The Art of Embroidery

This Saturday, we will be holding a "Learn to Embroider" class at Revelstoke Museum as the first in our Pioneer Living Series. This new series is a part of our celebration of the125th Anniversary of the Farwell townsite.

As well as the opportunity to learn embroidery, we will be showing some examples of the craft. We will have some very beautiful embroidery work on display, including a few pieces done by Fred Maunder.

Fred Maunder was born in Ontario in 1876. He attended college, where he became a schoolteacher. He later became a Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive engineer. In 1907, he married Mable Cora Perrin, and she joined Fred in Field, B.C. In 1913, Fred became superintendent of Yoho and Glacier National Parks, and in 1914, when Mount Revelstoke National Park was created, he became the first superintendent of the new park.

In 1916, Fred Maunder signed up for overseas service, at the age of 40. He saw active service, and suffered shell shock and the effects of gassing. He was sent to recuperate in Oxford, England, and it was there that he learned to embroider, taught as a form of occupational therapy. He was soon creating beautiful embroidered pieces, and some of his work was displayed in the Hudson’s Bay store in Vancouver.

Upon his return to Canada, Fred Maunder resumed his work as Parks Superintendent until 1926, when he moved his family to Banff. Fred died there in 1929, after a bug bite in his eye became infected.

Fred Maunder’s daughter Marjorie married Alf Olsson in 1939, and Fred, John, Gordon and Larry Olsson are all grandsons of Fred Maunder. We thank the family for loaning Fred’s work for display.

Anyone interested in the embroidery workshop can call the museum at 250-837-3067.