Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1925

Date Range To

1935

Materials

WOOD, STEEL, WICKER

No. Pieces

3

Height

61.0

Length

87.0

Diameter

20.3 (WHEELS)

Description

PAINTED GREEN-BLUE ON WICKER & METAL FRAME. PAINT WORN OFF WOODEN HANDLE. SOME WICKER BROKEN AWAY ON MAIN CARRIAGE AND ON BACK OF HOOD. HOOD HAS FRONT FRAMEWORK BROKEN IN 2 PLACES. SATIN CLOTH SEWN TO BOTTOM OF HOOD. RUBBER WORN ON ONE WHEEL. "GENDRON TORONTO CANADA" LABEL ON BASE OF CARRIAGE. MATTRESS HAS COVER, MATERIAL FADED AND STAINED. CONSERVATION REPORT ON FILE.

Subjects

TOY

Historical Association

LEISURE

History

DONOR PURCHASED IN 1952 FROM SOUTHMINSTER RUMMAGE SALE, CARRIAGE WAS VERY OLD AT THAT TIME. DONOR REMEMBERS HER DAUGHTER NOT WANTING TO PLAY WITH CARRIAGE. DONOR CAME TO CANADA FROM U.S IN 1914, HER HUSBAND FROM WINNIPEG. FAMILY FARMED IN THE PARK LAKE AREA. IN MARCH 2010, THE DONOR'S DAUGHTER BRENDA SCHULER (NEE QUELCH) SUBMITTED A NARRATIVE REGARDING HER MEMORIES OF THE CARRIAGE AFTER SEEING IT ON EXHIBIT AS PART OF THE YEAR'S TREASURES AND CURIOSITIES EXHIBIT. THE NARRATIVE SUBMITTED IS BELOW. FOR THE ORIGINAL COPY, PLEASE REFERENCE THE PERMANENT FILE. **** "THERE WERE MANY MIXED EMOTIONS FOR ME UPON SEEING MY DOLL BUGGIE. HOW DO YOU START A CHILDHOOD MEMORY, OTHER THAN I GUESS YOU WOULD SAY WHY I ENDED UP WITH THIS PARTICULAR DOLL BUGGIE?" "I REMEMBER WAKING UP ONE CHRISTMAS MORNING LOOKING FROM MY BEDROOM OUT INTO OUR LIVING ROOM. THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WERE ON, AND WHAT WAS SHINING FROM THEM WAS A BEAUTIFUL NEW DOLL BUGGIE!! WHAT A THRILL SANTA HAD BROUGHT US SOMETHING SO WONDERFUL. IT LOOKED YELLOW AS I RAN ACROSS THE DINING ROOM FLOOR ON THE WAY TO THE LIVING ROOM, SQUEALING THAT WE HAD A DOLL BUGGIE. WELL, MY SISTER, BEING 2 YEARS OLDER, AND, OF COURSE, FASTER, SHOVED ME OUT OF THE WAY, AND GOT TO THE BUGGIE FIRST, DECLARING, SINCE SHE TOUCHED IT FIRST, IT WAS HERS. I WAS DEVASTATED, TO SAY THE LEAST. MY PARENTS SAID IT WAS TO BE SHARED. WELL, MY SISTER NEVER SHARED ANYTHING! SO, MANY A TEAR WAS SHED THAT DAY. I DO NOT KNOW IF I WAS 3 OR 4, BUT THE MEMORIES OF THE FIRST SIGHTING OF THAT BUGGIE HAS STAYED CLEAR IN MY MIND, AND THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO WHAT HAPPENED. KNOWING 2 LITTLE GIRLS, I AM SURE THE FIGHT WAS ON. I DO NOT REMEMBER OTHER THAN NOT BEING ALLOWED TO TOUCH THE BUGGIE FROM THEN ON. WE WERE SO SURPRISED WHEN THE LIGHTS FROM THE CHRISTMAS TREE WERE SHUT OFF, AND THE BUGGIE WAS ACTUALLY GREY AND WHITE." "HOW LONG IT TOOK TILL THE DAY I REMEMBER GOING FOR A DRIVE, AND BEING TOLD TO STAY IN THE CAR (OUR 1952 PONTIAC), I DO NOT KNOW. I REMEMBER HAVING TO SIT, IT SEEMED FOR A LONG TIME, IN THE CAR. ALL I CAN REMEMBER IS THAT WE WERE PARKED NEAR A TALL BUILDING, AND THERE WERE STAIRS GOING UP (IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE FIRE ESCAPE STAIRS). (MY MOM HAS SINCE TOLD ME THAT IT WAS SOUTHMINISTER UNITED CHURCH. THE CHURCH WAS HAVING A RUMMAGE SALE, AND MY PARENTS HAD GOTTEN MY BUGGIE THERE FOR 75 CENTS). WELL, HERE CAME MY PARENTS, AS PROUD AS COULD BE, PUSHING AN OLD (UGLY, TO ME) DOLL BUGGIE, IN NEED OF REPAIRS; PUTTING IT IN THE CAR, AND TELLING ME THIS WAS NOW MY OWN DOLL BUGGIE. I CAN STILL SEE THEM COMING HOME, PLACING PAPERS DOWN ON OUR DINING ROOM TABLE, AND PUTTING THE DOLL BUGGIE UP THERE. MOM FOUND A SHINY LIGHT BLUE SATIN CLOTH, AND SEWED IT AROUND THE BOTTOM OF THE HOOD OF THE BUGGIE (WHICH IS STILL THERE, ONLY VERY WELL WORN). THAT IS ALL I REMEMBER THEM REPAIRING, AND TELLING ME HOW LUCKY I WAS TO HAVE SUCH A NICE WICKER DOLLIE BUGGIE WHICH WAS NOW ALL MINE. TO SAY I FELT VERY LOW, AS I THOUGHT, WELL, THAT WAS ALL I WAS WORTH TO THEM WAS SOMETHING SECOND-HAND AND BROKEN. I REMEMBER STAYING IN THE CORNER, CRYING, BEGGING FOR THEM TO PLEASE GIVE ME A DOLL BUGGIE LIKE MY SISTER’S. MY SISTER WAS NOT HAPPY I HAD RECEIVED SOMETHING THAT DAY; SAW THAT THE BUGGIE CAME WITH A DOLL AND CLOTHING. SHE DEMANDED THE DOLL AND THE CLOTHING! I REMEMBER MY PARENTS WENT SOMEWHERE, AND MY SISTER SHOVED ME OUTSIDE AND LOCKED ME OUT, SAYING I WAS NOW ALLOWED BACK IN THE HOUSE UNTIL I GAVE HER THE DOLL AND IT’S CLOTHING, AND TO TELL MY PARENTS THAT IS WHAT I WANTED TO DO. WELL, BEING LITTLE AND BEING LOCKED OUT OF YOUR HOME WAS VERY TERRIFYING, AT THE TIME. SHE TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A LESSON I NEEDED TO LEARN, AS I WAS SELFISH IN NOT SHARING. SO, TO KEEP PEACE IN THE FAMILY, I TOLD MY PARENTS I WANTED TO GIVE HER THE DOLL AND THE CLOTHING. BUT, REALLY, I FELT IT WAS NOT BAD ENOUGH THAT I HAD TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT NEW. WHY DID SHE HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE THE DOLL? (I DO NOT REMEMBER WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT DOLL). SO, TO SAY THE LEAST, THE MEMORIES ARE BITTERSWEET." "I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT, LOOKING UP AND SEEING MY DOLL BUGGIE ON DISPLAY AT THE GALT MUSEUM, GAVE ME SUCH A THRILL FOR A SHORT TIME, AND, THEN THE MEMORIES CAME BACK. I DO APPRECIATE THE FACT MY BUGGIE IS NOW SAFE, AND IT WILL BE LOOKED AFTER AND BE SEEN BY OTHERS, AND BE APPRECIATED. IT LOOKS LIKE I USED IT, AND I DID. I DID LOVE THE FACT I HAD A DOLL BUGGIE, AND, AT LEAST, IT WAS MINE, AND, AS MY SISTER SAID, “IT WAS SO UGLY NOBODY ELSE WOULD EVER TOUCH IT.” IT DID A LOT OF TRAVELING UP AND DOWN AND AROUND THE BLOCK WHERE WE LIVED. MY TREASURED DOLLS GOT LOTS OF RIDES, AND I STILL HAVE MY DOLLS." "MY SISTER’S BUGGIE WAS SO GRAND; YOU COULD TAKE THE BOTTOM PART OUT AND MAKE IT INTO A STROLLER. IT WAS MANY YEARS LATER, AFTER SHE WAS MARRIED AND HAD HER OWN CHILDREN, THE 2 BOYS CAME INTO MOM’S, AND INSISTED ON PUTTING THEIR LITTLE SISTER INTO THE BUGGIE, AND BROKE IT. MY MOM LATER GAVE IT TO AN ANTIQUE DEALER. I WAS ALWAYS SORRY THAT THEY HAD BROKEN THAT WONDERFUL BUGGIE, AND IT ALSO DESERVED TO BE IN THE MUSEUM, AS IT WAS AROUND 1953 OR 1954 WHEN IT WAS PURCHASED THAT CHRISTMAS. MY MOM TOLD ME THAT IT PROBABLY COST BETWEEN $2.00 AND $3.00. AS MY DAD WAS ONLY EARNING $1.00 AN HOUR AT THE TIME, IT WAS ENOUGH FOR THEM TO SPEND." "SO, HERE IS THE STORY OF MY BUGGIE. IT HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING FEW WEEKS SINCE I SAW IT ON DISPLAY, WITH LOTS OF MEMORIES FLOODING BACK, ABOUT HOW I ENDED UP WITH THE BUGGIE. MY MOM STILL SAYS I SHOULD BE HAPPY; AT LEAST I HAD A BUGGIE. SHE USED A BOARD AND 4 TIN CAN LIDS, AND NAILS, AND PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER TO PULL HER DOLLS AROUND AS A KID. I SAID IT WAS NOT THE FACT THAT I WAS UNGRATEFUL FOR MY DOLL BUGGIE; IT WAS JUST THE FACT MY SISTER GOT A BRAND NEW ONE, AND I GOT AN OLD BROKEN SECONDHAND ONE. MY SATISFACTION, I GUESS, NOW, AT LEAST IT IS STILL AROUND AND BEING LOOKED AT BY MANY MUSEUM PATRONS, AND WAS PICKED TO BE ON DISPLAY, FROM SOMEONE WHO HAD GOOD MEMORIES, UPON SEEING IT." ***

Catalogue Number

P19770343000

Acquisition Date

1977-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail