Mystery blankets downtown
Published Tuesday December 1st, 2009
Curiosity | No one knows why blankets were tied to benches
Was it an awareness campaign or a hoax?
No one is saying, but blankets that were attached to park benches along the 400-block of Queen Street until Monday garnered their share of inquisitive glances over the last few weeks.
But it was probably the small leaflets emblazoned with the City of Fredericton's coat of arms and the words "Designated Breastfeeding Station" that finally got them yanked Monday morning, shortly after The Daily Gleaner asked the city about them.
"It was not any kind of authorized display," said city spokesman Wayne Knorr. "No one seems to be aware of what they were for."
Knorr said the use of the city coat of arms was unauthorized.
The blankets were tied to benches that face onto Queen Street, by the Soldiers' Barracks building in the Historic Garrison District.
Knorr said they were up for several weeks before anyone asked about them.
The head of a local breastfeeding advocacy group was unaware of the blankets and messages. An official with the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design said she and her colleagues had seen the blankets but didn't know what they were for.
Lower St. Mary's resident Nancy Stackhouse contacted The Daily Gleaner on Monday about the blankets. She and other passengers on a city bus first spotted the blankets several weeks ago. Their curiosity grew after the blankets remained on the benches.
"We thought they must be there for the homeless," Stackhouse said. "But then we saw small doilies on one of the benches."
Her curiosity got the better of her a few days ago and she went to see the blankets up close. That's when she saw the notices indicating "Designated Breastfeeding Station," but she said they didn't look official.
Shelley Langmaid, chairwoman of the Fredericton Breastfeeding Promotion Committee, said she was unaware of the display.
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Of course they're not taking credit for it, they've been out there for weeks nearly unnoticed, weeks that people have come forward and said, clearly who would want to take accountability for that sort of fail?