Discovering a Hidden Gem

By Rhonda Akey

For close to a year now, I have been working on cataloguing the various donated artifacts as part of my internship in Lang’s museum collections area. Yesterday, I began documenting a set of agricultural seed boxes that were donated last summer, before they moved to storage. The two boxes were slightly different in size and shape, and appeared to be well used.

Images Above: Grain seed box (left), Grass seed box (right)

Having no background in agriculture, I asked my colleagues if they knew anything about the objects. I always find some background information useful for distinguishing what is important to note when documenting a piece of machinery, especially one I am not familiar with. Originally, I was informed that the boxes were parts from a Peter Hamilton seed drill. The two components were most likely from the same piece of equipment. In fact I was shown a larger version that we already have on display and is, for the most part, complete. My colleague believed that the size suggested the newly donated boxes were from a smaller version, designed to be pulled by only one horse. Another colleague also mentioned we had a copy of an old Peter Hamilton Manufacturing Company catalogue for reference.

At this point I should explain the significance of this manufacturer. The Peter Hamilton Manufacturing Company was established in Peterborough, ON in 1848, and produced various farming implements. The close proximity of this company resulted in their products being extensively used by the farmers in the County of Peterborough area. As a result, our Museum, which represents the 19th-century rural past of Peterborough County, has developed an extensive collection of Peter Hamilton farm equipment. Some of the collection is presently on display in our Agricultural Barn in the village.

Image Above: Catalogue advertisement similar to the one previously existing in our collection, circa. 1899.

After writing up the documentation and applying the accession number to the two seed boxes, I asked if I could review the catalogue they mentioned. I thought it might provide some additional information that I could record, thus providing a more thorough document on the artifacts for future reference. To my surprise, there in the 1899 catalogue were the seed boxes I had just documented! What I discovered was that the seed boxes were not part of a piece of farming equipment. The seed boxes were actually attachments that retrofitted onto the Peter Hamilton Elastic Spring Tooth Cultivator, thus converting it into a broadcast seeder! They were sold either with the cultivator, or could be purchased separately at any time.

Images Above: Peter Hamilton Manufacturing Co.1899 catalogue advertisements for the Spring Tooth Seeder Seed Boxes (right) and Elastic Spring Tooth Cultivator (left) the seed boxes fit onto.

Needless to say, these seed boxes have instantly become a valuable part of the Peter Hamilton collection. With plans to further develop a Peter Hamilton exhibit in the future, I am thrilled about this discovery. But I am equally thankful for the existence of the old catalog for reference material. Without this information, we would have never known the real significance of the seed boxes.

Rhonda Akey is the Records Management Intern at Lang Pioneer Village Museum. She has been working and/or volunteering at the Village since September of 2010. Rhonda is fascinated by all things historic – and loves to share the neat tidbits she discovers behind the scenes in the Lang Pioneer Village Museum collection with everyone.

If You've Got It, Flaunt It

By Karis Regamey

You know the phrase “if you’ve got it, flaunt it”? All too often the things that are flaunted definitely should not be. In the Museum’s case, we have waited too long in my opinion! For those of you who do not know Audrey, she is our Museum Specialist, meaning she knows almost everything there is to know about Lang Pioneer Village Museum and then some. Audrey has been working at the Museum for the past 31 years. During this time, she has been an interpreter, exhibit designer, in charge of accessioning and deaccessioning artifacts, cataloguing the archives and so much more. While she is talented at everything she does, I think one of her greatest talents is drawing. Over the years Audrey has done many drawings for the Village. If you have visited the Museum, you may have seen pen-and-ink drawings on text panels in the Village. You may have also seen our Guide Book, the Village Map on our website or streetscape on various collectibles like mugs that were once sold in the Museum Shop to name a few. Nevertheless, if you have seen a hand-drawn image in the Village or on promotional material for the Village, it was most likely drawn by Audrey. Unfortunately, as is the case with most things, many of these amazing drawings have been tucked away and forgotten- until now, that is.

This season we are finally flaunting the artist that we have and are turning the gallery into a display room for the many wonderful drawings that Audrey has done over the years. Audrey once said to me, “I was actually amazed how many bits of paper I found with artwork. Had I known I would ever use them again I might have taken better care of them. The coffee stains make them original right??”. I think that if we had really realized all those years ago what an incredible talent we had on-site, we would have made sure that every drawing was saved in perfect condition. It may be too late to rescue some of those drawings but it certainly isn’t too late to show our visitors the artist we have with the artwork we have remembered to tuck away.

    

 

 

 

Above: Just a couple of Audrey's drawings

You can come see some of these hand-drawn masterpieces for yourself when the exhibit opens on Father's Day. We are lucky to have our very own artist, and this season our gallery is going to flaunt it.

Karis Regamey is the Marketing Consultant for Lang Pioneer Village Museum, She has been with the Museum since February of 2009. When she is not busy overseeing the advertising of the Village, she can be found chasing after her two little ones.

A Time(piece) in History

By Michael Gillespie

While participating at the 2013 Applefest, a few members of the Quinte Timekeepers - a clock club who are perennial volunteer participants at Lang Pioneer Village Museum - discovered this old clock. It was in extremely sad shape, varnished shut , not working and dustily languishing high on a cupboard in the Print Shop. Jim Hartog and Maurice Blanchard volunteered to restore the clock.

