She found it in a thrift shop.
In south Vancouver, in a Salvation Army Thrift mart, the New Westiminister resident discovered a beer stein with a crest and the name Fort St. James on it.
The unique piece of Fort St. James vintage caught the woman’s eye, and not only because her stepson, Jeffrey Lovell, was living in Fort St. James at the time.
In fact, she herself had been to Fort St. James a couple of years ago to visit Lovell, who works for the district office.
She had spent a bit of time in the community, and had expressed her frustration there were so few options for purchasing souvenirs with the name of the community on them.
So when she found the stein, she felt like she had hit the jackpot, and she bought it and gave it to Lovell a coupled of months later, to prove there at least used to be someone producing local memorabilia of some kind.
But the mystery of the stein is not yet solved. No one who knows the origins of the stein has yet come forward, and so the story was suggested by Mayor Rob MacDougall himself, in the hopes someone in the community might still know when or where the stein was made, and for whom.
The stein has the words “made in the USA” and “decorated in Canada” on its base, and 22K gold leaf.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Lovell.
The stein has been sitting on Lovell’s shelf since he returned with it, but he would like to find out the mug’s history.
Was it a Royal Canadian Legion special creation? Was it perhaps the work of some enterprising craftsman who wanted to sell something for passing tourists to remember their visit by?
If you know whence the stein came, please email: newsroom@caledoniacourier.com or call 996-8233 weekdays.