT ANY OF THIS STUFF… TO ME, IT MEANS AN AWFUL LOT. IT MEANS THAT WE EXISTED REALLY… IF WE DIDN’T HAVE ALL THIS STUFF, WELL WHAT WERE WE? A NURSE, WHAT DOES A NURSE DO? WITH THIS WE CAN SHOW THEM THAT WE DIDN’T JUST GIVE BEDPANS. WE DID A LOT OF THINGS, AND I’M REALLY PROUD THAT WE HAVE WHAT WE’VE GOT.” OF THE SITUATION LEADING UP TO THE DONATION OF THE GSN COLLECTION TO THE GALT MUSEUM, KYLLO SAID: “WE HAD A DISPLAY AT THE NORTH END OF THE HOSPITAL [THAT] WAS GOING TO STAY THERE [AND ADDITIONAL COLLECTION STORAGE] AND WE DIDN’T HAVE A PROBLEM... WE WERE ALWAYS UNDER THE IMPRESSION OF ALL THE PAST ADMINISTRATIONS THAT WE ALWAYS HAD A PLACE IN THAT HOSPITAL… NOW THAT ALL THE OLD GUYS HAVE GONE, THEY JUST UP AND MOVED [THE COLLECTION, IN FALL 2012] AND DIDN’T CARE. THEY WERE BUILDING A NEW WING AND ‘TO HECK WITH YOUR GUYS’ STUFF’… NOBODY WANTED TO EVEN TALK TO US ABOUT IT. I FINALLY GOT AHOLD OF THE GUY IN CHARGE OF MAINTENANCE, [HE] SAID, “WELL IT’S UPSTAIRS IN THE PENTHOUSE.” WELL, WE KNEW WHAT THE PENTHOUSE WAS LIKE, BECAUSE IT WAS VERY HOT AND YOU DON’T WANT [THESE ARTIFACTS] IN SOMEPLACE REALLY HOT, SO I WANTED IT OUT OF THERE… SO THAT’S WHEN IT WENT OUT INTO A STORAGE LOCKER. AND IN THE STORAGE LOCKER… IT WAS JUST NOT CLEAN ENOUGH TO BE IN THERE… WE WERE VERY DISAPPOINTED.” HAMILTON ADDED: “WE DIDN’T HAVE ANYWHERE FOR [THE COLLECTION], AND IT’S IN PEOPLE’S GARAGES AND BASEMENTS AND LIVING ROOMS… [THE MUSEUM IS HOUSED IN] THE GALT HOSPITAL. AND A LOT OF OUR MEMBERS TRAINED HERE. SO IT’S PRETTY SPECIAL TO THEM, AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE SOMETHING HERE TO BE REMEMBERED BY… IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO US TO LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND.” THE FOLLOWING BRIEF HISTORY OF PRISONER OF WAR CAMP 133 WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM THE GALT MUSEUM BROCHURE "LETHBRDGE'S INTERNMENT CAMPS" AND THE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA WEBSITE. DURING WORLD WAR II THERE WERE 40 PRISONER OF WAR (P.O.W.) CAMPS CONSTRUCTED ACROSS CANADA TO HOUSE THE LARGE NUMBER OF INCOMING POWS - ENEMY MILITARY PERSONNEL THAT WERE CAPTURED IN COMBAT. CAMPS WERE BUILT IN ONTARIO, QUEBEC, THE MARITIMES AND ALBERTA. THE CAMPS IN LETHBRIDGE AND MEDICINE HAT WERE THE LARGEST, TOGETHER HOUSING 22,000 MEN. THE LETHBRIDGE CAMP, NO. 133, WAS BUILT IN THE SUMMER OF 1942, AND BY NOVEMBER OF THAT YEAR HOUSED 13,341 PRISONERS. THE CAMP WAS DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTIONS, EACH WITH SIX DORMITORIES, MESS HALLS, KITCHENS, AND ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES. MEALS WERE IN SHIFTS WITH PRISONERS SERVING AS COOKS. TAILOR, BARBER AND SHOE REPAIR SHOPS WERE ALSO STAFFED BY PRISONERS, AND NON-COMBAT POWS PRACTICED THEIR PRE-WAR PROFESSIONS AS MEDICAL DOCTORS AND DENTISTS. HOUSING AND RATIONS WERE THE SAME STANDARD AS FOR THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES, WHICH SOMETIMES CAUSED RESENTMENT AMONG LETHBRIDGE CIVILIAN RESIDENTS, WHO WERE UNABLE TO OBTAIN MANY OF THE SAME SUPPLIES ON THEIR STRICT WARTIME RATION ALLOWANCES. WITH MANY YOUNG LOCAL MEN AWAY AT WAR, LOCAL FARMERS BEGAN TO REQUEST LABOUR ASSISTANCE FROM THE CAMP, ESPECIALLY FOR THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY. BY 1943 AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED AND SOME OF THE PRISONERS WORKED ON FARMS THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN ALBERTA. MOST OF THESE PRISONERS WENT FROM THE CAMP TO THE FARMS DAILY, BUT SOME WERE KEPT AT 'LODGES' AT THE MORE DISTANT FARMS FOR DAYS AT A TIME, WITH MINIMAL GUARDING. FOR THEIR LABOUR, THE PRISONERS WERE PAID 50 CENTS PER DAY. WITH WAR'S END, CAMP 133 CLOSED IN DECEMBER 1946 AND ITS PRISONERS WERE SENT BACK TO GERMANY. THE AREA WHERE THE CAMP STOOD EVENTUALLY BECAME AN INDUSTRIAL PARK AND PART OF THE FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTRE. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR HARDCOPIES OF FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS AND COPIES OF PERTINENT PAGES FROM ‘WHITE CAPS AND RED ROSES’.

Catalogue Number

P20140006029

Acquisition Date

2014-03

Collection

Museum

Less detail