I hope everyone had a nice holiday season! I took it pretty easy, and spent some quality time with friends and family. I didn’t do much trash picking, but I think I’ll get back into it next week.
Today I’m showing you some old finds from the “archives” at my garage. This folder came from an interesting spot in Cote St-Luc, probably around 3 years ago.
This household had German roots, and apparently knew a German (or multiple?) who was detained during WWII and spent time at various Canadian POW camps. The folder contained various sketches from the period, most of which related to the war and their time at the Kananaskis internment camp.
Apparently the role of the camp changed over time. Before Canada even joined the war, they “began arresting and detaining known and suspected enemy sympathizers” to be interned at the camp. Given the history of WWII-era Japanese internment camps in Canada and the US, it’s fair to wonder if some of these people were actually threats. Later on, the camp began housing combatants and those with strong “pro-Nazi” sympathies. See the link above for a more thorough history.
All that to say, it’s very possible that these early prisoners were not hardened Nazis. One of them appears to have immigrated to Canada after the war, which indicates to me that he was probably just a German civilian who got caught up in that mess.
Anyways, this is a drawing of the Kananaskis hospital, dated 1939-1940 by Paul Schinz.
Here are some unsigned drawings. The ones below look to be wartime drawings, which is interesting.
Finally, I found several of these cartoons. They’re by a guy named Otto Ellmaurer, who if the birthdate is correct, would have been a teenager while detained at this camp. Some of them are kind of funny, zoom in for a closer look!
It looks like the Canada War Museum has a copy of all these, plus a few extra that I don’t have.
Interesting stuff. I haven’t really looked into their value yet, but I assume I can make a few bucks from these. The cartoons seem to be pretty rare, and the drawings are obviously one of a kind.
I have a bit more stuff from this spot to share. Maybe I’ll try to get those photos done tomorrow, and close the book on this years-old spot.
Do you have any New Year’s resolutions? My main one is to finally start writing that garbage picking book that I’ve been talking about for years. There isn’t much reason to put it off any longer, and it’s not like I don’t have the time. If you have any topics you’d like to see covered in a book, please share in the comments!
Links
1. My eBay listings. Sign up for eBay (Canada, US). Search for something you want / research something you have (Canada, US). — These are Ebay Partner Network links. If you create an account or buy something after getting to eBay from these links, I get a small cut of the profit!
2. “Things I find in the garbage” on Facebook
3. Follow @garbagefindssells on Instagram (this is managed by a friend, I’ve quit Instagram for the time being)
4. Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. Note that I really suck at keeping up with my email.
5. Help support the blog, or just buy me a coffee! PayPal link below.
A very interesting post, Martin. But then, all your posts are interesting, and very well written. I look forward to hearing how your book is progressing. 🙂
What a specific and poignant historical treasure trove you saved from the trash! Well done! I knew it a little bit about US internment camps, but not Canadian ones…
I don’t know much about them. I’m generally aware of the Japanese ones, but wasn’t aware that some German civilians ended up in internment camps as well. Definitely something that would cause an uproar today.
Wow, what fascinating finds! I think the drawings (especially those of the soldiers) and the cartoons are quite good. I wish I knew what the signs on the left side of the drawing of the guy with the drink were meant for. They almost look like a secret sign language. Perhaps something they used in the camp?
For the book:
How do you find the value of objects? What resources? All to keep family heirlooms out of the garbage and with a new owner, who will appreciate them.
Hi Martin. Just happened to find your blog today. I can give you a bit of information on the first picture. The internment camp at Kananaskis and the one down the mountain at Ozada (Seebe) were built by those of faith who objected to war I.e. the Mennonites. I had a friend who worked on both. He was particularly interested in talking to me as I grew up at Ozada. He was able to give a bit of the details. While that was going on, there was a coal mine called Kovacs that was started roughly in 1912. The tipple was at Ozada. It was a beautiful place to grow up in. The mine closed down in 1952. My father stayed on with the company to sell both the houses and buildings up at Kovacs and down at the tipple (Ozada). He would go up weekly to check on everything. In 1960-1961 he went up and found that one of the buildings had fallen into the mountain. The next day he, two helpers, a government chap and a guy from the company went up to blast the shafts to collapse them. The two helpers were paid $5.00 per day. They lasted one day, so the next day my dad went down to finish the job. After cleanup, they planted a beautiful meadow which is still there today. I would be interested in purchasing the drawing of the building from the internment camp. I hope this helps understand the area a bit. Jean
Great info, thanks! Send me an email about the drawing, maybe we can work something out.
A book? It would be so interesting to read your story and I am hoping that it will include many, many of your intriguing flat lay photos. They really are mysterious and exciting.
Interesting info! My only concern (for you) about writing a book is when you spill secrets, you inspire others to do what you do, which leads to more competition!
Too late for that, lol. I see someone I know through the blog in one of my favourite neighbourhoods. It’s kind of annoying but it is what it is.
The photo of the symbols looks like a legend for a basic code, maybe to obfuscate some activity from the guards.
It does look like that…
I find these sketches and cartoons are museum worthy. Consider donating them.
They are. I have a friend who is writing a book about the Kananaskis and Ozada area. He would love to have them.
A friend of mine who is a writer says this site is a great help if you want to write something.
https://londonwriterssalon.com/
The father of an old roommate was a German studying at a university in England at the beginning of WWII. He was arrested as an enemy alien and sent to a camp in Canada. He wrote a book about the experience. His last name was Koch.