by Amy Zoethout | Mar 13, 2021 | Artefacts, Blog, Collection highlights, Textile Collection
Above: Herb Wheeler’s Carpentry Shop in Belgrave, ON. Herb is seen standing in front (Photo courtesy of Richard Anderson).
Guest blogger Sharlene Young-Bolen, of Stitch Revival Studio in Blyth, shares more about how a Huron County Museum artifact inspired her to create the Huron Wristers pattern and how her research into the origin of the pattern led her to connect to family of the original owner. The original gloves are currently on display in the Museum Gift Shop where Sharlene’s Huron Wristers kits are also available for purchase.
Was there a Wheeler family tie to either Estonia or the British Isles? The answer would help to identify the glove pattern perhaps. When an Instagram post by Best Dishes, a Goderich business owned by Sarah Anderson, appeared in my feed one day identifying the wristers pattern as based on a family heirloom, chance had dropped the perfect opportunity. It was time to connect. A couple messages back and forth and the story unfolded…
The Charles Wheeler Family circa 1900. Back: Carrie, Herb, Ernest. Centre: Charles, Cecil, Jesse, Lennie, Mary Ann; Front: Lena, Myrtle (Photo courtesy of Richard Anderson).
Sarah, as it turns out, is the daughter of Richard Anderson, great-nephew of Herbert Wheeler, the original owner of the gloves. Richard sent the following information about the history of the Charles Wheeler Family:
Charles Wheeler Sr. was born in Dorsetshire, England and came to Canada in 1846, locating in Tecumseh Township where he spent 18 years. In 1864 he moved with his family to Morris Township where he bought 300 acres which would be the N ½ of Lots 10, 11 and 12, Concession 5, more commonly known as the 4th Line. He married Caroline Lawrence and they raised a family of five sons, Charles, John and Lawrence of Morris Twp., William of Alma, Frank of Belgrave, and a daughter Mrs. Ann Hughes of Escanaba, Michigan.
Charles Wheeler Jr. married Mary Ann Wilkinson and they raised a family of five sons, including Herbert, and three daughters. Charles farmed on Lot 12 and after his death in 1913, his son Jesse took over the home farm. When Jesse married, his mother moved to Belgrave to the house now occupied by Wes and Annie Cook. Jesse continued to farm there until he retired to Belgrave.
The Charles Wheeler Family, standing in birth order; youngest to oldest, L-R Myrtle, Lena, Cecil, Jesse, Lennie, Ernie, Herb, Carrie (Photo courtesy of Richard Anderson).
Herbert married Pearl Procter. They lived in Belgrave and had three children: Goldie, who married Winnie Lane and lived in London; Velma married Wilfred Pickell and lives in Vancouver; Ken married Mabel Coultes and farmed in East Wawanosh before retiring to Belgrave. Herbert had a woodworking shop in Belgrave.
Herbert’s grandson David Pickell, recalls: “When I knew my grandparents, Pearl and Herb, they lived in Belgrave. Herb Wheeler was a carpenter and, as the name suggests, repaired farm equipment such as wooden wheeled carts etc. He was quiet, and had a subtle sense of humour us kids loved.”
The following poem was written about Herbert Wheeler by a family member and gives a wonderful, lasting impression of just who Herbert was and his occupation as a talented woodworker, carpenter and barber. It would have been great to experience just what this writer did so long ago.
Herb Wheeler’s Carpentry Shop & Hair Cutting CIRCA 1932-1945
Whenever Herb was in his shop, I’d like to go and look,
He might be cutting some one’s hair, or be reading some big book,
There were jigs galore hanging all around, some maybe for a sleigh,
There were shavings bright upon the floor, they would soon be swept away.
Herb never left a job undone, if he could finish it that day,
Except of course a larger job, he would maybe stop and say,
“Tomorrow is another day, I’ll hope to get it done,”
“But if I don’t the job will keep, it’s not hurting any one. ”
Sometimes just after Supper, Herb again would be around,
He’d pump up a gas lantern, light it up and settle down.
For Herb, doubled as a barber, he’d cut hair two weekday nights,
Herb, never used power clippers, he did not charge enough by rights.
Somehow, Two bits is what I think, was all a haircut cost,
I really can’t remember, it’s something I have lost.
