The Little Blue Cup

Pioneer travel by horseback and covered wagon was hot and dusty. A little blue tin cup helped slake the thirst of settlers, trappers and First Nations people passing through Strathcona County on the Edmonton Trail over a century ago. Everyone dipped the cup for a drink of cool spring water by Deer Mound, located south of Wye Road near Highway 21. The cup was always replaced on its tree branch for the next thirsty travelers.

The Museum’s Founder, Reg Gray, remembers his older friend Roy Stannard telling him stories about the cup from when Roy was a boy in the early 1900s. Reg and Roy had become friends as 4-H leaders together. One day in 1973 Reg walked along the old Edmonton Trail passing by Deer Mound. Looking around, he saw something glinting up in a tree. He climbed up the tree and found the little blue cup still hanging on a branch, now 14 feet above the ground!

Reg presented Roy with the cup for his 80th birthday. Eventually the cup was given back to Reg and he donated it to the Museum. The little blue cup is an enduring symbol of Strathcona County’s community spirit and it is now the Museum’s logo.