Pitt Meadows Museum
12294 Harris Road V3Y 2E9 Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada

This weeks out of the box artifact is a wooden coffee mill. This was brought to Canada by mother of Frieda Hoffmann in 1903 and her mothers uncle in Austria worked for the factory that made them, and the uncle made this one as well. Originally to grind coffee, a mortar and pestle were used. The method was upgraded by utilizing a spice grinder to grind the coffee beans, although this was more refined than a mortar and pestle it still was not fine enough. The coffee mill was in...vented by Nicholas Book in the later part of the 17th century (c.1665). The design was improved upon and by the end of the 19th century they could be found in many homes throughout the world! Jean-Pierre Peugeot created a coffee mill in 1840 (remarkably like the shape and design that this artifact is), with a small drawer to store the grinds, a wooden base, and a metal handle on top. Nowadays most people opt for a pre-ground bag of coffee if they are going to make it. How do you prefer your coffee?

Memory lane Mondays February 15th post is all about hockey! This photograph features 12 men with their hockey skates and sticks (one of the men is possibly John McMyn). Hockey is Canadas official winter sport (our summer sport is Lacrosse). Canada is viewed as the birthplace of ice hockey, and we all hold the game near to our hearts and claim it as our own. Although there are several Canadian locations that claim to be the birthplace of ice hockey, the recognized birth place ...is Montreal in 1875. Championships began to be held in Montreal in the 1880s, and this would eventually lead to the awarding of the Stanley cup (considered the oldest trophy in North American sports, it was first presented in 1893). The National Hockey Association was formed in 1910, and the National Hockey League followed in 1917. Did you ever play hockey as a kid? Do you have any memories of hockey in Pitt Meadows? Add them to our community map! https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/community-map

This weeks out of the box artifact is a Valentines Day Card! Valentines day is based off a Roman holiday, the ritual cleansing of Februa which was held on the 15th of February. This evolved further into Lupercalia which was a pagan festival for securing fertility and bounty for the next year. There have been dozens of saints that carry the name St. Valentine. Supposedly the first Valentine was jailed for proselytizing and defying an emperor’s ban on preforming marriages. He w...as condemned to be executed sometime around 278 AD., he wrote a letter to his daughter before he died and wrote from your Valentine. This technically would make him the first valentine. The first Feast Day of St. Valentine was held on February 14th to honor the martyr. By the 14th century we start seeing the first signs of Valentines Day being held as a day to proclaim one’s romantic love. The worlds oldest surviving Valentines was sent from Charles, Duke of Orleans while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415. He wrote a Valentines to his wife who tragically died before receiving the card, and now the card is held in the British Library. The first modern Valentines Day Cards were sent in the 18th century, these are the closest we have to Valentines Day cards that we would send today (just more elaborate). Originally these were lovingly hand-made as there were not any pre-made cards available. These cards would be intricately decorated with flowers, love knots, puzzles, and poetry. Since these were bulky and fragile cards, they would be stuck under the recipient’s door or tied to it. Most of these cards were delivered anonymously, but most would know the anonymous sender. By the Victorian era, mass production of Valentines day cards occurred (and the usage of insult cards known as Vinegar Valentines). This allowed for Valentines Day to become more affordable and realistic to the everyday person. Today, Valentines Day is a holiday that is used to express love and admiration to anyone and everyone in your life. Valentines Day is the second most popular holiday to send a card (with the first being Christmas). Happy Early Valentines Day from all of us at the Pitt Meadows Museum!

Memory Lane Mondays February 8th post is all about simple pleasures. We can all appreciate this beautiful arbor with the greenery. These photographs feature Mr. and Mrs. Smith at the arbor in front of their home. The clothing appears to date the photograph to 1930’s. Someone identified the photograph as Mammy & Pappy Smith, Ford Road, always had a beautiful garden. Happy Early Valentines from all of us at the Pitt Meadows Museum. Take this time to do something you love with... someone that you care about! Do you have a memory of Pitt Meadows? Add it to our community map: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/community-map

Museum Sunday __________ This weeks Museum Sunday is one we have previously done here at the Museum, Popsicle Harmonicas! So lets create this little noise maker! Supplies needed: Scissors, wax paper, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, rubber bands and a permanent marker. If you have smaller hands, an adult would be handy as well.... _____________ Step one: Gather all your supplies. Step two: Using a popsicle stick, draw the shape out onto your wax paper. Use a pencil if you can see it, since it will not show as much as a marker would. Step three: Cut out your popsicle shaped wax paper. As we said above, if you use a permanent marker, you should try to remove as much of the colour as possible, so it does not show on your finished instrument. Step four: Create a sandwich in the following order: Popsicle stick, cut waxed paper, popsicle stick. Wrap an elastic band tightly around one end of the popsicle stick stack. Step five: (You can also do this step at any time) Trim your toothpick to approximately the size of your popsicle sticks (we found with ours we only needed one toothpick), you will need two of these trimmed sticks. Do not use the sharp ends! Step six: Push one of your trimmed toothpicks up against the elastic band that you put on in Step four. Step seven and eight: Add another elastic band on the other side, however before you do this, add the other toothpick. It is also important that if you look at the harmonica sideways that one of the toothpicks is above the paper and one is below (See step eight) since the sound works better this way. Step nine: Use the instrument as you would a simple harmonica. If you cannot get a proper noise to come through there are several things you can do: Tighten the elastic bands and make sure the paper is more stretched, push more air through the instrument, or trying humming through it. Fun hint: You can also decorate your instrument before! Add stickers, or coloured popsicle sticks to really make these harmonicas pop! Have fun!

On the fifth day of Christmas my Museum showed to me five Christmas cards. Technically it is one Christmas program and four Christmas cards. Traditionally Christmas cards depict the Nativity scene or other symbols and imagery of Christianity, today most Christmas cards feature nondenominational scenes allowing us to send joy and cheer to everyone we know. The first Christmas cards were sent in 1843 when an Englishman, Henry Cole, commissioned his friend and artist, John Horsl...ey, to design a card for him. From Horsley’s original, Cole had 1,000 cards printed and had many of them hand tinted. He then used the English penny post system (he had helped establish in 1840) to mail the cards to friends and business associates. The remaining cards were then given to Joseph Cundall, a store owner and artist, who also hand tinted them and then sold them to eager customers. These cards are considered the first to be commercially marketed Christmas cards. The process of printing, tinting, and mailing was expensive, and this kept the Christmas card tradition from catching on with the general public. Eventually, more efficient presses became available, allowing for mass production of cards including coloured cards. In 1870 the cost to post a card dropped to a half penny, and this, combined with the lower cost of mass-produced cards, allowed the average English celebrant to send these Christmas greetings. As in England, early Christmas cards in North America were expensive to produce and mail and did not really catch on until printer Louis Prang began mass producing them around 1873. He held annual contests for the best Christmas card design and then he printed the winners, thereby bypassing the artist fees. By the 1880’s his business was booming with a printing process so good that he was able to replicate the original designs precisely and print up to 15 colours on a card. In 1915 John Hall and his two brothers established a new player in the market, Hallmark Cards, and they soon cornered the market on Christmas cards. Popular early Christmas card themes were winter scenes with children, sleds, skaters, and nature. Many of these cards were so ornate they could only be given by hand, but most were the mass-produced variety. Annie Oakley is credited with sending the first personalized Christmas cards -- they featured an image of herself on their cover. As she was doing a show in Glasgow, Scotland at the time, she is dressed in a tartan on the cards. The year 1891. Christmas Seals on card envelopes to raise funds for charity go back to the early 1900s when the idea originated in Denmark. They were a huge success with over four million being sold in the first year, and the practice quickly spread to most of Scandinavia, then Europe, and then North America. We have many Christmas cards in the Museum’s collection with a few dating to the early 20th century and most dating to the 1930’s through 1950’s. Do you still send out Christmas cards?

