Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 31, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015 MANITOBA winnipegfreepress. com D UGALD - Bud McIvor was already dubbed the Lamp Man by people at auctions, so it wasn't a stretch to name his antique shop, that specializes in kerosene lanterns, the Ol' Lamplighter. The Ol' Lamplighter is a country song from the 1950s, along with bigger hits such as Mockingbird Hill , that McIvor remembers listening to on his parents' wireless, growing up in the sandhills south of Portage la Prairie. " He made the night a little brighter wherever he would go ," the song begins. It suits McIvor. Just ask the people with the cottage on a Lake of the Woods island with no electricity and 17 kerosene lamps. McIvor and wife Sheila run the Ol' Lamplighter in Dugald, along Highway 15 east of Winnipeg. It sells a full line of antique furniture and general antiques, but specializes in oil lamps, particularly the kerosene kind. The McIvors also specialize in parts, repair and restoration of kerosene lamps, one of only three such services in Western Canada. They've restored kerosene lamps from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. They also clean up old kerosene lamps that have been lying around the cottage and get them running again. Many people still use kerosene light, either as backup against power outages in rural areas or cottage country, or in areas where there is no power, such as Lake of the Woods islands. The McIvors sell many lamps to northern British Columbia, Alaska and the Northwest Territories where electricity isn't reliable. And some people just like the old lamps for nostalgia. First, a lesson. Most of the world uses the words lamps and lanterns interchangeably, but technically a kerosene lamp has a tall, thin glass chimney that's open at the top; a kerosene lantern's glass is more globe- shaped and is sealed at the top, McIvor said. For example, the McIvors sell antique German- made " skaters lanterns" that kids would carry while skating after dark on frozen lakes and ponds, like an image on a Christmas card. An enclosed lantern, sometimes called a hurricane lantern, can be taken outside and even carried while skating, and it doesn't blow out. The standard red railway lanterns were the same way. But most of McIvor's stock are lamps, meaning they have a long open glass chimney and are for indoor use. He even has a Gone With the Wind lamp. It's an ornate lamp with a great ball shade in the middle and a tall glass chimney running up the centre. Gone With the Wind lamps got their name from the movie, not the book. It's a mistake. In the movie, they used parlour lamps that didn't exist until the 1880s, whereas the story takes place during the American Civil War from 1861- 65, when whale oil lamps were used. But people saw the lamps in the movie and gave them that name. The McIvors spot kerosene lamps from the wrong era all the time in movies, particularly westerns. They've supplied a few fixtures themselves to movie and TV sets such as Murdoch Mysteries . You'd have a hard time believing all the different styles of kerosene lamps and lanterns. Many are so ornate they look like hookah pipes, with their large ball shades and coloured glass. There are also very tiny ones no more than four inches high. They were sometimes called Jewels of the Night. They were the equivalent of the night lights you put in a bathroom or hallway today. McIvor is an Aladdin Knight. It's a club of lamp enthusiasts for the Aladdin Lamp Company, founded in 1908 in Chicago. One of McIvor's prized possession is a 1920s, Model 7, Aladdin lamp. You don't get three wishes if you rub it, but it is worth about $ 1,000 today. It's not for sale. Until about 1929, Aladdin had a threestorey distribution centre in Winnipeg's Old Market Square, McIvor said. Many cottagers in the Whiteshell own Aladdin lamps ( they have a round wick, versus the usual flat wick), he said. The rarest lamp in his collection is made by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, started in 1826. The ball shade is a sepia- style winter scene, hand- painted on opal glass by Mary Gregory. Gregory was an American artist known for her decoration of glass works. McIvor's lamp is one of only three known to exist. McIvor, 72, grew up with kerosene lamps. He got hooked at age 19 after visiting a lamp collector. He found old lamps at auctions and estate sales, and bought out some collectors. After retirement, the former head of enforcement with Natural Resources, now called Manitoba Conservation, needed something to do and started the antique shop. The shop is open daily but it's best to call ahead, 204- 853- 2085 or 204- 223- 7144. You can still pick up kerosene at places such as Canadian Tire. The McIvors caution everyone that the wick should sit in the kerosene overnight before it's lit. Kerosene should be changed every few years because it separates and gums up the burner. bill. redekop@ freepress. mb. ca By Bill Redekop Dugald couple lights up cottages and homes around the world Shiny, happy business JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bud McIvor of the Ol' Lamplighter shop specializes in antique lamps. He sells them to cottagers and customers around the world. They have appeared in TV shows, including Murdoch Mysteries. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bud and Sheila McIvor have restored kerosene lamps from as far away as New Zealand. They also sell lamps to cottagers at Lake of the Woods who don't have electricity. A_ 04_ Jul- 31- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A4 7/ 30/ 15 10: 41: 03 PM ;