Horses in winter.

How many conservators does it take to subdue a herd of gypsy horses?  Four of us washed, removed scuffs, peeled rubbery paint, in-painted losses and re-varnished the horses this year. Giddy-up!

Risk Reduction

Improved drainage and a new actuator mean we can once again protect our basement storage area in the event of a flood.  Hark and hear the sound of thousands of artifacts exhaling. Whew.

Ready for our Close-up?

Filming of Endgame has transformed the Ice-Cream Parlour and the basement of Elworth.  Elvis has definately left the building, and there may be a body buried under that freezer.

Thanks to all staff and volunteers who are working to provide excellent service to all of our clients, especially on days like today.

If this were audio... you'd hear purring.

Carousel mechanics, Bill  and Brady, were hard at work on the three-phase electric motor that drives the Carousel.  After 16 years of excellent service, the 7.5 hp motor suffered bearing problems.  The fellows disconnected the very heavy motor from inside the doghouse, transported it safely to Armature Electric where it was fitted with new bearings and adjusted. Next day, the motor was returned, given an oil change and re-installed.  Many thanks to all of our hardworking staff who, whether we see them or not, make things right and keep our museum operating smoothly.

Why put the furniture back??

The new floors look sooo great....maybe we could have sock  races instead of returning the artifacts?  Only kidding.  Alison and Penny are re-furnishing the snug today, and the dining room tomorrow.  Wednesday will also see the return from Salmon's of the living room furnishings.

New Look for Elworth Floor

The hardworking duo of Penny and Alison and bringing a clean and renewed floor finish to Elworth living room.


Should time and will power be in abundance, we will see the same improvements in the dining room and snug before the month is over.

2010 Grant Position Projects

Thanks to Young Canada Works, through the Canadian Museums Association, and CUPE 23,  the BVM reaped the rewards of a completed costume collection project.  Desiree Morin was the successful candidate, let loose to document and digitally photograph dresses from the early 1800's to the 1960's.  Her detailed knowledge of costume history and construction strengthened our artifact documentation.  She was also able to choose two dresses, reflective of BVM exhibit and costuming priorities (and which employed fancy construction details) to replicate using modern fabrics.  We remain impressed by Desiree's knowledge, skills and abilities with needle and thread.

Washing Days

Hoping to take advantage of the run of hot days, we have set up a 10' x 10' tank and tent and are soaking, washing and rinsing those artifact quilts which are colour fast and strong enough to wash. White plates, used to weigh down the floating quilts, are filled with discolouration from the aging cellulose that is released into the wash water.  The wet quilts are gently rinsed, allowed to drain, blotted with clean towels and then rolled on a 6" diameter ABS pipe for transport onto a waiting drying table in Design. With this hot weather, it takes between 24 and 48 hours for the textiles to be completely dry.  They will be photographed, frozen (to kill any pests) and returned to storage or display.

Artifact Textiles

The curatorial department has been awarded a Young Canada Works grant to improve access to and information about the garments in our collection.  Approximately 100 dresses will be evaluated this summer by the grant recipient, Desiree Morin. 
She will examine each dress and  update the collections database with a complete description which might include identifying the textile fibers under the microscope. Garment conditions and problems will be noted and the dresses will be digitally photographed and made available for viewing on the Heritage Burnaby website.

The museum's quilt collection is also being surveyed to identify conservation needs and determine if they will benefit from wet washing to be done later this summer.

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OOPS I forgot the paste

No, not really. Liz is dry fitting the wall paper strip that will cover the inside of the archway in Elworth foyer. Liz, Alison and Penny have just about finished stripping and hanging fresh wallpaper in Elworth front hallway. No pre-pasted wallpaper here. liz made the paste for the wallpaper from scratch. The wallpaper is then coated with the paste, left to rest for five minutes then hung. Alison's accurate measurements and Penny's careful trimming have paid off.

Liz cracks down on drugs at BVM

Sumas Environmental safely removed contents of various pharmaceutical bottles in the BVM collection, as part of a collections safety upgrade. Liz reports that she did not eat the red ones.

More Tram Coverage

Curatorial provided historical information about the B.C. Electric Railway for "The Buzzer Blog" -- the on-line version of Translink's newsletter.

Check out the story:
http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2009/03/a-short-history-of-interurbans-in-the-lower-mainland/

Setting the Scene

Liz is getting ready for spring and summer. She is already thinking "Fun & Games" and is preparing the four legged athletes (the carousel horses) for their day at the races. It's a sure bet that she won't stop until all are clean, repainted and ready to go.

Elworth Scrap Book - Entry #4

Elworth Dining Room Wallpaper Removal

A wet sponge was held onto the wallpaper behind the French doors to see if the top layer could be removed and way lay beneath.

Only one layer of paper - the one we see - is present over the original plaster walls. The wallpaper present in the 1920’s photograph must have been stripped off the walls at some point.
Wet sponges and round edged scrapers are used again to start removal of the wallpaper from the wall between the dining room and the snug.

Window Stops in the Tram

The Friends of Interurban 1223 have installed window stops in all of the tram's window openings. Now the windows will open to a maximum of approx. 6 inches so that kids won't accidentally fall out of the tram.

Please leave the windows in their open position to maximize airflow inside the tram and keep us cool on warm days.

Carousel Horses "Groomed"

The annual clean-up on the Carousel horses was completed in time for the thousands of riders during the Village Scavenger Hunt.

Grooming a carousel horse includes locating and fixing black marks, scrapes, worn paint and aging varnish.

• shoes dragged across paint leave black tracks that are hard to remove


• sunscreen from bare summer legs soaks into the varnish, softening it, allowing dirt to hold fast. Eventually this turns the varnish and paint into a rubbery skin that easily peels away from the white gesso layer.


• backpacks and studded jeans scratch and mar the paint on saddle decorations. These that also need to be .

This year a few hard knocks to tails and legs required structural repairs.

The Bear Facts

Conservator Andrew Todd and his team are nearing the end of the conservation treatment of the Playground of the Gods phase 2. These before and after photos of the bear show the removal of lichen and consolidation of soft areas (especially on the tip of his nose). A new zinc cap will be installed to protect the end grain of the wood and keep water and debris out of the long cut on the bear's shoulder. The conservation team will apply a water repellent and pest inhibitor to protect the poles.

Want to build a tram?

Forms for the iron and brass castings used to recreate the seats and hardware inside the 1223 have been photographed and are being accessioned. They are available to serious restorers in the recreation of St. Louis cars.

Tram Outreach

Once you know how to do it .... bringing out hidden original lettering is not so difficult. Careful thinning of the old, darkened varnish revealed the golden St. Louis Car Co lettering on one of the arch pieces from the BCER 1225 car now in the hands of the Surrey restoration group. Small treatments like this one are being done as outreach in order to help preserve original lettering and materials that are easily stripped during enthusiastic cleaning and lost forever.