Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

CREST

Date Range From

1927

Date Range To

1929

Materials

FELT, THREAD

No. Pieces

1

Length

12

Width

10.7

Description

BLUE AND WHITE FELT SHIELD SHAPED PATCH WITH “L” IN THE CENTRE. THE BLUE BORDER AND LETTER ARE STITCHED ONTO A WHITE BACKGROUND USING BLUE AND BLACK THREAD. THE PATCH IS VERY WORN, WITH FRAGMENTS OF THE BLUE FELT MISSING. THE STITCHES ARE FRAYING AND THE WHITE FELT IS DISCOLOURED. THERE ARE HOLES IN THE FELT ON THE RIGHT SIDE ON THE BACK.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

SPORTS EQUIPMENT

Historical Association

EDUCATION

SPORTS

History

KENNETH RUSSELL, WHO PASSED AWAY IN 1983, WAS A LETHBRIDGE BOY SCOUT IN HIS YOUTH; A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS; AND LATER BECAME A SCOUT LEADER AND SCHOOL TEACHER. HE WAS ONE OF 150 CANADIAN CONTINGENT BOY SCOUTS TO ATTEND THE 3RD WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE IN ENGLAND IN 1929, ALSO CALLED THE “COMING-OF-AGE” JAMBOREE DUE TO IT FALLING ON THE 21ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE PUBLICATION OF “SCOUTING FOR BOYS”. KEN’S SCOUT MATERIALS WERE DONATED TO THE MUSEUM ALONG WITH SOME NON-SCOUT RELATED ITEMS, INCLUDING A WHITE AND BLUE SHIELD SHAPED PATCH WITH AN “L” IN THE CENTRE. IT IS SPECULATED THAT KEN WORE THE PATCH WHILE PARTICIPATING IN SPORTS AT LETHBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL (LHS). A PHOTO FROM 1923-1924, NOW IN THE GALT ARCHIVES, SHOWS LETHBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WEARING SHIELD SHAPED PATCHES WITH AN “L” AS A PART OF THEIR BASKETBALL TEAM UNIFORM. THESE APPEAR TO BE NEARLY IDENTICAL TO KEN RUSSELL’S DONATED PATCH. IN A MAY 1927 PUBLICATION BY LHS CALLED “THE SPOTLIGHT”, K. RUSSELL IS IDENTIFIED IN A GROUP PHOTO. THE IMAGE IS PRINTED ON PAGE 27 WITH THE TITLE “FIELD DAY CHAMPIONS”. THREE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE PHOTO HAVE A SIMILAR “L” PATCH VISIBLY ATTACHED TO THEIR CLOTHING. ON SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2020 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN MET WITH SIBLINGS KENNA ASPLUND, DALE RUSSELL, GRAEME RUSSELL, AND CHRISTOPHER (KIT) RUSSELL TO DISCUSS THEIR LATE FATHER KENNETH RUSSELL’S ITEMS THAT KENNA DONATED TO THE MUSEUM. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THEIR MEETING. KIT EXPLORED WHERE THE PATCH WITH THE LETTER “L” MAY HAVE COME FROM: “[MY DAD] WAS...BIG IN TRACK-AND-FIELD AT [SCHOOL], AND IN FACT ONE DAY HIS MOTHER SAID TO HIM, ‘THERE IS A TRACK-AND-FIELD, ARE YOU GOING TO GO TO IT?’ AND HE SAID, ‘I AM NOT SURE.’ WHEN SHE SAW HIM THAT EVENING SHE ASKED, ‘HOW DID YOU DO?’ AND HE SAID, ‘THERE WERE SOME PRETTY FAST PEOPLE.’ WHEN SHE READ THE PAPER, IT SAID HE HAD WON MOST OF HIS RACES. I WONDER IF THOSE ARE SOMEHOW RELATED [TO THE PATCH].” DALE ALSO REMEMBERED HIS DAD’S ATHLETICISM: “…HE WAS A VERY SMALL INDIVIDUAL… IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD THERE ARE MANY REFERENCES TO HIS AWARDS IN TRACK-AND-FIELD, SO HE WAS VERY ATHLETIC, BUT HE WAS VERY TINY. THE SCOUTING PROGRAM GAVE HIM SELF-CONFIDENCE. THERE ARE MANY ARTICLES ON HIM IN HIGH SCHOOL IN…THE PAPER…AT THE TIME, ACKNOWLEDGING HIS AWARDS IN TRACK-AND-FIELD.” IN LETHBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL’S MAY 1927 “THE SPOTLIGHT” PUBLICATION, K. RUSSELL IS LISTED AS PLACING IN THE TOP THREE OF THE BOYS JUNIOR GROUP 100 YARD DASH; THE RUNNING HIGH JUMP; THE RUNNING BROAD JUMP; THE 220 YARD RACE; THE 440 YARD RACE; THE 880 YARD RACE; AND THE HOP, STEP AND JUMP ON PAGE 29. ON PAGE 41, IT IS POINTED OUT THAT “KENNETH RUSSELL…CAPTURED THE JUNIOR ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIP.” KENNA EXPLAINED HOW SHE WAS ACQUAINTED WITH A TRUNK THAT HOUSED THE ITEMS: “…AS A CHILD I REMEMBER THE TRUNK IN…MY FIRST HOUSE IN DIAMOND CITY DOWN IN THE BASEMENT BY...STEEL CABINETS… I KNEW IT WAS A TRUNK OF DAD’S STUFF, BUT NOBODY EVER SHOWED ME AT THAT TIME WHAT WAS IN IT. IT WASN’T UNTIL LATER AT THE SECOND HOUSE WHEN WE TOOK IT OUT AND PUT IT INTO A ROUGH TOTE, THAT MOM EXPLAINED WHAT ALL OF THE STUFF WAS AND I HAD PINNED ON THINGS SO THAT I KNEW WHERE THEY WERE FROM.” WHEN ASKED IF THE OTHER SIBLINGS REMEMBERED SEEING THEIR FATHER’S SCOUT ITEMS AS KIDS, GRAEME RESPONDED: “I REMEMBER SEEING THEM BUT THEY WERE PACKED AWAY IN THE TRUNK. HE HAD A SPECIAL TRUNK THAT WAS HIS SCOUT TRUNK, AND THIS [DONATED] STUFF WAS IN THERE.” KENNA SAID HER MOM BRIEFLY SPOKE ABOUT THE SCOUT MATERIALS BEFORE HER PASSING: “…[MY MOM TOLD ME] THAT IT WAS [DAD’S] STUFF FROM THE WORLD JAMBOREE. SOMEHOW I KNEW BEFORE THAT HE HAD ATTENDED IT… THERE WASN'T ANYTHING SPECIFIC SHE SAID ABOUT ANY SPECIFIC ITEMS, BUT SHE SEEMED VERY AWARE WHAT ALL THE STUFF WAS.” KENNA EXPLAINED WHY SHE DECIDED TO DONATE THE ITEMS TO THE MUSEUM: “…ALTHOUGH MY MOTHER PASSED AWAY, HER HOUSE WAS NOT TOTALLY CLEANED OUT. SO WHEN GOING THROUGH ALL OF THE THINGS, SOME OF WHICH I HAD AT MY HOUSE…AND REALIZING THIS WAS SOMETHING VERY COOL…I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE [VALUABLE] TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA BECAUSE IT ORIGINATED HERE..." FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ACCESS THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE. TO VIEW THE PHOTOS WHERE SIMILAR PATCHES ARE PICTURED, PLEASE SEE 19961023008 IN THE ARCHIVES.

Catalogue Number

P20200029013

Acquisition Date

2020-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail