Going My Way? Conservation of a Streetcar Sign

Going My Way? Conservation of a Streetcar Sign

Post by Angela May, Conservation Intern

The Collections and Conservation Department hosted Angela May on her 15 week curriculum-based internship between September and December 2018. This internship was the final requirement for Fleming College’s Graduate Certificate in Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management.

A somewhat worn looking rectangular sign with cranks on either end of the top. On the face are two fabric strips showing the numbers 0 and 3.

Before artifacts go on exhibition in the galleries, they come to the conservation lab for assessment and treatment if necessary. Recently I began work on preparing artifacts for the upcoming exhibition, Strike 1919: Divided City, including a streetcar sign. The sign consists of iron, glass and painted fabric. When it came into the lab the metal was corroded and dirty, the glass was covered in dust, and the two rolls of numbers painted on fabric were coated in dirt and many of the numbers had yellow staining.

In order to address these issues the sign first had to be taken apart so that each component could be worked on separately. This was done carefully, without causing any further damage, and also documented to make sure it could be put back correctly when completed.

 

Image: Streetcar Sign before conservation treatment showing dust and corrosion. H9-7-13 ©Manitoba Museum

First, the loose dirt and dust was removed from the iron frame using a brush and vacuum. Some packing peanuts that were caught on the interior of the frame were also removed using tweezers. Next, a fibreglass bristle brush was used to gently remove corrosion from the frame. It was a slow process to remove the corrosion from all sides of both the exterior and interior of the frame, the front of the metal straps that held the glass in place, as well as each little screw that fastened the straps to the frame.

Because the back sides of the metal straps holding in the glass were unpainted, I was able to use the air abrasive machine with plastic media to more easily and quickly lift the corrosion from these pieces.

A rectangular streetcar sign frame laid on its back on protective foam, with the fabric rollers removed from the inside.

Disassembled metal frame after corrosion was removed. ©Manitoba Museum

Corroded metal stramps and screws laid out on protective foam on a work surface.

Metal straps prior to air abrasion. ©Manitoba Museum

Once all of the corrosion had been loosened, I again brushed and vacuumed the artifact to lift the dust that had formed from the corrosion being removed.  I then “degreased” or lifted the rest of the corrosion still left on the surface with saliva and cotton swabs. The enzymes from the saliva help to lift the corrosion without damaging the painted surface like some solvents would. Science!

This took many, many swabs!

Next I began work on the textile number rolls which were covered in dirt and stains (some of the black paint was also lifting). To lift the dirt, cosmetic and soot sponges were used until they came up clean. Water and Orvus, a near-neutral pH anionic detergent, were tested on the surface to see if the yellow stains could also be lifted, but the paint was soluble in water so no further interventions were pursued.

Two long strips of fabric with the numbers 0 to 5 showing on each.

Unrolled numbers during cleaning. ©Manitoba Museum

Close up on either a number 9 or 6 on a strip of fabric.

Detail of number before and after cleaning. ©Manitoba Museum

A rectangular sign with cranks on either end of the top lying face down on protective foam over a work surface. A piece of fabric is attached at top and bottom to display a number from the front side.

Finally it was time to clean the glass. To do this, a bath of room temperature water was combined with Orvus until suds were just beginning to form. The glass was placed in the bath and a soft brush was used to wipe off the dust. The glass was then rinsed and the process repeated for a second time. During the second rinse, distilled water with a few drops of acetone were used so that no residues would be left behind on the surface and so that the glass would dry a bit faster.

It was now time to reassemble the artifact. The numbers were rolled back up and fitted back into their slots and the glass with the metal straps screwed back into place.

 

Image: Streetcar sign being reassembled. ©Manitoba Museum

And there you have it, one clean and rust free (for the most part) streetcar sign. You can see this artifact in the upcoming Strike 1919: Divided City exhibition, which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike opening in March 2019.

The rectangular sign with cranks on either end of the top, with two strips of fabric showing the numbers 2 and 1. The sign is much clearer than in previous images above.

Streetcar Sign after conservation treatment. H9-7-13 ©Manitoba Museum

Smooth Skating

Visitors to the Manitoba Museum are currently enjoying two hockey themed exhibitions – Hockey: The Stories Behind our Passion from the Canadian Museum of History and Manitoba Heart of Hockey developed and produced by the Manitoba Museum. Both exhibitions examine the meaning of hockey in the lives of Canadians as players and their families, coaches, officials, broadcasters, and fans.

