Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

UNION DAIRY

Date

1958

Materials

COTTON, STEEL

No. Pieces

2

Length

84.2

Width

71.5

Description

COTTON GABERDINE APRON WITH NECK & BACK STRAP. LOOPS FOR LEGS. "UNION MILK" EMBROIDERED IN RED THREAD ACROSS CHEST POCKET. POCKETS & SEAMS STICHED IN RE-THREAD, 7 POCKETS. APRON IN KHAKI OR OLIVE GREEN. 2 STEEL LOOPS FOR STRAPS. "M" IN BLACK INK ON INSIDE. 2. BOOK OF MATCHES (FROM INSIDE POCKET): "LFA CLOSE COVER BEFORE STRIKING" ON FRONT. "UNITED FARMERS OF ALBERTA CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED" IN GREEN ON BACK. 3 MATCHES REMAIN; LARGE STAIN ON BACK OF BOOK. "FOREMOST MATCHES, REGINA".

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

RETAIL TRADE

History

MADE IN EDMONTON AB. BY REYNOLDS MFG. CO. DONOR IS A RETIRED DAIRY WORKER WHO DELIVERED MILK IN LETHBRIDGE FOR UNION MILK AND ITS SUCCESSOR COMPANY. APRONS WERE USED TO CARRY MILK TOKENS & MONEY COLLECTED FROM CUSTOMERS FOR MILK & DAIRY PRODUCTS DELIVERY. DONOR USED AN APRON FROM 1958-86, WHEN HE RETIRED. SEE ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPH 1991107612751 FOR AN IMAGE OF JIM BROWN IN HIS UNION MILK APRON, DELIVERING MILK TO EVA MERCER. THE IMAGE WAS PART OF A BETA SIGMA PHI SORORITY FUNDRAISING EFFORT RUN IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. *UPDATE* IN 2017 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT RUTHANN LABLANCE CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF CLOTHING, INCLUDING AN APRON DONATED BY JIM BROWN. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION WAS COMPILED USING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD AND FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH JIM’S SON, BRAD BROWN. JAMES “JIM” KING BROWN WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 29, 1918 IN BEDLINGTON, ENGLAND, THE SON OF JOHN AND ELIZABETH BROWN (MAIDEN NAME UNKNOWN). HE IMMIGRATED TO THE COALHURST AREA IN 1926 WHERE HE LIVED UNTIL 1937 WHEN HE MOVED TO LETHBRIDGE. IN 1939, JIM ENLISTED IN THE ARMY AND SERVED OVERSEAS FOR SIX YEARS. HE MET JOYCE HATHAWAY IN APRIL 1944 AND THE TWO WERE MARRIED ON OCTOBER 31, 1944. FOLLOWING THE WAR, JIM WORKED A SERIES OF ODD JOBS, FINALLY WORKING FOR CRYSTAL DAIRIES. HIS FRIEND JOHN M. CREDICO WORKED WITH JIM FOR 35 YEARS AT THE DAIRY AND IN AN ARTICLE FROM MARCH 29, 1995 HAD THE FOLLOWING TO SAY ABOUT JIM: “’HE WAS A VERY TRUSTING FRIEND. IF YOU WERE EVER IN TROUBLE, HE’D BACK YOU UP ALL THE WAY.’ IF A CUSTOMER DIDN’T HAVE MILK MONEY, BROWN WAS KNOWN TO LEAVE A FULL BOTTLE ANYWAY. ‘THERE WAS NEVER A TIME WHEN A FAMILY WAS LEFT WITHOUT. HE OFTEN PAID OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET.’” HE RETIRED FROM THE DAIRIES IN 1983. JIM PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 76 ON MARCH 24, 1995. JIM’S SON BRAD HAD THE FOLLOWING TO SAY ABOUT HIS FATHER: “DAD STARTED WITH, ACTUALLY UNION DAIRY, THEN CRYSTAL DAIRY, THEN IT, IT WAS ACTUALLY BOUGHT BY ALL THESE DIFFERENT COMPANIES, BUT, ONE OF THE FIRST JOBS THAT HE HAD WHEN HE GOT OUT OF ACTIVE SERVICE, WORLD WAR II WITH THE CANADIAN ARTILLERY, THIRD ARMY. SO WHEN HE CAME BACK, THERE WAS NOT