Dear Diary: New Secrets and Untold Stories
Journaling is a great way to decompress, remember a great day, or spill some gossip. While you might hide your diary under your bed, these three journals are a part of the Galt Museum Archives. Take a glimpse into the lives of others as they log their year, trips, and even workplace drama.
Diary of Elizabeth Fairfield
Elizabeth Fairfield, daughter of the famous Dr. William Fairfield, wrote this diary in 1931. The journal has beautiful handwriting, documenting what she did each day and the places visited, including the Marquis. What struck me with this diary were the sections that had been redacted. An entry would begin and then the end would be cut out. This happened often when a Karl was mentioned.
Was this an instance of self-censorship? Did she write something that she looked back on later and didn’t agree with? Did the person donating it censor the writings on behalf of Elizabeth?
The Good Companion
This travel diary illustrates the journey of three friends, Betty Hewer, Margaret Broadberry, and Cora Hastings, as they took a road trip from San Diego, California to Lethbridge, Alberta in 1970. The diary documents each day travelled, written as if they are the main characters of the story. They also included drawings of noticeable sites, where they stayed, and how much it cost (roughly $12-25 a night).
Passbook used as a diary P20021013004
It’s unknown whose passbook this is, but as this is the only entry it can be assumed that the author was so frustrated at work one day that they had to write out the chain of events to show they were NOT in the wrong. This passbook is dated 1969.
May this be a reminder to always date your journals for some archivist to fifty years in the future. For more information on diaries and journals, please visit galtmuseum.com/research.
Dr. Frank Hamilton Mewburn was a wiry and fiery surgeon, politician, army officer, and university professor who greatly contributed to the development of Lethbridge. Mewburn came from a long ling of medical professionals, graduating from McGill University in Montreal in 1881.