Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1890

Date Range To

1910

Materials

MARBLE, NICKEL PLATE, WOOD, SILK

No. Pieces

1

Length

89.5

Diameter

82.5

Description

8 RIBS. SILK COVERING (BEIGE). MARBLE BALL AND NICKEL PLATE HANDLE DECORA-TION. WOODEN HANDLE (CRANE). PEARL BUTTON CLASP.

Subjects

PERSONAL GEAR

Historical Association

PERSONAL CARE

History

AMERICAN. 20 SEPTEMBER 2013 UPDATE: ON 14 AUGUST 2012, TECH KEVIN MACLEAN VISITED THE HOME OF MRS. MIRIAM SMITH (NEE CRIGHTON) TO PROGRESS HER INTENT TO OFFER A CHILDHOOD BABY CARRIAGE TO THE MUSEUM. SMITH IS THE DAUGHTER OF MRS. “RENE” CHRISTIANA CRIGHTON (D. 2004) WHO WAS THE DAUGHTER OF LATE 1890S LETHBRIDGE-REGION PIONEER FAMILY CHARLES AND MARGARET VAN HORNE. THE ENTREPRENEURIAL CHARLES VAN HORNE SUPPLIED WATER AND ICE FOR MANY YEARS TO THE INHABITANTS OF LETHBRIDGE. THREE (3) MUSEUM DONATIONS WERE MADE BY CHRISTIANA “RENE” CRIGHTON ON BEHALF OF THE VAN HORNE FAMILY IN THE 1960S. LATER CRIGHTON MADE A FURTHER THREE (3) PERSONAL DONATIONS. IN 2012, MIRIAM SMITH WAS ASKED ABOUT HOW VAN HORNE AND CRIGHTON FAMILY HEIRLOOMS SURVIVED TO BE DONATED TO WHICH SHE REPLIED, “MY MOTHER (CRIGHTON) WAS A GREAT ONE FOR OLD THINGS … OLD THINGS WERE VERY IMPORTANT TO HER.” THE 2012 DOLL CARRIAGE OFFER (UNACCEPTED), FOR EXAMPLE, SURVIVED BECAUSE, “IF SHE (CRIGHTON) HADN’T PUT IT AWAY, I PROBABLY WOULD NEVER HAVE HAD IT … IT WAS HER THAT PUT IT AWAY, AND THEN I INHERITED IT AGAIN.” ACCORDING TO SMITH, THE VAN HORNES (GRANDPARENTS) LIVED ON THE CORNER OF 5TH AVENUE AND 7TH STREET. SHE RECALLED A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AS BEING LOCATED “RIGHT NEXT TO THE OLD VAN HORNE HOUSE” GROWING UP, SAYING, “IT WAS “A BIG, BRICK HOUSE … AND THAT’S WHERE THEY LIVED”. SHE CALLED THEM MOTHER VAN HORNE AND DADDY VAN HORNE HER GRANDPARENTS “LETHBRIDGE ICE HOUSE” WAS WHERE THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT BUILDING IS, ACROSS FROM THE HUDSON’S BAY. AS KIDS, SHE REMEMBERED GOING DOWN TO THE RIVER WHEN THEY WERE CUTTING ICE. “I REMEMBER US SKATING ON THE OLDMAN RIVER WHEN THEY WERE PUTTING UP ICE” SHE SAID, “WE JUST ALWAYS HAD LOTS OF FUN AS KIDS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE VAN HORNE FAMILY, PLEASE SEE THE ELECTRONIC AND PERMANENT FILES OF DONATIONS P19672878000 AND P19651981000. REFERENCED FILES INCLUDE A TRANSCRIPTION OF AN ORAL INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY THE VAN HORNE’S GRANDDAUGHTER MIRIAM SMITH IN 2012. *UPDATE* IN 2017, COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT ELISE PUNDYK CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF BOXED TEXTILES AND ARTIFACTS IN RELATED LOCATIONS, INCLUDING TWO UMBRELLAS DONATED BY RENE CRIGHTON (NEE VAN HORNE) IN 1965. AN INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED BY PUNDYK AT THE GALT MUSEUM & ARCHIVES ON NOVEMBER 15, 2017 WITH CRIGHTON’S SURVIVING CHILDREN, MIRIAM SMITH AND BOB CRIGHTON. THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THAT INTERVIEW: OF THE UMBRELLAS, SMITH EXPLAINED, “MY RECOLLECTION OF THE PARASOLS OR UMBRELLAS - THAT THEY WERE PROBABLY GIVEN TO MY MOM BY A LADY BY THE NAME OF JESSIE CONN. SHE WAS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER AT THE LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE AND HER FAMILY WERE OLD FRIENDS WITH MY MOTHER’S FAMILY WHICH WAS THE VAN HORNE FAMILY. AND THEY LIVED, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, IN A BIG HOUSE RIGHT ON THE CORNER OF 6TH STREET AND - 6TH AVENUE AND 7TH STREET WHERE I THINK IT’S CALLED THE LACIDEM BUILDING IS NOW… [SHE GAVE THEM TO MY MOTHER] BECAUSE THEY WERE GOOD FRIENDS AND JESSIE WAS A LADY THAT HAD NEVER MARRIED AND THEY HAD - SHE HAD NO FAMILY… SHE WAS A SINGLE LADY AND HER PARENTS WERE BOTH GONE. … AND I REMEMBER MY MOTHER SAYING [OF THE UMBRELLAS], ‘I JUST CAN’T THROW THEM OUT AND I’M GOING TO GIVE THEM TO THE MUSEUM.’” BOTH MIRIAM AND BOB RECALL CONN LIVING ON 5TH A AVENUE DURING HER TIME AS A TEACHER. LETHBRIDGE HERALD RESEARCH STATES THAT MISS JESSIE PRISCILLA CONN (ALSO KNOWN AS JESSIE PERCILLA) WAS BORN IN ANTIGONISH, NOVA SCOTIA. HER FATHER, DAVID CONN, GREW UP IN WESTVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA BEFORE MOVING WEST TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1886. JESSIE SETTLED IN THE CITY IN 1902. JESSIE’S MOTHER’S NAME IS UNKNOWN, BUT DAVID CONN’S OBITUARY STATED THAT SHE HAD PREDECEASED HIM BY ROUGHLY FORTY YEARS. DAVID CONN WAS EMPLOYED BY THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE AS A CITY ENGINEER. HE PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 71 YEARS ON 16 OCTOBER 1931. ACCORDING TO LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, JESSIE WAS EDUCATED IN LETHBRIDGE AND ATTENDED TRAINING TO BECOME A TEACHER IN CALGARY. SHE WORKED AS A TEACHER AT THE LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE FOR 20 YEARS, BEGINNING IN 1924 AND RETIRING IN 1946. SHE PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 65 YEARS. IN THE INTERVIEW, SMITH RESPONDED TO THE QUESTION OF WHETHER HER MOTHER USED THE PARASOLS GIVEN TO HER BY MISS CONN: “NO. SHE JUST REALLY LIKED OLD THINGS AND TOOK CARE OF EVERYTHING THAT SHE TREASURED, EH? AND SHE TREASURED A LOT.” “[THE UMBRELLAS WERE STORED IN] OUR BASEMENT AT HOME, [WHICH] USED TO BE A STAIRWAY TO GET IN AND SHE HAD IT CLOSED OFF WHEN SHE HAD AN ADDITION DONE AND IT WAS KIND OF LIKE HER STORAGE ROOM AND MY MOTHER STORED ALL KINDS OF THINGS IN [THERE].” ACCORDING TO SMITH, THE CRIGHTON FAMILY GREW UP KNOWING THE CONN FAMILY QUITE WELL WITH HER GRANDPARENTS AND JESSIE CONN’S PARENTS BECOMING FRIENDS WHEN THEY FIRST ARRIVED IN LETHBRIDGE. SMITH EXPLAINED, “IN FACT, MY ONE UNCLE, CONN VAN HORNE, WAS NAMED AFTER HER DAD. HIS NAME WAS CONN - DAVID CONN VAN HORNE… [AND] I HAVE A LOCKET [MISS CONN] GAVE TO ME WHEN I WAS THIRTEEN…” TALKING ABOUT THE USE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS SUCH AS THE ONES DONATED BY MRS. CRIGHTON, SMITH SAID, “AND WE ALWAYS USED TO HAVE ONE ESPECIALLY IF IT WAS REALLY SUNNY AND WE WERE OUT IN THE SUN AND IF IT WAS RAINING, WHATEVER.” WHEN ASKED IF THE PARASOLS WERE THE FASHION, SMITH ANSWERED, “WELL I DON’T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS FASHIONABLE OR NOT, BUT YOU USED TO SEE LADIES WALK DOWNTOWN IF IT WAS IN THE HOT SUMMER WITH AN UMBRELLA… WELL YEARS BACK YOU USED TO NEVER GO DOWNTOWN UNLESS YOU WERE ALL DRESSED UP. I USED TO WOULD NEVER GO OUT UNLESS I HAD A DRESS AND HAT AND GLOVES AND EVERYTHING TODAY YOU GO. I DON’T EVEN HAVE A DRESS ANYMORE. I JUST WEAR BLUE JEANS.” THE VAN HORNE FAMILY WAS WELL KNOWN IN THE CITY FOR CHARLES VAN HORNE’S BUSINESSES; THE LETHBRIDGE CARTAGE COMPANY, WHICH HE OWNED WITH WILLIAM “DELL” MCADOO AND BILL MORRIS, AND THEN AN ICE HOUSE HE OPERATED IN LETHBRIDGE, WHICH STORED AND DELIVERED ICE TO THE CITY’S RESIDENTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VAN HORNE FAMILY, PLEASE REFER TO THE 1985 ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW WITH RENE CRIGHTON HOUSED IN THE GALT ARCHIVES (P19871115000). INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THREE ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS WITH THE FAMILY (1985, 2012, AND 2017) AND LETHBRIDGE HERALD RESEARCH REVEALS JAMES ANDERSON “JIMMY” CRIGHTON (ALSO SPELLED AS CREIGHTON IN SOME RECORDS) WAS A BUTCHER WHO CAME TO LETHBRIDGE WITH HIS FAMILY FROM SCOTLAND IN 1920. CRIGHTON’S FATHER, GEORGE CREIGHTON, OPENED CREIGHTON’S MEAT MARKET IN 1920. AFTER OPENING HIS OWN MEAT MARKET IN LETHBRIDGE, JIMMY CRIGHTON BOUGHT HIS FATHER’S MARKET IN 1938 AND RENAMED IT ALBERTA MEAT MARKET. HE WORKED THERE UNTIL RETIREMENT IN 1965. AT THAT TIME, HIS THREE SONS PURCHASED THE BUSINESS. ACCORDING TO HER OBITUARY IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD, CRIGHTON MARRIED RENE VAN HORNE ON MARCH 4, 1940. THE COUPLE HAD FOUR CHILDREN: MIRIAM SMITH, BILL, RONALD, AND BOB. JIMMY PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 80 YEARS ON 5 FEBRUARY 1986. RENE PASSED AWAY AT 99 YEARS OF AGE ON 17 DECEMBER 2004. PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE FULL TRANSCRIPTION FOR THE 2017 INTERVIEW AND LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES. PLEASE SEE FILE P19651981000 FOR THE FULL TRANSCRIPTION OF THE 2012 INTERVIEW.

Catalogue Number

P19651425000

Acquisition Date

1965-01

Collection

Museum

Less detail