Wetaskiwin District Heritage Museum Centre & City of Wetaskiwin Archives

March is the month of fixer uppers and the dawn of restoring what the winter had deprived us of for so long, new life. Thematically speaking, March is Red Cross Month in Canada where we honour its foundation as a humanitarian organization dedicated to the healing of people in times of peril. In 1885, Dr. George Sterling Ryerson sewed two strips of red fabric onto a piece of white cotton as a symbol for transporting injured men from the battlefield. This incited the idea that “pre-medical treatment” could be performed before the doctor arrives on scene to safeguard the lives of those at risk. This small First Aid Kit contains a cardboard sleeve with two small cloth tubes of aromatic ammonia, two cardboard tubes of MSA Iodine Swab, compress bandages, and additional dressings with adhesobands. Unlike the 1890s Johnson & Johnson commercial kits, this 1920s version was intended for an individual to carry for minor work injuries. The Mellett family pocketed this unit as a swift medicine solution for small cuts and abrasions contracted in their local metal shop. Today, the Canadian Red Cross teaches First Aid & CPR to continue their mission of “improving the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world.”