Take a trip inside the Glenbow's cultural artifact collections

I touch history for a living.

I'm the Collections Technician of the Cultural History collection at theGlenbow, where I help to care for the 110,000 bits and bobs of history that make up part of Calgary's collective identity.

Calgary's hidden memories

Hereon thefifth floor of theGlenbow, is a huge warehouse-like space.

When the lights are off it's a bit spooky.

It's filled with row upon row of rolling metal shelves and wooden cupboards. Eachfull of objects. Rifles, ribbons, robots, boots, hats, tea cups, T-shirts, sewing machines, ashtrays, mugs, books, china plates, posters and puppets.

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In some ways this is the memory of Calgary our city's history made manifest. Our identity told through our objects.

And I'm lucky enough to be one of their guardians.

Do you knowthe saying "You don't know where you're going until you know where you've been?" There's a reason sayings lastit's because they stay relevant.

Our history defines and guides us. These objects are links to people.

There is value in thinking about the people who went before us.

Some people are intimidated by the word culture. Some think of it as fancyshmancy paintings.

To me, culture is context.

Being able to touch and smell history

I know all the nooks and crannies here.

It's usually a bit cool, and a little moist because of the climate control we need to keep things safe. It smells a little dusty, and depending on the section you're in, you can smell old wood, or old motor oil.

When you open one of the saddle cupboards, you can smell what I call the "horsey smell." Many of the objects still hold physical memories of what they were used for before they came to the Glenbow.

We get all kinds of offers. About 150 a year.

Most objects are donated, we can rarely afford to purchase things.

Someone will call up to offer their mother's wedding dressor some early Calgary product. It's all valuableespecially if you value history. But of course, we can't accept everything, as much as we'd like to.

We get things from everyday people, and we collect Calgary things related to the "great and the good'of our city's past: Emily Murphy, Peter Lougheed, Ralph Klein, Col.Macleodand far more.

Though we wear gloves to handle the artifacts, it's still a special feeling that you have something historic in your hands.

I can't help but wonder this parasol might've been carried by the donor's grandmother when she went to a hospital tea at the Pinkham's.

Orthis woodworking plane is really finelycrafted,no wonder the owner brought it from England.

Even the things I'm not that familiar with, like tools, remind me of their pastand the role they might've played in our history.

Of course, it's just nosiness that makes mewant to know about the people who used these things!

But my love of history factors in too,and the knowledge that EVERYTHING has a historyall these artifacts tell a story.

As well, there's my inner magpie.

A few surprisesfrom one of the Famous Five

There are beautifuleye-catching objects in the Cultural History collectionand there are as many ways of interpreting them as you can imagine.

Take Henrietta Muir Edwards, one of the Famous Five.

I like to think about what drove her and her colleagues to achieve what they did. But she was also a woman of her time, a mother, wife, and an accomplished artist.

I try to put my 21st century headspace aside and think about her world, even as I admire the beauty and scope of her art.

We have a soup tureen and matching bowls she painted with Ottawa scenes that contrast beautifully with portrait miniatures she did of friends and family. They are exquisite.

Even if someone isn't moved by the same things I am, or in the same way,all of our souls can be fed by these objects.

Each object has the potential to be a ticket to a time machine. Each object can transport us as individuals help us understand who we are through our understanding of the people who used them.

They teach us about politics, personal standards, and values. There is an infinite amount of material here.

We have artifacts that tell the stories of men, women, children, immigrants, early pioneers, recent arrivalsand the collection is still increasing in its diversity. Part of the fun is seeing how we can all connect objects that don't seem to go together, and find meaning in them.

Bringing order to contrasting items

A great example is the KaleidoscopicAnimalia display the Paul Hardy show. There is a shwack of our objects in the show and he has juxtaposed them in really neat ways with his fashions. In ways that you might not expect to go together.

As I tell the Museum School kids when they come in for behind-the-scenes tours, the collection belongs to all of us, and we can all be touched and enriched by it.

It's almost as if all the objects are waiting for someone to give voice to their past life.

Giving voice to one, gives it to all in a way.

Calgary at a Crossroads is CBC Calgary's special focus on life in our city during the downturn. A look at Calgary's culture, identity and what it means to be Calgarian. Read more stories from the series at Calgary at a Crossroads.