Ray Macdonald doesn’t do anything half-way.
The retired welder and millwright from Diamond Valley has been collecting since he was a teenager, beginning with rocks and nickels before expanding into everything from barbershop memorabilia to breweriana.
His current obsession – OK, so there’s undoubtedly more than one – is ginger beer, specifically the century-old stoneware bottles that once contained the carbonated beverage.
Macdonald says he’s amassed the largest collection in Western Canada over the past five years, which isn’t surprising given it’s always been full throttle once he puts his mind to something.
“I’ve got what they call a compulsive disorder, and this is how I turned it into something positive,” he says. “Everything I do I take it to the extreme. I’ve collected all my life; I started collecting when I was six years old.”
It’s actually the second time he’s turned his attention to ginger beer bottles as he acquired some as part of an expansive breweriana collection but eventually sold them to a buddy. This time around, it’s far more serious.
“After I retired, I thought I'm going to collect those again. There wasn't a decent collection around, so I thought, ‘Why not?’”
His collection has reached 416 bottles, although if you count duplicates, it’s significantly higher.
Macdonald says his primary focus has been on bottles from breweries that were located in Western Canada, adding that he’s only missing 16 bottles ever made in this part of the country.
Western Canada sweep
“It was my goal to get every bottle from Western Canada,” says the 71-year-old. “I’ve got all of them from Saskatchewan, I’m missing three from Manitoba and two from Alberta, and the rest from B.C. All the ones I need are extremely rare.”
Always on the hunt for those elusive missing bottles, Macdonald acknowledges that some of them might no longer be in existence but that doesn’t stop the search. He goes on “picking trips” across Western Canada, frequents antique stores and shows, and has a vast network of fellow collectors connected through clubs and Facebook groups.
He says collectors often know what other antiquarians are looking for, so when they come across an item that fits the bill, they’ll pick it up or provide a heads up. It proves to be the most fruitful way to expand his collection because he says you never know where a desired piece is going to show up.
Macdonald’s fascination with ginger beer is as much about the beverage as the bottles, with a bit of history thrown in for good measure. He says ginger beer’s heyday was prior to refrigeration when it had a very specific purpose.
“A lot of time your meat maybe wasn't that great, it was a little tainted, so ginger beer was really good for settling stomachs,” he says. “When refrigeration came out, ginger beer died out as the need to settle stomachs wasn’t necessary.”
He says most of the breweries started disappearing in the mid-1920s and were largely gone by 1930.
Not a fan of its cousin ginger ale, Macdonald does enjoy a stiff, although non-alcoholic, ginger beer, saying the good ones have a nice bite to them. He’s even been known to make his own from time to time.
“I like to buy a half sack of ginger beer once in a while. It’s sold in grocery stores, it’s not as easy to find as ginger ale, it’s not in every store, but it’s there.”
Stroll through Macdonald’s home and it’s like you’re visiting a museum, which, incidentally, he’d like to open if he can find the right location.
More than just ginger beer
He’s got over 150 ink bottles, which were in fashion before the advent of the ballpoint pen, a collection he believes is likely the largest in Western Canada. There are also over 300 seashells, including one he just picked up at an antique mall in Calgary, and a slew of stoneware foot warmers, which were popular before central heating.
Having downsized his stockpile of antiquities after recently moving from an acreage northwest of town, Macdonald has many, many random items, including incredibly old Lowney chocolate boxes, one of which came with a tiny spoon to scoop up the delicacies, displayed neatly throughout his new abode.
He says if something catches his fancy, regardless of the item, he’ll look to acquire it, placing a premium on uniqueness. That’s why you see everything from a cream separator and a cistern pump to a powderhorn, rare micrometer scale and a block and tackle – all in his living room. The block and tackle is actually in the kitchen, which has had the table removed to make way for more display space.
The stagecoach and doctor’s buggy didn't make it to the new place, but a sleigh he’s refinishing sits out back and a slag glass lamp found on a picking trip to Rocky Mountain House commands a prominent spot.
There are even collectibles occupying space in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.
“If you’re going to open up a museum, why have a bunch of stuff that people have already seen?” he asks. “When you’ve never seen something before, then you jump at (acquiring) it. If I've never seen it before, you know it’s pretty rare.”
Saying that living in a showroom is his normal, Macdonald adds that every house he’s ever had has been filled with antiques, which didn’t necessarily sit well with his ex-wife.
“My wife wasn’t too fond of my antiques, that’s why I got divorced,” he says. “This is the passion of my life and I'm not going to have somebody say no.
“The only thing that has gone right in my life is collecting antiques. Everything else I’ve seemed to have trouble with.”
Macdonald says he’s had collectors from all over Canada come through his place and leave suitably impressed by the way he displays his diverse collection, but he longs to be able to share that experience with more people.
“I’ve wanted to start up my own museum and it’s still a goal of mine trying to get community support and a building. I want people to see this stuff.”
Saying collecting is definitely in his DNA, Macdonald, who is also a digital abstract artist who has produced over 3,000 pieces, wishes he could have kept everything he’s accumulated over the past 55 years, but realizes that’s simply not feasible.
He talks with fondness about his former barbershop collection, which included over 250 straight razors, old barber chairs, tonic bottles, signs and more, much of which was sold to a guy opening a barber shop in Saskatoon.
His breweriana collection, which featured over 1,500 of the old long-neck beer bottles that pre-date stubbies, was another hard one to part with but was eventually sold to a broker in Calgary.
He wasn’t about to give up the ginger beer bottles, however, eager to add to a collection that he says is unparalleled in Western Canada.
Macdonald points to two bottles, going in closer to show the subtle differences between the pair, then picks up another, proudly revealing that the author of the “ginger beer bible” claims that if you see one of them in your lifetime, you’re lucky. He points to another, saying it’s one of several that are so rare they’re not even in the book.
Not only does he continue the search for the 16 missing bottles to complete his collection, but he’s always on the lookout to upgrade what he’s already got, ready to replace a chipped or cracked bottle with one in better condition.
Ultimately, he’d like to share what he’s gathered over the years by opening a museum. Anyone interested in helping turn that idea into reality can call him at 403-498-4950.
