Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1927

Date Range To

1950

Materials

FELT, COTTON

No. Pieces

1

Length

22.6

Width

19

Description

BLACK FELT PATCH WITH RED HORSESHOE AT TOP, GOLD BISON HED IN CENTER, AND GOLD BANNER AT BASE; WHITE TEXT ON HORSESHOE READS “CALGARY”, GOLD TEXT BELOW BISON READS “GINGER ALE”, RED TEXT ON BANNER READS “LETHBRIDGE HOTEL” AND BLACK TEXT ON BANNER READS “LETHBRIDGE”. BACK OF PATCH HAS WHITE BACKING THAT IS DETACHING; BACKING EXTERIOR IS STAINED WITH BLACK MARKER AND BACKING INTERIOR IS STAINED FROM ADHESIVE. OVERALL GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

ADVERTISING MEDIUM

Historical Association

BUSINESS

COMMEMORATIVE

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 PATCH, ALLEN RECALLED, “THIS IS THE CREST FOR THE LETHBRIDGE HOTEL. MY UNCLE TED [TED FISK] WHEN HE WAS YOUNG…WORKED FOR THE LETHBRIDGE HOTEL, AND HIS JOB WAS [HE DID ALL SORTS OF ODD-JOBS] TO GO WITH A CART AND A HORSE, OR LATER AN AUTOMOBILE, TO THE STATION TO PICK UP ARRIVING GUESTS, TAKE THEM FROM THERE WITH THEIR BAGS OVER TO THE HOTEL, GET THEM IN THERE, TAKE THEIR BAGS UP TO THE HOTEL. “ “THE STREETCARS CAME ALONG BY GALT GARDENS, SO [THE HOTEL] WAS DIRECTLY TO THE SOUTH OF GALT GARDENS…[IT WAS THE] GARDEN HOTEL.” “HE WAS A ROOM CLERK, UNTIL HE RETIRED. IN THOSE DAYS, HE WORKED 7 DAYS A WEEK, NO TIME OFF AT ALL, AND HE WORKED A 12 HOUR SHIFT. THEY LIVED IN NORTH LETHBRIDGE, SO THEY WALKED ACROSS THAT BRIDGE THAT WENT ACROSS THE TRACKS. HE WOULD HAVE TO DO THAT AT NIGHT BECAUSE, UNLESS HE WAS ON DAY SHIFT.” “I JUST KNOW THAT TED HAD IT, AND IT WAS GIVEN TO ME.” JOANNE ALLEN ADDED, “HE STARTED [AT THE HOTEL], AND THEN WORKED THERE UNTIL HE RETIRED IN HIS ‘60S.” 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.” ACCORDING TO LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, THE GARDEN HOTEL, WHERE EDWARD FISK WORKED AS A CLERK, WAS CONVERTED FROM A CHINA SHOP AND APARTMENTS INTO A HOTEL IN 1925. AL FREED (THE GARDEN HOTEL MANAGER) AND THE KIRKHAM BROTHERS (THOMAS S. AND J.S. KIRKHAM) FORMED THE GARDEN HOTEL COMPANY IN 1927 AND REMAINED THE OWNERS OF THE HOTEL UNTIL 1956. MRS. J.S. KIRKHAM, THEN PRESIDENT OF THE GARDEN HOTEL COMPANY, SOLD THE HOTEL IN 1956 TO A BOARD OF FOUR HOTELLIERS FROM ACROSS ALBERTA, WITH MORRIE MILNER AS MANAGER AND BOARD MEMBER. A LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE FROM MAY 17, 1927 NOTED THAT RENOVATIONS IN THE GARDEN HOTEL WERE COMPLETED TO INCLUDE A BEER PARLOR FOR GUESTS. ACCORDING TO A JANUARY 29, 1926 LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE, THE CALGARY BREWING AND MALTING COMPANY PURCHASED THE LETHBRIDGE HOTEL IN 1926. CALGARY BREWING MAINTAINED OWNERSHIP OF THE LETHBRIDGE HOTEL UNTIL 1964 WHEN THE HOTEL WAS SOLD TO SAM AND RICHARD SCHULTZ AND OSCAR SABASCH. THE SCHULTZ BROTHERS AND SABASCH OPERATED THE LETHBRIDGE HOTEL UNDER THE SOUTHERN ALBERTA HOTEL COMPANY LIMITED, AS NOTED IN A LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE FROM 1964 DOCUMENTING THE SALE. ALBERTA BREWERIES BECAME INVOLVED IN PURCHASING AND MANAGING HOTELS UNTIL 1957, WHEN THE ALBERTA PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT PASSED A LAW THAT HOTELS COULD NOT BE OWNED BY BREWERIES. BREWERIES HAD TEN YEARS TO SELL THEIR EXISTING HOTELS AND WERE UNABLE TO PURCHASE NEW HOTELS, ACCORDING TO THE MOLSON BREWERIES, WESTERN DIVISION FONDS HELD BY THE GLENBOW MUSEUM (HTTPS://WWW.GLENBOW.ORG/COLLECTIONS/SEARCH/FINDINGAIDS/ARCHHTM/MOLSON.CFM). FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20170023001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20170023004

Acquisition Date

2017-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail