Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"COORS"

Date Range From

1980

Date Range To

1990

Materials

GLASS, PAPER

No. Pieces

1

Height

23

Diameter

6

Description

BROWN GLASS BOTTLE WITH SILVER AND YELLOW METAL TOP; TOP HAS FLUTED EDGES AND BLACK TEXT “TWIST OFF, COORS, OR USE OPENER”. BOTTLE NEVER OPENED; CONTENTS INTACT. BOTTLE HAS YELLOW LABEL ON FRONT WITH BLACK TEXT “COORS” WITH BLACK AND WHITE IMAGE OF A WATERFALL AND RED BANNER OVER IMAGE WITH WHITE TEXT “BEER, BANQUET, BIERE”, WHITE TEXT AT LOWER EDGE “341 ML”. LABEL SIDES GOLD WITH BLACK TEXT ON RIGHT “BREWED ACCORDING TO THE QUALITY STANDARDS OF THE ADOLPH COORS COMPANY, GOLDEN, COLORADO, U.S.A., AGED SLOWLY FOR THAT [WORD HAS HOLE IN CENTER], MOUNTAIN SMOOTHNESS AND [WORD HAS HOLE IN CENTER]”, TEXT ON LEFT “BREWED UNDER LICENCE AND SUPERVISION OF THE ADOLPH COORS COMPANY, GOLDEN, COLORADO, U.S.A., MOLSON BREWERIES OF CANADA LTD., MONTREAL, ST. JOHN’S, TORONTO, BARRIE, WINNIPEG, REGINA, EDMONTON, VANCOUVER, CANADA, UNION MADE”. BOTTLE HAS EMBOSSED TEXT IN GLASS ABOVE LABEL “COORS”. LABEL HAS TEARS AND HOLES IN SIDES; LOWER EDGE OF LABEL FRONT IS TORN WITH LOSS; BOTTLE HAS LIGHT SOILING ON FRONT; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

CONTAINER

Historical Association

INDUSTRY

History

ON DECEMBER 21, 2018, GALT MUSEUM CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT INTERVIEWED KEVIN MACLEAN REAGARDING HIS DONATION OF PERSONAL OBJECTS. ON THE BEER BOTTLE, MACLEAN RECALLED, “AS FAR AS IDENTITY GOES, WITH GOING DOWN TO WHITEFISH, AND SEEING NEON SIGNS IN BAR WINDOWS…THERE’S ALL [THE] NEON SIGNS FOR BEER. I ALWAYS LIKED THE COORS SIGN. MY NEIGHBOR, WHO DIDN’T LIKE MY MUSIC CHOICES, HE LITERALLY HAD, FROM THE U.S., BOUGHT A COORS NEON SIGN AND IT WAS IN HIS BEDROOM WINDOW IN HIS FARMHOUSE. IT WAS THE WHITE MOUNTAINS WITH THE RED COORS, AND I THOUGHT [IT] WAS COOL. THERE’S NO BEER SELECTION BACK THEN. IT WAS FORMS OF LABATT’S, MOLSON, IT WAS A BIG DEAL TO GET KOKANEE, BUT I CHOSE COORS. THAT WAS MY WAY OF EXERCISING SOME LEVEL OF DIFFERENCE.” “WHY [THE BOTTLE] GOT KEPT IS, NUMBER ONE IT HAS COORS ON IT, WHICH WAS MY BEER. [IN GRADE 11 WAS] ABOUT DRINKING AND DRIVING, WHICH IS THE YEAR THAT WE’RE PARTYING, SO THAT WOULD BE ’87. THE SPRING OF ’86, THERE’S A GRADUATION FOR THE KIDS IN GRADE 12 AND, BECAUSE IN GRADE 11 WE’RE BEING VERY SOCIAL AND WE’RE PARTYING…YOU’RE BEING INCLUDED TO GO TO A GRADE 12 [GRADUATION] EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE IN GRADE 11. THAT GRADUATION, FOR THAT YEAR, WHICH WAS 1986, WAS OUT IN IRON SPRINGS. IT WAS AT A SCHOOL, IT WAS IN THE FIELD AND EVERYBODY DROVE. THE WHOLE FIELD [WAS] JUST FULL OF VEHICLES, THAT’S ALL I REMEMBER. HAVE VAGUE MEMORIES OF BEING SICK AND AT A TREE AND SOMEBODY COMING OVER TO ASK HOW I WAS DOING AND I WASN’T DOING WELL, AND JUST THINKING, “THAT WAS REALLY NICE THAT THEY CARED ABOUT ME ENOUGH THAT THEY WOULD COME AND ASK.” WE SLEPT IN THE CAR THAT NIGHT. AT THAT TIME, I WAS LISTENING TO PINK FLOYD AND “THE WALL” AND I WAS LISTENING TO BOSTON.” “[IN] ’87, WE HAVE THE VERY FIRST SAFE GRAD. I DON’T KNOW HOW AND WHY THAT CAME TO PASS. I REMEMBER TWO NIGHTS OF PARTIES. ONE WAS AT SHANNON HYNDS’ FARM, THE OTHER WAS AT ALAN JANSAN’S FARM. THE SECOND NIGHT, AT ALAN’S, I ACTUALLY HAD VIDEO OF THAT PARTY. WE WERE ON BUSES, WE GOT BUSSED [TO THE LOCATION]. WE HAD TO, IN ADVANCE OF THE PARTY, BUY OUR ALCOHOL. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BUY OUR ALCOHOL, WHICH WAS A CASE OF COORS, IN MY CASE, AND THEN HAVE IT SOMEWHERE SO THAT WE WEREN’T ACTUALLY TAKING THE ALCOHOL ITSELF TO THE SITE. IT WAS ALREADY THERE.” “THE WAY THEY SERVED THIS – I REMEMBER AT SHANNON’S AND MAYBE ALAN’S – THAT THEY HAD GALVANIZED DRINKING TROUGHS FOR CATTLE AND HORSES. THEY FILLED THEM FULL OF ICE WATER AND THEN THAT’S WHAT THESE [BOTTLES] WERE IN. THE REASON I REMEMBER THIS IS THAT BY THE END—AND SOMEONE TRIED TO DO IT TO ME BUT THEY WEREN’T SUCCESSFUL—THEY WERE THROWING KIDS INTO THAT ICE WATER. THE UNCOOL THING IS THAT THE BOTTLES WERE BREAKING AND IT WAS FULL OF BROKEN GLASS AND PEOPLE WERE BEING THROWN IN THERE. THAT WASN’T VERY COOL. WHEN I TOOK THE BOTTLE…I’M DRINKING COORS LIGHT. I HAD MY OWN NEON SIGN, SILVER BULLET. I TAKE THE BOTTLE BECAUSE IN MY MIND, BECAUSE THIS PARTY IS ENDED AND WE HAVE TO LEAVE, DOESN’T MEAN THAT I’M INTERESTED IN STOPPING DRINKING. I TAKE THE BOTTLE TO DRINK WHEREVER I’M GOING NEXT AND THEN I DON’T END UP DRINKING IT ‘CAUSE IT’S PROBABLY FIVE IN THE MORNING. OVER TIME, IT GETS SAVED BECAUSE IT’S A REMINDER OF THIS WHOLE HIGH SCHOOL [CULTURE].” ON HIS TIME DRINKING AND PARTYING, MACLEAN ELABORATED, “MY PARENTS CERTAINLY HAD PARTIES AT THE HOUSE SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS FAMILIAR TO ME. THEY BUILT A HOUSE UP IN PICTURE BUTTE IN 1975. THEY HADN’T, INITIALLY, DEVELOPED THEIR BASEMENT. THEY DID WITHIN TWO TO THREE…THERE WERE HERITAGE ELEMENTS EITHER BY DECORATION, BY THE DESIGN OF THE INTERIOR THAT SHE INCORPORATED WHICH SPIKED MY INTEREST. THEY HAD A DANCE FLOOR DOWN THERE, OF WOOD. THE WALLS WERE MIRRORS, SO ALL THAT DISCO ERA-TYPE STUFF. THERE WAS A BAR THAT WAS BUILT, TOO. MY PARENTS WERE FRIENDS WITH AN R.C.M.P. OFFICER’S FAMILY, SO THE FAMILY IS OVER, AND THEY’RE UPSTAIRS AND I’M LITERALLY SERVING THE R.C.M.P. OFFICER’S KIDS…WHISKEY OUT OF THIS BAR. IT WASN’T THAT I HAD SOME SENSE THAT BY DRINKING THE FLUID THERE WAS IMPAIRMENT. IT WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT ADULTS DID.” “IN TERMS OF [MY FRIENDS AND I] IT HAPPENS TO BE THAT VERY TIME [WHEN] WE’RE IN THE BACK OF THAT PICKUP, AS KIDS…WHEN WE FINISH GRADE 9…THE SUMMER OF 1984. MY DAD DROPS US OFF IN THE COULEES DOWN AT THE END OF THE GRAVEL ROAD. THERE’S A BIG, DEEP COULEE DOWN THERE. WE HIKE AROUND AND THEN WE MANAGE TO COME BACK AND THERE’S SHALLOWER COULEES BY MY OWN PLACE. WE SET UP A TENT AND WE SLEEP OVERNIGHT DOWN THERE. ONE KID [WITH US] IS LES. I DON’T REMEMBER HOW OR WHY BUT HE HAD A MICKEY OF VODKA [OR GIN]. HE POUNDED IT BACK. HE DRANK THE WHOLE THING IN FRONT OF US. WE DON’T REALIZE OR UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT’S GOING TO DO EXCEPT TO KNOW THAT ALCOHOL IS SOMETHING THAT ADULTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. LATER ON THAT NIGHT HE STARTED THROWING UP [ALL OVER THE PLACE]. THE REST OF US NEVER TOUCHED IT. HE WAS THE ONLY ONE. THEN WE KNEW THAT ALCOHOL MAKES YOU SICK. “IN GRADE 10 WE LEAVE. THERE’S FIVE BOYS AND ELEVEN GIRLS [IN MY CLASS]. WE LEAVE A CATHOLIC SCHOOL AND WE GO INTO THE PUBLIC SYSTEM. WE MERGE WITH ALL THESE OTHER KIDS.” “[WE’RE] STILL IN PICTURE BUTTE…THERE’S THIRTY-FOUR PUBLIC KIDS. SOME OF THOSE KIDS WOULD BE FROM MORE DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS THAN OUR OWN. MOST OF THE KIDS THAT WERE IN MY CLASS WERE ACTUALLY FROM DUTCH FAMILIES. THERE’S A LOT OF DISTRACTION FOR ME BECAUSE OF ALL THESE OTHER KIDS, SOME OF WHOM DON’T NECESSARILY WORK AS HARD IN SCHOOL. I DON’T THINK I WAS A KID WHO EVER THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO WORK THAT HARD IN SCHOOL. I JUST WANTED TO HAVE FUN. GRADE 10, THERE’S ALSO THE GIRLS AND STUFF. BUT, THERE’S NO DRINKING AT ALL [IN GRADE 10] THAT I REMEMBER. THERE’S CERTAINLY DISTRACTIONS AS A BOY IN GRADE 10 WOULD HAVE.” “THEN IN THE SUMMER OF…1985, IN AUGUST…I DON’T REMEMBER HOW OR WHY BUT I’M WITH LES. I’VE SPENT NINE YEARS WITH HIM…IN PART, BECAUSE OF WHERE HE LIVED. MY AUNT AND UNCLE LIVED RIGHT NEXT DOOR. I REMEMBER BEING IN THE VEHICLE WITH HIM, AND THE VEHICLE BELONGED TO A [GIRL] NAMED CAROLINE OHLGART. SHE WAS DRIVING AND IT WAS A MUSTANG. SHE WAS THE ONE WHO WAS DRIVING AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER [GIRL], MELINDA. I THINK THERE [WERE] THREE BOYS AND TWO GIRLS IN THIS CAR. IT’S THE END OF THE SUMMER AND WE’RE IN SHAUGHNESSY. SOMEHOW THEY GET THIS GUY WHO SOMEBODY KNOWS…AND THEY GET OFF-SALES FROM THE SHAUGHNESSY BAR...WE GET A CASE OF BEER AND THAT’S REALLY THE FIRST TIME [I DRINK]. IT WASN’T EVEN SO MUCH THAT WE WERE DRINKING AS THE FACT THAT I WAS WITH THESE OTHER GIRLS AND GUYS. IT JUST FELT LIKE A VERY EXCITING THING TO DO. IT TURNED OUT, AS AN EXPERIENCE GOES, TO BE A REALLY GOOD EXPERIENCE. THAT SET THE STAGE, RIGHT OFF THE BAT, FOR GRADE 11, WHICH WAS PARTYING.” “IN GRADE 11, INITIALLY [LES IS] STILL A FRIEND. I’M HANGING OUT WITH HIM BUT I’M ALSO HANGING OUT WITH EVERYBODY. IT DIDN’T MATTER WHO THEY WERE, I COULD HANG OUT WITH ANYBODY. BUT, I’M NOTING THAT, FOR VARIOUS REASONS, HE AND ANOTHER GUY…[WERE] GOING DOWN A PARTICULAR ROAD AND, IF I EXERCISE SOME CRITICAL JUDGMENT AT [THE] TIME, IT WAS THAT, ‘OKAY, I SHOULD NOT CONTINUE ON THIS PATH’. IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT I CAN’T BE FRIENDS WITH THESE PEOPLE BUT IN TERMS OF MY IMMEDIATE SOCIAL CIRCLE, THAT MIGHT NOT BE A WAY TO GO. THEN I ELECTED…TO BE HANGING OUT MORE WITH [OTHERS]. THEY’RE MORE [INTO] SPORTS. THEY’RE DOING BASKETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL WHICH I NEVER DID ‘CAUSE I COULD NEVER PLAY ANYTHING. THEY’RE ALSO RELATIVELY STRONG ACADEMICALLY. THEY’RE GOOD KIDS FROM GOOD BACKGROUNDS. [THAT] DOESN’T MEAN THAT THEY’RE NOT PARTYING BECAUSE THEY’RE OUT PROBABLY EQUALLY EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND. BUT, THAT PARTYING WOULD INVOLVE BEER AS OPPOSED TO HASH OIL AND WEED WHICH WOULD BE MORE WHAT THE KIDS THAT THINGS DON’T NECESSARILY END UP WELL FOR [DID], LOOKING BACK.” “WE’RE OUT EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND AND, UNLIKE BEING IN LETHBRIDGE WHERE HOUSE PARTIES MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE ACCESSIBLE AND CLOSE…[OUR] HOUSE PARTIES ARE MILES AWAY. YOU WOULD HAVE TO GET THERE AND GET BACK. I REMEMBER, CERTAINLY IN GRADE 11 IN THE FALL, I DON’T HAVE MY DRIVER’S LICENSE ‘CAUSE THAT’S 1985. [I WAS] THINKING AT THE TIME THAT, AS LONG AS I WASN’T THE ONE DRIVING, THEN IT WAS OKAY AND [I WASN’T] NECESSARILY KNOWING WHAT THE STATE [WAS] OF THE INDIVIDUAL THAT WAS DRIVING.” “IT WOULD BE ALSO AT THIS TIME THAT THE WHOLE DRINKING AND DRIVING THING WAS GOING DOWN BECAUSE, POTENTIALLY, THREE YEARS PREVIOUS IT WAS NOT, CULTURALLY, AS BIG OF A DEAL. BUT, BY 1985, IT’S A BIG DEAL. IT’S STARTING TO REALLY KICK IN…OVER THE YEARS, YOU’VE WITNESSED IT, THAT THERE’S PEOPLE THAT WILL DRINK AND DRIVE, PEOPLE THAT YOU KNOW.” “IN TERMS OF PARTYING, I KNOW THAT IN GRADE 10, I WASN’T PAYING ATTENTION. I WAS KEEPING UP WITH MY FRIENDS BUT I WASN’T PUTTING ANY EXTRA WORK INTO [SCHOOL]…I WAS MORE ABOUT [THE] SOCIAL [ASPECTS]. THEN, IN GRADE 11, IT BECAME PARTYING EVERY WEEKEND. BY GRADE 12, I WAS [THINKING], ‘OH, YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS IS ALL GOING TO COME TO AN END IN FAIRLY SHORT ORDER SO I BETTER START WORKING A LITTLE BIT HARDER.’ I REMEMBER THE WHOLE PARTY THING AS BEING A LITTLE BIT LESS. NOT TO SAY THAT IT WASN’T STILL GOING ON BUT I KNEW THAT I HAD TO WORK HARDER IN SCHOOL. IN GRADE 12, THOUGH, THESE KIDS ARE GETTING TO BE OLDER…THEY ARE ABLE TO START TO DRIVE BECAUSE THEY HAVE DRIVER’S LICENSES TO DRIVE INTO LETHBRIDGE AND ACTUALLY GET ADMITTED TO BARS. THEY WOULDN’T EVEN WANT ME TO BE WITH THEM BECAUSE IF THEY WANTED TO GO TO A SPECIFIC BAR, WHICH, IF IT WAS A REALLY COOL BAR, AND I WAS WITH THEM, AND I COULDN’T GET IN, THEN THEY COULDN’T GO.” “IN ALL HONESTY…MY RELATIONSHIPS WITH [MY CLASSMATES] MEANT SOMETHING AND THAT CLASS OF FIFTY KIDS. I GENERALLY, OVER ALL AT THE TIME, ENJOYED THEIR COMPANY. THEY WERE FRIENDS. WHEN I CAME INTO LETHBRIDGE, FOR SOME YEARS—YOU COULD ALMOST SAY IT WAS NOT TILL UNIVERSITY—BUT THERE WOULD BE A FEW YEARS THAT I WOULD HAVE VERY WARM FEELINGS WHERE TODAY I DON’T LOOK BACK UPON IT AS THIS ‘BEST TIME OF MY LIFE’.” “BECAUSE I DIDN’T GO TO HIGH SCHOOL THE CITY…THE CLASSES ARE A LOT SMALLER [IN PICTURE BUTTE]. BY THE TIME I GRADUATE IN JUNIOR HIGH, THERE’S ONLY SIXTEEN OF US. WHEN I GRADUATE [FROM] HIGH SCHOOL, THERE’S ONLY FIFTY. I THINK [THE LCI GRADUATING CLASS AT THE TIME] WAS THREE HUNDRED KIDS. IT WAS HUGE. WHERE YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ALL THE KIDS. I GUESS THERE’S MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR POCKETS OF KIDS WHO WANT TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES MORE STRONGLY. TO HAVE OTHER KIDS WHO FEEL THE SAME WAY. TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER. BUT THERE, OUT IN PICTURE BUTTE, I WOULDN’T SAY IT’S THE CASE AT ALL. MAYBE IT’S MY NOT WANTING TO STAND OUT AND DRAW ATTENTION TO MYSELF…IT WAS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT I FIT IN WHICH [DRINKING] WAS PART OF, TOO. IT WASN’T THAT I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS BUT I HAVE TO DO THIS, BECAUSE I WAS HAPPY TO DO THIS, ‘CAUSE I LIKE THE SOCIAL PART OF IT. THAT WAS ALSO PART AND PARCEL BECAUSE THEN THAT PUT YOU INTO ANOTHER GROUP IN TERMS OF ACCEPTABILITY. IN FACT KIDS THAT WOULD BE OLDER THAN YOU BY A YEAR OR TWO YEARS WOULD GIVE YOU ACCESS TO THOSE KIDS, TOO, ‘CAUSE THEN YOU WERE SHARING EXPERIENCES WITH THEM ON THE WEEKEND, CREATING CONNECTIONS WITH THEM.” MACLEAN NOTED HIS REASONS FOR SAVING AND DONATING THE BOTTLE, “I THINK I’VE SAVED THIS [BOTTLE] IN PART BECAUSE EITHER I THINK THAT IT’S HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT. I THINK SAFE GRADS AND DRINKING AND DRIVING [ARE] IMPORTANT.” “OVER TIME, [I THOUGHT] ‘YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT WAS FROM THE VERY FIRST SAFE GRAD OUT IN PICTURE BUTTE.’ IT MIGHT BE THE CASE ‘CAUSE WHEN [MY WIFE] GRADUATED, SHE HAD A SAFE GRAD AT LCI AND THAT COULD HAVE BEEN THE SAME YEAR…WEREN’T OUT [OF CLASSES] YET. [GRADUATION WOULD BE] IN JUNE AND I THINK WE WERE STILL IN CLASSES AFTER THAT.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD, BRANDON SUN, MEDICINE HAT NEWS, AND THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20180029001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20180029007

Acquisition Date

2018-12

Collection

Museum

Less detail