Herb did not pull your hair at all, as hand clippers often do,
He’d sometimes talk as the clippers clicked, and he’d ask, “does this suit you” ?
Herb was skilled at doing wood work, he could make most anything,
He made a Bob sled for the kids, it nearly did take wing.
The fastest sled around those parts, down the ninth line hill it flew.
Ken would try to give us all a ride, or sometimes maybe two.
I expect that Goldie used the sled, and likely Velma too,
It needed someone that could steer, and knew just what to do.
I’ve seen the times, when snow was hard, and a fast start at the top,
You’d have to turn the corner, at the highway, to get stopped.
Herb made Ken skis, that were Black Ash wood, what a lovely pair,
The skis would take you down a hill, like you were cushioned on some air.
When the skis were waxed and shone and dried, no one ever saw the like,
They would make a run ahead of all, they would go clean out of sight
There were other things of super class, that emerged for that shop door.
A set of kitchen cupboards, like you’d never seen before.
Herb had a little saying, and he practiced it always
“If you measure twice before you cut, it eliminates delays”!
I have seen him make a set of shafts, the wood he’d have to steam
To make a bend for the horse to fit into the cutters beam.
Herb had the kind of patience, that a lot of people lack,
That is what made him extra special, with an extra special knack.
So far, the research has yielded no straight answers as to the gloves’ origin, but the search continues. While a pattern might give you a hint to the origin of a knitted item, you need to identify more, such as the cast-on method, the type of ribbing, how the fringe was made, and how the strands (or floats) were carried across the back of the knitting. A full reproduction of Herbert’s gloves would help to answer the remaining questions.
In conclusion, there really isn’t a conclusion… But what I can say is that taking the time to explore knitting traditions and a local family’s history has been a fascinating, rewarding experience. I’m so grateful for Herbert’s relatives who have answered my questions and sent so many wonderful images to be shared here with everyone. They went to a lot of work to compile the info and family photographs and I can’t thank them enough for all their time and effort.
I’ve come to think that the original knitter may have incorporated features that he liked into these gloves, perhaps not following one certain pattern, but rather combining different elements into one. A full recreation of the gloves is planned for late fall 2021 and right now I’m testing a local wool I may be using for the reproduction. Stay tuned to the website for further updates as we move forward.
Learn more:
by Amy Zoethout | Mar 11, 2021 | Collection highlights, Textile Collection
Guest blogger Sharlene Young-Bolen, of Stitch Revival Studio in Blyth, shares more about how a Huron County Museum artifact inspired her to create the Huron Wristers pattern and how her research into the origin of the pattern led her to connect to family of the original owner. Sharlene will be joining us March 25 when she will lead a virtual workshop to teach participants to make the Huron Wristers. The original gloves are currently on display in the Museum Gift Shop where Sharlene’s Huron Wristers kits are also available for purchase.
The knitted glove once owned by Herbert Wheeler.
The story of the creation of the Huron Wristers is a story of connections: the connection of past to present, of generation to generation.
Back in 1972, Pearl Wheeler donated a pair of knitted gloves that once belonged to her husband Herbert to the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol. The museum’s record notes that at the time the gloves were thought to date from 1870 and were knit by a man.
Herbert and Pearl lived in Belgrave, ON. Herbert had seven siblings, four brothers and three sisters. His parents were Charles Wheeler and Mary Ann Wilkinson. Herbert was a carpenter and apparently also the local barber. How long the gloves were in Herb’s possession no one knows.
While visiting the museum to research women’s headcoverings – I had an idea to recreate a head scarf worn by one of my ancestors – I happened upon an image of Herb’s gloves. There was something very intriguing about the gloves. First, the colours – the pink is very bold and the contrast between the pink and black is quite striking. Secondly, the colourwork pattern – it seems familiar, but yet different somehow. It looks Fair Isle-inspired, but there’s something else there. And the fringe of the cuff, so interesting.
The Huron Wristers, inspired by the colourwork in Herbert’s knitted gloves.
Who made these gloves? There’s no record of that. The gloves may have been knitted for Herbert by an older family member; or purchased at some point earlier on and then Herbert inherited them; or Herbert bought the gloves himself from someone; or given his trade, perhaps they were payment for some work he did. It was time to do research on the pattern and see what could be found.
