Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

CADILLAC COAL

Date Range From

1945

Date Range To

1955

Materials

WOOD, GLASS

No. Pieces

1

Height

97

Width

20.7

Description

WOOD BACKED THERMOMETER WITH INSET GLASS TUBE CONTAINING RED FLUID. SCALE PAINTED EITHER SIDE OF TUBE IN INCREMENTS OF 2 & READING 40 BELOW 0 TO 120 ON LEFT SIDE & 30 BELOW 0 TO 110 ON RIGHT SIDE. TOP READS "CADILLAC COAL CARDOX-MINED THE NON-EXPLOSIVE MINING METHOD". BOTTOM READS "GALT COAL BURNS ALL NIGHT" ON A CREST. RED PAINTED CREST & BANNER, BLACK & RED LETTERING. WHITE PAINTED MASONITE BOARD WITH HOLE TOP & BOTTOM FOR WALL MOUNT. PAINT BEGINNING TO SHOW MINOR CRAZING. SOME STAINS.

Subjects

METEOROLOGICAL T&E

ADVERTISING MEDIUM

Historical Association

COAL MINING

History

DONOR RETRIEVED THERMOMETER FROM HOME OF EARLY LETHBRIDGE DOCTOR. THIS TYPE OF ADVERTIQUE WAS COMMONLY PRODUCED BY C.P.R. TO ADVERTISE GALT COALS ACROSS THE PRAIRIES. ALL C.P.R. MINES IN THE LETHBRIDGE FIELD WERE REFERRED TO AS GALT COALS. CADILLAC REFERS TO GALT NO. 8 MINE WHICH OPENED AT LETHBRIDGE IN 1935. CARDOX MINED REFERS TO A METHOD OF COAL EXTRACTION WHICH WAS DEVELOPED FOLLOWING W.W.II. MINE CLOSED IN 1957. *UPDATE* RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED INTO THE DONOR “R. E. ANKILL,” AS ONE OF HIS ARTIFACTS FELL UNDER A 2018 COLLECTIONS AUDIT PERFORMED BY COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT ELISE PUNDYK. IT WAS CONFIRMED BY HIS GRAVE MARKER THAT THE DONOR’S FULL NAME WAS ROBERT E. “BOB” ANKILL. ACCORDING TO HIS LETHBRIDGE HERALD OBITUARY, ANKILL WAS BORN ON JULY 6, 1922 IN PINCHER CREEK, ALBERTA. THE OBITUARY STATES, “HE JOINED THE CANADIAN ARMY IN 1942 AND WAS POSTED IN THE ROYAL CANADIAN CORPS OF SIGNALS FIRST ARMORED DIVISION. AFTER TAKING A WIRELESS OPERATORS COURSE, HE MET HIS FUTURE WIFE PEGGY. HE WAS THEN POSTED IN ITALY AND TOOK PART IN THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN FROM SAN VITO TO MONTE CASINO. SHORTLY AFTER HE WAS POSTED IN HOLLAND AND TOOK PART IN MANY “MOP UP” OPERATIONS AT THE END OF THE INVASION. AFTER HOSTILITIES CEASED HE JOINED AN R.C.A. DANCE AND ENTERTAINMENT BAND AND ENTERTAINED THE TROOPS FOR SIX DAYS A WEEK. IN JULY OF 1945 HE MARRIED THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE PEGGY SIMS AFTER WHICH HE RETURNED TO EUROPE TO PREPARE FOR HIS RETURN TO CANADA…” ATTEMPTS MADE TO CONTACT THE DONOR’S NEXT-OF-KIN FOR ITEM-RELATED HISTORY WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. FOR INFORMATION REGARDING ANKILL’S MILITARY CAREER, PLEASE SEE ARTIFACT RECORD P19662374000, AS IT INCLUDES EXCERPTS FROM AN ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY GALT STAFF IN 2012 WITH ANKILL’S DAUGHTER, JEANNE SHEA. PLEASE SEE PERMANENT RECORD FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, INCLUDING A COPY OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD OBITUARY.

Catalogue Number

P19910037000

Acquisition Date

1991-06

Collection

Museum

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