Why is this cop standing with cows?
St. Catharines museum displaying 30 photos at downtown restaurants to provoke curiosity and interesting dinner conversation
Each photo tells a story.
There’s one of a police officer standing patiently beside two cows on a residential city street.
Another of two women taking aim with a shotgun while a group of women watch.
There’s a little girl in a skirt standing on the side of the QEW. A female police officer frisking a male member of a motorcycle club. And a crowd of people along St. Paul Street, all looking up to the sky during a Victory Day parade.
These photos, all part of the St. Catharines museum’s archives, are meant to provoke thought, curiosity and friendly conversation. And people can find them at restaurants in downtown St. Catharines until the end of March.
“It’s about taking our collection into non-traditional spaces in the community,” said museum curator Kathleen Powell.
Thirty photos in all will appear in five different laminated booklets, at five different restaurants in the downtown. The campaign, called Chew on This!, will see books left at tables, handed out by servers or offered to people in line. Restaurant patrons can flip through and have some fun trying to solve the story behind the photos while waiting for their food.
“The idea is to get people talking,” said Powell. “It’s the community’s museum after all.”
Rest assured, there’s no pressure to solve any big photographic mysteries.
Descriptions of each photo can be found on the museum’s blog, by selecting a restaurant.
Participating restaurants include: East Izakaya, Wind Japanese and Thai, Dani’s Bistro, Fiddler’s Pour House, and OLiV Tasting Room and Artisan Kitchen.
The initiative was made possible through partnerships with the St. Catharines Downtown Association and the St. Catharines Economic Development and Tourism services.
Choosing 30 photos took some careful consideration, because the museum has some 600,000 photos in its archives, said Powell.
It began by narrowing a selection down to only the photos that have already been digitized — a
mere 10,000 photos — and then whittling possibilities further by staff who selected photos that would be sure to spark discussion.
And whatever discussions that ensue, is just fine.
No formal knowledge of historical events is required, said Powell. Just have fun.
The story behind the Two Cows and a Cop photo is perhaps one of the strangest in the collection. The photo ran in The Standard in 1976. A police officer corralled the bovines after spotting them meandering across lawns in west St. Catharines. Investigation revealed the animals had wandered from a farm on 5th Street Louth.
To see the story behind the photos, check out Chew on This! On the museum’s blog.
Cheryl.Clock@niagaradailies.com 905-225-1626 | @Standard_Cheryl