Herbert’s gloves were knit in the round using the stranded colourwork technique, working two colours of yarn in the same row, carrying the unused yarn across the inside of the work. The 8-stitch motif repeating pattern is similar to both the Shetland Fair Isle knitting pattern, ‘Little Flowers’ as well as an Estonian pattern called, ‘Cat’s Paw’.
The gloves feature a knitted fringe on a short ribbed cuff. Fringing has been used on both Latvian mittens and Estonian gloves, historical and modern versions and not so much in the Fair Isle tradition. The fringe appears to have been done using a loop technique which is done during the construction of the glove. The colourwork may seem close to the Sanquhar tradition, but it’s not a match for the following reasons according to knitters on the Knitting History Forum:
- There are quite a few designs associated with Sanquhar. Possibly the most well-known ones are based on 11 by 11 stitch squares. The squares have strong outlines with alternating patterns within the squares. Herb’s gloves therefore do not fulfill these criteria.
- Some Sanquhar gloves also have an interesting finger construction with little triangular gussets in the finger spaces and triangular finger tips. Also, all Sanquhar have a shaped thumb placed on the palm side rather than on the side of the hand as here.
- Finally, the stitch count, wool and colour are not really in the Sanquhar tradition. Gloves tend to be monochromatic. Wool used is finer, stitch count for the cuff around 80 stitches and modern needle size of around 2mm used.
The Knitting History Forum was invaluble as it connected me with Angharad Thomas, researcher, designer and knitter. Angharad wrote, “The only pattern I could find similar to that used in these gloves was a 4 stitch x 4 row triangle in a Shetland pattern book … but there’s a limit to what can be knitted on a given number of sts in whatever colours are to hand. That’s how I think these patterns came about rather than from one tradition or another. Fringes are now associated with Latvia but there are gloves from the north of England with a fringe…” Angharad then suggested I reach out to Shirley Scott, Canadian knitting designer and author.
Traditional Estonian gloves and mittens showing the beautiful colourwork and fringed cuffs.
Scott immediately suggested the similarity to Estonian mitten patterns and sent a few images of pattern motifs. She then pointed me in the direction of Nancy Bush, an Estonian knitting expert. Shirley also cautioned that there may be no clear and definitive answer as to the pattern name and origins.
“Don’t be surprised if the pattern has no real name. Newfoundland patterns have never had names, for example. We made ours up, as explained in our books. It’s also hard to pinpoint the origins of patterns these days because North America has had so many waves of immigration and so much pattern sharing,” said Scott.
Nancy Bush, a knitting writer, designer and authority on Estonian knitting, wrote:
“I have found a pattern close to the one on your mittens from both Paistu and Helme parishes in Estonia (these are southwest). The difference is that the diamond with cross shapes are offset, as is the example of Sander’s Mittens in Folk Knitting in Estonia. There is another pattern that is like the ones from Helme and Paistu in a pattern book from the Rannarootsi Museum in Haapsalu. This museum tells the story of Swedish/Estonian people who lived in Estonian territory, mostly until the 2nd WW. I don’t know the story of these exact mittens, just that the pattern is close.”
Estonian Mitten Pattern by Nancy Bush. The repeating motifs are almost a match for Herbert’s gloves, but for the fact they are offset, nested within each other, not point to point.
Bush continued, “The fact that the diamond with cross shapes are stacked instead of offset makes me think they were not looking at any of the patterns I have mentioned above, or mittens made like them…
All that being said… this is a very simple pattern, easy to create with knit stitches and could have originated almost anywhere… it is very possible these mittens were made by someone who was remembering a pattern they knew as a child, for instance, and reproduced it as best they could, with the yarn they had…”
So, which was it, Estonian or Fair Isle? It was time to research the Wheeler family and Herbert. Where did their family originate? Was there a family tie to either Estonia or the British Isles? When an instagram post by Best Dishes, a Goderich business owned by Sarah Anderson, appeared in my feed one day identifying the wristers pattern as based on a family heirloom, chance had dropped the opportunity in my lap. It was time to connect. A couple messages back and forth and the story unfolded…
Learn more:
by Erin Samuell | Sep 5, 2019 | Exhibits, Textile Collection, Uncategorized
The Huron County Historic Museum presents our newest temporary gallery “Say It with Style”. This exhibit explores different fashion idioms from around the world, along with displays of clothing and accessories from dresses to collars, all from our own collection.
