Curious Curator: Discovering Doris Slater

Several weeks ago Parkwood received an archival donation of a letter Adelaide wrote in response to a thank you she received from Doris Slater. Doris had been the recipient of a tuition scholarship from Mrs. McLaughlin to attend the Ontario College of Art, Toronto in 1936.
You will see the letter to the right on ALM's embossed stationary card.
"May your work increase in beauty of interpretation. To be lasting art must be beautiful, not only to its delineation, but to the seer" Adelaide remarks to Doris in her note, going on to say "One piece of advice may I give you? Don't let your work obsess you to the extent that no one can bring you other happiness."
 
Who was Doris Slater? Doris Slater was a young Canadian woman who attended the Ontario College of Art, Grange, to study, and thanks to McLaughlin generosity to grow her talents, becoming the recently recognised first Canadian female comic book illustrator and 2015 inductee into the Joe Shuster Hall of Fame.
 
Born in Chatham in 1917, Doris attended the OCA in the mid 1930s. Best known for her work on Penny's Diary, a Canadian war time comic, Slater drew the scripts for Patricia Joudry's popular CBC radio show. Check out this blog about Penny's Diary: Comic Syrup write up on Penny's Diary
 
Comics produced in Canada during the war years are called Canadian Whites, and this era is referenced as the Golden Age of Comics.  Canadian Whites obtained their name from the fact that they were published in Canada, had a colourful cover, but black and white interior pages.
 
The "Whites" proliferated the Canadian market after the War Exchange Conservation Act restricted trade of what was considered non-essential goods from the United States into Canada, which included fiction periodicals.  Four companies took advantage of the situation by publishing comics in Canada, sometimes using imported scripts. Anglo-American Publishing of Toronto and Maple Leaf Publishing in Vancouver started publishing in March 1941. Later, two other Toronto-based publishers joined in: Hillborough Studios that August, and Bell Features (originally Commercial Signs of Canada) in September.
Once war time restrictions were lifted, American comics came back into the Canadian market and the heyday of the Canadian whites came to an end.

Doris Slater is also the Duff part of the pseudonym partnership MacDuff, teamed with Ted McCall, creators of Pat, The Air Cadet for Anglo-American publishing. 
 
When one reviews the 1936 Ontario College of Art Annals, held at OCAD University, and it is a fascinating read. During Slater's time at OCA, the principal was Frederick Haines, the muralist who painted the staircase mural at Parkwood. Her instructors, Yvonne McKague, a great friend of Isabel McLaughlin's; and Frederick Challener, painter and mural painter of the Parkwood Grand Hall and Billiard Room.

Finally, Slater's classmate, Donald Stuart, also a scholarship recipient, is the artist behind the bas-relief of the stags in RS McLaughlin's art deco suite. What a group to be associated with!!

Doris Slater was killed by a drunk driver in a head on collision in 1964 at the age of 47.

Parkwood Christmasses Remembered: Rations and Christmas

                     

Parkwood’s Museum Morsels historic culinary club  recreated some typical Christmas dinners of the war years—informed by area historians and ration recipe books. 

 

Since the second world war had a huge impact, historically and culturally on food, Museum Morsels has its fingers on some facet of rationing at some point in the foods and recipes with examine as a group.

 

This culminated in two dinners: one that might have been served to officers stationed at Camp X – contrasted with one that might have been  served to Nazi officer POW’s at Bowmanville’s Camp 30.

  

Used with permission

Museum Morsels volunteers also prepared cakes, and cookies, as they might have been made for gift packages sent to love ones serving oversees.  There were a few moving moments as volunteers  imagined how it may have felt to receive receiving these simple tastes of home and the loving cards and letters that would accompany them.

 

The project helped volunteers experience era history in meaningful way, and resulted in some stunning photos that help bring these stories to life.  

 





Our mini album:

Officer Meal Camp X



POW Meal Camp 30
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project photos may also be spotted on CBC postings as part of the second season launch of X-Company in mid-January 2016. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parkwood Christmasses Remembered: Parkwood Christmas Cheer

 

Parkwood’s Museum Volunteers recreated one of the Christmas cheer traditions of  Sam and Adelaide McLaughlin.  Inspired by archival information and recollections of former McLaughlin household staff, volunteers assembled Parkwood Christmas Cheer gift bags, which will be distributed with the help of YWCA Durham.
Museum volunteers canvassed local businesses for donations of gift items, where they met with generous and enthusiastic response.

The McLaughlins helped establish the YWCA in Oshawa in 1945, with the gift of the large residence known as Adelaide House, now home to the YWCA Durham Second-Stage Housing.

McLaughlin gifts of cheer once included fine soaps, chocolate and a carton of cigarettes! Volunteers wisely updated the bundles by swapping cigarettes for more chocolate, and then added fine soaps and other beauty products.

