Collections Catch of the Week: Star Camp Sign

Submitted by M.Lenz and Y.Rancourt, Collections Assistants
Though BC Packers and the Star fish camp are no longer in operation, the sign that once hung outside the site of the Star Camp at Third Avenue has been preserved.
The idea of working with a museum collection may conjure up images of white gloves, magnifying glasses, and poring over small, delicate items. While this collection has its fair share of those, its unique history means that a lot of what we see on the job is at a much larger scale. These artifacts have their own special handling requirements and we’ve swapped the white gloves for hard hats, coveralls, and steel-toed boots while we continue inventory and documentation.
One of these larger than life artifacts, a wooden sign from the former Star Camp where BC Packers moored some of their fleet, is now stored in the museum’s rafters. This posed a bit of a challenge – how do we get to it, then photograph, measure, and assess it? Carefully and with lots of teamwork!

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