Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1940

Date Range To

1956

Materials

WOOD, METAL, GLASS

No. Pieces

7

Height

94.3

Length

62.5

Width

29.3

Description

A. RADIO UNIT, FLOOR MODEL. 94.3 CM (H) X 62.5 CM (L) X 29.3 CM (W). “DEFOREST RADIO STANDARD BROADCAST.” TOP THIRD OF RADIO IS WOOD WITH A RECTANGULAR CENTRAL PANEL THAT IS COVERED WITH GLASS AND HAS STATIONS/PLACES SCREEN-PRINTED/PAINTED ON INNER PORTION. SEVERAL CITIES LISTED ON FRONT PANEL: “BERLIN” “LONDON” “PITTS’GH” “PARIS” “SCHEN’Y” “BUDAPEST” “BOSTON” “NEW YORK” “PHILA” “ROME” “BUENOS AIRES” “TORONTO” “PANAMA” “WINNIPEG.” PANEL HAS WOOD VENEER FRAME. THREE WORN, CRACKED ROUND KNOBS ON BOTTOM OF PANEL, MADE OF BAKELITE OR OTHER PLASTIC. TOP OF PANEL HAS FIVE BUTTONS, MADE OF THE SAME MATERIAL, SIMILARLY CRACKED AND WORN. CENTRE OF BOTTOM TWO THIRDS OF RADIO IS ALSO MADE FROM WOOD BUT HAS A FABRIC CENTER PANEL MADE OF BROWN FABRIC WITH BLACK DESIGN. FABRIC PANEL HAS DECORATIVE WOOD DETAIL IN CENTER WITH THREE CUTOUTS IN MIDDLE. UNIT IS BROWN WOOD OVERALL, SOME SCRATCHES AND SCRAPES OVER FRONT, ESPECIALLY NEAR TRIM DETAILS AND BOTTOM. TOP OF UNIT HAS SEVERAL DAMAGED SECTIONS WHERE STAIN HAS FAILED, POSSIBLY FROM WATER OR OTHER DAMAGE. INSIDE THE UNIT CONTAINS SEVERAL BUNDLES OF WIRES, A RADIO BATTERY, A “TUBE LOCATIONS” CARD, AND SEVERAL INFORMATIONAL AND WARNING LABELS: “IMPORTANT: A GUARANTEE FORM SHOULD BE DELIVERED TO YOU WITH THIS RECEIVING SET. IF YOU FAIL TO FIND IT, ASK YOUR DEALER FOR IT. IN ORDER THAT YOUR GUARANTEE SHALL BE EFFECTIVE, IT IS NECESSARY FOR YOU TO FILL IN THE RETURN CARD ATTACHED IN THE GUARANTEE FORM, AND MAIL IT DIRECT TO US WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF PURCHASE. WARNING – ANY PERSON INSTALLING OR OPERATING THIS RECEIVING SET WITHOUT FIRST HAVING OBTAINED A LICENSE FROM THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT OF CANADA IS LIABLE, ON SUMMARY CONVICTION, TO A FINE NOT EXCEEDING TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS, AND