Axel Ebring with some of his creations in 1953. The historical record works in mysterious ways. Around 1975, a newspaper dated April 3, 1943, was discovered under the floorboards of a house in North Vancouver. Forty-seven years later, in 2022, the newspaper arrived at the Vernon Museum and Archives. The North Van home was 80 years old in the 1970s when it was purchased by Jim Huffman, who now lives in Vernon. While renovating one of the bedrooms, Jim discovered two or three full Vancouver Sun newspapers dating back to the 1940s hidden under the old linoleum floor. Being somewhat of a self-proclaimed history nut and hoarder, he tucked them away in a safe place before handing them over to a museum staff member earlier this year. What’s interesting about one of these older Vancouver papers (besides the fantastic Prince Valiant cartoons) is that it includes an article about one of Vernon’s own – Axel Embrig. Long before the age of the Internet, this famous local potter had managed to make a name for himself across the province. Axel was born in Kalmar, Sweden in 1874. At the age of 12 he immigrated to Canada. He worked as a general laborer for many years before adopting his father’s trade and building his first production furnace at Notch Hill, near Salmon Arm, in the 1920s. He discovered another clay deposit about 10 years later in Vernon and moved his operation here. As the Vancouver Sun article states, Axel’s furnace was about 20 feet square and eight feet high, with walls that were two feet thick. After making his creations, Axel decorated them with naturally produced dyes from roots and berries. The article also includes an interesting discussion of the process Axel would follow to break pieces of purified quartz to form a glaze. Once decorated and polished, the pieces were placed in large, heat-resistant vessels called ‘seggars’, which were then stacked on top of each other in the kiln. The pieces were fired twice for 60 hours, with a cooling period in between, and were then ready for sale. Axel remained in Vernon until 1954, when he died. His legacy was marked by the naming of Pottery Road, near where his kiln and shop stood. Many of his creations are held at both the Vernon Museum and the RJ Haney Heritage Village & Museum, as well as in private collections. Gwyn Evans is the research and communications coordinator with the Vernon Museum and Archives.