This weeks out of the box artifact is a black silk (perhaps beaver) top hat with a black silk band at its brim. The inside has written West End Style Extra Quality 1851 London, 1874 London, 1885 International. Based on the shape of our hat this is a D’orsay style hat. Beaver hats were popular in Europe from around 1550-1850 as the material was easy molded into a variety of shapes and styles. One could argue that Canada was founded off of peoples need for fashion, as the f...ur trade brought many people to Canada (not known as Canada at the time, British North America) during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The best hats HAD to be made from beaver pelts, regardless of style. Beaver pelt was perfect for felting because of how the pelt was made up. Beaver has soft under-fur that is natural barbed allowing it to be easily felted and molded into a hat. As Beaver pelts were naturally waterproof the hats retained that waterproofing. North American beavers pelt was naturally thicker to protect against our colder climate. First Nations groups and hunters would utilize their beaver pelts to make winter coats and as they wore them, the pelt would have the guard hairs worn off making the pelt softer. First Nations would then trade their used and worn coats to North Americans who would utilize the soft pelts to make hats. Eventually the beaver’s numbers decreased to disastrous levels, luckily fashion had once again changed, and a new hat called the silk topper was introduced at the end of the 1830’s. Do you wish hats were still the fashionable accessory they once were? Do you wear a lot of hats?

Memory Lane Mondays December 7th post is all about snow! The first image is of the Hoffmann House with shop extension in the front, the second image is of the north side of Hoffmann shop with Consolidated Grocery in the background and the final image is of a path through the snow to the garage (all of these images are c.1950s). Do you remember this years snowstorms in January? Do you have memories of snowy days in Pitt Meadows? Share them to our community map: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/community-map

Museum Sunday ____________ This week’s craft is Sock snowmen! A cute little treat that will add a smile to peoples face as it is the snowman that never melts! Supplies needed: White socks, pipe cleaners, pompoms, felt, elastic bands, glue gun, and stuffing for your snowman (we used rice and the second sock). Optional supplies: Anything you want to decorate your snowman with... ____________ Step one: Gather your supplies Step two: Start stuffing your sock. The more stuffing you use the larger your snowman will be, and the less stuffing you use the smaller it will be. Step three: Keep filling your snowman until it is the size you want. Step four: Add elastic bands to create the ball shape of the snowmen. It can be made with as many circles as your sock allows. We made ours out of two. Do not worry about the elastic, once the snowman settles, it will cover the middle one and the top one gets covered in the next step. Step five: Use the rest of your sock and fold it down to create a hat. You can cut the sock down, but we used the elastic of the top of the sock to create the hats brim. This will also cover the top elastic. Step six: Gather your supplies to decorate your snowman. We used a pompom for the top of its hat (which you don’t see in the photographs), a felt rectangle to create a scarf, pompoms for its eyes buttons and smile, and pipe cleaners for its arms and nose. Step seven: Use the scarf to cover the snowman’s neck and the elastic used to create it. We added little slits at the end of the scarf to create a fringe effect. Step eight: Glue the nose, arms, buttons, eyes, and any other items you want added to your snowman. We highly recommend getting an adult to hot glue the items to the snowman for longevity. Step nine: Display your little snowman! Have fun with your chilly creations!

On the fourth day of Christmas my Museum showed to me four cookies cut from this tree. Everyone knows that Christmas seems to be the time that bakeries and kitchens all have that sweet smell drifting into our noses from holiday baking. Sugar cookies, gingerbread, ginger snaps, oatmeal raisin cookies, spritz cookies, all these desserts tantalize our taste buds and every year we look forward to the holiday season and all the delicious sweets we will indulge in. We are all a lit...tle bit jealous of Santa who gets to eat millions of cookies in a night. Christmas baking finds its roots in the Winter Solstice festivals of the 10th and 11th century. Observed across the world, these events celebrated the changing of seasons. It was only during these important events that families could afford to splurge on special items (like baked goods), and during the Middle Ages people would gift baked goods to share their spoils. Spices that we associate with the holiday were only used during celebrations as they were too costly to use year round, which is why we have the association with spiced treats (like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger) around the holiday. We are not entirely sure where the tradition of leaving cookies out for Santa started but most historians believe that it started with the man himself Saint Nicholas (the Saint Santa is based on). Saint Nicholas was known for his kindness, and children returned his kindness in the form of baked goods on the eve of St. Nicholas Day on December 6th. During the Great Depression, parents encouraged their children to leave baked goods out for Santa to encourage generosity (and hey, Santa is leaving presents, so it seems like a fair trade). Do you have a favourite Christmas cookie?