THE SAID RECEIVING SET MAY BE FORFEITED TO HIS MAJESTY BY ORDER OF THE MINISTER, FOR SUCH DISPOSITION AS THE MINISTER MAY DIRECT.” INTERIOR OF UNIT ALSO HAS A PATENT LABEL: “LICENSED BY CANADIAN RADIO PATENTS LIMITED ONLY FOR THE NON-COMMERCIAL RECEPTION OF PUBLIC RADIO TELEPHONE BROADCASTING – PATENTED 1916 TO 1932 INCLUSIVE LICENSED UNDER HAZELTINE CORPORATION CANADIAN PATENTS ISSUED AND PENDING, 1923 TO 1940 INCLUSIVE. TYPE 10DB662. SER. NO. D 67703. MANUFACTURED BY ROGERS MAJESTIC CORP. LTD., TORONTO, CANADA FOR DE FOREST CROSLEY LIMITED.” REMAINING OBJECTS ARE LOOSELY STORED INSIDE BOTTOM OF UNIT. B. RADIO ANTENNA. APPROXIMATELY 37.2 CM (L) X 5.5 CM (W) OF BLACK, UNCOATED/WRAPPED WIRE BUNDLED AROUND PIECE OF WOOD, HELD TOGETHER WITH A YELLOW WIRE TIE. ONE WHITE INSULATOR ON EITHER END OF WIRE, BOTH ARE QUITE DIRTY. ANTENNA OVERALL IS DUSTY. C. COIL OF SILVER WIRE. APPROXIMATELY 16 CM IN DIAMETER. FABRIC COVERING, PERHAPS ORIGINALLY WHITE NOW BEIGE, WORN OFF ABOUT HALF OF WIRE, BLACK PLASTIC COATING VISIBLE UNDERNEATH. BOTH COATINGS WORN IN SOME SPOTS TO SHOW EXPOSED WIRE. ONE SIDE OF COIL HAS RUSTED METAL PLATE WITH SCREW ATTACHED. D. LENGTH OF BLACK PLASTIC COATED SILVER WIRE. APPROXIMATELY 23 CM (L) BOUND. SEVERAL POINTS OF EXPOSED WIRE, HELD TOGETHER WITH RED ELASTIC BAND. E. LENGTH OF COPPER WIRE, WRAPPED IN BEIGE (PERHAPS ORIGINALLY WHITE) AND BLUE STRIPED PAPER. APPROXIMATELY 27.5 CM (L), SEVERAL PIECES OF BLACK TAPE WRAPPED AROUND. PIECE OF DIRTY WOVEN FABRIC ATTACHED TO SECTION OF COPPER WIRE. F. COIL OF BLACK PLASTIC COATED WIRE. APPROXIMATELY 14.5 CM IN DIAMETER. WIRE EXPOSED IN SEVERAL PLACES, WRAPPED AROUND COIL TO SECURE LOOSE ENDS G. “TUBE LOCATIONS” CARD. 11.2 CM (L) X 8.5 CM (W). “SIX TUBE – SPREAD BAND MODELS – BATTERY OPERATED.” CARD IS LOOSE, PLACED ON RIGHT OF TOP INTERIOR ON SIDE PANEL, DETAILS SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF PLACEMENT OF TUBES. CARD IS YELLOWED AND WATER STAINED.

