Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

"1996 ALBERTA WINTER GAMES..." MEDAL SET ENCASED IN RESIN

Date

1996

Materials

RESIN, METAL

No. Pieces

1

Height

7.8

Length

14.1

Width

8.0

Description

GOLD, SILVER, AND BRONZE “1996 ALBERTA WINTER GAMES FEBRUARY 22-25 LETHBRIDGE” MEDALS ENCAPSULATED IN PRISM-SHAPED CLEAR RESIN. EACH MEDAL IS IN THE SHAPE OF THE ALBERTA PROVINCE, AN EMBOSSED SUN DESIGN ALONG TOP EDGE, AND OUTLINE OF A MOUNTAIN RANGE IN BETWEEN TEXT, NEAR BOTTOM EDGE. BACKSIDE OF MEDALS “ROYAL BANK” AND EMBOSSED ALBERTA GAMES LOGO. LINEN TAPE ON BACK OF RESIN “GARY BOWIE” WRITTEN IN PEN. SCRATCHES THROUGHOUT SIDES OF RESIN. OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

DOCUMENTARY ARTIFACT

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

SPORTS

History

ON OCTOBER 16, 2023, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED DR. GARY BOWIE ABOUT HIS DONATION OF A 1975 CANADA GAMES JACKET, 1996 ALBERTA WINTER GAMES MEDAL SET, AND A SECONDARY 1975 CANADA GAMES METAL SET THAT WAS NOT ACCEPTED AS AN ACQUISITION. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THE LETHBRIDGE SPORT COUNCIL WEBSITE AND THE 2023 INTERVIEW WITH BOWIE. BOWIE EXPLAINED WHERE THE MEDAL SET CAME FROM: “…THE CITY PUT TOGETHER A GROUP THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THE ALBERTA WINTER GAMES ’96, AND I CHAIRED THAT COMMITTEE, ALONG WITH MAL CLEWES [WHO] WAS THE VICE-CHAIR… THIS SET OF MEDALS, WERE FROM THOSE [1996] GAMES.” “…THE 1996 MEDALS WERE MADE UP BECAUSE THE CANADA GAMES WERE SO POPULAR. THEY WERE AN IMPORTANT PART OF [THE GAMES]… [THE MEDALS] WERE GIVEN OUT…” ON HIS INVOLVEMENT IN ‘GAMES AFTER THE 1996 ALBERTA WINTER GAMES, BOWIE EXPLAINED: “…WELL, WE [BOWIE, MAL CLEWES, CAROL GEMER, CAROL THIBERT, JANE KREMENIUK, HERMAN MALTZ, AND BRENT SEELY] STARTED A COMMITTEE, CALLED THE BID COMMITTEE, BACK IN THE DAY… ABOUT THREE, OR FOUR, OR FIVE YEARS [AFTER THE 1996 GAMES], WE WERE INTO SAYING, ‘WELL, [LETHBRIDGE IS] NOT GOING TO GET ANY MORE GAMES UNLESS WE PROMOTE THEM, SO LET’S SET UP A COMMITTEE’… WE SET UP THE COMMITTEE THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT STAYED TOGETHER AND WORKED ON THINGS [SUCH AS SPORTS EVENTS], LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS AND THAT. THEN CITY COUNCIL STARTED LOOKING TO [THE LETHBRIDGE SPORT BID COMMITTEE] TO BE INVOLVED IN RECOMMENDING AND HELPING DECISION-MAKING IN PROCESS…” BOWIE ADDED: “…IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT THE BID COMMITTEE BE EXPANDED, AND THAT BECAME THE LETHBRIDGE SPORTS COUNCIL [IN 2001].” BOWIE REFLECTED ON THE 1996 ALBERTA WINTER GAMES: “THERE JUST SEEMED TO BE SOMETHING THAT WENT REALLY STRONG IN THOSE GAMES. I DON’T KNOW. WE HAD THE RIGHT FOLKS, AND, BY THAT TIME, THE ALBERTA GAMES WERE BECOMING STRONGER, AND STRONGER. THERE HAD BEEN AN ALBERTA SPORTS COUNCIL IN PLACE, (WHICH MAX GIBB WAS THE MANAGER OF FOR A PERIOD OF TIME), AND SO ALL THAT WAS HELPFUL IN HAVING THE GAMES BECOME A STRONGER THING IN ALBERTA… IT JUST SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING THAT ALBERTA […] WAS REALLY STRONG ON…” BOWIE NOTED: “…WE ENDED UP HAVING OVER 4000 VOLUNTEERS FOR THE ’96 GAMES, AND IT WAS A MARVELOUS EVENT.” BOWIE COMMENTED: “…ONCE YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN GAMES, YOU BECOME A GAMES PERSON, AND IT’S PRETTY HARD TO DROP OUT OF IT, ONCE YOU GET INVOLVED. THERE’S SORT OF A THING, THAT YOU JUST KNOW HOW MUCH GOOD THEY CAN DO TO A COMMUNITY…” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE 1996 ALBERTA WINTER GAMES MEDAL SET, ARCHIVAL RESEARCH, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATIONS PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20230014002

Acquisition Date

2023-10

Collection

Museum

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