Material Type

Artifact

Date

1973

Materials

NYLON, POLYESTER, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Length

83.5

Width

67

Description

RED NYLON JACKET WITH YELLOW DETACHABLE QUILTED INNER LINER WITH POLYESTER FILLING. THERE ARE SIX METAL SNAPS ON THE FRONT AND THREE DECORATIVE GOLD AND WHITE EMBROIDERED VERTICAL LINES ACROSS THE RIGHT SIDE. ON THE LEFT SIDE AT THE CHEST THERE IS AN EMBROIDERED “SAFETY AWARD HOUSE OF LETHBRIDGE 1973” IN GOLD AND WHITE WITH A STRUCTURE DESIGN BORDERING THE CENTRE. THE TAG INSIDE READS “MARV HOLLAND EDMONTON SIZE ST… ‘FIBEREFILL’”. THE TAG HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY RIPPED. THERE IS FRAYING AT THE POCKETS, INNER LINER, COLLAR, AND SLEEVES. THE WHITE FABRIC STRIP COVERING THE INNER SEAM HAS HOLES. THERE IS SOME STAINING ACROSS THE JACKET.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

BUSINESS

COMMEMORATIVE

PROFESSIONS

INDUSTRY

History

ON AUGUST 4TH, 2020 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN MET WITH IRENE SNOPEK TO DISCUSS HER LATE HUSBAND JOSEPH’S JACKET SHE DONATED TO THE MUSEUM. JOSEPH RECEIVED THE “SAFETY AWARD” JACKET WHILE WORKING FOR MOLSON’S LETHBRIDGE BREWERY FROM 1973 UNTIL 1984. MOLSON OPERATED THE BREWERY FROM 1958 UNTIL 1990, ENDING WITH THE BUILDING BEING DEMOLISHED IN 1991. ONCE KNOWN AS SICK’S BREWERY PRIOR TO MOLSON’S ACQUISITION, FRITZ SICK STARTED THE BUSINESS IN 1901 AND BREWED A LEGACY IN LETHBRIDGE. SICK’S HOUSE OF LETHBRIDGE BEER FORMULA, ALSO KNOWN AS OLD STYLE PILSNER, IS STILL BEING BREWED AND SOLD BY MOLSON-COORS TODAY. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM IRENE’S INTERVIEW. IRENE PROVIDED THE REASONING BEHIND DONATING THE JACKET TO THE MUSEUM: “…[I INITIALLY KEPT THE JACKET] FOR SENTIMENTAL REASONS AND I THOUGHT MAYBE ONE OF MY SONS WOULD WANT IT OR MY DAUGHTER BUT THEY SAID ‘…NO MAYBE YOU SHOULD DONATE IT TO THE MUSEUM… LET THE PUBLIC SEE IT AND ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO GO TO THE MUSEUM CAN SEE IT AND READ UP ON IT. IT WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.” WHEN ASKED WHAT MADE THE JACKET SPECIAL, IRENE ANSWERED: “I THINK IT’S BECAUSE HE LOVED HIS JOB AND HE WAS PROUD OF THE JACKET FOR BEING ON THE JOB…WITH SAFETY YEARS. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY SAFETY YEARS THERE WERE BUT…HE STARTED THERE IN FEBRUARY OF 1973 [UNTIL] AUGUST 1984…” IRENE SPOKE ABOUT HOW JOSEPH WORE THE JACKET FREQUENTLY: “THAT’S WHAT HE WAS WEARING…MOST OF THE TIME… IT HAD A LINER SO…WE COULD TAKE THE LINER OUT…AND THEN HE COULD WEAR IT IN THE SUMMER AS WELL OR DAYS WHEN IT WAS COOLER…” IRENE CONTINUED: “…HE DID WEAR IT A LOT AND HE WAS PROUD OF IT, HE WOULD TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT… I DID GIVE AWAY ALL HIS OTHER CLOTHES. I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING LEFT OF HIS ANYMORE… [THE JACKET] WAS THE LAST THING THAT WENT.” THE JACKET EMBROIDERY READS “SAFETY AWARD”, AND WHEN ASKED HOW JOSEPH CONTRIBUTED TO SUCH AN AWARD, IRENE RESPONDED: “…HE DIDN’T HAVE ANY ACCIDENTS ON THE JOB OF ANY KIND. HE JUST PERFORMED WELL AND SAFE, IT WAS JUST A SAFE JOB THAT HE DID. HE WAS VERY SAFE.” IRENE CONTINUED: “HE WAS JUST A VERY TRUSTFUL PERSON, HE MADE SURE EVERYTHING WAS JUST RIGHT… HE WAS JUST CAREFUL AND CAUTIOUS… IF ANYTHING WENT WRONG HE’D FIX IT RIGHT AWAY.” “…HE ENJOYED THE WORK, ENJOYED THE BEER… HE USED TO WORK…DRIVING [A] TRUCK AND BEFORE THAT HE WAS ON THE FARM.” IRENE TALKED ABOUT THE BREWERY WORKPLACE AT THE TIME: “…IT WAS A GOOD PLACE TO WORK AND…IT EMPLOYED A LOT OF MEN. IT WAS A PRESTIGIOUS JOB…” FINALLY, IRENE EVOKED THE MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND: “…HE WAS KIND, HE WAS GOOD, HE WAS AMBITIOUS…HE LOOKED OUT FOR THE OTHER PERSON AS WELL AND HE LOVED HIS JOB…” ON JANUARY 7TH, 2020 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN MET WITH ZOLTAN SERA TO DISCUSS HIS FORMER COWORKER JOSEPH SNOPEK’S “SAFETY AWARD” JACKET. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THEIR MEETING. ZOLTAN SPOKE ABOUT HIS MEMORY OF THE JACKET: “I CAN’T REMEMBER HOW WE GOT IT IN 1973. I GOT ONE TOO AND IT’S GOT THE SAME THING ON IT…” “I HAVE ONE JUST LIKE IT MAYBE IN A LITTLE BETTER SHAPE.” ZOLTAN COMMENTED ON JOSEPH WEARING THE JACKET: “…HE WAS WEARING IT QUITE A BIT TO WORK TOWARDS THE END.” ZOLTAN SPOKE ABOUT STARTING WORK AT THE BREWERY WITH JOSEPH: “…WE STARTED THE SAME DAY AS A MATTER OF FACT.” “…WE WORKED TOGETHER AT DIFFERENT JOBS BEFORE THEN.” “…WE PUT OUR NAMES IN AHEAD OF TIME AND WHEN…WE HAD A CHANCE TO GET ON AS PEOPLE WERE RETIRING, THE OLDER GUYS, THEY WOULD HIRE NEW PEOPLE TO REPLACE THEM. THAT’S HOW WE GOT ON.” ZOLTAN CONTINUED: “…WE STARTED OUT RELIEVING PEOPLE FOR GOING ON COFFEE BREAKS AND LUNCH BREAKS AND IN BETWEEN THAT WE WOULD DO WHATEVER JOBS THEY ASSIGNED US TO UNTIL WE HAD…SO MUCH TIME IN… THEN YOU GOT A MACHINE TO RUN AS PEOPLE RETIRED OFF THEM AND THEN [THROUGH] SENIORITY YOU GOT ONTO THE DIFFERENT MACHINES.” ZOLTAN DESCRIBED HIS AND JOSEPH’S POSITIONS AT THE BREWERY: “…I RAN A MACHINE THAT THEY CALL THE END FEED WHERE THE DIRTY BOTTLES CAME IN AND WENT INTO THE WASH AND JOE WORKED ON THE MACHINE THAT PUT THE FULL BOTTLES INTO THE CASES…” ZOLTAN DETAILED THE PROCESS OF BOTTLING THE BEER AT THE BREWERY: “…[THE BOTTLES WOULD] COME IN ON PALLETS AND THEY HAD TWO PEOPLE…UNLOADING THE CASES ONTO A CONVEYOR… THE BOTTLES WOULD COME DOWN THE CONVEYOR AND THEY’D GO INTO A SAW THAT WOULD CUT THE BOTTOM OFF THE CARTON AND THE BOTTLES WOULD…COME TO THE END FEED… IT WOULD COME INTO A BIG MACHINE THAT LIFTED THE BOTTLES INTO THE POCKETS AND KEPT GOING… THIS WOULD CARRY THE BOTTLE UPSTAIRS… THEY WENT THROUGH NINE CYCLES OF WASHING, THREE CYCLES OF ACID AND THE REST WOULD BE RINSING THE BOTTLES SO THEY CAME OUT WITHOUT ANY ACID OR DIRT IN THEM… FROM THERE THEY WOULD GO ON A LINE. THEY WOULD GO TO THE FILLER AND THE MACHINE WOULD FILL THE BOTTLES… FROM THERE THEY WOULD GO DOWN THE LINE INTO ANOTHER BIG MACHINE THEY CALLED THE ‘PASTEURIZER’… IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT OH TWENTY MINUTES TO HALF AN HOUR TO GO THROUGH THE ‘PASTEURIZER’, THEN THEY WOULD…GO THROUGH A MACHINE THAT WOULD PUT THE LABELS ON IT… [THEN] IT WOULD CARRY ON CONVEYOR TO ANOTHER PLACE WHERE THE CARTONS CAME AND THESE BOTTLES WERE ON LINE…AND WOULD…PUSH THEM INTO THE CASE… THEN IT WOULD GO TO A GLUING MACHINE… IT WOULD GLUE THE ENDS OF THE CARTONS SHUT, AND THEN IT WOULD GO UPSTAIRS TO WHAT THEY CALLED A PALLETIZER… THIS WOULD PACKAGE THEM OR PUSH THEM INTO…MAYBE…THIRTY OR THIRTY-SIX CASES INTO A SQUARE… IT WOULD PUSH ONTO PALLETS AND THAT’S HOW IT WOULD GET STACKED. EVERY TIME YOU PUSH A ROW ON, THEN THE PALLET WOULD DROP DOWN AND THEY WENT ABOUT…TEN HIGH… THEN A GUY WOULD TAKE IT WITH A FORKLIFT AWAY FROM THERE AND PUT IT IN THE WAREHOUSE… THEY WOULD LOAD THEM ALL OFF OF THERE INTO THE TRUCKS TO BE HAULED AWAY.” ZOLTAN TALKED ABOUT THE BREWERY CLOSING DOWN: “…THE LAST DAY OF [1989] WAS THE LAST DAY WE WORKED.” “…I WAS A LITTLE SAD BECAUSE I WAS ONLY SIXTY-ONE, I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO WORK ANOTHER FOUR YEARS… I KIND OF FELT BAD BUT AT THE SAME TIME I WAS GLAD I WORKED THERE BECAUSE I FELT I WAS TREATED VERY WELL.” ZOLTAN SPOKE ABOUT THE AWARDS AT THE BREWERY: “…THEY USED TO PUT ON A CONTEST BETWEEN THE EAST AND WE WERE CALLED THE WESTERN DIVISION, FROM WINNIPEG WEST. THERE WAS A BREWERY IN WINNIPEG, THERE WAS TWO IN SASKATCHEWAN, TWO IN ALBERTA, ONE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND IT WAS LIKE A COMPETITION FOR PRODUCTION WHO GOT THE BEST PRODUCTION… LETHBRIDGE ALWAYS GOT THE BEST PRODUCTION IN ANY OF THE BREWERIES ALL THE TIME THEY WERE OPERATING... SO WE GOT