Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

BREAD MILK HONEY “…PROOF OF VACCINATIONS REQUIRED…” FRAMED POSTER

Date

2021

Materials

PAPER, PLASTIC, CARDBOARD

No. Pieces

7

Height

1.5

Length

92.3

Width

61.8

Description

BLACK AND WHITE “BREAD MILK HONEY” PROOF OF VACCINATION POSTER IN BLACK FRAME. POSTER READS: “BEFORE YOU ENTER PLEASE READ: PROOF OF VACCINATIONS REQUIRED AT THE TILL, THE CASHIER WILL ASK TO SEE: … IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RESTRICTION EXEMPTION PROGRAM INTRODUCED BY THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT ON SEPT 15TH, 2021… BREAD MILK __ HONEY.” COLOURED IMAGE OF AN EMPLOYEE IN BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER. CARBOARD BACKING, TWO BLACK-METAL HARDWARE ON TOP AND LEFT SIDE OF BACK, TOP HARDWARE HAS A PIECE OF GREEN PAINTER’S TAPE UNDERNEATH. RESIDE ALONG EDGE OF POSTER, FRAME IS NOT CONNECTED IN CORNERS, CARDBOARD BACKING HAS CREASING NEAR TOP, TOP HARDWARE PIECE IS LOOSE, DUST PRESENT THROUGHOUT. OVERALL GOOD – VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