This weeks out of the box artifact is a portable hair dryer in a carrying case c.1962. The hair dryer was invented by Alexander Godefroy in France in 1890 and was available for commercial sale in 1920. The first portable dryer was metal and a wooden handle, these were unfortunately heavy and difficult to use. The appearance of the hair dryer remained largely unchanged; it was pistol-shaped allowing for it to be held easier by the user. In the 60’s the hair dryer was made with... plastic, allowing for it to become more available and wanted by the public. This style of hair dryer for home use took off in the 1950s. The Bonnet hair dryer was introduced to consumers in 1951. It is a small portable dryer connected by a tube to a plastic bonnet, and it worked by giving an even amount of heat to the whole head at once. Have you ever used a bonnet hair dryer?

On the third day of Christmas my Museum showed to me three candle clips! We have a few of these candle clips that were used to place candles onto the Christmas tree before the usage of Christmas lights. Candles on Christmas trees began to appear in the 1500s. Candles were extremely expensive at the time and the appearance of them on trees was a way to show off your family’s wealth. Luckily by the 1800’s candles started to become more affordable allowing middle class families... the opportunity to adorn their trees with them. Candles were only to be lit when there were people in the room (who would be able to quickly put out any fires) as trees became more dangerous when they dried out. Originally the candles were attached to the tree with pins, or using the hot wax from the candle, it was not until around 1890s that candle holders started to be utilized. The shape helps prevent the hot wax from dripping onto the tree, as the tray like piece on the bottom collects the wax. Unfortunately for those who like the look of candles on trees there are some glaringly obvious reasons why these were not the best option. In 1882, Edison’s Electric Light Company’s Edward Johnson used the first electric lights on trees. This was extremely expensive at the time, so it was not until the price of electric lights went down in the 1930s that they started to overtake candles as the way to light up the tree. Nowadays most new trees have lights built into them so we no longer have to fumble with cords that always seem to tangle (not to mention the annoying old lights where one light goes out and they all went out, and the hassle to fix them!). Do you have lights on your Christmas tree? Share a photo below!

Memory Lane Mondays November 23rd post is all about the service of Pitt Meadows veterans This photograph features a place that we all know in Spirit Square, our towns cenotaph. The cenotaph was constructed in 1990 in memory of all who served and died. The late Mr. Walter Laseur and other local members of the Royal Canadian Legion and Municipality came together to design and construct the Cenotaph and the surrounding landscape.... The Royal Canadian Legion erects and maintains war memorials and cenotaphs across Canada. These serve as gathering places for ceremonies on Remembrance Day and to remember the sacrifice throughout the year. Cenotaphs aren’t built to glorify or idealize events that happened, they are built to honour and remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country. Do you have a memory of a veteran? Help preserve their legacy by adding their story to our community map: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/community-map

This weeks out of the box artifact is a War Savings Stamp book donated by the Park family. This book is from 1941. Bonds were introduced as ways to help fund the war effort during WW1, this practice continued, and they were utilized during the second world war as well. These savings stamps allowed Canadians to purchase stamps that were redeemable for a certificate which were worth a higher amount after the war. If you could not purchase a certificate directly (as they were h...igher denominations such as $5, $10, $25, etc.) you could buy it through installments with war savings stamps. Children were heavily encouraged to take part in the stamp program. War Savings Certificates were sold door-to-door by volunteers, and by banks, post offices, trust companies, and trusted dealers. Individuals could not own more than $600 worth of these certificates. This made them less financially successful than the Victory Bonds (where there was no purchase limit). The War Savings Certificates still raised $318 million in funding for the war effort. The Canadian Government needed to fund the war effort and they even created short advertisements to promote the victory bonds and war savings certificates. The Walt Disney company even created an advertisement with Donald Duck which you can view here: https://youtu.be/9gwaON1hJd4 Today is Remembrance Day, and we encourage you to think about what that means to you and reflect on veterans and our past.

We are closed today in honour of Remembrance Day. This year, the city requests that residents stay home as they are not hosting a public ceremony this year. The city is offering a livestream of their Remembrance Day event on their Facebook beginning at 10:45 am for those who wish to watch. This photograph is of the cenotaph taken c. 1990s.

Museum Sunday ____________ This week’s craft is I-Spy Jars. A super simple craft that is portable and easy to carry on long road trips. Supplies needed: Rice (you can colour the rice if you want or leave it plain)/sand, a jar with a lid, small toys, beads, pompoms, etc. to put into your jar.... ____________ Step one: Gather your supplies Step two: Get your jar and unscrew and take off the top. You want to pick a jar that is a screw top, as it becomes less likely that the jar will come undone. Step three: Start loading your jar with rice. The more rice you fill it with the harder it will be to see the items, increasing the difficulty of the game. Step four through six: Start loading the jar up with rice and all your little items (we highly recommend kinder egg toys, beads and pompoms, the more colour the better!) Step seven: Make sure you are adding rice to help obscure the items. Step eight: Once you have filled the jar as much as you want (if you want to fill it further you can, just know the fuller the jar the harder it is to spin and find items) make sure that it is tightly shut. If you want you can glue the lid shut, but we recommend just tightly screwing it that way you can switch out the items or add new ones when you want. How to play: This game works with two players. One person says I spy with my little eye something that it (Blank), and the other person tries to guess which item it is. For example: I Spy with my little eye something that it green. That item would be the green pompom, but someone might guess the toys legs, or a bead, before they get it correct. Have fun!

Memory Lane Mondays November 9th post is all about continuing to highlight our veterans. This image features William McDermott in uniform and a group photo with him in the centre. William served during the first world war. He was married to Edith McDermott in 1920 after his service. William and Edith’s son Doug served in WWII as a mechanical engineer. Written in Edith McDermott’s Historical Story of Pitt Meadows:... "After World War I the Department of National Defence gave field guns to each municipality and asked that they be suitably mounted. The Rev. David Donaldson paid many visits to the city fathers urging to have this done but nothing happened. On Hallowe'en night [1929c.] two war veterans, Ted Herbert and William McDermott, under cover of darkness, dragged the guns to the roof and proceeded to wire them into position. While so doing they were bombarded with stones from the road. There were plenty then as that was long before the days of pavement and Robert Sharpe, who was passing by and wondered what the commotion was, threw them with zest. In the morning there were the guns really mounted" Did you know that you can search Canadian WW1 Records? The Library and Archives of Canada offers this service to anyone and can be found here: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca//personnel-rec/Pages/search.aspx Do you have a memory of a veteran? Help preserve their legacy by adding their story to our community map: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/community-map

Museum Sunday ____________ This weeks Museum Sunday is how to make poppies to decorate your window!... We do however encourage parents and educators to find resources to educate your children on why the poppy is important and why we have Remembrance Day. There is a great resource from the No Stone Left Alone organization who compiled a great list of resources of games, songs, poems, activity sheets, history lessons, that we encourage you to check out here: https://www.nostoneleftalone.ca/more-teacher-resources/ Supplies needed: Paper in red and green, scissors, and a black marker. _________________ Step one: Gather your supplies Step two: Draw what shape you think looks most like a poppy (it is a good time to look at the poppies we wear on our coats, or even google an image of poppies) and cut out the red shape. Step three: Draw your leaf shape and cut out your leaves. Step four and five: Glue your leaves onto your red poppy Step six: Draw your centre of your poppies. For ours we started with a circular pattern of lines Step seven: We drew circles in black to finish the centre Step eight: Put your new poppies into your window! Step nine: Remember that Remembrance Day happens on November 11th, and although the ceremonies will look a lot different, we hope that you will take the time out of your day to remember those who served and continue to serve.

