Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

LUNCH KIT

Date Range From

1950

Date Range To

1970

Materials

STEEL

No. Pieces

1

Height

7.8

Length

22.1

Width

16.1

Description

STEEL LUNCH BOX IS PAINTED YELLOW WITH BROWN STRIPES TO LOOK LIKE WOOD. TOP LID LIFTS ON HINGES AND HAS A LIP AROUND THE EDGE. BOTTOM PIECE LOOKS SIMILAR. ON LID IS SMALL KNOB PIECE OF STEEL THAT FITS INTO RAISED LATCH ON SAME SIDE OF KIT. LATCH FOLDS OVER TOP OF UPPER KNOB. HAS RECTANGULAR HANDLE WHICH FOLDS DOWN OR PULLS OUT ON HOLLOW STEEL RECTANGLES THAT WORK LIKE HINGES AND ARE ATTACHED TO KIT BY ROUNDED STEEL PIECES. ON ADJACENT SIDES TO HANDLES ARE SMALL RECTANGULAR SLOTS FOR CIRCULATION. INSIDE IS WHITE WITH CURVED STEEL WIRE TO HOLD THERMOS IN PLACE. ON TOP IS MULTI-COLOURED CARTOON OF ROY ROGERS ON A PALOMINO HORSE WITH A WOMAN AND A DOG BEHIND HIM LOOKING HAPPY UNDER A GATE THAT READS "ROY ROGERS AND DALE EVANS DOUBLE R BAR RANCH". ON OPPOSITE SIDE IN BROWN IS A CURLED OUTLINE WITH "RR" IN THE MIDDLE AND ON OPPOSITE CORNERS A HORSE SHOE AND THE OUTLINE OF A BULLS HEAD. READS ON BACK SIDE "ROY ROGERS A PRODUCT OF THE AMERICAN THERMOS BOTTLE CO. NORWICH, CONN., U.S.A.". HAS MINOR SCRATCHES AND SIGNS OF CORROSION. LID STICKS A BIT.

Subjects

FOOD SERVICE T&E

Historical Association

DOMESTIC

History

*UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS, INCLUDING ONE DONATED AS PART OF THE ING ESTATE (P19950073023). SHE EXTRACTED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ON THE ING FAMILY FROM PERMANENT FILE P19950073001, WHICH CONTAINS A TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW COLLECTIONS TECH KEVIN MACLEAN CONDUCTED WITH HAROLD ING JR., SON OF HAROLD AND MYRA, IN HIS ROOM AT THE LETHBRIDGE HOTEL IN SEPTEMBER 2005. MYRA WAS BORN IN GOLDEN B.C. TO SHIN-BOW AND CHOW TING RAH; HER FATHER ORGINALLY EMIGRATED TO CANADA TO WORK ON CANADIAN RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION AND LATER BECAME A RESTAURANTEUR, WHERE MYRA DEVELOPED HER ENGLISH SKILLS AS A WAITRESS. "IN 1906 MY DAD [HAROLD ING SR.] LEFT HONG KONG FOR VANCOUVER, HE COULDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH... HE'S GOT TO BE A WAITER, A BUSBOY... AND HE LEARNED ALL THE WAY UP, IN THE MEANTIME PICKING UP ENGLISH... WENT TO WINNIPEG. THIS IS BEFORE ME. BY THEN HE KNEW THE WHOLE SYSTEM OF RESTAURANTING." MYRA AND HAROLD SR. MARRIED AND ADOPTED HAROLD JR. WHEN HE WAS BORN INTO A POOR FAMILY OF ELEVEN IN 1944, IN VANCOUVER. "ME AND MY TWIN SISTER WERE SOLD BECAUSE THERE WERE JUST TOO MANY. SO DAD, MY MOM PICKED ME AND DAD SAID YES THAT'S GOOD... I DON'T KNOW WHERE MY SISTER IS... THERE'S NO WAY OF FINDING OUT." THE ING FAMILY SETTLED IN LETHBRIDGE IN THE LATE 1940S, AND HAROLD SR. OWNS AND OPERATES THE NEW MOON CAFE AND TWO GROCERIES, WHICH ARE RUN BY THE FAMILY AND NEW CHINESE IMMIGRANTS THAT HAROLD SR. SPONSORED. "AT APPROXIMATELY FIVE YEARS OLD [MY FATHER] INTRODUCED ME TO THE NEW MOON CAFE, AND I WAS A BUSBOY AT THE AGE OF FIVE... IN 1951 HE SHOWED ME MY FIRST HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL... BECAUSE HE WAS THE OWNER... HE'D WAKE UP AT FIVE IN THE MORNING TO GO TO THE CAFE, OFF AND ON TO THE GROCERY STORE AND MIGHT BE DONE AT EIGHT AT NIGHT, SUPPER AND IMMEDIATELY TO CHINATOWN [FOR] GAMBLING, PUTTING DOWN MAH JONG." HAROLD JR. ATTENDED WESTMINISTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DURING THE DAY, AND CHINESE SCHOOL AT THE CHINESE NATIONAL LEAGUE IN THE EVENINGS - HIS FATHER WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE, AND THE ORGANIZATION RAN THE SCHOOL, CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS, FILM SCREENINGS, AND BANQUETS, FUNDED BY MEMBERSHIP FEES. HAROLD'S YOUNGER BROTHER, CALVIN, "GOT SENT TO A BOARDING SCHOOL SOMEWHERE. HE WAS GIFTED, BUT HE HAD A BYPASS SURGERY, HE HAD SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIS HEART. HE COULDN'T HANDLE PUBLIC SCHOOL, SO THEY SENT HIM TO B.C." AFTER HIGH SCHOOL AND A BRIEF STINT IN CALGARY, HAROLD JR. RAN ING'S GROCERY FOR HIS FATHER, AND IN THE LATE 1960S AND EARLY 70S ALSO WORKED AS A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD AND A SALESMAN AT SEARS. BOTH HAROLD SR. AND MYRA ING PASSED AWAY IN THE 1990S, AND THE OBJECTS ENCOMPASSING DONATION P19950073001-231 WERE COLLECTED FROM THE FAMILY HOME. FOR A COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW, COPIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND WRITTEN DETAILS ON THE CHINESE NATIONAL LEAGUE, SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P19950073020

Acquisition Date

1995-11

Collection

Museum

Less detail