The Society’s Records

Lillian Beech

← People of the Society · on record 1960–1980

Everything the Society’s own records say of Lillian Beech — the offices held, the standings conferred, and the awards won — gathered on one page. Where the records are silent, so is this one.

This is the Society’s own record of Lillian Beech. A biography: Who’s Who in Leathercraft · Summer 1985 →

Also recorded as George Beech, K. Beech, Lilian Beech, Lillian Beach, Mrs. George Beech, Mrs. K. Beech

Branch

Hamilton · recorded holding office in 1963

Certification

Associate of the CSCL 1966
One of the first chartered members when the Hamilton Guild formed in 1956; studied leathercraft at Danforth Collegiate, Toronto, in 1953 under Kay Tokaryk (including a grey dye technique using ferrous sulphate), and learned glove making from Mrs. Campbell. Served the Hamilton Guild as President (in office for the Society's 10th Anniversary celebration at the Scottish Rite, Hamilton), Secretary, and Membership Convenor, and served on the C.S.C.L. Executive Council for several years. Taught at Burlington Arena from 1954 and gave private glove-making lessons at home; a regular demonstrator at Hamilton Guild meetings, C.S.C.L. Annuals, and the Society's C.N.E. booth.

An Associate of the Society from 1966, she served the Hamilton Branch as its Secretary and Chairman through the 1960s and 1970s, and was honoured at the branch's 10th anniversary banquet in 1966 for her perfect attendance record. Her work won the Leather '76 Craftsman Award and a Craftsman Ribbon in 1978. Muriel McKnight's “Who's Who in Leathercraft” column honoured her in the summer of 1985 on behalf of the Society and the Hamilton Leathercraft Guild. She was among the first chartered members when the Hamilton Guild was formed in 1956 and a member in good standing from that date. She studied leathercraft at Danforth Collegiate, Toronto, in 1953 under Kay Tokaryk — among the techniques she learned there was achieving a grey dye with ferrous sulphate — and became an accomplished glove maker, learning that from Mrs. Campbell. She took Associate standing in 1966 and served on the Society's Executive Council for several years and as President, Secretary and Membership Convenor of the Hamilton Guild, and was its President. The Society’s own profile of her says she held that office when the Society “marked its 10th anniversary at the Scottish Rite in Hamilton”; the Scottish Rite meeting was the 1966 Annual, held in the Guild’s own tenth-anniversary year, while the Society’s tenth anniversary, in 1960, was kept at WoodGreen Centre, Toronto. She taught at Burlington Arena from 1954 for several years and gave classes and private glove-making lessons at home, demonstrated at Hamilton Guild meetings and workshops and at the Society's Annuals, and was a faithful hand at the Guild's C.N.E. booth. She was President of the Hamilton Branch for 1967-68, the year the Society's newsletter reported her as the branch's new chairman.

From Summer 1985, page 6; History of the Hamilton Leathercraft Guild, 1956–2002 — the Guild’s own typescript, set out in full on the Hamilton branch history page; List of Associates and Fellows, c. 1985; Spring 1967, page 12; and Spring 1967, page 8.

Served the Society as

Council 1960
Recording Secretary 1961
Hamilton Branch Secretary 1963–1980
Hamilton Branch Chairman 1967
Hamilton Branch President 1967
Hamilton Branch Corresponding Secretary 1977

Honours

Perfect Attendance Recognition 1966
Honored at the Hamilton Branch's 10th Anniversary banquet, November 1966, for her perfect attendance record over the branch's first ten years; presented with a leather pen stand for her service.

Awards

Craftsman Ribbon 1978
Leather '76 Craftsman Award 1976

Demonstrations given

Braided Belts 1969
19th Annual
From Spring 1969, page 2.

Where this comes from

This name in the index of people →