Fonds consists of two series: I. Expeditions and trips series, 1946-1974; II. General files series, 1913-1978. Expeditions and trips series pertains to mountaineering expeditions and trips of Arnold Wexler and companions to western and northern Canada and locations in the United States. Canadian…
Arnold Wexler was responsible for the creation of most material. Fonds also contains material created by A. C. Faberge, Alvin E. Peterson, Donald Hubbard, William L. Putnam, Samuel V. Moore, Mike Banks, and others
Date Range
1913-1978, predominant 1946-1974
Physical Description
ca.4100 photographs (ca.3000 transparencies, ca.700 negatives, ca.400 prints). -- 7 photograph albums (ca.190 prints). -- ca.40 cartographic records. -- 16 cm of textual records. -- 5 cm of print material. -- 5 graphic records
History / Biographical
Arnold Wexler, 1918-1997, was a research engineer and mountaineer in the Washington, DC area of the United States. He was a member of numerous scientific and mountaineering organizations and was actively involved in the testing of mountaineering equipment. Wexler climbed extensively in North America, Europe and South America, and also travelled throughout Asia. He is credited with over 100 ascents, almost half being first ascents.
Wexler was a key organizer and participant of expeditions to western and northern Canada beginning in 1946. Noteworthy ascents of that first expedition, to the northern Selkirks of British Columbia, were the second ascent of Mount Sir Sandford and first ascents of Sentinel Peak, Unicorn and East Blackfriar. Also, near the end of that trip, an accident claimed the life of an expedition member. Wexler and his associates made annual expeditions and trips to Canada from 1946 until 1955, and subsequently in the years 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1970 through 1974
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of two series: I. Expeditions and trips series, 1946-1974; II. General files series, 1913-1978.
Expeditions and trips series pertains to mountaineering expeditions and trips of Arnold Wexler and companions to western and northern Canada and locations in the United States. Canadian expedition destinations included the Selkirk Mountains, Cariboo Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Monashee Mountains, Coast Range, Bugaboo Mountains, Logan Mountains, Battle Range and Adamant Range. Mountaineers involved were Arnold Wexler, Sterling B. Hendricks, Donald Hubbard, Alvin (Pete) E. Peterson, Alex C. Faberge, Chris G. Scoredos, Charles C. Haworth Jr., Samuel V. Moore, Arthur Lembeck, Norman Goldstein, W. L. Putnam, A. J. Kauffman and others. Series includes extensive photographs, trip diaries and maps.
General files series consists of files pertaining to mountaineering, equipment, locations, climbing associates and expeditions. Includes correspondence, checklists, exhibition prints, climbing portraits, and research material in the form of topical files, maps and print material
Fonds includes seven series: I. Personal and professional, 1884-1959; II. Business and financial, ca.1910-1959; III. Professional photography, 1900-1955; IV. Writing, 1906-1957; V. Natural history, 1904-1954; VI. Other interests, 1913-1956; VII. Riggall family, ca.1865-1959. Personal and pro…
ca.13,100 photographs: ca.7080 prints, ca.5310 negatives, ca.700 transparencies. -- 9 photograph albums. -- ca.2 m textual records, print material and graphic records. -- 33 cartographic records
History / Biographical
Frederick Herbert (Bert) Riggall, 1884-1959, was a mountain guide, outfitter, hunter, trapper, rancher, naturalist, photographer, writer and gunsmith/loader in southern Alberta. Born in 1884 at Gayton-le-Wold Grange, Lincolnshire, his family moved to Grimsby where his father was an auctioneer and, in 1905, served as Mayor. In England, Riggall was an athlete, avid sportsman and naturalist. He was exposed to alpine country on school holidays in Switzerland and, determined to visit Canada, left for North America in 1904.