Subjects

TELECOMMUNICATION T&E

Historical Association

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

POLITICS

History

ON APRIL 14TH, 2021, GALT MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN MET WITH THE DONOR, RAY MASUDA TO DISCUSS THE RADIO. ORIGINALLY OWNED BY THE DONOR’S FATHER, IWAO MASUDA, THE RADIO WAS DONATED ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE OF THE DONOR’S BROTHER, MINEO MASUDA, WHO WAS IN POSSESSION OF THE RADIO AFTER THEIR FATHER’S DEATH IN 1957. RAY MASUDA EXPLAINS THAT THE FAMILY WAS FORCIBLY RELOCATED IN THE EVACUATION OF JAPANESE CANADIANS FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. ORIGINALLY, MASUDA DESCRIBES, “THEY WERE IN DUNCAN, VANCOUVER ISLAND, AND THEN THEY MOVED TO SHAWNIGAN LAKE ON VANCOUVER ISLAND… THAT IS WHERE THEY LIVED IN 1942 WHEN THE EVACUATION TOOK PLACE.” THE FAMILY WAS RELOCATED FROM HASTINGS PARK TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA SHORTLY THEREAFTER: “THERE WAS A LABOUR SHORTAGE IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA FOR SUGAR BEET FARM EMPLOYMENT AND THE ARRANGEMENTS WERE MADE SO THAT THE FAMILIES COULD STICK TOGETHER AS ONE UNIT INSTEAD OF BEING SPREAD APART.” MASUDA DETAILS HOW THE FAMILY ENDED UP IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA, AND EVENTUALLY LETHBRIDGE: “WHEN WE FIRST EVACUATED HERE, WE MOVED TO A FARM IN MAGRATH; THE FARMER’S NAME WAS OREN HARKER, AND I THINK WE STAYED THERE A COUPLE OF YEARS AND THEN WE MOVED TO A FARM NORTHEAST OF RAYMOND. AND THERE WAS A COUPLE OF MOVES BETWEEN THAT TIME TO 1948. WE MOVED TO A FARM – GRABAVACK WAS THE NAME OF THE FARM WE LIVED ON IN RAYMOND. AND THEN THE LAST FARM WE MOVED TO WAS A FARM OWNED BY BRENT AND LLOYD JENSEN, WHICH WAS ABOUT SIX MILES NORTHWEST OF RAYMOND AND FROM THERE WE MOVED TO LETHBRIDGE.” MASUDA EXPLAINS HOW THE RADIO ENDED UP IN HIS BROTHER’S POSSESSION: “IT STARTED WITH MY FATHER AND THEN IT GOT PASSED DOWN. THE LAST OWNERSHIP OF IT WAS WITH MY BROTHER [MINEO MASUDA] WHO JUST PASSED AWAY IN NOVEMBER [OF 2020]. WHEN HE LIVED IN LETHBRIDGE THE RADIO REMAINED WITH HIM… WE USED TO LIVE ON A FARM IN RAYMOND AND WHEN MY DAD GOT ILL [IN 1956], MY TWO OLDEST BROTHERS [MINEO AND SHIRO ‘MICKEY’ MASUDA] BOUGHT A HOUSE IN LETHBRIDGE AND MOVED HIM INTO LETHBRIDGE AND ALL THE FAMILY BELONGINGS AT THAT TIME GOT MOVED INTO THE HOUSE AND HAVE STAYED THERE EVER SINCE… MY DAD LIVED FOR THREE MONTHS IN THAT HOUSE AND HE PASSED AWAY… MY MOTHER [KOURA MASUDA] LIVED THERE UNTIL SHE PASSED AWAY IN 1986.” MASUDA WAS AWARE OF THE RADIO IN THE LETHBRIDGE HOME IN THE 1950S, BUT EXPLAINS IT WAS NOT OFTEN USED: “AT THE TIME, IN 1956, I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, PERHAPS… I USED TO LIVE WITH MY MOTHER AND FATHER; WITH MY MOTHER UNTIL AFTER MY DAD DIED. AND SO I LIVED THERE UNTIL 1966 WHEN I GOT MY FINAL EDUCATION AND THEN I MOVED TO EDMONTON TO GET A JOB.” DURING THIS TIME, THE RADIO “WAS STORED IN A ROOM IN THE BASEMENT. THAT IS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF LETHBRIDGE.” BEFORE THE LETHBRIDGE HOME, THE RADIO WAS USED ON THE FARM IN RAYMOND. “IT WAS IN WHAT THEY CALLED THE PARLOR AND I USED TO LISTEN TO FOSTER HEWITT AND THE SATURDAY NIGHT HOCKEY; THE ‘HOT STOVE LEAGUE’ THEY CALLED IT. THE REASON WE USED THE RADIO THEN WAS BECAUSE WE HAD NO ELECTRICITY IN THE HOUSE. ONCE WE GOT ELECTRICITY IN THE HOUSE ON THE FARM [AROUND 1952], THEN THE RADIO ENDED