INVENTORYING, EXHIBITION BUILDING, AND STAYING WARM IN COLLECTIONS

Internship Check-In | Joanna Wreakes

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Welcome back to another edition of Internship Check-In! Today’s column takes us across the country from Saskatchewan to Ontario with 4 interviews. Keep reading to see what MMSt students have been up to this summer!

Sam Richardson: The Ontario Regiment (RCAC) Museum, Oshawa, ON

Julie Suh: Heritage Services, City of Richmond Hill, ON

Matthew Dominico: Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, ON

Ally Forand: Western Development Museum (WDM), Saskatoon, SK

Doorway details at the Hockey Hall of Fame, where one of our interns is spending their summer. Source.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your internship role. 

Sam: My name is Sam Richardson, and for my summer internship I am working as an assistant curator at the Ontario Regiment (RCAC) Museum in Oshawa, Ontario. My responsibilities are typical of an assistant curator, like making exhibits, giving tours, and helping people with research, but those “other duties as assigned” come up a lot too.

Julie: Hi, I am Julie! I am currently working at the City of Richmond Hill’s Heritage Services as a Curatorial Attendant. I am on the Collections team within the Heritage Services. I mostly manage the City’s Heritage, Sports Hall of Fame, Public Art, and Archaeological collections. Besides the collections management, I also assist with exhibition planning and installations.

Matthew: Hey guys, my name is Matthew Dominico and I am completing my internship at the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto. I work in the exhibitions department as a researcher and writer for upcoming exhibits. The department is small but it is directly responsible for everything that goes on display within the museum from full size exhibits to individual artifacts.

Ally: I’m Ally, and I am working as a collections assistant at the Western Development Museum (WDM) in Saskatoon, SK.

Julie at work with the City of Richmond Hill's Heritage Service. Photo courtesy of Julie Suh.

 What is a typical day like at your institution? 

Sam: There is no such thing as a “typical day” at this museum, and that is exactly what I like about it. My day can range from exciting to mundane and back again. In the morning, I could be helping the head curator install a new exhibit on the War in Afghanistan. After lunch, I could be suiting up in waterproof gear to hose down a Soviet Cold War tank for a movie shoot. On the odd occasion, I may even drive something. And after that, I could be helping someone find out what Grandpa did in the Second World War.

Julie: Since there are two other Curatorial Attendants whom I work with, we all take turns in our rotating job stations. So, my duties vary every day. But mostly, I start my day by logging onto a computer, open PastPerfect and database artifacts (many artifacts!). Then in the afternoon, I would sometimes catalogue or take professional photographs of artifacts or plan/install exhibitions.

Matthew: I begin my day at the Hall by checking the museum floor. I take a walk around every case and display making sure that all of the lights are on, the artifacts are still in place, and the captions are straight and properly secured. If I find anything out of place in the case, I simply open it up and fix it. I then begin work on whatever project I happen to be working on. We have a number of exhibits currently planned that I am in the process of researching and writing for so it just depends on which one I feel like working on right away. I continue to work on that during the day, switching exhibits from time to time. I also complete any small tasks that my boss asks me to do. Around 4pm I pack up my stuff and head home.

Ally: Most days I am inventorying artifacts, which includes photographing, describing and reporting on their description. Since the WDM is so collaborative every day is a little different. For instance, I worked with the curatorial and marketing department to write an article about my work! Also, this past week I have worked with the exhibition team to install “The Saskatchewan Doukhobor Living Book Project” exhibit.

Matthew with arguably the most well-known artifact at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of Matthew Dominico.

Is there anything that’s surprised you about your internship?

Sam: With how unpredictable each day can be, I have learned to let nothing surprise me about this
job. I take everything in stride as it happens, go with the flow, and see where the excitement takes me.

Julie: The fact that my supervisor, the Collections Supervisor, is a part-time staff who only works 22 hours a week when myself and two other Curatorial Attendants work full time surprised me the most. This was not only surprising but also worrisome as it indicates fewer stable (full-time) cultural heritage jobs in municipalities.

Matthew: Being that this is my second time working with this department, not too much has surprised me. I guess the sheer amount of work that goes into building an exhibit from the ground up is something that always surprises me. Even when it is simply switching out teams in a particular showcase, the effort to really make the exhibit memorable is something that I relish doing because the impact is immediate when you see a fan taking it all in.

Ally: I was surprise by the degree of teamwork at the WDM! Since the institution is on the smaller size you know what people are working on and they are more than willing to share their knowledge with you.

Was Ally transported to the 1910's?! Nope! She is strolling down the Boom Town exhibit at the WDM. Photo courtesy of Ally Forand. 

What are you excited about accomplishing throughout your internship? 

Sam: I am excited to finally finish up an exhibit on military badges that I have had to put off for over a year because of constant delays. There are 219 badges to go in that exhibit and finishing it will be immensely satisfying.

Julie: Digitizing artifacts on PastPerfect was something that I have not had a chance to learn in school. Learning how to use PastPerfect makes me feel like a real “emerging museum professional.” I am also excited to plan and install an exhibition from the ground up for a community centre in Richmond Hill at the end of the summer.

Matthew: The project I am most excited about finishing is the Stanley Cup Vault renovation project. The Hockey Hall of Fame is partially housed inside the old Bank of Montreal building at Yonge and Front. The historic bank holds the honoured members plaques and the NHL’s individual trophies. It also holds hockey’s holy grail, the original Stanley Cup bowl. The bowl is kept in the old bank vault which was last renovated in 1993, the year the Hall opened downtown. This summer I will be working on the revitalization of that vault and I am very excited to get started.

Ally: The accomplishment I am most proud of during my internship is gaining technical skills to accompany the academic knowledge I am learning from the MMSt program. I think these skills are acquired with time, but I cannot imagine a better place to learn them or better role models to shadow.

Sam at his internship labelling military badges for installation in a future exhibition. Photo courtesy of Sam Richardson.

Do you have any words of wisdom for someone entering a similar position?


Sam: Be prepared to “mount up and move out” for anything on the job and see where it takes you.

Julie: It is such a cliche but don’t be afraid! Just explore, try, and ask everything and anything you would like to learn. Another word of wisdom: bring your thickest winter cardigan. Artifact storage is SUPER cold and gets colder as summer weather heats up. I mean a colder storage room is better for artifacts and we all want to create the ultimate environmental conditions for artifacts, right?

Matthew: I would have to say to anyone coming into a similar position as me, to be open to doing everything. Making yourself invaluable is the best thing you can do in this kind of work because it shows that you are willing to do whatever is required of you and more. You just never know where these jobs will take you.

Ally: I recommend taking chances, which is scary because you are an emerging professional, but now is the time to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and grow. You’ll be a better person and professional for it.

The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

ALIAS TORONTO

HERITAGE MOMENTS

BY: ELEANOR HOWELL-CHRISTENSEN

If we haven’t already, soon we’ll all have heard the name Grace Marks. Netflix’s miniseries Alias Grace, based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, debuted at TIFF just a few weeks ago and will be available to stream on November 3. Alias Grace is a fictionalized interpretation of a gruesome murder that happened in 1840’s Toronto, a time when the city was still largely built of wood and had only recently changed its name from York. Grace Marks was accused of murdering her employer and his housekeeper, and the question of her guilt befuddled society at the time — and still does to this day (as this anticipated Netflix adaptation implies). We seem to love a ‘good murder’, particularly a scandalous one, and particularly when it’s a woman who’s done the murdering. 


For my first post as the Heritage Moments columnist I thought I’d jump on the Alias Grace bandwagon that’s shedding light on some of our city’s early history, and offer up three stories of women, murders, and Not Guilty! verdicts. From Richmond Hill to Parkdale to the Annex, the courts of Toronto have a strange history of murderesses, sensationalized trials, and verdicts that ultimately let these murderesses walk free. Read through the stories of these three women who have played sensationalized roles in the darker side of Toronto's heritage. 