ADVERTISING MEDIUM

Historical Association

BUSINESS

HEALTH SERVICES

History

ON JANUARY 25, 2022, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED BREAD MILK AND HONEY (BMH) STAFF MEMBERS, LANE STERR AND DANI ENSIGN, ABOUT BMH’S DONATION OF A ‘PROOF OF VACCINATION’ NOTICE SIGN. ON THE RESTRICTIONS EXEMPTION PROGRAM, CREATED BY THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT, ENSIGN REFLECTED: “…I THINK IT WAS AROUND THE MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER, WE KIND OF HAD A FEELING THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE CHANGES. THIS WHOLE ENTIRE COUPLE OF YEARS… HAS BEEN A ROLLER-COASTER FOR EVERYBODY. SO, I THINK THE MORE THINGS GOT THROWN OUR WAY, THE EASIER IT WAS FOR US TO ACCEPT, AND JUST GO-WITH-THE-FLOW OF EVERYTHING. WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING TO KEEP THIS CAFÉ RUNNING, AND KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE.” STERR ADDED ON HOW MUCH NOTICE WAS GIVEN TO IMPLEMENT THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM: “… OUR GOVERNMENT NEVER REALLY GAVE US A LOT OF NOTICE, TO BE PAINFULLY HONEST. BUT, I WANT TO SAY IT WAS AROUND, LIKE, ONE, OR TWO WEEKS. IT GENERALLY HAPPENED QUITE QUICKLY… WE WERE ALWAYS KIND OF LISTENING [TO DR. DEENA HINSHAW AND JASON KENNEY COVID-19 UPDATE LIVE-STREAMS], AND KIND OF, JUST WAITING FOR WHAT’S NEXT-TO-COME, SO, WHEN THEY ANNOUNCED THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM, WE DIDN’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME, AND IT WAS JUST A LITTLE STRESSFUL TRYING TO POST THINGS ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, SAYING LIKE, ‘MAKE SURE YOU ARE WEARING YOUR MASKS; WE ARE GOING TO BE REQUIRING PROOF OF VACCINE,’ (WHICH AT THAT TIME IT WAS JUST THAT LITTLE BLUE CARD, AND THEN, A LITTLE BIT LATER ON, WE GOT THE QR CODES AND STUFF). SO, IT WAS ALWAYS LOTS OF PIVOTING.” ON HOW BMH DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EXHIBITION PROGRAM, STERR EXPLAINED: “…THERE WASN’T REALLY A DISCUSSION. IT WAS THAT WE ARE GOING TO PARTICIPATE. THE OWNERS, THEY BOTH WORK IN THE HEALTH CARE FIELD… THINGS LIKE THIS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN KIND OF VERY IMPORTANT, AND, CLEANLINESS, HEALTH AND SAFETY HAVE KIND OF [ALWAYS] BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT…” ENSIGN ADDED: “[BMH STAFF] GOT A TEXT MESSAGE THE DAY OF (THAT THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED [THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM])… FROM OUR BOSS, SAYING, ‘THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING. THIS IS HOW WE ARE GOING TO DO IT’…” ON HOW THE IDEA FOR THE SIGN CAME TO BE, ENSIGN EXPLAINED: “…IT WAS KIND OF VIRTUALLY TALKED ABOUT, BUT IT WAS [GRAEME BLACK WHO] DESIGNED [THE POSTER]… WE JUST DECIDED THAT [HAVING THE SIGN], RIGHT AT THE FRONT DOOR, IT WAS JUST LIKE ‘BAM’, KIND OF IN-YOUR-FACE, A REMINDER THAT THIS IS OUR REQUIREMENT TO ENTER INTO THE SHOP. IT’S TO KEEP OUR STAFF SAFE; IT’S TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE. WE [STAFF] JUST DECIDED THAT IT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THE SITUATION. AND, ALSO, WITH THE VIEWING OF THE POSTER, I DON’T THINK IT IS ATTACKING. IT’S JUST LIKE A REMINDER… I THINK THE GRAPHIC DESIGN WAS VERY WELL PLACED. AND WE HAVE [HOPE VIENNEAU] ON THE FRONT, WHO IS SMILING, SO IT’S STILL WELCOMING… AND SHOWING THAT WE ARE A COMMUNITY CAFÉ, AND THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME IN, AND WE STILL NEED THE REVENUE. WE DON’T WANT THE CAFÉ TO CLOSE BECAUSE OF COVID.” STERR RECALLED THE MESSAGING ON THE SIGN: “I BELIEVE IT WAS, HONESTLY, ‘COPY’ AND ‘PASTED’, FROM THE ALBERTA WEBSITE, IT WAS PRETTY MUCH WORD-FOR-WORD… SO THERE’S NO CONFUSION I GUESS. WHEN YOU CREATE YOUR OWN SENTENCES, AND STUFF THAT ARE DIFFERENT, I THINK THAT [MESSAGING] CAN GET A LITTLE CONFUSING FOR THE PUBLIC. [THE MESSAGING IS] JUST WHAT THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT WAS KIND OF PUTTING IN PLACE FOR US, AND PROVIDING. ON THE STAFF MEMBER THAT IS FEATURED ON THE POSTER, ENSIGN COMMENTED: “…I THINK GRAEME JUST LIKED THIS PHOTO OF HOPE, AND HE MUST HAVE ASKED HOPE IF HE COULD USE IT, AND SHE SAID ‘YES.’ AND, THEN SHE WALKED INTO THE CAFÉ, AND REALIZED THAT IT WAS A GIANT POSTER OF HER FACE!” STERR ADDED: “IT WAS INITIALLY SUPPOSED TO BE ME ON THE POSTER, BUT I SAID, ‘ABSOLUTELY NOT’.” ON WORKING AT THE CAFÉ UNDER THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM, STERR STATED: “IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT. SOME CUSTOMERS WERE REALLY SUPPORTIVE, AND VERY HELPFUL, (THEY WERE KIND OF ON-THE-BALL). OTHER CUSTOMERS, YOU KNOW, WEREN’T AS SUPPORTIVE. THEY DIDN’T LIKE THAT [EXEMPTION PROGRAM]. THEY THOUGHT THAT WE [AS A CAFÉ] ARE INFRINGING ON THEIR RIGHTS. I REMEMBER SOMEONE SAYING THAT THEY ARE GOING TO SUE [BMH], OR SUE ME BECAUSE I REFUSED TO SERVE THEM A MOCHA… I FIND THAT IT TAKES [OLDER GENERATIONS] MUCH LONGER FOR THEM TO KIND OF ADJUST, AND GET USED TO IT, ESPECIALLY LIKE GETTING THAT LITTLE [PROOF OF VACCINATION CARD] PRINTED OFF, OR SAVED ON YOUR PHONE.” ENSIGN ADDED: “…THE TECHNOLOGY IS MORE CHALLENGING FOR THE OLDER GENERATION, TYPICALLY. SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I DO THINK THE GOVERNMENT COULD HAVE GONE ABOUT A BETTER WAY OF DISTRIBUTING THE QR CODES, SO IT WAS LESS-CONFUSING FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION. BUT, THERE HAS ALSO BEEN LOTS OF YOUNG PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE THAT DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, OR DON’T KNOW HOW TO GET THEIR QR CODE. I’VE SEEN THAT HERE IN THE CAFÉ. WE HAVE A VERY HELPING AND SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY.” ON THE CUSTOMER REACTIONS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM AT BMH, ENSIGN EXPLAINED: “IT WAS HARD TO KEEP UP. THERE WAS MULTIPLE PEOPLE A DAY THAT WOULD COME IN, AND STORM OUT, AND I’M LIKE, ‘WHAT CAN YOU DO? THERE’S NOT LIKE ANYTHING WE CAN DO. IT WASN’T OUR DECISION TO DO ALL THIS. IT WAS OUR [ALBERTA] GOVERNMENT.’ AND, THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY RESPONSE TO PEOPLE THAT ARE UPSET. LIKE, ‘YOU CAN E-MAIL, OR TALK TO THE GOVERNMENT IF YOU WANT TO, BUT I DON’T THINK GETTING MAD AT US, AT OUR WORKPLACE, IS FAIR, OR SHOULD BE ALLOWED,’ IN MY OPINION.” STERR COMMENTED EARLIER: “…A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN’T LIKE [THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM], [SOME CUSTOMERS] DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT WE WERE DOING [AT BMH].” WHEN ASKED IF DURING THIS TIME, AFTER THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM CAME INTO EFFECT, WERE THE HARDEST TIMES TO WORK, STERR STATED: “…PERSONALLY, FOR ME, I REMEMBER THE WEEKS AFTER THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM CAME INTO EFFECT, I HATED SERVING CUSTOMERS AT THE TILL. I HAD SO MUCH ANXIETY. I WAS SNAPPED AT; I WAS YELLED AT… AND YOU KNOW, I DON’T WANT ANY OF MY STAFF MEMBERS, OR CO-WORKERS, TO BE TREATED IN THAT WAY. BUT IT WAS ALSO VERY ENCOURAGING. THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT CAME IN AND WERE LIKE, ‘THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS. I FEEL SAFE IN YOUR CAFÉ.’ OR LIKE, ‘THANK YOU SO MUCH. I KNOW IT’S HARD.’ [BMH] GOT E-MAILS, AND A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE, AND I THINK THAT’S MORE IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT, THAN THE NEGATIVE. ENSIGN BUILT ONTO STERR’S STATEMENT: “…ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SO MANY REGULARS THAT COME IN ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY, AND THEY ARE JUST SO SUPPORTIVE, AND, I DON’T THINK OUR CAFÉ WOULD BE RUNNING WITHOUT OUR REGULARS, (AND THAT INCLUDES YOU, KEVIN). I ALSO THINK THE QR CODES, DEFINITELY… WERE THE MOST CHALLENGING, BUT ALSO WHEN THE MASK MANDATE FIRST STARTED, THERE WAS ALSO A TON OF PROBLEMS WITH THAT. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARGUING, AND WE USED TO HAVE THE GLASS UP BY THE TILLS… PEOPLE WOULD NOT STAND BEHIND [THE GLASS BARRIERS]; THEY WOULD GO AROUND [THE GLASS] TO TALK TO US, AND THESE [CUSTOMERS] ARE NOT WEARING THEIR MASKS. AND, LIKE, ‘I CAN’T AFFORD TO GET SICK. YOU KNOW, I’M WEARING MY MASK FOR YOU. YOU SHOULD BE WEARING ONE FOR ME.’ SO, THAT WAS DEFINITELY CHALLENGING, BUT I DEFINITELY THINK THE QR CODE WAS THE ‘CHERRY-ON-TOP’. IT’S BEEN CHALLENGING, BUT IT HAS BEEN GETTING EASIER. I BELIEVE IT IS GETTING EASIER.” ON THE WEEKS FOLLOWING THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM, STERR COMMENTED: “…WE WERE KIND OF OPTIMISTIC OF THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM. ‘WE’RE ON THE TAIL END OF THIS [PANDEMIC]; LIKE, THE END IS IN SIGHT.’ AND THEN, ‘THE END IS OBVIOUSLY NOT IN SIGHT! HERE WE ARE!’…” ON HOW LONG THE SIGN WAS UP ON THE WALL, STERR STATED: “I’M NOT QUITE SURE HOW LONG THE SIGN WAS UP FOR, BUT IT WAS UP FOR… I WANT TO SAY, AT LEAST A MONTH. I THINK THAT WE REALIZED THAT [THE SIGN] WASN’T DOING ENOUGH... IT’S KIND OF FUNNY; YOU KIND OF NEED TO REALLY BE FLASHY WITH YOUR SIGNAGE, REALLY TO CATCH CUSTOMER’S EYES, BECAUSE, DESPITE HANGING IT UP, I REMEMBER IT NOT WORKING. CUSTOMERS WOULD NOT HAVE THEIR VACCINE PASSPORTS READY, OR THEIR PROOF OF A NEGATIVE TEST, LIKE THE THREE CRITERIA [FOR PROOF OF VACCINATION].” ENSIGN ADDED: “…PEOPLE WERE JUST WALKING RIGHT PAST IT, NOT EVEN READING IT.” STERR CONTINUED ON WHAT BMH DID AFTER TAKING THE POSTER-SIGN DOWN: “I THINK WE DECIDED TO TAKE IT DOWN AFTER [STAFF] DIDN’T THINK IT WAS THAT EFFECTIVE, AND THEN, WE LATER CHANGED THE LAY-OUT OF THE CAFÉ TO HAVE OUR PROTOCOL RULES, AND QR CODES THAT YOU CAN SCAN RIGHT BY THE FRONT. IF YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR QR CODE TO SCAN, THEN IT WOULD TAKE YOU TO THE ALBERTA WEBSITE WHERE YOU COULD GET YOUR VACCINE QR CODE, AND, ALSO SOME TAKE-OUT OPTIONS, [SUCH AS] IF IT WAS TOO BUSY, OR YOU WANTED TO ORDER THROUGH SKIP THE DISHES, OR OUR POS SYSTEM…” STERR COMMENTED ON OTHER INTERPRETATIONS OF THE EXEMPTION PROGRAM: “…I THINK A LOT OF BUSINESSES ARE TRYING TO (AND I DON’T BLAME THEM; I DON’T THINK THIS IS A BAD THING), BUT TO (BECAUSE I THINK WE DID IT [AT BMH] FOR A WHILE) NOT PRETEND THAT COVID ISN’T THERE, BUT JUST TO HAVE SOME NORMALCY…” ON IF THE SIGN HAS ANY MEANING TO STERR AND ENSIGN, STERR STARTED: “…UP UNTIL YOU ASKED FOR IT [KEVIN MACLEAN], I DIDN’T SEE ANY VALUE IN [THE POSTER]… IT WAS INTERESTING TO KIND OF [THINK], ‘OH, THIS IS HISTORY,’ AND, LIKE, ‘THIS IS KIND OF HISTORY IN THE MAKING, SO-TO-SPEAK.’ AND, ONE DAY WE’LL LOOK BACK ON THIS [POINT-IN-TIME]… [AND SEE] THINGS LIKE THE MEMORABILIA OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC [SUCH AS THIS BMH POSTER]. TO ME, IT’S [REPRESENTATIVE] OF PERSEVERANCE. THE POSTER IS A SIGN OF PERSEVERANCE WITHIN OUR CAFÉ – THE AMOUNT OF PIVOTING THAT THIS PLACE HAS HAD TO DO, AND HOW THE STAFF HAD TO BE SO FLEXIBLE, AND SO WILLING TO JUST DO A NEW THING, OR WORK HARD, ESPECIALLY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES… WE’VE SEEN SO MANY SMALL BUSINESSES CLOSE DOWN OR CLOSE THEIR DOORS TO THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THEY JUST CAN’T STAY AFLOAT. SO, THIS IS, I THINK PERSONALLY, A REMINDER TO OUR CUSTOMERS, OR OUR REGULARS THAT HAVE GOTTEN US THROUGH, AND MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO BE HERE TODAY.” ENSIGN AGREED WITH STERR AND ADDED THEIR COMMENTS ON THE MEANING OF THE POSTER: “EXACTLY. I KIND OF THINK THE SAME THING… PERSONALLY, I DIDN’T THINK THE CAFÉ WOULD MAKE IT THROUGH [THE PANDEMIC], JUST BECAUSE OF THE POSITION EVERYONE, THE WHOLE WORLD PRETTY MUCH, WAS IN. I WAS WORRIED FOR SURE, BUT, YEAH, KIND OF LIKE WHAT LANE SAID. I LOOK AT THAT SIGN, AND I FEEL PROUD OF THE CAFÉ. I FEEL PROUD OF EVERYBODY THAT WORKS HERE, AND ALL OF THEIR HARD WORK. WE HAVE ALL WORKED SO HARD THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC. AND, I FEEL LIKE IT IS STARTING TO GET EASIER. AS YOU’VE SEEN [KEVIN], IT IS STILL SLOWER THAN IT USED TO BE [AT BMH], AND THAT’S NOTICEABLE, BUT IT IS MORE BUSY THAN IT WAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC. SO, I THINK THERE IS A WAY FOR OUR CAFÉ TO GET BACK TO THAT POSITION THAT WE WERE IN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, AND I THINK THIS SIGN SHOWS OUR STRENGTH…” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE BREAD MILK HONEY PROOF OF VACCINATION POSTER, BMH FACEBOOK POSTS, IMAGES OF THE SIGN HUNG IN BMH, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20220002000

Acquisition Date

2022-01

Collection

Museum

Less detail