Renaissance Woman

I've been doing some research for the Royal Alberta Museum.  They are in the process of building a brand new museum and populating it with new displays.  I've been doing some of the research for the displays, looking for the photographs that will help illustrate some of them.  I've been totally blessed to do something that I LOVE to do, and to get paid for it as well.  How lucky am I? In the process of doing this research, I learned about and got to talk to a fascinating woman, Irene Jewell.  I wrote about her very briefly in this earlier blog post .  When I started the research, I only knew that Irene was a burlesque dancer who was born in Alberta and who performed at the 1959 Calgary Stampede.  She was rather famous due to her height of 6 feet 8 inches.  But I've learned more ... Irene Jewell was born Irene Siewert on February 26, 1925 in Alberta - on a homestead north of Edmonton.  She graduated high school in Sangudo.  Her paren...

Alan Bruce Powley The leadership for the battalion was established early on.   Major Alan Bruce Powley was asked to be the commanding officer of the battalion on December 7, 1915. [1]   He was confirmed in this position by General Sam Hughes on or about the 15 th of December. [2]   Unfortunately, I don't have permission yet to use the photographs, so you'll have to live without them - even though they are the best part of the whole thing. Figure 3:   Lieutenant Colonel Alan Bruce Powley (B.C. Archives 198011-011, Box 27, File 8)  Powley was born on September 25, 1876 in Drayton, Ontario to Canadian-born father, John Brooks Powley, and Irish-born mother Eliza Jane Bruce. [3]   He married Eva Constance Cameron on September 5, 1900, in Brandon, Manitoba.   According to the 1901 census, he was a jeweller in Brandon earning $900 per year, and he was a Methodist.   Sometime between the census of 1901 and May 2, 1904 (when the paper announce...

I spent 4 hours on Saturday morning manning the "East Gate" at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum.  It was their annual History Road special event, and the staff, volunteers and registered cars all come through the East Gate.  What I realized as I was directing all the drivers to the check in was that car emissions really have improved over the years.  It was amazing how much the older cars smelled.  And I was thankful that the energy crisis of the 1970s had at least helped significantly with emissions and gas mileage.  Even if we didn't keep up with some of the good work that started then, at least we took that forward. There is something to be said as well with the aesthetic of older cars.  There really was an art to the design of cars (and there still is, really), and it is evident when many are together in one place:

Last weekend I went with Daniel to his first actual campout with the Beavers (Scouts Canada)!  I was in the Guiding movement for 10 years as a youth, and am no stranger to campouts and hiking, so I had a lot of fun!  Especially when the Beaver leader, in mock frustration (or maybe it was real frustration) aimed at myself and another ex-Guider the comment: "Who let the Girl Guides come, anyhow?"  We were showing him up a bit with out camp skills. My husband came out for supper on Saturday night (he is NOT a camper - not that he CAN'T camp, actually, he could survive quite well if he HAD to, but he'd rather just not have to) and laughingly told me I was "in my element".  Which I take as a great compliment.  I like camping.  It is uncomfortable at times, but I really do like the fresh air and the experience in general. Anyhow, we went on a 2-hour plus long nature hike with the 5-7 year old Beavers.  It was grand - crossed the creek on fallen trees bot...

Last night we were enjoying a rousing evening of company and conversation at our friends' house across the street.  Dale and Kevin have a beautiful 1914 Eaton's catalogue house.  They have lovingly restored it to it's deserved stateliness, and have decorated the interior with bits and pieces of history - wonderful pieces of furniture, old picture frames, shutters, trunks and the like.  A glass-topped coffee table has compartments that show off the bits and pieces of past lives that they have dug up in the garden and around the property.  They like to surround themselves with old things.  Maybe that's part of the connection we have with them - a love of the past and the past's stuff. Anyhow, last night someone pointed out the mark on a piece of wood that Kevin brought to the house.  This piece of wood sits atop a radiator and serves as a side table with a lamp and books sitting on it.  I'd never really thought about it, wondered where it came fro...