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 textual records, postcards, drawings and one photograph album pertaining to Mary (Molly) Wright Adams (1868-1909); transcripts of Molly's original letters which were compiled by Molly's sister, Catharine Elkin (nee Adams) between ca.1939 and 1941; and transcriptions of letters sen…
Some materials produced by Catharine (Adams) Elkin
Date Range
[ca.1844 - 1909]
[ca.1939 - 1944]
1980 - 1981
2014
Physical Description
21 cm of textual records -- 16 postcards -- 3 drawings -- 1 photograph album : 107 b&w photographs
History / Biographical
Mary Wright (Molly) Adams was born on 15 October 1868. in Ridgefield Connecticut. She was the third of five children born to Cornelia Ann Cook (1830-1902) and Daniel Lucius Adams (1814 - 1899) She died in Kobe, Japan on 23 January 1909 and was buried there.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of textual records, postcards, drawings and one photograph album pertaining to Mary (Molly) Wright Adams (1868-1909); transcripts of Molly's original letters which were compiled by Molly's sister, Catharine Elkin (nee Adams) between ca.1939 and 1941; and transcriptions of letters sent between Molly's extended family members [including members of the Adams, Cook and Wright families], ca.1844 and 1866.
Textual records primarily consist of correspondence sent between Molly Adams and various friends and family members [ca.1891-1909].
Notes
Fonds consists of two series:
Series I : Correspondence [contains two sub-series: I / A : Molly Wright Adams ; I / B : Extended family]
Series II : Personal and collected records
File consists of collected commercial postcards from Canada, the United States, Central America, Europe and the United Kingdom [non-annotated]. File includes loose postcards, postcard sets and fold-out photo card booklets.
ca. 630 b&w and col. postcards ; 23 x 18 cm or smaller
Scope & Content
File consists of collected commercial postcards from Canada, the United States, Central America, Europe and the United Kingdom [non-annotated]. File includes loose postcards, postcard sets and fold-out photo card booklets.
Notes
Items in this file have been organized by geographical location. See "Content Details" entry field for contents of individual folders.
File is organized into 8 folders, numbered LUX / III / D / PG - 1 to 8.
PG - 1 : Banff National Park
PG - 2 : Canadian Rockies and Selkirks
PG - 3 : Alberta and British Columbia [Other]
PG - 4 : Canada
PG - 5 : United States of America
PG - 6 : United States of America, cont.'d [postcard sets and 1933 Chicago World Fair]
PG - 7 : Foreign
PG - 8 : Other [location not specified]
File consists of postcards and souvenir postcard booklets sent to members and friends of the Luxton family, including Eleanor, Norman and Georgina Luxton. Content pertains to locations and landmarks in various regions, including Canada, the United States, England, France and the Ivory Coast. File a…
ca. 250 prints : b&w and col. postcards ; 16 x 12 cm or smaller -- 1 b&w photograph : print ; 16 x 10.5 cm
Scope & Content
File consists of postcards and souvenir postcard booklets sent to members and friends of the Luxton family, including Eleanor, Norman and Georgina Luxton. Content pertains to locations and landmarks in various regions, including Canada, the United States, England, France and the Ivory Coast. File also includes one b&w photograph depicting a group of unidentified children.
Notes
Items in this file have been organized by geographical location. See "Content Details" entry field for contents of individual folders.
File pertains to 68 hand-written letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from April 12 to October 19, 1936. Topics include returning from a trip out east by train, going to Skoki for a few days in April [including updates on the new camp buildings and access road], w…
2.8 cm of textual records (117 pages ; 21.4 x 27.5 cm or smaller)
History / Biographical
See fonds level description.
Scope & Content
File pertains to 68 hand-written letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from April 12 to October 19, 1936. Topics include returning from a trip out east by train, going to Skoki for a few days in April [including updates on the new camp buildings and access road], weather, skiing and ski conditions, film-making, visits from friends and visitors, matters pertaining to the house [opening and closing it as they come and go from various trips], errand trips to Calgary, watching hockey games, going to the movies, leaving for Hawaii via Vancouver in early May [sailing on the Empress of Canada], books Catharine and Edith are reading, arriving in Hawaii and eventually getting settled at the Grand Hotel in Wailuku, Maui, visiting with friends, descriptions of meals, photography and cameras, relocating to the Moana Hotel in Honolulu in mid-May, sightseening and day trips around the islands, sketching, descriptions of other ships coming and going from the harbour, details of the trip back to Banff in mid-June, radio programs [mostly news and operas], cleaning and household chores, events and people in Concord, camping trips, maintenance and upkeep of the house and property, painting/sketching, various holidays [both Canadian and American], the Calgary Stampede, Banff Indian days, the annual Skyline Trail Hikers trip [based out of Lake O'Hara] in early August, matters pertaining to the store, Edith purchasing a painting of two moose from Carl Rungius, developing photographs, a two-week trip to Lake O'Hara in late August/early September to paint and hike [also includes details of other people there, day to day activies, and the subjects painted/sketched], day trips around the national park to take photographs and hike [mostly in the Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, and Bow Lake areas], and preparing for a trip out to Concord at the end of October.
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.
The first 10 or so letters have been numbered in pencil in the upper margin of the page as part of an unknown project.
