Fonds consists of textual records and photographs by and about Aileen Harmon, as well as collected items. Textual records include: letter from Harmon to the Director of Alberta's provincial parks re addition of Yamnuska area to Bow Valley Provincial Park, 1973; brief, from Harvie Heights and Bow Va…
26.5 cm of textual records. -- 33 photographs (26 prints : b&w and col. ; 20.5 x 30 cm or smaller -- 6 negatives : b&w nitrate negatives ; 12.5 x 10 cm -- 1 transparency : col. slide ; 35 mm)
History / Biographical
Aileen Harmon (1912 - 2015), daughter of Byron Harmon, worked as a government naturalist at Banff, Alberta, Canada and was involved in local natural history groups and activities. Aileen was a founding member, alongside Bruce Gordon, of the Bow Valley Naturalists, and was also on the Board of The Canadian Wildlife Federation and The Society of Alberta Naturalists. Aileen moved to Mill Bay on Vancouver Island, B.C. in 1981 following the end of a lengthy career with Parks Canada. During her retirement years, Aileen travelled extensively, reaching all seven continents. She also authored an autobiographical book, titled "Tales of My Mountain Life", in 2004. Aileen passed away on January 9, 2015 at the age of 102.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of textual records and photographs by and about Aileen Harmon, as well as collected items. Textual records include: letter from Harmon to the Director of Alberta's provincial parks re addition of Yamnuska area to Bow Valley Provincial Park, 1973; brief, from Harvie Heights and Bow Valley subdivision residents to public hearings on land use and resource development in the eastern slopes, 1973; letter re James Hector, 1979; notes on career, 2003; notes on Catharine Whyte for CBC recording, 2004; Christmas cards and collected articles, ca.1960. Photographs, made by and collected by Aileen Harmon, pertain to Aileen Harmon and friends, skiing, Skoki area, Mount Yamnuska, Banff Indian Days. Includes photographs by Byron Harmon.
Added content from accession 2016.8596 : ca. 25 cm of textual records including personal correspondence, guest book, original writing and notes by Aileen Harmon, personal travel journals from a 1931 packing trip and 1933 ski trip to Skoki, drafts of autobiographical book "Tales of My Mountain Life", articles pertaining to or written by Aileen Harmon, Christmas cards, and letters of condolence to Carole Harmon following Aileen's passing. Also 26 print photographs, 6 negative photographs from a 1937 hiking trip, and one transparency.
Fonds consists of one series :
Series I - Personal records
Sub-series of hut registers from the Elizabeth Parker Hut produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1982 and 2019. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while staying at the hut, wil…
The Elizabeth Parker hut was named after one of the founding members of the Alpine Club of Canada, Elizabeth Parker. The hut is located in Yoho National Park, near Lake O'Hara in British Columbia. The hut is one of the most popular accommodations run by the Alpine Club of Canada. The Elizabeth Parker hut is made up of two buildings; the main hut and Wiwaxy Cabin. The total capacity of the two buildings is 24 people in the summer and 20 people in the winter.
According to the Alpine Club of Canada Guide for Backcountry Huts: Elizabeth Parker Info Sheet:
"The present Wiwaxy cabin was the first hut in the Lake O’Hara area, built in 1912 by the Canadian Pacific
Railway. This was the same year that the ACC applied for and was granted a two-acre lease for a future hut on the south shore of Lake O’Hara, the site of the Club’s 1909 annual camp. In 1919, the CPR built the present Elizabeth Parker Hut, and by 1923 had built a further 11 huts in the meadow. In 1923/24, the CPR moved all but the first two huts down to the lakeshore, and seven years later donated the last two in the meadow to the ACC. The Club was able to exchange its lakeshore lease for a meadow lease, and in 1931 was in business with a hut at Lake O’Hara - the Elizabeth Parker Hut.
As you can expect with log buildings, the Elizabeth Parker Hut has required substantial renovations and upkeep. Over the years the hut has seen a new floor, a new roof, new timbers and new foundation logs, as well as completely new interior furnishings. The outhouses are new, a stove in the Wiwaxy Cabin has been added and the entire meadow around the hut has been rehabilitated and reseeded. Over the past couple of years, the Huts Committee has worked very hard to restore the appearance of the hut as closely as possible to its original state. The Canadian government designated the Elizabeth Parker Hut as a Federal Heritage Building in 1997."
“...her memory is preserved by the very popular tribute inscribed with her name, the ‘Elizabeth Parker Hut’,
maintained in one of the most charming centres of the Canadian Rockies, close by beautiful Lake O’Hara.” (Quotation from Elizabeth Parker’s obituary by A. O. Wheeler, CAJ #29."
Scope & Content
Sub-series of hut registers from the Elizabeth Parker Hut produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1982 and 2019. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while staying at the hut, wildlife sightings, custodial issues and updates, and related topics.
Series is separated into individual hut registers, arranged by date:
M200 / IV / B / 1: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register June 21, 1982 - April 14, 1985
M200 / IV / B / 2: Eliz. Parker Hut register 1985 - 88
M200 / IV / B / 3: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register [1988 - 1991]
M200 / IV / B / 4: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register 1991 - 92
M200 / IV / B / 5: [Elizabeth Parker Hut Register 1992 - 94]
M200 / IV / B / 6: Elizabeth Parker Hut register June 17, 1994 - Nov. 13, 1995
M200 / IV / B / 7: [Elizabeth Parker] hut register Oct. 28, 1995 - Jan. 25, 1997
M200 / IV / B / 8: Elizabeth Parker Hut register Jan. 19, 1997 - Jan. 25, 1998
M200 / IV / B / 9: "Elizabeth Parker Hut Register" January 29, 1998 - September 10, 1998
M200 / IV / B / 10: "Elizabeth Parker Hut Register" November 4, 1998 - September 22, 1999
M200 / IV / B / 11: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register Oct. 2, 1999 - Jan. 1, 2000
M200 / IV / B / 12: Elizabeth Parker Mar 7, 2000 - Feb 9, 2002
M200 / IV / B / 13: Elizabeth Parker Sep 7, 2000 - Jan 27, 2002
M200 / IV / B / 14: Elizabeth Parker Mar 13, 2002 - Mar 31, 2003
M200 / IV / B / 15: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register 2003 - 2004
M200 / IV / B / 16: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register 2005 - 2007
M200 / IV / B / 17: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register 2006 - 2007
M200 / IV / B / 18: [2007 - 2009 Elizabeth Parker Hut Register]
M200 / IV / B / 19: [2009 -2010 Elizabeth Parker Hut Register]
M200 / IV / B / 20: Elizabeth Parker Hut Registry, 2011 - 2012
M200 / IV / B / 21: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register Aug 2012 - Nov. 2014
M200 / IV / B / 22: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register [2014 -2016]
M200 / IV / B / 23: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register 2016 -2018
M200 / IV / B / 24: The Alpine Club of Canada Hut Register Elizabeth Parker Hut 2017 - 2019
M200 / IV / B / 25: Elizabeth Parker Hut Register [2019-2020]
Alpine Club of Canada website: https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/elizabeth-parker-hut/
Alpine Club of Canada Backcountry Huts: Elizabeth Parker Info Sheet:
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/EParkerHut-InfoSheet.pdf