Re: What is the paddle object

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Brian Bigler (usemeum@mhtc.net)
Mon, 10 Jan 2022 17:14:49 -0600



Message-ID: <605477a1-5100-ec52-87ce-0fd5dbd9c890@mhtc.net>
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2022 17:14:49 -0600
Subject: Re: What is the paddle object
From: Brian Bigler <usemeum@mhtc.net>

I will take a guess at the photo of the women holding the wooden
"paddles" but I have never seen an object like those they are holding before.

The dress and the production of the photo seem to date it to c.1890 because of the high puffed sleeves.  The hats they are wearing look like those of domestics.  Nursing hats from the period wrapped and stood in a peek and these are flat much like a servant would wear.  Also known as dust caps.

The objects they are holding are not boat oars for a women's rowing team of the period and are not cut down versions of such. They are also not wearing the more masculine attire that female rowers wore at the end of the nineteenth century.

You will note that each wooden item has a bow on it telling me they are presentation pieces presented for accomplishment or the successful completion of a course.

The wooden devices look like objects used in stirring in large kettles or vats.  They are not clothes forks used in laundry, but may very well be used in the production of large quantities of apple butter, or candy, and perhaps bread making.  They are not bread peels as the ends are not thin enough and the shape is wrong.

So, with all of this I would surmise that this is some sort of specialized cooking or class dedicated to processing and the man in the photo would be the instructor.  This is most likely a photo taken on the completion of the class or singular course.

Would be interested if someone out there has the true answer as I am always interested in learning more on material culture.

You may also want to run this by Joe Kappler - Wisconsin State Historical Society Curator

Sincerely - Brian J. Bigler

Exhibit Designer and Consultant - Mount Horeb

On 1/10/2022 3:59 PM, Sarah Taylor wrote:
> Hello Jon,
>
> A year range would be helpful. Does the photo have a date?
>
> I agree with those who’ve already posted. I’d guess the objects are
> either boating paddles or culinary tools. It appears that the women in
> the front row are holding paddles of a much smaller size, so I am
> leaning culinary—perhaps they are bread-baking paddles, which were
> commonly used at the time, especially in commercial settings.
>
> It’s the women’s clothes I am interested in as a clue. They look like
> Navy nurses from WWI:
>
> Perhaps the women in your photo are employed as nurses or caretakers
> at a medical institution, and the paddles are their tools for making
> food for residents?
>
> Quite the mystery!
>
> Best,
>
> Sarah Taylor (she/her/hers)
> Collections Management Assistant
> Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections
>
> Wisconsin Historical Society
> 816 State Street, Madison, WI 53706
> sarah.taylor@wisconsinhistory.org
>
> *Wisconsin Historical Society *
> Collecting, Preserving, and Sharing Stories Since 1846
> <https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/?utm_source=Email%20Signatures&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=si>
>
>> On Jan 10, 2022, at 10:41 AM, Douglas County Historical Society
>> <dchs@douglashistory.org> wrote:
>>
>> 
>> What is the paddle object these young ladies are holding?
>>
>> Jon Winter
>> Douglas County Historical Society
>> 1101 John Avenue Superior WI 54880
>> Business Manager
>> 715-392-8449
>>
>> <jan22_0060.jpg>



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