File pertains to 22 hand-written letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from February 1 to May 18, 1934. Topics include leaving Honolulu for Tokyo via the Canadian Pacific Steamer "Empress of Japan" in late March, life aboard ship, comments and descriptions of the s…
2.3 cm of textual records (155 pages ; 22.1 x 27.8 cm or smaller)
History / Biographical
See fonds level description.
Scope & Content
File pertains to 22 hand-written letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from February 1 to May 18, 1934. Topics include leaving Honolulu for Tokyo via the Canadian Pacific Steamer "Empress of Japan" in late March, life aboard ship, comments and descriptions of the ship and other passengers, weather, books Pete and Catharine are reading, arriving in Tokyo, extensive details of most everything Catharine comes into contact with [this was her first visit to Japan and drew a lot from her grandfather's experiences - it was not Pete's first visit], meeting their guide Mr Miyaoka, going to art shows and museums, local cuisine, architecture, music and entertainment, sightseeing, visiting temples and gardens, shopping, sketching, taking Japanese painting lessons, photography and cameras, going for walks [both during the day and at night], going to the movies [also includes comparisons to Hollywood movies], visiting Nikko for a few days in mid-April before returning to Tokyo [while in Nikko Pete and Catharine watched a local festival, although she does not say what the festival was for], dinner parties, leaving Tokyo for Kyoto in late April, descriptions of the trip and countryside from the train, comments on Japanese naval and military activities, their time spent in Kozu on the way to Kyoto, the trains they travelled in and other travellers, farms, the various towns and villages passed [mostly comments on the train stations], Pete's day trip to Kobe to meet with a friend he'd met in Banff, planning the next leg of their trip, touring around the Kyoto area, visiting local landmarks [including gardens, temples/shrines, and factories/specialty shops], making day trips to nearby landmarks and towns [most notably Nara to see the tame deer and to the Imperial Palace], Pete developing films [photographs] in hotel room bathrooms, events and people in Concord and in Banff, going to Kobe for a few days before returning to Kyoto in early May, leaving Japan for China on the M.S. Choko Maru in mid-May, and arriving in Tientsin China.
Notes
Please note: language and attitudes pertaining to Asian people [especially Chinese and Japanese] used throughout is outdated offensive.
Most letters are written on hotel/ship letterhead.
Most letters have been numbered in red pencil in the upper margin for an unknown project.
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.
94 - 13 page 16 contains a sketch of the Fujiya Hotel in Miyanoshita Japan.
94 - 18 is not dated and has had "May 8?" written in pencil at the top - it has been scanned as its own letter, but it may be part of 94 - 17.
File pertains to 22 hand-written letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from March 2 to July 2, 1938. Topics include skiing and watching skiing events in Switzerland, descriptions of meals, local community events and activities [such as Carnivals], meeting with frie…
1.8 cm of textual records (81 pages ; 22.4 x 29.2 cm or smaller)
History / Biographical
See fonds level description.
Scope & Content
File pertains to 22 hand-written letters written by Catharine Robb Whyte to her mother, Edith Morse Robb from March 2 to July 2, 1938. Topics include skiing and watching skiing events in Switzerland, descriptions of meals, local community events and activities [such as Carnivals], meeting with friends, news pertaining to Hitler's movements in Europe, weather, people and events in Concord, photography, leaving Switzerland in April in order to drive to Norway for the summer [includes driving through Germany, Denmark, and Sweden], descriptions of European roads [particularly the Autobahn] and various road-side amenities, visiting art galleries and museums, going to the movies, various holidays [mostly American], descriptions of ski hills and conditions in Norway, sightseeing, painting/sketching, architecture and buildings, exploring the islands off of Norway's northern coast [mostly by the ferry "Princess Ragnhild"] for a few weeks in late May to early June, camping, leaving Norway for Scotland in late June, and heading for Concord in early July. Also includes postcards.
Notes
Please note: language pertaining to Indigenous Peoples used throughout is outdated and may be offensive.
Most 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.
104 - 08 contains a list of distances and geographic features between various towns and cities in Germany and Switzerland on the last two pages.
File consists of postcards sent to extended family members and friends of the Luxton family. Senders and recipients include John Grant and George Millward McDougall, William [Bill] LaPorte, Emmeline Wheeler, and Effie Huppe.
File consists of postcards sent to extended family members and friends of the Luxton family. Senders and recipients include John Grant and George Millward McDougall, William [Bill] LaPorte, Emmeline Wheeler, and Effie Huppe.
Notes
Some items in this file are not dated. Some postcards do not name recipients and/or senders.
File consists of 15 postcards sent to Eugene LaPorte from an unidentified friend [1936]. Postcards were sent from multiple locations in the United States, including: Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Utah, Washington, Oregon and California. Content pertains to accounts of travels within the Uni…
File consists of 15 postcards sent to Eugene LaPorte from an unidentified friend [1936]. Postcards were sent from multiple locations in the United States, including: Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Utah, Washington, Oregon and California. Content pertains to accounts of travels within the United States and fishing trips.
Notes
Eugene LaPorte is addressed as "Col." in most of the messages written on postcards in this file. The sender has intentionally excluded their name and information from each postcard [signed as "?"]