One person who literally helps to keep the game running smoothly is the skate sharpener. A trained operator can optimize a player’s performance by skillfully honing the pitch and contour of the blade to match their stride and style. Recently, the Manitoba Museum received a donation of an early skate sharpening machine along with the sign for “Vimy Skate Sharpening” run by Allan Merko.

A metal skate sharpener with worn green paint and rust spots.

Skate Sharpener. Catalogue Number: H9-38-822 ©Manitoba Museum

A pixelated colour-film photograph showing three hockey players on the ice of an indoor rink. The player in the centre, Allan Merko, is wearing a dark coloured jersey with red accents and a black helmet.

Allan Merko (centre); Courtesy of the Merko family.

Allan Merko was a Canadian lad with a passion for hockey. Times were tight growing up in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, so Allan collected bottles to cash in for the deposit in order to pay for his basic equipment – skates, gloves, and a stick. After a move to Ethelbert, he played centre for the Ethelbert Eagles and later the Sabres wearing jersey No. 9. His skill and speed on the ice earned him the nickname “Squirrel”. Later, he would take up coaching the younger Ethelbert Oilers team and teach power skating. His daughter fondly remembers growing up as a ‘rink rat’ and hanging out with her dad.

Close-up on the wooden handle of a hockey stick with SQUIRREL written in it in red marker.

Allan’s Stick; Courtesy of the Merko family.

Allan was more than just a player and coach. He also operated the Zamboni and created and maintained the ice at the Ethelbert Arena. Sometimes he flooded the ice between periods in full hockey gear while his team rested in the dressing room! Being mechanically inclined, Allan taught himself how to sharpen skates on an unused machine in the arena thus saving local skaters a 125 km round trip to Dauphin.

A grainy colour-film photograph of a young blonde man wearing a blue denim shirt standing in the workshop area of Vimy Arena.

Following a move to Winnipeg in the late 1990s, he set himself up in the skate sharpening business at the Vimy Arena in St. James.  His love of the game shone through in the service he provided to his customers. Al, as he was known, always remembered their names and preferences. One young customer sent him a note at the end of the season – “Thank you for sharpening my skates all year and thanks for taking an interest in my ringette. I had a great time at Nationals”. Al took the time to listen to parents tell stories of their children’s accomplishments. One mom recalled he would offer “the warmest of hugs especially when …I was run ragged during hockey season.” Sadly, Al passed away in 2012 which coincided with the last year of operation for the Vimy Arena.

The contact between blade and ice sets hockey and ringette apart from other team sports. In arenas and sporting shops across the county, it is the skill of the operator at the skate sharpening machines that keeps the players skating their best.

 

Image: Al Merko at Vimy Arena; Courtesy of the Merko Family.

A sign with a small picture of a hockey player in the upper left corner. Text reads,

Sign. Catalogue Number: H9-38-822 ©Manitoba Museum

Nancy Anderson

Nancy Anderson

Collections Management Specialist – Human History

Nancy Anderson holds a B.A. (Hons) in History from the University of Winnipeg, and received her M.A. in Canadian Social History jointly from the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba. She has over 30 years experience…
Meet Nancy Anderson

Mystery Behind the Butterflies

by Janis Klapecki, Collections Management Specialist (Natural History)

 

The Manitoba Museum receives calls daily inquiring if we are interested in receiving artifacts or specimens for our collections. They may have collected some clam shells while on a family outing to the beach, or have found some “treasure” in Great Aunt Muriel’s attic. We never know what to expect until we actually see the item.

In the spring of 1993, we received a call from a woman near Arborg (Manitoba) asking if we would be interested in receiving a butterfly collection. That may sound unusual to some, but for museum staff that work with insects, it’s a common conversation and potentially a good acquisition. What WAS unusual was where the butterflies were currently being stored…… the caller described that they were in a derelict van on the property they had recently purchased! After hearing this, we imagined the worst and didn’t expect to bring much back to the museum. Dried insect collections are highly susceptible to mould and live insect activity. A collection that is exposed to either of these factors can be completely destroyed within days.

A derelict light-blue vehicle in a derelict garage that is more open than covered at this point.

Not actual derelict vehicle, but you get the idea. © Andy F / Austin van decaying in a derelict shed, Broadwell / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Geograph.org

Two wooden boxes, one of which has the hinged lid open, with triangle folded papers inside and in front of the box. One of the papers is unfolded, and held open by paperweights, revealing a preserved butterfly specimen inside.

Butterflies from this collection still in their original glassine envelopes. © Manitoba Museum

Once back at the Museum, the entire collection was placed in our large freezer for pest treatment. This is done to ensure that we aren’t inadvertently bringing in any live insect pests that could damage the Museum’s galleries and collections. When the 2 week freezer treatment period was complete, we started the massive task of inventorying the collection. The collection consisted exclusively of butterfly and moth specimens. There were upwards of 400 expertly pinned specimens with data labels, and approximately another 200 specimens still in their original glassine collection envelopes. As our work progressed further into documenting and cataloguing each individual specimen, we realized that it included some very special and rare specimens.

A museum collection storage box containing four columns of pinned iridescent blue-brown butterflies.

Among the many specimens of this collection, one species stood out. There were 26 specimens of an extinct butterfly, the Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche  lygdamus xerces; Family Lycaenidae). They were  collected in the 1920s by R.F. Sternitzky from the dunes of what is now the Sunset District of San Francisco, CA. This butterfly was endemic to the almost uninhabited coastal sand dunes of this area at that time. The species was first documented in that area in 1852, and is believed to have become extinct by the mid 1940s, when the dunes were scraped clear and houses completely replaced the dunes. Its extinction was directly attributed to urban development and habitat loss that included dune plants that the species relied upon for food and egg laying.

 

Image: Glaucopsyche lygdamus xerces butterflies collected by R.F. Sternitzky in San Francisco, c. 1920s © Manitoba Museum

Among the many specimens of this collection, one species stood out. There were 26 specimens of an extinct butterfly, the Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche  lygdamus xerces; Family Lycaenidae). They were  collected in the 1920s by R.F. Sternitzky from the dunes of what is now the Sunset District of San Francisco, CA. This butterfly was endemic to the almost uninhabited coastal sand dunes of this area at that time. The species was first documented in that area in 1852, and is believed to have become extinct by the mid 1940s, when the dunes were scraped clear and houses completely replaced the dunes. Its extinction was directly attributed to urban development and habitat loss that included dune plants that the species relied upon for food and egg laying.

Two images side by side. On the left, a sepia image of vast sand dunes. On the right, a modern colour photograph looking out over the San Fransisco Sunset District.

L-R: Sunset area dunes, San Francisco, circa 1900. San Francisco sand dunes, c.1900, /Foundsf.org / CC BY-NC SA 3.0. Sunset District, San Francisco, today. © Mike Woods / Urban Sunset / Flickr/MikeWoods / CC BY-SA 2.0.

The majority of the butterflies and moths were collected by R.F. Sternitzky in the coastal regions of California in the years ranging from the 1920s to the 1940s. There isn’t a lot of personal information on the web about R.F. Sternitzky, other than he was born in California (1891-1980) and spent a life time collecting mostly butterflies and moths (also some bees, flies, and ants) in parts of California, including the San Francisco Bay area, and in his later years, Arizona.  He contributed significantly to Lepidopteran (moth and butterflies) collections and subsequent research as is evidenced by the numerous ecological and taxonomic publications online that refer to his specimens. His specimens are deposited in several large American museum collections including the the Essig Museum of Entomology (University Of California, Berkeley, CA), Bohart Museum of Entomology (University of California, Davis, CA), Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (New Haven, CT), the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC), the Harvard Museum of Natural History (Cambridge, MA), the American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY), as well as in Canadian museums such as the Canadian National Collection (Ottawa), and now the Manitoba Museum (Winnipeg).

A screenshot of a scanned newspaper ad sheet with a posting circled. The circled posting reads, "EXOTIC AND LOCAL LEPIDOPTERA & INSECTA- Buy and sell. Exchange in some genera. I have contacts in remote regions in various countries. Will supply material for specialists or artwork for general collections and museums but arrangement. R.F. Sternitzky, Star Route, Loytonville, Mendocino Co., Calif.".

These specimens, and in fact all specimens of permanent scientific collections all over the world, represent invaluable time capsules of the flora and fauna of that time, and of that space. We cannot go back and reproduce those dune habitats prior to human encroachment and development.

Thankfully the donor of this butterfly collection recognized that these specimens should be inspected by the Museum experts – otherwise they may have ended up in the local dump.

The mystery still remains….

How and why did these specimens arrive in Manitoba? Did the previous owner of the property correspond with R.F. Sternitzky through his ad?

 

Image: Ad placed by R.F. Sternitzky, in The Lepidopterists’ News, 1948. From The Lepidopterists’ News, May 1948, Vol. II, No. 5 (Edited).

Reshaping Chemical Structures: The Conservation of a Home Chemistry Set

This home chemistry set came into the conservation lab for treatment after being selected for display in the soon to be constructed Winnipeg Gallery which is part of the Museum’s Bringing Our Stories Forward Capital Gallery Renewal Project. The set was acquired by the museum in 1979 and was manufactured by Lotts Bricks Ltd., a toy company based in Waterford, England. 

It was noticed during an initial condition report that the cardboard insert was weak, ripped, and warped in several locations and needed to be stabilized before display. Since the cardboard had warped over time, the loose and broken parts would no longer fit together and therefore the cardboard would need to be reshaped before repair could be completed. 

Two photos side-by-side. On the left, a detail image showing the tears in the upper left corner of the chemistry set’s insert. On the right, a detail image showing damage to the insert in the upper right corner of the chemistry set insert.

Detail images showing damage in upper left and right corners of chemistry set.

Catalogue Number: H9-9-622 © Manitoba Museum 

The chemistry set consists of a red cardboard box which has a grey blue box adhered to it. There is also a moss green cardboard insert which holds the pieces of the set in place. There are twelve cardboard canisters with pop-off metal lids, and four glass bottles with metal screw-on lids. All of these containers still have their labelled chemicals inside. There is a small glass tube with a cork stopper which containing purple coloured litmus paper. Hidden under the cardboard insert is a small envelope labelled ‘Litmus Paper’ which has two pink papers inside. Lastly, there is an orange rubber tube with a glass end covered in a black coating. 

Three images side=by-side. Detail images (left to right) showing red box with insert removed, damaged cardboard insert, damaged right corner of insert of chemistry set.

Detail images (left to right) showing red box with insert removed, damaged cardboard, damaged right corner of insert of chemistry set. Catalogue Number: H9-9-622 © Manitoba Museum 

Two photos side-by-side. On the left, looking down at an angle on one of the cardboard canisters from the chemistry set with its metal pop-off lid. On the right, five of the cardboard canisters in a row. The canisters have “Lott’s Chemistry” written on the sides.

Components of Chemistry Set. Catalogue Number: H9-9-622 © Manitoba Museum 

Two photos side-by-side. On the left, the cardboard insert with an old pencil catalogue number written on it. On the right, the insert with the old catalogue number removed.

Eraser bits used to clean off an old pencil catalogue number. © Manitoba Museum 

In the conservation lab, the set was disassembled and the individual parts were examined. In general all surfaces of the set were dusty and covered in grime. The red outer box was very stable but the moss green cardboard insert was ripped in several areas and the structure was warped. The canisters and glass bottles have small areas of corrosion on the metal lids. 

The first step was to clean every surface of the set. This involved brushing all the components with a soft natural hair brush which loosened dust off the surface and allowed the dust to be carefully vacuumed away. The cardboard and canisters were further cleaned by gently rubbing eraser bits over the surfaces to pick up grime and loosen ingrained dirt. 

The most complicated step of the treatment was reshaping the cardboard insert. The insert was reshaped by misting the surface with distilled water, causing the paper structure to relax, which allowed for the manual repositioning of the cardboard to the original position. The insert was placed onto custom cut wood blocks which were covered in absorbent paper (blotter paper). The wood form was clamped and weighed down which prevented the cardboard from deforming during the drying process. 

 

Four images put together in a collage. On the upper left, the cardboard insert laid on a flat surface, wetted and being reshaped. On the upper middle, blocks of wood with blotter paper, used to reshape the wetted insert. One the upper right, blocks of wood with blotter papers placed onto wetted cardboard. On the bottom, wood inserts clamped and weighted down in a vice to hold the wetted carboard insert still as it dries.

(Top left) Cardboard insert wetted and being reshaped.

(Top middle) Blocks of wood with blotter papers.

(Top right) Blocks of wood with blotter papers placed onto wetted cardboard.

(Bottom) Wood inserts clamped and weighted while drying.

© Manitoba Museum 

After a week, the cardboard insert was dry and removed from the wood form. The cardboard was then repaired by reattaching the loose sections and reinforcing ripped areas with light-weight mending paper and conservation grade cellulose based adhesive. The ripped cardboard was further repaired on the front of the insert by adhering tinted light-weight mending paper to breaks in the structure. 

Three images in a collage. On the top, the cardboard insert being repaired with light coloured pieces of mending paper along the weak or torn joints of the insert. On the bottom left, the cardboard insert beside painting supplies, as the mending paper is painted with watercolours to blend in with the cardboard. On the bottom right, close up of the tinted mending paper now painted to match the cardboard insert.

(Top) Cardboard insert being repaired with light-weight mending paper and conservation grade adhesive.

(Bottom left) Tinting mending paper with watercolours to match cardboard.

(Bottom right) Tinted light-weight mending paper used to stabilize and hide rips in the structure of the cardboard.

© Manitoba Museum 

 

Once everything was stable and dry the insert was set back into the red box and finally all the components were set back into place. 

Treatment completed, the cardboard insert back inside the chemistry set’s red box.

Stabilized cardboard insert placed back into place.

© Manitoba Museum 

 

You will be able to see this home chemistry set in the new Winnipeg Gallery when it opens in the fall of 2019. 

Two photos side-by-side. On the left, Conservation Technician Loren Rudisiela, wearing a white lab coat and teal gloves, holding up the stabilized and reassembled chemistry set. On the right, looking down into the red carboard box with the stabilized insert holding the many pieces of the set in place.

Reassembled and ready for display.

Catalogue Number: H9-9-622 © Manitoba Museum 

Loren Rudisuela

Loren Rudisuela

Assistant Conservator

Loren Rudisuela holds a B.A in Art History from the University of Guelph, a certificate in Art Fundamentals from Sheridan College, and a Graduate Certificate in Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management…
Meet Loren Rudisuela

My Summer in the Collections and Conservation Department

By Matthew Gowdar, Collections and Conservation Assistant

A young man in a brown windbreaker standing in front of a stone tower.

This summer, I was given the amazing opportunity to work at the Manitoba Museum through the Young Canada Woks program. From the end of May until mid-August, I held the full-time position of Collections and Conservation Assistant.

While this was not my first experience working at a museum or archive, the Manitoba Museum was certainly a step up for me, in terms of scale. As a History major at the University of Manitoba, this opportunity was especially exciting, as it fell directly within my field of study.

Each day started with a gallery walk through the whole museum. I would check for garbage and damage to exhibits, clean the glass cases and monitor humidity levels each morning. I was also given two large projects to undertake at the outset of my term. The first was to sort, organize and create a digital database for over three thousand research photos, which had been collected in cardboard boxes throughout the past decades. Despite their fascinating nature and relevance to the ongoing Bringing Our Stories Forward Capital Gallery Renewal Project, searching through these photos in their original state was impossible. Therefore, my goal was to make the collection easy to browse, as well as searchable for specific subjects via the digital database.

 

Image: Collections and Conservation Summer Student Matthew Gowdar.

At the top, a screenshot of an Excel document breaking down artifact details. At the bottom, a photograph of an open photo album with black and white photos.

Using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, I created a series of binders, each assigned to a different subject.  Each individual photograph corresponded to a different record in the database, which contained information such as date, photographer and a brief description.  Although not quite complete, this system perfectly meets the project’s original goals.

My second major task was a total revamp of the Manitoba Museum’s Institutional archives. These boxes of documents were stored on dangerously unstable shelving which did not use the space efficiently, and contained a wealth of irrelevant material. The first step was to clean out the room as much as possible, followed by the disposal of the old shelving. New shelving was ordered and assembled. Each box was culled for material which could be discarded, and then placed on the new shelving. While this sounds simple enough, when one has over two hundred boxes to evaluate it becomes more complicated. The project was a great success, and resulted in a substantial increase in free space within the archive room.

 

Image: Research photographs were put into a database and rehoused in archival sleeves. © Manitoba Museum

I was lucky enough to work alongside a group of intelligent and hardworking colleagues, whose passion for museum work was evident from day one. The support and direction I received from both Cindy Colford, Manager of Collections and Conservation, and Roland Sawatsky, Curator of History, was invaluable. I also would like to thank Loren Rudisuela, Carolyn Sirett, Nancy Anderson, Cortney Pachet, and Amelia Fay and numerous other staff members for all the help they provided me over the last few months. The Manitoba Museum truly employs a special group of people.

“All my love for you and you only” 

Photogaph of a handwritten letter with the sign off, “Diamond Jim”.

 


Fifteen year old Eleanor Geib and eighteen year old James “Jimmy” Brady met at a dance hall on Strood Avenue in North Kildonan.
 

They began courting and after Jimmy enlisted with the Winnipeg Grenadiers, exchanged love letters while he was stationed on garrison duty in Bermuda and Jamaica at the beginning of WWII. His parting words in nearly every letter were “With all my love for you and you only” and he signed many of them “Diamond Jim”, a reference to a popular comic strip of the era, according to his younger sister, Dorothy. 

 

Vintage posed wedding photograph with bride and groom in the centre and bridesmaid and best man either side of them. The groom and best man are both in uniform, while the bride and bridesmaid both hold bouquets.

When Jimmy returned to Winnipeg on furlough in October 1941, the couple married at her parents’ home on Bonner Avenue, with her sister Marguerite and his friend Harry Robinson, a fellow Grenadier, serving as witnesses. Within days of marrying, Jimmy and the rest of the Winnipeg Grenadiers were shipped out to Hong Kong. 

Jimmy wrote to Eleanor about his journey through western Canada and the uneventful voyage across the Pacific Ocean. Upon arriving in Hong Kong, he sent his new bride a beautiful green silk pyjama set and slippers, along with letters about life abroad. 

Telegram bearing the news that Private James Brady was killed in action at Hong Kong.

Expecting a quiet assignment at the former British colony, the Canadian military was surprised when the Japanese army descended on the island of Hong Kong on December 8, 1941. After a 17 day fight, dubbed the Battle of Hong Kong, the Canadians capitulated on Christmas Day and Canadian, British and Indian survivors were taken as prisoners of war of the Japanese for the next 44 months. Private James Brady did not survive the battle, dying in combat on December 19, 1941. In the ensuing chaos, his wife, mother and sisters did not receive word of his passing until January of 1943. 

A Memorial Cross medal on a purple ribbon in a medal box. An engagement ring is fastened to around the medal’s ribbon.

Following the war, widows and mothers of the war dead were given the Memorial Cross medal. Eleanor, widowed at age 17, fastened her engagement ring to the purple silk ribbon of the medal she received and stored it away with the letters, pyjamas, photographs and other objects she had saved from her brief marriage. 

Two Memorial Cross medals on purple ribbons each in a medal box. The medal on the left has an engagement ring fastened to the ribbon.

Eleanor went on to marry again and had four children with her second husband. She spoke little of her first love, but even after her passing in 2005, her daughters kept the trove of mementos safe in her stead. Last summer, after learning of the Manitoba Museum’s Hong Kong Veterans collection on the local CTV morning show, her daughters made the decision to donate Eleanor’s treasures to the Museum. These objects complement the collection in a unique, albeit tragic, way: we have very few materials from Winnipeg Grenadiers who did not survive the Battle of Hong Kong and subsequent internment. 

Photograph of a handwritten letter ending, “Give my reards to all the gang, and also remember me to all at home, and you darling, I want you to keep smiling and don’t give up hope. So until my next letter, adios. With all my love for you and you only, Jimmy. XXXXXXXXXX”.

 

The family also connected us with Jimmy’s surviving sister, Dorothy, who came to the museum to view the new acquisitions –she commented that Jimmy always had excellent handwriting and was a prolific letter writer. Dorothy imparted more information about Jimmy’s short life for our records and donated the Memorial Cross medal her mother had received 70 years earlier, after the loss of her only son. 

 

These new acquisitions have been carefully catalogued and photographed, detailing the story of Jimmy and Eleanor, his death and the events that followed. His story continues through the preservation of his written word and the objects he lovingly chose for his young bride. All his love for her and her only. 

Cortney Pachet

Cortney Pachet

Collections Technician – Human History

Cortney Pachet started working at the Manitoba Museum in 2001 as a tour guide while earning her a BA (Honours) from the University of Winnipeg. She quickly realized that she wanted a career in museums…
Meet Cortney Pachet

Ladies and Gentlemen…..The Beetles! 

[Note: This blog contains descriptions and images that may not be suitable for sensitive individuals.] 

In the Natural Sciences Department, we receive hundreds of specimens each year that will eventually be added to the permanent Scientific Collections. The Curators collect specimens through their many research projects, while other specimens are collected and donated by the general public. Most of these specimens require some very specific and time-consuming preparation before they can be in a state for which a researcher can use them. Fossils are exposed with precision tools, insects are painstakingly pinned, plants are pressed and artfully mounted, and mammal and bird study skins are skillfully prepared. Skeletons of vertebrates also require a very specialized preparation process that very few people are witness to. 

 

A closed door with a sign taped on it reading, “RESTRICTED ACCESS! / This door must remain closed & locked at ALL times”.

Located deep within our Zoology research area is a small room that houses, what we affectionately call the ‘bug tank’. It is actually a metal 45 gallon drum that houses a beetle colony that we use to clean the very small or fragile skeletal specimens that may otherwise be damaged using other cleaning methods. These can include birds, small rodents such as mice and squirrels, snakes, frogs, toads and fish. One of my many tasks here at the Museum is to prepare skeletal specimens and maintain the beetle colony by keeping them healthy and well-fed. 

The beetle species that we use in our colony is Dermestes maculatus (Identified by Reid Miller, 2016) from the Family: Dermestidae, a group that is commonly referred to as hide beetles. The adult beetles of this species are black in colour and can range in length from 5.5 to 10.0 mm. The larvae are brown in colour, hairy and pass through 5 – 11 instars, before they pupate into adults. They are natural scavengers and feed on a wide variety of material including skin, hair feathers, and natural fibers, such as wool, silk, cotton, and linen. With this in mind, I’m sure you can appreciate how careful we are at the Museum with keeping these beetles contained! 

 

Specimens are readied for the beetle colony by first making sure that all of the data has been recorded, including its weight and the standardized measurements that are taken. The specimen is then de-fleshed by removing most of the muscle tissue, internal organs and eyes. It is then placed in a drying cabinet so the specimen does not introduce mold into the colony. Once completely dried, the skeletons are placed in rows on top of a layer of cotton batting within a cardboard box lid.

 

Each skeleton is placed with enough space between them so that if the beetles move any of the tiny bones while they are cleaning them, they don’t become mixed with the specimen next to it. The cotton batting provides a soft ‘matrix’ that the adult beetles and larvae travel through. I can then stack about 3 to 4 of these trays within the drum, which could translate to approximately 150+ small skeletons in the colony at any given time. Depending how active the colony is, skeletons can be completely cleaned in 7 to 14 days.  The “Beetle Room” is kept at a cozy 28°C (83°F) to promote their life cycle and every few days I spray the trays with distilled water for added humidity. Then, I leave them alone to work their magic. 

 

These are NOT free-range beetles! 

The Dermestid beetles and their larva are just one of the types of insects that pose danger to our galleries, and the specimens and artifacts that are stored in the collections storage rooms. To ensure that none of our colony beetles escape, special considerations were built into the room. These beetles can burrow into many surfaces/media, so the walls are cinderblock, sealed with 3 coats of epoxy paint, instead of drywall. I’ve installed a perimeter of yellow tape around the room that has a layer of a sticky product applied to it (this product is similar to ‘Tanglefoot’ that is used to stop the Elm Bark Beetle on trees). The bung holes on the lid of the drum have two layers of fine mesh – this allows air exchange, but they can’t get escape. 

 

Escape Prevention Measures – 3 rows of sticky tape by the door of the bug room, and sticky traps are installed throughout the Museum and monitored. ©Manitoba Museum
Collections and Conservation staff are always on alert to possible insect activity and have scheduled monitoring throughout the galleries and collections spaces. ©Manitoba Museum

 

Completed skeleton specimens are given a final cleaning with a small paintbrush to remove any debris or shed larval casings. They are then catalogued, and each bone including the skull and mandible are numbered and placed in an acid-free box with its data label. After a final freezing treatment to be sure they are completely free of anything live, they are ready to be filed into our main Scientific Collections storage room. 

These specimens are then available for researchers and educational purposes. 

