Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"BLANCH COULTER" I.O.D.E.

Date Range To

1961

Materials

BRASS, GOLD

No. Pieces

1

Length

8

Width

2.7

Description

GOLD CIRCULAR MEDAL WITH THREE BARS ATTACHED BY GOLD CHAINS. TOP BAR IS GOLD WITH RED AND BLUE BACKGROUND SPLIT IN THE CENTER, WITH GOLD TEXT “1939”, TOP BAR IS ATTACHED TO THE SECOND WITH GOLD CHAINS AT BOTTOM; SECOND BAR IS GOLD WITH BLUE STAMPED TEXT “PROVINCIAL LIFE MEMBER” AND IS ATTACHED TO THIRD BAR WITH GOLD CHAINS AT BOTTOM; THIRD BAR IS GOLD WITH BLUE STAMPED TEXT “MUNICIPAL LIFE MEMBER” AND IS ATTACHED TO THE MEDAL WITH CHAINS AT BOTTOM. MEDAL IS GOLD WITH WHITE AND BLUE SHIELD PAINTED ON FRONT DEPICTING A BLUE AND GOLD CROWN OVER WHITE STAR ON BLUE BACKGROUND, WITH WHITE RING AROUND EDGE, AND RED AND BLUE UNITED KINGDOM FLAG IN CENTER. FLAG, STAR, AND RING AROUND EDGE ARE BORDERED WITH GOLD; RING AROUND EDGE HAS STAMPED GOLD TEXT “IMPERIAL ORDER DAUGHTERS OF THE EMPIRE”. BACK OF SECOND BAR HAS ENGRAVED TEXT “BLANCH G COULTER, JULY 1961”; BACK OF MEDALLION HAS EMBOSSED TEXT “BIRKE-ELLIS REG.”. BACK OF TOP BAR HAS GOLD PIN-CLASP FOR WEARING. FRONT OF TOP BAR HAS MINOR WEARING AND FADING; BACK OF PIN HAS TARNISHING ON BARS WHERE CHAINS ATTACH; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

ASSOCIATIONS

COMMEMORATIVE

History

IN AN EMAIL TO COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN, DONOR BRETT CLIFTON NOTED HIS PREVIOUS CONTACT WITH THE NATIONAL OFFICE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER DAUGHTERS OF THE EMPIRE. BRETT CLIFTON STATED THAT HIS CONTACT NOTED THAT BLANCHE COULTER WAS A MEMBER OF THE GALT [LETHBRIDGE] CHAPTER OF THE I.O.D.E. IN OCTOBER 2019, COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT KIRSTAN SCHAMUHN CONTACTED THE NATIONAL OFFICE OF THE I.O.D.E. TO REQUEST FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT BLANCHE COULTER'S I.O.D.E. MEMBERSHIP. THE NATIONAL OFFICE REFERRED SCHAMUHN TO MEMBERS OF THE ALBERTA I.O.D.E. OFFICE, THE I.O.D.E. NATIONAL ARCHIVIST, AND PAST MEMBERS OF LETHBRIDGE CHAPTERS OF THE I.O.D.E., WHO WERE UNABLE TO PROVIDE CONFIRMATION OF COULTER'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE GALT [LETHBRIDGE] CHAPTER. ON MARCH 28, 2019, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED CAROL AND BRETT CLIFTON REGARDING THEIR DONATION OF VARIOUS LETHBRIDGE AND MILITARY MEMORABILIA. THE OBJECTS WERE COLLECTED BY CAROL’S LATE HUSBAND, CHRIS CLIFTON, AND DONATED IN HIS MEMORY. ON CHRIS CLIFTON’S ACQUISITIONS OF THE OBJECTS, CAROL CLIFTON NOTED, “[CHRIS SEARCHED ON] AUCTION WEB…HE WAS A VERY EARLY USER. THESE THINGS COST MONEY. CHRIS AND I WERE ALWAYS LIKE, ‘OH WELL, ONE DAY WE’LL DONATE THEM AND IT’LL BE OUR GIFT TO CHARITY...’” “MUCH OF THE REST [OF THE COLLECTION] WAS FOUND BY CHRIS ON EBAY…IT COULD BE THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT [AND CHRIS WOULD SAY], ‘HEY, BRETT, GUESS WHAT’S ON EBAY?’” “HE DIDN’T THINK TWICE. IF [AN ITEM] WAS THERE AND HE COULD AFFORD IT, HE GOT IT...IT WAS LIKE HE FELT LIKE HE WAS SAVING IT. I SUPPOSE, AS A MUSEUM, YOU CAN’T NECESSARILY JUST BUY WITH THAT ABANDON BECAUSE YOU HAVE PEOPLE YOU HAVE TO ANSWER TO. WELL, HE DIDN’T HAVE TO ANSWER TO ANYONE...IF HE FELT IT BELONGED IN LETHBRIDGE HE BOUGHT IT...[HE WAS] BRINGING IT HOME.” ON THEIR MOTIVES FOR DONATING THE COLLECTIONS, CAROL CLIFTON NOTED, “THE FIRST REASON THAT WE DECIDED TO DONATE AT THIS TIME…IS THAT WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A NICE WAY TO HONOUR [CHRIS] TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COLLECTION ALWAYS STAYED IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND THAT IT’S AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR INTERESTS. [THE DONATION] WOULD BE SOMETHING IN HIS MEMORY THAT WOULD KEEP HIS MEMORY ALIVE.” ON HER HUSBAND’S INTEREST IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA HISTORY, CAROL CLIFTON ELABORATED, “CHRIS PASSED AWAY…[HE] REALLY MADE US INTERESTED IN HISTORY. FOR HIM IT WAS ALL ABOUT LOCAL HISTORY, SO ANYTHING THAT HE COLLECTED HAD A LETHBRIDGE OR SOUTHERN ALBERTA CONNECTION OR HE DIDN’T COLLECT IT. HE LIKED TO RESEARCH THEM.” “[CHRIS] WAS VERY PROUD TO HAVE BEEN RAISED MORMON FROM A MORMON FAMILY THAT HAD DEEP PIONEER ROOTS INTO UTAH, AND WERE ORIGINALS TO UTAH AND ORIGINALS TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA. ALONG WITH THAT MORMONS…REALLY ENCOURAGE HISTORY IN TERMS OF COLLECTING THEIR ARTIFACTS OR RELIGIOUS ARTIFACTS, AND GENEALOGY. [CHRIS DID] ALL OF HIS OWN GENEALOGY AND HE WOULD DO GENEALOGY FOR ANYONE HE KNEW. WE JUST LITERALLY HAVE REAMS OF PERSONAL HISTORY AND GENEALOGY IN THAT FORM. IT GREW FROM THERE. [CHRIS] WAS A COLLECTOR AT HEART, HE BEGAN COIN COLLECTING AND DID A LOT OF WORK FOUNDING A NUMISMATICS SOCIETY IN TOWN AND BELONGED TO SEVERAL, AND DISPLAYED ON A NATIONAL LEVEL.” “IN TERMS OF THE MILITARY ITEMS, I WOULD SAY [HIS INTEREST BEGAN] WITH HIS DAD BEING FROM THE CALGARY TANK REGIMENT IN DIEPPE AND A PRISONER OF WAR. HIS DAD’S MOTHER HAD SAVED A BUNCH OF ITEMS AND BEFORE CHRIS’ DAD PASSED AWAY, HE GAVE EVERYTHING TO CHRIS…THAT KIND OF FOSTERED [HIS INTEREST IN MILITARY COLLECTIONS] AND THEN IT JUST GREW INTO INTERESTING LOCAL THINGS.” “CHRIS LOVED SOUTHERN ALBERTA, AND NO MATTER WHAT, HE NEVER WOULD HAVE LEFT SOUTHERN ALBERTA. HE LOVED TO TRAVEL BUT HE NEVER WOULD HAVE MOVED. HE LIVED IN MAGRATH AND LETHBRIDGE HIS WHOLE LIFE AND HAD NO INTEREST IN ANY OTHER PLACE BUT HERE.” ON CHRIS’ RESEARCH EFFORTS, CAROL CLIFTON RECALLED, “CHRIS WAS METICULOUS. ANYTHING CHRIS DID, HE DID IT TEN TIMES MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE WOULD. HE WOULD NOT GIVE UP…WHEN [HIS SON] BRETT DID THE CENOTAPH WORK, CHRIS WOULD HELP HIM IDENTIFY [THE NAMES] AND IT WOULD BE A DEAD END AFTER ANOTHER DEAD END, AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNEW WAS CHRIS HAD FOUND A RELATIVE IN ENGLAND WHO WAS A GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER’S NEIGHBOR. HE WOULD LITERALLY SPEND YEARS RESEARCHING ONE THING. IT WAS JUST HIS PERSONALITY AND HIS LEVEL OF INTEREST AND HE DIDN’T STOP THERE, HE WOULD DO IT FOR ANYONE…HE WAS A VERY GIVING PERSON AND HE WAS SO FANTASTICALLY GOOD AT THAT TYPE OF RESEARCH.” “[CHRIS] AND BRETT TOGETHER WOULD DO [THE RESEARCH] AND I WOULD DO IT OUT OF INTEREST…I DON’T KNOW OF ANYONE WHO DID IT TO THE LEVEL HE DID. HE WOULD BE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FOLLOWING A LEAD IN EUROPE ON SOMEONE HE DIDN’T KNOW FOR SOMEONE HE BARELY KNEW…[CHRIS WAS] TOTALLY SELF-TAUGHT…OF COURSE WITH THE INTERNET IT BECAME MUCH EASIER FOR EVERYONE TO [SEARCH]. THE GENEALOGY HE DID BEFORE WAS PRE-INTERNET SO THAT INVOLVED A LOT OF ARCHIVAL THINGS…HE BEGAN RESEARCH WORK VERY EARLY IN THE INTERNET AND WE GOT OUR FIRST COMPUTER IN 1995, AND HE PRETTY MUCH DID RESEARCH FROM THEN ON. HE WAS INTERESTING IN THAT NO MATTER WHAT RESEARCH HE DID HE DIDN’T WANT CREDIT FOR IT. HE DIDN’T WANT TO BELONG TO THINGS…IN ADDITION, HE DIDN’T LIKE TO DO THE WRITING, ALTHOUGH HE COULD WRITE, BUT HE WAS THE BEST PROOF READER BECAUSE HE WAS SO METICULOUS, AND HE WOULD PROOF READ FOR ANYONE. [IF] SOMEBODY WROTE AN ARTICLE HE WOULD BE A PROOF READER OR A FACT CHECKER. IT WAS JUST HIS NATURE…[HE WAS] STUBBORN, AND COMPETITIVE, AND INTERESTED, AND METICULOUS, AND IF HE DID IT IT’S CORRECT. IF THERE’S A MISTAKE IN IT HE SURE DIDN’T KNOW IT. HE WOULD HAVE NEVER PUT ANYTHING DOWN HE WASN’T PRETTY DARN SURE OF.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20190007001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190007002

Acquisition Date

2019-03

Collection

Museum

Less detail