Fonds consists mainly of poems by Gordon Burles, 1970-2017. Manuscripts contain about twenty-seven hundred poems, mainly in free verse, some with revisions. Poems are numbered in chronological order. About 2016 Burles stopped numbering each poem. The year of creation is indicated with each poem.…
ca. 36.5 cm textual records + 9 CD-R (textual records). -- 7 photographs : prints, negatives.
History / Biographical
James Gordon Burles, b.1949, is a poet, surveyor and civil servant at Banff, Alberta, Canada. A native of Banff, Burles is a student of the Canadian Rockies. In Burles' own words, much of his poetry is inspired by four environments: the life and history of Banff National Park, the town of Banff, the Okanagan Valley, and Calgary.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists mainly of poems by Gordon Burles, 1970-2017. Manuscripts contain about twenty-seven hundred poems, mainly in free verse, some with revisions. Poems are numbered in chronological order. About 2016 Burles stopped numbering each poem. The year of creation is indicated with each poem. Some poems pertain to mountain personalities such as Bill Peyto, Norman Sanson, Margaret Stone, Walter D. Wilcox, Walter J. Phillips, Conrad Kain, and Georgia Engelhard. Many are surrealist or nonsense poems and many deal with the Cemetery Tea House, an imaginary teahouse frequented by various characters.
Fonds consists of three series: I : Poetry Manuscripts; II : Prose and research; III: Digital typeset copies of published poems
Some poems deal with Burle's parents and family. The collection also holds fifty-three books and booklets, self-published by the author from 1984 to 2017. The books published from 2003 to 2017 contain all the poems which the author considers worth preserving. Some in one book have been revised in a later book. Some poems were revised more than once. The three books published in 1984, 1986, and 1990 are considered by the author as early works. Only the poems in those books that the author considered worth publishing have been republished in the 2003-2017 books. Names in the poem titles are usually made up.
Some titles are tongue-in-cheek. There were so many poems that the author resorted to names like "Portrait for Bertrand Clerihew-Guggenheim" to make it easier. Some titles, of course, are obviously connected to the content of the poem. Many titles were long enough to preclude the difficulty of getting the graphic designer to centre the title over the poem! Also included are manuscripts, research materials, articles, and notes etc. regarding Bill Peyto, the Copper Mountain Mine, Banff National Park museum, logging roads in the Johnson Lake area, and the Sanson-Bethune connection.
Photographs pertain to remains of hay rake and wagon in the Third Vermilion Lake area (1975) and remains of the Queen of the Hills Mine, above Silver City (1977).
CD-ROMS's contain typeset copies of manuscripts by Gordon Burles in Pagemaker, In Design and .pdf file formats. Manuscripts include "The Jagged Harmony," 2005, "An Avenue Without End," 2005, "That Perfect Elsewhere," n.d., "Much Like A Dream," 2004, "All the Universe of Sight," 2006, "Those Grand Poplars," 2004, "Lords of Many Orchards: Selected Best Poems of Gordon Burles," 2003, "That trellis of tombs: Further Selected Poems of Gordon Burles," 2004, "The Closing of Many Doors: More Poems by Gordon Burles," 2006.
II : Prose and research includes "Life story of James Gordon Burles," 2022
Notes
Books of poetry published by Gordon Burles are located in the Whyte Museum Archives Library 05.1/B92.
In 2018 Gordon Burles compiled a listing of the original poems that were edited and re-published. This list is in the M196 document file, and is also a PDF attached to the fonds level record
File consists of 55 DVDs and CDs pertaining to various films produced by Hans Gmoser. Includes visual content and audio from films "Vagabonds of the Mountains", "Skis over McKinley", "Deep Powder and Steep Rock", "Adventure Bound", "Bugaboo Spire" and others. Reference discs in this file are duplic…
File consists of 55 DVDs and CDs pertaining to various films produced by Hans Gmoser. Includes visual content and audio from films "Vagabonds of the Mountains", "Skis over McKinley", "Deep Powder and Steep Rock", "Adventure Bound", "Bugaboo Spire" and others. Reference discs in this file are duplicates of corresponding content from V68/NF [see Related Material]. Duplicates were produced by the Whyte Museum for use as research material by Chic Scott.
Notes
Items in this file to be returned - see corresponding V68/NF materials for access.
I. Literary papers, ca.1960-1990, 154.5 cm of textual records: A. Projects (book files, Carl Rungius project, Peter and Catharine Whyte portfolio papers, other projects); B. General literary papers (loose papers and writing notebooks) includes Jon Whyte's concrete poetry; C. Career documents; D. Wo…
4.5 m textual records. -- ca.7600 photographs: ca.6400 transparencies, ca.1200 prints and negatives. -- 27 electronic records (425 files): computer diskettes. -- 39 sound recordings: audio tape reels, audio cassettes. -- 5 motion pictures
History / Biographical
Jon Anthony Whyte, 1941-1992, was an author, poet, writer, editor, journalist, broadcaster, publisher, environmentalist and museum curator at Banff, Alberta, Canada. Whyte was born in Banff to Jack White, son of merchant Dave White, and Barbara Carpenter Whyte. After public school education in Banff and Medicine Hat, Alberta, he received a B.A. in English from the University of Alberta in 1964, followed by a Masters degree in Medieval English in 1967. Subsequently, he received a Masters in Communications from Stanford University, California in 1974. His thesis at Stanford was a film documentary, "Jimmy Simpson, Mountain Man". During his time at U of A, Whyte worked as a broadcaster for CKUA Radio and as a sessional Instructor at U of A, 1965-1967.