This weeks out of the box artifact is a newspaper copy with the headline Extra- Germany Surrenders dated May 7th, 1945. Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) is the official end of fighting in Europe following the Second World War and is celebrated on May 8, 1945. Canadians had been fighting since September 1939, more than a million Canadians served (and that is not including the effort of the Homefront which had been fully mobilized to help the war effort) and 42,000 had been kil...led. There were two early reports of German surrender, one on April 28th, and the second was the morning of May 7th (which is why the date on this paper is wrong). The military surrender was signed in France at 2:41 am on May 7th 1945 but the news was to be withheld for 24 hours. The withholding of information as well as the inevitable surrender is what caused the early reports. In Canada, large crowds filled the streets. Parades, dancing, singing, and all over exuberance was felt that the conflict was finally over. Unfortunately, some rioting and looting occurred during the celebrations with the largest event occurring in Halifax. Canada would go on to help defeat Japan, and Japan would surrender on August 14th with their official signing of surrender on September 2nd, 1945. The Second World War was officially over. From London, King George VI conveyed his joy in a speech to Canada and the Commonwealth: "The war is over. You know, I think, that those four words have for the Queen and myself the same significance, simple yet immense, that they have for you. Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own. Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this terrible war who does not realize that we shall feel its inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten our rejoicings of today."

Memory Lane Mondays November 16th post is all about Pitt Meadows veterans. This week we are featuring Private Robert James Jimmy Barnes of the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada! The first two images are of Jimmy in England, and the last image he is the man kneeling in front of the sign and is the image that the story below mentions. This letter was published about Jimmy in the Liberty magazine in 1945 and said this about Jimmy ... I am writing about the illustration of your January 6 editorial, as the story behind it seems to typify the attitude of so many of our boys overseas. In the foreground the picture, kneeling, is the boy who made and painted the sign, Pvt. Jimmy Barnes of Pitt River, British Columbia. He joined voluntarily at the beginning of the war, was sent overseas immediately; not particularly fond of the Army but sticking it out. He went through the London Blitz, etc., refusing promotions. Landed with the Seaforth’s in Sicily, fought with them till May 1944, was wounded and sent home in December. He evaded photographers and reporters all the way across Canada and came home as unheralded as he went, only with a maimed left hand as a souvenir. When he was wounded, the captain noticed him as he was being taken out. What in the hell were you doing up there? Now who’s going to make our crosses? he remarked. That is the little story. Not much, perhaps, just one small incident showing how our boys, thousands of them, quietly do their bit, evading fanfare or glory. Incidentally, meeting Jimmy for the first time one would think he was a tough hombre. -M.V. Germain Do you have a memory of a veteran? Help preserve their legacy by adding their story to our community map: https://www.pittmeadowsmuseum.com/community-map

Museum Sunday _____________ This weeks Museum Sunday craft is windsocks! A fun craft as the weather gets a little windier. Although we are making a fish windsock, we encourage you to use your creativity and make different windsocks and share them below! Supplies needed: Paper, glue, markers, scissors, string (we used yarn), and crepe paper. Optional items are any items that you wish to decorate your windsock with... ____________ Step one: Gather all your supplies Step two: Pick what colour you want your scales and start to cut out a U-shaped scale in multiple colours. It is easier if you cut a bunch out now, instead of running out later. Step three: Start gluing your scales to the paper running horizontally. We chose to have our fish be yellow, but you can pick any colour that you want. Step four: Continue gluing the scales on, make sure they are glued on well, so they stick when its in use. Step five: Continue gluing the scales until you are about 2/3 of the way up the paper. The remained of the paper will be the fish’s head. Step six: Draw eyes on the fish’s head. We recommend doing the eyes about an inch from each side (of course you can do this how you want). Step seven: Attach your string to the back of the fish. We did ours about an inch in from both edges. To make sure our string was secured, we glued it and taped it. The length of the string determines how long you want the handle to be. Step eight: This is tricky. You want to curve your windsock to make a tube. We glued the edge, and then taped the inside for added support. To make sure that the scales DO NOT fall off, we recommend waiting until the glue fully dries before continuing to this step. Step nine: Add some tails with the crepe paper if you have it or add some more construction paper to create the tail (Crepe paper does move better since it is lighter). Go run outside and enjoy playing with your new toy! Have fun!