After many hours, Maurice was able to reproduce some of the wooden parts and the movement was now in working order. Jim disassembled the case, cleaned it and refinished it to look as it would have circa 1835. He donated some weights and dust covers from his own collection.

This important artifact is an Ogee, weight-driven clock made by Utley, in Niagara Falls around 1835. Its Canadian heritage and manufacture adds to the provenance. It is now fully restored and working.

  

Images: Jim, Maurice and fellow members of the Quinte Timekeepers with the restored clock

On behalf of Lang Pioneer Village Museum, I would like to extend our gratitude to these gentlemen and all of the Quinte Timekeepers who volunteer their popular services at Applefest.

Michael Gillespie has been a volunteer at Lang Pioneer Village Museum since 2000. Michael is the Chairman of the Lang Pioneer Village Advisory Committee, as well as an avid interpreter. Some of the more known highlights of his time at Lang include, broom tying in the Trades Barn, portraying Mr. Brown on Dominion Day, and restoring the clocks of the Museum collection to their previous glory.

Hayley Nabuurs Recognized with Ontario Heritage Trust Award

By Jill Chapman

Each year, the Ontario Heritage Trust recognizes “individuals and groups who have made volunteer contributions to preserving, protecting and promoting community heritage”. This year, our team is excited to report that one of our very own- Hayley Nabuurs- has been honoured as one of 2013’s “Young Heritage Leaders”.

Hayley demonstrates a love for community culture, a celebration of heritage, and a deep consideration for others in all that she does. She took part in the Lang Youth Interpreter Program and has four years of volunteer experience with the Museum. Here she gained knowledge in historic interpretation, as well as training in traditional crafts & skills, local Canadian history and working with the public.

In 2012, Hayley was nominated and was the recipient of the Ontario Volunteer Service Youth Award for her work and efforts.

In 2013, Hayley joined our seasonal staff team. Since then, the senior staff team at Lang have been unbelievably impressed by the level of effort and enthusiasm, positivity and commitment she brings to the role. She is very well-rounded and delivers through our mandate, “a living history experience of exceptional quality”.

Hayley is a superb representative of Lang Pioneer Village Museum, Trent University [where she is in her first year of undergraduate studies] and the County of Peterborough. She is highly deserving of this honour and we look forward to seeing her continue to grow as a leader and community servant.

You are very special to us, Hayley. If the youth of today continue in the direction of astounding young people such as yourself, the Heritage sector is certainly in good hands in the years to come.

Image: Hayley (pictured center) receives her certificate from Warden J. Murray Jones on behalf of the Ontario Heritage Trust during the opening session of the County Council meeting Wednesday April 2 at the County Court House.

Jill Chapman is the Visitor Experience Coordinator at Lang Pioneer Village Museum. She has been a member of the Lang team since May of 2012. Jill is a passionate advocate for education, the arts and fitness. When not at work, Jill might be found running through the North Cavan foothills or on one of the County’s rotary trails.

April Fools

By Karis Regamey

Today is April Fool’s Day- a day where you can play practical jokes on your friends, family and even people you don’t know, just for the fun of it. We have all heard of it, and I’m sure many of us have participated in an April Fool’s Day joke at one point or another but I, for one, had never thought about how April Fool’s Day or “All Fools Day” originated before now.

The history of April Fool’s Day is somewhat unknown. There are many theories but the most popular one revolves around the calendar. France adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582 which called for New Year’s Day to be celebrated January 1. According to popular belief, some people refused to accept the change and would continue their New Year’s celebrations until April first. Because of this, they were considered fools and were the butt of jokes and pranks.

Other theories suggest that various celebrations in history which emphasized merriment and tomfoolery were the precursors of April Fool’s Day.

Whatever the true origin may be, April Fool’s Day has become about having a little fun, albeit at the expense of someone else.

Here are some fun facts about April Fool’s Day:

The French refer to April 1 as “Poisson d’Avril” or April Fish. French children would stick a picture of a fish to the back of one of their schoolmates and call “Poisson d’Avril” when the prank was discovered.

Source: www.cityfood.com

Probably one of the most well-known April Fool’s Day pranks in the media occurred in 1957. The BBC reported on its news program Panorama that the Swiss were experiencing a bumper spaghetti harvest due to good weather and the elimination of the damaging “spaghetti weevil”. The BBC showed staged footage of people plucking pasta off of tall trees. After this announcement the station received many calls from viewers asking how they could grow their own. To view the footage for yourself click here.

Another of the most famous pranks in history occurred in 1976. British astronomer and radio announcer Patrick Moore announced on the BBC that at 9:47 am there would be a rare alignment of Jupiter and Pluto which would cause the effects of gravity to be nullified. He encouraged people to jump at this time in order to feel weightless for a moment. The station received dozens of phone calls after 9:47 reporting that the experiment had worked.

So play a little joke and have a good laugh today- but you only have until noon! Happy April Fool’s!

Source: happynewyeareve.com

Karis Regamey is the Marketing Consultant for Lang Pioneer Village Museum, She has been with the Museum since February of 2009. When she is not busy overseeing the advertising of the Village, she can be found chasing after her two little ones.