Some idioms, are hard to understand until they are defined. Some of them, you also will find you have never heard of. But the history from where these idioms originated is very interesting and every idiom has a story to tell. Here is the history of two idioms presented in the gallery and their definitions:
To wear your heart on your sleeve essentially means to openly display all of your emotions and feelings. This idiom has a few places where it could have originated from. The first and most likely place is from Shakespeare’s play Othello. Spoken by Iago, he is saying that to show his feelings would be like wearing his heart on his sleeve, where birds could peck at it. In other words, he is saying that to be open about your feelings is to make yourself vulnerable. Another theory about where it could have been started was in the middle ages. Claudius II, the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 268 to 270. He thought that unattached men make better soldiers, making marriage illegal. As an alternative, he would suggest temporary coupling. Every year, he would hold festivals and men would draw names of different ladies and whoever they got would be their partner for the next year. Once this was done, the man would wear her name on his sleeve for the rest of the festival. The last story originates from a time when knights would joust by order of the king and dedicate his performance to a woman of the court. So, by wearing something around his arm like a handkerchief, he let everyone know that the match was in defense of the woman’s honour. Which of these stories would you choose?
Another idiom, dressed to the nines, means to be dressed in your best, fanciest clothing. The origin of this idiom is unclear, but there are a few theories to where it could have come from. The phrase “to the nines” was found in poetry and stories before it was associated with clothing. One of the first encounters with the slang came from an English poem by William Hamilton called Epistle to Ramsay in 1719 where he wrote: “The bonny Lines therin thou sent me, How to the nines they did content me.” Another theory is that it came from the British Army’s 99th Regiment of Foot. They were well known for their intelligence and well kept uniforms, so well-known that other regiments that were based with them were would try to emulate them — to equal “the nines”. The most likely origin is the instance of the phrase being applied to using 9 yards of material to perfectly craft a suit, not to mention 9 yards of material for a suit is way too much material than actually needed. It would be an extravagance!
All of the textile pieces in our gallery feature different types and styles and are all designed to pair with each idiom presented. We have also included idioms from around the world, exploring different languages and cultures so you can also explore what other countries might say when expressing how they feel about clothing. If you would like to see for yourself, this exhibit is on display now for you to learn and explore, located in the Feature Gallery on the second floor of the Huron County Museum until November 3rd. We hope to see you there!
Written by Olivia Vanstone, Huron County Museum Co-op student from Goderich District Collegiate institute. Olivia recently graduated from grade 12 and enjoys photography, art, fashion, music and dramatic arts. During Olivia’s placement she was busy assisting with exhibit and programming activities.
by Elizabeth French-Gibson | Aug 14, 2014 | Textile Collection, Uncategorized
By Mary-Katherine Whelan, Intern
Mary-Katherine has been interning at the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol since May and is currently enrolled in the Museum Management and Curatorship program at Fleming College. A graduate from the Arts Management Program at the University of Toronto, she has previously worked for the National Historic Sites Alliance of Ontario, the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Niagara Historical Society, and Great North Artist Management. In part two of this two-part series, she details some of the many online museum collections of vintage fashion.
Online Museum Collections
Over the last ten years cultural and historic institutions have gradually photographed and made their costume collections accessible online. There is a great wealth of resources available online that I regularly consult when I’m stumped.
Evening ensemble designed by Nabob, about 1927: V&A Collection
Victoria and Albert Museum has a great collection available online. The collections made available span from 18th century to 20th century fashion, and include drawings, photographs, art work, and historical context and introduction for each collection.
Evening dress designed by Yves Saint Laurent, 1967. The Museum at FIT.
The Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) has, like the V&A, a comprehensive collection available online, which spans from the 18th century to the 21st century. What is unique about this collection is that it is very focused on costumes designed by noted fashion designers from the 20th century onward, and includes biographies of the designers. The collection has a searchable feature that is easy to use and can be narrowed down based on what you are specifically looking for.
