File pertains to 56 letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from August 1 to December 30, 1939. Topics include going on the annual Skyline Trail Hike to the Ptarmigan Valley in early August, day to day life, weather, painting/sketching [a mix of personal projects and…
1.7 cm of textual records (93 pages ; 20 x 24.9 cm or smaller)
History / Biographical
See fonds level description.
Scope & Content
File pertains to 56 letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from August 1 to December 30, 1939. Topics include going on the annual Skyline Trail Hike to the Ptarmigan Valley in early August, day to day life, weather, painting/sketching [a mix of personal projects and commissions done both at home and out in the Park], visits from friends and visitors, slide making, photography and cameras [including colour photography], events and people in Concord, minor repairs/projects to the house and property [including installing a new water heater on the second floor], updates on Dave White's health, radio programs [mostly operas and the news], the declaration of war on Germany in early September [as well as details pertaining to local recruitment efforts and general preparations], day trips to Lake Louise, wildlife, descriptions of meals, Edith going to the 1939 World's Fair in New York City [September], construction on the new addition to the house throughout October [including a new furnace room, bathroom, and dark room on the ground floor, extending the studio on the second floor, and facing the side of the house in stone], cleaning and household chores, errand trips to Calgary, books Catharine and Edith are reading, a large blizzard at the end of October, birthdays, various holidays [both Canadian and American], attending first aid classes at the school, putting together the annual Christmas card, and various other Christmas activities and parties.
Notes
Please note: language pertaining to Indigenous Peoples used throughout is outdated and may be offensive.
Letters are mostly typed, some hand-written. Many typed letters have hand-written notes and post scripts added throughout. All typed letters are written on a single side of paper, hand-written letters are mostly double-sided.
Some letters are marked with a small x in pencil, indicating where Jon Whyte made notes for use in his project "Catharine Robb Whyte, Peter Whyte: Commemorative Portfolio," originally published in 1981.
107-19 contains a sketch of a mushroom on the back of the first page.
107-36 contains a sketch of the Whyte compound and details of the new extention to Pete and Catharine's house.
File pertains to 45 hand-written letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from June 11 to October 3, 1937. Topics include day to day life, visits from friends and visitors, world news [often pertaining to politics and the British Royal family], maintenance and upkeep …
1.7 cm of textual records (108 pages ; 21.4 x 27.5 cm or smaller)
History / Biographical
See fonds level description.
Scope & Content
File pertains to 45 hand-written letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from June 11 to October 3, 1937. Topics include day to day life, visits from friends and visitors, world news [often pertaining to politics and the British Royal family], maintenance and upkeep of the house and property [mostly landscaping], cleaning and household chores, weather, gifting a stove to the Simpsons for use at Bow Lake [currently a camp], events and people in Concord, various holidays [both Canadian and American], day trips around the National Park [mostly to Lake Louise, Bow Lake and Moraine Lake], making frames and prepping canvas for painting, books Catharine and Edit are reading, dinner parties, rearranging the kitchen [including getting a new refrigerator and a new table with two bench seats], trips to Bow Lake to paint throughout the summer, hiking, wildlife [often in the yard], updates on the new trail being built from Moraine Lake to Taylor Lake, Banff Indian Days, photography and cameras, print-making, descriptions of meals, the birth of Russ and Kitty's first son in July [Russle Jr. aka Rusty], the annual Sky Line Trail Hikers trip in early August [Pete' s last year as President], trips to Lake O'Hara and Assiniboine to paint and hike throughout August and September [the trip to and from Assiniboine was carried out on horseback], painting/sketching, activities and people at various camps, descriptions of the weather and conditions riding in and out of Assiniboine, developing and colouring photographs, working on a portrait of Mark Poucette, and news of Margaret and Mary Simpson going to Boston to skate.
Notes
Please note: language pertaining to Indigenous Peoples used throughout is outdated and may be offensive.
Some letters are written on hotel/lodge letterhead.
Some letters are marked with a small x in pencil, indicating where Jon Whyte made notes for use in his project "Catharine Robb Whyte, Peter Whyte: Commemorative Portfolio," originally published in 1981.
102 - 07 contains a sketch of the main floor of the Whyte home illustrating the placement of the new dining table.