Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, …
ca. 7.9 metres of textual records -- ca. 274 maps -- 29 VHS tapes -- ca.15 discs with digital files -- 21 cassettes -- photographs -- oversized materials -- USB stick with 15 sldeshows
History / Biographical
Ben Gadd (1946-) is a retired naturalist, guide, geologist, instructor, freelance writer and award-winning author based in the Canadian Rockies.
Ben was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1946. He met his wife, Cia (Langdon) Gadd at Colorado College in 1965, and the couple married four weeks later. Ben and Cia had two sons, Will and Toby. Ben and his family relocated to Jasper in the late 1960s. Ben later attended the University of Lethbridge and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Earth Science in 1972.
Between 1976 and 1980, Ben taught classes at Mount Royal College and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology; he later taught additional classes at Grant MacEwan College and Lakeland College. From 1981, Ben also worked as a seasonal naturalist/guide for Parks Canada. Ben left Parks Canada in 1985 to start an independent naturalist guiding business with Cia based in Jasper and other parts of the Canadian Rockies, which the couple continued to operate for over two decades.
Ben published his best-known work, "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies", through his publishing company Corax Press in 1986. The second edition of "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies" received multiple awards after its release in 1995. Ben's fiction book, "Raven's End" won the title of Best Canadian Rockies Book at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in 2001 and became a Canadian bestseller. Overall, Ben has authored or co-authored 11 books and received nearly one dozen awards for his achievements as a writer, researcher and guide.
Ben continued to lead guided hikes and school programs until his retirement in 2016.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, video and sound recordings, and other related material. Materials donated in 2024 include one USB stick containing
Notes
Ben Gadd fonds arrangement:
Series I : Personal records
- Subseries A : Travel guides and maps
- Subseries B : Education and early writings
- Subseries C : Personal interest files
- Subseries D : Other personal and collected
Series II : Research and publication records
- Subseries A : Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
- Subseries B : Other publications
Series III : Professional records
- Subseries A : Parks Canada Records
- Subseries B : Interpretive guiding
- Subseries C : Teaching records
- Subseries D : Other contracts and projects
Series IV : Legal and financial records
- Subseries A : Legal records
- Subseries B : Financial records
Fonds consists of two sous-fonds: M521 and V75.
M521 consists of four series, 154 cm, ca.1870-2002. Series I: Dorothy Wardle Personal Papers, 69.5 cm, ca.1870-2002 (includes Dorothy's written work and research and notes related to Banff). Series II: Wardle Family, 32.5 cm, 1872-1998 (including cor…
154 cm of textual records. -- 1304 photographs (1190 prints, 95 negatives, 19 transparencies). -- 6 photograph albums.
History / Biographical
The Wardle family was comprised of husband and wife, James Morey Wardle (June 26,1888 - May 18,1971) and Maud Leette (Roney) Wardle (May 24,1889 - December 1,1969), and their one child, Dorothy Hope Wardle (May 23,1919 - July 20,2003).
James Wardle, born in Chiliwack, British Columbia, was a civil engineer and public servant. He was the Superintendent of Banff National Park from 1918-1921, Chief Engineer for Parks Canada from 1921-1935, and Deputy Minister of the Interior from 1935-1936. He is primarily known as a highway design engineer, particularly for building the Banff-Windermere, Banff-Lake Louise, and Banff-Jasper highways. He was a councillor for the Municipality of Rockcliffe Park in Ontario and he was the President of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies in Banff from 1925-1929. Mount Wardle in Vermillion was named after him in 1921. James married Leette on November 4, 1913, with whom he had one child, Dorothy.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Dorothy (also known as Dot and Dorie) grew up in Banff, Alberta and Ottawa, Ontario, due to her father's position with the federal government. She was educated at the Mountain School in Banff and at the Elmwood School in Ottawa. All three family members were graduates of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. James graduated in 1912 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Leette graduated with a Bachelor's degree, and in 1942, Dorothy also earned a Bachelor's degree. Dorothy was prominent in student life and active in athletics. In 1941, Dorothy became the first woman elected as President of the Alma Mater Society and during her academic career, Dorothy was a member of the Levana Intercollegiate Debative, University Centenary Committee, and Queen’s War Aid Commission.
