Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"ABREAST OF 'BRIDGE 2001"

Date

2001

Materials

COTTON

No. Pieces

1

Length

67.6

Width

55.5

Description

GREY T-SHIRT WITH “ABREAST OF’ BRIDGE” IN RED AND WHITE TEXT FORMING TOP OF LETHBRIDGE HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE, “2001” PRINTED IN GREY TEXT BELOW BRIDGE TRUSSES, PROFILE OF TWO DRAGONS PRINTED IN BLACK TO WHITE OMBRE BEHIND TEXT. BACK OF T-SHIRT FEATURES BLACK TEXT: “ROTARY CLUBS CITY OF LETHBRIDGE EXHIBITION PARK LETHBRIDGE COMMUNITY BANDS COCA-COLA BOTTLING LTD. UFA DRAGONBOAT TEAM (WITH A PROFILE OF A DRAGON BOAT) YWCA LETHBRIDGE LODGE LIONS CLUB OF LETHBRIDGE ALL WORLD TRAVEL & CRUISE CENTER PROLINE SILKSCREEN LETHBRIDGE FIRE FIGHTERS VALTECH WEB DESIGNS CASSIDY’S UPHOLSTERY CLASSICS TREATS EATERY CANADIAN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION-ALBERTA CHAPTER ALBERTA PRIME BEEF.” RIGHT SLEEVE FEATURES BLACK TEXT “ALBERTA PRIME BEEF” AND LOGO, AN ‘A’ WITH A CATTLE HEAD. COLLAR IS SLIGHTLY DISCOLOURED, STAIN ON LEFT SIDE OF SHIRT ON FRONT, DRAGONS ON FRONT OF SHIRT ARE STARTING TO CRACK, LOOSE THREADS ON INSIDE OF COLLAR WHERE TAGS ARE ASSUMED USED TO BE. OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

