Search Results - Research Collections - Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

Ben Gadd fonds

https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions55758

Part Of: Ben Gadd fonds

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, …

Date Range: 1956-2018

Reference Code: M590 / V810 / S61

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

GMD: Digital image; Drawing; Negative; Newspaper clipping; Photograph; Photograph print; Postcard; Published record; Textual record; Video; Transparency

Part Of: Ben Gadd fonds

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

Fonds Number: M590; V810

Sous-Fonds: M590; V810

Accession Number: 2021.20; 2024.01

Reference Code: M590 / V810 / S61

GMD: Digital image; Drawing; Negative; Newspaper clipping; Photograph; Photograph print; Postcard; Published record; Textual record; Video; Transparency

Date Range: 1956-2018

Physical Description: 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

Name Access: Gadd, Ben; Gadd, Cia

Subject Access: Education; Research; Publication; Environment; Geology; Tourism; Family and personal life; Personal and Professional Life; Academics; Guiding; Guides; Businesses; Finances; Conservation; Wildlife; Natural history; Sports and recreation

Geographic Access: Canada; Alberta; Jasper National Park; Banff National Park; Yoho National Park; Kootenay National Park; Lethbridge; United States of America; Colorado; Canadian Rocky Mountains