Dorothy spent her career as a freelance writer however, upon graduation she served as the first Secretary-In-Charge of Records at Carleton College (now Carleton University) from 1942-1944 in Ottawa and in the mid-1950s worked as a secretary for the Glenbow Foundation in Calgary. Dorothy pursued a lifelong interest in traveling, art, and antiques. Although she was fiercely proud and protective of Banff and the Park, and remained a volunteer and patron of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Dorothy eventually settled in Sidney, British Columbia and shared an apartment with Sheila Iris Ritchie, with whom Dorothy travelled extensively. After her death in 2003, Dorothy, "Dorie," was laid to rest alongside her parents in the Old Banff Cemetery.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of two sous-fonds: M521 and V75.
M521 consists of four series, 154 cm, ca.1870-2002. Series I: Dorothy Wardle Personal Papers, 69.5 cm, ca.1870-2002 (includes Dorothy's written work and research and notes related to Banff). Series II: Wardle Family, 32.5 cm, 1872-1998 (including correspondence with Carl Rungius and Mrs. Helen Brett, and Christmas and other greeting cards from Peter and Catharine Whyte). Series III: Queen's University, 7.5 cm, 1911-1980 (including graduation certificates for each family member and records pertaining to Dorothy's participation on the Alma Mater Society). Series IV: Travel, 44.5 cm, ca.1950-1988 (includes hand-written notebooks meticulously detailing their travels).
V75 consists of two series, 79.5 cm, ca. 1912-2001. Series I: Wardle Family, ca. 1912-1971, 6 albums, 31 cm of photograph prints and negatives (including family trips, trail rides in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and family gatherings). Series II: Dorothy Wardle, 1972-2001, 34 cm of photograph prints, negatives, and transparencies (including Dorothy's travels in Alberta and British Columbia, overseas, and various outings with friends).
Fonds relate to mountaineering with the Alpine Club of Canada. The fond consists of three series: I. Textual records consist of 8 newsclippings from July 1938 pertaining to the first ascent of Mount Columbia by women: Lillian Gest, Kathleen Chapman, Christine Reid, Jean McDonald, and Jean Petrie as…
1 cm textual records. -- 8 albums (257 photographs : b&w ; 25 x 20 cm or smaller). -- 4 photographs : b&w silver gelatin prints ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller.
History / Biographical
Dr. Jean Knox (McDonald) Petrie, born 1913, was an active member of the Alpine Club of Canada, Edmonton Section during the 1930s and 1940s, attending the Alpine Club of Canada summer camps from 1937-1940, 1942 and 1946 as well as making many weekend climbs in the Jasper area with Captain E. R. Gibson. In 1938 she was one of the four women to make a first ascent of Mount Columbia by women, as well as Mount Forbes in 1940. Married in 1960 to Robert Petrie (died 1966), Dr. Jean Petrie worked in Ottawa, Ontario (1940-1945) in munitions gauge testing for the National Research Council. Following the war, she worked as an astrophysicist for the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia (1945-1966) and taught at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia. (1966-1971).
Scope & Content
Fonds relate to mountaineering with the Alpine Club of Canada. The fond consists of three series: I. Textual records consist of 8 newsclippings from July 1938 pertaining to the first ascent of Mount Columbia by women: Lillian Gest, Kathleen Chapman, Christine Reid, Jean McDonald, and Jean Petrie as well as a photocopied "Guide to the Tonquin" signed by K. G. Chapman ca.1935. II. Photographic records include an unbound album of 44 pages: 111 prints divided by the donor into 3 sections: 1. To the Tonquin Valley, July 1938; 2. Alpine Club Camp, Columbia Icefields, July 12-31, 1938; 3. Alpine Club Camp Tonquin Valley, April 1939. The album also includes artwork and map. A second unbound photograph album of 28p: 170 prints are divided into 5 sections: 1. ACC camp in the Ice River Valley, July 1939; 2. ACC ski camp in Little Yoho Valley, March 23-31, 1940; 3. Our climb of Roche Miette, May 24, 1940; 4. Our summertime journey into the Little Yoho Valley, July 1940; 5. Our climb of Mts. Fitzwilliam & Bucephelas, September 3, 1940. III. Photographic Prints consist of 4 loose prints unrelated to other contents of the fond.