Upon returning to Banff, ca.1968, Whyte managed the Book and Art Den and helped establish Summerthought Press. In 1969 he became a columnist for the "Crag and Canyon," continuing until 1991, and in 1970 became a board member of the Peter Whyte Foundation (now Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies). From 1980 until his death, Whyte was Curator of the Heritage collections at the museum. He continued to write and publish extensively throughout the 1980s. He was involved with the formation of the Writer's Guild of Alberta and was elected its president in 1990. He received the WGA's Stephan Stephansson Award for Poetry in 1983. Whyte was also active in numerous other organizations, including the League of Canadian Poets, Alberta Museums Association, Canadian Museums Association, Interpretation Canada, Bow Valley Naturalists and the Alberta Wilderness Association.
Scope & Content
I. Literary papers, ca.1960-1990, 154.5 cm of textual records: A. Projects (book files, Carl Rungius project, Peter and Catharine Whyte portfolio papers, other projects); B. General literary papers (loose papers and writing notebooks) includes Jon Whyte's concrete poetry; C. Career documents; D. Works by other writers and artists.
II. Personal / professional papers, 1948-1991, 325.5 cm of textual records: A. School and university papers; B. Correspondence; C. Alphabetical files; D. Travel papers; E. Organizations (incl. Writer's Guild of Alberta, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Bow Valley Naturalists, others); F. Other.
III. Electronic records, 1984-1991, 27 computer disks (425 files); files are mainly literary, with some letters and files pertaining to organizations, including the Whyte Museum
IV. Photographs and films, ca.1950-1991, ca.7600 items (mainly transparencies): A. Transparencies. Included in this sub-series are The Princess of the Stars musical drama performed in Banff National Park; B. Prints and negatives; C. Collected photographs; D. Films (5 items)
Fonds consists of a diary, photographs and a sound recording. Diary contains five year daily entries during the period 1937-1941. The diary was found in a deserted cabin in Moberly in 1974 and describes Jones' weather observations, employment details and personal matters as skiing guide, camp cook…
Ken Jones, 1910?-2004, was active during the period 1937 to 1941 as a ski guide between Lake Louise and Skoki Lodge and as a mining camp cook at McDame's Creek, British Columbia (1937). He worked summers farming at his home in Forde, British Columbia and winters at Lake Louise and the Yoho Valley on snow removal and various jobs (1937-1940). He mined at Base Metals Monarch Mine, Field, British Columbia in 1941, then returned to Forde, British Columbia and Glacier, British Columbia. During this period, he competed in various ski meets and was a friend of the Swiss guides at Lake Louise and Golden.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of a diary, photographs and a sound recording. Diary contains five year daily entries during the period 1937-1941. The diary was found in a deserted cabin in Moberly in 1974 and describes Jones' weather observations, employment details and personal matters as skiing guide, camp cook, miner, farmer, labourer and competitive skier. Diary also describes trips to Mount Assiniboine and Freshfield Glacier.
Sound recording is mainly of Ken Jones relating stories about mountain personalities, including Chet Ogan, Jimmy Simpson and Tom Wilson; also includes short discussion between Collins and Rummel. Recording was made by Ken Jones, Myrna Collins and Elizabeth Rummel at Sunburst Camp, Mount Assiniboine, July 1968.
Photographs are primarily b&w and include images of the Rocky and Selkirk Mountains, Revelstoke, Yoho Valley, Lake Louise, Skoki, Freshfield, Wyoming; renovations and additions to Num-Ti-Jah Lodge; and hunting trips during the period ca.1930-1950. Also included is a CD-ROM of digitized images in TIFF and JPEG image file formats compiled in 2004 by Chic Scott and Dave Birrell.
Fonds consists of material pertaining to the mountain parks of western Canada. I.A. Banff National Park photograph collection, 1903-1965 (predominant 1920s-1950s), ca.1756 prints and negatives. Pertains mainly to Banff townsite and developments and facilities within the park. Included are private …
Parks Canada administers national parks in Canada. The agency has been administered by several government departments and undergone numerous name changes over the years. Most recently it was known as the Canadian Parks Service. Parks Canada is responsible for the administration of mountain parks and, in some cases, townsites within these parks. Until 1990, it administered the town of Banff in Banff National Park. Parks Canada provides a variety of services to visitors and residents pertaining to interpretive and visitor information; trail, resource and wildlife management; fire protection, mountaineering search and rescue and avalanche control; facilities and utilities; townsite services etc.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of material pertaining to the mountain parks of western Canada.