They also tucked a small house plant into each gift bag, to recognise another McLaughlin gift tradition of plants from their greenhouses.

The parcels were carefully wrapped and made festive by the Parkwood Museum Volunteers. To the right, tubes of lipstick are being tied onto the shower gels for presentation.
The museum volunteers were pleased to assist with the project, referencing the merchants who willingly contributed to angels, and keen to learn of the project, but also the historic relationship between the YWCA Durham, Adelaide House and the McLaughlin Family.

The gift bags were delivered by our volunteer elves to the YWCA Durham on December 11.

Parkwood wishes the women of second stage housing a merrier and right Christmas.

Parkwood thanks Shoppers Drug Mart, Trade Secrets, Williams Chocolates, Avon, Freshco, Home Depot, Loblaws, Metro, for their generous support for Parkwood Christmas Cheer.



  

 

 

 

 

Parkwood Christmasses Remembered: Homefront Endeavours

 



Parkwood NHS Archives

McLaughlin family Christmas cards from the 1940s tell of a challenging time in history, and a test of mettle as Oshawa and Canada rallied in home front support during WWII.

Bing Crosby recorded his Top Ten Hit I’ll be Home for Chistmas to honour soldiers overseas.  Closer to home, entertainer Gracie Fields joined forces with Sam McLaughlin to produce a promotional film for the Canadian Red Cross - the very poignant There Too Go I   Click to watch There Too Go I

Miss Fields also joined Sam and Adelaide McLaughlin at their 1942 Chrysanthemum Tea, to help raise money for the Sailors' Christmas Fund ( Ontario Navy League)

The McLaughlin's philanthropic work on the war effort and homefront activities did not end with the Navy League and their annual tea.

They held a variety of campaigns for a variety of worthy causes, both large and small, including garden parties, penny drives, war bond campaigns, and knitting bees.

 

Mrs. McLaughlin would host the airmen training at the Oshawa airport to social evenings, involving frivolity and song. As their thank you to the McLaughlin's a propeller was gifted by the airmen to their hosts and this gift continues to hang in the bowling alley today.

The McLaughlin’s generosity was not only expressed at Christmas, but throughout the year  - a great example for us all

Recently, some of this story was shared with CBC as real-life background to the television series X-Company, in advance of its second season launch in mid-January 2016.

 

X Company  storylines are fictional, but they are based on the real Camp X,    Canada’s spy camp on the Oshawa/Whitby border.   The series website has fascinating content about many of the historic underpinnings of the area’s war efforts . 

 

Check out Dispatches (Heritage Minutes about Camp X)

 

 

 

 

 

Curious Curator: Adelaide's Scrapbook and her file on the Kerby Family (for Remembrance Day)

We are fortunate to have several scrapbooks that belonged to Adelaide McLaughlin in our collection. These are truly magical places and I always discover something new and interesting each time I take a look through.  Contrary to what I would have thought Adelaide's scrapbooks would look like,

perfect and well placed mementos, they are actually filled with newspapers, and articles, jammed in between the pages, awaiting a quiet moment to organise, a moment which never did occur.

Adelaide definitely enjoyed collecting scraps and preserving them. I think she and I would have gotten along tremendously! I often find cards or slips of paper in the pages of books, or notes to herself or someone else here and there, in her sewing basket, in a drawer, etc.

Did you know that the first serial scrapbook was introduced in 1825? Did you know that Mark Twain made a fortune with his patented invention, a scrapbook with pre-glued pages in 1872? He was able to tap into the huge  market of middle and upper class women and their love affair with scrapbooks, especially scrapbooks with published themes, before photography was added, with just newspaper articles, poems, love notes, etc.  Did you know one of the most prolific scrap bookers was Thomas Jefferson, who created as series of albums of newspaper clippings all about his own presidency?

This week while reviewing her mementos on the Chrysanthemum Teas I took to her scrapbooks and came across an interesting "fonds" (collection originating from one source) of the Kerby Family. Among this small parcel, clipped together, are letters, and newspaper clippings. I would like to explore these with you.

The first is a letter to Adelaide from Rev. George W Kerby, March 31, 1939. They chat about many subjects, but for the purpose of today, I will limit the references to the story we are weaving. Rev. Kerby begins with his happiness about the receipt of Adelaide's letter, however as the letter progresses he chats about his sons departure from Shanghai to England to France, right side of page. When one reflects on the date, March 1939, we know how things begin to progress in Western Europe by September of that same year, the outbreak of WWII.

In the second letter, dated, September 20, 1940, Kerby chats about his son and losses in France, and the grandson who is just shy of 18

The third letter discusses many points, here is the third and final page of this letter to Adelaide, from George Kerby, to the right.  The most fitting quote is this one " these are most anxious times for us all, for Canada and the Empire, and for the world for that matter".

