Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

RAGDOLL

Date Range From

1970

Date Range To

1980

Materials

WOOL, COTTON

No. Pieces

4

Length

42

Width

26

Description

A. RAGDOLL KNIT WITH WHITE, YELLOW, GREEN, RED, AND BLACK YARN. BODY IS WHITE WITH YELLOW UNDERWEAR, GREEN AND WHITE STOCKINGS, AND RED AND BLACK SHOES. DOLL HAS BRIGHT ORANGE HAIR MADE FROM YARN; FACE IS HAND-STITCHED WITH WHITE AND BLACK EYES, RED TRIANGULAR NOSE, AND RED FROWNING MOUTH. DOLL HAS RED YARN TIED AROUND HANDS. WHITE TAG ON BACK READS, IN BLACK, “HAND KNIT BY RESIDENTS OF FORESTER HAVEN”. DOLL SHOWS LITTLE SIGNS OF WEAR; OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION. B. NECK-SCARF TIED TO DOLL; (33CM WIDE X 15CM LONG); RED COTTON TRIANGULAR NECK-SCARF WITH SCALLOPED EDGES. SCARF IS HEAVILY CREASED FROM BEING TIED ON THE DOLL; EDGES ARE FRAYED; OVERALL CONDITION IS VERY GOOD. C. GREEN AND WHITE DOTTED OVERALLS, WORN BY RAGDOLL. OVERALLS HAVE WHITE SCALLOPED TRIM AROUND ANKLES AND BIB; OVERALLS ARE SECURED WITH TWO WHITE PLASTIC AND METAL BUTTON-SNAPS. FRONT OF OVERALLS HAS FELT LETTERS “IOF” SEWN ON. OVERALLS SHOW LITTLE SIGNS OF WEAR; OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION. D. HAT FOR RAGOLL; STYLE OF A BASEBALL CAP WITH GREEN AND WHITE DOTTED BRIM. CAP IS FORMED BY THREE TRIANGULAR GREEN AND WHITE DOTTED PATCHES AND THREE SOLID WHITE PATCHES WITH WHITE PLASTIC BUTTON SEWN ONTO TOP. CAP HAS GREEN THREAD STITCHED AROUND BASE EDGE AND SECURING BRIM. CAP SHOWS LITTLE SIGN OF WEAR; OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

TOY

Historical Association

ASSOCIATIONS

History

ON AUGUST 21, 2018, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN INTERVIEWED LLOYD CAREFOOT REGARDING HIS DONATION OF MEMORABILIA RELATED TO COURT WINDY WEST (#562) LETHBRIDGE CHAPTER OF THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF FORESTERS. CAREFOOT WAS ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH THE FORESTERS WHILE HE LIVED IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA, AND CONTINUED HIS INVOLVEMENT FOLLOWING HIS MOVE TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1963. ON THE PURPOSE OF THE RAGDOLL, CAREFOOT NOTED, “THESE DOLLS…WERE PART OF WHAT WE USED FOR…THE PREVENTION OF CHILD ABUSE…THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE USED IN ADVERTISING…OCCASIONALLY, WHEN THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON IN THE CITY, WE’D RENT A SPACE AND HAVE A BOOTH AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE’D PROJECT.” “WE DIDN’T MAKE AND SELL THEM. IT WAS JUST A DEMONSTRATION OF CHILDREN, CAUGHT PEOPLE’S EYE.” “THIS TOOK PLACE [IN] CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF FORESTERS WAS BIG IN THE UNITED STATES AS WELL AND IT GREW OVER TO ENGLAND…WE WOULD HAVE ACTIVITIES WHERE WE COULD MAKE SOME MONEY AND WE’D DONATE IT TO THE GROUPS THAT WERE [PREVENTING] CHILD ABUSE…WE WOULD HAVE A PRINCESS IN THE VARIOUS COMMUNITIES CLOSE AROUND AND THEY WOULD SELL TICKETS FOR VARIOUS THINGS SO THAT WE WOULD ACCUMULATE THE MONEY…WE WOULD THEN DONATE [THE MONEY] ON BEHALF OF [THE BUYERS] TO [THE] PREVENTION OF CHILD ABUSE.” “TODAY, IT HAS SORT OF FLOATED DOWN TO WHERE IT’S HARDLY NEGLIGIBLE ANYMORE BECAUSE OTHER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WERE PROBABLY DOING BETTER THAN WE WERE.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS TIME SPENT IN THE FORESTERS, CAREFOOT RECALLED, “WE [WIFE RUTH AND LLOYD] WERE INVITED TO [AN] ACTIVITY. [IN THOSE] DAYS THERE [WERE] SOCIAL PARTIES…SOMEBODY THAT I KNEW INVITED ME TO COME AND I HEARD WHAT THEY WERE DOING. IT WAS SOMETHING THAT RUTH AND I THOUGHT…WOULD BE SOMETHING WE’D LIKE TO BE INVOLVED IN…MY FATHER WAS A MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN ORDER OF FORESTERS WHICH WAS A STAGE BEFORE THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF FORESTERS.” “I BECAME A MEMBER IN EDMONTON… I WAS ONLY AS ASSOCIATE AT THAT TIME. WHEN WE MOVED DOWN HERE, WE BECAME MEMBERS HERE…MY FIRST WORKDAY WAS THE SECOND OF JANUARY, 1963 [IN LETHBRIDGE]. I WAS A FULL-BLOWN MEMBER IN 1966.” “[I JOINED BECAUSE OF] THE SATISFACTION THAT IT’S A STRONG CHARITABLE WAY OF DOING THINGS TO GIVE BACK. THAT’S PART OF MY PHILOSOPHY; JUST GIVE A LITTLE BACK FOR THE GOOD LIFE I’VE HAD.” “I WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE LEAGUE…OF [THE] LETHBRIDGE CHAPTER. AND [I] WOUND UP WITH [THE TRUNK] AND IN IT [WERE] THESE THINGS. IT PRE-DATES ME.” “MOST OF THOSE THINGS WERE FOR MY PERSONAL USE…EITHER IN EVENTS OR A POSITION I HELD IN THE FORESTERS. I LOOK AT [THE OBJECTS] AND I SMILE.” REGARDING HIS DONATION, CAREFOOT ELABPRATED, “THE FORESTERS IN THE COMMUNITY DID A LOT OF CHARITY WORK AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A WAY OF COVERING FOR THE FUTURE [ABOUT] THE THINGS THAT WE DID, OR STILL DO. THAT WAS, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, MY REASON FOR [DONATING IT] – A WAY OF PASSING IT ALONG SO IT JUST DIDN’T GET SHOVED IN THE JUNK…TO SOMEBODY IN THE FUTURE, IT INDICATES SOMETHING OF WHAT WE DID AND SOME ILLUSTRATION OF THINGS THAT WE DID. FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20120045001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20120045001

Acquisition Date

2012-12

Collection

Museum

Less detail