Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1940

Date Range To

1950

Materials

FELT, WOOD, PAINT

No. Pieces

1

Length

37

Width

30

Description

RED FELT BANNER WITH TOP FORMING A STITCHED LOOP FIXED TO WOODEN ROD. BANNER IS FRINGED AT THE BOTTOM AND FRONT HAS RED AND BLACK PAINTED SCENE DEPICTING FORT MACLEOD, TEEPEES, AND MOUNTAINS WITH TEXT “ORIGINAL HOME OF THE MOUNTIES, FORT MACLEOD”. BACK HAS WHITE PAPER LABEL ATTACHED WITH BLACK FADED TEXT “JUNIOR FOREST WARDENS & [ILLEGIBLE], FORT MACLEOD, ALBERTA, CANADA”. FRONT AND BACK ARE CREASED, AND FRONT HAS STAIN AT TOP BELOW ROD; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

DOCUMENTARY ARTIFACT

Historical Association

DECORATIVE ARTS

SAFETY SERVICES

History

ON JULY 21, 2017, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED GLENN AND JOANNE ALLEN REGARDING THEIR DONATION OF RCMP AND LETHBRIDGE MEMORABILIA. GLENN ALLEN WAS RAISED IN LETHBRIDGE, AND COLLECTED THE OBJECTS AS A CHILD IN LETHBRIDGE. ON THE RCMP FIGURINE, ALLEN RECALLED, “THESE TWO MOUNTED POLICE ITEMS, THE BANNER AND THE LITTLE STATUETTE…I WAS YOUNG, IN THE [HOMEFRONT] PERIOD FROM 1940-1945. LETHBRIDGE WAS A MAJOR BASE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING THING. WE HAD YOUNG BRITISH AIRMEN COME, AND THEY LIVED EVERYWHERE. THEY BOARDED WITH PEOPLE; THEY STAYED ON BASE, BUT WHEN THEY HAD A DAY OFF, IT WAS ONE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PEOPLE OF LETHBRIDGE TO TAKE THEM ON LITTLE JOURNEYS TO PLACES. I CAN REMEMBER GOING WITH THEM…TO FORT MACLEOD, AND THEN TO PINCHER CREEK, AND WE HAD PLUMS AND CHERRIES. I CAN REMEMBER MY MOTHER BRINGING THIS BAG OF FRUIT OUT, AND SAYING TO THE ONE YOUNG FELLOW, “WOULD YOU LIKE A PIECE OF FRUIT?” HE WAS SITTING IN THE FRONT SEAT, TURNED TO MY MOTHER [WHO] WAS DRIVING THE CAR, [THEN] HE TURNED TO HIS BUDDIES IN THE BACKSEAT, AND HE [SAID], “WOULD YOU LIKE A PLUM OR A CHERRY?” WE VISITED THERE, AND THOSE WERE GIFTS FROM THOSE AIRMEN TO ME, AT THAT TIME. I HAD A LITTLE MANTLE IN MY ROOM, DOWNSTAIRS IN CALGARY, AND HAD THEM THERE. WHEN WE WERE IN LETHBRIDGE, WE HAD NO SPACE AT ALL FOR ANYTHING. OUR FURNITURE HAD TO BE ALL STORED. THE ONLY POSSESSIONS OF OURS THAT WERE IN THAT HOUSE WERE OUR BEDS AND OUR DRESSERS, MAYBE A COUPLE OF CHAIRS…” “[I DISPLAYED THEM] MORE IN CALGARY, THAN LETHBRIDGE.” ALLEN ELABORATED ON HIS FAMILY’S HISTORY IN LETHBRIDGE, NOTING, “MY MOTHER’S FAMILY CAME TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1923, AND SHE WAS ABOUT 12 AT THE TIME. SHE DIDN’T GO TO SCHOOL ANY FURTHER AT THAT POINT IN TIME, AND SHE WAS HIRED ON AS A HOUSE GIRL FOR THE STOLZ FAMILY.” “MY DAD’S NAME WAS TOM, THOMAS SPENCE ALLEN, AND MY MOTHER WAS DOROTHY EMMA SCHIELS. MY DAD’S FAMILY - HIS FATHER AND, A FEW YEARS LATER MY DAD AND HIS MOTHER - CAME TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1910, AND THEY SETTLED IN NORTH LETHBRIDGE, AT 707 12A ST. NORTH. THERE WERE THREE BOYS AND ONE GIRL. THEY ALL WENT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AT GALBRAITH HIGH SCHOOL, AND MY DAD WORKED FOR THE RAILWAYS. HE STARTED AS A MESSENGER…HE WAS 15 YEARS OF AGE. HE PROGRESSED IN THE FREIGHT CPR BUSINESS, AND BECAME A FREIGHT INSPECTOR IN LETHBRIDGE, AND THEN, IN 1948, WAS TRANSFERRED TO CALGARY. MY MOTHER WAS ALWAYS A HOUSEWIFE. THEY LIVED ON 3RD AVENUE NORTH, BY THE LEALTA THEATRE. THEY HAD JUST ONE CHILD. I GREW UP [IN THAT HOUSE] UNTIL I WAS ABOUT AGE FIVE. AT THAT TIME, THE END OF THE WAR WAS COMING, AND SOLDIERS WERE RETURNING. RENTAL HOUSING BECAME ALMOST NOT AVAILABLE. ANYBODY WHO WAS RENTING AT THAT TIME, IF YOU HADN’T BEEN IN THE FORCES, YOU WERE REQUIRED BY ORDINANCE TO FIND ANOTHER PLACE. IT WAS A HOUSE WHICH WE HAD TO GIVE UP. WE’D BEEN THERE SINCE I WAS BORN. THEN WE MOVED OVER TO 12TH STREET C, THE 500 BLOCK. WE LIVED TEMPORARILY THERE, AND THEN THAT HOUSE WAS SECONDED. WE WERE ONLY THERE MAYBE 6 MONTHS, AND THEN WE MOVED INTO AN ATTIC SPACE AT 507 12TH STREET A NORTH, AND LIVED IN THE 2 ROOMS IN THE ATTIC - NO INSULATION, AND VERY COLD IN THE WINTER, AND HOT IN THE SUMMER.” “[MY FATHER] GOT A PROMOTION [IN 1948]. HE GOT A PROMOTION TO CALGARY…A BETTER JOB.” “MY MOTHER AND DAD LIVED IN LETHBRIDGE, GREW UP IN LETHBRIDGE. MY MOTHER WAS THE COLLECTOR IN THE FAMILY. WHEN I WAS MARRIED [IN 1962], ALL OF THESE THINGS SHE GAVE ME TO JUST TAKE ALONG, BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN TO ME. THEY ARE JUST LITTLE ITEMS THAT WE JUST DON’T KNOW WHETHER THEY HAVE ANY VALUE, AND RATHER THAN HAVE THEM JUST GO TO LAND FILL, WE’D LIKE YOU TO HAVE A LOOK AT THEM.” “TODAY IS OUR FIFTY-FIFTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY, AND WE’RE RETURNING TO LETHBRIDGE BECAUSE WE’VE HAD THESE THINGS IN OUR POSSESSION FOREVER, AND WE WANT TO SEE IF THEY HAVE ANY VALUE TO THE MUSEUM. THEY ARE RELICS THAT WE’VE [GATHERED] FROM PAST YEARS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20170023001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20170023002

Acquisition Date

2017-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail