Submitted by the Staff of the Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH)
What makes the artifacts in a museum collection special are the stories from the people who used or made or enjoyed the objects.
When an artifact or artwork is donated to OMAH, we ask several questions to generate as much detail as possible about the donation. The stories bring the artifacts to life, which is something we wish to preserve just as much as the objects themselves.
In 2020, a woman in her 90s by the name of Margret arrived at the museum. She had a thick German accent and a Vogtland Perle lute (a stringed instrument, pictured). With great care, Margret brought the lute out of its case, strummed it for a moment, and launched into her story.
In 1939, when Margret was 13 years old, she had been given the lute for Christmas. She enjoyed singing, especially while she worked with her mother in their home in Mönchengladbach, Germany, and her parents had splurged on an instrument she could learn to play to accompany her vocals.
As Margret learned to play the lute, she also became increasingly aware of the war going on around her. Throughout 1940, she remembered being constantly afraid, with Nazi party recruiters knocking at the door, and Hitler Youth in her school. That same year, Allied bombers flew overhead, and Margret’s home was one of the ones destroyed in the raid. When she fled her home the night of the bombing, she took her most prized possession — her lute — and ran.
The family moved to Holland, where Margret met Nick, the man who eventually became her husband. After living in occupied Holland for only about a year, Margret’s new home was destroyed in yet another Allied bombing raid. For the second time in her young life, she fled into the night, accompanied by her lute.
Margret and Nick later married and moved to Canada. The two found their way to Quebec and, later, Toronto, where Nick began an elevator company. After many decades of marriage, which included travels, various business ventures, and children, Nick died, and Margret moved to be closer to her brother-in-law’s family, who were living in Orillia. She mounted the lute on the wall in her new home. The case had been lost in the first bombing in Germany, and the instrument had undergone some minor repairs, but otherwise the lute was in excellent condition.
After telling her remarkable story, Margret stood and patted her lute goodbye, parting with it for the first time in more than eight decades. Her story is what makes this lute such a valuable addition to our collection. It is so much more than just a musical instrument; it is a symbol of resilience.
Next week, we will feature another object from the OMAH collection that showcases our local history.