Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

TOY, STUFFED

Date Range From

1940

Date Range To

1950

Materials

LEATHERETTE, LEATHER

No. Pieces

2

Height

21.5

Length

29.5

Width

5.5

Description

A: STUFFED DOG, GREEN LEATHERETTE BODY, RED LEATHERETTE EARS. RED STITCHING AROUND EDGE OF DOG’S BODY. SAME RED THREAD MAKES A SMALL TAIL. BLACK BUTTON EYES. TOY DESIGNED WITH ONLY 2 LEGS, FRONT AND BACK. B: ADJUSTABLE BLACK LEATHER COLLAR WITH SILVER COLOURED METAL BUCKLE. MINOR REPAIRS WITH OFF-WHITE THREAD VISIBLE AT TAIL AND ABOVE LEFT EYE. MINOR REPAIR WITH STAPLES ON FRONT LEFT FOOT. LEATHERETTE RUBBED OFF AT NOSE AREA AND UNDER BUTTON EYES. SEAMS WHERE LEGS MEET BODY ARE WELL-WORN AND LOOSE, SOME STUFFING IS VISIBLE, ESPECIALLY ON RIGHT FRONT LEG.

Subjects

TOY

Historical Association

LEISURE

History

THIS STUFFED DOG BELONGED TO ROBERT ALLAN SMITH (THE DONOR) AS A CHILD AND WAS SAVED FOR DONATION TO THE MUSEUM BY HIS MOTHER, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED FROM ROBERT SMITH IN AN ORAL INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY KEVIN MACLEAN ON 5 MARCH 2015. BEGINNING IN THE 1940S, THE SMITH FAMILY RESIDED AT 1254 7 AVENUE SOUTH. PHYLLIS REMAINED AT THE SAME ADDRESS UNTIL HER DEATH AT 104 YEARS OF AGE, ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2009. WHILE CLEANING UP HIS MOTHER’S HOUSE, THE DONOR CAME ACROSS SEVERAL BAGS MARKED ‘FOR MUSEUM’. THE ITEMS WERE USED COLLECTIVELY BY THE DONOR AS AN INFANT UNTIL THE AGE OF APPROXIMATELY 9 YEARS OLD. IN THE INTERVIEW, KEVIN ASKS IF ROBERT HE FELT HIS CHILDHOOD WAS IDYLLIC. ROBERT RESPONDS, SAYING: “I WAS BORN IN WARTIME STILL, AND MAYBE IT WASN’T IDYLLIC FOR MY PARENTS, BUT IT WAS FOR ME. AND THE NEIGHBOURHOODS WERE DIFFERENT THEN. YOU WERE JUST LET OUT THE DOOR AND YOU WENT OUT TO PLAY WITH THE NEIGHBOURHOOD KIDS AND THERE WERE NO CONCERNS THAT THE PARENTS HAVE TODAY. YES, A VERY HAPPY TIME, I WOULD SAY.” ROBERT WAS BORN IN OCTOBER 1940 TO PHYLLIS (NEE GROSS) AND ALLAN F. SMITH, AT ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL. PHYLLIS WAS IN HARVEY, ND AND MOVED INITIALLY WITH HER FAMILY TO A FARM IN THE GRASSY LAKE AREA. SHE MOVED INTO LETHBRIDGE AND ATTENDED ST. BASIL’S SCHOOL IN THE 1910S. ALLAN WAS BORN IN ECHO BAY, ON. HE WAS OFFERED A JOB AT WESTERN GROCERS IN LETHBRIDGE AND MET PHYLLIS WHILE IN THE CITY. THEY WERE MARRIED ON SEPTEMBER 2, 1939. ROBERT IS AN ONLY CHILD AND SUFFERED FROM RHEUMATIC FEVER AS A CHILD. HE BELIEVES THIS MAY BE PART OF THE REASON HIS MOTHER SAVED THESE ITEMS. HE EXPLAINS, SAYING: “I’M AN ONLY CHILD AND THEY WOULD BE MORE MEANINGFUL AND I WENT THROUGH A CHILDHOOD ILLNESS. I HAD RHEUMATIC FEVER. I MIGHT NOT HAVE SURVIVED. SOME OTHER KIDS DIDN’T SURVIVE, BUT I DID.” HE ALSO DESCRIBES HIS MOTHER AS BEING “A SAVER OF THINGS. HAVING GONE THROUGH THE DEPRESSION … THEY SAVED LOTS OF STUFF … ANYTHING THEY THINK THEY MIGHT USE IN THE FUTURE WAS SAVED.” PHYLLIS WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE LETHBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN THE 1970S AND WORKED AT THE GALT MUSEUM AS PART OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY”. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS AND COPIES OF LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES.

Catalogue Number

P20150013001

Acquisition Date

2015-03

Collection

Museum

Less detail