 

A perfectly cleaned Northern Flying Squirrel, MM 9979 (Glaucomys sabrinus) skeleton ready to file in the Collections Room, within an acid-free storage box ©Manitoba Museum
Systematic storage of skeletal specimens in our Permanent Scientific Collections Room ©Manitoba Museum
Janis Klapecki

Janis Klapecki

Collections Management Specialist – Natural History

Janis Klapecki obtained a B.Sc. from the University of Manitoba, specializing in Zoology and Botany. She also holds a certificate in Managing Natural History Collections from the University of Victoria, BC. Janis has over 20 years experience…
Meet Janis Klapecki

Joe Maruca’s “Secret” Notebook

At some time or another, we have all experienced a really satisfying day at work, or perhaps more often, a day that left us wanting to vent our frustrations. Today we might use social media to voice these emotions. In the days before Facebook or Twitter, Joe Maruca documented his working life in a ‘Secret’ notebook filled with amusing cartoon sketches. 

Recently, I processed a fascinating collection of family items donated by the children of Joseph and Alice Maruca. These include a porter’s uniform, photographs, documents and the notebook. Joe’s father, Vincenzo had immigrated from Italy in 1920 and worked as a freight carpenter at the CNR shops in Transcona. In the 1950s Joe Maruca was employed as a Porter Captain at the Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg. The “Royal Alex” was part of the Canadian Pacific chain and was considered one of the finest hotels in western Canada. It opened its doors on Higgins and Main in 1906 and served as a social centre of Winnipeg until 1967. The hotel was demolished in 1971. 

A worn sketchbook, it’s red cover torn and with the remains of torn off tape or stickers. A reminding piece of blue tape reads, “Secret” below a slightly torn sticker showing an image of a large red and white multi-story building and text reading, “The Royal Alexander / Winnipeg Man. / Canadian Pacific”.

Through Joe’s sketches we can see a humorous account of the inner workings of the Royal Alexandra as viewed through the eyes of the front line staff. There is the frustration of being under tipped by a wealthy client or being “twisted” by a co-worker. The word twist can be as slang expression meaning to cheat or have something wrench from your grasp – when a fellow porter takes your next client and tip! We also see Joe as the hero of the story and a bit of a lady’s man. 

Cartoon sketch showing a round man flicking “1 thin dime” to a struggling porter holding a bag of golf clubs and standing beside three suitcases. A bubble above the porter’s head reads, “I should have stuck to shoe shines”.
“One Thin Dime” sketch by Joe Maruca
Cartoon sketch showing a man on his knees in front of another man who stands filing his nails, with one foot up on a chair. The standing man saying, “Well I don’t know – coax me”, while the kneeling man says, “Please Maruca I’ll never twist ya again”. Sketch title at the top reads, “CONTROL / Yes Sir”.
“Control”
Cartoon sketch showing two women standing near the foot of a large flight of stairs with a framed mountain landscape hanign above the landing. One woman says, “Oh! There’s Maruca” and the other says, “Yea! Smile”. In the upper left corner is written, “Great guy when it comes to women”.
“A great guy when it comes to women”

The Royal Alex was home-on-the-road to musicians who came to play at the hotel or local hotspots such as the Don Carlos night club. Included in the donation is a collection of signed photographs of notable African-American musicians of the era – The Mills Brothers, The Charioteers, Nellie Lutcher and The Deep River Boys. Joe enjoyed a positive reputation among these performers and the service he provided would have been in marked contrast to the discrimination they faced at segregated American hotels in the 1950s. “When you’re in Winnipeg ask for Joe, he’ll take good care of you” was the message passed among the performers. A couple of his sketches suggest that Joe may have had musical dreams of his own.

Signed black and white photograph with slightly weathered edges of Joe Maruca in his porter’s uniform posing with Harry Douglas.
Harry Douglas with Joe Maruca “To Joe, Thanks for being so wonderful to me. Sincerely, Harry Douglas, Deep River Boys”
Cartoon sketch showing a four-man band on a stage. In the corner is a large firepace and a person sitting in an armchair watching the band. The cellist is labelled “Maruca” and writing near the pianist reads, “How’d Maruca get in this one”. Wriitng along the bottom reads, “Sunday Evening (Irving Plumb.)”.
“Long hair Maruca”

As new artifacts are added to the Manitoba Museum’s collection, our understanding of the past expands. Donations from families like the Marucas help to give us a glimpse the life of a talented ‘average working Joe’. 

Nancy Anderson

Nancy Anderson

Collections Management Specialist – Human History

Nancy Anderson holds a B.A. (Hons) in History from the University of Winnipeg, and received her M.A. in Canadian Social History jointly from the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba. She has over 30 years experience…
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