Notes
Unbound books are numbered in pencil by the creator, pages appear to be missing due to absent page numbers.
Fonds consists of motion picture titled "Canadian Rockies, 1930 Maligne Lake Camp, Mount Brazeau" and a scrapbook containing letters, brochures, maps, newsletters, and photographs pertaining to Allyn Ford and Nancy Dart's respective memberships with the Alpine Club of Canada, as well as a trip to J…
1 motion picture : 16 mm, b/w, silent, ca.500 ft ; 4 cm of textual records (1 volumes ; 24.5 x 29.3 cm)
History / Biographical
Allyn K. Ford (1878-1964) was a businessman and collector in Minneapolis, Minnesota and a member of the Alpine Club of Canada from 1908 onwards. He was married to Emily Powell Ford (1886-1976) and had at least two daughters, Alice Carpenter Ford and Nancy (Ford) Dart. Nancy also became a member of the ACC in 1953.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of motion picture titled "Canadian Rockies, 1930 Maligne Lake Camp, Mount Brazeau" and a scrapbook containing letters, brochures, maps, newsletters, and photographs pertaining to Allyn Ford and Nancy Dart's respective memberships with the Alpine Club of Canada, as well as a trip to Jasper in the mid-1950s.
Fonds consists of transparency slides, maps, handwritten notes and club records, song books, and scrapbooks pertaining to Margaret Ruth Oliver and the Tuesday Hikers club.
28 photographs : col. slides -- 1.5 m of textual records (3 binders -- 1 record book -- 10 song books -- maps, annotated -- 11 scrapbooks)
History / Biographical
Margaret Ruth Oliver was born on December 19, 1927 to parents Edgar and Gladys (Brazier) Hammett in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Margaret's siblings include Dorothy (1922), Muriel "Miv" (1923), John (1929), and Jean (1933). Margaret graduated from United College (Winnipeg) in 1949 with a B.Sc. degree, and worked as an Assistant Librarian at the University of Manitoba afterwards. Margaret later enrolled in a Laboratory Technician program at the University of Manitoba Medical College. Margaret married Thomas Albert Oliver, a fellow University of Manitoba alumnus, on September 25, 1954. The couple moved to Calgary for work (Thomas taught at the University of Calgary, and Margaret worked for a geophysical company). Margaret travelled extensively following the death of her husband in 1997, visiting places such as Nepal, Cambodia, Russia, Egypt and Greenland.
In 1971, Margaret formed a hiking group within the University Faculty Women's Club (F.W.C.) through the University of Calgary. In 1976, this group became a private club called the Tuesday Hikers, which no longer held any affiliation to the F.W.C. Trips included weekly hikes and/or ski trips, as well as longer backpacking excursions.The club is still active as of 2022.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of transparency slides, maps, handwritten notes and club records, song books, and scrapbooks pertaining to Margaret Ruth Oliver and the Tuesday Hikers club.
Notes
Materials are unprocessed and stored in three boxes:
Box 1: 1 envelope "T. Hikers' Slides" - 28 film transparencies and printed notes; various maps with handwritten notes
Box 2: 1 record book "T.H. Record Book" - handwritten lists and statistics of trips, attendance, miles; 2 binders with handwritten notes, titled "National Parks - Banff and Assiniboine" and "Nat'l Parks - Glacier + Jasper"
Box 3: 1 binder titled "Tues. Hikers- Past Members and Guests"; 10 song books; trail, park and road maps; 11 scrapbooks, 1971-2010
Files consist of summit notes and summit registers from Hawk Mountain produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1995 and 2007. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred w…
Summit Registers and Notes produced by Alpine Club of Canada
Date Range
1995 - 2007
Physical Description
2 volumes
2 cm of textual records
History / Biographical
Hawk Mountain is located in Jasper National Park, AB. Nearby are Mount Colin and the Jasper town site.