GRACE MARKS

c/o murderpedia.org

Let’s begin our murderess tour with Grace Marks, now a star of a Netflix drama but who, at the time of her trial, was a recently-immigrated Irish maidservant. At only 15 years old, Grace was arrested in 1843 alongside fellow servant James McDermott for the double murder of their employer Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery. Wealthy farmer Kinnear had been found dead from bullet wounds outside his Richmond Hill home, while Montgomery’s body had been strangled and hacked to death with an axe then dumped in the cellar; the post-mortem autopsy results showed she was pregnant at the time, most likely with Kinnear’s child.

McDermott was found guilty of murder and hanged, but rather than being given the death sentence Grace was sent first to an asylum and then to Kingston Penitentiary where she spent almost thirty years. She divided those who encountered her, both during her trial and after she was locked away: some thought she was naive and innocent, while others thought she was just as guilty as the deceased McDermott. 

A group of Reformers convinced of her innocence appealed repeatedly to various government officials for her release. Eventually granted a pardon, the now old Grace was released. No records of her exist after her release from Kingston. The issue of her guilt or innocence is still unresolved.

Read more here:

http://murderpedia.org/female.M/m/marks-grace.htm

CLARA FORD

c/o Toronto Then and Now

Perhaps the most charismatic of the three women in this article, Clara Ford was arrested in relation to the Frank Westwood murder case in 1894. 18 year old Westwood had been shot on the doorstep of his family’s Jameson Ave mansion. He died several days later, maintaining that his shooter had been a stranger, a moustachioed man dressed in a dark suit. As the young son of a wealthy Toronto family, Westwood’s murder caused a city-wide uproar. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was called in to speculate: on a visit to Toronto, the creator of detective Sherlock Holmes was asked to weigh in on the murder case. Doyle declined to comment, and with the police force working on very little information, the mystery of the moustachioed man prevailed for weeks.

Things took an interesting turn when the police arrested Clara Ford, a biracial female tailor. She was known to regularly dress as a man, owned a gun with bullets to match Westwood’s wound, and frequented the Parkdale area in her social circles. She wasn’t surprised to be arrested and frankly confessed to the murder. According to Clara, Frank had tried to take advantage of her and she’d retaliated by biding her time then dressing as a man, going to his house and shooting him. Known for her charisma and bravado, Clara navigated the trial with self-confidence and won over the jury: despite the overwhelming evidence against her, Clara was acquitted. Toronto loved Clara and her eccentricities so much that when she left the courthouse she had to struggle through cheering crowds in order to take her jurors out to eat. 

Clara became a household name and even placed the dark suit she’d been wearing when she shot Westwood into a local museum. She left Toronto to join a performing group, where she toured the States as a 'murderess' spectacle.

Read more here:

http://www.billgladstone.ca/?p=3216

CARRIE DAVIES

c/o Development of Toronto

Torontonians will recognize the name Massey (Massey College, Massey Hall) but in 1915 the name was tinged with scandal. Sharing similarities with the Westwood murder, young Charles Massey was shot in front of his home on Walmer Road. The wielder of the pistol was 18 year old Carrie Davis, Massey’s young English maidservant who accused her victim of ruining her life as she shot him. Police found Carrie preparing to turn herself in and confess. She claimed that Massey had attempted to rape her the day before: she’d felt powerless as a young female servant and had resolved to defend herself. 

Carrie had been brought to Canada as part of a government scheme to recruit domestic servants from Britain. She was known as being quiet and modest in her spending, sending most of her income home to her poor family. Massey, on the other hand, was notorious for his womanizing and his casual approach to finances. When the case went to trial, Toronto sympathized with the vulnerable Carrie and her desperate attempt to protect herself from abuse. Certain newspapers weighing in on the crime emphasized her good character and suggested that the murder was justified: she was a young, vulnerable female protecting her honour in a difficult situation.

The jury didn’t meet for very long before deciding Carrie was not guilty. Even though she’d confessed to the murder, the courtroom was relieved to see her walk free. The judge himself was reportedly teary-eyed at the verdict. Carrie decided not to seek more employment in Toronto and instead left the city for the life of an Ontario farmer’s wife. She never told her children of her crime. 

Read more here:

https://torontoist.com/2013/02/historicist-a-massey-family-murder/