Material Type

Mixed Media

Physical Description

93 items

Physical Condition

Good

History Biographical

The Pemmican Club was organized at a meeting on 12 December 1894 by people who had arrived in southern Alberta prior to 1886. The purpose of the new club was to arrange a dance on 31 December 1894, New Year’s Eve. The New Year’s Eve dance has continued throughout the history of the club, the one constant as the club changed and grew over the years. The Pemmican Club has changed names several times since its founding. It has been known as the Old Timers Association, Lethbridge and District Oldtimers Association, and The Lethbridge and District Oldtimers’ Pemmican Club. The club’s current name, Pioneer Pemmican Club, was suggested by Lila McKenzie and adopted at the club’s 1979 annual meeting. The first constitution of the Pioneer Pemmican Club was adopted in 1915. Subsequent constitutions were passed in 1936, 1953, 1968 and 1985. The fundamental objectives of the Pioneer Pemmican Club have not changed since the first constitution in 1915: to encourage fellowship, entertainment and social enjoyment for the members; to collect and preserve the early history of Lethbridge and southern Alberta; and assistance to members and their families through difficult times in their lives. Constitutional amendments over the years have largely dealt with the qualifications for membership. The 1915 constitution stated that “The Association shall be composed of all who were resident of the country west of the Great Lakes prior to the 1st January 1895, and the present residents of Lethbridge descendents of all such who were members shall be eligible…” These qualifications were re-defined in constitutional amendments to clarify the geographical requirement, as well as the date by which members or their families had to have been resident in southern Alberta. The 1985 constitution set out the membership qualifications as “(a) All persons presently registered (b) A person who has resided in southern Alberta in the area south of the north boundary of Township 19, prior to December 31, 1912 (c) Direct descendents of a qualified pioneer, being twenty-five (25) years of age or over, may be entitled to membership in their own right.” It was not until 1965 that the Pioneer Pemmican Club found a ‘permanent’ home in the former housekeepers’ quarters of the Galt Hospital, at the corner of 5 Avenue and Scenic Drive South. That building was demolished in 1999, and the club found space in the Ted Petrunia Building at 16 Street and 18 Avenue North in Lethbridge. The records of the Pioneer Pemmican Club were kept in the homes of club officials until the 1920s. Then, the secretary of the club was also the secretary of the Lethbridge Board of Trade, and the club’s records were kept in the Board of trade office. A fire in 1922 destroyed the records of both organizations. The club's records since 1922 are incomplete. Source: Baines, A.P. ed. Pioneer Pemmican Club Roundup 1885-1985. Pemmican Historical Society, Lethbridge, 1984

Language

English

Acquisition Source

Pioneer Pemmican Club Ted Petrunia Building 16 Street and 18 Avenue North Lethbridge, Alberta

Custodial History

The items in this fonds were collected by the Pioneer Pemmican Club from its members. The items were displayed or stored in the clubrooms at the corner of 5 Avenue and Scenic Drive South until the building was demolished in 1999 to make way for the administration offices of the Green Acres Foundation. The items were catalogued, but the catalogue book had disappeared by 1999 when the fonds was donated to the Galt Museum and Archives.

Scope and Content

The fonds consists of photographs, film and sound recordings, book, scrapbooks and manuscript items contributed by the members of the Pioneer Pemmican Club. The fonds covers Lethbridge and southern Alberta history in general, important events in the history of the club itself, and information about individual members of the Pioneers pemmican Club. 19991041001-7 Photographs oversized 19991041028-31 Photographs oversized 19991041067 Scrapbook Coalbanks views oversized 19991041068 Scrapbook Coalbank views 19991041069 Job Reed Family informatin, photographs, and letters 19991041070-72 Pemmican Club Records 19991041073-75 Scrapbooks 199910411088 - Book of film synopsis

Access Restrictions

Public Access

Accession No.

19991041000

Collection

Archive

Less detail