I.A. Banff National Park photograph collection, 1903-1965 (predominant 1920s-1950s), ca.1756 prints and negatives. Pertains mainly to Banff townsite and developments and facilities within the park. Included are private and government buildings, dwellings, roads and utilities; resource and wildlife development and management; visitor facilities; lodges, hotels and bungalow camps; warden and fire protection activities; Banff events; Norman Sanson trips and expeditions.
I.B. Banff National Park warden service photographs, motion pictures and documentation pertaining to wardens, warden activities and cabins, wildlife management; ca.11,000 items. Series includes 2 National Parks Service motion pictures "Hunting without a gun",1930 and Stalking big game", 1930.
I.C. Lantern slides, 2 sets (accn.3783); includes CPR lecture set, ca.1915, 145 items, and Canadian Rockies lecture set, ca.1920, 54 items, accompanied by lecture notes (stored with textual material M317).
I.D. Cave and Basin project; copies of mainly snapshot prints acquired by the Cave and Basin restoration and re-development project, 1981-1985, from various individuals, 204 items.
I.E. Yoho National Park collected photographs, ca.90 photographs : prints, pertain to Yoho National Park landscape, scenery, railway, places and facilities, including Field. Accompanied by 3 letters. Collected from numerous donors, including Kevin Hargadon, T. Lees, Ernie Plant, F. W. Yeats and Millie Adamson.
I.F. Other, ca.90 items?; prints, transparencies, copy negatives, video recording. Includes: colour transparencies by Jack Holroyd and Bruce Gordon, 1966-1974, re Banff buildings and Protection Mountain mine; photographs of Bankhead, its people and activities used for project Bankhead: The Twenty Year Town by Ben Gadd, 1989; video recording, "Saskatchewan Glacier Clean-up 1994"; VHS cassette copy of National Parks of Canada films produced in the 1930s, including Winter Wonderland, Skiing at Lake Louise, Skiing in Cloudland, Sunshine and Powder Snow, When Winter Comes and "She Climbs to Conquer" by William J. Oliver featuring Georgia Engelhard and Swiss Guide, Ernest Feuz, 1932. CD-ROM includes scanned images from a photograph album "Public Works Projects 1930s Banff National Park" ; Tom Boon's photographs of Mount Royal Hotel fire, 1967, and photograph of C.A. (Alfred) Boon, Union Oil representative at Field and Banff, 1935.
II. Sound recordings series, 1977-1985, ca.55 sound recordings : audio tape cassettes, audio tape reel. Series consists of: A. Yoho National Park human history study, 1977, 20 cassettes. B. Memoirs of the Warden Service oral history project, 1984, 15 interviews (29 cassettes). Project was conducted by Maryalice Harvey Stewart. Accompanied by report. C. Other, 1980-1985, 3 items, includes rededication ceremonies for Kootenay National Park and for the Park Museum, Banff, also recording pertaining to the Castleguard Caves.
III. Textual records series, [ca.1887]-1994, ca.250 cm of textual records. Series consists of unpublished reports and management plans; visitor registers, summit registers, cabin and fire lookout registers (some with photographs); register of pack parties, Banff National Park, 1922-1933; maps and plans, including annotated warden service maps; warden records; surveyor notebooks; and transcripts and ephemera pertaining to ceremonies and events. Reports pertain to archaeological sites and research, national parks history, warden service, coal mining in the Bankhead area, predator studies, Cave and Basin, Radium Hot Springs, Ya Ha Tinda Ranch and other sites.
Notes
Original photograph album of the scanned images on CD-ROM is located in the Warden's office, Banff National Park Archival Room, cabinet 4, entitled "Public Works Projects 1930s Banff National Park"
Fonds consists of: I. A selection of photographs by Frederick Pilcher Jr. taken on hikes and climbs, 1940-1947, some in the company of Leonard Leacock (V27/CD-1); II. A selection of photographs by son Frederick Pilcher taken on hikes and climbs, 1964-1997, some in the company of Lance Camp, Dave Mi…
Frederick Pilcher Jr., M.D., d.1954, and his son, Frederick Pilcher, were avid amateur photographers who visited Canada regularly. F. Pilcher Jr. made early use of Kodachrome in backcountry photography.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of: I. A selection of photographs by Frederick Pilcher Jr. taken on hikes and climbs, 1940-1947, some in the company of Leonard Leacock (V27/CD-1); II. A selection of photographs by son Frederick Pilcher taken on hikes and climbs, 1964-1997, some in the company of Lance Camp, Dave Mitchell and Timothy Pilcher (V27/CD-2,3,4). Areas includes Banff, Kootenay and Jasper National Parks and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.
File consists of one USB stick containing 18 files pertaining to Bruno Engler's Memorial Ski Race events held between 2010 and 2013. Includes press releases, meeting minutes, memos, notes, a mailing list, task lists, a poster, a registration form template and 'thank you' cards for participants.
File consists of one USB stick containing 18 files pertaining to Bruno Engler's Memorial Ski Race events held between 2010 and 2013. Includes press releases, meeting minutes, memos, notes, a mailing list, task lists, a poster, a registration form template and 'thank you' cards for participants.
Notes
Individual item files are named according to contents.
Stored with other textual records [M559] for retrieval purposes