THE PRIZE FOR IT EVERY TIME THEY PUT ON, THEY PUT IT ON ABOUT EVERY FIVE YEARS AND THAT’S HOW THEY GAVE US THESE JACKETS FOR PRODUCTION.” ZOLTAN SPOKE ABOUT HOW WORKERS STILL KEPT IN TOUCH AFTER THE BREWERY CLOSED: “WE USED TO MEET ONCE A MONTH AFTER [THE BREWERY] CLOSED DOWN UNTIL A YEAR OR SO AGO AT POP’S PUB JUST TO GET TOGETHER. [IT WAS] MAYBE FIFTEEN GUYS…IN THERE AND [WE WOULD] HAVE A COUPLE OF BEERS… THEN ONCE A YEAR, JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS, WE’D HAVE…A BIG DUE... COLD CUTS, BUNS…AND STUFF AND WE WOULD GET ABOUT…TWENTY-FIVE GUYS OUT FOR THAT. THAT WAS SOMETHING WE CARRIED ON JUST ON OUR OWN FOR…A GET TOGETHER FROM WORKING TOGETHER.” “…THIS LAST SUMMER WE HAD NO MEETINGS DURING THE MONTH EXCEPT WE DID MEET THIS CHRISTMAS. WE HAD ABOUT TWENTY GUYS OUT.” WHEN ASKED WHETHER HE STILL RECEIVES BEER FROM MOLSON AFTER WORKING THERE, ZOLTAN REPLIED: “NO. I DID WHEN I RETIRED FOR ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, I GOT TWO DOZEN A MONTH AND THEN THEY CUT IT DOWN TO ONE FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS AND THEN THEY CUT IT RIGHT OFF.” “THEY CUT IT OFF ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO I THINK.” ZOLTAN RECALLED THE POSITIVES OF WORKING AT THE BREWERY: “…THE CONDITIONS WERE GOOD, THE PEOPLE TO WORK WITH WERE VERY GOOD… EVERYBODY WAS SO GOOD TO GET ALONG WITH, THEY TREATED YOU GOOD… EVERY CHRISTMAS YOU HAD A CHOICE OF A CHRISTMAS TURKEY OR A HAM. THEN THE LAST DAY THEY SHUT DOWN IN THE MORNING BEFORE CHRISTMAS FOR US AND WE CLEANED UP THE PLACE AND WE HAD A BIG DINNER AT THE BREWERY… THEY HAD THEIR CHRISTMAS DINNER IN FEBRUARY BECAUSE THERE WAS TOO MANY AROUND DECEMBER SO THAT WAS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. WE HAD A BIG DINNER…A DANCE AND FREE LIQUOR… I KNOW ONE DAY WE HAD THE BIGGEST PRODUCTION, WE PUT OUT NINETY-THREE THOUSAND DOZEN OF BEER AND TWELVE HUNDRED KEGS IN A TWO SHIFT PERIOD, SO EVERYBODY GOT A CASE OF BEER TO GO HOME… WE HAD GOOD HOLIDAYS, LONG HOLIDAYS. WE STARTED UP…A SOCIAL CLUB AND WHEN THE BREWERY SHUT DOWN WE JUST FINISHED IT THIS LAST YEAR. WE KEPT IT GOING ALL THIS TIME, KEPT THE GUYS GOING. EVERY FEBRUARY WE’D HAVE A GOLF TOURNAMENT AT PICTURE BUTTE AND THEN WE’D HAVE A BBQ AT NIGHT WHEREVER WE’D RENT... WE HAD A LOT OF…[EVENTS] AT COALHURST…" WHEN ASKED WHETHER HE STILL DRINKS MOLSON, ZOLTAN REPLIED: “THAT’S THE ONLY THING I’LL TAKE.” “CANADIAN, THAT’S MY FAVOURITE DRINK.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200001000

Acquisition Date

2020-01

Collection

Museum

Less detail