The man behind the collection

Oamaru North School Athletics Shield Winners, October 1934. Back row (from left): Madge Robertson, George Maynard, Joan Galloway, G. Garrard, Joyce Widdowson, George Melton, Esme Miller. Third row (from left): Max Collett, C. Brown, Audrey Nimmo, Ernie Mitchell, William Todd, Anthony Stevenson, Helen Rae, James Whyte, Clarrie Melton. Second row from front (from left): Aileen Macdougall, G. Brook, Olwyn Gregory, Hilda Webb, Reuben Dimick (teacher), Kathleen Ingles, Jean [Janet] Frame, Jack Rowell, Thelma Goodall. Front row (from left): Syd Hunt, Reg Keith, Bill Widdowson. Photo: Waitaki Archive 4629P

 

What we leave behind provides pathways for connection, writes Chloe Searle.

The Waitaki Museum and Archive care for many thousands of items. One unifying thread between these disparate items is that these precious treasures are here because of the generosity of our community, either in directly gifting items or in bequeathing funds that are then used to acquire collections.

In working with collections, I tend to become curious about the donors. One donor who has often crossed my mind is Reuben Eutycus Dimick (1897-1980). It’s a name that would catch anyone’s eye. Even before encountering Reuben Dimick in our collections, I had already read of him in Janet Frame’s autobiography as beloved teacher "Gussy" Dimick, at Oamaru North School.

Reuben Dimick’s name is connected with hundreds of items in our archive collection. The items speak to his life: athletic competitions, time served in the military during World War 1, his work as a teacher, his interest in local history. The items together reveal someone with a careful eye for collecting ephemera, someone precise and someone with a sense that we each have a place in history.

Selection of ephemera from Reuben Dimick.

 

Our collections serve as portals, connecting us to the lives of others. More than once I have had visitors to the museum share memories of Reuben Dimick. I was delighted recently to find that one of our volunteers is a relation of his. No matter how much I might like to conjecture about the people behind our collections, there is nothing like a first-hand account.

"It’s been over four decades since great uncle Reuben passed away, but I still fondly remember his profound influence on our family — most notable when my father died in 1968. During this shattering time he was there to help pick up the pieces. ... His support continued for years to come by taking an interest in all of us as children and ensuring we all had a decent Christmas and birthday present until the age of 18. These special occasions coincided with a personal visit to deliver our gifts. I remember receiving much appreciated art materials but the gift that I recall most vividly were the black leather platform boots. I’d seen them in the shop window and being a fashion conscious teenager of the ’70s I just had to have them. When I put forward my request to Uncle Reuben he wasn’t sure at first. Perhaps to someone of his generation it may have seemed a little indulgent. Somehow I assured him it was a good investment and I soon became the proud owner of these fabulous boots. I was thrilled to bits and wore them a lot for years. I still have them ... they remind me of a kind and generous man who was there for us when we needed him."

Chloe Searle is arts, culture and libraries manager at Waitaki District Council.