Top 5 archived oddities

UM Today asked Shelley Sweeney, head of archives and special collections, to show off some of the unique and weird artifacts stored in the depths of Elizabeth Dafoe Library.

Alien head (Magog), c. 2000 from the Allan Eastman fonds

Alien head (Magog)

Allan Eastman, an alumnus of the U of M [BA/1971], was executive producer and director for many popular television series, including Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda. He also directed episodes of many popular television series including: The Littlest Hobo, Road to Avonlea, Beachcombers, Sliders, Star Trek, and many others. This alien head was likely a model or prop designed for Andromeda. The fonds was donated to U of M Archives & Special Collections by Allan Eastman in 2005.

Silverware bent by Joe A. Nuzum from the Alexander Imich fonds

Spoon bent by Joe A. Nuzum

Alexander Imich had been interested in the paranormal since childhood. By 13, Imich was dabbling with table tilting and with Ouija boards.The eleventh series of the Imich fonds contains various pieces of silverware which were [psychically] bent by Joe A. Nuzum. The collection was donated to the U of M Archives & Special Collections by Alex Imich in 2012. Imich passed away on June 8, 2014, shortly after being named the oldest man in the world at the age of 111 in April 2014.

Hockey stick inscribed with winners from 1931 World Championships from the Arther T. Puttee fonds

Hockey stick from 1931 World Championships

Arthur Tyrell “Art” Puttee was an ice hockey goaltender and an engineering student at the U of M. Puttee and the team known as the “University of Manitoba Grads” went on a 25-game tour of Europe that included games in London, Berlin, Prague, St. Moritz, Hamburg, and Paris. The tour involved representing Canada at the 1931 World Championships in Krynica, Poland. The team won the world title in a 2-0 final game against the Unites States (represented by the Boston Hockey Club) in the 21st game of the tour, and was undefeated in all of those 21 games. Rob Puttee, Art Puttee’s son, donated the stick in 2006.

Gay & Lesbian archives t-shirt collection

Gay and lesbian t-shirts

This t-shirt collection from the Manitoba Gay and Lesbian Archives contains 33 shirts, dating from 1984 to 1997 adorned with LGBTIQ motifs and slogans as “Out on the Streets/ August 2nd 1987,” “THE PAINTED LADIES” and “KILLER DYKE.” The fonds was donated by Ryan Schultz to the U of M Archives & Special Collection in 2008.

Student Scrapbook from the Margaret Oliver fonds

Margaret Oliver scrapbook

The Margaret Oliver fonds contains a scrapbook which covers events during Margaret Oliver’s (nee Hammett) academic years from the end of grade 11 (1944) through her second year in a post-graduate laboratory technician program, as well as a few items in the years following (until 1956), most of which took place at the U of M. What’s unusual about this scrapbook is that it contains, beyond the usual dance tickets, ski club passes and floral corsage remnants, some Faculty of Science pins, earrings, rings and a piece of brightly-coloured plastic used in one of the science labs!

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