Upon arriving in western Canada, Riggall worked for a year at Craighurst Farm near Calgary. There he met Dorothea (Dora) Williams, 1877-1951, an Irish Quaker ranch cook who had emigrated with her sister Anna in 1902. In 1905, Bert worked on the Correction Land Survey in southwestern Alberta and explored Waterton Lakes. Bert and Dora married in 1906 and until 1946 they homesteaded and ranched adjacent to Waterton Lakes National Park.
Initially, Bert and partner Jack Hazzard built boats and guided fishing parties on Waterton Lakes. In 1909, with partner Cyril Watmough, the Riggalls began guiding and outfitting summer and fall hunting and fishing trips for numerous repeat clients, especially, after 1913, four Minneapolis, Minnesota families: Bovey, Crosby, Bennett and McKnight. Hunts involved Big Horn Sheep, goats, black and grizzly bears. Bert served as chief guide and Dora as camp cook. Prior to 1911, the Riggalls worked at Gloyne's oil camp and Oil City to supplement their income. In 1911, Bert and partner Cyril Watmough made a 1000 mile (1600 km) exploratory trip from Fort Steele, B.C. to the Yellowhead Pass and beyond. Following that trip, Riggall concentrated guiding activities on the continental divide as far north as the Highwood region, but primarily in the upper Oldman River Valley and Gap in the Livingstone Range. Their outfit grew to include numerous saddle and pack horses.
Of five children, only two daughters survived infancy. Kay Riggall (Russell), 1909-1984, and Doris (Babe) Riggall (Burton), 1910-1999, were both able riders, markswomen and packtrain workers. They accompanied their parents on summer back country trips starting in 1918. Bert Riggall was renowned for his knowledge of botany, geology, zoology, wilderness life and lore as well as literature and current affairs. He was especially endeared to his clients for his skill as a raconteur and campfire storyteller. He wrote articles for magazines such as: Arms and the Man, American Rifleman, Field and Stream and the Boone and Crockett Club's book: North American Big Game. Riggall was an accomplished semi-professional photographer who specialized in wildlife studies, panoramic landscapes, Dufaycolor and later Kodachrome transparencies. His photographs appear in Department of Interior Reports and other publications.
Bert's heart problems forced the Riggalls to move to Pincher Creek in 1947. Daughter Kay and son-in-law Andy Russell continued the packtrain and guiding business until 1960. After Dora's death, Bert experienced medical problems and lived with or close to Doris.
Scope & Content
Fonds includes seven series: I. Personal and professional, 1884-1959; II. Business and financial, ca.1910-1959; III. Professional photography, 1900-1955; IV. Writing, 1906-1957; V. Natural history, 1904-1954; VI. Other interests, 1913-1956; VII. Riggall family, ca.1865-1959.
Personal and professional series consists of diaries and notes, correspondence and personal papers.
Business and financial series consists of guiding and ranching records, gunsmithing, shooting and loading records; and legal and financial records.
Professional photography series consists of standard photographs, panoramas, transparencies and textual records
Writing series contains manuscripts, published magazines, book outlines, newspaper articles and letters to the editor
Natural history series contains bird and plant records, and other natural history papers
Other interests series consist of clippings, annotated books and collected material
Riggall family series contains Bert and Dora Riggall family papers and photographs, Williams family photographs, Frederick W. and Fanny Riggall papers and photographs, and Allan Riggall papers and photographs. Negatives and transparencies pertain to Andy Russell as a young man with Bert Riggall.
Notes
Some transparencies in V110 Dick Russell are marked Andy Russell, some marked 64 dup; V110 - original transparencies have full set of duplicates (2 sets were made, 1 for Dick Russell and the other is part of this accession)
Fonds consists of three series: I. Mountain travel and recreation, western Canada (A. Trips and activities, 1931-1992; B. General, between 1928 and 1960). II. Personal (A. Photography notes, 1938-1996; B. World travel, ca.1930-ca.1950; C. Personal photographs, 1927-ca.1955). III. Other, between ca…
Robin Cyril (Bob) Hind, 1911-2000, was an electrical engineer and mountaineer at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Hind was born on a farm in northern Alberta was educated at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. He was a Life Member of ACC, joining in 1933, and attended over 30 ACC camps, often with his family. Hind received the Silver Rope Award in 1935, was recipient of Centennial Medal, and served the ACC in offices of President, Vice-President and Chairman of Hut Committee.
In 1948, Bob Hind married Margaret (Peggy) Trotter, a fellow mountaineer and skier. Together they had two children. After Peggy Hind was killed in an avalanche in 1955, Hind married Marjory Bugler, and the couple had three more children. Marjory (Marj) Hind was a homemaker and mountaineer.
During his extensive mountaineering career, Bob Hind climbed most of the significant peaks in Rockies and Selkirks, including some first ascents. He also climbed in Wales and the Alps. Hind was active in the Calgary Tennis Club, the Boy Scout movement and was a member of the American Alpine Club and The Alpine Club, London. Bob Hind worked on electrical projects in Canada and Europe.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of three series: I. Mountain travel and recreation, western Canada (A. Trips and activities, 1931-1992; B. General, between 1928 and 1960). II. Personal (A. Photography notes, 1938-1996; B. World travel, ca.1930-ca.1950; C. Personal photographs, 1927-ca.1955). III. Other, between ca.1925 and ca.1955.
Series I consists of photographs, motion pictures and textual records pertaining to mountaineering, hiking, travel, Alpine Club of Canada camps and activities in western Canada by Bob Hind, Bob and Marj Hind, and the Hind family.
Fonds consists of personal photographs, biographical notes, memoir drafts and other collected materials pertaining to Robert Neville (Bob) Smith. Fonds also includes plans and maps pertaining to the development of land near Lake Minnewanka and the Cascade Power Plant project (1943).
ca.300 photographs : b&w and col. prints ; 12 x 18 cm or smaller -- 7 cm of textual records -- 7 topographical maps/plans -- 8 postcards
History / Biographical
Robert Neville (Bob) Smith (1926-2021) was born in Banff. He was the only child of parents Enoch Smith and Laurene Smith (nee Munson). Bob grew up near Lake Minnewanka until 1941, when a hydro dam was installed resulting in the intentional flooding of the area. The family moved to Banff, where Bob met his future wife, Mary Parkinson. The couple were married in 1953 and moved to Seebe, where they raised two daughters, Marjory and Shirley.
Bob worked for Calgary Power Co. (later renamed TransAlta Utilities) from 1953 until his retirement in 1986. In his spare time, Bob founded the Bow Valley Camera Club and the Bow Valley Naturalists organization. In 1999, Bob was part of a successful project with the Bow Valley Naturalists to designate the Mount Yamnuska area as a Bow Valley Protected Area, following 25 years of lobbying with the Government of Alberta. Bob also formed the Meanderthals seniors hiking club in 1993 and led various local hiking trips in his later years.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of personal photographs, biographical notes, memoir drafts and other collected materials pertaining to Robert Neville (Bob) Smith. Fonds also includes plans and maps pertaining to the development of land near Lake Minnewanka and the Cascade Power Plant project (1943).