The McCord Museum in Montreal has an online collection of costumes and textiles that are uniquely Canadian. Currently, the McCord Museum has over 900 images from their Costume and Textiles collection available online. What is great about the McCord Collection is that visitors are able to download the images directly from the website and if interested can order high quality images from the collection.
Finger-woven sash: Northern Plains Métis, c.1900-1910, McCord Museum.
The online collection of The Kyoto Costume Institute is much smaller than others on this list (200 items) but they have a great interactive timeline that you can click through for in-depth information about items from the collection including context, designer name (if applicable), materials used and date.
Dress Coat, designed by Roy Lichtenstein (Textile), Lee Rudd Simpson c. 1965. Kyoto Costume Institute.
Current Exhibitions
The Museum at FIT has pulled together a comprehensive list of fashion and historical costume related exhibitions from institutions around the world.
For local costume history, visit the dress shop display in the History Hall at the Huron County Museum and check out Fashion Fridays posts by summer student Tess Burnfield on the museum Facebook page.
Dress shop display in History Hall Gallery, Huron County Museum
by Elizabeth French-Gibson | Aug 6, 2014 | Textile Collection, Uncategorized
By Mary-Katherine Whelan, Intern
Mary-Katherine has been interning at the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol since May and is currently enrolled in the Museum Management and Curatorship program at Fleming College. A graduate from the Arts Management Program at the University of Toronto, she has previously worked for the National Historic Sites Alliance of Ontario, the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Niagara Historical Society, and Great North Artist Management. In part one of this two-part series, she details some of her favorite books and blogs for researching the history of fashion.
My love of historical fashion …
Fashions from the past can tell us a lot about the people that made the clothes, purchased them, and wore them. I’ve long been fascinated by historical fashions and over the years have researched and read copious amounts of books on the topic.
As an emerging museum professional I’ve found that my knowledge of historical fashions and dress have increased my ability to successfully date photographs and artifacts. During my schooling I had the privilege of working with a variety of artifacts like Victorian wedding gowns, glass buttons, purses, uniforms and some of the tools used to create clothing. I often fell back on several go-to books and websites to help pinpoint a time period when accession forms lack a discernable time period.
Empire Fashions, a colouring book by Tom Tierney,
Book Resources
One of my first exposures to historical fashions were from Tom Tierney fashion plate colouring books and paper dolls. The more historically-oriented selections are drawings based on fashion plates from the Victorian era. As I grew older I started to seek out the sources that Tierney used as well as other books on the evolution and history of historic costumes and clothing. Some of my favourite publications are Tierney’s Empire Fashions Colouring Book, and Medieval Fashions Colouring Book. If you are interested in checking out some of Tom Tierney’s other publications, visit the Dover publications website.
Fashion in Costume 1200-2000, Revised, by Joan Nunn, 2nd edition, 2000.
Another book that I rely on is Joan Nunn’s Fashion in Costume 1200-2000, Revised, which chronologically details types of clothing styles while providing cultural and historical context with accompanying drawings. The book is easy to understand and doesn’t lose the reader with overly technical terminology. While not an exhaustive record, the book gives a good overview and serves as a great introduction.
What People Wore When, Melissa Leventon, ed.
Additionally, What People Wore When – A Complete Illustrated History of Costume from Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century for Every Level of Society by Melissa Leventon is an amazing visual resource. Using classic 19th century illustrations by Auguste Racinet and Friedrich Hottenroth the book presents these illustrations chronologically while providing in depth contextual information, glossary of terms and a detailed bibliography to help better illustrate why people wore what they did and how certain styles have impacted fashion today.
Blogs
While not museum collections, these blogs are worth checking out! They feature examples of vintage or recreated historical fashions and are a good place for discovery, research, or inspiration.
The American Duchess
A blogger who designs and fabricates her own historical clothing
OMG That Dress
A tumblr blog devoted to sharing photographs of men and women’s fashions, plus jewelry and accessories
The Hidden Wardrobe
A blogger who works at Berrington Hall showcases and explores 18th century and 19th century costumes from the National Trust Collection
Worn Through
A blogger whose approach is more academic in scope and aims to spark discussion about current trends and topics
