Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

CHOKER

Date

1975

Materials

COTTON, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Length

42

Width

4.2

Description

RED, BRAIDED CHORD WITH GOLD AGLETS AT THE END OF CHOKER. GOLD COLOURED METAL MEDALLION WITH PLASTIC WINTER GAMES LOGO ON TOP. READS, “JEUX CANADA GAMES, ALBERTA’S SUNNY SOUTH, 1975.” BACK OF MEDALLION HAS WHITE STICKER WITH HANDWRITTEN “F20 1.98”. GREY ADHESIVE ON TOP AND SIDES OF CHOKER. SLIGHT WEAR ON ROPE.

Subjects

ADORNMENT

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

SPORTS

History

IN 1975, THE SPORTSPLEX WAS BUILT FOR THE 1975 CANADA WINTER GAMES WHICH WERE HOSTED IN LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA. THE 1975 GAMES WERE THE FIFTH CANADA GAMES AND OCCURRED OVER THIRTEEN DAYS, FROM FEBRUARY 11 TO 23. ON DECEMBER 2, 2021, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN, INTERVIEWED SHERI HOWE (NEE DOYLE) REGARDING HER DONATION OF HER CANADA WINTER GAMES HOSTESS UNIFORM. SHERI EXPLAINED: “I WAS [RECRUITED TO BE A HOSTESS] … AFTER LORETTA PEARSON HAD TO STEP DOWN, THEY HAD A SPOT TO REPLACE AND I WAS APPROACHED… I WAS QUITE HONOURED…I THINK THEY TRIED TO INCLUDE HOSTESSES FROM THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES INVOLVED IN THE WINTER GAMES. FORT MACLEOD HOSTED THE CURLING AND CASTLE MOUNTAIN HELD ALL OF THE SKIING EVENTS… THERE WAS A MUCH BROADER CORE OF HOSTESSES, BUT REPRESENTING FORT MACLEOD, THERE WERE TWO HOSTESSES…[THE HOSTESSES] MET IN LETHBRIDGE AND…WERE GIVEN OUR DIFFERENT OUTFITS AND HOW TO PUT THEM TOGETHER, WHAT WAS EXPECTED, AND SO ON…WELL IN ADVANCE MEASUREMENTS WERE TAKEN AND SIZING DETERMINED BEFORE OUTFITS WERE ORDERED.” SHERI RECALLS: “[BEFORE THE] WINTER GAMES, WE ATTENDED VARIOUS FUNCTIONS. IT WAS ALWAYS COMMUNICATED WHAT WAS EXPECTED; WHICH OUTFIT WE WERE TO WEAR AND HOW… THERE WERE MORE THAN TWO OUTFITS. RED AND YELLOW WERE THE DOMINANT COLOUR CHOICES WITH VARIOUS OPTIONS: PANTS, SKIRT DRESS, BLOUSE, TURTLENECK, SCARF, PENDANT, ETC. FOR THE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS… THE DRESS WAS WORN IN THE SUMMERTIME IN THE LEAD-UP TO THE GAMES, FOR EXAMPLE THE CANADA WINTER’S GAME FLOAT … THERE WAS A RED … BUTTON-UP BLAZER – AND A MATCHING SHORT SKIRT AND [A] LONG SKIRT… [THERE WAS] A POLKA-DOT BLOUSE THAT WE WORE UNDERNEATH AND I THINK THERE WAS ONE OTHER ONE, AS WELL. WE ALSO HAD PANTS AND I’M NOT SURE OF THE COLOUR, BUT I THINK THEY WERE A BLUE. [THERE WAS] A YELLOW, WOOL CAPE; TURTLENECK AND A SHORT, SLEEVELESS YELLOW DRESS [THAT WAS] MINI LENGTH.” SHERI CONTINUES, “I BELIEVE … WE WORE [THE CHOKER] WITH THE SLEEVELESS DRESS, NOT WITH THE RED OUTFIT WITH THE BIG-BOW BLOUSE … [I HAD A HAT THAT] DISAPPEARED AT A FUNCTION TWO DAYS PRIOR TO THE CLOSING CEREMONY… THERE WAS NO REPLACEMENT.” REGARDING WHY SHERI CHOSE TO KEEP THE ITEMS SHE IS NOW DONATING, SHERI EXPLAINS: “[THE DONATED ITEMS] HAD A REALLY NICE STYLE TO THEM. I RECALL THE CAPES WERE DESIGNED IN MONTREAL… [THE DONATED ITEMS] WERE JUST EXTRA-SPECIAL TO ME… THE CAPE WAS VERY VERSATILE AND COMFORTABLE TO WEAR AND I LIKED THE STYLE OF THE SLEEVELESS DRESS… POST WINTER GAMES, WE WERE ALLOWED TO KEEP OUR UNIFORMS AND ALL RELATED APPAREL. I FAVOURED THIS CAPE AND DRESS AS A KEEPSAKE… OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE GAMES, WE WEREN’T TO WEAR THEM OUT IN PUBLIC AGAIN.” THERE IS A NEWSPAPER CLIPPING WITH THREE HOSTESSES AROUND A WRESTLER. WRITTEN ON THE BACK IS: “GOLD MEDALIST, WRESTLING”. SHERI EXPLAINED, “I JUST REMEMBER PUTTING MEDALS ON THE WRESTLERS [AT THE ENMAX CENTRE IN LETHBRIDGE FOR WRESTLING AND HOCKEY]… IT WAS A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY IN MY COMMUNITY THAT OCCURS ONCE IN A LIFETIME AND THAT I WAS FORTUNATE TO EXPERIENCE. I WAS PROUD TO SUPPORT MY COMMUNITY AND TO BE PART OF A VERY IMPORTANT EVENT.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND PHOTOS REFERENCED, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20210015001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20210015003

Acquisition Date

2021-12

Collection

Museum

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