16

It was at Medalta that Rose, a rather reclusive sort as she herself would admit, first became acquainted with Enge Stappler, a lively young lady of exactly the same age as herself. She was like the sister that Rose had always wanted. Somehow the meeting of these two very different temperaments made for a good friendship - one that has lasted to this day, although it is now by long distance since Enge moved to Edmonton. Enge's two daughters still call Rose "Auntie Rose" which makes her feel very proud.

She would frequently bike over to Enge and her sister Marge's white-washed shack on 8th Street. This shack was located in the back yard of the main house on the property. In that tiny little place, in the narrow space between the bed and the stove, Enge taught Rose how to dance, accompanied by music on the wind-up grammaphone. They practiced and practiced until finally Rose "got it into my feet how to foxtrot". Enge also introduced Rose to strawberry jam and sardine sandwiches. Rose had never liked sardines and, that particular combination did nothing to change her opinion. As she looks back now, she remembers the hours of laughter and all the good times that were had in that one small room.

17

Stickle Family Portrait
20th Century, Circa 1946
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


18

When Enge's sister Margaret got married, Rose invited Enge to move in with the Stickles where she became a second daughter. One day when they arrived home from work and were having their usual competitive race up the stairs, Rose found herself unable to manage the climb. A visit to the doctor revealed that Rose had contracted tuberculosis and, in May 1947 at the age of 19, she went to the sanatorium to recuperate.

As a youngster she was of normal size, but gained a lot of weight after she had her tonsils removed at the age of 11. By the age of 16 when she went to work at Medalta, she was over 160 pounds. Trying to shed some of this excess fat, she went on a diet which involved ingesting sea weed. This caused her to become very thin in a matter of weeks. She has often wondered if this rapid weight loss made her body vulnerable to her illness.

Given that they were roommates, Rose is thankful to this day that Enge did not contract T.B. as well. She figures it was probably because Enge had a strong immune system despite the fact that "she smoked like a chimney, even then".

19

Decorating room, Hycroft China Ltd.
20th Century, Circa 1956
Medalta Potteries Limited, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


20

In August 1950, Rose returned to work and continued to do banding in the decorating department until the factory closed its doors in 1954. Subsequently, many of the people from Medalta went up the street and found employment at Hycroft China. Tom Hulme was among them; he asked Rose to join him in the Hycroft decorating department.

21

Handpainted Hycroft "Calico" pattern
20th Century, Circa 1950's - 1980's
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
Friends of Medalta Society Collection

22

Hycroft China Ltd. assorted hand painted patterns
20th Century, Circa 1954 - 1989
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


23

Rose hand painting a Hycroft dinner plate
20th Century, Circa 1956
Hycroft China Ltd., Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada


24

Her first job at the new factory was applying the strokes of colour on the lively Calico pattern of dish ware. Initially, she completed the entire plate pattern herself but, as the orders and her experience increased, she became a teacher to the newer girls. An assembly line of sorts was developed whereby a number of women would work on the same plate to complete any given pattern, with each woman, in turn, applying a different colour. Although the strokes were basically the same, each worker had her own signature, in a way. Rose, to this day, can tell you which dishes were likely painted by her and can definitely tell you which ones were NOT painted by her. She could point to a rather limp black line on the Calico ware and say, "No. I didn't do this one".

25

Hycroft special order plate with calligraphy
20th Century, Circa 1950's - 1980's
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
Friends of Medalta Society Collection

26

Hycroft was the only local pottery that used gold to any great extent. Most often 22 carat gold, and sometimes silver, was placed on ware as a border, as an additional colour to an image, or as script. It was often the finishing touch to commemorative plates, celebrating anniversaries and special events of all kinds.

The application of this gold or silver, whether line or script, was pretty much the work of one person, Rose, and her predecessor, Walter Zeiman. She had learned to do calligraphy somewhat by chance. It all started with a Christmas gift from her nephew and his wife of a calligraphy set. With practice, she became very adept. When Walter left Hycroft, Rose was asked to take his place.

Over several decades, the deft strokes of her brush enhanced thousands and thousands of plates, platters, cups, mugs, steins, bowls and creamers at both Medalta Potteries and Hycroft China. Towards the end of her employment at Hycroft, she worked part time. As the china ware orders decreased over the years, the Hycroft plant concentrated more on the production of sanitary ware (toilets, sinks) and Rose left in 1983.

27

Rose and Arnold Woyciehouski
20th Century, Circa 1990's
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada


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She thought she would live out her life as a single woman. She almost seemed determined to do so, but she hadn't counted on Arnold who had been an acquaintance for many years. He also had worked at both Medalta Potteries and Hycroft as a burner which meant he looked after the kiln. When he became widowed over 11 years ago, Arnold and Rose began to spend time together, sharing long walks which they both so enjoyed. They found that they had much in common. Eventually, they were married and today, they live in quiet comfort - from time to time taking road trips across the country, as weather and health permit. Rose considers herself very fortunate to have found such a wonderful husband, albeit rather late in life.

29

Rose with sample pieces of her one-stroke painting
20th Century, Circa 2008
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada