Fonds consists of papers pertaining to Peyto's Boer War service, photography and personal matters and photographs produced and collected by Peyto. Includes resolution of the American Alpine Club commending Peyto for his aid in the rescue of Margaret Stone on July 24, 1921 from Eon Mountain. Mrs. S…
264 photographs : prints, negatives. -- 2 photograph albums (ca.35 prints). -- 3 cm of textual records
History / Biographical
Ebenezer William (Bill) Peyto, 1868-1943, was a guide, outfitter, prospector and national park warden at Banff, Alberta, Canada. Peyto was prominent among the early trail guides of the Rockies, beginning a colourful career ca.1893. He led a number of mountaineers into climbing regions until ca.1910. Peyto served in both the Boer and First World Wars, worked a talc mine on the edge of Banff National Park and was a national park warden for over twenty years, retiring in 1937. Peyto Lake, Peyto Glacier, Peyto Peak and Trapper Peak were named in his honour.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of papers pertaining to Peyto's Boer War service, photography and personal matters and photographs produced and collected by Peyto. Includes resolution of the American Alpine Club commending Peyto for his aid in the rescue of Margaret Stone on July 24, 1921 from Eon Mountain. Mrs. Stone was stranded after the accidental death of Dr. W. E. Stone on July 17, 1921. Photographs pertain to Bill Peyto, clients and trips in the Rocky Mountains; also Banff townsite views and events, wildlife and scenic views, ca.1900-ca.1940. Includes large framed portrait of Bill Peyto.
Fonds consists of two sous-fonds: M521 and V75.
M521 consists of four series, 154 cm, ca.1870-2002. Series I: Dorothy Wardle Personal Papers, 69.5 cm, ca.1870-2002 (includes Dorothy's written work and research and notes related to Banff). Series II: Wardle Family, 32.5 cm, 1872-1998 (including cor…
154 cm of textual records. -- 1304 photographs (1190 prints, 95 negatives, 19 transparencies). -- 6 photograph albums.
History / Biographical
The Wardle family was comprised of husband and wife, James Morey Wardle (June 26,1888 - May 18,1971) and Maud Leette (Roney) Wardle (May 24,1889 - December 1,1969), and their one child, Dorothy Hope Wardle (May 23,1919 - July 20,2003).
James Wardle, born in Chiliwack, British Columbia, was a civil engineer and public servant. He was the Superintendent of Banff National Park from 1918-1921, Chief Engineer for Parks Canada from 1921-1935, and Deputy Minister of the Interior from 1935-1936. He is primarily known as a highway design engineer, particularly for building the Banff-Windermere, Banff-Lake Louise, and Banff-Jasper highways. He was a councillor for the Municipality of Rockcliffe Park in Ontario and he was the President of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies in Banff from 1925-1929. Mount Wardle in Vermillion was named after him in 1921. James married Leette on November 4, 1913, with whom he had one child, Dorothy.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Dorothy (also known as Dot and Dorie) grew up in Banff, Alberta and Ottawa, Ontario, due to her father's position with the federal government. She was educated at the Mountain School in Banff and at the Elmwood School in Ottawa. All three family members were graduates of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. James graduated in 1912 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Leette graduated with a Bachelor's degree, and in 1942, Dorothy also earned a Bachelor's degree. Dorothy was prominent in student life and active in athletics. In 1941, Dorothy became the first woman elected as President of the Alma Mater Society and during her academic career, Dorothy was a member of the Levana Intercollegiate Debative, University Centenary Committee, and Queen’s War Aid Commission.
Dorothy spent her career as a freelance writer however, upon graduation she served as the first Secretary-In-Charge of Records at Carleton College (now Carleton University) from 1942-1944 in Ottawa and in the mid-1950s worked as a secretary for the Glenbow Foundation in Calgary. Dorothy pursued a lifelong interest in traveling, art, and antiques. Although she was fiercely proud and protective of Banff and the Park, and remained a volunteer and patron of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Dorothy eventually settled in Sidney, British Columbia and shared an apartment with Sheila Iris Ritchie, with whom Dorothy travelled extensively. After her death in 2003, Dorothy, "Dorie," was laid to rest alongside her parents in the Old Banff Cemetery.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of two sous-fonds: M521 and V75.
M521 consists of four series, 154 cm, ca.1870-2002. Series I: Dorothy Wardle Personal Papers, 69.5 cm, ca.1870-2002 (includes Dorothy's written work and research and notes related to Banff). Series II: Wardle Family, 32.5 cm, 1872-1998 (including correspondence with Carl Rungius and Mrs. Helen Brett, and Christmas and other greeting cards from Peter and Catharine Whyte). Series III: Queen's University, 7.5 cm, 1911-1980 (including graduation certificates for each family member and records pertaining to Dorothy's participation on the Alma Mater Society). Series IV: Travel, 44.5 cm, ca.1950-1988 (includes hand-written notebooks meticulously detailing their travels).
V75 consists of two series, 79.5 cm, ca. 1912-2001. Series I: Wardle Family, ca. 1912-1971, 6 albums, 31 cm of photograph prints and negatives (including family trips, trail rides in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and family gatherings). Series II: Dorothy Wardle, 1972-2001, 34 cm of photograph prints, negatives, and transparencies (including Dorothy's travels in Alberta and British Columbia, overseas, and various outings with friends).
Fonds consists of 6 diaries written by Ralph Edwards who recorded his backcountry pack trips with Bill Peyto while working for Tom Wilson. The diaries relate Edwards' activities on these trips which included trapping, hunting, and exploration in the following areas: Red Deer River, Bourgeau Valle…
Ralph Edwards was born in Ramsgate, Kent, England and was educated at the City of London School. In 1888 Edwards moved to eastern Canada with the intention of farming but soon moved west to the mountains. Edwards worked in the mines at Canmore for two years before moving to Banff where he worked as a guide and packer for Tom Wilson, the outfitter, as well as Bill and Jim Brewster. Ralph Edwards was one of the earliest guides, trappers, and prospectors in the Banff and Lake Louise area. Edwards accompanied many of the climbers and explorers of the period, notably Walter Wilcox. Edwards often worked and travelled with Bill Peyto and other well known individuals in the earliest days of the area's settlement. In 1914 Edwards joined the C.P.R. working on bridge crews and doing carpentry work. Edwards also worked for the Highways Department as a road foreman-timekeeper on the Banff-Windermere, and Lake Louise to Golden Highways. In 1940 Edwards worked with the government information bureau at Banff, and held positions as secretary-treasurer to Banff Municipal Hospital, secretary to the Banff Advisory Council and secretary-treasurer to the Banff Winter Carnival. Ralph and his wife Mary Jane (Jenny) had two sons and a daughter. In 1950 Edwards published "The Trail to the Charmed Land" which recounts his life as a guide and outfitter in the Rocky Mountains. Edwards died in Banff in 1958 at 90 years of age.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of 6 diaries written by Ralph Edwards who recorded his backcountry pack trips with Bill Peyto while working for Tom Wilson. The diaries relate Edwards' activities on these trips which included trapping, hunting, and exploration in the following areas: Red Deer River, Bourgeau Valley, Mount Assiniboine, Cascade Creek, Ice River, Pipestone Valley, Howse Pass, and Wilcox Pass. Notes include route-finding, trapping techniques, inventories of provisions, books, etc. One volume includes Bill Peyto's record of account with L. C. Fulmer & Co. Banff, 1894. The diaries also describe some of the problems and dangers encountered by these early travellers.