It becomes clear while reading the one side of this conversation that the two have a wonderful friendship and the creation of this collection within Adelaide's scrapbook doesn't surprise me. In the second letter, George thanks Adelaide "for your kindly reference to my birthday, and also for the little poem which I greatly enjoyed and had never seen before"

The rest of the little collection clipped together is of further interest, and is essentially Adelaide, documenting the service life of George Kerby's grandson, Harold.


The collection regarding Harold begins with a copy of a letter he wrote to his parents in July of 1941. I am including the full item to the left. Prior to writing this blog, I checked with a few military friends of mine about their feelings on the ethics of including the full letter.  It was agreed that because of the nature of my blog, the letter, was being used to tell Harold's story, and therefore in good taste.

Along with the letters are newspaper clippings about Harold's RCAF career on the European Front. The earliest clipping, 1940, is about Harold being promoted to Wing Commander, and in charge of the 400th squadron.

To follow more of his career check out this: Oshawa Library RCAF Memories Scrapbook

The next clipping is one from September 2, 1943, where Wing Com. Harold Kerby is listed as missing. If you read the article, Kerby went missing on July 29th, but due to war censorship it was not allowed to be made public until early September. (clipping below)

The final clipping, below, from the collection is the one that might be anticipated and dates from November 9, 1943 where Kerby is "believed killed" via information from the International Red Cross. W/C Kerby was killed on a mission over Hamburg, Germany on July 29/30, 1943. His aircraft was intercepted by a night flier and shot down, killing four of the five on board.

Harold Kerby is buried in Hamburg Cemetery.

Missing Notification

Killed in Action Notification



 

Thank you to Sgt (Ret’d) Anthony R. Beresford, CD for his assistance with this blog entry and subsequent info about Kerby.

 

Curious Curator: Protectograph Cheque Writer

                                                                               
 
According to the 2010 US Federal Reserve Payment Study, people write 24.4 billion cheques each year, either personal or for business related purposes.

The advent of cheques emerged as it became recognised that the carrying of large amounts of cash was troublesome, physically cumbersome, and security wise. Historians believe that cheques, as we know them, grew more prominent in the 1500s, originating in Holland, when Amsterdam grew into a major trading centre. Although cheques as a concept, presenting a banker with a document from a third party to receive money, can be traced to India, 321 BC and the adesha, merchants using letters of credit as payment.
 

Within our collection is a cheque writer that was used by the secretarial staff of the McLaughlin Family, when the social and business secretary's who worked in the alcove, the secretary's office, outside of the Billiard Room, would have been issuing cheques.  Introduced in 1913, our model was advertised by the GW Todd Company from 1913 to 1930. GW Todd products were the best known cheque protectors in the early 1900s. Located in Rochester, New York,
GW Todd Company had a sales offices in Toronto through GV Purves.

 It is widely believed that the word cheque originated in England in the 1700s, when serial numbers were applied to papers as a method of keeping track or in check. It is in 1717, that the Bank of England begins to use pre-printed forms, drafts, to prevent fraud.

It is not until 1959 that a standard was introduced with machine readable characters, so the "protectograph" was the go to method to prevent fraud in the early 20th century. Note how the ad to the left markets itself, "writes the amount in dollar and cents to the penny, in two vivid colours...cheque raising is a very real danger to every businessman..."

Curious Curator: Royal Worcester Set

Happy 100th Birthday to our Royal Worcester set in the collection!

This set is often used on the Breakfast Room table at Parkwood, and we thought we would give it a centennial birthday treat by highlighting it with a blog entry.

This hand painted enamel set, is from 1915. It is registered as 645537, pattern c897, English Bone China.

Royal Worcester was found in 1751 by a group of English businessmen. Dr. John Wall, and apothecary owner William Davis,  discovered a method of making a porcelain material, persuading a group of thirteen local businessmen to back their discovery with an investment in a new factory at Warmstry House, on the banks of the River Severn as the Worcester Tonquin Manufacture.  This new porcelain product out-shone the others because, "they obtained licences to mine soapstone in Cornwall and worcester soapstone porcelain did not crack when boiling water was poured into it; giving worcester a significant advantage over other producers."   Increased tea consumption in the 1760’s created a huge demand for teawares, bringing prosperity to the Worcester factory, especially since the porcelain did not crack under the heat of tea. The company was awarded the royal warrant in 1789.
Worcester played a major role in the development of the English porcelain tradition, going through several name changes over the years and merging or taking over other manufacturers, Worcester are now known as Royal Worcester Porcelain Co.

In 1976, Royal Worcester and Spode merge, today being called Royal Worcester and Spode.



 

 pattern detailing

 



floral close up