There was a time...

I was going through Youtube videos of the 1950's TV show "What's My Line". One of the segments on the show involved the panel being blindfolded and having to play 20 questions to guest the identity of the celebrity guest. It made me think about how different popular culture is today.....

There was a time when to be a movie star you had to be versatile and have real talent beyond your physical appearance... The Golden age of Hollywood produced some of the most iconic actors and actresses ever...Clark Gable, James Cagney, Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall, Bette Davis, Jane Russell and the list goes on...When one of these artists gave you a peek into their private lives, it was an honour and a privilege, not a right and expected. I think the fact that their personal lives were kept hidden helped to add to the mystique...This also extended into the music world of the Jazz and Big Band greats.....

There was a time when folks would never have dreamed of walking out of their houses poorly dressed. Grace and etiquette were the watchwords of the day. Politeness and respect were demanded and expected. Where did that concept go? A time when Vegas and burlesque were the only places that dealt in the vulgar and the risqué. A time when women were ok with being referred to as Mrs. and saw it as a show of respect instead of an insult.

Not to say that the world of the early 20th century was all rainbows and lollipops but there was a decency that is sorely missing from the world of the 21 century.  Although we have made great strides in science, technology and human rights, we as a society lost something along the way and we didn't know it was leaving until it was already gone.

Because There Was a Time.....

http://www.fiverr.com/s/b1j8qz

I am a Public Historian and would like to do some contract work.I can research a given topic, basic genealogy research and write a summary of findings. I can also edit, proofread, or write museum exhibit labels.

Coming Back to this Blog

I think I may have started and stopped working on this blog 3 maybe 4 times. Life gets hectic. Sometimes too hectic. So the blog gets relegated to the backburner. Then you rediscover it and read your posts and think wow! Did I write that? It gives you inspiration, hope that maybe with a little time you could make this work.

It is armed with this hope I will resurrect this blog and see if I can make something useful and entertaining from it. 

Remembrance Day aka Armistice Day aka Poppy Day aka Veterans Day

Today is a special day to take a moment and honour those who believed in protecting an ideal and were willing to ensure that their children and grandchildren could live in a better world. Sadly time marches on and the last of the WW1 vets have passed on and the number of WW2 vets dwindles a little more every year. Parents take the time to teach your children about the importance of Remembrance Day. It isn't just a day off work or a day to collect time and a half. It's a day to remember that if it weren't for our great grandfathers and grandfathers leaving everything they held dear to travel to the other side of the world to fight, the world may be a different place right now. Take a moment to consider how your life would look if the axis had won.... If there are vets in your life, thank them and listen to their stories, you may surprise yourself with what you learn. Many who returned from combat, saw and did things that we cannot even begin to imagine or hope to understand.

As it is November 11^th , it seems timely to renew our understanding of the importance of this day and its special symbol – the poppy.

The association to the poppy to those killed in war existed for at least 110 years prior to its use in Canada. A correspondent during the Napoleonic War wrote of how thickly the poppies grew over the soldier’s graves in Flanders, France. He also wrote that fields, which were barren before battle, exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. It is believed that during bombardments the chalk in the soil became rich in lime from rubble, allowing poppies to thrive. After the Napoleonic war the lime was absorbed and the poppy disappeared. Sadly, the First World War saw the poppy bloom again.

The person most responsible for the adoption of the poppy was Canadian medical officer Lt Col. John McCrae. Hailing from Guelph, Ontario, McCrae was described as having the eye of a gunner, the hand of a surgeon and the soul of a poet.  McCrae, as a member of the Canadian Medical Corps, found himself on the front lines at Ypres on April 22, 1915. This was, of course, the first time that poison gas was used by the enemy. With the attacks coming in waves, the allies repulsed the enemy for 17 days. At the end both sides were left with tragic loss of lives.  It was during this battle that McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields.

Canadians sacrificed greatly during World War I. Fully 1/10 of our population served in the war. Many never came home. A scenario which was repeated during the Second World War, 24 short years later.

In 1918, an American professor in New York, named Moina Michael was so inspired by McCrae’s poem that she started wearing a poppy in memory of the millions who died during the war. This custom was picked up by a French woman named Mrs. Guerin during her visit to the US in 1920. Mrs. Guerin took the concept one step further when she returned to France. She created handmade poppies which were then sold to raise funds to aid children in destitute war torn regions of France.  She also suggested that the Canadian Great War Veterans Association adopt the poppy as their symbol, which they did in 1921.

Southern Albertans were greatly affected by both World Wars and other conflicts during the 20^th century.  Our Prairie sons and daughters have fought bravely in the name of Liberty and Justice.

When we wear a poppy we not only honour and remember the brave few who sacrificed so much but we also help ex-service personnel and their dependents. The revenue generated from the poppy drives held by the Canadian Legion is used to provide assistance to veterans and their families.

Sources:www.legion.ca;www.vac.acc.gc.ca;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields

The Science of Museums

Unless you are going to a science museum, not many consider that museums in and of themselves are science driven.Let's go behind the velvet rope Consider this, conservation of artefacts is in every way a hard science. The purpose of conservation is to slow down the effects of object aging and deterioration. It is also used to repair or at the very least stabilize an object so that further degradation does not occur. This is accomplished through the understanding of chemistry (how a given object's material make up with react to light, air, humidity, sound, cleaning processes etc.) Pest control (understanding which insects/vermin like which materials and how to recognize the signs of infestation. It also entails methods for eradication and prevention of these pests.) My favourite example of this is placing artefacts in a cooler that is just cold enough to kill insects but not so cold it will damage the object. Quite a balancing act, I assure you!

On the other side of the velvet rope is the soft science of Visitor Experience. It deals with the psychology of visitor behaviour and the sociological aspects of museum visitation. Everything from the way an exhibit is displayed to whether or not there are seating areas and even lighting of public areas are all affected by this. I will go into more depth on visitor experience later.

Museums: a beginning

What do you think of when I say Museum? Is it cases of old things in big glass cases with labels? Elderly volunteers telling that you can't touch anything? Museums like every other sector have been touched by the effects of our technological revolution. People are no longer content to just wander, look and contemplate. The public wishes to be amused while we have the audacity to educated them. So like the mom who hides the  vegetables under something more tantalizing, museums are working to produce fun and exciting exhibits that still tackle tough subjects. This phenomenon is called edutainment.

When is it ever enough?

The 1970's in Canada saw Heritage given center stage in the political landscape. Riding the coattails of our recent centennial, Heritage was infused with money and jobs across the country. One didn't need to have a million degrees and citations from various post secondary institutions to gain employment in the exciting field of museums, heritage sites, and parks. The field itself was just starting the first stirrings of professionalization. So the number of curators, interpreters, exhibit designers grew. Everything seemed promising until the economy tanked and like always the first areas to have their budgets gouged were culture and the other arts. This meant all the young, bright eyed grads coming out in the early '90's had a problem. Lots of them and very few opportunities.

Now something you should be aware of, museum and heritage folks are some of the quirkiest, passionate, resourceful and fun folks you will ever meet. This is a good thing, remember these individuals are protecting our collective past for the future and in some cases, teaching this past to the public so it remains vital. When I started in this field, I had my BA in history lots of perseverance and drive. I went out to Victoria where you can't help but trip over various museums, heritage sites and historic houses. In my mind I would have no problem getting a heritage job. It had to be like going for a job in hospitality. It was easy to get a hotel job.

My plan was to get a diploma in Cultural Resource Management from UVIC while working in a heritage job and my first stop was going to to be the BC Heritage Association. So I met with a gentleman from the BCHA and he told me to get out of heritage, a career in this field had no future! Crestfallen, I ignored his advice and forged ahead.Thankfully I did because, 5 years later,  I got to work at the greatest historic house museum in Victoria with the best co-workers and volunteers. After leaving there I returned to the museum where this journey for a fulfilling career in heritage started. The field has gone through professionalization and now having a BA in History or Museology is not enough. In some instances there are folks with PhDs doing entry level museum work. Heritage is now like any other profession. How do you stand out when everyone has the same credentials?