Memories & Musings
May, 2022

The Historic Seal

By Susan Hulland

Question: What’s small, black, incredibly heavy and makes impressions on paper? Answer:  A stamp or seal such as this one that was used by the former Crawford Bay & District Parks Association. 

This historic artifact was recently passed on to us by John Edwards, the former longtime chairman of the Crawford Bay & District Hall & Parks Association, after he found it at the back of one of his filing cabinets. (No surprise here. After all, John was the chair for almost two decades during which time he dealt with several filing cabinets full of paperwork!)

We know this stamp was created a long time ago when Crawford Bay’s hall and park associations were still separate entities. They did not  amalgamate until 1989 and the formal change of name to the Crawford Bay & District Hall & Parks Association took place in 2002.  

Our stamp is not dated but Tom Lymbery told me the Gray Creek Cemetery has one from 1923!  He said they were used to make documents reputable and impressive. “The levers on the Crawford Bay Hall and Gray Creek Cemetery stamps were large because these could be used on very thick paper or to stamp several copies. My Notary Public stamp is much smaller but is used to verify my signature. I use it to make it properly visible on stick-on gold seals which is most important on documents going to Europe.”

 Did our hall ever have a similar seal of its own?  If so we don’t know where it is but I can tell you one thing for sure. After the decades of work he put into both the hall and park back then, I bet that stamp would have some of William (Bill) Fraser’s DNA on it!  If anyone knows if that seal exists and where it is and wants to donate it to us, we would love to have it.  

Because I like all things historical, I was thrilled with this acquisition because I can already envision it being part of the historical display we will incorporate into the new entryway on the west side of Crawford Bay’s restored community hall. In fact, thinking about the historical display has been a source of strength to me as I work with my fellow directors to make this ambitious project happen. Perhaps the seal will be placed in the vicinity of some of the old Fall Fair posters. Or it could be displayed near the beautiful, coloured plaque which lists the names of the thirty-seven young men from Crawford Bay who signed up for active service in World War Two. Some of those men were among the volunteers that built the hall and several of them did not get to come home from that war. Perhaps you or one of your family members have other historical treasures in your attic that relate to the history of either our hall or park that could be part of this display, if so please contact us. 

 We are also seeking more people of all ages to contribute to these Memories & Musings columns that so many Mainstreet readers enjoy reading. You can write your own recollections about events in the hall or we can phone you, do a brief interview and write your stories up for you. Our growing collection of Memories & Musings (we are up to 18…19? now) will also be part of the hall’s historical display, so contributing your story is another way of keeping a record of your family’s name associated with the community of Crawford Bay. 

For more information or questions regarding these historical requests please contact either shulland@cbhall.ca or lkeraiff@cbhall.ca