SPORTS

ASSOCIATIONS

History

ON FEBRUARY 17, 2022, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED MARNIE STANLEY AND WENDY AITKENS ABOUT THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE DRAGON BOAT CLUB’S DONATION OF THREE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE BRANDED CLOTHING ITEMS. STANLEY JOINED THE TEAM IN 2001 BECOMING PRESIDENT FROM 2007 TO 2009, BEFORE STEPPING INTO THE MANAGER ROLE FROM 2011 TO APPROXIMATELY 2015. AITKENS JOINED THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE DRAGON BOAT CLUB IN 2007, SERVING AS PRESIDENT FROM 2010 TO 2012 AND WAS THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE PRESIDENT AT THE TIME OF THE INTERVIEW. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THAT INTERVIEW. STANLEY EXPLAINED HOW SHE CAME INTO POSSESSION OF THE 2001 ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE T-SHIRT: “…I TALKED TO PAT [MACKINTOSH] PRIOR TO HER [HEALTH] REALLY STARTING TO GO DOWNHILL... [PAT] HAD ALL OF HER [ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE] SHIRTS, ON HANGERS, BEAUTIFULLY IRONED AND TAKEN CARE-OF, AND SHOWED ME THEM ALL. AND I ASKED [PAT], WOULD SHE CONSIDER GIVING THEM TO THE [ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE] TEAM, TO SEE IF WE COULD PUT THEM IN WITH THE ARCHIVES AT THE GALT. [PAT] WAS VERY HAPPY TO DO THAT, AND THEN I THINK SHE GAVE THEM TO ME RIGHT AWAY, SO [PAT’S T-SHIRT AND HOODIE] HAVE BEEN IN MY HOUSE [SINCE]. THAT WAS FINE. AND THEN, JUST MORE RECENTLY, MY LAST VISIT WITH PAT, BEFORE SHE MOVED TO MEDICINE HAT, I SAID TO HER, ‘WENDY AND I ARE UPCOMING WITH AN APPOINTMENT TO GO, AND TAKE SOME OF THESE THINGS, AND PAT, WE HAVE YOUR FIRST RACE SHIRT, AND HOODIE.’ [PAT] SMILED, I THINK SHE CONNECTED. SO [ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE] ARE JUST THANKFUL THAT THESE THINGS WERE DONE EARLIER. I KNOW [PAT’S] DAUGHTER WOULD HAVE HAPPILY SAID ‘YES’, BUT THIS WAY IT WAS PAT THAT, PROBABLY FOUR YEARS AGO, AT LEAST, GAVE [HER] PERMISSION. [PAT] SAID SHE’D ‘LOVE TO DO THAT!’...” ON THE TEXT PRINTED ON THE BACK OF THE T-SHIRT, STANLEY EXPLAINED, “…WE ALWAYS PUT SPONSORS ON THE BACK OF OUR SHIRTS.” AITKENS ELABORATED ON THE LOGO PRINTED ON THE FRONT OF THE T-SHIRT, “THE VERY FIRST [LOGO], THE DRAGONS ARE VERY, VERY STYLIZED. THERE’S A PAIR FACING AWAY. THE BRIDGE IS STILL THERE, AND THE NAME IS THERE…” ON THE FIRST COMPETITION THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE DRAGON BOAT CLUB COMPETED IN, ATIKENS EXPLAINED: “…[THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE TEAM] WENT TO CALGARY IN 2000, THE YEAR THEY WERE ONLY PRACTICING IN A VOYAGEUR CANOE. IN CALGARY, [THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE TEAM] HAD TO GET INTO A DRAGON BOAT AND ADJUST. THE VOYAGEUR CANOE ONLY HELD TEN PADDLERS AT A TIME. IN THE DRAGON BOAT, YOU’VE GOT TWENTY PADDLERS, AND A DIFFERENT FEEL TO THE BOAT. AND, OF COURSE, THEN IT’S A RACE SITUATION, SO, [ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE MEMBERS] ALL GOT IN, AND THIS COACH FROM CALGARY THAT HAD COME DOWN FAITHFULLY EVERY SATURDAY TO WORK IN THE VOYAGEUR CANOE WITH THE [ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE] TEAM, WAS THERE WITH THEM. AND [ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE] DID FAR BETTER THAN THEY EVER EXPECTED TO, SO, IT WAS REALLY AN IMPETUS TO CONTINUE [WITH DRAGON BOAT RACING]…” STANLEY EXPLAINED HOW THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE BRANDED CLOTHING PRODUCTION WAS SUPPORTED BY FUND-RAISING AND SPONSORSHIP: “…I DON’T KNOW HOW THAT [SUPPORT] SEEMED TO EVOLVE. [AT THE BEGINNING] I KNOW THERE WAS SOME VERY GENEROUS HUBBIES ON THE TEAM, THAT WOULD SAY, ‘LOOK, I’LL TAKE CARE OF WHATEVER’…” AITKENS CONTINUED TO EXPLAIN ONE OF ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE’S PREMISES ON FINANCIAL ACCESSIBILITY: “THE LAST SHIRT THAT WE BOUGHT, [MEMBERS] EACH PAID FOR. [ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE] HAD A FEW EXTRAS, AND ONE OF OUR MEMBERS WAS NOT IN A FINANCIAL POSITION TO BUY ONE. [ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE] LOANED ONE TO HER. ONE OF THE VERY BASIC PREMISES OF OUR GROUP, SINCE I JOINED, AND PRIOR, WAS WE DON’T WANT THIS TO BECOME A FINANCIAL ISSUE FOR ANY PERSON/ANY WOMAN WHO WANTS TO JOIN OUR TEAM. SO, THE EXECUTIVE [TEAM] HAS ALWAYS SAID WE WILL HELP ANYBODY. JUST COME QUIETLY TO ONE OF OUR MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE. WE WILL HELP MAKE AN ARRANGEMENT, AND, SO, EVEN THE YEAR WE DECIDED TO ASK FOR A $100.00 MEMBERSHIP FEE FOR ALL THE PADDLERS, WE AGAIN SAID, ‘DON’T LET THAT STOP YOU. DON’T EVER LET IT STOP YOU. WE’LL HELP.’ AND, WE’VE ALWAYS HAD REALLY EFFECTIVE FUND-RAISING RIGHT FROM THE VERY, VERY BEGINNING…” THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE DRAGON BOAT CLUB FACEBOOK “ABOUT” PAGE: “…IN 1999, DIANE RANDALL, SUSAN GIFFEN AND ESTELLE WARNICA, FINALLY FREE OF THE CONSTRAINTS AND TRAUMA OF BREAST CANCER SURGERIES AND TREATMENTS, WERE LOOKING FOR A POSITIVE, PHYSICAL OUTLET FOR THEIR RETURNING ENERGY. THEY GATHERED OTHER SURVIVORS AND STARTED WITH BRISK WALKS AT HENDERSON LAKE. THEIR EFFORTS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE WORKING OUT AT THE YWCA, HIKING, SWIMMING, SNOWSHOEING AND WHITE-WATER RAFTING. THEY WERE INSPIRED BY VANCOUVER DOCTOR, DONALD MCKENZIE WHO ENCOURAGED WOMEN TO PADDLE TO REGAIN UPPER BODY STRENGTH AND REMAIN ACTIVE. THIS SOUNDED LIKE A PROMISING VENTURE – EXCEPT THEY HAD NO BOAT. A TRIP TO CALGARY TO EXPERIENCE PADDLING A DRAGON BOAT SOLVED THAT PROBLEM. THE CALGARY CANOE CLUB LOANED A VOYAGEUR CANOE AND COACH TO THE CLUB. MORE CANCER SURVIVORS SHOWED AN INTEREST AND LETHBRIDGE’S FIRST DRAGON BOAT TEAM WAS LAUNCHED IN 2000. A UNIQUE NAME WAS REQUIRED FOR THE TEAM AND ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE WAS SUGGESTED – A REFERENCE TO THE HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE AND A TAKE OFF ON THE WELL-KNOWN COOK BOOK ‘THE BEST OF BRIDGE.’ WITH PERMISSION FROM THE BOOK’S DELIGHTED AUTHORS, THE NAME BECAME OFFICIAL. IN 2001, THE TEAM RACED IN THE CALGARY FESTIVAL, WINNING A MEDAL TO THEIR GREAT SURPRISE. THE NEXT YEAR, THE TEAM PARTICIPATED IN LETHBRIDGE’S FIRST DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL AND THOSE [EVENTS] IN CALGARY AND EDMONTON. IT WAS ALSO IN THAT YEAR THAT THE TEAM PURCHASED THEIR OWN DRAGON BOATS. THE VOYAGEUR CANOE WAS A GOOD START BUT IT WASN’T THE RIGHT TYPE OF BOAT NOR DID IT HOLD ALL THE PADDLERS AT ONE TIME. THE SUNRISE, LETHBRIDGE AND LETHBRIDGE EAST ROTARY CLUBS CAME TOGETHER WITH THE TEAM AND RAISED ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY TWO USED TEAK DRAGON BOATS FROM THE DRAGON RACE FOUNDATION OF ALBERTA. ONE BOAT WAS USED BY THE CLUB UNTIL 2006 WHEN IT WAS SOLD TO THE MEDICINE HAT DRAGON BOAT TEAM, THE SECOND BOAT WAS RENTED OR LENT TO OTHER LOCAL TEAMS. IN 2001, THE YWCA AWARDED ITS FIRST TEAM WOMEN OF DISTINCTION AWARD TO ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE FOR THEIR ENTHUSIASTIC APPROACH TO LIVING AND DRAGON BOATING AND FOR THEIR EFFORTS TOWARD RAISING FUNDS FOR CANCER RESEARCH AND BREAST CANCER AWARENESS. IN 2005, LONG TIME MEMBER CHRISTINE VAN RAAY, PASSED AWAY AFTER A LONG BATTLE WITH CANCER. WITH MONEY FROM HER ESTATE, A BRAND NEW D2 DRAGON BOAT WAS PURCHASED. ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2006, THE NEW BOAT WAS CHRISTENED ‘CHRISTINE’ BY COR VAN RAAY AND FAMILY. EACH YEAR, THE CLUB PARTICIPATES IN THE ATB ROTARY CLUB DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL HOSTING THE CANCER SURVIVORS’ RACE AND THE WOMEN’S COMPETITIONS, WINNING NOT ONLY MEDALS BUT THE CONTINUING RESPECT AND SUPPORT OF THE LETHBRIDGE COMMUNITY. A HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEKEND IS THE ROSE CEREMONY ORGANIZED BY ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE TO RAISE AWARENESS OF CANCER AND TO HONOUR THOSE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES TO CANCER. IN 2010, THE CLUB CELEBRATED ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY AT A DINNER WITH ALL THE OTHER SURVIVOR TEAMS PARTICIPATING IN THE LOCAL FESTIVAL. IN 2020, ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE PLANNED TO CELEBRATE ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY AT THE 19TH ANNUAL LETHBRIDGE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL BUT THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC THAT CAUSED THE CANCELATION OF THE FESTIVAL AND ALL MEMBERS WENT INTO SELF-ISOLATION.” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE ITEMS DONATED BY THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE DRAGON BOAT CLUB, INCLUDING RESOURCES SUPPLIED BY THE DONOR, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE. SEE GALT ARCHIVES FILE 20211113 FOR INFORMATION ON THE ABREAST OF ‘BRIDGE DRAGON BOAT CLUB FONDS.

Catalogue Number

P20220004002

Acquisition Date

2022-02

Collection

Museum

Less detail