Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1943

Date Range To

1973

Materials

SHEET METAL, GLASS, CARDBOARD

No. Pieces

2

Height

13.7

Length

5.4

Width

1.8

Description

A: THERMOMETER. THE THERMOMETER'S CASING IS METAL. THERE IS A COVER ON THE THERMOMTER THAT HAS 17 HOLES PUNCHED OUT OF THE FRONT (7 ROWS ALTERNATING BETWEEN 3 AND 2 HOLES PER ROW). THERE IS A SHORT BACK TO THE COVER. THE COVER IS ATTACHED TO THE THERMOMETER WITH 2 SMALL NAILS ON EITHER SIDE. THE THERMOMETER GLIDES OUT OF THE COVER AND HINGES BACK TO STAND (SUPPORTED BY BACK OF CASE AND THE 2 NAILS). THE BACKGROUND OF THE THERMOMETER IS WHITE AND IS ATTACHED TO THE METAL CASE. “US PAT 2329685” IS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE THERMOMETER. ON THE LEFT SIDE TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS FROM 1 TO 6 ARE ETCHED. THE NUMBERS ARE DIVIDED INTO INCREMENTS OF FOUR. ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE THERMOMETER THERE ARE “00” ACROSS FROM EACH NUMBER ON THE LEFT. THE THERMOMETER’S GLASS IS TINTED YELLOW WITH A TRANSLUCENT CENTER. THIS TUBE IS 12.4CM IN LENGTH. TWO SMALL METAL RINGS HOLD THE GLASS THERMOMETER TO THE MEASUREMENT BACKING. THERE IS A SMALL METAL HOOK AT THE TOP OF THE THERMOMETER. ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE THERMOMETER IN ITS CLOSED POSITION, "D. CARSE" IS HANDWRITTEN IN BLACK INK. GOOD CONDITION. RUSTING/STAINING OVERALL SURFACE. LOSS OF WHITE BACKING BEHIND THE THERMOMETER (SEVERE ON THE UPPER LEFT CORNER AND SLIGHT ON THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER). B: CARDBOARD CASE WITH OVERALL DIMENSIONS OF 13.9 CM X 6 CM X 2 CM. CARDBOARD BOX WITH GREEN LABEL ON FRONT. THE LABEL SAYS “RUXCO” “NO-600-MO-10” “OVEN TEST THERMOMETER RANGE 100 TO 600°F IN 10° DIVISIONS.” GOOD CONDITION. MISSING LEFT END OF BOX. SCRATCH ON THE SURFACE OF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE LABEL. STAINING IN VARIOUS PLACES.

Subjects

FOOD PROCESSING T&E

THERMAL T&E

Historical Association

TRADES

DOMESTIC

History

IN SEPTEMBER 2016, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED IRENE MOCH ABOUT THE HISTORY OF A THERMOMETER SHE DONATED TO THE GALT MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES. THE THERMOMETER BELONGED TO HER FATHER, DAVID ROXBOROUGH CARSE, AND WAS USED BY HIM AS AN EMPLOYEE OF CANADIAN WESTERN NATURAL GAS COMPANY. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THAT INTERVIEW: “HIS JOB WAS TO GO HOUSE-TO-HOUSE ON SPECIFIED CALLS TO REPAIR AND CHECK GAS APPLIANCES AT VARIOUS HOMES. HE LOVED HIS JOB. IT WAS GREAT PASSION AND HE WOULD SHARE A LOT OF HIS EXPERIENCES AT HOME WITH US. IT BECAME A BIG PART OF OUR FAMILY LIFE. HIS FIRST PASSION WAS HIS FAMILY AND HIS SECOND PASSION WAS HIS WORK. TWENTY- EIGHT YEARS, HE WAS WITH THE GAS COMPANY. HE WOULD BRING VARIOUS LITTLE ITEMS HOME, BUT MOSTLY IT WAS JUST HIS MEMORIES AND OUR MEMORIES OF THE STORIES THAT HE TOLD… MY MOM AND DAD WILLED THEIR HOUSE TO MY HUSBAND, WHO HAD BEEN CARING FOR IT OVER THE YEARS. [THEY] LEFT ALL THEIR TREASURES AS THEY WERE [TO] US BOTH TO DO WHAT WE FELT WAS BEST WITH EVERYTHING. THEY HAVE BEEN GONE SINCE 2000, 2003. SO FINALLY, THIS MOVE HAS FORCED ME TO GO THROUGH SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE, AND THIS HAS COME UP, AND IT MEANT A LOT. WE ALWAYS HAD GAS STOVE AND GAS RADIANT HEAT AND HE WOULD ALWAYS TEST MY MOTHER’S OVEN WITH THE THERMOMETER TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. IT WAS VERY VISIBLE TO ALL OF US. IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT.” MOCH RECALLS THE THERMOMETER IN HER DAD’S WORK TOOLBOX: “… WHEREVER HE WENT, HE WOULD HAVE HIS TOOL BOX, AND THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT CAME OUT OF THE TOOL BOX. HE CARRIED IT IN HIS VEHICLE. HE DROVE TO THE HOUSES AND THE FIRST THING THAT CAME OUT OF HIS TOOL BOX WAS THAT.” IT WAS THE JOB AT CANADIAN WESTERN NATURAL GAS COMPANY THAT BROUGHT CARSE AND HIS FAMILY TO LETHBRIDGE: “HE HAD ANDREW’S HARDWARE IN FORT MACLEOD FOR I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY YEARS – QUITE A FEW – AND THEN HE WENT TO THE GAS PLANT IN BURDETT/ BOW ISLAND. AND FAMILY WAS COMING. [HE] NEEDED A STEADY JOB, [SO HE] CAME TO THE CITY [ TO] FIND A STEADY JOB. HE WAS A CERTIFIED PLUMBER AND GAS-FITTER SO HE APPLIED AT THE CANADIAN WESTERN AND NATURAL GAS… THAT WAS HIS WORLD. HE JUST BLOSSOMED. HE WAS A VERY PRIVATE PERSON, BUT HE LOVED TO BE WITH PEOPLE. THERE WAS A LOT OF COMRADERY AND HORSE-PLAY. HE WORKED BY HIMSELF. HE DIDN’T HAVE A PARTNER. AND [HE] WENT PLACE-TO-PLACE – AND IT GREW, AND GREW, AND GREW, AND GREW – 28 YEARS. AND IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON FOR OUR RESIDENCE PHONE AT HOME TO RING FROM VARIOUS PEOPLE, SAYING, ‘DON’T SEND SO-AND-SO; SEND DAVE BACK. DAVE KNOWS WHAT HE’S DONE HERE, AND THAT’S THE PERSON I WANT BACK.’ THAT WAS NOT UNCOMMON AT ALL TO HAPPEN AT OUR HOUSE. HE MADE A GOOD REPUTATION FOR HIMSELF, AND HE LOVED WHAT HE DID, AND IT SHOWED… HE BECAME A KIND OF AN IMAGE AND I THINK HE REVELED IN THAT. HE WAS KING OF HIS WORLD, REALLY. IT WAS VERY NICE.” “… THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMEBODY ON CALL," CONTINUED MOCH, "BUT, IF IT WAS A MAJOR BLIZZARD, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THEN EVERYBODY WAS PRESSED INTO SERVICE. IF IT WAS TURKEY DAY, AND EVERYBODY WANTS TO COOK A TURKEY, AND THE PILOT LIGHT OR THE OVEN DIDN’T WORK, SOMEBODY HAD TO GO. AND THAT WAS THE BIG THING WITH THE GAS COMPANY. GAS COMPANY SERVICEMEN WERE FREE OF CHARGE AND THE ONLY CHARGE WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR A THERMOCOUPLE OR A PART THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. PEOPLE WERE NOT SHY ABOUT CALLING THE GAS COMPANY TO REMEDY THEIR SITUATION. YES, THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMEONE ON CALL, AND HE HAD TO TAKE HIS TURN DOING THAT. BUT, IF THERE WAS A MASS BLIZZARD OR STORM OF SOME SORT, THEN THEY WERE ALL CALLED OUT.” MOCH EXPLAINED THE THERMOMETER WAS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO CARSE’S WORK: “MOST OF HIS CALLS WERE [BAKING RELATED]. PEOPLE ALWAYS BAKED IN THOSE DAYS – ALWAYS BAKED AND [IF], ‘THE OVEN WASN’T COOKING RIGHT,’ OR ‘IT WASN’T HOT ENOUGH,’ OR ‘HOW COME THIS FLOPPED?’ ‘WE’D BETTER CALIBRATE THE OVEN PROPERLY.’ AND SO [THEY'D CALL IN], ‘CAN DAVE COME OUT AND CHECK IT OUT AND CHECK THAT OUT FOR US?’ SO YES, THAT [THERMOMETRE] WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT HE BROUGHT OUT… MOM BAKED ALL THE TIME AS WELL, TWICE A WEEK PROBABLY. ON A REGULAR BASIS, HE WOULD JUST DOUBLE CHECK [WITH THE THERMOMETER] TO MAKE SURE THINGS WERE WORKING THE WAY THEY SHOULD. NOT NECESSARILY THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM, BUT JUST SO THAT THEY STAY THE WAY THEY SHOULD BE. HE EDUCATED US ALL ABOUT THE BLUE FLAME AND HOW THE BLUE FLAME HAD TO HAVE THE LITTLE TIP ON THE END OF THE BLUE FLAME AND THAT MEANS IT’S BURNING CLEAN. IT WAS VERY EDUCATIONAL, TOO.” “[HE] ALWAYS CAME HOME FOR LUNCH. MOM ALWAYS HAD LUNCH READY. WE HAD LUNCH IN THE LIVING ROOM WITH A SANDWICH AND HE HAD A LITTLE SNOOZE. FIVE MINUTES, AND HE WAS OUT THE DOOR. HE WAS NEVER LATE. HE WAS ALWAYS HOME, AND HE WAS NEVER LATE COMING HOME FROM WORK. HE JUST LOVED IT… HE RETIRED IN SEPTEMBER 30, ’73. SO, PROBABLY ’43, ’44 THAT HE CAME TO LETHBRIDGE TO [WORK AT THE] GAS COMPANY.” ACCORDING TO HIS OBITUARY IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD, DAVID ROXBOROUGH CARSE PASSED AWAY IN LETHBRIDGE ON 15 NOVEMBER 2000. PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, AND THERMOMETER PATENT.

Catalogue Number

P20160027000

Acquisition Date

2016-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail