Italian
Log stamp
Used by logging companies in the Kootenays, log stamps such as this
were very important to the loggers concerned. The main methods of transporting
logs to the processing mills was via the rivers and streams. A contractor
or company would be assigned a stamp with a number. The stamp would then
be used to beat this number into the log before it was put into the river.
When the log was extracted at the mill, the number would be recorded and
the appropriate party would then be paid for it.
Metal lunch kit & water bottle
Filled with enough food and water to last the long shift in the mine,
lunch kits were made from metal in order to endure rough treatment. Breaks
for the coal miner did not mean a breath of fresh air and sunshine. Miners
were expected to stop wherever they were in the mine and take their break.
Only when the final whistle blew were the miners permitted to come out
of the mineshaft.
Milanese wine bottle & corkscrew
Often acquired at great expense, domestic Italian wines were a comfort
of home enjoyed by Italian immigrants. Many Italian merchants in Trail
and the Elk Valley would spend extra efforts bringing in such items for
their fellow countrymen. While such imports would have been expensive
and only rarely enjoyed, the bottles they came in were reused to contain
homemade wine.
Miner's cap & lamp
This miner's cap from the collection of the Crowsnest Museum, was
one of the first types used by the Italian coal miners who worked for
the Crowsnest Pass Coal Company. Offering little protection from falling
rock, the cap was worn to support a small lamp that offered the only light
in the absolute darkness of the mine. Miners often made complaints that
while horses were outfitted with hardened helmets (for horses were very
expensive to replace if injured) the miners were not.
Item
courtesy of Crowsnest Museum, 89.661 & 85.24.5.
Miner's carbide safety lamp
Developed to provide light but to burn safely (and not ignite explosive
gases), the carbide safety lamp was hooked to a coalminer's hat. In the
dark depths of the mineshaft, this small item produced barely enough light
for the miner to work by.
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