MUCH WORK, HE WAS JUST JUMPING FROM JOB TO JOB TO JOB, AND HE WORKED, WORKED IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY FOR A WHILE, JUST DOING OIL CHANGES AND WHAT HAVE YOU, BUT THEN HE GOT A JOB WITH UNION DAIRY. NOW, I BELIEVE IT WAS UNION BEFORE IT WAS CRYSTAL, IF IT WAS CRYSTAL BEFORE IT WAS UNION, I CAN’T, I CAN’T REMEMBER. BUT WHEN HE FIRST STARTED, IT WAS HORSE AND WAGON. SO, WHAT THEY WOULD DO, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS APRON, IT WAS ALMOST STANDARD ISSUE TO HAVE SOMETHING ON.” BRAD RECALLED THAT HIS FATHER HAD MANY APRONS LIKE THIS ONE: “HE HAD SEVERAL OF THEM, HE JUST, YOU KNOW, HE, HE’D WEAR ONE UNTIL IT WAS LITERALLY FALLING APART, AND THEN HE’D HAVE ANOTHER ONE IN THE CLOSET. AND DAD WOULD ALWAYS WEAR HIS UNION PINS ON ONE SIDE OF THE APRON, WHERE IT COME AROUND THE NECK. AND HE’D HAVE HIS TEAMSTERS, AND ALL OF HIS, SORT OF MEMBERSHIP BUTTONS ON THERE AS WELL. SO THAT ONE I BELIEVE IS PROBABLY IN THE BEST SHAPE, PROBABLY HE DIDN’T WEAR THAT TOO MUCH. BUT THE APRON WAS USED AS A HOLDER FOR TOKENS AND CHANGE AND A LOGBOOK ALMOST … I THINK THERE’S ACTUALLY FIVE POCKETS AND THAT LARGE FIFTH ONE WAS WHERE HE WOULD HAVE HIS LOG BOOK UP TOP WITH ALL THE PENS, AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE THAT IS. IT WOULD BE QUARTERS IN THE MIDDLE, NICKELS ON THE SIDE, DIMES ON THE SIDE AND THEN THE TOKENS WOULD GO IN THE BOTTOMS.” BRAD RECALLED HOW HE AND HIS BROTHERS WOULD RAID THE APRON FOR CHANGE: “HE WOULD WORK ALMOST A MONTH, AND THERE WOULD ALWAYS BE AN EXTRA, LET’S SAY FIFTEEN TO TWENTY DOLLARS AT THAT END OF THAT MONTH. BECAUSE PEOPLE WOULD GIVE HIM A LITTLE MORE THAN HE NEEDED, AND HE WOULD JUST ACCUMULATE THIS MONEY. AND DAD KNEW WE WERE ACTUALLY GOING BEHIND HIS, WELL HE WOULD HANG IT ON HIS DOOR. STORY HERE, MY MOTHER AND FATHER SLEPT IN DIFFERENT BEDROOMS BECAUSE DAD HAD TO GET UP SO EARLY IN THE MORNING TO BE A MILK MAN. MY MOM NEEDED TO REST, SO SHE COULD SLEEP UNTIL AT LEAST 7 O’CLOCK. AND THE TRICK WAS, DAD WOULD SIT IN THE LIVING ROOM AND WE’D GO SNEAK INTO THE DINING ROOM AND RIGHT TO HIS BEDROOM. AND, AH, OUR DINING ROOM, THERE WAS TWO BEDROOMS RIGHT OFF OF THE DINING ROOM, ONE WAS MY BROTHER’S AND ONE WAS MY DAD’S. AND WE USED TO JUST SNEAK AROUND AND PUT OUR HANDS AROUND THE DOOR AND PULL COINS OUT. AND NOT VERY MUCH AT A TIME YOU KNOW, A NICK, WELL IT WOULDN’T BE A NICKEL, A QUARTER, THIRTY-FIVE CENTS, FORTY CENTS, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. SOMETHING LIKE THAT. AND WE’D TAKE IT AND WE’D EITHER BUY CONFECTIONARY CANDY, OR WE’D GO PLAY PINBALL DOWN AT THE …CAFÉ OR WHATEVER. WE LIVED RIGHT OFF OF 13TH STREET, SO, MANY, MANY STORES UP AND DOWN THERE GOT THAT MONEY FROM US ALL THE TIME. DAD KNEW IT, DAD KNEW IT ALL THE TIME, BECAUSE HE KNEW, IT WASN’T SHORT, IT WASN’T COMPANY MONEY, IT WAS HIS MONEY. INSTEAD OF HIM BEING BOTHERED ALL THE TIME FOR A NICKEL OR A DIME OR WHATEVER, WITH SIX BOYS, WELL, MY BROTHER MIKE WAS GONE BY THEN. SO HE HAD FIVE BOYS AT THE HOUSE ALWAYS, CONTINUALLY TRYING TO BUM MONEY OFF MY DAD. SO, IT GOT A LITTLE MORE DARING. NOW, THE COINS ARE NOTHING. COINS ARE EASY, BUT HE HAD ACTUAL BILLS, SO HE HAD