Calliope
Training
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WDM Conservation
DepartmentArtifact Articles
Learn more about a few of the intriguing artifacts in the WDM Collection.
Featured Artifacts:
Five Milestones that Changed the Way We Use the Telephone
How
we make local telephone calls in SK will change this week with the
introduction of 10-digit dialing and a new area code (639). It isn’t
the first time that the way we make telephone calls has changed.
Check out Five Saskatchewan
telephone milestones -->
Memorial Cup and Hockey History at the WDM
Did you know
that Junior hockey’s Memorial Cup was first played in 1919 with the
Regina Pats taking on the University of Toronto? Though the Pats lost
that year, the team won bragging rights as the winner of the 1925 Cup
and again in 1930.
Find out more about Saskatchewan
hockey history -->
Saskatchewan Fashion Week 2013:
Fashions by Phyllis Baker Online Exhibit
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See
selected designs from Phyllis Baker’s Just Looking...Thank You
exhibit of art clothing that toured the province in the 1990s side-by-side
with the sketches she worked from.
See Fashions by Phyllis
Baker -->
Saskatchewan Fashion Week 2013:
Fashion in the 1920s
The
devastating loss of eight million men in the First World War had a
significant impact on the 1920s. With so many young men killed, youth
was at a premium.
See 1920s dresses from
the
WDM Collection -->
Derby
Car Restoration Set to Begin
The
Saskatoon Antique Auto Club and the WDM are pleased to announce a new
partnership, the restoration of a 1927 Derby car. The restoration will
be completed in 2014 as a SAAC 50th anniversary project
Saskatchewan Innovations Online Exhibit
Features seven Saskatchewan Innovations and their stories, including the
Cobalt-60 Unit, Morris Rod Weeder, Symons Oiler, and the Flexicoil Packer.
Saskatchewan Patent Database
Search through all patents filed by Saskatchewan inventors from 1905-1976.
Previous Articles:
Sinnett,
Sask. and the Sisters of Service
There is little trace of the once flourishing community of Sinnett. Its
story it told by the Sisters of Service Archives in
Toronto. The Sisters recently donated a 1960s grey dress and hat to the
WDM and generously offered to share photographs that document their stay
in Sinnett.
Six shiny new streetcars set out on the inaugural run of the Saskatoon Municipal Railway (SMR) on January 1, 1913. SMR #12 is the only surviving car from the original fleet. In fact, very few streetcars of this period have survived anywhere in Canada.
Like
the Phoenix Rising from the Ashes...Phoenix Centiped Log Hauler
The Phoenix Centiped is a Shay-style locomotive mounted on
endless tracks. It was made to haul seven to eighteen heavily
loaded logging sleighs over snow or ice roads. Each Centiped was
outfitted with a set of skis on the front. The 100 horsepower
four-cylinder engine operated at 200 pounds of steam per square
inch.
Teddy
Bear Comes Home
The journey took 92 years, but the beloved green teddy bear
given to three-year-old Sybil Farris at the Saskatoon Canadian
Pacific Railway
station on April 24, 1920 is home at last.
Celebrating the Saskatchewan Legislative Building
The Province of Saskatchewan was only four years old when the
corner stone was laid for the Legislative Building in Regina on October 4, 1909.
The WDM collection contains a cushion cover made from approx. 40 silk
ribbons given to visitors who attended the official event..
An
Ocean Apart
Victor Humeniuk and his girlfriend lived an ocean apart for most of their
lives, but two carvings in their likeness now sit side by side.
“They tell a story of separation, of moving to a new country and leaving
loved ones behind,” Bitner stated.
The carvings were separated before Humeniuk’s death when he gave the male
form to neighbours. Find out how the two carvings were reunited
by clicking the link above.
To
Fly Like a Bird...
Ralph Vallevand of Elbow, Saskatchewan dreamed of flying
like a bird. In true pioneer spirit, he set about to build a
machine that would make his dream a reality.
2012
Marks 100th Anniversary of Titanic Tragedy
A Titanic memorabilia industry "rapidly got into gear"
after the disaster. One of those items, a napkin produced by the Palantine
Printing Company, Lancashire, made its way into the WDM
collection in 1990.
Blowtorch, the
Mechanical Horse
“The
only horse in the world you have to choke to start”.
Blowtorch, a life size mechanical horse, was the pet project
and creation of W.J. McIntyre, a Swift Current, Saskatchewan
inventor.
In
a Prairie Attic: Bladon Family Toys
The WDM acquired more than 1700 artifacts from the Bladon home
in addition to farm machinery company pamphlets and advertising
materials. The real treasure, however,
was toys.