Fonds consists of textual and photographic records pertaining to Brewster Transport and its predecessor and subsidiary companies. Series are: I. James I. Brewster, 1892-1962; II. Brewster Brothers, 1905-1909; III. Brewster Transfer Company Ltd., 1909-1916; IV. Brewster Trading Co. Ltd., 1907-1926;…
ca.5 m of textual records : includes ca.50 v. -- ca.1280 photographs : prints, negatives, transparencies, proof sheets. -- 2 photograph albums. -- ca.100 sets of cartographic records : plans, blueprints. -- 11 motion pictures (10 videocassettes, 1 film reel). -- 11 sound recordings : audio cassettes
History / Biographical
Brewster Transport Company is a transportation company based at Banff, Alberta. Formally organized in 1900 as W. & J. Brewster, Guides and Packers, the company expanded in 1904 into commercial development in Banff and acquired the Canadian Pacific Railway livery concession at Banff in 1905. From 1909 until his death in 1947, Jim Brewster guided the company, with Lou Crosby handling finance. Beginning in 1917, Brewster Transport entered the motorized era with touring cars, later replaced with a succession of buses. From 1920 to 1933, Bill Brewster was general manager and during this period the company acquired Royal Hawaiian Transport and the Sunshine Ski development. The company amalgamated its transportation interests with Rocky Mountain Tours in 1957, and in 1965 the company passed out of the Brewster family's hands, being sold to Greyhound Lines of Canada. Brewster Transport continues to operate as Brewster Transportation and Tours, a diversified transportation and accommodation company in the Rocky Mountains.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of textual and photographic records pertaining to Brewster Transport and its predecessor and subsidiary companies. Series are: I. James I. Brewster, 1892-1962; II. Brewster Brothers, 1905-1909; III. Brewster Transfer Company Ltd., 1909-1916; IV. Brewster Trading Co. Ltd., 1907-1926; V. Brewster Hotel Company Ltd., 1909-1926; VI. Brewster Transport Company / Brewster-Rocky Mountain Grayline, ca.1900-1988; VII. Brewster Transportation and Tours Co. records, 1930s-1996; VIII. Other, 1956-1972.
Series VI is the major series, consisting of 146.5 cm of textual records (and ca.50 col), ca.700 photographs, and ca.100 sets of plans and blueprints. The series includes: Agreements, 1915-1974; Minutes, 1915-1963; Financial papers, 1915-1966; Operating, ca.1900-1988; Properties, 1906-1974; Subsidiaries, 1924-1962; Other, 1943-1977. Photographs, ca.1900-ca.1970, are mainly publicity photographs relating to Brewster Transport vehicles, tours, facilities, Sunshine Ski Lodge and area, Canadian Rockies hotels and scenic views, also Brewster family and Banff personalities; include 2 albums. Plans pertain to properties and facilities.
Fonds is primarily a broad-ranging commercial negative collection pertaining to Banff and area, including businesses, buildings, projects, events, people and scenic views; skiing, mountain travel and recreation; Sunshine Village Ski Area; warden activities in the mountain parks; national and provin…
ca.31,580 photographs: negatives, prints, and transparencies. -- 1 photograph album (ca.150 prints). -- 50 motion pictures: 1 original, 8 copies on 3 video cassettes, 41 film reels: 16mm, 35mm. -- 18 sound recordings: audio tape reels, audio tape cassettes. -- 5 electronic records: computer diskettes. -- 3 maps. -- 15 cm textual records.
History / Biographical
Bruno Engler, 1915-2001, was a mountain guide, ski instructor, photographer and film maker at Banff and Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Engler arrived from Switzerland in 1939 and initially worked as a mountain guide and ski instructor for the Canadian Pacific Railway, Sunshine ski area and for Deer Lodge at Lake Louise, Alberta. During the Second World War, he served as a mountain warfare instructor for the Canadian Army. Following the war, Engler worked as a free-lance photographer for the National Film Board and others; as coach of the University of Alberta Ski Team; and as a technical advisor, cameraman and actor for numerous movies made in the Banff area. Throughout his career, Engler worked as a still and motion picture photographer, both for the movie industry and for governments at all levels, as well as operating his own business, Alpine Films of Banff, Alberta.
Scope & Content
Fonds is primarily a broad-ranging commercial negative collection pertaining to Banff and area, including businesses, buildings, projects, events, people and scenic views; skiing, mountain travel and recreation; Sunshine Village Ski Area; warden activities in the mountain parks; national and provincial parks; scenic views of western Canada, particularly mountain landscapes; some portraits and candid shots of local and international personalities. Photographs pertaining to film making include helicopter rescue; highway construction; Norquay, Sunshine, and Lake Louise ski areas' histories; Banff events and buildings; Canmore events and buildings; professional and amateur ski races; scenic mountain and wildlife; mountaineering and highway accidents; mountain guiding trips including Pierre Trudeau, Roland Michener and Peter Lougheed. Fonds consists of four series: Photography, Motion Pictures, Sound Recordings, and Textual records. Photography series consists of four sub-series established by the photographer: I. Old file, 1949-1970; II. Main file, alphabetical A - Z, 1950-1976; III Sunshine file, [1939], 1950-1975; IV. Warden file, 1954-1976.
Motion pictures on video cassettes are footage of skiing at Sunshine, 1930s; Clifford White films, 1930s, from WMCR Archives collection (V682); "Snow Capers" by Thomas Mead, 1946, includes Engler; "Ski Pro's Holiday" by George Encil, 1950?; "Mount Bulyea" by George Encil, 1950?, includes Engler; "Diary of a Mountain Man," a CBC documentary feature on Bruno Engler broadcast on "20/20" in 1965 (ca.27 minutes); "Great Days in the Rockies" by National Film Board of Canada, 1983; "Mountain Man" by Banff Centre, 1985, re Engler. Original film is "Sunshine 1940" and includes Brewster Transport ski buses travelling from train station to Sunshine Lodge, skiers, guide, lessons, games, rope tow, ski action, slalom, Bruno Engler, other. 16mm and 35mm film reels, 1946-1964 are films produced by the National Film Board.
Sound recordings, electronic records and and related textual material pertain to interviews with Bruno Engler, 1987, done by Brian Patton and Jon Whyte for Bruno Engler autobiography project. Interviews covered Engler's life, but are not complete to 1987. Transcripts, prepared from recordings by Brenda Goeres, are not verbatim. Audio tape cassettes consist of portions of content of audio tape reels.
Textual records include corporate records, newspaper clippings and magazine articles pertaining to film making, cast and crew listings and schedules for various movies, ski racing, mountain guiding trips and ski race listings. Also included is documentation pertaining to film making with producer National Film Board including letters, film stock footage, press releases, and film summaries; maps indicate film location shots for Arctic Rampage.
Fonds consists of textual records re housing, tax and assessment in Banff; and warden service training and procedures, including an annotated map of Warden district #1, Banff National Park. Texual records also include six letters from Jim Deegan and Ken Jones to Jan Burks, 1986-1988. Accompanied by…
1.5 cm of textual records. -- 1 photograph : print; copy
History / Biographical
The Burks family lived at Banff, Alberta, Canada. Jan Burks worked for the Archives of the Canadian Rockies (now the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies) and Toby Burks was a warden with the Banff National Park Warden Service.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of textual records re housing, tax and assessment in Banff; and warden service training and procedures, including an annotated map of Warden district #1, Banff National Park. Texual records also include six letters from Jim Deegan and Ken Jones to Jan Burks, 1986-1988. Accompanied by photograph of buildings at Lake Minnewanka, before first dam, ca.1912; copy.
Fonds consists of slaughter records for elk, Banff National Park, 1960- 1965; a map of Banff National Park (1932) showing unidentified wildlife ranges; and plans for the Canadian Wildlife Service Laboratory at Banff, 1965.
The Canadian Wildlife Service is a federal agency operated under the Department of the Environment and subsequent departments. The agency is responsible for monitoring animal and bird populations, extinction, effects of pollution, etc. The Canadian Wildlife Service established a laboratory in Banff, ca.1965.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of slaughter records for elk, Banff National Park, 1960- 1965; a map of Banff National Park (1932) showing unidentified wildlife ranges; and plans for the Canadian Wildlife Service Laboratory at Banff, 1965.
Fonds consists of writings, ca.1929-1958; holograph maps, n.d., 1934; Christmas cards, 1937-1970; articles 1928-1965; other papers, 1877-1971; and photographs, 1897-1939. Textual records mainly consist of Lamarque's manuscripts, including two large works: "Memoirs of Ernest C. Lamarque, 1958" and "…
ca.50 cm of textual records. -- 11 photograph albums (522 prints). -- 2 photographs : prints
History / Biographical
Ernest C. W. Lamarque, 1879-1970, was a surveyor, map maker, writer and artist at Vancouver and Oyama, British Columbia, Canada. Lamarque was born in Kent, England and emigrated to the United States in 1896, travelling to Winnipeg in 1897. He worked for the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader at Isle a la Crosse, Fort Simpson, Fort McKay and Fort Chipewyan before entering the surveying field in 1907. His survey work took him throughout British Columbia, Alberta and the Yukon. In 1933-1934, he was in charge of the advance party reconnaissance for the Bedaux Subarctic Expedition. He was also involved in Alaska Highway, Royal Canadian Air Force and Whitehorn Mountain ski lift surveys.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of writings, ca.1929-1958; holograph maps, n.d., 1934; Christmas cards, 1937-1970; articles 1928-1965; other papers, 1877-1971; and photographs, 1897-1939.
Textual records mainly consist of Lamarque's manuscripts, including two large works: "Memoirs of Ernest C. Lamarque, 1958" and "Travels and exploration in northern British Columbia, 1934," and short fiction and non-fiction works based upon his career in British Columbia and Alberta. Material pertains mainly to the Mackenzie, Peace, Liard, Finlay, and Athabasca River districts, the Bella Coola and Cariboo districts, Rocky and Selkirk Mountains, the Columbia River, and the Bedaux Expedition, with regards to surveying, exploration, prospecting, flora and fauna.
Textual records also include a diary and maps from the Bedaux Subarctic Expedition reconnaissance, 1934, and the British Columbia-Alaska highway reconnaissance, 1939.
Photographs pertain to the Bedaux expedition, Hudson's Bay Company work in northwestern Canada, and survey work in northern Alberta and British Columbia, 1897-1939. Albums are annotated and include maps and sketches.
Fonds consists of: I. Personal papers, 1897-1967, pertaining to family, education, military service, etc. II. Professional and business papers, 1908-1957, re Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, private mining ventures, Brewster and Moore outfitting, Brewster Transfer Co., and Brewster …
ca.50 cm of textual records. -- 113 photographs : prints
History / Biographical
Frederick Archibald Brewster, 1883-1969, was an outfitter and guide at Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Brewster was born in Kildonan, Manitoba and in 1888 moved with his family to Banff, where he received his education. He subsequently attended St. John's College, Winnipeg, Manitoba and Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, obtaining a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering. Brewster worked briefly as a prospector and in 1910 embarked upon a long career as an outfitter and guide, first with Brewster and Moore. He established operations in Jasper in 1912 and was responsible for important parties, including those of Samuel Prescott Fay and the United States Biological Survey. Brewster served with distinction in the First World War and was involved with mountain warfare training of the Lovat Scouts in the Second World War. He supplemented his outfitting business with a series of camps which doubled as ski lodges: Fred Brewster's Rocky Mountain Camps, and boat concessions.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of: I. Personal papers, 1897-1967, pertaining to family, education, military service, etc. II. Professional and business papers, 1908-1957, re Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, private mining ventures, Brewster and Moore outfitting, Brewster Transfer Co., and Brewster Trading Co., Samuel Prescott Fay, Lovat Scouts, Jasper, etc. Includes scrapbook titled "Mt. Sir Alexander," 1912-1967, attributed to Fred Brewster, consisting of clippings, articles and maps re the discovery, naming, ascents, etc. of Mount Sir Alexander, also text of speech delivered by Brewster at the opening of the Banff-Jasper Highway. Also includes Samuel Prescott Fay journal from 1914 hunting trip, photocopy. III. Newsclippings and magazines, 1930-1969. IV. Book, "Lord of the Lakes and Forest" by Augustus Moore. V. Photographs, ca.1887-ca.1967, pertaining to Fred Brewster outfitting operations, associates, clients, camps, lodges and facilities; Brewster family and friends; Fred Brewster college and university associates.