ITS USEFUL LIFE TO US, I GUESS, SO TO SPEAK. IT JUST REMAINED IN THE FAMILY HOUSE.” THE ORIGINS OF THE RADIO COMING INTO THE FAMILY ARE UNCLEAR. GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE FAMILY’S RELOCATION TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA, IT SEEMS UNLIKELY THAT THE RADIO WOULD HAVE BEEN BROUGHT WITH THEM FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND. MASUDA STATES THAT “THERE WERE STRICT RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT THEY COULD BRING. SO MUCH PER PERSON; SO MANY BAGS PER PERSON OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.” MASUDA SPECULATES THAT THE RADIO WAS PURCHASED AFTER THE FAMILY’S ARRIVAL IN ALBERTA: “I DO NOT KNOW EITHER BECAUSE I THINK WE WERE RESTRICTED FROM HAVING THINGS LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE [SECOND WORLD] WAR FIRST BROKE OUT. MY GUESS IS THAT MY DAD BOUGHT THAT RADIO FROM A THIRD PARTY AFTER WE MOVED HERE. THAT IS THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF.” IN AN EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE WITH LISA UYEDA, THE COLLECTIONS MANAGER OF NIKKEI NATIONAL MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTRE IN BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, SHE AGREED THAT IT WAS UNLIKELY THAT THE RADIO WAS BROUGHT FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND UNLESS THE FAMILY WAS ABLE TO AFFORD TO PAY THEIR WAY TO ALBERTA. “RADIOS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TURNED IN ALONG WITH CAMERAS AND VEHICLES BUT MANY FAMILIES WHO PAID THEIR OWN WAY TO ALBERTA AND BEYOND WERE ABLE TO TAKE MUCH MORE WITH THEM.” HOWEVER, MASUDA DID NOT MENTION THE FAMILY HAVING THE MEANS TO PAY THEIR OWN WAY. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON THE MODEL AND MAKE OF THE RADIO DATES IT TO HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 1940 AND 1941, JUST BEFORE THE FAMILY RELOCATED TO SOUTHERN ALBERTA. SIMILAR RADIOS OF THE TIME RETAILED FOR ANYWHERE FROM $79.95 TO $109.95. FURTHER RESEARCH LED TO THE FAMILY’S CASE FILES IN THE ‘LANDSCAPES OF INJUSTICE’ DATABASE COMPILED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA AND LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA, DETAILING INFORMATION ON JAPANESE-CANADIANS WHO WERE DISPOSSESSED. THESE RECORDS DID NOT LIST MANY ASSETS FOR THE FAMILY UPON RELOCATION; IWAO MASUDA, RAY MASUDA’S FATHER AND THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE RADIO IS LISTED AS HAVING “PERSONAL CLOTHING ONLY IN DECLARANT’S POSSESSION.” ACCORDING TO THE CASE FILES, RAY MASUDA’S OLDER SIBLINGS ARE ALSO LISTED AS HAVING SEVERAL WAR SAVINGS CERTIFICATES, BUT NO ADDITIONAL POSSESSIONS AND THERE IS NO MENTION, HOWEVER, OF THE RADIO IN ANY MEMBER OF THE FAMILY’S FILES. “RADIOS AND NEWSPAPERS WERE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT SOURCES OF INFORMATION” UYEDA EXPLAINED IN HER CORRESPONDENCE. “[JAPANESE-CANADIANS] DIDN'T REALLY HAVE MUCH ELSE TO RELY ON FOR THEIR NEWS SO THESE WERE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT ITEMS DURING THE FORCED UPROOTING AND DISPOSSESSION. SINCE ALL OF THE JAPANESE CANADIAN NEWSPAPERS WERE SHUT DOWN, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ENGLISH-BASED NEW CANADIAN WHICH WAS CENSORED, MANY FOLKS FOUND A WAY TO GET A RADIO INTO CAMP.” SHE SPECULATED THAT THE RADIO “COULD HAVE ALSO BEEN PURCHASED ONCE THEY GOT TO ALBERTA AS RESTRICTIONS ON