Category

Natural History Specimens

Tools and Equipment for Materials

Sub-Category

Botanical

Agricultural T&E

Material Type

Artifact

Description

Miniature bale of peat

Significance

A = Strong Delta provenance

Material

Cardboard; organic

Height

6

Width

12.5

Length

5.5

Unit of Measure

Centimeters

Accession Number

DE1969.100

Catalogue Number

DE1969.100.17

Condition Code

Fair

Current Condition

Cardboarded is faded; peat is dry and crumbling

Current Condition Date

8/25/2021

Notes

From text for 2009 anniversary exhibit, "40 Artifacts for 40 Years:" The label on this miniature reads, “Sample Bale of Peat from the peat plant on the River Road. Made into a bale just like the big bales that are sold to chicken farmers and others. Brought by Ruth Cory." The model bale was part of the teaching collection of George Campbell, the principal at Ladner Elementary from 1917 until 1954. Ruth Cory was the daughter of Sam Cory who moved his family to Ladner in 1921 and took up 20 acres under the Soldiers Settlement Board. One of Sam’s many jobs was foreman of the building of the Industrial Peat Company’s plant at the end of Newton Road. Ruth’s older brother, Clifford, was also engaged in the peat industry. In 1938, Cliff helped build the B.C. Peat Products Limited plant and the road into the site. After his service in the Second World War, he opened his own shop selling farm equipment. He also made a machine that manufactured baling wire for the Peat Company. Ruth had much exposure to the peat industry, but unfortunately we do not know why she “brought” the miniature bale to the school. Perhaps it was for a school assignment. Delta’s Burns Bog is North America’s largest sphagnum peat bog. The harvesting of peat for fuel is an ancient practice in many parts of the world, but in Delta, the extraction of peat was to fill other needs. Peat moss began to be imported from Europe about 1925 as a poultry litter and for a variety of horticultural purposes. Noting that there was potential to mine peat locally, the B.C. Peat Company Ltd. purchased 1000 acres in Burns Bog in the late 1930s and invested in a plant to process and bale the peat for various markets. The enterprise proved too costly and did not succeed. The Second World War created a new demand for peat. The United States was manufacturing magnesium fire bombs which required peat in the refining process. With Western Peat as the Canadian agent, 1600 acres of the bog were put into production. This involved building roads, drainage ditches, operating a processing plant and laying tracks. Over the course the war, more than one million bales of peat were shipped to an American munitions plant in Nevada. When peace resumed, more efficient harvesting methods enabled the peat industry to continue. Full scale peat mining stopped in the 1980s when ownership of the bog changed hands. For the next two decades controversy reigned over the various development schemes put forth by the new owner, Western Delta Lands Inc. In 2004, the municipalities of Delta and Vancouver, together with the Provincial and Federal governments, purchased 5,045 acres of the bog to be protected as the Burns Bog Ecological Conservancy Area. June 12/12 - DM - Noted the piece was spalling due to its conservation and curation practice. It was temporarily stabilized within an upturned lexan shelf with ethafoam backing to prevent slippage. Recommend further stabilization within specially constructed lexan box. -------------------- Part of collection of articles gathered by Mr. George Campbell. George Campbell was principal of Ladner Elementary for 37 years, retiring in 1954. He passed away in 1959. See obit for more info. -------------------------------- See info on peat mining in accession file. ----------------------------

Less detail