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 personal, professional and legal documents and photographs pertaining to Maud and Forest Kidney, Jack MacAulay, Kidney and Woodworth family members, friends and the Banff community. Items are organized by subject and date ranges.
Fonds consists of six series:
Series I - Maud (Wo…
66 cm of textual records -- ca. 963 photographs : 870 prints, 62 postcards, 30 negatives, 1 tintype (31.5 x 37 cm or smaller) -- 7 photograph albums (26 x 33.5 cm or smaller)
History / Biographical
Ella Maud [Woodworth] Kidney (1894-1977) was born in Banff as the fourth of 11 siblings. Her parents were Benjamin Woodworth and Elizabeth [McIntire] Woodworth. Growing up, Maud worked briefly for the Alberta Hotel and the Bottling Works company in Banff. Maud was married to John A. MacAulay in 1917, and widowed later that year. Her twin sons, John A. [Jack] and Thomas A. [Ted] MacAulay, were born in 1918. Maud married Forest H. "Pop" Kidney (1889-1979) on February 14, 1923, and the new family settled into the Kidney home on Wolf and Muskrat Street. The Kidney residence was originally located in Bankhead, but was moved to Banff and sold following the town's closure in 1922.
Maud and Forest operated several local businesses including Banff Grocery, Quaker Coffee Shop, Pop's Bakery and Kidney Kabins. The Kidneys were also active in community affairs throughout their lives. Maud Kidney was a long-time member of the Girls' Sunshine Flower Club in Banff [and the club's president for over a decade spanning across the 1940's], as well as the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire [I.O.D.E.] and Rebekah Lodge, and she was matron of the Order of the Eastern Star in Banff in 1950. Forest Kidney was involved in the Banff Shriners Club, the Kiwanis Club, the Independent Order of Oddfellows and the Canadian Restaurants Association [CRA], among other groups; in the early 1960's, Forest also served as the President of the Calgary branch of the CRA.
Jack and Ted MacAulay grew up together in Banff, where they were involved in Banff's Boy Scouts program and local hockey teams. Jack in particular was an avid hockey player, until an accident in 1940 caused damage to his right eye which kept him from competing. From 1943 to 1945, Jack worked for Boeing Aircraft of Canada Ltd., and in 1946 he was appointed as the Chief Inspector of War Assets for Alberta and the Yukon Territories. Jack married Karin Wallensteen in 1946, and the couple had 6 children together: sons Herb and John, and daughters Karen, Shelley, Jodi and Julie-Ann. Jack served as a coach for the Banff Minor Hockey League for 46 years. Jack also took on several other positions within the Bow Valley community, including working as a volunteer with the Banff Figure Skating Club, a co-founder of the Banff Recreation Board, and a member of the Banff Advisory Council, the Banff Hospital Board and the Banff School Board.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of personal, professional and legal documents and photographs pertaining to Maud and Forest Kidney, Jack MacAulay, Kidney and Woodworth family members, friends and the Banff community. Items are organized by subject and date ranges.
Fonds consists of six series:
Series I - Maud (Woodworth) Kidney records: contains 3 sub-series [ A) 1894 - 1920, B) 1921 - 1950, C) 1951 - 1977 ]
Series II - Forest Kidney records: contains 3 sub-series [ A) 1889 - 1920, B) 1921 - 1950, C) 1951 - 2008 ]
Series III - Jack MacAulay records: contains 3 sub-series [A) 1920 - 1945, B) 1946 - 1980, C) 1981 - 2000 ]
Series IV - Family, friends and community records: contains 5 sub-series [ A) 1886 - 1920, B) 1921 - 1945, C) 1946 - 1970, D) 1970 - 2013, E) Maude Kidney Collection ]
Series V - Legal and business records : contains 3 sub-series [ A) 1894 - 1920, B) 1921 - 1950, C) 1951 - 1980 ]
Series VI - Collected materials
Series I content pertains to Maud Woodworth Kidney. Includes scrapbooks, photographs of Maud and her siblings and parents, trips to Calgary and local activities with family and friends, Maud working for the Alberta Hotel and the Banff Bottling Factory [ca. 1905 - 1915], and local clubs and societies which Maud was involved in between 1930 - 1977 including the Girls' Sunshine Flower Club, the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, the Senior Friends Club of Banff, Rebekah Lodge and the Order of the Eastern Star.
Series II content pertains to Forest Kidney during his World War I military service in Petawawa, Ontario; swimming with friends at the Cave and Basin and other social activities; travelling with family; local newspaper clippings noting Forest's achievements and community involvement; and Forest participating in events as a member of the Banff Shriners Club and the Canadian Restaurant Association.
Series III content pertains to Jack MacAulay at the Kidney family home with his twin brother, Ted; coaching for the Banff Minor Hockey League; participating in other community meetings and programs; personal, professional and medical correspondence [1940 - 1992]; Jack's wife, Karin MacAulay, and their children; and Jack's awards and achievements.
Series IV content pertains to extended family and friends of the Kidneys and the wider Banff community.
Includes sports and outdoor activities [including swimming, hiking, trail riding, camping, snowshoeing, skiing, and track and field]; early Banff [including businesses, Banff Elementary School and Banff High School, the Woodworth family residence, and construction of the Icefields Parkway]; family friends of the Woodworths and Kidneys [including the Brett family, the Stafford family and the Simpson family]; personal correspondence pertaining to Fred "Ty" Cobb (1931 - 1933); clubs and societies [including the Independent Order of Oddfellows, the Senior Friends Club, and the Order of the Eastern Star]; community events [including dances, meetings, dinners and award ceremonies]; weddings and anniversaries; a visit to Num-Ti-Jah Lodge in 1964; and biographical and genealogical information about Maud Kidney, Forest Kidney and the Woodworth family.
Series V content pertains to businesses owned and operated by the Kidney family [ca. 1930 - 1970], including Kidney Kabins, Quaker Coffee Shop and Pop's Bakery; mortgage agreements and property contracts; and government documents. Includes receipts, log books and financial records, photographs of Kidney Kabins and Quaker Coffee Shop, and receipts for land purchased by Forest Kidney, George Noble and others.
Series VI contains commercial postcards collected by the Kidney family. Postcards mostly produced by Byron Harmon, and some by G & W Fear and other photographers, and mostly pertain to Banff and the surrounding area [winter sports, wildlife, Banff Zoo, Banff Avenue, scenic views and mountain landscapes, etc].
Notes
Contains duplicate photographs
Duplicate commercial postcards have been kept in separate folder within file box containing other commercial postcards [V324 / IV / E / PG - 1 to 20 and V324 / VI / PG - 1 to 42]
Sub-series IV / E : Maude Kidney Collection was donated with existing numbering system [Items 1 to 47] prior to processing; original order and corresponding annotations have been transferred to database entries from original handwritten notes