OWNING CAMERAS AND RADIOS WERE NOT AS STRICT AS IT WAS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. OR IT COULD HAVE BEEN PURCHASED/OR BEEN A GIFT FROM A NON-JAPANESE CANADIAN PERSON WHO WAS HELPING THEM OUT.” IN HIS INTERVIEW, RAY MASUDA EXPLAINS THAT HIS BROTHER SHIRO (D. 1971) TOLD HIM THE HISTORY OF THE RADIO’S USE: “BASICALLY, WHAT HE TOLD ME WAS, ABOUT THE RADIO, IS THE FACT THAT THE SHORT WAVE DOES NOT WORK AND THE REASON IT DID NOT WORK IS BECAUSE MY DAD USED TO LISTEN TO THE PROPAGANDA ON THE SHORT-WAVE RADIO, EMITTING FROM JAPAN. WHEN HE FOUND OUT WHAT IT WAS, WAS PROPAGANDA, AND NOT NECESSARILY THE TRUTH, HE DISABLED IT, AND SO THE SHORT WAVE HAS NOT BEEN USED SINCE THEN. THAT WAS TOLD TO ME BY MY OLDEST BROTHER, SHIRO.” “AT MOST I THINK HE PROBABLY USED IT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AT THE MOST, LISTENING TO THESE SHORT-WAVE BROADCASTS. LIKE I SAID, WHEN HE FOUND OUT WHAT WAS BEING BROADCAST WAS A LOT OF PROPAGANDA, THAT JUST ANNOYED HIM AND I GUESS HE DISABLED THE RADIO, OR AT LEAST THE SHORT-WAVE PART OF IT.” IN AN EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE, MASUDA FURTHER EXPLAINS THAT HIS “DAD USED TO LISTEN TO THE SHORT WAVE BROADCASTS EMANATING FROM JAPAN DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR EXTOLLING HOW JAPAN WAS DEFEATING THE USA ON ALL FRONTS. THIS WAS PROBABLY TRUE IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE WAR IN THE PHILIPPINES AND SOME OF THE ISLAND BATTLES BUT WHEN THE PROPAGANDA CONTINUED AFTER THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY, MY DAD REALIZED THAT IT WAS ALL PROPAGANDA AND SO HE DISABLED THE SHORT WAVE.” MASUDA DOES NOT RECALL HIS FATHER TALKING MUCH ABOUT THE WAR, HE SAID “VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE WAR, EXCEPT MAYBE WITH OTHER PEOPLE OF HIS AGE. HIS FRIENDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT YOU KNOW, WE NEVER DISCUSSED THE WAR. I NEVER SAT DOWN WITH MY DAD TO TALK ABOUT IT… I CAN VAGUELY REMEMBER HIM TALKING TO MY OLDER BROTHER, MY OLDEST BROTHER. I REMEMBER THEM TALKING ABOUT IT, DISCUSSING SOMETHING I DID NOT UNDERSTAND AT THE TIME, BUT WHAT IT WAS ABOUT WAS WORLD WAR TWO AND I THINK IT WAS ABOUT THE EUROPEAN WAR. I REMEMBER SOMETHING ABOUT THEM TALKING ABOUT HITLER, BUT I DIDN’T KNOW WHO THAT WAS OR WHAT IT WAS AT THE TIME.” MASUDA RECALLS THE USE OF THE RADIO AND HOW IT WAS SET UP WITH THE ANTENNA: “FOR THE RADIO TO OPERATE PROPERLY, THEY HAD TO PUT UP A LONG ANTENNA OUTDOORS, QUITE HIGH, LIKE ON TOP OF THE ROOF EXTENDING MAYBE ABOUT FIFTY FEET. WITH THAT WE COULD LISTEN TO AT LEAST THE LOCAL RADIO STATIONS, LIKE AT THE TIME CJOC IN LETHBRIDGE FROM RAYMOND. I DON’T KNOW WHAT OTHER STATIONS WE COULD HAVE GOT, BUT THE ONLY RECOLLECTION I HAVE OF THAT RADIO, LIKE I SAY, IS LISTENING TO THE SATURDAY NIGHT HOCKEY GAME AND FOSTER HEWITT.” “WE HAD A SEPARATE GARAGE THAT WAS SEPARATE FROM THE HOUSE [ON THE FARM OUTSIDE OF RAYMOND] AND THERE WAS A LONG POLE THAT WAS ATTACHED TO THE GARAGE AND ON TOP OF THAT POLE THERE WAS LINE GOING ALL THE WAY TO THAT HOUSE AND THAT WAS THE ANTENNA, AND IN THROUGH THE WINDOW INTO THE HOUSE. AND THAT LINE WAS MAYBE ABOUT SEVENTY-FIVE FEET LONG.” MASUDA SPECULATES THAT HIS BROTHER KEPT THE RADIO IN HIS POSSESSION FOR ALL THOSE YEARS BECAUSE “THERE WAS SOME NOSTALGIA ATTACHED TO IT.”

Catalogue Number

P20210003000

Acquisition Date

2021-04

Collection

Museum

Less detail