ONE DOLLAR BILLS AND TWO DOLLAR BILLS AND FIVE DOLLAR BILLS IN HIS LOG BOOK. AND THAT’S WHERE WE – AND IF ANYONE, IT WAS ALMOST A DARE TO GO AND GRAB A DOLLAR. OR A TWO DOLLAR BILL OR A FIVE DOLLAR BILL … HE WAS VERY STRICT, AND HE KNEW DISCIPLINE, AND HE KNEW HOW TO BE POLITE, AND HE KNEW EVERYTHING. BUT STEALING WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE WORST THINGS, ONE OF THE WORST THINGS. BUT THE OLD ADAGE WAS, HE ALWAYS KNEW WE WERE TAKING THE MONEY. RIGHT, AND, WHEN WE DID GET CAUGHT, AND VERY RARELY WE DID, BECAUSE HE KNEW. HE COULD HEAR THE, HE COULD HEAR THE DOOR RATTLING … YOU KNOW WE’D, AMONG US BROTHERS, WE WOULD, YOU KNOW WE’D TALK AMONG OURSELVES AND NEVER LET DAD IN ON IT, AND THE FUNNY THING ABOUT IT, I LATER, IN LIFE, I TALKED TO HIM ABOUT IT AND HE LAUGHED, HE SAYS, “I KNEW. I KNEW ALL THE TIME.” BECAUSE WE ALL WORKED WITH HIM TOO.” ASKED ABOUT HIS TYPICAL WORK DAY AND WEEK, BRAD ADDED: “THEY WORKED SIX DAYS. THEY WORKED MONDAY TO SATURDAY … AND I REMEMBER WHEN THEY FINALLY GOT THE SATURDAY’S OFF. AND THERE WAS, IT WAS THE GREATEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO HIM. THEN IT GOT TO A POINT THAT THE UNION GOT MORE INVOLVED AND QUALITY OF LIFE GOT A LITTLE BETTER, AND WHAT HAPPENED, THEY GOT WEDNESDAYS OFF TOO SO THEY WOULD GO MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY, AND FRIDAY WOULD BE A HALF DAY. A HALF DAY, BEING, AND THIS, THIS IS ALMOST THE EVOLUTION OF WHAT WAS GOING ON THEN, THE HOME DELIVERY WAS GETTING PHASED OUT … WELL, DAD, DAD WOULD GET TO THE DAIRY, HE’D BE UP BY, PROBABLY ABOUT 5 O’CLOCK, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE BY 6. THEY’D CAR POOL, GET THERE BY ABOUT TWENTY AFTER SIX. [HE’D] GO IN, HAVE A COFFEE, KIND OF HAVE A BULL SESSION THERE. THEN THEY’D GET ONTO THE DOCKS, LOAD THEIR TRUCKS, COME IN FOR ONE LAST COFFEE KIND OF DEAL AND THEN THEY WOULD TAKE OFF. SO, THEY, IT WAS ALMOST A BY-LAW, AND I DON’T THINK THEY COULD GET GOING UNTIL 7 IN THE MORNING … [DAD WORKED] AS A HOME DELIVERY [MAN]. HE WAS A SUPERVISOR, SO HE DID ALL THE ROUTES, ALL THE WAY THROUGH LETHBRIDGE, SO HE GOT TO KNOW, LIKE EVERYBODY. AT ONE TIME, HE ENDED UP ON THE SOUTH SIDE WITH PEOPLE GIVING HIM KEYS TO GO INTO THE HOUSE TO CHECK THE REFRIGERATOR FOR MILK. AT, AT THE END, HE HAD, I THINK HE SAID ABOUT 265 KEYS ON A RING, AND HE WOULD KNOW WHICH KEY FIT EVERYONE’S HOUSE.” BRAD ELABORATED ON WHAT THE REST OF JIM’S UNIFORM LOOKED LIKE: “DAD ALWAYS WORE A TIE AND SHIRT, SHIRT AND TIE I SHOULD SAY. AND HE WOULD ALWAYS DRESS IMMACULATE (IN THAT KIND OF THING?), HIS SHOES, HIS BOOTS, HIS PANTS, EVERYTHING, HE WOULD ALWAYS KEEP THAT UNIFORM TOGETHER. AND AS THE YEARS WENT ON IT GOT A LITTLE MORE LAX, AND PEOPLE WERE IN SHORTS, YOU KNOW AND RUNNERS, AND STUFF LIKE THAT, AND DAD WOULD NEVER DO THAT. HE WOULD HAVE HIS BOOTS AND YOU KNOW, MOSTLY, MOST OF THE TIME THEY WERE ARMY BOOTS.” SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR COPIES OF THE ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD AND FOR A TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW.

Catalogue Number

P19920002000

Acquisition Date

1992-01

Collection

Museum

Less detail