Air
Ambulance Service Makes Aviation History
The Saskatchewan Air Ambulance Service (SAAS) was the first
non-military, government-operated air ambulance service in the
world.
Plane
pioneered air ambulance service
The Norseman CF-SAM plane helped save Saskatchewan lives in the 1940s,
but 30 years later, it was the one needing rescue.
44,000
Pounds of Steel
American-Abell Steam Traction Engine
The giant American-Abell “Cock of the North” 32-120 HP
steam traction engine dominates the railway and machinery
line-up scene in Winning the Prairie Gamble: Farm Life in
Saskatchewan at the Saskatoon WDM.
The
Gray Tractor:
An Unconventional Design
The Gray Tractor Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota was one of
dozens of companies trying to make it big in the tractor
business in the teens and 1920s. What set the Gray apart from
its competitors was the large drum which took the place of rear
wheels.
Saskatchewan's
Ferry System
It was not by southern prairie trails that the first Europeans
ventured into the vast wilderness of western Canada–it was the
great northern rivers that brought adventurers and fur traders
to the interior of the continent.
Rare
Computer a Pioneer in Canadian Industry
In 1961, Canadians designed a computer that was years ahead of
its competitors, but the success of the Ferranti-Packard 6000
was cut short when the British government pulled the plug.
Fifty
Golden Years
1955
ushered in a year of celebration as Saskatchewan marked 50 years
as a province. And what a celebration it was. Hundreds of events
in communities large and small paid tribute to the pioneers who
settled Saskatchewan.
Teeth
Talk: The Bull Dog Line
Avery Undermounted Steam Engine
Out of the Avery Company plant at Peoria, Illinois came one of
the most unusual traction engines of the day.
The famous undermounted engine, looking more like a railway locomotive than
a conventional steam traction engine, attracted a lot of
attention when it hit the agricultural market in the early 20th
century.
The
Bates Steel Mule, A ‘Mechanical Horse’
The Bates Steel Mule is one of the most unusual tractors in the
Western Development Museum collection. Just about everyone who
sees it wonders how it worked. Unlike other tractors of its day,
the Steel Mule had no seat.
Rumours
surround legendary
Bedaux trek
Everyone said it couldn't be done, but Charles Bedaux tried
anyway, and the result was the legendary Bedaux Subarctic
Expedition of 1934.
The
Big Four
The Big Four was a big tractor. Named for its massive
four-cylinder engine, the Big Four traces its family history to
the first years of the twentieth century when D.M. Hartsough,
one of the fledging tractor industry's pioneer innovators,
experimented with a multi-cylinder engine.
The
Bull with the Pull
During the second decade of the 20th century, the giant gas
tractors that rumbled across the prairies were just beginning to
give way to their smaller, cheaper and easier to handle
counterparts. The small to medium size tractor market was
heating up and the Bull Tractor Company, like dozens of others,
wanted a piece of the action.
WDM
Calliope One of the Last of its Kind
For the past 20 years, the whistles of the Western Development Museum
calliope have been a familiar sound to Saskatchewan parade-goers. But the
steam organ in the candy-apple red wagon is one of the last of its kind.
Full
Power All the Time! First in the Field with NEW and REVOLUTIONARY “Live” Power
Take-Off
The concept of a “power take-off which would continue running when the forward
motion of the tractor stopped”3 was put forward by the designers. The people at
Wisconsin took up the idea, and together with Cockshutt engineers, built the
first tractor equipped with live power take-off.
Comfortractor an idea before its time
The
name said it all: The 1938 Minneapolis-Moline fortractor
pioneered the convenience and safety features that are now
standard in farm tractors. Its only drawback? The Comfortractor
arrived 30 years too soon.
Ahead
of its Time: Minneapolis-Moline UDLX Comfortractor
Minneapolis-Moline designed its new tractor for the comfort and safety of
the operator. The Comfortactor boasted at least six tractor industry firsts:
enclosed cab, heater, cigar lighter, windshield wipers, clock
and radio
Coming
Home to Saskatchewan Part 3:
Fred Dalby's Model Steam Engine
History-minded donors who have long since left the province
sometimes take the time and trouble to return to the province artifacts
which have their roots in Saskatchewan. In Part Three of this
series, a model steam engine in the WDM collection is the work
of Saskatchewan pioneer Fred Dalby. The engine “came home” in
1997.
Coming
Home to Saskatchewan Part 2: William Cowie's Saddle and Jacket
History-minded donors who have long since left the province
sometimes take the time and trouble to return to the province artifacts
which have their roots in Saskatchewan. Part Two of this three
part series highlights the travels of a Depression era saddle
and jacket.
Coming
Home to Saskatchewan
Part 1: Moose Jaw Red Cross Quilt
History-minded donors who have long since left the province
sometimes take the time and trouble to return to the province artifacts
which have their roots in Saskatchewan.Part One tells the story
of a quilt made by the Canadian Red Cross during World War Two
and its journey across the ocean and back.
Horse
Power and the Dynamometer
May 9, 2011
To prove the value of horses, the Horse Association of
America encouraged horse-pulling
competitions in the United States and Canada. Special equipment
was needed to measure the drawbar pull of competing teams.
University of Saskatchewan professor Evan Hardy designed and built a dynamometer,
as the machines were called, in 1924.
London,
Liverpool, and Lloydminster - Barr Colonists
In 1903, twenty-three year old Frank Hembrow Smith of London,
England was reading a newspaper on his way to work at a local
shipbuilding company. A letter in the newspaper caught his eye-
it extolled the opportunities that awaited in the Canadian
northwest. Like many young men at the time, he was hooked, lured
by the promise of adventure.
Ask
the Man Who Owns One: Geiser Manufacturing Company
Back in the early 1850s, Peter Geiser of Smithburg, Maryland
made history when he built his first thresher. Some say he was
the inventor of the threshing machine and his name should be as
familiar as John Deere’s or Cyrus McCormick’s of reaper fame.
Full
Steam Ahead: Steam Power at the WDM
More than 60 years ago, the founders of Saskatchewan’s Western
Development Museum were motivated by a mission to save early
steam engines and gas tractors from the scrap heap. The WDM
steam collection is distributed throughout its four museums and
Curatorial Centre in Saskatchewan. Many examples are on exhibit,
others are operated annually in summer shows, while others are
currently in storage. The collection is enhanced by a library
collection of original manuals, parts lists and machine company
catalogues dating to the 1880s.
The
Last Best West:
Homes for Millions
They came by the thousands to Western Canada, seeking
opportunity and a better life in a new “promised land.” The
Canadian government in the late 19th and early 20th century was
anxious to populate the west with farmers and business people
who would contribute to the national economy by developing the
vast resources of the West. A settled west would also solidify
Canada’s claim to sovereignty over the northwest.
Dreadnaughts
of the Prairies: The Marshall Tractor
British tractor maker Marshall, Sons & Company had its eye on
the lucrative Canadian market early in the 20th century.
Marshall introduced its first tractor in 1907. Titled
"Dreadnaughts of the Prairies" the company promoted its "British
Colonial Tractors" with the slogan, "Built like a
Battleship-Runs Like a Watch." Marshall tractors were
"guaranteed of finest material and best workmanship."
New for the 19th Century:
Steam
Steam power revolutionized
life in the 19th century. Its application to industry and
transportation transformed society on both sides of the
Atlantic. Portable steam engines provided the first non-animal
source of power on the farm.
The
Mighty Pioneer - Pioneer 30-60 HP Tractor
The 30 was a big tractor, weighing 23,000 pounds. The drive
wheels were 96 inches in diameter. It could pull an eight to ten
bottom plow through tough, prairie sod or power a 36 inch
cylinder threshing machine making it ideal for custom work.
Massey-Harris
Joins the Tractor Revolution
Massey-Harris was a late-comer to the tractor business. The
Western Development Museum is fortunate to have acquired a
Massey-Harris No. 2, 12-22 HP, in 1957. It is believed that of
the 400-500 originally produced, no more than a handful remain.
Tractor Fills a Universal Need
The Manitoba Universal
One of the rarest tractors in the Saskatchewan Western
Development Museum collection came out of Winnipeg about 1915.
The Manitoba Universal Farm Tractor was one of a small handful
of tractors manufactured in Western Canada.
The
Thoroughly Canadian Car
Made Up to a Standard, Not Down to a Price
In 1905, the Russell car made its debut. Built by Canada Cycle
and Motor Company (CCM), was the first truly successful Canadian
automobile.
The
WDM’s Oldest Gas Tractor
Saunderson Universal Motor Type A
What do Pioneer Settlement in Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia and
the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
Canada have in common? These museums boast the only two
Saunderson Universal Motor Type A tractors known to exist
anywhere in the world.
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Twin City 60: Monster
Tractor
The WDM is the proud owner of a very rare Twin City 60, acquired
in the late 1950s. Few, if any, other examples of this tractor
are known to have survived.
