This miniature miners’ lamp, only about two inches high, belonged to beloved local legend Gerry Stephenson (Aug 04, 1931 – Oct 25, 2019).
Gerry, born in Cumberland, grew up in northern England and had the accent to match. He worked in mines for most of his life and travelled the world including a stint managing a mine in India, eventually ending up as the mine manager here in Canmore, where he spent the rest of his life. He is most well-known for creating the local recreation area of Quarry Lake, which was a novel way to reclaim what was previously an open-pit mine.
Gerry was fascinated by the history of mining and by the time of his death had amassed a large collection of miners’ lamps, which he loved sharing with others and often exhibited at the annual Miners’ Day parade. Although most were full size, this small one was donated to the museum after his death.