Scope & Content
Files consist of summit notes and summit registers from Hawk Mountain produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1995 and 2007. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while at the summit, wildlife sightings, trail updates, and related topics.
Files include:
M200 / V / A / 63: Hawk Mountain [1995-2001]
M200 / V / A / 64: Summit Register - Hawk Mountain, Sept 2001 - June 2007
Sub-series of identified summit registers and notes produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1930 and 2022. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while at the summit…
Summit Registers and Notes produced by Alpine Club of Canada
Date Range
1930-1931
1959-1968
1970-1989
1992 -2022
Physical Description
100 cm of textual records
223 volumes
Scope & Content
Sub-series of identified summit registers and notes produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1930 and 2022. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while at the summit, wildlife sightings, trail updates, and related topics.
The sub-series is separated into individual identified summit records.
Notes
See file-level entries for inventories of identified summit registers and notes.
Files consist of summit notes and summit registers from Mt. Wilcox (Wilcox Peak) produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1976 and 2000. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which…
Summit Registers and Notes produced by Alpine Club of Canada
Date Range
1976-1983
1988-1992
1997-1998
2000
Physical Description
5 cm of textual records
5 volumes
History / Biographical
Mount Wilcox (also known as Wilcox Peak) is located in Jasper National Park near the Columbia Icelfield, in the Sunwapta River Valley. The nearest peak is Nigel Peak. Mt. Wilcox was named after Walter D. Wilcox who made the first ascent of the mountain in 1896.
Scope & Content
Files consist of summit notes and summit registers from Mt. Wilcox (Wilcox Peak) produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1976 and 2000. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while at the summit, wildlife sightings, trail updates, and related topics.
Files include:
M200 / V / A / 43: [loose Mt. Wilcox summit notes, 1976-1983]
M200 / V / A / 44: [Mt. Wilcox register 1988-92 & St. Nicholas Peak 1988-92]
M200 / V / A / 45: [Mt. Wilcox Summit register June 28, 1997 - July 19, 1998]
M200 / V / A / 46: [Mt. Wilcox, 2000]
Series consists of 23 interviews recorded between 1999 and 2009, which were used during the creation of the book Powder Pioneers : Ski Stories from the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains.
Discover the rich history of skiing in the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. From the early ski jumpers at Revelstoke, through the birth of the backcountry lodges and ski resorts to the heli-skiers and snowboarders of today, the stories are all here.
Scope & Content
Series consists of 23 interviews recorded between 1999 and 2009, which were used during the creation of the book Powder Pioneers : Ski Stories from the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains.
Notes
Series consists of 23 interviews:
S47 / IV / 1 : Syd Scroggle in Dundee
S47 / IV / 2 : Hans Gmoser
S47 / IV / 3 : Bob Sayer 16-Feb-02
S47 / IV / 4 : Toni Klettl 15-Feb-02
S47 / IV / 5 : Art Patterson 12-May-99
S47 / IV / 6 & 7 : Hans Gmoser 29-Apr-04
S47 / IV / 8 to 10 : Philippe Delesalle 28-Apr-04
S47 / IV / 11 to 14 : Doug Gardner 19-May-04
S47 / IV / 15 & 16 : Tony and Gill Daffern 06-Jan-04
File consists of a summit record from Roche Miette produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1995 and 2002. Summit record includes entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while at the summit,…
Summit Registers and Notes produced by Alpine Club of Canada
Date Range
1995-2002
Physical Description
1 volume
1 cm of textual record
History / Biographical
Roche Miette mountain is at the northern tip of the Miette Range in Jasper National Park, Alberta. The peak is visible in the Athabasca Valley. Nearby are the Jasper town site, Capitol Mountain and the Athabasca River.
Scope & Content
File consists of a summit record from Roche Miette produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1995 and 2002. Summit record includes entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while at the summit, wildlife sightings, trail updates, and related topics.
File:
M200 / V / A / 128: [Roche Miette Summit Register 1995 - 2002]